September 2006 Archives

Charles

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Today I have received half a dozen calls asking about stagecoaches. Now, I will post the answers for the whole world. And refer the next series of questions to Guided By History—the name lives!

In 1852, Henry Wells and William Fargo founded Wells Fargo & Co. From 1866 to 1869, Wells Fargo operated the major overland stagecoach routes west of the Missouri River, covering 2,500 miles of territory. The Company used top-of-the-line stagecoaches crafted by the Abbot-Downing company of Concord, New Hampshire.

The rounded wood Concord Coach body rested on leather straps called thoroughbraces—a unique suspension system that provided a rocking ride. Mark Twain described the Concord Coach as "a cradle on wheels."

Skilled drivers guided teams of four or six horses at an average speed of five miles per hour. The driver was the undisputed captain, the master of the road. Sitting next to the driver was a rare privilege, by invitation only.

For passengers, all seats cost the same price, and none was reserved. Leather seats inside the coach seated up to nine passengers. Nine more could perch on the roof, hanging on for dear life. Each traveler on an overland stagecoach was allowed only twenty-five pounds of baggage.

While exciting, travel by stage became a test of endurance. Stagecoaches were on the move night and day and stopped only to change horses every twelve miles. Every forty-five miles or so, driver and passengers could get a quick meal at "home" stations.

If you were planning a long trip by stage, what would you pack? A California newspaper suggested this packing list for gentlemen in 1858:

• One pair of thick boots and woolen pants
• Six pairs of wool socks
• Six undershirts
• Two pairs thick drawers (underwear)
• Cotton sack coat
• Soldier’s wool overcoat
• A broad-brimmed hat
• Long leather gloves
• One pair blankets for summer, two in winter
• One piece of India rubber cloth
• A small oilskin bag of needles, pins, sponge
• Hair brush, comb, and soap
• Three or four towels

The best way to travel, if hindsight is any judge, was to be tough and running away from something. In such a state, nothing was too uncomfortable. All the same, there was a "Tips for Travelers" list that circulated at the time. (We are still unable to pin down its actual source.). Above all, it was best to "expect annoyances, discomfort and some hardship."

Staci

For me, tornadoes have a certain romanticism. I’m not sure if this stems from watching "The Wizard of Oz"  too many times or from my childhood, when the South Dakota storm sirens would blare and my mother would sweep me from my bed and head for the basement.

Just last weekend McCook County, which is about 45 miles from where I live, was hit by an early autumn twister. There was nothing romantic about it: South Dakota Emergency Management officials estimate that the tornado destroyed two homes, 10 grain bins, 20 farm buildings, five head of cattle, and plenty of farm equipment.

No one was seriously hurt.

Interestingly enough, eastern South Dakota’s historical tornado activity apparently is greater than the overall U.S. average. Eight years ago, the same area was struck by the most destructive tornado in the state’s history . It killed six people, injured 150, and caused $18 million in damages.

Given that history, I’m not surprised by the community’s response to this latest storm. McCook County residents seem to experience tornadoes more often than the average American, so they have the clean-up down to a science. Plus, South Dakotans—in general—are good neighbors.

Three days after the tornado, more than 100 volunteers arrived at the most devastated areas. They sorted through piles of debris—twisted metal, splintered wood. They corralled livestock, cleared fields, and built burn piles. They offered as much emotional support as they did physical labor. And Sioux Empire Red Cross  volunteers provided coffee, hot cocoa, and beef stew—stay-warm sustenance for a cold, hard day’s work.

McCook County isn’t back to normal, but it’s on its way.

Good neighbors, indeed.

Charles

Toshiba announced today they are recalling laptop batteries made by Sony . This follows the high-profile recall last month  of Sony batteries by Apple  Computer and Dell , after the batteries were found to overheat and actually catch fire .

Last winter, a UPS plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia  with laptop batteries ablaze. During the nation's killer heatwave, the NTSB held public hearings  on the incident, which focused on properties of the batteries and how flammable they are.

Such an occurence would be a real disaster for an individual. (The laptop fire, I mean. A fire aboard a plane is totally the other end of the spectrum—a full-on disaster.) How do you prepare for such an occurence? How do you protect one's data and gear?

Dan Phillips, a Risk Manager with Wells Fargo, suggests an easy list of things to do to protect against computer malfunction. As more and more people utilize laptop computers to perform their functions and processes, he tells me, it's vital to:

• Ensure your data is backed up on a regularly scheduled basis.
• Keep backup data in a secure location away from the laptop itself. This ensures that a laptop disaster does not also affect the backed-up data.
• Give consideration to where and how you could obtain another laptop quickly in the event your primary unit fails.
• Ensure your laptop is current and up-to-date on security standards, such as encryption, anti-virus software and remote access software.
• As laptop technology continues to evolve and improve, older platforms easily become outdated and obsolete. Make future budgetary plans for laptop upgrades every 2-3 years.

Dan and other experts have suggested that the flammable battery is a technology glitch and is likely to be a thing of the past very soon. For the immediate term, though, it's wise to check and double-check the serial numbers and other identifiers against lists of defective batteries.

