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Oplopanax Horridus

Oplopanax Horridus

A veteran SAR volunteer's experiences in British Columbia

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Tag: rant

URL Redirection Rant

By Michael Coyle Posted on 09/12/2015 Posted in Short Posts Tagged with rant, technology, web

A few months back I had to deal with a “webmaster” on a national site that deals with public safety information. They had some very critical public safety information at a link and literally hundreds of web sites linked to …

URL Redirection Rant Read more »

What does an under-funded SAR system look like?

By Michael Coyle Posted on 27/03/2014 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with accountability, funding, rant, SAR
What does an under-funded SAR system look like?

An under-funded SAR system might be difficult to detect, how do we tell when we don’t have enough resources to do things right?

Looking good versus being good

By Michael Coyle Posted on 08/08/2013 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with emergency response, funding, politics, rant
Looking good versus being good

You get more attention reacting to an emergency than by quietly avoiding it, a rant on appearing to be good versus being good.

On posting rewards

By Michael Coyle Posted on 18/06/2013 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with opinion, rant, reward, SAR, Tyler Wright
On posting rewards

The family of a Canadian man missing in Australia posted $100,000 reward for his recovery alive or dead. Amateurs from all over converge on site.

Stop with the Smart Phones already

By Michael Coyle Posted on 30/11/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with backcountry, communications, gear, GPS, opinion, rant, safety, smart phone, social media, technology

People are still under the impression a Smart Phone can replace a GPS in the wilderness, and they’re still wrong.

The idiocy of using social media to call for help

By Michael Coyle Posted on 11/10/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with backcountry, communications, GPS, rant, smart phone, smartphone, social media, technology
The idiocy of using social media to call for help
Share designed by <a href="http://www.thenounproject.com/Mikhail1986">Michael Rowe</a> from the <a href="http://www.thenounproject.com">Noun Project</a>

Why posting to Social Media when you are lost is a very very stupid thing to do

Invest in Disaster Management

By Michael Coyle Posted on 23/07/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with emergency, management, rant, risk, science

Climate change means less stable weather, and more disasters. We have to be more efficient at managing emergencies.

The ACC requires digital avalanche beacons

By Michael Coyle Posted on 17/10/2011 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with avalanche, beacon, opinion, rant, safety, snow, winter

I’m a member of the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC), Vancouver Section, so I get their monthly “Alpine-E-r” newsletter. For the past several months I’ve noticed the following message in the newsletter: NEW BEACON POLICY The ACC has a new …

The ACC requires digital avalanche beacons Read more »

SPOT Connect and Smart Phones

By Michael Coyle Posted on 06/09/2011 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with communications, mobile phone, rant, review, safety, SAR, smart phone, technology

I’d like to direct people to Will Gadd’s article on the SPOT Connect. I’ve previously written how smartphones should not be used as a primary navigation device for backcountry travelers. Will points out that the SPOT connect, when paired with …

SPOT Connect and Smart Phones Read more »

On Outdoor Responsibility

By Michael Coyle Posted on 23/01/2011 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with backcountry, opinion, rant, SAR
On Outdoor Responsibility
Our 50m rap onto the glacier

I found an interesting site the other day: Leave No Trace (there is a Canadian offshoot as well). It’s a site that promotes outdoor ethics and offers guidance on the best practises to preserve wilderness values, and reduce the impact …

On Outdoor Responsibility Read more »

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