Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : The Scariest and or Dumbest thing I ever did voluntarily -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Magnatizer who wrote (82)	4/26/2001 11:55:43 AM
From: PROLIFE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 117

The major problem with a gas spill is not the liquid, it is the fumes. I know of a man that did that, only with a tanker. The tanks of this service station (was in the 70s, hence the "service")were "sticked" by one employee, then the gas order sent in. The driver of the tanker then came and filled the tanks. Once the driver had put the nozzle in and had opened the valve to fill the tanks of the service station, he grabbed a case of grease ordered by the station and was going to carry it in. As he walked away, the tank overflowed. As the liquid spread, the fumes spread faster and ignited off of a pilot light of a heater in the station. Other than the initial flash of the fumes, the gas never exploded, but it did burn and the driver was burned nearly 90% 3rd degree when he tried to run back to shut the gas off. The station burned, the tanker burned, everything. So if you drive up on a big spill, please just back off, or if you cause the spill, see if you can water it down somehow. A hot catalytic converter can provide spark.

To: Magnatizer who wrote (82)	4/30/2001 11:51:14 AM
From: SofaSpud	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 117

Another occasion that came to mind, where a vehicle and stupidity mixed. During my early teen years I had a friend who was into motorcycles. At one point he got a new bike -- nothing ridiculously powerful, maybe a Yamaha 150. He says, "give it a try." So I hop on, having riden a motorcycle maybe once before and never managing to get it out of first gear. After driving down the block nearly red-lining it in first, I start to get the hang of the clutch and kick-shift (for upshifts, anyway -- didn't think to practice downshifting). Now, we're in a nice quiet residential street, laid out on a grid. Soon I'm into second, then into third. A quick glance at the speedometer says 45 mph, which even my pea brain is telling me might become a problem. See, I'm coming up to a T intersection, so turning is no longer optional. Unfortunately, there's also a car coming. And I never really got around to practicing using the brakes. I'm not sure who got scared worse, me or the driver of the oncoming car. Anyway, I did my best to keep my cool, rode low in to the turn, managed to miss the moving and parked cars, and managed to slow down enough before I wiped out that damage (to me and the bike) was minimal and cosmetic. Course you have to brazen it out -- I got up and dusted myself off as the friend comes running over, "ya man, must be something wrong with the bike." What brought that to mind was a story in the paper this weekend with a much less happy ending. Someone who maybe wasn't young enough any more to have the guardian angel on full time.