Re: Science

1

What is wrapped around his penis? Saran wrap? Electric toothbrush exterior?


Posted by: Yeho | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 12:07 PM
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Also, note the physical courage--rightly praised as "manly" by the Derb, and in such short supply these days--required by science.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 12:08 PM
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3

Looked like aluminum foil to me.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 12:22 PM
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4

Once again, I can't see the video but the comments are great.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 12:24 PM
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5

It's always the penis with you fellows! Why always the penis?


Posted by: add | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 12:52 PM
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6

Airing this footage will only encourage copycats. Say you're sorry.


Posted by: Zane | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 12:53 PM
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7

That's got to be fake. No grown man is that stupid. There's no possible good that could have come from that stunt, and a lot of quite obvious possible harm.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 1:18 PM
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8

Why always the penis?

Because of playing with the dog's as a teenager.


Posted by: Gonerill | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 1:41 PM
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9

Perhaps this scientist misunderstood the intent of Lou Christie's "Lightning Striking Again."


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:04 PM
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7: Come now. I can think of a lot of good that came from that stunt; namely no matter how drunk I am, I will now not be tempted to wrap my penis in tin foil and videotape myself sticking it in an electrical outlet, as I will not get the fame that comes with being the first to do so. Many other men must feel the same way, and the good of the many outweighs the good of the one.


Posted by: Jake | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:05 PM
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11

The spirit if inquiry is worth nothing without the ability to form rational hypotheses.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:07 PM
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12

In the spirit of inquiry, Mineshaft, here's a science question for you (I'll even entertain responses from women):

Need to move. Seriously considering an apartment that's half of a very old two-family, which, never having been deleaded, almost certainly contains lead paint/dust. The Landers Family Baby is obviously at a vulnerable age (probably about 10 months by our move date). But the apartment seems to be in reasonably good repair, and the top several coats of paint are latex. (There was some peeling paint when we viewed the apartment, that is supposed to be repainted by move-in.)

How significant of a hazard is this? Most of the people I've spoken with seem to think it's no big deal at all -- believing that as long as you don't have peeling paint and you dust with reasonable frequency, it's not a material risk. On the basis of such advice, two days ago I thought I was completely okay with the idea. But now I'm reading scary things on the internet, and having second thoughts. Obviously I don't want to put the baby at risk.

We've had quite a lot of trouble finding an apartment that meets our needs (even other than the lead issue, this one's not perfect), so it's not as if I'm considering assuming this risk lightly.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:17 PM
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Brock, I went through this, beginning when ours were about the same age as yours is now. Basically, if the most recent (presumably lead-free) paint job is intact, the only spots you really have to worry about are window wells and anyplace else where painted surfaces rub against each other, such as the sides of cabinet doors. If you keep the place clean, which would entail vacuuming and dusting with what most people would consider unreasonable frequency, you should have nothing to worry about. And if you're really concerned, you should be able to get someone to do a full risk assessment for a couple hundred bucks.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:38 PM
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believing that as long as you don't have peeling paint and you dust with reasonable frequency, it's not a material risk. I'd change "dust" to "vacuum with a machine with a well-filtered outlet" and tend to agree.

However, there are other things to watch for, like chips from over-painted window sills and frames, door hinges, and gouges on the wall where the kid banged toys, etc. IMX human babies are almost as good as dogs at discovering the universe through the way it tastes.


Posted by: Biohazard | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:40 PM
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vacuuming and dusting with what most people would consider unreasonable frequency

See, that's the thing. Does that mean that if we don't and probably won't do that, it's a bad idea to rent the place?


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:42 PM
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16

The left two other videos on that link are both worth watching as well. That's one creepy ass looking baby. I can't tell whether there's some digital editing going on there.

Brock: Sorry I don't have much. Two thoughts though.

1) I thought there were actually regulations about renting places with lead paint to people with kids. Do they have to do some sort of air quality test?

2) That said, your initial instinct matches my own. If it's painted over and you don't open and close the windows a lot in the kids room (which creates scraped off paint/dust) I thought it was considered okay.

Letting the little guy gnaw on the window sil is frowned upon as well I think.


Posted by: orangatan | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:42 PM
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Yeah, I should have mentioned that your vacuum should have a HEPA filter, otherwise you'll just blow the finest dust all over the place.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:43 PM
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15: It depends on how many windows you have and how frequently you open and close them. When we had a risk assessment done, the highest levels of lead dust by far were in the window wells, which presents an obvious risk because that's the stuff that'll get blown inside. Otherwise, in the absence of any other source of contamination inside, you should be fine with an occasional thorough cleaning.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 2:50 PM
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16.1: there are actually regulations, yes; MA has particularly stringent ones. The law basically requires anyone who owns a rental unit in which a child under the age of 6 will be living to have the unit deleaded (at a typical cost of about $10k). The law also helpfully requires that landlords cannot discriminate against tenants with small children, or refuse to rent to them. If someone with kids wants to rent the apartment, you simply have to have the unit deleaded.

Of course, as you can probably imagine, regulations that are so very heavyhanded just mostly end up unenforced.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 3:00 PM
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Ah, I'm from Boston originally, so that must have been what I was thinking of.

