Episodes
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Doc returns from sabbatical for this Master Class and delivers updated interpretations of Finite Voltage, Crowd-In Behavior, and his newest concept of "Failure to Regress to the Mean" to describe the current condition of society. Read the full blog post for episode #149 at safetyphd.com TACTICAL WISDOM. David begins with sharing a recent post by Joe Dolio at tactical-wisdom.com. Joe offers a heavy dose of face validity in sharing his observations of the greater Detroit area including photos of a WalMart that removed all guns and ammunition as a “precaution” in the event the store was compromised during election-related civil unrest. Increased outward-facing lighting at a power substation was another image that warned that corporations and municipalities are anticipating a collapse of law and order in the coming weeks. PRAIRIE FIRE. Author Clay Martin, a previous guest on The Safety Doc Podcast, released another “essential reading” book on October 15th. Per Clay, “Prairie Fire is a guide for Red Counties to survive and thrive during what looks to be another Civil War brewing. Drawing on his experience in Special Forces with counter insurgency, the author creates a step by step road map to making it out alive.” Doc will review the book in a future podcast. WHAT IS REGRESSION TO THE MEAN? It’s a concept (actually a tendency) from statistics and means that things tend to return to “average” over time. Doc describes that American’s expectation for similarity, or that their days tend to be the same, was interrupted in mid-March with COVID19 lockdowns, exacerbated with civil unrest in the summer, and will be even further distorted with pending Presidential election protests, riots, and potential legal battles. There is no evidence that Americans’ lives are regressing to the mean - or returning to some form of similarity. This is a precarious, unsettling situation that is already amplified by Finite Voltage and Crowd-in Behavior. Dr. Perrodin notes that while we are accustomed to life “bouncing back” in a matter of days, we need to prepare for many months, or even years, until our lives regress to the mean - something last experienced by Americans in the latter 1930s. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED JINX. One example of regression to the mean is the infamous Sports Illustrated cover jinx. The jinx states that whoever appears on the cover of SI is going to have a poor following year (or years). But the “jinx” is actually regression towards the mean. Player’s make the cover after an exceptional year and it’s statistically unlikely that they will either repeat that performance or improve upon it. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 149 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 10-30-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America www.schooloferrors.com
Saturday Sep 05, 2020
Saturday Sep 05, 2020
What will happen when truck drivers refuse to deliver to powder-keg big cities after the Presidential election? Are you aware that truck drivers are currently paid exorbitant bonuses to take on the risk to bring supplies to America’s riot-smashed metropolitans including Seattle and Portland? Did you know that it is remarkably easy to disable a stopped semi by detaching one readily-accessible connection? If people abandon the big cities, will the smaller cities down the road collapse one-by-one as thousands of people seek refuge. How will supplies hold up? What will you do when store shelves are no longer restocked? Our guest has considered these scenarios. Read the full blog post for episode #148 at safetyphd.com. MATTHEW HOOVER of CRS FIREARMS & RESALE. Matthew Hoover describes himself as “Just a dude with hard life experience.” With his family, he operates a resale shop in rural Wisconsin and sells furniture, household items, collectibles, boat propellers, luggage, camping items, knives, firearms and ammunition. He is the host of the popular CRS Firearms YouTube channel that focuses on firearms, self-defense, supply chains impacting weapons and ammunition, and the psychology of personal safety. FOUR PHASES OF CHAOS. In August, 2020, Matthew released an insightful YouTube video in which he described his personal observations of “the four phases of chaos” that have impacted consumer demand and supply side capacity specific to gun ammunition. As many people peg the start of the ammunition shortage to the coronavirus pandemic, Matthew brings out his whiteboard and draws a timeline dating back to the Obama administration. And, he debunks a popular conspiracy that ammunition is hoarded in clandestine warehouses. JUST-IN-TIME PRODUCTION. Firearms owners scan websites for ammunition - a shortage that our guest believes will take years to remedy due to just-in-time manufacturing. By the 1990s, JIT was being adopted across industries - including productions of firearms and ammunition. How did we get here? “Just in time (JIT)” manufacturing has origins to the 1970s Toyota plants in Japan. The purpose of JIT is to limit warehousing of items and instead have items manufactured and sent directly to suppliers and to customers. This is especially prominent in modern book publishing when the book isn’t printed until the customer places an order. Instead of retrieving a copy from a pallet in a warehouse, the book is printed and sent directly to the buyer. DISADVANTAGES of JIT. There is no spare finished product available to meet unexpected orders, because all products are made to meet actual orders. When demand skyrockets, as it has for popular types of rifle ammunition in 2020, production can only scale up so much and backorders extend for months or even years. FREEZERS ARE THE NEW CURRENCY. Beyond steady inquiries for guns and ammunition, one other item has been in hot demand at Matthew’s store. Freezers! In fact, he sold the freezer from his basement! KIDS AND THE PANDEMIC. Matthew and David discussed examples of how the pandemic created bizarre, hard-to-explain experiences for young