DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES!

Dangerous activities.

Many things are dangerous in our world.
I have not seen this addressed So HERE WE GO!................
PLAESE DO NOT GET YOURSELF HURT!
Danger is unavoidable. Yet it can be minimized.
Please minimize the hazards to yourself and those around you.
When a person puts an action into effect and has a result of that action, they are responsible for the end product or result. Good or Bad.
EXAMPLE:
Adding known radio active materials to your working/ living space. REALLY? REALLY? Do we actually have to do such things? REALLY? And for all of you "scientists" I know that the suns U.V. Rays are dangerous so do not waste your time with trivial matters. I am reffering to particles such as plutonium.

Placing ones self in a position of danger.
EXAMPLE:
Building a building with out utilizing sound structure codes. earthquake codes, flood zone codes, etc. think California Vs. the rest of the world. Japan has some of the best codes for building and even they can be broken by nature. This is for general safety.

I do not advocate over regulation. I am against elaborate codes that stop people from making resonable decisions for themselves. But we can not build buildings that have no sound testing.

CONTAMINATION:
Ground, water and air contamination can last for days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millenia.
EXAMPLE:
D.D.T.
CO2
mercury
lead
methal bromide
plutonium
sulfur dioxide
CFCs
Floride
phosgene gas
Plastic
polyimerized structures.
And on and on and on.

SOCIAL EVENTS:
Social events do not seem to have dangers, but that is because they are hidden or outright ingnored.
EXAMPLE:
Social drinking: Car accidents due to drunk or otherwise intoxicated individuals is the highest cause of preventable deaths and injuries.
Social gatherings spread of disease: Influenza is still near the top of the list for fatalities in the world.
There are more.

Food production: This seems odd, until it is explained.
Animal by products. Mass livestock pens, industrialized food production and handling.
A very small amount of contamination can get alot of other critters sick.
Example:
Pathogens
urine
feces
bacteria
viruses
parasites
STDs yes animals get them also.
cross contamination
unsanitary living conditions
waste accumilation
down stream effects, what you put in the water as waste another creature uptakes for survival.
Etc.

So as this is addressed; I am not attempting to stop anyone from doing anything, just reminding others to be aware of thier actions.
For every action there is a reaction good bad or otherwise. be aware that what you do today affects others for possible generations to come.
I encourage people to try new and unusual things. Yet I advocate thinking it through and reducing the risks as is appropriate.
Risks have to be taken. Failure/mistakes can be the best teachers available.
Try new things just realize history can show you how to avoid making the mistakes of others.
Reduce the risks by increasing your knowledge.
Do your best to "KNOW" what you are doing.

PLEASE ADD YOUR INPUT! OTHERS LIVES COULD DEPEND ON IT! HAVE A GREAT DAY

what?

Ok, all you chicken pluckers. Remember that animals get STDs. Think before you act.

I'm not quite sure I understand this thread. Any situation can be potentially dangerous. Any one element that goes into "chaos" (overabundance) can cause a problem (to use permaculture terminology) and steps should be taken to bring it into balance either actively through human intervention, or passively through natural progression, depending on the urgency.

I grew up in some politically dicey situations and have been held at gunpoint, knifepoint, threatened by personal acts of violence by base individuals... Would I willingly walk back into known dangerous environments? Yes. And I have. Some people even do this for a living (military, first responders, aid workers to name but a few). Some people deal with toxins for a living, too. Although I don't advocate being "stupid" about danger/dangerous situations - how we define "danger(ous)" is oftentimes predicated by our life experiences and enhanced by fear mongering.

The point of the post is to be proactive. If people are open to learning. I do not think it is irrelevant to remind people that there are potential dangers and many can be easily avoided. It did get your attention. Maybe you have more knowledge on the subject that is relevant than I do. I am open to learning. If people are way to high in the clouds they may walk right off a cliff. Thus the representation of the fool. I look forward to a very interesting discussion on safety. Maybe you have had an experience that could help someone else from repeating that series of problems.
Protect yourself at all times. Help others avoid dangers that can be avoided. Be a part of the sollution.
Yes the world is complicated. Many sollutions seem very easy until they are implemented with out a clear understanding of how things work.
I could find a thousand reasons not to do a thing. Yet things have to be done. So we should be reasonable safe. I put this under meaningless drivel to NOT scare people, yet also get the point out.
I look forward to higher yields of knowledge than I currently maintain.
I hope it clarifies thing for those not sure of why the thread was started.

Thank you for the humor Dale. Not exactly what I meant but funny. Humor is appriciated.

Hey Seth - that does clarify things a bit. Thanks for the response.

