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Plan 9 From Outer Space


by turfgrrl


August 29th, 2008 · 11 Comments

It’s somewhat unfortunate that Norwalk’s Emergency preparedness education effort chose the cult name “Plan 9″ for the serious idea that there are 9 things that every household should have on hand for an emergency. The Ed Wood film, Plan 9 From Outer Space, is legendary–maybe for providing Don Rumsfeld with ideas for quotes. How can we forget, And remember my friends, future events such as these will effect you in the future…. Look, up in the sky, it’s a plane, it’s a bird, it’s a saucer! 

Saucer?! You mean the kind from up there?

Yeah… or it’s counterpart… it was shaped like a huge cigar… 

Norwalk’s Plan 9, alas, offers no aliens, zombies or B movie plots to kick off the weekend. Instead, according to the Hour, 9 essential items to have ready for a 72 hour events are:

Food, water, clothes, medicine, a flashlight, a manual can opener, radio, hygiene items and first aid material.

What, no duct tape?! Other items you might want to include, Maps of the area, flashlight, batteries, a fire-starter, toilet paper, and stuff to entertain you for a few nights in an emergency shelter. Reading material, cards, or all the personal documents that may be lost if your home gets wiped out by something, like the walking dead aliens from outer space.

Remember, electrical outlets will be few and not available. So any gadget that requires an electrical cord might not be able to be recharged. Having a spare fully charged battery for your cell phone might be a good idea.

Tags: Norwalk

11 Responses so far “Plan 9 From Outer Space”



  • 1 MGeake // Aug 29, 2008 at 8:05 am

    What, no clip from the movie?

    I’m so disappointed!

    ;-)

  • 2 Anonymous // Aug 29, 2008 at 8:33 am

    Don’t forget a handgun to keep those pesky zombies away. Might need it if McCain gets elected…

  • 3 Anonymous37 // Aug 29, 2008 at 8:38 am

    Here’s a clip of a puppet cat portraying Martin Landau portraying Bela Lugosi (a little grainy):

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfeJgP7gCYk

    Is that too far removed from your original request?

  • 4 Anonymous // Aug 29, 2008 at 8:43 am

    I love that movie. RIP Martin Landau. Anyone remember him from Mission: Impossible (the 60’s series) where he acted with his wife, Barbara Bain?

  • 5 anon // Aug 29, 2008 at 9:10 am

    They now sell flashlights that recharge by a cranking handle. Some of these rechargeable flashlights also have usb ports that will let you charge other items. A crowbar is also a necessity, along with a small toolkit. A rifle might be preferable to a handgun. They are easier to legally obtain, more accurate for a beginner, and can also be used to hunt small animals if food becomes a necessity if the situation becomes desperate. Fire extinguishers are a must also.

  • 6 #2 Take Note // Aug 29, 2008 at 1:56 pm

    “Don’t forget a handgun to keep those pesky zombies away”

    REMEMBER THE FIRST RULE ON ZOMBIES.

    YOU HAVE TO SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD

  • 7 Old timer // Aug 30, 2008 at 11:31 am

    In another thread, somebody wondered out loud how the City could let the fuel tank for the emergency generator at the police station to get so low that they had to call for a middle of the night delivery during a power failure when the generator was powering the police station and the 911 system. Hard to believe the same people are telling us how to plan for an emergency.

  • 8 Norwalker // Aug 30, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    Old Timer, they’re not the same people. Emergency management is an arm of the Fire Dept. Although the operations center is located at the police station, it is up to that buildings facilities manager to maintain the equipment.

  • 9 Old timer // Aug 30, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    Blame it on the janitor ? Are you serious ? If there is emergency management at any level in this City, somebody there should know exactly how many days or hours that generator can run on the fuel in the tank and that Tank should never be low on fuel. The City has a number of emergency backup generators that need to be ready to go on short notice and capable of running for a long time without a fuel delivery. There are pump stations all over town, moving raw sewage to the sewer plant. Each has a backup generator, the plant has two. This is not a good place to try to describe the mess we would have if those were not kept ready to run for days, if necessary.

  • 10 Chris MC // Aug 31, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    “This is not a good place to try to describe the mess we would have if those were not kept ready to run for days, if necessary.”

    Sure it is!
    Hold forth, Old timer, if you please.

  • 11 Chris MC // Aug 31, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    Councilman Geake -

    I still can’t figure out how to embed video, the html continues to elude me.

    But, here is the video in its entirety, if you like.

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