10 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Chance of Survival

I am busy today. Actually I am busy most days. I think many people are like this, in a kind of fast-forward style of living that leaves little time for major projects. This is why I like my information short and concise, why I like my conversations the same way, and why I like to do a variety of very small preparedness projects (like watching a 45 minute Surviving Disaster episode while eating lunch at my desk) instead of one or two major preparedness projects. At least, I feel, I will cover the basics while completing a whole bunch of small activities that will, hopefully, cover the basics of the widest range of disasters that are likely to happen. Here's some ideas for small survival-oriented activities that you and your family can complete:

1. Watch an episode of Surviving Disaster online. I rave about this show so much because it is the first time I have seen easily digestible survival information geared towards the average person. Not the person with extensive survival training, not the person who fancies themself the next coming of Rambo, but ordinary people--those who are most likely to encounter the kinds of disasters this show discusses.
2. Go check your smoke detectors. Do they work? How long has it been since you changed the batteries in these devices? The average person is much more likely, odds-wise, to face something as common as a house fire than to face a tsunami, mass shooting, or other highly publicized disaster.
3. Stop by the Dollar Store on your way home today and pick up ten cans of soup. Sounds simple but by making this small investment, you have just put together ten meals for use when the power goes out, when stores aren't accessible because of a snow storm, when you are too sick to get up and cook actual food, etc.
4. Call up your doctor and see if your vaccinations are up to date. During a disaster, you can improvise many things but you can't improvise your way out of lock-jaw because your last tetanus shot was 20 years ago. Some vaccines you may want to update: tetanus, hepatitis A and B, influenza, possibly pneumonia, and others as recommended by your doctor.
5. Can you make a fire? Sadly, this is a long lost skill that during a disaster, you may need to know how to do. If you were to practice for only 15 minutes a day, every day for a year, making a small fire in all kinds of weather conditions and with all kinds of materials, you would be an expert. Unfortunately this skill is lost because we don't need to "go make fire" in the normal course of our day any more, but should you become lost in the wilderness, survive a plane crash in the mountains, or not have the accouterments of modern life available after a disaster, you will be glad you now this skill.
6. Sign up for a CPR class. There is no excuse for anyone in this entire country not to know CPR. This is such an important skill (more so now I would hazard to guess as our population ages) and the classes are so easily available in most every community, that there is no excuse not to know how to save a life with CPR.
7. Take a few minutes to write down important numbers on a piece of paper. If your computer was dead and your cell phone was dead, would you still be able to call the gas company, your brother, your employer, etc? Most people keep all of these numbers on their cell phone, in their Outlook program, or otherwise on their computer which is not good if a disaster should strike. You need to be able to access these phone numbers with or without a cell phone or computer that works.
8. Hold an unannounced fire drill when the family gets home tonight. Do the actual walk through of what people would do if they were awoken by the smoke alarm--crawl on the floor, check the door to see if it is hot, devise two ways to escape from each room, know where to meet up near the house after escaping from your home, etc. Although a complete drill is better than just talking about what you would do, I would caution against actually trying to escape from a second story window due to the danger.
9. Dump out your BOB and repack it. This will take more than a few minutes to do but it is good to do this at the change of each season. Now that it is winter, are the clothes in your BOB appropriate? Do the batteries still work? How old is the food and water?
10. Check to see if your car is prepared for winter. Again,this may take a little longer than a lunch break but since you rely on your car everyday, it is important to make it as safe and thoroughly prepared as possible. How are the tires? Winter is not the time to have bald tires. Do you know where your snow chains are? Are the emergency supplies in the car still in working order (ie: batteries in flashlights, food and water still edible, etc)?

Many of these tasks are common sense, generic survival preps that we often overlook. By taking a few minutes today, you can knock these off of your list and move forward on more intensive survival projects.

