Firework Safety outdoors and indoors

As usual injuries from fireworks. At least one from somebody injured in the face leaning over fireworks to light them or check why they had not yet rocketed.

At least one injury from fireworks thrown.

My scariest event was the Christmas-New Year in Prague when we were parked in a large car park by the riverside surrounded by others watching the city's fireworks display. We noticed lots of people lighting fireworks nearby. Very dangerous if a firework had landed near or on a car - filled with petrol.

Worse still, other people actually in the car parking area were lighting fireworks right next to their cars! Seeing one person, then two, then three, doing this, we decided to drive away as fast as we could.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2893009/Backyard-FIREWORKS-hospitalise-people-nation-despite-police-praising-Aussies-good-behaviour-New-Year-s-Eve.html

Flowers at Scene of Glasgow Accident - Xmas 2014 - Accident Prevention ideas

Instead of flowers, and teddies for the departed, at accident scenes:

1 a screen showing the deceased in happier times (from Facebook pictures),
2 messages of condolence and
3 donations to a fund for victims and
4 accident prevention ideas.

Used Cooking Oil Can Attract Insects And Block Sewers

Today I received an email which is promoting a business recycling used cooking oil which I thought was probably mainly of interest to large users of oil such as factories and restaurants but I was open-mouthed in horror when I read that used oil can attract insects, block sewers, and cost the householder, the industry and the country billions.

The email tells me that

Living Fuels, a REG bio company, Is increasing awareness of perils associated with tipping used cooking oil down drains.

Instead, they are urging that food manufacturing companies organise a collection of oil, or drop it off at their nearest recycling facility. This way it can be recovered into 100 percent eco-friendly power for The National Grid.

So far, so good, very nice, but not my problem, nor yours if you are not a huge consortium, I thought. But I am interested in the environment, always want to know any implications for me as a householder, and I speak to groups, so I read on.

• Removing blockages from drainage systems costs £15 million a year.
• The drains on your land - between the boundary of your business or home, are cleared at your cost. The water company only pays for the blockage of the pipework under publicly owned property.

They say they will be sending more information in the New Year. I am wide eyed looking around my kitchen for that bottle of oil.

I got my information from Kinetic PR.

For further information:

-          Kinetic PR                               0121 212 6250

-          Nicola Pledger           /Charlotte Clare                                

-           

-          Nicola.Pledger@kineticpr.co.uk

-          Charlotte.Clare@kineticpr.co.uk

[i]               REG Living Fuels  http://www.livingfuels.co.uk/did_you_know.

[ii]               http://www.wastebook.org/fats.htm.

Potholes Injure Cyclists In Race near Cardiff

Report in the mail on line on November 8th 2014. Olympic cyclist, Dani King, in race near Cardiff, South Wales, hits pothole which runs across road like an evil grin, ends up in hospital with broken bones, and several other cyclists

The UK roads are a disgrace.The councils are not fit for purpose. The first purpose is to provide the infrastructure for all - safe communication and access: roads, phones, libraries, schools, trains, planes, emptying dustbins regularly, clearing rats, wasps and other dangers to life, police to prevent crime and catching criminals and putting them in prison so they cannot harm others or themselves, rapid ambulance and A & E in every area - all with 24 hours service and instant response, with emphasis on prevention rather than cure.  A local councillor told me he would rather give money to help the blind and sick than fill potholes.All that happens is that you neglect potholes and create more injured people.

Coughs, Colds, Flu, Ebola

I sat on a train in London. Parents with two small children sat opposite. The little boy kept sneezing. No handkerchief. I got up and moved away.

Another man sat near me and sneezed. I thought, "If he sneezes again with no attempt to protect the droplets ..." He sneezed again. I immediately got up and stood near the exit, although I didn't get out for several stops. He stared at me wondering why I had moved.

We used to have signs: 'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases, catch them in your handkerchief.' Maybe I should carry a mask and put it on when somebody sneezes.

Or should I wear a badge: 'If you are sitting near me, or anybody, when sneezing use a hanky.' Last thing before leaving home: check for door key, phone and tissues.

