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       #Post#: 6986--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: April 28, 2017, 1:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Eddie link=topic=9447.msg130413#msg130413
       date=1493345701]
       I've got one for you. Let me lay a little groundwork first.
       I first went sailing with some friends when I was in college. I
       grew up around ski boats and fishing boats, the kind working
       class  people used to be able to afford when I was young , but
       coming from rural East Texas, I was not exposed to sailing at
       all as a kid. That was something rich people did. I never even
       thought much about it. But once I tried it, I was hooked for
       life. However, for four long years of dental school, I was nose
       to the grindstone. I didn't even have the time to read a book
       for pleasure. Dental school is roughly equivalent to carrying
       about a 25 hour load as an undergrad. I was at school every
       weekday from 7:30 am until midnight most nights, when they made
       us leave and go home whether we wanted to or not. Four years,
       with a month off for summers. I worked as a research assistant
       during the summer breaks. I needed the money.
       When I got out of school in San Antonio and moved to Houston to
       start my residency in pediatrics, I scrimped together enough
       money to spend maybe a thousand bucks on a very neglected but
       very worthy old Flying Scot, a 20 ft daysailor with a big swing
       keel with a windlass. I didn't even know where to go to put it
       in the water. I asked someone, and they said people sailed on
       Offut's Bayou in Galveston. I proceeded to hook up the trailer
       to my 1976 Toyota Corolla Wagon (1600cc's, 5 speed manual
       transmission, roughly half the size of the boat) and headed down
       there to check it out.
       Fortunately, the freeway on to Galveston Island crosses Offut's
       Bayou, so I found it without much trouble. I backed down the
       public ramp and launched my vessel. I was pretty busy between
       the hospital and two part-time side jobs, but I found time a
       couple of times a month to drive down there and begin to figure
       out how to sail a boat. By the time I was out, two years later,
       I at least knew a tack from a jibe, and enough not to get blown
       on to a lee shore. There was a lot more about sailing I didn't
       know, far more than I did know. But when we moved to Austin i
       pulled the Scot down (now behind my new Ford Bronco II, the
       worst car I ever owned...but that's another story).
       When we had moved to Houston, my two oldest girls were ages 2
       1/2 and 6 months. Near the Med Center there was a fairly famous
       infant swimming school, the Phil Hansell Academy. Remember that
       article from Life Magazine in the 1960's that documented how
       children younger than a year could be taught to float and even
       swim? Phil Hansell (one time swim coach for University of
       Houston) got in on that early wave, and started such a training
       center. By the time we came to town, it had been in business
       over 20 years, and it's still there now. The teachers there have
       taught thousands of babies how to float on their backs fully
       clothed, with a soaked diaper. The kids don't graduate until
       they can do that.
       [img]
  HTML https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwuCMf8scIsXYbuJ5fDFwly2S1X4LviwUQl3SmOrdM8sfIKOx9[/img]
       A Typical Infant Swimmer (after 3-6 months of training)
       On the wall at Phil Hansell are displayed many letters, photos,
       and anecdotes from parents whose children's lives were
       subsequently saved in various water accidents as a result of
       their training, even one involving a toddler who fell through an
       open manhole and floated far below street level in a storm sewer
       for half an hour until the fire department could get a man down.
       Expecting a corpse, they were surprised to find a floating kid
       who wasn't even that upset.
       My wife wanted to put our girls in swimming lessons, and so we
       did. We lived in some student apartments owned by the University
       of Texas, which had an Olympic pool. Very soon my kids were
       known around the complex as swimming prodigies, and the late Dr.
       Red Duke (trauma surgeon turned TV personality) who had a
       regular spot on the nightly evening news, even sent out a camera
       crew to video my kids, and they were on TV one night, for maybe
       30 seconds. LOL. Frequently, people who didn't know they were
       completely water safe, would jump into the pool and try to
       rescue them, or just walk up and give us a ration of **** about
       not watching our kids around the pool. It was a great joke for
       me and my wife.
       Fast forward to the summer of '87. We moved to Austin, and I
       started asking again about where to put in a sailboat on Lake
       Travis. My wife's brother allowed as he had seen people sailing
       at a place called Windy Point, so once again, I hitched up the
       trailer and went to check it out.
       There are no coincidences.
       Now, today, Windy Point would be the last place I'd go to launch
       a sailboat on Lake Travis. Very shallow water, no boat ramp. I
       had to back way out into the water in my car to try to launch,
       and it still wasn't easy. A guy about ten years older than us
       offered to help us launch. He'd been sailing a borrowed Sunfish,
       but had just broken his rudder. He helped me launch the Scot,
       and bummed a ride. Turned out he was a single Dad who lived
       right in our neighborhood and had a son right between my kids in
       age. We would go on to become best friends and sailing buddies
       (on a long string of boats) for decades. He was already an
       experienced sailor, but not on small boats.
       We spent the whole summer sailing our asses off, kids along,
       often all three kids and me, my wife and our new friend Terry.
       [img]
  HTML https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSf_6VetoT1whAbAg4ZWuD7U18MbHjgg_uD9AZ3J5cXB3HWvMfgFA[/img]
       A Flying Scot Under Full Sail
       In Texas it isn't always obvious when summer ends. We went out
       one fine Sunday, the first weekend in November, 1987. The
       weather was glorious, the water still fairly tolerable for
       swimming, and the wind was blowing a steady 10-15 knots. By this
       time we were feeling pretty good about our expertise, and we
       "put the rail in the water" as they say, and spent a great
       afternoon sailing across the main basin in Lake Travis. Now, one
       thing you should know, is that lake sailing can be tricky.
       Unlike the bay, the wind is constantly changing direction and
       speed, and promontories of land can put you out of the wind
       completely. Eventually, Terry and I would know that lake like
       the back of our hands, but we were still newbies then.
       We had already named the main basin "The Vortex" because of the
       weird wind effects there. One side of the lake is lined with
       high cliffs. At the top is a huge destination restaurant and bar
       called The Oasis, which bills itself as "The Sunset Capital of
       Texas". The wind along the cliffs creates whirls and eddies and
       you can never tell exactly what you might get hit with next.
       We stayed out until very few other boats were still on the lake.
       The wind started to rise a bit, but we didn't pay that much
       attention. We had put away a few beers, and we were having fun.
       Terry was at the helm...if you can call lying on your back with
       one hand on the rudder and the other holding the mainsheet "at
       the helm".
       Then, suddenly, it all went very wrong. A big gust, and we
       heeled way over. Terry let go the main and I let go the jib. but
       the mainsheet (the line that lets the mainsail release, thereby
       de-powering the sail and preventing a capsize), got caught under
       someone's foot. In one long second, we got knocked down. We were
       in the drink. Me, Terry, my wife, and my two girls. His kid was
       not there. Mom's weekend.
       The Scot has a somewhat unique rig. The main halyard (the line
       that raises and drops the main sail) is not a rope. It's a
       cable, and it works by turning a tiny little ratcheting winch in
       a box affixed to the mast. To drop the main, you need the winch
       handle. The winch handle was gone. As we went over, my oldest
       girl grabbed the boom, and I had to pry her strong little hands
       off of it to keep her from being dragged under as the boat
       proceeded to turtle,
       The kids had on life jackets. The rest of us grabbed one and put
       it on. Nobody was hurt. Everyone was fine.
       Except...the sun was going down and the water was getting
       colder. There wasn't a single boat in sight. Terry and I finally
       stood on the centerboard together and stood the boat back up.
