Misusage of Technology

This is a real incident that happened in a local hospital in
Bangalore, India.

A 4 year old girl was admitted due to leg
fracture. As it was an open fracture, she had to undergo an
operation to stitch the protruding bone back in place. Though it was
quite a minor operation, she was hooked on to life support system,
as a part of the process. The doctors had to input some data prior
to the operation to suit different conditions.Thereafter , the
operation proceeded. Half way through the process, the life support
system suddenly went dead.

The culprit: - Some one was using his/her hand-phone outside the
operation theatre. And the frequency had affected the system. They
tried to track the fellow but to no avail. The little girl, young
and innocent as she was died soon after.

"Be compassionate! Do not use your hand phone /mobiles especially at
any hospitals or within the Aircraft or petrol bunk or any places
where you are told not to use it... You might not be caught in the
act, but you might have killed someone without knowing". Sometimes
it's a matter of Life & Death....!!!!

Please pass this to as many, since most of us are just not aware of
the seriousness of this issue.

Please Don't Delete. Please Send this to all your contacts and help
save a life.

A small effort can save a life.

Messages from Old Boys 24

Msg from Ganesh Purohit
Dear Ganesh

You are right; we should not hang them before they are found guilty.
It is only that the police are so inept in catching culprits when they are well connected, that people have lost confidence in them. It is only when the media and the conscious people raise their voices that the police take action.
In Kolkata too we have the same problems.
Hospitals do not admit seriously ill patients citing various excuses. It is only when the papers raise the issue are those patients. I now seems that it is better to first go to the newspaper office and then to the hospital, if you have a serious problem.
It is only when the police and other officials do not do their duty that people start raising doubts on their impartiality.

Radheshyam


Just thing about the Noida case...let's not hang the Talwar parents before they are found guilty. Police are known for manufacturing anything so save their skin....
Ganesh

Msg from Arlene Barber

Dear Arlene,
Keith Hayward was my classmate.
He now lives in Australia with his wonderful family.
There are quite a few of our old Goethals boys living in Australia.
Keith's mail ID is
keith.hayward@three.com.au
kayinh@optusnet.com
You can try both of them.
I won't mark a copy of this mail to him.
I would like you to surprise him.
I am glad to be of some help.
Best regards

Radheshyam

Dear Radheshyam,

You may be surprised to hear from me, as I am neither an 'old boy' nor from Goethals but your mail to Peter caught my eye. I have been looking for the Hayward brothers for some time now but forays into the Net have brought no results, i.e. till I saw your mail. Would love to make contact with them if you could forward an e-mail id. We were neighbors years ago in Hastings, Calcutta till they immigrated. Pl help.

Many thanks,

Arlene Barber (nee Blanche)

Msg from Richard Johnson

Dear Radheshyam,

You will be pleased to know that I have another 'nibble' at the 'Baton' project - Saurabh Pramanik (pramaniksk@gmail.com) has started a conversation - I hope he keeps at it - I have replied and will continue to be in touch with him.

Just a small matter which I should refer to ... from your last email - I am not retired - as yet - I work full time as an academic at Deakin University. I love my work and I guess that's what makes me continue...

Warm regards

Richard

Dear Richard,
The picture and the text are truly inspirational.
I had mentioned the blog idea in one my weekly mails to all our boys.
They will take time to flower and come up with their pieces.
You, I and all the other pre-65 batch boys are retired or semis retired and have all the time in the world to take fast action.
The younger lot is still working and earning their bread and butter and will only respond with a bit of cajoling. Some who may have bad experiences at Goethals will not respond at all or rather they will be hindrances rather than facilitators. We have to be just patient and be after them to get them to sit down and write.
Every week it would be good if you let me know the number of responses you have received so that I can mention that in the mails.
Yours is a very good idea, we must patiently nourish it.
Best regards

Radheshyam

Dear Radheshyam,

As promised, this is the image and text that I find inspirational - I thought about it when I read your 'Baton piece', it is part of a larger set.

I wondered what you would think about this idea: Given that only a limited number of Goethalites have access to the blog and actually read what goes on, maybe the 'Baton' idea could be posted by mail to a massive list of Goethalites. Maybe Basant and Rajah would have access to such a mailing list. For economic reasons, it would best be done from India. I would have to find out how much it would cost and then see if it is doable. What do you think?