Police Shooting Update and Some Preparedness Lessons

A few days back I reported on a recent shooting in our city that targeted police officers. Yesterday, a suspect in the shooting was found by the police which led to another shootout. Here's some take away lessons from these incidents:

• First, the officers were sitting in their patrol car minding their own business when the shooter pulled up next to the car and started firing, wounding one officer and killing the other. Lesson: any time you are sitting in your vehicle paying attention to what you are doing (reading a book while waiting for the spouse, talking on your cell phone, finishing up work before you get to a meeting) you can be a target. People should be able to feel secure in their own vehicles but that isn't always the case. Car-jackers, robbers, rapists, and yes, random shooters, will take advantage of people being distracted to commit a crime which usually involves the victim being in or around their car, often involves a weapon or violence, and can lead to injury or death. Always be hyper alert when in your car, whether you are driving, sitting at a stop light, parked in a parking lot, or in the bank/fast food drive thru.
• When the suspect was cornered, he drew his weapon. Either he had a death wish or he flunked math--one with a firearm against literally dozens with firearms is pretty poor odds. Lesson: people may react irrationally when cornered or in a desperate situation. If someone pulls a gun on you, shoot first and ask questions later. In the split second it will take you to analyze their motives and formulate some possible outcomes, you could be dead. Ditto, if you pull a firearm on someone; you need to have a life or death reason to do so. Most people who are drawn on, even if you just meant to threaten them with your firearm, will take it as a threat to their life and react accordingly.
• Immediately after the suspect was taken into custody, his entire apartment building was evacuated. Lesson learned: have your BOB/Go Bag ready to grab at a moment's notice. If this had happened at your home, where officers knocked on your door and said you must leave now, no time to grab a change of clothes or anything else, and that you will be away from home for an indeterminate amount of time, would you be prepared? Note also that evacuees were sheltered on a city bus; area roads were blocked with so many responders that there was no way for the people to even drive themselves away from the scene.
• While one apartment building was evacuated, the other buildings in the complex were put on lock down. No one was allowed to come or go from their apartments and all were told to remain inside their homes until further notice. Lesson learned: do you have a lock down procedure for your home? While it may not be as complex as the procedure for locking down a huge commercial building, knowing what to do in these situations is something that needs forethought and practice. A communications plan is also in order. What if your kids or spouse were expected home within the hour however no one was being allowed in or out of the complex? At times like these, being able to contact family members, having a secondary plan and a safe place to wait out the crisis, and a way to receive ongoing communications about the situation would be in order.
• The police were able to break this case due to a tip from a citizen. Lesson learned: pay attention to your surroundings. The neighbors noticed that a car which never had a cover on it suddenly had a cover on it. That may be a tip. Others saw the vehicle description on the news and thought it looked an awful lot like the neighbor's car. Part of being prepared for anything is being aware of everything. If something seems off or unusual or strange, find out why. Or at least make a mental note of it for further follow-up if needed.
• Apparently the suspect's apartment contained firearms (not a major concern to me), ammo (ditto), and either IEDs or the makings of IEDs (concerning). Lesson learned: you never know what your neighbors keep in their home and, unfortunately, some of the things they may be keeping could kill you or flatten your neighborhood. I tend to choose where I live rather strategically. For many reasons I choose not to live in an apartment building, one reason being that I have no control what my neighbors do and cooking meth, making bombs, and other unsavory things could have a very detrimental affect on me and my family. If possible, choose where you live with care.

Some Thoughts on the Ft Hood Shooting

I was rather speechless yesterday as I watched the media coverage of the Ft Hood mass shooting yesterday. Here's some thoughts:

