How did you weather the storms

[BCFD36]

It has been quite some time since someone posted, so here I am poking
the pile with a stick.

How did everyone do with the storms? I have no idea how much rain was
actually received here, but a friend near downtown Boulder Creek got 50+
inches between Dec 30 and when it quit raining.

I had a generator installed last summer and it was a good thing. We were
without power for about 11 or so days. Maybe more. The only problem was
that we started getting low on propane. I called FerrellGas on Jan 6 and
they said they would be out on the 18th or something like that. They
showed up Feb 1. We drastically rationed our generator time after that,
and also quit using central heating. We strictly used our wood stove for
quite some time. Now we are almost out of wood! I hope for a delivery in
the next week.

There are some drainage problems on the property above me. I have the
county coming out to tell me what might be done.

My wife spent a few days in a hotel in Scotts Valley since she didn't
want to take a chance of getting trapped in BC. She had an appointment
at Stanford she absolutely could not miss.

Later on, we were trapped for a few days when a tree came down just up
the road. Of course it took out a power pole and our power was out
again. The tree was completely across the road with power lines tangled
up in it meaning "DON'T TOUCH THE TREE".

I went up to inspect the scene. The broken pole had a transformer on it
and the transformer was leaking oil. When I contacted PG&E I told them
we had a possible HAZMAT going on. That got their attention and someone
was out within an hour. It took a day or two to get the tree cleared and
a new pole in place.

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)

[pH]

On 2023-02-03, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> It has been quite some time since someone posted, so here I am poking
> the pile with a stick.

Ouch! That was my eye! Hello, Captain.

>
> How did everyone do with the storms? I have no idea how much rain was
> actually received here, but a friend near downtown Boulder Creek got 50+
> inches between Dec 30 and when it quit raining.

We had quite the ride here in the Aptos hills.

There *was* quite a lot of rain, but it never did come to full-capacity at
any one time on the two culverts that serve our little horseshoe corner of
the road.
Nor did we have landslides like occurred in 1982, which happened before we
moved here in '85.

>
> I had a generator installed last summer and it was a good thing. We were
> without power for about 11 or so days. Maybe more. The only problem was
> that we started getting low on propane. I called FerrellGas on Jan 6 and
> they said they would be out on the 18th or something like that. They
> showed up Feb 1. We drastically rationed our generator time after that,
> and also quit using central heating. We strictly used our wood stove for
> quite some time. Now we are almost out of wood! I hope for a delivery in
> the next week.

We lost power for a couple days, but we also lost phone service for the
first time ever. (After the '89 quake we had the only working phone in the
neighbor hood. We had a real long cord and put it out in our driveway for
all the neighbors to use.) The phone cable got snapped by one of the
falling trees.

We lost three small trees on what we call "the big hill", the out-of-code
steepness hill that prevents the County from adopting our road, that we
neighbors were able to clear ourselves.

Two larger trees each took our the power and phone. A neighor with a
chainsaw and tractor was able to clear those enough to allow P.G.&E. to
restore power.

We do not have cell phones, so we were using Ham radio as our only link to
the outside world and it's still the we we communicate most often,
family-wise.

Propane is good in that after two years your carburetor is not gummed up and
it should start right up. On the bad side, it does suck the fuel.

You say you also used your fireplace...tin foil hat time...what do we do
when "they" have banned propane along w/ the natrual gas and then fireplaces
'cuz they make smoke.
If you remember, there have been a few feints at banning fireplaces in the
SLValley in the past.

>
> There are some drainage problems on the property above me. I have the
> county coming out to tell me what might be done.

That might suggest you contact the Resource Conservation District. I seem to
recall they have free visits and suggestions.

>
> My wife spent a few days in a hotel in Scotts Valley since she didn't
> want to take a chance of getting trapped in BC. She had an appointment
> at Stanford she absolutely could not miss.

Uh oh...are there some medical issues we might want to know about? I hope
your public service retirement gives you good insurance if that is the case.

>
> Later on, we were trapped for a few days when a tree came down just up
> the road. Of course it took out a power pole and our power was out
> again. The tree was completely across the road with power lines tangled
> up in it meaning "DON'T TOUCH THE TREE".

Isn't it amazing the way the public will drive and walk over downed lines
w/o knowing if they are live or not? You don't even have to touch the line
for it to kill you if you're unlucky. Bet you have lots of stories about
that!

>
> I went up to inspect the scene. The broken pole had a transformer on it
> and the transformer was leaking oil. When I contacted PG&E I told them
> we had a possible HAZMAT going on. That got their attention and someone
> was out within an hour. It took a day or two to get the tree cleared and
> a new pole in place.

Reminds me of the time a guy brought a sample into the lab which turned out
to be pure PCB 1260. He never came back to get his sample once he found
out.

>
Hope others chime in....long live Usenet...phooey on Twitter.

pH in Aptos

[BCFD36]

On 2/3/23 18:36, pH wrote:
> On 2023-02-03, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>> It has been quite some time since someone posted, so here I am poking
>> the pile with a stick.
>
> Ouch! That was my eye! Hello, Captain.

