WorldWide Drilling Resource

30 AUGUST 2013 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® ATF commonly meets with individual explosives companies for educational purposes. The experience is beneficial for both industry members and ATF per- sonnel. So why not invite the ATF to con- duct an educational seminar for your employees at your premises? Establish standard operating pro- cedures for all of your explosives oper- ations. Doing the same process in more than one way, can create confusion with employees. Using a standardized process will make it much easier for you and the investigator to pinpoint the source of a problem if something should go wrong. If you are having accountability issues with your explosives inventory, establish a more frequent inventory cycle. The more frequently you conduct inventories, the sooner you’ll discover any discrepancies, and the less paperwork you’ll have to review if a discrepancy is found. Invite the ATF to your work site so they can see exactly what you are doing with the explosives. The more an inves- tigator knows about your business oper- ations, the better. This will give them the ability to offer constructive suggestions if problems occur. Keeping the public safe and secur- ing explosives is the responsibility for both the explosives industry and the ATF. Partnerships between the industry and regulators will help ensure these goals are met. The Un-Comfort Zone II by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. We Empower Bullies with Our Admiration - You love bullies...when they are on your side. Bullying has been in the news a lot. Awareness of the problem has spawned a number of programs designed to com- bat it. While I applaud this effort, I don't see bullying going away anytime soon. The truth of the matter is WE LOVE BULLIES. We reward and encourage them. We celebrate and cheer them on. Watch any sitcom on TV, and we revel in the bullying. I enjoy watching the popular show How I Met Your Mother , but in nearly every episode the so-called friends bully each other, as well as other characters. And, like them, many of us bully our friends and family with collegial insults and practical jokes. Of course, we tell ourselves it is all in fun and nothing is meant by it (or is it?), but the problem is through our actions (and those of the characters on TV), we (and they) become role models for our children. They mimic us at school and on the playground. Your children may not be actively bullying someone, but they are laughing at those being bullied, and subsequently supporting, promot- ing, and fostering the continuation of bullying in our society. We also admire bully-heroes in the movies: Dirty Harry, The Godfather, Captain Kirk, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket , Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction , and so on. We love talk show hosts like Bill O'Reilly and Neal Boortz when they bully guests and callers with whom we disagree. Bullying doesn’t stop with childhood, it only gets worse. Those who are suc- cessful bullies as children grow up to be bully-bosses or power-hungry politi- cians. They seek out and acquire power. We, in turn, admire and respect this power - as long as it is being used against our enemies, supports one of our caus- es, or we can convince ourselves some good is coming from it. We only com- plain about it when the bullying power is used against us. Until we understand power seekers are the most desperate people on the planet, the problem will persist (see my previous column Fear vs. Power , in the May 2013 WWDR ). While I believe antibullying programs are good, as a society, we are talking out of two sides of our mouths. Because of this, I don’t believe bullying is going to go away. Most antibullying programs ask kids not to bully, not to be a con- senting bystander, and to tell on bullies when they witness an attack. These are not realistic expectations in a society where most people fear the recrimina- tion of their peers. These programs also teach children to avoid bullies at all costs, which doesn’t really serve the victim in the long run. A better solution is to teach children how to develop self-esteem and self-confi- dence. When we teach kids how to believe in themselves, we give them the fundamental tools they need to stand up to bullies. Because of my children’s novel, I am frequently invited to make “Author Visits” to elementary schools. I explain to the children the weaknesses of bul- lies (in brief, that they lack self-esteem and seek approval through their bully- ing), so potential victims know they have power over the bully. I then give them two simple techniques to use in the event In Memoriam Darrin Wesley LaBrake (1966~2013) Darrin Wesley LaBrake, 46, of Mechanicville, New York, passed away April 21, 2013. A certified pipe installer, he was employed by Hawk Drilling. He was a former volunteer for the Hillcrest Fire Department and en- joyed coaching little league. Above all, he was a family man who lived for his children. Darrin is survived by his sons Christopher and Jeremiah, daughter Cassidy, and grandson Landon. The management and staff of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® offer their sincere condolences to Darrin’s family and friends. of an attack (one for verbal attacks and one for physical attacks). Both are easy to remember, so a child, caught unaware by a bully attack, is less likely to panic and show fear. In life, we must all learn to deal with bullies on our own because they do not go away with adulthood. In fact, they get worse. The sooner a person learns how to deal with bullies the better; and the easiest time to do it is when they are young. Robert Robert is an author, humorist, and innovation consultant. He works with companies that want to be more com- petitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert, visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com or contact him via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Most Frequent cont’d from page 29.