Silicon Valley prepares for doomsday with guns, laser eye surgery, and New Zealand property

midian182

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In these uncertain times, it seems that preparing for the apocalypse is no longer a unique activity of the overly paranoid. According to an essay in the New Yorker, a large number of Silicon Valley leaders are taking action to ready themselves for the end of civilization.

LinkedIn cofounder and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman estimates that more than 50 percent of tech industry billionaires have bought some form of “apocalypse insurance,” such as fortified underground bunkers built to withstand nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks.

But it’s not just a third world war that the super rich fear. Many, including Peter Thiel, are concerned about civil unrest in the US brought about by anything from economic meltdown, to earthquakes, to riots. As such, billionaires are buying land in New Zealand as a getaway in case things in the States get out of hand.

Roughly 1350 square miles of New Zealand land was purchased by people from outside of the country in the first ten months of 2016. Thiel has even been granted citizenship, according to the New Zealand Herald. “Saying you’re ‘buying a house in New Zealand’ is kind of a wink, wink, say no more,” said Hoffman.

Another CEO survivalist is Reddit CEO and cofounder Steve Huffman, who underwent laser eye surgery in 2015 to improve his odds of surviving if everything goes a bit Mad Max. “If the world ends — and not even if the world ends, but if we have trouble — getting contacts or glasses is going to be a huge pain in the ass,” Huffman said. “I own a couple of motorcycles. I have a bunch of guns and ammo. Food. I figure that, with that, I can hole up in my house for some amount of time,” he added.

It’s a similar story among other current and former company execs and bosses. One-time Yahoo executive Marvin Liao started taking archery classes and bought weapons, while former Facebook exec Antonio Garcia Martinez has purchased five acres of woodland on an island in the Pacific Northwest, which he stocks with generators, solar panels, and ammo.

There’s been something of a backlash to news of the apocalypse plans. PayPal founder Max Levchin said the billionaires have a sense that they are “superior giants who move the needle and, even if it’s [their] own failure, must be spared.”

“I typically ask people, ‘So you’re worried about the pitchforks. How much money have you donated to your local homeless shelter?’ ” Levchin added.

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Looking forward, never liked it anyway...

A few Nintendo cartridges, and I'll be fine till it blows over.


No... you don't understand. 'In these uncertain times...' means while Trump is president. There won't be power for your nintendo. There won't be food in the stores, or gas in your car... and most likely there won't be oxygen in the air anymore.

I'd suggest we'd all move to Canada, but I know plenty of people in Canada. They dont' want any crabby Americans moving there.
 
Go ahead and move to NZ. If there is an apoc scenario, good luck getting food and clean water way down there. NZ may be remote, but it's too remote. Better bone up on your survival skills and learn to farm. There may be less people too but when everything else is gone, soylent green will start to look mighty good.
Getting a bunker in a remote area on a major land mass is much smarter regardless of reason the end is nigh. More resources available by default helps insure your survival.
What I find funny is these people think that because they created some fortune for themselves in the tech world, that they are worth keeping around. In most cases of the world going mad, tech is going to be near worthless. So their skill set and value is low. I'd much rather have some country bumpkin sharing a bunker with me than some programmer.
 
What I find funny is these people think that because they created some fortune for themselves in the tech world, that they are worth keeping around.
Wow resented much?? They are only using their money to stock on things somewhere where they might be able to survive in case a disaster hits, where do they feel powerful and needed? You just sound like a bitter asinushole with that.
 
"Another CEO survivalist is Reddit CEO and cofounder Steve Huffman, who underwent laser eye surgery in 2015 to improve his odds of surviving if everything goes a bit Mad Max. “If the world ends — and not even if the world ends, but if we have trouble — getting contacts or glasses is going to be a huge pain in the ***,” Huffman said."

WTF? Laser surgery because IF the world ends or IF "we" have trouble, getting contacts or glasses is going to be difficult?

These elites certainly do live in an alternative (pardon my use of that word) universe.
 
