Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with safety

help me get some safely

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:50:11 -0800

CasualSex-filter: I am a straight woman. I'm not into the bar/club scene whatsoever. I've never had casual sex, and want to change this. Tips for doing this as safely as possible? This would be completely no-strings. I don't want to do this with anyone I already know nor with their friends. I cannot host, but can travel. And since this would be my first time with casual sex, even if the guy is very attractive and seems safe, I'm not 100% sure I would go through with it.

I'm considering posting/answering on craigslist or something. I have a few questions but the most important is... tips for doing this as safely as possible?

Any other tips for "best results" (for lack of a better term)? Am I better off going with one of the regular w4m or m4w boards or casual encounters? Better for me to post or to reply to a post? Any codes I need to know? I would prefer not to help someone cheat on their wife/girlfriend, but realize there's no way I can be sure whether or not the guy is actually single... but tips for filtering? Better ways to do this other than craiglist? Anything else I should know? I'm in the Vancouver, BC, Canada area if it makes a difference.

throwaway email: getlaidsafely@gmail.com

Thanks!

Portable oil-filled radiator in a baby nursery: is it safe?

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:58:17 -0800

Portable oil-filled radiator in a baby nursery: is it safe? There is a room in my home that is heated only by an oil-filled portable radiator, the kind that shuts off if it overheats or gets knocked over. It heats the room well. It is this room that would become the nursery should I have a child in the next few years (which is the plan). The home is rented, so installing another heat source is not an option.

Is it safe to heat a nursery with this kind of heater? Would you do it? It has multiple safety features, it keeps the room warm, it's away from the walls and furniture... But I can't help worrying that this isn't a good idea.

Am I being paranoid, or conscientious? Are these heaters reliably safe? Would you put one in a baby's room?

Anonymous because the baby plans are not common knowledge.

Explosive listening?

katje — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:23:19 -0800

Would spraying a stick-on (paper) CD label with artists' fixative make the disc unsafe to play? I've illustrated the label for a kind of wintry mix CD for a friend in mechanical pencil. In my experience, these don't get too terribly smudgy, but they aren't immune to fading and a bit of scuffing. Is it completely insane to spray the paper with artists' fixative (ethanol, hydrocarbon propellants, ethyl acetate), let dry, peel off the label, affix it to a burned CD, and expect said disc to not explode or burst into flames when played?

Help me prevent my house from hurting this child

reenum — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:58:03 -0800

I need to temporarily kid proof my house for a party tomorrow. Any suggestions on how I do this? I'm having a party tomorrow, and one couple was unable to find a sitter. So, they'll be bringing their two and a half year old son with them. I don't mind him coming. I love the kid.

But, I want to make sure my house is safe for the youngster. I'm single and have no kids, so drilling holes and installing baby gates and the like isn't something I want to do.

Are there any temporary measures I can take to make sure the boy doesn't hurt himself while running around my house tomorrow?

COPPA and non-US websites

lwb — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:55:48 -0800

Is a site based outside of the US, that allows US under-13s to join, required to comply with COPPA? To me, question 19. of the COPPA FAQ's seems to clearly state that it would be - "Foreign-based websites must comply with COPPA and the Rule if they are directed to children in the United States, or if they knowingly collect personal information from children in the U.S.". However, the co-owner of the (still in development, at this point) website, insists that US law cannot possibly apply to a website run from outside of the US. So, I am wondering if I am misinterpreting this quote.

If it makes a difference (because what I read of COPPA refers to operators that are "involved in commerce" in the UnitI'ed States), the site will be free to join but will also have a paid membership option for extra content.

I do intend to meet with a lawyer to check over things before we launch, but for a number of reasons this won't happen for a while, and it'd be very helpful to know the answer to this question before then.

I would also appreciate links to any resources explaining these matters. "Internet Law for Dummies", if you will.

bagel w c/c issue

rudy26 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:02:40 -0800

I'm thinking of putting cream cheese on bagels, wrapping them in plastic wrap and selling them. I expect to be sold out in 2-3 hours. Should I be concerned about the cream cheese going bad? Any other food safety issues?

