# American Blackout this Sunday...



## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

...on the National Geographic channel. This is a made-for-cable tv movie about what happens to a group of people after a cyber attack takes out the power grid for a period of 10 days. 

The previews and articles seem interesting. We'll be watching it.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

I just found some old NG shows on youtube. I wonder how long before it will show up there. What I'd like to see is what happens in the Northeast if the grid goes down for over six months. That's the reality of a Carrington Event or greater.


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## Palmetto1 (Sep 15, 2009)

Awesome, thanks for posting!


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Oh.. I do hope it comes on twice.
It is messing with my Walking Dead, don't you know.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

chickenista said:


> Oh.. I do hope it comes on twice.
> It is messing with my Walking Dead, don't you know.


LOL I was jus gonna ask if it conflicted with TWD


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Darren said:


> What I'd like to see is what happens in the Northeast if the grid goes down for over six months.


Maybe you mean you'd like to *know* rather than *see*. 

6 months of no power in the US will result in about a 90% die off.


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## SmokyShadow (May 19, 2007)

Thanks for posting this. I don't watch much tv and would have missed it. 

If you go to the Nat Geo website to watch the trailer, there are several preview mini-clips on the right , as well. 

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/american-blackout/videos/american-blackout-trailer/


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## SmokyShadow (May 19, 2007)

chickenista said:


> Oh.. I do hope it comes on twice.
> It is messing with my Walking Dead, don't you know.


You got your wish, they have multiple showings scheduled:

SUN OCT 27 9PM ET
SUN OCT 27 11PM ET
TUE OCT 29 7PM ET
WED OCT 30 1AM ET
SUN NOV 3 10AM ET
TUE NOV 5 3PM ET
WED NOV 13 9PM ET
WED NOV 13 11PM ET
WED NOV 20 5PM ET

Does Nat Geo usually re-show movies this often, or are they trying to send us a message?


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

OooOh wonder if it will be on Netflix.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

SmokyShadow said:


> You got your wish, they have multiple showings scheduled:
> 
> SUN OCT 27 9PM ET
> SUN OCT 27 11PM ET
> ...


Yes, they usually show them several times. Especially when a channel films it themselves.


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Living through Sandy, I've seen what happens. #1 priority after Sandy was coffee. Seriously. There were lines for coffee before there were lines for anything else.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

SmokyShadow said:


> You got your wish, they have multiple showings scheduled:
> 
> SUN OCT 27 9PM ET
> SUN OCT 27 11PM ET
> ...


Whew- I was worried I would have to choose between and of course TWD would win LOL


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

I wish I got the Nat Geo channel, perhaps Amazon Prime will have it in the near future.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

TnAndy said:


> Maybe you mean you'd like to *know* rather than *see*.
> 
> 6 months of no power in the US will result in about a 90% die off.


Actually, seeing might be better for the country in the long run.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I'll be watching the show too, but it's really hard for me, living out here in the country, to think of massive amounts of people actually dying because the grid goes down for just 9 days. That's what we call "January." Ice storms/snow storms come around about every Jan./Feb. here, but don't recall hearing of anyone dying from them, unless they had a bad car wreck. I know, I don't live in the "real" world...thank goodness!


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

I was just going on here to post info on this show when I saw the OP. I too think it will be interesting and hopefully educational for many. CDC will have preparedness commercials during the show. 


"Sunday night the National Geographic Channel is debuting a movie chronicling what happens to five groups of people during a 10-day power outage. From blackouts to natural disasters, there have been over 60 wide-scale power outages since 2000, affecting hundreds of millions of people. To help viewers be ready for an emergency, CDC has teamed up with National Geographic to air preparedness message during the movie. Find out more: http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2013/10/american-blackout/ "


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## JV_FL (Oct 12, 2013)

I am currently overseas in a 3rd world dump without access to NatGeo...Hope to catch reruns after the New Year. Sounds interesting...just wonder if CDC involvement will make it hokey.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Nine days would be tough for a lot of people but very survivable for most. Six months, however, is quite another story. 

