I had a long chat with Nutta about self responsibility; being prepared for the unexpected, and being able to take care of yourself, feed and care for your family in the case of a natural disaster or something along those lines, instead of sitting around and waiting for the government to come and save you or fix it for you. We spoke about uncertainty, the dramatic nature of the news, the creation of fear through dramatisation, and touched on topics like; * the preparedness mindset * generational differences * family and community * making do and going without * fighting bushfires * sustainability * eating what's in season and sharing your bounty * water and survival * gender roles and the sacredness of family * the fragility of the supply chain * green energy and reliance on the electric grid "We had to take time off school to move through Ash Wednesday to protect the house. Droughts come and go, things happen. But as a young man in the 80s and 90s on a rural farm in Australia, nobody was coming to help you. Like nobody came to help you. You relied on yourself and your neighbours... That taught me that if you can't put your hand on it and you need it, you don't have it. That's right. And so the way of life of a small holding farmer, and it's always been the way, is you don't know what's coming in the future. So it's like that adage that I always use about hunting. You're going hunting for rabbits, but you're armed for bear because you don't know what the future holds... We have two generations that have no concept that you don't actually get to eat strawberries in the middle of summer. It's only because of globalisation and the fact that we can fly these things in from who knows where, to here so that we can have it... I remember as a kid, when there was that glut of fruit; the jams being made, the preserves, all the things. And if I've got it, I'm going to make, apple puree, apple pies, all that... Preparedness was instilled in rural communities." A long meandering chat that covered many 'hot' topics. Nutta has strong opinions about some things and you may not agree with him, and he is absolutely fine with that. By the same token, you may hear some things here, that cause you to take action that might hold you in good stead at some point along the way.