Catfish Tikka Death

sully75 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:02:00 -0800

I may be my own personal typhoid Mary. Food safety questions inside. 1) If I make a big pot of soup, lately this is Mark Bittman's African Chicken Peanut soup (which is friggin awesome), sometimes I make about 1.5 gallons of soup in a big pot. So, when it's done, it's usually hot (duh) and it's at night. So rather than decant it into tupperware things, I leave it in the pot on the stove to cool. In the morning I pour it into tupperware and put it into the fridge.

So question: is it ok that it's sitting out at night, probably after it's cooled down, for a couple of hours? If that's not ok, what should I do differently?

And how long can I eat this tasty soup for? Last time I froze half. After I unfreeze it, how long would it still be good for?

2) I'm going to try to do a chicken-tikka-masala recipe but using catfish instead of the chicken. Again, I will be making several portions, maybe 3-4 meals worth. Can I store this in the fridge or freezer? What's my best practice for not poisoning myself or my friends?

Help! Electric kettle conundrum!

faeuboulanger — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:08:22 -0800

Is it ok/safe to heat non-water beverages (apple cider, namely) in my Krups electric kettle? I'd really like to both preserve the integrity of my tasty apple cider and my expensive electric kettle, but I'm going to need to heat moderate quantities in a location without a stovetop or microwave. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Did the seat belt fail?

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:57:18 -0800

Automobile accident: Did the seat belt fail? What should we do? My wife was recently involved in an automobile accident. She was driving our 07 Kia Spectra and rear-ended a large SUV on an exit ramp connecting two major highways(no intersection or traffic lights involved), traveling at about 45mph. The ramp has 2 lanes, and the collision occurred when she was switching from the left-hand lane to the right. She was ticketed by a state trooper for "unsafe lane change."

Her injuries are, thankfully, limited to some severe bruising across her abdomen and shoulder, and pain that she describes as muscle soreness. The other driver did not leave the scene in an ambulance, injuries were probably less severe than my wife's.

My actual question concerns the seat belt. After the collision, the seat belt was fully extended and hanging loosely, and the buckle had come undone. The seat belt did not retract after the accident, and appears to have not locked during. That doesn't seem normal. We have photos of the seat belt fully extended and hanging loosely, not retracting, but when we went to check out the car a couple of days ago, the buckle seemed to be functioning normally, so it would be difficult or impossible to prove it came undone. Of course, I can't put nearly the same force on it by yanking that a high-speed collision would cause.

Should we contact Kia? A lawyer? Or is that totally normal and we should let it go? We're really thankful that the injuries aren't any worse than they are, but we also think something should be done about that seat belt, if it indeed malfunctioned.

If it matters, location is north-east edge of DFW metroplex.

Thanks.

How do you open a childproof zipper?

TurkeyMustard — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:14:37 -0800

How do you open a childproof zipper on an Ikea children's mattress cover? We want to take off the cloth mattress cover on my son's Ikea mattress. It has a zipper on one end that appears to be childproof. See photos. But we'll be jiggered if we can figure out how to release it. I've tried pulling it with needle-nose pliers, I've tried twisting, prying, bending, pushing, bumping, jerking, snapping, wrenching, and doing the Mashed Potato. You can see the marks in the photo where my needle-nosed pliers have soiled it a bit. I've tried a paper clip. I've also googled this question to great frustration, with this story about a product from a different company sounding tantalizingly close but still insufficient to solving our problem.

Can you help? How do we release that zipper without simply destroying it?

Can you swap one apple power adapter attachment for another older one?

ndicecco — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:13:47 -0800

Is it safe to swap the power adapter attachment between an iBook G4 and an intel MacBook? Please bear with me, because I'm not sure of the proper terminology: my girlfriend has an intel-based MacBook (2 or 3 years old - from just after the switch to intel). She was unplugging her power cord and the casing came off the power adapter attachment... I'm referring specifically to the piece that can be swapped out for a longer cable (if this is still unclear, let me know).

