Obviously, us peons don’t have this stuff…
Few things appear to soothe the existential anxieties of the super-rich like a bunker designed to withstand anything short of total nuclear Armageddon. Yet it’s no longer enough for the security-conscious billionaire to stick an impenetrable safe room in the basement where it might sit empty forever. In today’s uber-prime properties, bunkers have gone seriously upmarket and hi-tech, in some cases growing to the extent that whole homes are becoming 21st century fortresses.
“We’ve seen a lot more of a focus on entertainment,” said Al Corbi, who has been at the forefront of secure luxury for 50 years as the president and founder of SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments), based in Virginia, in the US. “If you’re going to be able to survive underground, we want you to be having fun.”
Full article, HERE from CNN.
It seems the ‘paranoia’ combined with unlimited $$$ has definitely changed the scope of what is considered a safe space! Zuckie’s 5000 sqft ‘bunker’ under his Kauai home (that they tried their best to hide from the public) appears to actually be fairly ‘small’ as these things go.
And of course this doesn’t count their ‘security’ forces, etc. etc.
Whereas us poor peons have to rely on ourselves to protect our homes and our loved ones with whatever we have ‘handy’.
But I honestly think ‘we’ have the better end of the stick, as the odds are on our side, and honestly I wouldn’t want to live where I had to be constantly in fear that something would happen and I’d need a bunker to hide in. I like my freedom a bit too much for that!
What say you???
Agree. Comfortable bunker is also a prison. No contact with others you will miss. Loss of wind in your skin, the dawns and sunsets and walking about. I was house bound when I had my heart valve replaced. I did not like it. Would not want to repeat the experience for another two weeks, let alone two years or more. More to life than just continuing to breathe – a reason to continue living is just as important.
If I “HAD” bunker building money , I think I’d build a bunker . But I don’t have bunker money , so I can’t , and I won’t . It would suck though being stuck in a bunker , plus I always thought some persons would shut off my air intakes and smother me . How long are we talking , staying in a bunker ? 2 months? easy , 6 months ? easy, a year ? I’d be getting nutty , 2 years ? , I’m saying F it, I’m coming out for air or whatever awaits me .
Hey , this kinda ties in with the stranded astronauts , sorta , that’s gotta suck . My kid was a submariner nuke , said his crew did 201 days at sea ,mostly but not all submerged , swim calls, steel beach picnics…no beer days , no port calls , he said it sucked , I believed him . After that took a reenlistment bonus , did a shore rotation and took his skills to the civilian world . No qualms from me .
And the security they have could double as “prison guards” without much effort. “Oh no, still not safe to come out!! Better stay in for two more weeks….”
“…. where did that instruction manual go….”
Clearing a bunker infestation with Nitrogen:
Step 1 – Close valves A, B and D
Step 2 – Open manifold access panel MAP3
….
The best defence is a good offence. If I go down, I’ll go down fighting.
Hey Old NFO,
What I prefer is a bunker to put my excess supplies, ammo, ete,ete. What we have that the “Zucks” and other “cloud people” don’t have is fellow “tribe members”, that will help us survive a SHTF situation, to share the burden and work together to overcome what may be coming down the pike. Paid mercenaries will work as long as the money is valid, once the currency is of no value, you are at their mercy…and they will take over your little kingdom and you will be working for them….
Part of the problem with wealth is that others want it – and the more you have, the harder it is to keep secret.
As mentioned above, bought loyalty only lasts so long.
P.S. I’m sure Zuck thinks an island is a great place to be, but there are relatively slot of people there for the food it produces AND it’s strategically significant… Not what I see as a good idea in the long term!
I think this depends on what you’re protecting yourself from. The likelihood of anyone reading this blog getting raided by a SWAT team at three in the morning is, at best, improbable. Sure, it could happen (Larry Correia, for instance) but Larry is far removed from a typical peon.
What I’m most worried about is fire control. Flood is not much of an issue where I live. Tornadoes are a reality, but you’ll likely have just enough time to think, “Holy Shit!” before it’s all over but the six hours of rain. So – collect your grab n’ go stuff and let the cops help you find a cheap hotel.
Fire control is a much different story, and although I have several fire extinguishers I think they are a bit small, and one needs recharging.
Should the bad guys be foolish enough to attempt a break in, my first call is to my lawyer, my next is to a family member, and by that time the dust has settled and the SOBs have stopped leaking all over my carpet. Bastards. Oh well, insurance – right?
The one percent wealthiest are building hard point living conditions, and they don’t do that for the same reason you’ll buy a gaze ball and put it in your front yard. What do they know that we don’t?
I’m no bunker expert, but I believe they would only be useful for the short-term – perhaps hours or days. Power, air and egress are the most vulnerable aspects of bunkers. Any power supplied from the outside can be cut. Air intakes/exhaust for internal generators can be blocked. Air intakes and exit points for occupants can be blocked. Unless you have guaranteed security for all these topside, a bunker can easily become an expensive coffin.
Hawaii may be isolated but the natives do not like haoles, nor can the islands support more than a fraction of the current population without constant deliveries by ship. I was stationed at Pearl Harbor for a while and little things like Christmas trees were a surprise: One set of containers of already browning trees, and when they were gone, no more trees until next year.
The truly rich live different lives with different requirements, we don’t need bulletproof Kevlar sheathing around the security center for the house or full-time one-to-one security for our wives/husbands.
DAMHIK
Bunkers have their uses.
For short natural disasters? Yes.
For bad spicy kinetic times? Yes.
But… Shut your darned pie-hole about said bunker, whether it be a tornado shelter or a safe room in your basement (or elsewhere in the house) or a full-fledged bunker.
A secure place to stockpile stuff? Great. Make sure the food is actually edible and not most of the ‘survival’ food crap that is out there. Water, make sure that is potable and safe. Power, batteries are great for a few days, but then what?
Seriously, great ideas. Just like all those fall-out shelters not in direct target zones from the 60’s.
But. Shut yer trap. Loose lips sink ships. And expect that if SHTF, you and yours are doing it alone. You and yours can’t rely on hired guns and staff unless they are fanatically loyal.
And, yes, I’d have a bunker. Of my dreams. Underground, with an indoor shooting range (box culvert construction.) A tunnel complex leading to smaller bunkers on the perimeter made out of sewer pipes and storm drain collectors (commercially available and easy to use/waterproof.) Every room has a gun cabinet with the basics, guns are standardized throughout (rifle, pistol, shotgun). I’ve been thinking about this since, oh, say, 15 years old. It’d be fun to try to build it.
All- Thanks for the comments and yes, ‘different’ perspectives from our side of the fence… Beans, interesting…
When it truly hits the fan these fancy bunkers with all the amenities will be the new home for these rich idiots “security forces”. Because when money means nothing rich people become less than worthless. They will be among the first sacrificed.
Fortifications are monuments to man’s stupidity.
Gen. Geo. Patton
Natives stuff air intakes with brush. Apply match.
“Security forces” share contents with their cousins and uncles.
Death-traps unless you are integrated with locals at a very deep level.
A bunker with wifi and satcom internet. AFTER a nuclear Armageddon?