DwayneEMTP

Welome Ana....

Great question, but man, so many variables.... Probably you wouldn't be covered by Good Sam even if you were volunteering your time, if you claim to be an EMT then legally you will likely be liable (if sued) for having for whether or not you had equipment and provided local Standard of Care treatments, even if not doing so professionally.... I think you need to take your little medical kit, get drunk, have fun, put bandaids on your buddies that need it if you want to, but the liability for the reast seems really, really scary.... Dwayne

"Moreover, the study finds that morale issues are exacerbated by a culture within the department that is resistant to change, and an organizational structure that “tends to reinforce the status quo.” http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/01/18/study-rips-management-operations-of-philadelphia-fire-department/#.Txb-dl-RCVY.facebook Say it isn't so!!

Try and remember that the test is truly very simple...Don't try and make it hard..that is often what gets people jammed up... And yeah, relax. You practically have all day to take the test, you'll only use a small part of the time allowed, so take your time, choose the answers that you would most likely have chosen as a basic instead of a medic and you'll do fine. Good to have you...jump in, ask, answer, debate, challenge your brain...that is where the real value is here... Dwayne

Welcome!

B.F. Skinner believed, if I remember right from his book Walden Two, that about 100 is optimum. I can't remember now why, but that seems like a massive number to me. Most of the hotels for sale in the price range that I'd imagine would be realistic were betwween 15-40 rooms. I think that 20-40 would be a good, though challenging number. And in fact, that feels intuitive to me, I can in no way defend those as logical, or realistic numbers. No, on the grid and participate in society the same as anyone else. Another thing Skinner warned about was trying to be separate. He claimed that the govt won't allow you to live as a community off of the grid, and I think that Waco, as well as other examples proves this out. Movies, restaraunts, common culture and fashion...nothing radical here really other than the desire to rebel against the "We're best when we're alone' macho, western mentality that's been beaten into our heads, but easily proved bullshit. I'm not sure yet. I do know that I want everyone to have like quarters. I have this pipe dream that we'll have someone that can watch kids while single moms/dads get their degrees, and moms/dads can pay their way by cleaning rooms, cooking, etc. I imagine that some will pay with money, others with services, but I really don't want elite or servant classes. How to pay, how to survive...that's the toughest question... I think that in the beginning there has to be a sole leader, and I'd imagine that that will be me. Though my goal is, supposing a population of committed, kind, intelligent people, that a better system can be devised before long. I've no religious affiliation, though would welcome all religions and would like to have a small chapel for worship for those that choose to. But religion should be kept in the same manner as a couples sexual preferences and personal antics. Private, and not considered a common topic for polite, public conversation. But again, as 'radical' and 'extreme' people of any ideology, in my opinion, seem to be narrow minded and aggressive, I can't imagine that they would be likely to find us a realistic option, nor we them, so I don't predict that this will be a huge problem. Any party of course...this isn't an interment camp... :-) I think the more variety, within certain paramaters, the better. With politics as with all things, hopefully kindness and good taste will rule the day. Thanks for the website Mike, I'll take a look through it as soon as I can.. Dwayne

Good luck Brother... It's a hell of a path that you're on, but it sounds like you're up for it!! Keep your chin up..I look forward to hearing about your journey as it unfolds... Dwayne

Thanks Mike, but those are all transmitters. Like I said, this is an Exxon site, so there is not a chance in hell that anyone but the rare IT person that will every lay eyes, much less hands, on the router. I did end up ordering a USB antenna, and the difference at home seems significant. From a half dozen signals from my neighbors with one or two bars, to about 18 signals of 3-4 bars...so, I guess I'll see if that is good enough in a few days! Thanks all...

I remember when I was a kid watching a National Geograhpic special about some people or other that hunted monkeys with blowguns as their primary source of food... They would give their kids some kind of noxious plant that would make them vomit forcefully for a few hours at a time as a way of strengthing their abd muscles. I'm guessing that it probably worked, and was likely much less irritating than the above technique.... Dwayne

Yeah, it's not for everyone, though comparing a few day trip with some buddies to those having lived it for months and years at a time really isn't valid. Is it doomed to failure? Sure...but so is democracy. We'll all be buried under so much dust someday, to be discovered by others, the same as every other society that's come before us, it's only a matter of time. And as explained above, communal living is not synonymous, or at least doesn't have to be, with communism, or even socialism. And we get that most people that have never done it believe that it sucks, is to restrictive, invades their private space, and is socialst, but what about it might you like? Surely you can find something about it that you like that would add to the discussion of how it might be successful? I came into this thread understanding that there was no huge challenge to punch holes in the idea...I need ideas to help make it work...cause I'm gonna do it, one way or another.... :-) Help a brother out, would you? Tongue in cheek, obvious exceptions to the comments excluded. Dwayne

Nah, Chris, I got that. And I'm grateful for your comments.