I have a seemingly identical piece from my old iBook G4 - both say "2.5A 12.5V-" on the bottom. The piece fits perfectly, but is it safe to use? Will it void her applecare? She's going to call them tomorrow to see if they will replace the piece, but I don't see why they would. She still has the long cable, but she would prefer not to carry around the extra weight.

How best can I help a naive teen spend a week in Paris

tavegyl — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:57:32 -0800

My baby sister will spend a week in Paris alone and is travelling overseas for the first time. What practical arrangements can I make from a distance to help her have the best time she has ever had? My 17 year old sister and I were supposed to meet in Paris for her birthday in early November. She's flying from Pakistan, I was taking the train from London. Unfortunately it's looking increasing unlikely that my visa will arrive in time. This is the first time she'll be out of South Asia, let alone travel in a non-English-speaking country by herself. Given this, I am looking for suggestions on the following:

- Good, comfortable friendly B&Bs, centrally located in a safe area, where the owners and staff will take good care of a foreign teenager who doesn't speak French. I'm paying for the holiday as a present, but would prefer it to not bankrupt me (say under 80 euros a night, preferably much less). Ideally it would be a nice little place, very comfortable, with staff whom I can speak to and who will help her navigate the city, keep an eye on her, but not be pushy or enfolding.

- Any long distance arrangements I can make? Eg ensure there is a mobile phone SIM and a guidebook waiting for her? Week-long tickets to public transport?

- How can I ensure she has cash once she's there? I was planning to do all the spending, and her Pakistani card may not work overseas. Is there a way I can make sure there's money waiting for her once she arrives?

- Any tips for a kid in this situation? My own feeling is that a week alone in Paris as your first trip abroad should be a superb adventure. At the same time I don't want her to feel intimidated or nervous alone. Any suggestions on how I can make it easier - or indeed if I should help at all? Any off-the-beaten-track places and events?

- Finally, here's the big sister worrying. I've never been to Paris, and whilst I've been travelling alone since 16, I was the dorky gawky teen, not the one who gets modelling offers. My sister is naive, beautiful and completely lacking in street smarts. In Pakistan there are societal structures (eg chaperonage, class, honour etc) protecting her when she's alone. What sort of warnings should she have about being taken advantage of, sleazy men, mugging, etc?

Why isn't it illegal to stand on the bus?

Mwongozi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:34:57 -0800

Why (in the UK, or anywhere else where this applies) is it illegal to drive without wearing a seatbelt, but legal for bus passengers to sit, or even stand without one? At least in the UK, if a passenger in a car isn't wearing a seatbelt, the driver is breaking the law.

Last minute advice for solo trip to Paris?

cider — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:21:50 -0800

I'm heading off to Paris for four days, and I'm starting to get a bit nervous that I'll forget something important. I've never been to Paris, and I haven't been to Europe for fifteen years. I'll be staying by myself in a hotel in Arondissement 7. I'm wondering if you can help me out with any last-minute tips or things I'm likely to have forgotten. Here are the types of questions that I suddenly find myself asking:

Will I need an adapter of some sort in order to charge my camera or ipod?

Am I required to carry my passport with me, and if so, should I get some sort of money belt? (I believe my hotel room has a safe deposit box -- is it better to leave it there?)

I'm assuming that I can get Euros out of a bank machine with my regular (Bank of America) card. (That's what I did in Germany years ago.) Is this true?

Will I generally be safe walking around at night? I'm a woman who will be travelling by herself; are there areas I should avoid?

I hate not having access to internet in case I want to look up directions, print tickets, or other computer-based tasks. I have an iPod touch -- is there likely to be free wi-fi around? Are internet cafes common in Paris?

Is there anything else that I'm forgetting?

Thanks so much!

