“A large bore drill is starting to grind a one-metre tunnel through the remaining 12-16 metres of rock separating the rescuers from two miners trapped in a Tasmanian gold mine for eight days. But Beaconsfield mine manager Matthew Gill said it would be ‘at least 48 hours from now’ before the drill broke through to Brant Webb and Todd Russell. The rock, he said, is ‘harder than concrete’ and the drilling has to proceed slowly,” Ben Cubby reports for The Sydney Morning Herald. “Meanwhile, members of the medical team are underground 24 hours a day, speaking to Webb and Russell through a 12-metre long PVC pipe. Tasmanian Ambulance Service paramedic Matthew Eastham said psychologists had instructed them how to speak to the two men, cramped inside a 1.2m by 1.2m steel cage under tonnes of rock.”
Cubby reports, “The men have received messages from their families, as well as magazines and iPods to keep them occupied… Prime Minister John Howard has delivered a message of support to the two men, calling their ordeal a wonderful story of endurance and courage… A digital camera has also been passed to the two men so they can show rescuers and medical staff their surroundings and what is happening to them. ‘They are able to point the camera around the various parts of their fairly cramped environment,’ Australian Workers Union national secretary Bill Shorten told reporters.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jeremy” for the heads up.]
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What people will do for a free iPod…
That’s very cool. But I hope they had the sense to not have put “Canary in a Coal Mine” on them. I hope they are o.k.
I wonder what they’re listening to.
Trapt. The Shaft Soundtrack. Alice in Chain’s “Down in a Hole”
There’s one reality show I will not watch. Been down in mines. Worked in one of them every day for a whole week. Won’t go back. Couldn’t pay me enough.
Hope they gave them two of ’em or at least two headphones. I’m glad these guys have air. The iPod comes second.
I’m assuming these guys are getting food as well as the Best Buy shopping spree in a hole.
Some tunes to kill time:
“Be Mine” – David Gray
“Wishing Well” – Terence Trent D’arby
“Goldmine” – Caviar
“Dig It” – D-Tent Boys
“Trapped” – Bruce Springsteen
“Breath of Fresh Air” – Doug E. Fresh
“Like a Rock” – Bob Seger
“Tasmanian Devil” – Don Spencer
They are mining for gold not coal.
Ampar, you’re on a roll this week, great list!
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And one from 1961-“Big Bad John”- Jimmy Dean
(he didn’t make it out though)
It is incredibly tasteless and vulgar for MDN to promote the iPod when two men lie buried under tons of rock and one other man was killed.
MDN’s take, “When life hangs in the balance, when pain and suffering are just bummin’ you out, or when death is knocking on the door, turn on your iPod and relax. Yes, folks, nothing calms the nerves and raises the human spirit in a crisis situation than an iPod loaded with yer favorite tunes. When the stress and grief of disaster befall you, stop, whip out yer Pod and chill. Leg crushed and blood gushing from a gaping head wound? No problem, listen to “The End” by The Doors or “It’s Not My Time to Go” by Dan Hicks. Feeling your soul leaving your mortal body? Hey, crank up “See that My Grave is Kept Clean” by Blind Lemon Jefferson or “The I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” by Country Joe and the Fish. Don’t let yer body go to waste, either, people. Listen to John Prine wail out his sentimental “Please Don’t Bury Me”. Contact MDN for more of yer favorite tunes for life’s cruel and nasty times including, rape, murder, arson, and car wrecks – all collections are elegantly bundled in our signature iPod edition with the Death’s Head logo. All prices final and no refunds.”
Thanks, gow! And also putta – thanks for clearing that up.
“A sense of humor is the lubricant of life’s machinery.” -Unknown
“You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything – even poverty – you can survive it.” -Bill Cosby
“If you can look into the mirror without laughter, you have no sense of humor.” -Unknown
“All my humor is based upon destruction and despair. If the whole world was tranquil, without disease and violence, I’d be standing on the breadline right in back of J. Edgar Hoover.” -Lenny Bruce
“Humor is just another defense against the universe.” -Mel Brooks
“Lighten up. Life’s too short.” -Ampar
MW: run, as in don’t walk
Quite agree Ay caramba – totally tasteless when one man has actually been killed. Coming next from Ampar and his MDN lickspittles: Al Quaeda’s 20 greatest hits (insert list of lame aeroplane disaster records here).
Ampar:
I doubt that you have the balls to tell the family of the dead man in person what you anonymously posted here. Even if you did, and they failed to see the gracious humor of your talented wit, and proceeded to beat the shit out of you, I’m sure that you would chuckle like an idiot through your toothless face. The lack of teeth in your mouth would only match the deficiency of brains in your head and the absence of heart in your chest.
I don’t know about the guys in the mines, but I can say that I find it subtly irritating that we now have these green double-underline links to commercial sites in all the articles, like the green link in this one that takes us to Olympus cameras. Like there aren’t enough ads already in the sidebar.
jselani, when you open your trust fund check or disability payment, try to backtrack the whole process of how it gets to you………wealth is created by advertising, among other ways. If you can’t resist clicking on links, give someone else the mouse.
