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‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

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Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#111

Post by phillc73 »

emtel wrote: post #48

One time, I was driving at night in the Sierra after a storm - roads were covered in snow. It's a drive I've made close to 100 times without incident. Going around a bend, I saw a car in the ditch on the outside of the curve. I stopped the car, put on the hazards, and went to see if there was anyone in the car. As I was about to cross the highway a car come sliding around the bend more or less sideways. I stopped and…

Last Saturday afternoon I was driving home in heavy fog. Suddenly coming towards me was a BMW SUV at least 75% in my lane. I managed to brake heavily and drift towards the outside verge. We didn’t hit.

It’s about the closest I’ve come to a head on collision. With my whole family in the car, there was utter silence for the next several minutes.

Pretty sure I nearly died three days ago.

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#112

Post by rqtwteye »

j_mo wrote: post #89
kibwen wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Going around a bend, I saw a car in the ditch on the outside of the curve. I stopped the car, put on the hazards, and went to see if there was anyone in the car. As I was about to cross the highway a car come sliding around the bend more or less sideways. The lesson here is this: lightning strikes twice (frustratingly, the usual idiom is as wrong as can be). In other words, if you observe an outcome and have no oth…

They teach Motorsport marshals in the UK to always keep the car that has come off-track between yourself and live traffic, and never turn your back to the track. Whatever caused the accident is just as likely to cause another car to go in, ie oil or coolant on track, or even debris from the current incident. Same applies on the roads I guess, especially in poor conditions.

I was military police in Germany for a few months and the one useful thing I learned there is that when you help another car to always protect yourself with their car or your own. So always park behind the stopped car and avoid being in direct line of traffic.

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#113

Post by jonfw »

itsmemattchung wrote: post #26

Some tips on where to begin to learn more about nature and survive in the wild? Maybe an REI class? I'm a little embarrassed to admit that should I ever venture out into the wilderness, I would definitely not survive. I lack basic survival skills and nature would eat me alive. That being said, I always admired folks who could go camping for days (or weeks), who could cook up a warm (and edible) meal over a campfire.

Taking a class, hiring a guide, or going with an experienced friend would all be a great way to get started.

If you wanted to bootstrap by yourself or with other inexperienced friends- I would start by getting a car accessible campsite, and then use that as a base camp. Go on small hikes that take you back to your site. Very few survival skills are needed for that sort of thing- you can get started with a cooler, a grill, and a bundle of firewood.

If you enjoy that, then start using more primitive tools and trying larger hikes in future trips, and you can work your way up to backpacking or whatever your goals are

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#114

Post by nebulous1 »

aendruk wrote: post #107
nebulous1 wrote: post #101

I enjoyed reading this but I have a mixed opinion on it at the end. The rules and reasoning seem weak. Rule #1 (be prepared) seems fine. Rule #2 (be respectful) Seems to blur the distinction between respecting the danger and respecting your impact on the environment. You should of course do the latter, but not because you will be less likely to get hurt. Rule #3 (trust the statistics) I don't know what they're trying…

You’ve misread that part; the rules are offered tongue-in-cheek as a critique of false reassurance.

Looking at the end again this seems very likely. In fact I'm not even sure I read the "repeat these" paragraph the first time, as that one hammers home your point.

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#115

Post by Swizec »

bombcar wrote: post #42
itsmemattchung wrote: post #26

Some tips on where to begin to learn more about nature and survive in the wild? Maybe an REI class? I'm a little embarrassed to admit that should I ever venture out into the wilderness, I would definitely not survive. I lack basic survival skills and nature would eat me alive. That being said, I always admired folks who could go camping for days (or weeks), who could cook up a warm (and edible) meal over a campfire.

Honestly the three things you can do easily: 1. Only go deep into nature (out of cell range) with someone experienced. 2. Obtain a rescue device (Apple satellite cell, Garmin GPS emergency beacon, etc). 3. If stranded in a vehicle stay with the vehicle!

“out of cell range” is not a great measure for deep nature imo. On the California coast, for example, you can lose cell range without even leaving the road.

And in the Alps, you have areas with so many tourists the path is affectionally called a highway, but it would take 2 hours of hiking to get into cell range because mountains block signals.

I think it depends more on how many people you’re likely to meet per hour than cell range.

