A bulbous-ended chunk of wood interrupts the flow of the woodpile. Counter it with another piece that has an off-setting quirk. Yin and yang. Of course, leaving a little room on top of the stack creates a home for the absolute misfits that are either too long or too wonky to finagle into a row. SMOKING OUT THE VALLEY DWELLERS. Dr. Perrodin confesses to having ignited more than a few fires that have fogged his neighbors in the sweet smells of burnt oak and maple. In rare instances, a chilled, damp chimney has condensed smoke and returned it to the fireplace and out the vents and into the room! Yikes, open the sliding doors and turn on the ceiling fan! WHAT HIBBING, MN HAS TO DO WITH A FIREPLACE. A robust fire corresponds to understanding climate conditions. In a brief memoir, David recounts visiting the Hibbing Ore Mine (largest in the United States) with his Dad a few years ago to observe a rare pit blast. Before the detonation, a small plane flew over the site to monitor the air density above the blast area. This step was necessary to prevent a “bounce back” effect of the concussive pressure wave from the blast encountering a dense air layer and reflecting to the ground - putting people and equipment at risk. NO LONGER A TASK COMPLETION SOCIETY. Dr. Perrodin perceives that fewer of life’s activities have a defined start and a defined end and we are enrolled into exhausting “races without finish lines”. This is evident in school safety as there will never be a “completion” of school safety - weapons and strategies will forever mutate and this race without a finish line will continue to burn out, or numb, the most vigilant sprinters. THE GOOD OLD DAYS. It seems that there was more “closure” in the “old” days. A freshly-turned 47-year-old Dr. Perrodin remembers painting fences; mowing lawns; and replacing spark plugs and wires. He also longs for the almost unfathomable reality of an elementary school with a large fireplace in every classroom. THE ZEN OF STACKING WOOD. David no longer engages in marathon sessions of hauling cords of chaotically-strewn wood from his garage to his basement - tipping the point of total physical exhaustion. Those days of mere task completion were replaced with task appreciation as this fall Dr. Perrodin transported the wrecked-heap of wood from his garage to his basement over the span of four days. The slower, more deliberate process allowed David to assess each piece of wood and determine how to best finagle it into the developing stacks. He shares the “Zen” quality of this previously dreaded task. HUMIDITY RISES. The gift of newly-stacked firewood is the humidity it breathes into a dry house - the comforting thickness of hardwood fragrance seemingly projecting the warmth that would soon be delivered by roaring fires and a toasty stone wall that would surrender heat hours after the red faded from the coals. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests and do not reflect positions of The 405 Media or supporters of “The Safety Doc Podcast”. The show adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. Email David: thesafetydoc@gmail.com LOOKING FOR DR. TIMOTHY LUDWIG, PHD? Dr. Perrodin’s “Safety Doc Podcast” negotiates school and community safety. To be informed about industrial safety, please contact Appalachian State University Professor Dr. Timothy Ludwig, PhD, at www.safety-doc.com
License Plate Readers in Schools | An Added Layer For Campus Security or Rights Violation? | SDP202
Perfect Attendance Can Win High School Students A New Car | What Do You Think? | SDP201
Bystander Effect | Why Are We Unwilling To Help When Others Are Watching? | SDP200
Opioid Emergencies in K-12 Schools | Community and Legal Considerations | SDP199
Medical CBD Oil In Schools | Brooke Adams vs. Rincon Valley Union School District | FAPE | SDP198
Bank Account Voting System | Transparent Solution to Election Integrity | Guest Lee Jarvis | SDP197
Seven School Safety Exercise Objectives That Actually Help Teachers, Police, Fire, and EMS | SDP196
The Meteoric Rise of High School Esports | What You Need to Know | Guest Mike Dahle | SDP195
The Law of Necessity | Good Samaritan Considerations | Guest Attorney Lisa Linney | SDP194
Citizen’s Arrest - What You Should Know | Your Jury Trial Rights | Guest Attorney Legalman | SDP193
Should Teachers Be Armed? | High School Trap Teams | Guest Competitive Shooter Bending Ballistics
What It Was Like to Present Live School Safety Specials on PBS TV | Never Do This One Thing | SDP191
Fitness in Chaotic Times | What Really Motivates Us | Fitness Professional Megan Usui | SDP190
School ‘Swatting’ Skyrocketing in America | What Is It? | What Can Be Done to Stop It? | SDP189
Peggy The Comfort Pig | Animals in Schools | BOE Policy and ADA Considerations | SDP188
I Failed My PhD Dissertation Defense | Priest Prepared Last Rites | SDP187
Decision Making Up in the Air | Pilot Graham Wilson | The DECIDE model | SDP186
Bill Would Ban Cellphones in Schools | 7 Reasons For and 7 Against Cellphones in Schools | SDP185
Lost Person Behavior Facts | 4 Ways to Make it Easier to Be Found | SDP184
$50K Bonus for Teachers | Unpacking Educator Free Agency | SDP183
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