VIP flight (and a mystery ship)

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Today we had a 'VIP' flight---the editor in chief of a widely circulated magazine. We didn't do any hoist stuff, just a flight around the city.
San Diego city is about 400 square miles. 2 bays. Mountains, rivers, cliffs; the only municipal golf course to be part of the PGA tour....Also the scariest airport of any major US city. Lindberg field is down in a bowl; your approach is over Golden Hill, through the buildings, just miss the parking garage, to the runway. All at low power so as not to annoy the people who bought houses in the flightpath. (find the 737 in the picture)
The submarine base....Normally we're directed by Air Traffic Control to fly over the channel. Today they directed us over the submarine base. There's also a pen where they keep the dolphins the Navy trains. I don't think they're trined to jump through hoops and stuff though.
This really, really tall ship was sailing off shore. Very fast. Any clue what it is?

Wealth

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"That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest". How true. I got three days off in a row....Everyone who cares knows I got the septic approval so I can build (it's the retirement plan to own some rental properties, and the only way to afford that is as owner/builder)
We went to the annual Fore Department picnic. Great fun. I sat in a chair and chatted up anyone that walked by. The girls got their faces painted and checked out the similar aged boys. How funny that they talk about it before and after but won't go near them during...Not that I mind, of course.
Garage. If you ever want to feel wealthy, and you guage your wealth by stuff you own, just clean your garage. You'll be stunned by all the stuff you have. No amount of stuff feels as good as a clean garage, though.
The most enriching thing of all---date night!! AnnaMarie dressed to match her new car and we went to Ocean Beach for dinner (We broke our rule of never eating at the beach front restaurants. The food's never very good; it doesn't have to be. Expensive, and about as dynamic as Lean Cuisine) We decided to stroll around Seaport Village. We shared a coffee drink and made fun of the other tourists.
Healthy and happy family, well enmeshed in faith. A wife that looks better with every passing year and still seems to want me around. A big project to work on. A clean garage. A job I like going to. Autumn coming.
How do you measure wealth?

on-site wastewater treatment system

All you people that are slaves to the corporate sewage monopolies--take that! My water is from wells and the tank gravity feeds. This house will have a large propane tank, and water heater/wall furnace/oven and stove will all work off that; there will even be a propane back up generator for our frequent powwer outtages. This house will serve as sort of a backup house when we get snowed in with no power. (actually with wood heat we do OK in the main house. We did have to barbeque a birthday cake in the snow one year when the power went out)
Byron was using this spinning laser level; the pole would tell him when the trenches were exactly level. (county inspector was VERY impressed with our accuracy) Dave was using his backhoe. Last cabin I built, digging the foundation by hand took all summer. (getting a backhoe in wasn't possible) this time we'll do it in a day.

4" hole in the ground

There are a few things to consider when purchasing real estate. Good neighborhood? Nice view? Is the lot buildable?
Everybody has their own theories on realty. Here's mine---find a good neighborhood with a view of water. Find lots that are supposedly unbuildable, do your homework, then build on them.
This lot's across the street from our house. It was supposed to be too small to fit a septic system in. (In areas with no sewer hookup, there's an intricate system of tanks and pipes underground designed to let bacteria reduce the sewage to a form the soil can readily absorb)
Over a year ago I had to dig deep holes then hire a company to fill them with water and measure how quickly the soil absorbs. Then take that number and figure out how many feet of leach lines. Then figure out if ther's room to put a house. Draw up plans, submit to county, get inspection, get approval, start digging.
And digging.
And digging.
The tank's in. Byron was a HUGE help getting the infiltrators in and level. He even gave up the CMHS reunion just to come breathe some pretty thick dust...
Yesterday I got the cross tubes in that join the 5 runs of chambers, and poured concrete dams over all the crossovers. I think I'm ready for inspection---find out tomorrow.
If it passes inspection I can proceed with plancheck. Also, once the system is approved, the lot will be worth about triple what I paid for it---it becomes 'buildable'.
I'm a little nervous.

