Watched some curling and women’s biathalon last night. Both were good, both had USA eliminated from the medal running.
The speed skating is good too.
Very interesting camera tech, robots everywhere.
n
Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 Olympics, yea!
53 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Feb. 11, 2018 Olympics, yea!"
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Tank McNamara talks about robots .. http://www.gocomics.com/tankmcnamara?ct=v&cti=1696588
In regards to the cord cutting conversation…
We’ve been free of pay tv for around two years. It was a little work to convince the wife to do it, but once I showed her she wouldn’t miss anything, she was on board. We had Comcast triple play. We went to just an internet only package. We also were already subscribed to Netflix and Amazon Prime. We added a Hulu+ subscription. The other thing that made the cord cutting possible was having a TiVo. Now, I purchased our TiVo HD in 2007. A few years later, Tico offered a special to purchase a lifetime subscription at a discount. It has definitely paid for itself. That thing is a workhorse. It’s on its third hard drive (very easy to image and replace, have done it both times preemptively.) I used it with a cable card when we had cable, not I use it for to record broadcast tv,or rather, the wife uses it.
I put up two antennas in the attic. One for the downstairs tv, which is connected tot he TiVo. Another for the upstairs and garage tv. No recording for those two. I have streaming access in all three tv’s. The hose tv’s have the apps built into the tv. In the garage, I have a Roku. Honestly, I almost never watch tv in the garage, I’m usually streaming something on Pandora.
One last note. I’m still with Comcast, though about a year and a half ago I switched from xfinity (Comcast rebranded home service), to Comcast business. Xfinity customer service is worse than horrible, but the final straw was the data caps. Comcast business doesn’t have them. I pay $70.00 a month for 16 down and 3 up. Believe it or not, that is fine for 3 people streaming at once, along with web surfing.
Just recently, AT&T laid fiber in our area and are now offering gigabit. I would switch to them, since it’s cheaper and faster, but I’m in Huntsville, AL, and google fiber is also laying fiber. I’m holding out for them. Yeah, all three companies are essentially evil, but how often do you get a chance to ditch a telco? I just got the notice from google that sign ups are live, though no install date yet. I accurately predicted sign ups were coming soon a few days before it happened. We had ATT solicitors at our house two days in a row before the email went out.
And another final note…we just dropped Netflix. We will pick it up again when Sranger Things comes back for its third season. Hulu gets most of our viewing time.
Just recently, AT&T laid fiber in our area and are now offering gigabit. I would switch to them, since it’s cheaper and faster, but I’m in Huntsville, AL, and google fiber is also laying fiber. I’m holding out for them. Yeah, all three companies are essentially evil, but how often do you get a chance to ditch a telco? I just got the notice from google that sign ups are live, though no install date yet. I accurately predicted sign ups were coming soon a few days before it happened. We had ATT solicitors at our house two days in a row before the email went out.
Does AT&T still insist that you take Uverse as part of the Gigabit packages?
If you get Uverse and end up despising the DVR app, I’m sorry. It is partially my fault. I told them what would happen with the app eight years ago, but I was overruled by the grey beard with two patents and given a choice — live with the piss-poor app architecture or move on. I voted with my feet.
I don’t know anyone in the AV world, or any savvy consumers who LIKE the uverse GUI.
It’s one of the biggest POSs I’ve ever encountered.
It is the main reason I won’t even consider u-verse.
n
Need some help trying to identify a movie (at least I think it was a movie) which had the following scene (so far Google has not been my friend): father teaching son about nighttime bathroom usage – the dialog was something to the effect of “water hitting water makes noise, water hitting porcelain doesn’t.” Vaguely thought it was a Steve Martin movie but could be mistaken. Thanks in advance for any leads.
@Greg Norton – No, Uverse isn’t required. They do, however, require a year contract. Google is cheaper, and no contract.
