What's in Your Go-Kit? Disaster Preparation Resources

Think about this: A disaster is about to hit your community or home. Are you ready?

Think next about who responds first and (arguably) more efficiently?

If you're having trouble with this one, refer to your memories of the Haiti earthquake.

Alex, I'll say, who are your neighbors?

Emergency personnel ratios are not 1:1 in this world, so we have a responsibility to ourselves, our family, and our neighbors during an emergency. Many large cities have civilian teams of responders, called Community/Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams (CERT/NERT). Training involves classes in fire management, utility management, triage, light search and rescue, and most important, what to put in the Go-Kit. For example, a trash bag can also be used as a toilet, but make sure it is double-bagged. Fortunately, you don't have to commit to a class to learn about safety.

Here is San Francisco's NERT resource website. The two documents I recommend are the Family Disaster Plan and Home/Work/Car Kit List.

These are very detailed documents, so adapt them to your needs and preferences.

Alex, I'll take "Other ways to use trash bags" for 800, please.

Big News This Thursday

To my small and devoted readership,

I have some exciting news coming this Thursday regarding CATOGA, my cross-country bike ride! Stay tuned. Until then, enjoy Pearl Jam's latest performance on Saturday Night Live:

Google Bikes

My Aunt Kathy sent me to this excerpt from the Chicago Tribune. The features look promising and to have a user-friendliness and accessibility that only Google can provide. I have yet to try it out though.

Happy Riding!

Google Maps Adds Bike-Friendly Features

Google Maps, a popular feature offered by the Internet search giant, currently offers directions for car travel, walking, and public transportation. Starting on Wednesday, the service will add bicycling directions at maps.google.com/biking for 150 different cities around the United States. "Several online bike-trip sites already exist," the Chicago Tribune reported. "But bicycling advocates hope Google's entrance in the market benefits not only individual riders. ... One goal is to make it easier for non- or infrequent cyclists to access the service, thereby promoting more bicycling." Plus, Google reaches a far wider audience. And, the site's advanced algorithm will calculate riding time based on a number of factors, including length, fatigue and changes in elevation. It will map out recommended turn-by-turn routes, but also highlight existing bike trails, on-street lanes and more. "The Google bike-trip planner will not immediately by available on cell phones, and other wireless devices, but company officials said they are working on a mobile application so that cyclists can look up directions while on their bikes," the Tribune reported.

Read original story in The Chicago Tribune Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A time to update

Hi,

You may or may not have noticed, but my posts have been fewer than in previous months. In the past few weeks I have been working hard and playing hard, and so I want to take a quick moment to reflect on the past few weeks and the weeks ahead, which will also suffice to update you all.

Last week, my team and I were accepted to present at a Case Competition held by DC Public Schools. This competition is a concrete mark of my interest in education policy. I am so psyched about competing, meeting some education movers and shakers, and spending a weekend in DC. I will also have a chance to see two my aunts, and family is always reason to celebrate.On March 7, I ran my first marathon, and it was everything I imagined. With the counsel and encouragement of JR, Naomi, my dad, and Tracy, I trained right and truly enjoyed the experience. The marathon was in Napa, CA, and Tracy and I took the weekend to enjoy the sites. We rode some of the course the day before and treated ourselves to two nights in a hotel. During the race, I met some really interesting people and didn't bonk. I even managed a negative split (and I stayed in my dad's will by not beating his marathon time).

This semester, Tracy and I have made the effort not to work every weekend. Thus far, we've made it to Tahoe, Orange County, Half Moon Bay, and Napa. Also, I've run a couple races, tried surfing (which I struggled mightily at), spent time with my cousin, and housed a prospective graduate student. I have looked forward to every adventure, and the memories have been more valuable than any monetary cost.

Keeping some of my weekend sacred has done wonders for my productivity. The imminence of the weekend drives me to crunch more hours into the day. It also helps that I'm really enjoying my graduate program-- the learning curve this semester is crazy-steep and I am constantly challenged and stimulated. I feel fully immersed in education, psychology, policy, and sociology...

Looking back, I'm really thankful for the experiences, and I'm evermore excited about the experiences on the horizon. My mother is retiring (more like changing jobs), and I am looking forward to a celebration of her ascent of a career. In April, JR, Tracy, Oliver, and I are riding in the Gran Fondo in Santa Cruz. In May and June, JR and I are riding across the country and then I'm teaching Sociology to highschoolers. It's happening!

--This note may not belong here, but I do want to mention a personal goal for the rest of the semester and year. I want to be more methodical with my organization. I'd like to maintain order, rather than having massive cleaning efforts every week. I am busy, but I think I can save time (and stress) but maintaining some order in my life! That's all for now.

Create your own momentum.

Where have I read this before?

Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite writers of contemporary psychology and social phenomena, and I have read almost all of this books and articles. Almost...

Last Sunday, I stumbled upon a 2008 article from Gladwell that was republished in his latest book. In this article, Gladwell describes how NFL scouts appraise college quarterbacks to determine how successful they will be at the professional level. He uses this topic to segue to the topic of appraising the effectiveness of teachers. Sound familiar?

I blogged a very similar message last month! So for full transparency and comparison, here is my blog post and Gladwell's article.

How Should Teachers Be Evaluated? (Leo)

Most Likely to Succeed (Malcolm Gladwell)

I'm not sure whether I should feel guilty or fearful of plagarism, or humbled that a prolific writer like Gladwell might share with me a similar thought experiment. To be safe, I have returned 100% of my earnings from this blog. Nonetheless, it's worth blogging about. Happy reading and happy March.