Help me deal with my mentally ill father, who I still need to talk to.

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:27:56 -0800

How should I go about handling my (very) mentally ill father who goes through (primarily) emotionally/psychologically abusive phases with anyone he holds a relationship with? Completely cutting off contact is probably not a solution for a few reasons. Sorry for a long post, but...

History: My father is mentally ill, diagnosed as having a number of issues. He does not properly take his medication, and I'm not even sure that he bothers taking it at all, any more. It shows. I have been out of my (now divorced) parents' household for many years, but he calls me frequently--once a week--and tries desperately to keep tabs on what I'm doing, where I'm going, etc. as he likes to try to gain control over people, so he can manipulate situations. It's a taxing relationship that would normally not be worth having, other than there are some issues at hand with cutting all ties. That's where I'm hoping to get some advice.

I thankfully haven't seen my father in about two years, but he's called me and known where I lived, which wasn't an easy place for him to travel to...intentionally. About a month ago, I began a big move, selling a bunch of my stuff with the idea of starting afresh and getting better stuff. I've graduated college, so it is a bit of a new life.

Before leaving where I was, I told my father that I was in the process of moving, but was going to drive around and find a place before settling down, which I have done; I said I'd have trouble getting in touch with him, as I'd be busy, which was/is true. I've only just gotten into a place over the past week. (Maybe it's worth noting that the place is much closer--several hours' drive--and more accessible to him now, which is a slight concern.) My father's been going crazy, though--no puns intended--as he only had my last landline number, so he hasn't been able to speak to me or keep up with what I'm doing. I emailed him a couple of weeks ago, but that wasn't enough, and now he's sending me emails saying I haven't gotten in touch with him for three months. That may be one of his occasional delusions, and I have no way of calculating whether he's reacting angrily or otherwise to it all. Overall, this isn't my problem.

My problem is that...well, really my problem is just that he's crazy, and I'm not (no more so than most!), and there's not really anything either of us can do about it, particularly if he's not going to take his medication and/or consistently go to therapy. When he calls me, he wants to act like he's never treated me badly. He wants to be all buddy-buddy, as if I've never had to keep him, a very large man, from chasing my mother; as if I've never had to call the cops on him; as if he's never verbally disowned me or threatened me to my face in one of his fits. Despite all this, I would still be more than happy to keep a distant relationship with him, where we send cards at holidays and we speak over the phone a couple of times a year. Being mentally ill, though, and pretty damn unapologetic, he can't seem to understand any of this, and he'd even somehow be offended if I tried (yet again) to get him to understand it.

Core Question: With all of this baggage and the issues that still exist, his latest email accusing me of not talking to him for three months (again, untrue) and the fact that he doesn't know where I am / doesn't have an easy means of contacting me leaves me wondering how I should handle it. I have options, but I'm just not sure which I should choose. Should I just cut ties? Should I tell him where I am? Should I give him my phone number? Should I see him again? Is it safe for me to? And on and on and on. I drive myself batty dealing with this.

"So, why are you still in touch with him at all? Why would you even consider it?" you might ask. There are three primary reasons:

1. This is the biggest reason, and it is a material one, but one I care deeply about, nonetheless. There is a lot of land somewhere that, as his only child, will go to me, unless he outright denies me from having it in his will. Some of that land is already in my name, but only a very small portion of it. I want it all, when he finally keels over from all his bad decisions, as morbid and vulturistic as that sounds. I grew up on that land some, and it means a lot to me. I am concerned that cutting contact with him would mean I would never see all of it again. On a lesser note, where he lives is where my parents lived for a long time; it is also the place my mother fled from, finally, a few years ago. A lot of my childhood keepsakes, that I desperately want, are locked up in that home with him.

