March 17, 2024
The Hostage's Cry
The days are, oh, so long.
The years of the past now seem so short.
I am waiting for salvation.
In my heart, I pray over and over:
“Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d,
King of the Universe,
Who sets free those in bonds.”
I know you are coming to rescue me.
I am waiting for you.
(AI generated image via Craiyon)
January 27, 2024
How to Get The Hostages Out Alive
This alternative is far better than releasing 100 Palestinian prisoners (many “with blood on their hands”) for every 1 Israeli hostage like Hamas is demanding (or 10,000+ Palestinian prisoners), thereby creating the terror environment for yet another, and perhaps many, October 7-like attacks in the future that would put many more Israelis at risk. Unfortunately, this is what happened when Israel released Sinwar as part of the 1,000 for 1 deal in 2011 for Gilad Shalit, and look where it got us.
(AI generated image vis Craiyon)
How to Get The Hostages Out Alive
September 9, 2021
Upside Down Car
Car ended up flipping over!
What was really weird was that the advertisement on the side of the car was for a personal injury lawyer.
Hopefully, the person(s) in the car came out okay and didn't need to call the "hurtline" listed. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy and Dannielle Blumenthal)
Upside Down Car
July 14, 2021
Amusement Park Painting
It was literally just sitting at the top of the garbage!
The merry-go-round, the ferris wheel, the flume, the hot air ballon, the children and even the man selling the cotton candy.
This is way to nice, colorful, and happy to be in the trash.
One man's trash is another man's treasure.
I hope this was rescued and put back up on a wall somewhere that it can be enjoyed by everyone. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Amusement Park Painting
December 8, 2019
Operation Thunderbolt: Fighting Prejudice and Persecution
No people should suffer blatant prejudice and persecution and everyone should be “entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These are part of the foundational values that America and Israel share. We stand as friends and allies for respecting and valuing human rights, always to be underscored by peace and security for our peoples. Isn’t it an amazing “coincidence” that the rescue in Entebbe occurred on America’s 200th anniversary, July 4, 1976!
The raid on Entebbe and the miraculous rescue of the hostages stands as an everlasting symbol of courage and triumph of good over evil. As we continue to work and pray for a genuine peace in the Middle East for all its inhabitants, we also must stand resolutely and say “Never Again.”
(Credit Photo: Government Press Office Israel via Flickr)
Operation Thunderbolt: Fighting Prejudice and Persecution
January 2, 2016
Market Watch 2016
And Macy's was having a blowout sale with racks and racks of "80% Off Original Price[s]."
We were laughing saying what's next--99% Off and then even 100% off!
So you think the economy is healthy with fire sales like these on the very first day of the new calendar year--when we still have another 364 days to make our year end sales quotas...
With turbulence around the globe brewing from Iran, Syria, Russia, North Korea, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, ISIS, and more...anyone care to say (pending) crisis.
How about commodities--my bet--that are in the toilet (and have been for years now)--do you really think no one needs iron, aluminum, nickel, lead, cooper, potash, oil, gas, coal, diamonds, and gold anymore?
Then the Wall Street Journal warned again today about the overall investment marketplace, asking "How do you invest when everything is expensive? [at 25 times cyclically adjusted earnings--now that's a fancy term]?
We've been down this road before in the bubble bursts and recessions of 2001 and 2008.
Is now really the time for the Federal Reserve to be raising interest rates (and what a nifty ripple effect that will have in both slowing our economy down and raising our interest payments on our already ballooning $18 trillion national debt)?
Oh, technology to the rescue again and again...it's possible with everything from virtual reality to robotics and artificial intelligence on the cusp...or maybe not this time around. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Market Watch 2016
October 13, 2015
Rescue Yourself
This is an awesome potential lifesaving solution for getting out of a burning multi-story building.
In an emergency...
Put on and fasten the SkySaver Rescue Device..
Attach it securely to a pre-installed anchor.
Now for this next part, you need some guts...exit and lower safely via an automatic mechanical breaking system for a controlled descent (hope this works).
Carries up to 300 lbs from as high as 260 feet (and apparently a story is approx. 10 feet although this varies).
I am not endorsing any vendor or product or giving advice on how to survive in an emergency like this, but I really like the thinking behind this product:
Self-Help
Portable
Compact
Life-saving
Great idea! ;-)
Rescue Yourself
May 8, 2015
Someone I Know And Didn't Know
I am on the crowded metro coming home from the office, sitting facing backward and toward the middle of the car.
