Preparing for the worst (Part 2)

Like I said in Part 1, I would not go over the HARDEST thing to prepare for in a disaster type situation.

The hardest thing to prepare for is boredom. Boredom will lead to complacency, which will then compromise security and other means for survival. No matter the war or disaster, there will be a lull. Minutes, hours, days, there is no telling how long it will last. In a safe situation, a book can help pass the time. Group interaction and games are useful, especially if there are kids.

If you're not in a safe area, that lull will usually end suddenly. You cannot be "switched on" all the time. You would go crazy, and your system is not developed to handle it. Furthermore, you won't be able to operate in everyday life.

Imagine walking down a dark alley, in an area that you are unfamiliar with. Most likely, if you are smart, you will be extremely aware of what's going on. You'll be wary of that bum sleeping near the dumpster. You'll look toward every noise. You'll be "ready" to move at the first sign of danger, although it will probably be more of a jump and a high-pitched yell when a rat scurries past. In any case, that's like being "switched on," albeit with no training of what to do in that state. The thing is, you can't be like that constantly, or you will become a nervous wreck. It's best to not always be in those situations.

To-Shin Do teaches the ideas of Condition White (completely relaxed), Condition Yellow (aware that something may be happening), Condition Orange (aware of a threat), and Condition Red (actively dealing with a threat). Condition white is what you are normally in at home or at work, in a place you feel completely safe. Yellow is where you operate when you're unfamiliar with your surroundings, or aware of general potential danger. Orange is when you've identified the specific danger and are prepared to deal with it. Red means it's go time.

You NEED to switch off. Especially if you were just "turned on" for an extended period of time. You can't run red all day. Even in a combat zone, you'll drop to white if there's enough security that you are able to sleep.

And that last point brings us to the most important part of preparedness and self-defense: self-protection. It's not "the best defense is a good offense." It's the idea that, within the realm of your control, you avoid situations that will place you in danger and force you to defend yourself. Sometimes, the long way is just safer. Sometimes that gut instinct is completely right.

For example, I like to listen to my MP3 player when I travel. I have trouble not listening to what's going on around me. I overhear too much some times, so I like to drown it out. When I'm on the train, I'm into my music and my book. Granted, I'm still aware of my surroundings (Condition Yellow). I still glance around, and the music isn't so loud that I can't hear anything else. I'm not good at turning off completely.

However, I occasionally I'll either turn off the music to hear (why leaving the headphones in to make it seem like I'm not), or take the headphones out. One of those times is withing the last block or two leading to my apartment (no matter how much you vary your route, there is only one way to get into your door). The neighborhood's nice, but I don't take chances. I turn music off, take one headphone out, the other tuck into my collar. As I unchain the gate, my body motion is such that I am able to look in the direction that I came. Once the key is in the front door, I look behind me as I open the door, and enter, ensuring it shuts behind me. I'm in Condition Yellow for about a minute. Once I'm inside, it's back to Condition White.

I'm not conducting SLLS (pronounced "sills," it's a combat patrolling technique that stands for "Stop, Look, Listen, and Smell"). I mean switching to a low level of awareness and preparedness. Should something happen, I don't have to go from zero to hero to deal with the situation, and I've gained vital seconds in evaluating my situation.

While I was talking on the phone to a friend of mine, she said "Patrick, not everyone is a bad-ass like you and has combat training." This is true. That doesn't mean that you can't develop and internalize the ideas that would help this. Here's a list of a few books that will at least introduce you to ideas that professionals use to make themselves safe, as well as assist you in thinking of how to prepare:

• The Gift of Fear
• The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life
• Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts and Real World Violence
• Gang Leader for a Day
• Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda
• Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA
• The Zombie Survival Guide
• The Ranger Handbook
• Earth Abides

Feel free to ask me about any of these, or why they made the list.

The three most important things that I can recommend are: do not limit your scope of knowledge, don't let your new found knowledge cripple you, and always carry a small notebook and a pen. On the first point, if something makes you curious, learn about it. I'm reading Packing For Mars. I am not going into space any time soon, but I have learned a lot of interesting thing in planning and consideration. Even if you can't completely use the subject, you can abstract the ideas. Here's are two of my takeaways from that book:

• Not that bravery has been entirely phased out. Those recommended astronaut attributes also include “Ability to Function Despite Imminent Catastrophe.” If something goes wrong, everyone’s clarity of mind is needed.
• “I don’t know if we…have the mentality—I don’t want to say ‘guts’—to take the kind of risks we did when we [went to the moon] the first time…. And that’s a sad commentary.” After all, no matter how much you plan and how carefully you engineer things, there will always be problems. The safety manager of the eighth Apollo mission once famously pointed out: “Apollo 8 has 5,600,000 parts…. Even if all functioned with 99.9 percent reliability, we could expect 5,600 defects.” On the other hand, as they say, failing to plan is planning to fail.

Once you start expanding your knowledge, you will learn a few things. First, you really know nothing. Second, that there are some really useful things to learn. Last, there are a lot of things that can kill you. If you dwell too much on this, it will cripple your ability to act. You will live life in fear of the next step, because you fear that it will kill you. That's as good as being dead. Don't run recklessly into life, but understand the danger and mitigate them. I know electricity is dangerous, so I make sure to trip the breaker, and test the circuit before installing a new light switch. If anything, remember the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear from the book Dune:

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

On the last point, I ALWAYS carry a small notebook. It's great when you get some random idea that you can jot it down quickly, so it's not lost to the ether. That website you saw, that problem that came up, that thing you need to buy; all things that the notebook can preserve for you until they are solved. Cross out tasks and info when you are done with them. When the notebook fills, get a new one, go through the old one, and transfer anything you still want. Similarly, use that Amazon wishlist. Come across a book that might be interesting in the future? Put it on the wishlist, and you'll get to it some day.

Preparing for the worst (Part 1)

Every student learns the magic number 3. Whether you’re an F-15 fighter pilot or a single mom, in a car accident or taking a walk in the park, the number 3 will keep you alive. The Rule of 3 states that you cannot survive:

• 3 SECONDS WITHOUT SPIRIT AND HOPE
• 3 MINUTES WITHOUT AIR
• 3 HOURS WITHOUT SHELTER IN EXTREME CONDITIONS 3 DAYS WITHOUT WATER
• 3 WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD
• 3 MONTHS WITHOUT COMPANIONSHIP OR LOVE
  -The Survivors Club

Now that that "Hurricane" Irene has passed, I think it's time to talk about preparing for bad situations. I got a bunch of questions during that time, so I figure it would be good to put that info out there for everyone. I don't know about most of you, but I've been preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse* for quite some time now. Most of you probably aren't ready for something on that level.

At all.

In fact, most of you probably aren't ready for anything that alters your day-to-day routine or removes certain normally used structure from your lives.

