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Where to Go During an Earthquake

Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing

in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener.

It could save your life 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,

and 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.

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 -

NOT under 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 building

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 bed, 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.

Subject: Save your life with "The Triangle of Life"


"Triangle of Life":

Without listening or reading, simply by looking at the following

self-explanatory photos, you can learn more than in a thousand

words about how to protect yourself during a major earthquake...









If you are inside a vehicle, come out and sit or lie down next to it.

If something falls on the vehicle, it will leave an empty space

along the sides. See below:














Source： 國 際救援小組（ARTI）， 網址：http://www.amerrescue.org/

American Rescue Team International（ARTI）

is said to be the World's most experienced rescue team

and disaster management-mitigation organization.

पॉलिटिक्स ऎंड पोलितिसिंस

For My Western Swing Fans

Adolph Hofner: Born June 8, 1916, Moulton, TX.
Died June 2, 2000 San Antonio, TX
Adolph Hofner and His San Antonians

Adolph was still playing and wowing audiences in San Antonio, TX, almost to the day of his demise, although his health had deteriorated somewhat Hofner became, in his own words, "a confirmed Hillbilly" after listening to Milton Brown and His Brownies and he continued the Western Swing tradition for over 50 years.

The original San Antonians consisted of Adolph's brother Emil; Leonard Seago (formerly with the Tune Wranglers); Bert Ferguson, and Floyd Tillman, who later became a well known songwriter. During WWII, as with the other bands, some of his best men went into the Armed Forces. Still Hofner was able to find such replacements as former Tune Wrangler Eddie Duncan and Leonard Brown. He also began adding Brass players (fiddlers were becoming scarce).

In 1945, when WWII had ended, Hofner moved to California where the band was employed on the Foreman Phillips Country Barn dances for two consecutive years. It was during this period that the band recorded their hit tunes "Sagebrush Shuffle" and "Alamo Rag" for the Columbia Label. In 1949, the band returned to San Antonia, TX where they were employed by the Pearl Beer Company, and called The Pearl Wranglers, who at one time used both of Adolph's daughters as singers and drummers.

