On 1/26/2022 8:24 AM, AMuzi wrote:
>
>
> 'off course' was one of Gene Daniels' favorite malaprops. Miss him here
> on RBT.

+1

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>
> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...

Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.

But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> On 1/24/2022 5:50 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> writes:
>>
>>> On 1/23/2022 8:51 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
>>>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> On 1/22/2022 7:41 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>> On Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 4:21:27 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:24:43 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>>>>>>> I'm commenting on a general trend
>>>>>>>> in society that I've mentioned often before: "Safety inflation."
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It's quite pervasive. What's perfectly accepted as adequately "safe" one
>>>>>>>> year seems to frequently become, well, advised against ten years later.
>>>>>>>> Then labeled as reckless maybe ten years after that. In some cases,
>>>>>>>> declared illegal maybe ten years later.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Examples abound.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I hope that automatic crash detection and reporting doesn't become de
>>>>>>>> rigueur for cycling in the future.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Somewhere I read that the slide and swing sets that used to be common
>>>>>>> in school yards all over the country are now not seen as frequently
>>>>>>> because "little Johnny" might get hurt and kids walking to school...
>>>>>>> Oh MY Goodness! We can't have that it is too dangerious.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yet, when I was in grade school "swing sets" were common and we walked
>>>>>>> to school, in fact there was a school ordinance that you couldn't ride
>>>>>>> or drive to school (no parking space) and, I don't remember anyone
>>>>>>> being injured.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Or my pet complaint, the sign on my ladder that "Improper use may
>>>>>>> result in injury or death".
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Fat Johnny, clearly you haven't been back to the US in a long time. ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As for swings, they were dangerous and that is why they
>>>>>> disappeared. Children would continue going back and forth until they
>>>>>> were up to 90 degrees and the then they would tip over and fall
>>>>>> inwards and drop children on the back of their skull and there were
>>>>>> many deaths from that. Since there was no way of making those swings
>>>>>> both cheap and safe, they eliminated them.
>>>>>
>>>>> I know it's bad to disagree with Tom, but to report from the real world:
>>>>>
>>>>> Swings are as common around here as they ever were. About 30 years
>>>>> ago, one local playground did remove a "jungle gym" or "monkey bars"
>>>>> climbing set because a girl fell and broke her arm, and the parents
>>>>> sued the school system. But the swings remained, and are still
>>>>> there. In fact, several new sets have been installed both here and in
>>>>> two other towns I know well and visit often.
>>>>>
>>>>> It is true, though, that playground equipment is fancier than in the
>>>>> past. Today my wife and walked by a brand new playground under
>>>>> construction just half a mile here. Instead of a climbing set ("jungle
>>>>> gym") made of steel bars, there's a novel set that looks like a three
>>>>> dimensional network of rope segments. Maybe it's safer because you
>>>>> couldn't fall directly to the ground.
>>>>>
>>>>> Another huge playground set in a different park we frequent is three
>>>>> platforms tall, probably 25 feet or so to the top. It has two
>>>>> tunnel-style slides from the top platform down. No kid could fall out
>>>>> of the slide (although that park does have conventional slides as
>>>>> well.) Interstingly, I've seen teenagers climbing up the top surface
>>>>> of the cylindrical slide tunnels - something I'd judge far more
>>>>> dangerous than anything one would reasonably try with a conventional
>>>>> slide.
>>>>>
>>>>> (I'd ask Tom for citations about those "so many deaths" from kids
>>>>> falling off swings, but I know that would be futile. )
>>>>>
>>>>>> The problem with you isn't that you are stupid, its just that you
>>>>>> know so much that isn't so.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm just going to leave that there for the irony factor.
>>>>
>>>> Playground equipment has changed, and not just by being fancier.
>>>>
>>>> When is the last time you saw a merry go round, or a seesaw? Swing
>>>> seats used to be big chunks of wood, or hard rubber, now they are thin
>>>> flexible rubber. The surface used to be dirt, or gravel, now they are
>>>> cushy wooden mulch, or a rubber surface on which to fall.
>>>
>>> I agree playground equipment has changed. Some of that is fashion,
>>> some of it is Safety Inflation. (Everything must always be made safer
>>> than it was before.)
>>>
>>> But merry-go-rounds or seesaws have certainly not disappeared in our
>>> area. As recently as November we took two little kids to a fancy
>>> playground where I had the job of spinning the platform merry-go-round
>>> as fast as I possibly could.
>>
>> Perhaps Ohio is behind the safety curve. Ten or fifteen years ago I
>> could have easily located playgrounds with both seesaws and merry go
>> rounds, now I don't know of any near me. I haven't searched, there
>> probably some old ones somewhere.
>
> Well, we have grandkids of an appropriate age for playgrounds. We tend
> to visit a lot of them.
>
>
One local to me, which I pass on way to bike shop, has swings/seesaws
climbing frames and so on, does have that rubber surfaces, but plenty of
scope for kids to play which also has element of risk, but nothing is zero
risk.