The best survivors understand that normal is just a fleeting state of mind. Indeed normalcy may seem steady and constant, but it’s really just the intermission between the chaos and messiness of life. Survivors accept that life probably won’t ever return to the way it used to be. So they let go, adapt, and embrace the “new normal.”
-The Survivors Club

The first thing to remember is that you CANNOT plan for every eventuality. It's impossible, and trying to do so will leave you unable to do anything, because you'll have too much to deal with. I recommend that you become familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. For a disaster, you need the bottom 2, self-esteem, and problem solving & creativity. We'll get back to this in a moment.

The next step is to build up your level of preparedness from small problems to large. Don't try to plan for a hurricane if you can't tighten the screws on a chair. Amazingly, you'll find that all the things needed for a light emergency are also useful in big one. My first idea for preparing for small problems is to get:

• A hammer
• A Screwdriver and/or a Leatherman
• A flashlight (get more than one, and put one in your car) and spare batteries
• A small, battery powered AM/FM radio.
• First aid materials. At a minimum, be able to deal with small cuts, large wounds, and pain. Tampons can plug small bullet wounds.

For non-prolonged problems and disasters, those items will tide you over until help or emergency services can be obtained.

The next step is to prepare for prolonged problems and disasters. Take the things that you can't do yourself and try to mitigate the effects of what happens when they are gone.

• Can you make electricity? That's what the flashlight is for (maybe you need a generator).
• Have a cow to slaughter? Might want to get a few days worth of food. Technically, if there is a chance of power loss, refrigeration will be lost, so get food that doesn't need it, and requires little to no preparation. A fridge can keep stuff cool for a day after losing power, but only if you don't open it.
• Do you have a well? Get a gallon of water per-day per-person to tide you over. I recommend gallon bottles, and use that to fill a smaller container, rather than but a bunch of bottles, which drives up the cost, or the giant 3-gallon bottles which become hard to move.

Next, prepare for the specific disaster, especially if you know it is coming. You don't need to be an expert, but you need to understand what dangers are there, especially if you know what disaster is coming. For example:

• Wind related? Beware of flying debris and branches that will break windows.
• Water related? Flooding. Evacuate to high ground early.
• Earthquake? Get under a table (Avoid the doorway).
• Fire. You can go the fire-extinguisher route for a kitchen fire , but you're probably better off just getting out of there for forest blazes. Also, regularly clear brush around your house.

Also, as much as the Zombie Survival Guide may seem like a joke, it is actually a very informative book on disaster preparedness and survival, even if you ignore the zombie part.

Another small point is to think of what you need to do in order to be mobile. Occasionally, a disaster will force you to move. Figure out what you will definitely need, what you can actually move, and what may be available on the other end. Don't bring 8 gallons of water if you're moving to somewhere with running water. That's partially why I advocated gallon bottles, and not the huge 3 gallon ones. Also, you probably use sensible footwear (not Army shoes and golf shoes, Andrea).

Lastly, mitigate the chances of problems should a disaster arise. If you have a family, at least make sure basic ideas of the plans are understood. If there is potential for danger, you should at least be aware of it so your brain isn't completely shocked should something go wrong. For example, you know what I do every time I get on a plane? Locate the nearest exit, and listen to the damn flight attendant. You may think they are there for just drinks and peanuts, but they actually do a lot:

When you board a plane, you’re probably accustomed to some friendly banter from the flight attendants. They welcome you, ask where you’re from, and make idle talk about the weather. It may seem like empty chatter, and you may wonder how they can stand saying “Hi, how are you?” to three hundred travelers. But this is serious business. They’re not just being friendly; they’re profiling you. For starters, they’re checking to see whether you’re fit for flying or whether you’re under the influence. They’re also looking for suspicious behavior including clues of terrorist activity. One of their other main objectives is to identify ABPs. In the parlance of flight safety, that means “able-bodied passenger.” In an emergency, ABPs are the ones they call upon for help. Flight attendants are trained to identify ABPs as they board and to keep track of where they are on the plane. ABPs are typically solo travelers. They’re alert, healthy, and physically fit. They’re often wearing clothing that suggests some kind of military, law enforcement, or firefighter training. They’re likely to be in the top 10 percent on John Leach’s 10–80–10 scale.

She’s crunched the numbers on who gets out alive and who doesn’t. When I ask her the bottom line—who survives?—her answer is blunt: “Young, slender men.” Agility and strength make the biggest difference when you’re trying to wriggle through airplane wreckage or slip through a twenty-inch-wide emergency exit.

For instance, most passengers believe you can survive an hour without an oxygen mask after a plane decompresses at high altitude. In fact, you’ve got only a few seconds. They also believe you’ve got thirty minutes to flee a burning plane. In reality, as you’re about to see, you’ve got only ninety seconds... That’s all. Ninety. Any longer and a fire could burn through the aluminum skin of the plane and the cabin temperature will soar to more than two thousand degrees. Soon after, a flashover fire will consume everything. In just ninety seconds, the cabin turns into an inferno. That’s less than the time it probably took to read this page.

You should never drink a beer or a martini before getting on a plane. You should never pop a sleeping pill before flying. You shouldn’t nap or listen to your iPod when you’re rolling down the runway. And you definitely shouldn’t wait for the thud of landing to wake up.
-The Survivors Club

In Part 2, there will be more on situational awareness, and I'll discuss one of the hardest things to be prepared for.

*Just as a quick disclaimer, you can look at the idea of "Zombie Apocalypse" to mean some type of catastrophic, world-altering disaster, in which most infrastructure breaks down. It's easier to think of a "zombie," than it is to imagine that your fellow human has entered a state of survival such that they would be willing to kill you without remorse.

The Obvious Answer

It's been a while since I've written. I've been pretty busy.

Busy doing what?

Not blogging.

And that leads us into this post.

We've probably all heard the joke "Why did the chicken cross the road, " and it's answer "To get to the other side." However, most of us don't understand why that joke is actually funny. In fact, to most of us, it's not. And it's great that people try to make up funny endings to it, but that's really missing the point.

"To get to the other side." We know this. It's inherent in the idea of crossing the road, but it doesn't answer why. This joke is designed to poke fun at those answers that don't actually answer the question proposed. The answer is in no way false, but it demonstrates no knowledge of motivation or cause for the action. Ponder this example:

• "Why did he kill the guy?" "He wanted him dead."
• "Why aren't we making a profit?" "Our income is less than our expenses."
• "Why is this here." "I put it there."

A funny thing I like to do, is give this obvious answer when someone asks me a question, but ONLY if I can immediately follow it up with the actual answer. Otherwise, it's just mean spirited and ignorant, and silence would have been a more appropriate answer.

I was reminded about this during a discussion with my sensei about "Mushin no shin" or "Mind without mind." At some point in your martial arts training, if you're serious about training, this idea will present itself. From Wikipedia:

Mushin is achieved when a person's mind is free from thoughts of anger, fear, or ego during combat or everyday life. There is an absence of discursive thought and judgment, so the person is totally free to act and react towards an opponent without hesitation and without disturbance from such thoughts. At this point, a person relies not on what they think should be the next move, but what is their trained natural reaction or what is felt intuitively. It is not a state of relaxed, near-sleepfulness, however. The mind could be said to be working at a very high speed, but with no intentions, plans or direction. In analogy a clear mind is compared to a still pond, which is able to clearly reflect the moon and trees. But just as waves in the pond will distort the picture of reality, so will the thoughts we hold onto disrupt the true perception of reality.