• People--from the lowest enlisted guy and civilian spouses/kids who live on base to the highest ranking officer on base--can not legally carry a personal firearm on base. Again I will say, as I always do, that the higher the possibility that anyone can be armed, the higher the possibility that these kinds of incidents can be deterred or avoided. Cases in point: numerous school shootings where the populace was unarmed have resulted in multiple deaths. A mall shooting in our state a few years back where a mall store employee was armed and responded immediately with his firearm, resulted in no deaths.
• It is unfortunate that the shooter was a Muslim. Radical Muslims who commit such crimes, just like radical Christians who kill abortion doctors and the like, give a bad name to all who practice the religion.
• It was unfortunate that the shooter was a medical professional. Of all people to commit such a crime, medical professionals are the people we rely on to care for us, and as they pledge, "to do no harm". Disappointing.
• It was senseless. The people who were killed were unarmed, in what they considered a very safe environment, and were probably at the time quite worried about what they would face when they got to Iraq and Afghanistan, not worried that a comrade in arms would do this to them. Senseless.
• It was unusual. Was joining the military a way to "infiltrate the enemy"? Of course it is all speculation at this point and the speculation is that the shooter was on the side of the Taliban/Al Quaeda/radical Muslims/etc and detested what America was doing against these groups. So he gets his complete medical education free of charge by signing up to fight on...the side of America. Weird.
• I'm glad he lived. A slow, painful death process which gives him plenty of time to think about what he did and what will happen to him (I'm guessing a slam-dunk death sentence) seems more fair than to be shot and killed during the event. Just my opinion...
• Again it sounds like there were some mental health issues involved in this situation as opposed to simply radical Muslim issues. In hindsight, from what has been discussed in the media, it appeared that there were a number of red flags that could point to a range of psychological disorders. Many mass shooting/individual shooting situations point back to severe psychological problems that aren't caught before the fact but that seem obvious after the fact. As much as I am supportive of pro-gun issues, I am equally supportive of the need for better mental health care which is marginal at best in our country.

This was a sad situation all the way around. My prayers go out to the families of the people killed and the people who were injured in this senseless shooting. Taking out aggression on our soldiers who don't make military policy and have no say at all on when and where America fights to protect our country, makes no sense at all.

Surviving Disaster: Avalanche

It took me a while to catch up with this episode of Surviving Disaster (apparently the show is available online for a week after original broadcast then taken down for a month then put up after the month is over). Here's the high points from the Surviving Disaster-Avalanche show which can be found here:

