Just Because It Never Happens Doesn't Mean It Never Will

 

The other day my wife intercepted two very pretty young girls on their way to a rather isolated park near our house to play. When my wife sent them back to their mother with the warning that it was too dangerous they retorted, " Our mother lets us go there by ourselves – all the time – and nothing ever happens to us!"

That was echoed by their mother herself who came down at first very indignant at what she perceived as unwarranted meddling in her affairs. It was only when my wife refused to apologize and warned the women that just because nothing ever happens to her young children it doesn't matter it never will that she took her children back home.

This woman's overconfidence is not an isolated case and it all too frequently ends up with tragic results in many of our activities such as when:

• People get killed in vehicle accidents after they have run a yellow or red light because they have done it many times before and nothing ever happened.
  
• A policeman gets killed from a bullet shot through a door because nothing has ever happened before when he got careless and stood right in the centre of the doorway.
  
• A young women disappears while jogging through an isolated park trail by herself – which she has done many times before.
  
• A man walking along the sidewalk is gunned down by two men in a black car – that he has seen passing – many times before.
  
• A young woman is attacked and raped by a man she met in a night club she has met many times before and always seemed so sweet and warm.
  
• A trainer at one of the Seal World centres in the United States in dragged under the water and drowned by a killer whale -- she has worked with many times before.
  

You could go one with many other examples of this type of thing because we do it all the time – that is believe that because we have done something many times before that has the potential to be very dangerous but nothing ever happens – nothing ever will.

We do it because we get careless or take our safety for granted and it can have tragic consequences. When we do things we know we should not do but take the chance anyway.

A very good example of this type of thinking and the consequences is the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Somebody shut down an alarm system – because it wake the crew unnecessarily if it should go off.

Some are trying to say they don't know for sure if that action cost any lives but at the same time there is a good possibility it did. And what was the rationale behind that? Was it because they had done that many times before – and nothing ever happened?

Who knows! People who do these types of things are playing Russian roulette with their own or other peoples' lives. It is a dangerous and often tragic way to live.

Protect Yourself from Fraud Artists and Identity Thieves

    Some of the cleverest minds in the world are busy devising schemes to separate you from your money, banking information or even your personal identity – which could result in you being held responsible for debts you never ran up -- or even crimes you never committed.

To protect yourself from such things be extra careful not just with your money but also with all types of personal identity such as:

• Personal papers
  
• Bank statements
  
• Cheque books
  
• Driver's licenses
  
• Social Insurance cards or other government identify cards
  

Rarely provide information from such cards on the internet. Some supposedly secure sites might tempt you to make exceptions but be careful. Also be careful when providing such information in person. The only time should be when you are buying something or are legally required to do so.

In addition to being extra cautious at these times don't fall into the habit of throwing old statements or other forms containing confidential information into dumpsters or garbage bins behind stores or office buildings. Information thieves, even some private many private investigators, are very skilled "dumpster divers", able to piece an entire history about you or your from documents that you forgot to shred before discarding them.

Plant Trees To Protect Yourself

 

This is not exactly an new idea but you can protect yourself by living in a neighbourhood where there are a lot of trees growing as they help to moderate the temperature keeping it cooler on scorching summer days and also eliminate much of the pollution surrounding us – something than can be critical if you or a family member suffers from things like asthma.



The July 13, 2010 of ENN Community trees native to an area not only grow much easier but also provide much needed shelter for birds and other wildlife but also help to prevent flooding by absorbing the excess water to rainy weather, reduced air pollution (including noise from nearby highways or industrial equipment).

You can protect your young children who suffer from asthmas by living in such neighbourhood. Studies in England, according the quoted Woodlands Trust, say that while some 15 per cent of young children in that country researchers have also found out that for every 340 trees planted in a square kilometre the number of young asthma suffers drops by a quarter.

So if you don't already living in area that is surrounded by trees and can't move to such a neighbourhood it wouldn't be a bad idea to plant some native trees around your property. It not only enhances your land but also help to protect your health and health of your loved ones – as well as the neighbourhood itself.



If you live in some strata complex in a condominium or other dwelling where it is hard to plant trees in the ground around your home the are other ways to do this such as planting the trees in pots or planters.  Your local landscape supply or gardening supply store should be able to help you out with idea about this.


There are says, for instance to control the height of trees that would normally grow very high by selective pruning of the top and other branches. I can't think off hand about the name of the gardening art that deals with this, but the technique is very similar to those used by those who specialize in growing miniature trees using "bonsai" trimming techniques.


Surrounding yourself with trees and other pollution fighting plants can be achieved even if you are a person who spends a lot of time indoors. 


If that is your problem you can also get small indoor trees and other plants to help to create a relaxing atmosphere inside yourself – as well as absorb much of the indoor pollution – which, as you know, can actually be much greater than what you find outside.


 

Remember That Many Are Playing A Role

 

I have been following the latest story in the media here in Vancouver BC about an elderly couple that vanished while on a trip in their recreational vehicle from Edmonton to Chilliwack area of British Columbia, Canada that is a stark reminder of how this is so true so many strangers we meet.

Although they might seem very friendly and sweet such as the person a friend of ours recently met in a bar. "He even told me how I look like his wife who recently died of cancer and showed me her picture," she said.

While this person might be genuine often, as recounted in the newspaper as well as such shows as Americas Most Wanted and other programs, that friendliness is often just as mask to hide vicious intentions.

Everyone, but especially young attractive women and elderly persons should keep this in mind when meeting new persons. During your first encounters with people you should view them as an unknown risk or threat until they prove what their intentions towards you really are.

Women who meet that sweet, good looking guy in a bar with that hear breaking story about how his wife just died etc. etc. etc. just be extra cautious.

But this is a caution that everyone should be practising. Ask yourself if that sweet smile or personality is really genuine or if it is a mask.

This is not so difficult and t here are some excellent books on reading people that are on the market such as People Watching and Body Language by Desmond Morris that can help you become more adept at detecting phones and other dangerous persons by looking beyond their facade of friendliness and love.

Master this art to protect yourself and family members from the unscrupulous persons you meet and trust your finances or personal safety with practically everyday of your lives. Remember as Shakespeare said that all the world is a stage and everyone has their role to play – and that with some people that role is not very nice.





Note:   See also new post today  below.





 

Protect Yourself from Dementia

Protect yourself from dementia the scourge of the "Golden Years" of retirement that are turning out not so golden for hundreds of thousands of persons succumbing to this this disease after they retire.

In one study conducted by researchers in California they found that if you are physically active during your teen years the monsters of dementia will retreat in your Golden years.

 

Researchers in San Francisco and Ontario included 9,395 women 65 and older in their study. They found that women who were active as teens had much better cognitive scores that those who were more prone to be couch potatoes during their earlier years.

According to the editors of the Journal of The American Geriatric Society who originally published the story, said the researchers did an assessment of these women when in their teens, thirty's and fifties and found that those who were more active during the teen years had better cognitive skills when older. Those who caught the exercise bug in later years did not do as well although those who started when they were in their thirties and continued to exercise did reap some of the benefits.

However, don't be discouraged by the results of these tests which seem to indicate that you have missed the boat if you started an exercise program when you were older than that.

Other studies have shown that a regular exercise program (especially one under a doctor's supervision when you are older) will help to stave off dementia and other cognitive plagues.

The thing to take away from this story is the fact that a good – continued – exercise program involving a sport or activity which you enjoy doing will help to fight dementia when you are older. The important thing is to start to one – and as early in life as possible to protect your mental and physical health throughout your life.

You can find more information on this topic in the Los Angeles Times in the story written by Karen Kaplan and The Vancouver Sun of July 1, 2010 which carried her original feature.

 

Protect Your Communication Equipment

How well do you protect your communication equipment?

Silly question you might say. "Of course I take care of communication equipment. I make sure my cell phone is kept in a proper case to protect it against falls or dampness. The same thing with my tape recorder and cameras. They're all kept in proper cases and in secure places at home – and especially when I have to leave them alone when I travel or have to take them with me in my vehicle."

And I'm sure you do, but how well do you protect the communication system you were born with – without which most of this stuff would be useless? Your brain. Your lungs, your throat (along with its larynx and voice box), your tongue, your teeth, your lips – and your ears and eyes. all make one of the most awesome communications systems in the world – without which we would be unable to gather information or share it effectively with others.

Everything you want to say starts off as a puff of air in your lungs which forces the air up your throat past your larynx and voice bocks which turns it into sounds, on past you tongue, teeth and lips which all do their part to transform this initial sound into meaningful words.

And with our ears and eyes we can quickly appreciate not only how our voice sounds and ideas are going over from the response from our audience but we can also continually increase our repertoire of ideas and information by listening to others or researching new ideas.

Ironically, while nobody would deliberately drop a cell phone on the floor all too often we don't think about how we are destroying our brains and other components of our vocal system through smoking, excesses with drugs and alcohol or other detrimental lifestyles.

Yet if we want to have long careers as successful presenters whether we are singers, actors or speakers we must give as much care to our "natural equipment" as we do our electronic aids.

 

 

 

 

Capture Them on Film

One of the best deterrents and tools to help to identify people who break into your business or residential property is some type of video camera system – but a surprising number of persons don't seem to be making use of if.

I was talking to the General Manager of construction company specializing in renting the climbing cranes after the fourth alleged theft of copper wiring from construction cranes which would reportedly cost about $100,000.00 to replace according to one police officer.

Amazingly even thought this has allegedly happened on four previous occasions nobody has thought to install a camera system around this property and the Manager seemed absolutely stunned that I would suggest such a thing.

Yet a good quality colour camera system that could be set to work in concert with a motion detector so it was not running all the time would be one of the best ways not only to discourage such crimes but more importantly to get good descriptions for the police. Something they do not seem to have in this case.

In addition to such installation around business property it would be a good idea to install such camera around the perimeter and interior of the homes of any elderly family members who are living by themselves.

You could discourage any such attacks by posting notices on the exterior of the house and making sure that the cameras where installed with battery back-ups and in locations where criminals could damage or remove them before trying to break into the house.

These cameras nowadays do not have to be huge (think pin-hole cameras) to take excellent pictures.