|
Dionne Farris - "Wild Seed - Wild Flower" (1994 - Sony Records) the song "I Know" was all over the airwaves that summer.... My Photographs You like photos? I love taking them. Click here, if you wanna see some of my work
Is a photo missing on an older entry? Click here to find it at Photogra!  The Other Links Favorites and Rings are now here!
The life you save might be mine!
|
Monday, Mar. 08, 2004 - 8:42 p.m. As is typical for the month of March, we have had days of very strong winds recently. Last Friday, gusts reach the low 50�s in miles per hour. This caused the usual overturned empty semi on the Interstate (2, actually, about � a mile apart). It also caused one of the arms on a overhead light in the parking lot at work to break free, sending the light fixture and about 100 pounds of aluminum crashing to the ground. Luckily for us, nobody and no vehicle was underneath it at the time. The winds died down again on Saturday, but reached the same high levels on Sunday. This time, the damage was not as obvious at work. But it was much more costly. When one of the guys tried to clean a piece of equipment in the wash bay, he found that the power washer wouldn�t turn on. After checking the GFCI breaker on the power cord, he found that it wouldn�t reset. We went to the circuit breaker box to see if anything was tripped. Nothing appeared to be off, so that meant only one thing: None of us want to play with electricity, so we called Sparky, our contracted electrician. He showed up a little while later, and found that we were right- the washer didn�t run. Amazing how much they teach them in the electrical apprenticeship program, isn�t it? He pulled out one of his fancy diagnostic tools, and took a reading on the outlet feeding the power washer. He jumped down from his ladder, and told us,� Something is serious wrong with your electrical supply! Your outlet is reading 110 volts on one side, and almost 500 on the other! That should NEVER happen!� We called North Dakota Power to explain our problem. They said that they would dispatch a repair crew immediately. They also told us to turn ANYTHING that was wired for 220 volts OFF! Kinda late, don�t you think? After the crew checked our readings, they figured out what was causing the high readings: There are usually 2 lines running into the building feeding the 220-volt line. Each side should have 110 to 120 volts running through them. That�s what happens when things are right with the world, electrical-power wise. But that isn�t what we had feeding out building. Remember me mentioning the high winds? Turns out, one of the gusts must have pushed the two lines together down the line somewhere, causing a small surge (small? That might not be the right word to use), starting a line fire. This caused the lines to fuse together, dropping the second feed to the ground. That left one line sending a now-multiplied 440 volts of energy into our building. Which completely fried everything we have wired for 220 volts. That would be ALL of our overhead lights in the parking lot, and the following equipment:
1.Our 20 year old welder. 2. Our almost new air compressor (bought last fall) 3. The aforementioned power washer, less than 2 years old. 4. All of our air conditioning compressors. From what we have been told, the power company will be responsible for the replacement costs of these items. Might set them back $15 or $20 thousand dollars, by the time we get everything replaced? One problem, though- the state is still dead broke. That means we won�t have the credit to buy these things right away, if N.D.P. doesn�t send the money to London right away. We won�t have any way to change a tire, wash a vehicle, or even put air in a low tire until somebody ponies up some cash. As if things aren�t bad enough at the storage as is�. I finally got around to having some bids placed for replacing the back patio. The brick roller coaster of a patio I have put up with since we moved in here 8 years ago was long past need of replacement, but there have been other projects that were of a higher priority. After a few more sunken areas developed this winter, I decided the time was now. So I asked my coworkers who they would recommended for the job. I narrowed my phone calls down to 3 services. Of those, only one had a human answering their phone. They offered to stop by after I got off work tonight to give me their estimate. When I pulled up to the curb tonight, I noticed that the two men who have been doing small concrete jobs for several of my neighbors were working at a neighbor�s house. I asked them if they wanted to also give me a bid. These guys are what I would call �slab pourers�. Not top-grade finish work, but good enough for a uncomplicated job. They came over and measured the space, and without even using a calculator, threw me a price of $1100. I thanked them for their time, and waited for the other guy. He came a few minutes later, and noticed several things that the other guys missed (the need to cut the old sidewalk from the driveway, how much the grade needed to be raised to make the drainage right, including the cutting of an inch off of the bottom of our wooden fence). He said they would pour fiberglass reinforced concrete, and would do all of the work (except the removal of the old bricks, which I already planned on doing myself to save a few bucks) for $1300. I don�t think this is a hard decision at all. Pay some guys working out of the back of their pickup $1100, or pay a respected professional $1300 for a professional job. I might get another estimate or 2, but at least I know what I am looking at for the cost now� Speaking of the old brick patio:
The red tulips I forced this winter are in full bloom today. I thought they contrasted well with the bricks on the patio. I still have 4 pots with bulbs nearing the blooming stage. Two have daffodils, one early iris, and one with has hyacinths (I think- the tag is gone in that one). More photos to come, if they all make it to the flowering stage�.
 powered by SignMyGuestbook.com
Have You Read These?
A hot day for a wedding...9:26 p.m. - Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 So bad - but so funny, too.10:33 p.m. - Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009 Evil Black Walnut Tree from Hell!- times up!6:41 a.m. - Thursday, Apr. 23, 2009 My next door neighbor was on the Today Show?8:57 p.m. - Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 This qualifies as a "oh crap!" moment:9:55 p.m. - Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 Back to top
|