kids as schools closed, playgrounds were ringed with scary police tape, and people began to cover their faces with masks as they stood six feet away. Matthew expresses confidence when in the presence of children and doesn’t dwell on the pandemic when they are in earshot. He notes that kids take cues from the adults - and when adults express fear and panic, kids notice and in turn worry and lose their sense of security. While we want children to be aware of their environment and exercise situational awareness, there is little value in burdening and confusing them with the details of a fluid event that is complicated and beyond their control. HOW DID THE 1960s UNREST END? Toward the end of the interview, Matthew wondered how the current chaos would end and felt clues might be found by learning more about the turmoil, protests, and riots of the 1960s. Civil unrest due to a charged racial climate and unpopular war in Vietnam resulted in more than 100 cities erupting in violence in 1967 and 1968, including 43 people killed and hundreds injured in rioting in Detroit in 1967. What will be the actions that bring an end to the civil unrest of 2020, and are Americans in store for unimaginable violence following the November election? FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 148 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 9-3-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com.
- Matthew Hoover’s website: https://www.youtube.com/user/11284ravin
Friday Aug 14, 2020
Friday Aug 14, 2020
Chad Elkins, CPA, discussed bewildering and draconian ways people scrambled their finances during the pandemic. While many small business owners suffered losses and experienced great personal distress, others actually thrived and even doubled their incomes! Read the full blog post for episode #147 at safetyphd.com. ABOUT CHAD ELKINS. Chad has over ten years of tax experience, including positions and engagements with the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, and Co-Author of the Elkins' Comprehensive Tax Guide. He’s the oracle of Chicago finance with a penchant for observing nuanced trends in how humans manage the fiscal aspects of their lives. SOME PEOPLE BAILED OUT IMMEDIATELY. Chad noted that some of his clients, mainly hair stylists, quit paying rent, broker their leases, and liquidated their assets. They didn’t have enough reserve cash to ride out the economic collapse and succumbed to panic-driven decision making. Chad encouraged them to consider suspending their businesses or waiting a few weeks for the forthcoming government relief programs. Even businesses that were established for multiple years and that had been performing well prior to the pandemic were dissolving, to Chad’s disappointment, as owners simply wanted out of the churn of safer-at-home and essential business decrees. TELEHEALTH-BASED THERAPISTS “ARE THRIVING BETTER THAN THEY EVER HAVE BEFORE” Once limited by regulation, telehealth therapy was quickly advanced by regulatory agencies and Chad’s clients that provided mental health or other counseling services were experiencing a combination of factors that swelled their incomes. First, the demand for mental health and counseling services substantially increased due to pandemic-driven anxiety in the population. Second, therapists don’t need specialized, localized machines or equipment to do their jobs. When you go to the dentist, for example, the dentist’ office has hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment that is not designed to be portable. There isn’t a “teledentistry” service to address your root canal. A mental health therapist, on the other hand, is easily location independent given a secure, private Internet connection. And, telehealth has built-in social distancing! CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG - REMOTE WORK IS HERE TO STAY. Chad believes that the pandemic-driven rapid move to remote work, such as work from home, has set the precedence that traditional office-based work isn’t necessary to maintain continuity in businesses. This likely means there will be a massive purge of office space and business-dense metropolises, such as Chicago, will lose appeal for employers and employees. PPP AND SBE LOANS WORKED - WITH CONSEQUENCES. The PPP was rolled out as a way to keep employees on payroll, even if they weren’t working - as long as owners proved that they used 80% of money for salaries. But, it caused problems as many employees were laid off and went onto unemployment - which was paying them $600 weekly ABOVE the unemployment payment they received from the state. For many people, they were now receiving as much or more money they were when they were employed. Hence, when asked to return to work - employees balked. As restrictions eased and businesses re-started, employers struggled to lure employees back to their jobs so had to recruit new employees. REDLINE VIRTUAL REALITY LOUNGE - NOW RENTING OFFICE PODS. Opened and thriving for four months before the pandemic closures, Redline Virtual Reality Lounge in Chicago is an example of a small business that had to pivot several times in order to adjust to new market trends. Aaron, the owner of Redline, shared his lounge survived on carry out orders and renting VR equipment between April 18th and June 11th. When he re-opened at limited capacity, business was very slow - and very different. People showed up with laptops and asked to rent a 9’x9’ VR pod for the day to serve as a portable office. Some lived in hot apartments or had poor wifi. So, for $15 a day, they could rent a cool work area with excellent wifi and social distancing. Aaron noted that small groups of 3-4 people rented a pod to conduct in-person business for a few hours. David noted that Parkinson’s Law is the adage that people seek clear routines to start and end the work day. Perhaps going to the VR pod met that need? FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 146 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 8-13-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com.