I did contact Comcast several months ago. They are offering an internet only package that is double the speed I currently have, for half the price. They wouldn’t give it to me without going to a two year contract. At that time, google fiber had just made the announcement about coming to Huntsville. Obviously, I said no thanks. I am genuinely looking forward to the day I can call Comcast to cancel.
ATT has been hanging fiber in my neighborhood for several months. They just actually hung it behind my house in the last week. They went door to door explaining that they would be going thru back yards, and left a pamphlet. Comcast (cable) has been pushing pipe (underground cable install) in our neighborhood these past weeks too.
Ain’t competition grand?? (and I already get good speeds with comcast, currently ~60 down and ~6 up according to speedof.me)
n
We still have a home phone line. We give it to all the entities that ask for a phone number. You know the ones that want to sell us stuff, or sell our phone number. So it has an answering machine. The last time I answered it, the Fraternal Order of Police wanted us to donate money. They called very early on a Saturday morning, so I declined to donate.
I’m in Huntsville, AL, and google fiber is also laying fiber.
Still only on the “potential” list here…
https://fiber.google.com/cities/tampa/
“We give it to all the entities that ask for a phone number.”
I have 2 numbers on my VOIP service, one is my business number on all my cards and contact info, the other is on my DBA and public paperwork. It’s the number I use if one is required, but I have no interest in answering. I have it hooked to a fax machine with the ringer turned off.
I still get illegal faxes to that number. They are touting cruise ship trips and health insurance mostly.
I really think some public executions are in order.
n
@alan, that doesn’t ring any bells for me….
n
Random blast from the past:
http://www.ttgnet.com/journal/2015/06/11/thursday-11-june-2015/
Mentions rats, high taxes, illiterate immigrant children, and @lynn moving further out…
Also the joys of repacking bulk into 2L bottles.
Greece was complaining- so the EU F’d them hard with the “migrant crisis.” Bet they don’t complain again…..
n
I don’t know anyone in the AV world, or any savvy consumers who LIKE the uverse GUI.
When the app store first opened in 2008, Death Star Telephone spent $1 million on a prototype Uverse app with Frog Design, one of the industry leaders at the time. The greybeard running things promptly disregarded the prototype in favor of his own concept because he didn’t like working in objects and thought everything should be done in ANSI C as much as possible.
For now, DST will never admit anything is wrong with the app because they gave the greybeard a lifetime technical achievement award in 2009, prior to the Uverse debacle. I think they’re just hoping he early retires when he hits a combined 3o years of service (IBM and AT&T) next year.
Too much inside information? Suing me for violating my NDA would mean admitting that I was right. Plus, I’ve spent most of the last eight years unemployed or underemployed — I have nothing left to take.
xkcd, “The History of Unicode”
https://xkcd.com/1953/
There’s a story in one of the tech books that was making the rounds 10 or so years ago, Inmates Are Running the Asylum, or something similar. It is about developing a UI for the seat back video systems on airplanes. Designer thought about what the USER was trying to do, which was browse for a movie he’d like to watch. So the designer invented something like what apple’s CoverFlow ended up being, controlled by a single knob you turned left or right. REJECTED- and the UI ended up essentially a nested folder structure (all this IIRC, and I might not.) So the user has to guess what sort of movie they might have categorized a film as, then go digging for it using the arrow keys and enter button.
IIRC his idea was rejected because the others wanted the hierarchical structure they were used to, and it was ‘a computer.’
n
Oh well.
Fiber to the home, added– it’s funny that comcast is pushing pipe for their fiber. The current coax is up on the poles. Maybe ATT is just extending their lease, as their copper is up on the poles. Maybe comcast couldn’t extend their lease, or got tired of paying, and now it’s economical to push pipe….
Either way, it’s interesting that comcast chose to underground the new fiber.
n
Fiber is not as problem free as one might think, especially if it is just burried.
All infrastructure should be underground in conduit and/or tunnels. Initial cost is high but lifetime cost is essentially recovered when the first wire or pipe has to be fixed.