As long as there is water to drink, most would be alive in 9 days even if they had no food for a week with possibly a higher death rate if it were below freezing temperatures outside. At 9 months, if you haven't worked out a way to maintain a food and water supply without the grid, you'll be deep six, you're outta there, Bud, the groundhogs are bringing your mail, dirt nap time.


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Annsni said:


> Living through Sandy, I've seen what happens. #1 priority after Sandy was coffee. Seriously. There were lines for coffee before there were lines for anything else.


Around here it was fuel for the generators. Ct, Ny and Nj tags flooded our small town.

Matt


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## Ohio Rusty (Jan 18, 2008)

Lived thru Hurricaine Ike and no power for 5 and 1/2 days and the big Derecho event a couple years ago where Ohio was out for 5 days to two weeks in some areas. 
No big deal on my end. If the power goes out it's just an inconvenience for a bit. It's like Y2K in Southern Ohio 3 or 4 times a year anyway. Storm comes thru.... tree falls on a powerline in some remote BFE hollow or valley somewhere ..... usual case is 3 to 4 days to get power back ...... 
No power ??? no big deal ...... We're all preppers and self reliant people on here. A puny power outage should not have much effect on your life style. If it does, then you need to change that so future events won't turn your life upside down ....
Ohio Rusty ><>


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

We've been thru a 10-day power outage twice already. A bad ice storm in the 80's caused one and the floods of 1993 caused the other. It really wasn't a huge deal either time. So it will be interesting to see how they ratchet up the drama for this movie.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Yes, I think for most of us that frequent this site, 9 days to 2 weeks without power would be an inconvenience, at worst. BUT, I'm hoping that many, many people who have no concept of prepping will learn something from this show. I've been letting as many folks as possible know it's going to be on, whether they are prepper-types or not. I really hope they do a realistic, scary movie, not a hokey fantasy show. The grid is a fragile network, and losing it for a lot more than 2 weeks is a real possibility. The more people who have their eyes opened and actually stock up on water/filtration, food, etc, the better.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

We went through a 16 day power outage back in 05. A tornado took out over 150 power poles, most of which were in fields that were flooded by the accompanying foot or so of rain. The power companies just couldn't get out there. They kept getting their trucks stuck. No big deal really. We ran the genny long enough to keep the freezer cold and spent the rest of the time cleaning up.


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## Grumpy old man (Aug 6, 2013)

:help: Well.... Just how many of you all are really prepared for a 6 month off the grid episode if it happened while you are reading this thread ? Do you have food /fuel/shelter /alternative heat/heavy warm clothes /medical supplies /coleman multi fuel lanterns /personal protection ???? I would venture to say 95 % would be cold ,hungry ,and unable to care for themselves in 3 days or less .Now I'm talking about a flat out power outage that would last months ? Would you hunker down with your neighbors until the food ran out ? Would you head south just to be warmer ? if your neighbors started showing up and wanted you to feed and house them would you ? and if so how many would you feed not knowing how long it all would last ?


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## sand flea (Sep 1, 2013)

Well.... Just how many of you all are really prepared for a 6 month off the grid episode if it happened while you are reading this thread ? Do you have food /fuel/shelter /alternative heat/heavy warm clothes /medical supplies /coleman multi fuel lanterns /personal protection ???? I am, and yes all that and more.

I would venture to say 95 % would be cold ,hungry ,and unable to care for themselves in 3 days or less .Now I'm talking about a flat out power outage that would last months ? Still OK.

Would you hunker down with your neighbors until the food ran out ? Several of us garden, fish, hunt and collecting sea food is pretty easy too.

Would you head south just to be warmer ? We are south.

if your neighbors started showing up and wanted you to feed and house them would you ? and if so how many would you feed not knowing how long it all would last ?

We tend to check on each other; get together monthly for picnics/cookouts; and are all in our own houses in the neighborhood.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

I admit to calling DISH and changing my program so I got Nat Geo again!!! Can cancel after 30 days with no fees. We do like having Discovery,TBS,AMC..I can now watch the Dead!


