Seriousness and navel-gazing all at once

I remember in december 2004, sitting in a hotelroom in Jordan, not being able to leave the tv, watching the wave, the complete lack of information, how the moment comunicationlines and roads block, people are on their own.

And now I read (have stopped see telly) about Japan. It is heartbraking. Earthquake, tsunami, and now nuclear contamination..All in the space of a week and in the middle of winter, when spending the night outside is not a very good idea, and no heating can and probably will have it's own deathtoll.

And here I sit and can do nothing. As I can do nothing with other people in need in other places either. (Other than donating money.)

It is really frustrating.

And how do one go back to navel-gazing from this?

It is easy. We humans are all navel-gazers. So I think what would one need to live for a week without any governmet help after a disaster? Water. Small calorie-stuffed items to eat. A small camping cooker. Bicycle for being able to move. Rugsack for holding calories and water. Blanket. Plastic sheet to use as roof in case of rain. Paper and pencils to write. Swiss army knife. And the book "How to catch pigeons and other city dwelling animals with swiss army knife devices" so that I have something to cook over the gas.

The guy in Man vs. Wild should have a program for how to survive in these realistic settings: tsunami, earthquake, storms, in a city enviroment. Far more probable than accidentally getting lost in the amazonas or finding yourself alone on the plains of Iceland with nothing more than some matches and a knife. If you set out into the wilderness of Iceland with so little stuff, quite frankly: You brought your problems on yourself. Idiot!