Emergency Communications

In the middle of any kind of emergency or disaster, keeping in touch with "the outside world"  - anything outside of your home - can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Most people have some sort of battery-powered radio in their homes.  People who are a bit more forward thinking have radios that have a hand-cranked dynamo so that they're not dependent upon batteries.  These are all good things to have.

But what if the emergency is simply in the development stages?  Something like a riot or a train car derailment.  You still have power and all normal utilities coming into your home.

The first place most people will go is usually their television set.  While beneficial, you need to understand that the content is edited and not always timely.  You can go directly to the source via police and fire scanners.

If you don't want to spend the money on a scanner, you can (most likely) get a live feed via the Internet at RadioReference.com.  Very cool.

Go to the site and click the Live Audio link.  Click your state and see if there is a feed in your area.  For instance, I am able to get a link to my sheriff's dispatch and another for the local police and fire.

We had a huge fire in our area a few months ago, and the TV information was virtually useless.  It was clear from observing the smoke plume that the fire was moving towards my house, but there was no information available about the exact location of the fire or if it was under control.

The TV helicopters just kept showing the massive flames but didn't provide much information.  Having this scanner information would have been fantastic for knowing the real status.
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Since this is Internet based, you are not restricted to your locality.  If something is brewing somewhere else in the country, you can simply select the state and location where something might be happening.
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It's a bit addictive, and a little disturbing.  These broadcasts are the actual discussions going on between the officers and the dispatchers.  Drivers licenses and names are broadcast, for instance, when someone is pulled over by a police officer.

They were obviously talking in Radio Code, and I had no idea what they were talking about.  I found this site that gives you all of the codes that are used between the officers and the dispatchers.

Accept the Challenge

Knowing what's "coming your way" can save your life.  Consider a portable scanner for your vehicle in the event you need to relocate - bug out - on short notice.

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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

What's It Gonna Take?

When are people going to wake up and realize that they ALONE are responsible for their own personal safety?  More importantly, when are people going to demand of their elected officials that the legal restraints on law abiding citizens arming themselves be removed?

We've had two horrific shooting incidents in the last two days that have gotten national exposure - the shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, and the still-unfolding incident in Tampa, Florida.  Since the specifics of the Tampa incident are not yet published, I'll focus on the Fort Hood murders.

When I heard that in excess of a dozen soldiers had been killed and 30+ had been wounded - on an Army base  - I first assumed that the killer had walked in with a fully-automatic rifle and just sprayed the place down.  It later came to light that this crime was perpetrated by a single individual with two, semi-automatic handguns.  WTF?

How could this be possible on, of all places, an Army base?

It seems as though most military posts are "gun free zones" for the most part.  Aside from guards and sentries, no one was armed.  Having never been in the military, this surprised the hell out of me.  Most of the weapons on base are in locked armories.

The murderer, being a Major in the Army, knew this.  He took advantage of this when he entered buildings that had upwards of 400 soldiers present.  Honestly, it's amazing more weren't killed.  This dog was finally stopped by a civilian police officer who was called and arrived 10 minutes after the shooting started.
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How many fewer soldiers would be dead if they had all been armed?  How many fewer students at Virgina Tech would be dead if someone were armed?  Pick your "favorite" mass shooting and ask the same question.

Gun control advocates will NEVER address that question.  Somehow, in their warped brains, taking defensive weapons out of the hands of law abiding citizens will make them safer.  It seems - time and time again - as though the bad guys never get the memo that they're not supposed to be armed, and they instead target all of these gun-free zones.

Funny how that works out, huh?
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Here in the state of California, we have a "May Issue" law for concealed carry.  The state has left it to the whim of the local sheriff to determine who is worthy of a permit.

In most cases, unless you're somehow politically connected, you're SOL.  Someone like fellow Californian and anti-gunner Senator Diane Feinstein is apparently worthy -

"Less than twenty years ago I was the target of a terrorist group. It was the New World Liberation Front. They blew up power stations and put a bomb at my home when my husband was dying of cancer. And the bomb didn't detonate. [...] I was very lucky. But, I thought of what might have happened. Later the same group shot out all the windows of my home. [...] And, I know the sense of helplessness that people feel. I know the urge to arm yourself because that's what I did. I was trained in firearms. I'd walk to the hospital when my husband was sick. I carried a concealed weapon. I made the determination that if somebody was going to try to take me out, I was going to take them with me."