       But it was too full of water to bail, and the wet main, still
       up, was making the boat unstable. It could turtle again anytime.
       We were already getting exhausted.
       [img
       width=640]
  HTML http://i.vimeocdn.com/video/66466085_1280x720.jpg[/img]
       A Swamped Scot
       Within a few minutes, I knew we were in real trouble. I was
       cold, but the kids were really cold, teeth chattering cold. Blue
       skin cold. They wouldn't last an hour. No way. The sun set and
       we were way too far from shore to swim in. It started to get
       dark.
       Just about the time I was coming to the realization that my kids
       were in danger of dying of exposure, a small cabin sailboat,
       sails furled, motored up under the power of a tiny outboard.
       They took my wife and kids onboard and dried them off. We didn't
       want to abandon our boat. It was too unstable to tow, though.
       So....Terry and I stayed onboard and sat on opposite sides on
       the gunwales and kept the wobbling boat upright, while they
       towed us to shore, which took about an hour. Their tiny motor
       strained just to pull the Scot with its cockpit full of water
       and its flapping main sail.
       It was nearly 10pm before we were able to secure our boat to
       some rocks near the put-in, where we left it for the night,
       still full of water. We would return the next day to bail it and
       put in back on the trailer.
       [img
       width=640]
  HTML https://txwinelover.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/oasis-from-oake.jpg[/img]
       The actual site of our accident. The shore is not nearly as
       close at it looks.
       I was colder than I ever remember being. Our rescuers gave me
       some dry sweats and towels, and I stripped off my wet t-shirt
       and shorts and put them on, but my teeth kept chattering for a
       half hour and I didn't get warm for hours. Not until I was home
       in bed. We quickly thanked our rescuers and they motored off. My
       wife drove us home, because neither Terry nor I was was able to
       drive.
       About ten years later, my wife was attending an adult bible
       class here at Riverbend Church one Sunday. The teacher asked
       everyone in the class to recount some experience they'd had that
       had made a real impact on them. The people in the class took
       turns telling about things that had happened to them.
       One woman started to tell a story about a day when her family
       had been at the lake, motoring in at dusk, when they came upon a
       derelict sailboat and some people with little kids stranded in
       the middle of the lake....and how they pulled them out of the
       water and saved their lives. As the story progressed, my wife
       suddenly realized she was talking about rescuing us!  So she
       finally had the chance to thank them properly.
       I'm sure they'll never forget what they did for us. Neither will
       I. What would have happened if they hadn't stopped to help us?
       I'm not sure. But the outcome might have been very tragic. I
       learned a lesson that day about sailing. A hard lesson I'll
       never forget.
       [/quote]
       [move]EXCELLENT! Thank you, Eddie!
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/19.gif[/move]
       #Post#: 6990--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: April 29, 2017, 3:38 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Eddie link=topic=9447.msg130453#msg130453
       date=1493408711]
       Thanks AG.
       [/quote]
       You are most welcome. I am convinced there was a significant bit
       of spiritual intercession that day/night.
  HTML http://dl3.glitter-graphics.net/pub/1726/1726203ha2mjbxeje.gif
       [quote author=RE link=topic=9447.msg130457#msg130457
       date=1493414557]
       [center][img
       width=640]
  HTML http://hawrivercanoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/HRCK-web_LAP3643-e1362334221328-1024x511.jpg[/img][/center]
       In terms of boating insanity, one of my best anecdotes is a
       canoe trip I took with a friend to Verendrye Provincial Park in
       the Great White North.
       I had been there before as a Camper in the Primitive Skills camp
       I attended as a teenager, so I was the "expert" on this trip.
       On the trip with the camp, there were experienced counselors who
       knew the route, they took it every year.  It covered 3 lakes
       with 2 portages that were not too long, one maybe a 1/4 mile,
       the other maybe a 1/2 mile.
       I wanted to see all the parts of the park we missed on that
       trip!  There are dozens of lakes, along with
       rivers/streams/creeks between them.
       So first thing was to order a topographical map of the park to
       plan the trip.  There was no internet and no Google Earth in
       those days.  We budgeted 2 weeks for this trip after finals in
       May.  I picked out what looked like a really cool route on the
       map of 6 lakes with 3 portages and 2 river connections, which I
       figured probably had some rapids because there was a significant
       elevation change between the lakes.  Figured we could handle it
       though, being a couple of macho 20 year old guys. lol.
       So we drive to Canada and first thing is to rent the canoe from
       an outfitter and give him our launch point and destination for
       pickup later, along with the estimated date of arrival.  No cell
       phones in those days either, so if you missed your pickup time,
       this was not good.  You had to then hitch a ride to the nearest
       pay phone and get them to come back for you, and pay an
       additional fee for that.
       So OK, I give our route and dates to the guy renting the canoes
       and he looks at me suspiciously.  In a really thick Hoser
       accent, he asks me:
       "So you have canoed here in Verendrye before?"
       "Oh yes, I respond."
       "You are sure you can make this route in 2 weeks?" he asks.
       "Oh sure." I respond.
       "OK, I rent you the canoe.  $300 deposit."
       "$300?  Your sign says $100."
       "That is for lake trips only.  Not down the rivers."
       This of course should have clued me in, but we drove all that
       way and I didn't want to just paddle around lakes and hoist a
       canoe on my back on portages, I wanted White Water ADVENTURE!
       :o
       The canoe is a big old cheap aluminum model, not anything real
       nice and also costs I think it was $100/week rental fee.
       Fortunately we carried a lot of spare cash, since there were no
       digibit cards then and neither of us had credit cards yet.  The
       $500 outlay did not leave us much left over though, probably not
       enough for gas to get back to NYC.  I figured I could wire my
       mom for more money though to get home.
       So he loads the canoe on the trailer and drops us off at Lake 1.
       First day is just beautiful, it's about 80F in May in Canada,
       and this like never happened back in those days.  We paddle
       across the Lake and make camp, for a portage the next morning to
       do Lake 2.  Fabulous meal of 2 fresh steaks packed in ice and
       wrapped in a makeshift cooler of towels and (clean) underwear,
       along with rice and canned beans.  Rest of the trip was all
       Freeze Dried food of the era, which amounted to Chicken ala
       King, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and "chinese" Pepper Steak.  We
       smoked a doobie and hit the sack.
       Next morning, instant oatmeal for breakfast and we do the
       portage, first carrying the backpacks along the trail, then
       going back for the canoe.  Temperature is still climbing, now
       approaching 90 on day 2, still in the morning.  Work up a nice
       sweat.  Launch point?  On the map it looked like part of a Lake,
       in REALITY it was SWAMP attached to the lake!  Mosquitos come
       out as we begin to paddle through the reeds.  Not a few
       mosquitos, the air is BLACK with them.  Out of desperation we
       jump out of the canoe and into the water, walking/swimming the
       canoe along from underwater and coming up for quick gulps of
       air, filled with mosquitos.  I takes an hour or so to make it
       throuh the swamp and into open water.  Mosquitos finally peter
       out.  We are both bitten up and itchy, but splash the clear cool
       water on which relieves the itch and we paddle across the lake.
       I fill up my canteen with water in the middle of the lake, and
       drink from it with no boiling, no purification tablets.  Water
       still pretty clean in those years.
       The other side of this lake is the first River connection.  We
       stop here for 2 days of rest and relaxation, do some fishing and
       catch some, so we have more fresh food here to go with the
       freeze dried stuff. Mosquito itching subsides, and we walk the
       river bank to scope it out, spying where the rocks are and good
       channels to try and go through.  It doesn't look too bad, so
       that even though it's an open canoe, we elect to try it with our
       gear in the canoe, rather than walk it with gear first, then go
       back for an empty canoe ride.  This was a mistake.
