Brush with death...

[adz]

@jkirk

Thank you very much for the link, proving most usful in trying to determine exactly what happened.

[Karlos]

*ducks*

[X-ray]

Hehe, I think that should be Adz's new avatar, since he was almost turned into a macro Adz by the finger of Zeus  :-P

[X-ray]

...or is it Thor?

[X-ray]

Speaking of brown undies and a brush with death, here is a good one:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eZPOfwVhokI

[adz]

@Karlos

:roflmao:

Will resize it and set myself a new avatar soon :lol:

[adz]

There you go guys, what could have been my last photo:



And the link in case PBase decides to poo itself again:

Clickety-click

[Oliver]

Hi Adz,

I studied lightning as part of the electrical safety component of my engineering degree.  As mentioned before, lightning has a current distribution.  From what you described, it sounds like you received peripheral current through your body.  It seems that you were 'struck by lightning', but didn't get the worst of it.  Also, when lightning strikes the earth, the charge has to spread through the ground, often resulting in ground currents over an area wider than the conduction path through the air (depends on local conductivity of the ground).

The peak current can cause severe burns, and heart failure.  From what you described of your chest sensations, I'm guessing you experienced some muscular seizure in your heart.  The current could well have temporarily disrupted the electrical activity in your brain as well.

Sorry to hear about all this, and hope all is well for you.

Oli

[Karlos]

At the risk of being entirely tactless and tasteless...

[Vincent]

@adz

Gorgeous, atmospheric photo that.

@Karlos
:lol:

[X-ray]

I've been thinking about these brushes with death and my conclusion may surprise many of you.
I believe these brushes with death are a good thing (provided no permanent injury is sustained). I have had a few of these and I can only tell you that it makes you appreciate life and makes you feel alive after you realise your chips were almost cashed in. I thought I would list my memorable encounters:

1) Almost drowned in rough seas in Port Alfred. I was swimming alone late one afternoon and got caught by an undercurrent. It was like being in a washing machine. I just couldn't surface. Only by going further down and crawling along the sand could I escape the undertow. By the time I surfaced I was breathing in water. That's my closest brush with death. If I hadn't gone down, there would have been no X-ray today. That was when I was 16.

2) I failed to see a black mamba snake while peering into a bush in Tzaneen. I thought it was a plastic bag rustling in the wind. When I finally resolved the source of the noise (like when you finally 'see' the shape in those random stereodot images) I realised that the fukka was not more than 15cm away from my face and he was tasting the air, his eyes fixed on me. My heart skipped a beat while I made myself scarce. That was when I was 14 or 15.

3) Lightning hit my car (as mentioned above). In my 20s.

4) Several incidents involving armed individuals.

[Turambar]

X-ray wrote:

If I hadn't gone down, there would have been no X-ray today.

Don't you just love quoting out of context?

[X-ray]

Well, I learned from that day onwards that going down can save you a whole lot of trouble  :-P

[adz]

@Oliver

It was one freaky experience I tell you, damned eerie thinking back. I'm so very glad I'm here to tell you all about it, certainly gives you a new outlook on life, not that this is the first time I've cheated death.


@Karlos

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:


@Vincent

Thank you very much, I'm planning on getting this one enlarged and framed, will make boring the grandkids even easier :lol:


@X-ray

You are spot on mate, life for me, couldn't be better.

[X-ray]

@ Adz

I must say, now that I think back on it, when I was 12 I took a nice jolt off some Christmas tree lights I was testing (the quick way, by leaving them switched on  ;-) )

I didn't like being made to fall over, but once I got up and realised I was okay I felt pretty good the rest of the day.
I wonder if that is the mechanism for 'shock therapy?'

[Karlos]

X-ray wrote:

I didn't like being made to fall over, but once I got up and realised I was okay I felt pretty good the rest of the day.
I wonder if that is the mechanism for 'shock therapy?'

Or even 'sock therapy', if you happen to live in Chiswick?