Roger Merriman

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 10:30:07 AM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
> >
> > He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>
> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>
> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.

I notice that Russell wasn't criticizing your spelling.

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 11:19:59 AM UTC-8, Roger Merriman wrote:
> Frank Krygowski <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> > On 1/24/2022 5:50 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
> >> Frank Krygowski <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> writes:
> >>
> >>> On 1/23/2022 8:51 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
> >>>> Frank Krygowski <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> writes:
> >>>>
> >>>>> On 1/22/2022 7:41 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> >>>>>> On Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 4:21:27 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:
> >>>>>>> On Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:24:43 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >>>>>>>> I'm commenting on a general trend
> >>>>>>>> in society that I've mentioned often before: "Safety inflation."
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> It's quite pervasive. What's perfectly accepted as adequately "safe" one
> >>>>>>>> year seems to frequently become, well, advised against ten years later.
> >>>>>>>> Then labeled as reckless maybe ten years after that. In some cases,
> >>>>>>>> declared illegal maybe ten years later.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> Examples abound.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> I hope that automatic crash detection and reporting doesn't become de
> >>>>>>>> rigueur for cycling in the future.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Somewhere I read that the slide and swing sets that used to be common
> >>>>>>> in school yards all over the country are now not seen as frequently
> >>>>>>> because "little Johnny" might get hurt and kids walking to school....
> >>>>>>> Oh MY Goodness! We can't have that it is too dangerious.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Yet, when I was in grade school "swing sets" were common and we walked
> >>>>>>> to school, in fact there was a school ordinance that you couldn't ride
> >>>>>>> or drive to school (no parking space) and, I don't remember anyone
> >>>>>>> being injured.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Or my pet complaint, the sign on my ladder that "Improper use may
> >>>>>>> result in injury or death".
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Fat Johnny, clearly you haven't been back to the US in a long time.. ...
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> As for swings, they were dangerous and that is why they
> >>>>>> disappeared. Children would continue going back and forth until they
> >>>>>> were up to 90 degrees and the then they would tip over and fall
> >>>>>> inwards and drop children on the back of their skull and there were
> >>>>>> many deaths from that. Since there was no way of making those swings
> >>>>>> both cheap and safe, they eliminated them.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I know it's bad to disagree with Tom, but to report from the real world:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Swings are as common around here as they ever were. About 30 years
> >>>>> ago, one local playground did remove a "jungle gym" or "monkey bars"
> >>>>> climbing set because a girl fell and broke her arm, and the parents
> >>>>> sued the school system. But the swings remained, and are still
> >>>>> there. In fact, several new sets have been installed both here and in
> >>>>> two other towns I know well and visit often.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> It is true, though, that playground equipment is fancier than in the
> >>>>> past. Today my wife and walked by a brand new playground under
> >>>>> construction just half a mile here. Instead of a climbing set ("jungle
> >>>>> gym") made of steel bars, there's a novel set that looks like a three
> >>>>> dimensional network of rope segments. Maybe it's safer because you
> >>>>> couldn't fall directly to the ground.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Another huge playground set in a different park we frequent is three
> >>>>> platforms tall, probably 25 feet or so to the top. It has two
> >>>>> tunnel-style slides from the top platform down. No kid could fall out
> >>>>> of the slide (although that park does have conventional slides as
> >>>>> well.) Interstingly, I've seen teenagers climbing up the top surface
> >>>>> of the cylindrical slide tunnels - something I'd judge far more
> >>>>> dangerous than anything one would reasonably try with a conventional
> >>>>> slide.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> (I'd ask Tom for citations about those "so many deaths" from kids
> >>>>> falling off swings, but I know that would be futile. )
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> The problem with you isn't that you are stupid, its just that you
> >>>>>> know so much that isn't so.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I'm just going to leave that there for the irony factor.
> >>>>
> >>>> Playground equipment has changed, and not just by being fancier.
> >>>>
> >>>> When is the last time you saw a merry go round, or a seesaw? Swing
> >>>> seats used to be big chunks of wood, or hard rubber, now they are thin
> >>>> flexible rubber. The surface used to be dirt, or gravel, now they are
> >>>> cushy wooden mulch, or a rubber surface on which to fall.
> >>>
> >>> I agree playground equipment has changed. Some of that is fashion,
> >>> some of it is Safety Inflation. (Everything must always be made safer
> >>> than it was before.)
> >>>
> >>> But merry-go-rounds or seesaws have certainly not disappeared in our
> >>> area. As recently as November we took two little kids to a fancy
> >>> playground where I had the job of spinning the platform merry-go-round
> >>> as fast as I possibly could.
> >>
> >> Perhaps Ohio is behind the safety curve. Ten or fifteen years ago I
> >> could have easily located playgrounds with both seesaws and merry go
> >> rounds, now I don't know of any near me. I haven't searched, there
> >> probably some old ones somewhere.
> >
> > Well, we have grandkids of an appropriate age for playgrounds. We tend
> > to visit a lot of them.
> >
> >
> One local to me, which I pass on way to bike shop, has swings/seesaws
> climbing frames and so on, does have that rubber surfaces, but plenty of
> scope for kids to play which also has element of risk, but nothing is zero
> risk.

