From the monthly archives:

June 2010

TACTICAL GEAR: Bag Whores – Which One Are You? Part 1.

by Lorenz Lo Szabo · 23 comments

in Tactical Gear

The tactical gear bag, no Starbucks trip is complete without one

Unfortunately I collect too many things but fortunately my small flat forces me to swap things instead of dumping them in the basement after a several months.

This advantage allows me to always upgrade while patiently annoying good friends into forcing them to buy my used gear for a bargain… Welcome to my life!

There are several types of tactical-gear collectors (similar to the blade/cutler world) and I have lots of fun writing about them – they are fictional versions of people I know for real and you know for sure as well, so if you happen to identify someone it’s just pure coincidence:

Click Here to Keep Reading Bag Whores – Which One Are You? >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 23 comments }

MILITARY: 442ND Infantry Regiment – Go For Broke

by Dave W. · 14 comments

in Military

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, hiking up a muddy French road in the Chambois Sector, France, in late 1944.

Recently NPR aired a segment regarding the huge influx of Asian Americans joining the ranks of the armed services.  However I was very angry at the comment she made that more Asian Americans are joining because of prominent soldiers who “look like them.”

Thus by huge almost cosmic coincidence I was reminded by my late night Wikipedia searches and James G about the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.  This was an entirely Asian American fighting unit that served with distinction throughout World War 2.

21 members of the unit were recipients of the Medal of Honor.  With a total of 9,486 purple hearts, one of its components the 100th infantry battalion was aptly dubbed the Purple Heart brigade.

Composed entirely of Nisei Japanese these second generation Japanese American citizens saw their families interned in relocation camps following the xenophobia as Japanese Americans were seen as interlopers.

Even in the face of such discrimination when the army asked for 1500 volunteers from Hawaii and 3000 from the mainland, nearly 10000 from Hawaii alone stepped forward to answer the call to arms.

Click Here to Keep Reading 442ND Infantry Regiment – Go For Broke >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 14 comments }

KNIVES: My Folder is Cheaper Than Yours – Quality Knives for Under a Hundred Bucks

by Lorenz Lo Szabo · 20 comments

in Knives

You don’t need a $70,000.00 Victorinox Executive Knife for EDC (unless you are a pimp)

Due to James G’s feedback and input, I decided to write an article on knives under a hundred bucks,-. Honestly I’ve a hard time coming up with any ideas, because, in my last article I represented some good choices that were not too far into the high-end range.

My reasoning is that why should I spend 70 bucks on something that is made with cheap components and shoddy craftsmanship.  When in the long run the money I could save by buying something with better quality is much greater.

But your asking, just what differences are there between cheap versus expensive knives anyway?

Let’s go to the basics – any knife (regardless be it fixed or folder) is designed around two main components: the blade and the handle.  Getting into the nitty gritty you can look at whether the blade is full-tang on a fixed blade or how the mechanism locks the blade on a folding knife.

However, before I start to write a dissertation, let’s bring it down to the basics of just how a well made knife is defined in my point of view:

Click Here to Keep Reading My Folder is Cheaper Than Yours – Quality Knives for Under a Hundred Bucks >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 20 comments }

INFO SECURITY: Nuking your Data

by Norm W. · 15 comments

in Info Security

So you’ve got a hard drive, USB drive, etc and you don’t use it anymore and want to either give it to a friend, donate it to a school, etc, or just plain old ditch it.

Well, normally, you’d just either do a format, or hammer it into pieces.  With both options, you run the risk of opening yourself up and letting whomever is interested in gaining your information off of the drive you either ‘formatted’ or ‘destroyed’.  As a matter of fact, there was a case several years ago with the state of Pennsylvania.

They ‘donated’ computers to a school.  Wonderful idea, great way to save on spending, right?  Wrong.  Yes, they did save money for the school system, but a reporter got a hold of one of the hard drives and ended up recovering an untold amount of data off of the ‘wiped’ drive.

The only sure fire way to destroy data on a drive is to melt it down.  Just destroying the device into pieces won’t do unless you use a special shredder and end up turning it into dust.  Even broken into pieces, a DVD/CD can be recovered (at least parts of it anyhow).

Software such as EnCase will allow you to recover data on an amazing amount of destroyed data and I have both seen and heard of cases where criminals had thought they had ‘destroyed’ the hard drive by smashing it with a hammer, but ended up only pissing the investigators off and working harder to find something.

Click Here to Keep Reading Nuking your Data >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 15 comments }

URBAN SURVIVAL: Lethal Force While Defending Yourself and Your Family – How I “C” my “A”

by James G · 42 comments

in Urban Survival

This is your family 20 months after you use deadly force to defend them

I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on the internet, read the following:

Nothing in this article constitutes, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind. If you require advice in relation to any legal matter you should consult an appropriately qualified lawyer.

By reading past the line below you agree to the above, our Disclaimer and agree to hold harmless DVM and its authors. This article is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

————————————————————————————————–

So you are sitting in your basement playing Gears of War on Xbox live, your wife and kids are upstairs sleeping, it’s about 3:30 AM (your wife is one of the cool types who doesn’t complain about her husband’s gaming habit). Right in the middle of playing wave 20 on horde you hear glass breaking and your back door opening.

You go right into warrior mode; you grab your kit (body armor, rig, ect.) and your AR-15 and slowly start waking upstairs. You open the basement door, you click your surefire on and you find yourself staring at 2 guys wearing ski-masks and carrying pistols.

They take a step towards you and you zap em’, 2 in one guy and 6 in the other – see you in hell fuckers – your family is safe now, you did you job as protector of your family.

