RE: Shocking Event

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Garry Freemyer by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <garry-at-ndfc-dot-com>

Everyone starts off as a beginner.

I cringe a little when I see someone anyone say or imply 'Leave the public
displays to the professionals like us', not because I think they are wrong.
I think they are right. It is always best that all those publicly operating
a tesla coil be experienced.

What makes me cringe, is that I realize, they got their experience
somewhere. Nobody is born with the knowledge and I note that a lot of bad
accidents happen to those who have reached such confidence that they view
themselves as the only qualified person(s) to run one publicly. I've seen it
happen many times. I worry. What happens when the current professionals
retire? Will there then be nobody qualified to replace them?

Some observations I want to make ...

Accidents happen to anyone, who isn't paying attention no matter how much
they know. A little inattention, negates all your experience.

Sometimes trying too hard to avoid an accident causes it to happen. The
effort can be a distraction in itself. Imagine a person so intent on not
hitting his thumb with the hammer that he hits it.

When I'm not paying attention, I do not know it. The very act of not paying
attention, renders the person incapable of noticing it. It's kind of like
trying to be unconscious and knowing it at the same time. ;-)

Never trust yourself as far as you can toss a fully loaded and operating
washing machine.

Don't be confident. I've avoided a lot of accidents in traffic by expecting
something to go wrong. It helps me pay attention.

Look three times at least. I tend to see what I'm expecting instead of what
is there. It's the reason a lot of folks don't see motorcycles because they
are not expecting it. The mind tends to filter out the unusual sometimes.

Don't feel ashamed if you get shocked off a Tesla coil. We make mistakes, no
matter how hard we try, and sometimes the more we try not to. Be glad you
survived the lesson.

This reminds me of bedsprings in mattresses. Ever sat on a bed while someone
was operating a TC only to discover that the coils were charged? YOWWWW!!!
;-)

Just my .0023234242234 cents worth. Oops!, sorry, I have one of those old
pentiums.