Hmmm. “lickspittle” Actually, I think I prefer toady. And whatever you do, do not read theonion.com. You will freak out. Seriously. Don’t do it.
Ampar –
Just because someone else has made the same bad decision that you did to make a joke of the situation is no reason to behave like a wise ass.
To jselani who wrote:
I don’t know about the guys in the mines, but I can say that I find it subtly irritating that we now have these green double-underline links to commercial sites in all the articles, like the green link in this one that takes us to Olympus cameras. Like there aren’t enough ads already in the sidebar.
AND
Joe who wrote:
jselani, when you open your trust fund check or disability payment, try to backtrack the whole process of how it gets to you………wealth is created by advertising, among other ways. If you can’t resist clicking on links, give someone else the mouse.
How about someone inventing a semi-invisible link; one that is visible ONLY if you your mouse in on it.
THAT would be stylish as well as create wealth.
MW=strength as in in…
One of the trapped miners is listening to Foo Fighters – it was announced on the news this evening. No word yet on how they’ll recharge them though, something which I would consider pertinent given that they’re due to be down there for at least another 24 hours…
Canary in a Coalmine – The Police
@Ay caramba!:
“It is incredibly tasteless and vulgar for MDN to promote the iPod when two men lie buried under tons of rock and one other man was killed. [Onionized MDN take deleted]”
I’m thankful that MDN posted this, since I would have never heard of this story without it. And notice that they had no “MDN take” on the situation, leaving it tastefully untouched.
To me this is an appropriate post for MDN, since it touches on Apple technology meeting psychology. Imagine the level of distraction that these 2 miners need to maintain their sanity – I would be freaking out big time to be in such a small cage, even without having to share it with someone else.
While the iPod is easy to use, I think a better option would have been the iRiver U10 – the battery lasts much longer, the controls are even easier, and there is a plethora of flash games to play. A game can be much more distracting/engaging than passive listening.
Regardless, it’s brilliant that technology is being put to such a good use. In school, this is one example of what we would call a “nursing intervention” (something the nurse can do without a doctor’s order to help the patient have a good outcome). Distraction is one of the biggies, giving the patient’s mind something to focus on instead of the pain or enforced bedrest.
maybe just maybe, people are applying humor to the situation of the people being SAVED, that’s right, a happy story. Scary, but it’s a very positive rescue story. (Not to mention relevant to this site.)
The other man’s story is sad and I don’t see Ampar or anyone else applying humor to his story.
You got it right, Hmmm. Thanks.
My comments weren’t meant to be mean-spirited any more than the parodies on theonion.com. If I did know these people, I would send heartfelt thoughts and prayers. Sometimes dark humor is someone’s way with coping or understanding a bad situation. If you don’t get it or like it or find it tasteless, then don’t take it literally or personally and move on. A violent reaction to dark humor is also troubling it in it’s own way. And for those people, I strongly recommend staying away from the works of Charles Addams, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Dennis Miller, Jon Stewart, George Carlin, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Hunter S. Thompson, Edward Gorey, Quentin Tarantino, The Sex Pistols, Howard Stern, Tim Burton, Stanley Kubrick, John Waters, George Orwell, Lewis Black and Joseph Heller to name just a few. And no, I’m not comparing myself in any manner to anyone.
As I said originally, I hope they are o.k. And I meant it.
Hey, Ampar. Can I make one correction? A sense of humor is the lubrication of most of life’s machinery.
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Ampar- I can’t stay away from Hunter Thompson.
-Hunter Thompson
I lay corrected, rasterbator. Thanks!
Hunter: I’m a bit gonzo too. Where can I find a Samoan attorney, preferably on the heavy side?
Thanks, Joe McConnell, for that brief introduction to wealth creation. You must be an economist or something. Very impressive. Now, thanks to having my eyes opened by Joe, I’m wondering why not put an ad into each one of our messages? That would create wealth, wouldn’t it, Joe? And if wealth creation is our only criteria, I guess it would be good. In fact, now I’m wondering why we don’t have more ads on the site. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
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From what I’ve heard, the trapped miners were relatively upbeat — I heard they asked for bacon and eggs.
With all the mine disasters we’ve had in this country and in Mexico in recent months, it’s nice to have some good news…and I don’t mind that it involves iPods at all.
Oh, and my submission for the “playlist”: “Trapped in a Box” by No Doubt…
Jerry Reed’s “She Got the Gold Mine, I Got the Shaft”
God Bless ’em
These Tasmanian miners are made of stern stuff and are themselves using humour to help make it through a very tough situation … lighten up on Ampar and others … humour (albeit with sensitivity) is one of the few things that help us make it through a sometimes tough existence.
Speaking of humour with sensitivity, anybody who has met an Aussie or two would have noticed that we generally have a rather direct if sometimes obscure approach to humour e.g.
