When The Smoke Clears

So today I’m reading a short piece in a forum. The writer is telling everyone that after a shooting (self-defense, home setting, etc) that the person who defended themselves and shot the attacker should not call 9-1-1. He says that you (the shooter) should have someone else call 9-1-1. Preferably your attorney. The reason for this is that all 9-1-1 calls are recorded, will be scooped up by news jerks, and the recording will come back to haunt you.

I’m not so sure that was good advice, at least for the vast majority of people who have to protect themselves with fire.

Unlike the person on the forum, I do believe that if you are put into a position where you have to defend your family with deadly force and the attacker is lying dead in the doorway (or wherever) that the obvious thing to do would be to call 9-1-1, BUT, don’t be talking non-stop after the dispatcher answers. Report simply what has happened, where the address is. Answer the questions the dispatcher needs to ask, but don’t get hysterical, don’t swear, don’t volunteer unrequested info.

The VERY BEST time to call 9-1-1 is before the attacker actually gets into your home! Get the dispatcher on the phone, report what is happening, the address, and leave the line open as you engage the aggressor with whatever level of force is required to protect your family and yourself.

The 9-1-1 line is a recorded line. Read that twice. Whatever you say, and how you say it, will be recorded and available to the whole world. There used to be an old TV program where the detective repeated these words over and over:

“Just the facts, Ma`am”. Very good advice. Stick to the facts.

“BUT”, do call 9-1-1 as soon as you know there is a threat. And just stick to the facts.

How Did The Perp Gain Access?

Watched a documentary today regarding a rapist/home invader who plied his trade among the affluent neighborhoods around Nashville, TN for over a decade. He always struck on rainy nights, and his victims were of various diverse ages and appearances. Unlike most serial rapists/killers he did not limit his depredations to “look-alikes”, but females from the age of sixteen to sixty and of every possible different look. Most, if not all, of the victims had “security alarms” for their homes. That glossed-over fact was very nearly ignored by the documentary, and only a fleeting side shot of the alarm company manager at the company console was given among interviews with everyone else in the story.

The criminal escaped detection for a decade, and at least thirteen home invasions and vicious rapes.

Nobody’s security alarm activated on any of the home invasions.

The perp came from the woods, invaded the home, brutalized the women and went back into the woods.

Every time, without fail, he attacked on a rainy night.

The police finally got the perp after years of hard work on their part and a very clever DA. By DNA evidence they convicted him on the first two of thirteen cases. The DA is going to try him on every case, so every victim can have personal vindication of some sort.

But that is just the skeleton view of why I’m posting this.

Most homes had a security alarm, none of which activated.

It was always on a dark rainy night.

How did he obtain entrance to the home? That question was never asked nor mentioned. I have my own ideas, and some involves him having been an employee of the alarm company.

He had also been a rent-a-cop but got fired from that job for having an affair with a co-worker.

So here’s the short-version message for today, regarding home security (Other locations are a different discussion):

1. Security involves “layers” of security, not just an alarm system. A good alarm system is essential to your “layers” of security, but it is not the whole tamale. First of all, even if it is activated by someone bumping a door lock, or breaking a window, the “lead time” for the alarm to activate is most of a minute, maybe more. After the lead time, there is an additional time lapse for you to hear the alarm and wake up. There is also an unknown lead time for the monitoring service to react to the alarm, waste time calling you, and then waste more time calling law enforcement. These wasted minutes take forever when someone has invaded your home.

2. “Layers of security” for “at home” consideration involve several measures, just a few of which I’ll mention on this post.

a. Make it difficult for perps to approach your home without being seen. Motion-activated lights, trimmed bushes, alarm-company signs, motion-activated security cameras,

b. Make it difficult for perps to enter your home. Closed, locked, curtained windows, doors locked/blocked, security film on any glass accessible from outside and large enough for a person to crawl through. Door locks that cannot be “bumped” by anyone with a blank key. An open/unlocked door at anytime of the day or night is easy access for strangers.

c. If a perp has to make a lot of noise (trying to break glass, or bashing on doors to gain entry) it will wake you up even if the perp gets discouraged and runs away. At the point you wake up to a commotion at your doors or windows, you activate your own final levels of personal security. You don’t run headlong into the noise demanding; “Who’s There!”