2. He gets frantic and does some wild things that might affect my life. My father has been known to wiretap, hide recorders, hire private investigators, etc. He currently doesn't know where I am, but if he ever got into the frame of mind where he wanted to know, he could actually easily find out. He would even know if he looked on my Twitter account, but he's too lazy. He loves spending money, though, so if he decided he wanted to track me down, I'm sure he'd hire someone. Doing things like that seem to give him a feeling of importance. Clearly, for my own sanity, I don't want to be tracked down! It seems that minimal, but existing contact is the only way to eliminate this possibility.

3. One of the few ways my father has always tried to "apologize" to both my mother and myself is by spending money. He paid for my college tuition, and a very small part of me is a little bit afraid that if I piss him off, he'll try to come back some sort of way and get that money from me. He'd not have much on his side, as I've got emails from him which don't state I have to repay anything, but I don't want to go through the hassle or heartache of any of that. My father is "lawyer-and-sue happy," so this is a possible scenario, even if small.

So, yes, hopefully you see why I'm hesitant to completely cut ties. I feel like both material/financial and emotional things are at stake here.

Two final things:

Please note that "talk to a therapist" is not the answer I'm looking for, so I'd appreciate it if no one went that route. I have spoken to therapists and guidance counselors in the past, as recently as this year. They all recommend I distance myself from my father, if not completely cut ties. This is good advice, but it doesn't take into account some of the things I have at stake here, which counselors always seem to overlook for some reason. That being said, therapy to help me process all this crap probably is in order, and I'll see to that at some point, when I've got time and a steadier income.

The law is not on my side, really, other than in emergencies, so you shouldn't assume that it is. Restraining orders do little good, other than to rile up the mentally ill party, and it is incredibly difficult to institutionalize someone, even when they have emotionally and even physically abused people. Most of the time you can only get someone locked up for a few weeks; my father has been locked up for that amount of time in the past, only to be released, because of legal reasons concerning how long mental health patients can be kept under certain circumstances. I'm probably not looking for a way to deal with all this, law wise, but if you know of something I don't, I'd appreciate your sharing it.

I hope someone can help me figure out how to communicate with him, but still stay safe and get what I want in the end. Thanks, everyone.

How to reliably and safely move 50kg half a meter?

dmd — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:58:03 -0800

Every day I need to transfer a piece of equipment from a dolly to another piece of equipment. It weighs about 50 kg (~100 lbs). How can I do this safely and with minimal strain? The setup consists of a box (about half the size of a minifridge) which, when in use, contains an animal, so it must be treated extremely gently. The box is normally transported while sitting on its rolling dolly. The box needs to be removed from the dolly and placed on a support plate a few inches off the floor.

I purchased a shop lift to help me move it, but unfortunately it turns out the shop lift doesn't go down far enough. And I haven't found any available for purchase that do.

I would like to make, or (extremely preferably) purchase something that will help me move the box from the dolly to the plate with minimal effort on my part (I have a herniated disc, so lifting 50kg twice a day has been really bad for me).

Any suggestions? The main constraints here are that the transfer must be extremely gentle and safe - there can be absolutely no chance whatsoever that it would be dropped or tipped over.

Get in mah belly, belly

chalbe — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:58:03 -0800

Safe to eat raw refrozen meats that've been defrosted several times? I bought a slab of vacuum sealed raw pork belly and tried to turn this specimen into delicious BACON, but due to scheduling problems, etc. never got around to actually cooking it.

I'd defrost the meat in the fridge in the morning, only to find out later that night that I couldn't cook and 3 days later end up throwing it back into the freezer. The slab's gone through about 3 of these cycles of defrosting and refreezing.

Is it still safe to eat?

Dear Alderwoman, I did not enjoy my drive through a construction site in your ward. Plz advise.

limeonaire — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:38:37 -0800

Engineers, construction workers, and lawyers: How can I find out what the specific site safety requirements and statutes are for an under-construction commercial urban development site? Specifically, I'm looking to find out more about site-safety requirements in the city of St. Louis, Mo. I'm especially seeking information that might shed some light on what might be required in the way of erecting barriers, fences, and signs to keep the general public safely off roads and paths leading into construction sites.