Though I know it's an unpopular opinion, I've held, and continue to hold the opinion that movement and transport are really stressful things. That if I can improve a weak patients condition prior to doing so that that is a good thing. And I seem to find that it gives patients a chance to get some meds onboard, some fluids, get a breathing treatment in, a bit of a chance for them to get used to the chaos that they perceive of patient care before being lifted and wheeled around by strangers. But again, having spent nearly all of my time as a provider in rural or remote areas, my opinions almost certainly wouldn't hold in an urban environment. But if you have the time to improve a patient before stressing them, and can do so without queering system status, what is the down side really? Dwayne

Millions of comedians out of work and y'all are trying to be funny.... Yeah, though I get the comments, and agree with the effects that selctiveness can have on society, I'm not really looking to create people, only to live near people that are interested in living physically differently. I know many people like myself that, having entered the latter part of their lives have begun to look at things new again, to become interested not just in the location of people, but in sharing their positive energy, trying to become more than we've become so far. Yeti and I give each other shit, but he's seen me at a time when I was perhaps the most lost that I'd been as an adult...and I was an asshole, yet we're friends still. I would gladly live somewhere where I saw him every day. We've had problems, a few times they were kinda ugly, but we worked through them as we shared a common goal, to continue to be friends. This is partially in answer to Wendy regarding problem resolution. I'm not sure why colony problem resolution would be different than other human problem solving techniques at parties, or work? Some people will be a good fit and stay as long as they choose, others not, and will have to either be convinced, or forced to move on. Just like the rest of real life I think. I started down this path thinking of communal money as well, but now wonder if it maybe makes more sense to simply place a value on the place in the colony and have each person responsible for creating that value of themselves each month, as DEFIB suggested. Whether paying it in cash, or providing it in services....Man, I just don't know. To Mike, I think that almost everyone has an issue with communal living in theory, but I think that the reality is much richer. I've been gifted with a career that causes me to spend half of my life living communally, and there are certainly benefits that I don't get at home. (And some really fucking vital ones that I don't get at work!) In fact If I could have taken Babs and Dylan to Mongolia I would have happily worked a year at a time and have been confident that they would have simply been absorbed and welcomed into the culture the same as I was. And c'mon, lets be real, if I can fit into a place, love and be loved, then there is hope for anybody. I miss eating each meal at a table with 15 or so other people, laughing and joking, and sharing food, and the end of the day when everyone would go to a big shed and play full contact ping pong until we just couldn't breath for laughing and sweating. Or sitting in the clinic after it closed at night and have a half dozen of my friends come and visit with some suspicious clear liquid in a Mason jar. We didn't share a language, but we seemed to share a common energy...though I've no idea what form that energy comes in. I never got tired of it, not there, nor in Afg despite having to work with some complete douches there. But more than anything, believe it or not, I miss the peace of mind. There was almost no way to fail in that environment as I was constantly surrounded by at least several people that really wanted to see me succeed. Both as a medic, and employee, and a man. It was very liberating to be able to fly off in any creative direction that I chose without ANY fear because really kind smart people were helping to chart my path, and would appreciate the lessons learned either in success or failure. I remember when I was becoming a basic and became inspired by the good medic teachers of in our class. I thought, "Man, how cool would it be to call them my peers? How amazing to work with them everyday, to learn from them, but also be guided by them, to earn their respect?" Unfortunatley most often I've been disappointed, but the providers that I've come to love and respect, both here and in my real life, have paid that bill...and I continue to be in awe of them. That is who I want to spend my days with now, instead of just a few hours now and then. See....easy! In fact I look at those participating in this thread and am in awe of your kindness of particiapting. I also know that though I wouldn't want to share a room with you, I'd be glad to share a hotel, and your energy, most every day. Dwayne

