photo credit: Theo R

I live in Northern California, just one county south of the area where there are hundreds of forest fires. These fires were created by lightning strikes and the forecast is for a possibility of more to come. Ironically, these are “dry” thunderstorms, meaning that they form rapidly and the rain never hits the ground. So we don’t even get that little silver lining of water.

Some good friends of mine live in the town of Paradise. Well, Paradise almost burned and they had to evacuate. Fortunately, their home was spared. Hopefully it will remain safe.

The reason for the title of this post is that there is so much particulate matter floating in the air that it looks like Los Angeles during a bad smog day. Everything has a tint of orange to it, and if you have any respiratory problems, you are warned to stay indoors. Yesterday, as the sun was setting, I was shocked to see a blood red sun. It felt like I was on a moon looking at Mars. I’ve seen Harvest Moons, and I’ve seen eclipses. I have watched comets go by and counted falling stars during meteor showers. But nothing celestial has ever hit that hidden primordial part of my soul like seeing that blood red sun. It was eerie!

Unfortunately, by the time I noticed it, I didn’t have time to get home to my camera and I missed the opportunity to photograph it. But guess what I’ll be doing today as the sun gets lower in the sky. It may have been a fluke thing, but if it happens again I will post a photo of it. 

UPDATE: No red sun, so I missed out on a great photo opportunity.

photo credit: denn

I’d like to say how amazed I am when I come across these stories, but I can’t. I keep finding stories like this all the time that point out the stupidity of our own species.

Polar Bears have recently been placed on the Endangered Species list. So what happens? The Canadian government (not just some trade organization) has requested that the U.S. change their stance and allow hunting of the bears. Why? It isn’t because rogue polar bears are attacking pets and livestock. They haven’t developed a taste for human flesh. No, the reason the Canadian government wants us to start hunting polar bears again is - to keep the hunter-tourist industry alive. It seems that wealthy Americans are willing to pay big bucks so that they can cover their floor with a polar bear skin rug. Now that hunting them has been banned, Canada’s hunter-tourism industry is experiencing hard times.

Next thing you know, some country will slaughter whales for “scientific research”, and nearly all of the meat will end up in the marketplace. Oh, wait. I think some country already does that.

photo credit: zionorbi

Independence Day, the 4th of July, is one of my favorite holidays. The commercialism is kept to a minimum. There are no gifts to buy or cards to send. It is simply a day to celebrate being an American.

When we first moved into our home, it was one of several brand new houses built in a new suburban area. All the neighbors soon got to know each other, calling out to one another as we came or went from our homes. I’ve watched little toddlers grow into teenagers. For someone without kids, watching that process is quite remarkable. 

One of the ways that I kept up with everything was our annual 4th of July Block Party. Our street is very quiet with very little traffic. Each 4th of July, we would block off both ends of the street and throw a party. Those of us who lived on the block would drag out our BBQs, tables, and sun tents. It became a potluck, where everyone would bring food to share. Those who lived around the block were welcomed and would use any BBQ that was handy. John across the street could always be counted on to bring some fresh oysters.

We mostly sat around talking, drinking beer or wine. Sometimes someone would whip up a batch of something a little stronger. We would catch up on each other’s lives. The kids would run around playing with water balloons and water pistols. That would be when I would really notice the changes in the kids over the previous year. Now those kids are teenagers and wouldn’t be caught dead playing with the younger kids that are now making their appearance.

As the sun went down, we would start cleaning things up and putting things away. Once it became dark enough, the “safe & sane” fireworks would come out. It was mostly fun for us adults as we competed to see who could put on the best show using only legal fireworks. The show would often last over an hour. Of course, we had buckets of water placed in strategic locations, and lawn hoses at the ready, just in case. In the 12 years that we have lived here, nobody ever got injured by those fireworks and we never had even a small fire to deal with. Each night we would sweep up all the burned out fireworks and picked up what little trash might be left lying around.

One of our neighbors was a police officer, and he and his family would join the fun. Sadly, they were one of the first to move. Things began to change. In 2005, the county started cracking down on the use of fireworks, regardless of whether they were the safe kind or not. Towns like mine had them listed as illegal, but nobody ever enforced the law and most people weren’t even aware of it. Some other towns in the area still allowed them, so it was just a simple matter of driving over and stopping at one of their booths. But the turnout for our block party was noticeably smaller than in the previous years. There were still some of us who would set off fireworks, but we did so with an eye out for “The Man.” It felt silly, as if we were doing something to be ashamed of. The 2006 block party was even smaller. In 2007, we bought some goodies for the 4th of July, but we soon noticed that nobody was putting up their sun tents, no BBQs were coming out, no kids were running around. It was dead silent. Granted, the 4th of July last year fell in the middle of the week. But I thought that the regulars would still show up to share a bottle of wine and to catch up on things if nothing else. We ended up BBQing in our backyard by ourselves.

