Worried about war/working in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked near the white house for a fed agency. Right after 9-11 we were given advice as to what to store in our office in case we needed to shelter in place during a dirty bomb attack. It was like water, non-perishable food, plastic tarps, duct tape. I also always made sure I had tennis shoes at work after 9-11.

It’s a good idea to have a go-bag at the ready: at a minimum, you want two (2) pairs of sturdy but stylish pants, a good pair of scissors, a small bag of coins, a sufficient length of string or twine, sunglasses, 4 AA batteries, and a wig/hat/or other head covering. Better safe than sorry.

What?

Yeah this gave me a chuckle in the midst of a stressful thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

Make sure you have at least one gas car to commute in on, and keep the tank full.

You don't want to be driving an electric car during an evacuation. Ask the folks who had to evacuate during the California wildfires. Electric cars running out of charge and blocking the roads make efficient evacuation really tough.

That’s why keeping a bike at work is ideal and a pair of running shoes. I used to live in NYC and I know one person who did this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

Make sure you have at least one gas car to commute in on, and keep the tank full.

You don't want to be driving an electric car during an evacuation. Ask the folks who had to evacuate during the California wildfires. Electric cars running out of charge and blocking the roads make efficient evacuation really tough.

Gas cars running out of gas also make efficient evacuation really tough. There is nothing especially dangerous or inefficient about an EV in this scenario. Just make sure it’s well charged, just like you’d make sure a car has sufficient gas. If it is, no worries.

The best would actually be a hybrid, since you could avoid gas stations and charging stations. And that’s what Californians seem to be attracted to, given that gas stations became very dangerous during the wildfires.

What's different about an EV is that it's much harder to bring fuel to your stranded car in a chaotic emergency.

Some of those wildfires connect back to sparking/failing electric utility wires which mean the local grid is down.

Also, during massive blackouts, there's no hope of charging your car at a station.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked near the white house for a fed agency. Right after 9-11 we were given advice as to what to store in our office in case we needed to shelter in place during a dirty bomb attack. It was like water, non-perishable food, plastic tarps, duct tape. I also always made sure I had tennis shoes at work after 9-11.

It’s a good idea to have a go-bag at the ready: at a minimum, you want two (2) pairs of sturdy but stylish pants, a good pair of scissors, a small bag of coins, a sufficient length of string or twine, sunglasses, 4 AA batteries, and a wig/hat/or other head covering. Better safe than sorry.

What?

Yeah this gave me a chuckle in the midst of a stressful thread.

Glad you got chuckle, chuckles are useful, but the information is serious. Pants should be stylish because in unpredictable times plumbing is not a given, so adult diapers may be the way to go. In those instances, a more flattering cut may prove to be appreciated. re: Wigs - being able to change or alter one's appearance in order to gain access or egress means wigs are worth their weight in hair, if you take the meaning. Same for mustaches - and it's not about gender "now you see now you don't" is the idea. These are good, don't skimp on quality: https://us.kryolan.com/product/mustache#black

Other go-bag elements: keys, keyring, measuring tape, selection of favorite periodicals, rubberbands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

Make sure you have at least one gas car to commute in on, and keep the tank full.

You don't want to be driving an electric car during an evacuation. Ask the folks who had to evacuate during the California wildfires. Electric cars running out of charge and blocking the roads make efficient evacuation really tough.

Gas cars running out of gas also make efficient evacuation really tough. There is nothing especially dangerous or inefficient about an EV in this scenario. Just make sure it’s well charged, just like you’d make sure a car has sufficient gas. If it is, no worries.

The best would actually be a hybrid, since you could avoid gas stations and charging stations. And that’s what Californians seem to be attracted to, given that gas stations became very dangerous during the wildfires.

Cars running out of gas are not the same as electric cars dying on the side of the road.

You can pop a dead gas car into neutral and easily push it off the road.

A road assistant or DOT crew or even a walker can bring a few jugs gallon of gas, pour a gallon or so into each car, and give them enough juice to get off the road or to the next exit. You can fully gas an eectric car in 5 minutes or less, and go much longer and further. You cannot do that with electric cars. It takes hours to charge them and the range is very limited

Talk to people who tried to evacuate the LA wildfires. Electric cars were a huge issue during evacuations. Gas cars were not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

Make sure you have at least one gas car to commute in on, and keep the tank full.

You don't want to be driving an electric car during an evacuation. Ask the folks who had to evacuate during the California wildfires. Electric cars running out of charge and blocking the roads make efficient evacuation really tough.

Gas cars running out of gas also make efficient evacuation really tough. There is nothing especially dangerous or inefficient about an EV in this scenario. Just make sure it’s well charged, just like you’d make sure a car has sufficient gas. If it is, no worries.

The best would actually be a hybrid, since you could avoid gas stations and charging stations. And that’s what Californians seem to be attracted to, given that gas stations became very dangerous during the wildfires.