• Scenario: a group of friends head out to the mountains to go skiing and snowboarding in the out-of-bounds area.
• There are 500 winter resorts in North America which are visited by 60 million people annually.
• If you choose to ski in out-of-bounds areas always carry an avalanche beacon, probe, and snow shovel and ALWAYS tell someone where you intend to be skiing.
• In the winter back country there are a number of dangers including: white outs, blizzards, high temperature fluctuations, wildlife, and avalanche.
• If you find yourself in a white-out, stop immediately and gather your group together. Always stay together as a group because you have a better chance of survival this way. Don't try to travel during a white-out as you will become lost immediately.
• During a blizzard or white out, remember that rescue teams will not be able to be out looking for you until the weather improves.
• During the white-out, one of the group was injured because he boarded off the side of a cliff.
• First priority, check the victim's condition. Have the victim move his feet and squeeze your hands to check for spinal injuries. Don't move a person with neck or back injuries unless absolutely necessary.
• The victim had an open leg fracture. Normally don't try to realign an open fracture if there is the possibility of rescue soon. If you won't be rescued for a while you will need to try to realign the fracture to prevent the bone for drying out an infection from setting in. Stop the bleeding with direct pressure on a cloth put above the break--don't touch the exposed bone. Have people hold the victim down while one person slowly pulls the ankle in an effort to realign the bone. If you hit resistance, don't continue as this could sever nerves or an artery. Use ski poles and straps from backpacks to immobilize the leg by tying the leg above and below the break to the ski poles.
• Use a snowboard as a sled to transport the patient. Drag the patient head first on the sled down the hill. One person will lead the group looking for crevasses, two people will drag the patient by the sleeves of his jacket and a third will keep hold of the back of the sled with a rope to control speed
• Try to make it to the tree line as this will provide better shelter from the wind.
• Wind chill, cold temperatures, and wet clothes all increase the chance of hypothermia.
• Before nightfall you will need to find shelter. In this case the group didn't make it to the tree line and needed to build a snow cave. You will be 50 degrees warmer in a snow cave than out in the elements.
• To build a snow cave, look for a major accumulation of snow that is downwind. Dig an entrance hole up into the snow then shovel out the snow from the cave leaving a dome-shaped ceiling to prevent collapse. Use the snow you removed to create a sleep shelf above the entrance hole. Work fast but do not sweat when making the cave or you could become hypothermic. Rotate people working on the cave every two minutes.
• Once the cave is built, get everyone into the cave. Have everyone stay on the sleep shelf where the warm air will stay; cooler air will drop down and out the entrance hole.
• The injured person has the greatest risk of hypothermia as he is not moving. If he is shivering, that's good, if he isn't shivering, that's not good.
• Put the victim on the sleep shelf and elevate his leg on packs. Have him count backwards from 100 to check his mental acuity. Check his clothing, if they are wet remove them. If his clothes are dry, wrap his sleeves together to conserve heat. Try to feed him.
• Make the victim a "hot water bottle" by having someone urinate into a bottle then put the bottle next to his groin, armpit, or under his neck.
• Never give a hypothermic person alcohol as this exacerbates the problem.
• Keep the group attentive over night by giving each a job (one watch the patient, one keep entrance clear, etc) then switch jobs every hour.
• If the weather has improved by morning, the group will need to go for help. The chance of rescue decreases by 1/3 each day.
• Leave the slowest person behind with the patient and the rest of the group should go for help. It will take 10 times longer to find help if you are bringing along the injured person.
• It was noted that in a survival situation, you want to take the emotion out of your decisions in order to make wise choices. It was also noted that in most survival situations, you are responsible for yourself and often you can't wait for people to come and rescue you.
• The chance of avalanche is greater the first 24 to 48 hours after a heavy snowfall.
• Use the urine from the bottle to mark a circle around the cave, this will be a good signal for helicopter rescuers to see.
• When the group got to the treeline, they took off their skis and snowboards. Snowshoes are the best way to travel over deep snow. They made snowshoes by gathering branches and tying them onto their boots with bungee cords and ties; one bungee cord was wrapped around the back of the ankle and tied on to the ties that were holding the branches to their boots to keep the "snow shoe" in place.
• When the group was walking, they came upon an animal carcass. You can eat the brains and bone marrow for protein and use the fat to help start a fire.
• The group next came upon a bear. Grizzly bears have a round face and hump on its back, black bears have no hump and pointy ears. You can play dead if a grizzly bear attacks ansd it will leave you alone but not with a black bear which will "tear you apart out of curiosity". Never run from a bear or it will chase you. Try to act submissive with a grizzly bear, don't look it in the eye, and back away slowly from the bear as a group.
• One person ran from the bear, the bear chased him, he dropped to the ground and played dead, and the rest of the group scarred the bear away by making a lot of noise.
• To cross an open area, take off the snow shoes and put on skis/snowboards. Turn on your avalanche beacon, tighten backpacks, and zip your coat up to the top (if you are caught in an avalanche, you don't want cold snow inside your jacket).
• Note that open areas with steep grades and heavy snow are prime avalanche locations.
• The group should cross the open area one at a time. The person crossing should try to stay near trees and rock outcroppings while the rest of the group should watch him cross (this way they can see where to start searching for him if he is caught in an avalanche).
• You will hear a "whoof" sound when snow is adjusting or settling before an avalanche.
• If you see an avalanche coming, try to ski to the side of it, not in front of it. If you get caught in the avalanche, cup your hands over your nose and mouth to create an air pocket that will give you air to breathe while you are waiting for rescue.
• Once buried, more than 3/4 of avalanche victims die of suffocation. You have a 90% chance of survival if found within 15 minutes of of being buried in an avalanche. Most of the time, you cannot dig yourself out of an avalanche so you should relax and conserve oxygen if you can't free yourself.
• In this scenario, two people were buried by the avalanche. The rest of the group searched for them starting where they were last seen. The group used their avalanche beacon to search for the people who were buried by making a zigzag pattern through the avalanche field since beacons only have a range of 20 yards. Once the beacon caught the signal, follow the signal to the beacon location then use a probe to find the exact location of the buried person.
• Once the person is found, turn off their beacon so it won't interfere with finding the second person. Don't worry about the first person's injuries until the second person is found.
• The second beacon was found three feet down so the group went down the hill three feet and dug in to find the victim (this takes less effort than digging down). Unfortunately, the beacon was found attached to the backpack of the victim which was ripped off during the avalanche.
• Always wear your avalanche beacon on your person, not your gear!
• When you see a rescue helicopter, signal them until they see you.
• Set up a landing zone for the helicopter by clearing an area about 40' by 60'. Make sure the area is flat and has been cleared of large debris.
• Rescue dogs were used to find the other person. Dogs can find people buried in six to 13 feet of snow and are much better at searching large areas than people.
• Once the victims were loaded into the helicopter, directions were given to find the others who had been left behind.