I think so many of us here are "experimenters" at heart so that draws us together to find alternative solutions to current situations that seem undesirable to us. Inherent in experimentation is some kind of danger. Yes - be aware of what you can. However, it's impossible to know or take into consideration what you don't know you don't know. Some "dangers" only come about after years of acceptance.

Oddly enough, I usually operate in my life not necessarily by trying to protect myself or be safe at all times, but rather I go forth with the thought that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Let's face it, some things are beyond our ability to control. Now I will make a caveat that I would not willingly or knowingly put someone other than myself in harm's way - so I apply that motto only to my own personal risk taking. But long ago I accepted and embraced that I was an experiential learner who pretty much HAD to make every mistake in the book just to sate my own curiosity.

To quote from Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Take My Chances": "Some people say that you shouldn't tempt fate, and for them I could not disagree. But I never learn nothing from playing it safe - I say Fate should not tempt me!"

Hear the song here - makes me smile every damn time.

I think the best way to deal with safety issues is for posters to consider that on a case by case basis. The threads about bio char regularly deal with the risk of fire and explosion. When I talk about demolition, I show photos of my safety gear. The wood stove and RMH crowd regularly go over risk management. In almost any thread that goes on for long, safety comes up. You'd need a Britanica sized volume to cover risk in a comprehensive way. I think it makes sense to only bring up the risks for given activities as they come up.

It's a really bad idea to kick a Cape Buffalo in the nuts. This would surely end badly, but if I'm crawling through an attic that contains rat poop, it makes sense for me to forget the buffalo until I go on safari and think about protecting my lungs and not falling through the ceiling.

I tend to keep my tools pretty sharp (I'm an ex-chef and I can't help it...)
It makes cutting everything many, many times easier, including finger tendons
About the only activity I consider to be so dangerous (for me) I'd never go near it, is chainsawing.
In good hands they're an awesome tool.

Thanks for the input. I also agree that not every situation can be addressed in a single post. The idea to have individual concerns be addressed is a good one.
So maybe people could put thier concerns about possibly dangerous activities up here and have the forum address them. More brains, more power. The faster sollutions can be given. The faster problems can be resolved. A general safety post could help people look at issues others have had, and resolved. Ask a question get a answer. There are no stupid questions, but maybe there are people who need more information.
Have a great day. Glad to have you join the discussion.

@Dale - good point about the Cape Buffalo! Nut-kicking a buffalo definitely falls into the category of "dangerous" - you may have just saved me from myself! LOL. However, I may yet be destined for a Darwin award...

@Leila - agreed on sharp tools! (and, alas, tendon cutting - pah). I spent yesterday morning sharpening some shovels and pruners.

So my own safety tip - wear protective eyewear and dust masks when moving woody mulch. Not sure about other climates but when big piles of tree trimmings sit for any amount of time here they will grow fungal nets, HOWEVER, if the piles dry out, all that material becomes powdery and plumes out of the pile when you dig in it. This can cause serious respiratory distress in people that can last for a week or much longer. Also, wash those clothes afterwards to get that stuff off them. No need to keep "re-pluming" it.

Dale Hodgins wrote:I think the best way to deal with safety issues is for posters to consider that on a case by case basis. The threads about bio char regularly deal with the risk of fire and explosion. When I talk about demolition, I show photos of my safety gear. The wood stove and RMH crowd regularly go over risk management. In almost any thread that goes on for long, safety comes up. You'd need a Britanica sized volume to cover risk in a comprehensive way. I think it makes sense to only bring up the risks for given activities as they come up.

It's a really bad idea to kick a Cape Buffalo in the nuts. This would surely end badly, but if I'm crawling through an attic that contains rat poop, it makes sense for me to forget the buffalo until I go on safari and think about protecting my lungs and not falling through the ceiling.

Good example:)
NO kicking buffalo in the nuts. Like ever and I meen ever. hahahahahahaha!
Wear your resperator, gloves etc. when dealing with tight spaces and fecal matter.
Thanks

Actually, this thread is making me think of all the stupid-assed crap I've done in the past.

When I was 6 and 7, we lived in Mogadishu, Somalia (1969-70). The electricity there was dicey and poorly grounded. One was constantly getting low level shocks from things. Putting up the Christmas lights particularly challenging as one had to test all the bulbs. I noticed one time that I got a small shock from touching the metal hinge between the freezer and fridge door. I became curious as to whether I could get a better shock on my wet tongue (having learned about electricity and water...). Being 6, I was too short to stick my tongue directly on the hinge. So I sought out a stool and stuck my tongue on the hinged. ZAP!!! So I learned that yes, indeed, something wet will intensify a shock!

