Flip Flops and 16 Ounces of Water

Another sunny, warm weekend is about to get underway here in the desert. Many folks will head out to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. Far too many will go out unprepared. Some folks think a quick walk on a busy trail is hardly "hiking" so they arrive with a small bottle of water and flip flops. Too many of these folks quickly wilt in our desert heat and learn how sharp the local rocks and plants here really are.

I spend far too many of my own hikes providing water and aid to unprepared folks. I'm always happy to help out, but come on people! Please respect that this is a harsh climate with unforgiving terrain.

When you head out, even for a quick walk to take a picture, make sure you have the right gear. Things go bad quickly out here in the desert. So please take the right steps to make your journey safe. Oh and by the way, same rules apply for pets too. I have aided too many folks who have overheated dogs and no water. The terrain is tough and very hot on an animals paws. So get out and enjoy, but be safe and smart.

Training With Kettlebells

A few weeks ago I started working with "Navy SEAL Kettlebells" by Rich Graham of Trident Fitness. Starting from the basics in the 'Level 1' disc I have been working on building a strong foundation of skills to work with the kettlebells in the most effective and safest way.

I was looking for a good starting system that would carry me through the learning curve of using kettlebells. I had seen some of Mr. Graham's instruction on Facebook and YouTube. I was confident that there would be a safe, effective system based on a "crawl, walk, run" foundation.  This is a prime reason I decided to use this program.

When I started, I just watched the disc through the first time to get an idea of what was going on. After that I went through with a very light kettlebell, trying to get all my actions precise. I am a few weeks in now and I am gaining confidence and noticing some real benefits. I came to this series as a way to add some variety to my workouts. As many of you know, fitness is a part of my normal life, and as such I'm always looking for something new and fresh to challenge me. I feel that always adding new things keeps me motivated and makes fitness exciting, not a boring chore. Before I came to start working with this program I probably was in the best shape I've been in in 20 years. Now I'm even better!

Don't be discouraged if you are new, or have let your fitness falter some. A quick chat with your doctor, searching out some solid, safe and appropriate training, and then, for want of a better slogan, just do it! You'll be very glad you did!

Now it's time to move on to the next disc in the "Navy SEAL Kettlebells" series. I'm very excited about this and I'll keep you all posted! Until then, stay safe and be well!

-Chuck W.

To learn more about "Navy SEAL Kelllebells" visit www.tridentfitness.net

Just a Quick Update

Just a quick update.

I have a temporary page up on g1159bw.com while I continue to work on the new layout and enhanced content. For now you can get links to my other sites, my basic bio, see my tweets and find links to 2BeeReady.

I'm still busy working on a few projects including my stint at running another company during a family illness. I hope to get some time back in my schedule soon to concentrate more on writing, 2 Bee Ready and maybe some SMEM work. It's hard to believe that we are at the mid-year point of 2012. Since acquiring added duties in January, the year has just flown by. Long days, some travel and the regular goings on of day to day life have eaten up my time.

Looking forward to coasting towards year end. I'm planning to spend some more time outdoors. The lack of physical activity has been rough these past months. I'm still working out and eating well, but for me there is no substitute for long challenging hikes in the wilderness.

As my twitter folks can attest, I drink waaaay too much #coffee sitting at the desk all day. That said, coffee and all my social media friends have been a great help to me during this busy time. (You all know who you are) :)

So that's whats new here.
-Chuck

P.S. Big thanks to @twnstar2 for keeping the wheels on 2 Bee Ready these past months. You Rock!

Social Refresh - Making Old Thoughts New Again.

Some may think I have forgotten about this blog. I have been neglecting it lately and the reasons are worthy of, well, a new blog post. In fact I have not stopped writing, in fact I have written more in the last few months than ever. Why is it not posted here? Well, long ago I started what eventually became a nearly a complete book manuscript. I toiled for a year working on it and was never completely satisfied with it.  I shelved it and went on with life. The 90% finished work sat on 3.5 inch diskettes in my safe for years. Recently, I decided to take a look at it after all these years. After I dug up a 3.5 in drive, I pulled up the old work and found it was still interesting to me. Perhaps even more interesting in the socially connected world we live in today than it was more than 10 years ago when I wrote it.

I'm not a writer. The artful use of the written word is often beyond me. If you read my blogs you know what I mean. RU kidding I cn brly write a 140 character #tweet :). So from a writing standpoint the work on the disks was terrible. But the message was better than I remembered, dated now, but good. It was good enough that I decided I wanted to bring it up to date.

