Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

ukiahdailyjournal.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 64 posts

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#51

Post by gen220 »

huytersd wrote: post #40
hodgesrm wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually 32F without wind is no big deal if you have a decent sleeping bag. Plus it gets warmer as you do more stuff inside (e.g., cooking). Igloos have the same design and can get pretty warm. [0] The real problem in my experience is that it's quite humid. Since you are insulating with snow it evaporates and raises the humidity up to the dew point. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igloo

I guess it varies from individual to individual. I can be out in 110F weather all day comfortably if I have enough water and a large hat but have very low tolerance for the cold.

Inside the sleeping bag, it will definitely be quite warm!

Even quite mediocre sleeping bags (by modern standards) are positively toasty at 32 degrees. It was common in my group for people to sleep in their underwear in the caves! Our sleeping bags were 0 degree rated, though.

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#52

Post by morkalork »

LastNevadan wrote: post #4

There was a family in Siberia who went off-grid and lived in the Siberian forest for 42 years. They were discovered by the Soviet authorities in 1978. https://allthatsinteresting.com/lykov-family

They were Old Believers! I've heard of this story before but never picked up on that facet. There's still some living in settlements in Alaska.

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#53

Post by justsomehnguy »

sakopov wrote: post #46

> John Melvin said Zailenko was eventually taken to the hospital in Ukiah, and over several days, many different people visited and tried speaking to him in Russian and many other languages, but no one could identify what words exactly he was speaking. I'm assuming it was Ukrainian? Although if someone tried to speak to him in Russian, they'd be able to understand that he was speaking Ukrainian and naturally understa…

Petrov/Petroff is a (a very common) surname/lastname in Russian, but never a firstname.

-ko is a suffix denoting a lastname of Ukrainian origin though those were spread around even in Russian Empire.

There are a lot of people with Zayilenko surname in Russia now and Zalenko and Zelenko is still one in Ukraine now.

Given the Wikipedia article on him there is a chance it's just a corruption and he was called Petro Zelenko

[0] Petrov "Petro" Zailenko, a.k.a. Pitro Zalenko

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#54

Post by _whiteCaps_ »

xyzwave wrote: post #42
huytersd wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hunting and gathering is fine if you have free rein of the land and live in a relatively productive area (for fruits and vegetables). From what I know of NorCal it does not naturally grow stuff you can pick and eat. Also hunting is relatively restricted around national parks and there is no mention of petrov doing it.

I just read a hypothesis from an anthropologist suggesting that the reason California’s indigenous tribes did not practice agriculture like eastern tribes, was due to the abundance of food they could forage year around. Oaks providing a significant part of their diet (which are plentiful in Mendocino) but also other nuts, berries, and tubers found throughout California. So relative to our modern diet, maybe your poin…

The Dawn of Everything has an interesting take on this - they didn't practice agriculture because they wanted to differentiate themselves from other cultures in the area.

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#55

Post by justsomehnguy »

thriftwy wrote: post #5

I believe he's not Petrov but Petro after all (out of options listed in the article) You are unlikely to have no first name and two last names, and Zailenko looks like a last name, so the other one is likely a first name, which would be Petro. Of course there is always a chance that he is Petrov-Zailenko.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38765757

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#56

Post by huytersd »

xyzwave wrote: post #42
huytersd wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hunting and gathering is fine if you have free rein of the land and live in a relatively productive area (for fruits and vegetables). From what I know of NorCal it does not naturally grow stuff you can pick and eat. Also hunting is relatively restricted around national parks and there is no mention of petrov doing it.

I just read a hypothesis from an anthropologist suggesting that the reason California’s indigenous tribes did not practice agriculture like eastern tribes, was due to the abundance of food they could forage year around. Oaks providing a significant part of their diet (which are plentiful in Mendocino) but also other nuts, berries, and tubers found throughout California. So relative to our modern diet, maybe your poin…

I would love to hear what it is. There are truckloads of acorns but it’s all I can think of besides some berries.

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#57

Post by worik »

gen220 wrote: post #51
huytersd wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it varies from individual to individual. I can be out in 110F weather all day comfortably if I have enough water and a large hat but have very low tolerance for the cold.

Inside the sleeping bag, it will definitely be quite warm! Even quite mediocre sleeping bags (by modern standards) are positively toasty at 32 degrees. It was common in my group for people to sleep in their underwear in the caves! Our sleeping bags were 0 degree rated, though.

> mediocre sleeping bags (by modern standards)

Sleeping bags have been very good for a long time

"modern standards" means cheaper than goose down

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#58

Post by worik »

solardev wrote: post #43
DaftDank wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned this the hard way when I was homeless at 17-18 years old in the middle of Wyoming winters. I had at least had my old Grand Cherokee to sleep in the trunk space, but not enough money for gas to run the heater. I'd pile all my clothes on top of me, but there were always patches where the cold got through and I'd spend so many nights just shaking from the cold. Spent the Christmas of 2004 this way. You are als…

Merry Christmas man, hope this one is better for you! I was also homeless with a car for a while, but in a much warmer climate. It's no fun!

What evil you two tell of

So much wealth in the world, and an eighteen year old sleeping in the trunk of a car in a continental winter

"Poverty is a sin A sin of the rich"

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#59

Post by dredmorbius »

gen220 wrote: post #51
huytersd wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it varies from individual to individual. I can be out in 110F weather all day comfortably if I have enough water and a large hat but have very low tolerance for the cold.

Inside the sleeping bag, it will definitely be quite warm! Even quite mediocre sleeping bags (by modern standards) are positively toasty at 32 degrees. It was common in my group for people to sleep in their underwear in the caves! Our sleeping bags were 0 degree rated, though.

Further: the major source of heat loss in a sleeping bag isn't to the air, it's to the ground. Which is why backpackers carry sleeping mats, either of expanded polystyrene or self-inflating air-mattresses. In both cases, the air is the insulating element.

In primitive conditions, pine boughs or fur skins would be used.

Other than that, wear a cap, and if it's truly cold, boil water, pour it into a Nalgene (or similar) bottle, and slip that into a sock. It'll keep you toasty (often too warm) all night.

Re: Petrov: A man who lived in the woods of Mendocino County (2022)

#60

Post by thimkerbell »

hyperthesis wrote: post #16
hutzlibu wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most interesting bit about this to me is, how fast the daughters developed their own language without intention.

also https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Sign_Language

(nicaraguan sign language)
Post reply on HN