a while ago, I had this idea that I should start accumulating a survival kit in my basement "just in case". and then of course I totally forgot about it, until last week's windstorm. now of course there are obvious things: water, non-perishable food, first aid kit, but it's more fun to make a game of it. e.g., S and I had this exchange:

me: what about a phrasebook?
her: what would you need that for?
me: well, what if we're invaded by the russians or something, it'd be good to have a phrasebook
her: uh huh
me: but which languages, I wonder. russian? chinese? jewish?

or like a toolkit. which tools provide the best tradeoff of utility vs space/weight? monkey wrench? wire cutters? okay canned food, but campbells soup or wolfgang puck gourmet? beef jerky? how long do power bars last, and which flavor would be least gross if you had to eat it every day while fighting off the mutant C.H.U.D.s?

so anyway yeah, I'm starting a survival kit. your suggestions, serious and less-so, welcome.