However, at the same time, you're probably going to ask someone the question, "How will I know when I've attained mushin?"

And some jerk will give you the obvious answer, "If you're thinking about it, you probably don't have it."

Guess what.

They don't have it either.

Why are You Panicking?

"Hitchhiker, grab your towel and don't panic!"
-The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Before "Hurricane" Irene hit NYC, people seemed to lose their minds. Two days before the hurricane happened to be my grocery day. I saw people in BJ's with 2 full carts of food. It was like they were preparing for the end of the world. If the disaster is bad enough to warrant that much stuff, you may want to just avoid the disaster entirely (like those areas that were evacuated).

The question is, what made people panic like that? What caused people to hoard batteries and flashlights like we were going to be plunged into 10 years of darkness? Why did people who feared the idea of losing power also purchase lots of meat, especially if they would not have any refrigeration?

How people react is affected by what information they are presented with, and the manner in which the information is presented. In the case of the hurricane, the information was presented like NYC was going to crumble. It also didn't help that the media piggybacked it with the "earthquake" from earlier in the week.

A example of this presentation issue can be seen elsewhere. In The Survivor's Club, the author looked at airline flights, and why people seemed to see air travel as dangerous.

He started out by asking: Why do people perceive the danger to be so great? Barnett studied the front page of The New York Times and found the answer. Page-one coverage of airplane accidents was sixty times greater than reporting on HIV/AIDS; fifteen hundred times greater than auto hazards; and six thousand times greater than cancer, the second leading killer in America after heart disease.

What are my chances of dying on my next flight? In the aviation safety field, it’s known as Q: death risk per randomly chosen flight. Analyzing all the data from the last ten years, here’s Barnett’s bottom line: When you get on your next domestic flight, your chance of being killed—your Q—is one in sixty million. That means you could fly every day for the next 164,000 years before you would perish in a crash.

Even if you somehow ended up in a plane crash—a remarkably unlikely if—your chances of dying are still unbelievably small. Believe it or not, the survival rate in plane crashes is 95.7 percent. Yes, 95.7. More precisely, the National Transportation Safety Board analyzed all the airplane accidents between 1983 and 2000. Some 53,487 people were involved in those incidents, and 51,207 survived. Hence, the survival rate of 95.7.

The front page appears to tell us what is important, and we've started looking at the 24-hour news cycle as our way of staying "informed." The problem is, we rarely do any evaluation on our own, taking everything at face value. This is worsened by the fact that the papers and news channels present their information in order to catch viewers and hold them. Information presentation is a competition, and the real losers are people who don't do independent research or look to multiple sources.

What is the goal of training?

Standing around thinking to myself about some idea on martial arts, I've came up with the hypothesis that the goal of training is to be able to consistently mitigate and/or reproduce the effects of luck in a confrontation. Those two terms seem contradictory, but let me explain, since it's really a matter of perspective.

Put two untrained individuals in a fight and let them slug it out. Most likely, you will see wild swings, some weak kicks, probably some biting, and most likely it will end with one person too tired/hurt to continue, or a luck hit that ends the fight. Targeting will probably be terrible: punches that hit the chest, hooking punches that go to far and make the forearm hit, etc. In this case, the luck is your opponent not being able to continue or you landing the strike that ends the fight.

Let's focus on the strike. Wild swings can be very ineffective. Punch someone in the pectoral and you're not going to get much of a reaction out of them, unless you know koshijutsu and understand where to hit (this is one of my favorite ways of screwing with my friends). Similar for strikes to the skull, especially if you hit with the wrong part of your hand. However, a properly aligned strike to a proper part of the jaw can cause a knockout, and one to the nose can incapicitate.

So you take the wild swinger and train them in some form of punching, like boxing. By teaching them how to strike and where to hit, you increase their chances of reproducing that hit that will damage their opponent. They train to the point where they can reproduce the technique on command. Now, as MMA has shown us, there's no guarantee to the hit knocking the person out every time. However, if when the person started, it was a 1 in 50 chance, training has reduced that to maybe a 1 in 5 chance. So, that's the reproduction of luck.

From a defender standpoint, you are attempting to mitigate their luck. If someone is punching you, you are attempting to lower their chance of hurting you.

However, this is really just a reproduction of luck all over again. Assume the attacker has some level of skill, and throws a punch. If our untrained defender happens to get out of the way, that was luck. If the attacker knows what they are doing, the defender will eventually be beaten up, yet somewhere in there, the defender will be lucky enough to avoid some punches, and maybe get a lucky, fight-ending punch in there.

Training is to reproduce this. Instead of getting hit 50 times in a fight, training to reproduce a valid defense may reduce this to 5, with the hopes of it being zero (although that may just be another level of luck). In fact, good training should give the defender the ability to have some control over the fight such that they do not find themselves in range of so many punches to begin with.

Stick to the plan

Maybe it's the fact that I was in the Army. Maybe it's the fact that I hate things going wrong. Whatever it is, I like plans. Just the basic idea of having some insight into what we are doing.

Now, I'm not a planning freak. I learned long ago that you really can't plan everything out perfectly. This is especially true when it comes to dating. Rarely will you pull off a perfectly planned date, without needing to adapt some things.

However, I do like the idea of having some starting and reference points. You know, "Meet here, at this time." At least then, when stuff falls apart, no one is swinging in the breeze.

Strangely, even this can be too much for some. Nothing like walking into a bar where you are supposed to meet, getting a beer, and 10 minutes later, right after you text that you are at the location, you get a text telling you that they decided to meet somewhere else.

An eye for fighting

"Shall I tell you the difference between you and I? Level. It's like the story of the monkey trying to capture the moon. No matter how he struggles, it's just the moon's reflection on the water he sees. So he only sinks into the water. Time after time, he sinks. Your fangs will never reach me."

Ok, so this post is going to get a little nerdy, and reference some anime/manga (like the above quote from Bleach). This past Sunday, I attended a seminar that included Jujitsu and Kali. The Jujitsu stuff was pretty straight forward for me, due to previous training. However, there was something about the Kali instruction, as well as my own training.

It reminded me of an episode of Naruto. Long story short, one of the characters has the ability to see and copy or dissect someone else's techniques. The problem in this episode is that he runs into an opponent whose taijutsu (unarmed techniques) is so much better and faster, that even though he can see the technique, there is no way for him to physically counter, because his body's not fast enough.

Now, when you first start training in just about anything, you're pretty much going through so much sensory overload, that even the simplest maneuvers are hard to completely grasp. I mean, you have to deal with your feet, hands, and balance, and your opponents feet, hands, and balance, and the intricacies of where both exist in space and time at any given moment of the technique. During this phase, it's funny to watch white belts.

