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Life after detonation

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XeonTheMGPony - 4-12-2016 at 07:35

Quote: Originally posted by PHILOU Zrealone

Quote: Originally posted by XeonTheMGPony

Interesting story as I had to make more HMTD for my caps, here for some reason drying any thing is a tedious proposition at best and was tempted to vacuum filter it on my fritted funnel.

But When I did the risk analysis first thing on the list was just that! getting it off the frit was just way to high risk a venture, and too much containment in the funnel made it more like a grenade then a filter method. So scratched the idea and here it is 3 days later still drying on the open coffe filter!

Going to be making a temperature gradiated vacuum desiccator for these things to make it berable

Worst case scenario must always be kept in mind...

Glass shrapnells cut and pierce flesh...hard plastic too...just like metal or wood...in close viccinity

So better think to safer soft plastic beakers...in the case of a bad event...consequences will be less.

With peroxydes, the worst is always to be feared so tiny quantities is a must...
Special care to this since with the cheap price of inital ingredients, one often puts 50-100ml easily into reaction and gets finally 50-200g of final product...what is totally irresponsible (I speak from experience with CTAP although I had no bad event, I was uncomfortable with the amount of crystals it produced)...

[Edited on 16-11-2016 by PHILOU Zrealone]

Growing up in a remote logging camp you learn fast that if you do not think you die (Same for panic, you panic you die, every one should say this to them selfs morning and night, you can panic after wards but befor it will be the end of you), I find my self even running risk analysis when just making coffee, it truly is a mind set of thinking.

If I do this, how can it go wrong, and when it does what injuries could I receive, can it cause fire or vapor, so on.

It has saved me allot of times int he energetic's end of it, you get impatient and want to rush some thing then that little subroutine slams the breaks on and waves that Darwin award in front of you screaming "NOMINATED!"

Then you step back and realize had ya don it you'd be cleaned up with a sponge or what have you. As a kid saved a few people back in school too who would be missing some hands. All ways check your fuses for dusting of primary powder! Can't do its job when the flame has a short cut!

As for plastic at those forces glass / plastic is the same, the only safe thing is very care full and diligent procedure and distance and never work when you're tired or low blood sugar.

All my EM work is don in the noon after my after lunch nap! Fully awake alert and fed, that alone lowers risk hugely.

PHILOU Zrealone - 4-12-2016 at 11:27

Quote: Originally posted by XeonTheMGPony

Quote: Originally posted by PHILOU Zrealone

Quote: Originally posted by XeonTheMGPony

Nice way of living but stil when awake and fed peroxydes are an evil snake.

--> Soft plastic doesn't make schrapnells with cutting edges...because the molecules stretches/melt with the pressure and heat (much faster than glass or iron steel would)...also the density is less so the relative volume is bigger what means that surface is bigger also --> what slows down the flying piece much faster into air than glass or steel would.

Think twice

-->why "non killing weapons" used by cops against strikers use rubber bullets?

wayne_m - 2-7-2017 at 12:24

Great stories here.

Hopefully, mine will be relevant enough, even if it didn't result in permanent injury.

Even non-energetic materials (Energy absorbing, even?) can be pretty dangerous.
When I was much younger, and had no idea what I was doing, I put about 1/4 pound of dry ice in a 2-liter bottle. (Trying to store it, I think.) This was back in early days, when they still had those glued-on bases because the bottles were round-bottomed. The shape and thickness of the early bottles made them pretty strong; enough so that I got to observe liquid CO2, and watch it boil as I put my hand against the plastic.
About an hour after I capped it, I had it at the school, in the hallways of concrete floors, brick walls, and stuccoed overheads, when the inevitable happened.
In my case, the white-out was a cloud of vapor that obscured vision (I think) but the world disappeared into a low buzzing noise that faded into a ringing that lasted a couple of days.
The front of my coat was coated in ice, and I had some bruises on my hand. My guardian angel was working overtime that day: I had been holding it by the neck, and not by the side, and it was down by my side while I was looking the other way.

My hearing is still excellent, although I seem to be bothered by noises that other people don't find all that bad. I don't know whether that is caused by that incident, or whether I just got lucky enough not to have any permanent damage.

Since it was purely an expansion bomb, with no significant blast front, my eardrums and other bits survived relatively unscathed. Since it was heat-absorbing, I was not burned. Since it was PET and not glass, my jeans stopped the fragmentation with only minimal bruising.

But even thirty years later, I remember every moment in great detail - from the ice crystals formed on the buttons of my coat (even the writing stamped into those buttons!) to the teacher who stepped out of the classroom (chemistry lab, of course!) and asked - presumably - whether I was all right. I say presumably because I couldn't hear her. Or anything else.