For the past 30 years building code in Kennewick has required that all “utilities” (electric, copper phone lines, cable) to be in conduit, the other 2 of the Tri-Cities do not. The result is we have 1/10th the outages and when we do they are hours and not days. We also have substantially lower utility rates.
When Charter/Spectrum “upgraded” to fiber about 10 years ago they chose not to go the houses in the “old” neighborhoods. They just went to a main terminal point that feeds from 10 to 20 homes so everyone has fiber no farther than 300 feet away.
Meanwhile, out in the world:
Lefties shutting down free speech get a face full of pepper spray– Peaceful until the lefties showed up.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5378157/Five-arrested-counter-protest-against-Republican-rally.html
The situation in Venesuala is not getting better–
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5378769/Street-sellers-make-baskets-Venezuela-bank-notes.html
And a brand new food source has moved into Cali–
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5378405/Giant-rodents-California.html
I hear they are good eating, and if you are softer hearted, or less hungry, great pets.
There was a tropical cyclone in the Pacific, affected Pago Pago and American Samoa. No link, because there wasn’t any coverage. [I went looking, so linky]
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2018-02-11-tropical-cyclone-gita-american-samoa-tonga-forecast-impacts
And the current flu strains continue to kill people in the US and elsewhere.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5379179/Mother-two-teacher-38-dies-flu.html
Not sure why her Tamiflu “costs too much”. Wasn’t Obammy care supposed to make sure everyone got the coverage they needed? As a TX teacher, her bennies should be pretty good. Our district certainly isn’t short of medical insurance….
n
Wasn’t Obammy care supposed to make sure everyone got the coverage they needed?
Spousal unit is on Obammy care. Maximum out of pocket is supposed to be $8,000.00. Strange that I have paid $18,000.00 this year in her medical costs. Maximum out of pocket means nothing. Insurance finds a way to not pay, providers find a way to gouge on price. Too many freeloaders in the system.
The gotcha words in medical insurance is “allowed” (becoming more often NOT) followed by “allowed costs” (a small fraction of what is covered). Now just because something may be “allowed” does not mean that the costs are. And of course there is the other big gotcha word “network” that you are probably in the wrong one.
ObamaNoCare allowed the CareNoGivers, disInsurance Companies, Big Pharma, Big Reasearch, Big Hospital to write their own rules as the go. These rules have been written in such a way that even if ObamaNoCare were ever repealed the rules stay in place. The Liberal Progressives figured out how to write the perfect law.
The gotcha with Tamiflu is that it has a very short time where its administration does any good. Essentially by the time you think you have the Flu and it is confirmed by the nasal swab test it is too late to do any good. And if you have other complications you can actually exasperate the situation with Tamiflu and be way worse off.
I’ve been lurking, wanted to join in for some time but have been stopped to due to Health issues for my wife followed by a Kidney Stone for me that took twenty-five days to clear up.
My DirecTV bill was $162 monthly for two TVs. I wanted to drop it but since it was in my wife’s name they wouldn’t talk to me. (I have power of attorney and she has Alzheimer’s and she was institutionalized on January 12th.)
DirecTV sent us a updated Service agreement that gave us two weeks to drop out if we didn’t accept the new agreement. I called the associated 800 number and told them I want to cancel service as I didn’t like the new service agreement. The person I talked to accepted my verbal statement that my wife was not available and reluctantly allowed me to cancel the service. I even got a $51 dollar refund for the unused but paid for service.
I bought an Amazon Fire stick. Couldn’t get a thing on the TV. Got an antenna and now get a twenty or so local channels. Tried Hulu but was unable to get anything with it either and canceled within the 7 day trial window. I’m not sure what value the Amazon Firestick provides other than a connection to wifi. I haven’t watched a movie since Grand Torino was released.
I tried Sling next and am able to get a few channels. NBCSports, ESPN but nothing much else after two weeks of working with my granddaughter over the phone.