However, as you get better, you can see the techniques a lot easier, and you can duplicate them fairly easily. There's a lot less "brain" involved. You feet will do what they have to do, and you can naturally position all of the other parts.

While I was at the seminar, Datu Rich Acosta (7th degree Black Belt), demonstrated a number of techniques with the Escrima, but then showed how they directly translated to unarmed fighting. The thing is, he was EXTREMELY fast when it came to the unarmed parts. I definitely couldn't fully catch is hand movements when I saw the techniques. Even as I was able to catch on what was happening, the next thing becomes actually knowing how to react to it. For something that fast, you can't "think". Training will attempt to mitigate the need to figure out what's happening, by using all of your sensory inputs, especially touch, to know what is coming next.

The second issue, though, is disparity in skill.

Now, there's a series of disparities between myself and Leo, who is my current instructor. I started training around 14 years ago, but due to the military, there was a long period where I didn't advance in my training. Meanwhile, Leo has been training for the past 25 years or so. I can completely see what he does, but my ability to stop it (and some of my ability to completely replicate it) isn't there. Interestingly enough, it creates a moving bar for my standard of achievement.

To all the Debbie Downers

To all the Debbie Downers: Yeah, I know the war isn't over. Thanks for the fucking update.

That's not the point. Today is a symbol of victory and revenge against a man who who carved into history a tragedy that defined the past 10 years of our lives, killed innocent civilians, twisted and bastardized Islam to support his evil ends, polarized a nation, and hid just out of reach from our grasp until he was killed in a damn MANSION by silent professionals who may never be able to tell the story that we all want to hear.

Today is a day of joy for all those who lost friends and family, brothers and sisters in arms, and grew up with the images of the attacks burned into their brains.

You can't take this moment away from us.

What's that in my pocket??

Ladies, feel free to just reach in there.

I found this site Everyday Carry, in which individuals post the things that they carry with them on a daily basis. I decided that I would post here what I carry in my pockets (minus talking about my duty stuff and pocket change). I will also include what is usually in my bag, since I pretty much always have one with me.

Pockets
I tend to wear carpenter's pants, so I get that extra pocket on the side of my leg. I also wear covert tactical pants, which add a hidden pocket on each leg, as well as a couple of other ones.

• Wallet
• Small notepad
• 2 pens (usually Zebra F-301)
  
• 1 Sharpie pen (fine point)
• Keys (may be in jacket in winter)
• Store program tags (placed on this, so they sit flat)
• Personal phone and work phone (placed in either the carpenter's pocket or the leg pockets)
• Folding knife

There is also the "Bag stuff." Depending on where I am going there is a small bag and a large bag. Either way, these things are usually in them:

• Leatherman Charge
  
• Megapro 15-in-1 Screwdriver
• Lock Pick set (because someone locked their baby in the apartment, or the fact that the desks at my office have push locks, but no keys)
• Hex key multi-tool (I have repaired many things, including Maureen's chairs)
• Toothbrush (someone else always has toothpaste)
• USB wall plug adapter (most phones now come with this, since they include the usb cable)
  
• Phone charging cable (since a lot of things now use USB micro, I can carry one cord for both phones)
• Inova flashlight (Need to find something on the floor after the movie? Looking under a couch? Search Warrant? This is extremely bright for the money it costs).
• Kindle (trips are boring, and if I'm trapped, at least I can read).
  

So that's about it. I think I have added a camera to the mix from time to time, now that I have one that can fit in a pocket. Feel free to let me know about the stuff you regularly carry. Ladies, don't tell me about your makeup.

Chewing the fat

Last week, I decided to get my body fat measured via caliper. I decided to do this after I learned that the far reading scales can be off by as much as 5 in the measurement, and can be influenced by how hydrated you are. I also had this grand plan of dropping from 184 lbs down to 172 or so. Basically, that was my pre-Afghanistan weight, and I remember being a faster runner (sub 7-minute miles).

Anyway, my body fat measurement using the Jackson/Pollock 3 caliper method was an 8.2. That puts me in the athletic range. However, this method of measuring also has a deviation of +/- 2%. The essential fat range for men is 2-5%, and I probably want to stay away from that.

So now comes the new question: can I drop muscle mass and retain a high (if not obtain a higher) strength to weight ratio?

Some of you may ask, "Are you sure that your run time is due to your weight?" I'm pretty sure of this (unless I'm getting old, although women in bars tell me I look 24). Back in the Army, I was never much of a "runner". That is, I MAYBE got out one a week, in the spring, and ran. Also, any mandatory runs, and running during summer training.

There's always the thought of going vegan, but I like meat. And don't even try to sell me on those vegan, tofu meat-substitutes that taste like crap. Tofurky? To-fuck yourself.

Flashback Friday: Trip to Verona (Italy)

One of the best things about living in Italy was the ability to travel. I wish that I had taken advantage of it more. Maybe later in life, I'll go back to some of these places. Verona was a nice place. Not too touristy. It's also the town where Romeo and Juliet took place.

-----Original Post-----

Okay, so I've been in for around half an hour, and I am still shivering from my trip to Verona. It was not a bad trip, but sweet Jesus, was it cold. There's an organization called Information, Tours, and Registration (ITR) that runs trips for military personnel, to different places. For all of you that don't know, Verona is the place where the historic story of Romeo and Juliet took place. More on that later.

First off, here are some random pictures of the things that I saw. These really came with no explanation to me, so I'm giving no explanation to you, because I'm too cold to make stuff up.

Okay, so enough random pictures. Now for ones that I can say at least a few words about:

Okay, so it's not historical or anything, but I just had to get a picture. I mean, it's baby yogurt. Probably made from the finest babies available. Soylent Green has nothing on this.

This was just some statue that was around. The guy looked pretty pimped, so I took a picture. Pimping ain't easy.

Okay, these are pictures of the Square and the Coliseum. This coliseum is the fourth largest in Italy, the largest one being the one in Rome, and was constructed in the first century A.D. They hold an annual concert here in the summer. Like the coliseum in Rome, it was designed with an outer wall that surrounded the inner wall, but most of it collapsed due to an earthquake in 1117. Rather than clean it up, the rocks were left there, and it became a quarry for the town, which is why there are no stones there now. The design of the coliseums is such that even if people are screaming and cheering inside, there is almost no noise that can be heard in the Square, which is right outside.

This is the clock tower in Verona. It is the largest tower in the city. It's also pretty close to where Romeo lived. I would have taken a picture of his place, but because of the angles and tight places, all that I could get was his door, and it was a damn big door.

Okay, now for the Juliet stuff.

This is Juliet's balcony. Actually, it is a recreation of the balcony, due to the fact that the actual balcony had been destroyed. This balcony was taken from a similar building and used in the restoration. The girl in the picture on the left was just there.