Some years later in Kenya, some other kids were teaching me how to catch snakes and we collected several in a "snake pit". So the idea was that you came across a snake and were quick enough to grab it by the tail end, then you held it at arm's length and shook the snake so it couldn't curl back on itself and bite you. Worked well enough for small snakes, especially when you were close enough to the snake pit to dump them in fairly quickly. There are a couple of other rules though - only pick up snakes that are shorter than the length of your arm (otherwise they can bite you on the body just by swinging against you), don't pick up any snakes if you are far away from the snake pit because running and snake-shaking simultaneously is tiring. Also, have an exit plan. We simply wanted to look at snakes. One of the other kid's parents gave us a good talking to about both the dangers and usefulness of snakes in our ecosystem and we were then marched back to the snake pit, made to identify all the snakes we'd caught, and then rehome them back where they came from and fill in the snake pit. (definitely less exciting than the thrill of capture).

Possibly the most dangerous thing I've done.....

Some years after the snake incident, this time in Lesotho in Southern Africa, I was hanging out with my then BF and his band members in the bar at the Hilton hotel where I was the lifeguard. There was a South African motorcycle convention in town and several of the riders were making loud bets to see who could prove themselves a "real South African man" by being able to belch the words "Bloody Bulawayo" in one belch. After several failed attempts by these rowdies, I decided I'd give it a go. So, being allergic to most alcohol, I downed a couple of warm Cokes and succeeded on my first try by letting out a very healthy "Bloody Bulawayo". Silence fell over the mostly male crowd and several burly men turned to me with danger in their eyes. My smug satisfaction quickly turned to "uh oh!" The band members quickly formed a protective circle around me and we beat a hasty retreat. To use Dale's analogy - I had just kicked a roomful of Cape Buffalo in the nads!

However, I still smirk every time I think of my righteous belch!

As a skilled general laborer, I too was never inclinded to pick up a chain saw. I was forced to when I had to cut down a tree that had died on my fathers property. Needless to say (but relevant) I had also never cut down a whole tree before. Luckily this was a small pine tree that had seccumbed to pitch canker from japanese pine bettles. 20 feet tall, maybe 8- 10 inches around possibly bigger. Regardless I had to look for power lines, and other utilities, slope, where to fall the tree, how to control the fall, where my cuts were to be made, what sequence my cuts would be in to keep the saw from getting trapped as the tree moved. Remember I had never used a chain saw-was deathly afraid of an open blade running at high rpms that was loosly bound by tension on the edge of an oblonged plate and had never been trained to fell a tree. < run on sentance HAR! So with little experience, even less confidence, and a whole bunch of knowledge. I was able to determine what was safe, if I should start the project, ( because once started I would have to finish) If I could do this safely for myself as well as others. The slope was over 30 degrees, and on the down side of a concrete drive way.
Sollution I used ropes to control the fall. I used my cuts to guide the fall. I used a 14" electric chain saw (I got paid to take away/ brand new, they had put the chain on up side down. How I do not know.) from a rubish job. I used the trees near by as my block and tackle. I had two helpers with me.
As things went I am sure any arborist or tree trimmer would have laughed at my approach. Yet I was not laughing. I took the dangers very serious. The tree could have weighed a great deal. I also refused to have anyone else cut the tree. If I got hurt I would have the otion not to sue my own father, if someone else got hurt it was a sure bet they would sue. California the land of tort and law suits. The tree fell with out any problems. The control of the fall was good. the ropes helped to slow the fall and control the movement of the tree as it was cut. No one was injured no other damage was caused. My first tree fall was in my opinion very dangerous, and a bit stupid to tackle. I now have way more confidence, (still leary) I have felled three other dead trees, and I have used many chain saws with good results and no harm done.
One of my favorite chain saw is the alligator from black and decker that has two handles, cuts up to 4 inch branches and has the blade covered through most of the cutting proccess. Both hands are required to run the saw. Have a great day.

Glad to get you thinking Jennifer. Glad you survived the electricity, snakes as well as the bikers.

What I'm looking for is an exact specific list of unknown problems I might encounter.......then I'll be ready

Robert Ray wrote:What I'm looking for is an exact specific list of unknown problems I might encounter.......then I'll be ready

There is only one that really matters and, by the time you recognize it, it won't matter anymore.

Hopefully it'll be quick and I'm smiling.

It's like that redneck joke....

What're a redneck's last words?

"Watch this, y'all! Watch THIS!"

As a side note, that's probably the way I'll go too. I'll want it to be spectacular so I can make the Darwin Awards posthumously.