- Chad Elkins, CPA website: https://www.elkinscpa.com/
Saturday Aug 08, 2020
SDP146: Survival Expert Morgan Rogue | Subtle Signs of Chaos | Livestream 8-7-2020
Saturday Aug 08, 2020
Saturday Aug 08, 2020
Morgan Rogue’s mantra is to conquer tomorrow by preparing today! She lives on 40 acres of land in the southern United States with her husband, two daughters and two dogs. She is the owner and founder of Rogue Preparedness, a website dedicated to emergency preparedness and survival skills. Morgan has published extensively in crisis preparedness and response including Preparedness For Busy People, and Prepare & Survive Economic Crisis - which is a primer to help people understand bartering, valuable items, and controlling fear. She has a fast-growing YouTube channel with diverse content including: hunting, survival, camping, hiking, guns, prepping, urban survival, family preparedness, bug out bags, gear reviews, prepping on a budget, dogs, homesteading, and all things outdoors and adventure. New videos and blog posts are published weekly! WHY MORGAN WAS INVITED TO THIS SHOW. Morgan is an authentic person seeking knowledge. She doesn’t hesitate to post a first-take video of attempting to build a solar-powered food dehydrator. Don’t get me wrong, she presents as a tremendously competent person. Her videos and posts are concise, personable and interesting without massive editing or saturated with promotions. Morgan reveals that life and preparedness have bumpy first takes. After reading Morgan’s posts, watching her videos, and exploring her website, I discovered, or perhaps re-discovered, an appreciation of preparedness and immediately re-visited the things I could do to increase my survival skills. In an infamous Tweet, I wrote, “Her [Morgan’s] contributions to safety stand out as curated and calibrated with easements for people new to preparedness as well as experienced preppers.” That sums it up - and I hope that makes it onto the praise page of one of her future best sellers. PREPAREDNESS AS A PARENT OF YOUNG KIDS. Are kids a liability during a crisis? Some people think so, but not Morgan. She’s noted that there is no magic age to introduce children to survival and self-reliance skills. Her kids are with her when she hikes, her daughter has used a survival straw to drink from a creek, and Morgan published a brilliant blog post of 45 outdoor activities for kids in a time when parks and theaters were closed due to the pandemic. One recommendation was to have kids draw a map of their house, neighborhood, or a trail. Spatial orientation. Distance. Landmarks. Planning. What Morgan shares isn’t data you offload until a disaster - instead, it’s vetted advice on how to make yourself better - right now. SUBTLE SIGNS OF CHAOS - SEWING MACHINES. The early days of the coronavirus stay home orders sparked scarcity buying - toilet paper, pasta, and cleaners. When people anticipate that a chaos event will last months, other items begin to disappear from the market. Morgan shared that she was unable to find a new or used sewing machine in May. Locating a freezer was equally challenging, despite searching stores and secondary online sites such as Craigslist. LEARN A SKILL TODAY. Morgan identified several ways that people could improve their self-reliance today. Everything takes practice, but most people can learn to sharpen a knife, make basic sewing repairs or grow food - even if in a container inside their house. Also, get fit! Fit people are better able to get to safety, recover from trauma, help others, and be easier to be aided by others. COMMUNICATIONS - CONSIDER HAM RADIO. Should you consider a landline (in case the cell towers fail)? Morgan noted that a landline is valuable, and added that there are still payphone locations in some areas and those might be an option if cellular communications are disrupted during a crisis. She encourages people to learn more about HAM radio. Morgan and her husband use HAM radios and communicate with people hundreds of miles away. Every year, HAM radio conducts a Field Day which is an amatuer radio experience to demonstrate temporary transmitting stations in public places - with an emphasis on emergency communication preparedness. A basic HAM radio receiver (listen only) is $50. Morgan notes that the HAM radio community has always been essential and reliable during crisis events. She identified a few organizations to visit to learn more about obtaining a HAM license. HAM’s more than survival, it’s a wonderful hobby. Many colleges, for example, have HAM radio clubs. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 146 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 8-7-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com.