This is interesting. People come here and stick small love letters and notes up on the wall. Unfortunately, they do it using bubblegum. So it's kind of romantic, kind of unsightly. There's going to be another restoration, where I guess that they will remove all of the gum and stuff.

These are close up picture of two of the letters. The one on the left is sweet, but the one on the right says "Spud, I want your rear." How loving.

This is a side by side shot. On the left, you see a woman writing a note on the wall, along with a bunch of other notes that people have written. On the right, you see a painter, painting the opposite wall white. It was just so funny to see. I mean, I don't know who should feel that their efforts are more futile.

Closeups.

Okay, last but not least, in the courtyard, there is a statue of Juliet. Now the statue's right breast is extremely shiny compared to the rest of the statue. This is because they say that your are supposed to rub it, and it will make you lucky in love, or if you are married, it will strengthen your marriage. Yeah, nothing strengthens a marriage more than rubbing a statue's breast. I assume that it makes single people luckier in love because they now have to justify copping a feel on a statue. And so, it's time for teh gorping pictures:

And that concludes my trip to Verona. Maybe I'll do it again when it's warmer.

Exploding Wardrobe

Before I started with my current employer, I moved all of my personal effects into storage while I went into training, taking with me only a handful of things that would be necessary.

When training was complete, I moved back to NYC, and began house hunting. The process took WAY longer than expected (almost a year and a half). During that time, I moved back home. However, due to space requirements, I was not able to access my personal effects, and had to make due with what was on hand, and/or build from scratch. This building included clothing to wear.

Now, after leaving the army, I had developed a pretty good wardrobe. I was picky about what I bought. While I was living back home, I developed a pretty good wardrobe. Again, picky.

Once I finally had my own place, and had my personal effects back, I ran into a dilemma. I have too many shirts. I mean way too many. I mean, I have redone my closet so that it had two shirt hanging bars (high and low) and both are full. Yet I still have more clothing. I mean, I could dump my t-shirts, but then I would only have polos and button downs. That leaves nothing to relax in.

I actually see this as a major issue should I ever have a live-in gf or get married. Where would she put her clothing. In fact, I'm almost sure that I have more clothing than many of my female friends. That saddens me.

I've donated 3 boxes of stuff to the Salvation Army. Still haven't made a dent.

Clothing is not the only place where this is becoming a problem. There are some other items that have overlapped over time. For example, for some reason, I have 4 peelers. It's not likely that I will snap one on a potato, so those need to go.

Over Training

Last week, I took Friday to Sunday off from working out. I think i had to. I may have been pushing it too hard with my training. I mean, it's good to go hard in your training. But I don't think that doing it twice a day was giving me enough time to rest.

I seriously have no idea how I got through some of my workouts. It was as if once I started moving, I would be good to go. However, afterward, and into the next workout, I was run down and partially broken.

This whole upcoming tryout seems to have me running with minimum direction. No direction or known end, but running as hard as possible the entire time.

Sizing up the Competition

So, I am currently competing for a slot on one of the teams at work. Without saying too much, let's just say that this team is really physical. Thanks to the fact that many people do not know how to use BCC on email, I also know that there are 30 other individuals in the running. While that doesn't seem like much, that number is around 3% of individuals who would be eligible to apply. Seems a lot bigger now, huh? I think in personally know 8 or 9 of them.

So what do we have to do at the tryouts? No one really knows. There are no published standards, except for one shooting test, which is standard for our job. All we have is a packing list, a date, and the fact that it will take 36 hours. We were also told that water would be involved.

So you have 30 guys, all doing whatever training method that they can, with no metric to compare themselves to, outside of themselves. Some do Crossfit, Military Athlete, Ladder 25 (just heard about this today, but have no info on it), some do workouts that have been floating around and are designed for trying out for another team, which is harder to get onto. It's insane.

So you may wonder, how many slots are there for this team? I have no idea, but as far as I'm concerned, there is only one slot.

That's really the mentality that I have to go into this thing with. I mean, if there are 5 slots, you can't shoot to be the 5th best. That's just lazy. You want to coast past the others and gain a slot without any worry. You have to want to crush the competition. I'm literally sizing up the status of every other person that I came across. What's their workout, who do they know, what do they know about the workouts of others.

We're all just waiting and wondering.


And working out.

Search Insanity

There are many tasks that have to be conducted in my line of work. One of which is the search warrant. Many times, the warrant is not yours, but you are on a team that has been assigned to do a search.

The feelings that come with the search are directly related to what is being searched for. For example, searching for drugs? That's awesome. You know that for every kilo of coke you find, it's going to be evidence against someone. You KNOW that what you have found (should you actually find something) is definitely useful to the case.

On the other hand, there is the search that will make you gouge your brain out. This is the document search, generally associated with white collar crime. These searches are long and tedious. You show up at an office, and it always has the worst record keeping imaginable. Nothing ever makes complete sense. Also, you have no idea why they keep paper records, but they do.

In the end, you obtain boxes and boxes of documents. I'm talking hundreds of boxes. You literally need trucks to take it all away, and you have to lift those boxes into those trucks. And you know what? You have no idea if any of it will be useful to the case. Actually, you usually feel that most of it won't be. You're also sure that most of it will never be looked at, and if it is, not any time soon. No human being could, in a reasonable amount of time, sort through all of those documents, and find some golden nugget of incriminating evidence.

In between drugs and documents are computers. The thing is, there is a huge amount of information that can be seized from computers, and getting the machines isn't usually as tedious as getting actual documents. You're almost hopeful when you get a computer. You can't actually see that there isn't anything useful there. Also, it takes a lot less lifting to take someone's laptop.
Even better, you know that the information that you get can be searched with various programs, helping you to wade through the data.

Get with the Program

There was a time when I couldn't be bothered to sign up for a store's program. I still have no idea why. We've all bee there:

Cashier: Do you have a Store Program card?

Me: No.

Cashier: Would you

Me: No.

Hell, sometimes I say "Nope" in the correct tone for the first question, and I don't even have to bother with the second.

I mean, it's one thing if you have to pay to be in a program. Rarely is there a program that I will use enough that cost of entry will be greatly eclipsed by the savings (BJ's and Sams Club are examples where you win). Also, at some of these places, the prices are so high that even with the discount, it's cheaper to shop somewhere else. An example of this would be GNC (I recommend shopping at http://www.advantagesupplements.com) or Best Buy (only if I need something right now, otherwise online, get your cables at MonoPrice, and do other shopping online).

My thinking now is, if I'm going to spend money, I might as well do whatever I can to stretch the value of my dollar. I use only my credit card, and shop through links from my bank's website, because I can get more cash back. I'm currently working on a free trip to Japan, thanks to frequent flyer miles (and would probably be there if I had joined the programs earlier).

Anyway, now I'm part of so many programs that I have trouble keeping track of them. The hardest part is all of those stupid cards. If I could find some way to consolidate them into one easy to carry item, I would. Maybe I can create a card of bar codes just for that purpose.

Pain Redifined

The other night, during my workout, I had to do some psychological evaluation of my definitions of pain.