I don't think that laws should be passed against playground equipment. A kid can fall down and kill himself on a curb. Should they outlaw curbs? While you can discover statistically significant numbers about deaths and injuries on playground equipment the number of deaths from speeding in automobiles make all of these things look like nothing at all.

On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:14:18 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 6:13:02 PM UTC-8, jeff.li...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 15:20:43 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
>> <cycl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Tell us what you know about navigation Jeff.
>> Why? Are you lost?
>> >Is that another of your great interests like weather prediction because you worked on marine radios.
>> Yes, it's one of my many interests. It sorta comes with the marine
>> radio stuff. I attended a few class in navigation (before affordable
>> GPS). I still have a Tamaya sextant,
>> <https://www.landfallnavigation.com/astra-iii-pro-sextant-0502p.html>
>> HO 229 sight reduction tables, out of date nautical almanac, plotting
>> sheets, and various tools and books. About 20 years ago, I would give
>> demonstrations of how to do noon sights, usually on the SCZ harbor
>> breakwater (followed by a free lunch at Aldo's). I got a few kids and
>> adults interested in navigation.
>>
>> I started classes in preparation for getting a private pilots license,
>> which requires quite a bit of navigation experise. However, I ran out
>> of time and money.
>>
>> I maintain a home ADS-B monitoring site for tracking airplanes. Some
>> knowledge of navigation is helpful:
>> <https://flightaware.com/adsb/stats/user/JeffLiebermann>
>> >Tell me the frequency of these marine radios since you seem to think that they would give you distance.
>> Are you allergic to using a search engine? Well, if you must ask:
>>
>> US VHF marine frequencies:
>> <https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtvhf>
>>
>> International VHF marine frequencies:
>> <https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=apps18>
>>
>> HF marine frequencies:
>> <https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtHighFrequency>
>>
>> Loran C:
>> 90 to 110 kHz
>>
>> GPS:
>> <https://www.everythingrf.com/community/gps-frequency-bands>
>
>If you think you know something about navigation why is it that you didn't know that Greenwich magnetic north was always very near magnetic north, that it was chosen as the prime meridian by Americans who were sailing from major ports in the US to the English Channel to unload their cargoes in relatively calm waters and that being very near true north, it made navigation easy? Instead the only thing that comes from you is the usual bullshit know nothing, You might just as well be John.

No Tommy Greenwich wasn't selected by the Americans, who in 1721 when
The Greenwich Observatory was selected as the Prime Meridian, the U.S.
didn't even exist.

And, as far as I can tell the Prime Meridian had nothing to do with
magnetic north it was simply a basis on which maps and navigation
tables were based.