So what might your final layers of personal security be?

d. You probably have a house phone or a cell phone by your bedside. Program the “9″ to automatically dial “9-1-1″ when pressed and held. Even if you cannot talk, any progressive PD Dispatch already has your address. If the dispatcher is actually a professional (instead of some gabby fool who thinks all the questions on the contact form is the mission, instead of getting the police headed to your location) there will be an on-duty officer headed your way immediately. Lights and siren probably. That should scare the perp away as he hears the siren getting closer.

e. You probably have a set of car keys which activates your vehicles’ door locks. It also has a “panic-button”, so press it and get your car alarm screaming.

f. You probably have doors on your bedroom. If that’s where you are when the commotion begins, lock them. If that isn’t where you are, then head for the nearest room that does have locks, and hole-up until the police arrive. If the perp starts breaking down your locked inside door before the police arrive, you still have a couple of final options.

f.1: Pepper-spray or tazer-type hand-held battery-powered zappers. Properly applied they are quite effective if the pepper gets into the perps eyes/nose/mouth. The battery-powered zapper is quite effective if you have the strength to actually make it contact the perps body. Unless you are very physical, this might be a problem with a strong attacker.

f.2: There is an old saying goes something like; “God made man, Sam Colt made them all equal”. At least it does in the states that allow honest citizens to defend themselves. The revolver, in all it’s iterations, is a very dependable and effective weapon for personal protection. For many folks it is the final layer of personal security. If you prefer an auto-loading pistol make sure you can easily activate all the functions including the slide and any external safeties. As long as you purchase a quality firearm and take good care of it, it will serve you well. As for what caliber you should buy for your defense, the answer is a simple one: Whatever caliber you can accurately and comfortably shoot. If you choose too-heavy a caliber that becomes uncomfortable for practice, then it will be uncomfortable when you actually need it. Go to a reputable firearms dealer who has an indoor range and he will allow you to test- fire several calibers and brands to see what fits you best. After the purchase, keep it clean, keep it secure and practice with it regularly. A good “concealed carry” class will give you a lot of information, familiarity with your state laws, and a comfortable association with your revolver after the class firearms target qualification.

f.3: If you choose to have a firearm for your final layer of security, be sure to keep it away from children and other unauthorized persons.

It would still be interesting to know how the Tennessee perp actually gained access to the victim’s homes. The program did not even mention that part. It was mentioned that he did “recon” the homes for some time before he broke in. Obviously to recon the victim’s daily patterns and see which rooms were occupied at various times. The “last light out” usually being the bedroom. “But”: Did he disable the alarm system? Did he simply locate an unlocked door or window? Did he break out a window, or “bump” the lock on the door? (see http://consumer.schlage.com/Pages/home.aspx for bump-proof locks, or just search the term for other makes). Whatever the method of entry, all victims said they did not detect his invasion until he was standing over them. They had no idea their home had been invaded until the perp had his hands on them.

And that, dear friends, is the entire reason for having layers of security. Each layer provides either physical safety or a time-buffer to become aware of a threat. If the first layer fails, the next becomes active. If the second one fails, the third becomes important. And so-on.

Hoping you never become a victim of personal violence.

Hoping you never have to engage your final personal level of security.

But, if you do, here’s hoping you hit what you aim for.

Very Best Regards, TheOldMan

Are They Listening Now?

Just wondering if anyone is listening now. Years ago I warned our legislators, and anyone else who would listen, about the dangers of storing “spent rods” in our western desert. Of course, “money talks, BS walks” and therefore all the good folks dining at the tables of those marketers who want to get paid for storing those spent rods in our back yard, from all over the planet, for big bucks, said I was not absolutely correct.  Of course, what could they say, after dining at the table of the marketers?

So, just why is Japan today having such a monstrous problem with their spent fuel rods when the cold running water slowed down?  Evacuating of residents as far away as Tokyo?

“…The spent rods contain more radiation than the reactor core……..!!!!!”

The theoretical safety of spent rod “Dry Storage” you say?  (Pardon me while I laugh). “Bubba, that’s a terrorist’s wet-dream!”

To put your question to rest; “Yes, I do consider nuclear power to be one of the best available in the available technology “today”.  ”Properly designed, built, located, managed, and maintained.”  Along with wind, solar, geothermal, clean coal, natural gas, and domestic dead-dinosaur juice (my word for “oil”) we could be self-sufficient in the good old U.S.A.  But that’s another subject held hostage by the inability of poli-tic-ians to wean themselves from dependency on political donations from special interest groups.  Your opinion may vary.