- Rogue Preparedness website: https://roguepreparedness.com/
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Commercial fishing has long topped the Bureau of Labor Statistics' list of jobs with the most fatalities -- and crabbing in the Alaskan waters is by far the most lethal form of fishing. Guest Robert Travis shares his experiences as a greenhorn deckhand straight out of Dutch Harbor and re-lives harrowing tales of surviving a treacherous 122-day stint fishing for Alaskan crab on the frigid, unforgiving Bering Sea. Read the full blog post for episode #145 at safetyphd.com. PRO SNOWBOARDER. After high school, Rob was a sponsored professional snowboarder and a coach at the Camp of Champions for four summers in Whistler Blackcomb - which is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America. He broke his tib/fib in July and was put in full leg cast. The lure of adventure and cash called, and Rob cut off the cast with an angle grinder and headed to Alaska for crabbing season. ALASKAN CRABBING - SIGNING THE DEADLY CONTRACT. Rob shared that he nearly walked away from his opportunity to sign a contract with a crab boat company. The harrowing tales told by locals were just about enough to turn back the men that have a predisposition to seek this level of risk. However, Rob signed the contract and clearly understood the statement that he would experience injury or be killed by doing this work. Survive, and pocket more than $65,000 for 4 months work. Also, know that a 5-year “veteran” deckhand is a rarity as most are maimed or killed before they reach that mark. DANGERS ON DECK. Working on a 198-foot converted ice breaker, Rob was fortunate to be on one of the most durable rigs out on the ocean. Most crabbing takes place in the unforgiving Bering Sea. Ice can coat boat decks, 700-pound cages being winched aboard can lurch and sweep workers overboard. Even in a survival suit, designed to provide insulation from cold water, death can come before help arrives. About 80% of crab fishery fatalities are from drowning. WHEN THE HORN BLOWS. 16-hour shifts were typical and the swells often unrelenting. The job was so demanding that workers consumed 7000 or more calories daily (triple the intake of a typical adult male). There was one thing that every deckhand dreaded - a blast from the ship’s horn. Rob explained that the skipper was in the wheelhouse and overlooked the deck. The skipper also monitored the ocean and could see approaching swells, some 60-feet high! The skipper would then blast the horn alerting the deckhands to immediately grab onto something sturdy and brace for the unpredictable combination of waves rolling over the deck, a rising or plummeting deck, and sharp angle tilts -- not to mention the possibility of a 700-pound crab cage breaking loose and skidding across the deck. Rob recalled the searchlights of nearby boats - trying to find and recover an overboard sailor. He noted that staying fit gave him a split-second advantage to getting to safety and noted that being light and fit are great attributes for this line of work. CONCRETE IN HIS VEINS. Concrete is the family business for Rob - it’s in his lineage, the family crest. He was pouring 250,000 square feet a summer with his dad when he was 15 and started his own concrete company at age 17 - pouring in summers and snowboarding in winters. After the 2007 crab boat season, Rob decided to start a concrete business. After regrouping from damage sustained in a massive wildfire, he continued to expand his concrete work. He’s won gold medals at the international polished concrete awards twice in craftsman and commercial division. ROOF TOP LIFE RAFTS. Roughly five years ago, Rob and a small group of friends were determined to design and build the best safety and survival gear for floods and natural disasters. Hence, Roof Top Life Rafts was founded. Millions of people around the world endure deadly, unpredictable floods from storms, natural disasters or failure of water management systems. Homeowners, office workers, students, all need a solution to get themselves to safety in an emergency flood situation. More about RTLR when Rob returns to the show later this year! FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 145 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 8-3-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com.