A friend of mine was sitting in his mother's place of employment a quarter mile away, in a city with buildings between us, and I was on the far side of the building which channeled the sound away from him. Her place of employment was an auto shop, where mechanics use impact wrenches and other noisy tools, so the offices are moderately well sound proofed. He heard the boom.

To this day, any time I am around any kind of energetic materials, that is the first thing that pops into my mind. Call it PTSD or whatever, but if I don't see failsafes like secondary containment, static grounding, ventilation, pressure reliefs, interrupts, or any of the myriad other disaster-proofing schemes people have invented to protect us from ourselves, I will run - not walk - away from any involvement.

I still like a good loud bang, now and then, but only when I'm expecting it!

But even so, some things that don't seem to be so energetic can bite you when you least expect it. I once filled a paper cup with butane and lit it off, trying to make an amusing little pop (after having stashed the can at a safe distance, of course,) and it popped, sure enough, but some residual flame was still dancing around, and starting to set the paper on fire.
Sure enough... I did exactly what Yamato71 did. Thankfully, the vast majority of the butane was expended in the pop, and I only burned off my eyebrows when I blew on the flame.
Even as much experience as I had gained with flammable gases and even more energetic materials didn't give me any intuition for how much energy would be left in the tiny bit of residual gas in the cup.

I only hope and pray that my next mistake (and there will be one) is as minor as these were.

theAngryLittleBunny - 2-7-2017 at 15:52

This was one of the most terrifying things I've ever read. It reminds my of an accident I had about 2 months ago, it's really minir compared to this, it wasn't even with energetics, but I still can relate with this. So, I just wanted to make some adipic acid. I did this in my school lab, where we oxidized cyclohexanone with potadsium permanganate. But I had to evapourate a lot of water afterwards. So I just thought I'll just make it 4 times as concentrated. And since I just fidn't have a beaker at hand, I used a plastic bottle. So I dissolved 50 ml of cyclohexanone in 500 ml if water, and added the sochiometric amount (about 150g) of KMnO4, and a gram of NaOH to it. Then I did a really stupid thing, I closed the bottle and shook it. First, there really wasn't anything happening, but it got a little warm after a while, and I got really excited about that. Not too long after that, it became quite hot and pressure was building up. I wanted to cool it in a water bath and open it, biut it exploded right in my hands, and hot and concentrated KMnO4 solution was sprayed all over my body. I was completely soaked and I could smell the cyclohexanone. The walls were completely brown from MnO2. And right after that, you just need some time to realize what just happen. I had thoughts like "Did this just really happen, this can only be a nightmare". I took off my cloths, run ib the shower, and there I saw that the skin on my bally was damaged quite badly. I saw the purple water flowing off my body into the drain. When I was somewhat clean, I got out of the shower, and I have to say, MnO2 gives your skin a really lovely brown shade. Anyway, I just dumped all the sodium bisulfite I had into a bucket, filled it with water and tried to clean everything. The SO2 smell was pretty horrific. I also threw some sodium sulfite into a bathtube to dissolve it in the water and take a bath in it, so all the MNO2 goes off. There I noticed my skin burning. It was a really terrifying experience, I can recall the moment the bottle exploded, and thinking about it makes be shudder >_<. The smell of cyclohexanone will always remind me of this accident. Luckly, I got away with no injuries besides a few wounds on my belly.

Ans I stopped with energetics some time ago, because many little accidents just made me more and more paranoid about them.

Yamato71 - 5-11-2017 at 10:57

Well, another year gone and I'm hanging in there. I'll update when I get a little more time.

coppercone - 21-5-2018 at 16:07

nonlinear reaction times/heat generation seem to be the big issue in this thread.

This is why I like addition funnels, magnetic stirrers and glassware with either vents or stoppers

i also say I really dislike this fireking guy. kinda wish he tripped a bit closer to the device he made, maybe got some in his eyes

[Edited on 22-5-2018 by coppercone]

MJ101 - 10-7-2018 at 11:07

@Yamato71: Your story made the hairs on my neck stand up.

Even though I don't know you, I'm glad you survived and I hope you're feeling better.

A Fresh Lunatic - 10-7-2018 at 11:32

Messing about with pyrotechnics is fun, but bloody dangerous.

Many years ago (back in the mid 1980's) I used to do live wargaming (running round woods at 2 AM hitting other people dressed as Gandalf with dye soaked foam covered wooden swords. The madness of youth.....).

At one stage a guy into pyros joined, he provided some rather nice special effects to these games, and became known as 'Brian the Bang'. There was , by todays standards an alarming absence of health and safety. I dont even think he could spell 'health and safety'.

His favorite trick was to leave piles of flash powder around the game area with an untipped cigarette end stuck in the top as a slow fuse. There was never a map made of where these piles were left, and so one day the inevitable happened. Sitting round in a group at the end of a game, 5 AM in the morning, pitch black in the middle of a large woods, he stubbed his cigarette out on the ground, right in the middle of forgotten, unlit pile of flash powder, in which the original 'fuse' had gone out.

