Sea Stories and Tall Tales of the Seas by Forum Members

Waiting for the Groucho/George Burns/Bob Hope time line.

 

Actually, we're omnivores. We might be better off if we were hard-core predators, because predators who live in groups have built-in aggression inhibitors and rituals to keep the peace among themselves. Being well-equipped with lethal weapons, they need non-lethal ways to sort out who's in charge.

Ever watched two dogs going at it until one rolls over, whines and shows his belly? Instead of ripping the loser open, the winner accepts the proffered vulnerability as an act of submission: the fact that he can kill him means he doesn't have to. Of course I'm talking about your normal mixed-breed mutts running loose in the neighborhood, not dogs that were born and bred to fight.

In the wild, once the order of dominance is established in a wolf pack there's usually peace; the alpha male doesn't willy-nilly kill the other males, or bully them unmercifully. Nor do packs normally go to war with each other.

Now, contrast that with the way chickens, who aren't predators, act. They have no submission signals or rituals, and when they establish a pecking order the low bird has a miserable life. It's usually missing feathers on its head, back and neck from being pecked by the other birds. And in a confined space where it can't escape, like a cage, pen or small yard, it's likely to wind up being slowly pecked to death.

 

Excellent lesson in social behaviors. Wolves are also monogamous and mate for life. Noble animal. Chickens aren't noble. They're also canibals if opportunity and carrion eaters. Nasty creatures. But delicious in hundreds of varied recipes.

 

thudpucker and Hoyt,
What's the name of that medicine makes you feel cold when it's 80 degrees?
Is it expensive? Imagine it's a prescription medication.
I ask, because I'd like to discover the ingredients in it. If the active ingredient is herbal, though refined and concentrated, I can see benefits as a 0 energy air conditioner. Sip a little herb tea, and the hottest day becomes delightfull. That is, providing it's not toxic or has dangerous side effects.

 

You probably don't want it. It's Coumadin -- a brand name for warfarin. Warfarin is the anticoagulant rat poison that makes rats bleed out and die. It's used to treat people with blood clots. I've been on it for over a year, because like Hoyt I had a massive clot in my left leg. But I think what triggered mine was going to sleep with the leg awkwardly tucked back under my computer chair for several hours, after a graveyard shift. It cut off the circulation.

DVT's (deep vein thrombosis) also seem more likely to strike people where they've been injured in the past. In my case I have a screw in my left ankle, from a motorcycle accident.

Warfarin is basically a natural substance, though. It was originally discovered in moldy silage from sweet clover during the 1920's, when cattle started bleeding to death after minor procedures like dehorning, or sometimes just started hemorrhaging spontaneously.

And by the way, it doesn't seem to make me susceptible to cold. At least, not noticeably more than what's natural for a desert rat to begin with....

 

thanks for the info. I'll pass. I was thinking if it was made from a common weed, similar to ****** from St Johns wort, it might be interesting and worthwhile investigating it. I have never been a drug abuser. The better life through chemicals is not for me.
I take 1 aspirin per day as prevention therapy, one oz daily of Sea Essentials colloidal minerals food supplement, 2 tums daily as a calcium supplement, and 1000 grains vitamin C. Other than that I don't self medicate.
On a hot day, a hot beverage like tea or coffee makes me feel cooler than a cold beverage. Chilli peppers make you feel cooler because you perspire from eating them. Was hoping for something innocuos like that.
Rat poison? Nah!

 

*****= v i a g r a, strange it got blanked!

 

My DVT was left leg as well. I slept for 12 hrs (from pills) on my left side.
That was in may and my leg swelling is down quite a bit, but dont seem to be improving any more.

A drug to lower body temp? You may have something to market if you figure that one out.

 

Aspirin is a true miracle drug. Reduces fever (lowers body temp), relaxes arteries thereby lowering blood pressure, and it's still the strongest pain killer you can buy without prescription. Emergency treatment for heart attack is aspirin and oxygen,
I was hoping for some herb tea that made you "feel" cooler. How it would do that, affect the mind or body, I don't know.

 

Troy,
Hows your ribs tonight?

 

In my case I had broken both bones above the left ankle 41 years ago, in a motorcycle accident also. I guess it was just waiting for the opportune moment, like being under g anesthesia too long. Doctor was late due to emergency with another patient.

 

Most toxins will lower body temp if taken in sufficient (lethal) dosage.

Any cold beverage will make you feel cooler if applied topically.

Troy, I hope the rib is feeling better. Aspirin helps there too.

I heard that aspirin even removes warts, but I'm still here.

 

What's the most addictive substance known to man? Terrible stuff. First time you inhale it, your addicted for life and withdrawal is always fatal,
Air

 

Interesting: since my heart surgery I have been on Plavix (Clopidogril) which does more or less the same I suspect by reducing platelets or some-such. I noticed I often felt chilled when I first took it, but I seemed to adapt.

I also started Prednisone recently which reportedly can be nasty - my sister-in-law is taking it and has problems. The side effects were mild in my case but one of them was feeling chilled, like the Plavix. Strangely, now we are into Winter the chill has gone, also the other side effects. I guess I got a damn good set of genes from my parents . . .

But the Prednisone has been incredibly beneficial for me; 3 months ago I thought my boating and boat-building days were gone, but I think I got a few more years left . . .

 

Don't mean to change the conversation, but I have a new sea story.

I was in Bonaire one time and saw some real bad asses.

There was this really cool looking (Sunnseeker styling) boat that pulled in to the fuel dock. It was not something you see every day. I noticed it was flagged and registered to some place in Venezuela. The guys on board were all rough looking. The kind of boat you didn't really want to go up to and say hi. This comes from me, the guy who anchors way out there outside the harbor and usually keeps a short barrel pump shotgun around when stranger approach my boat.

Anyway, these guys just didn't look right. They were taking on a lot of fuel and I happened to glance over again.. just in time to notice a second boat that was IDENTICAL to the first one pull up to the fuel dock in nearly every way.

The only difference was, this 2nd boat was registered in California, USA.

They shuffled cargo from the Venezuelan boat to the Californian boat and high tailed it off in different directions out of the harbor.