- Robert Travis’ website: https://www.rooftopliferafts.com/
Friday Jul 24, 2020
Untold Stories From Former Soviet Cyclist Nikolai Razouvaev
Friday Jul 24, 2020
Friday Jul 24, 2020
Nikolai Razouvaev was part of the Soviet national team between 1984 and 1990. He won a gold medal in a team time trial at the UCI junior world championships in 1984. Nikolai was cycling in Kiev just days following the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. Kiev, with a population of 2 million, is 100 km (62 miles) from Chernobyl. Nikolai recently returned to road racing in Australia, where he also coaches other cyclists. He works with a company involved with clinical trials for persons experiencing depression or cognitive decline. Nikolai is the author of The Renegade: A Memoir of a Soviet Cyclist. Read the full blog post for episode #144 at safetyphd.com. CYCLING NEAR CHERNOBYL - WHAT NIKOLAI SAW AND HEARD. The Peace Race, dating back to 1948 and known as the “Tour de France of the East”, was a prestigious cycling event attended not only by communist bloc states but also guest cyclists from the West. It was on a high sporting level but it also played an important political and ideological role. Its traditional participants were from Czechoslovakia, Poland and East Germany. In 1986 the Soviet Union joined in and it was decided the race should start from Kiev. Cyclists from the West immediately returned home when informed about the Chernobyl accident. Only 64 cyclists entered the race; less than half of the usual number. LEAD COVERED BUSES. Nikolai saw hundreds of evacuation buses covered with lead sheets, similar to plywood, just outside of Kiev. A driver had tipped him off to the Chernobyl accident just 62 miles away. More information came in over the airwaves from radio stations in Germany - despite the Soviet government jamming foreign radio frequencies. Nikolai recalled other foreboding signs in Kiev, such as near-empty streets during the race and a routine of large water trucks and workers washing radiation from the pavement. RED WINE AND ALL IS FINE. Red wine, vodka and other alcohol were difficult to find in Kiev. Popular belief was that alcohol protected the body from radiation. “Weird times,” per Nikolai. HOW TO GET TRUTHFUL INFORMATION IN THE 1980s SOVIET UNION. Nikolai explained that by the 1980s, most people living in Russia dismissed the constant stream of state-run media and propaganda. Surprisingly, people placed much trust into the accuracy of rumors and Nikolai shared that people would discuss rumors, but there wasn’t a practice, or need, to verify rumors. INFORMATION DURING PERESTROIKA AND GLASNOST. The 1980s policies of perestroika and glasnost changed the perspective of the citizens of the Soviet Union. As perestroika focused on reviving the economy and empowering it, glasnost focused on openness. It is during openness that most weaknesses of communism and end of the Soviet Union were brought across. Nikolai noted that this explosion of new information was more overwhelming than the Chernobyl accident. HOW DID SAMIZDAT DESTROY THE SOVIET UNION? Samizdat (self-publishing) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. “A strange world of lies.” Nikolai noted that in the later 1980s, a flurry of small independent newspapers could be legally produced and sold in Russia. They were very expensive, costing twenty times the price of a state newspaper. For that reason, a single copy was often shared with many people. Although some of these new publications were disguised propaganda, most were suppressed truths that aligned to documents kept in “libraries” and other government archives that were not open to the public. CRAZY STORIES FROM NIKOLAI’S YOUTH. Go ahead and jump to the final 20 minutes of the show! Nikolai shares two jaw-dropping stories. One involves a bag packed with BIG money dropped at his feet and the other involves a thug pressing a gun to his head and telling him to make right with his maker. INTERNET SEARCHES SOAR FOR DEPRESSION REMEDIES. Nikolai works in the marketing department for a company that conducts clinical trials for depression and Alzheimer’s treatments. He’s observed a sharp increase in people searching for variants of depression therapy and noted that his company is inundated with people requesting to participate in trials for depression treatments. He attributes this behavior to the pandemic. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 144 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 7-24-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com.
- Nikolai Razouvaev's website: https://www.nikolai.com.au/
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Joe Dolio is a USMC Veteran with over 20 years in corporate security investigations as a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Forensic Interviewer. He is a KyoSaNim (Instructor) and Second Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do. Joe is adept in situational awareness and successfully negotiating exits from chaotic environments. He curates the website tactical-wisdom.com which is a repository for his posts about personal safety and grounded wisdom. Read the full blog post for episode #142 at safetyphd.com. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. Joe distinguishes between intelligence and information. People tend to source information from rumors or from the media instead of getting out and verifying things for themselves. “My cousin’s friend knows a guy…” is information - it is NOT intelligence. What did you do to verify that information? Joe heard that Detroit area hospitals were crowded with COVID19 patients - TV images suggested jammed parking lots and M*A*S*H-like field hospitals popping up across the city. Questioning this information, he drove to the hospitals and found that the parking lots weren’t overflowing as depicted by the media or embellished in personal stories. Grocery stores were also among the places visited by Joe at the onset of the coronavirus as he observed human behavior - how people were “feeling” about the pandemic - calm, nervous, totally panicked! He found that people’s behaviors weren’t necessarily matched to what was authentically happening with the supply chain. MUSTERING YOUR MEMBER CHECK NETWORK - AN APP TO VERIFY INFO. Face validity (face validity is a simple test of asking if what I’m observing makes sense - think of a thermometer that reports 80 degrees during a snowstorm - that’s an error in face validity) is amplified by building a carefully vetted, trained, and coached group of like-minded people who are able to authentically observe and report what they experience in their environments. Joe noted that members of his network used the Solocator app which allowed them to take photos that were automatically tagged with time stamps and GPS coordinates. His network debriefed daily and used Google documents to aggregate data and identify trends. OPTIONS IF TRAPPED IN CAR DURING PROTEST. It’s on everyone’s mind...what if I’m in my car and inadvertently get caught in a protest? It might be an inconvenience - or it might escalate into a dangerous situation. First, Joe advises to check for scheduled protests if traveling and to steer clear of those areas. If you are in your vehicle and caught within a group of protesters, he reminds people of their options to: (1) keep moving (not to collide with people); (2) reverse course - even if it means driving the wrong way or skipping the median; or, in extreme situations, (3) abandon your vehicle if the protests have become violent and you judge your life is in peril and that you have time to get to a safer location. HOW TO GO STEALTH. Joe attended [peaceful] protests as an observer and noted the security teams deployed by protest groups (not the government) to monitor vehicles and people that appeared to be watching the protesters instead of participating in the protest. Joe dressed in jeans, a hoodie, and a baseball cap and kept a change of clothes in his backpack. He shared this information to help people learn how to blend in and get away from impromptu crowds - and noted protests were happening in grocery store parking lots across his city. Have the ability to quickly change your profile. SHOULD I WEAR A BODY CAM? Joe wears a body cam for his professional work and notes that a decent body cam with video and audio costs less than $100. His recommendation is Mini Gadgets Camstick1080p which clips into a pocket. He believes that gun owners should absolutely have a body cam to provide contextual evidence if they decide to use deadly force. Additionally, automotive dash cams are affordable and invaluable during a disputed accident. Check your state’s laws regarding one or two party consent to record. WHAT TO HAVE IN YOUR FIRST AID - DUCT TAPE. Joe insists that duct tape is a staple of every first aid kit. For more on this topic, read his blog post at https://tactical-wisdom.com/2020/07/07/first-aid-skills/ LEARN BASIC SELF DEFENSE. Check out your local dojo for martial arts courses. Get a gym membership and learn to spar and box. Could you defend yourself if someone attempted to tackle you? FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 142 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 7-6-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Joe Dolio's website: https://tactical-wisdom.com/
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Philipp Heinrich is an entrepreneur, security instructor, and weapons trainer in Germany. He’s an oracle of face validity and recognizes both gradual and rapid nuances in society. Are Germans smashing into Finite Voltage? How does it manifest? Is anyone spared? Read the full blog post for episode #141 at safetyphd.com. ABOUT PHILIPP HEINRICH. Philipp started his career in security working as a night watchman while attending university. After working in human relations and studying business psychology, he decided to become an entrepreneur at the age of 24 and sold his business 3 years later. Returning to his passion of teaching security and weapons training, he is now working as a security instructor and business consultant. FACE VALIDITY IN GERMANY - SCARCITY MINDSET OR LUXURY BINGE? Phil noted that things continue to rapidly change in Germany. He shared that the government put forth several economic stimulus initiatives for citizens including tuition and job training. As grocery stores presented with partially-filled shelves and limited hours, the cause was less a direct response to the virus pandemic and more attributable, per Phil, to people choosing not to work and accept government payments. He shared that stores are, surprisingly, flush with comfort items - trinkets, toys, etc. As a lifelong resident of Germany, Phil pointed out that these items are not ordinarily found on store shelves this time of year. CROWD IN THEORY. Commonly associated with economics, “Crowd In” theory also has a psychological interpretation described as people feeling they need to surround themselves with “comfort” items during a time of crisis - when they think they might be bound to their home for a long period of time. This is an intriguing concept and much different from “Scarcity” theory which fueled runs on toilet paper and pasta. Phil stated that video game systems had been sold out for three months and that it was impossible to even locate refurbished laptops. Doc and Phil unpacked Crowd In theory and recognized that observing it denotes that people believe a chaos event will be of a long duration. After purging the soup aisle, shoppers ramble their carts to the interior paint department. Phil perceives that elderly people in Germany remember World War II and how having physical possessions was deemed more important than money. MEASURING FINITE VOLTAGE. When the news of the pandemic stay-at-home orders were