Nicole MacDonald Author

Author Nicole MacDonald's website

  • Book Store
  • Gar’nysian Treats
    • Creating the BirthRight Trilogy
    • Characters from the Trilogy
    • Q’s & A’s
    • Map of Gar’Nyse
    • Valentine Snippet
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Double post! Darwin Awards and 500 followers competition re-hash

September 2, 2010 by Nicole 13 Comments

I can’t believe I forgot the Darwin award for last month!  What was I thinking?? Arggg.  Okay well here it is *giggle* It’s a goody!! And on a side note has anyone witnessed something along the lines of a Darwin Award – not resulting in death *grin* You know one of those ‘well gee that wasn’t such a bright idea’ moments?  Do share!
Absolutely Radiant
1994 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed true by Darwin
(10 December 1968, Russia) While reading about nuclear accidents, a physicist found this Darwin Award. Mayak is a nuclear fuel processing center in central Russia that was experimenting with plutonium purification techniques. The report states that they were using “an unfavorable geometry vessel in an improvised operation as a temporary vessel for storing plutonium organic solution.” In other words, they were pouring liquid plutonium into unsafe equipment.
Keep an eye on the shift supervisor.
“It was noticed that the solution was a combination of organic and aqueous solution [gunk in the tank.] Two operators [instructed by the shift supervisor] used an improvised setup to decant the dark brown [concentrated plutonium] organic solution. The shift supervisor then left to tend to other duties. During the second filling of the bottle, a mixture of aqueous and organic solution was drawn in. As a result, the operators stopped filling the bottle.”
One asked the shift supervisor for further instructions. He was told to continue decanting the solution. This operator “poured it into the 60 L vessel for a second time. After [most] of the solution had been poured out, the operator saw a flash of light, and felt a pulse of heat. Startled, the operator dropped the bottle, ran down the stairs, and from the room.”
The plutonium was too concentrated, and he had accidentally started a nuclear chain reaction! The alarms sounded, and everyone evacuated. So far, no fatal errors. But a second criticality happens while everyone is safely underground. Here’s where it gets good.
“The shift supervisor insisted that the radiation control supervisor permit him to enter the work area. The radiation control supervisor resisted, but finally accompanied the shift supervisor back into the building. As they approached the basement room where the accident had occurred, the radiation levels continued to rise. The radiation control supervisor prohibited the shift supervisor from proceeding. In spite of the prohibition, the shift supervisor deceived the radiation control supervisor and entered the room.”
So, with things more or less under control, the shift supervisor tricks the radiation control supervisor and goes into the room full of plutonium.
His “subsequent actions were not observed by anyone. However, there was evidence that he attempted to pour [the plutonium] into a floor drain. His actions caused a third excursion, larger than the first two, activating the alarm system in both buildings.”
The shift supervisor proceeded to set off an even bigger nuclear chain reaction!
“The shift supervisor, covered in plutonium organic solution, immediately returned to the underground tunnel. He died about one month after the accident,” having received four times the fatal dose of radiation. Everyone else survived.
Even if the shift supervisor had lived, he would still qualify for a Darwin Award. That much radiation causes sterility.
… and you thought the whole Homer Simpson in a Nuclear Power plant was a joke..
So now that we know not to play with nuclear substances kiddies here is the re-hash of 
The 500 followers competition!
I have a secret…. A BIG secret.  Only my close friends and partner know (so all of 5 people..) not even my family know.  I do have to acknowledge that for some people it might not be that exciting but for me it’s huge.  I can’t say much more because it’ll give it away and to help me progress towards my momentous goal I need to know that enough people are listening/observing.  Trust me 500 is just the beginning (kind of like my book *sigh*).  I’m looking for genuine followers and will gladly follow you back.  I don’t expect comments every time I post, I follow a lot of blogs myself and realize it isn’t possible but if you could swing your way past my blog say once a month I’d be totally chuffed (which is what I myself aim for).
The reward for being one of the first 500 is the chance to win an awesome prize pack I’m working on.  So far it includes a copy of the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents, Publishers & Editors (all shiny and new!! Weighs a bloody ton!), a T-shirt of my own fantastic design (there will be 3 designs to choose from and several colours), a pretty notebook and pen (if a boy wins I’m sure I can find a ‘manly’ notebook ;p) and I’m considering putting in a piece of jewelry made by moi!  It would designed with the winners input.  I actually used to make jewelry for a shop *grin*.  Here’s a pic of a necklace I keep at work, I call it my treasure chest piece ;p
So anyone who follows me is in the draw, those that pop my button on their blog and link it back (please do this, otherwise it’s just a pretty pic ;p) gets an extra chance.  Do remember to tell me if you do this!! 
All the first 500 will receive a badge like my first 100 badge – new design though of course! Made so much easier by my developing Photo Shop skills (okay I admit it, paint sucks and photo shop rules..).
signature

Filed Under: Pre 2016 posts Tagged With: 500 followers, darwin awards, Uncategorized

Once a month… The Darwin Awards!

