Nothing seems to change

With what I have seen lately with the way the younger generation is acting, along with the seeming callous ways that people in general seem to treat each other, I was not surprised to come across this passage in Dennis Smith's seminal work on firefighting, Report from Engine Co. 82:

"I used to believe that the fundamental problems were housing and education, and that people would stop throwing rocks if they had a decent place to live and were given equal educational opportunities.  But I don't believe that anymore.  That, to me, is prescribing for symptoms.  The disease is more seriously latent, more pernicious than uncaring landlords, or bureaucratic, apathetic school officials.  The malignancy lies in the guts of humankind at all levels.  We have unlearned the value of a human life."

This book was published in 1972, and in some ways, still offers a look at what happens in the lower reaches of society.  The force of that statement still rings true to this day, and I wonder if we as human beings will really be able to change our society for the better.  I would like to believe so (I'm a hopeless optimist in that regard), but sometimes I really do wonder.

Makes you wonder about people and common sense, and the absence of the latter as a desirable quality

So went out to pick up some antifreeze for my lady's vehicle and mine.  On the way back stopped at a convenience store for a soda refill.
I had a 7-Eleven cup with me, and this store was a totally different place.  The clerk called out as I walked in 'you need to tell us when you bring your cup in!'.
Having thought that she was talking to another person in the store, I proceeded to get my refill and came back to pay.  She then repeated the statement, even though it was clearly not their cup, and I did point that out to her.  The lady then stated that it doesn't matter.

Now, I can totally understand this reasoning if you were bringing in one of the store's cups to do a refill, so that you don't pay full price.

But a cup from another store?

*sighs*

I would have said something else back, but was trying to be polite.  Deep breath, paid, and left without further ado.

I really wonder sometimes about the increasing lack of common sense that some folks have these days.  Then again, it's not really anything new, but it seems more widespread somehow.

A blast from the past (okay, recent past)

I came across this while poking around YouTube.  This is an aircheck from a DJ at one of the local Vegas radio stations from over 20 years ago, before all the megacorps took the stations over and made them very homogenized and (IMHO) soulless copies of each other.



To Terry Peterson (the weekend DJ that provided this), thanks for helping us remind ourselves how broadcast radio has changed so much these past years.

New t-shirt from Mad Mike

Click here to view and place your order.

I got mine in the mail yesterday.  Very apropos if I say so myself 😉

The big 5-0 on the 7th and explody things on the 4th

On Sunday I quietly celebrated my 50th year on this bit of dirt called the Earth.

Not much in the way of celebrating, as I had to work that night and mostly spent it snoozing.  I did my early fun when working on the 4th and the 5th at my secondary job.

Speaking of which, the evening of the 4th of July was spent providing standby ambulance coverage for the big fireworks show at Caesar's Palace.  They had their own EMTs on the security team for primary response, me and a paramedic were providing advanced life support (ALS) coverage as a backup.  Fortunately, we weren't needed for that.

However, meanwhile up in Moapa (about 45 mins north of Vegas), there were two other crews plus the MCI/first aid trailer working a fireworks show and concert at the Moapa travel plaza, which is located on the Moapa Indian Reservation just off I-15.  While I was working the event, I was hearing all the excitement on the 800 radio about an explosion and car fire, with multiple injuries.
As I found out later, some genius had his propane BBQ grill set up right next to his truck, which apparently had a metric shit ton of fireworks in the back.  The result?  Hearken to the two videos below posted by another concert goer for the details:

Part 2:

Among the equipment we had there was our rescue squad that had a skid unit with a 300 gallon water tank.  Our ops chief and couple of others, along with the tribal fire brush truck, were able to eventually get it knocked down, but not after it destroyed the vehicle involved and another vehicle parked next to it.  There were some injuries that did require transport to the hospital, but under HIPAA I can't really provide details of course.

I found out about this after me and my partner arrived, for as soon as we cleared from Caesar's, my boss told me to expedite our butts to Moapa to provide backup, so I got to haul ass code-3 all the way out there.  By the time we got there, the excitement was mostly over with.

Overall, not a bad weekend.  Hopefully there will be more interesting things to come later this month, assuming I can survive the monsoon season, which is beginning with a vengeance.

Stay safe everyone, and catch you all later!

DBD's 2019 fundraiser

Go here and donate what you can.

Hope everyone had a safe 4th, I was busy as hell...and am not done yet!

More later...

Oh boy

Been poking around the web lately, mostly out of a need to unwind myself after a recent flurry of activity in getting my state EMS license renewed (more on that later), and I came across this shrill piece of news describing how Teen Vogue, a publication aimed (as the name implies) at teens, is pushing sex work and the joys of anal sex at children.

After reading through the hype, I then looked at the original article, which is an op-ed piece by a South African physician, that appears to push to the legalization of prostitution in various jurisdictions.  The article on anal sex is pretty much a cut-and-dried how-to on performing the act, with some added emphasis on using condoms during the act.  Nothing much different than some of the sex-ed stuff I have seen in high school in the late 1980's.

Now before various and sundry individuals and groups proceed to ream me a new sphincter, I want to put out that in my opinion, whatever occurs between two consenting adults is nobody's business, and that the state or other groups should not be legislating that sort of behavior.  If one makes sexual acts a business transaction, they are within their rights to do so, as long as such acts do not cause harm to others or those not of legal consent to perform such acts (i.e., children).  Matter of fact, making this legal couldn't help but open up a new business opportunity and a way for those working on the fringe a decent way to make a living without being on the outer edges of society.

As with any other activities of such a personal nature, there are those of a different ideological bent that would be morally opposed to such things being legalized.  That is fine; having such differing opinions is not an issue with me.  The problem I have is when those folks decide to force such views upon others.

Going back to the article, I pretty much find this as another example of how you should always seek out other views of the same story, and not let yourself get suckered in by just one point of view.  This is something that both liberals and conservatives have been doing for quite awhile now, and it won't be stopping anytime soon.

And it also reinforces the need for parents to be able to discuss such things with their kids regarding sex at the proper time.   Don't let educators be the only ones discussing such things.  Take control and be supportive as these young adults sort out how they want to proceed.