Hello!

That question has been on my mind. Some places are trying to go all
electric. That wouldn't work up here given how often we have multi-day
power outages.

>>
>> There are some drainage problems on the property above me. I have the
>> county coming out to tell me what might be done.
>
> That might suggest you contact the Resource Conservation District. I seem to
> recall they have free visits and suggestions.
>>
>> My wife spent a few days in a hotel in Scotts Valley since she didn't
>> want to take a chance of getting trapped in BC. She had an appointment
>> at Stanford she absolutely could not miss.
>
> Uh oh...are there some medical issues we might want to know about? I hope
> your public service retirement gives you good insurance if that is the case.

We are on Medicare now so things are good, I think. I had pretty good
insurance when I was working for GTE/Condor/Lockheed/Stellar and it was
also pretty good when I got it through the State of Calif after I got
laid off. Again.

>
>>
>> Later on, we were trapped for a few days when a tree came down just up
>> the road. Of course it took out a power pole and our power was out
>> again. The tree was completely across the road with power lines tangled
>> up in it meaning "DON'T TOUCH THE TREE".
>
> Isn't it amazing the way the public will drive and walk over downed lines
> w/o knowing if they are live or not? You don't even have to touch the line
> for it to kill you if you're unlucky. Bet you have lots of stories about
> that!

I didn't see it, but I was told about a guy who was SWEEPING a hot line
out of the street. I am guessing it was tree wire because he survived
the incident.

We had a guy once up in a tree getting shocked through the tree that was
touching the power lines. Not badly, but painfully.

>
>>
>> I went up to inspect the scene. The broken pole had a transformer on it
>> and the transformer was leaking oil. When I contacted PG&E I told them
>> we had a possible HAZMAT going on. That got their attention and someone
>> was out within an hour. It took a day or two to get the tree cleared and
>> a new pole in place.
>
> Reminds me of the time a guy brought a sample into the lab which turned out
> to be pure PCB 1260. He never came back to get his sample once he found
> out.

We were told years ago that PGE had removed all of the PCB containing
transformers from Santa Cruz County, BUT to assume that some had been
missed. Good advice in my opinion.

>
>>
> Hope others chime in....long live Usenet...phooey on Twitter.
>
> pH in Aptos
>
>
>

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)

Sr. Software Engineer (Retired, mostly)

[pH]

On 2023-02-06, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On 2/3/23 18:36, pH wrote:
>> On 2023-02-03, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>>> It has been quite some time since someone posted, so here I am poking
>>> the pile with a stick.
>>
>> Ouch! That was my eye! Hello, Captain.
>
> Hello!
>

<snip>

>
> That question has been on my mind. Some places are trying to go all
> electric. That wouldn't work up here given how often we have multi-day
> power outages.

There is nothing wrong with heat pumps...the principal of refrigerators,
essentially.
Only it's just my contention that it should be my decision to get/use one
instead of having it foisted on me.

I've always wished I had enough sun here to go solar...are you in the forest
like me or can you put in some solar if you like?

>
>>>
>>> There are some drainage problems on the property above me. I have the
>>> county coming out to tell me what might be done.
>>
>> That might suggest you contact the Resource Conservation District. I seem to
>> recall they have free visits and suggestions.
>>>
>>> My wife spent a few days in a hotel in Scotts Valley since she didn't
>>> want to take a chance of getting trapped in BC. She had an appointment
>>> at Stanford she absolutely could not miss.
>>
>> Uh oh...are there some medical issues we might want to know about? I hope
>> your public service retirement gives you good insurance if that is the case.
>
> We are on Medicare now so things are good, I think. I had pretty good
> insurance when I was working for GTE/Condor/Lockheed/Stellar and it was
> also pretty good when I got it through the State of Calif after I got
> laid off. Again.
>

Yes, I am on Medicare now, as well. Isn't it interesting that they say
"Sign up or else!" I've also gone onto social security. That and my County
retirement seem to be enough so far.

It's interesting that my wife gets to collect SS as well based on my payins
over the years.

>>
>>>
>>> Later on, we were trapped for a few days when a tree came down just up
>>> the road. Of course it took out a power pole and our power was out
>>> again. The tree was completely across the road with power lines tangled
>>> up in it meaning "DON'T TOUCH THE TREE".
>>
>> Isn't it amazing the way the public will drive and walk over downed lines
>> w/o knowing if they are live or not? You don't even have to touch the line
>> for it to kill you if you're unlucky. Bet you have lots of stories about
>> that!
>
> I didn't see it, but I was told about a guy who was SWEEPING a hot line
> out of the street. I am guessing it was tree wire because he survived
> the incident.
>
> We had a guy once up in a tree getting shocked through the tree that was
> touching the power lines. Not badly, but painfully.

Here we have people drive over wires of unkown status. Of course, it's all
tree wire.
That did not stop the bluejays from killing the power for an hour or two by
landing too close to an insulator where the wire is bare as it goes over to
the next connection...sounds like a shotgun shell going off and bluejay
carcass at the base of the pole.

