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“What You Need” Continues
I originally wrote this on Christmas Day. I was at my place, eating chicken and rice soup. While I would have liked to be doing other things, I had some sort of head cold. Knowing that what I...
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Another Lesson To Be Learned – More of What You Don’t Want To Hear
It is not for the master to control his enemies by his actions, but to control himself and then to defeat his enemy. This is a tenet of many martial arts, the one I am referencing today being Iaido....
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Next Man Up
I was catching up on my reading and came upon an interesting tidbit. While I have heard it said before, I never really ascribed to the concept that when a leader is cut down, the enemy is unable to...
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Your Altruism Is Hereby Noted
I was reading the never-ending stream of discussion on Dave Statter's site about the AZ fire department refusing respond to a structure fire three miles away from their station because the home was in...
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Loser
In our business, unfortunately, we don't always get to pick when and where we have our battles. I don't mean this in the context of leading, but in the context of response and operations. Simply...
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Change Your Mind
When I was very young and was grappling with the nuances of the language, I used the word "loathe" to express my "dislike" of something. I'm pretty sure I didn't use it to describe my feelings for my...
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It Can’t Happen Here
Our prayers need, right now, to be with our brothers at Bryan (TX) Fire Department in their loss of two valiant men, both of whom perished in the line of duty. We need to also support the two...
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The FNG
I was someplace the other day and ran into this guy who I remembered from my very young days as a rookie firefighter. I was in my Class A, which has a few shiny things on it, as well as 32 years...
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I Am A Bully
Curt Varone wrote an excellent post on the Fire Law blog today on the concept of cyberbullying, this after a firefighter posted photos that could be construed as unflattering and might even go on to...
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Je Ne Sais Pas
Of the words in the English language, "I don't know" are three of the least helpful. When I took three years of French, the first sentence I memorized was "Je ne sais pas" and for good reason I could...
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No Trash Talking
Cicero said it best: "We do not destroy religion by destroying superstition." In fighting fire, however, if you suggest at all that doing things differently because the science indicates a better way,...
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Circle of Personal Transformation
Going for a paddle is my work. While the IRS may not agree, my logic is if I get paid for it somehow, it is, and when I am out in the kayak, I am experiencing, I am taking in new ideas, and I am...
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Zen Shorts
Saturday I was scheduled for a day off and then the plans for that day changed. Instead of canceling my leave, I just decided to do nothing for the day. For me, "nothing" still involves something....
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Listen To What You Are Saying
So I'm sitting here, taking in a lot of the nonsense circulating on the internet today, thinking that the buzz is the same as always, just insert a different name this week. However, and this really...
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Spring Cleaning
Sometimes I start a blog post and don't like how it sounds, so I may bench it for a time where it sparks my interest. I started this last year and just came back through it again. I was thinking...
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Are We Off Limits?
Nobody on this planet can ever accuse me of not having a heart and soul steeped in the tradition of the fire service. And an LODD is no laughing matter. But when the satire site The Onion lampoons a...
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#FRED
By now you have probably seen my insinuation of something interesting via Twitter, a la #FRED. A few weeks back I was listening to some chatter and it popped into my head as an idea to examine...
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Courage
Courage is a commitment to something bigger than yourself. Fear is often considered the opposite of courage, but I would suggest that fear is an important part of courage. Courage comes when you are...
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Children
"It is not for the master of Iaido to control his enemy by his actions, but moreover to control himself and then to defeat his enemy, and to do so in every eventuality, a sudden and decisive sword...
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Unsafe Until Proven Otherwise
I look back at my years as a firefighter and paramedic and recall once being held at gunpoint by an irate patient. This was back in the early 80's and things were a little different then. While I...
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