Episodes
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/
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
Retired Recon Marine Clay Martin leverages his bonafide credentials and experience to provide listeners with fact-based, authentic concepts regarding the application of survival techniques in their homes, neighborhoods, and any environment that spins into chaos. Clay shares captivating personal stories, including a time when a momentary fatigue of his situational awareness resulted in juggling a hot potato tear gas canister decoyed as a Dr. Pepper bottle. Read the full blog post for episode #143 at safetyphd.com. ABOUT CLAY MARTIN. Clay Martin is a former USMC Infantryman, Reconnaissance Marine, and Scout Sniper. He crossed deck to the US Army and spent the rest of his career in Special Forces, because he is a glutton for punishment. Medically retired at 15 years of service, he wandered the Earth like Caine from Kung Fu, before remembering he could type and starting a career as a gun review monkey and novelist. He is the author of Last Son of the War God and the Sword of the Caliphate, fictional works. CONCRETE JUNGLE - AMAZON BEST SELLER / SEVERAL REVIEWS. Written in 2019 and released in June 2020, Concrete Jungle: A Green Berets guide to Urban Survival, is unfortunately a non-fiction book appropriate to the times we live in. As cultural war clouds gather, cities are becoming the flashpoint. In this volume, retired Special Forces soldier Clay Martin teaches you how to survive it. A multi tour GWOT veteran and Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat instructor, as well as long time prepper and competitive shooter, Clay brings a different type of skill set to the party. From laying in supplies to siege proofing your apartment building, this volume answers the questions other experts cannot. HOUSE BURNED DOWN, MEDICAL EVENT, AND THEN COVID19. Clay and his family were out of town when their house caught fire and was destroyed at the end of January. A week later, Clay was hospitalized with an unexpected blog clot in his right arm that extended into his lungs, and by the time he was released in February, the COVID19 pandemic became something that couldn’t be ignored by Americans - so his family prepared for the pandemic, without many of their possessions, while living in a rental house - and as Clay was a medically-compromised person due to the recent hospitalization. Conditioned for chaotic times, Clay rolled with the situation and stated, “We have water bottles and a backpack, we’ll be fine”, but also found his young children asking, “where are our toys, why are we living in BRBs, …?” SITUATION AWARENESS - YOU CAN LEARN IT. Clay wrote that the American civilian population has been largely insulated and comfortable since 1941. People in America wake up expecting and experiencing a predictable, safe day. He believes that most people are deficient in situational awareness skills unless they’ve grown up in a volatile area, such as a big city - in which situational awareness and survival skills are an evolved process. SNIPER SCHOOL. Clay shared that sniper school focused on identifying nuanced things through binoculars or being able to recall what you passed while walking to lunch. The more you observe your environment, the more you automatically attend to what’s happening around you and also apply a filter of, “What can hurt me right now?” David built on this with an example of taking his family to a baseball game last summer. He taught his daughters to watch the position of the infielders and outfielders in order to predict what might happen next. HOW CLAY BUILT HIS PROXY NETWORK. Clay notes that different people have different abilities to handle things - so learn people’s strengths and play to those strengths when building your information network. If someone’s a spreadsheet fanatic, give him an assignment of aggregating data from members in the field. Clay describes how he built his information network similar to a phone tree - and have the primary people be the ones that live close to you. Remember that your connections in other parts of the country are likely to have their own regional networks. PREDICTORS OF THINGS TO COME. Clay identified alarming patterns of behavior last year including some states and cities choosing to selectively enforce the law and dropping charges - and a trend toward a more lawless society. Clay feels we might be 6-8 months out from hyperinflation and an economic collapse. 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 143 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 7-18-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com.