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#116

Post by rqtwteye »

emtel wrote: post #48

One time, I was driving at night in the Sierra after a storm - roads were covered in snow. It's a drive I've made close to 100 times without incident. Going around a bend, I saw a car in the ditch on the outside of the curve. I stopped the car, put on the hazards, and went to see if there was anyone in the car. As I was about to cross the highway a car come sliding around the bend more or less sideways. I stopped and…

It just shows that life is a long sequence of being lucky. It bet during the course of a week everybody does something that may get them killed if unlucky. Most people are lucky but a few aren’t.

I can relate to the shock story. In a school lab I managed to lean on a exposed 220V cable. I remember my arm shaking and hearing a low hum but couldn’t figure out what’s going on. It felt like an eternity until I pulled my arm away but I bet in reality it was just a second.

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#117

Post by sambapa »

bioemerl wrote: post #71
throw827474737 wrote: post #50

> laughing as we chanted it on the days when we took acid and went swimming. WTF, even without the additional "challenges" of Yellowstone Lake.. I neither would nor could imagine go swimming then :o

There was recently a foot found in a pond. Lake was acidic and hot. Someone jumped in. Please don't fuck with nature for fun. It's all great memories, but one of 100 of you will die and someone else has to find your body and clean up your mess.

That's not the kind of acid they're talking about ;)

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#118

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

jacquesm wrote: post #99
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha yeah the struggle is real. Still, the majority of cars in the leftmost lane is usually expensive with a good suspension. I recently floored it for hours in a Dacia Jogger, going its absolute Vmax of 175 km/h, and that was uncomfortable. The same in an Audi or BMW is hardly noticeable.

Downhill for hours eh? Calling bs ;) But seriously: I've had the old lady thing happen to me more than once.

It really only goes that fast on even stretches, of which there are plenty in northern & east Germany, and you literally need minutes to get there - downhill you can go a bit faster, but that gets scary quick. As soon as there is even a slight incline it starts to slow down, thats true. And I'm talking about the LPG version with 90 PS! Thats why you want to floor it: "Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt."

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#119

Post by kubb »

alocasia-1 wrote: post #35
kubb wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on your worldview. If you believe that all regulation is inherently bad, you might be searching for reasoning chains that lead to the conclusion that she died because of it.

Feels like a serious reach, and trying to shoehorn unrelated issues into a discussion they don't belong. The author goes over her repeated brushes with death - and the warnings she received prior - and they don't seem to deter her from putting herself in more situations. Making everyone else unsafe isn't the solution. (If a "solution" is even needed. I think she's just describing her own instance of human behavior.)

Agreed, it's just something we humans do: we search for information that confirms our worldview.

Re: ‘That girl is going to get herself killed’ (2022)

#120

Post by dsfyu404ed »

intrepidhero wrote: post #102
emtel wrote: post #48

One time, I was driving at night in the Sierra after a storm - roads were covered in snow. It's a drive I've made close to 100 times without incident. Going around a bend, I saw a car in the ditch on the outside of the curve. I stopped the car, put on the hazards, and went to see if there was anyone in the car. As I was about to cross the highway a car come sliding around the bend more or less sideways. I stopped and…

It only takes 80ma across your heart to stop it. Mains voltage, in both the US and the rest of the world, can easily develop that kind of current, especially if there is moisture involved. And yet plenty of folks have accidental contact without lasting effects. Electricity is fickle that way. The difference between, no problem and totally dead can be subtle, random and not obvious. It all depends on the path the curr…

>It only takes 80ma across your heart to stop it

In a lab, sure. In reality you need a lot of amps going into the body to get enough amps across the heart to screw with it. Defibrillators wouldn't be chock full of capacitors if that wasn't the case.

Constantly repeating these sorts of misleading DARE-esque talking points is why nobody takes what the safety preachers have to say seriously.

People find out through life experience that smoking while filling gas, a couple amps from arm to arm, working under suspended loads, side rolling big cylinders long distances, using ladders on less than perfect surfaces and other little stuff like that isn't the instant death and dismemberment that they were told it was supposed to be and that throws doubt at everything else.

You can't lie to people 50% of the time even if it's "for their own good" and expect them to believe the other 50% of stuff you say. Electricity and many other things are sufficiently dangerous that you shouldn't need to lie.

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