CategoriesRecent PostsArchives
|
June 16, 2011
by 
It’s been hard to miss (and at times stomach) the graphic news today out of Vancouver, British Columbia, where hockey fans rioted after the hometown Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night.
What began as a few random fires and incidents of vandalism on the evening of June 15, soon became utter chaos, with looters stealing from local stores and police trying to clear the streets. Windows were smashed, fires were lit, police cars were flipped and more than a hundred people needed to visit the hospital. Downtown Vancouver was in a state of anarchy.
So what would you do if you get caught in a ruckus like this?
[ Read Full Post ]June 13, 2011
by 
The sun coughed up a significant and fiery blast last week. The Class “M” solar flare erupted Tuesday, June 7, and NASA says it will give our planet just a "glancing blow." The National Weather Service is expecting only minor disruptions to satellites and power grids.
NASA officials say that big flares like this are likely to be common during the next few years, with solar activity expected to peak around 2013. Most solar flares will only cause minor problems, but there's always a chance that a huge Class “X” flare could hit us.
The largest flare on record to hit Earth occurred in 1859. It created auroras worldwide and interrupted telegraph service for weeks. Considering today's technology-dependent societies, a major solar storm could plunge the modern world into some serious trouble.
[ Read Full Post ]June 3, 2011
by 
In 2010, British Army Lance Corporal Luke Reeson was shot in the face by the Taliban in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. The bullet ricocheted off his body armor, smashing into his lower cheek and back out through his mouth. Instead of going into shock, or giving in to panic, Corporal Reeson spat out the bullet and walked two miles to get help.
While most of you will likely never be in the position that Reeson found himself, the question is worth asking: If, god forbid, you are ever shot, what should you do to survive?
[ Read Full Post ]June 2, 2011
by
A foodborne bacterial outbreak in northern Germany and nine other European countries has left more than 1,000 people sick roughly 500 with symptoms of a condition that can cause acute kidney failure. Seventeen people in Germany and one in Sweden have died as a result of the bacteria.
The creature doing all the damage is a strain of E. coli known as Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, or EHEC, which causes symptoms ranging from bloody diarrhea to kidney failure.
E. coli is found in large quantities in the digestive systems of humans, cows and other mammals, and most strains are generally harmless, or at worst, cause non-lethal stomach ailments.
But this strain, believed to be riding on or inside contaminated vegetables, threatens a significant part of Germany’s food supply. Authorities have determined that most of the patients who have been sickened ate cucumbers, tomatoes and leaf lettuce, and were located primarily in northern Germany. The exact source of the contamination is still under investigation.
[ Read Full Post ] May 26, 2011
by  You awake in the darkness with the sinking feeling that something is wrong.
You begin to hear noises that you cannot attribute to your pets, or your home’s rightful inhabitants. And then, from right outside your bedroom door, you hear the rough whispers of two men arguing over which room to go into next. Your initial response to a home invasion is to call 911, retrieve your weapon and grab your flashlight — if you have enough time.
It’s humbling to consider that your life (and the lives of those in your care) could rely, in part, on a bulb, a bit of wiring and some batteries. But sometimes, it comes down to something just that simple.
So What Light Do You Need?
First and foremost you want the brightest light possible, to blind and disorient any home invaders and to better see what you are doing during an emergency. Lights with a strobe feature are even more disorienting. With today’s super-bright LED technology, and long-life lithium batteries, a light that can fit in the palm of your hand can pack enough wattage to destroy someone’s night vision and send them reeling, but it can also sit on a shelf for years of worry-free readiness.
[ Read Full Post ]May 19, 2011
by 
Some wildlife biologists believe there will be a greater-than-average number of grizzly attacks this year. According to officials with the Alaska State Department of Fish and Game, the state just had its first bear attack of 2011.
"As far as I know, this is the first significant incident of the year," said Gordy Williams, who is a special assistant with the Department.
[ Read Full Post ]May 18, 2011
by
On Monday the Center of Disease control released a list of guidelines on how to survive an uprising from the living dead (no, the zombie apocalypse is not upon us, so put your zombie guns back in the gun safe … at least for now.)
The CDC post was written by Assistant Surgeon General Ali Khan and gives helpful advice such as "Once you've made your emergency kit, you should sit down with your family and come up with an emergency plan … this includes where you would go and who you would call if zombies started appearing outside your doorstep. You can also implement this plan if there is a flood, earthquake or other emergency."
[ Read Full Post ] May 16, 2011
by
Three miles outside of Marion Forks, Oregon, Jerry William McDonald went through a 68-day ordeal that ultimately ended in his death from hypothermia and starvation.
The question on many people’s lips is simply, “Why didn’t he just walk back to town?”
Authorities say that McDonald was a transient, and estranged from his family. But he was not without resources. When the 68-year-old Oregon man got his pickup stuck in the snowy backwoods, he still had gallons of water, extra fuel and warm clothes, but not enough food to sustain him for the length of his ordeal. He also had $5,000 in cash, a jack for his truck, and chains on his tires.
McDonald kept a journal of his struggle, but he never clearly said why he was staying put. Perhaps the vehicle was his home, and he did not want to abandon it. Perhaps he was simply waiting for help.
[ Read Full Post ] May 11, 2011
by
You somehow got between a surly old she-bear and her cubs. What do you do?
Well, for starters, know that it could be worse. You could be staring down a hungry young boar.
That’s one conclusion of a century’s worth of fatal bear attacks, reported today in Toronto’s Globe and Mail. Investigators with the University of Calgary, Brigham Young University and the Massachusetts Fish and Game studied 59 fatal black bear incidents across North America from 1900 to 2009 and arrived at these surprising findings:
[ Read Full Post ] May 10, 2011
by
How long do you think you could survive alone in the mountains with limited food, water and shelter. Three weeks? A month?
How about seven weeks?
It’s a story of grit, courage, unexpected survival and celebration of the impossible. In a nutshell, a Canadian woman stranded for seven weeks in one of the most remote reaches of the West was found emaciated but alive. She lost between 30 and 40 pounds but survived on a diet of snowmelt and trail mix, according to the Huffington Post.
[ Read Full Post ]
|
|
