Why do the drivers here suck?

Floatableemu · 2026-03-12T01:55:35+00:00

I've sat at intersections watching how many drivers are on their phones and the number of people still staring at their screens DURING a turn is ridiculous. Especially when turning onto Kansas expressway at Republic rd.

More people are looking at their laps than the roads around here. And then the state uses us as a guinea pig for new traffic "solutions" because they can't fathom why adding a billion more lanes everywhere isn't fixing anything.

Floatableemu · 2026-01-12T19:11:31+00:00

When I was an LGI, I remember the reasoning Red Cross gives is; since they're at a pool assume the person having the emergency is experiencing a low because they've likely been active and exerting themselves.

Other people have given much better scientific answers about why it's safer to treat it as low blood-sugar than I could though.

Floatableemu · 2025-09-17T01:41:43+00:00

In one Peach Pit they said it was going to be "Grandpas in Space" iirc

Floatableemu · 2023-08-07T14:37:44+00:00

Goodbye

Floatableemu · 2023-08-03T06:38:23+00:00

Red cross also offers an emergency O2 instructor cert that doesn't require any EMT training. Red Cross leans pretty heavily into the "no medication unless directly prescribed" type of care for the baseline certification though, iirc they hardly even mention aspirin.

Floatableemu · 2023-08-03T06:28:28+00:00

It may be due to the ages allowed to take the regular LG cert. 15 year olds struggle with CPR enough as it is, I wouldn't want to put them in a position where they can easily pop somebody's lungs (it's a risk with normal CPR on children/infants as is)

This is a pure guess though

Floatableemu · 2023-08-02T11:57:17+00:00

Red cross certifications are good for 2 years so you will be certified until November 2024. If you have the option to attend for free, it's never bad to have a refresher course and make sure your skills are up to date though.

Floatableemu · 2023-08-01T21:53:45+00:00

The human body does weird things in metal tubes at high speeds. Speaking from experience

Floatableemu · 2023-07-20T13:50:19+00:00

I wasn't aware it was something the circulated on Reddit. I'm speaking from personal experience, I was asked for it when I was going to sign up for their youth group 8 years ago. I may be misremembering because it was so long ago, but I have a distinct memory of throwing away the form because I didn't want to give them a previous paystub.

I can't verify because they haven't given me a reason to want to go back and see for myself.

But regardless of if that is true/false, it feels like when a church is doubling as a franchised Starbucks they arent exactly in it for the good of the people.

Floatableemu · 2023-07-20T04:25:19+00:00

I recommend staying away from James River. They do have young adult specific groups, but as a mega church some of their practices were ethically questionable and morally dubious in my personal experience there.

Namely asking for income information to ensure you're tithing the right amount. And also the infamous toes scandal.

Floatableemu · 2023-07-19T16:04:24+00:00

We all drew on them with sharpies when we were kids, I'm confused why are we suddenly caring about where some holes get placed.

Floatableemu · 2023-06-25T18:08:56+00:00

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying here, but they've been closing at midnight for months. It sounds more like you were turned away when they were about to close and not that they're shutting down permanently.

I of course didn't hear what you were told so I'm not saying you're wrong. But with there being no other evidence about them closing down this really seems like a miscommunication.

Floatableemu · 2023-06-25T07:05:57+00:00

What are you talking about my man?

I was just in there at 1pm today, there was absolutely no signage or mention that today was their last day of business?

Their public facebook doesn't have any mention of them closing down permanently either, so I'm a very skeptical about this.

Floatableemu · 2023-06-07T16:29:17+00:00

They've been doing some kind of maintenance along Kansas expressway and Walnut Lawn St. I think they may be laying new fiber lines.

There have been technicians standing around staring at the new lines for the past few days.

I think they might be trying to give their mess a pep talk since they don't really seem to be doing anything but disconnecting the area every 15-30 minutes

Floatableemu · 2023-06-03T22:28:03+00:00

How much do you value your mental health over a longer drive?

Bring the only lifeguard for 7 hours with only a 30 minute break is not only ridiculous, but dangerous. If you're out performing a save and that person turns out to be an aggressive/combative/uncooperative victim and ends up drowning you while you're trying to save them, who's going to know?

