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'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

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Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#291

Post by bluGill »

sandworm101 wrote: post #158
bluGill wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My first time through first aid training was just after princess Diana died. The trainers from the local level one hospital were convinced that if the accident had happened in the US she would have lived. They even had a local case of a very similar accident just a month before where those involved lived, in large part because it wasn't on doctor in the ambulance trying to do things it was over a dozen doctors specia…

There are plenty of stories/opinions one way or the other. What occasionally comes up are situations where doctors unexpectedly arrive at accident scenes, take over, and apply procedures that the ambulance crews are totally untrained for. "Dr. Mark Forrest knew he had to act fast to save the life of a man he watched go into cardiac arrest after a motorcycle accident — so he opened up the man's chest right there on th…

Which is great if you have the right training for what is needed. If you are a great heart surgeon and arrive at the scene of a stroke you don't have the right training to do anything useful other than basic first aid.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#292

Post by srtjstjsj »

Frondo wrote: post #271
noir_lord wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty much the same, I can re-wire a house (factory actually though it's been a long time since I trained as an industrial sparks), plaster, do basic joinery, plumbing, tiling, engine/motorcycle maintenance (I do my motorcycle and rebuilt scramblers when I was a kid), weld (not done it for a long time but it'd come back), sheet metal work etc all to a reasonable or better standard. I've never lived out in the countr…

That Heinlein quote is nice, but also a little absurd. I can change a wall outlet or a light switch, but if I'm rewiring my house, I'm calling my brother-in-law, the electrician, just like he calls me when he wants a trumpet player. (And if he wants a guitar player, he calls my brother, not me.) Specialization is for people in communities, which we all are whether we want to admit it or not.

Building a moral philosophy around a fiction author who didn't even follow his own advice is absurd.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#293

Post by bluGill »

PeterisP wrote: post #214
noir_lord wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with gas (not petrol), it's the one thing in my house I absolutely would not under any circumstances touch. Electricity I understand and how to work safely with it, water is the same (and the outcome isn't likely to kill you) but gas, gas will blow out the walls. It's remarkable how safe we made it actually when you think about it but all of those lessons where often learnt in blood and strife.

Gas is crazy. The only time I needed to have gas pipes rerouted, it needed a change before the meter and the shut-off valve. So the gas company guys started the work ... by cutting a live gas pipe, intentionally lighting the leaking gas on fire , and welding a connection while the not-yet-welded hole was acting as a small flamethrower. Apparently that's considered safe to do with low-pressure small diameter pipes, bu…

burning gas never builds up to explosive concentrations, so it is what they do. I've heard other stories. A friend of mine cut a gas main digging, and when he called emergency they told him he should have lit a match instantly, it is too late now just evacuate the neighborhood. (the gas company was mad until he pointed out the gas main markings a safe distance away from where he was digging)

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#294

Post by srtjstjsj »

x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #161
throw0101a wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So, part of that is that even when an ambulance gets there, what happens next? […] Out in the boondocks, the golden hour is laughable. In the province in Ontario, where we have a few density populated communities often surrounded by large stretches of wilderness, folks are transported by helicopter in emergencies: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_ambulance * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_medical_services * h…

We have air ambulances in the US. With it being the US and the community being largely rural and poor, it's more economic to die than be flown to help. Most families can't swing a $40,000 cost for a life flight, and insurance in some cases won't cover it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/why-the-flig...

That's fine. Just don't tell them you're poor until after the flight.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#295

Post by closeparen »

s5300 wrote: post #215
01100011 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only we didn't live in a world of property taxes... Wealth should not be sneered at. Wealth buys a new well for your farm. Wealth buys you tools to expand your capabilities. Wealth allows you to exploit the capabilities of society to accomplish things beyond yourself. Do you want to preserve gun or property rights so you can continue to live a self-reliant lifestyle? That takes wealth(or you can cop-out and let ot…

"Most HN readers time is far more valuable than a plumber or carpenter." I think, in the words of today's youth, the response to this is something along the lines of "Big Yikes" That's quite a staunch outlook on society. Do you like playing around in literal shit so that literal shit doesn't back up in your house? Have you automated a system to be able to do this robotically? If not, I'd suggest valuing your plumbers…

If you want to apply a respect/disrespect lens, "I could do that" is the disrespectful position.

