Monday, October 27, 2014

Teddy Bear's Gone Viral


Every once in a while, yours truly gloms onto something funny and cute. In this instance,
it's Teddy Bear, a true afinciando of pumpkin. Enjoy. :)



Saturday, October 25, 2014

The First Law of Holes



is a wonderful quote that explains, in indirect fashion, how the war machine became America and why America continues to violate the first law of holes. 

To whit:




Click Blowback to read BRT's take on this most interesting topic.

Click War is a Racket to read Smedley Butler's antiwar classic, an incendiary piece showing why William Rivers Pitt's article rings true. Factoid: Butler is the only two time Congressional Medal of Honer recipient.

As an aside, read Nature abhors a vacuum to see a first hand example of why the First Law of Holes apples, in this case, to US foreign policy.

Addendum: Ask Any Price continues the violation of the first law to the max.



Any questions?


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Fall 2014


Fall never disappoints. :)


Belief/Doubt & Then Some


This is a pix yours truly took @ the Hirshhorn in DC depicting, in interesting fashion, the tumultuous relationship humanity has with reality, something we all share as living entities on a tiny planet called earth. :)

Ebola is brilliant


This is a truly excellent article about Ebola written by Abby Norman, a FEMA-trained in level 3 hazmat in a hospital setting.

To whit:

Ebola is brilliant.

It is a superior virus that has evolved and fine-tuned its mechanism of transmission to be near-perfect. That's why we're all so terrified. We know we can't destroy it. All we can do is try to divert it, outrun it. 

PPE, or, personal protective equipment, is sort of a catch-all phrase for the suits, booties, gloves, hoods and in many cases respirators worn by individuals who are entering a hot zone. These suits are incredibly difficult to move in. You are wearing several layers of gloves, which limits your dexterity to basically nil, the hoods limit the scope of your vision -- especially your peripheral vision, which all but disappears. The suits are hot -- almost unbearably so. The respirator gives you clean air, but not cool air. These suits are for protection, not comfort. Before you even suit up, your vitals need to be taken. You can't perform in the suit for more than about a half hour at a time -- if you make it that long. Heat stroke is almost a given at that point. You have to be fully hydrated and calm before you even step into the suit. By the time you come out of it, and your vitals are taken again, you're likely to be feeling the impact -- you may not have taken more than a few steps in the suit, but you'll feel like you've run a marathon on a 90-degree day. 

The other consideration is this: The "doffing" procedure, that is, the removal of PPE, is the most crucial part. It is also the point at which the majority of mistakes are made, and my guess is that this is what happened in Dallas.

The PPE, if worn correctly, does an excellent job of protecting you while you are wearing it. But eventually you'll need to take it off. Before you begin, you need to decon the outside of the PPE. That's the first thing. This is often done in the field with hoses or mobile showers/tents. Once this crucial step has occurred, the removal of PPE needs to be done in pairs. You cannot safely remove it by yourself. One reason you are wearing several sets of gloves is so that you have sterile gloves beneath your exterior gloves that will help you to get out of your suit. The procedure for this is taught in FEMA courses, and you run drills with a buddy over and over again until you get it right. You remove the tape and discard it. You throw it away from you. You step out of your boots  --  careful not to let your body touch the sides. Your partner helps you to slither out of the suit, again, not touching the outside of it. This is difficult, and it cannot be rushed. The respirators need to be deconned, batteries changed, filters changed. The hoods, once deconnned, need to be stored properly. If the suits are disposable, they need to be disposed of properly. If not, they need to be thoroughly deconned and stored safely. And they always need to be checked for rips, tears, holes, punctures or any other even tiny, practically invisible openings that could make the suit vulnerable. 


Can anyone tell me if this happened in Dallas?

Any questions?

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

99.5


Question - Why was a healthcare professional allowed to fly to Cleveland after being in direct contact with an Ebola patient or better yet, why did said professional decide to fly while possibly being symptomatic with said disease without considering the consequences?!!... Which constitute two "rather" questionable actions on the part of both parties that contribute to the quiet unease of yours truly while watching the CDC continue to stumble while trying to reign in this disease from hell before it's too late. Factoid, read Randomly Scary Stuff to see just how scary Ebola truly is.






As an aside, the excellent Frontline piece, The Trouble with Antibiotics comes to mind when reading about Ebola as this program, in indirect and powerful fashion, shows why this situation is serious to the max.

Read the Washington Post piece to get more info on this most interesting of news tidbit.


Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Oil Weapon


Most intelligent people know that the Great Game is all about oil, the horrific incursion of ISIS notwithstanding, because in the end, it's all about oil and having access to it in order for the world's fossil fuel addiction to continue without interruption, something the Saudi's are all too eager to supply, providing it hurts Putin and limits Iran's push to becoming the hegemon of the middle east. Seen above is the breakeven oil price chart, courtesy Zero Hedge & the WS Journal, whereby an interesting tail can now be told. 












Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Also, this brings up the question of the viability of "unlimited" fracking and oil sand supplies in the US because if our reserves are so large, why is this action needed? Food for thought if you ask me.


On a Brighter Note :)





Smartphone picture quality simply astounds yours truly as these untouched "gems" were snaps taken on the fly in NYC & DC. Unreal kinda says it all. Enjoy. :)

"Don't Do Stupid Shit"


"Dont Do Stupid Shit", the quote heard around the world is moot because the US is doing SS every minute it's in the Middle East. We created this mess and we don't have enough brains to get out of it so it's Orwell writ large. Endless war, Oceana against Eurasia and an end game that never ends. 

To whit: 




But there's more with a lesson from the ghost from hell, the secret bombing of Cambodia, courtesy the US of A.



Pol Pot

And this:


And so it goes.

Stupid Shit indeed.