So, her life is worth protecting, but yours and mine are not.

A few years back, I obtained a Utah non-resident Concealed Carry Permit.  Every time I've ventured out of California and had a gun with me, I have somehow restrained my "inner beast" from going on a shooting rampage.  It's amazing, but true!

All kidding aside, that's the case across the nation.  If you're in the mood for some statistics, go to Gun Facts and read all about it.  States with "Shall Issue" laws are significantly safer than those with more restrictive laws.
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The sheriff in my county is not running for re-election.  There are two candidates up for the position.  I've sent both of them letters requesting their position on CCW laws and our recently passed AB962, which will now require all ammo buyers to be fingerprinted with each purchase, and prevent Californians from buying ammo online.

I've promised to share their positions with my 1,400 member gun club.  We all vote.

You may have noticed the Life and Liberty Insurance link over on the sidebar.  I think I'll buy each of them one of the 2010 calendars and circle Election Day...
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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Long-Term Food Preservation - Jerky

I've been trying different kinds of food preservation. I've been focusing on techniques that result in foods that don't need to be refrigerated after they've been prepared.

I started with canning. Jackie Clay at Backwoods Home Magazine was my inspiration with her Full Meal canning. Instead of doing a jar of peaches, you do beef stew. It's fast food, you know what's in it, and it keeps for years and years.

I've done the aforementioned beef stew, salsa verde (pork in green chile sauce - sucked!), clam chowder, BBQ pulled pork, and tons of chili con carne. You pop a lid, 1 minute in the microwave, and you have a great meal. It works well with college students in the house.

I have also canned beef - both chunks and hamburger (the burger is better, IMO) - pork stock, veggie stock and simply awesome strawberry jam.

The problem with canning - glass jarring, really - is three-fold: It takes a lot of fuel to produce, you need some specialized equipment (pressure canner, jars, lids, etc) and the product isn't very portable. You can't realistically fill your backpack up with a week's worth of canned soup, for instance.

Drying foods seemed like it might be a solution. It would address at least 1 of those three problems. Portability would be greatly enhanced. And, depending upon the technique used, the other two problems - fuel consumption and specialized equipment - could be eliminated or lessened.

I've made jerky for the past couple of years. I've always taken some sort of low-fat chunk of meat - like London broil - sliced it, marinated it, then put it in the dehydrator.

The product has been very well received. It is usually all eaten in a couple of days. Because of the process used, it also has very good storage longevity as well.

I made a batch for a fishing trip this past June. I had a package I had forgotten in some bags I was going through this past weekend. I cut it open, and it was just as good as the day I made it.

I decided to try making jerky from ground meat. I had a couple of un-cooked pieces of pork and beef left over from two other meals. I cut it up into chunks in preparation for grinding.

I broke out my Family Grain Mill and attached the meat grinding attachment. I put the meat through it once, and it was still too coarse. I ran it through again, and it was the perfect consistency. Very smooth and both meats were fully incorporated in the bowl.

I decided to break it into two different piles to try two recipes I got off the Internet.

Both recipes had directions for drying the meat. They suggested taking a ball of the meat, and using a rolling pin to produce a thin slab of meat. Instead, I used this jerky-making gun that I picked up at Wally World for $5. You fill the tube with the mix, and it squirts out perfect strips, right on to the dehydrator trays.

My dehydrator has 6 trays. I was able to get about 3 pounds of meat mix into the whole thing. After one hour, you need to open up the dehydrator, flip each strip of meat, and dab them with a paper towel to sop up some of the oil that seeps from the meat. This is not something I've had to do with the whole-meat version.

The strips dry for another 4 hours (5 hours total), and you end up with a bunch of perfectly formed strips.

I weighed the jerky afterwords, and it had reduced in weight by two-thirds - my 3 lbs of meat mix was now 1 lb of jerky.

