Before we start in on this week’s TMQ, we want to note a story from today’s New York Times that bothers us. We think it is appropriate to talk about here, as it deals with things TMQ has been hammering on as well. After the jump, we’ll get started…
Archive for the ‘Safety’ Category
TMQ watch: October 23, 2012.
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012Quote of the day.
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012I am not an authority on lightning safety. I am a guy who draws pictures on the internet. I like when things catch fire and explode, which means I do not have your best interests in mind.
—XKCD
How many rules were broken here?
Thursday, September 13th, 2012(Insert obvious joke about shooting at the Bill of Rights here.)
Onward. According to the LAT, one of the crew members accidentally “grabbed a box of buckshot ammunition after the Amazing Grace ran out of blanks”.
Two people were injured, apparently not critically.
So off the top of my head:
- Just because it is a “blank” doesn’t mean it is safe. (Obligatory.)
- “‘The plan is never to shoot live ammunition,’ said Bentley Cavazzi, chief operations officer for the Ocean Institute, which has hosted the festival in Dana Point Harbor for 28 years.” Then why were they even carrying live ammo? Why was live ammo even allowed on board the ship? Does the Amazing Grace often go out on cruises where they shoot buckshot out of the ship’s guns? At what?
- “The boxes apparently look similar, authorities said.” Somebody made a bad decision there.
- I’m not sure this counts as a Rule Four violation, since it sounds like the crew of the Amazing Grace knew what they were shooting at and what was behind it. Maybe a Rule One and Rule Two violation, but again, it sounds like all of this was intentional and wouldn’t have been a problem if the gun had been properly loaded.
This appears to be the Amazing Grace’s website. I was trying to figure out what kind of guns it had, and how they worked; it kind of sounds like they may use commercial shotgun cartridges, instead of muzzle loaders like you’d see in the movies. The site isn’t helpful, but the “Ship’s Log” is good for a chuckle.
It sounds like this was part of the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival. “Back by popular demand again this year, children can take part in Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags. Watch as your young buccaneers learn to walk, talk, and sing like a pirate!” That sounds like it would get annoying. Fast.
Hillsborough.
Thursday, September 13th, 2012This was covered some on FARK yesterday, but I kind of feel like it is important enough to mention here.
On April 15, 1989, at the Hillsborough Stadium (located in Sheffield), 96 people were crushed to death. The initial inquiry on the deaths basically blamed the fans for what happened; that was a controversial verdict.
The British government agreed to a new inquiry in December of 2009. The results of that inquiry were issued yesterday.
More:
And further:
Additionally, the report suggests that at least some of the people who died may have lived, if they had been given prompt medical treatment:
This is for Andrew.
Sunday, September 9th, 2012An article from this week’s NYT Magazine:
Unfortunately, the article isn’t about couches with knife-like edges on the underside, but rather about the alleged dangers of flame retardant chemicals used in couch foam.
The big problems are:
- These chemicals apparently don’t stay bound to the foam, but migrate into the environment.
- These chemicals allegedly have negative side effects on human health.
- And these fire retardants may not be doing a damn bit of good in any case.
One question sort of implied, but not explicitly asked, by this article: many of these standards, like TB 117, were implemented at a time when far more people smoked, and smoke detectors were far less common. The idea was to keep Grandpa’s cigarette from setting the couch on fire if he dozed off in front of the TV set. Now that smoking has decreased dramatically, and smoke detectors are everywhere, do these standards continue to make sense? And shouldn’t this be a consumer choice? If you have kids, buy a couch with all natural fabric and stuffing. If you smoke and drink in front of the TV set and frequently doze off, get a couch that you couldn’t set on fire with a blowtorch and napalm.
Just a couple of random thoughts…
Friday, August 24th, 2012- Your safety is important. You’re not helping the first responders if you give them two casualties to work on instead of one. I know Ambulance Driver has brought this up repeatedly, especially in the Confessions of an EMS Newbie podcast, but: make sure the scene is safe, or at least as safe as you can get it, before you go rushing in trying to save people.
