SB frustrations

[odone]

Why do I regularly find escape methods easier than planned?  My latest scene:One side of the house has a 5 foot wide space between the house and a retaining wall.  over the top of part of it is a small deck area.  This creates an almost tunnel like situation.  Step one was to set up a chain hanging straight down from a beam over the top.  I would be standing on a board atop two bags of ice, ankles locked together allowing very limited movement (3 keys total all inside), knees cinched together with a combination padlock (need light and vision to release, 2 Ace bandages over eyes and mouth providing a semblance of a gag and a blindfold, and hands chained together behind my back with about 6 inches of slack between them.  Also attached to the slack in the chain is a rope to prevent me looping the hand-chain under my feet to move it from back to front.  Final step - lift my hands up behind me and lock the slack part of the chain linking my hands onto the chain hanging down.  I'm trapped until I can get the key to the last lock (and also naked outdoors on a cool night).  The planned release:  Having some access to helium, I inflated two balloons (primary and backup).  Each had a key to my final lock.  Initially the balloon has enough lift to keep the key out of reach.  When the balloon loses enough helium (DON"T use mylar baloons for this!), the weight of the key and the string bring it down to my hands and I have the initial release.  One key is firmly attached to the knot of the balloon - this balloon holds the entire weight of the key.  The second key is loose on the balloon string - since one end of the string is tied to the beam directly above my hands and the other end is attached to the balloon trapped below the deck, the key hangs from the middle of the string until the balloon starts to deflate and the key slides down the string into my waiting hands.  Once released form the hanging chain, I'll have to make my way across very coarse gravel for 25 feet, along our patio protected by motion sensitive lights, up the stairs of our deck and inside to await (while still blindfolded) the drop of other balloons with the keys for my hands and feet.  Once my hands are free I can remove the blindfold and gag and release the combination lick constricting my knees.  -- That's the plan.Based on earlier tests, I expect to be in this inital state for a couple of hours.  As the ice melts below my feet, my hands should be pulled higher and higher (although only about 6-8 inches).  I'll be naked outdoors, blindfolded and gagged, needing to piss.  Potentially a fox, cat, racoon or other nocturnal animal may come by for a look-see (and a taste?).The "failure" -- After clicking the last lock, I went through the standard squirming and testing - don't want to make too much noise just yet.  After going ahead and releasing my bladder (need to mark my territory) I rather quickly realized my hands were too low and I had too much space between them.  I had too much manuevering room.  Soon, I found I could get them up to the side of my head and move the Ace bandages.  Wasn't too long before I had sight back (and voice).  That removes one of the main terrors associated with SB.  Now I could attack my problems.  Second failure:  Now that I can twist around and see where things are, I realize my hanging chain was much too long.  With very little effort, I could swing it around and catch the balloon strings.  Freed from the chain!  In anly a few minutes!!!  Now I can negotiate the grave seeing (by moonlight) where I am going.  Much too easy.  Move slowly across the patio.  Motion sensitive lights come on as I am on the stairs but they're pretty easy to negotiate when you can see.  I'm inside and now just bored waiting for the other balloons to fall.  Final thoughts:  The helium balloons are tough to time.  I expected them to drop more quickly due to the colder outdoor air.  The pair I had would have kept me there about four hours rather than just two.  The inside ones were up about 6 to 8 hours.  If I hadn;t managed to remove the blidfold, it would have been a real challenge to find the inside balloons and to know when they dropped.  The ice (under the feet) did not melt as quickly as I expected; only 1/2 gone 10 hours later so that aspect wouldn't have been too challenging.  Be happy to hear other SBers thoughts on how I can improve. odone

[Dr X]

I guess all you can really do is mesure more carefully next time. but cool idea with the balloons.

[gaggedutopia]

Couple of thoughts....Don't forget that ice will melt faster with pressure and weight onit.  It took 10 hours for the ice to melt 50% without yourweight.  Try it again with 100 or 200 pounds of weights and Ithink you will find it melts much faster.  Maybe mix a little saltinside.I don't know if this would work, but maybe chaining your wrist cuffs toyour ankle chain.  It would limit your ability to reach your face.If you have a good backyard, you could put a weight and key on a stringtied to a balloon and put it in your backyard.  You would have towander, blinded, to find it but would bump into the string when youfound it.  It may sound easy, but with hands cuffed andblindfolded, a bedroom can seem like a field .

[Guests]

A failure is when you CAN'T get free & the postman finds you tied to the verandah post in the morning! (nope, never happened to me)My approach is to test everything individually, before trying the whole combination. I'm a fan of having a back up- I like to get free afterwards! My favourite is a bucket of dirty oil (or some grotty substance) on a high shelf, over something of value such as an expensive carpet, clothes, me or whatever. Some keys &/or a knife is tied to the handle, also a long piece of string. If ALL else fails, you can just pull the string & get the keys. I also find it's usually a hell of a lot harder to get free than I thought, not easier! Top marks for the balloon idea odone! Never thought of that..... There's few things easier or more reliable than the good ole ice though. Unless the temperature drops below freezing, which seldom happens in Oz. tojo