[The Reaper]

Good plan, Larry.

I would suggest that you also consider developing a rest plan so that not everyone crashes at the same time. No point in becoming incapable of clear thought because you ran too many days without sleep, or having no one awake because they all burned out.

Also, I would be extremely wary of candles. Far to easy to take a bad situation and make it much worse. Firefighters will tell you how many houses burn down from fires started by candles every year. You can pull a vehicle battery and run a few 12v. tail light or marker bulbs and recharge it the next day, run flashlights and electric lanterns off of rechargeables and put them on charge during the day, or consider some old fashioned kerosene lanterns. Excessive light and loud generators will attract a lot of attention when the lights are out, so you may not want to overdo it. Could be a good chance to bond with your neighbors, or to lure in some undesirables.

An inverter will allow you to run small AC loads from your car's charging system. The ones that plug into the lighter socket are convenient, but do not put out much power. The ones that connect to the battery are more powerful. This could be a backup for a small generator, but running a V-8 or V-6 auto is not a very efficient way to make electric power.

If you have a side burner on your grill, you already have a way to cook the basics without electricity. You can boil water, heat a pot of soup, or put a griddle on and make breakfast. Get an extra LP tank or two to keep on hand, since I always seem to run out in the middle of grilling, or better yet, if you have a larger LP tank for your home, get a $12 adaptor to connect your grill and you should be able to cook a lot of meals before running out.

I have seen people who would rehearse by turning off their power at the main service panel and the water at the meter on a Friday night, and practice home camping till Sunday afternoon. 48 hours without power and running water can teach you a lot about your needs. Even six hours could be a valuable learning experience in a benevolent environment. I would suggest keeping a pad and pencil handy for notes, because it will really make you think about how many things you take for granted that you will want to have before the next rehearsal.

One final thing to consider when planning and preparing is how many people you plan to put in your lifeboat. Too many, and you may not survive, too few, and you may regret not helping more. Like a lifeboat, you cannot save everyone, and you may not want to risk your own family trying to help the unprepared.

Anybody else have a plan?

TR