One batch was a "standard" mix. I'm not too crazy about it. To me, it tastes like dried meat loaf! I think it was the Worcestershire sauce in the mix. The teriyaki/hot sauce batch was excellent.

It is supposed to last for up to 2 months in a zip lock bag. I'd expect it to last longer if I put it into a vacuum bag like I did with the whole-meat jerky I mentioned earlier.

Accept The Challenge

Aside from saving you tons of money, preserving your own foods gives you a skill that can be used if a true disaster or emergency ever hits.  Protein, in particular, degrades very quickly without some sort of preservative addition or process.  Teach yourself how to can (jar), dehydrate, smoke, pickle and cure.  Preserve your bounty.
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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Choosing The Correct Self-Defense Tool

From our September 24, 2009 Newsletter - 


Before we get into the "what", let's think about the "why".

Why do you need a self-defense tool?

I think of them as insurance. We buy homeowner or renter insurance as protection. We don't expect our place to burn to the ground, but we know it's a possibility, so we protect ourselves financially by buying insurance.

The same goes for selecting and training with a self-defense tool. We don't expect to need it, but have it available should the need arise.

How often might we need this?

Here are some sobering 2008 FBI crime statistics (click here to get more detail):

A property crime is committed every 3.2 seconds.
A violent crime is committed every 22.8 seconds.In particular there is:
... an aggravated assault every 37.8 seconds.
... a rape every 5.9 minutes.
... a murder every 32.3 minutes

OK - we've recognized the need to get ourselves some "insurance". How do we select the right tool? We have 5 things we want to consider: Situation/location, Your physical limitations, Distance from the attacker, Legal considerations and Price.

Anticipated situation/location. Where do you think problems might arise? In your home? While walking your dog? While jogging in the park? While walking down the street? While at work - such as being a real estate agent, a bartender, a store clerk or deliveryperson?

Physical limitations. Do you have full use of your body? Are you restricted to a wheelchair or use a cane? Do you have adequate hand strength to pull a trigger or depress a spray plunger? Do you have long fingernails, large hands or fingers that may interfere with properly using your chosen tool? Are you on oxygen or have lung problems that might be complicated by using a defensive spray?

Distance from attacker. In your anticipated situations, how far away will you likely be once you recognize your threat? With many defensive tools, their effectiveness has limitations based upon the distance between you and the assailant.

Legal considerations. With few exceptions, any non-felon has the ability to own most self-defense tools. Still, there are limitations on where you can possess thems. For instance, if you determine that a handgun is your best choice, most Californians are limited to possessing them only in their homes or permanent places of business. Defensive sprays and stunning devices have certain limitations as well (though much less restrictive). For these reasons, most people will have multiple defensive tools at their disposal - one for the home, and one for when they are in public or traveling.

Price. This should be the least important consideration. As with most things, try and get recommendations from friends and trusted associates about where to get the best value for your money. While you don't want to overpay, you don't want to sacrafice quality for a few dollars.

And of course, get trained on how to use whatever tool you decide to purchase! Knowing how to properly use your defensive tool is half the battle.

Accept The Challenge

The key to maintaining your safety is to always have your defensive tool close at hand and ready to be used. A pepper spray or stun gun left in the car will not do you any good if you are attacked while jogging in the park. You must have your defensive tool within immediate reach at all times.

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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Adding the "Comfort" To Comfort Foods

A good deal of emergency prep foods leave a lot to be desired. While they meet their goal of providing for our basic nutritional needs in a disaster, they can sometimes be a bit difficult to enjoy.

This is most easily remedied by ensuring an adequate amount of spices and dried herbs are also stored. The obvious salt, pepper and sugar should be augmented with things like oregano, chile powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, dried mustard, dehydrated onions and garlic (both chopped and powder forms), thyme, fennel seed and sage. All of these can be purchased very affordably from the bulk foods section of most grocery stores and either vacuum sealed or placed in food grade containers.

For short-term emergencies, these will be adequate. But, if a disaster situation persists, being able to prepare meals with a bit more "comfort" will go a long way in helping your and your family.

Sauces and gravies to the rescue!

For some reason, sauces and gravies have an aura of mystery to them. We've become so conditioned to buying our sauces in a jar that the skill of making them has all but disappeared. The one exception to this rule seems to be tomato sauce. It seems that everyone has a recipe for that!