Stays that way until the fuse is replaced. They finally did something to
stop all that after the 4th time.

>
>>
>>>
>>> I went up to inspect the scene. The broken pole had a transformer on it
>>> and the transformer was leaking oil. When I contacted PG&E I told them
>>> we had a possible HAZMAT going on. That got their attention and someone
>>> was out within an hour. It took a day or two to get the tree cleared and
>>> a new pole in place.
>>
>> Reminds me of the time a guy brought a sample into the lab which turned out
>> to be pure PCB 1260. He never came back to get his sample once he found
>> out.
>
> We were told years ago that PGE had removed all of the PCB containing
> transformers from Santa Cruz County, BUT to assume that some had been
> missed. Good advice in my opinion.
>
>>
>>>
>> Hope others chime in....long live Usenet...phooey on Twitter.
>>
>> pH in Aptos
>>
>>
>>

pH
Thanks for posting.

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Fri, 3 Feb 2023 12:34:10 -0800, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:

>How did everyone do with the storms?

I did ok. A 50ft "toothpick" oak fell next to the house.
<https://photos.app.goo.gl/L2BrEqyhTBGVK8MF6>
It didn't hit the house but did put a few new dents in the Subaru.
When the weather cooperates, I'll probably pound out the dents myself.
I have the tools:
<https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive/auto-body-trim/body-and-fender-set-7-piece-63259.html>
but have no idea what I'm doing. The tree also took down the Comcast
cable and AT&T phone drops. When I installed the drops, I
intentionally secured them with a very weakly installed screw hook.
When the tree landed on the drops, it stripped out the hook, leaving
the cables intact. They're currently on the ground and working,
waiting for me to clear the area from tree debris.

I survived the various power outages thanks to a generator:
<http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/Generators/DuroMax%20XP4400e/DuroMax%20XP4400E.jpg>
The irritating part was that I had power (from the generator), but
Comcast died after 4 hrs. It seems that the recent upgrades to their
amplifier backup power missed my area (Scenic Way, BL). In some
areas, Comcast installed concrete pads and boxes stuffed full of
batteries. This is in Felton behind the Valero gas station:
<https://photos.app.goo.gl/f3hudeiKfhu2SAQe9>
However, our pole is next to the road with no space available for a
pad. So no backup.

Without Comcast/Xfinity internet, I was suffering from internet
withdrawal symptoms. What did I do before there was internet, email
and YouTube? So, I spent some time house cleaning and moving boxes
around. I eventually remembered that I had a smartphone with internet
access. That saved me from going insane.

Sometime during the storms, PG&E discovered that the last "pole" on
our road was actually a 30ft fir tree stump covered with ivy:
<https://photos.app.goo.gl/r4r2Fj8fU31ryEAU8>
It's been like that for at least 50 years. Last week, a PG&E
contractor installed two power poles nearby and forgot to install a
third pole. They're coming back tomorrow (Tues) to attach the wires.
I've been informed that my power will be off and the road barricaded
from 9am to 5pm. So, I get to stay home and baby sit the generator
and refrigerators.

While some areas had trees fall from high winds, we saw very little
wind. The wind was coming generally from the south. In that
direction, there is a high ridge behind my house which blocked the
wind. Some tree debris on the road, but not much else. Sometimes, I
get lucky.

That's about it. No excitement or disasters. That's the way I like
it.




--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[Julian Macassey]

On Tue, 7 Feb 2023 04:37:42 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
> On 2023-02-06, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:

>> That question has been on my mind. Some places are trying to go all
>> electric. That wouldn't work up here given how often we have multi-day
>> power outages.

What you need is a real electric utility, not a gang of
criminals like the management of Pakistani Gas and Electric.

>
> There is nothing wrong with heat pumps...the principal of refrigerators,
> essentially.

There is a lot right with heat pumps. They are efficent
and cheap to run, expensive to install. The only cheaper source
of heat would be to burn politicians and PG&E executives.

> Only it's just my contention that it should be my decision to get/use one
> instead of having it foisted on me.

They certainly pollute a lot less than wood stoves or
natural gas.

>
> I've always wished I had enough sun here to go solar...are you in the forest
> like me or can you put in some solar if you like?

There is also wind generation. I am currently living by
a harbour where they assemble offshore wind turbines.

> That did not stop the bluejays from killing the power for an hour or two by
> landing too close to an insulator where the wire is bare as it goes over to
> the next connection...sounds like a shotgun shell going off and bluejay
> carcass at the base of the pole.

When I lived in the woods in Wisconsin I came home one
day to no power. A squirrel had shorted itself over a pole
transformer, blown its balls off and landed below. The power
company with a bucket truck were there in a couple of hours and
replaced the fuse.

>>> Hope others chime in....long live Usenet...phooey on Twitter.

Usenet is efficient and uses less bandwidth.

--
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see
themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily
embarrassed millionaires.” - Ronald Wright

[Julian Macassey]

On Mon, 06 Feb 2023 22:40:46 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> The irritating part was that I had power (from the generator), but
> Comcast died after 4 hrs.

