Alternative Modes of Transportation: Part Six& Adlibbed Part Seven Surviving a Electricity Crisis/Zombies Apocalypse

ELECTRICITY CRISIS, ZOMBIE-LIKE VIRUSES
& THE CYCLE RICKSHAW

Buy A Cycle Rickshaw/Pedicab Here

I knew I wasn't going to make it through these stories without some mention of zombies. In this blog post I will be discussing the threat the looms in the distance, the coming solar flares or CME's of 2012-13, and an entirely random article I found on National Geographic a couple weeks ago. What links them you ask? The Cycle Rickshaw or as it's better known The Pedicab.

Most people don't know that the sun ultimately controls whether or not our electricity continues to function properly, but it does. A powerful solar flare could literally wipe out an entire electrical grid taking weeks or even months to repair. Don't believe me? Click Here, because it's happened before. That solar storm may be very small in comparison to what is coming.

In 2012 we will be heading into our next solar peak. Seeing as though recently solar activity has been more powerful then it was previously, scientists as well as NASA have warned the the coming flares may have an effect on our electricity grid. So lets jump right into the doomsday scenario:

You're home and it's the morning, year 2012, you are minding your own business as breaking news hits the TV. "A Massive Solar Flare has occurred knocking out..." and then the TV shuts off. But then you start to realize its not just the TV it's everything. Nothing in your house works, so you go outside for answers. In the streets your greeted by hundred maybe even thousands of citizens who are wondering exactly what you are "What the fuck just happened??!?!" But no one seems to know the answer. As a person who's experienced a blackout before you head to the store to stock up on supplies, yeah- you and about a million other people. Greeted with massive lines and enraged people you realize your chances of getting everything you need are extremely low. From the back of the store someone shouts. And than another, and than another. And before you can even realize it you're in the middle of a riot and wherever you turn there's widespread panic. You make your way out of the store only to realize that this might be the end. You didn't see it coming this way, but hey that's Murphy's law for ya. You decide in this chaos your best bet is to head home and wait for some kind of information from the Government. But how will you get such information? How will the government get such information? Surely the President is sitting in his dark oval office asking his team the very same question "What do we do?".

It's this type of scenario that disgusts and enrages me. Please excuse my arbitrary self-proclaimed reporting skills, if what I write bothers you- feel free to leave. Very few people are even prepared for fucking tomorrow. The world has a "We'll take it as it comes" view nowadays. Good Luck with that. Whilst you are in panic, I'll be living it up with my extensive disaster kit complete with a seemingly endless supply of water, playing with my iPhone, and figuring out what going on for myself. 'Cause that's what kind of person Disaster Girl is, I am determined to be a survivor.

So what method of transportation will you chose? Probably your car. Sure you'll have gas for a little while, but I bet you didn't know that the pump they use at the stations are run using ELECTRICITY. Wow, whodda thunk it? So while your kicking and screaming at the gas station I'll be peddling by on my Pedicab, complete with two back seats for the fam.

In times of an electricity crisis or zombie apocalypse, you are going to want a form of transportation that is small (cars will likely be abandoned on the street, making them inaccessible to larger vehicles), can be maneuvered easily, and of course is self powered. If you're just one person, I still recommend this- you may want to help someone along the way. Even if you don't consider helping someone else out, you'll still need the back for all your supplies.

Happy Surviving :)

P.F.S. The Govermment will come around eventually, although by the time help does come it will probably make the Katrina response time look good.

xoxo disaster girl

Alternative Modes of Transportation: Part Four & Five Surviving a Tornado/Hurricane

TORNADOES, HURRICANES & THE TIV

A Tornado Intercept Vehicle is a reinforced automobile used for storm chasing.
Courtesy of Wiki

In 2006 I survived a tornado that touched down near Sullivan, Missouri. Every since I have been obsessed with becoming a storm chaser. After all, while everyone else was running to the basement to seek shelter- I was outside admiring the view and saving as many animals as I could. (Don't Go Trying this Please, even I can admit this was very stupid of me.) This, I believe is what spawned my love for disasters and weather. I've always loved unpredictability, and weather is certainly one of the few ways you can make a career out of it. In the years after this incident, I began funneling (ahaha) my time towards The Weather Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the History Channel.