But you can only take so much food smothered in tomatoes before you start getting the itch for something different. Here are two very basic recipes that can be tweeked dozens of way to keep a bit of variety in your life.

Basic Gravy

2 Tablespoons fat or oil
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup liquid
1 teaspoon bullion

Makes one cup of gravy

In a sauce pan, heat the oil, adding the flour slowly while stirring. You want to cook the flour enough to lose the "raw flour" taste. You are making what is called a roux ("rooo"). This is what ultimately gives the gravy its thickness.

The longer you cook the roux, the more flavorful will be the gravy. If you're making gravy for beef or pork, this is a good thing. It might not be appropriate for a light gravy meant to be used with chicken or fish.

Once you have the roux ready, add the liquid fairly rapidly while stirring. It may clump a bit while you're adding the liquid - don't worry. Keep adding the liquid and keep stirring. Add the bullion if the liquid you added has no distinct flavor or salt - like water or milk.

You want to bring the mix to a boil. You'll notice that it is now nice and thick. If you want it thicker, cook a little longer. Add more liquid for a thinner gravy. Also, as the gravy cools, it will also thicken a bit, so your final product should be a bit thinner than you want the final product to be.

That's it! Use milk for a cream gravy. Add cooked sausage for sausage gravy. Add the drippings from your roasted pork, chicken, beef or turkey. Separate the fat from the liquid and use both of them in your gravy. Add whatever spices you have to match the meal. Use fish stock for a sauce for baked fish.  Sauteed mushrooms. Chopped onions or garlic.  Add some grated cheese for a cheese sauce.  Use what you've got.

If you double or triple the liquid but use the same amount of fat and flour, you can make your sauce into a creamed soup!  It allows you to stretch your fresh veggies and meat while still giving everyone enough to eat.

Mayonnaise

Mayo? Are you nuts?! That's only available in nice little blue and white jars!

You can very easily make the BEST mayo you've ever eaten.

I find that when I home-can meat, regardless of the technique I use (hot or cold pack), the resulting meat is very dry. Even though it's sitting in its own juices, the fats and moisture have been cooked out of the meat itself, resulting in a dry, canned tuna-like texture.

If the flaked meat is added to stews, barley or rice dishes, it can be quite good. Or you can smother it in gravy.  But in almost any other form, it is just too dry to enjoy. Ya gotta have mayo!

1 whole egg
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt (add more to taste if necessary)

Makes one cup

Get out the blender you use to make your Margaritas. Put in all of the ingredients except for the oil. Turn the blender on medium-low. Slowly drizzle the oil into the blender. After a very short while, the mix will start to come together (emulsify). I find that after adding about 3/4 of the oil, the mayo becomes too thick to continue sucking down the oil. Turn off the blender, stir everything up with a spoon, turn the blender back on and add a bit more oil. Repeat as necessary.

You can make this without the blender, but it's much more difficult.  You will need a whisk and most likely, another person.  You have to continually whip the mixture.  The "burn" in your arms will hit very soon, so you want to have one person drizzle the oil, and one to whip.  Swap jobs when needed.

Oh, and I've made this with freeze-dried eggs.  If someone has issues with eating raw eggs, this might be the way they want to go.

I like this best with a very light vegetable oil, but you can use olive oil (the BEST long-term storage option for your preps) or any other type. Just understand that those oils will impart their own flavors, so you won't end up with your standard, generic mayo.

Mayo goes in EVERYTHING. When you're finished, you can add a shot or two of ketchup, a pinch of sugar and a teaspoon of relish, and you have Thousand Island salad dressing.

Add some fresh herbs and you have a smooth herb sauce to use on fresh or steamed vegetables.

Accept The Challenge

Practice making gravy and mayo NOW.  You don't want to be in the middle of a long-term emergency while developing the skills to make them.  Practice while you have the opportunity to make mistakes and find out which of your creations your family likes the best.  In addition to being much less expensive than store-bought foods, your family will appreciate the flavors and freshness that comes with cooking from scratch.

