Acronyms to Live By

Or WTSHTF and It’s TEOTWAWKI Will You Be SOL Or LOL? 

by Sheri Dixon

The Internet is a wonderful thing.  Or a terrible thing.  Depending on the user, and the day, and the attitude of the user at any given moment of any given day. 

Personally, I couldn’t see what the Big Deal was back when my husband started making noise about getting a computer.  My entire computer experience up to that point had to do with playing solitaire without shuffling, finding Carmen San Diego, and doing general office stuff on an internal network. 

For the first few months after the new refurbished computer came to reside at our house, I dusted it and looked on with bemusement as hubby hunted and pecked his way across the ‘net.  It was cute. 

Then one day, he said “You know honey, we can get email now - wanna set up an email account?” 

My horizons grew, and I began to spend time on the computer keeping in touch with people I used to have to actually TALK to on the phone. 

I can’t remember the exact moment I discovered Google, but I do know it was life changing and historic, mainly for my husband, who hasn’t seen his computer since. 

Before you feel TOO sorry for him,

a)     He introduced me to the computer in the first place.  If he had just continued his hunt/peck web surfing, my house would be clean, the yard would be tidy, and this pile of laundry wouldn’t be threatening to avalanche down on us - even I can only play so much solitaire, and after a while you cease to be concerned about Carmen San Diego - she’s a big girl, where she goes is really none of OUR business, and

b)     I did take pity on him and purchase him a shiny new laptop computer one Christmas along with a wireless router.  While I am sadly tied to one spot (at my desk in the comfiest room of the house, but STILL….) he can roam at will throughout our domicile and if he REALLY wanted to, could even surf the ‘net from the Throne Room, if you get what I mean… 

Along with learning the ropes of ‘net surfing and the finer points of computer ownership and use (don’t be deceived, I still can’t tell a megazilch from a gigahurtz), I found I needed to learn a whole ‘nuther language - Computer Acronym. 

In the beginning it was confusing (is DH Dear Husband or Dancing Hamster?), and it seemed I was always waiting for others to BRB - from what I could gather, they were picking up their A’s from the F after L-ing them O. 

With the general (trend, downturn, spiral, tanking, apocalyptic cataclysm- the adjective will change according to the reporter) of the economy, more and more the acronyms WTSHTF and TEOTWAWKI are making their way out of the realms of the Furtively Glancing Tinfoil Hat Wearing in an Undisclosed Location (or FGTHWIAUL’s) crowd and into the general Mom and Pop Just Trying to Do the Best We Can With What We Have (a.k.a.  MAPJTTDTBWCWWWH’s) ‘net where I hang out.  WTSHTF and TEOTWAWKI are usually accompanied by flashy advertisements for all that leftover Y2K stuff that (thankfully) was produced to never go bad. 

So what to do about this universal Call to Prep?   How much is hype, how much is true, how much is fanned by those REALLY needing to empty their warehouses of all the stockpiled cases of MRE’s, and what is your gut feeling reaction to the happy knowledge that we won’t have an answer till the reality is full upon us?   

In general, Homesteaders are a thrifty lot. 

We’ve learned to use, re-use, re-tool, re-work, re-pair and re-do every single item till it’s gasping for breath and begs to just be re-cycled and be done already. 

We don’t pinch pennies, we suck them completely dry. 

We’ve been saving for rainy days since we heard the story of The Flood in the church nursery, and are such experts that Noah could’ve done well to consult us while packing. 

So the sudden Mainstream News about Living Green, Being Frugal, Self Sufficiency and Sustainability is not really News to us at all- it’s our lifestyle. 

 (continued)

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