(New material added: 20 September 2007)
Okay, you've read the books by James Howard Kunstler, Richard Heinberg, Matthew R. Simmons and even Michael C. Ruppert. You've seen the DVD so many times you can recite the dialog, and maybe even attended a seminar or two. But are you REALLY a "Peaknik"? Here's a few questions to ask yourself (and maybe smile a bit):
Does "a day in the country" mean restocking your retreat?
Have you packed an MRE in your child's lunchbox?
On your computer, do you back-up your back-ups?
Do you own all the "Foxfire" books? Including the cookbook?
Is your dream vehicle recumbent with battery assist?
Do you shop for tools in antique stores? And used them?
Is your bug-out bag bigger than your TV set?
Does "compatibility" mean you and your spouse use the same caliber ammunition?
Have you ever proposed to a loved one at a pistol range?
Have you filed your wedding gift registry at Lehman's Non-Electric?
Have you even sent a birthday card with a gift certificate from NitroPak?
Is nothing in your house blinking after a blackout?
Have you given freeze-dried food as a housewarming gift?
Do you wince or roll your eyes at the sound of the word "abiotic"?
Do you own more than two bicycles? Three?
Do you put more mileage on your bicycle than you do your car?
Does your coin collection double as your retirement fund?
Are you on a first-name basis with the local Mormons, even though you're not LDS?
Do the local Amish ask you for gardening tips?
Do you own your weight in silver rounds?
Can you recite MRE menus by memory?
Can your children spell "Krugerrand"?
Do you look forward to one day owning a $100 laptop? Have your tried to build one?
When you visit a historical restoration village, do you take notes?
Have you ever rigged up a FidoNet hub with thrift-store PC's running Linux?
Do you consider the smell of compost "aromatherapy"?
Do you give driving instructions complete with GPS readings?
Is every available part of your roof covered with antennas, satellite dishes, solar panels, wind generators or rain collectors?
Is a CB or Ham radio your version of a cell phone?
Does your idea of "horsepower" include a feedbag?
Does the exhaust of your diesel powered vehicle smell like either donuts, French fries, Chinese food, fried chicken or fish and chips?
Is your coffee table made up of cases of freeze-dried food?
Is your First Aid kit so complete that your could perform minor surgery with it? And have you?
Does your cell phone's ring tone play "Eve of Destruction"?
Have you converted your lawn mower into a back-up generator?
When your kids play "Hide and Seek", do they bring along a GPS unit?
Are all your watches and clocks mechanical?
Do you reset your sundial for Daylight Savings Time?
Do you keep the wheels on your house trailer "just in case"?
Do you use hydroponics to grow something other than marijuana?
Is there a parking space reserved for you at the local gun and ammo store?
Do you still hold to your hippy/punk rocker beliefs, but have traded in your protest signs for a shovel and a hoe?
Do the clerks at the hardware store ask you for advice?
Do you get a creepy feeling every time you see a boarded-up gas station?
When Loompanics Books closed, did you go into mourning?
Have you ever experienced recumbent bicycle envy?
Do you keep multiple rolls of duct tape at work...in your cubicle?
Do all your portable radios wind up or have solar panels?
Is all your landscaping edible?
Have you thought about stocking your hot tub with trout?
Do you keep notes when watching episodes of "MacGyver"?
And finally...
Did any of this hit home?