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

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401–410 of 474 posts

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

#401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've accidentally touched live electricity (230V) several times, and from speaking to other people it's not a rare occurrence. I think you actually need to be pretty unlucky to die from an electric shock at home.

> I think you actually need to be pretty unlucky to die from an electric shock at home. Though if there's one thing we've learned from the article, there will be plenty of people waiting in the wings of the Intenet to sputter "Karma!" and "Darwin!" when you do. Aside, if you ever feel like saying that sort of thing, take an idea, principal, or religious icon that has a deep meaning to you, or in the latter case, some…

> Aside, if you ever feel like saying that sort of thing, take an idea, principal, or religious icon that has a deep meaning to you, or in the latter case, someone whose work you think was influential and great. Fix that image in your mind, think "serves you right, asshole", and scream the word or the name out at the top of your lungs. Then reflect on how fucking stupid that was.

Uh...

That's fucking stupid because I presumably picked an idea or person that's completely unrelated to the concept of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes". Also because I'm at the top of my lungs. If I called out something like "Midgley'd!" it wouldn't share those reasons for being fucking stupid at all.

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

#402

A lot of folks don't appreciate how quickly normal can turn into dangerous in the wilderness. Because most of the time, it's all so tame. With our specialized gear and tech, there's not much threat ... most of the time. I've been on mountain peaks on nice summer days when storms appear as out of nowhere (not the typical afternoon rains), and there's lightning, high winds, and 50ºF temperature swings. In that kind of…

> I've been on mountain peaks on nice summer days when storms appear as out of nowhere (not the typical afternoon rains), and there's lightning, high winds, and 50ºF temperature swings. In that kind of situation, things can turn very dangerous very quickly. Stuff that you take for granted suddenly isn't true any more: some rock which is rough and gives great traction suddenly gets slippery, winds that come from a pre…

Old school sysadmin, now "ops".

Always been drawn to caves and mines. The more remote the better. Your Garmin won't work there. Better be sure you're ready for what might happen because you are the cavalry.

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

#403
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but we can only speculate what happened. My speculation: most of the power went through the light and only a part of it shocked the OP.

this is nonsense, and potentially deadly nonsense at that

I'm sorry what? You think it's nonsense that the lit lightbulb had more power going through it than the person touching the socket?

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

#404

A lot of folks don't appreciate how quickly normal can turn into dangerous in the wilderness. Because most of the time, it's all so tame. With our specialized gear and tech, there's not much threat ... most of the time. I've been on mountain peaks on nice summer days when storms appear as out of nowhere (not the typical afternoon rains), and there's lightning, high winds, and 50ºF temperature swings. In that kind of…

> A common trap is slot canyons in the southwest desert in the summer, when it's hot and dry, and hikers don't know about the rains in the distant mountains. Good example of a flash food in a canyon, and subsequent rescue: https://youtu.be/FJOpZF_4b-w

That was intense!

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

#405
post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of what Wikipedia says, if you take almost 1/10 mile to stop at 65 MPH, either you or your car is doing something wrong.

Between perception and reaction time, you’re already at approximately 1.5 seconds. At 65 mph, that’s roughly 140 feet. (Source - my Dad investigated hundreds of accidents. He taught me how to drive and we covered this math in detail.)

It wouldn't work for everything, but you can cut that time by preemptively reacting to conditions. Say you're going around a blind corner, you can start slowing just because your visibility is lower and you don't know what's over there. Or you can see cars who intend to move over several lanes at once and kamikaze into the lane ahead of you and slow down because you know that all the people in front of you are likely to brake due to this.

There are quite a few scenarios where I spot trouble before it happens and have an effectively negative reaction time with respect to whatever is causing people ahead of me to brake.

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

#407
I was exploring the rocks at Joshua tree once. At high noon(worst possible time), in the summer and alone. After a while no matter which direction or routr I took it was just more rocks or the vast wide open desert. Luckily, I did read stories of how some guy died on a bulletin post somewhere in the park as well as a critical tip about eating lots of salty snacks. I ate up all the chips and pepperoni slices I had and finished all the bottles of water I had. It wasn't too long but eventually I found a parking lot/road. I always wonder what would have happened if I didn't read that post and just drank water.

Also, Be careful about driving fast in Death valley, been there. Changing tires with no cell reception, hardly any other cars and 120F temperature is not fun!

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

#408
Went off trail a few times in some of these parks and what looks like something not too dangerous would have hurt you badly and sometimes once you go past a certain point, you could be surprised you can not go back as easily thus making you go further and further…

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

#409
post #408

Went off trail a few times in some of these parks and what looks like something not too dangerous would have hurt you badly and sometimes once you go past a certain point, you could be surprised you can not go back as easily thus making you go further and further…

I remember "hiking" in white sands.

There is nothing but white sand. People have got lost and died from exposure because they went off the path and couldn't find their way back.

The trail signage says if you can't see the next marker, turn back.

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

#410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot is just experience, and others have given great advice on getting started. I want to add a few rules, in no particular order, that I find valuable. Some of the rules are slightly overkill for basic drive-in camping, but they're worth following anyway. - If you go hiking, take a small backpack. It should have an extra layer of clothing, some snacks, and water, at minimum. - Never eat anything unless you are 100%…

>> - Animals are not your friends. Research in advance what animals to expect wherever you're going, and what precautions to take. Camping in bear country is different than camping in raccoon country, for example. Being an Australian it always entertains when you hear Americans talking about how everything in Australia is out to kill you... Truth is, almost nothing in Australia is out to kill you unless you really an…

As far as I'm aware, racoons are not dangerous (unless they have rabies). They can just be a nuisance since they're good at getting into containers to steal food.
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