One of my favorite shows on TV today is Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel. This is where I found the Tornado Interception Vehicle or TIV. Created by Sean Casey Of IMAX in 2003, the TIV & TIV II are vehicles designed to drive extremely close or even into the path of a tornado. I believe that they should reconsider naming it a SIV or Storm Interception Vehicle as this vehicle could not only be used for tornadoes but for monitoring hurricanes that make landfall as well.

So, there is no better way to be above ground moving and still manage to stay alive during these two storms other than a TIV. I wish I could take credit for this but I can't. Certainly if you wanted to build your own TIV you could, just don't rip off Mr. Casey's design. Maybe you could even use that Organic Material I was talking about in my Tsunami bit for the outer shell. This would certainly make the vehicle one of a (my) kind, :).

In test conducted by Mythbusters, the TIV II was able to survived in wind speeds of 250 MPH- Quite an accomplishment. Through research I've come across the highest wind speeds ever recorded for a Tornado and a Hurricane. Currently a Tornado in Australia is the highest ever recorded coming in at 253 MPH. As for a Hurricane, they ring in at about 200 MPH.

P.F.S. The TIV took 8 months to build and 40 welding students. Don't Go it Alone.

Happy Storm Chasing & Don't Get Yourself Killed ;)

On another note, if you don't wanna see the storms, you could buy one of these. They're a great investment, and have tons of purposes like surviving a terrorist attack, hurricane, tornado, or for a life as a hermit.
Buy A Beehive Bomb Shelter

P.P.F.S. A bomb shelter will not protect you in a tsunami, as the air ventilation system would likely fill with water. It also won't protect you from a volcanic eruption, even if the shelter did survived the magma you'd likely just be Pompeii V.2.

xoxo disaster girl

Alternative Modes of Transportation: Part Two & Three Surviving a Volcanic Eruption/Massive Earthquakes

VOLCANOES, EARTHQUAKES & PLANES
OH MY
The Yellowstone Caldera is the world's largest Supervolcano and one can only speculate how devastating its eruption would be. Obviously the closer you live to Yellowstone, the lower your survival rates will be. I, on the other hand, live literally on the edge of the East Coast, so my survival rates are high- for the most part. Volcanoes are tricky, because they come with Pyroclastic flows AKA Ash Clouds. Avoiding a volcanic eruption is seemingly easy as long as you aren't anywhere near it.

Earthquakes are pretty easy to get around too, unless you live in California. If you do live in California- close this page & move the fuck out, this is my best and only suggestion. Hopefully you understand that you won't be John Cusack in "2012", you will most likely perish only to be remembered by your extremely tiny dog and the bank account you left behind. Anyways, methods to surviving earthquakes are fairly easy. Get off the Ground! Completely!

Volcanoes and Earthquakes are extremely different, but ironically your best way to avoid and escape these disasters are identical. You will have to act quick, and one can only guess what is quick enough. You will also need to prepare ahead of time, as this isn't something you can truly master without extensive practice.

 

Click Here to Look up Local Flight Schools

If Yellowstone blows, or we start experiencing Earth Crust Displacement (A Theory by Charles Hapgood, Supported by Albert Einstein), the only place you want to be is off the ground. Your best measure? Learn to fly. In Apocalyptic times, Martial law will be enacted, and small airports that aren't around anything will most likely be forgotten. Finders keepers I say, because chances are- the owner of that plane won't be coming around anytime soon. He's probably on some Military vehicle, thanking god that he's gonna make it out alive... Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

If the apocalypse comes around and martial law is enacted, HIDE. Do not run to authorities. Martial law means ALL your liberties that you took for granted on a daily basis are null and void. You have no liberties. I don't know about you, but if I had no liberties or rights, the last place I'd want to be is on a Military base, begging for my one phone call.

So learn to fly, and learn everything you can about everything. This is the information age people, and you literally have the world at your fingertips. Use the internet to research what's going on in the world. Use it to map seismic faults. Use it to learn which Volcanoes are active, and which are overdue for an eruption. Use it to enlighten yourself, instead of further dumbing yourself down. Stop watching MTV shows, and do something constructive with your time. "Teen Mom - Amber" and "Snookie" from the "Jersey Shore" won't be your tour guides in the apocalypse, you will be. You won't trust yourself if all you're worrying about is if your poof is high enough.

