Protecting Yourself on The Street

The other day as I was approaching a female jogger along a river trail from the rear I noticed that she was very alert about her surroundings.


As I got closer I could see her head turning from side to side, obviously watching me through peripheral visions. Finally as I got even closer she turned her head around quickly to get a clear look at me without losing her stride. 


She was a perfect example of what one should do in potentially dangerous surrounding.  Women especially need to stay alert about what is going on around them and be ready to take protective action. 


Predators do no like to be seen before they attack so if you do stay alert you greatly reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim.


Others things you can do include carrying a personal alarm and something like a spray bottle of perfume if your are a women that you can spray in any assailants eyes.


Other things, such as a bundle of keys or sharp pen or pencil could also be used to gouge any assailants face. In Canada you are not supposed to be carrying weapons around to use on other people -- but these things -- while potentially life-saving are not really weapons are they?


Remember if any confrontation with an attacker  your defensive tactics are going to be judge on whether they were justified or not.




See  Post Below Regarding Living for Today Only

Should We Live Only For Today?

I don't know for sure what Scottish poet Robert Burns actually thought about this questions after his plow accidentally destroyed the home of a field mouse which had to scramble for its life.


But, he did compare the incident to how easily man's plans can be quickly disrupted despite our careful planning. And many persons throughout history, including Albert Einstein sand the pleasure-oriented Epicureans of the Middle East during  the time of Jesus  believe that planning for the future was of little use.


The mantra of the Epicureans was "Live for today for tomorrow we shall die,"  or words to that effect -- an idea or philosophy which is alive and well today in the minds of  many persons.




And of course for millions of people in Africa and other parts of the world the whole thing has nothing to do with pleasure their only focus is on getting enough to eat to help themselves and their loved try and live each day they endure.  Planning for the future could easily seem like a waste of time for these people


But still, to the extent that we can, making plans for tomorrow as well as living for today can help us to avoid many devastating incidents in life -- especially since sudden natural and other disasters ( such as the wildfires,  hurricanes, and drought conditions in the U.S. as well as the country-wide  electrical blackouts in India and Pakistan today)  look more and more like the new normal throughout the world.


So how are your plans for tomorrow coming along? Do you have a survival kit put together yet?  Do you have a "safe room" in  your house -- complete with a good lockable door and a charged cell phone and other supplies, including a rope ladder to climb out a window  which be easily stored under a bed to in case the danger to your family is caused by some intruder (or fire)  when you're not there?


Such advance planning, even if we do find ourselves like Robert Burns' mouse can still help  us to escape a disaster. 

Night Shift Workers At Greater Risk

Everybody knows that shift work (read night shift primarily)  is bad for you because it usually disrupts your life style and can contribute to things like diabetes and high blood pressure.


And now an analysis  of 34 studies involving   2 million workers adds more warnings according to the BBC on its Web site.


The warning, from Canadian and Norwegian researchers as  reported  in the British Medical Journal looked at coronary events, including heart attacks as well as strokes and concluded that these
incidents including 175, 359 coronary events of some kinds,  6, 598 heart attacks and  1,854 strokes were more  common in shift workers than other people.


They did say, however, workers faced a slightly higher risk of these types of attacks  and that the shift work (  I assume primarily night shift work) did not contribute to a higher mortality rate from these things.


That is a little confusing, but anyway their suggestions included things  like limiting  shift work apparently.


For more information click on www.bbc.co.uk/news/health

Is Milk Destroying Your Bones?

Most of us drink milk in the hope that it will help us to build strong bones -- but it might have just the opposite effect -- at least for adults according to Scott Mumby MD., Ph.D.


According to Mumby, because milk causes excess acid in adult bodies  and calcium  has a neutralizing effect on this acid drinking a large amount of milk results in calcium being drawn out of our bones in order neutralize the acid.  Resulting in weaker bones -- not stronger.


This is a very provocative  theory and I have heard before that adults should NOT drink vast quantities of milk.


Anyway you can get more inoformation on this idea by clicking  on "Scott Mumby, MD. Ph.D. or sending an info request to: scottmumbywellness.@gmail.com


He says that, "Milk is a brutal bone thief."

Fight Breast and Prostate Cancer The Natural Way

Breast and prostate cancer continue to take huge tolls of both men and women in North America, but you can give your body a better chance to avoid and cope with these two killers with Reflexology treatments.


As the promotional copy for Michelle Kluck's , CMT   award winning video on  Reflexology produced by Living  Arts, " says  "Your feet represent a virtual map of your whole body. 