Now, there are different types of pain. There's the physical type that is caused by actual damage or stress to body parts. For example, I don't use Nike sneakers, because they cause a huge amount of pain to the bottom of my foot, under the arch. Anyway...

Due to tryouts coming up in May, I have begun ramping up my physical training. What this amounts to is usually 2 workouts a day, plus martial arts training on Monday and Thursday. Physically, I'm not going to die, but I'm feeling something I haven't felt in a long time.

It's probably due to the fact that I am generally in better shape than your average person, outside of the military. When you compare yourself to the people around you, you feel really good, because they are generally out of shape. However, this leads to a level of complacency. I haven't had to push myself like this in a while, so I'm starting to hit those walls that I haven't hit. There is also the matter of learning that I can easily function through that pain, as long as I psychologically identify it for what it is: not the point of failure for my body.

As badly as this training is kicking my ass, it's necessary. I know that this year, the deck is stacked, and I know some of the people trying out. I know I have my work cut out for me.

Wayback Wednesday: Circle concept

This post originally appeared on December 10, 2004. The main idea of the post revolves around how hard it is to take care of things if certain base needs aren't met.


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The circle concept

Imagine a series of concentric circles, each one pertaining to an aspect of your life. There is no limit to how many circles can exist in the example, as the possibilities for what can technically be tied to “you” are limitless. In theory, we could create one that had levels spanning out until you had a circle that stood for the universe. Unfortunately, for our purpose, doing this would be useless, as you cannot see your effect on the entire universe, nor does the universe technically need you.

The innermost circle represents you and everything that you have direct control of. This includes things like what clothing you wear, what you have for lunch, what color sheets you have for your bed, and so forth. The next circle out contains things that you do not have absolute control over, but have some direct effect on. This would include things like your workplace, your girlfriend’s or wife’s life, etc. The circles continue outward from there, and can be as specific or as general as you deem fit. Non-related items can share the same circle if need be, due to their similar level of control or importance. Another method of thinking would be to classify each circle by its effect on you. The inner circle holds what has the most effect on you, such as eating, and the outermost circle could be what has the least effect on you, such as the fact that Pluto’s orbit makes it the eight planet from the sun for part of its cycle.

For every individual, that inner circle is the most important, because what exists in that circle is what you control, and what affects you directly. Imagine that the inner circle can be directly related to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. You directly control if and when you eat (most of the time), and not satisfying that need directly affects you in the form of hunger. Effects in this circle will eventually reverberate outward, affecting the other circles. Hunger may cause you to be more easily irritated, causing you to become impatient with your girlfriend. Hunger will lower your productivity and ability to think, or the argument with your girlfriend will lead to you sleeping on the couch, which will move into the next outer circle, causing you to be tired at work, and so forth.

Every individual works to satisfy as much of their inner circle as they can. It would be impossible to satisfy everything in this circle, especially while there are other circles that need attendance. You have a job to do, and that circle steals time away from your innermost circle. However, this does not mean that it has no effect on that circle. If you don't do your job, you will not get paid, and you won't eat. See how easily things come back to that inner circle. So, when you're at your desk pumping out the end of the fiscal year financial reports, you can't deal with what you need to with your inner circle, such cleaning your house.

Every individual will spend a lot of time unknowingly moving between circles, never truly separating the tasks, and grouping them under the catch-all category of “Life.” The job and their personal life are not separate in their mind. It’s just one large series of tasks. Other will begin the categorization of tasks, and separate them depending on importance, and what circle it reside in. When they are at work, their effort is exerted in the “Work” circle, but as soon as work is done, their mind drifts to some circle that is closer to their center. Still, it may not be the most inner circle. Maybe it’s the girlfriend circle, or the house circle. This becomes more complicated depending on the individual, and how they decide to separate their circles, and what they place the most importance on. In the diagram on the right, we have a rather general example. A diagram that would be more specialized may break “Things in your life” into such categories as the house, the girlfriend, the car, and place those depending of what that person feels is more important. Does he love his car or his girlfriend more? If he fails to take care of the car, will that eventually hurt his ability to deal with his girlfriend (placing the car in closer than the girlfriend)? If the car blows up, would that have absolutely no effect on his relationship (allowing the girlfriend to reside on a circle closer to his center than the circle in which his car resides).

Operating In The Gap

Before I get into the entry, you may have noticed a blog title change. I'm still working with what I should call this damn thing. Suggestions welcome. Also, tell your friends to follow this.

Due to under-staffing, combined with an increase in workload, I work for two bosses, at two different offices, and have two desks. On a positive note, I live in between the two offices, so it's not like either has a terrible commute. However, one has underground parking, so I never have to look for a parking spot. The other one has the advantage of having a better gym, not being too far from where I have my PO Box, and being near the gym that I swim at. However, parking sucks balls.

The fact that I have two bosses and two desks that are so far apart creates my ability to operate in the gap. The idea stems off a discussion with another coworker regarding a supervisor that had to do this for a short period. The most important part was the idea that "If you're not here, everyone assumes that you are there, and if you are not there, they assume that you are here." Essentially, it creates an accountability gap that only you can verify. If people don't see you around the office, they already have a reason in their minds. As long as you get all of your work done, no one ever questions you. Lastly, because both sides assume that you are busy, they decrease your workload.

This allows me to do a number of things. First of all is work out mid-day, which is something that I am very excited about. I'm working out twice a day in preparation for tryouts, and the ability to do a heavier workout is necessary.

The second thing is shooting, which something that I am very excited about. Last Friday I went to the shooting range and fired off over half a case of ammunition (about 300 rounds), working on bullseye targets and tightening up my groups. It's work related, so I don't have to feel guilty.

The third is running errands, which something that I am very excited about. In order to make these ok, however, I have to do them in between other pieces of work. These are more like check mail, pick up a part from Home Depot, or write a blog entry.

This does create some dilemmas, though. Occasionally, the stars align and work for both bosses all hit at once. Suddenly, I have a FULL week. I mean 6-7 days of work, and, at one point, a 29-hour day.

Outside of this, I can quietly fill my schedule with the work of my choice, and almost be my own boss. I just also have to not be at my desk a lot.

Math Olympics

When I go out, unless I really know you, or we work together, I tend to be a fan of separate checks. I think it's a great idea, and yes, it may be a little bit of a pain for the waitress, but the lack of headaches is worth it.

Case in point. Last weekend, I HAD TO get out of the house, and my roommate was headed to Hooters with some friends to watch the UFC fight. That seemed like an excellent excuse. My roommate, however, is a couple of years younger than me, and by extension, so are his friends.

The night went very well, and when it came time to pay up, I was a champ, having to only close out my check. The other 6, however had some issues. For some reason, they couldn't get the math to come out correct for the check, and so they kept coming up short (actually, I will hand it to my roommate, since he is astute in these matters). Add to this the fact that they apparently were unfamiliar with how tax worked, and the fact that our group size automatically incurred an 18% gratuity due to size, and it was a recipe for hot wings disaster.