P.F.S. I don't really trust American media, so when push comes to shove, check the U.K. news outlets like B.B.C., they have no reason to lie to you after all. I'm paraphrasing this only because I can't find the actual quote, Henry Burke (Ciaran Hinds) in Race to Witch Mountain says something to the effect of this: Why would the American Government take out the Conspiracists when they're correct? Doing so would only make the American people believe what they were saying.

P.P.F.S. No vehicle works when ash is falling, so make sure you get the hell out of there before it shows its ugly face.

xoxo disaster girl

Alternative Modes of Transportation: Part One - Surviving a Tsunami

This is one of my favorite topics to talk about, so excuse me if I seem overly excited about this one guys. Most people would do the unthinkable in a disaster and get in their car and attempt to leave. Make no mistake, if you do this you won't get very far. As of a 2007 Census report there are approx. 247 million registered vehicles in the United States, do you really want to be 1 in 247,000,000? Do you honestly think that you will get more than a mile in a disaster? You won't. You probably won't even be able to pull out of your own driveway.

This is another issue that I can only provide guidance in. These methods are greatly affected by what area you live in, as well as the climate. Some of my ideas haven't even been thought of by other disaster fanatics, which surprises me. In my opinion these are some of my best ideas and will probably requires little tweaking on your part.

TSUNAMI'S & THE HUMAN BUBBLE

I hear people in NYC say all the time "We don't have to worry about tsunami's, we have the some of the tallest buildings in the world." or "Tsunami's don't hit the big city." ::dumbfounded:: People are retarded. But that's what you get from a society that focuses more on disasters being a film plot rather than an actual occurrence. Buildings are not meant to withstand tsunami's, no building is ever designed with a "Tsunami Contingency Plan". If a building does happen to remain standing after a tsunami, it's probably just luck or the land elevation playing a huge factor. You will not survive a tsunami by getting to the top of the Empire State Building, you'll just die of exhaustion running up those stairs. Unfortunately, most people will die in tsunami's- even the prepared.

So what's my mode of transportation with such low survival rates? The Human Bubble. You know you've seen that ridiculous commercial for Huggies with the mother who doesn't want to expose her child to outside elements, so she brings the kid to the park in a human bubble. These human bubbles will be anyone's best chance of surviving the unsurvivable. Conveniently, there are human bubble's available for purchase on eBay's marketplace, usually ringing in between $600.00-$1500.00, however these bubbles only provide a frame for an Apocalyptic Human Bubble (Phrase Coined by Yours Truly).

Now there are some tweaks needed to make this idea work. Firstly you would have to create a light weight coating to make the bubble as indestructible as humanly possible. Obviously Kevlar is out because of its weight. Thankfully scientists in Israel have begun to solve this problem for me and started to develop the Hardest Organic Material ever made by scientists, which is also ultra-light.

Secondly, we'll have to find a lightweight way of completely sealing the opening so no water can penetrate the inside of our bubble- however I am still iffy on my conclusions on this one. First I was thinking caulking, but tsunami's are strong and caulking is weak. Typical measures used in spaceships and submarines would not qualify as they'd probably require an actual door and can weigh quite a bit, and we are working with a bubble. I suppose you could cover the door with a twice as large piece of aforementioned material and cover the back of the overlapping material in a sticky waterproof substance. This step will require a lot of testing, for some reason Mythbusters is coming to mind.

Lastly, oxygen. Arguably the most important part of this product, as you all know a ball can not float on water without air in it. So you'll have to get yourself the lightest oxygen tank available I suggest DeVilbiss Walkabout Mini Oxygen System weighing under 4 lbs, and giving up to 4 hours of oxygen, which I believe is enough time to survive a tsunami.

If this idea seems to complicated for you, you could always build yourself a fucking Ark, Good Luck :-P

P.F.S. If you build this, and it works, make sure you have your money with you. Chances are you'll end up hundreds of miles from where you started. That'd be a long ass way to go in a glorified hamster ball.

xoxo disaster girl