Friday, February 27, 2015

10 Things from This Weeks News

It's been a busy news week...

  1. On a happy note, if you have a fourth grader (or have access to a fourth grader, no creepiness intended) you will be able to take them to any National Park, free of charge next year.
  2. DHS funding, due to political wrangling on both sides, has run out.  Same song, different verse...
  3. Debate about the color of a dress went viral this week.  It's rather amazing (in a bad way) how an entire nation's attention can focus on a dress while other, much more important issues, barely get any press at all.
  4. RIP Jerry Tarkanian, Leonard Nemoy, and Robert Moser (he wasn't famous but a good friend and all around good guy none the less).
  5. It's been a scary weird week in medicine with unexplained deadly viruses, a measles outbreak in Vegas, and high flu rates just about everywhere.
  6. It has also been an extreme snow month.  
  7. And it's business as usual in Moscow, the US, and Syria.
  8. You never know when someone you know is going to flip the f#%* out (a good reminder that concealed carry is a good thing).
  9. The idyllic days of cheap gas recently are, apparently, no more.
  10. Finally, if you have a Radio Shack that is closing near you, you might want to get over there ASAP.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Road Rage 101

If you've been watching the national news, you will know that my fair city (Las Vegas) has made the news once again.  This time for a road rage incident that not only spiraled out of control road-rage-wise but media-wise as well.  Seems the general public doesn't like being lied to and is hardly sympathetic when the victim is really the aggressor.  So here are some take-away's from this incident:

  • Drive courteously.  The majority of road rage cases are sparked by people driving badly.
  • Make allowances for the other person.  If someone is driving like a maniac, it is not my job to correct their behavior or even comment on it.  Allow them to move as far ahead of you as possible. 
  • If you do get into a road rage incident (it happens) flip the other guy off (with the peace sign) and be on your way.  Stopping, getting out of your car, and confronting the other person is not going to end well.
  • Judiciously calling the cops before the incident devolves to fists and guns is also a good idea.
  • Get the incident on video if possible.  There's something to be said for dash cams.
  • Keep your temper in check.  So what if someone races around you like a maniac to get one whole car length ahead of you?  Let him.  In the grand scheme of things it doesn't even matter (of course in a perfect, instant karma sort of world he would be the one T boned in the intersection ahead of you but I digress...).
  • After the incident, resist the urge to follow him.  On on a side note, after the incident, make sure he isn't following you as you don't want them to know where you live.
  • If they insist on following you, make sure to lead them to the nearest police sub station or a very public location that is sure to have video surveillance cameras.
  • Stay in your car with the windows up if you do get cornered.  At least if they actively try to get into your car it shows them as the aggressor.
  • Always drive and park defensively.  You want to leave yourself multiple ways to escape from where you are so that you don't get cornered and become unable to escape.
  • Don't continue the behavior.  Once the incident has stopped, going after the person is unnecessary and dangerous (you will either end up getting shot or be the one doing the shooting and end up in prison).
  • Carry a weapon in your vehicle.  Obviously this is a personal choice.  Hot heads probably shouldn't do this.  Even macing the person once they break the window in your vehicle is enough to give you time to escape.
  • Realize that a few minutes of rage can lead to decades in prison if you are found to be the aggressor and kill another motorist with a gun or your car.
  • If you are in a violent road rage incident, lawyer up ASAP.

Friday, February 13, 2015

10 Lessons From Our Recent Vacation

Last week was the spouse's birthday.  The spouse loves to travel, specifically by cruise ship.  Thus, our vacation last week was to go on a cruise.  If I never go on another cruise ship in my lifetime...but I digress...

Here are ten lessons learned that certainly pertain to travel and can also carry over into survival situations.

