Yes, but we not telephone cleaners. I don’t think we would end up with a leaf based economy.
How would this group ever choose a government? I don’t think we have enough “pathetic sheep” willing to follow the herd. It might be our biggest problem.
I really think capitalism will need to be out for an extended period.
Do elect Representatives?
Do we have short terms or long ones?
Do we have a ruling council?
Do we have a separate judiciary?
Do we have an executive branch?
Do we have direct Democracy on all issues?
Can we keep the bureaucracy small?
Do we have trades groups with each trades group having a Rep?
Do we form a multi-party system?
Do we elect a monarch? (shudder)
Can we function as a rational anarchy?
How big of a problem will religion be?
Do we run a radio station or just dig up 10000 Ipods and similar devices?
Do we get an intranet up and running for use as a news service and data storage?
How do we maintain technologies for the day we’ve used up already manufactured goods?
Can we make pharmaceuticals?
We will need some people to maintain an apiary for Honey and wax.
We should build a large and veryt well stocked machine and carpentry shop to give us the ability to make replacement parts by hand.
Now that I think about it, I make a pretty decent leader. I was a patrol leader in Boy Scouts; all the older members of our patrol left to form the Senior Patrol, and I was left with an unruly bunch of little (even for the Boy Scouts) kids who didn’t want to do anything; I like to think I shaped it up into a pretty respectable group.
I was also a Dorm Chief in the seperation dorm in Air Force boot camp, which was basically 20 or 30 unruly trainees waiting for paperwork to go through so they could get shipped back home. They didn’t do anything right and were a complete frickin’ mess, and someone was always getting the whole dorm in trouble. I was made Dorm Chief the day before I was shipped home, and in that one day I put my foot down, straightened the dorm out and had everyone working and getting things done. Other student leaders had a pretty high opinion of me, as did my TIs, who had a lot of praise for my work when they were talking to people other than me.
So I guess I’m good at controlling unruly male peers. If we end up with a bunch of 17-19 year old boys who won’t do their part to sustain society, I’m your man.
Oh yeah, as far as the military stuff goes, I haven’t touched a rifle or a bow in years, and the last time I fired a shotgun I nearly seperated my shoulder. But I can teach everyone to march in step!
Yup. It’s 75F (24C) here in the summer. When fall rolls around, it drops to about 75F (24C). In winter, we fall to around 75F (24C). The spring is a cool 75F (24C). We have the most sunny days per year of any place in the US except Hawaii, and it doesn’t get as hot or humid here as it does there.
(OK, so it may drop to 60F (16C) sometimes in winter. But that’s not too bad.)
I could probably make a good stab at learning how to do the glass-blowing thing. You just need a vat of molten glass, stands, and several metal pipes, doncha? Well, and the mitts and heat-resistant clothing.
Candlemaking would be just my bag, too, once we’ve got the apiaries going.
Also, for all you guys asking about the pillaging of other womenfolk, what about us single women, eh? Eh? If you get the free ones, we should get to pick some of the menfolk too.
Eric Flint’s actually already hit the problem of gearing down in his 1632 series, btw.
Electricity? Probably best to knock up a dam of some sort and use hydro power, though where I live is notoriously flat. But there’s no shortage of trees on the very edge of Thetford Forest. With some responsible replanting, like what already goes on, a settlement of a few thousand souls need not run out any time soon. Also we have ample supplies of chalk and flint, and some example flint mines to show us how it was done a few millennia ago. England’s short on wild game, but we’re better placed here than most parts of the UK for nice tasty deer.
India? Where I’ve heard the seasons described as hot, hotter and hottest? I’d as soon settle for somewhere a little more temperate, ta very much.
And as for cricket, I’m way beyond “sort of know”. Some cultural elements just need to be preserved, and I can quote chapter and verse on almost any aspect of the sport.
::files the “slow” crack away for… future reference::
** I’m a helluva good cook. If someone else brings the meat to me , I can turn out tasty dishes for the masses.
** I am a great story-teller/writer. I would be very entertaining.
**I can sew a little. Not my favorite thing in the world, but…
**I can train dogs; this would be very useful if we have Doper Dogs running all around. As a plus, my 2 Gordon Setters are semi-trained bird dogs, and would be very useful in putting dinner on the plate.
**I have experience with horses, having owned and trained in my youth. I have arthritis now and can’t ride , but would be ecstatically happy to help with the grooming and feeding. I could give riding lessons to Dopers that don’t know how to ride.
**I am a decent artist, I could do drawings and paintings to keep art alive.
Of course PapSett, I would say everyone willing to pitch in would be welcomed. There would be work for everyone and much cross training.
I would imagine that many of us would find new skills that we would enjoy.
I don’t know how many sailors we have, but I am a fair sailor and good at repairing wooden sailboats. I would think we would at least want to preserve the skill for later Generations for when we run out of gasoline and batteries.
Maybe this will never happen, but it would be a good and fun skill to retain.
According to what you posted following the above, this sounds like a perfect location. If the much anticipated apocalypse doesn’t happen, do you have a spare room to rent?
I think you just volunteered to be in charge of the cotton-picking crew and the crew that cleans out septic tanks. Enjoy.
About the politics: Let’s have four “wards” of about 1,000 people each, with each ward electing a representative. The four reps could then elect a prez. Democracy, Y’all!
Now, the only problem with democracy is that the people who run for office aren’t the ones that should be holding office. Therefore, anyone who campaigns for office will be banned from holding office. :smack:
Election by popular acclaim is the only way to go!
Well Fiberglass will hold up a long time as will the sails. But we can make a wooden Catamaran if it comes to it. More importantly, I think myself and many others could make drawings from existing boats to preserve them for the future when and if we run out of fiberglass hulls.
clairobscur: Okay intranet only for a few hours a night maybe. We need KellyM to keep wikipedia up and running.