- After the Northridge earthquake, Stewart Brand did a piece about his experiences for the old Whole Earth Quarterly. Something he said has always stuck with me. Brand talked about the earthquake hitting, getting out of his car, and trotting off down the street with the intent of helping people. He then went on to list all the potentially useful stuff (like a jack) that he left behind in the car. Brand’s Rule: “First, collect your thoughts. Then, collect your tools.”
Important safety tip. (#12 in a series)
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012This one’s a quickie: if you’re going to steal a car, you probably shouldn’t steal an art car.
Important safety tip. (#11 in a series)
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012This has been covered on FARK, and my angle on it may be more of a legal tip than a safety one.
However.
While I am opposed to drinking and driving, it helps your court case if you can say you drank something reasonable and innocent sounding. “I had a Grasshopper.” Grasshopper. How threatening does that sound? “I had two Sidecars.” Nice, mellow, classic drink. Gentlemen drink Sidecars. Even “I had two Manhattans” or “I had three Negronis” doesn’t sound too bad.
But when the testimony in court is that you ordered eight of something called a “Mind Eraser”, that doesn’t look so good. Just a suggestion. If you plan to get your s–t f–ked up, you should consider a designated driver and something that doesn’t sound threatening. A nice Long Island Iced Tea or eight, perhaps.
Important safety tip (#10 in a series).
Friday, March 2nd, 2012If you’re going to have cosmetic procedures done on your body, I recommend you seek out someone qualified to do so.
Generally, I think you’re best off with someone who has a degree from a medical school you’ve at least heard of (probably a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges) and ideally a board certification from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
I know, you’re thinking I’m just a tool of Big Plastic Surgery, and there’s nothing wrong with getting your cosmetic enhancements at a bargain price. Hey, it’s your body, you can make your own decisions.
But I think we can all agree that getting your cosmetic enhancements from “a self-described hip-hop/goth/pop and funk musician” or your beautician is a bad idea. I’d also suggest that, if you’re going in for cosmetic enhancements, and you see your doctor using the same kind of superglue you can buy off the shelf at Walgreens: run.
Important safety tip (#9 in a series).
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012Let us say, just for the sake of argument, that you are a police officer.
Let us say, also just for the sake of argument, that you like to go to bars in your off-duty hours and meet women (or men, depending on your particular gender bias).
Let us also say that you are at a bar one night, meet an attractive person of the appropriate gender, and you’d like to get their phone number and address.
Now, as a police officer, you have extraordinary access to look this kind of thing up. You may be tempted to make use of that access. You might want to wait until your next shift and then run your subject through police databases, the way the Mafia Cops did. If you’re desperate enough, you may think you can call up someone who is on duty, tell them you’re investigating a crime, and get information that way.
Yeah, that kind of desperate. Anyway, all of this may sound like a good idea at the time. It isn’t.
Because when the police department gets a complaint from the woman whose door you were banging on early in the morning, they are going to fire your ass.
Extra bonus point 1: It also doesn’t help if you’ve spent 10 months on suspension, with pay, while the police department looks into your relationship with an “unlicensed bounty hunter”.
Extra bonus point 2: Guess the city and police department. Go on, guess.
I’m not generally a big fan of Justice Department supervision of police departments, but Spokane is starting to look like a place that needs adult supervision for their police department. Or maybe they just need to fire everyone and let the National Guard police the city while they rebuild the department from scratch?
Quotes of the day.
Monday, February 20th, 2012Brain buckets.
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011I mentioned this in passing in this week’s TMQ thread, but for all of those who don’t read it: my sister has a new post up at the Park City Snowmamas site.
Of course, that’s just my paraphrase of what she’s actually saying. My sister never uses the word “f–k” in conversation. Except for maybe when one of her boys tries to sneak a box of Pop-Tarts or a case of Monster energy drink into the house….