  1. A guy I was talking to on the ship paid $75 to get from LAX to the cruise port via taxi.  Another guy paid $25 for the same trip using Uber.  The spouse and I paid $1.75 each using public transit.  Lesson: public transit of an often overlooked, but quite cheap and efficient way to travel whether at your travel destination or in your own city.  Even if you don't particularly care for public transit, it is a good idea to know how to use it anyway.
  2. We each carry a 26l backpack and with a bit of planning, we can easily pack for a week-long to month-long trip in this very small bag.  We each had plenty of clothes for all occasions on the ship from beachwear to the captain's dinner, and hauling the bags via public transit was simple and easy.  I always shake my head when I see people pull up to the ship and unload two huge suitcases each from their taxi--it looks like they are permanently moving in.  Lesson: travel light, you don't need to bring too much stuff to have an enjoyable vacation.
  3. I always carry extra food and water with me as you never know if you will be delayed and unable to find sustenance while you are waiting (or in the case of this cruise, when you will be left stranded for days with limited food and water).  Lesson: always make sure you have extra food and water at hand whether in your cruise ship cabin, vacation destination, or home.
  4. When we travel we always drink bottled water, and we mostly avoid the buffets on the cruise ship in lieu of going to the full service dining room for meals.  When you think of how many dirty hands have touched the serving spoons at the buffet it is kind of an epidemiologist's nightmare.  Lesson: your efforts at cleanliness will aid in you not getting sick while on vacation or in a disaster situation.  Sanitation is kind of a big deal.
  5. I had some interesting conversations in both the spouse's language (since half of the crew were Filipino) as well as in Spanish (there was a problem with our cabin and the guy who came to fix it spoke Spanish but very little English so a conversation in Spanish it was).  Not only does this help to make new friends and/or gather information you would otherwise not be privy to, but in the event of an emergency, I have already developed a sort of relationship with these people who could be helpful in the event of a crisis.  Lesson: learning another language can expand your horizons--as well as your survival options--during a disaster.
  6. Fortunately, a vacation like an all-inclusive cruise does not require cash but rather a credit card that can be debited for everything from drinks to ship-board souvenirs.  Even though I didn't need any extra cash, in this case, a few well-placed tips were appreciated by the crew, and in port, American dollars usually work just fine.  Lesson: carry extra cash, you never know when it will come in handy.
  7. Also, fortunately we had a very pleasant, very enjoyable vacation, however you never know when a crisis--most often medical in the case of cruise ship travelers--will strike so it pays to have a disaster plan for this scenario.  We checked our health insurance and yes, it would cover us anywhere in the world, we had extra cash (for medical emergencies the ship will usually spit you out at the nearest port to be taken to a local hospital which often isn't well versed in insurance reimbursement and will require cash for treatment), and we rolled the dice on not getting medical evacuation insurance but as we get older this may indeed come in handy in the future.  Lesson: consider what kind of "worst case scenario" you may run into on vacation and make a plan to deal with it.
  8. I realize that some people come on cruise ships to party it up and remain black-out drunk for the duration of their vacation but that sort of experience can get you into trouble in a hurry (especially in some ports).  Vacations can be enjoyable with some or no buzz which will allow you to remain in control of yourself and aware of any situation you find yourself in (not to mention that you will find your bar bill less than catastrophic when you finish up your vacation).  Lesson: never get so drunk that you don't know what is going on around you.
  9. Most vacations will end up costing more than you expected.  On a cruise ship this can come in the form of over-priced drinks, photos, and activities, while in other places you may end up paying the "Gringo tax" every time you purchase something.  Often people are much more free with their money when they are on vacation simply because they are on vacation.  Lesson: set a budget and a spending plan for your vacation and stick to it.
  10. Finally, as in any scenario, be aware of your surroundings.  In the case of a cruise (or even traveling to the cruise port by public transit), I note where the emergency exits are, who the people are that are around me, where potential weapons can be found, what the weather is forecasted to be, etc.  Lesson: just because you are on vacation, your situational awareness should take a vacation.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