He spent 6 weeks with his hand from the wrist down sealed in a plastic bag while all the skin regrew.

Luckily, at 5 AM theres very little traffic about, ambulances can really move....

MORAL: Always keep a map of where the pyros are, and use elctric ignition....

A Fresh Lunatic - 10-7-2018 at 11:46

Quote: Originally posted by Agari

It is a well-known fact that in China,a lot of brands are completely fabricated and BS,that is because fabricating a brand in China would carry serious legal consequences (Either death penalty or imprisonment,I am not familiar with Chinese laws),and so manufacturers find a loophole in that law by making a knockoff brand and replicating the product,which tends to turn out to be of lower quality than the original product. The reason I am telling you that is that you, and I speak to everyone reading this, should always look at the brand markings carefully, and possibly avoid Chinese-manufactured glassware, I don't know whether it is the most likely to be a knockoff or just personal bias or simply hearing about those types of brands more often,but it is better to be safe than dismembered,though it is too late for the OP of this thread.

Interestingly, and on a side note, the medical profession has the same problem with knock off copy surgical instruments, mostly fromn India. The worst problem is with knock off forceps. The real thing are polished to a microscopic scale, whereas the copies are jagged and sharp at microscopic scale, and caused puncture and tear injury to tissues they are clamped on, and peopel have thus died from internal blood loss after surgery.

gnitseretni - 10-7-2018 at 20:01

Quote: Originally posted by coppercone

i also say I really dislike this fireking guy. kinda wish he tripped a bit closer to the device he made, maybe got some in his eyes

[Edited on 22-5-2018 by coppercone]

Scumbag!

JohnDoe13 - 10-7-2018 at 20:59

Quote: Originally posted by gnitseretni

Quote: Originally posted by coppercone

i also say I really dislike this fireking guy. kinda wish he tripped a bit closer to the device he made, maybe got some in his eyes

[Edited on 22-5-2018 by coppercone]

Scumbag!

I just saw what he wrote. Permanent ban for this piece of shit!

j_sum1 - 10-7-2018 at 21:02

Thanks for highlighting that JohnDoe13. This is not the kind of thing we want on the board.

coppercone, don't do this again.

coppercone - 13-7-2018 at 14:46

maybe experimenting with war gasses prohibited for manufacture anywhere in the world on live animals for the purposes of weaponization studies (not that I agree with animal research) should be prohibited on the board?

i mean if you want this place to turn into the pentagon in the 1960s its your choice...

I figured sciencemadness was more of a cute name then a website meant to post some kind of fucked up weapons experiments.

I won't post here anymore tho, peace

[Edited on 13-7-2018 by coppercone]

Vomaturge - 13-7-2018 at 16:54

I was bothered by that post, too... It set off all the alarm bells on my bullsh!t detector, and it's not even very sensitive! Unless pure peroxymonosulfuric acid, triethyl aluminum (or already burning gasoline) count as a "chlorine gas/mustard gas/classified hybrid", there's no way anything would produce those effects on the bird in "minutes". Fake or not, he shouldn't have posted that, though.

Banning is unnecessary, since he registered and made that troll post on the 20th of February, 2015, just about 3.5 years ago. He last logged in a month after that.

Remember: when reading stuff online, your BSD is only slightly less critical than your computer.

Don't be offended, coppercone; that poster was an asshole in any case, and you are right to have noticed this. I think jsum was just discouraging you from publicly posting complaints about users, especially long inactive ones, and also about wishing someone had a debilitating accident. I see no reason why you should stop posting here based on that well-meant warning.

Back on topic... You noticed that many of these accidents essentially had a thermal positive feedback loop. I think that's just a standard feature of energetic materials/explosives. If a bunch of amateur scientists had brutal accidents handling radioactivity, electricity, drugs/poisons, or infectious bacteria, and then posted those, we'd see a different pattern. When handling explosives, heat/energy input is the enemy. With electricity, electrical contact (or short circuits) is the enemy. With other hazardous stuff, leakage and spillage are what is most likely to
hurt you. Of course, there are overlaps. You can be poisoned while making explosives, or have a mild explosion from overheating which leads to a corrosive/toxic spill, or, as the OP suffered, you can have an explosive spill onto a heat source and start the reaction

. I myself haven't had too many serious science related accidents, besides a few small burns on my hands and a few electric shocks. But this isn't just because I handle very hazardous materials carefully; It's also because I carefully avoid using very hazardous materials, most of the time.

Of course, the more chemistry you do, the more unavoidable it becomes that you'll have to use some scary reagent, and hopefully be able to use it safely.

