KISS

Now don't get mad. That's not aimed at you. It's aimed at those people who are balancing too many plates and doing a p.p. job.

I wonder if our leaders would do better to concentrate on what they CAN do rather than constantly explain to us that there are no easy solutions. I can't spend that anywhere.

They can't stop this virus. You know it, they know it and it would seem that the virologists have known it for several decades. The people on this site have taken a far more practical approach and done what they can as individuals. We've examined the problem, isolated one aspect of it and applied a very simple solution. We have prepped. What now?

I've just read a post suggesting that a pandemic would shut down all transportation. Why?

It ought to be relatively easy to isolate the cab of a truck to the point where it is the safest place on the planet. A truck can load, ship, offload and return to base without the driver ever coming into contact with another human. Fuel, water, food, and even sterilised air can be made available.

Do you have a local trucking company? Have they seen the commercial potential in modifying their cabs. Are they able to organise a relay system with semi-trailers.

Your foodstores are centralised because they need to carry tens of thousands of items. I would be happy with beans and rice. No choice on quantity. It's pre-packed. Take it or leave it. $20 no change given. No human contact.

If you think this is crazy, well yes, you might be right. But think on this. I've just had three tonnes of sand delivered. I wasn't even there. No human contact, no exchange of money, no worries.

I don't much like the "no win" scenario.

Any thoughts?

 

you make some very excellent points

Wow. What a relief. Thought you'd all be incandescant. I used to run a small newsagents. Papers were dumped every morning. No paperwork until end of month. Trust was backed by the threat of losing the franchise.

I was really thinking of a slighly broader picture though. Intelligence can sometimes be crippling. Occasionally the simple solution works.

I bet there's someone out there with good simple ideas that do not require political intervention. Local, you know?

I can't tell you how many times my grandmother sorted me out by bringing me back down to planet earth. It's fairly clear that they are stuck in their global rut. Maybe we can prod them a bit. No?

I think it was one of your Mr. Presidents who invented the concept.

Or maybe it was the Russians. You know the joke. They spent 100 zillion dollars designing a pen that would work upside down in zero gravity. We used a pencil.

How on Earth would we completely isolate the driver of every big rig in the US?  That sounds ridiculous in theory and IMPOSSIBLE in practice. 

The government knows they cant stop it so they are doing just about all they can.  Stockpiling Tamiflu which is right now the best drug, so they can ship it to places that become hot when it hits here and then telling people to be ready for disruptions in services and supplies.  Of course that doesn't count the fingers the govt has in the overseas cookie jar trying to help out.

Why couldn't a hub system be implemented... along the model of airports and FedEx.  Central depots for everything.  The food, the gas, etc.

This is something the Army EXCELLS at. 

This plan has potential IMO anyway.  And I remember reading that Canada was actually going to throw their gas and rigs and drivers into only food distribution.  They were warning the public and businesses that there weren't going to be any resources left after the food distribution was taken care of.

canada  might ride the wave easier.....for many reasons

1- huge country

2-very friendly

3-humane

4-logistic

5-huge ressources

6-benevolence

7-people used to live in harsh envirenment

8-high medical infrastructure

9-people like me

There you go. A hub system. Fed-Ex.

Now common people. You can do it. Yes you can.

Winging Poms used to belong in the U.K.

(I wish this thing had spell check)

My spell check secret (dang... I did so what ya'll to think I was smart) is the Google tool bar installed... it has a spell checker as a built in option on the toolbar.  Works like a champ.... and ya'll thought I was brilliant, I know.

Of course that presupposes that you are willing to deal with Google, second only in corporate evilness to Microsoft.

why do you need the spell chek if my message was understood...........did i ask or make a remark ever....... on this,do i have to say that  english is my third language,i am learning a huge things over here not just  about viruses,and prep,no,no

he cant stay in the truck forever he is human,eat sleep,and sh*t,so,kitchen,room,and bath room,get the pictures.............

in canada and us huge distances......roads are almost infinite,not like england,tiny miny

Virusil: I was criticising my own spelling, not yours. I looked at the word winging and thought, I know this is wrong. Do I add an H or maybe a E. Then I thought, sod it, do we really care.

My spelling used to be passable but computers have ruined it by putting all of my mistakes right. Please don't take offence.

OMG! I am so SORRY Scotty! I have gone through that myself! So I feel your pain! I lost my father in 91 and my mother in 98! And i can hardly comprehend what you are feeling now with losing both so closely together! I am here for you if you need to vent, talk, whatever! Just feel free to Pm me and we can talk! We are here for you my friend!

Meewee

Great Stuff araywood.

Come on. You are getting there. I know you can do it. Most of you come from the land of Get Up and Go.

All you need to do is lower your vision a little and think local, not global.

Are there no truck drivers out there who can help me out? I know that the cab drivers have a solution to the waterworks problem. Crude, but effective. Big coffee jars.