10 More Prep Tips for Seniors

As long as we are on the topic of seniors, let’s go ahead and discuss ways that we can prepare seniors (whether ourselves or our aging friends and relatives) for a disaster (personal, natural, man-made, etc)…
  1. One of the most important ways for seniors to protect themselves is to avoid falls.  This was an excellent point made by a reader who commented on the last post.  Senior falls are far and away the leading cause of accidental death and injury for seniors in our country.  Obviously not doing activities that will lead to falls is one way to prevent such an event but also exercising to keep as much strength and balance as possible, making their home fall safe (like getting rid of throw rugs that can cause trips and falls), and putting grab bars near the toilet and shower are all ways to help prevent unexpected falls.
  2. A friend of mine has found an ingenious use for his old fitness tracker.  He was worried about his 90 year old mother who still lives by herself a few states away and he came up with the idea to give her his old FitBit that he wasn’t using.  He was concerned that, aside from calling her each morning, there would be no way to tell if she fell or otherwise became incapacitated until he couldn’t reach her the next day.  With her wearing the fitness tracker, he can literally log into the program on his computer that syncs with the program for her FitBit and see how much activity she is getting by the hour.  Should this number unexpectedly drop, he can give her a call to make sure everything is OK.  It’s a simple fix for both of them.
  3. Unfortunately, seniors are the number one target for personal fraud in our country.  They are easy pickins because they trust people and, these days, there are so many ways to reach lonely seniors (via the phone, an email, or a knock at the door) that someone who wants to relieve an elderly person of their hard-earned money only needs to make up a clever story and wait for the money to roll in.
  4. We—you, me, and everyone else who reads this blog—pride ourselves on being prepared for a disaster.  We spend our time, effort, and money getting ready for whatever man or nature might throw at us.  But what about the seniors in our lives?  There are a number of ways to help seniors prepare for a disaster from making sure they have the items necessary for a power outage or being snowed in (in the old days, this wasn’t called disaster preparedness but normal living, but I digress…) to getting them involved with community organizations that help prepare seniors for the most common disasters likely to hit their area.
  5. Health and wellness is just as important for seniors as everyone else.  Unfortunately people look at those who are aging and see them on a downward spiral towards death.  This doesn’t have to be true.  In fact, many times when seniors are having a “senior moment” it can be something fixable.  Like medications that causes side effects, glasses with a very old prescription that no longer works, unsteadiness due to lack of exercise or falling blood sugar, etc.  Seniors need to stay on top of their health just like everyone else and, more importantly, find a doctor who takes care of each health issue individually instead of adding another prescription to fix the latest symptom.
  6. Seniors also need to socialize.  Once you retire, literally no one cares if you ever leave you house.  Your spouse and kids might get kind of worried but there is no one, like your boss, saying you absolutely need to be anywhere any more.  Some seniors fix this by shopping (I know one guy who hits up the Goodwill nearly every single day).  I wouldn’t recommend this as you probably have enough stuff already.  Some are in the casino every single day (another expensive proposition), while others volunteer, keep working (talk to your tax accountant about this), or join an exercise group (like a bowling league, walking group, or even do tai chi in the park).  
  7. Ideally socializing would be combined with exercise but for some people, socializing isn’t high on their list of priorities once it isn’t necessary for work.  Exercise, however, is a requirement if you want to age well.  I was just talking to a guy today who is 85, he retired out of the Special Forces after 30 years, and his girlfriend (yes, he has a very nice girlfriend) reports that he would gladly re-up, even at his age, if they would let him.  The funny thing is, however, he would put most recruits to shame, even at his age, since he runs every day, plays tennis three times a week, bowls four times a week, and lifts weights in his spare time.  In short, he is in much better physical condition that most people a quarter of his age.  Not only does exercise help prevent you from falling but it is great for your overall health as well.
  8. Another thing you can do (for yourself or to help out a senior) is to do a home safety check.  There are plenty of things that people put off fixing (a loose stair, a burned out lightbulb, a fraying rug, etc) that can cause real injuries if not fixed immediately.  Also, safety improvements can be made as you go along.  Things such as installing a good bolt lock, adding an automatic opener to the gate for ease of use, or installing a full-fledged security system are also projects to consider.
  9. Aside from hearing aids and glasses, instruments that many seniors need to navigate through their later years, having a few other items on hand can make life much easier as well.  Items such as magnifying glasses (when did they start making instructions and other type so small??), a long-armed “grabber”, a proper step stool with a handle, tools to easily open jars, etc. can simplify tasks that can become more difficult as you age.
  10. Finally, know when to fold ‘em.  In other words, there is aging gracefully (and knowing your limitations) and there is aging stubbornly (you know in the back of your mind you have limitations but they will take your car keys out of your cold, dead hands).  I know that my vision at night isn’t as good as it once was (plus they kill off about one pedestrian every other night in Vegas because people jump out in front of your car wearing all black and try to sprint across six lanes of fast moving traffic) so for those reason I don’t often drive at night any more.  I know I can do marathons so those are still on my “to do” list, however, while I used to rock climb quite a bit in my younger days, the idea of dangling my carcass off a sheer rock face just doesn’t have the appeal that it used to.