This is good information for people who enjoy winter back country activities. I highly recommend watching the video.

Surviving Disaster: Earthquake

In the most recent episode of Surviving Disaster, earthquake survival was the topic. You can catch the episode here (which I highly recommend as my notes are just the high points, there is more to learn from from watching the entire video). Here's my notes from this episode:

• The scenario is an 8.0 earthquake along the New Madrid fault line in the Midwest. This is one of the most dangerous fault lines in the US. A major earthquake along this fault line would be felt in 20 states and kill thousands. Scientist say there is a 95% chance of a major earthquake along this fault line in the next 30 years.
• Earthquake survival is difficult to prepare for because they strike without warning, unlike a flood or hurricane in which you usually has advanced notice.
• Once you feel an earthquake, drop, cover, and hold. Don't stand in a doorway, along a wall, or run outside. Get under a heavy table or near a large piece of furniture and hang on to the thing you are bracing yourself against. If the table moves, you move with it.
• Being under or next to a heavy piece of furniture will help create a 'void space' if the ceiling or walls collapse, giving you enough space to survive in the void created between the furniture and the collapsed debris.
• When the shaking stops, wait for a minute to get your bearings. You will probably be disoriented, even in your own home. Cover your mouth and nose with a piece of fabric (clothing, towel) because there will be a lot of dust and debris in the air.
• Look for light and carefully move towards it to exit your home/building. Be careful moving debris out of your way as it could be supporting something that could fall on you. Don't try to force your way through anything load bearing. Listen for shifting as you move through the rubble.
• It was mentioned quite a few times throughout the video that during a major disaster like an earthquake, fire and law enforcement personnel will be overwhelmed and rescuing individuals will be very low on their priority list (plus you probably won't be able to call for help anyway as communications will be down). So you will be responsible for your own rescue.
• Aftershocks are a big concern after a major earthquake. Even smaller aftershocks can bring down buildings so you need to get out in an open area as quickly as possible.
• After you exit your home, make sure everyone is accounted for. If someone is missing, you will need to rescue them (see above about rescue help not coming for quite a while).
• Before beginning a rescue operation, shut off the gas at the outside meter (they used bricks to grip the knob as a wrench was not available) and turn off the electricity at the main breaker box.
• Fire is a major threat after an earthquake. The combination of live electrical wires and broken gas lines is a major cause of fire. On a side note, they said that more people died in fires after the San Francisco earthquake than from the quake itself.
• To search a house for any victims that didn't make it out: break into search teams of two people. Find something to write with (pen, mustard, paint, etc). The teams should search the house in opposite directions and meet in the middle. Move carefully and methodically around the house, keeping a clear path between you and the exit. Watch where you are walking so you don't get stuck in the debris.
• Listen for voices or tapping to help locate victims. It is better to tap if you are stuck than yell as it uses less energy.
• In each room that you go into, draw a diagonal line on the door (if you get stuck in the room, this will alert rescuers to your location).
• Search each room looking at all four walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Look into void spaces and under things.
• When you leave the room, make another diagonal line on the door to form an X. In the bottom section of the X place the number of victims found in the room (or "O" if you found no victims). This is reminiscent of the signs you saw on doors where houses were searched after Hurricane Katrina.
• As the teams were searching the house, they noticed a hot spot in a wall where a fire was starting. In a major disaster, the fire department will be overwhelmed so you should try to extinguish the fire if possible so it doesn't burn the house down and kill trapped survivors and so it doesn't grow and consume the entire neighborhood.
• Use something like a broom handle to break through the drywall that is on fire. Start breaking the wall about a foot above where the fire is coming through the wall. Be careful when you open the wall as fire could shoot out. Wrap a natural fabric around your hands (not synthetic fabric as it will melt onto you) and pull out pieces of drywall.
• If water isn't available, get it from the hot water tank. Turn off the valve that allows water into the hot water tank. Turn on a hot water faucet in the house to create pressure, then open the drain valve on the hot water tank and drain the water into buckets. Be careful, the water will be hot. Pour buckets of water on the fire until it is completely out.