ITYM Scumcast. The world's greediest utility, PG&E holds
the number two spot.

--
People come on Facebook and they talk about so many things that
are irrelevant. - Rose Wong, former math teacher, 102 years old

[pH]

Jullian! That's a long-lost familiar name...
looks like you don't live in the Santa Cruz area anymore (if you ever did).

It's a pleasant surprise to see that people are still looking at Usenet
every so often....

pH

[pH]

On 2023-02-07, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Feb 2023 12:34:10 -0800, BCFD36 <bcf...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>
>>How did everyone do with the storms?
>
> I did ok. A 50ft "toothpick" oak fell next to the house.
><https://photos.app.goo.gl/L2BrEqyhTBGVK8MF6>
> It didn't hit the house but did put a few new dents in the Subaru.
> When the weather cooperates, I'll probably pound out the dents myself.
> I have the tools:

<snip>

> Without Comcast/Xfinity internet, I was suffering from internet
> withdrawal symptoms. What did I do before there was internet, email
> and YouTube? So, I spent some time house cleaning and moving boxes
> around. I eventually remembered that I had a smartphone with internet
> access. That saved me from going insane.

Just get out your typewrite and write letters to your penpals, same as
always.

Funny how we've all gotten used to those screen thingies.

Becky just got diagnosed w/ a concussion and was told to avoid screens for
the time being as they inhibit brain healing (!). Reall?
I wonder what routine use does, therefore......

> Sometime during the storms, PG&E discovered that the last "pole" on
> our road was actually a 30ft fir tree stump covered with ivy:
><https://photos.app.goo.gl/r4r2Fj8fU31ryEAU8>
> It's been like that for at least 50 years. Last week, a PG&E
> contractor installed two power poles nearby and forgot to install a
> third pole. They're coming back tomorrow (Tues) to attach the wires.
> I've been informed that my power will be off and the road barricaded
> from 9am to 5pm. So, I get to stay home and baby sit the generator
> and refrigerators.
>
> While some areas had trees fall from high winds, we saw very little
> wind. The wind was coming generally from the south. In that
> direction, there is a high ridge behind my house which blocked the
> wind. Some tree debris on the road, but not much else. Sometimes, I
> get lucky.
>
> That's about it. No excitement or disasters. That's the way I like
> it.
>

The photo links are cool.

pH

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Tue, 7 Feb 2023 11:42:41 -0000 (UTC), Julian Macassey
<jul...@n6are.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 06 Feb 2023 22:40:46 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>> The irritating part was that I had power (from the generator), but
>> Comcast died after 4 hrs.

> ITYM Scumcast. The world's greediest utility, PG&E holds
>the number two spot.

Y'er probably right about Comcast. They were not the first to bill
early dialup (SLIP and PPP) users by the number of computers in use.
That didn't work as everyone started hiding their machine count behind
NAT routers. However, Comcast was the first to sniff everyone's
traffic. If more than the designated number of computers were found,
a sales person would contact the customer and attempt to shake them
down for owning and using too many computers. Never mind that the
bandwidth was shared by all the computers and that the total bandwidth
was rate capped. Good indication of greed in action.

I've been reading this book on PG&E:
<https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670012/california-burning-by-katherine-blunt/>
Too soon for an opinion or a review.

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Wed, 8 Feb 2023 04:14:40 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>
wrote:

>On 2023-02-07, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:

>Just get out your typewrite and write letters to your penpals, same as
>always.

My typewriters are long gone and my hand scribbling is illegible.

>Funny how we've all gotten used to those screen thingies.

I beg to differ. LCD screens are torture devices. They are designed
specifically to drive users insane. Why would any competent LCD
monitor manufacture sell landscape LCD displays, when everything that
users want to read is in portrait mode? We have not become accustomed
to LCD screen. We've only learned to tolerate them.

This is an example of how I did it for a (former) customer:
<http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/crud/portrait-monitor.jpg>

>Becky just got diagnosed w/ a concussion and was told to avoid screens for
>the time being as they inhibit brain healing (!). Reall?

I hope you realize that wife beating went out of style with the 19th
amendment to the constitution in 1920. I believe that there are
wireless cameras available, which are suitable for watching your back.

>I wonder what routine use does, therefore......

Causes temporary insanity. Easily cured by a change of wallpaper to
one's favorite vacation spot.

>The photo links are cool.

Think of the photos as evidence.

[Julian Macassey]

On Wed, 8 Feb 2023 04:06:39 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>
> Jullian! That's a long-lost familiar name...
> looks like you don't live in the Santa Cruz area anymore (if you ever did).

Confused maybe, but not lost.

I now live in Dundee, not one of the eight or so Dundees
in the US, or the one in New Zealand, but the original one in
Scotland. We have internet fiber everywhere here. They have gome
from Fiber To The Curb to Fiber To The Home. Way ahead of the US
in fiber deployment, that's true across Europe.

>
> It's a pleasant surprise to see that people are still looking at Usenet
> every so often....

Every day. I still use it and it works well.

