Headlines!

[Phantomgrift]

Which, to some folks, may be disturbing as to why I find them so amusing.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/us/into-t ... ssing-teen

Seems that the young fellowmcgee here was a big fan of Christopher McSenseless and the movie "Into The Wild".

As someone that, much like Desp, (in one of our rare shared interests), is an avid outdoors type, I always question the amazement at this type of thought process.

"Holy crap! This movie is about a guy that didn't know anything about wilderness survival, hippy-hiked to Alaska .... and DIED! Golly Gee Willikers Batman, Imma gonna do the exact same thing!!"

Really folks?
Reports from Fish and Game and Rangers in Alaska have indicated a alarming number of idiots that have tried to visit McSenseless's site like some sort of bohemian Mecca, only to die horribly. The last one was some Swedish chick that got swept off in the river near the site when she tried to ford it. Fording rivers on a hike is tricky shit any time of the year. Fording rivers in Alaska fed by new thaw run-off? By yourself?

Let's go swimming in a nuclear reactor cooling pool while we're pursuing these types of "good ideas".

Even "47 Hours" or whatever that movie was.
Some thrill-seeking junkie heads off into the desert by himself, doesn't bother to tell anyone where he is, and ultimately has to self-amputate roughly half-an-hour to an hour before he was found.

Park Rangers out that way have had to rescue an increasing number of people who saw the movie and decided it'd be an awesome place to visit. Wasting time and manpower to increase patrols of an area, simply because people are retarded.

After dealing with touchy-feely yahoos in Washington, I would like to take this moment to point out that nature is not your benevolent friend. Nature doesn't care. If you go prepared, you can do well. If you go prepared, you can still die. If you go in completely unprepared because you think trees and "outdoors" equates to your local city park... Then I for one will laugh when I read about how nature chewed you up like so much dead game.

[dexeron]

[Phantomgrift]

It also depends on the type of reactor.
Popular Science had a good article from a year or so ago about a guy who was a hazard diver for a living, routinely checking things like reactor pools, sewage treatment plants, etc. Lots of training, protective full-body gear, etc.

Granted, I was referring to the cooling pool used for the active pile rods. Those aren't spent, but live fuel and the water is of higher radiation levels than the spent fuel storage.

Either way, stupid people is stupid.

Hell, just about a month ago, some guy in the Northwest that was apparently a big fan of the Bear Gryills show had his friend drive him out to back-country nowhere, and despite the buddies protests that it was a stupid idea, just got out of the vehicle and wandered off.

He's still missing.

[dexeron]

Oh, you said cooling pool, not spent fuel storage pool.

I still think it's hilarious that the response from the guy who actually works with reactors is: "Sure, it will kill you. Because we'll shoot your ass if you try it."

[Zengus]

Security teams at nuclear reactors are no joke. I remember my dad telling me some things about the track record of the one at San Onofre, and the borderline insane practice drills they routinely run. Everything from paying individuals to try and infiltrate the facility, to mock full scale surprise ground assaults they have to repulse.

This post makes me think about , a minor rock climbing/x-treeeeme whatever celebrity that died in a horrific accident (arguably not entirely his fault? Still involved some very stupid choices on his part, though).

[Phantomgrift]

I still consider it a bit of cool luck or such that one of my training classes included a rare visit to one of the nuclear reactors right outside of Virginia Beach.

[Phantomgrift]

As far as headlines go, this one makes me happy, even if it started out with horrible circumstances:



In a nutshell? He found one of his ranch hands in the act of raping his daughter and helped to turn the scums life around.

[Xaenyth]

For some reason I thought this would be about Miley Cyrus.

[Despanan]

Not surprised. After 127 hours a bunch of people went out into the same park that the idiot got himself stuck in *and didn't tell anyone where they were going on purpose*

Presumably because they wanted to re-enact the sobbing/fapping scene.

People are incredibly suggestible.

[Emoore]

"Man, I can't wait to be forced into a literal life-or-limb decision. I'm really looking forward to having to break my own arm so that I can saw through the meat with only a pocket-knife, just like that guy in the movie! That'll really be something to write home about... with my remaining hand."