• When you find a survivor, gather all search teams together for the rescue.
• Carefully remove debris from on top of the victim. Gather 2x4s from walls (again, not load bearing) and a car jack in order to create a cribbing and shoring system to lift up heavier walls and debris. Make a lever to lift the wall a bit then slide the jack under it (with 2x4s on both the top and bottom of the jack to distribute the weight). As you lift up the wall, place stacks of 2x4s under the wall to catch the weight of the wall should it fall.
• An untrained person should never rescue a trapped person if there are any other alternatives. In this case, there were no other alternatives. One rescue crawled under the fallen wall which was being lifted up with cribbing, shoring, and the jack. Another rescuer pulled the first rescuer by his feet after he got a hold of the victim.
• When the victim had been rescued, everyone left the house. It was noted that you should not re-enter a damaged building until it has been certified as stable by an engineer.
• You will probably need to camp outside for a few days after an earthquake. Pick a spot such as in a park that is away from buildings, trees, and anything else that can fall on you during an aftershock.
• As you are traveling away from your home, watch out for downed power lines, sinkholes, and landslides.
• In the scenario, there was an aftershock and one person from the group fell into a newly opened sinkhole that was about 20 feet deep.
• The group placed plywood from destroyed homes around the perimeter of the sinkhole so that it would distribute their weight and they could get a closer look into the hole. Cars were placed a distance from the sinkhole with their lights on to illuminate the area and a rear view mirror was used to reflect the light from the car into the sinkhole to view the victim.
• The group was warned that the sinkhole can expand rapidly so being right around a sink hole was a dangerous place to be.
• When looking at the victim in the hole, the leader ascertained the victim's condition--airway, breathing, back/neck injuries, other injuries. You should never move someone with serious back or neck injuries, instead go for help. If there does not seem to be back or neck injuries, you will want to rescue the person.
• The group picked up a swing set from the park to create an A-frame over the sinkhole. Garden hoses were used to tie down each leg of the swing and stabilize it by tying the legs to car bumpers. You want to use an A-frame for below ground rescues so you do not disturb the sides of the sinkhole which could cause it to collapse even more.
• Another hose was tied like a harness around the rescuer, the hose was tossed over the top of the A-frame and the rescuer was lowered in the hole. Three people lowered down the rescuer and one person acted as a 'spotter' to watch the situation and give orders to the rescuers.
• When the rescuer got to the bottom of the hole, he stabilized the victim's injured leg and put the victim into the hoist to be lifted out of the hole.
• When the person was out of the hole, her injured leg was stabilized with a couple of rods and belts placed above and below the break. It was noted that the rescuers should not try to realign the leg but should get the victim to medical treatment as soon as possible.
• People should not drive after an earthquake unless it is an emergency because there will be downed power lines, sinkholes, etc. In this case, getting the victim to medical care constituted an emergency so two people took the victim in a car to look for medical care.
• It was stated that locations of emergency triage centers and other services will be announced on local radio.
• When driving, avoid bridges, overpasses, underpasses, and freeway on/off ramps as these may be down or damaged.
• As the group was driving, there was another aftershock and live power lines fell on the car. Don't get out of the car when there are live power lines on or around it or you will be electrocuted. Stay in the car until help arrives. If someone comes by tell them to stay away from the area because if they touch the car, they will be electrocuted. You should, however, ask them to call for help for you.
• If help is not coming, you will need to get out of the car. Open the car door, toss a rubber floor mat about three feet from the vehicle, and jump from the car with both feet together and arms crossed landing on the car mat. If you fall back against the car or in any way touch the car you will be electrocuted.
• Once on the car mat, keep your feet together and shuffle away from the car. About 20' around the car could be electrified from the live lines. You don't want to move your arms or feet away from each other because it could create space for the electricity to arc.
• The person who jumped out of the car got into another car and used it to push the car with the victim and other rescuer away from the power lines and electrified area.