Less traffic on ba.food and ba.mountain-folk since Mssrs
May and Miller kicked the bucket.

When people bitch about a lack of traffic, I usually ask
"Posted recently?" usenet is like Scandinavian free love, it
isn't a spectator sport, you are supposed to join in.

--
"Justice is cashflow, my son." Reg Blank in Max Headroom

[pH]

On 2023-02-08, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 8 Feb 2023 04:06:39 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>>
>> Jullian! That's a long-lost familiar name...
>> looks like you don't live in the Santa Cruz area anymore (if you ever did).
>
> Confused maybe, but not lost.
>
> I now live in Dundee, not one of the eight or so Dundees
> in the US, or the one in New Zealand, but the original one in
> Scotland. We have internet fiber everywhere here. They have gome
> from Fiber To The Curb to Fiber To The Home. Way ahead of the US
> in fiber deployment, that's true across Europe.

Wow. With a name like Macassey maybe that's a natural place to be...is there
a "clan McCassey" tartan?

Did you have any trouble acclimating to the European way of thinking and all
that? They say that the UK way is much more reserved than the US "ugly
American". Are there still pubs (despite the scary-scary as I call
Coronaviarus stuff) that people hang out in?
Do you see any Morris Minors? (took mine out today.)

>> It's a pleasant surprise to see that people are still looking at Usenet
>> every so often....
>
> Every day. I still use it and it works well.
>
> Less traffic on ba.food and ba.mountain-folk since Mssrs
> May and Miller kicked the bucket.
>
> When people bitch about a lack of traffic, I usually ask
> "Posted recently?" usenet is like Scandinavian free love, it
> isn't a spectator sport, you are supposed to join in.
>

Usenet is *true* free speech in action...can be pretty intense at times, but
it's better than censorship in my opinion.

pH in Aptos

[pH]

On 2023-02-08, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 8 Feb 2023 04:14:40 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>
> wrote:
>
>>On 2023-02-07, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>
>>Just get out your typewrite and write letters to your penpals, same as
>>always.
>
> My typewriters are long gone and my hand scribbling is illegible.
>
>>Funny how we've all gotten used to those screen thingies.
>
> I beg to differ. LCD screens are torture devices. They are designed
> specifically to drive users insane. Why would any competent LCD
> monitor manufacture sell landscape LCD displays, when everything that
> users want to read is in portrait mode? We have not become accustomed
> to LCD screen. We've only learned to tolerate them.

What is the technology used on the Kindle? (Amazon?) That is supposed to be
like "paper". Is that still around?
Maybe a monitor designed around that technology would be usable for Becky.

She is really loopy and forgetful...kind of alarming...I'm glad she took
herself in to get tested.
She says that she was worried that she might have bleeding on the brain.

So why didn't you ask your husband to take you to the MD, sez I.....well,
classic Becky.

>
> This is an example of how I did it for a (former) customer:
><http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/crud/portrait-monitor.jpg>
>
>>Becky just got diagnosed w/ a concussion and was told to avoid screens for
>>the time being as they inhibit brain healing (!). Reall?
>
> I hope you realize that wife beating went out of style with the 19th
> amendment to the constitution in 1920. I believe that there are
> wireless cameras available, which are suitable for watching your back.

But but but...I follow the "rule of thumb"....I only beat her with a switch
of that diameter or less.

My coworker got grilled that way at the Emergency Room when his gf fainted.
They separated him and tried to get her to accuse him of beating her while
they asked him why he did it.

What a world we're in now.

pH

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Thu, 9 Feb 2023 01:35:57 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>
wrote:

>What is the technology used on the Kindle? (Amazon?) That is supposed to be
>like "paper". Is that still around?
>Maybe a monitor designed around that technology would be usable for Becky.

ePaper. The good parts are that it's high contrast, easy on the eyes,
very low power drain, non-volatile, flexible display, and looks just
like the printed page. The bad parts are that it's slow response
time, limited to maybe 2 "dirty" colors (typically black and red),
useless for video and animation, regular screen refreshes cause the
screen to "flash", and doesn't work for projection. I have several
Kindles (somewhere). The worst problem I had was that the screen took
forever to update as typed on the keyboard. On screen editing was
slow and painful. That makes it useless for generating text, but
really good for displaying text. What I use it for is reading books,
displaying documents (mostly PDF data sheets and tech articles), and
reading static web pages. If Becky only reads and can live with the
limitations that I mentioned, she might find it useful.

One feature on the Kindle that I really liked is that every Kindle has
it's own email address. If I want to send a document to my kindle and
read it later, it's as simple as attaching a PDF to an email and
sending it to my Kindle's email address.

>She is really loopy and forgetful...kind of alarming...I'm glad she took
>herself in to get tested.
>She says that she was worried that she might have bleeding on the brain.

I'm not going to try and perform a diagnosis via Usenet. However, you
might go down the list of symptoms and see if any of them sound
familiar.
<https://www.webmd.com/brain/brain-hemorrhage-bleeding-causes-symptoms-treatments>
However, beware of symptomitis, which is a common medical school
affliction where the students read about some obscure disease, and
then convince themselves that they have all the symptoms.

