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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 09/06/2009 : 11:48:11
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Let the naked beach apes return to the water. Indeed, insist on it! Some of them are Republicans and many of them are ugly, and all of them pee in the pool.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2009 : 13:13:56 [Permalink]
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While surfing, I once saw a couple of decent sized blue sharks go by one morning. Seeing them is a good thing. I didn't get out of the water. I just waited and watched to see if they were going to turn in toward us. They didn't.
Now a great white is another thing. Very likely, you will not see them before they strike. They tend to cruse as low in the water as they can and attack moving up to their target. So unless you know they are around there isn't much you can do about them. Best not to think it because the truth is, shark attacks on surfers is a rare occurrence. And it's usually due to mistaken identity. A wet suit can make a surfer look a lot like a sea lion, the preferred meal of the great white's that are on our coast. I have heard stories and seen pictures of the resulting damage of great whites taking a big morsel out of a surfboard and then moving on. Often they will get a piece of leg too, or worse.
I don't know how much of this is a myth, but I always felt safest in the water when there were dolphin around. I suspect now that the dolphins were no guarantee of our safety from shark attack.
The two blue sharks I mentioned were caught off the Malibu Pier. They were probably lured there by bait and chum in the water.
For what it's worth, jellyfish were always more of a hazard for us. They would break up in the surf, and even small pieces of their tentacles could leave a pretty nasty and painful welt. I have also paddled my hand right down into the hood of one. That's one creepy feeling I can't really describe. Lucky for me there is no danger on the hood side of the jelly. And then there are those stinking sea urchins. Great in a Japanese restaurant but no fun at all to step on... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
 Posted - 09/06/2009 : 14:24:12 [Permalink]
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When I was a truly innocent little tyke, growing up in Hawaii and sometimes visiting the far side of Oahu, running and playing on the beach with an equally little tyke girlfriend, we'd sometimes find a bunch of beautiful blue Portuguese "Men of War" washed up on the beach. Our watchful parents told us to be careful and not to step on the tentacles. We'd poke at these dead jellies with sticks. We'd playfully jump over them and didn't swim if they were around. (They're actually very dangerous.)
Dolphins are cool when they had fun with us by swimming with their back fins out of the water in classic Hollywood fashion as if sharks, though they couldn't eventually help breaking into an undulating swim, moving up and down on the surface which the sharks didn't do. We'd sometimes see rays too. On Maui, a bit older and now in bathing suits - I'll always remember how clear the warm water was (across from Molokai). Snorkeling there was a blast.
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Diversity, independence, innovation and imagination are progressive concepts ultimately alien to the conservative mind.
"TAX AND SPEND" IS GOOD! (TAX: Wealthy corporations who won't go poor even after taxes. SPEND: On public works programs, education, the environment, improvements.) |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2009 : 15:04:50 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Chippewa
When I was a truly innocent little tyke, growing up in Hawaii and sometimes visiting the far side of Oahu, running and playing on the beach with an equally little tyke girlfriend, we'd sometimes find a bunch of beautiful blue Portuguese "Men of War" washed up on the beach. Our watchful parents told us to be careful and not to step on the tentacles. We'd poke at these dead jellies with sticks. We'd playfully jump over them and didn't swim if they were around. (They're actually very dangerous.)
Dolphins are cool when they had fun with us by swimming with their back fins out of the water in classic Hollywood fashion as if sharks, though they couldn't eventually help breaking into an undulating swim, moving up and down on the surface which the sharks didn't do. We'd sometimes see rays too. On Maui, a bit older and now in bathing suits - I'll always remember how clear the warm water was (across from Molokai). Snorkeling there was a blast.
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A Portuguese man 'o wan is a fascinating colony animal and quite beautiful
When I was a tyke in FL and they washed up, and the adults weren't looking, we'd have fights with them. The fights didn't last long, and we'd get hollered at for it. Even dead and dried out, some of their nematocysts still worked.
During my diving career, I was a lot more cautious of urchins and jellies than mere sharks. These have caused many more injuries, all painful and some lethal.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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The Rat
SFN Regular
Canada
1370 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2009 : 19:23:29 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by filthy
During my diving career, I was a lot more cautious of urchins and jellies than mere sharks. These have caused many more injuries, all painful and some lethal. |
Back in '89 I was snorkeling in very shallow water off the north shore of Jamaica one morning and saw a Cubomedusan swimming just ahead of me. Realising the possible danger I manoeuvered myself close enough to get a picture. Just after pressing the shutter and taking my eye away from the viewfinder I saw another appearing in my field of vision from the region of my left ear and realised that it had probably come extremely close to my shoulder on the way. Glad I was wearing a t-shirt, which I usually do to protect against sunburn while floating around at the surface. I heard that they were usually an early morning phenomena so I left the water and went for breakfast. Didn't go back in the water for quite a few hours. |
Bailey's second law; There is no relationship between the three virtues of intelligence, education, and wisdom.
You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church? - The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder II
Baculum's page: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3947338590 |
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Yay sharks!