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## TripleD (Feb 12, 2011)

Grumpy old man said:


> :help: Well.... Just how many of you all are really prepared for a 6 month off the grid episode if it happened while you are reading this thread ? Do you have food /fuel/shelter /alternative heat/heavy warm clothes /medical supplies /coleman multi fuel lanterns /personal protection ???? I would venture to say 95 % would be cold ,hungry ,and unable to care for themselves in 3 days or less .Now I'm talking about a flat out power outage that would last months ? Would you hunker down with your neighbors until the food ran out ? Would you head south just to be warmer ? if your neighbors started showing up and wanted you to feed and house them would you ? and if so how many would you feed not knowing how long it all would last ?


 Man you ask alot of questions ! ? How about telling the rest of us if you have any holes in your preps first....?:hysterical:


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## SupermansBabe (Aug 29, 2013)

Superman used to throw fits over prepping. Claimed it was a waste of money - uhm excuse mw? That is until the last outage that went for days and we were snowed in. He went into such a panic! How would we stay warm, what would we eat, etc., etc..

My biggest problem was dealing with his panic. I think a lot of people will do stupid crap that can get them killed.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

About 6 or 7 years ago we also had a big icestorm that took out power lines all over Oklahoma. We were out of electricity for 14 days straight. We did alright as far as food, water, and warmth goes as we had a chest freezer full of goods, and a box stove with plenty of wood cut. We done a lot of cooking on top of the wood stove. 

But, however, we were going crazy when night time would come. It would get dark about 5:30 in the evening and all we had was a few candles to light up. Which didn't light up the place very good at all. All the darkness would make us sleepy and we might fall asleep very early. But this would make us wake up about 2 or 3 O'clock in the morning. Then we would still be in the dark with nothing to do. We would try to stay awake till our regular bedtime so we wouldn't have the tendancy to get up so early. With no t.v. or music, we was going crazy around here. So on about day 11 we took off to town and found us a Generator to take home with us. That really helped out for another 3 days till the power came back on. 

So, as long as it's summer time I think I could survive not being on the grid for 6 months. But winter time would drive me crazy!


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

Did anyone watch the show? I know my kids wanted to watch it. We enjoy roughing it. 
And for grump old man. Yup were ready. My neighbors are a large family of preppers. We have a plan in shtf. There is one crazy neighbor that will have to be removed. I'm talking crazy!


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

I thought the show was good. I didn't think it was overly cheesy although there were a few parts that made me :yawn:. 

I told lots of people to watch this show. I ended up having a good conversation with my brother and his wife about the movie which morphed into a prepping discussion. I was surprised to find out that they are like-minded and are more prepared that I thought. 

DD #1 watched it with me and she was asking some questions... and I think her mind is changing for the better, too.

I think there was a lot of footage used from actual disasters in recent years in the movie to illustrate the hardships and mob mentality.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

We started watching then had Pastor stop in for a visit so missed 90% of the show. I will watch for it in reruns. 

We could manage fine without electricity as long as we have our natural gas as we have a natural gas generator. No ng then we'd be struggling, but we'd survive. We have a kerosene heater and kerosene stored, battery and kerosene lamps, Coleman stove or could build a cooking fire in the fireplace. Fireplace is pretty much worthless for heating more than one room. Plenty of food.

We've been thru 7 to 10 days without electricity in the past before we had a generator and we survived. One time the temps were down to 0Âº F.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Seemed pretty realistic about the dangers. Noted the others times they'll show so my boys can watch. Interesting part when the boyfriend snuck out to feed the neighbors....might be a caution to know who you are inviting into your shelter. How far would you go to protect your family/food? In a real SHTF scenario it wouldn't have gone done like the movie. All the preps in the world can't save you if someone compromises your preps. We preppers might tend to be smug but all could be taken away easily but determined hungry people.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

Mutti, I also thought that the boyfriend's actions were interesting and I felt angry towards what he did, too. He clearly didn't understand the significance of the situation and his actions.