Shock

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'Shock' is defined as 'inadequate perfusion to sustain life'. On many, many responses I've arrived at scene to have people tell me "He's going into shock!!" Which, to them means, he's starting to shake. EVERYBODY goes into shock at least once in their lives, usually the first and last time preceeding a lengthy temperature change. Actual shock that gets reversed is not very common.
Obstructive, hypovolemic, neurogenic...there are quite a few things that can hinder perfusion (bloodflow). A block in the lungs. All your blood fell out a hole. Your spinal cord got unplugged so all your vessels dilated, making you die early.
Today's hoist rescue might have been simple dehydration and hyponatremia. It also might have been cardiogenic shock. This guy was 1/4 mile from the top of Iron Mountain hiking through the heat, alone. (thank God for Verizon) Hx hypertension. He's 9 years younger than me; his dad died at 40 of heart disease....
Before I was even on the ground I could see how pale he looked. He also had that pre-death panic. (Some of you know what I'm talking about) Fast beating heart, low blood pressure, would get dizzy sitting up. Decision time----figure this out here and get some medicine in him, or put him through the stress of a hoist and fly him down the mountain to the ambulance below? I spoke to him briefly and told him to turn it all over to me, everything would be fine, we'd be in the ambulance in 5 minutes. He didn't protest. I have a trick where I start telling them some boring story while on the ground,and continue it all the way up to the helicopter (this guy was in town for Comic con so I talked about Groo. He was into that.)
Didn't take long for the IV, fluids, 12 lead, O2, etc. once in the copter- then handed him off to the Poway folks for a quick trip to the hospital. (In this case no time would be saved by flying him there) BP came up good with the fluids, so I'm still thinking dehydration, but that's what the ER doc is for, and as long as his pressure's good the prehospital treatment's the same.
Decision to extract instead of treat---my thinking was, if it's dehydration, staying in the sun won't help and he'll do OK during the hoist. Cardiogenic shock, once he turns the corner I'd really have my hands full with no help, then I'm struggling to get him stable enough for the pick-off. 5 minute gamble and I'll have lots of help. #1 most effective treatment option available to paramedics is rapid transport

Small world

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When I was a rather new paramedic, I was on a rescue team called "STAR" (Special Trauma And Rescue) This was before the fire department had anything to do with paramedicine here in San Diego. The six of us were responsible for SWAT, US Coast Guard, Secret Service, and cliff rescues. It eventually led to what I'm doing now...
In 1988 three college kids were drinking beers on the bluffs high above Black's Beach. One guy fell. The only girl there, Marissa, sent the other guy to call 911 and started climbing down the cliff to see if she could help. The guy went to his car and fell asleep. Next morning he woke up and saw his buddy on the rocks below the cliff, and finally went back to call 911.
I hadn't been a medic long but dude looked pretty dead to me. I rappelled down to pronounce him, and when I got to him he was stiff. I was about to start back up when I noticed a hand sticking out behind another rock.
Marissa had fallen too. Her chest was collapsed, her pelvis was broken. She'd go in and out of consciousness. No blood pressure. I radioed the lifeguards to get a surfboat over; we carried her through the surf, put her in the boat, and motored over to the boatramp. On the way there her heart stopped so I shocked her (the old way, with the paddles) and got a pulse back. That happened on the way to the hospital again, and once in the hospital. After emergency surgery and lots of physical therapy, she was able to bring cookies by the fire station.
So today, AnnaMarie had a lady over for lunch along with her daughter for a playdate. She is new to Julian, and AnnaMarie was asking her life story, and she talked about normal childhood and such, "But there was a major traumatic incident in my life". The more she talked about it (she even mentioned "STAR Team") and she remembered a guy with blue eyes... AnnaMarie figured out the connection

Hoist currency with Dan

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Nothing really new here....We got out early for hoist currency training. Dan realy has the touch. I tried to get a pic of the spot he was putting me into but couldn't...It's kind of a shelf in an abandoned quarry.
First you identify the target. While turning base leg, the crew chief operates the hoist to get the rescue medic outside the aircraft. While flying forward towards the site, the crewchief spools out cable, simultaneously directing the pilot and watching the rescue medic's hand signals. When the medic is on the ground he comes off the hook. (After that I put my camera away)

