Hello Y2K Early Bird,

I would like to present to you an excellent 1-year Food Supply package. This food is used in restaurants around the country and is of the highest quality. (really it is)

Now for the BEST NEWS! Once you sign 2 people and help them sign 2, YOUR FOOD IS FREE! This can help anyone feed their families.

You could breakdown a 1-year food supply like this...

(1) Feed 1 Individual with 1-year supply of food
(2) Feed 2 family members for 6 months with same package
(3) Feed 3 family members for 4 months with same package
(4) Feed 4 family members for 3 months with same package 

note: NO ADDITIONAL COST to join... just start purchasing your 1-year supply and tell others. As soon as you sign 2 and they sign 2 people YOUR FOOD is FREE!

Thanks for your time,

Greg Embry
http://www.keyway.net/~gembry

-- Greg Embry (gembry@keyway.net), September 23, 1998

Answers

Ohay, Greg...what if you can't find 2 people who will help 2 more people buy a years supply of food? HOW MUCH is it just to buy it outright? Need to know just the dollar amount, nothing else. Thanks, Blondie

-- Blondie Marie (Blondie@future.net), September 23, 1998.

Here's the price... $1395 + Shipping/Handling.

Current Shipping Time: 10 - 14 days (as of 9/23/98)

Here's a little tidbit for you... this company (FPN) primarily supplies restaurants and such with food. For example, Taco Bell uses the un-meat in their taco meat.

You have probably already eaten some of this stuff.

Ok, if your interested than let me know and I can set you up.

Greg Embry http://www.keyway.net/~gembry (see for more details)

-- Greg Embry (gembry@keyway.net), September 23, 1998.

Hmmm.... Maybe you could keep this up for the next six months. If I keep collecting the spam, I should have all the protien I need. (Apologies to Hormel)

-- Mike (gartner@execpc.com), September 23, 1998.

I've been wondering about this for a while, and this is as good a place to ask the question as any. Why does anyone have to look farther than his or her local supermarket for storage food? Beans, rice, dehydrated soups, bouillon, coffee, tea, lemonade mix, Grape-Nuts, raisins, evaporated milk, powdered milk... the list goes on and on, and most of this stuff either lasts for years (beans, white rice) or it's food you'll eat anyway eventually and can rotate, keeping a large stock on hand. It isn't packed in nitrogen, but most of us aren't planning to keep it for a decade.

Incidentally, I'll know when Y2K awareness has hit our town. Dry beans get a tiny amount of shelf space at the supermarket, and the shelves are always full. Once awareness hits 2% I expect them to be empty.

-- Ned (politely@decline.com), September 23, 1998.

I've been wondering the same, and storing food from grocery stores and the local bulk/wholesale places. I cannot outlay $1000 for a year, fully packed like that...can't afford it and won't do ti, cos I am more particular about what I am eating...Canned goods, dry good...rice beans, flours, a garden...that is the way I am going.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), September 23, 1998.

Greg, I hope you get lots of business, and you probably already have, but I am with Ned and Donna. Those of us who are taking the time to prepare already, can be a little more choosy. Cans of soup and Ragu spaghetti sauce that I just purchased have an expiration date of August, 2000. We will be using and rotating both. I have posted this URL before for grocery store food shelf life, but it seems like a good time to do it again for any new readers:

http://www.glitchproof.com/glitchproof/storlifofgro.html

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), September 24, 1998.

I agree with folks. Those of stocking up now can take advantage of our local grocery or health food store. Our rule of thumb is that we're not buying anything that we wouldn't normally eat (that way if the best case scenario emerges, we won't have to suffer our way through our pantry!). We're also following sales closely and stocking up when there are good prices. Just bought a food dehydrator last night for $30 and will start using it soon! Also just bought extra canning supplies since we're not sure how available that stuff will be next year at this time.

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), September 24, 1998.

That's not real meat in my Taco Supreme?

Oh, my god.......

-- lisa (ex-amp@gone.com), September 24, 1998.

Thanks for that repost Gayla! Hadn't seen it before. And I'm planning on going the grocery store route, and buying a TON of canned food (not so hugely different from the present "bachelor's diet", come to think of it). All those cans might also come in handy as ballast in the event of a quick emergency hot-air balloon get-away.

(Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain)

-- John Howard (pcdir@prodigy.net), September 24, 1998.

Hey John:

If TSHTF we can tie your tin cans to my tin cans and start the only Y2K compliant long distance network. (-:

The 2 key points here:

1) Buy stuff you'll use no matter what happens.

2) Buy it at the grocery store.

Of course, nitrogen-packed stuff would be great to have around if the troubles go on for years, but my planning just doesn't extend that far out. I can't even imagine what 5 years worth of supplies would look like, but I'm sure the house is too small. (Hmm... Honey, get that furniture out of the living room. We gotta make room for the pallet racks.)

-- Mike (gartner@execpc.com), September 24, 1998.

Mike, don't laugh... we have one of those "gorilla shelves" in our BEDROOM! It's SO romantic! Each shelf holds up to 400 pounds. It's covered with canned goods. Fortunately, we have a very large room, so it's not in the way. What a home-fashion statement! I'm expecting Better Homes and Gardens to come by any day! :-)

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), September 24, 1998.

Mike & Gayla --

good advice on the canned stuff...been going thru that drill a while now (every time we get a hurricane scare, or the real thing). Just now finishing off the stuff I bought before Bonnie blew through!