Laboratory of Liptakov - 31-12-2018 at 15:57

Happy New Year 2019...and entires fingers wish after all year, Dr. Liptakov..... :cool:

Yamato71 - 11-2-2019 at 21:59

Jeez the years keep ticking off faster and faster. I'm officially OLD. I turned 65 last November and had to register for Medicare.

Damn.

I got a new myoelectric prosthetic hand just before Christmas from a new company in town, Blue Sky Prosthetics. I had originally been fitted by the largest prosthetic company in the United States, "Brand H", but they just didn't listen to me when I had problems with their product or their services. I actually chose to do without the prosthetic for two years, for all the good it was doing me. I gave Blue Sky a shot at making me a new left hand and I couldn't be more pleased with the result.

Things are going well. I've been able to wean myself down to less than half of the pain meds I was taking in the year or two after the accident. With all the hysteria and political witch hunting going on over the "opioid crisis", I didn't want to get my doctor into hot water. He's been my physician and close friend for 35 years. He has always told me "Don't worry, I'll never cut you off", but I can't let him get in trouble over my little problem. I thought I'd be completely off of opioids by now, but as I decrease my dosage, I am again beginning to feel some of the more problematic glass shards still embedded in my right hand. One in particular, at the base of my right index finger, shifted yesterday while I was lifting a large yard rock. It evidently impinged a sensory nerve because my entire finger instantly exploded in searing pain. That was quite startling as I hadn't had any feeling at all in it since the accident. The finger is now an angry mottled gray, swollen and throbbing like hell, so the blood supply might be impaired as well. Damn, I might need yet another surgery in the next week or two to remove more glass shrapnel.

On a completely unrelated note, it has now been 8 years 3 months and change since my hands we destroyed. In all that time, as far as I can remember, I have never had a dream in which either hand is impaired. I don't know if that makes me a nut case or a normal Human being, but I thought I'd pass that along. I hope everybody here is doing well. I'll keep checking in from time to time to let you know how it goes.

TTYL
Y71

[Edited on 12-2-2019 by Yamato71]

Laboratory of Liptakov - 12-2-2019 at 03:31

I always think of you if I perform critical operations with energy materials. Every your the sentence is important to everyone. How much grams it was once upon a time? 50 grams of ETN?

Yamato71 - 12-2-2019 at 05:57

Yes, it was 50 grams dissolved in 500 ml of hot MeOH.

"Opioids"

sodium_stearate - 12-2-2019 at 09:24

Where did that strange word come from?
Did it perhaps originate from some news media
dweeb, seeking to create drama?

The word which refers to drugs which come from
opium, or which have opium-like characteristics
has always been "opiates"

Until recently, that is, when this new word "opioid"
has started to pop up.

johnmay - 12-2-2019 at 13:33

Quote: Originally posted by sodium_stearate

Where did that strange word come from?

The difference between opiates and opioids is that the opiates are natural and opioids are product of the synthesis.

Regards,
JM.

Rocinante - 28-6-2019 at 07:37

It is important to note that ETN can undergo powerful deflagration or even detonation unconfined. Samples as small as 20 mg explode powerfuly when heated on a layer of aluminium foil via an open flame underneath the foil.

[Edited on 28-6-2019 by Rocinante]

Tsjerk - 28-6-2019 at 07:48

In Germanic languages -id or -ide at the end of a word means -like. So opioid means opiate-like

hissingnoise - 28-6-2019 at 11:40

Quote: Originally posted by Yamato71

Things are going well. I've been able to wean myself down to less than half of the pain meds I was taking in the year or two after the accident. With all the hysteria and political witch hunting going on over the "opioid crisis", I didn't want to get my doctor into hot water. He's been my physician and close friend for 35 years. He has always told me "Don't worry, I'll never cut you off", but I can't let him get in trouble over my little problem. I thought I'd be completely off of opioids by now, but as I decrease my dosage, I am again beginning to feel some of the more problematic glass shards still embedded in my right hand.

It just might be worth your while to have a serious look at cannabis for pain relief ─ some varieties are better than others, but anything sativa or sativa-leaning can have some pleasantly surprising effects.

twelti - 28-6-2019 at 13:31

Quote: Originally posted by hissingnoise

Quote: Originally posted by Yamato71

Kratom can be a very good option.

MineMan - 28-6-2019 at 17:32

Low doses of slow oral realease ketamine is the best pain reliever with the least long term side effects.... any compounding pharmacy can do this. Yup yup.

j_sum1 - 28-6-2019 at 17:56

I would suspect that seven years after the event, Yamato71 has his pain management largely under control with the help of medical practitioners who are acquainted with his injuries as well as the benefit of some trial and error.
It does not make sense to be dispensing medical advice over the internet at this distance.