You pick up the phone, dial 911 and tell the operator you just “fucking blasted 2 mother-fuckers that were in your house”. The police show up and you tell them everything that happened while standing in your front yard calmly eating a sandwich in full kit while the local News 7 films the body’s being carted out.

Fast forward 20 months…

You are eight months into a 6 year prison sentence getting man raped every night by your cell-mate, your wife and kids are living in a spare bedroom in your elderly moms house, you are bankrupt from the legal bills and because the “victims” families have sued you for everything and won, your daughter has strep throat and your wife can’t afford to take her to the doctor so she suffers in pain.

Click Here to Read How I would C my A >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 42 comments }

MEDICAL: Medic 201: How to Advance my Training

by Buck M. · 8 comments

in Medical

OK, let’s say you’ve been bustin’ your hump on an ambulance for awhile as an EMT-Basic, and you’re getting tired of driving most of the time and doing all the scut work. Well my friend, it’s time to consider advancing your career by getting more training.

As I stated in Medic 101, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians has four levels of training; First Responder, EMT-Basic, -Intermediate and -Paramedic. In my opinion it’s better to skip the intermediate level and go straight to paramedic.

I say this because paramedics make more money and generally get to do more patient care interventions than intermediates do. Plus, more and more organizations prefer hiring paramedics over intermediates due to the higher level of training and wider scope of practice.

Since I went from the basic level to paramedic myself, this is what I’ll talk about. To find a paramedic course; check with your friendly, local community college first or go back to your EMT-B school and see if they offer advanced training. I went the community college (CC) route.

Click Here to Keep Reading Medic 201: How to Advance my Training >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 8 comments }

TACTICAL TRAINING: Work and Fitness

by Barry I. · 9 comments

in Tactical Training

You don’t have to be scary big like this dude – but maintaining your fitness is an important aspect of any high risk job

For my everyday job I work in a prison as a Correctional Officer (CO), I am also in the Army National Guard. The military requires me to stay in decent enough shape to pass a fitness test consisting of pushups, sit ups, and running.

While the prison does not require me to stay in shape (other than a round one like many CO’s), I take it upon myself to keep up my fitness level. I feel that I owe it to my coworkers. If an emergency situation comes about I want to be able to help them and not be a hindrance.

Click Here to Keep Reading TACTICAL TRAINING: Work and Fitness >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 9 comments }

SEARCH AND RESCUE: Back to Basics for Searchers

by Alex S · 5 comments

in Search and Rescue

SQUARE YOURSELF AWAY WITH THE BASICS OR HAVE SOMEONE LIKE ME WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT YOU

Recently I was sent as part of a five man advisory team to help a neighbouring county SAR team in a search.  I had not worked with this team before, but had heard good things about them and was happy to help out.

Unfortunately the team turned out to be amateur hour all-stars and lacked even the most elementary search skills.  I constantly found myself shaking my head in amazement but always one to make the most of a situation – I decided that this would be a good opportunity to cover some basics of search & rescue that evidently some operational folks are getting wrong.

Now most of this will not apply to my fellow searchers on here – but if you are new to search & rescue, you may want to take notes as being proficient in the basics will be the difference between you performing effectively in the field and being the dipshit in your team.

Click Here to Keep Reading Back to Basics for Searchers >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 5 comments }

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL: The Backcountry Tool Box – Skills you should know if you travel into the boonies

by Dan L. · 16 comments

in Wilderness Survival

The only thing I love more than raw zebra is cock

So in my experience whenever you go into the wilderness for adventure, or if it’s your job, there are some things you should know how to do when you go out.  These are NOT the only skills you should know, but they’re a good base to go start from.

Fire

So one thing that tops all others is fire.  You should always be able to start a fire without any matches or a lighter if it comes down to it.  It’s a very basic skill, but it can and has saved many a life.  I always travel with a minimum of two lighters and a small tube of matches, but just to be safe I always carry flint and steel.  So here are a few methods I’ve personally tried and found to work:

Flint and Steel (the best, especially if it’s the kind with magnesium to shave off)
Fire bow (AKA fire drill)
Steel Wool and batteries (heavy, but works great)

Now this is not an all inclusive list, but these are methods I’ve tried and used and work great.  Now I’m assuming that you know how to build and maintain a fire after you’ve started it.  One word of advice, practice the method you choose BEFORE you go into the wilderness or you’ll look like a dumbass when you’re frozen to death on a mountain with a fire bow in your hand.

Click Here to keep Reading The Backcountry Tool Box – Skills you should know if you travel into the boonies >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 16 comments }

TACTICAL TRAINING: Active Listening – Listening for Meaning

by Papa C. · 13 comments

in Tactical Training

what did you say?

Active listening is a skill that can benefit anyone, all the time. The huge majority of most people’s day is spent interacting with others – what better way to improve our performance than by making sure we are truly paying attention to those interactions?

Active listening is not a difficult skill to acquire. It is not simply listening, but concentrating on the action of listening. Our culture has built multi-tasking into such an integral part of society that we never focus on one thing anymore. Texting, watching TV, and talking to your ex-girlfriend on Facebook all at the same time is a pretty common occurrence.

Active listening means focusing on only one thing – the conversation you’re having. There are four steps to effective active listening. I’ll use the example of a suicidal 911 caller.

Keep in mind the basic premise of communication – there is a sender, and a receiver. The sender is the one with the message, the receiver is the listener.

Keep Here to Keep Reading Active Listening – Listening for Meaning >>>

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
tell a friend
about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

{ 13 comments }

← Previous Entries