Cars running out of gas are not the same as electric cars dying on the side of the road.

You can pop a dead gas car into neutral and easily push it off the road.

A road assistant or DOT crew or even a walker can bring a few jugs gallon of gas, pour a gallon or so into each car, and give them enough juice to get off the road or to the next exit. You can fully gas a gas car in 5 minutes or less, and go much longer and further. You cannot do that with electric cars. It takes hours to charge them and the range is very limited

Talk to people who tried to evacuate the LA wildfires. Electric cars were a huge issue during evacuations. Gas cars were not.

[Anonymous]

Who is that bitter contractor? We were not given has masks lol

[Anonymous]

As someone who has to scrounge for a desk in an overcrowded federal building (meaning I have to find a different place to work each day and don’t have anywhere to leave stuff) it isn’t possible to have a go bag or bike or anything left behind at the building. I must take everything to/from work. I guess the sneakers and some water idea make sense and I can keep those on me in a backpack. But I’m really just left to only what I can carry on the metro.

I’ve lived in the suburbs and been teleworking for nearly 15 years. Now I get to commute into DC to hope I can find a desk and get on Teams meetings with people in other timezones. Now we get the fear of war on top of this absurd needless RTO and I can’t even store anything for an emergency. I hate this administration so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being a smart ass, but use common sense. On 9-11, I worked in downtown DC. When all hell broke loose, I was shocked at how little sense my coworkers had. They were waiting for our boss to give guidance and authorize them to leave. I was 22 and had enough sense to buzz past him, exit the building, and board the empty train.

I got out of DC easily because I left immediately. Rule #1-- leave at the first sign of trouble, and don't be afraid to use your best judgment. Don't rely on the people in charge to have the best judgment in a crisis.

It is NOT common sense to get on a public train during a terrorist attack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being a smart ass, but use common sense. On 9-11, I worked in downtown DC. When all hell broke loose, I was shocked at how little sense my coworkers had. They were waiting for our boss to give guidance and authorize them to leave. I was 22 and had enough sense to buzz past him, exit the building, and board the empty train.

I got out of DC easily because I left immediately. Rule #1-- leave at the first sign of trouble, and don't be afraid to use your best judgment. Don't rely on the people in charge to have the best judgment in a crisis.

It is NOT common sense to get on a public train during a terrorist attack.

Run toward ground zero. They never will expect that move! Psych!

[Anonymous]

Tonight, I’m grabbing my laptop and simply not coming back. I will figure something out with my boss, but I won’t be there. We must use the mind that God has given us. This climate is cruel and unpredictable. We have family, loved ones and lives to live. Do not let the job rule over your life. Take a stand and do not return. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for employment elsewhere if they decide to fire me. I will not be in DC full of anxiety and fear because bombs are dropping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should have good shoes and a backpack with water and a hat. Having to walk out could happen for many reasons, including earthquake / power outage that renders metro and garages inoperable.

The bigger issue is what happens to your kids and pets until you get home, or if you never get home. The RTO crowd doesn't like to acknowledge it but it's necessary to have *someone* near your kid's school or daycare in case of emergency - whether that's a parent, neighbor, grandparent, friend's parent. We're all dependent on having someone not working in downtown DC. Find that person and make a plan that doesn't require you to have cell access to initiate it.

Your argument doesn’t apply to just one city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being a smart ass, but use common sense. On 9-11, I worked in downtown DC. When all hell broke loose, I was shocked at how little sense my coworkers had. They were waiting for our boss to give guidance and authorize them to leave. I was 22 and had enough sense to buzz past him, exit the building, and board the empty train.

I got out of DC easily because I left immediately. Rule #1-- leave at the first sign of trouble, and don't be afraid to use your best judgment. Don't rely on the people in charge to have the best judgment in a crisis.

It is NOT common sense to get on a public train during a terrorist attack.

It was 25 years ago, and I lived to tell about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being a smart ass, but use common sense. On 9-11, I worked in downtown DC. When all hell broke loose, I was shocked at how little sense my coworkers had. They were waiting for our boss to give guidance and authorize them to leave. I was 22 and had enough sense to buzz past him, exit the building, and board the empty train.

I got out of DC easily because I left immediately. Rule #1-- leave at the first sign of trouble, and don't be afraid to use your best judgment. Don't rely on the people in charge to have the best judgment in a crisis.

It is NOT common sense to get on a public train during a terrorist attack.

I have a relative who worked in the Pentagon on 9/11. The metro was shut down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tonight, I’m grabbing my laptop and simply not coming back. I will figure something out with my boss, but I won’t be there. We must use the mind that God has given us. This climate is cruel and unpredictable. We have family, loved ones and lives to live. Do not let the job rule over your life. Take a stand and do not return. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for employment elsewhere if they decide to fire me. I will not be in DC full of anxiety and fear because bombs are dropping.

Crazy thinking.