What is it about? For now I'm keeping most of the details a secret. If you want a hint, a part of  it is about alternative project management and training styles. Some I witnessed in use at places I worked (good & bad), and some I developed myself (also good & bad) as an engineer, consultant & small business owner. But that's just a part of the story. I have always been interested in how people work together and what factors influence them. What methods work for which people? Why? How do seemingly ordinary people do extraordinary things? How do seemingly extraordinary technical people make a terrible mess out the basics of daily life?  Can you tailor a program to exploit the talents of individuals while maintaining the efficiency of the the project? I don't have all the answers to these questions. I simply wish to address them, share my own experiences and hopefully get some good feedback.

The thing I'm most excited about is the feedback I can receive via social media. When I originally started writing this over a decade ago I knew a couple of dozen folks in academia, a few dozen more in government work and aviation. I could pass it around and talk with them but they all came from roughly the same background as me. Today, I can interact with hundreds or even thousands of people from nearly every age, social category, education level, career field, and so on.  It's truly amazing!

I will be sharing some of the the newly updated chapters as I get them done. I'm still an awful writer but I have some professional help now. I'm putting together a new WordPress site for my consulting business that has a blog format. I will share most of my business, training and professional development work there. Then I can get this old blogger page back to fire trucks, airplanes, outdoor adventure & weather.

Cheers,
Chuck

Reflecting on the Shuttle and Looking to the Future

Today we mark the end of the Space Shuttle era with the early morning arrival of the STS-135 mission aboard OV-104, the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I'm not sad to see the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the end of the program. The vehicles were a engineering feat by 1970's standards, and have been successfully modernized as best as possible. However the Shuttle Transportation System is a heavy, complex and dated system. As an engineer I am always seeking the most efficient, leanest way to accomplish a stated goal. Today, I am left with a deep sadness that there is no immediate successor to the crown.  We have had the capability to create a better, leaner system for years. Advances in computing, engineering, fabrication and materials have given us capabilities that would spin the heads of the folks at Rockwell in the 70's. Capability is not the issue. Our national will to act on ambitious projects is the element that is missing. It has been slowly eroded away over the years by government, contractors and poor marketing of the benefits of space exploration.  I am saddened by the fact that a brilliant and dedicated workforce is now without a project. I'm saddened that we have very little opportunity utilize those considerable skills that have been honed by years of successful launch and recovery of perhaps the most complicated device ever built by man. Private industry is making attempts to apply a commercial model to space transport. It's a tough business to find financial success in as an industry like this. I wish these intrepid entrepreneurs all the best at realizing their dream, but I fear leaving the national priorities of space exploration to these entities. Today, as we bid farewell to the iconic Space Shuttle, I'm left feeling empty. I have no doubt that we will return to orbit, the moon and beyond. I wish we were already two or more generations of transport system ahead. Perhaps the Space Shuttle program is offering one last important service to the country as it heads to retirement. That service is getting the public talking about these issues and finding the national will to commit resources and continue a tradition of leadership in space exploration for the benefit of all mankind. 

"Dial M for Medic" Thoughts on EMS and the future.

A twitter query related to a news article ( http://t.co/aVV4yM0 ) from @Modc30 this morning got me thinking again about how the EMS system works. I don't think there is a "one size fits all" solution to better care. I do however think that there are some core ideas that can help add capability, skill and cost savings in to EMS programs. A key issue is "geography based logistics". The FD has a lock on this key factor in many areas due to the positioning of assets to complete their core (firefighting) mission. This logistics (supply caching, vehicle care/upkeep, personnel staging) and deployment (dispatch, coordination of tactics with related FD assets on some calls) infrastructure is a difficult cost to overcome if it were to be replicated by private industry.

That said a leaner and more independent EMS would come from lighter vehicles with highly trained personnel who have the authority (and skill/training) to bring efficiency to medical response. I believe that if lawyers, medical directors and government could see that transport policy and it's legal requirements are some of the greatest impediments to efficient care we would be able to implement a better system. My thought is a  system that would rely on a professional, highly trained staff. Raising the training bar, both initial and recurrent to create a new class of medical professionals. These standards of top level technical training and professionalism will do much to inspire confidence of both the general public and it's elected Representatives. These pros must be given the authority to make a wide range of decisions in the implementation of patient care. By making accurate and timely assessments of those requesting care and being able to make wider ranges of decisions about the next step in care rather than being forced to follow an inefficient but legally satisfying policy. This is where much fiscal waste in the health care arena could be wiped out. This strategy will require the winning of hearts and minds not easily swayed, but it is not impossible. EMS is a fairly young business as it is today. The last vestiges of the founding leadership is slowly drifting away, to be replaced by a ever more capable, less resistant to change group of professionals that are assuming positions of influence.