Here's the specific circumstance that prompted this question:

Headed north on a local highway in the dark, amid a light drizzle, I took a city exit I'd never taken before. I soon I figured I'd best find a way to get back on the highway. I made a quick right at the first light I reached, then turned right again at the next light after that, hoping it might take me right back around to the highway on-ramp. (A look at Google Maps when I got home suggested that that's exactly what this road originally did.)

Unfortunately, the road quickly turned into an unlit, half-paved drive, surrounded by overgrown brush. The drive narrowed as I crested a small rise—only to find myself at the edge of a vast expanse of muddy gravel. The street, it seems, currently dead-ends in a vacant lot behind an under-construction Walgreens. The only way out, since this was a one-way street, appeared to be driving toward the already-constructed parking lot. So I drove slowly across the gravel, headed for the parking lot—only to find myself stuck in the mud right next to what turned out to be a new curb. After a series of fits and starts, I finally got my car unstuck—and came down with a big crunch on the other side of the curb.

Hyperventilating, I parked next to the building, where the light was better, and got out to check the car. Nothing creaked or popped or looked obviously broken, so after moving a traffic barrel blocking the new parking lot's only entrance/exit, I made my way back to the highway and drove home.

This morning, I moved my car and checked the pavement where I'd been parked, and saw several fresh oil spots. This car is only a couple years old and has never leaked anything in the time I've had it. So I took a flashlight and peered under the car, and it looked like the plastic cowling protecting the oil-filter area had come partially dislodged. I couldn't see anything else that looked obviously damaged, but clearly I'm going to need to take this in to the shop tomorrow so they can put it on the lift and repair the cowling and/or the oil-filter cap/gasket and/or anything else that might've been damaged.

Hence my initial query. I'm trying to figure out what recourse, if any, I have in terms of recovering damages in this situation (perhaps via small-claims court?)—and making sure it never happens to anyone else. I can't believe they don't have that street blocked off.

I plan to contact that ward's alderwoman first thing Monday. But I'd like to have something concrete to cite in my conversations with her and/or anyone else I have to deal with about this explaining what's wrong with the site, especially since the builder of this development is a very large company.

I found a few sections of the Missouri Revised Statutes that look as though they may apply: 319-035, 319-040, 319-041, 537.346, 537.348.

I also uncovered slides from a PowerPoint presentation on ANSI's A10.34 standard (Google's cached html version here), which, although only a voluntary-adoption measure, still provides some sense of what the baseline standards for construction-site public safety should be. The very first requirement listed? "Restricting public access to the jobsite – a site security plan." Along those lines, best practices listed include "100 percent fencing of the project site," "Use of easy to read signs," "Daily inspection of fences, locks and gates," "Daily inspection of traffic control devices," and "Night lighting or security service." The area of the site I ended up driving into had none of those things: no fences, no gates, no roadblocks, no signage, no lighting, no security.

So...are the statutes I uncovered relevant? Is this ANSI standard relevant? Does anyone know of anything more specific I should be reading about or anyone else I should be contacting at this point? Thanks for any help anyone can give me with this!

"poking" around for vaccination information

burhan — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:52:29 -0800

Where can I find non-biased information relating to the safety of vaccinations for children? Divorced. Sole custody and authority over children, but must consult/discuss with exwife on medical issues.

Recently, my 8 yr old was bit by a pet store hamster. In calling the community nurse I was told that she would need a tetanus shot - or rather that it was "Absolutely recommended".

I informed exwife of the situation. Exwife is adamant on no vaccinations ever, with the exception of this tetanus shot.

However, my 8 yr old is asking to be be brought up to date with all of her vaccines.

I have my children do research on things and present me pros/cons which we discuss over dinner. This works with the older kids, but my 8 yr old is too young to make a decision on this.

I have cited the problems with Wakefields immunization=autism paper/combo-vs-individual vaccination articles, articles from the WHO, the US CDC and Health Canada (we are in Canada) to exwife. I haven't gotten a response from her yet, but really need to be educated to the facts instead of the hype.