       We did in fact make the whole ride without capsizing, although
       we did not hit all the channels we had planned to.  By the time
       we were halfway down the river, we had shipped about half the
       canoe full of water.  Our packs were stewing in this, and the
       canoe itself was wallowing deep in the water and hitting every
       rock on the ricer bed.  SCRAPE, SCRAPE, DENT, DENT.  Scrapes and
       dents were a minimum of $10/inch off your deposit money on the
       canoe for repairs.  All our gear was SOAKED.  It took a day to
       get everything dried out.
       On the second portage my friend sprained his ankle.  Not really
       bad, but enough we had to wait 2 days to get rolling again,
       because the canoe was just too heavy for me to portage alone.
       Now we were starting to run behind schedule.  The second river
       run was about the same as the first, although this time we were
       smart enough to bring our packs down on foot first, then go back
       for an empty canoe ride.  We still hit more rocks though.
       SCRAPE, SCRAPE, DENT, DENT!
       We did make our pickup on time, paddling well into the night the
       2 days before the meeting time.  The Hoser who picked us up look
       genuinely surprised we made it.  He looked at the dented up
       wreck of a canoe and laughed.  Back at his shop, he gave us
       estimate on repairs, $500.  $200 more than the deposit!  No got
       the money.  Drives me to a supply store with Western Union and I
       wire mom for the money.  Comes through, and we are free to drive
       back to NYC.
       For $500 then you could have bought a brand spanking new canoe
       of this type, and he probably did that rather than repair it.
       RE
       [/quote]
       Ouch! But hey, you came out okay so it was a good experience. As
       we used to say in pilot training, any flight you can walk away
       from is a good one.   [img width=25
       height=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
       /> ;D
       #Post#: 7178--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: May 22, 2017, 7:02 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]Debate with a Monist  8) [/center]
       The thread was about nihilism and eternalism. Ka, a type of
       Buddhist Monist, claimed RE had engaged in Ad Hominem against
       people like him by mocking nihilists by claiming nihilist views
       are "fear" based.
       I stepped in to try to insert some clarity into the discussion.
       ;D
       [quote author=Ka link=topic=9596.msg131564#msg131564
       date=1494809790]
       [quote author=agelbert link=topic=9596.msg131557#msg131557
       date=1494804250]
       Ka,
       why do you think being motivated by fear is a negative concept?
       I agree that being motivated by GROUNDLESS fear is certainly to
       be disdained, but LOGIC based fear (e.g. some thing, being or
       event is to be feared because it has been conclusively proven to
       be deleterious to your continued biochemical activity.), IMHO,
       is, well, prudent, as well as logical.
       [/quote]
       Yes, but the question is, is eternalism true or not. To say that
       eternalists are eternalists only out of fear does not say
       anything about whether or not eternalism is true. Chapman
       wouldn't have put that statement in there except to cast doubt
       on eternalism. just as atheists bring up wish-fulfillment and
       such to question theism. Even if it were true that all
       eternalists are fearful of nihilism, that would not in itself
       make eternalism false. Hence his statement is a logical fallacy.
       And that kind of fallacy is called an ad hominem, because it
       refers to the character of the eternalist, and not eternalism
       itself.
       [/quote]
       Hmmmm. After all the polite debate between Ka and RE
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/3ztzsjm.gif,
       I feel the need to
       expose a fundamental intransigence on the party of the first,
       second and third (etc.  :icon_mrgreen:) parts in this eruption
       of erudite debating activity.
       So,
       It appears that Ka has attempted to dance around the FACT that
       it offends him for anyone to NOT question the validity of
       externalism.  ;D
       RE is correct  :o  ;D that questioning Externalism to the point
       of saying it is totally invalid, useless, counterproductive and
       possibly destructive to human society (paraphrased  ;)) is
       certainly NOT Ad Hom to Ka, just because Ka thinks our plebian
       perception of reality is some sort of illusion that we cause and
       effect types are being fooled into believing. RE and I are on
       different sides of the universe in regard to SPIRITUAL cause and
       effect, but that's not relevant to this particular effort by da
       godfader, so I won't get caught up in that bag of worms here.
       RE gets it about the connection between reality and what is
       external to us and what ain't. Ka not only doesn't get it, he is
       pissed at anyone who says Ka doesn't get it.
       A few years ago I went through excruciating detail explaining
       the human sensory apparatus. The very ability of Ka to question
       our assumed cause and effect "externalism" is impossible without
       that sensory apparatus.
       But Ka, even though he is a man I respect immensely, just don't
       wanna go there.
       So, as Comey would say:
       [center][img
       width=640]
  HTML https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2017/05/Jim-Comey.jpg[/img][/center]
       #Post#: 7179--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: May 22, 2017, 7:12 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=RE link=topic=9596.msg131617#msg131617
       date=1494873511]
       [quote author=agelbert link=topic=9596.msg131614#msg131614
       date=1494872589]RE and I are on different sides of the universe
       in regard to SPIRITUAL cause and effect
       [/quote]
       I'll dispute that conclusion.
       We're in entirely DIFFERENT Universes!
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp
       RE
       [/quote]
       Yup.
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/155fs853955.gif
       [quote author=Ka link=topic=9596.msg131648#msg131648
       date=1494886954]
       [quote author=agelbert link=topic=9596.msg131614#msg131614
       date=1494872589]
       So,
       It appears that Ka has attempted to dance around the FACT that
       it offends him for anyone to NOT question the validity of
       e[size=12pt]xternalism.  ;D [/size][/quote]
       ?? In this thread there has been no debate concerning the
       validity of externalism. I did state my position on the matter
       in my first post in this thread, but the only thing objected to
       in that post was my use of the term "ad hominem". Since then,
       that is all that RE and I have been debating. So I don't
       understand how you get to "Ka has attempted to dance around the
       FACT that it offends him for anyone to NOT question the validity
       of externalism."
       [quote]RE is correct  :o  ;D that questioning Externalism to the
       point of saying it is totally invalid, useless,
       counterproductive and possibly destructive to human society
       (paraphrased  ;)) is certainly NOT Ad Hom to Ka,[/quote]
       I agree. It would not be an ad hom. Only he hasn't said anything
       of that nature in this thread.
       [quote]... just because Ka thinks our plebian perception of
       reality is some sort of illusion that we cause and effect types
       are being fooled into believing.[/quote]
       [size=10pt]
       Our perception is not an illusion. It is an inference we make
       concerning the nature of what we perceive that I consider to be
       false, namely that what we perceive exists on its own in the way
       we perceive it. Just clarifying.
       [/size][quote]
       RE gets it about the connection between reality and what is
       external to us and what ain't.[/quote]
       Then how does he (or you) solve the interaction problem?
       [quote] Ka not only doesn't get it, he is pissed at anyone who
       says Ka doesn't get it. [/quote]
       I'm just waiting to hear of a solution to the interaction
       problem (not really, since I don't think there is a solution).
       Anyway, I don't see how that counts as being "pissed" or not
       "getting it".
       [quote]A few years ago I went through excruciating detail
       explaining the human sensory apparatus. The very ability of Ka
       to question our assumed cause and effect "externalism" is
       impossible without that sensory apparatus.[/quote]
       I don't ever recall saying that we don't have a sensory
       apparatus. Whether it does what you think it does, versus what I
       think it does, is what we debated. And the answer to that cannot
       be provided by the sensory apparatus alone, which just gets
       perceptions. It is the concepts we add to those perceptions that
       are in dispute.
