And they get scared when you are running.

First advice, deep breath.

Second advice, don't be afraid of your neighbors.

Third advice, if your "surprises" are improvized explosives/incendiaries/toxins and/or booby traps of ANY KIND, reread the forum rules. I'm going to say it before the Mods do.

As far as fortifications go, remember that anything that makes it hard to get in makes it hard to get OUT. And people who want in usually have time on their hands; people who want to get out usually don't. Window bars resemble BBQ racks for a reason. Talk to your insurance company, they will provide you serious information about making your home harder to rob and do it for free. But you are a lot more likely to have to get out RIGHT NOW becuase of a fire than you are to have to keep zombies outside.

Also, 1800 gallons of water... Unless you are in desert or Georgia, what can you reasonably see a need of that much water for, unless it is a swimming pool? Two gallons per day per person, plus one per day for doing dishes. Anything over 30 days is either something that by definition you can't sanely plan for, or a situation were relocation is strongly advisable if for no other reason than to maintain your income.

There is a fine line between paranoia and preparedness. I'm normally less blunt with new folks, but based on your first post, I think you're straddling that line or just over it.

Don't joke about it. I've seen plans for using the X10 system as part of a trigger mechanism.

And no, I won't show people where the plans can be found.

Obviously while making preparation for the known or potential problems I have overlooked one. What is the significance of 12/21/12 ??? What did I miss ??

I didn't see household batteries for the flashlights, radios and such. Fire extingushers, propane grill or camping cooktop. If you're trying to prepare for all of the things you mentioned I wouldn't count on nat gas. Most important may be knowledge...a few good books on the subject could be priceless.

As always, Wikipedia is your friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012

Among the notable events to look forward to in 2012, please scroll down to December 21.

A

12-21-12.... oooooooohhhh! Y2K all over again!

And, hasn't Nostradamus already predicted half a dozen Final Ends, none of which have come about?

YAWN.....

Oh, and Eugene, don't store ANY gasoline in the house! One cup of gas, properly detonated (even accidentally) is said to be equal to four pounds of high explosive. (http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlux/energies.htm#GasDynamite)

Sue

I worked Y2K from the tech side- the biggest risk was the human factor. At least a quarter of the prophetic traditions point to 2012 as being a fun year- I'm pretty sure the human factor is going to be interesting that entire year even if everything else fizzles like wet powder.

But you can't prep for an entire year.

au contraire...

http://www.areyouprepared.com/one_year_main_course.html

Gonna get you a T-shirt that says:

My name is BLAST
If you see me running -
try to keep up.