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The expenses involved in keeping our vehicles running after a volcano ash fallout can be astronomical. Vehicles are often essential equipment in our mobility, and therefore using precautions in maintaining their mechanical soundness will be crucial in having transportation. Just scratching our windows if we don’t keep wiping the blades with water is one of the many concerns. This is a good time to be a mechanic or mechanically inclined.
-use a cloth and water to frequently wipe down the blades in order to avoid scratching the windshield.
-The alternator will need to be cleaned with compressed air at the garage, every 500 miles or so for a few months, depending on the severity of the ash fallout and dust spreading.
-Wheel brake area will need to be cleaned every 50 to 100 miles during dire road conditions from ash fallout, again with compressed air.
-Have the air filter in the vehicle cleaned. You can also help clean it by blowing air from the inside out. Talk to a mechanic about cleaning it effectively however. And if you don’t have an air filter, you shouldn’t be driving the car.
-One of the more costly expenses due to the frequency needed, will be changing the oil and oil filters. This means you may need to change them every 50 to 100 miles, or every 400 depending on the severity of ash fallout. You do not want the engine ruined.
Stock up on water and cloths for the car, as you will need these to keep the windshield area and wipers cleaned.
-As with anyone involved in this type of cleanup, filter masks, respirators, goggles, and hats or another type of head cover will be not only helpful, but for most of those items, crucial in keeping your health.
Don’t travel unless absolutely necessary. Every department in towns and cities will be dealing with the same transportation issues but on a larger scale. Services will not be available or not available with the speed and efficiency you are accustomed to, so response times for police, ambulance, coast guard, military utilities and other government offices will be very slow or non-existent for a while so patience and innovative alternatives may be necessary.
Fred Beck autocrossing in his BMW 2002, chased by a police cruiser with lights and siren. He has to slow down every so often to let the cop catch up.
The design of steel body armor and ballistics mesh well when speaking about self protection. The history books have shown that bullets and firearms are parallel and the means of preventing death when one is punctured with bullets. Around the Middle-ages, and Italian blacksmith that was know for his skills creating body armor, was commissioned by the Duke to create the first bullet or projectile proof clothing. However as time went on it became clear that body armor was reducing the effectiveness of troops. It work soldiers out because it was too heavy and slowed soldiers nearly to a stand still. As weapons became more effective, more types of bulletproof clothing were tested but none worked and the evolution of bulletproof clothing slowed way down.
Around 1860, when France was at war with Korea, Heungseon Daewongun demanded the development of soft bulletproof vests to counter the higher threat of invasion from armies from the west. They were manufactured out of thirty plus layers of cotton and were very effective. As years passed, Korea started wars with the US which brought on a battle. The United States managed to steal a bulletproof jacket and tried to reverse engineer it. This enabled the US to looking into new technologies for bullet protection and help improve the current ballistic cotton.
It was only in the 1880s when an Arizonian named George Emery Goodfellow started experimenting on silk, that his investigations of woven jackets sewn with thirty layers of silk, which resembled Gambesons, proved more effective in stopping a bullet than the cotton design.
Using Goodfellow’s research, Casimir Zeglen from Chicago, developed and marketed bulletproof vests that cost around 800 dollars in the year 1914. These became an instant hit all over the world and proved to be successful in saving lives. As few years passed, and firearms became increasingly powerful, more research was needed and new technologies were sought to combat the ever growing possibility of the vests becoming obsolete.
As WW2 started, armies developed body armor for resistance against shrapnel and mines. These products were actually developed for the Air Force and not the Army so they did little to stop high speed bullets. A few items, based on flak jackets, were tested and improved by the Japenese but were rarely used in battle. The Russians also manufactured steel plates to be sewn on top of vests and proved to be moderately effective.
When WW2 was coming to an end the USA created a new style of body armor with fiber glass laminate plates. This was used with some success at the Okinawa Battle. A couple years later, when the Korean war was fired up, the bulletproof jacket was redesigned once more to reduce weight on the soldiers. This comprise actually lowered the protection level. However, as time went on, these plates were renewed and used my some local police forces. This provided cops and riot troops the necessary bulletproof and trauma proof clothing for their job.
The 70’s was a time of awakening, both for citizens and law-enforcers alike, in terms of personal safety. Kevlar, developed by Stephanie Kwolek, was realized as a potential ingredient to making highly effective body armor. It was originally intended for commercial use but the military saw its true potency. This synthetic fiber was immediately introduced and ultimately integrated into the National Institute of Justice program evaluation of lightweight concealed body armor. It was then determined that it should be used to manufacture bulletproof jackets (or concealed vests) so that law enforcers or military troops would be able to wear it everyday and still feel comfortable with it.
Over the years, new designs and new technology have been introduced and all have improved over its failings. The recent rise of modern urban conflicts and the growing threat of subterfuge activities have taken precedence on the subject of personal protection. One is tempted to choose the option of hiding in the mountains or face all of it with indomitable courage. Freedom is the right to live without the threat of oppression or any other form of subjugation. These bulletproof jackets offer the kind of confidence and security that one can feel comfortable with whether taking a walk outside the streets or strolling through a valley of darkness.