One more time, politicians: Quit selling our safety for money!

One more time Europe: Keep your own spent fuel rods in your own back yard!

One more time everyone else: You burn ‘em, you keep ‘em!

I Told 'Ya So!

Good Trash, Bad Trash, and Why Should We Care

(c)K.G.Lawton, February 2008 Musings about CBN (“Chemical, Biological, Nuclear”) problems and interactions.

Iodine-129 (Or, more accurately; “129I”) is a radioisotope of iodine.What is a radioisotope”?  It is an unstable nucleus of Iodine.  What is a “Radionucleide”?  Radionucleide may also be called Radioisotopes.

(*Note:  If you just want the “bottom line”, it’s at the very end of this paper.)

There are both radioactive and non-radioactive isotopes of iodine.

Iodine-129 and Iodine-131 occur naturally in the environment. They are not, in their naturally occurring state, exceptionally dangerous to humans. There are also other isotopes of iodine.

Two are I-123 and I-124. These have become valuable to medicine. They are not a problem to humans, as they have rather brief half-lives before decaying.

Iodine-129 and iodine-131 (the radioactive ones, not to be confused with the natural ones) are created during fission of uranium in nuclear reactors (nuclear power plants, nuclear vessels or nuclear bombs).

When created by nuclear bombs, the quantity of radioactive iodine is so massive that the radioactive isotopes are extremely deadly.  The human thyroid collects the radioactive Iodine where it stays until you die.

Actually, the human thyroid collects any Iodine isotopes, it just can’t tell the difference between the good stuff and the bad stuff.

Death from radioactive poisoning is usually a very short, gruesome, process.  Unless it becomes a longer, gruesome, process.

In the Army, our medical units had supplies of “good iodine” (in the form of Potassium Iodine tablets) in stock in case the troops were exposed to a radioactive environment.  By taking the Potassium Iodine tabs the thyroid would soak up the good iodine, leaving no space for the radioactive iodine.  One step to help you stay alive after a nuclear event.

Radioactive iodine isotopes have the same properties as stable iodine.  Radioactive iodine isotopes decay with time. Usually lots of time.  I-I29 decays in more than a million years, 1-131 decays in a couple of weeks.  Give or take.

Radioactive Iodine-129 and iodine-131 are products of the fission process.  These isotopes form inside the rods as fission takes place.  Massive amounts are also produced as a result of any nuclear explosion.

By way of mention, Strontium 90 (SR-90) is another product of nuclear explosion and does not occur naturally in our environment. It has a half-life of about 30 years.  Even so, the quantities seem to be nearly negligible concerning human health.  SR-90 is also produced minimally by normal nuclear power plant operations but is nearly undetectable with the best equipment.  Strontium 90 when taken in from a nuclear explosion is identified by the human body as being mere calcium.  It settles in the same places as calcium does; bones and teeth.  Not, however, in quantities considerably more concentrated than medical x-ray examinations. Strontium 90 is also present in our environment from previous above ground nuclear bomb explosions.

Now to get to the part of this subject that may concern the residents of Utah, among others:

When used nuclear fuel rods are taken from their core environment, radioactive Iodines-129 and 131 do escape into the earth’s atmosphere.  In the past, spent nuclear rods were processed with acids, which process released the radioactive iodines-129 and 131 into our atmosphere. This acid-processing phase was used to recover certain other valuable materials that we really don’t care about in this discussion.  Spent rods are supposedly no longer processed because of legitimate concerns regarding the release of I-129 and I-131 during the processing.

Spent rods are now supposedly (supposed to be) stored “as-is”, avoiding the release of Radioactive I-129 & 131.When spent nuclear fuel rods are stored, the short-lived iodine-131 they contain decays within a few weeks. Unfortunately, the Iodine-129 remains lurking, spending its life over the space of something like 16-million years, …give or take.

Preventing deadly 1-129 from leaking into the atmosphere is a serious and difficult process requiring eternal monitoring of the containment system and area security.  For years now, ever since nuclear submarines were built, their spent rods have been stored in Idaho. Unmarked tractor-trailer rigs have brought them west for years. At least one time they had a nondescript van with darkened windows following.  You have never noticed these shipments simply because they are not announced beforehand. Nor, by the way, afterward unless necessary for some reason.