And I also suggest that when the U.S. adoption of it as the "prime
meridian in 18-hundred and something was simply because it had been
established and charts and tables were already in existence to use it.
As for compass readings on a sailing ship making navigation easy?
Well, that just shows how little you know about ships in general and
sailing vessels in particular as a compass on a boat only determines
in what direction the bow of the ship is pointed which considering
tides, currents and leeway may well not be the direction that the ship
is actually traveling

Oh, and by the way Tommy a fast voyage across the Atlantic in the
1700's was about 6 Weeks and I would tend to think that even in the
1800's, before the advent of Steam Vessels, it took about the same
time..
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:31:09 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:40:42 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>> On 1/25/2022 8:26 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> > On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 15:05:32 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
>> > <cycl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 9:58:50 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>> >>> On 1/25/2022 11:51 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>> >>>> A sailing ship could leave New York and head magnetic west and would end up in the English Channel. Food and staples were huge freight items from America so it was important to have a means of arriving with the least delay.
>> >
>> >>> Sorry but a sailing ship headed due west from NYC would run
>> >>> smack into New Jersey.
>> >
>> >> Pardon my error. Of course I meant East.
>> >
>> > Is that "of course" or "off course"?
>> >
>> 'off course' was one of Gene Daniels' favorite malaprops.
>> Miss him here on RBT.
>What we've gotten from the group here is that it isn't going to rain in February because they can't predict it from a week from the end of January. They neither know nor want to know the slightest thing about navigation but like to complain that I don't understand it myself when I have actually been ships' navigator and Jeff thinks that showing a sextant makes him a navigator. So many fools in so little time.
>
>I took the Trek out again yesterday. To make sure that the saddle didn't rotate again, I centered it on the seatpost. Well it didn't rotate but it put me too close to the bars and I will have to lengthen the stem to stop the pain in my shoulders. I hate switching stem lengths because it always takes so much time to get a stem. Everyone is using 120 or 110 and it looks like I will need a 70 or 80. So I have to order them new.

You have been a ship's navigator?

And on what sort of "ship" was that. I ask as a "ship" is generally
considered, in the trade, as a large commercial vessel which, if a
U.S. registered vessel would require a U.S. Coastguard certified
officer as a "navigator", but of course commercial ships don't carry a
crew member called a "Navigator" as the Captain, or perhaps the First
Officer, takes care of that function.

Tell us Tommy. are you deliberately lying or is it just another of
your delusions?
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>
>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>
>Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>
>But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.

(:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.

We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
one mosquito generation (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 1/26/2022 7:09 PM, John B. wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>
>>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>>
>> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>>
>> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
>
> (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
> in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
>
> We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
> drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
> way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
> one mosquito generation (:-)
>

Scientific aptitude notwithstanding, some researchers
similarly go off the deep end when they engage policy. I saw
this little gem in Science News:

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/01/20/news/a-lyme-disease-vaccine-for-mice-could-help-prevent-human-infections/

Finding, let alone vaccinating, all the deer mice in the
woods surrounding my girlfriend's farm would be a million
dollar project, over 120 acres...

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 19:19:56 -0000 (UTC), Roger Merriman
<roger@sarlet.com> wrote:

>Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> On 1/24/2022 5:50 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
>>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> writes:
>>>
>>>> On 1/23/2022 8:51 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
>>>>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> writes:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 1/22/2022 7:41 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>>> On Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 4:21:27 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:24:43 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>>>>>>>> I'm commenting on a general trend
>>>>>>>>> in society that I've mentioned often before: "Safety inflation."
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> It's quite pervasive. What's perfectly accepted as adequately "safe" one
>>>>>>>>> year seems to frequently become, well, advised against ten years later.
>>>>>>>>> Then labeled as reckless maybe ten years after that. In some cases,
>>>>>>>>> declared illegal maybe ten years later.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Examples abound.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I hope that automatic crash detection and reporting doesn't become de
>>>>>>>>> rigueur for cycling in the future.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Somewhere I read that the slide and swing sets that used to be common
>>>>>>>> in school yards all over the country are now not seen as frequently
>>>>>>>> because "little Johnny" might get hurt and kids walking to school...
>>>>>>>> Oh MY Goodness! We can't have that it is too dangerious.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Yet, when I was in grade school "swing sets" were common and we walked
>>>>>>>> to school, in fact there was a school ordinance that you couldn't ride
>>>>>>>> or drive to school (no parking space) and, I don't remember anyone
>>>>>>>> being injured.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Or my pet complaint, the sign on my ladder that "Improper use may
>>>>>>>> result in injury or death".
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Fat Johnny, clearly you haven't been back to the US in a long time. ...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> As for swings, they were dangerous and that is why they
>>>>>>> disappeared. Children would continue going back and forth until they
>>>>>>> were up to 90 degrees and the then they would tip over and fall
>>>>>>> inwards and drop children on the back of their skull and there were
>>>>>>> many deaths from that. Since there was no way of making those swings
>>>>>>> both cheap and safe, they eliminated them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I know it's bad to disagree with Tom, but to report from the real world:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Swings are as common around here as they ever were. About 30 years
>>>>>> ago, one local playground did remove a "jungle gym" or "monkey bars"
>>>>>> climbing set because a girl fell and broke her arm, and the parents
>>>>>> sued the school system. But the swings remained, and are still
>>>>>> there. In fact, several new sets have been installed both here and in
>>>>>> two other towns I know well and visit often.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is true, though, that playground equipment is fancier than in the
>>>>>> past. Today my wife and walked by a brand new playground under
>>>>>> construction just half a mile here. Instead of a climbing set ("jungle
>>>>>> gym") made of steel bars, there's a novel set that looks like a three
>>>>>> dimensional network of rope segments. Maybe it's safer because you
>>>>>> couldn't fall directly to the ground.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Another huge playground set in a different park we frequent is three
>>>>>> platforms tall, probably 25 feet or so to the top. It has two
>>>>>> tunnel-style slides from the top platform down. No kid could fall out
>>>>>> of the slide (although that park does have conventional slides as
>>>>>> well.) Interstingly, I've seen teenagers climbing up the top surface
>>>>>> of the cylindrical slide tunnels - something I'd judge far more
>>>>>> dangerous than anything one would reasonably try with a conventional
>>>>>> slide.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> (I'd ask Tom for citations about those "so many deaths" from kids
>>>>>> falling off swings, but I know that would be futile. )
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The problem with you isn't that you are stupid, its just that you
>>>>>>> know so much that isn't so.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm just going to leave that there for the irony factor.
>>>>>
>>>>> Playground equipment has changed, and not just by being fancier.
>>>>>
>>>>> When is the last time you saw a merry go round, or a seesaw? Swing
>>>>> seats used to be big chunks of wood, or hard rubber, now they are thin
>>>>> flexible rubber. The surface used to be dirt, or gravel, now they are
>>>>> cushy wooden mulch, or a rubber surface on which to fall.
>>>>
>>>> I agree playground equipment has changed. Some of that is fashion,
>>>> some of it is Safety Inflation. (Everything must always be made safer
>>>> than it was before.)
>>>>
>>>> But merry-go-rounds or seesaws have certainly not disappeared in our
>>>> area. As recently as November we took two little kids to a fancy
>>>> playground where I had the job of spinning the platform merry-go-round
>>>> as fast as I possibly could.
>>>
>>> Perhaps Ohio is behind the safety curve. Ten or fifteen years ago I
>>> could have easily located playgrounds with both seesaws and merry go
>>> rounds, now I don't know of any near me. I haven't searched, there
>>> probably some old ones somewhere.
>>
>> Well, we have grandkids of an appropriate age for playgrounds. We tend
>> to visit a lot of them.
>>
>>
>One local to me, which I pass on way to bike shop, has swings/seesaws
>climbing frames and so on, does have that rubber surfaces, but plenty of
>scope for kids to play which also has element of risk, but nothing is zero
>risk.
>
>Roger Merriman

Out of curiosity I did a tiny bit of research and I fid that according
to the Consumer Product Safety Commission
https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/playgrnd_0.pdf
Study of playground hazards
In 1999, an estimated 205,850 playground equipment-related injuries
were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms.

And according to
https://www.drdavidgeier.com/shocking-statistics-bicycle-injuries/
Studies have estimated that bicycle injuries account for 1.2 million
doctor’s clinic visits, 580,000 emergency department visits, 23,000
hospital admissions and 900 deaths each year in the United States.

So it appears that cycling is about twice as dangerious as playground
equipment.

Maybe we should ban bicycles? Or at least limit their use to areas
where protective rubber mats have been spread (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 19:17:46 -0600, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 1/26/2022 7:09 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>
>>>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>>>
>>> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>>>
>>> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>>> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
>>
>> (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
>> in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
>>
>> We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
>> drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
>> way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
>> one mosquito generation (:-)
>>
>
>Scientific aptitude notwithstanding, some researchers
>similarly go off the deep end when they engage policy. I saw
>this little gem in Science News:
>
>https://bangordailynews.com/2020/01/20/news/a-lyme-disease-vaccine-for-mice-could-help-prevent-human-infections/
>
>Finding, let alone vaccinating, all the deer mice in the
>woods surrounding my girlfriend's farm would be a million
>dollar project, over 120 acres...

The chap I mentioned, above, was a qualified "bug doctor", an
Entomologist, I believe the term is, who had undoubtedly published
papers on "bugs" and had been employed by some International Health,
or some government body to "study the malaria problem in Java" and he
was actually ridiculing the whole business as he said that everything
you needed to know about mosquitoes and malaria had been studied and
published "years ago".

