Entanglement hazard: the scarf

Some people think i'm weird for tying loose end or having break away lanyards on things attached to me. Even a common item like a scarf can dangerous.

Here is a story from Fox news abaout a womam being killed due to a scarf getting caught on a escalator.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/30/canadian-woman-strangled-by-scarf-on-escalator/

Or a famous in the thirties dancer Isadora Duncan, whom died because of her scarf getting caught on the spokes of the open car she was in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan

IIHS video 'Understanding Car Crashes: When Physics Meets Biology'

I often sigh when people crash there car and say things like, ‘He got save by his tail hitch’. Little car damage does not mean less force on the body during car crash. Here is a nice video from the IIHS explain how injury’s occur during a crash. 

Cover your webcam

Cameras  are showing up more and more on different kinds of electronics we are using; smart TVs. computers, tablets, phones, etc. Most of these will be connected to the internet and there for will be venerable for hackers. Although common sense (don’t click on certain things) and antivirus suites help, it’s certainly not a guarantee that nobody will be able to access your webcam. Even LED indicator lights from webcams can be disabled by hackers. So one sure way to stop others from watching you using your camera’s is to tape it off.

Here are some links about this subject: From the Norton website:

http://us.norton.com/yoursecurityresource/detail.jsp?aid=webcam_hacking

The Washington post did a article about this. Which is also a warning for Apple users whom thing they are invaluable to viruses.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/12/18/research-shows-how-macbook-webcams-can-spy-on-their-users-without-warning/

My car kit

If you have a car it’s good to carry some additional equipment with you. Not only useful when something happens while you were traveling, but also useful when you are somewhere and need something.

There are many methods to carry emergency equipment in your car. I prefer to stick everything in all the little pockets, nooks and crannies I can find. I do have a small cooler (winter only) and toolbag in the trunk. My car is in the ‘mini’ category, so there is limited cargo space and having equipment place in something prevents it from becoming a projectile during an accident. Here is what I carry in my car:

Emergency equipment:

First aid kit

Foam fire extinguisher (Powder extinguishers ruins cars)

Life hammer

ResQme (on car key)

Warning lights/ signaling

4x LED flares

4x Hi-Viz vests

LED warning panel

Warning triangle

LED flashlight

Traffic cone for flashlight

General repair:

Saftey goggle

2x dust masks (FFP3, similar to N99)

Nitrile gloves (medical grade)

Leather work gloves

Towing strap 4 ton

Jumpercables 25mm2 (slightly thinner than AWG 3 gauge cables)

Screwdrivers / Philips screwdriver
Multitool (Victorinox Swisstool x)
Test light

Funnels

WD-40

Silicon rescue tape

Duct tape

Electric tape

Door seal grease stick

Spare lights

Spare fuses

Tire equipment:

Full size spare tire (on rim)

Jack

Tire wrench

Tire plug kit

4 way valve tool and valve cores

Tire pressure gauge

Tire profile gauge

Recovery:

Tri-fold shovel

Traction plates

Foam pad

Survival equipment:

Trangia messtin

Pocket chainsaw
Waterfilter straw

Folding knife

Signal mirror

Signal whistle

Spare batteries

Emergency space blankets

Plastic ponchos

Candle

Lighter

Matches

Ferrosium rod

Tinder

Pillow

Blanket

Garbage bags

Toilet paper

Phone charger

Multipurpose key

Earplugs

Hand sanitation gel

Cooler with 6 pack water, food, candle’s and matches. 

Cargo

2x Short cargo straps

2x Long cargo straps

Cargo net

Winter:

Deicer

Ice scraper large with snow brush

Ice scraper small with glove

Not in this list are normal everyday gear (tissues, Umbrella, maps, GPS, glass cleaner, etc).

Emergency lighting at home

Emergency lights can be found on commercial or high occupancy buildings. Different countries have different law regarding to emergency lights. Some country’s require a combination of emergency lighting and lit emergency exit signs, while others only require lit emergency exit sign lights. Some countries want emergency exits light mounted high, while other low. In some cases the emergency exits light are always  turned on and sometimes it’s lit when the power fails.

On private residential structures, there generally are no rules for emergency lighting. The same challenges does exist when the power goes out. You need to be able to see to safely move around and in emergency's to find a way out safely. People should be aware that external lights from neighbors or streetlights will not be on, if the power interruption is not limited to your house. This means the little light from outside that allows you to see in the dark, is not there. So putting flashlights on a fixed location, might not be a great solution without any additional markings. Using commercial emergency lighting can be a bit expensive for regular consumers, there are a two options consumers can take:

- There are rechargeable flashlights  available, which will automatically turn on when the power goes out and when the light is pulled from the holder/socket. Often these lights are also equipped with an indicator/night light, so you can find them for normal use. (For example: Eton ARCBB200W DBL Blackout Buddy (USA), Olympia LED NL300 (German) or Alecto LED ATL-120W (Dutch / Belgium)). The advantage and disadvantage is that they will turn on, when they power goes out. They are usually aimed at the ceiling and the light will reflect of the ceiling and illuminate the room.

- Other options would be a flashlight with glow in the dark markings (make sure these are exposed during the daylights) or a Beta-Marker. This option does not require a power socket and does not continuously consume power (although a trickle charger does not use that much).

The flashlight with automatic turn on switch are probably the best option as a home emergency lighting. However sometimes you don't need a light when the power goes down. If you are sleeping, there is not much you can do if the powerline goes down and in most cases (in my country) the power is restored pretty quickly. So you might as well continue to sleep (a backup battery in your alarm clock is always nice) and find a light when you do need light. So choose the appropriate option for different rooms.

Tape over 9V batteries

A good tip about fire safety and batteries. Tape over or cap the terminals of batteries when they are loose!

Starting a fire with a 9 Volt battery and steel wool is a quite know trick. 9 Volt batteries are easy to short, both terminals are right next to each other. So any piece of metal can touch them and short them out.  Even if the materials shorting the terminals might not catch fire, the batteries does get extremely hot and can cause combustibles nearby to burn. So remember when tossing 9 Volt batteries in a bag of other batteries or in your junk draw, tape or cap them!

A far more detailed rapport about 9V battery issues can be found here at Richard Friedrich lab journal: http://friedrichengineering.com/web_documents/9volt%20Battery.pdf

Simple workable solutions

I have mentioned keeping things simple before, but I found a great example when this applies. The Nigerian Dr Awojobi Oluyombo makes medical devices him self, which he can repair himself and does not require any power. A great example how people adept to a situation and finds a simple low tech method to his needs:

His paper: THE TRAVAILS OF RURAL SURGERY IN NIGERIA AND THE TRIUMPH OF PRAGMATISM:
http://www.ifrs-rural.com/THE%20TRAVAILS%20OF%20RURAL%20SURGERY.pdf

Some articles by the media:

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-01-09/nigerian-doctor-runs-his-hospital-corn-cobs-and-used-bike-parts

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/5/10-040510/en/

Often I think why there no not more simple, easy serviceable equipment out there. Items should be built to last and if they break it should be easy to fix.

If you are interested in medical care in extreme environments, the book'Improvised Medicine: Providing Care in Extreme Environments', by Kenneth Iserson  is a great book.