I am in touch with Jeff (Knight) - I sent him the info on the blog...

Regards

Richard

Msg from Ralph

Hey Radesh,
Thanks for the news update and the pictures. They were great. I particularly liked the lock gates in Scotland. I work in an environment, which involves lock gates all the time, but these are pretty conventional gates, not so high tech like those.
Got a chance to communicate with Jeff Dessa my classmate and he is just a hop step and jump from Toronto in Chicago. I should be calling him sometime soon.
Willy, CS and self should be meeting sometime in June. Is Manual D'Gama here in Toronto too? Would you know? Jeff thought he would be. No idea.
Anyway, take care and thanks once again.
My best regards,
Ralph

One handed Sportsman

For those interested in sports, these five pictures
show how easy it is to be a sportsman.
In any sports you do require your hands.
This artist has used only one hand to play a range of sports.
You decide which are the sports being played.

GMS Sports Day 2007: Lasting records and memories... (May 30, 2008)

From: Richard Johnson

I enjoy reading all the contributions to this blog but I have to say, I really enjoyed ‘Down Memory Lane’. I couldn’t recognise the faces but everyone looked so familiar. We may not know each other but we have so much in common!

Let me attempt to share the 2007 GMS sports day with you… I have in the past found that ‘going back’ is usually a difficult experience because things are never the same and usually I have perceived a deterioration. However, this was not the case in ‘going back’ to the 2007 Sports Day. It was fantastic. We must remember that GMS now goes to Class 10, so the boys are younger than we were in the ‘old days’ - as a result, records are slower and distances are also further… It was still a great event with all the special features. Have a close look at the program.








The enduring records have got to be classified as ‘great’. Foremost among those is the name K.Wallace. It was so fantastic to see him do a lap of honour – still looking so fit and well – a great athlete and a great person.

I would like to draw your attention to another name which may go unnoticed - A.Gazi – a very special friend of mine. We were in class together and then did our B.Com together at St.Xaviers in Kolkata. I used to often ride over to his place on my bicycle and ring the bell and his mother would then announce “Bablooo, Richard has arrived…”. The name stuck and I will always know him as ‘Babs’. We spent some very special times together pre and post the 2007 reunion.


In those earlier days I don’t think I ever realised the importance of those relationships – friends… My ‘baton message’ will be something along those lines … And yet, we seem to leave the learning about relationships to chance. There is a good argument to attend to in the school curriculum … but then we would want to test it in an exam … maybe… Maybe, we need to model it in our own lives. I don’t feel comfortable saying that ... I feel I’m still learning…

So, sometime in the 80’s I remember feeling at home and yet so far away from home … I bemoaned my lack of contacts back in India. I remember thinking about all those people who meant so much to me at school and yet, I was not in contact with them. So, I had a fad – I put an advertisement in the Kolkata Statesman: "Arun Gazi, Goethals Memorial School 1963, please contact Richard Johnson ….". Mita, Babs’s wife tells me that she happened to be reading the paper and the name caught her eye… Isn’t it amazing. I visited Kolkata in the 90's and caught up with Babs, his wife and his young son and daughter. I am the ‘godfather’ of his daughter whom I met again in ’07, a young woman now, just graduated and his son, a young career guy with all ahead of him… I can’t describe the joy or put a value on the whole experience. These lasting relationships are priceless.

Please note (Sorry, but the scanned image appers somewhat blurred) that Arun (Babs) Gazi’s record still stands in the 110 m Hurdles! Here’s a picture of me in very good athletic company – on the left Arun (Babs) Gazi and on the right Brother Martin (Freddy)Fernandes



Then, there’s Pon Mei Son, not surprisingly, he still holds the record for the A Division 110 m Hurdles – 15.0 sec… Do you remember him? He was a silky smooth mover – poetry in motion…

Here’s a picture of the 1962 prefects. Pon Mei Son is in the back row, third from the left. Let’s try the other names … please correct me if I’m wrong… Front row: Rai (great full Back), Rath, Bro. Ponise, Gupta, Conroy – Back row: Singh, Johnson, Pon Mei Son, Sarkar.