Another informative show that again, everyone should watch just so that they will have basic knowledge about what to do during this type of disaster.

A Recent Shooting

A shooting in our city a couple of days ago was disturbing on a number of levels. The people targeted? Uniformed police officers in a marked patrol car. The method? What looked like a professional style hit on a random couple of officers. What was most disturbing? I have seen these kinds of hits on law enforcement officers in a number foreign countries but seldom, if ever, in the US. Of course US officers have been targeted before but rarely so blatantly or so randomly. Here's some thoughts:

• Was it a gang initiation? Often these cases are solved pretty quickly because your run of the mill gang banger is usually more concerned with telling everyone what they did so they can "bask in the glory" of the event...right before they get caught and end up in prison for life.
• Was it a message from a gang that was recently targeted by the police? Seems more likely. The details of the shooting point to people who have done this before and in a particular style reminiscent of Mexican drug gangs that want to make a point by taking out high profile/high publicity targets such as the police.
• Was it just a random shooting? Not likely. People don't randomly target uniformed police officers out of the blue. Doing so is too stupid for words.

What does this mean for us regular people?

• Again it reinforces the need for average citizens to be armed, trained, and to practice regularly. If police officers can be targeted, anyone can be targeted. Anytime. Anywhere.
• Citizens need to be proactive in their community. It was fairly horrifying to read about the 15 year old girl gang raped by a dozen teens last week while a group of people watched and not a single person called 911. If you want a good community you need to be part of the solution. Staying quiet out of fear, apathy, or just to go along with the crowd is a piss poor reason to do nothing and in these cases you create the community you live in so I hope those thugs enjoy their miserable community.
• I could complain about bad parenting, problematic kids, and society going down the tubes but Socrates already did that in 400 BC and people are still blaming society's ills on these things.
• People need to be aware of their surroundings. In this particular case, the shooting was so swift and out of the blue that the officers did not have time to respond. In most places in the US people feel secure in their homes, their cars, and on the streets so they don't take precautions that you would take in, say, Iraq or other war zones. People's awareness ratchets up quite a bit, however, when they perceive that the area they are in poses a threat some how. Situational awareness. Very important.

Random Musings

Some random thoughts on a really busy day:

• Either I'm shrinking or kids are getting bigger. Half of the trick or treaters we had this evening were HUGE.
• My pet peeve...kids dressed totally in black who are walking down busy country roads as they go trick or treating. Not safe.
• A friend passed away a couple of days ago unexpectedly. Although he wasn't a close friend, he was a good guy who always went out his way to help others. I appreciated that he always showed up to help with whatever project our range had going on, that he had a really good attitude, and that he would always say "here try out my new....(name of firearm)" Which makes me think that most of the people I know don't realize how much I (and other people) appreciate them because it isn't something you usually say to random friends/acquaintances. These people, though, are important in our lives.
• I'm glad my tattoos aren't stupid, creepy, or regrettable. See examples here.
• While I won't be at the NYC Marathon tomorrow, every once in a while I do look around for some new types of physical activity to try. Here's one place I look for such activities: www.active.com

'Nuff said for today...