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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Defense Of Your Home

From our September 19, 2009 Newsletter -

You're On Your Own

On our website, we have a page titled, "Why You Should Get Training." In it, we talk about how long it takes for the police to respond to a 911 call. While they're incredibly quick in their response time, you've got anywhere between 4 and 7 minutes - at least - to fend for yourself.

A lot of bad things can happen in that short period of time.

Think about that teacher at Yale University that's now in the news. She was in a high security building - it had 75 cameras and swipe-card access to every door - and she was still strangled in her own lab.

There's not a residence in America with that kind of high-level security, yet for some reason, we feel we're magically protected from the outside world once we enter our homes.

A call to the police for help is not going to keep you safe. You cannot delegate responsibility for your personal safety.

When considering how to protect yourself in your home, there are a number of factors to include -

1. Do I have tools available to me - regardless of my location in my residence during a break in - to help increase my odds of success? Telephone (cell phones are best), a defensive weapon (firearm, pepper spray, stun gun), flashlight, etc.

2. Am I alone in the home, or are other family members present? Strategies for survival are significantly different for each of these situations.

3. Cover, Concealment and Barracades - What are they and do I know how to use each of these to my advantage?

Being in California, we have (at least) three other things to consider -

1. Non-felon adults are allowed to own and possess a firearm in their home. Do you know how to select and operate the best option for your lifestyle and skill level?

2. Unlike many states, California is NOT a "Castle Doctrine" state. You are only able defend yourself against intruders that pose a threat of significant bodily harm or death to you or others. Do you know how to identify these situations - knowing when you can legally fire a weapon and when you cannot?

3. Any type of self-defense weapon - be it a firearm, pepper spray or a stun gun - must be securely stored to protect against unauthorized access. If children, in particular, gain access to your self-defense weapons, you may be held criminally liable for anything that happens if it is misused. Do you know how to safely store your self-defense tools, while still ensuring you have quick access to them if needed?

Safety Tip: If at all possible, install some sort of alarm system at your residence. If you own the home, you can get a monitored service which may alert the police to your situation if you are unable to call 911. Renters can use mobile alarms that are available for people that travel and who wish to alarm their rooms. At a very minimum, an alarm will buy you valuable time to prepare yourself against an attacker.

Accept The Challenge

Don't wait until you have a break-in to decide to address security at your home.  Take a local course such as our Defense Of The Home or ones offered nationally, such as Refuse To Be A Victim (tm).  Speak with your local police department about safety tips they may offer.

Get educated.  Get prepared.  Take responsibility.
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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Get Home Bags

With the weather changing into the colder winter months, it is time to review and update our Get Home Bags.

What are Get Home Bags (GHBs)? As the name indicates, they are bags all of my family members keep in our cars to enable us to get home in the event of an emergency. Living in Northern California, we are prone to a number of natural disasters. Mud slides, levee breaks, and of course, earthquakes.

At a minimum, all of our bags contain enough food and water for two adults for 3 days. In regards to these items, as you'll see from the contents, this isn't "Living at the Ritz"! It is basic, minimal food and water to sustain ourselves, not to thrive.

What won't be shown below are the things that are kept in the car regardless of the season.  These include a heavy-duty 10' x 20' tarp, a fold-up shovel, hiking shoes and socks, and a hat.  The update from summer to winter will involve swapping out a light-weight jacket for a heavier rain slicker and fleece pull-over.

All right, on to the bag!

The bag is a heavy-duty day bag. It has padded shoulder straps and a chest strap to keep it from bouncing around. It has 3 main compartments, along with two external side pockets and a couple of minor zippered pockets.

The contents -

At the bottom of the main compartment is the food and water. I keep 2, 2400-calorie emergency bars, two dozen water pouches and two pouches of Gatorade powder.

As I said, this amount of food and water is not intended for us to thrive - just to give us enough calories and hydration to get home.

If things are bad enough that we're required to spend the night where ever we may be, we've included items to make things a bit more bearable.

