◆ PARALLAX

Started the final inventory today. Root cellar is solid -- potatoes, carrots, onions all in. Canning jars stacked and ready. I've got two months of staples: rice, beans, flour, salt, sugar, honey. Propane tank full as of last week. Wood for the stove is already split and stacked higher than the shed roof.

For everyone asking -- yes, I will be canning on the 2nd of January whether the lights stay on or not. Might as well have food that keeps either way. The work doesn't care about the calendar.

It's getting close now. Seventy days and change. The financial sector is lying to everyone -- they KNOW more than they're saying. Why else would they be quietly building cash reserves? My read is that the grid remediation is partial at best. They fixed the obvious stuff and left the embedded systems alone because there are MILLIONS of them and they can't possibly test them all.

Water. Everyone focus on water. When the pumps stop, when the treatment plants go down, when the backup systems fail -- that's when the real panic starts. I've already got 300 gallons in food-grade containers. Rotate, rotate, rotate. Don't store it and forget it.

The cash question is getting louder and I need to say this once: withdraw what you need quietly and early. Do it now, not on December 20th when everyone else panics. A reasonable amount per household depending on your circumstances. Spread it across multiple days. Small bills, fives and twenties mostly -- easier to use and easier to hide.

If half the country tries to withdraw cash in two weeks, the banks WILL hit their limits. They will close windows. It will look exactly like a bank run. So move now. And keep it secure but accessible. Not in the mattress where a fire finds it. Not in a safety deposit box you can't reach if the bank is closed.

Ham check-in plan finalized. If you have any radio capability at all, listen on 3.860 MHz at midnight on New Year's Eve, local time. I'll be transmitting every 10 minutes for the first hour. Just a simple "K7 here, grid is up, all stations please respond."

For those with transmit capability: use 3.850 MHz if you can. We're not looking for chatter, just a quick roll call. Know your frequencies NOW. Test them this week. Don't wait until the 31st to figure out if your radio works.

The point isn't survivalism. The point is data. I want to KNOW what actually happens, not guess.

Right then. Let's say I'm right and nothing happens. Let's say the systems hum along, the planes don't fall, the power stays on, and we all wake up on the 1st feeling remarkably foolish.

You've still got two weeks of food. You've still got a working radio. You've still got cash on hand and a plan to stay warm. That prep isn't wasted. It's just... insurance that you didn't need. Which is exactly what insurance is supposed to be.

And if I'm wrong? Well, at least one of us will be smug, and it won't matter much anyway.

The skeptics keep saying "insurance." Fine. But insurance assumes the system recovers. What if it doesn't? What if January 1st comes and the banks are just... closed? Not for a day. Closed. What if the grid cascades and can't restart because the control systems won't talk to each other?

I'm not saying end of civilization. I'm saying MONTHS. Months of disruption. Months of supply chains broken. And by then the people who prepped will be fine, and the people who listened to "it's just insurance" will be very sorry.

Don't panic, but prepare like you believe it. Because the middle ground is where you get hurt.

Final water situation: 500 gallons in tanks plus the spring line from the ridge. Even if the pump fails, I can haul from the spring if needed. It's a day's work but it's possible. For town folks, you MUST have water stored. Fill your bathtubs on the 30th no matter what. Even if nothing happens, you've got water for flushing. It costs nothing.

Temperature is dropping here. Wood stove is my heat -- no natural gas out this far. The propane is backup for cooking. Battery lanterns are all charged and tested. Three days ago I pulled the generator out, ran it for an hour, checked the oil and fuel. It works. I won't run it unless I absolutely have to -- noise carries and you don't want the whole county knowing you have power.

I'm going to be honest. I'm terrified. I know half of you are saying nothing will happen and half are saying everything will happen and I just... I don't know what to believe.

I've got some food, not as much as I should have. I don't have a generator. I live in an apartment in Portland. On New Year's Eve I'm going to my parents' house in Salem and I'm staying there until January 2nd. They have a basement, some supplies, and they're in the suburbs so if something happens to the power grid it's probably fixable faster out there than in the city.

I feel stupid for being scared and I feel stupid for prepping and I feel stupid for everything. I just want January 1st to be normal.