There is some noise and rustling coming up from behind me, and I see people's heads turning and startled looks on their faces.
I turn around to see what is going on...
Someone in a wheelchair is screaming to get off the train.
However, he is caught about halfway in between the closing metro doors, and can't get back in or out and off the train.
There is one guy who was apparently standing by the doors, and he is trying to get the door open, but can't budge it.
Everyone else on this busy train seems just frozen, almost as if time had stopped (really).
But the double train doors are wedged into the larger and smaller wheels (for hand turning) on the side of the wheelchair.
The person in the chair is still calling out for help and to be released from the clasp of these heavy doors around him--in his seated position, his lower torso from his thighs down are positioned outside the train, but his upper body is still on the train.
The conductor is trying to move the train again and again...and it's not apparent whether the failsafe mechanism for the open door will work as the train is lurching forward and the doors are sort of vibrating in this quick open/close fashion.
Then, I see someone spontaneously jump out of their seat.
They are racing to the wheelchair jammed in the doors.
I see them first try and push open on the left side...but it's still not budging.
Then, they try and pull the other, right side, open towards them...but it's to no avail as the forceful doors are wedged in on around the chair.
With everything around them a blur of seats and faces, the person turns their head looking around for another way...
They see like a target standing out in the distance, an emergency intercom on the front wall of the train.
The person lunges toward it and hits the round button.
The conductor who is still fidgeting with the doors to get them closed and trying to move the train ever forward comes hastily on the speaker, but apparently not connecting the call to him with what's going on with the doors and wheelchair says "Yeah, what's the emergency?"
The person catching himself, musters the words to say into the comm device, "There is a wheelchair stuck in the train doors-- OPEN THE DOORS!"
The conductor immediately reacts and the doors pull apart from both sides, and the wheelchair almost falls forward, the disabled person sort of thrown from the train, but finally on the platform, and wheeling themselves as quickly as they can towards the elevator to get away from this whole situation.
With nothing left to do, the person who helped, let's out a deep breath and is visibly shaken, but also glad to see the person in the wheelchair safe and on their way.
As he is walking back to his seat, he realizes there are a lot of eyes on him that were just a blur before.
At the same time, over the speaker system comes the relieved voice of the conductor with a simple "Thank you."
I see the person sit down, calling his wife to tell her what happened, he starts to silently cry. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Someone I Know And Didn't Know
March 21, 2015
When You're Feeling Blue...
Whole Foods carries this bright yellow-packaged gum pack (17 pieces), selling it at checkout for just $6.99.
Thinking, they should probably sell this right next to the fruit-flavored "Life Savers."
So this gum is for stress relief, and it's made with 5 flower remedies.
Do you believe in that?
When I looked this gum up online, it says:
- "Keep out of reach of children.
- If pregnant or breastfeeding, ask a health professional before use.
- Excessive consumption may induce mildly laxative effects.
- Not suitable for animals."
Okay, so if you weren't stressed out before reading the warning on this gum, you are now, right?
I think I'll pass on the rescue gum, and head over to the hot bar in the back for some seitan and veggies. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
When You're Feeling Blue...
May 9, 2014
# Bring Back Our Girls
After torching their village market, killing more than 300 people, razing 100 houses, destroying 500 vehicles, and attacking their boarding school, Boko Haram is threatening to sell these innocent children.
Please speak up for those who can't!
We need to defend human rights and support women's and children's rights.
No more abuse, no more discrimination, no more hurt. ;-)
(Source Comic: Andy Blumenthal)
# Bring Back Our Girls
April 19, 2014
Score One For Ocean Rescue
Not often that I get to see a real life ocean rescue.
Don't know why this kid almost drowned, but he almost did.
It was interesting to see the various rescue services come to help save him.
The lifeguards went out for him and got him back to shore; the paramedics administrated on scene medical help; and the police kept overall order.
But I think what really struck me was how uninterested most of the beach goers seemed.
Maybe I am expecting too much, but people just seemed at best curious, but not really concerned.
Yet at Spring Break, I have a feeling the booze, drugs, and sex overshadowed this real life and death event for this young man.
I know these kids work hard in college and probably need to blow off some steam, but the callousness was still striking.
(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
Score One For Ocean Rescue
May 28, 2013
Welcome To The World
According to Discovery News, the baby was flushed down a toilet...alive!
Residents heard the cries of the baby from the 4th floor bathroom.
Firefighters sawed away sections of a 10 cm pipe with the 2-day old baby inside.