I don't think that they are arbitraty, but common American grooming standards for much, if not most of polite, educated society. Or am I still missing something? I think that an excellent plan. But I'm unaware of any body of evidence based information that would point me in the right direction, exactly my reason for this thread. Are you aware of such a thing? I agree completely in an unplanned society. But do you feel the same issue arrises when the like mindedness that is desired is exactly the type of mind/personality that relishes in creativity and the advancement of new ideas? Conflict can certainly spawn amazing creativity, but a think tank is not the goal, but a peaceful, mind/spirit enriching place to spend one's days. I completely believe that peacefulness breeds creativity, and am for the time being going to presume that the examples are numerous enough so as not to be stated here. Perhaps such a like minded community will be devoid of the type of creativity that conflict can sometimes create, but in conclict you rarely have any human benifit other than learning to submit, to overcome, or to learn to be better at battling. There are massive negatives scattered about with finite positives, not the soup to try and create harmony from I think. Besides, even if we could choose the exact perfect person for each position, chaos theory, amonst a massive body of other evidence guarantees that conflict will erupt. There is no perfect formula for such a community, only the best guess of the types of personalities that might be kind, intelligent, and committed enough to understand that they are stepping into a tornado from which they need to somehow gather the materials needed to make a home. And then, disciplined enough to keep their eye on the price even while the wind is howling. I'm not really looking for the people that will fall together into the perfect family, but those that may be able to look around, and draw a map for those that follow. That will be able to accept that landmarks need to be lay so that measurements can be taken to judge the advance or decline of our stated goals. Initially it will have to be populated with builders instead of those that just simply want to belong. It's a tough nut to crack I think, but I intend to hammer the shit out of it to see if I can get it open. Man, I'm flattered that you've chosen to participate. Dwayne

So would it be your opinion then, when attemtping to create such a community as is being discussed here, that there be no boundaries or standards? At what point does a person draw lines? Can you invision a successful community such as this surviving, and thriving, solving social, political, physical, fiscal issues, when like mindedness isn't considered? Truly asking, not sniping. I think that the issues we're discussing go beyond personal preference as well and into recruitment. Based on the history of previous planned communities it's expected that people will come and go when the times are right for them, so recruitement has to be considered, planned and ongoing. It seems to me that these types of standards can only be good for that when progressiveness is considered? Dwayne

I don't mean to imply that there is anything biologically or socially wrong with it. I don't understand what dogma would be attached to body hair? My personal experience with American women with hairy armpits/legs is that they tend to belong to one of two types of groups in general. The first is lazy, unprofessional, with little self respect. They claim to be hairy for many reasons, but it appears that laziness is their main motivation. For, what seems to me to be, obvious reasons I don't find those that would choose to live in this category acceptable company for me and my family. Nor do I believe that they would be terribly productive members of a community. The other is from the radical female factions. The more radical feminists, and or radically regressive hippies. For this group these issues seem to be the center of their lives and focus on 'me' and the injustices that must be attacked and overcome. I've not know either group to really be at peace, nor have being at peace a main focus of their lives. I also don't believe that there is anything wrong with the man that goes shopping in old sweatpants and flip flops or his slippers. But I do believe that that speaks to his ambition and his possible lack of self respect. If one is focused on their hairy arms/armpits, against perfumes/deoderants, unwilling to shave their face or put on proper pants,....I wish them nothing but happiness and success in their lives...I just simply don't want to live with them nor have them as adult examples for our children. I've not judged them inferior, nor me superior, only different in ways that I find important. I've chosen to live amongst like minded people, and my personal experience is that they are not like me. See what I mean? Though this thinking makes sense to me, and seems to lend it'self to paving a logical path to creating a peaceful colony of like minded people, it also gives me a tickle of having something inherintly flawed in it...I just can't see what it is... Dwayne

What percentage of patients would you guess would fit into the state Medicaid patient population?