Vintage Photographs

Thanks again to Marc Sayce for sending these vintage Photographs.
He seems to be the only boy who is allowing us a peep into his treasure chest.
Come on others, dust the pictures from the albums lying in your cupboards and send them to us so that all the others too can recall the "good old days"

Marc Sayce and C S Pan
Malcolm Ferron in Kurseong
C S Pan

Help for Stroke Patients

Here is some ideas for persons who suffer from High Blood Pressure.
If you suffer from HBP, never be casusal in taking your medication.
Try to reduce your medication by doing Pranayam, Yoga, Meditation and Morning walks.
If you follow the above, you will never rquire the treatment below. For people who do not follow the above, please read on. It could prevent the permanent damage suffered by persons suffering from stroke.

A NEEDLE CAN SAVE THE LIFE OF A STROKE PATIENT - From A Chinese professor

This is amazing. Please keep this handy.. Excellent tips. Do take a minute to read this. You never know.....someone's life may depend on you one day!!
Keep a syringe or needle in your home to do this... It's amazing and an unconventional way of recovering from stroke, read it through.

'My father was paralyzed and later died from the result of a stroke. I wish I knew about this first aid before today. When stroke strikes, the capillaries in the brain will gradually burst.'(Irene Liu)

When witness a stroke occurring, stay calm. No matter where the victim is, do not move him/her. Because, if moved, the capillaries will burst. Gently help the victim to sit up. Prevent him from falling over again, and then the bloodletting can begin. If you have in your home an injection syringe that would be the best, otherwise, a sewing needle or a straight pin will do.

1. Place the needle/pin over fire to sterilize it, and then use it to prick the tip of all 10 fingers.

2. There are no specific acupuncture points, just prick about a mm from the fingernail.

3. Prick till blood comes out.

4. If blood does not start to drip, then squeeze with your fingers.

5. When all 10 digits is bleeding, wait a few minutes then the victim will regain consciousness.

6. If the victim's mouth is crooked, then pull on his ears until they are red.

7. Then prick each ear lobe twice until two drops of blood comes from each ear lobe. After a few minutes the victim should regain consciousness.

Wait till the victim regain his normal state without any abnormal symptoms then take him to the hospital, otherwise, if he was taken in the ambulance in a hurry to the hospital, the bumpy trip will cause all the capillaries in his brain to burst. If he could save his life, barely managing to walk, then it is by the grace of his ancestors.

' I learned about letting blood to save life from Chinese traditional doctor Ha Bu-Ting who lives in Sun-Juke. Furthermore, I had practical experience with it. Therefore I can say this method is 100% effective.In 1979, I was teaching inFung-Gaap College in Tai-Chung. One afternoon I was teaching class when another teacher came running to my class room and said in panting, 'Ms. Liu, come quick, our supervisor has had a stroke!'

I immediately went to the 3rd floor. When I saw our supervisor, Mr.Chen Fu-Tien, his color was off, his speech was slurred, his mouth was crooked-all the symptoms of a stroke. I immediately asked one of the practicum students to go to the pharmacy outside the school to buy a syringe, which I used to prick Mr. Chen's 10 fingers tips. When all 10 fingers were bleeding (each with a pea-sized drop of blood), after a few minutes, Mr. Chen's face regained its color and his eyes' spirit returned, too. But his mouth was still crooked. So I pulled on his ears to fill them with blood. When his ears became red, I pricked his right earlobe twice to let out 2 drops of blood. When both earlobes had two drops of blood each, a miracle happened. Within 3-5 minutes the shape of his mouth returned to normal and his speech became clear. We let him rest for a while and have a cup of hot tea, then we helped him go down the stairs, drove him to Wei-Wah Hospital . He rested one night and was released the next day to return to school to teach.

Everything worked normally. There were no ill after-effects. On the other hand, the usual stroke victim usually suffers irreparable bursting of the brain capillaries on the way to the hospital. As a result, these victims never recover.- ' (Irene Liu)

Therefore stroke is the second cause of death. The lucky ones will stay alive but can remain paralyzed for life. It is such a horrible thing to happen in one's life. If we can all remember this bloodletting method and start the life-saving process immediately, in a short time, the victim will be revived and regain 100% normality.

If possible, please forward this after reading. You never know as it may help save a life one day...

Smileys

Today is black Monday.
A new week starts and nobody likes going to school or office.
So, here are two incidents taken from Rex Barker's "Joke of the Day" to lighten your burden.

Maths Miracles ...
Little Rahul, was failing in maths. His parents tried everything. Tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning centers, but nothing helped. As a last resort, someone told them to try a Catholic School.

