[AZ-Observing] Re: Cherry Rd -Friday Night


BillFerris@xxxxxxx wrote:

>And while we're on the subject of exagerated risks
>

Well, if you happen to be killed by a mountain lion then I guess we can 
attribute it to an exaggerated risk and no big deal. Would you go along 
with this? I for one will not risk my life by parading in mountain lion 
country without any protection simply because the chance of a mountain 
lion attacking me might be very small. It is that one chance that matters.

>"the  middle of nowhere" for a reason, I was surprised and relieved to read 
>there are  no documented instances of any person being killed by a rattlesnake 
>bite or a  scorpion sting in Grand Canyon. 
>

Really, no one should be scared of a scorpion sting, unless the person 
has an unusual reaction to the venom or they happen to run into the one 
poisonous one in Arizona, Centroides sculpteratus. It is easy to pick em 
up by the stinger, and then put them on your arm where they walk all 
over it. I was stung once while collecting at night with a professor. I 
simply squeezed out the venom and that was all there was to it. We would 
collect over a thousand in a night.

>Before reading "Over the Edge: Death 
>in Grand  Canyon," I was one of those guys who worried about snakes 
>

I have been in Arizona since about 1959. During that time I have seen 
one sidewinder while 'walking' through the desert. I know people seem to 
routinely run into them, but not me.
 

> 
>But getting back to astronomy, if there are any documented instances  of 
>people dieing while observing with their telescopes, I'd wager the majority  
>would 
>be the result of heart attacks. Most amateur astronomers are men aged 40+.  
>And far too many of us are overweight and out of shape. 
>

Naw, I would wager it would be because of the extreme excitement of 
seeing that neat galaxie or nebula, not being overweight. :-)
Stan

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