But at the end I found it amusing how when he was holding the rifle that he was saying the same things as the dad said earlier in the show. I guess he learned something.


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

well, i will not be riding any elevators, if i can help it lol, the dad sleeping and having the little boy on guard was kind of stupid i thought. there were grown ups that could have been on guard late at night.


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## Grumpy old man (Aug 6, 2013)

Many on this site are ready or working towards being ready , Many people who live in the cities have no clue .


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

I felt that it was a tad unrealistic when after the "news reports" about the thousands and thousands of transformers that were blowing up across the country, the fires, no coal at electrical plants and damage done to the country's infrastructure that all of the electricity would magically come on all at once across the country at the same time after only nine days.

If the "reported" damage was true I would think that it would be weeks if not months before electric service was repaired across the country. And I really think that is a conservative estimate.

The yuppies were the best though in their level of ignorance. Wanting to sue someone when the lights came back on because they lived on the 46th or so floor and there were no back-up generators to keep their champagne and salmon chilled and the elevators running and then upset because no one would accept his "platinum card" for payment for a $40.00 bottle of water.

"Dude, there is no electricity to run the card swipe thingy!"

The prepper guy not knowing his neighbor at his bug-out site I thought was a little unrealistic also.

There were other things that I felt were a little strange, but I do not want to ruin it for those who have not yet watched the program.

TRellis


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## Jan in CO (May 10, 2002)

So glad they are replaying it more days. Had to be gone and completely spaced out having dh tape the program. 

We've had extended power outages when all the power poles were snapped off in the dead of winter. We were fine, but a neighbor about a mile or two away had a fit, took her children and went to the city to stay in a motel. Just a minor bump in the road for us. I do need to increase the amount of water we have stored, tho!


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

Annsni said:


> Living through Sandy, I've seen what happens. #1 priority after Sandy was coffee. Seriously. There were lines for coffee before there were lines for anything else.


Just increased my coffee stores to 25 pounds.

Got sixty .308 rounds for good measure.


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Rick said:


> Just increased my coffee stores to 25 pounds.
> 
> Got sixty .308 rounds for good measure.


Good. Protect that coffee.

I just could NOT believe the number of people out needing coffee. The grocery store where my girls work had a generator and they plugged in a small machine. There were no less than 30 people within 5 minutes of getting the machine going. After dropping them off, hubby and I drove around trying to get cell service and anyplace that had power and coffee had lines out the door and down the block. Not a line for gas, not a line for water. Coffee. They needed their drug.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Just repeating what I have heard many times;
There is many very large transformers that are only built overseas.
In "normal" times they take a year to get delivered.
In a case like the whole country is down, . . .use your imagination as to when one of those big trans would / could get to where it is needed........

Can only imagine that it is the "bean counters" that balk at having spares of those million dollar transformers on hand.....


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

What angered me was the girlfriend who whined "why isn't anybody helping us?". The theme seemed to be present, but unspoken, throughout many of the situations. What was she doing to help herself?

It seemed the one person who was prepared was purposely made to look like nut, like many are portrayed on Doomsday Prepper. I agree with many above, his planning and methods were poor at best, but wonder if it was purposely done that way to denigrate preppers in general.

Too many unrealistic things to mention, so I'll just give it a 2 out of 5.


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

From what my ds seen, it will air on Netflix . November 3 or 13.


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

myheaven said:


> From what my ds seen, it will air on Netflix . November 3 or 13.


Actually, it will air again tonight, Tuesday, Oct 29th, on the Nat Geo channel.

TRellis


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

TRellis said:


> Actually, it will air again tonight, Tuesday, Oct 29th, on the Nat Geo channel.
> 
> TRellis


I dont have tv. And on the natgeo. Com will not show it. So gotta wait for Hulu or Netflix.


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

myheaven said:


> I dont have tv. And on the natgeo. Com will not show it. So gotta wait for Hulu or Netflix.


Sorry!!! I did not realize that.

