I realized that I have spent waaaaay too many hours thinking about preparedness an tinkering my kits in 2007 and decided to take a step back in 2008. I've stopped purchasing knives, quit learning funky paracord knots, stopped looking at water filters, maybe i'm just getting old... Even if it was kind of a hobby for me, i'm taking a break from it all. :P

You might want to crack open another beer, for sure, and consider the possible disaster/events that could take place in your area. Keep it as real as possible.

Store some water, some food, lighting gear (candles, lanterns, headlamps, whatever), warm clothing, some means of generating heat (fireplace or a propane heater maybe), and calmly wait it out.

Whatever floats your boat.

I just don't think that it's worth my time, money and energy to prepare for anything worse. Instead, i'm putting those hours in training (and expanding) the search and rescue team I am responsible for, which is more satisfying and... at the end of the day, more useful.