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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)

#381

Post by acjohnson55 »

kkielhofner wrote: post #277
shortstuffsushi wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't mind sharing, what was the reason to get in the car with them to drive? Were you planning to head out to an event like a hike or something that you had arranged online, but hadn't known the people ahead of?

I wish it was anywhere near that "respectable". I was visiting a college town for an away football game. This was the night before the game and some of my friends and I went out. I met these two guys at a college bar my friends and I went to. My friends were going back to our hotel but these guys (who we had all met maybe an hour before) had invited me to a party. It was still fairly early and I thought "Neat, this w…

Just want to say that it's not your fault. I've gone unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people many times. A college town party being one of the most representative examples. I've never had anything close to that happen to me. I think you were just extremely unlucky. I'm sorry you were robbed in such a horrific way and I'm sorry for how the police treated you.

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

#382

Post by rqtwteye »

jstarfish wrote: post #264
rqtwteye wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That's police training in the US too. Also, in confrontations where you are outnumbered, keep one of the suspects between you and the rest. Discourages anybody taking a shot at you when their friend/accomplice is in the line of fire.

Didn't know that one.

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

#383

Post by scruple »

rm445 wrote: post #353
lairv wrote: post #336

Reading the blog and the comment section as a european, I realise how Europe feels nowhere near as dangerous as natural parks in the US, less extreme weather conditions, mostly no dangerous wildlife and less environment diversity (mostly moutains, no desert) I've done some hiking and camping in the Alps, and while some surprise thunder had me stop for 30 minutes, there never was sudden storms or weather change which…

Yeah, I remember reading a long-form story about the 'Death Valley Germans' from this site, and it was so sad - a family with young kids, that just hadn't comprehended how far they could be from help when they got into trouble in the USA. That heading towards the local military base might not help when everything is so huge that all you'll see is miles of fence.

It's a good read. Can be found here [0].

[0]: https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hu...

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

#384

Post by wildhereplzhold »

andrewflnr wrote: post #303
xeromal wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just read this article and I love how they called the Grand Canyon, the inverted mountain. I hiked down into it a few years ago. I feel like I'm a well-prepared person. On less than a day mountain hikes, I always bring about 1500 calories worth of bars, 2.5L of water, a flashlight, multitool, and something warm if it's cold. It adds a bit of weight but I feel at ease with some backup tools. I made my way down to the…

Wow, I already have kind of a habit of bringing some of my water in a hard-sided bottle, but I think it'll be a policy now.

Multiple containers in different locations is a good idea, soft pouches can be more durable in some situations.

I once went bikepacking, and took a fall on a patch of soft sand partway to the campsite. When I got there, as the sun was setting off a dirt track in the desert, I opened my bag to find that my hard water bottle had ruptured and soaked the bag's contents. Without a camelback and silicone canteen which survived the fall, I might have had to use the SOS button.

Even more fortunately, I had organized most of my food/laundry/etc in large ziplock bags, which kept them dry. That was another useful lesson.

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

#385

Post by cat_plus_plus »

sjf wrote: post #357
cat_plus_plus wrote: post #290

Any optional activity has some risks and activities that are most fulfilling and exciting tend to have the most risk. Taking maximum precautions also tends to take away from fun, like flying commercial with an experienced pilot vs hang gliding. For me the takeaway is simply to weigh pros and cons of different options and if someone doesn't make it, it was still their choice. I once decided to climb Half Dome cables d…

> had it not worked out, well I would not be around to regret it The consequences would have been borne by your spouse, family, friends, the rangers who came to retrieve your body. This is such a young male take on dangerous activities.

Met spouse a few months later at another activity organized by the same club. Have to think that I would not have had the same confidence to approach women and interesting stories to tell them if I have not been doing rock climbing, skydiving and whitewater rafting for couple of years prior. It's such a female take to mock guys for seeking out thrills and then only want to be friends with shy nerds who could lose a few pounds. But no matter, most of us would not even find ourselves attractive if we backed off from every little risk, and young and single is exactly the time when consequences is as much primarily on us as they are ever going to be.

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

#386

Post by kixxauth »

I’ve been recreating in the mountains for a few decades now, some of it pretty serious. Honestly, nothing has taught me more respect for life than being challenged in the mountains. The lessons I’ve learned I’ve applied to software, management, and life in general. It allows you to keep a cool head when the world is on fire.

+1 would recommend

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

#387

Post by wildhereplzhold »

giantg2 wrote: post #54

Risk can be fun. I don't feel bad if someone gets hurt or killed doing an activity that is inherently dangerous. They died doing what they enjoyed and feeling alive. Don't feel bad for me if I go that way either.

It's not that simple, though. Even if we can't eliminate them, we can do a lot to minimize the risks involved in fun, dangerous activities.

Look at people like Ayrton Senna. Died doing what he loved, but he didn't have to, and the changes that his death inspired made F1 racing much safer without sacrificing the hair-raising speed. He also probably would have lived if the sport's governing body had learned from a prior serious crash on the ultimately fatal corner.

Personally, I still feel bad about deaths like that.

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

#388

Post by leaving »

tasuki wrote: post #246

How does: > Either way, statistically, one of you will die this summer. go together with: > But you can take comfort in knowing that there were less than eight deaths per 10 million visits to national park sites between 2007 and 2018. ? I'm confused. How many people were there in that room when the ranger said statistically one of them would die? Were they for some reason more statistically likely to die than the oth…

9,980,000 of those 10 million visitors arrive in a car, truck, or RV, walk less than 1km, stay on the marked trail between the visitor center and the gift shop, and leave in less than 4 hours so they can hit the outlet mall before checking into the hotel, overeating at the buffet, and falling asleep watching pay-per-view. Unless they trip and fall in the rush to the ice cream vendor or have a fatal heart attack from walking the 1km, there isn't that much that can go wrong. America!

Park staff activities tend to be a wee bit more risky.

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

#389

Post by SamPatt »

atoav wrote: post #291
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…

> If anyone would like to explain why that didn't kill me I'm all ears. What kills people is current, not voltage. With AC having your heart beat 50 times a second can also cause you to die hours or even days after receiving a shock, but even that requires enough current to flow and cross your skin resistance. Go to ghe hospital even if you are alive and feel well after an electrical shock! Your heart may have suffer…

I've been zapped too and there's no period of contemplation about what's happening.

Just a moment of shock, then pain, followed by lots of cursing and then gratitude it wasn't worse.

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

#390

Post by dragonsky67 »

unregistereddev wrote: post #275
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.

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 annoy it and you are far more likely to have problems with dying of exposure and heat exhaustion.

In the US on the other hand it seems you have lots of real predators who are out looking for a free feed that you need to take real care about. I had no idea raccoons were potentially dangerous.

I suppose it's all about what you are familiar with. I have no problem heading off walking in the Australian bush, with full knowledge that there are snakes out there that could bite me if I did something stupid but you rarely see them and if you do they are flaked out on a rock asleep. I'd be very cautious about bushwalking in the US, as I've no idea of the risks.

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