       [quote]But Ka, even though he is a man I respect immensely, just
       don't wanna go there. [/quote]
       Well, here I am, going there.
       [/quote]
       Ka,
       Your vocabulary lends itself to some fascinating interpretations
       of what "IS" is. THAT is why any debate with you ends up in a
       hair splitting exercise. What you DO with words is, as RE has
       pointed out repeatedly, move the definition goal posts around so
       that you can say, uh, NO "I didn't say that" or "No, this thread
       has no relevance to eXternalism", etc. FOLLOWED by your apparent
       willingness to discuss an issue, that by your own words, is
       rather fruitless to discuss (i.e. the interaction).  ::)
       Here's the deal, Ka. EVERYTHING about your outlook on what you
       consider WHATEVER is impossible to argue against BECAUSE you DO
       NOT REALLY BELIEVE (yeah - I know you'll claim that about you is
       incorrect as well) WE are talking to each other here.
       Sure, you can come up with all sorts of erudite labels with
       "justification" for your claim that you believe we do have
       sensory apparatus and that you do actually engage in debate with
       other humans and recognize that we talk to each other, but it is
       NOT SO, according to your concept of reality.
       This then taints absolutely every subject on the issue (i.e.
       cause and effect related) about integrating, analyzing and
       taking appropriate action on, INFORMATION about the OUTSIDE
       world that our sensory apparatus MUST have for us to remain as
       viable homeostatic biological entities.
       There is just NO WAY for you to look at your belief system and
       seriously consider the possibility that you are a space cadet
       living in a totally erroneous private world. The biosphere is
       NOT accessible through a meditation chamber, and never will be,
       IMHO. You have provided zero evidence that it is.
       Furthermore, you may even claim that "looking for evidence" is
       evidence ;) of an incorrect approach to "perceiving" the
       biosphere or anything else.  :laugh:  It's kind of like saying
       that jumping out of a window of a multistory building is not
       dangerous; it's the concrete that kills you. And even that was a
       mere perception of smacking the concrete.
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/ugly004.gif
       When I question your ability to perceive without accepting the
       fact that perceiving IS a sensory EVENT that INCLUDES
       integrating outside information, you DANCE by saying the, uh,
       "interaction is not explained".
       I'll tell you what. When you agree that it is possible that you
       are a space cadet and do not have a clue of what you speak, then
       I will admit that SAME possibility is present in my worldview as
       well. But until you, a separate and distinct entity from me, are
       actually willing to GO THERE, you are fibbin' when you claim you
       ARE willing to "go there" on the issue of eXternalism.
       I challenge your claim that e[b]X[/b]ternalism is not related
       to, or relevant to, this thread. It is. People who BELIEVE that
       there is ZERO meaning in anything and everything they "do" OFTEN
       end up committing suicide (e.g. Buddhists). THIS SENSELESS ACT
       is born of nihilism. ANYONE that teaches others that there is
       NOTHING because there is NO THING is nurturing a potential
       nihilist who may end up committing suicide.
       DON'T hair split with me about the importance of MEANING and
       PURPOSE in human lives. Your worldview EXCLUDES BOTH MEANING AND
       PURPOSE. But of, course, you will claim that you never said any
       of that or represent any of that. Well, I think you do. And I
       think you should take responsibility for telling people there is
       NOTHING to FEAR out there because there is NO THING, or even an
       "out there".
       [center]The following is an example of REALITY of the planet
       Earth, irrespective of anything we humans have THOUGHT since we
       could THINK. There is NO WAY to dance around THAT REALITY (yes
       you DO try to dance around it!).[/center]
       [center][img
       width=800]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-171015000317.png[/img][/center]
       #Post#: 7180--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: May 22, 2017, 7:23 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Ka link=topic=9596.msg131712#msg131712
       date=1494964105]
       [quote author=agelbert link=topic=9596.msg131655#msg131655
       date=1494891595]
       Your vocabulary lends itself to some fascinating interpretations
       of what "IS" is. THAT is why any debate with you ends up in a
       hair splitting exercise. What you DO with words is, as RE has
       pointed out repeatedly, move the definition goal posts around so
       that you can say, uh, NO "I didn't say that" or "No, this thread
       has no relevance to eXternalism", etc. [/quote]
       Instead of just accusing me of moving the goalposts, show me
       where I have.
       [quote]FOLLOWED by your apparent willingness to discuss an
       issue, that by your own words, is rather fruitless to discuss
       (i.e. the interaction).  ::)[/quote]
       It is not fruitless to discuss it, and in fact I welcome
       discussion of it, since I am pretty sure that the more people
       think about it, the more people will realize that the
       interaction problem has no solution, and so take a look at the
       alternative -- idealism. Of course they might also fall into the
       error of materialism, in which case I would welcome discussion
       of the hard problem of consciousness, which they can't solve.
       [quote]Here's the deal, Ka. EVERYTHING about your outlook on
       what you consider WHATEVER is impossible to argue against
       BECAUSE you DO NOT REALLY BELIEVE (yeah - I know you'll claim
       that about you is incorrect as well) WE are talking to each
       other here.[/quote]
       [size=10pt]Yup, incorrect. See below.
       [quote]Sure, you can come up with all sorts of erudite labels
       with "justification" for your claim that you believe we do have
       sensory apparatus and that you do actually engage in debate with
       other humans and recognize that we talk to each other, but it is
       NOT SO, according to your concept of reality.  [/quote]
       
       My concept of reality is that there is nothingness
       (no-thingness) AND there is thingness, and each depends on the
       other, making them a unity. So it does not follow from my
       concept of reality that there is no sensory apparatus, or other
       humans, or biosphere.
       [quote]
       This then taints absolutely every subject on the issue (i.e.
       cause and effect related) about integrating, analyzing and
       taking appropriate action on, INFORMATION about the OUTSIDE
       world that our sensory apparatus MUST have for us to remain as
       viable homeostatic biological entities.
       There is just NO WAY for you to look at your belief system and
       seriously consider the possibility that you are a space cadet
       living in a totally erroneous private world. The biosphere is
       NOT accessible through a meditation chamber, and never will be,
       IMHO. You have provided zero evidence that it is. [/quote]
       ?? What does meditation have to do with the existence of
       anything?
       [quote]
       Furthermore, you may even claim that "looking for evidence" is
       evidence ;) of an incorrect approach to "perceiving" the
       biosphere or anything else.  :laugh: [/quote]
       The only (non)-thing for which one cannot look for evidence is
       no-thingness. The biosphere is a thing, so there is no problem
       perceiving it, or studying it scientifically.
       [quote] It's kind of like saying that jumping out of a window of
       a multistory building is not dangerous; it's the concrete that
       kills you. And even that was a mere perception of smacking the
       concrete.
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/ugly004.gif[/quote]
       Ah, now here there is something to say. Yes, smacking the
       concrete is just perceptions, very painful ones, resulting in
       death, which is to say the scrunched up body is no longer able
       to perceive physical reality (its sensory apparatus has been
       destroyed). After which (I think) one perceives non-physical
       reality, but I can't prove that. In any case, physical reality
       continues to exist as long as there are people or bacteria
       perceiving it. The problem I suspect you have with this is the
       word "just" as in "just perceptions". My task, if we are to
       actually debate this, is to show that saying that physical
       reality is "just perceptions" does not detract an iota from
       science, or how we should engage with physical reality, for
       example, it remains the case that jumping out of high windows
       results in death.
