Nothing in particular, my experiences with disaster have all been situational — I walked to another cubicle just before a bomb went off so I wasn’t at my desk when the window shattered over where I was sitting, I was in the Holland Tunnel when the first plane hit on 9/11 then in Port Authority when the second hit, all because I had missed my departing flight earlier that weekend — both events were out of my control but I will admit that the bomb blast helped get my ass in gear so when 9/11 happened I was much better prepared.

With that in mind I think disaster/doom preparedness is really about what you can prepare for. I can prepare for hurricanes, disease and unrest so that’s what I work on. Disease epidemiology has always been a fascination of mine so a lot of my prep focus is related to pandemics. Thus I stockpile medical supplies and medicine, I also grow a lot of herbs — I think botanic pharmacology is essential.

I would love a decontamination area so I am working on adding a stylish outdoor shower next to my barn. I am building a fire pit that can double as a spot to burn clothing. When I have the chance I collect linens and sort them into packs for ease of use. I do have an electric fence that encircles part of my property, the goal is to completely enclose the property next summer with a nice fence. Small boundaries are the key at this point, I don’t need a bunker.

I do have a generator, rain barrels, and a concrete basement cistern. We have a well for water, propane for stove/dryer and oil for our heating — including a water heater. Our oil tank is inside the basement so in the event of a fuel shortage we can protect what we have.

For the future, I ‘made’ one of my guys go through Photovoltaic training so we can start planning our off-grid power supply — high on our list but it is only as the budget allows. There’s security in the works but I don’t want to spend too much time on things I have yet to acquire.”