TRellis


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Interestingly enough, today is the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy hitting the New York area and so I asked on Facebook what people have changed or done since then to be better prepared. So far everyone has said "nothing".


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## ImbriD (Aug 23, 2010)

Hey all. Don't post much but wanted to chime in on this one.

On quite a few boards I've seen the show and Nat Geo being bashed for how they portrayed the prepared guy and how this was meant as a bash to those who prepare, etc.

What I took away from this guy was how not to act. This guy had his toys and he was going to play king of the castle. Now seriously ask yourself, how many of us have you encountered with his mindset or worse? Me personally, many.

What if instead he'd have invited in his neighbor and split the food he had set aside as food he could lose. Then show him how barren the house was, that they were sleeping on the floors and pretend like what you see is all we have. They might have ended up with a friend and ally rather than a deadly enemy. 

Many country folk respond well to some good christian charity. Instead, what did the guy do? Get defensive and hostile proving they had something to hide to a neighbor and a local. As a result, that guy would never know if his neighbor was the type that would come back next week asking for more or come back next week with some fresh eggs or fresh venison. What would it have cost to find out but a bit of food he was prepared to lose (and did) anyway.

If they guy came back asking for more, then tell him you saw what we had and now there's nothing left. If he doesn't believe you then react.

I can't speak for Nat Geo but I took this as a learning experience rather than a jab. Sorry if this post offends, hopefully it wont, but if this post opens some eyes and gets people to see things from a different point of view then it did what it was intended to do.


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## cast iron (Oct 4, 2004)

Looks like it is available on youtube now.

I was going to post the link but haven't had a chance to watch it and don't know if it has any HT censored words in it.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I think the "prepper" did look somewhat silly, for instance, why weren't ALL the older kids & wife trained & carrying? The good thing about it is, that it showed that even though they didn't have it "all" together, they were still better off than most who had done NOTHING. I definitely agree that they should've done as the above post said and been a bit "neighborly" about it from the beginning thus reducing the risk later. 
Over all I thought it was a pretty good show to inform the "clueless" WHY they should even think about being prepared. Will they now? I seriously doubt it. I've talked to family members about it and they always have their excuses, don't have enough money, time, etc. Then they always end with, "I'll just come stay at your house." My reply is always the same, "I only have enough resources to take care of MY immediate family, I can't afford to take care of yours, anymore than you can afford to take MY family on vacation with you."


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

ImbriD said:


> Hey all. Don't post much but wanted to chime in on this one.
> 
> On quite a few boards I've seen the show and Nat Geo being bashed for how they portrayed the prepared guy and how this was meant as a bash to those who prepare, etc.
> 
> ...


I hadn't thought of it that way before. I can see how it could be a lesson on how not to act. Personally, my first reaction was "what a doofus". We've been doing our best to create relationships with folks nearby, especially those who have mentioned things applying to prepping.

Thanks for the perspective.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

puddlejumper007 said:


> well, i will not be riding any elevators, if i can help it lol,


I work on the 8th floor and am getting too old for stair climbing every day.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

ImbriD said:


> What I took away from this guy was how not to act.


My friend has an auto repair shop, he has a sign there that reads "All our customers make us smile, some as they arrive, others as they leave."

Lessons can be learned from everyone, some in the negative.

Still have not been able to find this online.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I watched the 2nd hour of the program and I have to agree with the prepper guy- was pretty much - a "how not to prep" 
like the child doing night watch~ noone else trained with firearms and seemingly not on board- 
what the heck?

I know we have great relationships with all our neighbors and have been showing them how to prep- and we all have different skills and get along nicely


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

I think it would be ok to post the link to the show (someone said it was on Youtube now?). I don't recall any bad swearing.


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## hurryiml8 (Apr 15, 2009)

Ozarks Tom said:


> What angered me was the girlfriend who whined "why isn't anybody helping us?". The theme seemed to be present, but unspoken, throughout many of the situations. What was she doing to help herself?
> 
> It seemed the one person who was prepared was purposely made to look like nut, like many are portrayed on Doomsday Prepper. I agree with many above, his planning and methods were poor at best, but wonder if it was purposely done that way to denigrate preppers in general.
> 
> Too many unrealistic things to mention, so I'll just give it a 2 out of 5.