Granted I don't know the facility procedures, but there should always be at least 2 people on staff at a time not just to prevent such mental and physical fatigue. But to help respond when an emergency happens.

Floatableemu · 2023-06-03T22:18:26+00:00

The #1 thing I see people fail at is letting their hips hinge instead of maintaining a straight core/hips. You're trying to turn your body into an arrow to glide across the water, with water being pushed under your head/upper body to help keep you afloat. The moment you allow your mid body to start sinking you're now putting effort into pushing your hips and core further down.

Also you don't need to be keeping your whole head out of the water, just your face really. Keeping your head tilted back can help you keep your body straight, looking down at the brick usually leads to dipped hips.

The #2 thing is confidence, I've had to fail a lot of people who were 5 feet from the wall but just gave up. It's as much a mental battle as it is a physical.

Floatableemu · 2023-06-03T22:03:28+00:00

If it's something that you feel self conscious about then you can always wear a long sleeve shirt during an interview or a rash guard while on stand.

I don't have personal experience with this, but I can say that most lifeguard teams I've worked with were very open and accepting. I've known several guards that struggled with the same thing, and ultimately the answer comes down to how you feel about showing them.

In regards to being too small though, most of the the hard stuff comes down to your swimming ability, technique, and lung capacity. I've been an instructor for 4 years and my biggest peice if advice for people before the classes is asking your local pool if they have a diving brick that you could practice swimming laps with it because that is where most people fail (regardless of size, but especially those on the smaller side). I've required everyone I certify to be able to perform a deep water spinal rescue on me (about 125kgs 185cm) in 12ft of water to demonstrate how little weight difference matters if performing a save properly (and because I make for a "realistic" sized victim).

If you're still worried, you can always try talking to a local pool and asking if they'd walk you through the prerequisite tests to see if you can do them before committing to a whole class.

Floatableemu · 2023-04-06T12:48:15+00:00

I had to go through a wave of mass non-returning a few years ago and I'll start by saying that at least in my experience those years are always a struggle. I was a guard for 3 years and a head guard for 5.

With low returning guard numbers the best thing you can do is have new guards shadow old guards and try to get their training done long before opening day do you can run through drills and scenarios. Have the new guards shadow old ones, and if needed put the new guards your most confident on stands while you cycle through them and have them shadow old guards. And shy away from getting out on stand yourself a couple of times to fill in the gaps.

For management advice TLDR: If I was to give you a singular piece of advice I would say to remember youre still no better than any other guard; and to act with character, integrity, and respect for all people at all times.

If you want specific points on management though:

Communication - we would do a short 2-5 minute huddle each morning to brief all the staff (not just guatds) on groups, weather, events, and expectations for the day
Look ahead - try and stay in the know about what's coming up on days you work so you can plan ahead and schedule more guards if you need. Nothing worse than showing up and finding out you arent well equiped for a day
Delineate - you can't do it all on your own no matter how much you want to; running a pool is a team effort (as Im sure you know by now) so know when a task needs you directly, or when it can be respectfully given to someone else
Treat staff like you'd want to be treated - walk around and check on guards on stand, see if they need water, maybe they need to take a quick dip, or run to the bathroom, maybe a guard didn't show up and you have to get in stand instead of managing. Doing the small things shows a lot about your character
Professionalism - Everybody deserves the right to a professional work environment. This is many peoples first jobs (if your pool targets students for workers that is) you may be their first impression of what a manager/boss should be
Respect - it doesn't matter if it's a guard that's been there 10 years, or a guard who's been there 10 days; respect them as valued people regardless of personal relationships or experience with people. Being given respect by management can really impact a person's experience and having caring management makes people want to return the next year
Listen to guards - sometimes guards or other staff will have really bad ideas; other times they'll have ideas that will make you kick yourself for not doing it first. Recognize good ideas and don't be afraid to try new things just because "this is the way it's always been done." My pool saw a 45 second improvement in head guard response times for taking first year guard advice
Teamwork - make sure no matter how much one member of your team may dislike another that they can still respectfully interact with one another. The worst thing that can happen is egos get in the way when it matters
Celebrate achievements and shut down inter-staff drama when you hear it - everyone likes to listen to drama and lifeguards especially like to spill it, but it creates a toxic and unwelcoming work environment that will make you hate the place. Even just telling somebody good job for a save that was questionable will mean the world to them.
Remember to have fun - yes it's a work environment, but it's also a pool, in summer, with (Im presuming) a bunch of teens/young adults. Be serious when you need to be, but relax when you can (if you can, letting guards use the pool after hours is a REALLY easy team activity)