Fixing Healthcare

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This week, the problem I'm solving is healthcare. I'll post my fix here, it'll get vetted by my very, very diverse fellow bloggers, then put into action. The only missing piece is any authority to enact it, but I can gloss over that...After all, Obama's administration keeps glossing over a bigger obstacle---no way to fund socialized medicine, and our national credit is maxed out already. So, here goes.
Every place in the world that has socialized medicine also has an upper tier level available for those who can afford to pay. We need to accept this now, then decide how best to have a two tiered system.
Every county gets a government run hospital. If you are un or under insured, that's where you go. There are NO televisions. Smoking is banned. The food is nutritious but bland. You are probably going to have to wait a lot, and if you are admitted, you are in a ward with many others; no private rooms. The actual medical care, though, lives up to government standards. It's the teaching hospital too.
The private hospitals are freed from government regulations. They have the right to refuse service, other than stabilization of the most critical patients prior to transfer to the County Hospital. ICD-9 coding is optional. Red tape nonsense like JCAHO is eliminated. If a hospital is good, it will thrive. If it is dirty and people don't do well in general, it will fail.
The government can set whatever standards it wants. If the care is better in the government run hospital, people will go there regardless of income levels.
Under my plan, no one is denied medical care. If you are sick, you will get treated; kind of like now, with ER care being primary care for the uninsured, but they wouldn't have to clog the ER's. If you chose not to be insured, you don't get a choice of hospitals. It's off to the county for you! If you worked hard all your life and made your future medical care a priority, and you sacrificed to get good insurance, THEN you might get a private room after your surgery you scheduled just last week instead of a year ago. Everyone wins---it's far cheaper since the private hospitals are unburdened with regulations. If you are pro-regulation, you have that option at the County Hospital, with all the regulations Health and Human Services can muster.
We already do this with schools. You'll pay for the government schools whether your kids go there or not. If you don't like the government curriculum, you can pay extra for private schools.

Expensive date

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We took advantage of the kids being gone and got a very good hotel deal through a friend. We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard at Liberty Station($120). We biked to the thrift stores in Pacific Beach and filled the saddlebags on the tandem with 'new' clothes ($17). We were going to drive to the farmer's market in Ocean Beach, but the traffic was at a standstill so we unloaded the bike and rode there, too. We ate streetfair food ($13).
AnnaMarie had packed food for breakfast so no expense there. We then rode the bike around a whole bunch of car dealerships. She had an idea what she wanted but wanted to be sure. Car shopping on a bike is great. You can outrun the salespeople.
We looked at Mini Coopers. She sat in one. She test drove another. This one was her pick, but we went out to El Cotixan for lunch ($9) to really think about it; called the salesman back with a lowball offer; well below bluebook.
It's used, a 2007 with 14,000 miles. The dealer claims it's a chick car, and chicks don't drive manual transmission cars so this one wasn't selling. AM prefers stick; this is a 6 speed. It's supposed to get 37 mpg which is a little better than the 12 mpg her Durango gets. (we'll keep the Durango for big groups and snow conditions). The date budget of $160 was blown by 12875%.
AnnaMarie kept going out to just look at her new car. I love the fact that she wanted something that was for her. All her decisions are usually for the family and household. I know, I know---it looks a lot like my first car. Really this is the car she wanted. I haven't even driven it yet.

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This week's idea

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When I was stationed at the Fire Department's HazMat team, we had these nifty tools called imbiber pads, and imbiber booms. What they are, is paper towel looking things, or sometimes giant sausage looking things, that suck up hydrocarbons (gas, oil, that sort of thing) but repel water. If you had an oil sheen on top of water, you could throw an imbiber in there and absorb all the oil, leaving just the water.
So here's what I want to do.... Make cigarette filters out of imbiber material. I'd have to figure out how temperature stable the material is, and if any nasty vapors would be released (not that the smoker isn't already inhaling nasty stuff, but I'd rather not contribute to that damage.... Anyway, here's the advantage. First, maybe the imbibing butts would absorb some of the tar while being smoked. The bigger benefit, though, is when the butt is tossed out the car window as they inevitably will be tossed, they end up in the gutter and storm drains. Next rainfall when all the road grime and oil is rinsed down the road, the carelessly discarded butts will help soak up the oil. They'll be collected in the storm drain traps periodically and disposed of in the landfill