They made the prepper guy(Carol's husband) on The Walking Dead into a horse's behind, too. And then he was eaten. I think the trend is to make preppers look irrational. 
I think the power came back a little too easily too.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Pretty sue if this scenario went down we wouldn't have power for years. When a severe storm takes workers coming from surrounding states to get things up why would we imagine that we could have everything back up in a few days. Unrealistic. 10 days is Hollywood magic.

Unfortunately the majority who need to see this never will. And many that do see it will continue on with their lives thinking that can't happen to me. Check the news and see the Sandy-like storms ravaging Britain, Ireland and surrounding areas right now.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

How many of us have been without electricity for a week? We were out after an ice storm for 7 or 8 days and life went on pretty much as normal. Of course, we had water/sewer so that problem didn't affect us. But no heat and temps down to zero. We have a gas stove so could cook and use the oven to warm things up for an hour here and there. Fortunately it was sunny each day so good solar heat gain from our south facing windows. We didn't run out of food or lamp oil and had extra lamp wicks to loan the neighbor. Refrigeration definitely was not a problem!! Stuff from the deep freeze went into coolers in the garage. Refrigerator stuff was used up quickly or moved to a cool spot in the house of which there were plenty. 

What was amazing is how most people were so ill prepared that they left their homes when the streets were so dangerous. And what is terrifying is in actual fact most people are ill prepared. Its absolutely stupid not to have at minimum at least a week's food in the house plus several gallons of water. I also hope it encourages people to do at least that amount of prepping, but doubt it will.


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

When I was 12 we had a tornado hit our town. Took out power for 7 days. My mother is one of those people who just sit and whine poor me ,give me give me, do it for me. We suffered greatly for no reason. Just she didn't want to lift a finger. 
That left a huge impression on me. Set a drive in me that no matter what situation hit we would make it. There is always a way to provide for my family. Make do and not do without. 
We had no water, all our food went rotten cus she sat and sobbed. I was on my monthly and we had no supplies. I suffered greatly. We had no water. Toilets didn't flush. It's all still very vivid in my mind.


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## IndyGardenGal (Apr 5, 2009)

A week long power outage really pushed me into becoming more sustainable. I did think they brought up a good point that peppers need to be more discrete. The family they showed that bugged out had the neighbor asking for food and saying he saw them bringing things in all the time. Seems like a poorly chosen bug out spot, if people are close enough to notice.

Not to mention, you don't give a 10 year old a 2am watch.


Sent from my iPad using Homesteading Today


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

Our recording cut out early!! Can anyone tell me what happened with the prepper family or the kid in Houston? Last we saw, the prepper was going out to confront the fuel thieves and the kid in Houston had locked himself in his apt. I'm thinking we're missing the last five minutes.


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

Cindy in NY said:


> Our recording cut out early!! Can anyone tell me what happened with the prepper family or the kid in Houston? Last we saw, the prepper was going out to confront the fuel thieves and the kid in Houston had locked himself in his apt. I'm thinking we're missing the last five minutes.


The youtube video of it got posted today so you can watch the ending of it there.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sp...eparedness/499618-those-who-dont-have-ng.html


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## Grumpy old man (Aug 6, 2013)

i just watched it on you tube and all i can hope for is the stupid inept die fast .


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Just watched our recording of this last night, DH says he wants 2 hours of his life back! <g> 

Besides the silliness of all the power coming back at once I think they captured how many Americans would react and how unprepared many are. Made me feel very happy I don't live near any big urban centers. And don't ever get in an elevator. 

It also drives home the importance of community and neighbors which appeared to be lacking in the whole show. 

It did get me thinking more about holes in my preps and the possibility of fire. Not that I'd be leaving candles burning unattended or have 20 burning in one room!


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

In summary, I think this show would really only benefit sheeple who have the potential to have their eyes opened. 