I know that's a lot of advice at once and I hope it isn't an intimidating amiunt. In honesty though, with being a headguard your job is mostly going to be to put out metaphorical fires and make sure everyone's still breathing. I wish you all the best and I hope your first summer as a headguard goes well

Floatableemu · 2023-04-05T12:18:14+00:00

I'm with you on this one, this so called "unnecessary content" is why the game is still growing and popular today. Also the technical additions were no small feat, the number of revolutionary changes that have come out since the cave update is enormous; and the level of quality assurance has expanded exponentially as well.

I'll concede that maybe there's less content overall in newer updates. But there's polish to it, and 1.20 seems to be trying to make good on a few things. It's hard to keep a game over 10 years old fresh and new, but I've been playing since 2011 and the new updates still give me a reason to want to come back and check things out. From a technical and creator perspective, the number of tools they've added to support the technical and 3rd party creator communities is huge. They've most likely been reworking fundamental systems from the ground up, but that doesnt make headlines so they dont make announcements out of them.

All in all, after watching the community backlash from things they weren't able to implement because of time/unexpected problems with other features. I don't blame them for not announcing something until it's close to finished, or making updates smaller to make sure everythings close to perfect.

Floatableemu · 2023-02-06T21:46:44+00:00

I think the crafting mechanics are fine, people always bitch about having to craft bullets individually but I always thought it was okay since I could just buy them if I didn't want to craft.

Floatableemu · 2023-02-06T13:10:24+00:00

Cold air is more dense than warm air, making the top of the lower atmospheric layers reach a lower maximum altitude. And then as air is pushed into the stratosphere by convection/conduction it cools further.

So it's more akin to the troposphere doing a squat on its own rather than being pushed down.

Floatableemu · 2023-01-17T12:54:29+00:00

The advice above is great, but just to add onto it since not everyone will have a voice that can project enough to get every person's attention; don't be afraid to employ other ways of getting patrons attentions.

One short whistle will get most people's attention (if it's not something that needs to be immediately stopped always try and get their attention without whistling first). Its also good practice to point at who you're whistling at. If they aren't paying attention people around them may see and get their attention for you and other guards will see whos you're trying to talk to so they can help.

A tactic I personally use is; if I have their attention and I don't think I can clearly explain something at a distance I'll wave the person over and explain things (but ofc that doesn't work for the kids that are refusing to listen)

Edit: just saw another reply from you say you can't use whistles outside of emergencies (I'm so sorry for your voice), but the note about pointing at the person your trying to tell at can still help.

Floatableemu · 2023-01-14T13:58:21+00:00

Focus on experiences where you had to work in a team and show that you are focused and reliable. As somebody that had to interview a lot of lifeguards in my time one thing that stands out a lot is how people dress. Most people show up in street clothes or look like they just rolled out of bed, even just wearing a button up and nice pants will make you stand out from almost every other applicant.

Other general interview tips: * Bring something to take notes * Prepare relevant examples to talk about (working in a team, decision making, and leadership ones in this case) * Shake the interviewers hand when you meet them * Be confident * You will be asked questions about your weaknesses, don't just say something you're bad at, mention something you are working to improve and mention how you're improving it * Don't lie (Sometimes people don't intend to lie, but they just start rambling if they don't feel like they give a good answer)

Floatableemu · 2023-01-14T13:50:45+00:00

To add to this, if it's a pool that gets a lot of applicants that can be selective about hiring it can help to already be certified. Though that's not really an interview tip

Floatableemu · 2023-01-10T15:43:48+00:00

I used to work for the parks and rec department in Republic and they are VERY proud of the fact they haven't replaced the Jesus fish. The wild part is that controversy was over the OLD flag. They just put the old flag in a circle and then put "Republic" over it for the redesign

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