Protect Yourself and Others – Don't Drink and Drive

 

According to journalist Stephen Hume despite the best efforts of the police and courts we are still killing more people in traffic accidents than are being killed by enemy combatants since World War II.



He wrote in his Saturday March 13, 2010 column in the Vancouver Sun, "Impaired drivers are killing their fellow Canadians in numbers that exceed our war casualties in Afghanistan." And figures show that between 1980 and 2006 the traffic casualty figures are about the same number as the number of Canadian soldier casualties fighting the Axis powers.

He cites from very alarming figures claiming that in 2006 alone 1,278 persons were killed, and some 75,374 persons were injured, with property damage reach the $12.8 billion mark.

In order to help reduce this carnage drivers  should be making drastic reductions in the amount of alcohol  consumed before driving. Studies in Japan show that driving skills deteriorate rapidly once the average person has reached the .02 level -- never mind .08 which is the current indicator used by police forces and courts for determining that a person is legally impaired.



So as drivers and pedestrian we should be voluntarily greatly reducing the amount we drink before driving -- and throwing our support behind proposed changes that would see the legal impairment level reduced from the current .08 level to .05 or even .02.

This would not only protect our own lives but also the lives of our loved ones and fellow drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.



Wait until we get home to drink with family and friends or at the very least stopping playing Russian roulette behind the wheel and have a designated, sober person  drive us home.


Drinking would be much more enjoyable knowing that we hadn't  endangered  other persons' lives or wiped out a young child and mother because we had too much to drink.



 

Vary Your Routine and Be Observant

 

Copy a tactic of experienced business travellers who know it is a good idea when travelling around ( in their case especially in foreign lands) so people who might be tracking and planning to attack and rob them do not know exactly what time they are going to do something or what route they're going to take.

 

This is also a technique of experienced security people when patrolling sites so anybody scouting the site to plan a break-in or whatever is not readily aware of exactly where the security guard is. They really mix up their patrols and activities so that in many cases even mobile supervisors visiting their sites have to contact them by radio or cell phone to locate them.

 

Doing things like this can be even more critical if you are a female living alone or you go out on solo hikes or jogging on a regular basis. Mix up your times as much as possible and take slightly different routes each time. Both of these practices make it harder to any stalkers to easily set up ambush points along your route.

 

It is also good to carry some personal alarm or even better take along a canine partner -- especially one that is very protective of you sand stay observant of your surroundings. It is really surprising how many people are out there walking or jogging – sometimes in some very isolated areas completely oblivious to what is going on around them.

 

Keep in mind the "Rule of Three". If you suddenly keep encountering the same person walking along your route or watching from a park bench, bicycle, or parked vehicle as you pass that should send up some warning signals. In the end the person might turn out to be harmless but take precautions by changing your route or times or even calling the non-emergency police line to see if they can send officers to check the person out.

Don't become known as a person that keeps calling the police without a good reason but don't hesitate to call them if you have real concerns.

A Few Tips On Safety in Your Vehicle

 

There a a couple of things you should keep in mind when sitting in a car whether your are a security professional, private investigator or private citizen – things that could protect your from injury or death.

 

First of all if a part of your job involves working on your laptop or making notes or records with a pen and paper or even just talking on your cell phone for a long period of time do not get so engrossed in what you are doing that you do not stay aware of your surroundings and possible threats from others. Take a few minutes to look around once in a while to see who might be observing or approaching you. Don't get paranoid about this – but do stay aware.

 

The second thing is that if you are sitting in your car he keys should be in the ignition, ready to use to start your vehicle if you have to move out quickly and if possible have your emergency brake off so all you have to do is put your car in gear and move quickly.

 

Third, especially if you are in an isolated area or alone and notice that somebody has been watching you it does not hurt to turn your engine in you see somebody walking towards you, again so you can escape quickly if that person or group of persons becomes a threat.

 

Fourth, be cautious when you are sitting in your car and somebody is suddenly outside your vehicle window. This was impressed on me by a friend when I was doing site surveillance work from my Jeep Patriot.

 

He had come up to me and was talking pleasantly to me through the open window when he suddenly pushed his hand through the open window and punched me on the chest twice . "Just a wake up call," he said as he walked away, looking back in utter disbelief at how easy I would have been to take out as he later told me.

 

He made his point. That could have been a knife or some other weapon instead of his fist.

He cautious about who is standing outside your vehicle window – especially if for some reason you might be vulnerable to sudden attack.

 

These are all little points perhaps, but if you keep them in mind and take t he appropriate precautions they could help to protect your from injury or death if somebody does attack you.

Protect Your Furniture and Your Cats

 

According to an article in The Pet Connection February 2010 the UnitedStates government has banned the declawing of big cats in captivity such as lions and tigers because of the extreme suffering it causes while in the meantime thousands of house cats are routine put through this agony in order to protect the owner'[s furniture. The author of the article, Dr Michael W. Fox, wants to stop this cruel practice which he says is similar to somebody amputating your toes and fingers at the first joint

As well as making it much more difficult for the cat to climb and hold things many cats suffer from other things such as chronic arthritis as well as bone infections when the pads on their paws shrink .