I hate the fact the if I’m watching a local (Raleigh, NC) basketball game (I love ACC basketball) and want to check out a game on ESPN I have to change the TV input option from antenna to HDMI4, select the input option as Sling, search for and select the channel, and then maybe get ESPN (sometimes I get a list of movies instead). I always get the response of: “Alexa doesn’t support your request on this device” so voice commands don’t work.
So watching two games is almost out of the question. I’m going to hate “trying” to watch the NCAA basketball tournament. I sure hope I can get TNT and TrueTV located and working by March.
My wife didn’t know how to response to telemarketers and I couldn’t always get the phone before she did. No one else ever called us on that number. So I dropped the landline last Fall but kept the ISP part of Windstream. Cut my bill from $105 to $45 and got an upgrade in Data to from 5 GB to 25 GB also.
I’m a retired MIS manager that learned to program in machine code and my first major project was rewriting the mainframe compiler.
Which is why I want to stock the swab and tamiflu. you need to check and treat in those first couple of days. By the time you feel sick enough to take the time out of the day to see a doc in the box, it’s too late.
Seriously, why isn’t the swab available OTC? I’m sure you just put it into a pre-configured test tube and wait for an indicator. My Dr did it in a couple of minutes last time I went in. All the ‘flu vs cold’ nonsense would be eliminated, people MIGHT be more willing to isolate themselves if they knew for sure, and just sticking a swab in your nose isn’t hazardous to anyone who can walk by themselves.
n
added- people manage pregnancy testing on their own
“All infrastructure should be underground in conduit and/or tunnels.”
comcast and any of the other underground fiber here IS in conduit. They push the pipe, then pull the conduit (which is about 2 ” across) and then blow in the fiber later. There are lots of products (innerduct) to facilitate this and upgrades later. Since the entire underground part of the conduit is one piece, it won’t leak unless damaged. Pretty cool watching them push the pipe, if you know what they’re doing. Otherwise it just looks like a fat guy sitting on a funny looking machine.
n
Spousal unit is on Obammy care. Maximum out of pocket is supposed to be $8,000.00. Strange that I have paid $18,000.00 this year in her medical costs. Maximum out of pocket means nothing. Insurance finds a way to not pay, providers find a way to gouge on price. Too many freeloaders in the system.
Yup. I blame Obamacare and EMTALA. Obamacare took a bad situation and made it worse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act
And you probably remember the debate over allowing the sticks to be used and read at home. Because it was so complicated to pee on a stick and then see if the window turned blue. Surely the profits of medical businesses had nothing to do with the reluctance to allow women to do it at home.
(To be fair, the sticks may have been less reliable or more difficult to read at the time. I don’t remember clearly.)
“US wants to privatize International Space Station: report”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-wants-privatize-international-space-station-report-230352443.html
If this is not fake news then I am ok with this.
Either way, it’s interesting that comcast chose to underground the new fiber.
AT&T used some kind of sophisticated tunneling tool to put the fiber underground here in North Austin/Round Rock. They didn’t do the usual trench/cover with a crew of illegals tearing up the yards, but the tunneling tool killed a few trees.
If this is not fake news then I am ok with this.
I’ve seen the idea about privatization floated in stories in the Orlando paper for several years so I doubt it is fake news. Long term, Bigelow Aerospace wants a space hotel with regular CST-100 flights, and they already have one of their inflatable modules attached to the station as part of a test of their technology.
NASA thinks it is going to get more than one launch out of SLS and needs every penny they can lay their hands on. However, I think SpaceX just made the case to become the anchor tenant in the VAB high bays and control rooms.
With directional boring, they often pull 2″ conduit and blow in fiber after. With a lot of the splices being underground, it does leak. We have a customer whose computer room is below the level of the splice point, and it leaks. They don’t like it.
Some of the electronics are underground too. The company I work for has never done that, but I hear it’s a real pain to fix if it breaks since you have to dig a hole, open a sealed box, and replace the equipment.