Maybe I should sit with a box of tissued on my lap and hand them out. Everybody should. Every country.

In Asia people with colds wear marks. In Singapore during the haze masks were sold in supermarkets and drug stores. At times there were long queues to buy. The cheaper masks have to be replaced every couple of hours. You buy half a dozen. That's enough for a couple of return journeys. Cheaper than treating a cold, flu or ebola. 

Ghosts Again

A tenant of a property has claimed her house is haunted. I have to admit that I do not believe in ghosts nor that ghosts and poltergeists exist. I can think of several rational explanations:

DARK
Shadows - if your curtains are not tight, trees move in the wind casting shadow on the window and across the room onto the far wall. Often had this in hotels with thin curtains.
Street light have power cut.
Street lights switch off at dawn but are out of sync with daylight times.
Power cut but you are on a grid which only affects every third house which is why your neighbours and street light are ok. It is called a three phase supply. Your electricity power board can explain. This happens in north London.
Old wiring - get it checked by a qualified electrician.

LIGHT
Moving lights - car headlights flashing through the window, street lights when tree branches move across them in high winds.
Moving shadows - effects created after you have looked at white light on a black background.
Ghostly movements - grease on your spectacles; floaters in your eyes.
Police patrol car's lights sweeping across as they pass.
Street light come on suddenly.

SOUNDS
Burglar alarms ring in other people's houses.
Car alarms go off, started by cats.
The dawn chorus wakes you.
Drunks laugh, mutter to themselves, sing, and swear when they trip up or walk into lamp posts
Foxes shake dustbins, bin lids, or tip out contents, looking for food
Hearing human voices: mental problems of hearer.
Strange squeaks, mice.
Rustling - spiders and insects in paper, especially sweet wrappers. Moths.
Reflected sound - I often hear the neighbours talking and the sound appears to be in the next room but they are actually the other side of the fence.
Screaming - turns out to be foxes.
Pitter patter of tiny feet - actually it sounds like elephant feet - magpies on the roof. On the conservatory we actually see their shadows.
Noises of feet in the attic - call in Rentokil quickly. You might have pigeons or mice or rats or squirrels. They can eat through wiring and cause a fire.
Leaves falling in autumn. Conkers falling. Acorns falling. Leaves blowing. Apples falling with a faint thud. In Asia coconuts falling. Old trees falling or dropping branches in high winds.
Cats prowling at night.
Wolves.
Bears.
Grass snakes.
Cows eating and mooing outside window. (Had this at hotel in Scotland. Hotel owner apologised.)
Bees and wasps building nests in eaves and flying to and fro ... (Eventually had lots of living and dead wasps. Had to pay council to remove nest in attic. Very common.)
Faint thuds - pilot light in gas heater came on.
Junk mail fell though letter box.
Cat used cat flap.
Scratches - cat used claws on furniture.
Partner got up and went to toilet, half waking you. The second door slam when they returned woke you but by the time you sat up they were already back in bed.

SIGHTS
Ghostly sights - seen by just one person - causes can be with your eyesight. (Opticians and optical journals know about this.)
Seen by others in the same house - could be a gas leak giving occupants of the house hallucinations.

CHILL
Chills - get the glazing checked. Draughts through windows, doors or even floors. A hotel owner told me after he installed double glazing his ghostly chills in bedrooms ended. (On the other hand, if you seal windows up too tightly in the UK you might get condensation. In Scandinavia where buildings are surrounded by snow in winter their windows are designed to cope.)

HOLES & MOUNDS
Garden has holes - moles or foxes or cats.
Squirrels burying nuts.

SOUNDS
Water suddenly comes out of taps - yes, taps do this all the time. If you touch a tap swirl water will come out. Dripping taps, loose washers - eventually the water builds up.
Shaking floors and jolting beds - earthquakes, possibly ground movement caused by underground plates, old mines. If in city centre it could be underground trains.
Barking dogs at night - sound carries for miles.
Bangs - earthquakes, or distant car crashes.
Ancestors appearing. (Wishful thinking - frequently happens after somebody dies. You start dreaming about them.)
Blood runs out of taps. Rust in pipes. Very common in some areas.
Water goes cloudy. Chalk deposits. It soon clears.
Shadows moving on ground. Trees, birds, bats.
Sounds of feet on leaves - small animals, rodents, reptiles, lizards, geckos, snakes, mice, cats about at night stealthily creeping up on mice, or insects.
Remember that 90% of animals are nocturnal.
Cat climbed up curtains and fell off.