       [quote]When I question your ability to perceive without
       accepting the fact that perceiving IS a sensory EVENT that
       INCLUDES integrating outside information, you DANCE by saying
       the, uh, "interaction is not explained".[/quote]
       As I said, I accept that perceiving is a sensory event, and have
       no idea why you think I would think otherwise. And it does
       integrate outside information, that is, information that was
       outside my ego consciousness, and moves inside it. However, I
       would also say that "inside" and "outside" are spatial
       metaphors, and that space has no independent existence, that we
       create space, time, and mass in the act of perceiving. And this,
       of course, is where discussion gets tricky, and calls for
       "hair-splitting", though I would call it precision. The moon
       really exists, but only exists located in spacetime when it is
       looked at.
       [quote]I'll tell you what. When you agree that it is possible
       that you are a space cadet and do not have a clue of what you
       speak, then I will admit that SAME possibility is present in my
       worldview as well. But until you, a separate and distinct entity
       from me, are actually willing to GO THERE, you are fibbin' when
       you claim you ARE willing to "go there" on the issue of
       eXternalism. [/quote]
       I agree that it is possible that I am wrong. There is no
       certainty in metaphysics. All one can do is argue over what is
       most plausible. But then I have never claimed otherwise, so I
       really don't understand this talk about being unwilling to "go
       there". After all, until I was 37 I was just as much an
       externalist as you are now. So I've been there.
       [quote]I challenge your claim that eXternalism is not related
       to, or relevant to, this thread. It is. [/quote]
       Of course it is highly relevant to this thread, which is why I
       made my first post in this thread attacking externalism.
       However, it is not relevant to the debate I had with RE over the
       usage of 'ad hominem', which is all I claimed.
       [quote]People who BELIEVE that there is ZERO meaning in anything
       and everything they "do" OFTEN end up committing suicide (e.g.
       Buddhists). THIS SENSELESS ACT is born of nihilism. ANYONE that
       teaches others that there is NOTHING because there is NO THING
       is nurturing a potential nihilist who may end up committing
       suicide.[/quote]
       Then I'm off the hook, because I definitely believe there are
       things, such as you, me, and the biosphere, and that real people
       are doing real harm to it. What I do not believe is that there
       are any mindless things existing on their own.
       [quote]DON'T hair split with me about the importance of MEANING
       and PURPOSE in human lives. Your worldview EXCLUDES BOTH MEANING
       AND PURPOSE. But of, course, you will claim that you never said
       any of that or represent any of that. Well, I think you do. And
       I think you should take responsibility for telling people there
       is NOTHING to FEAR out there because there is NO THING, or even
       an "out there". [/quote]
       I am afraid of disease, poisonous critters, of losing my savings
       to some bankster, etc. etc., since I consider viruses, critters,
       and banksters to all be real. I also think that MEANING and
       PURPOSE are names of God, and that things exist to express that
       Meaning and fulfill divine Purpose.
       You say I am moving goalposts. Show me where I have. Show me
       where I have ever said or implied that "nothing is real" or
       anything like that. Some Buddhists say that, but I am not one of
       them.
       [/quote]
       Well, how can I show you that you have said it?
  HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_6656.gif
       The only
       way, I suppose, which I am sure you will take issue with, is the
       "spatial metaphors" term and the alleged conditional "existence"
       of the moon (or any thing -atoms, molecules, people, etc.- else,
       for that matter).
       Ka said (smileys are sins of Agelbert - Ka is innocent![/I]):
       [quote]I would also say that "inside" and "outside" are spatial
       metaphors, and that space has no independent existence, that we
       create space, time, and mass in the act of perceiving. And this,
       of course, is where discussion gets tricky  ;), and calls for
       "hair-splitting"  ;D, though I would call it
       precision.
  HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2932.gif<br
       />The moon really exists, but only exists located in spacetime
       when it is looked at.[/quote]
       (emphasis mine
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp)
       I don't like to use labels, but aren't you a type of monist?
       [quote]
       Monism is the view that attributes oneness or singleness (Greek:
       &#956;&#972;&#957;&#959;&#962;) to a concept (e.g., existence).
       Substance monism is the philosophical view that a variety of
       existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or
       substance.
  HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monism
  HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monism[/quote]
       (emphasis mine  ;D)
       The issue of names for God is not something I ever associated
       MEANING and PURPOSE with. I agree that God has a lot to do with
       that in our lives, but I wasn't talking about God; I was talking
       about humans. You know, like Maslow's hierarchy and things like
       that. When you do that sort of subject classification
       rearrangement, it appears to me that you just moved a goal post.
       Can we stick to human meaning and purpose for a while? You are
       the scholar, but I know a thing or two about language as well.
       The word "vocation" is one I would associate with God as linked
       to meaning and purpose in our lives simply because I believe
       that we all have a mission. But that's at a level of mind far
       beyond avoiding pain, breathing, getting enough to eat,
       maintaining homeostasis, etc.
       [quote]vo·ca·tion noun: vocation; plural noun: vocations
       late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin vocatio(n-),
       from vocare ‘to call.’
       a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or
       occupation.
       "not all of us have a vocation to be nurses or doctors"
       synonyms: calling, life's work, mission, purpose, function; More
       profession, occupation, career, job, employment, trade, craft,
       business, line, line of work, métier
       "forestry is my vocation"
       •a person's employment or main occupation, especially regarded
       as particularly worthy and requiring great dedication.[/quote]
       Back to the window jump to concrete splat experience, to you,
       the concrete is only "there" because the jumper thought it would
       be there PRIOR to jumping out of the window. If, for example,
       the jumper firmly THOUGHT that a 12 ft deep swimming pool was
       down there prior to jumping, he would just splash into the pool
       and swim to the edge unharmed.
       This "ability" you believe we conscious entiti(es  ;)) possess
       to sort of create our physical universe on the fly as a function
       of perception ([i]which vanishes from existence just as quickly
       with our Trump like "attention" to perception) is a bit
       difficult to accept from the point of view of thermodynamics, if
       nothing else is at issue (although there certainly ARE a lot of
       other controversial considerations to be explained).
       Once I had appendicitis. I didn't know I had it. I just knew I
       had an upset stomach after eating at around 6:00 PM, which
       turned into a stomach ache that would not go away, but was not
       localized on my right side near the appendix. I went to the ER
       at around 9:00 PM. The doctor diagnosed my ache as gastritis and
       prescribed some shots I could give myself in the thigh (two
       shots).
       Now why did he make that mistake? BECAUSE of the power of
       suggestion of my mind (at least partly - the doctor that
       operated on me later on told me it's real hard to diagnose
       appendicitis when the pain isn't localized, and even then they
       can only confirm SOMETHING is wrong in one or more of your
       organs because of the high white blood cell count).
       You see, when I arrived at the ER with that gut pain, the young
       doctor, after examining a 24 year old healthy male with a
       stomach ache, gave me a shot of something. The pain in my
       stomach vanished like it had never been there. This convinced
       the  doctor that his gastritis initial diagnosis was correct, so
       no blood tests were ordered and I was sent home.
       I got up at midnight with renewed pain in my stomach. I gave
       myself the shot. Within an hour it was worse. I gave myself the
       second shot. By two AM, I am pounding on the headboard to avoid
       dealing with the severe stomach pain and cramping.
       WHY? Because I was poor, newly married, had been fired from an
       air taxi for organizing a union, was out of a job, and living in
       my parent's house. I DID NOT WANT to rack up some hospital
       expenses, comprende, amigo?