Apropos the Olympics:
#PooWatch enters 24th day as drug suspect refuses to use toilet
“The longest an inmate has gone without using the toilet is believed to be 23 days – so Lamarr has now broken the British record.”
the dialog was something to the effect of “water hitting water makes noise, water hitting porcelain doesn’t.”
It’s actually from an episode of Maude (don’t recall the title or the plot, really) and Arthur is explaining to his grandson that he shouldn’t pee into the water:
“When water falls on water it makes a sound that all can hear,
but when water falls on porcelain, it is silent to the ear”
@Alan: FWIW I do remember the scene. However, that must’ve been 20-30 years ago – I have no idea what movie it might have been.
Ray, a question regarding confiscated phones in school: Can and do the teachers, principal, or staff check what’s on the students’ phones? Can and does the district require students to provide the passwords for any confiscated phones?
This is in reference to this recent news item, in which a principal went through phones looking for nude selfies. Setting aside his sleaziness, were the students so stupid as to have nude pictures on unlocked phones?
“were the students so stupid” … yes. Remember that they TOOK the nudes in the first place.
I have a new incentive to buy boxes of confiscated phones at the school auctions now. I wondered why people were paying that much for boxes of random phones.
That never occurred to me.
n
‘course the whole ‘go to jail for child porn’ thing kinda puts a damper on it….
The principal posting nude photos online is the first case I have heard of where prosecution is warranted involving underage minors and cell phone photos. If in ten years my daughter sends a picture in which she isn’t fully clothed to a teenage boy, I will very unhappy. I will not for a minute consider that she manufactured child porn or that the teenage boy received child porn.
Some of the electronics are underground too. The company I work for has never done that, but I hear it’s a real pain to fix if it breaks since you have to dig a hole, open a sealed box, and replace the equipment.
I wouldn’t be surprised if AT&T attempted to ditch landline nationwide within a few years. Doing landline well requires a certain amount of respect for the employees and customers that the management just doesn’t have anymore.
The reason it hasn’t happened already IMHO is because the company and Steve Jobs broke the union in 2009 to make sure the iPhone 3G got out the door. Since pushing legacy SNET out, the only ongoing labor problem has been CA.
Can and do the teachers, principal, or staff check what’s on the students’ phones?
They can by policy but do not unless there is reason to suspect something. There was a rumor in school that a student had video of him having intercourse with one of our exchange students. The principal seized the phone and in the presence of two others, male and female, looked at the contents of the phone. Nothing was found.
The school policy specifically states that all items on school property, backpacks, phones, vehicles, people are subject to search at any time.
Our exchange student only lasted 4 months before she transferred to another home and school. Out of 14 students she was the only one with significant problems. She was spoiled at home, got almost anything she wanted, considered herself special. None of that worked in our home and she did not like it at all. We were close to telling her to leave which she decided for us.
My daughter is approaching the age when she’ll get a cell phone of her own. These things weigh heavy on my mind. The one thing that seems to alleviate the stress is the fact that we talk all the time, about all kinds of things. She understands (now) that some things are older than she is, and seems content.
Of course, I know she’s talking to a group (of kids) at school that goes into more detail than I do. I pray that she’s wise enough to know the right thing to do at the right time. I also know that I’ll support her no matter what.
Thanks for the first-hand report, Ray.
Agreed. But of course prosecutors are always looking at reelection and common sense takes a back seat to telling the voters “We’re protecting our most vulnerable children!” (And no need to mention they’re being protected from themselves.)
Ah, yes, the famous “We heard a rumor” level of proof. The best part is the room for judgment in deciding the credibility of the rumors which just must be investigated.
My policy is that I do not acknowledge “school property”, not for public schools. Furthermore, my policy is that they can kiss my ass if they want to search me or my possessions. I will usually consent to leave “their” property, but will not tolerate searches.
!!?? Doesn’t the US already have enough special snowflakes? Why the hell are we bringing in more?