Five light weight carabiners (for hooking stuff to the bag), 3 flashlights and batteries, 10 thirty-minute glow sticks, 300 feet of 550 lb paracord, 100 feet poly cord, two Sierra cups, a 2 quart bota bag, signaling mirror, two whistles, water-proof matches, magnesium sparker, disposable lighter, Vaseline-soaked cotton balls, two pill bottles with fire wicks, Altoid can survival candle, Leatherman Wave multi-tool, two pocket knives, a survival chain saw, and the blue thing is a knife sharpener.

To round out the rest of the bag, I've included the following items - Starting with the black box in the upper center: Being this is the People's Republic of California, you are not allowed to have a weapon in your car unless you have it unloaded, in a locked case AND you have a "legitimate" reason (BTW, in California, Self-Defense is not considered a legitimate reason). That's a .38 special with 3 five-round speed loaders filled with Hydroshock rounds. Below that are 3 inside the waistband holsters, a compass, 20 gauge snare wire and an old pack of cheesy crackers. The last row has a Katadyne Hiker water filter, some water purification tablets, an emergency sewing kit, lotion, compact binoculars, two emergency mylar blankets, a tooth brush, two emergency ponchos and a first aid kit.

So how do I meet the California, "legitimate purpose" requirement for having a handgun with me almost all the time?  Virtually any time I leave the house, it is work related.  I'm going to a class or workshop or some other event where I am "talkin' guns".  If I'm not doing one of those things, I'm most likely headed to the range for practice. This means that I will usually have my complete range bag with me as well, so I'll have plenty of magazines/speed loaders and ammunition in my possession.

In instances where this is not practical - such as holidays - I keep a pepper spray canister attached to the bag (somehow, that didn't make any of the pictures).

Accept The Challenge

Put together a Get Home Bag.  If you consider how much time you spend away from your home - either at work or while on the road - you most likely spend more time away from home than actually in your home.  If an emergency happens, you don't want to be left without any resources.  If you take public transportation to work, you should have some sort of emergency bag that you leave at work, and another (perhaps) smaller version that you can keep in your purse, backpack or brief case.

Don't allow yourself to become a "refugee" simply because you're away from home.

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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Range Safety

Any time you handle a firearm, there is the risk of injury.  That's a simple, undeniable fact.

Most things in life have some level of danger.  Driving your car.  Jogging in the park.  Opening your door when the bell rings.

We all do various safety checks depending upon our activities.  We drive the speed limit and wear our seat belts.  We carry pepper spray when jogging.  We look through the peephole before opening the door.

There are "rules" when handling a firearm as well.  The NRA has 3 Fundamental Safety Rules for safe gun handling -

• Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
• Always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
• Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

These are great rules, and are very effective when a gun owner has had proper training with his or her firearms.

But what happens when the rules are broken?  There is a saying I follow quite closely:  "Expect the best, prepare for the worst".

I can't tell you how many times I have seen people break these rules - primarily the last two.  People will be at the range in a shooting lane chatting with someone else, while their finger sits idly on the trigger.  Or they'll set down a loaded gun on the shooting bench.

I used to just keep an eye out to ensure the muzzle never left the shooting point.  It made for a very unenjoyable time at the range.

Nowadays, I'll go over, introduce myself and speak with the person.  Most times when I'm at the range, I'll be wearing my NRA Instructor gear.  I'll speak with them and offer them some suggestions.  So far, the suggestions have been appreciated and taken to heart.

But things can still go wrong.  Last week in one Northern California town, a man went into a range, rented a gun, and took his own life.  Thankfully, he waited until the range was empty before he shot himself in the head, so no one else was injured.

While this is an extremely rare incident, I still plan for something like this happening - an accidental shooting or even an intentional one.  Attached to my range bag is a first aid kit for gunshot trauma.  The intent is to help stabilize the individual until medics can arrive.  It contains large gauze bandages, tape, gloves, etc.

It also has eye rinse, cleansing wipes and regular Band-aids for more common injuries like fingers or skin getting caught in the slide.  Before every class or individual training session, I let my students know about the kit - I could be the one accidentally injured!

The kit is like a life insurance policy.  Things can happen that you don't expect.  I've never needed to use it, and probably never will.  But it's there, just in case.

