Life

Continuous Chest Compressions

/ hsoi

Continuous Chest Compressions

Every three days, more Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest than the number who died in the 9-11 attacks. You can lessen this recurring loss by learning Continuous Chest Compression CPR, a hands-only CPR method that doubles a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest. It’s easy and does not require mouth-to-mouth contact, making it more likely bystanders will try to help, and it was developed at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Not everyone can learn CPR and keep up with how it changes. For instance, when I learned CPR it was ABC – Airway, Breathing, Circulation. But very recently they changed it to CAB: Compressions, Airway, Breathing. When I first heard about this compressions-only technique I was skeptical, but the American Heart Association endorses it, supposedly this video is a Mayo Clinic presentation. When you consider the realities of why guidelines have changed and what this is about — keeping blood flowing — then it seems pretty sound. Granted, there are strict circumstances for its use, but hey… this is much easier for the average lay person to know about and perform, plus it alleviates a typical concern people have about germs/disease through mouth contact.

This was brought to my attention some time ago. It’s been sitting in my inbox for a while with the intent to blog on it… and finally I’m getting around to cleaning out my inbox. 😉  Seems like a good thing to share with others.

Life is good

/ hsoi

I know I should be working this weekend. I have a project that I really want to get finished. But, my family sacrifices a lot… a lot of “sorry, Dad needs to work”. Today, I wanted it to be about them.

We went to the Buda Wiener Dog Races. I’ve heard about this for numerous years and people always say what fun they had. I figured one of these days we had to check it out, and when I heard a few days ago that it was this weekend, I knew we had to go. It was fun. Had no idea so many wiener dogs lived in the area. 🙂  It was fun to watch them race. Yes, I groan a bit at people who dress up their pets, but hey… if that’s your thing, fine. I will admit a few people had little “caps” (baseball, cowboy, etc.) on their dogs and they did look mighty cute. Had some good food, picked up a few interesting crafts. A good time with the family.

Then… we went to leave. As we were pulling out of the parking area one of the attendants waved us down and told us our front left tire was flat. Great. I examined the tire and it was sliced on the inside… not sure what the deal was, but there’s no patching this. Pulled over and changed to the spare. I can’t remember the last time I had to change a tire, and certainly it was the first time for the Kiddos to experience it. Showed them how it works and how it’s actually pretty easy to do. Thankfully it’s Saturday and Discount Tire was open. Thing is, I bought some Arizonian tires from them for the minivan about 5 years ago. I wanted Michelin’s, but money was tight at the time and the guy talked me into it (my mistake). Sure, they are tires, they do the job… but I was never happy with them. Loud. They seemed to lose air faster than other tires I’ve had. Seemed to wear faster than their label would lead you to believe, and the wear seemed rather uneven. I actually said a couple of months ago that I wanted to buy new tires for the minivan, and they’d be Michelin’s this time. Well… today was the day. 🙂  Had them put on a set of Michelin Destiny‘s. We’ll see how they do. Bummed that I didn’t have the ability to shop around and get a tire of my choice at the best price, but hopefully this will work out well.

Thing is, while it wasn’t the way I wanted to spend the remainder of my Saturday, I’m just thankful I could. That I still have a good paying job. That I had the money to be able to handle this unexpected event, and didn’t have to compromise all that much. That I was able to spend a day with my family; Oldest even came with me on his own choice to the tire store.

Life doesn’t always give you what you want, but if you play things right it seems to give you what you need. Life is good.

Termites – we got ’em

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

Last week we looked in the backyard and noticed this quivering mass of something on the ground. Upon closer inspection, termites. Swarming. Didn’t last long tho… the birds came and picked them off.

Of course, I called our exterminator. They scheduled their termite guy to come out today.

Meantime yesterday, Oldest reported he saw them again in the same area yesterday.

There’s no question, we have termites. In fact, just about everyone in Texas does… they’re everywhere, you can’t escape them. The trick is tho, we don’t appear to have any structural damage to the house. There are no dirt tunnels up the side of the house. We have a slab foundation and it’s fairly high off the ground, so it’d be obvious if we did. We do get monthly exterminator exterior spray to mind for things like scorpions or other bugs, so that helps.

The question at this point tho is… should we get a preventative, like in-ground baits or Termidor.

It’s expensive.

Repairing your house is more expensive.

