Posts filed under 'PlacesToAvoid'
probably an unpopular post
So I’ve got mixed feelings on the whole James Kim thing. Yes, it was heroic and valiant of him to try and save his family. I won’t deny that.
But even the most heroic efforts can be misguided or the result of mistakes.
I feel a lot of the media coverage has portrayed the guy as a hero, saviour, etc… and yes, his death is both sad and tragic - but it could have been easily avoided.
Looking at their journey, the Kim family made mistake after mistake after mistake. I’m not an outdoor survivalist by any means, but the following is what I see that they did wrong:
- Relying on an Internet map solely (this one doesn’t appear to have been confirmed, but is what the Chronicle stated this morning)
- Going on a back-country road without checking road conditions
- Not bringing chains
- Not bringing extra food/drink/emergency-blanket
- Wandering off and separating from the group
- Wandering off without adequate clothing in a blizzard
- Wandering off without a compass
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not out to bash the guy. His articles were great, I didn’t listen to his podcasts - but I’ve read his stuff from time to time. I don’t doubt that he loved his family and was willing to do anything for them, but we’ve learned time and time again never to separate from a group when lost.
What annoys me is that the media could be using this as a perfect time to address the issue of winter and survival, and how to avoid getting into these situations in the first place; but they’re not.
Yes, he made a heroic effort. But if he’d followed basic sane guidelines to the outdoors, he wouldn’t have had to - he would be alive, and we would all be happier for it.
7 comments December 7th, 2006
i hate oakland, redux
just wanted to send a big “f- you” to the little pricks who broke into our car, and our garage last night.
sigh. i really hate oakland. i can’t wait to move.
12 comments October 17th, 2006
i’m a retard
let it be known, thou shouldst tread carefully when messing around with MySQL and the DROP command.
sigh.
yes. i deleted my blog.
yes, i really am stupid.
yes, i intend on trying to recover it tonight from a backup.
3 comments September 12th, 2005
our recent crime wave…and debating with my councilmember
my neighbourhood has been hit by a recent crime wave that’s getting really out of hand. some of the recent problems:
- 100+ cars had their windows shot out by 3 idiots with BB guns, and way too much time on their hands
- two neighbours robbed at gunpoint, one of them in front of her own house
- countless cars stolen (i recall at least 6)
- people shooting guns
a bunch of us have been petitioning our councilmember, Jean Quan to do something. if you read the Oakland Tribune article above, you can see her quote:
“It doesn’t appear to be a crime wave statistically,” she said. “I just think awareness is up.”
oh. my mistake. our awareness is just up. that’s all. does this mean that this crime is not any different from previous crime. was i just unaware of the last time 100 cars in my neighbourhood were shot up? was i just oblivious the last time my neighbours were held up at gunpoint?
this is getting ridiculous and out of hand. in an email exchange i had with the councilmember asking to get more frequent police patrols in the neighbourhood temporarily, her answer was:
we will begin to get new officers out of the academy in the fall and through the next two years the number of police will increase.
uh. great. that does NOTHING for me now. i’ll be sure to politely ask all the thieves holding my neighbours up at gunpoint, shooting guns on my street, stealing cars, and damaging our neighbourhood’s property to please come back again in the fall, or better yet… in 2 years time.
4 comments July 22nd, 2005
smoked steve
unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past week, you’ve heard of the SoCal fires. Ventura, San Bernadino, etc. etc., and now they’re in San Diego. Anyway, Southwest cancelled all flights out of SoCal, so I’m stranded here in LA.
Oh well, could be worse places to be than stranded in Los Angeles with your girlfriend, some fresh Scottish smoked salmon, a bottle of sauvignon-blanc, and some great dessert from Extraordinary Desserts
And before you ask, yes, we did drive down to San Diego yesterday pretty much for the sole purpose of getting dessert.
We went to Melrose today to go costume shopping, and after visiting a number of second-hand stores and fun costume shops, we decided Wendy is going to be the Statue of Liberty, and I’m going to be a geisha. Yes, a geisha.
I know, I know….I’m gonna look hot….. SMOKIN’ HOT… keep yer dirty paws off me.
We were thinking of going camping at Palomar - and I’m glad we didn’t. Otherwise we’d be toasting a lot more than marshmallows right about now. The smoke here is crazy…I got here yesterday and this brown blanket of smog/fog/smoke was just covering the entire valley. It’s insane…
If Satan himself came back to claim the earth, and the world was about to be destroyed, I imagine it’d look a lot like this or this
This is insane…. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to watch your own house with all your memories burn down.
Add comment October 26th, 2003
a whole new level of spam
i’m used to the occasional spam, hawking a larger penis, more explosive sex with women, cheap real estate, etc. but this one took it to a whole new level.
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NET,
you can choose the one you like, then get straight to business. - Fake currencies, such as Euros and US dollars, prices would match competition.
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wow. i mean, not only did SpamAssassin “stop us host spam-sites”, but jesus christ - where the hell did this come from? Cocain, heroin, rockets, gay slaves, and child porn. This is a like a one-stop Wal-mart for evil.
This is a whole new level beyond Satan’s Playhouse.
1 comment September 22nd, 2003
