Do you think you may die next year?

[Meatpie]

Oh definately scared of lightning, I was in the shower a few weeks ago and a lightning struck near our house, I got zapped by the stainless steel shower I was holding.

 

[bindiboi]

Gee, maybe you need to live in a shack in the woods with no electricity Meatpie.

 

[Meatpie]

The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces in the universe, there is no escape even in a shack in the woods.

It's like trying to escape gravity...

 

[bindiboi]

Yeah but at least you could avoid man produced electricity.

 

[Meatpie]

Yes I am more careful now after my little accident.

 

[alexonedeath]

What with reincarnation, I'm likely to live forever -- and the thought of such a possibility is oppressive.

 

[badtom]

Oh definately scared of lightning, I was in the shower a few weeks ago and a lightning struck near our house, I got zapped by the stainless steel shower I was holding.

So, you have this thing with lightning, too? Interesting.

I had my first really close encounter with lightning when I was 13. Ball lightning came into the room where I was working at a radio station, and vanished with a really loud bang. I got a nasty shock. I yelled a very bad word. The mike was on.

One recent time was on a tour in Greece in 2008, where I was looking right at this tree about 30 feet away, when it was directly struck by lightning. I saw the bolt play around the upper limbs for a second or two. The boom was deafening.

People were standing under a tree right next to the tree that got struck. And they just stood there! Dumbfounded. Like cows. I started yelling at them to move! move! move! They just stared at me. "Lightning won't strike here a second time," one said. I yelled back "YES IT CAN! I'm an ENGINEER! Move! Move! Move!"

The tour group leader decided I might be right, and herded folks indoors.

That was the sixth close encounter with lightning that I've had. The mere fact that I was present should have made them afraid. If they had known.

The fifth time, in 2003, the lightning tried for my motorcycle. It blasted a huge branch from the tree above it, which fell, perfectly all around it. When I saw my bike, surrounded by smashed wood, I thought it was a goner. Nope. Not a scratch. Nice, healthy branch was exploded, though.

I don't even count all the broken computer stuff.

So, if clouds gather and a storm begins, it's probably best to close the windows and edge away from me.

 

[alexonedeath]

My word, badtom, you are quite the lightning magnet. Perhaps you should wear some sort of headgear with a vertical rod on top and accompanying wires to transfer all the electrical hits to the ground.

 

[PiercedChest]

What with reincarnation, I'm likely to live forever -- and the thought of such a possibility is oppressive.

Don't worry, I'm quite sure we won't be punished to be recycled forever (reincarnation), get roasted eternally (sad though; hell is a warm and cosy place with most of our friends present as well), or worst of all coerced to sit on a cloud plucking a harp and singing psalms (heaven is only fun for God himself, the selfish bastard) till kingdom come! Thank heavens (or any other nonexistent place) it's OVER when you die.

It's a little more probable I'll die this year than it was last year, but still I have a positive life expectancy.

 

[alexonedeath]

hell is a warm and cosy place with most of our friends present

HAHA

 

[badtom]

My word, badtom, you are quite the lightning magnet. Perhaps you should wear some sort of headgear with a vertical rod on top and accompanying wires to transfer all the electrical hits to the ground.

Something like what these guys are using might serve.

Iron Man by Black Sabbath with a Faraday Guitar



I bet isolating the guitar amp was fun. And I really luv the awesome industrial power service panels these guys have at stage right. They can run those Tesla coils, no problem. Given the arc length, they are probably pushing around a megavolt from each coil.

All I need now is some sort of Faraday Bike, and I'd be all set. I bet the gas mileage would suck, though.

 

[badtom]

To answer in the actual spirit of the poll, I'd say I have a fairly decent chance of buying it this year (2015). Greater than usual.

The reason is simple: I will be trying to push my maximum speed ever ridden on my motorcycle to at least 150 mph. Legally, even.

There is an advanced safe riding course given in New Hampshire every summer where they rent a race track, and teach you how to use it.
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna shoot video of this.

I realized this was possible after a charity run this past summer when a guy on this BMW next to me asked if I'd cracked 150 yet. I said no, and he explained how he'd done it.

I cannot fucking wait for spring.

 

[alexonedeath]

Mr. badtom, I think you need to slow down, in ALL ASPECTS of your life. You are tempting fate. Surely, if you put your mind to it, you can come up with something fun to occupy your time, something that isn't mortally dangerous. Here's just one suggestion: have sex without using a rubber! Ooooo, boys and girls, that's a scary one. :O

 

[badtom]

Mr. badtom, I think you need to slow down, in ALL ASPECTS of your life. You are tempting fate. Surely, if you put your mind to it, you can come up with something fun to occupy your time, something that isn't mortally dangerous. Here's just one suggestion: have sex without using a rubber! Ooooo, boys and girls, that's a scary one. :O

I do thank you for your concern, alexonedeath-- Once I realized the lightning was trying to get me, I figured, what the hell? There's also the fact that every one of my dad's male brothers, including him, died at age 72 of one horrible cancer or another-- brain, skin, blood. It's true, by the time I'm 72, medicine ought to be better, but I do take after my dad, so it seems likely that around that age, my body will time out. I don't want to die hooked up to machines on a hospital bed. I've seen it too much, and I don't want it to happen to me.

