Oh there are some details left out that I desperately need to have clarified.

• Wouldn’t the cost have been the same (perhaps more) if the exact same calls were being made during the day?
• What exactly was the bug, and how would it have been resolved?
• Did she get “fired”?

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/wolf-spider-bite

Seems like it’s not even as bad as a bee sting. Spiders are really not very dangerous at all, generally speaking. They’re going to leave you alone unless you’re fucking with them.

So I’m like 13 years old, climbing a tree at a friend’s house. It’s a bit of a shimmy up the trunk, I’m well in the air, hugging the tree. I look down at my feet to make sure I have footing before lifting a hand above my head to reach for a branch.

As my head is going from looking down to looking up, just as I am grabbing the branch and hanging from it, I realize that my nose is almost touching a big old wolf spider mama, fully laden with all her children.

DROP

I never climbed that tree again.

I have one in the basement for my hot drink station.

If it was suicide, it was in order to avoid torture and murder.

I did a new thing just this weekend, wasn’t even on your list.

Leopards Throwing Out Of Windows Party

Not that I’m in full agreement with the parent comment, but genocide is something that happens to groups of people, not individuals.

Just don’t drop your Cleveland pierogis through a Chicago sunroof.

Your religion is a choice. If single-use plastics make it more convenient for you to practice your chosen religion, to the detriment of everyone, go fuck yourself.

You don’t get to make the whole world pay for your choice.

18 year-old … “adolescent”

Which is it?

Because LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX LINUX

Because the back yard is already full.

As long as there’s not a head-shaped mass inside the helmet when it bounces on the garage floor, the foam will be undamaged.

You’re right about the ear plugs, though. The only reason I know my current helmet is soundproof enough for me is because I have had several which were not.

I bought a pack of 12 neck gaiters from Goodwill for like three dollars. Soak in water, wear around neck, works a treat.

Mouseboy

Not today, FBI.

Thank you, and you’re more than welcome to do so.

You’ll hear people say “all the gear all the time” (ATGATT), but I feel like equating things like helmets and airbags with gloves and jackets and pants is misleading. I mention the earplugs because while they won’t do anything in a crash, you will fuck up your ears without them.

You’ll also hear people say (mainly about helmets), “Get the most expensive helmet you can afford. Is your head only worth $150?” This is also misleading. Look for ECE rated helmets. DOT-only rated is “ehhh.” Snell rating is out there, too, but helmets with those tend to be really expensive, and their ratings are comparable to ECE. (ECE is arguably a better standard, anyway.)

The most important thing about a helmet is fit. It should be snug, should pull your face around when you move it, without slipping. It should be comfortable for you to wear for long periods of time. Different manufacturers make different shell sizes and shapes for different helmets and their size designations. If you buy an expensive helmet that doesn’t fit you well, you won’t want to wear it. Retail price is not the way to decide what helmet to buy. Sure, you can spend $1000 on a Shoei helmet, and they’re good helmets, but you’re also paying for the branding, and you’re still going to need to replace it in three to five years.

Personally, I ride with an HJC modular helmet. Quite comfortable for me, HJC is a known brand (not some weird Amazon/China fake DOT sticker thing), and it was … wait for it … $150. I have a jacket and gloves, but I don’t wear them very often. If future me slides, he probably won’t die, but he’ll suffer immensely. I don’t like that guy anyway.

Okay, let’s talk about gear.

Helmets keep you alive. If you’re not wearing a helmet with a chin bar (full or modular), you don’t care about your face. On such a helmet, the face shield keeps shit out of your eyes and noise out of your ears. If your helmet does not mitigate wind noise very well, you should be wearing earplugs. Tinnitus is no joke. I like the ones with the little plastic filter in them, but even cheap disposable foam ones are better than nothing, and yes, you will still be able to hear traffic noises just fine.

You’ll want to replace your helmet every three to five years, because the foam inside degrades and loses its ability to absorb impact. If you accidentally drop your empty helmet on the ground, it’s fine; if the helmet hits the ground with your head in it, it’s time for a new one.

Airbag vests are great and offer protection from organ damage due to impact. You like your organs. I believe there are also helmets that have neck airbags in them to keep your head from snapping around and breaking your neck.

The rest of the gear is to reduce injury. You won’t die without it, but you will hurt. Maybe a lot.

Gloves, pants, jacket all prevent abrasions. Tall boots with proper stiffening also keep your ankles from getting broken. The armor pads are designed to protect the areas of your body that are most likely to skid against the ground: knuckles, palms, knees, butt, elbows, back. All of this gear doesn’t have to be replaced on any time schedule, or if you slide in it, but you can easily determine whether it’s damaged enough to need replacing. Armor pads are normally removable in jackets and pants.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.