MineMan - 28-6-2019 at 18:16

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

I would suspect that seven years after the event, Yamato71 has his pain management largely under control with the help of medical practitioners who are acquainted with his injuries as well as the benefit of some trial and error.
It does not make sense to be dispensing medical advice over the internet at this distance.

Don’t be so sure. There is a lot of knowledge on with the members.. most docs are not open minded these days. In fact this is one of the first places I would go for out of the box ideas.

I know the ketamine suggestion I gave earlier is legitimate because I have talked to experts across the medical field. There is so much knowledge here, just because it’s not orthadox, let’s not limit it.

j_sum1 - 28-6-2019 at 19:01

It was not the fact that it is unorthodox. It is the fact that you were providing unsolicited medical advice without the ability to even view the patient. This is not a sensible road to go down.
The OP has reported steady improvement over the years and has recently become a lot more active on this site; exploring some novel chemistry ideas and evidently doing some experimentation. If he wanted pharmaceutical advice he would no doubt have asked. If you really needed to discuss the applications of ketamine, open a new thread.

So, let's keep the topic off medical treatment.

/modding.

happyfooddance - 28-6-2019 at 22:34

Quote: Originally posted by Laboratory of Liptakov

I always think of you if I perform critical operations with energy materials. Every your the sentence is important to everyone. How much grams it was once upon a time? 50 grams of ETN?

Yamato81, you probably know this, but for me and many others this is the exact truth! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I know that what you lost cannot be simply replaced or repaired, but I would wager a confident bet that in this internet age you have saved hundreds if not thousands of digits, appendages, and eyes...

I often think of you with copious amounts of respect and gratitude.

happyfooddance - 30-6-2019 at 21:42

*Yamato71.

Sorry about the typographical error, no less respect or gratitude... Maybe you felt 10 years younger for a split second?

Yamato71 - 11-2-2020 at 18:30

Hello group, I recently observed (somehow the word "celebrated" doesn't seem appropriate) the ninth anniversary of my accident. The good news: Life is much better now as the phantom and actual pain levels have dropped considerably. The pain pops up now and again, but I no longer find it necessary to stay continuously medicated to function normally.

The bad news: I am beginning to lose my hearing at an alarming rate. Both eardrums were ruptured in the explosion, but only one has since healed. Unfortunately, it was my right ear which was already nearly useless due to a virus infection i contracted decades earlier. My left ear is rapidly failing and the doc says there's nothing he can do about it.

Shit.

I've finally given up on prosthetic hands. The technology is just not there yet and the money that the orthopedic device manufacturers charge borders on criminal. I won't come right out and say that the business is a scam, BUT...

My newest myoelectric hand quit working after six months due to a worn plastic gear. After taking it back to the clinic for a repair estimate and waiting for three months, I received a verbal quote of "24". I completely lost my shit and yelled "TWENTY-FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS TO REPLACE A TWO DOLLAR PIECE OF PLASTIC?"

"No sir....."

"That's twenty four THOUSAND dollars, and I'm going to have to collect $750 from you for the estimate. Will that be cash or credit?"

It's still hanging on the coat hook I hung it on that very afternoon over a year ago. I won't be dabbling in that crap anymore, which I'm sure just caused my insurance company to breathe a huge sigh of relief. I'll check back in sometime around the big one-oh. In the meantime, please be careful out there.

[Edited on 12-2-2020 by Yamato71]

[Edited on 12-2-2020 by Yamato71]

XeonTheMGPony - 12-2-2020 at 03:37

Sadly it is quite a scam, second they add prosthetic to the name the price goes up 10k^10th fold

that gear you could probably pull out of most toys and have it near drop in fit

Glad you are managing ok and good to see you back on the forum!

[Edited on 12-2-2020 by XeonTheMGPony]

Yamato71 - 12-2-2020 at 13:42

Thanks Xeon, it's damn good to be back.

j_sum1 - 12-2-2020 at 14:10

For 24 grand you could buy your owm 3-d printer and make the thing out of titanium. And still go on a world tour with the change.

Total rip off. But whatch gonna do?

So good to hear the pain is going down. Not so good about the hearing. Granted theer are worse things that could happen but that's a bit of a bummer. The best news is that you are doing well, staying positrive and haven't lost your zest for life. This thread is always both a sober reminder and an encouragement. THanks.

Yamato71 - 12-2-2020 at 15:53

It has been a long painful road, but as conventional wisdom reminds us, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". I only hope that there's a grain of truth to that.