Massachusetts often gives "regulation" a bad name unfortunately, as shown in this case.


Posted by: orangatan | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 3:05 PM
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21

9: Have you heard the Klaus Nomi version? Delightful.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 3:07 PM
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22

"The left two other videos on that link are both worth watching as well."

Which ones -- Shotgun vs. Nuts? Or the guy who lights his friend's bare ass on fire?


Posted by: A. Chandler Moisen | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 3:57 PM
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7: A relevant treatise.


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 4:18 PM
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24

"the spirit of inquiry burns"
I'll say.

Brock- same situation. The older kid hasn't had any abnormal lead levels, so we haven't had a problem.
Your actions are different if you're renting or buying, I didn't get which you're doing. If you're buying, you actually don't want a professional lead test, just do it yourself with little test strips from a hardware store. Almost every property is officially "unknown lead status" but anything from before the 70s probably has lead. If you get a test, however, there's a record and you have to say "officially full of leady goodness."
Our place had the windows replaced, so the parts that slide don't produce any dust- that's something that is important and is the greatest source of dust.
Supposedly lead can leach through upper levels of some types of paint. We coated all windowsills and high traffic areas with this and slap on another coat any time there's a chip. The lead paint in our place is conveniently a pale yellow, so it's pretty easy to tell when it's been exposed.
Deleading doesn't actually mean removing all the lead- they can enclose or encapsulate it, and they only have to do it up to a certain height- I've heard of people who spent the $10k only to have it become releaded if something happened to the work. I'm also suspicious that having the work done stirs up more dust than just painting over it.
If you have a yard I'd also check the soil- there are labs you can send samples to for testing for ~$5 each.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:16 PM
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FWIW, Brock, we lived in an old house that probably had lead paint under the newer coats when PK was a baby. *And* we opened and closed the windows. And he isn't dead. We did have a HEPA vacuum, though.

On our second house, we repainted, which involved stripping a lot of old paint, esp. on the woodwork, down to the wood. Mr. B. just put up plastic sheeting to contain the dust and used the HEPA vacuum in between work hours.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:43 PM
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Of course, he also wasn't one of those babies that puts everything in his mouth, and we didn't have carpets (which I suppose would do a better job trapping lead dust than hardwood).


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:45 PM
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27

I don't think death is the concern, B.

It does sound like we should get a HEPA vacuum if we move there, though.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:46 PM
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28

I don't think there's been anything, ever, that's gotten within our kid's wingspan that hasn't ended up in his mouth.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:47 PM
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29

27: I know, I'm exaggerating a bit. I assume that "he's not dead" is recognized to mean "he seems fine to me." But if you have a mouthy kid, then that's a little more of an issue, yeah.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:55 PM
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30

If you've got a mouthy kid, just give 'im the back of your hand.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 6:58 PM
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31

I thought I was a liberal until a couple with a one year old baby wanted to rent our apartment...........


Posted by: Herr Torquewrench | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 7:07 PM
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32

Speaking of kids and landlords, a friend of me just showed me this, apparently from this site. Ferrell is great.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 7:07 PM
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33

LisaNova does 300! is pretty good too.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 7:13 PM
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34

31- and then you discovered you were... what exactly?


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 7:16 PM
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27: It looks like "HEPA" is the new buzzword in vacs. I'll suggest a check of CU's ratings.


Posted by: Biohazard | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 8:51 PM
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I would've weighed in with a hearty "he'll be fine" until I read the mouthy thing. That's worse. That said:

Chips are a total red herring. They pass through the system undigested, and comparitively quickly.

Dust is the concern - whether inhaled or ingested, it's fine enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

That said, the amount of dust raised/created by window operation is, truthfully, minimal. I wouldn't even sweat the vaccuming - just wet-wipe down the relevant areas every couple weeks, and you won't develop enough concentration to represent a threat.

Even with a mouthy kid, exactly how much time will he spend licking his fingers, running them along the outer edge of the window sill, and licking again? If some tiny amount of dust is created by window operation, falls to the base of the window, and then is blown across a 150 sq. ft. room, what the heck is he going to consume of consequence?

The bottom line is that entombment - the fresh paint - eliminates 90%+ of the problem. The remainder may simply not be that much. I would move in without fear, but have lead testing done immediately before and 6 months after the move. If the numbers are bad, then you'll have to suck it up and relocate. But you probably won't. For comparison, I was scraping the outside of a lead-y house during my daughter's first 6 months, plus there are plenty of painted windows that are lead-presumptive, and her lead levels have always been fine (and we did check regularly). Don't let the internet scare you.

Also, don't sue me.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 10:18 PM
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37

7: Brock: you'd thinks so, but after seeing this , you won't be so quick to assume.


Posted by: soubzriquet | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 10:25 PM
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38

Hmm. That link didn't work. Try this one


Posted by: soubzriquet | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 10:30 PM
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39

Okay, I really wish I hadn't watched 38. I'm going to have that image burned in my head for some time.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 10:44 PM
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39: sorry 'bout that Brock. You have to admit, it puts the posted video in context, though.


Posted by: soubzriquet | Link to this comment | 04-22-07 10:47 PM
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