>So why didn't you ask your husband to take you to the MD, sez I.....well,
>classic Becky.

I hate to be the one to tell you the obvious, but your main purpose in
life seems to be playing the designated culprit, where everything that
goes awry is somehow your fault. It's all part of "the first step to
solving a problem is to blame someone" and you're that person.

>> This is an example of how I did it for a (former) customer:
>><http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/crud/portrait-monitor.jpg>
>>
>>>Becky just got diagnosed w/ a concussion and was told to avoid screens for
>>>the time being as they inhibit brain healing (!). Reall?
>>
>> I hope you realize that wife beating went out of style with the 19th
>> amendment to the constitution in 1920. I believe that there are
>> wireless cameras available, which are suitable for watching your back.

>But but but...I follow the "rule of thumb"....I only beat her with a switch
>of that diameter or less.

It's not possible for her to get a concussion from being beaten with a
switch. A concussion requires something larger and heavier, like a
big blunt instrument.

>My coworker got grilled that way at the Emergency Room when his gf fainted.
>They separated him and tried to get her to accuse him of beating her while
>they asked him why he did it.
>
>What a world we're in now.

Like I said, the first step to solving a problem is to blame someone.
He probably was the only person available for the position.

[Julian Macassey]

On Thu, 9 Feb 2023 01:30:26 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
> On 2023-02-08, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
>> On Wed, 8 Feb 2023 04:06:39 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Jullian! That's a long-lost familiar name...
>>> looks like you don't live in the Santa Cruz area anymore (if you ever did).
>>
>> Confused maybe, but not lost.
>>
>> I now live in Dundee, not one of the eight or so Dundees
>> in the US, or the one in New Zealand, but the original one in
>> Scotland. We have internet fiber everywhere here. They have gome
>> from Fiber To The Curb to Fiber To The Home. Way ahead of the US
>> in fiber deployment, that's true across Europe.
>
> Wow. With a name like Macassey maybe that's a natural place to be...

Not really, the Name comes from Ulster, which is the
other side of the Irish sea. The lowland Scots and Ulster people
are congenital bigots. Their genes can be found across Apalachia
and the Deep South.

My mother was a Glaswegian and her father came from Barra
in the outer Hebredes. That should be Scottish enough.

> is there a "clan McCassey" tartan?

God I hope not. There are shops here that sell "Tartan
tat", as my Borders friend calls it. Sold mainly to Merkin
tourists who come over to see their roots. I am a bus ride away
from St Andrews home of a respictable university and a "Sell golf
tat to the Yanks" industry.

> Did you have any trouble acclimating to the European way of
> thinking and all that?

I went to school in the UK, and have manny friends in
Europe.

> They say that the UK way is much more reserved than the US "ugly
> American".

Not more reserved, in fact in many ways far from it. But
the Americans expect the rest of the world to dance to their
tune. This does tend to piss off the rest of the world.

> Are there still pubs (despite the scary-scary as I call
> Coronaviarus stuff) that people hang out in?

I was in two last night. Many pubs are stuffed with Inbev
product, Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois etc.

> Do you see any Morris Minors? (took mine out today.)

Haven't seen one yet. The cars on the road here tend to
be smaller and lots of electrics. The cars move faster, despite
the US belief that small cars aren't fast enough.

> Usenet is *true* free speech in action...can be pretty intense
> at times, but it's better than censorship in my opinion.

It is indeed and everyone can join in.

--
"Remember this, my friends: there are no such things as bad
plants or bad men. There are only bad cultivators.” - Hugo Les
Miserables

[Julian Macassey]

On Thu, 9 Feb 2023 01:35:57 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
> On 2023-02-08, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>>
>> I hope you realize that wife beating went out of style with the 19th
>> amendment to the constitution in 1920. I believe that there are
>> wireless cameras available, which are suitable for watching your back.
>
> But but but...I follow the "rule of thumb"....I only beat her with a switch
> of that diameter or less.

God, I just wish this URL would go away. It was never
about wife beating. Thumb was a measurement, in fact a thumb from
the last knuckle to to tip (known today as a inch), a hand was
the breadth of a palm, a cubit from the fist to the elbow, you
can guess what a foot is an yes there are 12 thumbs and three
hands to a foot.

Some of you may recall the Hans Christian Andersen tale
of Tom Thumb. Well in Danish a tomme is an inch and a thumb is a
tommelfinger, yes Tom Thumb is a play on words.

With the helps of Kings, the English speaking world
generated measurement standards, the the French having got rid of
the King, those cheese eating surrender monkeys came up with a
standard based on measurable items and gave us the metric system.

>
> My coworker got grilled that way at the Emergency Room when his gf fainted.
> They separated him and tried to get her to accuse him of beating her while
> they asked him why he did it.
>
> What a world we're in now.

We now pay attention to domestic violence, this is a good
thing, pity it requires grilling people, who should be able to
just report it.

--
John Waters once said, “If someone vomits watching one of my
films, it’s like getting a standing ovation.”