The baby had been in the pipe at least 2 hours--I am amazed it didn't drown.
The baby was brought to the hospital and put in an incubator and luckily, the baby survived.
I am sorry for the parent(s) who you'd think must've gone through hell before doing something this drastic.
And while I don't like to judge or be judged, however unwanted this pregnancy or unprepared the parents were for this new child--there has got to be better ways to deal with it than this.
An early abortion or giving the child up for adoption is just two options, and struggling to keep the child is a third.
Maybe the parent(s) thought they could save the baby from even a worse fate living in poverty, born out of wedlock, or violating the one-child per family policy--but it is still hard to imagine taking an innocent, helpless infant and doing something so cruel and disgusting.
How will this child grow up, knowing it was thrown away like this by its own parents? What type of self-worth will it have? How will it feel and act towards others in society having been acted on this way?
There are so many monsters out there...killers, rapists, abusers (many serial)--do we wonder where they came from?
I remember learning people are product of nature and nurture--in this case, there was certainly no nurture, quite the contrary...and it will take at least a normal new home, where they are treated like children and not waste products for this child to have a fighting chance. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Welcome To The World
October 19, 2012
Overcoming The Height Factor
I really liked this law enforcement elevation product called the Mobile Adjustable Ramp System (MARS) made by Patriot 3 in the United States.
It is fitted on top of armored or unarmored personnel carriers and used by law enforcement or SWAT teams to carry out raids and rescues on multiple stories simultaneously.
Two independent moving hydraulic platforms can be fitted on a single vehicle and each ramp can extended independently by remote control.
The ramps extends over 40 feet, enough to gain entry to the second and even third stories of buildings, unto an aircraft, breach a fenced perimeter, or even be used as a sniper post.
According to the Ideas and Discoveries Magazine (Dec. 2012), MARS has been fitted on the Ford F550 pickup truck and at $370,000--can seat 9, hold 40 gallons of gas in an armored tank, go up to 100 miles per hour, and as an armored-cased vehicle, it "can withstand up to 24 hours of relentless gunfire."
While this vehicle may look a little funny, it serves it's purpose which it to take the height advantage away from the bad guys--get in and get out--quickly and safely.
Overcoming The Height Factor
October 29, 2011
Visiting The Sins of The Fathers
Visiting The Sins of The Fathers
July 24, 2011
SIMON Says Open
SIMON Says Open
May 21, 2011
The Information Blanket
The Information Blanket
March 12, 2011
Saved On The Battlefield By A BEAR
The Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) developed by Vecna Technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Army's Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Centre (TATRC) is no teddy bear.
The Economist (10 March 2011) says this it is "a highly agile and powerful mobile robot capable of lifting and carrying a combat casualty from a hazardous area across uneven terrain." And when BEAR is not saving wounded soldiers on the battlefield, it can perform "difficult and repetitive tasks, such as loading and unloading ammunition."
The BEAR is a tracked vehicle that can travel up to 12 mph and has 2 hydraulic arms for lifting and carrying. It is controlled with a set of wireless video cameras and joystick control either embedded on the grip of a rifle or with a special glove that can sense the wearer's movements.
This is great concept and I imagine this will be enhanced over time especially with the advances in telemedicine, so that at some point we will see the BEAR or its progeny actually performing battlefield medicine.
One thing, however, in my opinion, the bear face on this robot undermines the seriousness of mission that it performs and it should be changed to look like a medic, it’s primary function.
Saved On The Battlefield By A BEAR
March 6, 2011
Meet ATLAS
Meet ATLAS
October 16, 2010
Five Lessons From The Chilean Rescue
“Viva Chile! They Left No Man Behind” writes Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal (16-17, Oct. 2010).
The Chileans took what was a human tragedy and instead turned it upside down and inside out into a worldwide victory!
Yet, as the rescue unfolded first with the search for the miners, their discovery, their being sustained while rescue tunnels were dug, and then ultimately as each miner—one by one—was brought to the surface safely—clean-shaven and smiling, I couldn’t help thinking to myself how perfectly everything was going—each time again and again—and then starting to worry that something has got to go wrong here (almost by Murphy’s Law)—this is too perfect!
Yet, nothing went wrong, it was a watertight rescue of all the miners.
As flawed human beings with all our warts and all, I think we were at some level shocked with disbelief by the flawless events that unfolded.