It is now coming up on the 4th of July again, and I predict that the block party is dead. Nobody is talking about it. Sure, things have changed. Previous owners have come and gone, so the core group of our neighborhood has changed. I no longer know the names of all my neighbors, and don’t recognize half the kids I see walking by. Kids who used to be shooting the adults with squirt guns are now out driving their cars.

It’s a sad death too. There aren’t many places left where everyone knows each other. Our neighborhood has joined the list of the mediocre where For-Sale signs pop up and ownerships change on a regular basis. But in my opinion, the one thing that killed our block party was the enforcement of the fireworks laws. Now people go to the “real” fireworks show that the city puts on, sitting in a sea of blankets with strangers surrounding them. Even though the professional fireworks are great to watch, that is all you are doing. Watching. Oooooh. Ahhhh. The fun was in being a kid for just an hour or so, and setting off fireworks of your own. 

I suppose I can live without the fireworks. But I sure do miss the block party. This year, the 4th falls on a Friday, so maybe it will be better and someone will show up. But I wouldn’t bet on it. I think my cherished block party is dead.

photo credit: leppre

I subscribe to PRNet, which sends me news clips and press releases relevant to my areas of interest. As an ex-EMT and still certified American Heart Association CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor, I think I know a little bit about CPR.

The first thing the media, and people in general, need to understand is that CPR is a misnomer. CPR stands for Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation. In reality, CPR keeps a person alive until they can receive proper emergency medical care. In all my years as an EMT, I have never witnessed CPR actually reviving a single cardiac patient whose heart had stopped beating. With the exception of drowning victims, or victims of electrical shock, CPR just doesn’t do that. In cardiac patients, CPR keeps the blood and oxygen flowing to the brain and other vital organs until they can be treated in the Emergency Room. So when I read stories like this, I get a bit annoyed.

HEALTH: CPR CAN INCREASE SURVIVAL RATES. DR. BENJAMIN S. ABELLA, nationally renowned CPR and emergency care expert: “Each year, an estimated 166,000 lives are claimed by sudden cardiac arrest, an electronic malfunction that causes rapid and chaotic heart activity. In recent years, several studies have shown that medical professionals were performing poor CPR. Providing objective metrics and educational feedback to medical personnel who perform CPR on a cardiac arrest patient can significantly improve ventilation rate, compression rate and depth of compression, which can lead to higher initial survival rates for cardiac arrest patients.” Abella is available to speak about a recent study on the CPR sensing and recording technology and its clinical and training implications. 

 This ticked me off because it provides inaccurate information and implies that emergency medical personnel aren’t doing a very good job. The fact is, the death of a cardiac arrest patient is most often due to a delay in starting CPR. Many times, 5 or 6 people will call 911 while the rest of the people stand around and gawk. They seem to assume that the EMT/Paramedic will take care of everything once they arrive.

I’m not sure where Dr. Abella got his information, but the American Heart Association has done numerous studies which shows that early CPR, early use of an AED (automatic electronic defibrillator) and rapid response by emergency medical personnel is the number one way to save a cardiac arrest victim. In fact, their studies have shown that traditional CPR with xx number of compressions followed by xx number of rescue breaths is only a little more effective than simply pumping the chest in a bellows-like fashion. In fact, in many areas, 911 dispatchers are trained to tell callers just that. Instead of trying to teach them the formal way of doing CPR over the phone, they tell the caller to put their two interlocked hands over the lower breast bone and to pump as rapidly and as long as they can. Rescue breathing isn’t even encouraged because the bellows action of the chest compressions is what is really important. There is already plenty of oxygen in the bloodstream to keep the victim alive, and the pumping action even allows air to partially refill the lungs between compressions.

So remember folks. Just because someone has an M.D. after their name, it doesn’t mean they are infallible nor an expert. My suspicion is that this news brief was more intended to hype the “CPR sensing and recording technology” he wants to talk about. They had this kind of technology back when I first became an EMT, and it was eventually discontinued because it was too expensive and didn’t do a darn thing to actually save a person’s life. It just gave instructors a tool to measure pass/fail in classroom teaching environments.

The Dr. would have done a better service to the community by simply encouraging everyone to take a CPR/AED class from an American Heart Association certified instructor.

This video is making the rounds and I just love it. I think every freelance writer, or freelance anything, should watch this video. It should also be required viewing for anyone who ever works with a freelancer. Besides, it’s hilarious!