June 30, 2010 by Nicole 7 Comments

Once a month I’m allowed to post a Darwin Award on my blog *grin* as long as I provide a link back to the website too.  So here is the link and a blurb as to what a Darwin Award is, for those not in the know.
www.DarwinAwards.com

And for those who missed my post on copyright, please understand that the Darwin Awards are under copyright and if you wish to use or reproduce any of the Darwin Awards please refer to the website first or risk the wrath of the Author!! Arrgghh and such..*giggle*
What are they?
The Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives: by eliminating themselves in an extraordinarily idiotic manner, thereby improving our species’ chance of long-term survival. In other words, they are cautionary tales about people who kill themselves in really stupid ways, and in doing so, significantly improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race.

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards represent examples of evolution in action by showing what happens to people who are unable to cope with the basic dangers of the modern world. These ironic tales of fatal misadventure illustrate some of life’s most important lessons.
The Darwin Awards can be considered a rusty chromosome award for those who douse the gene pool with chlorine.

Note: Killing others: The death of innocent bystanders absolutely rules out a Darwin Award. We don’t applaud those who take others out of the gene pool, even if they share some DNA in common. Injuring bystanders is also frowned upon.




Home Grown Chute
(25 May 2000, Philippines) We all enjoy learning from the past. Reflect back to November 24, 1971, aboard a Northwest Orient Airlines flight in Portland. A man who had purchased his ticket under the name of “Dan Cooper” demanded two hundred thousand dollars in cash and four parachutes. The plane made a landing in Seattle to accommodate his requests and disgorge the passengers. Once the plane was back in the air, Cooper asked how to lower the tail stairs, and then ordered the flight attendant out of the cabin. When the plane landed in Reno, the tail stairs were open and Cooper and the money were gone.
For all his cool demeanor, Cooper had the crosshairs of evolution on him when he decided to jump. There was a freezing rainstorm outside, and the wind chill from the plane’s velocity dropped the effective temperature to -60 degrees Fahrenheit. To seal his fate, he jumped with no food or survival gear into a heavily wooded forest in winter at night.
The peanuts provided on the plane were just not enough to sustain his life. It is assumed that the man the FBI called D. B. Cooper died in the mountains or hit the Columbia River and drowned. History, then, teaches us that one cannot jump out of an airplane and survive. You would think that a hijacker would know better, but…
We turn to Davao City in the Philippines this year. Augusto was a man with a mission. He boarded a Philippine Air flight to Manila, and donned a ski mask and swim goggles. Then he pulled out a gun and a grenade and announced that he was hijacking the plane. Apparently security is a bit lax at the Davao City airport.
He demanded that the plane return to Davao City, but the pilots convinced him that the aircraft was low on fuel, and they continued on toward Manila. Augusto, undaunted, robbed the passengers of about $25,000 and ordered the pilots to lower the plane to 6,500 feet.
When a lunatic with a gun orders you to descend, you descend. Meanwhile, Augusto strapped a homemade parachute onto his back, and forced the flight attendants to open the door and depressurize the plane.
He probably intended to jump, but the wind was so strong that he had trouble getting out of the plane. Finally one of the flight attendants helpfully pushed him out the door, just as he pulled the pin from the grenade. He threw the pin (oops!) into the cabin, and fell toward the earth carrying the business end of the grenade in his hand.
The impact of Augusto hitting the earth at terminal velocity had little effect on the earth’s orbit. All that remained aboveground were Augusto’s two hands.
So history repeats itself with a new twist.
1. Don’t throw yourself out of a perfectly good airplane.
2. If you feel compelled to violate Lesson 1, at least don’t roll your own… parachute, that is.
signature

Filed Under: Pre 2016 posts Tagged With: darwin awards, Uncategorized

Copyright © 2021 · Custom Design by BD Web Studio · Powered by Genesis

Copyright © 2021 · Author Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in