I don't think survival preparedness is considered fashionable, at all. And I haven't noticed an uptick in preparedness in the past year. Certainly not post-apocalyptic survival. Perhaps if the television show "Jericho" had higher ratings and stuck around for a few seasons that would change.

There's always been hoarding around snowstorms and hurricanes. Surprising there's not more hoarding going on now because of the rice shortages headlines and, even worse, reports of pending doom in the form of hyper-inflation.

Awareness of the need to prepare for lesser crises probably is greater in the past decade, though still not anywhere near the level it needs to be. There's a federal government web page -- ready.gov -- devoted to it. Y2K, 9/11, anthrax, northeast blackout, Katrina, Rita -- took place in the course of just a few years. So there are more people with duct tape, plastic sheeting and N95 masks shoved in the back of a closet or in their basement, somewhere.

Because of historical discoveries in the 90s, the Pacific Northwest is being educated on its vulnerability to a massive earthquake and coastal towns there now have tsunami evac routes. Californians' earthquake preparedness comes and goes with tremors. Because of the James Kim family's horrible experience with being stranded in their car on an Oregon backroad, many more people became aware of how tenuous survival could become during such a seemingly routine roadtrip. Recently the mid-Atlantic and northeast states have seen and read news reports of their vulnerability to hurricances and the fact that these areas are overdue for a huge storm.

Yet, I am unaware of any of my friends being as prepared as I am. That's simply because I'm the one with most of the camping gear. Despite the many wise posts on this forum, I haven't made any special effort to store extra food or water, except for my dog (my only "dependant"). I always keep ample canned soup on hand in case I'm stricken with the flu. Since 9/11 I do top off my gas tank every Sunday and won't let it go below half. That's because I live in DC.

In the early 90s, while I was gearing up for camping, we were hit with a week of severe ice storms and rolling blackouts. Ever since I have been conscious of the survival utility of camping and hiking gear. More recently I've become aware of the notion of "bugging out" and my bikes and bike trailers assume new significance.

But do I see increased preparedness around me? No. But perhaps there are closet survivalists among us. That would indicate that such survival preparation is not fashionable.