The respectful position is "this isn't my speciality, it's yours, tell me what you need and I'll get out of the way."

"The time it would take me to acquire your skills is more valuable than what you'd charge to fix my problem" is acknowledging the plumber's value, not diminishing it.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#296

Post by 52-6F-62 »

refurb wrote: post #242
52-6F-62 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Calgary around 2008 for a while (and have had family there from the 70's until around 2012), and I know the attitude you're talking about. But I have to say—I saw a lot of posturing that way more than real pioneering mindset. Calgary has been a very developed city for a long time, and no stranger to the exact same comforts and luxuries they associate with the other out east. I didn't encounter the DIY appr…

As someone who has lived in Calgary, I'd chuckle if anyone claimed to be a maverick or rugged for living there. It's a city of over 1M, which puts it in the top 5 cities in Canada by population. And it's relatively wealthy. That's like someone from New York moving to Denver and claiming they're rugged individualists.

Your American example is exactly what occurred. Working for Gulf/Shell, downtown real-estate holders, and Cooper factory owners in Toronto, moved to Calgary to continue at Gulf/Shell. Claimed to be mavericks.

One had their trials and strengths moving from Derry, NI during the troubles but mavericks they were not!

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#297

Post by viridian »

boring_twenties wrote: post #258

> mountainous territory, particularly in the Midwest. I suppose I'm nitpicking here, but this is an oxymoron. The Midwest doesn't have any mountains.

The Appalachian mountains are present in Southeastern Ohio. The hollers don't just magically appear when you cross the river over from Marietta to Parkersburg.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#298

Post by viridian »

2trill2spill wrote: post #2

> Now, well into the 21st century, researchers led by the University of Cambridge have detected remnants of the pioneer personality in US populations of once inhospitable mountainous territory, particularly in the Midwest. As a person who was born and raised in the Midwest[1], just where are these mountainous regions they speak of in the Midwest? There's the black hills[2] and that's pretty much it. I wonder what def…

The Appalachian mountains are present in Southeastern Ohio. The hollers don't just magically appear when you cross the river over from Marietta to Parkersburg.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#299

Post by war1025 »

srtjstjsj wrote: post #287
imtringued wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I noticed this. There are lots of kids or people who feel redundant and empty because whatever they want to do they can just buy it or hire someone else to do it for them. No need to do anything yourself but it also means nobody needs you which means people don't see anything in you other than your money. The only way you can liberate yourself from this is by getting your hands dirty yourself.

Or by taking pride in the work you do to earn the money.

I really don't think one precludes the other.

You can take pride in the work you get paid for and the work you do outside of work just the same.

Re: 'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain regions

#300

Post by TimesOldRoman »

mbostleman wrote: post #73
phobosanomaly wrote: post #51

In many parts of the United States when you call 911, you're lucky if anyone shows up within an hour. It's a couple hours to get to a Wal-Mart or a store. It's difficult to get anyone to drive 40 minutes outside the nearest town and navigate unmarked dirt roads to do basic plumbing or home repairs. As a result, people have to learn to repair things, make things, use a gun, do first aid, lay shingles, hang drywall, po…

Last night I was on my way home on a relatively remote stretch in eastern Idaho that's 30 minutes from the nearest EMS and came upon a head on collision that just happened. Several others not involved surrounded the scene pretty quickly and started assessing the injured. I literally finished my Wilderness First Aid certification Saturday afternoon.

My family in Southern Idaho are a good 30 min from the nearest EMS, and probably 45-60 from a major hospital.

Pretty normal stuff out in the sticks.

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