Yah. My approach is to discuss it openly, with the explicit message of “they aren’t really your friends if they demand this of you” and “why do you care what they think?” That conversation has also been had with some of my daughter’s friends, if something related comes up when they’re talking near me; most of the friends’ parents work on the principle of “decent people don’t talk about these things” and “we’re bringing our child up as a good christian and she won’t be tempted to do bad things” and the like. Right. Because that always works so well.
The look on my wife’s younger cousins’ faces when I told them that if they ever sent a naked pic to anyone it was likely to be online at one of the porn sites that specialize in naked selfies, was F’ing priceless.
It looked like it had NEVER OCCURRED to them that the boy involved might share, or profit from the pix. What part of “EX-” boyfriend do you not understand??
n
(and facial recognition will de-anonymize those pics soon, if not already)
Getting back to cables under the ground.
If you look you will see that the companies doing this work are 3rd-party contractors. AT&T, Verizon, etc. cannot be bothered maintaining the “sophisticated” equipment and personnel.
The specs and other requirements are very basic and open to a lot of interpretation by the contractor. And, yes, I have seen such contracts with AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, and Charter/Spectrum. Most do not address the subject of buried/hidden splices and junctions. Charter/Spectrum was the only one that used to require no buried/hidden splices.
I was raised in a nice, decent, Christian home. I heard about all those things at a good Christian high school. I have few illusions. I think.
Buried/hidden splices.
Many years ago, I did some wiring in my parents’ house. Several years later they had the house professionally rewired. The electrician chased some wiring and couldn’t understand how a single strand of Romex could “split” the way it did. When I told him what I had done he explained what the problem was. He cut the cables altogether & yanked. He was nice about it, and I was thankful we hadn’t had a fire. That could have wrecked my folks if insurance had found that splice to be the cause.
Since then, I never hide a splice. I may wrap it (or shrink-tube), but every splice is easy to find. Because if there’s a problem, they MUST be easy to inspect. I cannot imagine people that know better would be okay with hiding splices underground where they cannot be inspected.
@Jim, not knowing exactly what your “splice” situation was, but Standard Universal Electrical Code requires that all splices be made in a junction box that is accessible from inside the structure (can be accessible from the exterior in certain instances) and cannot be in a non-living space attic, hidden or covered by any material. Simply put a splice cannot be hidden or inaccessible in any way.
Sounds like you get the idea and are doing it right now. :thumbs up:
Quite awhile back I had to have a Licensed Electrician come and inspect some electrical work I did on my house*. I may be a U.S. Navy Qualified Nuclear Electrician, but I do not have my “landlubber” license. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but when he was done and had signed the permit he asked if I would like to come work for him. He said he could help me get my license and a Union Card.
*Ceiling lights and closet lights in 3 bedrooms on a new circuit (lights and outlets in a room are supposed to be on separate circuits. Lights (1 circuit) and outlets (2 20amp, 2 30amp circuits) in the garage. Fortunately the breaker box in my house is way bigger than normal so I had plenty of room for expansion.
Hidden splices… It’s pretty simple, fiber splices don’t fail when they’re underground. If they do, they splice points are known and easy to find with an OTDR.
Wrt leaking underground, I was working on a project and the electricians were going to be pulling wire thru the new, but buried, conduit. Pulling both feeders for the building, and branch circuits, so big conduits and small.
They used what was new to me at the time, a ball of fluff on a string and compressed air, to get the first pull string thru the conduit. They were VERY clear that you didn’t want to be standing in front of the open end of the conduit when they blew, as you would get a nice face full of foetid water. Seems that even if water didn’t get into the conduit some other way, it would eventually get in there thru condensation.
The fiber ATT is pulling (in places underground to distribution points) and comcast is pulling is in 2″ plastic hose that comes on spools. There is no reason for splicing but if they do, they can use a fusion process just like the sewer and water guys do. There is no reason why a continuous hose (conduit) should ever leak underground unless damaged, if installed and spliced properly. I can imagine water getting in thru the ends, or thru condensation though.