I meant to post the following back in the Spring of 2018 when it happened, but I completely forgot about it until now. Early on, several forum members asked if I had suffered any "non medical" consequences as a result of my accident. I honestly didn't know what they meant, that is, not until March of 2018. As you might recall, I was living in Austin, Texas in November of 2010 when I destroyed my hands while recrystallizing 50 grams of crude ETN. I have since moved about 30 miles out to a neighboring county, both to get away from the bad memories and to escape the rabid "californication" that has, in less than 3 years, reduced what was once the most wonderful family friendly city in the US to a third world wasteland of homeless camps, open defecation and gutters overflowing with human feces and used meth needles. It all began when Austin's millennial progressive hipster population up and elected themselves a socialist democrap city council who, as their first official act, declared Austin a "sanctuary city" while prohibiting APD enforcement of Austin's open camping ban.

On the 2nd of March, 2018, in the Harris Ridge neighborhood in far north Austin, Anthony Stephan House bent down to pick up a package on his doorstep and was killed instantly when the parcel detonated. For a while, the APD speculated that he had been the victim of his own explosive device, that is, until ten days later when two more porch bombs severely injured a 75 year old grandmother and a young woman, killing the young woman's 17 year old son. Still, it took another device and two more serious injuries before the authorities began warning the citizens of a possible serial bomber on the loose.

During the next couple of weeks, another package bomb exploded in a FedEx distribution facility, injuring a worker. Another bomb was intercepted at yet another FedEx facility in Austin. This time, the device was successfully disarmed.

It was in between these last two events that I found myself driving home one afternoon, when I got a phone call from my boss. "Dude! What the HELL have you been up to?"

"Come again?"

"Three or four suits with guns just stormed off of the elevator looking for you. When I told them you had already gone home, they demanded to see your desk and work bench."

"Who the fuck were they, and did they have a warrant?"

"They had guns. I didn't feel like asking to see any ID or warrants."

"And?"

"They opened every drawer in your desk, looked at a few papers and went through your toolbox. They also tried to get into your computer, but it was locked and (IT guy) had already gone home."

"Did they take anything?"

"Hell if I know, they made us all leave the floor, said that it was for our own safety. You seriously don't know what this is all about?"

"You tell me and we'll both know."

Just then, my phone beeped. It was my wife calling from home to tell me that there were several feds at the front door wanting to talk to me and wanting to be let into the house.

"Tell me you didn't let them in!"

"Of course I didn't, nobody could show me a warrant when I asked."

"That's my girl! What are they doing now?"

"Two of them are on the front porch, one is in the back yard and another one is walking around the house trying to look into the windows."

"Find the one who looks like he's in charge and hand him the phone."

After a minute or so of muffled conversation between her and a male voice, someone asked "Is this Mister 71?"

"Yeah, who the hell are you?"

"This is Special Agent J. Edgar Assclown (not his real name) with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Sir, we need to talk to you as soon as possible."

"You're talking to me now. What can I do for you?"

"Sir, this can't be handled over the phone. Where are you right now?"

"Well, obviously I'm not at work and I'm not at home, but you already knew that. Thanks a pantload. Tell me, do you always barge into somebody's place of employment when you want to have a chat?"

"If we feel it's necessary, yes. I'm asking again, where are you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm sitting in traffic, on my way home."

"When do you think you'll be home?"

"I'll be home when I get there, most likely by six. We can meet then."

"We'll just hang around here until you show up."

"Have you got a warrant?"

"We can get one."

"Fine, you do that. In the meantime, you need to get the hell off my property."

"Mr. 71, there's no need to cop an attitude with us.."

"Yeah there is. You showed up at my workplace. I'll be there at six."

...TO BE CONTINUED

[Edited on 13-2-2020 by Yamato71]

Feds

MadHatter - 17-2-2020 at 06:24

Yamato71, what became of that situation ? Like you I was paid a
visit by the feds back in 2013. This was the FBI on what I would
call a snooping or "fact finding" visit. In my case the questions were
about someone in prison and my pyrotechics hobby. They were
polite and I never heard back from them. Still it was unnerving to
have 2 armed federal officers show up at my door. Keep us posted.

Also like you I'm in my 60's. If I learned anything from my
experience is that once you're on their radar you'll always be. The
U.S. Government has a memory like an elephant - THEY NEVER FORGET.

[Edited on 2020/2/17 by MadHatter]

Simoski - 17-2-2020 at 07:46

I am gonna jump in here and wonder if I have already and deciding to disregard the answer and full in the feeling that is "Life After Detonation"

To make something detonate is to teach yourself how to burn beyond the speed of sound. Watching black match accelerate to quick match and realising that it's confinement and pressure feedback that increase burn rate! Then building a BP cannon and understanding the powder that ancient man wielded. Playing with contemporary PVC pipe potatoes cannons, learning about catalysts, oxidants , fuels , reduction oxidation, valence electrons, orbitals... freaking electrochemistry, stoichiometry, rocketry, the history of propellants.

There is so much to be gained by teaching oneself to create a thing that can burn beyond the speed of sound, yet it is almost always illegal . . . people like us teach ourselves anyway, knowledge is power, safety first, social contact and all that.

