Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Absolutely hilarious article in The Soaraway Sun

From here, I had to keep checking it wasn't the print version of The Daily Mash:

Computer repair man Larry Peters, 42, is convinced a giant solar flare will strike the Earth at the end of THIS YEAR, knocking out communications, energy and food supplies and resulting in worldwide anarchy.

To give his family the best chance of emerging from this "catastrophe", Larry has joined in the US phenomenon of "prepping" — stockpiling food and water and teaching his kids, including nine-year-old daughter Lily, to HUNT and GUT animals. Larry has also kitted out his family's three-bed terrace in Cornwall, to cope with every eventuality.

"Food, water and power are all in place. I'm ready for it. In a way I want it to happen. Humans need a fresh start. We've gone too far from our old ways and need to return to nature. Solar flares are from the sun — energy particles sent towards the Earth. These flares have the ability to disrupt human technology such as radar, radio, mobile phones, the internet — everything modern society depends on to keep running. By the end of 2012 a huge flare is predicted that will wipe all this out. It will be a total breakdown of society, complete anarchy. Lots of people are going to die."

He said: "Seventy-five per cent of my day is survivalist. I first became aware of prepping a couple of years ago. I came across the website of the American conspiracy theorist and former wrestler Jesse Ventura. He wrote an article about governments building underground bunkers in preparation for solar flares. I watched his documentary and conducted my own research online."

The family still shop at Asda for essentials such as milk, butter and cheese, but each time they go they buy something to squirrel away for the impending disaster. So far they have amassed 20 tins of potatoes, 15 tins of carrots and peas, 15 tins of steak and kidney pie and 100 tins of beans. They also have 12kg of pasta, sweets for the kids and their water store. They even have half a pig, which they slaughtered themselves, in their chest freezer.

As summer approaches, the family plan to install a wind generator and solar panelling. Larry said: "We plan to stay at home but we would use the Mitsubishi 4x4 if we had to 'bug out'. Bugging out is when you leave your home to survive. I believe the safest place in Britain would be Scotland, as there is more space and fewer people."

But one member of the family does not buy into the philosophy — 12-year-old Jago. Larry and Shelley have to disguise their wild food as shop bought to keep Jago fed and happy. Jago said: "I like to play Xbox. If there was a solar flare I would be shocked. I don't eat wild food and I hate gardening. I leave the room if they start talking about a solar flare. I really don't like it."


On being shown the two-page article in a national newspaper, Jago ran out of the room screaming: "I hate you! You've ruined my life! My friends might see that, for f-'s sake! Oh God!"

15 comments:

Macheath said...

Back in the days of 'Protect and Survive', my father flatly refused to consider the recommended precautions, saying he had no intention whatsoever of surviving if it meant living in a country populated by cockroaches and bunker-protected local government officials.

These days, he would probably have added armed survivalists to the list.

Bill Quango MP said...

100 tins of beans.
that'll teach him.

Why exactly does he think society will rampage when ultra modern technology is wiped out.
rather than end up back in cavemen times surely we'd just revert to about 1870?

Steam trains, carts, lever cranes, iron, steel, sail, canals and high street local shops.

The boost to employment would be huge. All those actuaries, book keepers, clerks, paper hangers, tanners, skinners, bottle washers etc.

might even end up needing to increase immigration.

Barnacle Bill said...

Typical emmett giving us Cornish a bad name.

Us Cornish are that full of the old glow in the dark stuff (radium) a solar flare would just turn us critical!

Old BE said...

Hilarious.

I've just been watching the first series of The Walking Dead. Great programme. Larry would love it.

My favourite lodger spied a bit of it and said "if that ever happened I'd run to the nearest police station".

I was thinking "I'll top myself so I don't have to live in a world populated by the dickheads who've survived"...

Dick Puddlecote said...

You know he's a cast-iron basket case when they turn the comments off. Can you imagine?

Mark Wadsworth said...

BQ, how do you mean back to 1870? Worst case, back to 1970 or thereabouts. It wasn't so bad, back then.

John M said...

Did he buy enough tin foil to keep replacing his hats?

Chuck said...

http://survivalandprosperity.com/2011/08/03/dilbert-the-prepper/

Sobers said...

You all laugh, but look how much trouble a few hundred (or maybe thousand) disaffected youths caused in London and elsewhere last summer, and they were just after Nike trainers and designer leisure wear.

Imagine the scenes when millions are penniless and hungry because the financial system has collapsed and the supermarket shelves are bare as the food cannot get there as the computer systems controlling the just in time deliveries has collapsed.

While the destruction of all electronics by a solar flare might in theory only send us back to the 60s or 70s, getting there from here might be a bit of a problem. Anyone got a car that doesn't have an electronic brain, or a lorry similarly, or a oil refinery that doesn't rely on computers to control it? How about there being enough cash for everyone to buy and sell in again?

The point is that while a solar flare event would be sorted out eventually, there would be an initial period of chaos, probably violent chaos. If you live in an urban area and have never considered such events and what you would do to protect yourself and your immediate family, then the chances are you might not survive. Mr Peters probably would survive.

The chances of such an event happening are small. But not zero, and the consequences thereof are immense. We have heard Nassim Taleb bang on about Black Swans in the last few years, its a bit stupid now to laugh at people who are taking high impact/low probability events seriously.

Mark Wadsworth said...

S, sorry, nope, it's little Jago I feel desperately sorry for. It must be bad enough being called "Jago" let along being dragged into a national newspaper like that.

conrad said...

How long is hlaf a pig in the freezer going to last once the power goes out? A week tops I'd wager. Oh, and I didn't see any mention of how they plan to cook once the Flarepocolypse strikes. Mmm, cold beans and raw rancid pork for dinner Jago?

A K Haart said...

Jago is right - he has pillocks for parents. Call the social worker.

Mark Wadsworth said...

C, about as long as it takes a better-armed nutcase to shoot them all and take it?

Sarton Bander said...

It's like I say to Gold-Bugs. When you need gold you'll need shot-gun shells and farm land much more.

TheFatBigot said...

Look, this isn't difficult, the chap has named a child "Jago". Fruitcake of the first order.

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