"Those nuns are tough" they said.

Rahul was soon enrolled at St Helen's. After school on the very first day Rahul ran through the door and straight to his room, without even kissing his mother. He started studying furiously, books and papers spread all over his room. Right after dinner, he ran upstairs without mentioning TV and hit the books harder than before. His parents were amazed.

This behavior continued for weeks, until report card day arrived. Rahul quietly laid the envelope on the table and went to his room. With great trepidation, his mother opened the report.

Rahul had an gotten an 'A +' in maths!
She ran up to his room, threw her arms around him and asked,
"Rahul , how did this happen? Was it the nuns?"

"No" said Rahul. "On the first day of school when I saw that man nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling around".

Would You Light My Candle...

Mrs. Donovan was walking down O'Connell Street in Dublin when she met up with Father Flaherty.
The Father said, 'Top o' the mornin' to ye! Aren't ye Mrs. Donovan and didn't I marry ye and yer hoosband 2 years ago?'
She replied, 'Aye, that ye did, Father.'
The Father asked, 'And be there any wee little ones yet?'
She replied, 'No, not yet, Father.'
The Father said, 'Well now, I'm going to Rome next week and I'll light a candle for ye and yer hoosband.'
She replied, 'Oh, thank ye, Father.'
They then parted ways.
Some years later they met again.
The Father asked, 'Well now, Mrs. Donovan , how are ye these days?'
She replied, 'Oh, very well, Father!'
The Father asked, 'And tell me, have ye any wee ones yet?'
She replied, 'Oh yes, Father! Three sets of twins and 4 singles, 10 in all!'
The Father said, 'That's wonderful! How is yer loving hoosband doing?'
She replied, 'E's gone to Rome to blow out yer candle.'

Down Memory Lane

Thanks to Mark Sayce for these snaps he has sent,
the 3rd batch of pictures.
I didn't upload three of them as the pictures were
too small to be recognizable.
The joy on the faces of the boys show that they seem to be
going out on an excursion down by the First field.

On the dance floor? Or in a different world?
Notice the glazed looks in their eyes.
K S Liu with partner
Jeffery Hyde with partner
They look a happy couple.
Wonder what their spouse would think of them now?

Here are four photographs of the band in action, other than playing their instruments. Here they are at last seen playing

Fiddling with Genes

Some days ago there was a news item in the Telegraph of large size tomatoes grown in China, about eight to ten times the size of normal tomatoes which see in the market. Placing the seeds of different vegetables in spacecrafts, which then circled the earth, did this. It seems rays from outer space, which changed the genetic structure of the vegetables, bombarded the seeds. Well it all worked to good purpose if it solves the world’s food problem.
However, I would suggest that these experiments be restricted to only vegetable and plant seeds and not be carried forward to the next stage, i.e. animal and human eggs and sperms.
Just imagine what monsters we would be having if George Bushes and Osama Bin Ladin’s parents’ sperms and eggs had been bombarded with those rays.
Or imagine the problems our culling team would have had during a bird flew if all those poultry they had to cull were over 100 Kg each. It is mind-boggling. As it is, they had put up their hands culling the existing teeny breed of fouls.
Or suppose Hitler’s, Mussolini’s, Stalin’s , Aurangazeb’s, Chengiz Khan’s parents had had their eggs bombarded. Imagine the additional suffering people would have had to endure.
But there are advantages.
How much more peaceful the world would have been if Jesus’, Buddha’s. Mahavir’s, Mahmud’s and other religious ideas were larger to embrace more people and save them.
The possibilities are vast and scary.
I just hope they do not fiddle with our genes.

MUNNABHAI MBBS DICTIONARY

Some two or three years back,Bollywood, (India’s answer to Hollywood) gave us a hilarious comedy by the name of “Munnabhai MBBS”.
This was about a Mumbai Don who decides to get a degree in medicine by hook or by crook, just to impress his father who lives in a small town.
We were all in stitches throughout the picture.
This was followed with sequel “Lage Raho Munnabhai”. About the same don who tries to change the world by using Gandhism. This too was a very entertaining movie though it did not get the same laughs as the original.
For all those who understand Hindi I would advise to see both the movies. If they have problems with Hindi, they could try and get dubbed copies and watch the movies. I hope you do not burst.

