Ebola... no ones started the thread yet..

[lazarus]

1. 2. 3 go...

[Ziu Echoes]

well here we go...

First off I have to say I think it's being overhyped quite a bit by the news media. Mainly to scare the sheep into doing something irrational.  This fear fairly prevalent within the alternative media it seems as well which is too bad. There's quite a bit of stuff out there about terrorists using or illegal immigrants spreading it into the country and quite a few other things that don't really make sense once you think about it or know anything about it. As a matter of fact the first day they were reporting about the first individual being infected I was in the class and we're talking about it and somebody chimed up with have a must have been legal immigrant. He seemed to be quite sad when somebody told him it was just somebody who flew in on a commercial airliner.

There's a lot of stuff out there about it been airborne or becoming airborne which doesn't really seem to be the case. There's probably some risk of it spreading and contamination from coughing up a lung secretions which when their airborne theoretically could be inhaled. But for this to happen you'd still need to begin an extremely close contact with infected individuals Which the general public is not.

But with that being said I think the CDC as a whole is doing a poor job of putting in place functional protocols. To deal with both an outbreak or the response to treatment for isolated cases. Their recommendations for PPE seemed to be substandard and in the case of the nurse in Dallas may have contributed to her becoming infected.  Doctors without Borders for instance have much more stringent PPE protocols for individuals associated with them doing fieldwork. Also the response for how to handle some aspects of the initial case seem questionable such as the initial quarantining of the family of the patient with what seemed to be according to news reports very little guidance with what to do. 

The one scenario that I actually am kind of worried about with the disease as whole. Is it getting into the intravenous drug using community/ homeless community of a major city.  You suddenly have a minor outbreak of several hundred to several thousand individuals over the course of several weeks. And how absolutely bat shit crazy everyone would get and how massively overwhelmed the hospital system in the city would become. Even that of though I think it would be containable inside a country like the US. But I do think it's asking for the government to want to abuse its power and implement new laws to "protect us".  Because as a SK said once there is no fear quite like plague fear.

[avagdu]

I'll take advantage of any excuse to beef up my CBRN equipment. I need more 40mm filters and some chemical suits. Time to practice range drills with a respirator on!  :D

[Ziu Echoes]

Also think about if you had to be or wanted to be quarantined of let say 21day. I go with 30 day just because it makes a mouth. I started looking if I could not get out of house do I have all I need. Look at my house I think there some more things I need some more and more varied foods, water and TP where the big one. Also started to think more about what would I do with no or spotty utilities not really a problem with Ebola but you never know. Cooking, waste removal And heating are some of the thing i came up with. I'm not going run out and get a bunch of CBRN equipment unless I can find a good deal no it because as need goes up prices go up but I do plan on getting some more some time.

[avagdu]

Cooking - propane.  Water - 3x 5 gallon containers refilled at water spigots such as gas stations or parks.  When my wife and I were living without running water we used 2-3 gallons per person per day.  That includes water for 12 cups of coffee and 6 liters of water for the camp shower.  The gray water was saved and reused to flush toilets.  If your pipes don't work at all you can use one of these lined with a trash bag full of wood pellets or other absorbent material.  If I don't have a wood furnace for heat I prefer passive methods of keeping myself warm.  Lots of blankets, cold weather clothing.  If you need different water storage options, the WaterBOB and Water Bricks are also popular.  Storing two weeks of drinking water isn't hard, but trying to account for all the other household uses for water you aren't going to able to store more than that without some serious hardware.

[Ziu Echoes]

Currently my plans for cooking off grid cooking is propane.  Which I probably would like to have a little more of. I plan on switching my oven/range over to a natural gas due to the way the "grid" for that works it would be very hard for it to go down even if everything else does. I also looking into some of the single burner butane stove's it seems like if would work out as a viable option probably put up quite a few cans of that.

As for my water I have quite a few of the large 5/6 gallon storage cans although not quite his much as I would like. I can also always shut down my water heater and drain that out for an extra little bit of water depending on what the emergency was. I have looked at the water BOB it seems great but only if you know there's an impending disaster coming. I like the idea of the water breaks however they do seem to be a little bit pricey for their cost per storage gallon.

As for solid waste removal was also thinking about the fact that you do produce a whole lot of nonhuman solid waste in a house I imagine it would be the same even if you're running off grid. Empty cans and packaging and whatnot was mainly what I was thinking of. Really just somewhere to put all of that kind of stuff along with the obvious problems of human waste disposal if need be.

However where I live heating is kind of a big deal for the winter months I have months that average 6F and 8F so far the only solutions are really come up with our infrared propane heaters like the Mr heater brand mostly due to their safety features. I'm probably to go along with us some kerosene heaters to use in places like the garage and basement. I suppose my goal is not necessarily to keep it at room temperature it is to keep it at least above freezing.

[avagdu]

Remember that most if not all of those camping propane stoves can be converted with an additional hose to use the larger 20lb propane tanks which can give you enough fuel for several weeks of daily use. 

Solid waste - besides what I mentioned previously, I prefer to wrap it up in non permeable bags and throw it away.  If you don't have that option I would bury or burn it as discreetly as possible.  As for empty cans and packaging just try to reuse as much as you can to make anything useful and burn anything flammable that is left over.

I plan on buying one of those Portable Buddy Heaters you mentioned this winter.  I expect it to work well but I'll give you my candid review when I get my hands on it.

[D/\taM/\gg0t_mk1]

Avagdu, Great ideas on solid waste removal.  I've got a septic tank, so we use our grey water to flush toilets, similar to your system.

I suggest to anyone serious about water storage to try this.

I've found a local soda bottling company, who offer all kinds of used food grade 55 gallon drums for ~ $18 each. They still have the soda syrup odor in them, so washing with a pressure washer is advised. Water filled to 53 Gallons, and the general rule of 3 gallons/person/day = ~18 person days per barrel. 
For getting water out of the barrel, I use 2 methods.
1.   Hand pump, similar to this: (got mine at home depot)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product//B004XACSIU/ref=twister_dp_update?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Make sure your pump can reach down the 36" to the bottom of your barrel.

Silicone Sealant tape: (way cheaper at home depot) This keeps your pump from leaking at the joint where the hose attaches to the body.
http://www.amazon.com/Nashua-386-Stretch-Seal-Tape/dp/B000TQEX30/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1418398678&sr=1-1&keywords=nashua+silicone+tape&pebp=1418398685466

Get 2x pumps.  2-is-1 and 1-is-none

2.   Since the barrels have a soda odor to them, I picked up some (really long) inexpensive black drip irrigation hose. I use the hose to siphon water from the barrels to drain into my garden from time to time to rotate the water.  Rotating the water isn't necessary; I'm only trying to eliminate the soda residue.
That's it.  Water is inexpensive and storage shouldn't be an overpriced gadget.
<EOL>

P.S.
They also have 5-gallon buckets, lids included for $1.50. I love them for other projects as well.

[avagdu]

Great recommendations, D/\taM/\gg0t_mk1.  Those pumps look handy, I've been using the Super Siphon but I like the idea of your hand pump better.