delivered at Phil’s workplace, he observed some co-workers immediately panic and embellish worst-case scenarios as if they had already come to fruition. He was shocked that some of the people that had been based in STEM and empirical processes were suddenly occupied with conspiracy theories and sought confirmation bias for their irrational, paranoid mindset. Phil judged that older Germans have become both anxious and reserved as they enter a fourth month of pandemic lockdowns or civil unrest curfews. The working class is choosing to limit participation in the workforce although the government is offering generous paid training and paid positions. Phil shared that high unemployment figures are, in part, due to people unwilling to accept training or jobs of manual labor, business, security, IT, etc. Finite Voltage becomes difficult to measure when people exist in an artificial environment that offers cash not to work. Doc and Phil speculate how this context might separate people from agency and purpose. Existing, but for what reason other than to exist? WHAT PREPARED PHIL FOR 2020? Phil is trained in a civilian defense role that is similar to how the National Guard in America would deploy after a natural disaster. He’s served in medical support and in technical support to the fire department. Familiar with safety systems, Phil is cognizant of safety bravado and leaders choosing to fatigue protocols. He tells a story of participating in a routine civil defense drill in late February that involved spraying water from fire hoses. Phil spoke up and suggested that participants wear face masks to prevent inhalation of dirt or other particulate matter within the water aerosol (this was prior to COVID19 fears). He was aware of Legionnaires disease - which is caused as bacteria spreads through mist. And, water pumped from standing ponds or stagnant reserves isn’t anything you would drink without boiling. Sadly, leaders and peers shrugged off his recommendations. Phil noted that this “it won’t happen to me” response was in line with society’s overall tendency to downplay risks. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 141 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 6-29-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Ex-Convict Larry Lawton | Situational Awareness in Prison | Livestream 6-23-2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Larry Lawton was America’s biggest jewel thief, on the FBI’s most wanted list, and spent 11 years in dangerous federal prisons. Released from prison in 2007, he focused on decision making and bringing awareness to his “The Reality Check Program” which guides people away from the felonious life path and brings clarity to the likely consequences of crime: losing your freedom, reputation, self-respect, and connection to family. Read the full blog post for episode #140 at safetyphd.com. ABOUT LARRY LAWTON. Larry has one of the fastest growing channels on YouTube and appears on TV and radio as an expert on crime, drugs, youth issues, and law enforcement community policing. He’s also the first ex-convict to become an honorary police officer and the only ex-con recognized on the Floor of the United States Congress for his work with helping young people and law enforcement agencies connect with the community. GANGSTER REDEMPTION. The book Gangster Redemption tells the true life story of Larry’s journey from making bad decisions to shifting the meaning and focus of his life to saving young people from habitual crime and incarceration. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. SA can be defined as “knowing what is going on around us” and comprehending the meaning of those events and how they might project in the near future. For example, recognizing dark clouds and thunder affords a person time to seek shelter before the storm. In other words, there are 3 levels of situational awareness: (1) perception, (2) comprehension, and (3) projection. Larry mastered each level. CASING A LOCATION. As a prolific jewel thief, Larry was an expert at situational awareness. Before robbing a store, he observed the location for weeks - learning its vulnerable points and nuances, such as the specific time of day the reflection of the sun off the windows would make it difficult for anyone outside to see what was happening inside of the store. He identified vital patterns that most people would simply overlook in the bustle of day-to-day life. AWARENESS IN PRISON. Situational awareness in prison is sharply amplified - it’s a non-stop survival asset as being able to detect slight changes in routines or behaviors might literally keep an inmate from perishing by attack or from psychological collapse. Already adept at monitoring his environment, Larry refined and adapted his observation skills to an unmatched level while inside the nation’s toughest prisons. CAN YOU WATCH TV OR USE THE INTERNET IN PRISON? Prisoners are able to watch some TV channels, but not allowed access to social networking websites. Postal mail is monitored. There isn’t the convenience of a quick Google query on a laptop and there’s a tendency over time to become very dependent upon the institution for information. Larry explains how being an inmate separated him from keeping pace with changes in society - as familiar brick cell phones evolved to flip phones -- and his surprise, when released, to discover Subway restaurants attached to gas stations! TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO DEBATE. Larry encourages people to learn to debate and that communication is a tool to advance discussion and peacefully resolve matters. This means attempting to learn the other person’s argument and trying to view the issue from that perspective. He notes that across society, people are hunkering down with their viewpoints and unwilling to be informed by new knowledge. Larry offers an example of how his own debate skills improved as he