He didn't work for us but we did supply people like him to various
International Bodies.

We once brought a livestock expert, I think he had a PhD degree in
animal biology, from the U.S. to determine why cattle given to
Javanese transmigrated from Java to outlying islands weren't having
calves while the same breed furnished to Balinese did.

He wrote a many page report complete with graphs and so on, which we
printed and bound and were congratulated for by the U.S. Government
who was partially funding the transmigration program.

And the cause of this mystery? Well Javanese, who weren't very
familiar with cattle discovered that their male cattle - the Bulls -
didn't give milk so, being useless they killed them and ate them. The
Javanese, many of whom are Hindu's, didn't kill their Bulls (:-)

And to be honest a whole lot of internationally funded projects are
just like that.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:18:47 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> On 1/26/2022 7:09 PM, John B. wrote:
> > On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >
> >> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
> >>>
> >>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
> >>
> >> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
> >>
> >> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
> >> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
> >
> > (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
> > in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
> >
> > We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
> > drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
> > way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
> > one mosquito generation (:-)
> >
> Scientific aptitude notwithstanding, some researchers
> similarly go off the deep end when they engage policy. I saw
> this little gem in Science News:
>
> https://bangordailynews.com/2020/01/20/news/a-lyme-disease-vaccine-for-mice-could-help-prevent-human-infections/
>
> Finding, let alone vaccinating, all the deer mice in the
> woods surrounding my girlfriend's farm would be a million
> dollar project, over 120 acres...

I once watched a program on backpacking the Appalachian Trail (which we've done parts of). When the program
was discussing the northern parts, they discussed rattlesnakes. And they claimed the higher the number of
rattlesnakes up there, the safer the trail was. Snakes add safety.

The reason? Turns out tick-borne diseases are a much greater hazard than are snakebites. After all, the
ticks are looking for humans to bite. The snakes bite only reluctantly after all else fails. They first try to hide, escape
and/or warn people away with their rattle.

But why do snakes actually increase safety? The more snakes, the fewer rodents. And the young ticks grow
up feeding on rodents. So the more snakes, the fewer ticks.

Vaguely similar to bicycling. Sure, there are injuries and some few deaths. But there are many more deaths
from other causes, like circulatory problems. And bicycling greatly reduces those deaths.

As with many issues, the trick is to worry about the proper problem. It's not always obvious.

- Frank Krygowski

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:18:47 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> On 1/26/2022 7:09 PM, John B. wrote:
> > On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> > <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> >> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
> >>>
> >>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
> >>
> >> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
> >>
> >> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
> >> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
> >
> > (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
> > in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
> >
> > We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
> > drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
> > way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
> > one mosquito generation (:-)
> >
> Scientific aptitude notwithstanding, some researchers
> similarly go off the deep end when they engage policy. I saw
> this little gem in Science News:
>
> https://bangordailynews.com/2020/01/20/news/a-lyme-disease-vaccine-for-mice-could-help-prevent-human-infections/
>
> Finding, let alone vaccinating, all the deer mice in the
> woods surrounding my girlfriend's farm would be a million
> dollar project, over 120 acres...

Across the US there are something like a yearly infection rate of 30,000 people. It is completely treatable with several drugs and a 2 week regimen. There is a small chance of it causing serious or permanent heart problems. Most of the cases are in the Northeastern US though it has been found just about everywhere in the US.

On 1/26/2022 8:09 PM, John B. wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>
>>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>>
>> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>>
>> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
>
> (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
> in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
>
> We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
> drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
> way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
> one mosquito generation (:-)

BTW, I doubt that solution would work. In the early 1970s a friend and I
traveled pretty extensively in some fairly remote parts of Canada. There
were very few humans around, but there were mosquitoes large and
numerous enough to carry a person away.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 1/27/2022 10:52 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:18:47 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
>> On 1/26/2022 7:09 PM, John B. wrote:
>>> On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>>>>
>>>> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>>>>
>>>> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>>>> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
>>>
>>> (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
>>> in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
>>>
>>> We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
>>> drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
>>> way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
>>> one mosquito generation (:-)
>>>
>> Scientific aptitude notwithstanding, some researchers
>> similarly go off the deep end when they engage policy. I saw
>> this little gem in Science News:
>>
>> https://bangordailynews.com/2020/01/20/news/a-lyme-disease-vaccine-for-mice-could-help-prevent-human-infections/
>>
>> Finding, let alone vaccinating, all the deer mice in the
>> woods surrounding my girlfriend's farm would be a million
>> dollar project, over 120 acres...
>
> Across the US there are something like a yearly infection rate of 30,000 people. It is completely treatable with several drugs and a 2 week regimen. There is a small chance of it causing serious or permanent heart problems. Most of the cases are in the Northeastern US though it has been found just about everywhere in the US.
>