Our own Lalit Narayan has sent us a dictionary of medical terms as understood by Munnabhai, the doctor.
From it you will understand the versatility of Munnabhai

1) Antibody - Against everyone

2) Artery - The study of fine paintings

3) Bacteria - Back door to a cafeteria

4) Bowel - Letters like a,e,I,o,u

5) Caesarian Section - A district in Rome

6) Cardiology - Advanced study of Poker playing

7) Cat Scan - Searching for lost kitty

8) Coma - Punctuation mark Yaar, Simple!

9) Cyst - A short for sister

10) Diagnosis - Person with slanted nose

11) Dilate - The late British Princess Diana

12) Enema - Not a friend

13) False Labor - Pretending to work

14) Genes - Blue denim

15) Hernia - She is close by

16) Hymen - Greeting to several males

17) Impotent - distinguished / well-known

18) Labor Pain - Hurt at work

19) Menopause - Men no wait

20) Microbes - Small dressing gowns

21) Obesity - City of Obe

22) Pacemaker - Winner of Nobel Peace Prize

23) Protein - in favor of teens

24) Pulse – Grain

25) Pus - Small cat

26) Red Blood Count – Dracula

27) Secretion – Hiding anything

28) Tablet - Small table

29) Urine - Opposite of you are out

30) Varicose - Very close

Msgs from Old Boys - 23

Msgs between Keith and Sir, Mr. Lobo

Sorry Keith
I don't have the addresses you require but I will put out feelers and ask my Kolkata contacts if they can help.
Had no luck with getting any information re: George Butcher's Wife.
I have been a bit slack with keeping up with my correspondence but suffice to say all's well with us and hope the same for you and the family.

Cheers
Matt
Subject: Email Address


Hi Matt,
I need a favour please!
Do you have an Email Address for Donald & Pam Crain Saigal?
I received an Email from Lionel Lumb,
He remembered my Mum & Dad from the Grail Club (Card Sessions) as well as me & Richard.
If you like to have his Email Address, I'll send it to you. Please keep in touch
Bye for now.
Keith.

Msg from Safiul Huda

Safiul,

Yes, you require the Gmail account to access the blg. I have noted your new ID (gmail). Shall I send all your mails to the new ID? The gmail mailbox never overflows and so mails do not bounce.
I'll congratulate you after you have posted the first article, for which I have been waiting for the last two/three months.
JK has also started writing in the blog. You must have seen his articles. He is presently Kolkata and will be here up to the 17th June.
JK has been busy renewing old relations after coming on the net
Jeff is shuttling between New Zealand and Australia and all my weekly mails to him get a standard reply that is will be in NZ up to ... and to contact him at ....(a cell no) in case of emergency.
It seems he has become very busy lately.
Tomorrow S P Chatterjee is holding an exhibition of the photographs with those of others of his photographic group. I'll tell you more about it after going to it.
Cheers,

Radheshyam


Radheshyam:

I've decided to take the plunge. This is the first time I'm using my
gmail account. Hope I'm doing it right and you get this. From one of
your letters I just now discovered you need to have my gmail address
so as to allow me access to upload. My gmail address is
safiulhuda@gmail.com.

Haven't heard from Jeff in a while. My emails to him bounce back
undelivered. Know anything?

Hopefully, by Monday, when I come back to office, I'll be able to
upload something. I still have that stuff on Oscars. I'll upload
that even though it is now dated.

I was very pleased to receive a letter from J.K.Ghosh. I replied and
am now anxiously awaiting his response.

All the best,

Safiul

Msg from Naranjan Punjabi
Hi Radheshyam

Thanks a lot for taking precious time and energy to keep all Goethalites in touch. I really look forward to your weekly updates.

Here's one on Dubai......

Regards
Naranjan

George Carlin, on Ageing

George Carlin is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor and author.
He is especially noted for his political and black humor and his observations on language, psychology and religion along with many taboo subjects.

George Carlin on aging!

IF YOU DON'T READ THIS TO THE VERY END, YOU HAVE LOST A DAY IN YOUR LIFE.. AND WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED, DO AS I AM DOING.
George Carlin's Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away .

And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!


HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE…………….

GOD BLESS YOU!

Please Consider: Passing the Baton!

From: Richard Johnson, May, 23, 2008

The idea of the publication ‘Passing the Baton: messages from ‘old boys’…’ has received quite a bit of support as a ‘good idea’ but we now have to translate it into action.

