Be Prepared
Since most of us and our loved ones drive a car, copy/print this document (Motor Vehicle Accident Information Form below) and keep one in your car. Give it to your loved ones too. Hopefully neither you nor them will ever have to use it.
Passenger Be Aware
What do you do if the driver has a medical emergency:
Everyone should know what to do as a passenger should the driver lose control of the car you are in, and knowing what to do can mean life or death.
Do not turn off the engine. When you turn off the engine, you lose your power brakes and power steering. That can make it harder to control the car — especially from the passenger seat.
In a case where you’re on a highway and you have plenty of room to stop, shift the transmission into neutral and turn on the flashers. The car will eventually roll to a stop and will allow you to steer easily.
If you need to slow the car more quickly, there are other options.
If the car has a hand brake between the seats, use that first. If it doesn’t, you can try to reach your left foot into the driver’s wheel well and apply the brake.
When using a hand brake, grab hold of the handle and push the release and GENTLY pull on the handle upwards until the car reaches a complete stop. You will probably have to push the handle back down and up again several times, depending on the car’s current speed. If you’re going too fast and about to hit something then pull the handle on and off but never to full strength. Jerking/yanking it will only make the car drift out of lane and/or flip.
If neither of those is an option, slam the transmission into the lowest gear, which will slow the car more quickly than coasting in neutral.
Slowly guide the car to the nearest emergency lane/stop or any clear area off the road if possible.
After reaching a complete stop, turn the car off and pull the key out, unlock the doors, step out and go see to the driver.
Stills from:
Contempt, starring Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance
Thelma and Louise, starring Gena Davis and Susan Sarandon
Pierrot le Fou, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina
And
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/autos/2011/11/04/when-driver-passes-out-what-should-passenger-do
A Well-Lit Bike
Wrap a strand of battery-operated lights around the frame of your bike for a safe nighttime ride!
When it comes to night riding, it pays to go well beyond the law to make your bike noticeable. The more lights the better!
(In most states, it’s the law that any cyclist riding at night needs to have a well-lit bike. You should add a red rear reflector, white or yellow reflectors on the pedals, and white or yellow reflectors on each side, usually in wheel spokes).
How Not To Get Hacked (And What To Do If You Have Been Hacked)
How to not get hacked:
-Always keep your operating system and apps up to date by downloading (only from trusted sources) updates. Doing this fixes vulnerabilities that hackers have learned how to exploit.
-Don’t send personal info such as your Social Security number or credit card details in a text or email.
-Don’t keep any photos of a personal nature on your computer or phone.
-Be careful using an unsecured Wi-Fi at internet cafes, and even hotels, where hackers have been known to set up fake Wi-Fi’s. This practice is called spoofing. The name of the network sounds legitimate, but when the a user signs in, it gives the hacker direct access to his or her smartphone or computer’s contents.
-Locking your phone with a passcode is a must, and so is using passwords that are not easy to guess.
What to do if you’ve been hacked:
You’ve received a dreaded a message on your computer screen either from ransomeware or malware or other nefarious hacker software. Unless you pay a ransom, your computer could be frozen and all your photos, the book you are writing and all documents you’ve saved for years, will disappear, or the hackers may threaten to send your sensitive and private information to everyone in your address book.
According to Daniel Howley, technology editor for Yahoo, “The hackers usually demand that you pay them a fee in iTunes gift cards or in Bitcoin, an ominous currency that can’t be tracked. Never, ever pay the ransom. Ignoring the hackers demands is the best option. If they are threatening to share your personal information, then email every one in your address book (from a new email address you have set up), letting them know that your computer has a virus and not to open mail from your former address.
Want to learn more:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/what-to-do-ransomware-hackers-011857871.html
http://theweek.com/print/771/43424/article
Lost & Found
A Dad’s Dos & Don’ts for his American Girl in Paris
I was walking around Marie Antoinette’s gardens this weekend in Versailles when I spotted a folded white piece of paper on the ground. No one else was in sight in the frosty orchard to claim it, so I picked it up and continued on our brisk walk, not thinking much of it until we returned home that evening.
What I would later unfold from my coat pocket, so unexpectedly warmed my winter heart. A note from father to daughter, words of caution from her loving Pa, guidelines for his little girl’s first time in Paris…
Night Cycling
Someone you wouldn’t expect has designed a practical and very regular fluorescent vest: Haute couture fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld!
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FIRE in the KITCHEN!
Do you know what to do in the event something catches on fire in your kitchen? If you are cooking with oil, and a lot of it, you need to be extra careful as oil can easily catch on fire.
If the worst happens and your oil does catch on fire, do the following:
• Turn the Heat Off – Don’t try to move the pot. You might accidentally splash yourself or your kitchen with burning oil. And that would be bad.
• Cover the Pot with a Metal Lid – Fire cannot exist in the absence of oxygen. With the lid on (and the heat off), the fire should quickly consume all the oxygen and put itself out. Use a metal lid since glass will shatter.
• Pour on Baking Soda – Baking soda will extinguish grease fires, but only if they’re small. It takes a lot of baking soda to do the job.
• Spray the Pot with a Class B Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher – This is your last resort, as fire extinguishers will contaminate your kitchen. Still, it’s better than the alternative if the fire is getting out of control.
• Get Out and Call 911 – If the fire does break out of control, don’t try to be a hero. Get out and find a phone to call 911.
Whatever you do, DO NOT do the following:
• Do Not Use Water – Pouring water can cause the oil to splash and spread the fire. The vaporizing water can also carry grease particles in it, also spreading the fire.
• Do Not Move the Pot or Carry It Outside – Throwing the pot outside might seem logical in the frenzy of the moment. But trying to move the pot might splash burning oil on you, your home, and anything outside.
• Do Not Throw Any Other Baking Product On the Fire – Flour might look like baking soda, but it won’t react the same. Only baking soda can help put out a grease fire.
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P E A C E O F M I N D
For a stylish peace of mind, CUFF has created bracelets, necklaces and key chains that act as a personal alert system. The brand’s innovative technology, CuffLinc is a small device embedded into the accessories that connects to your smartphone and sends alerts to your trusted network when you’re in a threatening situation. WOW!
Here’s how it works: Download the app and designate family and friends to receive alerts in case you come across trouble. A subtle touch of the wrist or neck will ping everyone in your network and identify your location via GPS, and it won’t stop until someone responds.
The chip can be switched between accessories and should last for one year without needing to be charged, the brand says.
Although safety is the primary focus of the design, Cuff can also be used to simply let someone know you are trying to contact them by sending a weaker signal.
Click for more info about CUFF. Sourced from PureWow.
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KITESTRING
New Safety App for Women: Tell all your friends about it!
Kitestring is a new service that aims to make sure people get from point A to point B safely, notifying their emergency contacts if they don’t. It’s not the first of its kind, but it’s the probably the best; unlike bSafe or Nirbhaya, which both alert your emergency contacts if you’re in trouble, it doesn’t require you to touch anything (like bSafe) or shake your phone (like Nirbhaya) to send the distress signal. Kitestring is smarter, because it doesn’t need an action to alert people, it needs inaction.
It works like this: You tell Kitestring that you’re in a dangerous place or situation, and give it a time frame of when to check in on you. If you don’t reply back when it checks your status, it’ll alert your emergency contacts with a custom message you set up.
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Most of us don’t think about our safety when we join the crowds of shoppers at a mall or when we are at an outdoor event. Learn these safety tips, in the event something unexpected happens, 72 Hour Bag posts a list of strategies to consider when in large crowds. here are a couple…
read the rest here.