Testing is expensive and slow (wait 7~10 days for results)
and not very accurate. Symptoms can range severe to very
mild but once established Bergdorfia is difficult to treat,
with a risk of permanent injury.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Thu, 27 Jan 2022 12:30:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 1/26/2022 8:09 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>
>>>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>>>
>>> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>>>
>>> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>>> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
>>
>> (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
>> in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
>>
>> We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
>> drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
>> way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
>> one mosquito generation (:-)
>
>BTW, I doubt that solution would work. In the early 1970s a friend and I
>traveled pretty extensively in some fairly remote parts of Canada. There
>were very few humans around, but there were mosquitoes large and
>numerous enough to carry a person away.

As I explained in another post the fellow was ridiculing the study
that he was employed to be making as, he said, the same studies he was
making had been accomplished many years earlier.

His comment was meant to illustrate that the mosquito has to bite
someone with malaria before it - she actually - can transmit it to
another human. Thus the rather fatuous comment that simply removing
all the people for a mosquito generation would mean that none of the
newly hatched mosquitoes would be "carrying" the disease.

And I'm sure that he did realize that Java was the most densely
populated island in the world :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 1/27/2022 5:28 PM, John B. wrote:
> On Thu, 27 Jan 2022 12:30:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> On 1/26/2022 8:09 PM, John B. wrote:
>>> On Wed, 26 Jan 2022 13:30:02 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>>> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 1/26/2022 12:48 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> He also had an interest in grackles (it's a bird species) ...
>>>>
>>>> Amazing. It's hard to think of a less charismatic bird.
>>>>
>>>> But I'm reminded of Darwin, who late in life pointed out it was
>>>> necessary that _someone_ studying earthworms. And so he did.
>>>
>>> (:-) I met a bloke who was studying mosquito's and not just mosquito's
>>> in general but anopheles mosquitoes which carry Malaria.
>>>
>>> We were both staying at a small hotel in Jakarta and used to have a
>>> drink, or two, in the evening. and I remember his telling me that one
>>> way to eradicate malaria was simple. Just move all the humans out for
>>> one mosquito generation (:-)
>>
>> BTW, I doubt that solution would work. In the early 1970s a friend and I
>> traveled pretty extensively in some fairly remote parts of Canada. There
>> were very few humans around, but there were mosquitoes large and
>> numerous enough to carry a person away.
>
> As I explained in another post the fellow was ridiculing the study
> that he was employed to be making as, he said, the same studies he was
> making had been accomplished many years earlier.
>
> His comment was meant to illustrate that the mosquito has to bite
> someone with malaria before it - she actually - can transmit it to
> another human. Thus the rather fatuous comment that simply removing
> all the people for a mosquito generation would mean that none of the
> newly hatched mosquitoes would be "carrying" the disease.
>
> And I'm sure that he did realize that Java was the most densely
> populated island in the world :-)
>

Java population and density are truly impressive.
1070 per km2:
https://ask.metafilter.com/338130/Is-Java-Island-the-densest-area-in-the-world

Manhattan is very much smaller in both respects but 27346
per km2 is more dense:
https://worldpopulationreview.com/boroughs/manhattan-population

p.s. I had an inkling about Manhattan but didn't actually
know that until I just checked.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

<a href="https://multiworldknowledge.com/2022/05/10/how-to-wire-an-ignition-switch/">Wiring an ignition switch </a>isn't that hard but it can be confusing if you don't know what to do. This blog will show you how to wire an ignition switch, including how to find a location for the switch and various safety concerns.

On Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 7:03:14 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
> On 1/20/2022 8:39 PM, John B. wrote:
> > On Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:10:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> > <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> >> On 1/20/2022 4:08 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> >>> On Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 12:38:29 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >>>> On 1/20/2022 2:14 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> >>>>> I hit the road shortly after that posting and besides it being 40 degrees, there was heavy fog with a visibility of 1/4 mile. I didn't like riding in traffic that cannot tell the difference between heavy fog and wet roads and the Daytona 500 so I got off of the main drag and road on the bike trail. Entering the bike trail there was a park ranger parked in such a manner that you could pass on the road. I think he got out to pick up some paper. But in the cold why would he leave his door half open? So I cut by on the grass verge that probably barely had enough traction being soaking wet for me to maneuver back onto the bike path.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Because of the fog and nothing to see I was watching the trail because of the cracks everywhere. I finally made it to the Oakland Airport which has a bike path along one side of the road. I road that into Alameda and there was so damn much traffic at the corner with the coffee shop on it that I just rode past and returned. As I made it to a main rode that feeds the industrial section down on Bay Farm Island I was rather surprised to see a large group of cyclist going the opposite direction. There must have been 20 cyclists in that group. This is a working day! Where are they getting that many people with that much time off? Because of the fog, I missed a lot of normal markers such as a bridge over a creek at the Oakland Colosseum. But no matter, the trail had people and riders on it but a lot less than usual.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> This damned Garmin is going to have to be worked on more. One of the problems was the cadence worked fine for about 4 miles and then stopped working again. Since I'm using all the correct Garmin parts I can only assume that the trip magnet is losing its magnetism...
> >>>
> >>>> You certainly do have lots of problems! Even permanent magnets that go bad!
> >>>
> >>> Well, if I rode a 1985 touring bike with bar end friction shifters and a mechanical speedometer, I probably wouldn't have ant problems either.
> >>
> >> :-) Actually, Tom, I think you would. You remind me of this character
> >>from Lil' Abner
> >> http://www.deniskitchen.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/BP_240.B.JPG
> >> although Joe tended to be a jinx for other people. Your misfortune seems
> >> to fall on yourself.
> >>
> >> However, there's something to be said for sticking with technology you
> >> can understand. Hey Tom, have you tried a fixie with solid tires? :-)
> >>
> >>> Why don't you give us a dissertation on modern magnets, the materials they are made from and their relative strength and longevity?
> >>
> >> I'll start with some simple citations. When you disprove these using
> >> better information, I'll see if a rebuttal is justified.
> >>
> >> From https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/do-magnets-wear-out/
> >> "a modern samarium-cobalt magnet takes around 700 years to lose half its
> >> strength."
> >>
> >> From
> >> https://www.newscientist.com/lastword/mg24732911-800-does-magnetism-decay-over-time/
> >> "Modern magnets made of rare earth alloys may even last for centuries."
> >>
> >> From https://mpimagnet.com/education-center/how-long-will-your-magnet-last
> >> "Your permanent magnet should lose no more than 1% of its magnetic
> >> strength over a period of 100 years provided it is specified and cared
> >> for properly."
> >>
> >> From
> >> https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/216527/do-magnets-ever-lose-their-magnetism-and-if-so-how-long-does-it-take
> >> "A temporary magnet can lose its magnetization in less than 1 hour.
> >> Neodymium magnets lose less than 1% of their strength over 10 years.
> >> Permanent magnets such as sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets remain magnetized
> >> indefinitely."
> >>
> >>> Then you can explain why modern PM starter motors have such a high failure rate.
> >>
> >> So far, all I've seen is a Kunich allusion to that high failure rate.
> >> Can you give us a reputable link with evidence that their failures are
> >> so terrible? Maybe some data?
> >>
> >> I'm joking! Of course you can't!
> >
> >
> > "Can you give us a reputable link with evidence that their failures
> > are so terrible? Maybe some data?"???
> >
> > Good Lord! Don't you realize that Tommy doesn't have to offer proof of
> > anything? Tommy simply follows the teaching of Dr. Goebbels who taught
> > that "“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
> > eventually come to believe it."
> >
> I have a more than usual (less than Mr Slocumb)experience
> with maintenance of classic motor vehicles and among the
> least trouble-prone systems is a 12v starter motor with big
> heavy iron magnets. Never saw one fail except for bearings
> and the bendix drive. Solenoids do stick (best remedy- smack
> smartly with something heavy, especially in cold weather)
> but respond well to a good cleaning and lubrication.
>
> I don't recall reading anything about starter motors so,
> since my auto library is nearby, I checked the official GM
> service manuals for 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 just now. Each
> has 15 sections (engine specs/setup, cooling, exhaust, fuel,
> suspension, gearbox etc). There's no mention of starter
> motor service in all four thick books.

The new starters are built with super-magnets and they are brittle as hell. So far I've had two of them failure since 10 years ago when I came too after my concussion.