Cars are involved in good and evil
Explosives are involved in good and evil

As for life after detonation, it's what you make of it my brothers and sisters!

PS
It went like this. . .
Fire::fuse::hmtd::etn::anfo, all home made, a 50 gram charge turned bricks to dust within a 50 cm radius.

[Edited on 17-2-2020 by Simoski]

Fyndium - 31-10-2020 at 16:07

Quote: Originally posted by Yamato71

...TO BE CONTINUED

Was this ever concluded?

Vomaturge - 31-10-2020 at 16:16

@simoski, did you read the first post?

Yamato71 - 5-12-2020 at 21:30

Hello everyone! I hope all of you have managed to stay relatively safe and healthy during this dumpster fire known as the year 2020. As most of you know, I passed a milestone last month. 4:04 am, 3 November, 2020 marked the tenth anniversary of the end of my life as it used to be. Later that morning over coffee, I casually asked my wife "Do you know what today is?" Without missing a beat, she cheerfully replied "Election Day, of course". I looked at her for half a second before realizing what had just happened. "Yes it is." I wasn't about to dump all over her happy day. It was a moment of closure I wasn't expecting. If my better half could endure the shit show that I put her through a decade ago, and then put it behind her, then by God, so could I.

This is the last time that I will post to this thread. I'm not going to disappear. I plan to contribute to the forums from time to time. I began this thread eight years ago as a way to shed light on that aspect of our 'interest' that everyone thinks about, but no-one actually talks about...what happens when it all goes wrong. In that regard, that first post in 2012 worked better than I could have possibly hoped. Dozens of members chimed in with their own horror stories. Some even subscribed to the forums just to be able to share their own stories of near (and not so near) misses. We all critiqued and learned from each other's mistakes. After all, if you lose a body part or two to science, you might as well get some good out of it.

Along the way, I began to realize that sharing our post accident experiences with each other was helping me cope with, and accept, the single most devastating event of my life. Every one of you who contributed to this thread over the years has helped me push through this and I owe all of you a debt of gratitude. This thread is no longer about me and my misfortune. It hasn't been mine for a while now. Please continue to share your 'oh crap!' stories here. We all learn from shared experiences. You can be sure that I'll be reading them too. Like me, you'll find that talking it out helps you and everybody here be just a little more safe and a lot less alone.

Thanks, it's been real.
Y71

Corrosive Joeseph - 5-12-2020 at 23:55

Quality guy...

/CJ

B(a)P - 6-12-2020 at 00:36

Thanks Yamato71, best of luck moving forward.

Laboratory of Liptakov - 16-12-2020 at 09:16

Whenever I melting something, I have the terrible story in front of my eyes. And thanks to this story, I'm much more careful. It really works. Anyone who has read the story once will never forget it. Thank you, Yamato 71 ... :cool:

Yamato71 - 15-1-2021 at 20:29

I know, I said that I'm signing off, but there's a bit of unfinished business to take care of....

20 March, 2018. Thirty minutes after speaking with the agitated ATF agent, I rolled down the 500 foot long driveway to my home and parked. Before I had a chance to walk the 30 feet to my front door, a large black SUV pulled in behind my truck, blocking it in. Two suits got out and stood on either side of me. Both introduced themselves, reached into their jackets, produced ATF IDs and opened them in perfect unison, as if they had practiced the move in the mirror every day. They wasted no time.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions, shall we go inside where we can talk?"

"We shall not. What do you want to know?"

"Could you please enlighten us as to why you were in North Austin on the afternoon of March 2nd?"

"How the hell should I know? That was nearly 3 weeks ago."

Of course I knew why they were questioning me about March 2nd. It was the only thing on the news at the time. I was frankly a bit amused, and then pissed, that they had gone to the effort to track my cell phone because eight years earlier I, a guy with exactly zero criminal record, had popped up on their radar. Actually, I did remember why I was in the city that day. I needed to buy a new soldering iron for my work, at the sole remaining electronics store in Austin. The iron and the receipt were still in my truck, but I wanted a couple of questions answered before telling them that.

"Answer me this, there had to be over a million people in North Austin that afternoon, why are you questioning me?"

"No particular reason." (lie)

"So, you're questioning every single person who carried a cell phone in North Austin that afternoon?"

"Sir, we can't comment on an open investigation."

"Look, we all know why you're here. Eight years ago, I destroyed my hands in an explosives accident. That means that I possess the forbidden knowledge and therefore I must be your mad bomber. Does that about sum it up"

"You had an accident? We didn't know anything about that." (lie)

I just rolled my eyes and told them that my alibi was on the floorboard of my truck. Surprisingly, they didn't stop me when I reached in to retrieve it. I pulled out the soldering iron and laid it on the hood of my truck, then pulled the dated receipt from the bag. I held it in front of them to read, but one of the agents reached for it. I snatched it back with a quick "OH HELL NO". I wasn't about to hand my alibi over to a couple of guys who were ready to throw anybody under the bus just to "solve" the case.

