I went to sleep at 10 pm yesterday because I was frustrated myself (rather than sleeping at 2am +) So I know how you feel.

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I am a leaf on the wind. Watch me soar.

>as long as it didn't actually threaten my life or livelihood, it wasn't and still isn't importaint.

I'll go one step further... as long as it didn't kill me it isn't that important.

Ever been doused with Hydrofloric Acid? Nasty stuff...


Thrall of Dergati,
Heroiklim Zortal

>Life long scarring if you don't deal with it

Not visible scarring, Except for the slight limp... ;)

For those that don't know, HF basically eats the calcium out of your bones. Depending on the amount/time you are exposed it can cause cardiac arrest (calcium in the blood shuts the heart down) almost instantly. Treatment includes a 30 minute rinse, followed up by a minimum of 6 VERY painful caclium injections. Think old school 'rabie series' shots, then double it. I've had both, and the calcium shots are much worse.


Thrall of Dergati,
Heroiklim Zortal

>Wasn't worth the effort since I wasn't ever gonna be a dad.

I know this won't affect you, but this made me recall something.

My friend worked on a nuclear submarines 12-15 years ago (something like that... before it was required that they wear badges at any rate). He worked in the reactor room 10 hours a day for 3 years, minus the few days a year of mandatory shore leave. A new policy (whatever the navy calls it) was passed that the reactor and surrounding area had to be tested for radiation levels periodically. The levels were so high the 4 crewmen that worked in the reactor room, my friend included, were immediately transfered off ship and put under medical observation for over 6 months. He was told he was sterile... you know military medical efficiency; whatever else you want to say about the military, they tested him 3 times ("One thing I learned from the experience," he would say. "Nothing is impossible after having to give a [censored] sample with another dude watching."). He had a kid just over a year ago, a perfectly healthy gorgeous little girl.

Moral of the story - heck if I know, I just like the story. It's even more entertaining when he tells it, including the vulgarities that would give me a warning here. The phrase, 'cursing like a sailor' is no exaggeration where he's concerned.

Thrall of Dergati,
Heroiklim Zortal

>Moral of the story - heck if I know, I just like the story.

<chuckle> Yeah, like the guy who was one of the leads on the Manhattan Project, lit a cigarette off the first aboveground test, chain smoked, picked up thousands of lifetime REMs ... and lived well into his 80's and finally died from something like getting hit by a truck. Go figure. Radiation is weird stuff. Some people fly cross country once and get lymphoma, others, like the guy I mention above, do everything imaginable to mess up their DNA and die of old age, basically.

>Yes it is nasty (scariest buyable chemical in a lab IMHO).

I think the worst chem accident I ever heard of was a woman who got hit with a whole bucket of benzine while pregnant. That was, uh, gruesome, to say the least. <shudder>

Generally, its the stuff like perchloric acid, pure sodium, um, generally the stuff we loved playing with in chem class. The point of chemestry is to blow things up, right? Although the organics, I think, can be far worse than the inorganics. Hex-nitro-toluene anyone?