What I'm looking for is non-agenda based, objective information on the pros and cons of childhood vaccinations.

My bias is to immunize - the risks of not doing so are less than the risks of doing so, however, I want to enter into this decision with more than just a layman's knowledge gained from propaganda websites.

Does anyone have references to help?

I am just tired of googling and finding biased articles.

When should I get a new car... for safety reasons?

cheapskatebay — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:42:30 -0800

When should I get a new car... for safety reasons? To what extent should safety improvements be taken into consideration when deciding to buy a new car (or a used car with more modern safety features than one's current car)?

I'd like to take one of my comments from an earlier question - please see here - and pose it as a question for the hive mind.

I drive a 1998 manual transmission Toyota Corolla, which was paid off years ago. It's reliable, fuel-efficient, and has front airbags (not side-curtain, though) and anti-lock brakes. I drive a lot in the city and seldom on the highway. Only 75,000 miles so far, and I add perhaps 7,000 or so to that total per year. My seven- and five-year-old kids occasionally ride in the car (perhaps 1-2 times per week for each) but it is primarily an econobox for commuting. I make every effort to drive safely and conservatively.

How might (or did) the availability of electronic stability control, side curtain airbags and/or another safety feature affect your decision to buy (or not to buy) a new car? Houstonian had a good reply to my comment in the earlier thread about the importance of driving defensively... I'd assume that is every bit as important as having the latest safety features, but is that an accurate assumption? Are IIHS crash study results useful in this analysis?

For environmental and financial reasons, I'm biased toward driving the car into the ground. I'm concerned that I'm giving safety short shrift in my analysis, however.

Many thanks in advance.

Pimp My Bike!

Juliet Banana — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:11:38 -0800

I'm about to go on a bike accessory spending spree, and I wanted input on the most impenetrable locks, the most stylish helmets, and on everything from baskets to bells to headlights. I also would welcome any input on the best way to light a bike frame using electroluminescent wire. HELMET: After considering Nutcase Helmets and this hilarious derby hat helmet and wishing the Yakkay helmets were available in the US, I'm almost decided on the Bern Watts. I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something really cool in the thousands of helmets out there, though; have you ever seen a helmet that looks so cool you actually want to wear it?

LOCK: U-locks are still the gold standard, right? Does it matter if it's actually a Kryptonite?

HEADLIGHT AND TAILLIGHT: These are required by law and safety, but I still want them to look good, you know? Am I going to regret not getting some crazy expensive bulky high powered light when I'm squinting into the pitch or getting run over from behind? Chicago is pretty well-lit; do I really need a eye-scorching headlight if I never ride trails?

BASKETS, BELLS, HELL, MAYBE EVEN STREAMERS: These are just for fun, so if you've found anything particularly awesome or cute, hook it up.

EL WIRE: It seems like most people trot this out only for Burning Man, but I honestly would like to keep something like this wrapped around my frame 24/7 and turn it on for night rides. Does anyone have any ideas of how to keep an inverter attached, dry, and preferably unpilfered? I would need to be able to detach it to replace the batteries and in case it started pouring. The best idea I've had so far is to velcro the inverter underneath my hollow banana seat, but I'm not sure how to keep it safe from the spray from my un-fendered back wheel; maybe a velcro-attached piece of vinyl? Shrink-wrap?

THE BASIC BACKGROUND: The most important things to me are one, safety, and two, style. I want things that will help me not get killed and look really slick while doing it. I am not athletic and the most competitive event I'm going to take part in on my bike are Eat, Drink, and Ride Bikes pub crawls. If I cared about speed or mileage or whatever people like Matt Haughey worry about, I would not be riding a single speed knock-off Schwinn Stingray from the 1960s with a cruiser brake. I ride my bike to have fun and get from Point A to Point B.