Accept The Challenge

If you're going to handle a firearm, get proper training.  Learn how to safely operate and store it BEFORE you use it.  When you own a firearm, you are responsible - like it or not.  Most firearms "accidents" are preventable.  Excuses won't go very far if there is an injury due to your lack of safety knowledge.
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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Passing The Buck

Here's what we know:

• A radio station held a contest to see who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom.  The winner would win a new Wii video console ("Hold Your Wee for a Wii").
• All contestants had to sign a release stating that if anything went wrong - including death - the radio station would be held harmless.  Twenty adults signed the release and participated in the contest.
  
• During the radio program, a person who identified herself as a nurse, called into the station and said the drinking of excess amounts of water could lead to death.
  
• A 28-year old woman who was in the contest died from, "Water Intoxication".
• Her family sued the radio station and was awarded $16.5 million.

It is very easy to feel bad for the family of the dead woman.  She had a couple of kids and a husband, and they will no longer have her in their lives.  I can't even imagine their pain.

How does that justify a radio station paying for her horrible lapse in judgment?  Of her own free will, SHE decided to enter the contest.  SHE signed a release acknowledging the risks.  SHE decided to not go to the bathroom.  SHE decided to place her life at risk for a toy worth a couple of hundred dollars.  The radio station never held her down and poured water down her throat.  She brought this on herself.

This blog, and our business are ALL about personal responsibility.  While our focus is on personal safety training and emergency preparedness, our underlying philosophy is that you are in charge of your own life.

Lawsuits such as this reinforce the perception that people are too stupid to think and act for themselves.  Only some bureaucrat in the government is smart enough to know what is best for us.

We end up with laws that tell us what kinds of fats we can eat, what kinds of loans we can take, and what types of contests we can enter.  Play grounds can't have monkey bars and swing sets because the insurance that is required to defend against lawsuits is cost-prohibitive.  These lawsuits and regulations perpetuate the belief among the citizenry that the government will, "come to the rescue" whenever something in our lives goes awry.

Sadly, that belief is shown to be true time and time again.  We're all paying for this - both in cash and personal liberty.

Accept The Challenge

Live your life by example.  If you screw up, accept the consequences, and learn from it.  Support causes that promote personal responsibility.  Teach your kids about the consequences of their actions.  Live like a free American.


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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Pandemics and the Internet

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on the impact a pandemic might have on Internet access.

Concerns exist that a more severe pandemic outbreak than 2009's could cause large numbers of people staying home to increase their Internet use and overwhelm Internet providers' network capacities.

The report was written specifically to look into the effects that limited or non-existent Internet access would have on the securities industry.  Still, the scenarios painted by the GAO are ones that can affect anyone that has a need for Internet access.

A few years back, I participated in a pandemic exercise that included 3,000 financial industry companies.  Our purpose was to judge the impact of large numbers of employees not being able to come to work, and what that impact would mean to the delivery of financial services nationwide.

It was very eye-opening.

Over the three weeks of the test, we were instructed to periodically "remove" employees from our employment rolls and assess the impact.  For instance, for the first week, we had to remove all employees whose last name started with a G, L, S or V.  We would then put our Business Continuity Plan (BCP) into play if any department was suddenly under-staffed.

The following week, more last-name letters were added to our list, and more employees were "removed".  The moderators of the exercise also added some other twists.  For instance, they instructed us to assume that all elementary schools, high schools and colleges had been temporarily shut-down in an attempt to slow down the spread of the pandemic.

Consider the impact of that decision:  You now have kids with no place to go during the day.  If they are to stay home, many parents would now need to stay home with them, further reducing the number of employees available for work.

Part of our BCP was to identify employees that had jobs which allowed them to telecommute - work from home via the Internet.  It soon became abundantly clear that every other bank, insurance company and securities dealer had the same idea.  Colleges and high schools began offering their courses online or via email, and the Internet soon became overburdened.  Hackers soon recognized how easily they could "hide" because of all of the Internet traffic, and they ran wild.

Accept The Challenge

Does your personal or business emergency plan take major Internet disruptions into account?  How would your daily life change if you couldn't access your online bank account for transfers or bill payment for weeks or months on end?  Email?  VOIP phone system?  Security systems?  Online store fronts?

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Copyright 2009 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved.  You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates.  www.BisonRMA.com