studied legal cases. THE VELOCITY OF INFORMATION. How were inmates informed about what was happening outside of prison? Larry describes how he learned about the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks and strategies to ensure that he was receiving accurate information. MEMBER CHECKS IN PRISON. Member checks are people that tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear. There’s a constant churn in prison as inmates are directed to change cells every few weeks, moved to different units, and transferred to other penitentiaries. Larry describes how he vetted a member check network as a jewel thief, prisoner and now as a consultant. WHAT WAS THE MOST INACCURATE INFORMATION LARRY RECEIVED IN PRISON AND THE CONSEQUENCE. All personal protection systems fatigue. We make decisions without assessing risk or we trust the wrong person. Larry shares an experience when flawed information almost cost him his life. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 140 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 6-23-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Larry Lawton’s YouTube Channel
- Reality Check Program
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
A Tree Fell on My House And Crushed My Bagel | Seattle TAZ | LIVESTREAM 6-11-2020
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Violent storms slammed our intrepid host’s city and spun entire neighborhoods into chaos. Doc explains how simulated annealing guided him to the other side of chaos in record time as he had to inventory his options and progressively make correct decisions in response to a tree crashing into his house. Fumble this prescribed process, however, and Doc cautions that you’ll languish as others recover. Read the full blog post for episode #139 at safetyphd.com. THE STORM. At 8PM Tuesday, a severe storm rapidly descended upon Doc’s city. Although meteorologists cautioned of potential severe weather, the local news and emergency management didn’t activate the storm alerts and city sirens. This was the fastest onset storm Doc recalls and it also concluded in just 15 minutes. No hail, no heavy rains, just deafening winds. Seconds into the storm, Doc heard and felt a “thud” and immediately knew a tree had fallen on his house. He glanced out the front window and saw limbs thrashing against the siding and decided to shelter in the basement with his family. RISK ASSESSMENT [ALWAYS] AFTER A DISASTER. Within minutes, the storm subsided. Daylight enabled a cursory assessment of the situation. Doc’s next step harkened back to what he learned in firefighting training - always conduct an environmental risk assessment when entering a dangerous situation. Too many accounts of firefighters stepping off engines and onto downed power lines or utility workers being paralyzed by falling tree limbs as they hastily work to restore electricity to a neighborhood. It’s easy to take that first step as 99% of the time there won’t be a consequence. OUT OF THE BAGEL. The bagel is a metaphor Dr. Perrodin uses in his book School of Errors to describe how daily life has routines that periodically are disrupted or shattered. Doc assessed the point of impact between the tree and his house; then his entire property; and then his neighborhood. His house was damaged, but by luck, the windows weren’t smashed and water wasn’t leaking into the house. As the sun set, he went inside his house, retrieved a manilla folder and labeled it “June 2020 Storm Damage.” He then took a pad and scribed his recollection of the storm and his observations - carefully time stamping things. Next, he emailed his local insurance agent with a summary of the event, known damage, and photos. After that, he called the 24 hour claim number and filed a report. He was informed he had made the 8th report of damage in the area - and a day later when the adjuster arrived, she reported more than 150 claims had been in the area for that insurer. Act fast, get to the top of the queue, and you’ll be further ahead on the return to similarity than people who waited to make claims. RETURNING TO THE BAGEL. Within an hour of the storm, Doc texted his builder and asked if he could assess the damage to his property. At 8 AM the next day, one of the crew arrived with a truck, assessed the damage, and worked with Doc to remove the tree. Earlier that day, Doc took photos and videos of the damage and included a whiteboard with date and address in the images. He printed some of the images for the paper file and also for the adjuster. Doc then took the damaged window screens to the shop that morning and the insurance adjuster arrived in the afternoon. In less than 24 hours, Doc assessed and stabilized the damage and began the restoration process. MOST USEFUL ITEM AFTER THE STORM. Doc’s old, large-capacity steel wheelbarrow was in high demand to haul wood and debris. In fact, it was the only wheelbarrow he saw in the neighborhood. FRAYING FROM CYBERCHONDRIA. We are living in a time of concurrent crises: pandemic, civil unrest, and severe weather. Doc shares that his member check network is observing a lot of people fraying due to information overload. This condition is exacerbated by what is known as cyberchondria (a type of confirmation bias) which manifests as constant online searching for information which fuels your underlying worry. For example, if you spend your entire night on Twitter refreshing #Seattle #CHAZ, you will experience increasing anxiety and begin to display functional impairment such as not being able to sleep. SUMMARY: (1) Shelter during severe weather; (2) conduct a risk assessment before you wander outside; (3) document in writing and photos and timestamp; and (4) quickly report and secure resources to remedy problems. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 139 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 6-11-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com