To answer above.... I have no issues with public breast feeding, but commonly accepted standards of polite conduct should be the norm I think. Men and women will shave and maintain an acceptable appearance. No hairy armpits or legs on women, no flip flops/sweat pant/5 day beards on the men. And in a more progressive community I think that people should all have functions that disallows knitting hats as a full time activity. I imagine internet business, production/sales of items, recroutment responsibilities, etc. To be healthy I believe that you need to produce. I've known no one without responsibilities that are healthy and happy. Also, to privacy, that's why I think that a hotel would work well. Kiwi can shit and wank as he likes, couples can....couple, as they choose. Afg and Mongolia, and certainly my childhood time with the Hell's Angels has convince me that we've been brainwashed to believe that 'life' happens in the privacy of our homes. And that's not true I think, or if it is, why do we spend so much time planning, and spending large amounts of money, to leave it? Lack of life most often happens in the privacy of our homes I think. Where there is TV to suck up our spare time so that we can pretend to be fulfilled while truly only punching another hole in our life time card. I think that respect for privacy is vital, but again, we've been raised to cherish our privacy to the point where we've come to believe that privacy is life, instead of a vital escape from it. Being productive, creative, and socializing is truly what gives our lives richness, isn't it? Some of my richest adult life happened in Afg. We had little 6'x8' rooms made out of plywood, your neighbor the span of 1/2 inch piece of plywood from you, yet life was really good for those of us that chose to look to the positive instead of the negative. You rose in the morning, spent the day treating patient after patient next to those that you respected, (as well as some douchebags) and in some cases came to love, then watched movies, or played cards, or just dinked around, and explored life until it was time to sleep, which you did in your tiny, though private quarters....it wasn't bad really, considering where we all were. How much better could it be if you have the less limitted social options, a more comfortable place to sleep, were able to oust the douchebags, outside of a war zone? Pretty interesting discussion from my point of view...thanks to you all for taking the time to participate! Dwayne

I'm guessing that they've made this decision without also adding the ability to triage non emergent patients to their PCP? What's truly frustrating about this kind of shit is that it won't make a dent in the misuse of the ER. Several years back I went in for laryngospasm...$3k for my uninsured visit, paying for the time in the ER/doc, an IV and half a cc of Glucagone. None of the non payers will stop going to the ER, it will just cost me $6k next time. Limitting money without increasing triage ability is just craziness... The one thing that sometimes makes me a little crazy about street medicine is the constant hauling of non emergent, never gonna pay patients to care that I can't possibly afford for my family...Not a lot crazy...only in my weaker moments... :-) Welcome to government subsidized.....anything.... Dwayne

How so?

Welcome back Mike....good to see you've moved on to medic!!

Thanks all... Trip delayed until, probably next week sometime...will give an update when I have a new flight date! I'm looking forward to it though!!

Heh R2012....moslty my hippie roots are inside instead of out now, with the exeption of my coninued dislike of shoes... Dfib, that's a great idea! Kind of along the lines of Atlas Shrugged, and even Walden Two. But what a complex frigging thing to work out! It would take a brainiac like you...Though I would love to play with the idea. Also, how to balance the value of the unskilled with that of the skilled or more highly educated? Having lived communally now in the U.S., Afg, and Mongolia, I believe that many of the most valuable skills brought to the table are from the unskilled. Housekeeping, laundry, and food. Though of course the food prepareres certainly have more skills and education than can ever be proved on paper. Housekeeping and laundry are nearly always invisible people where I've been. Though I'm allowed to do nothing but work, which I love, because of the things that they do. I get a place to live, work, sleep all with this clean, cared for, good energy, yet most believe that those services are below noticing. I think that it's vital to try and avoid elitism, though without pretending that 'all people are the same.' That is one of the main things that I struggle with. How to accept that I fly away to work, bringing in more money than the single mom that cleans rooms, without she, or I feeling that I'm superior to her in either function or human value? Though I may pay the bills, she in fact creates the environment that gives a true quality of life to the community....I'm not sure if i'm saying this right... I started down this road looking for a way to try and create a place for Dylan to live, surrounded by those that he knows and loves, and that love him back, when Babs and I are dead. But then started thinking, "What makes him so different than me or Babs? Why does it make sense for him but not us?" And I couldn't come up with any reasons really.... I've found 25 room hotels with kitchens and common areas for less than a half million dollars. I have friends that pay that much for a mortgage, as I'm sure many do. What world could we create if those rooms were filled, or mostly filled with smart, kind, loving people with a common vision? What parties we could have! What business ideas we could invent, and then implement, beginning with a small, motivated army instead of limping along hopeing to be able to hire someone someday. What security....I love every direct that it could go. There will always be heartache and the need for problem resolution, but what a gift to take the steps necessary to resolve issues when all parties have one goal? It seems like fun to me... :-) Richard I have seen The Farm info, but thanks for mentioning it again. They too were regressive, and I've nothing against that, but I want to be surrounded by kids, and smart people, and living off of the land is not going to be their future more than likely. Twin Oaks is the longest surviving commune in the U.S. The founder was ousted when she refused to give up a microwave for the communal kitchen as it was common knowledge that the nuclear waves in the oven polluted the entire environment. When she provided scientific studies to calm their fears it was actually considered a huge black mark, and the final straw, as it proved that she had gone completely over to the dark, evil side of 'the man.' I'm excited to live amongst a community of ideas, not the suppresion of ideas. A family built of the love of progress, without those that feed their spirit on the idea that progress eliminates peace. To share my time with those that believe that peace is the foundation of creativity and richness of life. Hell...I guess some of my hippie spirit is leaking out...but I think mostly the good parts... :-) Thanks all for participating! I'm truly grateful, and really excited for your input as I've come to realize that two years isn't really a very long time to put together such a project. But I do believe that it's possible, with the help, as always, of my friends. Dwayne Thanks Island, I've not see that before... Would you, or any of you, live in such a place? Why? Why not? What are the major negatives that you see...? Dwayne