       BUT, I had GREAT FAITH in doctors. But that "faith" didn't last
       too long as the organs did a duty dance in there. I finally went
       back to the hospital at around 4:00 AM and, within another 12
       hours, and a LOT of pain, I had my appendix, which had ruptured,
       making it life threatening peritonitis, removed.
       The doctor that operated on me later explained that some people,
       like me, never get a pain in their SIDE that helps doctors
       diagnose appendicitis. Gastritis is more common so that's the
       way young doctors frequently go when faced with patients like
       me. The shots for gastritis actually exacerbate the swelling of
       the infected appendix.  :P
       As the appendix swells, the other organs begin to swell as a
       defense mechanism. After the appendix ruptures, the other organs
       quickly sense this and try to limit the damage from toxins that
       will certainly damage them (and kill you) from septic
       conditions.
       These other organs isolate the appendix as best they can by
       expanding through inflammation. It works for a while. THAT is
       when the pain becomes localized on your side. But if you are not
       operated on within a certain time period, the toxins and
       bacteria from the ruptured appendix attack the walls of the
       organs pushing against the appendix and THEY get severely
       infected too. Then the patient dies.
       So, you can see why I have some issues with believing that my
       (allegedly instant matter creating thought processes) had BEANS
       to do with anything but making a situation WORSE BECAUSE of the
       power of my mind to incorrectly, but due to my faith in doctors,
       believe the doctor who diagnosed me with gastritis and gave me
       a shot had fixed everything.
       From the "perception is creation of cause and effect on the fly"
       view you claim is logical and reasonable, it makes no sense
       whatsoever. Ka, I was NOT in the conscious sensory loop.
       Everything that happened in my appendix and surrounding organs
       was an involuntary response that I knew nothing about until the
       doctor explained it to me AFTER THE FACT. It all happened,
       regardless of what I THOUGHT and the events were totally adverse
       to my perceived economic needs at the time.
       You believe our minds are a creative force, with few limits. I
       am convinced that our bodies and minds are, in the scientific
       sense of the word, "irritable". That is a term, in this case,
       NOT related to "being in a bad mood or feeling bothered", as it
       is commonly used in the vernacular. I am referring to the
       ability to sense defined as "irritability". I learned that term
       in a mainframe computer class. The Sperry Univac missile tracker
       converted to an air traffic tracker was "irritable" because it
       had sensory response connections (IO - input output) from radar
       sites through PAMS (peripheral adapter modules).
       My organs operate on a level that my thought processes rarely
       sense, yet they DO have a purpose and a meaning to their
       primitive but absolutely vital functions within me. I cannot
       accept your claim that, somehow,  these irritability based cause
       and effect processes do not exist when I do not have them in my
       perception.
       We have argued this stuff before. You have said, if I remember
       correctly, that my constructed universe is real for me so, even
       if I "created" all that cause and effect AFTER it happened,
       that's okay too because thought is not "limited" by time.
       I disagree. And it is you that needs to do a bit of convincing
       here that you aren't making a circular argument. Think about it,
       Ka. Nobody can pin you down to flawed logic because your cause
       and effect creative horizons aren't even limited by time!
       Now IF you accept that ignorance of a form of cause and effect
       such as my appendicitis/peritonitis on my part is inexplicable
       from the monist point of view, I would consider that a rational
       position. But that is "rational" from your point of view, ONLY
       if our creative modus operandi[/I] is time limited. But that
       would mean that reality exists independent of thought
       perceptions. And that is why I believe the "unlimited time for
       creative tought cause and effect" thing is [i]sine qua non to
       your belief system.  :(
       Now, if you say you agree that our instant creative processes
       ARE time limited, as you imply when you say the moon no longer
       exists right after you stop thinking about the moon, then you
       should NOT keep denying, what I believe is a corollary, i.e.
       that, if I am in a space ship, I won't hit the moon, even if I'm
       flying at it in ignorance, because I don't THINK it's there. :P
       Sorry Ka, it's THERE, whether I am thinking about it or not.
       My appendix ruptured when it was the very last thing I wanted or
       was thinking about because the poison was THERE.
       #Post#: 7426--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: July 3, 2017, 1:41 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=RE link=topic=9711.msg134153#msg134153
       date=1499085934]
       OK! Day 2 of the July 4th Weekend Stealth Van Testing now done!
       [img
       width=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png[/img]
       I got up early (for me) this morning around 9AM with quite a few
       projects to accomplish.  Although a good deal more organized
       than when I took off on the Adventure, SaVannah was still not up
       to snuff to have such a small space well enough organized to
       move around.  This became clear early in the morning when I
       first woke up and because of all the clutter from the campsite I
       threw back into her for the night, I couldn't move around easily
       to get myself dressed for the day.  So on the list for more
       stuff to buy went a couple of more organizing containers/plastic
       drawers.
       By early morning also it was pretty cold, around 50F (10C).
       While I was toasty warm in my sleeping bag, once out of it and
       trying to get dressed (which takes me quite a while), it was
       rather chilly. I had to fire up the engine and get the Van
       heating system going, running the engine for around 20 minutes.
       So tonight I am implementing the first of my several levels of
       Heating Plans.  I am utilizing a kerosene lamp as a heater
       overnight.  This is straight out of the Van Dweller Handbook.
       [center][img
       width=640]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-030717160020.jpeg[/img][/center]
       When I fired up the lamp around 8PM, temps were still a
       comfortable 63F both inside and outside SaVannah.  As the night
       approached around 11PM, outside temps had dropped to around 55F,
       while the interior of SaVannah was up to 65F, a full 10F of
       gradient there on one kero lamp!  I think 1 lamp runnig
       overnight will work at these temps.  Going down to 40F, I might
       have to run 2 or 3 lamps.  Because the volume of the space is so
       small, you get a lot of bang for your buck on heating this way.
       Kero lamps burn miniscule amounts of kero, a Liter will last at
       least a week.  I'll report tomorrow on where the temps were at
       when I wake up.  For still colder temps, I can run more of these
       lanterns.  2 more should take me down to close to freezing I
       think.  After that, it may be necessary to fire up the Catalytic
       Kero Heater which pops out a whopping 8000 BTUs.  That should
       warm up the cabin in minutes, I doubt I would have to run it
       continuously unless outside temps were in the Slope territory of
       -30F and below, and I NEVER expect to be in that situation.
       The most important additional prep to buy today was a NEW
       LAPTOP!   [img
       width=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png[/img]<br
       />The one I am currently using is just beat to ****, I am lucky 
       I
       even got the mother fucker to work!  That's why I bought the new
       Dell All-in-One as my primary computer at home in the digs.  So
       all of this essential **** required a drive back to
       "civilization" at Walmart, and since my digs are on the way
       there I cheated and made a stop off there in mid afternoon. ;D
       That's when I wrote my fairly long post on the HOA topic.
       [smg id=3920 type=preview align=center caption="Boondocks New
       Laptop"]
       My intention was to get the new laptop set up tonight at the
       campsite, but I decided against that and will wait until the
       trip is finished on the 4th and do it at home.  The batt
       probably needs a good charge, and it is steadily raining which
       while I was protected by the Big Brolly does not give me much
       room to move around. Besides, setting up a new compute and
       downloading all your favorite software takes hours, and I would
       have to do that over my Wireless 4G connection and burn up the
       limited bandwidth.   So tonight I am suffering again on the old
       laptop with its keyboard idiosyncracies which makes keyboarding
       out this post twice as long as it should take.  The new laptop
       should be ready for the next Adventure down to the Kenai
       Peninsula for another Property Search as well as shooting pics
       of the Dip Netting melee. lol.
