On The Road with Streetwise Special Delivery Inc.: February 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

How To Handle Getting Flipped Off On The Road

Who among us can honestly say his or her driving hasn't, at one time or other, elicited "the finger" from a fellow motorist? We've ALL been "flipped off" from time to time.

My first incident happened when I was 21-years old, lean and dressed to the 9's in a tuxedo, heading to my parents house to pick them up for a wedding(not mine). I was about to turn right on to Curtner Ave. from Meridian Ave. in San Jose, California, when this gorgeous girl changed lanes from behind me, pulled along side and swiftly flipped me "the bird"!

I was stunned. (I must have accidentally cut her off.) All I could do was shrug my shoulders, as she flashed a quick smile and sped off. I guess that wasn't so bad, however, what happened two days ago...was even better!

Heading southbound on De La Cruz Blvd. in Santa Clara, California, I eased down to the speed limit as is a daily habit between Martin and Reed Avenue, because Santa Clara traffic cops constantly patrol that corridor with radar. In fact, I had just noticed a motorcycle unit about 100-yards up, pointing his lidar-gun in my direction....when at the same moment, this pick-up truck sped-up behind me from out of nowhere.

The driver laid on his horn, changed lanes and raced by while vigorously flipping me off, as he flew past. Unfortunately, whatever satisfaction he may have enjoyed was short-lived! From my rear-view mirror, I saw the motorcycle cop pull out and blow by me to flag down the fast-fingered driver.

Upon catching up, I noticed the stopped driver's right hand cupped over his forehead , displaying a much more civil gesture! Unfortunately, flipping someone off or getting flipped off seldom ends with a ticket or a peaceful chuckle. Thousands of road rage incidents stem from this foul hand gesture, leading to violence, injury and death...among other things.

Take what happened last year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. An Australian businessman living and working there got mad and flipped off a local driver, who then followed him home, beat him up, and called the police. The local driver happened to be an Arab-Emirates Government official. The Australian was immediately thrown in jail for a month, and then deported along with his working wife.

This past June, a 62-year old New Jersey man was killed after crazily chasing down a young woman who had flipped him off. His front bumper clipped her from behind, sending his car flipping out of control, and ejecting him.

"The bird" can get you into trouble elsewhere, too. At the Canadian Legislature in the province of New Brunswick recently, a Liberal Party official flipped-off a Progressive Conservative adversary during a debate, and was suspended for three days without pay!

Back on the road, the simplest rule is to never, never, flip anyone off! Ignore it, and AVOID danger. But, what about receiving the insulting gesture? A woman in Foster City, California suffered extreme anxiety following her first episode, when a man tailgated and flipped her off repeatedly, before finally turning the corner in another direction. She couldn't stop wondering what she'd done wrong. "Couldn't the man see I was helpless and alone, with a baby in the back seat?", she wondered.

After a week of poor sleep, the woman finally called a handful of girlfriends to see how they handled getting flipped off, and some of thier answers made sense. One would slap the side of her head and whisper the words 'I'm sorry'...which got an "ok, no problem" reaction.

Another woman met the bird by blowing back a kiss, while another, into Yoga yelled back "Go to Yoga" to any naughty hand signals. A final remedy was to pick up the cell phone and act as if you're calling the police! This usually did the trick, and these ideas finally gave the anxious woman some piece-of-mind.

As mentioned in a previous blog, the best way to deal with unkind, aggressive driving behavior is to steer clear of it, by driving safely, ignoring horns, verbal insults or the infamous bird flip which can often inflame road rage incidents..

Should danger persist despite avoidance or apology, use your cell phone to call for help, and drive to either a police station or other populated area...but, NEVER drive strait home....at least not until totally clear of of danger. This is all COMMON SENSE. Use it!