If you are observant, you will have noticed big tanks of nitrogen attached to utility poles and chained down in various places throughout your locale. They are injecting dry nitrogen into existing wiring bundles and coax to displace the water that has gotten in. Water finds a way in….
n
@JimL (and anyone who would like to do their own work), there are lots of How To and DIY books covering the broad range of electrical/ plumbing/ and carpentry that a homeowner might undertake. The ones I’ve owned and looked at all seem pretty clear….the bookshelf at the checkout area in Lowes or HomeDepot has a good selection. Most of it isn’t rocket science, but best practices and code requirements have evolved from disaster and misfortune.
Most jurisdictions will allow homeowners to pull permits and do any sort of work on their own property, but it is still subject to inspection, permitting and approval.
As Mike Holmes says, “You WANT an inspection and sign off. It’s YOUR double check on the contractors you’ve hired.” Or on your work. If you follow along with a good, recent DIY book, you shouldn’t have any problems. Most inspectors will tell you if there is an issue, and allow you to correct it, often without a return visit. In most places the fees are low, and the inspection is timely.
n
Just a note, not an endorsement—
costco special on coleman solar panels and charge controllers…
https://www.costco.com/.product.100389117.html
no idea if it’s a great unit, but a quick google says the price is good.
I trust coleman branded panels more than One Hung Lo brand from ebay…..
n
That could have wrecked my folks if insurance had found that splice to be the cause.
Nope. Insurance pays for stupid and human error. Insurance does not pay for intentional to commit fraud. Even your wiring error caused a fire insurance would have paid. It is a myth that insurance will not pay for wiring or plumbing errors done by an individual.
Well – lesson learned in any event. The last work I did in my own home I had an electrician check. I’m not sorry that I did, even though everything was okay. Peace of mind & the safety of my children are worth it.
And perhaps that electrician all those years ago was pulling my leg. Could have been – I’m kind of dumb that way. But knowing better is worth the lesson.
The last work I did in my own home I had an electrician check
Doing electrical work does not bother me. I may not know the specific details such as how often a support is supposed to be attached to conduit, but I know how electricity works and how to wire circuits. Also electrical tends to work, or not work thus releasing the magic smoke with sparks. Keep your hot wires (always colored except green), in the right location, neutral (always white) in the correct location, ground (always green or bare copper) in the right location and it will be good. The biggest issue is reversing the hot and neutral. That can cause real significant problems.
I really hate doing plumbing. Getting joints that don’t leak is sometimes non-trivial. Rarely have the correct fitting or adapter. Gluing PVC is OK but sometimes struggle with copper. Or at least I did when using a propane torch. Switched to MAPP gas and the higher temperature made a big difference.
I can repair toilets, faucets and other such items without much difficulty. When a toilet needs repairs I disassemble then entire unit separating the tank from the bowl. All new parts and gaskets. Fairly cheap to replace it all at once and be done with any issues.
But for most issues beyond some simple repairs I just call a plumber. Water can do some real significant damage over time from the tiniest of leaks. Electrical generally shows any problems quickly.
What annoys me is when you are redoing some part of the house and discover something that was left from a previous owner. Wiring done incorrectly, even from people that are supposed to be professionals. Obvious such work was done by a clod and never inspected.
Had a light circuit in the bathroom that was fed by two circuits, thus 30 amperes available. Found out by trying to kill the power to replace a vent fan. Could never get it shut off by flipping individual breakers. Confused me so I had to flip all the breakers and flipped them on one at a time and found two of them would activate the circuit.
Perhaps there was a heater, light and fan in there at one time and the unit failed. Homeowner at the time just replaced with a light and a fan and wired it all together. An idiot.
My reference for wiring is “Wiring Simplified”. I have the 37th edition. The cover says it covers the 1993 code.
If you are observant, you will have noticed big tanks of nitrogen attached to utility poles and chained down in various places throughout your locale. They are injecting dry nitrogen into existing wiring bundles and coax to displace the water that has gotten in. Water finds a way in….
I call water “the universal solvent”.