[pH]

On 2023-02-09, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 9 Feb 2023 01:30:26 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>> On 2023-02-08, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
>>> On Wed, 8 Feb 2023 04:06:39 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Jullian! That's a long-lost familiar name...
>>>> looks like you don't live in the Santa Cruz area anymore (if you ever did).
>>>
>>> Confused maybe, but not lost.
>>>
>>> I now live in Dundee, not one of the eight or so Dundees
>>> in the US, or the one in New Zealand, but the original one in
>>> Scotland. We have internet fiber everywhere here. They have gome
>>> from Fiber To The Curb to Fiber To The Home. Way ahead of the US
>>> in fiber deployment, that's true across Europe.
>>
>> Wow. With a name like Macassey maybe that's a natural place to be...
>
> Not really, the Name comes from Ulster, which is the
> other side of the Irish sea. The lowland Scots and Ulster people
> are congenital bigots. Their genes can be found across Apalachia
> and the Deep South.

Don't be circumspect...tell us what you *really* think!
I guess I'm a bigot, too. I've got plenty of unreasonable beliefs that I
won't let go of despite evidence to the contrary.
I want train travel back in Santa Cruz County, for example...logical and
fiscal arguements be darned!

> My mother was a Glaswegian and her father came from Barra
> in the outer Hebredes. That should be Scottish enough.
>
>> is there a "clan McCassey" tartan?
>
> God I hope not. There are shops here that sell "Tartan
> tat", as my Borders friend calls it. Sold mainly to Merkin
> tourists who come over to see their roots. I am a bus ride away
> from St Andrews home of a respictable university and a "Sell golf
> tat to the Yanks" industry.
>
>> Did you have any trouble acclimating to the European way of
>> thinking and all that?
>
> I went to school in the UK, and have manny friends in
> Europe.
>
>> They say that the UK way is much more reserved than the US "ugly
>> American".
>
> Not more reserved, in fact in many ways far from it. But
> the Americans expect the rest of the world to dance to their
> tune. This does tend to piss off the rest of the world.
>

I do recall being embarassed by American tourist behaviour at times.
But I've heard German travellers say the same thing about some of their
contrymen at times, too.

>> Are there still pubs (despite the scary-scary as I call
>> Coronaviarus stuff) that people hang out in?
>
> I was in two last night. Many pubs are stuffed with Inbev
> product, Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois etc.

Boy, I wouldn't go after those, I'd try to get something local.
Do they still buy 'rounds'?

>
>> Do you see any Morris Minors? (took mine out today.)
>
> Haven't seen one yet. The cars on the road here tend to
> be smaller and lots of electrics. The cars move faster, despite
> the US belief that small cars aren't fast enough.

That surprises me about the electrics appearing already.

pH

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 02:17:42 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>
wrote:

>That surprises me about the electrics appearing already.

If you were surprised, then you probably were not paying attention.

Cheap Chinese mini cars:
<https://www.alibaba.com/catalog/new-energy-vehicles_cid127652037?viewtype=G>
<https://www.google.com/search?q=china+mini+car&tbm=isch>
Notice the low prices. It will be a while before they appear in
quantity in the US. That will happen only after they are able to
survive the regulatory ordeal process and provide the politicians with
the appropriate contributions. Eventually, mini cars dominate the low
end of the US car market. China is already scouting for prospective
US dealer locations using balloons. I wanted an inflatable mini-car
(for easy parking), but that idea was shot down by presidential order.

Incidentally, you don't drive a mini car. You wear it.

[Julian Macassey]

On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 02:17:42 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
> On 2023-02-09, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Wow. With a name like Macassey maybe that's a natural place to be...
>>
>> Not really, the Name comes from Ulster, which is the
>> other side of the Irish sea. The lowland Scots and Ulster people
>> are congenital bigots. Their genes can be found across Apalachia
>> and the Deep South.
>
> Don't be circumspect...tell us what you *really* think!

If you ever look into "the Orange march', the divide
between Presbyterians and Calthoolics (See The Troubles), or a
Rangers and Celtics game, you may have a better understanding.

> I guess I'm a bigot, too. I've got plenty of unreasonable beliefs that I
> won't let go of despite evidence to the contrary.

There's levels of bigotry, and the Ulstermen are leaders.

> I want train travel back in Santa Cruz County, for example...logical and
> fiscal arguements be darned!

Train travel here is good. My wife, a frequent Amtrak
customer is amazed how fast UK trains travel.

> I do recall being embarassed by American tourist behaviour at times.

Heard on the "Walking Street" in Copenhagen "Why don't
they have the prices in dollars?" in a French taxi when paying
the fare "How much is that in real money?". Then all the Septics
who cross the Atlantic and discover that 110V is not the volage
amd the plugs are different.

> But I've heard German travellers say the same thing about some of their
> contrymen at times, too.

The Germans do tend to be a bit pushy as tourists. A wit
once said that the Germans have a problem with tourism, been that
way for centuries.

>
>> I was in two last night. Many pubs are stuffed with Inbev
>> product, Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois etc.
>
> Boy, I wouldn't go after those, I'd try to get something local.
> Do they still buy 'rounds'?