If you're not sure, contact the maker of your laptop or take it to a dealer.

Charles

All across the Heartland, a lack of rain is tormenting this year's crops . Does your state have a drought plan? Let’s play citizen journalist here: If you find your state’s plans, let us know!

Drought is a tough situation and it is toughest when moisture goes below a pre-determined "normal" line. What "normal" is, and where that line is, varies among several indices , or methods of getting and presenting data for a big picture.

Hey, this is science—you knew it would get complicated.

Anyway, the data takes into account rainfall, snowpack, groundwater levels and anything else that makes up the the water resources in an area. It will be different resources in Bali than in Ventura, say, or Yankton. And this year, it's rough going in the nation's breadbasket. And in the South and Southeast, too. Levels are "moderately" and "very" dry. The Dakotas are hardest hit.

The Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln  details the plans for drought and how to get prepared. Drought as "disaster"—that is, as a natural hazard that strikes a large area and affects a population—are quite different than floods or hurricanes . The preparedness plans reflect this and have a "social" scale. Whole states and regions have to coordinate. Most states and regions have plans and Illinois has a long-term plan.

Charles

How about this? A study by the Harvard School of Public Health  has determined that life expectancy is not about health care. It is about lifestyle, economics and class, though.

The article reports that variation in life expectancy depends on individual factors —diet, exercise and smoking—but not health care. According to Jonathan Skinner of Dartmouth, "we spend much of our attention and 16% of our national income on health care. There's no way that differences in the quality of health care can explain 20-year gaps in life expectancy."

The study  concludes that there are dramatic gaps between eight groups of Americans. The divisions are based primarily upon income (middle and low) and ethnicity (Asian, black and white). Age and gender follow from there. Injury and disease have the biggest impact on life expectancy and more accessible health care would narrow the gaps only a little. Health care, the study figures, won't fix bad habits.

"Where we fall down is delivering health care for young and middle-aged adults," co-author Christopher Murray says, nevertheless. And removing "financial and cultural barriers to lifestyle and medication" for controlling weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar "should help reduce the large inequities in chronic disease," authors of the study claim.

The research team concludes that because policies aimed at reducing socioeconomic inequalities are "practically absent," health disparities "will have to be at least partly addressed through public health strategies that reduce risk factors for chronic disease and injuries." (My emphasis.)

This is a little confusing: People live shorter lives because they tend to be less healthy, and extra medical attention won't matter as much as lifestyle changes. And the less healthy folks appear to have lower incomes. However, some of the lifestyle changes would include access to better medical care.

Let's just cut to the chase. If your access to good health care is determined by economics, that means we are all vulnerable—so we have to take matters in our own hands . Same thing if your health is compromised by "lifestyle choices"—smoking, overeating, not exercising and all that.

Having a good disaster preparedness supply protects you when the house is blown away, the hospital is compromised and there are no fire trucks around. It's more than good sense. It's life and death.

Same thing with a "Health Preparedness"  regimen. A strong body  is your preparedness kit for flu season, injuries and resistance to weather—for when your apartment building is evacuated, doctors are busy with trauma and there are no fire trucks around.

It's life and death. Meaning, a better life. And making death something you don't have to think about till after your 100th birthday party.

Charles

In May 1953, the late Liberace  appeared on a local television show in Denver to promote his concert in the area. At that time, Liberace was a huge star who had sold over 2 million records. His appearance generated enthusiasm from his many fans in The Mile-High City .

People crushed through the bank's front doors to get out of the rain. The eight policemen assigned to keep the event in order were overwhelmed by the terrified and soaking humanity. Liberace himself signed photographs at an heroic pace to help officials keep order.

When he had exhausted the supply, Liberace leaped to the counter top and assured the crowd that each and every one would receive a photo in the mail. The mob cheered and followed him out. The lobby was a puddled mess.

The lesson we learn from this historic incident is that a happy crowd can become a turgid mob with the slightest change in conditions. Crowd control  is hard work and is best learned professionally. But there are resources for everyone to be aware of "crowd life,"  both as the controllers  and as the controlled .

Charles

Today is the anniversary of the attacks of 2001. Here is rememberance of all those normal, everyday people who died. 

Charles

Here's great news: Rates of cancer as a disease and as a killer are decreasing . One of the authors of the study attributes the decrease to reduced exposure to tobacco, earlier detection and better treatment.

Which tells us that we're all on the right track. By the 1980s , everyone started eating right, quit smoking and went to the gym . This was largely driven by the same people who had reveled in the excesses of the wild '60s and '70s .

Check out this timeline of Whole Foods Market : See how it follows the Baby Boomer trajectory? The company began bringing organic food from country to city in '78, grew by acquisition and popularity through the 1990s and has recently brought a hippie philosophy of food into the mainstream and the Fortune 500. Health went from Pinko to luxury to cool to mainstream.