       While all this stuff might seem simple to you healthy folks out
       there, for me it is thoroughly exhausting.  Every trip of 50
       feet between me and SaVannah makes my legs ache, and I have to
       sit down and rest them all the time.  Simple tasks like
       disposing of packaging materials requires a new round trip to
       SaVannah, to be dropped into another garbage bag and dropped
       into a dumpster for itd finsl trip to the Land of Away.  It's
       also getting ever more difficult yo get into and out of her to
       access everything.  Nevertheless, I soldier onward.   ::)
       RE
       [/quote]
       [quote author=Surly1 link=topic=9711.msg134164#msg134164
       date=1499104452]
       [quote author=RE link=topic=9711.msg134163#msg134163
       date=1499099342]
       On awakening this morning, SaVannah was still at a comfortable
       61F with exterior temps around 51.  One kero lantern running
       works to put out enough heat overnight to make a 9F gradient,
       adding in of course your body heat escaping from the sleeping
       bag.  I will install more permanent Hooks for lanterns and run
       up to four of them on cold nights.  This should cover me down
       into the 30sF, possibly 20s.  Colder than that, I go to the
       Catalytic Kero Heater.
       [/quote]
       Maybe I missed this, but are you accounting for CO buildup?
       I read in an earlier installment about the fan system you hooked
       up, but that was for cooling. Just wondering about ventilation
       with all those kero appliences.
       Let's not do The Big Sleep too early.
       [/quote]
       [img width=25
       height=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]
       <br
       />[img width=25
       height=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]
       <br
       />[img width=25
       height=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]
       About 20 years ago, when I still smoked, I participated in a
       smoking study at UVM. They would measure the amount of carbon
       monoxide in my lungs at intervals. When I would walk in, they
       would check the level before starting the test. Normally it was
       next to zip. But one day it was off the charts. I was also
       feeling rather groggy that day after sleeping rather heavily the
       night before.
       The researcher's eye brows went up and he asked me if I had been
       chain smoking just before arriving. I  hadn't. But I had woken
       up really groggy with a bit of a scare. I was renting a tiny
       efficiency apartment in Burlington at the time and my wife was
       not with me there yet. I had lit one of those incense candles
       that are in large square glass containers and placed it on the
       floor. When I awoke in the morning, the rug was partially
       scorched. Luckily, the place had not caught fire, because the CO
       (not just the CO2 - you ALWAYS get some incomplete combustion
       when burning  hydrocarbons) from that candle had knocked me out
       just enough to keep me asleep but not quite enough to kill me,
       unless there was a fire.
       I never lit one of those incense candles again.  :-[ We live,
       and we learn.
       #Post#: 7431--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: July 3, 2017, 8:30 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=RE link=topic=9711.msg134174#msg134174
       date=1499118623]
       [quote author=Surly1 link=topic=9711.msg134164#msg134164
       date=1499104452]
       [quote author=RE link=topic=9711.msg134163#msg134163
       date=1499099342]
       On awakening this morning, SaVannah was still at a comfortable
       61F with exterior temps around 51.  One kero lantern running
       works to put out enough heat overnight to make a 9F gradient,
       adding in of course your body heat escaping from the sleeping
       bag.  I will install more permanent Hooks for lanterns and run
       up to four of them on cold nights.  This should cover me down
       into the 30sF, possibly 20s.  Colder than that, I go to the
       Catalytic Kero Heater.
       [/quote]
       Maybe I missed this, but are you accounting for CO buildup?
       I read in an earlier installment about the fan system you hooked
       up, but that was for cooling. Just wondering about ventilation
       with all those kero appliences.
       Let's not do The Big Sleep too early.
       [/quote]
       The Van leaks too much air for CO to build up, especially
       running just one kero lamp.  CO only forms if there isn't enough
       O[sub]2[/sub] around for the combustion to be complete and form
       CO[sub]2[/sub].  Maybe if I was running all 4 it might be an
       issue, but I doubt it.  The kero catalytic heater is indoor safe
       and has a CO detector and automatic shut-off.  If that doesn't
       shut itself down, then 4 kero lamps definitely won't be
       producing CO in any great magnitude.  The heater puts out 8000
       BTU.  A kero lamp?  Maybe 500 BTU.
       I may buy a separate CO detector though just to get some numbers
       on this.
       RE
       [/quote]
       I think that would be prudent. Your assumption that high oxygen
       availability guarantees complete combustion in a kerosene lamp
       is erroneous. I won't argue with you about how much oxygen is
       available. I'm sure you are okay in that regard.
       Of course there is a gradient involved in the percentage of
       combustion products when the oxygen supply varies.
       Of course a van is not as tight as a building, so CO poisoning
       is less likely. BUT you DO turn on the engine every now and then
       when it is parked  and a MASSIVE amount of CO comes out of that
       tail pipe and hangs around the van.
       I had no tail pipe in my efficiency apartment and plenty of
       oxygen but I still almost bought the farm. My apartment was, of
       course, well insulated, unlike your van, which compounded my
       problem and lessens yours, but  I didn't have a tail pipe a few
       feet away.
       So if you think that lamp of yours isn't putting out CO, talk to
       me again when you have bought the monitor.
       [quote]500 ppm Often produced in garage when a cold car is
       started in an open garage and warmed-up for 2 minutes. (Greiner,
       unpublished, 1997).
       [color=maroon]800 ppm Dizziness, nausea and convulsions within
       45 minutes. Unconsciousness within 2 hours. Death within 2-3
       hours. Maximum air-free concentration from gas kitchen ranges
       (ANSI).
       1600 ppm Headache, dizziness and nausea within 20 minutes. Death
       within 1 hour. Smoldering wood fires, malfunctioning furnaces,
       water heaters, and kitchen ranges typically produce
       concentrations exceeding 1,600 ppm.
       3200 ppm Concentration inside charcoal grill (Greiner, single
       example). Headache, dizziness and nausea within 5-20 minutes.
       Quickly impaired thinking. [size=12pt]Death within 30 minutes.
       6400 ppm Headache, dizziness and nausea within 1-2 minutes.
       Thinking impaired before response possible. Death within 10-15
       minutes.
       12,800 ppm Death within 1-3 minutes.
       [img
       width=200]
  HTML http://www.coolassparts.com/images/exhaust.jpg[/img]
       35,000 ppm Measured tailpipe exhaust concentration from warm
       carbureted gasoline engines without catalytic converters.
       (Greiner, unpublished field study, January 1997)[/size][/quote]
       Many years ago I used kerosene lamps under banana plants to get
       them to flower quicker. It's a long story but there was PLENTY
       of oxygen in my back yard and i STILL was getting products of
       incomplete combustion.  Kerosene is called that because there
       are several different groups of long chained hydrocarbons in the
       mix. Some, as you know, burn faster than others...
       [quote] Regardless of crude oil source or processing history,
       kerosene's major components are branched and straight chain
       alkanes and naphthenes (cycloalkanes), which normally account
       for at least 70% by volume. Aromatic hydrocarbons in this
       boiling range, such as alkylbenzenes (single ring) and
       alkylnaphthalenes (double ring), do not normally exceed 25% by
       volume of kerosene streams. Olefins are usually not present at
       more than 5% by volume.[10][/quote]
  HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene
       In my yard I was goosing my plants with ethylene, the ripening
       hormone, but I knew there was some CO, CO2 and H2O coming out of
       that kerosene witches brew.