- Clay Martin's website: http://off-the-reservation.com/
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
Friday May 15, 2020
Pandemic Lingo | Shaking a Contact Tracer | Bacon Maldito Interview
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
Guest Bacon Maldito talks about new terms since the COVID19 pandemic, shaking Contact Tracers, closing city streets for green space, permanent protocol changes for a temporary event, & deals at Dissmore's IGA. PANDEMIC LINGO - 15 NEW TERMS SINCE MARCH. In a mere sixty days, Americans have expanded their vocabularies with at least 15 new pandemic-driven terms / directives, including: (1) Practice Social Distancing; (2) Shelter in Place; (3) 6 Feet Apart; (4) Essential Travel Only; (5) Safer at Home; (6) Sanitize Every Hour; (7) Wear N95 Mask; (8) Use Gloves; (9) Wash Hands Every Hour; (10) Flatten the Curve; (11) Self-quarantine; (12) High-touch areas; (13) Essential business; (14) Essential Worker; and (15) Social Distancing. As Bacon and Doc carve through at least three of these terms, the matters of ambiguity and inter-rater reliability surface. What is an essential business? Is this static, or does it change throughout a prolonged crisis, such as a pandemic? Oh yeah, Bacon brings out the festivus pole for his extended “airing of grievances” periodically interrupted with plugs for restaurants, stores and products not otherwise endorsed by The Safety Doc Podcast. WEARING MASKS - THERE IS A RISK. The purpose of wearing a mask during a pandemic is recognized by Bacon and Doc. A mask will limit aerosol particles from entering a person’s nose or mouth and will also dampen aerosols expelled by the person through breathing, talking or sneezing. Yet, with a range of masks now being marketed to the public and a wider range of homemade masks, the media narrative is silent about masks contributing to excess CO2 inhalation which is known to present health risks and diminish cognitive abilities. In fact, the National Institutes of Health studied CO2 and O2 concentrations in integral motorcycle helmets. In the September, 2005, edition of Applied Ergonomics, one such study (and yes, there are several studies of closed-face helmets and masks relative to CO2 concentrations) found that motorcycle riders wearing full-face helmets could increase their CO2 intake by 4% or more - and this could contribute negatively to a motorcyclist’s cognitive abilities. As the media taps “experts” on how to make masks out of socks and coffee filters, a very real issue is not addressed - and that is how to create a mask that doesn’t result in a person inhaling some of the CO2 that they just exhaled? WHEN THE CONTACT TRACER COMES A KNOCKIN. H.R. 6666, the TRACE Act, was introduced on May 1st by US Rep. Bobby Rush. The bill would approve billions of dollars for contact tracing - both in technology and in staffing people that would work as contact tracers. After someone tests positive for COVID19 (or a future virus), a contact tracer would work to identify where the person has been and who he or she has come into contact with. Nearly 1,400 people are being trained to help with COVID19 contact tracing in Washington State. While participation in contact tracing in Washington State is voluntary, other states have sabre rattled consequences for persons refusing to cooperate if a contract tracer knocks at the door. Bacon, Doc and a lively chat room unpack the Pandora’s Box of information obtained by a contact tracer - and potential misuse of harvested data. DISSMORE’S IGA. Doc gives a nod to 2-time Safety Doc Podcast guest Nick Schulaner by displaying four outrageous grocery values from Dissmore’s IGA - located near Nick’s place in Washington State. BOOK IN CAN. And, friend of the show John Steele noted that canned goods can be feasibly mailed by the postal service if you claim it’s a “Book in a Can” - thus invoking the $3.33 flat media rate. 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 adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 135 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-14-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
Monday May 11, 2020
Monday May 11, 2020
Before 1961, the United States did not publicly educate any children with any disabilities. If a child had cognitive or emotional disabilities, deafness, blindness or needed speech therapy, parents had to educate their children at home or pay for private education. In 1975, the US voted to ensure that all children, regardless of their differences, should have access to free public school education. This was the start of “special education” in America’s schools. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA). Approximately 7 million students with disabilities ages 3-21 are served under IDEA. Students with disabilities comprise 14% of all public school students. IDEA requires schools to provide appropriate education to all students in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible. This means, for example, it is illegal to separate children in wheelchairs from children who do not require such assistance. WHAT IS SPECIAL EDUCATION? Special education is specially designed instruction that addresses the unique needs of a student eligible to receive special education services. Services are provided in accordance with a school-developed Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Examples of special education services include speech-language, learning disabilities instruction, and audiology. In addition, accommodations like additional time for assignments or audio books; or services - such as an adult aide or picture schedule, might be provided to the student. SOME SCHOOLS ENDED THE YEAR EARLY - DEEMED REMOTE LEARNING TOO TOUGH. Georgia, Texas, and other states waived the minimum instruction time requirements during the pandemic. As states opened the gates to the earliest summer vacation in a century, they concurrently closed the book on IDEA-mandated special education services and braced for unrelenting litigation from parents of students with disabilities. BETSY DEVOS STANCE ON IDEA. In April, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos denied requests to give school districts the option to bypass major parts of IDEA. Devos’ decision leaves questions about compliance and whether school districts will become vulnerable to legal action if they fail to fully serve students with disabilities, now that nearly every state has ordered or recommended that school buildings remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Students with disabilities have lost access to specific types of support they received in school — whether that was a therapy that required an adult to physically touch a student or a one-on-one aide to help a student with math assignments. BARRIERS TO SUSTAINING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES - TOO MUCH TO OVERCOME? (1) Cost: An unresolved matter surrounding special education has always been the cost. It is more costly to educate children with disabilities because they require more time and resources than students without disabilities and school funding is falling off a cliff. Schools will be forced to negotiate extreme austerity measures and consolidate services. (2) Staffing: Special education staff shortages are felt by all school districts. As schools make reductions, special education teachers, who often serve smaller caseloads than regular education teachers, will equally share the pain of attrition of reduction in force. (3) Inclusion. From a philosophical angle, the pandemic advances the narrative of including students with disabilities with non-disabled peers. (4) Social Distancing. Students with disabilities who are unable to wear masks or adhere to social distancing, including students with intellectual disabilities, early childhood students, or students with autism, will present significant challenges to schools. With touchy seclusion and restraint laws on the books, teachers won’t force students to wear masks against their will - even if the student doesn’t possess the cognitive functioning to understand the benefit of the mask. Students without masks will fatigue virus-mitigation protocols and could open up litigation by school staff, parents and even other students claiming that their health is placed at risk. CANADIAN SCHOOL’S DYSTOPIAN BACK TO SCHOOL VIDEO. Doc plays a “Welcome to your new school routine and rules during virus times” video a Canadian school shared with families this week. Kids must stay 6 feet apart, playground closed, gym closed, yikes! He notes that many US schools are prepping similar misguided, impractical protocols. 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 P. Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 134 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-10-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Return of Chuck Mak: Face Validity from Pittsburgh
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Chuck Mak delivers face validity from Pittsburgh, describing the rapid scale up of University of Pittsburgh Medical’s campus for influx of coronavirus patients; the biggest IT challenges; essential worker papers; COVID19 GIS hotspots tracked by phone; economic smash landing; and locus of control. This is episode 133 of The Safety Doc Podcast and was published on May 5, 2020. SCALING UP ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP MEDICAL FACILITIES. University of Pittsburgh Medicals’ Chuck Mak describes the rapid closure of the university campus agency to the hospital and contingency plans to utilize dorms to house essential medical workers. He notes the silence and complete evacuation of an area that otherwise resembled a bustling city. BIGGEST IT CHALLENGE FOR HOSPITAL. The network, it seems, had ample capacity to expand and to embrace more people using it. The barriers, Chuck notes, are access to mobile devices such as iPads and Chromebooks that would be necessary for telemedicine. Within weeks, the use of telemedicine increased approximately ten-fold. While this might constrict after the coronavirus event, Chuck anticipates that telemedicine will follow an overall growth trend and that the information network and technology has proven it can support such a model. ESSENTIAL WORKER PAPERS & GIS PHONE MAPS FOR PANDEMIC HOT SPOTS. As an IT employee, Chuck was immediately deemed “essential” by his employer. He was provided with a document to carry with him whenever he drove to or from work - a document that he would provide to police if he was stopped. Additionally, he was accessing real-time global information system (GIS) maps on his phone that revealed areas of his county that were reporting the highest numbers of COVID19-positive persons. Chuck noted that the map was both intriguing and puzzling, as the purpose of the large blue circles (dense positive areas) didn’t translate into him altering his route or daily activities. REAL BUT NOT TRUE - FACE VALIDITY. From mid-March to present, Chuck has served as a member check for Doc - reporting what he authentically was observing in Pittsburgh. Face validity from someone “on the ground” confirmed what was real, but also not true. For example, Chuck reported that the hospital was rapidly expanding its mobile IT capacity and preparing to use more locations both on campus and off campus in anticipation for an influx of pandemic patients. The expansion of IT capacity was real. However, the influx of patients didn’t manifest. This isn’t to purport some type of conspiracy, but rather to delineate the difference between real and true. LOCUS OF CONTROL. As a small business owner with an online platform, Chuck noted that the demand for his sports memorabilia items had evaporated as the economy slammed into a wall the past month. He opted to idle his storefront and focus on the things that he could control - such as his work at the hospital, accepting in-person rotations on campus, and securing essential items such as food. 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 adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 133 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-5-2020.
- Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com