RE: Believe it or not!

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: RE: Believe it or not!
From: "Mad Mike" <mglass-at-netusa1-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)
Date: Sun, 07 Nov 1999 08:47:54 -0700
Approved: twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net
Delivered-To: fixup-tesla-at-pupman-dot-com-at-fixme

All
Well I got my question answered in spades today. I got a letter from the
eBay auction today and it seems they canceled an Item I had the high bid on
which was nothing more than a small  radioactive uranium ore mineral sample.
I needed it as a test source for a few Geiger counters I recently purchased
for use in Tesla coil powered X-ray tube experiments I was planning. I
checked their site and found they had pulled all the ads for similar items
from different sellers not just one. I suppose they are worried about
possible lawsuits unless sale of radioactive mineral specimens is now
illegal. I know they want my guns, They're taxing tobacco out of existence,
I suppose my rock collection is next. In a country where bugs, animals and
trees sometimes have more rights than people I suppose I shouldn't be
surprised. Well, back to my lab/shop (while I still have it)
-----Original Message-----

 -- Bert -- >>
>>He is not a public accident yet...  I would hardly call him irresponsible.
We should all try to be as responsible and careful as we can be.  However,
there are always those that will not follow as safe practice as we may
like.  There is little we or the politicians can do about that...  It is
rather sad that the three people who have been killed in Tesla coil related
accidents, passed with hardly a note in the public eye.<<

All,

I posted on this subject back when the child became entangled in the coil
wiring. As a certifiable gun nut I have picked up on the notion that a
strong
spirit of libertarianism (that's a small L) must also run with those of us
who like to play with HV electricity, utility pole transformers and
high-energy capacitors.

I have been active in the Second Amendment fight against the Safety Nazi's
and the
forces of the nanny state for over twenty years. From a few of the postings
on this subject, I get the feeling that too many coilers do not realize the
danger we are in.
And the danger need not lie in our own doings. The holy moley throwing
ligtning bolts to his god could be shutdown with one "expose" on 20/20. The
spill-over could
easily take our toys away.Snake worshipers are now regularly shutdown by the
state police. The survivors of an accident victim can very well bring suit
against the person who sold "the lethal equipment" to the "innocent and
unsuspecting victim" who is now very dead. Arguments about freedom of
choice,
responsibility, statistical safety records, and efforts towards reasonable
compromise are worthless against these people. They have their own agenda.
Laws can be passed banning the transfer of such products as NST's, OBITS and
even magnet wire in quantities large enuff for coil winding. The Tesla hobby
is gone if city or county law requires that all electrical equipment more
dangerous than vinyl tape be sold only to licensed electricians producing a
county or city-issued building or repair permit. Has anyone tried lately to
buy supplies for their home chemistry lab?

The point about copy-cat kids trying to duplicate Tesla experiments is very
well
made. Experienced coilers should be very firm and directly responsive to all
postings by obviously unsophisticated teenagers and even older newbies who
seem headed for trouble.

Without a Tesla Coil Amendment and a National Tesla Association, one stupid
accident is all it would take. In this climate of nanny state empire
building
and the safety gestapo, self-policing may be our only recourse; paranoia is
not all that bad.

Cheers regardless,
Ralph Zekelman