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BullSchmidt's Replies
Baltimore to New Orleans (Mardi Gras) and back -- 2600 miles (took the long way there to pick up a friend)
There are three things I do when on a plane.
1) Count the number of rows to the nearest exit row, <i><b>both in front of me and behind me</b></i>. I might be seated immediately behind the exit row, but that's not going to do me any good if the crowd is surging toward the rear of the plane.
2) Stay seated except when necessary (bathroom trips), and <i><b>always</b></i> keep the seat belt on when seated. A little turbulence at 500 miles per hour can send you flying up out of the seat. Wearing a seat belt is uncomfortable? Better than getting a cracked skull.
3) Understand decompression, its causes, its effects, and the emergency oxygen system.
Let's start with its causes. Remember the bomb scene in Airport (1970)? Some people think that's the usual cause of decompression, except that instead of it being a bomb, it's some sort of structural failure -- a door or window fails (very loudly) and suddenly there's a loss in pressure, the O2 masks drop, et cetera. But far more common are pressurization system failures where a valve gets stuck open or something similar happens. That's what killed Payne Stewart and the others on his plane. And when that happens, there won't be a bang or other such event; the O2 masks will simply drop. Unfortunately, there have been cases when this has happened and passengers, believing that decompressions are always accompanied by loud bangs, conclude that the O2 system has deployed erroneously, that all is actually well, and do nothing.
Physiologically, the effects are hypoxia -- loss of capacity for rational thought -- followed by unconsciousness, then death. Estimates for the amount of time you have to act are usually based on Air Force test data and other such sources. But that data is collected from young, healthy test subjects in pressure chambers who know the event is happening. For the rest of us, the time to act may be considerably less. In extreme circumstances you might have as little as ten seconds of useful consciousness. At the end of that time you'll still be conscious, but you'll be so scatterbrained you won't be able to act to save yourself.
Airplanes are normally pressurized to the equivalent of being at 8000 feet altitude. The masks don't drop until the pressure has dropped to 14000 feet equivalent. That's much higher than what most of us are used to. This means that unless you're a Himalayan Sherpa, you're already impaired when the masks drop, already considerably down that slope which may be as short as ten seconds.
The video depicts a high speed descent after a decompression, to quickly get to a lower altitude where the air is breathable without supplemental oxygen. But what if the airplane is over high mountains when the decompression happens, and it takes somewhat longer to get to a lower altitude? Or what if the decompression is caused by structural failure, and a high speed dive means possibly overstressing an already damaged airplane -- and the extent of the damage can only be inferred?
Finally, consider that the emergency oxygen system typically has a capacity of twelve to fifteen minutes. Ultimately the pilot might have to rely upon that length of time to get the plane to safety. Well, if you got the mask on, you'll be fine. But if you didn't and nobody was able to come to your assistance, by the time you get to that lower altitude you'll at least have some serious brain damage.
What this all adds up to is this. If those masks drop, you cannot take even a moment to wonder what's going on and why it's happening. You might have that time available, but you can't assume that you do. You must grab that mask immediately. You must activate the O2 system immediately. You must jam your face into the mask immediately. You must do all these things immediately <i><b>or you might die</b></i>.
It's important to understand how the O2 system is activated. See this diagram: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_oxygen_generator_diagram.svg
That's the most common type of emergency oxygen system. Note that the masks have gas hoses connected to the O2 system, but they also have lanyards which are connected to a retaining pin. When that pin is pulled out of place, the "purcussion [sic] cap and firing mechanism" are activated, starting a chemical reaction which produces oxygen as a byproduct. So the goal is simple -- get the pin out of its socket. Also note that all the lanyards are connected to the same pin, so if any person in your row of seats gets the pin out, it activates the system for everyone in your row.
No, Kentucky. Could have just as easily said hillbilly instead of redneck.
Redneck USA
> It made a sound like when Uncle Fester put a light bulb in his mouth
Wow, I had never heard that. And they used the same ugly sound for the dial tone (continuous), "phone ringing" signal (slow pulse), and "busy" signal (fast pulse).
> The demonstrator is a rather striking-looking woman.
Interesting video, even if she did lay on the "listen for the dial tone" line a bit much. I particularly liked seeing how they actually did the switch from the older to newer system.
> I don't have anything by Pat - could never stand her voice or her hit
I don't have anything by Pat Benatar either. I like her music well enough, just not quite enough to pay for it. But Stevie Nicks just sounds like a drunken slut, IMO.
> On a related topic, when my grandparents still lived on a farm outside of the town, they didn't have a street address, only a rural route number.
Here in rural Appalachia, we still have some odd addresses. Let's say that way back in the old days before automobiles, Harry Green owned a big plot of land, and there was a dirt path from the main road to his farm. And, let's say that Harry had picked up the nickname "Casey" somewhere along his years. Not surprisingly, the locals would call that dirt path "Casey Green's road." Now, it's 125 years later, the dirt path is now a paved street, there's no farm anymore but instead residential lots, nobody named Green lives in the area ... but the street is still called Casey Green Road.
Let's compare and contrast Benatar and Nicks:
Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head
Drownin' me in your promises, better left unsaid
You're the right kind of sinner to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner and you know that you were born to be
Vummuh moemah
Data verslay
ASS! ON! HIM!
Verblee blugh, verblee blugh blugh
Seventeen
I'm in my late fifties, but the gray hair simply runs in the family. One of my uncles had all white hair by the time he was thirty-five.