The camping fraternity know all about human waste.

Oh Scotty, so sad. I don't know how old you are. I understand the feeling of "orphan". I lost my dad as a teenager, amd mom at 25. As with MeeWee, if you need to vent, PM me. I can listen and also offer what works for me.

Scotty,

I respect your mind working on "other" issues.  I am sorry for the loss of your father and now your mother.  I will not intrude upon your feelings over this other than to say that if you wake up in the future needing to talk, we are here.

What it takes in supplies and repairs to keep trucks rolling. I know, I keep a few trucks and some other big machines rolling. And right now we have the LUXURY of parts availability, it would go away in minutes if TSHTF.

Trucks need constant mechanic work, welding, tire repair, wheel bearings, brake shoes, brake springs, brake chambers, brake cam bushings, brake cams, brake drums, wheels, clutches, engine rebuilds, transmission overhauls, lights, altenators, wiring, computer repairs, injectors, air compressors, turbos, U-joints, air bags, springs, tie bolts, king pins, tie rod ends, steering sectors, windshield wiper blades, fuel filters, air filters, air splitter buttons, drive line repairs, rear end repairs, power dividers, interlock lines, fifth wheel locks, air lines, and that is not including trailer repairs, just a tractor.

Trailers are another repair item, especially the reefer units. Cooled units, if you not a trucker, not smoking reefer.

It takes people on the ground to get these things done.

I disagree about using the military to run the supply system. The military is GREAT, when used to supply small amounts of needed items in a relatively small area. But when you look at their rigs, they are JUNK when thinking of crossing the country to supply the nation. They are heavy slow, purpose designed rigs, not designed to run 75 to 90 MPH for 3000 miles each direction to drop a load, and turn around fast. Just look at how much military stuff is riding around on flat beds behind your everyday trucker now. His rig is designed to move on at high speeds, military stuff is slow.

I am not talking bad about the military people, not at all. It's simple, their equipment is not suited for the job at hand, and there is not enough of their equipment to replace the amount of trucks rolling right now. Just try to count the rigs on both sides of a major interstate on any given day, for one mile when you are driving.

Then think of how much material is moved by rail, barge and planes. All of these things are mechanical in nature and it takes people to run them and fix them.

Yeah Bebo... but we are talking beans and rice here... not all the normal crap that gets transported on our highways.

And the .mil has some incredible rigs... saw them once and it blew me away, literally.

I was stopped at a red light, next to a convoy of about five big rigs, mil stuff.  I was driving a very sporty, well known performance car at the time.... they left me in the DUST.  No going through the gears for these rigs, they hit 60 before I was in second gear (I was driving a stick).

Only thing I could figure was super secret stuff, but they shouldn't have been bunched together w/ no obvious firepower back up if that was the case.

I have never, ever seen any 18 wheeler behave like they did.

Condolences Scotty, but remember you are never an orphan. You will always
have the umbilical memory and imagination until the day the thought police
extract it with electricity.

Everyone: Can we please not forget the truck driver! Your insatiable need for
sustinence has forgotten the driver's own needs (other than comfort breaks)
and forgotten this person is a human like us. Some lateral thinking is
required here. Do not rely on someone else delivering anything at short
notice. What might be required is a change of economics from the just-in-
time economy now to one of high stocking levels. That will need higher
prices and probably higher taxes. Just make sure you want that to happen.

This issue it is along the same line as front line workers if there is no proper protection for these truck drivers, I would understand why they would not go to work..I ask myself everyday would I go out and help...would I risk certain death for me or one of my loved ones....I,m not to sure,if I have to go out for survival yes I would, but I don,t think it is in our human nature to walk out and face certain death...

And Scotty s.s. about your loss....

Delete Rice &Beans

Complex Carbohydrates & High Calory Vegetables

My preps for complex carbs are evenly split between brown rice, wheat pasta, wholemeal flour and oats.

In truth I have stopped buying food and gone back 20 years to buying ingedients. The difference is absolutely astounding. Cost savings are about 80%, the food tastes of food, my weight is down about ten pounds and I can do a months supplies in one trip.

Some of this stuff is E.U. subsidised but the rice and the vegetables come from the U.S.A. If the subsidies came off then it would all come from the U.S.A.

Fuel usage is down, queing time is down, packaging used is almost zero and I know what I am consuming.

The saving on ink alone could save this planet. Its so good to see a list of contents with just one item on it.

The favourite takeaway food in the U.K. is now Indian Curry.

virusil wrote: canada  might ride the wave easier.....for many reasons 1- huge country 2-very friendly 3-humane 4-logistic 5-huge ressources 6-benevolence 7-people used to live in harsh envirenment 8-high medical infrastructure 9-people like me

 

 

 Are you trying to be funny or are you actually saying that a pandemic in Canada wouldn't be very bad because you're benevolent, friendly and humane??