DOORS Slamming shut & Windows Swinging open
Garage Doors Swing Open:
Burglars.
Loose catch.
Neighbours radio control operates your doors without their realising it.
Kids having a laugh driving or walking past and trying to open all the doors in the street.
Burglars looking for stuff in your garage have found nothing of interest and moved onto the next house. Or your garage is such a mess that you don't even notice what is missing and think you mislaid it or blame the kids/parents/spouse/yourself.
You forgot to lock up.
You are built on a slope so windows and doors tend to swing downhill through the pull of gravity.
Heat rises so rising air affects upper windows and skylights which then create a through draught affecting doors and windows below.

KNOCKING on Doors
Cats trying to get in. Other cats following your cats. Bears looking for food.
Drunks at wrong house, getting no answer, realising their mistake.
Drugged would be burglars frightened off by automatic lights.
Kids playing a game to scare you, for a dare.
Postmen dropping items through the letterbox. (Items get eaten by dog or blow towards wall and are only found days later.)
The caller gave up and went away - you are not as agile as you used to be, your hearing is not as good as it used to be, and you are developing Alzheimers.

Set up recordings outside and in and you will be amazed at the amount of wildlife moving around your gardens and house.

Fridge, larder, cupboard for storage?

I'm horrified by the food in the supermarket on the top shelf under lights with bottles and packets feeling warm - never buy them.
   An article in the Daily Mail discusses whether you should keep prducts in the fridge, following manufacturers' instructions.
   The fact that you are healthy is fine for you if you are in top health and shrug, not a recipe for others. A doctor deals with thousands. A million young people died of flu in 1918, already weakened by wartime. No manufacture wants thee people in a thousand suing them. The manufacturer can't claim, tough luck Jones family that your son died, because John Smith says he's all right. Nor can the manufacturers say, 97 fit healthy people are fine eating our product, but three people will drop dead, survival of the fittest.
   Important points:
1 What is OK in winter in a cold country is not ok in a heatwave or a hot country. In Singapore everything including sugar and bread goes in the fridge, especially as many kitchens even in brand newly build buildings do not have air con.
2 In the old days we had larders which were colder with air vents at the back. We now live in houses with central heating and no larder because we have a fridge.
3 You have to look at statistics, not take a survey of one person who says, 'I'm all right'. Even in a crisis where thousands are dying there are people who shrug and say, 'I'm all right'.
4 It's not true that in the old days nor in primitive countries people managed to live long healthy lives. Natives live to thirty, many people had fathers who died in their fifties, numerous great people lost parents.

Man and woman fall off balcony in London June 11.6.2014

My first reaction was to consider the design of buildings.

Possible Solutions - From Architects
Make buildings pyramid shape so you soft fall only one storey onto a garden on a roof below. Ideally with a fabric awning below you. Every balcony should have a soft fall ledge below. It was done years ago at Habitat in Canada.

See Daily mail internet Jun (11.6.2014)
Following this story on the BBC news site I found links to Daily Express, Daily Star and Oxford Times. I was surprised and alarmed to read that eye witnesses in a building opposite reported seeing the couple having sex over the railing.

Possible Solutions For The Public
1 Don't go onto a balcony when drunk.
2 Don't go onto a balcony when your friends or companions are drunk.
3 Have sex only when sober.
4 Have sex only when your partner is sober.
5 Have sex only in a bed.
6 Have sex only in your home or a place whose safety you have ascertained - a place which looks safe.
7 Never climb on a balcony.
8 Do not lean over a balcony.
9 Do not rest against a balcony.
10 Do not have too many people on a balcony (it might give way).
11 Never do anything (in a public place) you would not want to see in the papers.
12 Never do anything you would not want to see on social media.
13 Never do anything which would not be done by any person you respect in authority.
(For example, HM The Queen, a minister of religion, the head of a school, the boss of the company where you work.)
14 Would the host of the party or the owner of the building be happy about what you did or the mess you left behind?
15 If in doubt, don't.
16 Wait five minutes.
17 What would your parents and grandparents say?
18 What could go wrong?
19 Would insurance pay up if you had an accident doing this?
20 Do not allow anybody else to persuade you to do anything dangerous.
21 Look out for their safety!

