I have decided...the candidate who I will actually support must be one who will do everything he can to extend the Federal Do Not Call List to cover political organizations--and provide evidence of his or her intent by making his or her own campaign people honor the list even though current law doesn't require it.
I also want the candidate (if he/she actually wants my support) to see that the California law that mandates that a human being be on the line *before* starting a recorded message be honored by political organizations.
Haven't found anybody to support yet. Calls seem to be running hourly...
Re: #146
Los Angeles was destroyed in the George Pal "War of the Worlds". How soon we forget...
Re: #108, response time following a major 'quake in the Bay Area...
When I was at the Red Cross training session on how to run a shelter, several of us put the trainer on the spot...
We asked him how long it would take (in the Red Cross' estimation) for relief supplies to start arriving. The answer was "7 to 10 days". The Red Cross plan is to truck the supllies from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
While 72hours.org is good, I believe the thinking behind "72 hours" is that that's about as long as they can expect people to actually prepare to be on their own. If you actually want to be prepared--and not have to leave for lack of supplies--you'd best plan on 2 weeks.
My own planning includes the 60 gallons of potable water I keep on hand, a generator (5500W continuous) and enough fuel to run it for 4 hours per day for 2 weeks at 50% load (30 gallons of gas, with supplies for generator maintenence). Plus, of course a lot of other stuff.
Re: #104...
For training and planning (and learning ICS) for groups, contact your local fire department and inquire if they have a CERT program. The answer will almost certainly be yes. They'll be very happy to train you and help you get up to speed on what you should know.
When I took the course, not only did it include disaster first aid (which is different from the everyday kind) and CPR (which you don't actually do in a mass casualty situation), but also hands on fire fighting (boy do firemen like to play with fire...).
The result of the course has also opened up other opportunities. I was able to participate as a "victim" in a full-up major airport (Oakland International) disaster drill, which included the first-inside-the-plane fireman in a full "I'm walking into an inferno" suit, and ambulances actually "packaging" victims and transporting them--though just around the other side of the building. A very interesting experience...
I was also invited to a fire department training session by the Red Cross on how to run a shelter. (I don't plan to ever do so, but I now know how, and have the documents to serve as a refresher as needed.) More on this in another post...
Re #72...
I've seen a quote from an official in Coalinga (fire chief, I think, but it could have been the police chief or the mayor):
In a disaster, it's 100% volunteers.
I found the scenario and the use of standard disaster prep stuff so good that I have sent a link to it to my local (Albany, CA) fire department trainer, who as does civilian disaster prep training under the CERT program.
As regards medications that require being kept cool... For a couple of years, my wife was on a med that had such a requirement. At the same time, we were taking serious look at general disaster planning, what with living in Earthquake Country. The need for refrigeration for meds during a time of expected, extended power outage caused me to add a generator, fuel and related supplies to our full disaster kit.
A few more suggestions...
Contact your local Fire Department. Find out if your area has a CERT program. Get trained in how to *use* the stuff you're accumulating for emergencies (and how to train others to be of use doing the things that need doing).
Need a fire? Get a mag block and learn how to use it.
Generator? Gasoline has a limited shelf life. Add fuel stabilizer if you're going to store it more than a very few months. That way, you can store it for a year.
You can now get small, battery powered (3x AAA) LED desk lamps.
There are tons of lists for disaster prep supplies on the web. If you don't know where to start, try the American Red Cross.
Seen in Berkeley CA over the weekend:
Republicans for Voldemort
Actually...the Governator pushed back against Bush. Bush wanted more Guard for the Border and Schwartzenegger refused on the grounds that they were needed for other tasks.
While haveing them patrolling the distant parking lots (from what I've heard that's what they'll be doing at SFO) is absurd, it does make his case against Bush's desire for more of them on the border.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2006 | 2 |
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