On the other hand, Boomers' kids have been fed incorrectly . It's a deep economic issue to explore, and a couple-hundred word blog can't begin to address the complexity. So I'll just say this: Our society has always had a ying/yang pull between dualities—Federalist , North/South, Red Sox/Yankees ... brown rice/Doritos®.

Now, the front-line "health generation" nears retirement age . Their kids and grandkids have arrived at a fork in the road: Develop good habits  or go off the deep end .

There's news that many Boomers decline to set trends any longer, after an active life of counterculture, self-gratification and economic excesses. They choose to stay within their own desires  and leave the Age of Aquarius to others. Fine, it's a free country. And individualists are often more disaster prepared because they are concerned with their own well-being. Those who reach out to others and build communities are prepared as a matter of course (strong ties save lives and rebuild faster). But like most of us, they are not adequately prepared.

Here's the middle ground: Feed yourself and your kids unprocessed foods at least 2/3 of the time. Stock up your Preparedness Larder  with three or more days of non-perishables, and include some Doritos just for fun. Make sure you have lots of water every day and in your stash. Do calisthenics as a family for 20 minutes three times a week. It will be something you can do in the shelter while the community recovers from disaster.

Bottom line: Health is preparedness. Health isn't too difficult to practice. Healthy people recover faster and build stronger communities.

Charles

Chris Terzich of Wells Fargo's Business Continuity Planning works vigorously on internal preparedness. He's a busy guy—how can you ensure the safety of team members and customers while supporting continuity of business?

Terzich's approach is simple and effective, built on three components: a single set of procedures for everyone, management teams in key facilities, and a team of experts to guide managers through incidents.

The first component is as simple as the flip chart with response instructions for any emergency. The second coordinates building-by-building teams, and the third develops experts to assist with multiple issues that managers will face in hazard situations.

"It is important for all companies to have a comprehensive incident management program," Terzich writes, "but internal processes like those described above are only part of the equation." Internal programs alone cannot protect the nation's infrastructure, which is about 85% privately owned. Meaning, "the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors to improve the resiliency and preparedness of this infrastructure in the face of terrorist attacks or other hazards."

Terzich calls this "Looking Out Your Front Door," or, working to strengthen community ties. Between several groups of people—like, say, firefighters, an office building and the school around the corner—the community reacts calmly and intelligently in crisis. Neighborhood by neighborhood.

This is a standard feature in Wells Fargo's attitude toward corporate citizenship. Last week, the online news and resource site for employees, Wells Fargo Teamworks, reported the company's half-million dollar commitment to the Greater Los Angeles Red Cross . The money was for a disaster readiness campaign, to help the region prepare for the next "Big One."  You know, the earthquake that everybody knows  is coming, the one that will drop my kooky State into the Pacific .

The announcement of the cooperation between Wells Fargo and the Red Cross was announced by Edmund Lelo, an executive in L.A. and Vice Chairman of the Red Cross board there. Lelo stressed his experience as a beneficiary of Red Cross help: he grew up in Kenya, and his neighbors there often got relief during floods that affect the area.

"The Red Cross worked so hard in Kenya, and we've seen it in action in hurricane-stricken New Orleans and Florida, even in our neighborhoods when fire forces a family from its home," Lelo told Teamworks. "We have the great opportunity in Los Angeles of knowing disaster will eventually strike, so now is the time to get ready. Now is the time to rally our businesses to support a cause that will affect every single person in the region."

Charles

Hurricane experts have lowered expectations  for the remainder of this year's season in the Atlantic. Hurricane John , on the other hand, has been upgraded to Category 3 and looms over western Mexico. The upshot is it's hurricane season—some are rougher than others. One year Carolina, another year Baja ...

Are there lessons here? This week has seen a glut  of "Lessons of Katrina" media. The biggest issue is still the slow pace of rebuilding, and anger at government  as a result. But as I've written, there is another movement of people rebuilding their communities through communication as well as hammers and nails. The blogosphere from the Gulf coast  is thriving and doing great things bringing people toward a common goal .

Today I discovered HurricaneMind , whose aim is to collect people's thoughts as hurricanes threaten—and in real time, too. The blog is trying to build a wiki resource and real-time action and news. As people reckon their actions, they go to the blog and see what other people are thinking and how their choices are taking shape. It's instant communication with neighbors in the region. Movement to hardware stores, to evacuation routes and to shelters are spontaneously coordinated as a community of informed, prepared people forms.

It's "buzz." Not buzz about soft drinks or celebrity fashion, either. It's buzz about getting the kids to a safe place, about getting plywood or a hotel room. It's buzz about keeping the community whole, even as a Cat 5 comes howling in.

It could redefine the community and go macro, couldn't it? After a world community begins to emerge, we all band together with professor E.O. Wilson , whose new book  calls for a world community of science believers and non-believers alike to organize preparedness against man-made environmental tragedies . Wilson's call is this side of Utopia—salvation of endangered species means salvation for all life. And salvation is important to most every belief.

Think of it: a new paradigm for life on earth based on disaster preparedness. It's way too simple, isn't it?

Guided By History will take a break over the long Labor Day weekend. We'll be back Tuesday, September 5th.