Being the brains in the is operation, I stepped in and tried to help them. First I decided that I would use the handy app on my phone to calculate exactly what each person owed from the bill. This would have worked well, except for two things. First, one girl was upset because her amount came out to much more than the rest. She seemed to be unable to grasp that she had ordered a $11 drink, thus starting her subtotal higher, and entitling her to a greater percentage of tax and tip. Second, the math didn't work out.

Due to her protests, and the group willing to just split tip and tax evenly, I looked at the math another way. And then I saw what was wrong.

One of the individuals took off right after the fight. I think right after their bill arrived. HE left money on the table. Apparently, he not only had NO understanding of what tax and tip were (because he left no money for it), but I believe he was a few cents short (having left only bills) on his part of the subtotal.

I would like to hope that they learn from this mistake. However, I will still get a separate check.

Wayback Wednesday: National Strike Day & the new apartment in Italy

This post originally appeared on November 30, 2004. It was my introduction to the lazy life of the Italian in Italy. I mean, this is just the tip of the iceberg, because over the next 3 years, I would suffer to many more mildly inconveniences. This also contains the first pictures of my apartment.

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After a workout that enhanced both my abs and my abs, I went to the chow hall to get some breakfast, and found that only paper plates and plastic utensils were being used today. Why? Because the Italians are taking a day off for, (stop drinking anything) NATIONAL STRIKE DAY!!! I have yet to visit a lazier country than Italy. Seriously, this country should have a national Go do your damn job day, in which work actually gets done. In case you missed an earlier post, let me enlighten you. The typical Italian business opens at 1000, and stays open until 1200. From 1200 until 1500 (that’s 3 hours or 300 hours for you military people), most businesses are closed, except for restaurants. That’s because the Italians like to take their time for lunch. I mean, you have to since every meal is required to have a minimum of 4 courses, plus wine. So the store reopens at 1500 and stays open until 1800. That means these people have a 5 hour workday (unless you work in a restaurant, in which case, you stay open for long periods, because people take forever to eat). Also, never count on a business being open on a Sunday. Lastly, businesses are required to be closed for one day of the week, which varies from business to business. So that comes out to being open for 5 days a week, 5 hours a day, for a 25-hour work week. I think this country needs a National “We lost World War 2, so we should speak English” day.

Okay, so then it rains all day. Surprisingly, this is also the day where I have to do a lot of walking outside. You feel kind of bad when you have to walk to a place in sideways falling rain, and notice that one half of your uniform is a lot wetter than another side. However, you feel better when you realize that it will all even out when you walk back in the other direction. Damn Infantry. I'm a man, who can't wear rain gear because of my branch. Most people in the Infantry don't acknowledge that it exists, unless you have to spend a long period standing in the rain. Also, if it’s just YOU that have to be in the rain, you don't wear the wet weather gear, or you'll be called various 4 and 5-letter words, mostly in jest.

I was promoted today to First Lieutenant (1LT). Technically, my date of rank is 1 December (and so is Eddie's, Heather). It just means that I get a pay raise ($343.40 per month, plus the 3% pay raise at the start of the year thanks to cost of living) to spend money on new rank, and that I've been commissioned for 18 months. No real changes. 6 months until my next pay raise (2 years in the army means another raise of 362.40 a month, or $705.80 more than I currently make). Combat will mean that I'll have to pay no income taxes for a year.

Lastly, I had to go out to my apartment to have it inspected before I move in, so I took some pictures while I was there:

This is my Kitchen area. Note that the stove is kind of small. That’s just how it is in Italy. I have no idea why, especially when they cook such large meals. The fridge hides away, looking like a cabinet and tricking hungry thieves into thinking that I have no leftovers. The last picture is the view from the Kitchen.

This is my large bathroom, and the shower. I didn't include a view from the bathroom, because no one really looks out of the bathroom window. Maybe I should have checked to see is there might be someone looking in. Maybe I could charge for shows.

This is the small bathroom. And,... um,... yeah.

This is the small bedroom. It is where other will be sleeping, unless there is some reason they want to share the large bed (lightning, etc.). The last pic is the view (in case your perspective is off, that is not a wall behind the trees. It's an open field or something. Look at the distance on that view.

This is the big bedroom, aka My Room. That is my bed, and a picture of me taking a picture. Once again, the view. There's a third room, but there was nothing in it, so I took now pictures of it.

This is half of the living room. I forgot to take a picture of the other half of it, which is where the couch and two comfort seats (I think that's what you call them) are. Finally, this is the view from the window. The first pic is what's to the left, the second is straight ahead, and the last is what's to the right. Now you may be asking, "How much does this cost?" 850 euro a month, which is a little over $1,000. Now, guess how much the Army give me for rent, ON TOP OF my paycheck: 850 euro (non-taxable income). Can you say free housing? I know I can.

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Building my Medical Kit

Those of you who know me in any capacity should know that I am a gear whore. If you need a guy that has some randomly useful item, at a time when would would suspect that no one would have it, I'm your man. If I'm carrying a bag with me somewhere, it usually has a multi-head screwdriver, a lock-pick kit, flashlight, leatherman, allen wrench multi-tool, neosporin, a thumb drive, and the charger for my phone. I'm the guy that always brings the ram, bolt cutters, and a crowbar to arrests.

Anyway, due to a miscalculation, I had a lot of money left over for my flex-spending medical plan, and needed a way to burn it, because I would just lose the money otherwise. The money has to be spent on medical supplies and services, and they recently removed over-the-counter medicine. Since you can only buy so many condoms without seeming completely insane (ever make a condom choice because it was more expensive?), I decided that it was time to build a quick first aid kit for use on the job. Actually, I built two, and then got some extra stuff, all for the sake of spending money.

First Aid Pouch, MOLLE Compatible Black

I'm going to need a place to put the stuff, and since I'm not building an EMS bag, it has to be something small enough to fit on my body armor, in a cargo pocket, or in a glove compartment. The main draw of this pouch was that it could fit MOLLE webbing. It also has internal elastic to hold stuff down inside. I purchased two of these.

Bear Claw Tan Nitrile Gloves: 10 pair, rolled

I already have a box of these, but since I was spending money, why not get some that were already prepped for the kit (also, so I could see how they did it). If there is time, gloves are always a nice way to protect yourself when dealing with blood. Also, avoid colors like black unless they are absolutely necessary for tactical purposes. It is hard to see blood on black gloves, which may pose a problem when checking a victim. Two of these are in each kit, because gloves always break.

NAR Combat Application Tourniquet (C-A-T Tourniquet)

A tourniquet that can be applied one-handed is always good, just in case you're the casualty. I looked at another model, but settled on this one because of the ease of getting the tightening bar into the holder. Also, the strap that secures it doubles for where you write the time.

NAR C-A-T Tourniquet Holder

It came down between this holder and this one. In the end, I decided that I would go with the one that covered the tourniquet completely. Deployment time should be negligible. The tourniquet will be mounted on my body armor, since you don't want to have to go digging for this.