Alternatives I've considered:

Being an astronaut - I probably washed out of that when I was 8 years old.
Skydiving - no, I'm scared of heights!
Learning to fly an airplane - might help with the heights issue, but it's awfully expensive.
Building a Tesla coil - already did that. Got some stories about it, too.
Studying martial arts - I tried that. I suck at it. Working hard at something you suck at just doesn't do it.
Creating a business startup - Actually, I'm doing that right now. But, it's the wrong part of the brain.

So, I'm left with riding my bike really fast. On the plus side, I have been riding since 1984, and have logged over 100,000 miles on six different bikes. And some of my friends are racing instructors.

The other thing is that 150 mph isn't considered that fast these days. If you want to push the envelope on a motorcycle, you've gotta aim for 260+ mph. That range is still truly challenging and dangerous. I'm not planning on modding my bike, just getting appropriate tires, etc. In other words, my Hayabusa will go 150 mph, stock, even with the governor on.

Anyway. Maybe the advanced safe riding course will disappoint me, and I'll only get to go 130 mph. That would still be an improvement.

 

[alexonedeath]

badtom, I have the following thoughts concerning your considered alternatives:

• I like the astronaut idea, but getting into that program is probably as difficult as winning the lottery.
• Martial arts would have been a useful skill to master; it's too bad you don't feel up to the challenge.
• Your business startup is good news -- get rich, because money does indeed solve almost all
  problems!
• I'm glad the Tesla coil thing worked out for you, and I look forward to hearing your related stories.

 

[badtom]

badtom, I have the following thoughts concerning your considered alternatives:

• I like the astronaut idea, but getting into that program is probably as difficult as winning the lottery.
• Martial arts would have been a useful skill to master; it's too bad you don't feel up to the challenge.
• Your business startup is good news -- get rich, because money does indeed solve almost all
  problems!
• I'm glad the Tesla coil thing worked out for you, and I look forward to hearing your related stories.

I have some news to report, which might also bear on whether I die this year (the actual topic of this thread.)

My startup is launched. We incorporated on March 30. I am full time employee #1. With luck, that's not what will kill me. In fact, it's rather fun. I went from Senior Software Engineer to CIO, so, you know, that's good. If we get funding, it will be even better.

Also, I signed up for motorcycle racing lessons. For real.

If things go well, I will be in my first race on October 3rd at Lauden Motor Speedway, NH, Novice class.
I am so psyched.

It's true, motorcycle racing isn't completely safe. But you do wear pretty good safety equipment. The best requires custom measurement and fit. And it should satisfy my adrenaline addiction.

I had to work to not get hard while the burly, tattooed, bears from Vanson Leathers were performing the lengthy measurement process for my first real racing leathers. Right there in the motorcycle shop. Fuck, that was good. They were extremely masculine, and very polite.

They did ask me how many bones I had broken: collar, ribs, etc. Because if you have, it fucks up the measurements for racing leathers, and they have to compensate. For the record: none. So far.

Well. Except for my right leg. But, it wasn't racing a motorcycle. And it didn't change the length of my leg, which is what matters.

I should be picking up my racing bike, a 2002 Suzuki SV650 tomorrow (it was cheap!) It turns out that preparing a motorcycle for track racing is so onerous that it makes sense to have a dedicated racing bike. Trying to take a street bike, (like my Hayabusa,) and switch it back and forth is plain nuts.

Yow!

 

[Outlawbiker]

Hey Badtom. If you had a fatal accident would it be on your motor cycle and would you have your boots and leathers on?

 

[Outlawbiker]

Have any of you seen the Youtube video where they hooked up a Talsa coil to a Hammond Organ and plaid House of the Rising sun? I like the big arcs.

Outlawbiker

 

[badtom]

Hey Badtom. If you had a fatal accident would it be on your motor cycle and would you have your boots and leathers on?

You bet I would. If I were extremely lucky, I would either be recording with my GoPro, or it would be at the race track, and they would be recording.

The only problem is getting the recording posted here, 'cause I won't be able to do that. Maybe I should make some sort of clause in my will. Hmmmm.

If I die with my leathers & boots on, and there is video, YOU MUST post the video to CDG, or no one gets nothin'!!!

I've also been wondering what my last recorded word would be. I think you only have time for one. For me, I think it would likely be:

"FUCK!!!"​