There is a company in Utah, “Energy Solutions”, that wants permission to store spent nuclear rods from overseas in our western desert. These rods are the same type of rods which are stored in Idaho and they have the same dangerous radioisotope; radioactive Iodine-129.

When Iodine changes forms it goes directly from a solid to a gaseous state that of course is released into the air. It makes the sudden change to its gaseous state somewhere under 300-degrees F.  Therefore, to any terrorist, or enemy combatant country, those radioactive Iodine-129 spent-rod repositories would be prime targets, after major cities. Not only would the radioactive Iodine from nuclear missiles be spread all over North America, the massive boost gained from the gasification of radioactive 1-129 from all those spent rods being explosively processed in temperatures somewhat higher than 300-degrees Fahrenheit would become a monster the citizens downwind from the explosion could never deal with. Color everyone dead.  Also color all the topsoil dead wherever the radioactive 1-129 happened to fall, including the waterways.  Color the continent dead.

But now for the only good news; what you can do to prepare against radioactive iodine poison.

Good iodine in the form of Potassium Iodine (Kl) or Potassium lodate (KI03) can saturate the body and thyroid with good iodine, thereby preventing radioactive iodine from being taken into the thyroid. Both types (Kl and KI03) will accomplish this benefit. There are, however, significant preferences between the two:

Kl is not easy to take because of the taste.  It also has a short shelf life so preservatives must be added.   KI03 has no adverse taste therefore even children can easily take it.  It is available at very reasonable cost and has an exceptionally long shelf life when unopened.  Of course, don’t open it until a nuclear event threatens your health.

“Iodized Salt” cannot do the same thing for nuclear fallout problems because it is impossible to saturate the thyroid with good iodine from any dietary sources including iodized table salt.  Iodized table salt is, however, extremely valuable in the prevention of iodine deficiency and should be used regularly with food.  So-called “Sea Salt” has only negligible amounts of iodine and is therefore not useful in the prevention of iodine deficiency.

*NOTE: Next Page is the “bottom line” for those who did not want to read the whole paper:

“The Bottom Line”

Radioactive Iodine is a deadly product of nuclear events; (bombs or spent reactor rods).Radioactive Iodine will be absorbed by the thyroid and will kill you in a miserable manner.You can defeat the radioactive iodine by flooding your thyroid with good iodine before the bad arrives. The preferred method of flooding your thyroid with good iodine is with Potassium Iodate tablets (K103).  K103 is inexpensive, has a very long shelf life, and is available without a prescription.  And, “BTW”; doctors, hospitals nor Homeland Security will have any for you in an emergency.  Read that twice, because they won’t even have any for their own needs!
I got mine from an old retired Marine who runs a decent camping website. http://www.campingsurvival.com.  But you can get yours from a hundred other places for a hundred different prices.

Of course, all sources are “backordered” right now.  But that’s because nobody listened to me in the first place.  “First Ordered, First Served” is what you will likely find at the sources for fresh outlets for K103.  Don’t panic; just place your order and wait for the supplies to refresh.  And, if you place your order then happen to find another source, don’t delete your original order, let it process.    “Are you listening this time?” 

(*Note 21 July 2008*) If anyone thinks this plan for nuclear storage in our west desert is someone’s daydream, think again: In just the past week our “Representatives” in D.C. and the University of Utah received massive financial donations from the company wanting legislative permission to store the world’s supply of spent rods downwind from us.  They claim they can provide “security” for these killers.  Anyone who believes any company (or any government, for that matter) can provide “security for millions of years”, has been smoking too much of that stuff that grows wild along the ditches.  ”Follow the cash”, is not just an idle thought. “Money Talks, Bullshit Walks!” (Danny DeVito, in “Twins”)

Be prudent; get your own K103 on hand, protect your family against the future.

Changing From MS Live To WordPress

Microsoft has partnered with WordPress.com to migrate the “Microsoft Live” customer B-Logs to a more robust environment.  This is the first post after migration from Microsoft Live.  On the one hand, I’m sorry to see “MS Live” terminate.  On the other hand, I have to hand it to Microsoft for adding value to the MS B-Log features.

“Goodbye MS Live, Hello WordPress”

Facebook, Schmacebook!