Numbers Dancing At A Party - Floor Gives Way

In Manchester in 2014 the floor gives way when large numbers are at a party.
Fortunately no deaths because the cellar below is only about three feet deep. But many other houses in the area have deeper cellars.

(Read more in the Daily Mail on line.)

Public buildings and lifts (elevators if you are reading this in the USA) list the maximum numbers and weights allowed for safety. But somebody has to be able to restrict numbers and count how many in every room. Add to that weight on the floor the effect of everybody jumping in unison. Plus the fact that the landlord is not legally allowed to enter unless the tenant requests and permits an inspection. Have health and safety any suggestions?

Never point a gun at a living thing

Tragic accidental death of child shot by uncle who didn't think the gun was loaded.
(USA. 2014. Relative of child.)
A few general rules.
1 Check whether the gun is loaded.
2 Keep safety catch on.
3 Don't point it at an adult, child, animal, breakables.
4 Point and fire at  piece of paper.
5 Even if you think the gun is not loaded, don't point at a person. You could be mistaken. Somebody could load it when you are not looking. A child or adult could copy your action and they could make a mistake.
6 Better safe than sorry.
7 Don't get out guns when other people are around.
8 If you must demonstrate guns, show people guns on the internet.
William Burroughs, the American poet, shot his wife dead.

Safety measures
Prevention is better than cure.
   In 2014 the USA is planning legislation to make all guns designed so that they can only be operated only by the owner recognised by something such as a fingerprint. That would prevent passers-by or opponents in conflicts from grabbing the gun. Children could not discover a hidden gun and accidentally kill themselves, their siblings, parents, grandparents nor friends.

Ship disasters and lessons learned

After the loss of life on the Titanic ships were obliged to provide enough lifeboats for all passengers. I think there should be enough lifeboats for all on both sides. A ship normal tilts so you can launch boats from only one side.
   The next major disaster I recall was the ferry Herald of free Enterprise. I believe rules were made about opening doors when in transit.
  What lessons can be learned from the loss of life on the Korean ferry carrying schoolchildren? Most obviously to muster on deck. Maybe an automatic recorded message telling people to go on deck when ship lists?
   Ropes along walls, and the ceilings, so you can pull yourself up the sides of the corridor when the ship tilts?

Repeating Patterns and Prevention

What are the repeating patterns?

1 The kick the nearest dog syndrome.
 (Attack whoever is near and vulnerable when you cannot reach your rival or foe.)

2 Jealousy.
(If I can't have x, nobody else will - I'll destroy it/ them.)

3 Revenge.
(Kill the lover / boss / whoever who spurned / sacked me.

  A normal person on a normal day will be able to reason:

1 Why not kick the dog?
No point hurting somebody else who is an innocent bystander. It's not fair on them.
If everybody did that, I could never dare to leave the house - or stay in it, because everybody having a bad day would jump on me.
The innocent dog, bystander, might listen and help, distract me, offer consolation, help me forget, find me a substitute for what I've lost, make me feel good again.

2 Why Stop Jealousy?
I won't gain anything. I'll still be upset at the memory. Even if I recover the job or the lover I'll still be afraid. I need to focus my affection elsewhere.
Action will not gain what I want. Nobody will trust me. I need to deal with the issues and find somebody else or something else which makes me feel top dog.

3 Revenge
A Chinese saying is, before taking revenge dig two graves.
What I want is not a person who does not love me or a job in a place where I am unpopular.
Like jealousy, the aim is to right the balance. But revenge does not right the balance. You end up in prison and never gain anything for your own side.