Brant Webb’s father John said he had sent his son a note, saying:”Dad’s here.”
Asked if he’d let his son work in the mine again, he said: “I’ll cut his feet off at the ankles, mate. He’s not putting me through this again.”
“Obviously he’s tougher than his dad,” Mr Webb told Channel Nine.
“He’ll be telling some jokes. He’ll still be telling jokes in seven days, I reckon.”
MW “rather” as in I’d rather they were out soon (by Friday I suppose!).
The first thing thought that crossed my mind was, I wonder what they are listening to.
I’m not twisted or sick.
Lighten up. I’m sure a joke or two on this site isn’t going to hurt the miners
Thanks, Thorpedo. I’ve known a few Aussies and Kiwis and they are a tough lot with a great sense of humour. (British spelling intended.)
Yeah, let’s just hope the family of the guy who was killed falls under your general assumption. Let’s face it – they’d have to be a sad bunch of losers if they couldn’t at least see a bit of humour in the tragic loss of their nearest and dearest eh Ampar?
You’re putting words in my mouth, Punk. I had no knowledge of the death which is tragic and sad and not funny. And I never once made reference to anyone’s death. I was rooting for the living and hopeful of their rescue. Hope. Get it? The iPod angle was a nice touch.
Stop spreading FUD and back the hell off.
To quote Hmmm from an earlier thread:
“The other man’s story is sad and I don’t see Ampar or anyone else applying humor to his story.”
And Thorpedo:
“These Tasmanian miners are made of stern stuff and are themselves using humour to help make it through a very tough situation … lighten up on Ampar and others … humour (albeit with sensitivity) is one of the few things that help us make it through a sometimes tough existence.”
It’s called basic reading comprehension. And thanks those of you who get it.
U2’s “Van Diemen’s Land”
Okay, so let’s put aside the issue of the poor guy who died for now and let’s deal with the living. And let’s also not deal in stereotypes such as “I’ve known a few Aussies and Kiwis and they are a tough lot ” and “These Tasmanian miners are made of stern stuff”. Let’s instead focus on individuals.
These are two men who have been stuck in a hell hole. For days. Enduring physical and mental anguish that we, in all probability, will be lucky enough to never have to face. It’s also likely that at one point they had to face up to the possibility that they were going to die. But they didn’t die. They survived and are now suffering.
Furthermore, they face a rescue situation and, as is common in most rescue situations, they and the people who are going in after them, face a difficult and dangerous time. With no guarantee as to the outcome.
Isn’t it therefore reasonable to suppose that no matter what reputation they and their colleagues have as ‘hard men’, that they have long since gone past the point of ‘fortitude through humour’? And even if they haven’t, isn’t it best just to play safe and just offer quiet support instead of wading in with a piss take that only encourages contributions from all the plankton on this forum who have so far seen fit to join in?
It’s easy to have an attitude of “Lighten up. Life’s too short.” when you’re sitting in the comfort of a warm office with time on your hands to think up these jollies but to get a real taste for things, I suggest you get your arse over there where it’s happening, stand next to the worried crowd gathered around the disaster area and crack your funnies there. You’ll be able to tell by the reaction you get just how consoling you really are to them but for good measure, I suggest you also pack a pair of the lightest and fastest running shoes you can find because I’ve a feeling you’d need them.
O.K., Pierre. You win. You obviously know more about me and everyone else on this board than anyone can imagine. I can’t argue with someone who’s that powerful a psychic.
Uncle.
People use humour to cope in difficult or tragic circumstances … even if one is not directly affected … the “trauma” of hearing about a tragedy is something that motivates us defuse it either by humour or meditation or spirtual approaches.
One can argue about whether it should be done or not, but a humourless world is one I don’t want to think about … a tragedy in itself … it would motivate me to look for humour (am I just a black sheep then?).
The key, is sensitivity, and of course that is somewhat subjective according to various cultural and social norms.
Pierre should note, that Ampar and others didn’t make humour out of the fact that a miner died. Nevertheless, even the trapped miners themselves are trying to keep their spirits up with humour e.g.
Trapped miners ‘very cheeky’: female paramedic
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/05/05/1146335894306.html
The first woman to talk to two miners since they became trapped a kilometre underground 10 days ago says they are “very cheeky”.
They are likely to be very saddened by the death of their colleague, but life must go on and they are using humour to help themselves cope!
MW is center as in hopefully the miners will get further away from the centre of the earth than they are (groan!).
“One can argue about whether it should be done or not, but a humourless world is one I don’t want to think about … a tragedy in itself … it would motivate me to look for humour (am I just a black sheep then?).”
Amen, Thorpedo. And nothing wrong with black sheep either. I’ve been compared to that as a Mac user. A non-conformist.
P.S. “MW is center as in hopefully the miners will get further away from the centre of the earth than they are (groan!).”
Well, they certainly know the drill. Prayers for them all.