       #Post#: 7434--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: July 4, 2017, 1:29 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote]OK, I'll pick up a CO monitor to get some numbers on
       this.  I am quite sure it is not a problem though, since Van
       Dweller is still alive after 50 years living this way.
       RE[/quote]
       [img width=40
       height=40]
  HTML http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/8/f/8/11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png[/img]<br
       />[img
       width=40]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-020617175335.png[/img]
       Just remember that in all those examples of CO concentration I
       quoted, the oxygen concentration was around normal atmosphere
       (about 21 to 23% if you aren't next to a refinery or in a
       traffic jam, of course  ;D).  So, even with 210,000 PPM of
       Oxygen, a mere 1,600 PPM of of CO from a kitchen stove can waste
       you in about an hour.
       #Post#: 7617--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: August 3, 2017, 1:02 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Agelbert NOTE: RE lives in Alaska. He is writing to Palloy, who
       lives in a tropical jungle (populated by, among many different
       species, some interesting small mammal eating pythons). :o  :P
       [quote author=RE link=topic=69.msg136232#msg136232
       date=1501762824]
       I went outside to smoke a Cancerette, and has been the case for
       the last few months on many days, it was raining.  Not hard
       rain, just a steady drizzle.
       We had a summer here a few years ago like this, but the recent
       ones have been much more dry and sunny.  Generally speaking,
       such a summer is a good thing here, because the dry summers
       result in lots of Wildfires.  Wet summers reduce this danger.
       Fire danger signs at all the parks now are at the BOTTOM level
       of LOW.  Nothing is likely to burn here at the moment, you would
       have to pour a **** load of kero on some piece of wood to get
       that one started.
       As long as you have some shelter, a steady drizzle is not a real
       big issue.  On my porch, I have the shelter of the porch above
       me.  When in SaVANnah, I have the Big Brolly right now as well
       as an Awning for the Side door, although I have not tested that
       one out yet.  I also am working on the Geodesic Gazebo as a
       further addition.  Driving rain with a lot of wind attached to
       it is a bigger problem of course, but we don't get much of that
       here.  For that **** you basically gotta just hole up in the Van
       unless you do up a full blown dome, which I probably will not
       do.
       Overall, having steady rainfall in your neighborhood is a GOOD
       thing, although it can be annoying as far as going out and
       enjoying nature is concerned.  The water feeds the crops and
       keeps the aquifer filled.  Too much of it and too much humidity
       as is the case in many Tropical Rainforest locations can of
       course be a problem also.  You get problems with Mold of course
       with too much dampness around all the time.  For me also, I just
       can't stand being Sweaty all the time, which you always are when
       it is hot & humid.  I prefer a climate with about a 60-70F
       average temp and about 20% humidity.  The climate here in the
       Matanuska-Susitna River Valley hits this target most of the time
       through the summer, although this one has been rainier than
       usual.
       I just can't grasp why some people would choose to live in HOT &
       HUMID climates like the Tropical Rainforest, with lots of
       PYTHONS slinking about who want to make a meal out of your
       Kitty,  This makes no CFS to me. ???
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191404.bmp
       RE
       [/quote]
       I feel the same way. Having lived several years in the tropics,
       I got tired of feeling like a wet sponge most of the time.
       That's why I live in Vermont. The routine relative humidity here
       is between 40 and 60% in the summer (much less in the winter).
       That is comfortable climate to me.   [img width=25
       height=30]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]
       #Post#: 7624--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
       ual Experiences
       By: AGelbert Date: August 3, 2017, 6:51 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Agelbert NOTE: Azozeo lives in Arizona.
       [quote author=azozeo link=topic=69.msg136261#msg136261
       date=1501798338]
       [quote author=azozeo link=topic=69.msg136260#msg136260
       date=1501797879]
       [quote author=RE link=topic=69.msg136245#msg136245
       date=1501785739]
       I merely stated my opinion that you can't live with predators on
       your property.
       RE
       [/quote]
       I do....
       [/quote]
       There's a coon tail diamond back rattler that sets up shop by
       the water dish outside
       around sunset waiting for field mice to come out after sunset.
       His name is Dillinger....
       Kathy had to dispose of a tarantula last week. Bottled him up in
       a mason jar, took him up to the end of the street & set him free
       in the desert. Damn thing walked back down the street & was on
       the garage door the next night.
       I picked up a baby scorpion of the rug in my room & gave him the
       tidy bowl challenge.
       RE, It comes with the territory.
       I'm surprised you don't get bears or moose wandering into town.
       There all a bunch of moochs.
       One of my friends showed me a vid he took of a whole herd of elk
       in his back yard eating the bread scraps set out for the birds.
       Papa elk was a 12 pointer & he had six bitches with him. mmm mm
       mmmmmmm .....
       [/quote]
       Fascinating.  [img
       width=50]
  HTML http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/xig/ojx/xigojx6KT.png[/img]<br
       />I read somewhere that some people have trained Tarantulas to e
       at
       out of their hand. It seems they are smarter than they look.  ;D
       I'll skip that experience, thank you very much.
       As to what critters out there will eat, well, just about
       anything edible. I recently saw pictures (not photoshopped) of a
       deer with a strange looking "twig "in it's mouth. It was a human
       rib, as the human skeletal remains on the ground makes clear.
       The caption was "I didn't kill him. Please do not shoot".
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/4fvfcja.gif
       So it seems that herbivores will eat bones and meat, which
       probably does not do them any good at all. So if we get an
       epidemic of mad deer disease, you will know why.  :P
       Photo without the gag caption:
       [center][img
       width=640]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-030817192249.jpeg[/img][/center]
       [center]Its attention caught, a deer found eating a human corpse
       looks up, a rib dangling from its mouth.
       Photograph courtesy Lauren A. Meckel/Academia [/center]
       SNIPPET:
       By Delaney Chambers
       PUBLISHED May 7, 2017
       In an unprecedented finding, researchers spotted a deer chewing
       on a human rib during a study aimed at examining how human
       remains decompose in the wild.
       Scavengers take advantage of opportunities to eat, and carcasses
       left in the wild often decay quickly because animals can make
       quick work of the remains–even human remains.
       Known as “body farms,” some research facilities study how human
       remains decompose in the open air, including which animals
       interact with the corpse.
       Foxes, turkey vultures, raccoons, and other scavengers are
       commonly seen helping themselves to decomposing bodies.
       Researchers at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility in
       San Marcos, Texas, set up a camera to see whether any other
       scavengers would stop by–and they were not disappointed.
       Body Farm: It's a field filled with rotting corpses  :P. But no
       one is burying these bodies just yet.
       In a study published this week in the Journal of Forensic
       Sciences, researchers highlighted their finding: Ungulates, too,
       will partake in human flesh, if it’s available.
       White-tailed deer are considered herbivores and subsist on a
       diet of readily available plants, including twigs, fruits, nuts,
       alfalfa, and the occasional fungi. (Read more about the
       white-tailed deer.)
       This is the first time scientists have observed deer eating
       human flesh, though they have been known to turn carnivorous in
       the past, eating fish, dead rabbits, and even live birds.
       Deer may pursue flesh because they lack minerals like
       phosphorous, salt, and calcium, especially in the winter months
       when plant life is scarce.
       Full article with more mouth watering pictures:   [img
       width=100]
  HTML http://www.netanimations.net/Frankenstein-looks-stares-and-blinks-animated-gif.gif[/img][img<br
       />width=50]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-070814193155.png[/img]
  HTML http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/deer-eating-human-forensics-decomposition/
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