"Thousands of tiny nerve endings in the bottom of your feet , called reflexes, correspond to every organ and system with the body. Reflexology is the art of stimulating these points to elicit a healing response from you body's  central nervous system.. . .


"With regular use, this powerful tool can help clear blocked energy channels, revitalize the body's energy and help the body regain the ability to heal itself."


And it works.  After years of using this complementary health care technique works to help keep men's  prostates   and women's breasts and ovaries healthy and less likely to succumb to cancer.


And while nobody is claiming it is a "magic bullet" enabling you to avoid  all illnesses it all works wonders with most ailments we often succumb to.


You can get more information on this reflexology through such videos as Kluck's which you can get at your local library  or if your prefer to buy one, at your local bookstore.


And of course you can get information through the Canadian Reflexology Association or your local association or practitioner.

What Is That Person Who Just Passed You Doing?

What is that person who just passed you on the isolated river trail doing?


He just greeted with a warm friendly smile, but is he continuing on his way or has he stopped to watch or worse yet follow, thinking he can sneak up on you?  Or just what is he doing?


You don't want to be paranoid about this type of thing but still in this day and age when people go out for bike rides or walks and simply vanish until their body turns up months later in never hurts to be a little cautious.


And one good way to keep track of people without attracting a lot of attention when you go out for a walk or ridge is simply to carry a small mirror that can fit neatly in the palm of your hand with you.


Then when that person passes you can quickly and covertly hold it up to eyes to to make a quick check. As I mentioned such mirrors -- or even better yet if you can afford it -- special rear-vision sunglasses are used by experts by loss prevention officers as well as surveillance agents but you can use these effectively to to help protect yourself -- especially when you are out alone

Strategies for Garden Warfare

Every battle is won with sound strategies -- including in the garden or front yard.


And here is way to potentially win that battle with clover and other natural invaders without  resorting to toxic pesticides  or driving yourself nuts trying to rip it all out. Why not just let certain patches of it grow -- letting other wild or natural flowers grow along with it?


Then all you have to do  is make paths  around these natural oases of wild grasses, trees, and shrubs -- as well as natural more refined, cultivated flowers and plants you love.


Certainly the really refined garden of carefully selected plants that you buy at the garden store look beautiful but I was out on a bike ride along the Fraser River today and suddenly realized that many of the natural shrubs and flowers growing there are just as beautiful in the own way. Many of these could be imported into your own garden or front yard to create a yard that could rival anything you buy at the store in beauty. And it is a surrounding that could possibly attract many more pollinating insects and birds to friendly neighborhood you create for them  


Complete with  patches of flowering white and pink clover carpeting the floor of your miniature forest (which could be easily cultivated and pruned.

YouDon't Need to Imitate Chuck Norris

How many times have you seen Chuck Norris in the Texas Rangers, I believe, and other shows conquer opponents with his high flying kicks and other martial arts skills?


Very impressive, but you don't need to be that good to defend yourself.  Aim much lower. The points you want to aim for are about four finger widths above the inside of each ankle bone.


Focus your kicks on these spots and you can derail any attacker very quickly -- perhaps even break his leg.


The key is to visualize yourself doing this and then practice, practice, practice -- either with a friend (pulling your kicks of course)  or one of those long punching bags used in martial arts and boxing gyms. Even wrap some padding around an upright post or tree and use either of these to practice until you have it all down pat.


You just never know when such a skill could help you protect yourself and others.


Incidentally, the vulnerability of this point just above your ankle means you should never confront any unknown persons in less than a 45 degree angle in most cases.

Are You going to Participate?

So far those of us living in the Lower Mainland area of B.C. seem to be living in an area protected from all the natural disasters striking other parts of the world, but as illustrated recently in Kaslo, B.C. which has wiped out one family,  disasters can strike anytime.
So are you ready for the Big One" we keep hearing about?


One way to make sure you are would be to participate in the  Shakeout B.C.  drill on October 18, 2012 at 10:18 a.m.


You can get more information on this by e-mail info@shakeoutbc.ca or on the Web site at: www.shakeoutbc.ca

The Right Order in Any Situation

Think First -- then -- act!  This is a sign I saw on a part of the new Port Mann bridge project here in Vancouver, B.C.  But -- it is good advice in any situation isn't it?

Unique House Codes on Intercoms

Intercoms --especially ones incorporating video cameras are a great way to protect your home and family from intruders.


Just make sure that yours has  a unique house code in its digital set up that prevents other nearby systems from interfering with our accessing your system.


Check out what's available carefully before investing in one of these.