Those of us who have had our eyes open for a long time won't discover much worthwhile in this program, except maybe what NOT to do.

I was entertained, but that's because I love cheesy disaster movies.


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## Glade Runner (Aug 1, 2013)

I thought it was OK for a NG special. Some interesting things going on and a fairly realistic view of what would happen with such a massive power outage. The ending was quite cheesy. The prepper guy and his family made me think about my own preps. The guy had done some good things but he also had massive holes in his strategy. Makes you wonder what kind of holes are in your own strategy. I would say that if I went out to have an armed confrontation my wife would definitely have my back, not be lurking in the bunker to see what happened.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

It was like watching a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. I kept looking for someone with some common sense. Dumb me for wasting my time doing that. 

I think all elevators should have an emergency light that doesn't require electricity. All elevators should be equipped with a manual of what to do in an emergency shutdown and an outside phone line to report the outage. 

All buildings should be required to have emergency hall lighting and stairs if more than one level. All emergency exits should have operational doors that work from inside out without a key/lock being used. 

Covered outdoor shelters should be provided throughout the urban landscape.

Indoor shelters should be designated and well known to the public for gathering after disasters as central meeting points to find lost family/friends and share information. These areas could also serve as set up points for emergency care services for food/water distribution and medical prep care. 

Everyone should know well ahead of time where these emergency areas are in their urban/metro setting. 

I still think big cities should require that everyone carry a 3 day food/water supply with them at all times when out in the public. If NYC can waste everyone's time trying to pass an ordinance against sugary soft drinks then they can find a new focus and educate the public on the importance of keeping an emergency pack close by.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

soulsurvivor said:


> It was like watching a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. I kept looking for someone with some common sense. Dumb me for wasting my time doing that. *But in the cities that's exactly what is going to happen, because they are not prepared.*
> 
> I think all elevators should have an emergency light that doesn't require electricity. All elevators should be equipped with a manual of what to do in an emergency shutdown and an outside phone line to report the outage.
> 
> ...


.....


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Oh I can see it now . . . .Mayor Num-nuts Bloomflop appoints commission to determine what the REQUIRED MANDATED contents will be for the 3 day MANDATED kit.
50 million will be spent in this quest..........


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

soulsurvivor said:


> I think all elevators should have an emergency light that doesn't require electricity. .


 How would that work?



soulsurvivor said:


> All emergency exits should have operational doors that work from inside out without a key/lock being used.
> 
> .


 Already required by law. All emergency doors must be open-able from the inside without key/lock. They may or may not have an alarm.


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## susieneddy (Sep 2, 2011)

I thought the TV show Revolution shows what life is like without power eep:


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

ALL emergency lights in buildings are to run without electricity. I know at our church, the lights come on the second the power goes out and they stay on thanks to batteries. It gives us enough time to secure the building, make sure everyone is safe, etc.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> How would that work?
> 
> Already required by law. All emergency doors must be open-able from the inside without key/lock. They may or may not have an alarm.


You're right. There's an International code that's used for elevators and here's how NYC has adopted that code for the cities' building structures:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/bldgs_code/bcrs18.pdf

I think the American Blackout movie was an eye opener for the public at least in emphasizing the importance of being aware of your surrounding situation. Perhaps everyone can take the positive approach and learn from the obvious mistakes as portrayed in the film.


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## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

Annsni said:


> ALL emergency lights in buildings are to run without electricity. I know at our church, the lights come on the second the power goes out and they stay on thanks to batteries. It gives us enough time to secure the building, make sure everyone is safe, etc.


Batteries produce electric, it is not grid tied electric but it is still electric. I alos doubt that they have a big enough battery source to run the lights for more than 24 hours


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

bassmaster17327 said:


> Batteries produce electric, it is not grid tied electric but it is still electric. I alos doubt that they have a big enough battery source to run the lights for more than 24 hours


Yep but if there is no electric, you won't be using an elevator. At least with the emergency lights run on batteries, you hopefully will be able to see enough to get out and be gone before the batteries run out.


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