Do the people who commit these actions realise what they are doing?

I remember driving round Brent Cross looking for a parking place. Was it a rainy day when everybody was in a bad mood and traffic was bad - but I got a parking place? Was it a sunny day when everybody was out driving, lots of jams, I saw a perfect place? I slowed down ready to pull in. Then another driver overtook me and drove into it. Made a bad day worse? Spoiled a good day?

I was furious. I wanted to drive into the car and run over the children getting out.

My passenger knew how I felt. She said to me, 'Forget it. It's a big world and big parking area. We'll find another place.'

It wasn't even worth the aggravation of shouting at the other driver, pointing out their error, wasting time, getting an apology.  The only good outcome would have been if I'd pointed out that I'd been trying to get into the parking place. They'd said they had not realised. They'd apologised. And backed out to let me in. (Or I'd said, 'Never mind, I'll find another.')

It's not true that you forget. I still remember my annoyance. However, if I had damaged their car, damaged my car, been arrested, been in court. No shopping trip. No fun for my family. the whole confrontation getting worse. Endless replays of the day's events.

A few minutes later we found a space - even nearer the door.

The same thing happens but on a larger scale all over the world.

Somebody else wins the prize at a competition.

In ten years time you could have new friends, new family, a new job, and be free and happy. (Or you could have a different set or grudges, but not have ruined your life and your family's and dozens of others with last year's problem.) Just wait a year and a day. If it hurts here, go somewhere else.

Swan Attack - How To Prepare - Fight Back - Any ideas?

I read in one forum that 'nobody has ever been killed by a swan'. I've just read an account of somebody who was attacked by a swan.
Here's the link.

'Anthony Hensley, 37, was hired by an Illinois condo complex to look after mute swans used to deter geese 

In 2012, he fell out the kayak when one swan attacked him and continued to lunge as he tried to get to shore.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2610741/Wife-man-killed-swan-attack-sues-lake-owner-failing-consider-danger.html#ixzz2zh366EkM
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

My view is that people working on water should wear light clothing or buoyancy aids. Those working with swans or large animals or birds should have protective clothing and a means of summoning help with an emergency buzzer on pendants or brooches like the ones given to elderly people. Another source of aid might be some kind of scaring device such as a loud noise to frighten off attacking birds or animals. 

A child in Glasgow, Scotland dies after a group of kids take petrol from the back of a council lorry, throw it over a child, and somebody sets light to it.

What children should know

Every primary school should teach:

How to prevent accidents
1 Don't touch something which is not yours
2 Don't play with something which is not a toy
3 Do not throw anything at or over another person
4 Before you take something ask the owners permission

How to put out fire on a person

How to get help

What every parent should know

Are your children's friends safe?
Are they supervised?

Every area should have a supervised play area.

What is needed? Supervised play areas - with CCTV. To prevent the play area being targeted by those with wrong intentions. To discourage pranks and thefts and kidnapping.

Swimming pools & Transporting Goods

Swimming pools have signs about preventing accidents (no running) and getting help (resuscitation). This should be done worldwide. Same goes for pools in back gardens. 


All transported items should be safeguarded from theft and pranks.

Texting and Driving

I read an article in the online Daily Mail about Levi Pongi who jumped from a balcony in the USA after taking marijuana. Several commentators veered off into remarks about balconies and alcohol and texting and driving. One person said there were no recorded cases of texting and driving causing accidents. I recalled reading about court cases in the UK and looked them up.



Try googling texting and driving accident and then the names of people involved in cases, either as drivers or victims of accidents:

I saw at least half a dozen cases involving deceased drivers or people sent to prison. To give only three names: Savannah Nash of Missouri (deceased); Kiera Coultas, UK (driver); Garret Vicarro, USA (deceased).


If you think it's too alarming to list actual court cases, you might prefer some statistics.

I also found a US site aimed at school children which gives the numbers of seconds you need to look down when texting and the distance your care will travel.