Wow resented much?? They are only using their money to stock on things somewhere where they might be able to survive in case a disaster hits, where do they feel powerful and needed? You just sound like a bitter asinushole with that.
I don't resent anything and I think you misunderstand what I said and I never said power. Let me try and put it a different way. If I were a self made tech billionaire and I thought of myself as being so vital or self important that I would go buy land in a distant country and horde stuff for an impending apocalypse, I would see no problem in that, but in the after math of said apocalypse, when trying to rebuild society, what good am I? Is my money that I horded worth anything? Is there any tech infrastructure left? Would satellites even work? There are many questions I would not be able to answer and therefore my value would be much reduced. All I would actually be good for is labor and procreation and I am sure there would be many who would convince me politely to do said labor.
I am a survivor, I have training and desire to live through struggle. I can shoot/kill and willing to shoot/kill. You can't just hide in your high castle and expect to not encounter adversity or threat. You need to look at each day as it comes, but have the where with all to envision most scenarios to prepare for. Just because you have money now doesn't mean you will be worth anything later. There I think I summed up what I was trying to say in that last sentence. If anything I am an arrogant anus hole in my confidence of my survival and my own self worth.
 
"Another CEO survivalist is Reddit CEO and cofounder Steve Huffman, who underwent laser eye surgery in 2015 to improve his odds of surviving if everything goes a bit Mad Max. “If the world ends — and not even if the world ends, but if we have trouble — getting contacts or glasses is going to be a huge pain in the ***,” Huffman said."

WTF? Laser surgery because IF the world ends or IF "we" have trouble, getting contacts or glasses is going to be difficult?

These elites certainly do live in an alternative (pardon my use of that word) universe.
If you had really bad eyes you'd understand. I got lasic about 9 years ago. I'd always had a lingering fear of a world where I couldn't get contacts (and my hand-eye coordination with coke bottle thick lenses that are easily broken wouldn't be much use). I am not a tech billionaire (or any other form of million/billionaire), but I get this one.
 
If I were a self made tech billionaire and I thought of myself as being so vital or self important that I would go buy land in a distant country and horde stuff for an impending apocalypse, I would see no problem in that, but in the after math of said apocalypse, when trying to rebuild society, what good am I? Is my money that I horded worth anything? Is there any tech infrastructure left? Would satellites even work? There are many questions I would not be able to answer and therefore my value would be much reduced.
They aren't doing this because they think they are "so vital or self important". They are doing it because humans always want to survive (and as comfortably as possible). I didn't see anything in the article about these guys thinking they were vital to rebuilding society. They are just looking out for themselves and their families.
 
Well if americans could simply rise up and stop the rampant militarism in the country, there wouldn't be a risk of WW3, ala provoking Russia & China, the only two countries who there's a risk of nuclear war with. But hey ho, common sense hasn't been in vogue for a century at the least :p

Then again, as any Trump supporter will recognise, its hard to be non-militaristic or sympathic to other humans, when you're being lied to in the media everyday. The worst lies are the ones you dunno just got said or the ones which aren't said at all, because they conflict with the official narrative, cough, indoctrination.

Oh well, lets keep believing we gotta go kill them "radical islamic terrorists" Trump talked about - cuz they're the real threat right? [sarcasm]
 
Go ahead and move to NZ. If there is an apoc scenario, good luck getting food and clean water way down there. NZ may be remote, but it's too remote. Better bone up on your survival skills and learn to farm. There may be less people too but when everything else is gone, soylent green will start to look mighty good.
Getting a bunker in a remote area on a major land mass is much smarter regardless of reason the end is nigh. More resources available by default helps insure your survival.
What I find funny is these people think that because they created some fortune for themselves in the tech world, that they are worth keeping around. In most cases of the world going mad, tech is going to be near worthless. So their skill set and value is low. I'd much rather have some country bumpkin sharing a bunker with me than some programmer.
I have a feeling NZ is about race - fewer scary minorities for them. I don't see it mentioned in the article, but a lot of people think that race wars are coming.
 
They aren't doing this because they think they are "so vital or self important". They are doing it because humans always want to survive (and as comfortably as possible). I didn't see anything in the article about these guys thinking they were vital to rebuilding society. They are just looking out for themselves and their families.
True it does not say it in the article. Show me one mega rich person who does not think they are self important. There is no point in arguing my point when you don't see the one I am trying to make. Just pointless.

Hi Kunming, still on US about things that have not changed since our last conversation. Silly person, Rome wasn't built in a day and even after 8 yrs, there was no change, when that is what people voted for. Don't think what you want will happen in our lifetimes, but you are free to believe in your dream. I dream of an Ivory tower in New Zealand that I can take my family to in the event the world does go to hell, because my survival on an island is for the betterment of my family and not those who are left afterward, because I have so much to offer.
 
There I think I summed up what I was trying to say in that last sentence. If anything I am an arrogant anus hole in my confidence of my survival and my own self worth.
So, under your "I can kill if needed" you should feel really important and needed, anyone who is not important just roll over and die.