 

In addition to this suffering such an operation causes your pet it often backfires as way to protect your property because it often causes your to become much more aggressive and prone to bit to defend itself -- and -- "un-housebroken" as Dr. Fox says, refusing to dig in the litter box with sore paws. Corners of carpets under furniture or in closets become much more attractive places for your cat to pee or defecate.

The bottom line with all of this is that it is a good idea to think twice about resorting to such drastic measures as cutting your cat's claws. The cost of such an operations as well as the cat's suffering could be avoided by using other techniques to discourage furniture scratching. And older wooden chair or stool or other piece of furniture left near the cat's feeding station could encourage it to use that to sharpen its claws if your do not want to buy one of the fancy scratching posts or they are not working for some reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protecting Your Health As You Age

 

As we grow older protecting your health becomes more of a concern and it is not a good idea to depend solely on conventional medicine or the hope that your genetic background will protect you from most of the ravages of old age according to Dr. John Briffa in his book Food for Health. In it he warns that conventional medicine accounts for only 10 percent of overall health while genetics accounts for only another 20 percent. While lifestyle, including what we eat and physical activity accounts for a whopping 50 percent.

This is because the human body is continually renewing itself . Each day cells and tissues in our body are wearing out to be replaced by new tissues and biochemical processes. According to nutritionists such as Dr. Briffa some 98 percent of our bodies are replaced this way each year.

With this in mind it becomes crystal clear that proper exercise and especially a good diet are going to play huge roles in our health as we grow older and there are things we should keep in mind when selecting Some of the things that we should keep in mind in order to protect our health include:

 

• Eating for Energy
  
• Eating for a Healthy Heart
  
• Eating for Digestive Health
  
• Eating for Weight Control
  
• Eating for Immune Health
  

 

These are some of the pointers he includes in his book which is very well illustrated and easy to understand.

The are all things that top Olympian athletes do and we should be following their example if we really want to enjoy our "golden years".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lessons from the Olympics

Lessons From The Olympics

The  2010 Winer Olympics in Vancouver BC  are still pretty exciting despite the problems with rain, rain, and more rain instead of snow  and there are many life lessons to be learned from both the organizers, their staff, and the competitors themselves.

The  around the clock efforts before and during the games by Vanoc staff  to protect what snow there was from melting away  as well trucking in snow for runs on Cypress Bowl in the North Shore Mountains just north of Vancouver are lessons in not giving up in the face of adversity. While they have not ended up with ideal runs and some events have had to be cancelled still their efforts have enabled the games to  go on.

Rather than being  critical  of their efforts  we should follow their examples in finding ways  to cope  when things suddenly  go wrong. 


Remember Murphy's Law?  This is a perfect example of that -- and also of how to respond to it. This is truly an Olympics within an Olympics.


Then there are the many lessons taught by the competitors themselves through their examples of dedication to achieving their athletic goals through proper nutrition,  and exercise programs as well as mental visualization techniques that many of these athletes use to put themselves in the proper frame of mind for success.


These are things  the rest of us would do well to practice in our daily lives whatever our business or social goals are -- not only to protect our mental and physical health but also to achieve success.

Protect Yourself From Epidemic of Dementia and Diabetes

According to two Vancouver Sun features Canadians are getting ominously close to the brink of major dementia and diabetes epidemics – but there are two things you can do to protect yourself.
 
The first article , "Canada must act to reduce impact of dementia, study warns" by Andrew Duffy on January 4, 2010 warns right now some 500,000 Canadian are suffering with dementia. 

In the article Richard Nakoneczny, president of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, said, : If we do nothing dementia will have a crippling effect on Canadian families, our health care system and economy." It is already costing some A$18 billion a year according to Duffy. 

The governments are still struggling to formulate some country-wide plan of attack on this disease with doctors and doctors ill-trained to diagnose and treat the disease which slowly robs victims of brain function including memory, personality and independence. 

Eventually some form of national treatment plan will hopefully be created by the combined efforts of the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the different federal and provincial health agencies, but you can do much to protect yourself from becoming another Alzheimer statistic by becoming more active –especially if you are 65 or over. This builds brain health and could help protect you from this terrible disease in your retirement years.

The second Vancouver Sun health feature "Diabetes rising: the quiet disease is about to get much louder" by Margaret Munro on October 10, 2009 presents some disturbing statistics such as the fact that while the recent H1N1 epidemic killed 78 Canadian diabetes is responsible for 40,000 Canadian deaths every year.

Munro says, "....it tends to sneak up on people as it numbs nerves in the feet, damages retinal cells in the eyes, clogs the cardiovascular system, cuts circulation and destroys tiny filters in the kidneys." 

It is also sneaking up on the health care and economic systems; its currently costs some $17 billion each year and doctors fear it could get much worse as most Canadian continue with "sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits". 

As a result the epidemic is escalating has surged to 2.3 million in the past decade and each year 200,000 more persons succumb to this disease. 

But you do not have to be among this number if you just shun the fast foods in favour of nutritional organic foods and spend just 30 minutes a day doing some brisk walking; this would reduce the likelihood of you developing this disease by 50 per cent.

The key to building and protecting your health into old age is to find some physical activity that you really enjoy and will work at according to another Vancouver Sun Chantel Eustace in her feature on January 4, 2010 which featured the advice of Ironman triathlete and author of the book Thrive Fitness, Brendan Brazier. 

He stresses the importance of a sport or activity such as dancing that you love, and a good nutritious diet.