Some time ago some of our friends insisted we needed a “facebook account”.   Sure wish we’d have ignored them.

  “Why?”, you ask; “It’s a neat place to keep in contact with your friends…”, you say.

“Bull-crappie”, I say.  The only thing I see on that so-called “Wall” are endless examples of people who have way too much time on their hands and are spending it in the wrong place.

What face book actually is, for those who cannot see it for themselves, is a gigantic marketing sponge, sucking up all information available on everyone who is there plus all their “friends”, their friends friends, and so on to an endless database.  Facebook harvests personal information from their own site, plus cross-references it from every other available source on the planet.  This type of database is priceless to marketers, employers, banks, government, and prospective employers.  And extremely helpful to anyone who want to know who you hang out with, what your language is like and your opinions, when you think you are not being watched.

Go ahead, just try to delete an entry from some “friend of a friend” who has posted something offensive on your facebook.  Cannot be done.  At least, not with any of the tools provided by the facebook “community”.  Facebook knows who you are, who all your friends are, and who all their friends are.  And they can use it anyway they want to.

The CIA trying to implement Carnivore (an email tracking program) were thinking like amateurs compared to what Facebook has accomplished.  It is absolutely impossible to understand why the citizens rose up in a furor at the thought of Carnivore, and then flock like a herd of sheep to Facebook where they post everything about their families, friends, tastes, appetites, likes and dislikes.  As well as displaying their inability to spell correctly or refrain from using foul language.

Guess it’s just a sign of the times.  Guess I’ll just click on up and see who visited me on Facebook today…….

God Bless The Boston Tea Party!

(… Not to be confused with the 2010 American Tea Partiers…)

  Anyone who still can’t figure out why

our Forefathers (The Lord Bless Them and hold them close to His side…) split the sheets with England, held the Boston Tea Party and kicked the Redcoats out of our Country,

just keep on reading…

  When the Beatles sang "The Taxman", they were paying the Crown 95% of their earnings, which was the subject’s "tax bracket" they were in.  Thus, the line;

"One for you, and nineteen for me, ’cause I’m the taxman…"

  The same "brackets" still exist in England, their system as not changed in over a half century.  Why should it?  The Crown has a good thing going.

  But it’s about to get even better… For the Crown, at least.

  The Beatles had "noooo-ideaaaa" what the Crown would come up with that beat their song all to the very old devil, but you can read about it at the below link:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39265847

And, if you don’t want to go to the link, here’s the “Short Story”:

  “The Crown”, will have all employers send the paychecks for all the employees to “The Crown”.  The Crown will deduct what they believe is a fair tax, fees, etc, depending on the needs of the day, and then send what is left on to the employee.

And if that isn’t a bunch of bullhocky-doodoo worthy of a brand new “London Tea Party”, then the Limeys are really a lot worse suckers than some people believe them to be already.

Oh, wait, I forgot; Limeys can’t have a Tea Party, because the subjects simply do not have any firearms.

King George-III took care of that troublesome little detail after he lost “The Colonies”.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom

I’ve never been able to figure out why the English ever allowed the Germans to become “The Crown” anyway, let alone why they still keep them.  If you can put any kind of logic or reason to it all, let me know.

And so it goes.

Best Regards, Ken

Think First, Don’t be a “Sheeple”

Uhhhh, “What’s a Sheeple?” you ask?  Well, that’s someone who just follows along, believes everything that comes down the pike, especially if it’s sensational or highly critical of someone.  Usually that “someone” is a politician or other poor sap that gets into the public eye.  Or it could be just “Joe Schmuck”.

When you get an email that has been sent to the whole world, and it is sensational beyond belief, there are a couple of ways to “check it out” before using up time and bandwidth sending it to even more people who might believe it.

Here is one place you can search, but you really need to use two references because one of them is just a bit slanted towards one extreme or another.  So by using both references you will get a balanced view and find the “Rest of the story”.

http://www.snopes.com is probably the oldest “urban legend” resource, but they sometimes word things a bit slanted to one view or another.  But they’re O.K.

http://www.truthorfiction.com is also a good place to check out a rumor.  They usually just tell it like it is, in plain language, using the shortest version that can explain it.

So, how do you use them?  Just go to their website (the blue print is a link) and put the subject of your question into their domain search window.  Using key words will usually get you the story.

It sure beats sending a false story to all your friends!

Have a good one, Ken