Back to the FD issue, I discussed the logistic and deployment benefits of FD based EMS, but why do we need firefighter/paramedics. Is there value to be had in co-locating EMS with fire and sharing the comms and dispatch but running the EMS side of the house as a separate "business". I envision staging the required number of lean, "quick response" vehicles (Mid-size SUV) with the equipment on board necessary to complete 80 to 90% of calls. Staffed by an EMS professional who has a sole core career focus on the medical profession. All backed up by a government or private transport vehicle service that is called when deemed necessary by the professional medic. I see the EMS community as a stand alone, professional, highly trained group attached to the fire service as a logistical platform. The EMS profession should be just that, people dedicated to the practice of pre-hospital care with the skills and authority to make critical decisions. To this end I believe that you must engage in a full time career path as a medical pro and not a an additional duty to a career in fire.

 I don't believe that private industry can find sustainable profit in a system that relies on building support infrastructure. However a privately operated medical service co-located with FD may be a workable and profitable solution. In some cases a dedicated "medical corps" administrated by a public sector entity may be a better fit. Systems like this are in place in other parts of the world. As a disclaimer, I' m a devout capitalist, but health care rarely (if ever) allows the patient to be a true consumer. Many of the core fundamentals of business practice are out the window when you are dealing with safety, health, life and limb. You can't shop around at the time service is required. You take what you can get when crisis strikes. The mechanisms to provide for competitive cost/benefit need to be preplanned.

Private industry is (no matter how public service oriented the mission statement) a business, and as such they will stretch efficiency to risk ratios to remain profitable. At the end of the day the, no matter which public/private solution you choose, the costs are passed to the community. I see benefits to a FD based EMS system, but mostly from a logistics basis. I see benefit to a stand alone EMS system as a rapid, cost-efficient way to provide pre-hospital care. Somewhere in this jumble of ideas is a solution that is tailored to the specific needs and desires of the communities being served. The next generation of EMS will no doubt look much different than today, there will be competing thoughts, plans and ideas. I encourage all public safety professionals to never forget that, public or private, the mission you have is bigger than yourselves or your agency. You are in the business of life, and that requires a commitment to excellence in all you do. God bless the FF, EMS and other public safety professionals who undertake and embrace these careers. The future is now, take action, devise strategy to meet these challenges, be active in shaping EMS and most of all... Stay safe!

-Chuck W.

Outside Looking In. G1159BW’s perspective on SMEM

Outside Looking In.
G1159BW’s perspective on SMEM

It was another rousing discussion on the #SMEMchat today. As is usually the case on Friday mornings I was watching the tag with great interest. I’m an outsider to the EM world. I’m just a concerned citizen that has seen the value in social media participation in disaster and crisis. I have used my social media tools to forward information, validate information and build relationships all in the spirit of helping communities. In most cases it has been an organic, collaborative effort of citizens like me, NGO’s and Federal, State and Local EM’s and first responders. It is readily apparent to an outsider like me that “official” organizations are often the weakest participants, that is if they even show up at all. I do have high confidence that in the future this will change. The demands of the citizens will eventually trump the fears and reluctance of the organizations. The catch is, disaster and crisis waits for no one. The process of SM adoption must be accelerated. The #SMEM participants are on the sharp end of this effort and I hope to offer some support.

One thing I noticed was that there is great interest in what the federal government and Congress can do. Having spent so long around these institutions I have no doubt that they can (and will) embrace the role of SM in crisis response (and hopefully in resiliency and mitigation as well). The problem is federal government agencies and the legislature move at a glacial pace, and are terribly risk adverse. Before they will expend political capital on even the most worthy of endeavors the leadership wants demonstrated political ROI. They will get it, in time, when they use successes in crisis SM to gain political leverage. From experience I say that you can’t rely on federal level leadership trickle down. Adoption of SMEM will be most expedient and efficient if done at the local level first.

So how do you build community involvement and function as an advocate at a local level? Sell the plan. Market the adoption of SM the same way you would a product or service. Like their federal colleagues, administrators and elected officials at city, county and state levels need help to see the benefits. They require good data to make decisions. I see this as an opportunity for the grassroots SMEM advocates to organize under this mission and produce “marketing” materials that can aid in dispelling myths, providing actionable data and developing best practices. The most difficult part of the process will be getting the reluctant parties to the table. Just like “cold calling” a potential customer, making those first steps to opening a line of communication is often an uncomfortable exercise. Promoting SMEM requires making those first steps to eventually close the deal. As an outsider, a common citizen, I have very little leverage in promoting SMEM to these officials. A central organization, not of government origin, will do much to empower like minded EM’s and citizens. An organization like this can offer a form of mentoring to those who “get it” but need a helping hand to move forward. With these tools we can expand awareness and even a concerned citizen, like me, will have something to help validate my point.

In closing I would like to say thank you to the #SMEM participants. I learn so much from these fine folks each week. I welcome any and all comments, critiques and questions.

Have a great weekend,
Chuck Wilson – @g1159bw