"You have to hand it over if you're going to prove your innocence."

"Actually, you've got it backwards. YOU have to prove my guilt. You've got cell phones, take all the pictures you want, the receipt stays with me."

With that, one of the agents started snapping pictures of the soldering iron, front and back, while the other one snapped pictures of the receipt, front and back. That done with, the two guys began walking back to their SUV, when one of them turned to me and actually asked "Is there anything you can tell us that might help us catch this guy?"

I stared at him like his hair was on fire and asked him the only thing I could think of at the moment.

"Does that ever actually work? Seriously, how the hell should I know anything about a serial killer running loose thirty miles from here? We're done. You're going to have to back out the way you came in since you've got me blocked. Don't hit the fire hydrant on the way out."

The agent thanked me for my time and asked if they could contact me again if they had any further questions. I told them that they would have to speak to my family attorney from now on. I fully expected to hear from them sooner than later, but the very next day, the Texas Department of Public Safety chased and cornered the bomber, 23 year old nut case Mark Anthony Conditt, at which time he killed himself with an explosive device.

I guess this proves that I'm on a list somewhere, so I expect I'll hear from them from time to time whenever they get a tough case.

<sigh>

Y71

[Edited on 16-1-2021 by Yamato71]

[Edited on 16-1-2021 by Yamato71]

B(a)P - 16-1-2021 at 01:28

I am sorry to hear that Yamato71. You have definitely been through enough without that. It is also disappointing to hear that was a serious please for the police....

Fyndium - 16-1-2021 at 02:38

It's not unheard of that the police rolls up known people when something hits the news, even in foreign soil. I knew a guy over the web, sharing the hobby, having a visit (home search, actually) for merely because a shipment containing nitrates was stopped by the customs. At here, it's sad that they don't even need a warrant for searches.

Yamato71, I hope you're doing well nowadays. I've been afraid of touching any energetic materials for almost 15 years now, and still a couple of events creep the shit out of me what I did when I was young and stupid. A sheer luck they didn't end in a catastrophe.

specialactivitieSK - 24-1-2022 at 10:50

Dokument : Bomb Disposal Men

https://youtu.be/WAcNZ7hFb3w

[Edited on 24-1-2022 by specialactivitieSK]

Yamato71 - 21-2-2024 at 11:48

Hello all. I occasionally hear from people who have followed this thread through the years who are convinced that I, for whatever reason, have fabricated this whole sorry mess. I recently decided to break my own rule and post a couple of photos of the surgical aftermath. Then I ran into an obstacle. Is there any way to post JPEGs to this forum?

[Edited on 21-2-2024 by Yamato71]

j_sum1 - 21-2-2024 at 12:51

Yes. Sure.
Type something. Hit "preview post". The next screen allows you to upload.

If you preview post a second time you can reorder things so that your photos can be among the text.

Laboratory of Liptakov - 21-2-2024 at 12:54

Yes. For example after writte one sentence you press "preview post". Near is button choose file. You can choose file from your computer. After use button "Preview Post". And you can see photo under sentence. Finally button "Post Reply"

B(a)P - 21-2-2024 at 13:45

Quote: Originally posted by Yamato71

Hello all. I occasionally hear from people who have followed this thread through the years who are convinced that I, for whatever reason, have fabricated this whole sorry mess. I recently decided to break my own rule and post a couple of photos of the surgical aftermath. Then I ran into an obstacle. Is there any way to post JPEGs to this forum?

[Edited on 21-2-2024 by Yamato71]

I am sorry to hear that you are pestered by people who are too dim witted or scared to post their doubts in the open forum. You don't have anything to prove. Obviously it is up to you if you decide to post pictures, which are no doubt very personal and possibly distressing to you, but only do it if it is doing something for you, not for some troll that can't see the immense value in the story that you have already shared and the extraordinary bravery that it has no doubt taken to do so.

Yamato71 - 24-2-2024 at 19:40

Yeah, I think I need to share these even though they're not pretty. This is six days after the accident. At this point in my recovery, surgeons have sutured my right thumb into my abdomen in order to grow tissue onto the denuded bone. Fifteen surgeries and almost fourteen years later, it actually looks and functions something like an opposable thumb. Note the shrapnel injuries to my chest and forearms. I'm still shedding bits of glass to this day.

j_sum1 - 24-2-2024 at 20:18

That's impressuve, Yamato.
Could you post a "now" shot of your right hand?

Yamato71 - 17-3-2024 at 08:46

How about both?

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