Remember the 52-minute sniper attack on the Metcalf substation in the bay area last year? Of course you don't. It was barely reported when it happened, and when it was highly reported nearly a year later there are still non-believers that it was a terror attack. Instead it was a news story that the "right-wing kooks" put out to try to discredit the government. Remember? It ended up being a Republican Democrat fight rather than focusing on the terror attack.
An interesting thing about it wasn't that 17 transformers were knocked out. What's interesting is that the transformers that weren't powered were not hit and the ones that were running power were. That's not the luck of some random group of nighttime rabble-rousers.
Sure PG&E was able to prevent a large scale blackout but the scary part of this hasn't been discussed. More than 100 shots were fired but not one cartridge was found, they can't trace anything. The weapons had the ability to catch them. No fingerprints on anything. No DNA from anything out in the hills. No hair to test. No tire tracks to trace. No scents to track. No, that's not the scary part. The scary part is that the public has been so nonchalant about this. Never mind that it took out the 911 system to hundreds of thousands of people.
I do not believe that the purpose was just to shoot at this substation. I believe that the purpose was just a practice attack for something much bigger. If this attack was to take out not only the electricity but the phone company, through the loss of power, not only the 911 system but the alarm systems as well, imaging the havoc on San Francisco. No power for the transportation system, the banking system, the water system, etc. I know some of the investigators and this is their belief. That it was a trial run.
What about this week's attack on the grid here in California? What have you heard about it? Nothing? Well, that's because it didn't cause a catastrophe. We're not talking a substation, like last years attack. No, this could have been much worse. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was doing some routine inspections and on some of their main transmission lines the main bolts were removed. This was not accidental. Was the plan was to cause enough tension that the towers or lines would come crashing down domino style? Maybe in a year or so we will hear about this in the news.
Are you prepared for the power to go down? With winter storms there are many that find it routine to lose power. Not here in California though. We complain if the power goes out for more than a few minutes. Last month our power was out for over a day due to a vehicle accident. Sure we were inconvenienced and had to get out the candles and oil lamps during the evening hours. It wasn't much of an inconvenience though as our biggest problem has always been water when the power went out. Not anymore. With timing that couldn't have been any better, we finally had a good hand-pump installed on the well. This isn't one of those cheap things you find at the local hardware store. This is real heavy duty and will last longer than my lifetime. So we actually had some fun during that power outage hand pumping our water.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Dealing with mental illness in good times, how is it going to be if the SHTF?
I love writing my blog. It helps me stay focused on keeping safe and sound. But as most who have followed me know, over the past two years I've hardly written at all. All is good with me. I am trying to continue forward on my plans for this place. I am blessed that I have a good job that provides enough money to cover the bills, put some away for the future, take vacations, and still upgrade and work on this farm. We are doing well with food storage, although there have been many bumps in the road on that topic, which someday I hope to delve into more. What I have not been prepared for is issues with Boy and Girl. Mainly Girl.
It's hard enough for a single grandparent to raise two grandchildren. It's even harder when one of them exhibits extreme signs of mental illness. Girl, for half the time, is a normal teenage girl. I know, many of you are cringing because that's often hard enough on its own. But for those times that Girl is not behaving normal, she is completely bazaar and acts out violently at worst and confrontational at best. Actually 75% of any conversation with her is confrontational. It's very tiring for me!
Some of her behavior has included kicking in the television, stabbing books, destroying our security system (so there'd be no evidence of her behavior!), leaving the hose on all night to flood the yard, breaking dishes, and the list goes on.
Anyway, I packed up many items in the house...pictures on the walls, knickknacks, books, etc. The house is looking bare. On the other hand, it's more like living in previous generations when our homes weren't stuffed with stuff.
She is on medication, and when she takes it she is still unpleasant and self-centered and obnoxious but not destructive. The problem is when she fakes taking it, or takes it and then goes into her room and throws it up. I don't like that she is on meds. I'd like to believe that if you eat properly, get lots of sleep, work hard, and pray, that you will be healthy physically and mentally. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. The type of meds she is on are restricted by the government. You can't have more than a couple months worth at a time. It's really hard to stockpile them.
What would I do if the SHTF and her meds not being available was a reality? I remember a few years ago when the meds for ADHD (and I do believe that most are overmedicated for this ailment) were in very short supply. Instead of being able to get a two or three month supply everyone was limited to a few weeks to a month only. ADHD is the least of Girl's issues. How would we survive her angry outbursts? In a time when we all have to pitch in to survive, she would be a liability. Sure, it's easy to say you won't take in deadweight adults, but what do you do with mentally ill children? So for now, I get her to her mental health sessions and try to keep her on her meds.
It's just ugly around here most of the time. I am constantly challenged to the point that I'd rather be at work or outside in the yard that within 20 feet of her. Great-grandparent tried to soothe me one day by reminding me that I only have five more years until Girl turns 18. Sure, if the house stays standing for that long. Or me, for that matter. That's not how I want to feel. I want to enjoy these grandkids and enjoy life. I have lots to say, we have lots of projects going on around here but this is the main reason I'm not writing. Any suggestions from others who also deal with mental health issues while also trying to prep for an uncertain future?
It's hard enough for a single grandparent to raise two grandchildren. It's even harder when one of them exhibits extreme signs of mental illness. Girl, for half the time, is a normal teenage girl. I know, many of you are cringing because that's often hard enough on its own. But for those times that Girl is not behaving normal, she is completely bazaar and acts out violently at worst and confrontational at best. Actually 75% of any conversation with her is confrontational. It's very tiring for me!
Some of her behavior has included kicking in the television, stabbing books, destroying our security system (so there'd be no evidence of her behavior!), leaving the hose on all night to flood the yard, breaking dishes, and the list goes on.
Anyway, I packed up many items in the house...pictures on the walls, knickknacks, books, etc. The house is looking bare. On the other hand, it's more like living in previous generations when our homes weren't stuffed with stuff.
She is on medication, and when she takes it she is still unpleasant and self-centered and obnoxious but not destructive. The problem is when she fakes taking it, or takes it and then goes into her room and throws it up. I don't like that she is on meds. I'd like to believe that if you eat properly, get lots of sleep, work hard, and pray, that you will be healthy physically and mentally. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. The type of meds she is on are restricted by the government. You can't have more than a couple months worth at a time. It's really hard to stockpile them.
What would I do if the SHTF and her meds not being available was a reality? I remember a few years ago when the meds for ADHD (and I do believe that most are overmedicated for this ailment) were in very short supply. Instead of being able to get a two or three month supply everyone was limited to a few weeks to a month only. ADHD is the least of Girl's issues. How would we survive her angry outbursts? In a time when we all have to pitch in to survive, she would be a liability. Sure, it's easy to say you won't take in deadweight adults, but what do you do with mentally ill children? So for now, I get her to her mental health sessions and try to keep her on her meds.
It's just ugly around here most of the time. I am constantly challenged to the point that I'd rather be at work or outside in the yard that within 20 feet of her. Great-grandparent tried to soothe me one day by reminding me that I only have five more years until Girl turns 18. Sure, if the house stays standing for that long. Or me, for that matter. That's not how I want to feel. I want to enjoy these grandkids and enjoy life. I have lots to say, we have lots of projects going on around here but this is the main reason I'm not writing. Any suggestions from others who also deal with mental health issues while also trying to prep for an uncertain future?
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