The I.T. Life

It looks like Netflix has secured a deal with CBS giving them access to every episode of every Star Trek show. Original, Deep Space, Enterprise, you name it they will all be online by October (some will be on in July).

The only downside is this deal limits this to the US, so I won’t be watching this anytime soon.

A dear old friend in Manitoba is getting married this coming February and I will be a groomsmen at the wedding. This is great news, and I am very excited to get out to Winnipeg (and area) to see some old friends, and how things have changes since I last visited (5-6 years ago). The only down site is that it is February and I have sadly become acclimatized to weather on the East Cost. Were just finding the most affordable way to get me out there right now, but it is starting to turn into a great plan; a plan that includes enough travel time to allow for getting stuck in a airport due to blizzard.

Feburary is actually turning out to be a busy (and cold) month for me. The very first weekend I will be taking a Remote Wilderness First-Aid course; it is a three day course and includes a overnight session. I have heard amazing things about the course, and the instructor is a great guy. I’m in the process of deciding what gear I need for a one night overnight camping session in winter. I don’t plan to bring much gear, small, light (and cheap if possible).

On top of all that one of the forums I am a member of is doing a group buy on a very special pocket knife. It will be the Manix by Spyderco, with the form name and logo (EDCF) laser engraved on the blade, and to top it all off glow in the dark handles. It is unfortunately not going to be particularly cheap, and the timing is going to make February kind of expensive, however if I actually manage my money for the next few months it all should come together.

ICE has been on my mind for a while, combined with things like medic alert; I have been trying to come up with a really simple way of having just enough emergency information readily available for those that need it.

Incase you are not aware, ICE is a concept thought up by a British (I believe) paramedic. The concept is to add a contact on your cell phone (or have it written, or stored somewheres) that identifies your emergency contact. It would be done by adding a contact with the name “ICE” (in case of emergency) to your phone, and assigning your mom/wife/dog’s phone number to it. If you are found unconcious on the street, somebody could find the ICE contact in your phone and find out that you are a diabetic.
There is a bit of debate, as most of what could be revealed by your contact will be tested by a paramedic, and double checked before anything is given to you, however it is a great idea.

This is almost like a poor mans medic alert. Which for those that don’t know is a bracelet/necklace with a phone number and an ID. A doctor/medic/nurse can call this number, read them the ID, and be given your up to date history (or as much as you have provided). There is also a website for them to view the data on.

I don’t want to bother with medic-alert, as most of my history isn’t that critical (or at least, isn’t that relevant in a trauma scenario). So I’ve been thinking of something like a dog tag (US Army style… I just don’t like the Canadian ones lol). I have been thinking of a format like this:

LAST NAME FIRST NAME
NS CAN
MSI 0000000000
ICE 0000000000
O NEG

I’ve chatted with a few medics (Canadian and US) and learned a few things. ICE is more important when you are in the hospital, not when they find you on the street. They will test if you are a diabetic, and if you need immediate blood, they will either give you a O NEG variant, or type test it first. If you have heart disease and are having a heart attack, they will treat you for a heart attack as best they can on the way to the hospital. If you need a kidney transplant and they find you in a car accident, they will treat you for immediate injuries. ICE will basically get called possibly by a doctor or nurse once you get there.

The blood type, as I just stated, will not be taken into consideration. They will test your blood type first. And as I am starting to understand, the MSI number (Nova Scotia health card number) may not help that much out side of NS, and even less outside of Canada. However within Nova Scotia, that MSI number will give them absolutely everything they need making every other line of information not necessary.