In regard to the recent disasters, I have been bugging the crew at the
CISSPforum
about getting some training in order to be able to volunteer to help out in an
emergency.

It appears I owe them an apology. I have been posting my exhortations on the
assumption that most jurisdictions have a provincial/state emergency program set
up with a training curriculum. Turns out that BC is pretty much a leader in
this regard. (Apparently, at the emergency services meeting here in Vancouver
recently, we had people from various states in the US desparately copying and
grabbing everything they could from the provincial emergency services people.)

SO, now I'm gonna bug you guys, locally. Since we have the best setup going for
emergency training, we should be taking advantage of it. Much of the training
is
free (and, for those who have the CISSP or other certs that need continuing ed,
you can get CPEs for taking it).

The Provincial Emergency Program office in BC, which runs the program, is
available at http://www.pep.bc.ca/. Much of their training is done in
conjunction
with the Justice Institute of BC (which also does a lot of police and fire
training):
http://www.jibc.bc.ca/emergency/default.htm. Another major partner is, of
course, the Red Cross: the Canadian branch is at redcross.ca. If you live on
the
North Shore (North Van city or district, or West Van), then there is a North
Shore Emergency Office that you can contact (www.dnv.org/NSEmergency).

====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
rslade@... slade@... rslade@...
What about the main thing in life, all its riddles? If you want,
I'll spell it out for you right now. Do not pursue what is
illusory--property and position: all that is gained at the
expense of your nerves decade after decade, and is confiscated
in one fell night. Live with a steady superiority over life--
don't be afraid of misfortune, and do not yearn after happiness;
it is, after all, all the same: the bitter doesn't last forever,
and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing. It is enough
if you don't freeze in the cold, and if thirst and hunger don't
claw at your insides. If your back isn't broken, if your feet
can walk, if both arms can bend, if both eyes see, and if both
ears hear, then whom should you envy? And why? Our envy of
others devours us most of all. Rub your eyes and purify your
heart--and prize above all else in the world those who love you
and who wish you well. Do not hurt them or scold them, and never
part from any of them in anger; after all, you simply do not
know: it might be your last act before your arrest, and that will
be how you are imprinted in their memory!
- The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn
http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev or http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade