Blackberry REACT August Newsletter

Quick Clicks

Atwood Knife and Tool

http://www.phlaunt.com/atwoodknives/
Although there are some knives, the bulk of the inventory here is comprised of small, handy tools. Maybe too small, but carryable nonetheless. The tools include keys that will turn off the gas and water, plus pry open doors that are squeezed shut; tools to pry open stuff or to split things open; nail/staple pullers with screw driver blade and bottle cap lifter; metal tactical whistles; and so much more. Each item is hand made from steel or titanium and costs a small fortune, so enjoy looking at the photos.

US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine

Commercially Available Individual Water Purifiers
The US Army cares about water for its soldiers, and they've tested various water purification systems available to consumers. The link takes you to their site with the information on filters and chemicals.

FCC sets 700MHz auction rules

(Extra points if you know why 700MHz is available for use)

This isn't a quick click, but I'll put it here anyway. The FCC has set the rules of the 700MHz spectrum, which it will auction off next year. We care for two reasons. One, emergency services will be run in this spectrum, and the rules may allow interoperability between fire, police, and ambulance services for the first time. See Ars Technica for a brief overview of the proposed auction rules concerning emergency services.

Two, consumer services (cell phones) will be run in the remainder of the spectrum, and Google had petitioned for the spectrum to be open applications, open devices, open services, and open networks. Naturally, Verizon, ATT, and other service providers don't want to be required to open their networks and services to all comers. The FCC failed to adopt the four opens, opting instead for open devices and open applications.

I got a new way to say "no," by the way. One FCC commissioner announced she was "very lukewarm on open access." Very lukewarm means no.

If you haven't come across Ars Technica before, browse the rest of that site after you've read that article. Some of you may recall Byte Magazine from back in the 70s; Ars Technica is at that level. For those that don't remember Byte,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte_(magazine)

Other news reports on the 700MHz auction are at:
Newsvine
Engadget.com

"Everybody immediately evacuate the building"

You may remember the steam pipe explosion in Manhattan a few weeks back, an event which triggered post-traumatic shock in many New Yorkers. The link above is to a post by a guy who was sitting in his office fat, dumb, and happy, when long rumbling sound made its way to his level of consciousness that something wasn't quite right. The building PA system came to life and the sentence titling this section was spoken. He immediately left his desk and started down the stair well. He realized midway down that he'd left everything at his desk - his bail out bag and all it's contents. All he had was his Blackberry which he wore on his belt.

Please take a moment to read his post; it's very enlightening on what happens when we're confronted by an emergency. He bailed out immediately, forgetting survival items right there in reach at his desk. But keep in mind we're not always at our desk when the worst happens. If you can't get back to your bail out bag, you're in the same boat as if you'd forgot.

If you have to evacuate a scene and all you have is what you're wearing, what have you got? One reply to his post suggested the "Mission Wallet," something I'd never heard of:
Mission Wallet (leather)
now out of stock leather, but other materials available at
Mission Wallet (other materials)

This wallet-sized carrier has room for the usual, plus an appropriately sized knife and a little more. Perhaps not enough, as we'll surely need dust masks if there's a building collapse.

Another company offers small carriers and waist-packs: waistpacks
The problem, of course, is that if your carrier is wallet-sized, it's too small. If it's big enough for your stuff, you may not always have it on your person. Use your judgment about your evacuation situation, and figure out what you need to have on your person at all times.

In addition to not having things on his person, a reply to his post mentioned that he didn't STOP. Remember STOP? Stop. Think. Observe. Plan..

meraki.com

Meraki
Meraki provides home WiFi and broadband access to your community. In addition to the usual point-to-point networks, meraki.com allows wireless Mesh networks.

Wireless Communications Alliance

WCA
The WCA promotes open, non-proprietary wireless exchange of information. It provides access to a large number of wireless companies in the Bay Area. Their home page provides a lengthy list of coming events.

Events

Fair Oaks Community Festival, August 19, Redwood City

Art & Wine Festival, September 8 & 9, Mountain View

Ham Class

Ross Peterson is holding the next Ham Class on Sunday, October 14, 2006, in Fremont. The flyer is at http://baears.com/files/Flyer.pdf which triggers download of a one-page file.

Updates

FEMA Certification

If you have not yet taken FEMA courses 100, 200, and 700, please do so and send Jon a copy of your certificates of completion. For REACT members, 800 is also recommended.

Ken Dueker

Palo Alto Police Department's Coordinator, Homeland Security, gave his slide show at our meeting. Among his points were that REACTers need to be providers and resources and not victims. Instead of calling for help, we should be providing the cities we live in with the following information:

• Initial damage assessments
• Transportation status
• Incident reporting
• Resource sharing

Very important parts of every community's plan are the neighborhood coordinators and the block coordinators. Do you know who yours are? Our goal is not to get help, but to be a resource.