No cost overruns, no schedule delays, no one was hurt, no glitches in equipment or otherwise. It was a run of complete success that almost never happens in real life and yet, we all saw it unfold one, two, three…thirty-three before our very eyes.
This doesn’t happen in real life—only in fairy tales, right? This certainly doesn’t happen in most information technology projects! ;-)
But even more stunning to us than the success of the rescue itself was the undercurrent of the prevailing of good over evil manifesting before us—almost like G-d was revealing himself to us again, as he did in Biblical times. As one of the miners poetically said: “I met G-d. I met the devil. G-d won.”
The shocker here was that a people, nation, and in effect the entire world was focused on saving these 33 simple miners. This in our day and age, when we have become more accustomed to those who dehumanize and devalue human life, rather than those who genuinely value and safeguard it as the Chileans did.
As Ms. Noonan puts it: “They used the human brain and spirit to save life. All we get every day is scandal.”
Recent events remind us of the huge contrast between those who value life and those who don’t, such as 9-11, almost daily suicide (read “homicide”) bombings for political aims, the blatant proliferation and threats of WMD (and now cyber warfare), the violation of human rights by dictatorships and thugs around the world, including political imprisonments, rigged elections, restrictions of free information flow, and more violent acts such as mass rapes, female genital mutilation, genocide, slave prison camps, and more.
Moreover, while we witness events going wrong everyday and governments, companies, and peoples seeming unable to set things right, in Chile, we saw a nation and a people that set their minds and might to bringing the miners home safely and they did, period.
There are some important lessons here for us for the future:
- Find the moral good. It starts with valuing and safeguarding human life. Our agenda should always be to prioritize helping others and saving lives. The Chileans did just that when they didn’t wring their hands and just walk away from the tragedy saying it was over. Instead, saving the lives was a national priority. Similarly, providing the speedy drill to the Chileans from the U.S. that tunneled in half the time to the miners was a gesture that we too value life and are partners with them in saving the miners.
- Contain the problem. The problems we face are “ginormous” (read: gigantic and enormous) and the only way we are gong to be able to overcome them is to break them down into pieces and attack them at their source. The Chileans took a big rescue operation and by decomposing it into plan A, B, and C, etc. and tackling each piece of the problem (locating the miners, sustaining them, rescuing them, etc.), they made the solution doable.
- Leverage technology. We are hampered in our abilities by our own human limitations. But we can extend our capabilities and expand those limits through technology. The rescue of the miners used many new technologies in drilling, communications, and materials to make the rescue not only possible, but also probable. We need to constantly innovate and use technology to make the impossible, possible.
- Stand united. No question, we are stronger together than apart. The Chilean nation and people united in their efforts to rescue and bring home the miners. It was a mission they believed in and which they stood together in accomplishing. Politics, infighting, and mudslinging can divide us when we need to be unified. We need to understand that when we take pot shots to score points, we undermine the mission and the successes we desperately need.
- Stay positive. Even in the face of what seems like assured calamity, we must keep our wits, stay strong, and focus on solutions. If we do this, we can say goodbye to Murphy’s Law, and helpless and hopelessness be gone. A renewed spirit of optimism and a can-do attitude can carry us forward to new heights that we can all be proud of.
As the article states: the Chileans “set to doing something hard, specific, physical, demanding of commitment, precision, and expertise. And they did it.” And we can again do it too.
Five Lessons From The Chilean Rescue
October 1, 2010
Awesome Emergency Management Technologies
So to me, defense systems (a topic for another blog) and emergency management systems are two of the most fascinating and compelling areas of technology.
Recently, I have been closely following the story of the Chilean miners trapped beneath 2,200 feet of rock and earth due to a cave-in on 5 August.
It took 17 days to even find the miners in the winding underground mineshaft, and since then the ongoing determination and ingenuity of the emergency rescuers has been incredible.
The Wall Street Journal, 1 October 2010, in an article called “Inventions Ease the Plight of Trapped Miners” describes this unbelievable rescue effort.
Here are some of the technologies making their way a half-mile underground to the 33-trapped miners:
NASA engineers have exclaimed about the innovation shown by the Chilean emergency rescuers: “they are crossing new thresholds here.”
There are some great pictures and graphics of these devices at an article in the U.K. Telegraph.
What was once being targeted as a holiday rescue, by December, is now being envisioned as an October-November rescue operation. And with the continued application of innovation and technology, the miners will soon we back safe with their families and loved ones.
Also, ongoing kudos to the heroic rescuers!
Awesome Emergency Management Technologies