As I read up on Termidor, it seems amazingly effective. But that same effectiveness is also a source of concern. Toxicity. I read that it is highly toxic to bees, to aquatic life. Upland game birds too, tho oddly not waterfowl. I even read one thing that specifically said it’s non-toxic to mallards… but what about muscovy? Doubt I’ll get any direct info there. Still, I’d hate if any of the ducks died because of this treatment. Plus think about it… it sits in the ground for 10-12 years churning out its effective poison. While that sounds great from a termite control perspective, that also means this potent poison is in the ground… and what sort of impact will that have on our groundwater and aquifers? I don’t know, but I wonder.

It seems like it’s almost one of those “too good to be true” sorts of solutions, which means it probably is….

So the bait system. It seems less ideal in a way, because some studies I read on the Termidor is that it can’t be detected so the termites don’t avoid it, thus colony destruction is pretty quick therefore making the window between treatment and destruction rather narrow. With a bait system, they have to find the bait then take it, and who knows how long that could be. So you potentially have a larger window of opportunity for destruction to still happen. In mentioning this to Karl, he said he’s used baits and likes the added benefit that someone comes around every 3 months to inspect things, instead of 10+ years and hoping it’s still working. There’s a good point to that.

Then there’s money. Termidor is a huge expense up front. Baits are a lesser expense, but constant treatment. Over the lifetime of things it’ll probably add up to about the same amount of money spent, but I think bait ends up being cheaper if you expect to not live in the house for the next 10-20 years. And hopefully, cost of bait doesn’t skyrocket.

Really tho, I think at this point it’s more about what’s going to be effective yet safe. I don’t want to bring harm to anything, really… it’s just wanting to keep my house safe. If that means termites go bye-bye, then it does, but if it’s not hurting my house, I don’t want to see it harmed.

Any input?

Updated: We do have an exterminator that comes out once a month and sprays the exterior perimeter of the house. We do this mainly for scorpions, but of course it keeps a host of other things out too. Looking at the sheet, they put down birenthrin and cyfluthrin, which Google tells me are both barrier repellants that work against termites.

So you know…. I may just stick with that and save my money.

It’s a gamble, I know.

No fires, people…. seriously!

/ hsoi

Those fires that broke out a few miles from my house? They were having a fundraiser yesterday to help people affected by the fire.  Even the firefighters showed up…. and then had to leave to fight a fire.

Their chance to relax was short-lived, however, as a callout to a nearby brush fire had the firefighters rushing to get to their trucks.

Investigators said the fire was started when embers from an unattended grill touched the dry vegetation surrounding it. An AFD spokesman said firefighters were able to get it under control quickly and that other responding units were canceled.

Look folks. I know we all think it can’t happen to us, that it can’t happen because of us. That we’re all responsible with fire and our grills and smokers.

But it can happen, and we all slip up.

Even “contained” fires, like in a grill or smoker, are still risky. We’re having some seriously high winds, and all it takes is one ember to go flying. I know from my years of working with wood and charcoal grills and smokers that embers can and do escape. I was wanting to smoke some bacon-wrapped venison and hog backstraps for my Easter supper today, but because of conditions I will not. Yeah it sucks, but more wildfires, more loss of homes — especially my own — is not an appealing thought.

Please folks. Show restraint. It can happen. It does happen. I love BBQ, but I’d hate to lose my house or for you to lose yours. Don’t risk being the one responsible for another fire, for someone’s loss of their home.

Happy Birthday, Dad

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My Dad turns 70 years old today.

Normally I try to refrain from posting too much personally identifiable information here, but Dad’s been a public figure for most of his life so it’s not hard to figure his birthday and age. Anyways….

Thinking about my Dad turning 70 is difficult for me to accept. Something about that number signifies that you’re truly old. Sure, you turn 40 and joke about being old, but you’re not really that old yet. But 70? Sure, 100 is older, but you can’t find any way to finagle 70 into being celebrating your 29th birthday for the 42nd time. And so with that comes having to admit that Dad’s time with me remains limited.

Am I the best son in the world? I don’t know. Is he the best Dad in the world? I don’t know. I do know that he’s the only Dad I have, and I’m the only son he has. So for better or for worse, we all we’ve got.

But really, it hasn’t been all that bad. In fact, I’d say it’s pretty good. I am who I am today because of him, and so I’m grateful and thankful.