Uh oh..sounds like someone is pissed that the last crew didn't clean out their unit after shift..... My guess would be that if your service doesn't have a policy, then you won't get this done. And it's a terribly dangerous thing to start waving the OSHA flag as they are God when you fall upon their radar and their fines most often start in the tens of thousands. As above, OSHA likely covers this, though I've never know of crews that didn't eat, and certainly have drinks in the ambulance. But you might also check to see if the same rules apply to a volly service as a professional one. For example we once wanted to sell sodas and hotdogs at promotion we were doing when we owned a small business. We were not legally able to do so on our own due to health concerns and were required to hire a professional caterer to do the cooking and serving. This was confusing to me as I knew that the local animal charity did the same every weekend. So I called and talked to them and they said that they didn't need to meet those standards because they were a chartiy. So I invited them down, they cooked hotdogs and gave out sodas for 50 cents for the pair and all was well with the world. Evidently germs are intimidated by tax breaks. Anyway, the point being that you will likely need to speak with someone familiar with OSHA compliance as it applies to non profit services before you'll be able to kick this crew in the stones... Dwayne

Edit: DFIB, not only do I not remember a moronic thing that you've said, but not even anything simple....Your ideas are always well considered with a really cool energy.... LOL DFIB, gonna have to be a hotel 6 brother, no Radisson budget here.... I'm convinced that a colony doesn't need religion, or a charismatic leader to survive. I believe that they did in the past because the leaders were intending to survive on coversion of the uneducated. I think a modern colony, as Skinner propheseized nearly a hundred years ago, must be progressive. The leader of such a society that is attempting to recruit followers instead of leaders is almsot certainly going to fail. I want computers, and microwaves, women with shaved armpits and legs, men well trimmed that are strong yet with respect for all. I want people that will want to laugh, love, and succeed so that the generations that follow will have a model for success. I have no desire to be retro....but progressive. I truly believe that you can love, and laugh, and yet still produce. Thanks to my friends, based on my career, I don't believe that production and misery have to be synonymous. I would give much to come and visit you where you live DFIB. Think what could be produced if the passions of both were united daily, instead of being forced to visit via internet? My apologies to all if this sounds like recruitment, as that's not my intention. Only to allow others to see my silly vision so as to be able to punch holes in it. I just don't really see that many. I think that the uneducated and scared need someone to follow. But I believe that the strong can see that there is a better way, but that way is so severely unaccepted as to make it's consideration laughable. I'm pretty much used to being laughed at. I'm not so bright, not much to look at, so what do I really have to lose by thinking differently? What would it be like to know that when you went to work that those that you love were home with 20 other people that knew and cared for them? That when you had to earn a living that those that you love were cared for when sick? To know that if you were unemployed that there were others that were happy that you would care for their kids while they worked? Does it sound socialist? I can see that, but it shouldn't. Because everyone pays their way. They just pay less, and get more....Easy, right? Again, I don't expose my ideas to try and convert, but to encourage criticism....I don't know what's right, only what seems right...I'm grateful for any ideas.... Dwayne