Tornado + skyscraper - windows

soelo — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:26:47 -0800

Should I complain about not being told when our workplace is under a tornado warning? I work in a skyscraper in downtown Minneapolis. There was a tornado here today, and either the tornado itself or some high winds caused damage to a building about 4 blocks away. I'm not sure of the timing of the actual NWS issuing a warning, but I'm pretty annoyed that no siren ever went off inside of our building. Sirens went off outside but we can't hear them on the twelfth floor.

We got two emails today after the fact, one from the building manager (who does not work for my company) saying "feel free to use your own discretion for personal safety procedures" and that we should move to the center of the floor in case of severe weather. Her email ended by saying to let her know if we have any questions. Should I send her an email asking how they expect us to know there is severe weather when no siren went off? Or some less snarky version of that?

The second email was from our HR department saying they had met with the building engineer to discuss "communication concerns". Should I copy them if I email the building manager?

Sidenote: Someone went around our floor to clear it, but no one came into our room. I don't want to discourage them from doing that again, but how do I express my disappointment in us being missed?

Taming a treacherous staircase

Bardolph — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:25:36 -0800

Our new house has a steep steep staircase. What are some ways I can make this feature safer for my family, and especially for our soon-to-be-toddling baby? So the new house we purchased has what I'd call a very steep hardwood staircase-- steep enough to have caused several wobbly near-misses in the move-in period alone. I feel especially nervous climbing or descending when I'm carrying my four-month-old, since she's getting wriggly enough that I usually need to use both arms to hold her, leaving no way to hang onto the banister. It's less that the individual steps are high, than that they're shallow-- not enough room for the whole shoe to fit on each one, so you have to watch the balls of your feet for placement all the time.

I'm wondering what can be done about this, since we'll have to navigate this stair 10+ times/day for the next few years, eventually with a still heavier and wrigglier baby, and then with a toddler/small child who may not always follow our instructions to take the steps carefully, slowly and backwards. At a minimum, I'll be putting a large and cushy carpet over the tile floor currently at the bottom of the stairs. But other options I've considered so far are:

1. Do nothing, since maybe we'll get used to the stair mechanics after a few weeks of climbing them?

2. Carpet the whole thing, with lots of padding-- would probably make falls likelier due to slipperiness of carpet, but they might be less damaging when they occurred.

3. Skip the carpet, coat the treads in that sandpapery nonslip stuff-- would make falls less likely, but not less dangerous when they occurred.

4. Save up for some sort of big remodel-- perhaps changing to higher-but-wider steps? Or adding a right-angled section and a landing? I don't know how expensive, or how feasible this sort of thing might be.

I'd love to hear any additional suggestions, or advice on executing any of the options above (particularly #4). Thanks!

Make a sword safer?

grabbingsand — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:45:41 -0800

Stage Combat Question. Is it possible to take a bladed weapon and render it safe for use on-stage (without damaging the weapon itself)? I seem to recall from my days as a DragonCon volunteer that cosplayer's swords had to be taped* and/or bated (or else the sword had to be peace-tied so as to prevent its leaving a scabbard), but I can't find a description of the safety-making process. * - "Taped" might not be the right word at all, but it involved covering the edge in a way that left it wide and blunt, effectively.

Help me avoid the Darwin Awards shortlist

Beardman — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:36:58 -0800

How can one safely convince a teeming mass of bees to vacate a crack in the exterior wall of a brick building, so that the crack can be filled in? We finally figured out why there are so many bees on our deck lately. It seems that a colony has very recently taken up residence in a couple of cracks/holes in the brick wall near our deck. Obviously the crack needs to be filled in after the bees are flushed out, but that's as blithe as saying that the road needs to be paved after all the landmines have been disarmed. How DO I flush out the bees without getting stung a million times? (I'm not allergic, but still.)

Bonus problem: the cracks are easily accessible without a ladder, but only from a landing on the edge of a second-story drop. So a hit n' run maneuver wouldn't be smart, as the running part could easily turn into a plummeting part.