<a href="http://www.onlineschools.com/in-focus/driving-while-intexticated"><img src="http://www.onlineschools.com/imagesvr_ce/364/intexticated-teens.jpg" alt="DWI: Driving While Intexticated" width="933" height="7445" border="0" /></a><br />Courtesy of: <a href="http://www.onlineschools.com">http://www.onlineschools.com</a>

   March 17 2014 I read about a man in America who was sentenced to death for killing the revenge killing of the 8-year-old daughter of his ex (who returned to her ex).
   How can we stop this happening again? We can stop this person doing it again. But prevention is better than cure.
   But can we stop it every happening again? Does a divorce request and finalisation come with an exhortation to act well?
    It should say, three times:
 
1 Your only chance of getting your ex back is by being a reasonable and loveable person.
2 Your children and theirs must be protected. They are innocent. Leave them out. They have the right to the same happiness you wanted when you were a child.
3 If things don't go well, there are millions of other people in the world. One of them will be as glad to meet you, when you are free, as you will be to meet them.
4 The way to get over this is by starting again. New challenge, new home, new job, new friends, new job, new day - new start.

Tragic Tales Teach Us

March 6 2014
Deaths of drunk drivers?
Daily Mail online reports body in bayou, missing student's car veered off road. Driver was allegedly drunk.
RIP Hayley Howard, age 19.

Leaders and followers, war and peace

WWI
    The Great War was a time of heroism and horrors. The Great War was supposed to be the world to end all wars. Soldiers who enlisted in the autumn were told they would be home by Christmas. Both proved untrue.
   When reading the life story of the East End poet, I discovered that he was a poor boy who joined up for the most close to home reason. In addition to the hypnotic government appeals to patriotism, was the practical and commendable desire to earn a regular wage to support his widowed mother. She, of course would be lonely with her son overseas, worried, and heartbroken to lose her son in the war.

WWII


Leaders


Followers

Learn From Life's Teachers

Life's teachers are first those nearest and dearest, your protective mother giving warmth, reassuring cuddles, milk; then your father, fighting off enemies and bringing home the bread; visiting grandparents and other older relatives.
   Nowadays this usually works well for a baby, especially if a new mother can get advice from her mother or books. But life has brought us much more danger and information than 100 years ago. Then old wives tales worked.  Now we have the internet and grandchildren are teaching grandparents.
    You can see how cats and dogs and other animals learn from the nearest teacher or trainer. If you are lucky you can watch and learn from others - the oldest, who have survived by skill or chance. Then from the group. Lastly from the wide world if you are human, through books, TV and the internet.
Museum of Sex - Animal Behaviour In Zoos
    You learn to eat, protect yourself from weather. avoid danger, seek new experiences. I was shocked when I went to the Museum of Sex in New York and saw videos of animals from zoos and safari parks. Without guidance or restraint, as I knew from childhood, a cuckoo puts its own egg in the nest of others. Many animals like lions fight their own families.
Anthropology & Animals In Cages  
   Anthropologists found from experiments with small rodents which breed fast, probably rats, that when animals are crowded together they fight. Within each group there are the majority who follow each other, the leader, or leaders, and the weakest who are either protected or abandoned or attacked.
Farms and Cows  
   I was shocked when I went to a farm and learned that when cows give birth, the male offspring have to be moved to another field. Otherwise they breed with the mother, producing cows which are malformed physically, and mentally unbalanced, erratic behaviour, aggressive and uncontrollable. So the rules about incest are not just about not preventing jealousy between siblings as to which one is favoured, and between mother and daughter, or father and son, but also to prevent breeding unstable offspring who cannot look after themselves and attack others.  
Amusing Meerkats
    Modern TV programmes show us movements of large groups out in the wild. For example, meerkats.
Human History
  Let's look at what happened in America, Australia, Nazi Germany and other countries. A group has a shortage of food so they either fight anybody who has resources go gain more for themselves. or they emigrate. Then they are either welcomed by the other groups they encounter, or they fight, or cause the original inhabitants to move.
   Life makes more sense when you see patterns. Knowledge is the first step towards controlling events. If you can foresee trouble, you can evade it or prepare to protect yourself and your family and country.
   Avoid trouble. Protect yourself. Read on.