No, Don't Do That

A completely avoidable death from lousy gun-handling:

The Detroit Free Press: Man kills himself in Hamtramck parking lot, police say it was an accident

As the news notes, a man sitting in his car prior to heading into a marijuana store managed to shoot himself in the leg while removing his handgun from his holster. While he missed the draw, he likely successfully hit the femoral artery and he subsequently bled out.

We will leave for the moment that if he's using marijuana, he cannot under federal law posses a firearm, regardless of the fact that the electric lettuce is now legal in Michigan.  Federally that's still a no-no. We will also note that marijuana use tends to make you less than fully present at times.

My bet is the marijuana store had a no-firearms policy which is why he was trying to remove the firearm from his person.  I'd also bet he had on a flimsy nylon type holster and he managed to depress the trigger while trying to pull out his firearm while seated, with tragic results.

Quick Tip:  Have your handgun in a good quality holster that covers the trigger.  Then, if you're removing your firearm in a car,  or anywhere else for that matter, remove it and the holster together.  

Don't take it out of the holster, keep it in the holster with the trigger covered in nice solid kydex (or high quality leather in good condition if that strikes your fancy). There is no need to remove the gun from the holster when you are out and about unless your life or someone else's life is in imminent danger.  

Keep the gun where it belongs - in the holster.  The life you save may be your own.

Newsflash: Yellowstone Is Not A Petting Zoo

Wild animals are called wild for a reason.

The Detroit Free Press: Woman dies after bison tosses her 10 feet in the air in Yellowstone Park

The National Park Service sets the safety distance from a Bison at 25 yards.  

This woman got within 10 feet and found out rather fatally what the word wild means in the description wild animal, with a rather sadly fatal outcome.

Another contender for this year's Darwin awards.

Ensure Your Safety Before You Take A Selfie

Darwin claimed a Californian visiting Michigan recently.

The Detroit Free Press: Woman falls to her death taking selfies at Michigan landmark

A California woman slipped and fell to her death while taking selfies at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Wednesday afternoon.

[The woman], 32, was hiking solo on the North Country Trail and paused to take selfies near a 200-foot cliff edge that looked over Lake Superior. While taking pictures, she fatally fell into the lake, according to upper-Michigan based television station, WLUC.

In short a completely needless and preventable death.

The amount of people injured or indeed killed from taking selfies or otherwise burying their head in their phone is rather considerable. Being aware of your surroundings, especially when said surroundings lack guardrails to protect you from your own lack of awareness and footing, is rather paramount. Unfortunately, people often fail to be aware of their surroundings and think they live in a safe bubble. Reality sets in and their bubble pops, and often they do as well.

Now I'm not saying that taking selfies should be banned or anything, just some common-sense selfie control laws clearly need to be instituted, right? After all if it saves just one life . . . . .

You're Supposed To Kill It Before You Grill It

An Arizona man during a party saw a rattlesnake creep into his yard and decided to hold an impromptu barbecue of the animal by picking it up and planning to put it on the grill - alive. What could possibly go wrong?

The snake rightfully took umbrage to that idea and bit him on the face and chest.

Fox News: Man tries to barbecue rattlesnake, gets bit on face

Oh, Darwin missed it by just that much this time.

Play Stupid Games, Like Pointing A Fake Gun At A Cop, Win A Very Predictable Stupid Prize

Some people's lives are lived only to be an example to others of what not to do:

The Detroit Free Press: FBI to investigate shooting of Calif. 13-year-old

Basically the kid, Andy Lopez was walking around with the air rifle that was shaped like an AK-47 and when sheriffs responded to the report of someone walking around with a gun pointed it at them and failed to drop it after being told to do so.

This resulted in his being hit with 7 rounds and rapidly earning a Darwin Award.

Due to the family uproar, and of course insinuations regarding race, the FBI has been called into investigate.

FBI spokesman Paul Lee said he did not know why his agency decided to get involved or whether local authorities had requested its help.

Could be because of the noise of the crowds:

More than 100 angry middle and high school students walked to City Hall on Friday, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. Hundreds of people protested earlier in the week.

City police and the Sonoma County district attorney's office are also investigating.

From the reports it certainly looks like a justified shooting that will be tempered by the Democrats pandering to certain racial interest groups.

Of course, one could argue that the Sheriffs should have known that AK-47s and even semi-automatic AK-47 look-alikes are banned in California and therefore the kid couldn't have been carrying a real gun so they shouldn't have shot him, right?

Sometimes You Get The Bull, Other Times You Get The Horns

Well, that's certainly one way to vent your spleen:

The Detroit News: American has spleen removed after being gored in Spain bull runs

The regional government of Navarra said one American and two Spaniards were gored in the run, while another American and two Spaniards were also taken to city hospitals for other injuries suffered in falls and trampling during the frenzied event.

The local government press office identified the gored American as Patrick Ekols, 20, but didn’t give his hometown.

Navarra Hospital chief Javier Sesma said doctors removed Ekols’ spleen after it was found that the bull’s horn had gone through the abdominal cavity and punctured the non-vital, blood-filtering organ. He said the young man was in stable condition.

Sounds like it's not life-threatening, which is a good thing, and let's hope Mr. Ekols and the others make complete recoveries. It is, however, certainly a warning to either wholly avoid or be more careful when deliberately placing oneself in the way of massive, angry, horned bests. This bull-assisted organ removal may help him avoid winning a future Darwin Award due to unnecessary unsafe choices in the future.

An Electrifying Darwin Award Detroiter

Just a hint - when you're wrongly trying to steal copper for scrap, the live wires with thousands of volts coursing through them are not viable sources.

The Detroit Free Press: Man found electrocuted, hanging from Detroit utility pole

Its a rather stupid and shocking way to take yourself out of the gene pool.

Your Life May Exist Just So You Can Receive A Darwin Award....

Findlaw: Police: Pa. man may have drowned trying to get gun

Police in Massachusetts say a Pennsylvania man with rope, a pulley, a flashlight attached to a headband and glow sticks may have drowned in a river while trying to retrieve a gun.

Haverhill (HAY'-vruhl) police say divers found a Glock semiautomatic pistol Wednesday in the Merrimack River. It was near the spot where the body of 30-year-old Matthew Bleistein of Lancaster, Pa., was found suspended by a rope around his waist on Saturday.

Investigators think Bleistein used with the rope and pulley to hoist himself over a wall

Doesn't sound like he thought through the plan too well now does it?

Almost Earning a Darwin Award

or how students just aren't prepared for the real world....

MIT student arrested with fake bomb

By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 9 minutes ago

BOSTON - An MIT student wearing what turned out to be a fake bomb was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said.

Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweatshirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.

"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."

Simpson was charged with disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device. A not guilty plea was entered for her and she was released on $750 bail.

. . .

Prosecutor Wayne Margolis had requested $5,000 bail, saying Simpson showed a total disregard for the situation she was in — an airport after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

. . .

Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used," Pare said. "She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."

Simpson is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore from Hawaii, officials said.

The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, and Simpson had Play-Doh in her hands, Pare said.

You would think by now even the most isolated ivory tower student would have a passing awareness that walking into an airport with a circuit board that looked like a bomb combined with holding play doh that could look like plastic explosive is on the top ten list of really dumb ideas.

She certainly should get an C for her performance art and an F for common sense.

Luckily she didn't get killed and hopefully this will serve as a reality check and a welcome to the real world.