The worst ache is from a broken back, twenty years ago. I get some pain from that just about every day, but it's low grade -- mostly I just ignore it. As long as I get a full night's sleep it's nothing more than an annoyance. I also have a knee I busted up in a whitewater canoeing accident while in college. Most days that's OK, it doesn't give me any trouble, but once a year or so the knee flares up and I have to wear a knee brace for a couple of days and take it easy on that leg.
Metamucil is great stuff. One teaspoon dissolved in a glass of water every day. It's something to do while I'm waiting for the morning coffee to brew. It makes my crap perfect. Not too soft, so it sticks to itself rather than the insides of my butt cheeks. Not too hard, so I don't give myself a hernia pushing it out. Taking a dump shouldn't be a big deal -- just a firm shove, a quick wipe, and I'm done. I started using it a few years ago when, after a logjam, I decided that being constipated just wasn't fun anymore.
> I finally figured out what your username means
LOL -- I was wondering when someone else would notice that.
> Very effective song.
It is. Hard to believe that was 34 years ago.
"Luka" by Suzanne Vega: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZt7J0iaUD0
The creepy part for me is the contrast between the happy sounding, major key music and the topic.
> I just created a new word
Works for me. If James Joyce could create new words, why can't the rest of us?
> additional sounds/words that are only found in the video version of the song.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ykzv
> Pat Benatar
You beat me to it. What impresses me about her, among other things, is that no matter how powerfully she belts something out and at what point in her range she's singing, her enunciation is crystal clear and easily understood. At the other extreme is Stevie Nicks who, no matter what she's singing, sounds like her mouth is full of mashed potatoes.
1. The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)
2. Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (2007)
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Production of intestinal gas is inevitable, and it's going to be evacuated from the body in some way. Personally, I'd rather shoot it out of my ass than out of my mouth.
> I'm guessing you hear the bass when the volume is up is because the bass setting on your stereo might be high, so the louder the more you hear it.
No, what I'm talking about here is perception. Even if your audio equipment is absolutely perfect, perception is non-linear. For example, increase volume by 10 dB and the physical sound energy is multiplied by ten. This is perceived as doubling the volume, it now "sounds" twice as loud. But bass notes will seem somewhat more than twice as loud, high notes somewhat less than twice as loud.
> I know from experience from my weed-smoking days that when I would smoke an ounce a week, basically 10-12 joints a day, each one didn't get me that much higher.
I'll take your word for it -- I smoked quite a bit in college and a little in grad school, but never that much. An ounce cost $100 in the 1980s, and on a student's budget I couldn't have afforded it. ;)
> maybe i'm just an amatuer but there no way you could function taking 1/2 ounce per day
I smoked a lot of weed in college and some in grad school. That's been about thirty-five years ago, but this is my reaction too. A half ounce per day? PR horsecrap. Even being knighted doesn't turn you into Superman.
^This. If they're truly "on the road," traveling on the road with tour buses (either their own or rented vehicles), not leaving the USA, they wouldn't even need to hide it in that sort of way. Just lock it up in some piece of luggage. The cops cannot search your bags just because you look funny, they have to have some specific factual justification, and a considerable amount at that. Either that, or your consent. They can try to trick you into giving your consent in all sorts of ways. If in doubt, say "I do not consent to any searches. I am going to remain silent. Am I free to leave?" If the answer is no and the situation has become something other than a routine speeding ticket, add "I want a lawyer." Be courteous, friendly even, but firm. Act "professionally," in other words.
A cop, describing such situations generally, put it this way. "If the cops can't see your drugs they can't do anything about them. If you're going to smoke weed, don't do it on the front porch. Do it inside and close the drapes. If you're going to carry weed from some place to another, don't put it in a transparent baggie where it can be seen. Put it in some opaque container. The police can act on anything in 'plain view' but they can't act on what they can't see."
In addition to 'plain view' there's also 'plain smell.' If one of your party reeks of weed smoke and they cops pull you over, they can act on that. If someone has partaken before getting underway, have him shower and change into fresh clothes before getting underway, put his soiled clothes in a trash bag and tie it up tight, and make sure he understands he should STFU if you're pulled over.
Don't try to bring drugs on an airplane. Law enforcement does not need your consent in that case. When you pass through the very first security checkpoint at the airport, legally you give your consent for the cops to search you and your bags, whether you realize it or not.
I don't know whether there's a similar "implied consent" situation when traveling by Amtrak, Greyhound, et cetera, but I'd think trying to bring weed along would probably be a bad idea.
> In an interview, Denny Laine confirmed this and said it was why it took Paul so long to finish the album, but the pot kept making him tinker and experiment until he was 100% sure it was perfect.
I wonder. Are you old enough to remember the late 1960s and early 1970s? Vinyl LPs sometimes had a sticker on the outer plastic wrap which read, "FOR THE BEST LISTENING EXPERIENCE THIS RECORD SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD." A recording studio engineer told me a funny story about that. First, bass notes are perceived as louder when the volume is increased, not just in absolute terms but also relative to the rest of the music. To put it another way, turning up the volume makes it seem like you're not only closer to the stage but also like the bass player has turned up his amp.
Second, there's an industry standard for volume. Recordings are assumed to be played at that volume, something like 75 decibels (I don't remember the exact number), and are mixed per that assumption.
So, what this engineer told me was that the sticker really meant, "Hey man, we got hold of some killer weed the day we mixed this, and we were really digging the music so we cranked it up. The next day when we were sober and listened to it at a normal volume, we found that we fucked it up and the bass is too weak. We're too cheap to do it over, especially when these stickers cost a lot less."
I don't remember if any McCartney or Beatles records ever had those stickers. Probably not.