>>> ... and EVERYTHING I had was still inside, even my car keys. <<<<br><br>Ditto. And my train ticket (monthly pass). I keep it in there so I don't lose it!<br><br>But it would not have been tragic if I didn't have either. A one-way train ticket would have set me back $6 and I can walk the one mile from my hometown train station to my house.<br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL

>>>...Larger Marker/Grease Pencil <br><br>FWIW, A grease pencil won't dry out like a marker.<br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL

We can all be reasonably prepared to deal with the kind of scenarios that we have witnessed on TV, but my question is what will future terrorist attacks look like? Will they try to outdo themselves again by raising the stakes to an even higher level? Will the next big attack involve biological or chemical agents? We should plan to be prepared for the next event, not just the last one.<br><br>

The titanium bars are available from Brigade Quartermasters and Sovietski.com Prices of course vary widely as does shipping. From personal experience I endorse them over a common steel unit. Most of the pry bars are coming in from China. I personally witnessed one shatter under great strain causing injury. Examination found a major flaw in the grain .<br><br>

The lady of my life and I have been talking about just this sort of thing these past couple of days. <br><br>For the two years I worked downtown, my nightmare scenario was the lone fanatic with a paper bag of anthrax-laden powder on some roof…<br><br>There’s nothing I personally can do to prevent this, and not much I can do to survive it. Like someone hearing rumors of the black plague in the 14th century, the best I can do is not be there when it happens. I think sometime in the next five years or so, we’ll be pulling out of the DC area. It’s a great market for my skills, but I don’t want to die here.<br><br>What do you do when you unexpectedly receive fire, and there’s no cover? You spread out. <br><br>It’s time to decentralize this society for a number of reasons. Decentralization is why the net and web work. Decentralization is why there will still be a stock market next week. Decentralization is why the Prez didn't come running right back. Our huge, centralized cities, and the impossible hundreds of millions all commuting in lockstep are legacies from the industrial age that we’ve otherwise mostly left behind. Other than stupid 19th century management practices that won’t die, there’s no reason that the large percentage that are “information workers” (estimated at 80 percent in this area) have to be physically present in the same buildings every day, and as a society we can no longer afford the insane costs, even without incidents like this. <br><br>Demand that they lay fiber and build microwave towers, instead of ever-more perpetually inadequate highways. Learn to do what you need to do over the web. If it has web access and UPS can find it, no place is isolated any more. Spread out.<br><br><br>

"It’s time to decentralize this society for a number of reasons."<br>I'll second that. We've created alot of problems besides safety in the way we've allowed urban areas to bloat.<br>JB<br><br>Expect poison with the standing water.<br> -William Blake

Few tips,<br><br>If you can, never leave the building directly from the ground level. Use subway connections, even drenaige canals. This way you can protect yourself from the collapse after you leave. <br><br>If not vital never force open jammed doors without checking. Check the door to see if it supports anything. Also check for heat, be careful about backdraft. Always open the door holding the handle, just in case you may need to close it to run away from flash over or flame over. If you have synthetic clothes on get rid of them in case of fire. Cover your mouth with a wet cloth. Cross corridors and stair-wells carefully, be aware of flame-shaft risk.<br><br>For further info you may read http://www.ratstr.org/faidarticles/fire.htm<br><br><br><br>Survive and Protect

>It’s time to decentralize this society for a number of reasons<<br><br>Where has this been more obvious over the past 5 decades than at the Pentagon? You put 25,000 of the nations highest-ranking leaders from all branches of the military in one single building, easily identified from the ground and air and accessible from ocean waters and this is not an attractive target????? We need to wake up and smell the coffee.<br><br>

Here are couple of moderately useful links. Two are FAQs related to exposure to dust and the third has tips on how to discuss this week's tragidy with children.<br><br>The AMA Web site now contains information for physicians and patients on the hazards of inhaling dust and smoke. The information was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and can be viewed at:<br><br>Fact Sheet for the General Public: <br>http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/6113.html <br><br>Fact Sheet for Medical Personnel: <br>http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/6114.html<br><br>In response to the tragic events unfolding in New York and Washington, D.C., the American Academy of Pediatrics has posted advice on how to communicate with children and adolescents during times of crisis on its Web site.<br><br>Read more: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/disastercomm.htm<br><br><br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL

Where did you get you radios and what brand were they?<br>Thanks, <br>Todd<br><br>The best way out is always through.<br>-Robert Frost