It’s always a hard thing that catches you by surprise — that first day something flies out of your mouth and then you realize, “Shit! I sound just like my father!” You hate it, you hate to admit it. But then you find those moments happening more often. When you start to look at them collectively, you realize it’s really a good thing — at least, if your father raised you right and well. I figure my Dad did just that.

He installed a strong work-ethic in me. I remember there was a time while growing up that he’d always come home and say to me “Son, what did you do today that was productive?”  Now, still to this day I relish the notion of having a day without any productivity because sometimes being one with the couch and idiot box is a nice thought. But I’ve come to find that it’s only that — a nice thought. If I wasn’t truly productive today, I feel like I wasted my day. I no longer appreciate days full of sloth, lethargy, and slack. If I didn’t get something done, I’m pissed! In fact, I find that accomplishing milestones every day towards greater goals brings me a great deal of joy.

All from Dad’s nagging in my youthful years. 🙂

One odd thing is how Dad influenced my parenting style. Because of Dad’s job, he wasn’t around all that much. I used to hate him for that, because all the gifts and money and whatever in the world still deprived me of the thing I wanted most: him. I have one memory of a time in grade school. Parents were to come to have lunch with their children. Older Sister’s day was prior to mine, and I recall when they came for her day, before they left they came over to my class’s table to say hello to me. All my friends were shouting out “Hey, Mr. Daub!” and gosh if I didn’t feel like the coolest kid with the coolest Dad. I couldn’t wait for them to come eat with me on my day. Then on my day, I reserved a seat on either side of me, the placemats I had spent hours making were ready…. and, my parents never came. I was crushed. And obviously it made quite and impression on me, because I can still feel that crushing emotion today. That, along with other things about my growing-up years well… on the one hand, that my folks weren’t around afforded me a lot of freedom which was cool. But on the other, I longed for doing things with them and the lack of them hurt. So I resolved when I was a parent, I’d be around.

I’d say that between my working from home, Wife and I homeschooling the Kiddos… that yeah, my kids have probably already been around their parents more in their short lives than most people are around their folks in a lifetime. 🙂  If you saw our family, you’d see how tight we are. I’m happy of what I’ve been able to cultivate here.

All because of my Dad.

Now granted, that seems like a bad thing… that Dad did bad. Well, yeah… it wasn’t what I wanted, but it worked out alright because it helped me become a better person. And when I look at it, I consider what my Dad did. He worked hard because of his Dad, his work ethic… but also because his Dad didn’t provide him with much, so my Dad strove to be better than his own father. That’s just how it is: we always want to be better than our folks. Of course, I’m sure in some way I’m screwing up with my kids and there’ll be something they think I sucked at and will resolve to improve upon. So the cycle goes.

One more thing. My Dad’s been a politician for most of his life. For the most part, I hate politicians, because the field tends to attract a lot of scumbags and assholes. But I’ve always felt my Dad was different, and not just because I’m biased as his son. I’ve tried to look objectively at my Dad and what he’s done. He went from being a Federal politician to being a local one. Folks, that’s not how most politicians work: they all want to climb the ladder of power (and corruption). I believe my Dad understands the notion of being a public servant and working to truly serve the people, even if they didn’t agree with him. It’s funny… throughout my life I’d be out with my Dad and he’d be politicking and I’d be standing off to the side waiting for him. Lots of people would come up and talk to me. One thing I often heard from folks? That they didn’t like or agree with my Dad — but they respected him. Why? Because he stood up for his principles. He wasn’t some typical wishy-washy, spineless, substance-lacking, two-faced stereotypical politician that pandered to everyone and served no one but themselves. He had his convictions, they were always well thought out, well-reasoned, well-researched, principled, sound. Even if you didn’t agree with him, you couldn’t help but respect him  (and remember, respect is something earned… he was that compelling). To that, it’s an ideal I only hope I can live up to. I strive to be a man of integrity, of conviction like my Father’s. You can hate me if you wish, but that’s good… because it means I stood up for something. Winston Churchill may have said that, but my Dad taught me that.

All in all, Dad… it’s been good. I know it’s taken years — probably more years than you planned on — for some lessons to sink through my thick skull, but I hope they finally have. I hope I’ve done you proud. I know I’m proud to call you Dad. I love you.

Rite of Passage

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I took Oldest and Youngest shopping today.

For a suit.

