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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)

#181
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Practical Engineering has a video on the dangers of a lowhead dam - https://youtu.be/GVDpqphHhAE

I crossed a small dam solo hiking the Wichita Mountains. Not the one at Kite Trail on the Bison Trail Loop (Lost Lakes) which is wide and dry, but completely off trail since I had to get off trail to avoid bison. It was mossy with very little traction and I almost slipped. Brushed it off as an annoyance since I didn't get wet. Watched this video a year later and it made me think... how deep was that water, and was it…

How about The Strid from the River Wharfe? While your river isn't likely that extreme, crossing unknown water is not on my top list of things to do.

Tom Scott - https://youtu.be/mCSUmwP02T8

The Most Dangerous River in THE WORLD is HOW DEEP?! - https://youtu.be/uJFQXT6PIP8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe

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

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This is a really silly take. Parent post didn't say YOU WILL DIE IF YOU EVER GET SHOCKED, FULL STOP.

They said that you can die if you're shocked. If you have a substantial chance of death doing something it's common sense to avoid that thing, especially when it's trivial to do so. If you want to be a manly man who don't need no safety, go for it, but you're setting up a straw man in OP's post and safety awareness in general that isn't there.

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

#183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's basically an "informed consent" thing. If people are clearly informed and consciously aware of the risk, that's completely up to them (eg. free solo climbers). Where it gets tricky, in my opinion is: - we aren't convinced the person is currently capable of making rational decisions - we aren't convinced the person is fully informed and equipped with an intimate understanding of the risk they're undertaki…

I'm not sure how we could enumerate all the possible risks in a wilderness or near wilderness setting.

No, but you can know that A people out of 100,000 have died doing B making it less dangerous than C, more dangerous than D and 100x as dangerous as E and so on.

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

#184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't light fixtures typically direct mains power?

Limited by the wiring and circuit breakers - typically 15amps. With as resistive as skin is to electricity, 110 isn't usually enough to overcome it and push power through the heart. Keyword: usually

The 15A limit in the circuit breaker is there to protect the wires, not you. 15A at 110V passing through your body will cause massive damage and literally cook you after stopping your heart if it's in the way.

Modern circuit breakers and outlets have GFCI/AFCI electronics that detect abnormal current leaks to ground and abnormal waveforms, and shut off the circuit. These actually stand a chance of saving you in a scenario like this.

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

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt. That had me laughing. Funny story: I once, long ago in the corridor stopped to help a bunch of people in a Trabant, the engine had seized and it really wasn't going to go anywhere so I offered to tow them behind my 230E, which could easily do that. They agreed happily and we hooked them up, and one of their party switched to my car to show me where to go (illegal to g…

Lovely story! I can see how 110 is scary in a Trabi, especially so considering the state the roads were in. > there was also a strong camaraderie, 'us against the system' I think this is what gets lost in prosperity, and what causes some of the current spiritual misery. You simply don't need other people anymore if you have enough money, which in turn destroys community. Maybe the land of plenty is a dystopia, and we…

Yes, this is very true. The same in Poland. Now it's dog-eat-dog. The difference is night and day and obviously there are many gains but also there are some remarkable losses and this is one of them.

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

#186
I know someone who spent her twenties as an ocean lifeguard, including the real Baywatch, LA County Fire Department lifeguards. That's competitive to get in, and she's one of the few women to qualify. 6 feet tall, blonde, and muscular. Country girl who grew up on ten acres in Northern California. She spent years rescuing people who did stupid stuff. During the off-season for the beach she did off-road vehicle rescues. (Not the vehicle, just the driver.) She's surfed Fiji and New Zealand, and bicycled from Portugal to Italy alone. She's done endurance riding (horses) in Death Valley, and has ridden the Tevis 100 mile ride through the Sierras twice. Both she and the horses came back unharmed.

She's a cautious person. She prepares and trains hard for everything she does. She qualified as an emergency medical technician (that gets you a big pay boost with LA county lifeguards). She's totally anti-drug. She comes across as a laid-back surfer girl, very relaxed, and doesn't seem competitive or too serious. She is, but it doesn't show.

That's how you do it and not get yourself killed.

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

#187

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.

Start small. Buy a decent tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag (if you like REI, their people are usually very good at helping you find what you need in your budget). Find a local car camping campground (such as a state park) and just go car camping. For those unfamiliar, car camping is where you go to a campground that you drive up to your campsite (and you are rarely very far from some sort of civilization). Before you go think of all the things you'd want with you (food, water, entertainment, etc.) and pack it up in your car (cold food in cooler with ice, of course). If things go wrong (which they probably will at first, and that's fine), you can always choose to drive to the store if you forgot something or go home if something else happens. Most of these campgrounds have small hiking trails as well. Start small (Do a few of these and try something new out every time. Maybe you want to work on building skills like fire making. Maybe you want to try out new equipment such as using a camping stove with dehydrated food instead of a fire. Or try out techniques like packing all of your stuff in a backpacking pack and take it on hikes to see how what you'd need (and possibly not need) go backpacking.

Once you feel comfortable start expanding out. Maybe try a day hike where you cover more ground (but don't overdo it at first, stay within what you know for a fact you are capable of). Do an out and back one where you start at your car, and end back up at your car. Maybe try going for one night of backpacking to "wilderness" camp sites at a local park. These sites are usually a short hike from where you'll park with no amenities. Practice your skills. Enjoy the nature.

From there figure out what you are enjoying and maximize that. Do you like the hiking? The camping? Just hanging out with friends around a campfire? Do that. It's not about how extreme you can make it, it's about what you like. If hiking makes you miserable and all you want to do is sleep outdoors for a few nights with a stable fire, then there is no shame in sticking to car camping. There will be purists who look down on it, but who cares?

Try new things, find what you enjoy, and don't push yourself more than you know you are capable of.

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

#188
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

I disagree with #1, I live in Colorado and many trails here are out of cell range. My advice here is either get a satellite phone and/or do some research about where you are going and only go if it's a well travelled trail. I often go out by myself into places without cell coverage but I always research the place to make sure that if I run into issues, there will almost certainly be someone there to help me. It's not…

> Also, pack 2-3x the water you think you will need.

This. Or pack the water you think you need AND have a water filtration system with known locations of accessible water.

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

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't light fixtures typically direct mains power?

Limited by the wiring and circuit breakers - typically 15amps. With as resistive as skin is to electricity, 110 isn't usually enough to overcome it and push power through the heart. Keyword: usually

The wiring is meaningless. 1 amps is more than enough to kill you. Even if enough current flew to melt the cable you'd be dead well before the cable caught fire if it's flowing through you.

A breaker may provide some protection against electric shock (assuming it's an RCD or RCBO), but I wouldn't like to rely on it.

Portugal is 230V. Not sure what breaker the lighting would be on but in the UK it's not uncommon for a 6A lighting circuit to not be on an RCD at all.

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

#190
post #159
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…

Is it that lightning strikes twice, or that most events are not as rare and in need of as much setup as a lightning strike?

It's "better safe than sorry".
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