Thanks, drive carefully, and stay out of harms way,

PeteCam4

"Best Wishes"--PTCJr

Saturday, February 20, 2010

WHAT TO DO AROUND THE BAY AREA

Cirque du Soleil via last.fm

If your looking for something to do this weekend here are a few suggestions of things to do for all age groups. For you chocolate lovers, you have the San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour. San Jose has OVO presented by Cirque du Soleil and the Spring Festival Silicon Valley 2010 -Chinese New Year Gala these are events for the family. In Palo Alto you can take a Quilting class at the Muse of American Heritage. That is a little something to do in the Bay Area this weekend, so go out and enjoy.

http://www.gourmetwalks.com/html/chocolate_tour.html?gclid=CMHT45iU_Z8CFRwUawodgTaEmQ

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/tickets/san-jose.aspx?d=33&9gtype=search&9gkw=san%20jose%20entertainment&9gad=3701645510.1&9gag=1268670290

http://events.mercurynews.com/san-jose-ca/events/show/97428265-spring-festival-silicon-valley-2010-chinese-new-year-gala

http://events.mercurynews.com/palo-alto-ca/events/show/93505285-i-can-quilt

Saturday, February 13, 2010

What Not To Do During An Earthquake

Image via Wikipedia

You may have already read Streetwise blogger LM's fantastic article on earthquake survival in the Streetwise Courier, which details how to stock-up and prepare for life after a horrific quake. Now, I'm going to re-inform you on how to reach that point, in other words....how to survive during the initial moments of destruction and the collapse that follows, as happened in Haiti last month.

As school children we were all taught to "duck and cover", by getting under our desks to protect ourselves from falling debris....or to stand in an open doorway under the frame, which is the strongest part of the building.

However, according to Doug Copp, one of the top disaster rescue experts in the world, this is exactly what NOT to do, and is in fact....is dead wrong! Literally!

Copp is chief of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the most experienced disaster rescue team in the world, and claims his information in this article is both factual, and will save lives in an earthquake:

"I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, and worked in every major disaster since 1985. The first building I crawled into was a school in Mexico City during the '85 quake. Every child was under its desk, and every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles", said Copp.

"SIMPLY STATED, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceiling falling on objects or furniture crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call "the triangle of life". The larger and stronger the object, the less it will compact. The less it compacts, the larger the void and the greater the probability that the person in that safety void will NOT be injured."

The following is a list of Doug Copp's VALUABLE TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY:

1-Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" when buildings collapse are crushed to death. Do not get under objects like desks or automobiles.

2-Cats, dogs and babies often curl up into the fetal position. You should too during an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct that allows one to survive in a small void. Get next to an object, sofa or large bulky object that will compress and leave a void next to it.

3-Wooden buildings are the safest to be in because wood is flexible, and moves with the force of the quake. Wood also has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks causing many injuries, but far less squashed bodies than with concrete slabs.

4-If you're in bed during an earthquake, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around it. Hotels should all post these rules on the back of every room door, insuring a greater survival rate.

5-If an earthquake occurs and you can't escape by door or window, lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa or large chair.

6-Don't get under an open doorway frame during a building collapse. Why? Because if the doorjam falls forward or backward, you'll be crushed by the ceiling above. If the doorjam falls sideways, you will be cut in half by the doorway. Either way, you will die!

7-NEVER go to the stairs! Stairs swing separately from the main part of the building, and continually smash into the other parts of the building until structural failure takes place. People on stairs are chopped up and mutilated by the stair treads. Even if left intact, stairwells may collapse when overloaded by fleeing people. Stay off the stairs!

8-Get near the outer walls of buildings, or OUTSIDE of them if possible. It's better to be outside the building than inside, because the further inside the perimeter, the less chance of escape.

9-People inside their cars during a quake are crushed to death when the road above caves in on them. This is exactly what happened between the decks of the 'Nimitz Freeway' in the Oakland, San Francisco Bay Area during the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. The victims all stayed inside of their vehicles and were killed. They could easily have survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their cars, because all of the crushed cars had voids 3-feet high next to them.

10-It was discovered that a collapsed newspaper office, and other offices with lots of stacked paper were much more earthquake safe, because paper does not compact! Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper!

Finally, Mr. Copp made a film 14-years ago that proved his survival methodology correct, by collapsing a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside, and then simulating with scientific detail....an actual earthquake.

Ten mannequins did "duck and cover", while the other ten used Copp's "triangle of life" survival method. After sifting through the rubble, Copp's ten mannequins had survived. The remaining ten....did not.

We should all be dummies not to want to save thousands of lives by sharing valuable information like this regarding earthquakes, and the many other natural calamities that threaten our existance.

Thank You, and stay safe,