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Stranded California Man Too 'Embarrassed' To Use Phone
Brian "Goat Man" Hopper, spent five days stranded on Roe Island, north of Concord in Suisun Bay, because he was too embarrassed to phone for help. Hopper lived off vitamins and native plants while trying to repair his inflatable raft. "I was embarrassed to be stranded on an island," Hopper said. "I thought I could fix my boat and make it to land ... I didn't want to spend the taxpayers' money to have the Coast Guard come rescue some stupid guy." After almost a week he finally gave up and called a cousin for help. No word on what makes Hopper the "Goat Man."
The irony of a man too embarrassed to use his phone to save himself who is presently safe and being publicly embarrassed on slashdot is approaching unbearable.
vos nescitis quicquam, nec cogitatis quia expedit nobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo et non tota gens pereat.
While it's good to have as a last resort, people are far too quick to call for search and rescue. I think it's commendable this guy did his level best to rescue himself before calling for a helicopter.
You can never put too much water in a nuclear reactor.
I have to give the guy credit for trying and credit for his consideration for others.
"After almost a week he finally gave up and called a cousin for help."
I don't think my phone can last a week on stand-by. He probably watched the battery power on his phone closely, and that may have been what made him finally give up.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
There was an old Welshman who was walking with his grandson. Presently, they came upon a wall.
“Ye see that wall, there?”
“Yes.”
“I built it, I did. I built it with my own two hands. I built twenty others just like it. But do they call me Hugh the Wall Man? No.”
They continued walking on their way...
.
“Ye see that barn, there?”
“Yes.”
“I built it, I did. I built it with my own two hands. I built thirty others just like it. But do they call me the Hugh the Barn Man? No.”
They continued their walk until they came upon a house...
“Ye see that house, there,?”
“Yes.”
“I built it, I did. I built it with my own two hands. I built fifty others just like it. But do they call me the Hugh the House Man? No"
"But see if you SHAG JUST ONE GOAT!”
It seems like any number of recreational boaters with working dinghies could have rescued him.
If you're in a situation like that, it seems like you could explain to the authorities that it's not that urgent. The harbor patrol or Coasties could very cheaply rescue you with a dink, not a chopper.
By taking such a long period of time, he probably put himself in a state where they figured he might be delusional. Failure to respond to an emergency in a level-headed fashion is far more embarassing than making a sane request for help.
He went rafting; He had a leak; it happens. He then tried to help himself. He wasn't in deep trouble, so he did his best. He built shelter, he started gathering food. Eventually, but before he was in deep trouble; whilst he still had a cell phone working, he decided to ask for help. He got help. This is text book survival stuff. The rescue services are not there to help you when you stub your toe. They are there for when you finally really really need their help and can do no better. The fact that you would have been in deep trouble a couple of days earlier and might not survive if you got this far is hardly a criticism of the guy who can comfortably survive for longer.
If anything, this shows why it is reasonable for him to go out rafting in these conditions whilst it might not be reasonable for the average slashdotter.
=~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
I believe he earned that nickname due to what he did for sexual relief during his week stranded on the island...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
He was embarrassed because he was sailing a raft made entirely out of inflatable "real porn star" dolls...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
No word on what makes Hopper the "Goat Man."
But this article has an interesting excerpt of his "packing list":
said he started out Wednesday morning on the Sacramento River, where he loaded a $300 inflatable raft with camping supplies, two burritos, a bag of vitamins, a Bible and a mannequin of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
hmmm... I wonder whether this "mannequin" was "anatomically correct"...