Hemcon Chitogauze


Similar to QuikClot, I did some research and found that the chitosan gauze stopped bleeding faster, and absorbed less blood in the process. I also like that it comes z-folded, which makes deployment from the container much easier. When gauze is rolled, the entire roll must pulled out to unroll it as you go (I think you can master the pull from the roll center method, though), exposing it to the elements, and the chance of being dropped.

This is to be stuffed in large wounds where arterial bleeding is present.

Celox Trauma Gauze

Similar to the chitogauze, this is another hemostatic, but can also be used to treat burns. The trick to this, is that the gauze isn't coated with chitosan, but is actually made of the chitosan agent itself. I would prefer that it were z-folded, though.

CELOX-A

I'm really the guy that you want around if you get shot. Reading up, I came across this, which is for smaller wounds where trying to stuff gauze might not work. The applicator allows delivery of the hemostatic agent deeper into the wound, and closer to the artery.

NAR HyFin Chest Seal & HyFin Xtreme Chest Seal

Ches wounds suck, especially if they are sucking. These are two similar items, with one that is just designed to cover more of the chest in the case of multiple wounds. The adhesive is good, even if the application ares is wet.

NAR Emergency Trauma Dressing 4"

If a wound isn't deep, you're going to need to cover it. So this is the other option. It can also be placed over a packed wound once the bleeding is under control.

Nasopharyngeal Airway (28 Fr., 9.3mm)

It comes with lube! I was totally going to shove it up your nose dry. Also, I don't have to care if your gag reflex works, not that I've ever cared.

ADC Adsafe CPR Pocket Mask

It's not like you'll wake up when I kiss you. This is a little too large to get into the pouch, but a large pouch presented other issues. I mean, sure they say you can use only chest compressions, but I'm not planning for heart attacks. Also, easier to get a seal.

FREE Immediate Action Card

Don't know what to do? Panic under pressure? Realize that no one else on your team has a medical kit, so chances are unless you can talk, you're screwed? This should help. I am upset that it doesn't talk about burns, but it was free. CPR instructions on the back.

Master Classic II Littman Black Edition Stethoscope

This is where I was just spending money because. When I opened the package and told my grandmother the price, my grandmother first said "you can get those anywhere in Chinatown for cheaper." However, once she took a listen with it, she said it was awesome (she's a retired nurse from the NY Hospital for Special Surgery). My aunt (a teaching nurse at Columbia) said that most doctors she knows use Littman brand (which she also owns), and that a lot of nurses go with a cheaper model (which is actually extremely clear). She says that stethoscopes are probably the most stolen thing in a hospital, by other nurses and doctors, so never put yours down.

ADC Diagnostix 2100 Digital Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

A fun and completely unnecessary item, my aunt (my mom's side of the family is almost entirely nurses) said this is like gold in a hospital. So much so that no one buys one because it will be stolen off of your patient's finger. She just uses the heart rate machines at work, and says that most patients don't get their oxygen saturation checked. She want's one for her birthday (note to Phoenix and Austin).


If anyone saw anything that I may have overlooked, or if you have suggestions, let me know.

Flashback Friday

This was originally posted on November 14, 2004. For some reason, I decided to tackle dating and profession at the same time. Efficiency of blogging? Who knows. My original blog at blog.com has disappeared, so don't bother trying to go to it. The digital war links still work, but I have no idea what was at the Benning site. Might have been for the Roy P. Benavidez MOH citation.

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So in my infinite reading and web surfing, I stumbled across this comic: http://www.digitalwar.co.uk/d/20040423.html. The series is actually pretty good. Unless you're a Lord of the Rings fan. In that case, you will find that this is a parody that has gone on way too long and should be a fan site to www.bobandgeorge.com.

Anyway, I find this particular comic interesting because it tackles a subject that has long sat in my brain, mostly because I have this weird way of running across the situation over and over and over.... well, you get the idea.

The last girl that I dated was someone that I hadn't known and become friends with first. Things just kind of developed into a relationship over time. It went from "someone I could talk to" and was "hanging out with" to "dating" over the course of 3 months. Then you back date the whole thing to when you met, and call that your dating period. So that relationship lasted a total of 7 months (it also ended 7 months ago). Strangely enough, when the relationship ended as abruptly as it did (refer to the first entry at http://black6.blog.com) there were few "lost friend" repercussions.

You then need to contrast this with the fact that I tend to keep few female friends. It's not really by choice. I just happen to be in a section of professions where there are not very many women (Army Infantryman), and the fact that my previous environments were West Point (14% female) and an all boys high school. I think in that High School part, I had maybe between 1 and 3 (I can only guarantee 1) women that I talked to regularly that were my age and not part of my martial arts training.

So a lot of the women that I end up friends with fall into the category of "I'd date you, but I'd rather not screw up this friendship, because then I'd only have the guys at work, and I can only take so much grunting on a daily basis" or "I was trying to date you, but then I took a wrong turn somewhere, or some reason of higher morality stopped me." Once they leave that second category (i.e. they become available), the are almost immediately shuttled into the first category, mostly because I'm an ass, and you'd really have to put up with constant joking sarcasm (which a lot of women are attracted to, surprisingly enough). and an extreme amount of logic based thinking that overrides emotion (which some think is me just playing hard to get). In any case, I wouldn't be a good friend if I put a friend through that while we were dating. So, if anyone knows any aggressive women, direct them my way. It'll make both our lives a lot less painful.

The next comic in the series is this one: http://www.digitalwar.co.uk/d/20040425.html. Ignore the first half, and go down to the part about saving someone. I've actually put as much thought into this subject as I have the other one over the past couple of years. In my line of work, and just about every line of work that I've ever considered, from police officer, to volunteer firefighter, to government agent, to SWAT, you come to grips with the reality of your own probable death, and the lives of other being in danger. At some point in my mind, I began to realize that it was best to suppress the thoughts of saving someone, because in doing so, you're at the same time hoping that someone else's life is in so much danger that YOU must step in. Essentially in wishing for your own heroic moment, you're wishing for someone else's tragedy.

There is actually a slight difference in this when it comes to certain professions. Such as being a firefighter. You generally KNOW the job you are walking into. Force of nature, threatens the lives of people. Even if it's an empty building, the spread of the fire could endanger others, and compound, should a gas main be hit or something. If you're only aspiration is to pull beautiful women from burning buildings with your huge arms, you've got some thinking to do.

Strangely, in my profession, there is little room for "heroics" because that usually means that something has gone horribly wrong, and your "heroics" are necessary to save the lives of those around you. Such heroics can by found by reading through Medal of Honor citations and seeing things such as "jumped on a grenade" or by reading this one http://www.benning.army.mil/whinsec/NCOA.asp?id=211. There is no way someone could have wished for a situation like this. One can only hope to be this brave should something like this happen. But first, one should hope that this never happens to begin with.

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