I think you either have a very screwed logic or have a really really really bad time expressing yourself.
 
Go ahead and move to NZ. If there is an apoc scenario, good luck getting food and clean water way down there. NZ may be remote, but it's too remote. Better bone up on your survival skills and learn to farm. There may be less people too but when everything else is gone, soylent green will start to look mighty good.
Getting a bunker in a remote area on a major land mass is much smarter regardless of reason the end is nigh. .

Have you seen how much fresh water there is in that country.... its practically drowning in it. If the **** did hit the fan one day and assuming you could get there, it would be a fine place to settle. There's like 7 sheep for every person.
 
True it does not say it in the article. Show me one mega rich person who does not think they are self important. There is no point in arguing my point when you don't see the one I am trying to make. Just pointless.

Hi Kunming, still on US about things that have not changed since our last conversation. Silly person, Rome wasn't built in a day and even after 8 yrs, there was no change, when that is what people voted for. Don't think what you want will happen in our lifetimes, but you are free to believe in your dream. I dream of an Ivory tower in New Zealand that I can take my family to in the event the world does go to hell, because my survival on an island is for the betterment of my family and not those who are left afterward, because I have so much to offer.
Oh you're that guy from Lost are you
 
Super rich, super paranoid and super stupid doesn't make for a great person. Don't these fools realise that when their number comes up, it comes up and nothing, absolutely nothing, not even all the money in the world can prevent the inevitable.
 
Super rich, super paranoid and super stupid doesn't make for a great person. Don't these fools realize that when their number comes up, it comes up and nothing, absolutely nothing, not even all the money in the world can prevent the inevitable.

"In these uncertain times, it seems that preparing for the apocalypse is no longer a unique activity of the overly paranoid. According to an essay in the New Yorker, a large number of Silicon Valley leaders are taking action to ready themselves for the end of civilization."

I'd call the Silicon Vally peeps doing this 'overly paranoid.'
 
Looking forward, never liked it anyway...

A few Nintendo cartridges, and I'll be fine till it blows over.


No... you don't understand. 'In these uncertain times...' means while Trump is president. There won't be power for your nintendo. There won't be food in the stores, or gas in your car... and most likely there won't be oxygen in the air anymore.

I'd suggest we'd all move to Canada, but I know plenty of people in Canada. They dont' want any crabby Americans moving there.

As a Canadian; if you drink beer and can say sorry you're always welcome in Canada!
 
Go ahead and move to NZ. If there is an apoc scenario, good luck getting food and clean water way down there. NZ may be remote, but it's too remote. Better bone up on your survival skills and learn to farm. There may be less people too but when everything else is gone, soylent green will start to look mighty good.
Getting a bunker in a remote area on a major land mass is much smarter regardless of reason the end is nigh. .

Have you seen how much fresh water there is in that country.... its practically drowning in it. If the **** did hit the fan one day and assuming you could get there, it would be a fine place to settle. There's like 7 sheep for every person.
So you're saying the dating scene is good???
 
Let them prepare. They will still be among the first to die. And their goods can be used by the one that does manage to live.
 
You got me the
Have you seen how much fresh water there is in that country.... its practically drowning in it. If the **** did hit the fan one day and assuming you could get there, it would be a fine place to settle. There's like 7 sheep for every person.

You got me on the water. 145 million Liters per person. Not too shabby! I was ignorant to that. I figured since it was an island there wouldn't be much. Oh the things we learn.

And to the other person. I believe I do have a problem expressing myself. My therapist would agree with you. However, I do not see myself as important and needed just because I do not have reservations of ending someones life. I see myself as valuable in the long run because of the skills and knowledge I have. Either you see what I am trying to say or you don't. No longer going to waste my time. Have a wonderful day.
 
If you had really bad eyes you'd understand. I got lasic about 9 years ago. I'd always had a lingering fear of a world where I couldn't get contacts (and my hand-eye coordination with coke bottle thick lenses that are easily broken wouldn't be much use). I am not a tech billionaire (or any other form of million/billionaire), but I get this one.

-14.25 diopters here and one eye! Luckily, I had cataract surgery a few years ago. Now 20-20.
 
-14.25 diopters here and one eye! Luckily, I had cataract surgery a few years ago. Now 20-20.
Wow! I'm used to people complaining about -2.50. Mine were -7 and -7.50. I was so near sighted I couldn't read a book without bringing it so close I got double vision. Not sure how to even imagine being twice as bad! Was it just the cataract causing it, or did they correct both in the same surgery?
 
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