I love my heavy-duty plastic floor-to-ceiling tinkertoy shelves from Lowe's...is that what you got? They'd look great if this were a mini-storage. They are compliant though

-- John Howard (Greenville, NC) (pcdir@prodigy.net), September 28, 1998.

But does a Y2K compliant shelf imply that it will satisfactorily bend in Year 2000, or that it will not break in Year 2000?

What about the Time Dilation effect? Does this mean that the warranty is only as good as the company? What effect does time dilation have on the compliancy? Does it bend faster? Does it not bend faster? Not bend slower? Wiggle?

Has it been tested for RTC compliance? Does it have embedded controllers? Embedded clocks? Embedded terminals? Embedded termites?

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), September 30, 1998.

Have you guys tried Lumen Foods?

http://www.soybean.com/cat2.htm

They have the best flavored soy meat replacer (they refuse to call it TVP). We've been ordering from them for about 8-10 years and haven't had any problems. I like their "chicken" and "beef" filets best, although they do have taco flavored ground "beef". . . Great bargains can be had if you order their "fines," the pieces smaller than filet but not regularly-shaped enough for ground--half price. Their regular stuff lasts for about a year, I think (not sure), but they now have a new line of Y2K complete meals (chili, goulash, stroganoff, things like that), rated at EIGHT years, and which cost .30 per serving. I'm awaiting my $200 order. Powdered soy milk, other stuff, also available. I REALLY like their jerky.

Adventure Foods (adventurefoods.com) has some really neat stuff. Not cheap, but has some nice gourmet stuff to take the boredom out of Y2K supplies.

Gayla, do you suppose Martha Stewart is planning a special on Y2K decorating, with just darling cover-ups for open shelves? The mind boggles. Maybe that ad with the credit card mosaic in the pool was part of it. . .

Regards,

Aitch

-- Aitch (jimp7@mindspring.com), September 30, 1998.

Aitch, believe it or not, Karen Anderson of Y2K for women has actually had a "Martha Stewart Y2K decorating contest." She chose 5 winners, but I will just copy the first 2 here. It was hysterical!

Here are the top five winners of the "Y2K-Martha Stewart" Contest! Winner #1: Decorating Tips

Dear Karen,

Oh my, well you know that for simple yet delightful Living room storage, you can place trashcans at either end of the couch, top with round pieces of plywood, and store your extra dry goods inside. This makes a lovely lamp table, especially if you use a mylar emergency blanket as a tablecloth. Simply lovely!!

Cover your 50 lb. bags of beans in tailored pillow cases (stripes trimmed with buttons for that nautical look, you know) and place at the head of your bed for a lovely backrest.

A 5 gallon bucket topped with a pretty sheet makes a fine footstool or extra seat. Gather the fabric around the top and tie with dental floss, and you will have both bedding and clean teeth later.

Enjoy! Tracey

[This does sound so Martha-ish! K]

Winner #2: Humor

Dear Karen,

I don't know if this actually meets the criteria for your challenge but I needed a laugh and a lighter look at things. If nothing else... enjoy! (BTW... it is completely tongue-in-cheek!)

Ladies, in the midst of our preparations for surviving the chaos of the new millennium, we must be ever aware of how we appear to others and the image we project. How else can we be taken seriously and emulated to the fullest extent? I began my personal journey in this by replacing my entire wardrobe with items created from old military uniforms. I created a lovely seasonal wardrobe (we don't know how long this will last after all!) consisting of forest-garb, desert cammies, and arctic-wear. Personally I think the full length evening dress of arctic grays and whites I created in my spare time (I just completed canning every piece of fruit in the state of CO single- handedly this past weekend so I have been pressed for time.) is the prettiest seen thus far. It will be so special for those holiday get- togethers over the kerosene heater and is durable enough to withstand carrying logs for the fireplace. A hostess must be both a delight to the eye as well as maintain a practical aspect.

Now back to decorating ideas... our hay bale home lends itself nicely to a harvest theme. By just adding small accents like flowers you can give the whole house a lift in the spring. I have also found that simply covering a 50 gallon water container with a delightful little cloth allows it to function as a table or lamp stand. And did you know that if you group 6-10 lb. cans together and tie them with cording they serve quite nicely as an ottoman? You may wish to add fabric to coordinate with the entire room. In a pinch, the bags that large quantities of rice, grain, etc. come in, can serve as covers with that "down-home" look. How rustic! Another cute idea I have come up with is to replace our furniture with these bags, while they are still full! Large piles of the grain bags can be arranged in a variety of ways to serve your needs for family living as well as entertaining at anytime! Just be creative! Be sure to back the pieces up to a wall though as they may tip over until you adjust to sitting on this new style of sofa and chair!

We are all sure to have large quantities of candles laying about and this will add to the ambiance of your home. It will also reduce the chances of people seeing dirt and dust which will significantly increase without the use of our vacuums! And the time saved in not vacuuming can easily be utilized in creating a textured look to your walls with egg cartons! That's right! Simply staple, nail, or glue the cartons directly to your walls for added insulation!

Need to have more people sharing smaller spaces to conserve heat but still want to provide privacy? Easy enough! Stack those extra cans of food up as divider walls in any configuration you desire! (A word of caution though for those with toddlers... these walls are not solid and they may not adjust to that before you have had to recreate your dividers a few times!)

Ladies, the ideas are limitless. Don't wait to get started... the crisis may not last long enough for us to try everything we come up with! Let your mind and hands experiment and soon you will find yourselves being the trend setters of the decorator world!

Trish

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), September 30, 1998.