During his long and illustrious career, at one time or another, he was called "The Dean of Country Bandleaders," "The King of South Texas Swing", "The Sultan of Swing", and "The Prince of Polka". Once, he was even billed as the "Bing Crosby of Country".
Some combinations seem quite improbable. Who could have predicted that Lisa Marie Presley would ever marry Michael Jackson? Or that Pat Boone would release a heavy metal record album? And who would imagine that a mixture of Bohemian dance music, '30s style swing, polka tunes, and country hoedown rhythms, with a touch of Hawaiian influence, could provide the basis for a successful career? Well, we don't have to imagine it, because a man named Adolph Hofner once conceived of that very thing and executed it so successfully that he remained popular in South Texas for more than 50 years. Outside of Texas he is best remembered, as a pioneer of "Western Swing."
Adolph Hofner was born into the Texas Czech-German community and recorded not only hot Western Swing, but also mellow "heart songs" as well as old Czech polkas and waltzes, many actually sung in Czech! Over the years his smooth vocals led to a sometimes billing as the "Bing Crosby of Country”. But Hofner was so versatile that at one time or another, he has also been called "The Dean of Country Bandleaders", "The Sultan of Swing", "The Prince of Polka", and "The King of South Texas Swing". Who is this man who inspired such an enthusiastic following?
Adolph Hofner was born in Moulton, Texas, a small Czech community in Lavaca County between Houston and San Antonio. His mother was Czech, his father German and Czech. Czech was his first language, and polka music the sound of his youth. As a boy he attended Bohemian dance halls and listened to "oom-pah" bands. The Hofner family moved to San Antonio when Adolph was 10 years old. Thereafter he was exposed to many different styles of music, among them the recordings of Hawaiian string groups who, after experiencing a short-lived wave of popularity in the late '20s and early '30s, left the steel guitar as a legacy to country, bluegrass, and rock 'n roll music. Hofner said: "That's what got me started on string, Hawaiian guitars."
Adolph and his younger brother Emil both learned to play stringed instruments at an early age, starting when they ordered a ukulele from a catalog. When the mailman delivered it: "We like to broke the ukulele before we got it into the house fighting over it." By the early 1930's Adolph and Emil were taking guitar lessons. Adolph learned the guitar, while Emil concentrated on the steel guitar. Hofner listened avidly to such artists as Jimmie Rodgers, Bing Crosby, and Russ Colombo -- even Rudy Vallee. Then he heard Milton Brown and his Brownies. "Now that's what sold me on western music --because they had a band." The Hofner brothers played in San Antonio clubs when and where they could. Adolph can remember playing at an outdoor dance for the princely sum of 50 cents. Eventually, the brothers teamed up with a fellow named Simon Garcia; forming a trio they called "The Hawaiian Serenaders." It was with Simon Garcia that Adolph learned "Maria Elena," later to become a big recording hit for him.
After a time the group landed a 15-minute Sunday radio spot on KTSA. The boys were only half way into the program when the radio station cut them off the air. Adolph was so disgusted that he almost gave up the music business. Elsewhere in San Antonio, a man named Jimmie Revard had been fronting a little combo and was looking to put together a professional group. Revard heard the Hofner brothers at the Monte Carlo Inn and was taken by Emil and his steel guitar work. The boys were still teenagers, so Revard hired Adolph as well, being afraid that the younger brother wouldn't come along otherwise. The group took the name "Oklahoma Playboys" to distinguish themselves from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
The Hofners first recorded with Jimmie Revard and his Oklahoma Cowboys at the Texas Hotel in San Antonio on October 22, 1936. That's Adolph in the little color picture with his guitar in the center of the Jimmie Revard group. Brother Emil is shown seated with the guitar across his lap. Jimmie Revard is second from the left.
At one time the "Oklahoma Cowboys" actually relocated to Oklahoma, but the Hofners ultimately left the group to return to San Antonio. Again Adolph considered giving up music. He accepted a position as a mechanic in San Antonio, but this job lasted only three weeks. He didn't much care for the work and missed playing his music. In the late '30s Hofner went to work for Tom Dickey and The Showboys, with whom he recorded "It Makes No Difference Now," a tune, with Adolph's vocal, that led to a rise in his popularity. The Showboys had a little radio spot and Hofner was fired from the group for being late to the studio one day. Thereafter, forming his own group and being his own boss seemed like the thing to do.
By 1938 "Adolph Hofner and All the Boys" were performing around San Antonio and other parts of South Texas. The "Boys" entered the recording studio on October 25, 1938, under the name "Texans" so that the record-buying public would know where they were from. When it turned out that someone had a copyright on that name, the group changed its name to "Adolph Hofner and His San Antonians". A recording session on February 13, 1940 produced Hofner's recording of "Maria Elena," a big enough hit to insure a successful career. In 1941 another session produced "Cotton-Eyed Joe," Hofner's version of which was something of a national hit; indeed, he may have been the first ever to record the tune.
As with many other groups, the personnel changed over the years. The group (shown below) that recorded at least 7 numbers at the February 13, 1940, session included:

• Adolph Hofner -- Guitar and Vocals
• Emil Hofner -- Steel Guitar
• Leonard Seago -- Fiddle
• Johnny Reeves -- Fiddle and Drums
• Bert Ferguson -- Piano
• Buck Wheeler -- Bass
Hofner remained regionally popular throughout the 1940s and 50s. During World War II the similarity of his name to Adolph Hitler caused the sort of discomfort that can easily be imagined. But performing as "Dolph" Hofner & the San Antonians he enjoyed a few good years playing for Foreman Phillips out in California. In the 1950s the band came under the sponsorship of the Pearl Beer company and the "Boys"/"Texans"/"San Antonians" became the "Pearl Wranglers."
Over the years Adolph and his boys recorded for many labels, including Imperial, Columbia, RCA, Decca, and Sarg. The repertoire included not only Western Swing, but also a wide variety of other popular styles and themes. With all due respect to Bob Wills, Adolph Hofner can also lay claim to a share of the credit for pioneering and spreading the popularity of Western Swing from Texas to California and around the world.
A changing marketplace and age had forced Adolph Hofner to slow down in his last years, but he also begun receiving increased recognition for his accomplishments. Among the honors and awards bestowed to date:
• Member of Country Music Hall of Fame --Nashville
• Recipient of the Encore Award--Texas Music Association
• Member of Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame
• Member of Texas Polka Music Association Hall of Fame
• Member of Washington Western Swing Hall of Fame
• Member of Country Music Association of Texas Hall of Fame
• Recipient of Western Swing Society Hall of Fame award
• Song "Green Meadow Waltz"-- Library of Congress
In his final years, Mr. Hofner was sought after for interviews by college professors, students, and authors, as well as TV and radio personalities, all seeking to get a first-hand story from a country music legend. Adolph Hofner died on June 2, 2000, at his home in San Antonio, Texas, just a few days short of his 84th birthday.