Current location:	Installing Linux on a live sheep.
Current mood:	1mall, 1weapon, 1song, 1hero
Current music:	"Nearer, My God to Thee"
Entry tags:	bliteotw

So we're down at the family farm after having been tipped off by martinlivings way up north in Joondalup. We managed to hop in the car and head south before the rest of Rockingham figured out what was going on.

Warning to the rest of you, petrol south of Mandurah was looking about $2.35 a litre when we passed through, but LPG was still under a dollar, if only just. Fortunately, we didn't have to refuel between here and Bridgetown.

Now, I wonder, how far will they go to assuage their hunger? Do they have a radius they can sense people, or do they just go and go and go until they drop of dehydration or explosives? I'm wondering if holing up here is good enough or if we'll have to head east to the Nullarbor.

I have a feeling dehydration may be an adequate enough weapon. Human flesh, whether living or dead, requires water to function. Unfortunately, it won't be a weapon we can use unless we have to bug out east.

Maybe it won't come to that.

The family farm's got some defenses left over from WWII, but will it be enough? On the other hand, thanks to some clues from las, I realised we can use the herds of sheep as a form of defence, should it come to that.

Unfortunately, I've only got Linux Mint (Jelly build (ver 10.12)), which is derived from Ubuntu. VuDu Linux is reputed to work the best, but I'll see if I can make do. Broadband's rather limited out here, and it'll take a few days to download any other ISOs. I don't know if we have enough time. (The reason I had a copy of Linux Mint (Jelly) was because I grabbed my whole software collection as part of my 72-hour kit, and there was a burn in there, next to my computer backups.)

Still, the first few test installs on a couple of dead sheep seems to have gone okay. Now I've just got to figure out the best way of rigging them for defence. I doubt I'll be able to get any attack sheep, beyond the few bellwethers we have.

A few judicious phone calls on our way south warned the rest of the family, so the smart ones buggered off to the farm as well. Now, while some may feel this an unwise move, I have a feeling it's all for the best, should it come down to defence in the short-term and labour force in the long term, should we survive that long. I'm not worried about food because, hey, we're on a frickin' farm.

Now, we've all got a planning strategy meeting soon and we've gotta figure out if we're far enough away from major urban centers to escape undetected, or if the sheer distance will eliminate the weaker of the lot. Pros: the attacking force will be smaller. Cons: they'll be the best-of-the-best.

Am I being foolish for hoping that something good will happen? I refuse to question my optimism. It may be the only thing that will keep me sane, should things end up going head-to-head.

One thing I do miss: the farm doesn't have a piano and foolish me forgot to grab the violin. I guess if I have to sing "Nearer, My God to Thee", it'll have to be a capella.

More later if the networks hold.