I thought I’d start discussing a few strategies and ideas to get the process of writing going. I hope I don’t sound patronising – that is not the intention. I know that all you Goethalites know how to write, but it is important that we have a shared understanding of the nature and purpose of this anticipated publication.

Imagine you have before you a current boy from Goethals between the age group of ten and sixteen years. Pass him a baton – a story written on one, two or three pages (at the most). Introduce yourself (when did you attend GMS and a few other bits about you – maximum half a page) then put your lesson/message in a succinct few lines (we will always have a symbol of a hand passing a baton to another hand whenever we have a message – that will be a standard symbol)


and then write your story (it is your story, don’t describe someone else’s lesson or story – this is a very personal message) – this is the context of your message – this is the birthplace of your message, the experience that led to your message. The lesson or message need not be original, but the context or the story that you have is what makes it a ‘lived message’ – your message. For example, if you want to make your ‘Baton Message’: Family is the most important connection you can ever have – nurture it and respect it. Now, that would be considered by most as an ‘old message’ but that does not matter, it is the personal story you have to go with it that matters. Remember that boy sitting before you – you have to grab his attention, engage him and give him something that he will keep. A tall order at any time, especially with the current generation of young people. Oops… there I go, I am sounding like an old man… So, the three vital parts of a contribution will be, you introducing yourself, your message and the context or story of your message…The order of those three components may vary. If we agree on that form, we have a standard shape for each contribution and we can go ahead.

In the session we ran at the 2007 reunion at GMS, there were a lot of good ideas, one was from a Goethalite from the US (I think) – he must have been in his forties at the most, so, I’d call him ‘young’ – he had a great message and he put it strongly… He was a surgeon (I think) and his message was about not taking things for granted, about how tough the road ahead would be and how the young Goethalites needed to position themselves amidst strong opposition… he was passionate about his message. I hope he is reading this – I would love him to contribute to the book. As I said in a previous message, it would be unfortunate if we believe that the only experiences worth passing on are success stories - stories of the 'great old goats' who played in Olympic teams and excelled through peak performances. They are important and their successes should be celebrated. But we should acknowledge that everyone has something worth passing on - experiences/lessons/wisdom/faith/survival/healing/family …

This is a picture I took at the 'Passing the Baton' session at the '07 reunion...

I haven’t had any offers so far. Please let’s get going. There’s no hurry, but we should make a start and then we can set targets. No one is going to be excluded. So, send me an email to let me know if you would like to contribute individually or in a small group – I will then ask you for a brief outline.

Remember, if there is limited support we may be able to put together a small pamphlet; if there is a lot of support and contributions, we could have a book (that’s what I am aiming for). I will let people know what’s going on in a regular report on this Blog. If I get a sufficient response to aim for a book, I will openly, in this Blog call for a team to be formed to be the ‘reference group’. There should be no ‘ownership’ of this project – all contributors will be acknowledged by name – if any money is made through sales (if that’s what we decide) the money should go to the appropriate Christian Brothers’ authority to sponsor ‘students in need’ to study at GMS.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Richard Johnson
Faculty of Arts & Education
Deakin University
221 Burwood Highway
Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
Telephone: +613 92446438
Email: rjj@deakin.edu.au

Earthquake survival

The world has had two earthquakes (Myanmar and China) in the last one month and it is anybody's guess as to the number of people killed. One lakh would be a near figure.
Some years back, we had our own earthquake in Latur, Karnataka.
Only the vultures and politicians make profit in these natural calamaties. Vutures because they get a feast of human flesh and politicians because they get surplus funds in the form of rehabilation aid from Internationals agencies which they siphon off.
The general public suffer.
This article is for the general public, for vultures cannot read and I would not wish any politician to be saved during a natural calamoty. The more they died, the better it would be for the nation.

Radheshyam


Please read this and pass the info along to your family members; it could save their lives someday!
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team.
The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.
I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years.
I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
"We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly"
In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of Istanbul, Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my "triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Handle with Care - Babies

Dropping Bertie Wooster on his head when he was a baby is only one of the faults, which caused his mental retardation, as P G Woodhouse was wont to say. There are many other forms of mishandling of babies we do. I my self-stand accused for some of them when I was a young father. But now that I am going on to become a grandfather, you bet I am not going to repeat the faults mentioned in the pictures below.
This article is for both who are soon to be fathers or have just become and grandfathers