I didn't join up the peace corp. I think I need to be worried about my family first and others second. Don't get me wrong, I'd help others if I can and it won't endanger myself or more importantly my wife. And as for helping others in need... I teach survival courses for free so I'm not really sure what to tell you.

Good man. The 12 gauge in particular. I'm a big believer personally in Remington myself. I have a 700 long action tuned for long distance shooting and another 700 short action tuned for 100 yards.

As for gear, I made a post myself which pretty fairly lays it out.

Some initial disclosure: My hobbies are hunting and mountaineering. Both of my parents are also retired Army.

I have a pretty well prepared plan actually.

We have two weeks of food and water which I check regularly, and being a hunter I have about 500 rounds of dry sealed hunting grade ammunition stored (locked) in the survival bag. I've also had several forms of bush survival classes and I'm extremely familiar with what is safe to eat and natural remedies for various issues. I also have several forms of long lasting antibiotics in the kit. Since I mountaineer you can bet your ass I have foul weather survival gear, also stored and ready to go.

We have three kinds of plans which is something I recommend everyone have:

1) Natural disaster which does not require evacuation. This is the hurricane avoidance type of thing (I live in the Northeast. IF a hurricane reaches us, its probably a A Big Deal). Hunker down, away from the windows, food, candles, extremely reduced dependence on social services such as running water and electricity.

The last two both involve the following: Gear off rack, duffles loaded, ready to move within 5 minutes of the decision to evacuate. Once this decision is made, there is NO argument. My wife is very aware that I switch gears into a mode which I learned from two very serious parents.

2) Natural disaster which forces an evacuation. The biggest question here is knowing when to get the hell out of dodge immediately, versus knowing when to wait for the unwashed mashes to run in panic because they're retarded. Gear is loaded and routes contrary to those being used by mass evacuees are chosen. In cases where this isn't possible, Every police and military station in the area is marked in a map. Short wave radio is already pre-tuned and tested for known open frequencies.

3) Man made disaster which forces an evacuation. Welp. This is it. If this plan is going into effect, there are a lot of variables. Is the air safe? Are the roads safe? Is fallout a concern? The answers here determine whether or not I'm just saying a quick prayer, covering my skin and praying to god, or I'm running. If I can run, my concern and courtesy for others is very limited. I'm the very serious guy loaded to bear and not taking shit from people around me. If I need to survive, my wife and I -will- survive. I am a firm believer in Darwin's theory of evolution and my genes are the alpha ones bud :P

BDD/TDD

Start now, today on your next piece of code you need to write. Make it a goal to not put out any further code without a test harness that BUILDS the code for you. Treat legacy code as a black box. This won't help you today. But it will help you in six months.

Simple suggestion.

Touch and taste and smell are emotions you'll never be able to replace. Sound and sight are easy. Does your wife have a favorite flower or perfume? Try to incorporate those things (particularly a flower or food perhaps) in the time your kids spend with your daughter (you too!) Those associations simply can't be replicated.

Also, if your wife has the strength to physically write with a pen on paper, try to see if she has it in her to write some letters directly to your daughters.