Oldest needs a suit, Youngest just gets one (Easter and all). Full jacket and everything. A tie that doesn’t clip-on. And his feet are big enough that he shopped in the proper mens shoe department… ouch, that cost a lot for shoes he’ll rarely wear. But I also picked up a new shoe shine kit because the few things I have in the shoebox just doesn’t cut it any more.

Time for Oldest to learn how to care for good leather shoes.

Time for him to learn how to properly tie a tie.

Oldest looked mighty sharp in that full suit. Even he liked it…. which came as a surprise to me.

Damn. Do they have to grow older?

Fire – follow up

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Those fires that were near my home? They know the cause:

According to fire investigators, it was 60-year-old Michael Weathers’ unattended campfire that caused the devastation in Oak Hill.

Officials said Weathers went to the convenience store to buy beer and left hot coals from his campfire unattended. During that time, the wind began blowing the embers and that’s when officials believe the fire started.

Burn bans mean nothing. Hell… not even common sense about not burning when it’s dry and windy out… or not leaving a fire unattended.

Eleven homes destroyed, ten damaged. Hundreds of people misplaced and their lives thrown out of whack.

*sigh*

It wasn’t a malicious act, merely a negligent one. But look at what it caused?

We’re human. We all make mistakes, even preventable ones like this. We have to do what we can to be better… because the costs of our mistakes can be high.

A reminder for you smokers….

/ hsoi

Texas is having major drought conditions. It’s dry, it’s windy, and that’s prime for fires.

We’re having them.

On Sunday afternoon I was out with some folks and we noticed a large plume of smoke rising in the distance. No question something big was on fire. I get home and Wife sees there’s a brush fire that broke out around 2 PM not a few miles from my house. Yes, a little scary to think about.

As of this writing, they don’t know what the cause is…. but I’m going to go out on a limb and wonder if it was caused by a smoker flicking their cigarette butt out the car window.

A few weeks ago Wife and Daughter were driving out of our neighborhood and saw some smoke rising up off the curb. All the Live Oak trees have dropped their leaves and pollen sacks, so all that tinder is pooled up along the curbs. At first they weren’t sure if it was exhaust from a car that was parked and running, so they didn’t think much about it. But on the way home, they still saw smoke and called the fire department.

Look… I used to smoke. I understand finishing a smoke and flicking the butt away. But it’s irresponsible and can cause so much damage, loss of property, loss of life. In general you shouldn’t do it because it is one of the biggest sources of litter. But even more so now it shouldn’t be done because it can lead to fires… to people losing their homes, massive disruption of their lives, and perhaps even loss of life.

I don’t care if you smoke — it’s your life, it’s your mouth, lips, heart, and lungs. But once you flick a lit butt, a fire starts… now you’re infringing upon others and their ability to enjoy and live their lives. That’s not permissible.

Find a more responsible place to extinguish your cigarette, please.

Updated: Looks like they have a suspect in custody and are charging them with arson. Glad to hear it. Doesn’t say how it was started, if it may have been a cigarette butt. I should make it clear that I don’t know if that’s how it was started and I’m not saying it is. But I have seen more than enough times in my life where such a simple, thoughtless act can cause big ugly things to happen. It’s completely preventable, so folks… let’s prevent it.

2 Letter Words

/ hsoi

On Sunday afternoon, Family attended a birthday party for a child that’s friends with Youngest. During the party, the males went off to Blazer Tag and the women-folk stayed at the house and did their thing. Apparently that included playing Scrabble.

The men returned from a hearty battle, and I see Wife’s Scrabble tray is full of useless letters. 🙂  There’s the rulebook, and in the rulebook it lists a bunch of 2 letter words.

How in the world is “AA” a word??????

Sure, “am”, “is”, “do”, “it”, “in”, and the like… sure, those are fine. But there were a whole bunch of 2-letter words that I couldn’t believe existed.

A joke started that I should blog about it and see if people knew. But honestly, why blog about it when you could just Google and find the answer. And so, that’s what I did.

Apparently there are 101 two-letter words that are acceptable in Scrabble.

So there you go, El. Google to the rescue, and I blogged about it. 😉

What the hell is wrong with some people?

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I just read this. Yes, it’s a few years old…. but it doesn’t matter.

It’s heartbreaking. It’s terrible. It’s about a wolf named Kurt, and how he was tortured.

What the hell is wrong with some people?