They do indeed.

>
>>
>>> Do you see any Morris Minors? (took mine out today.)
>>
>> Haven't seen one yet. The cars on the road here tend to
>> be smaller and lots of electrics. The cars move faster, despite
>> the US belief that small cars aren't fast enough.
>
> That surprises me about the electrics appearing already.

Electrics are big in Europe, not that many Teslas though.
The Nissan Leaf is big, most of the taxis are Nissan Leafs. There
re also Kias, BMWs, VWs in abundance.

Pickup trucks are rare, people who want a work vehicle
tend to use a van. Keeps your stuff secure and dry, plus you can
add work benches, draws etc.

--
"When I was little, I didn't know I was going to grow up in the
Soviet Union. But here we are." April Daniels, April 2015

[pH]

On 2023-02-09, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:

> On Thu, 9 Feb 2023 01:35:57 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>> On 2023-02-08, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I hope you realize that wife beating went out of style with the 19th
>>> amendment to the constitution in 1920. I believe that there are
>>> wireless cameras available, which are suitable for watching your back.
>>
>> But but but...I follow the "rule of thumb"....I only beat her with a switch
>> of that diameter or less.
>
> God, I just wish this URL would go away. It was never
> about wife beating. Thumb was a measurement, in fact a thumb from
> the last knuckle to to tip (known today as a inch), a hand was
> the breadth of a palm, a cubit from the fist to the elbow, you
> can guess what a foot is an yes there are 12 thumbs and three
> hands to a foot.

Oh, well, now I know. This is a case of better late than never so thanks for
this info.
I'm sure I've looked up what a "cubit" was before (after hearing it on one
of Bill Cosby's records with the routine about Noah) but I'd forgotten.

It makes perfect sense to always have your measuring devices with you (and
sticks could get lost or burned as kindling when you're not using them to
beat your wife).

My mom used a belt on us kids, no sticks or switches...my little brother
richly deserved it; I was always blameless and saintly.

>
> Some of you may recall the Hans Christian Andersen tale
> of Tom Thumb. Well in Danish a tomme is an inch and a thumb is a
> tommelfinger, yes Tom Thumb is a play on words.
>
> With the helps of Kings, the English speaking world
> generated measurement standards, the the French having got rid of
> the King, those cheese eating surrender monkeys came up with a
> standard based on measurable items and gave us the metric system.

And they seem to be the keeper of the SI official units of measurement.
(But now a meter is based on cesium atom vibrations or some such.)

>
>
>>
>> My coworker got grilled that way at the Emergency Room when his gf fainted.
>> They separated him and tried to get her to accuse him of beating her while
>> they asked him why he did it.
>>
>> What a world we're in now.
>
> We now pay attention to domestic violence, this is a good
> thing, pity it requires grilling people, who should be able to
> just report it.

I have thus far escaped a rolling pin or frying pan on my noggin.

pH in Aptos


>

[pH]

On 2023-02-10, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 02:17:42 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>
> wrote:
>
>>That surprises me about the electrics appearing already.
>
> If you were surprised, then you probably were not paying attention.
>
> Cheap Chinese mini cars:
><https://www.alibaba.com/catalog/new-energy-vehicles_cid127652037?viewtype=G>
><https://www.google.com/search?q=china+mini+car&tbm=isch>
> Notice the low prices. It will be a while before they appear in
> quantity in the US. That will happen only after they are able to
> survive the regulatory ordeal process and provide the politicians with
> the appropriate contributions. Eventually, mini cars dominate the low
> end of the US car market. China is already scouting for prospective
> US dealer locations using balloons. I wanted an inflatable mini-car
> (for easy parking), but that idea was shot down by presidential order.
>
> Incidentally, you don't drive a mini car. You wear it.
>

Those hideous "Smart Cars" only get ~35 mpg. I would think something of
that scale should easily be capable of 70 mpg. Even my Honda CRV gets 33
mpg (when I drive it. If Becky's driving it'd be around 25)

pH

[pH]

On 2023-02-10, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 02:17:42 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org> wrote:
>> On 2023-02-09, Julian Macassey <jul...@n6are.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Wow. With a name like Macassey maybe that's a natural place to be...
>>>
>>> Not really, the Name comes from Ulster, which is the
>>> other side of the Irish sea. The lowland Scots and Ulster people
>>> are congenital bigots. Their genes can be found across Apalachia
>>> and the Deep South.
>>

>> Don't be circumspect...tell us what you *really* think!
>
> If you ever look into "the Orange march', the divide
> between Presbyterians and Calthoolics (See The Troubles), or a
> Rangers and Celtics game, you may have a better understanding.
>

I've always wondered about the Troubles. I will look the Orange March up
(I've jotted it down) and thanks for this tip.

>> I guess I'm a bigot, too. I've got plenty of unreasonable beliefs that I
>> won't let go of despite evidence to the contrary.
>
> There's levels of bigotry, and the Ulstermen are leaders.
>
>> I want train travel back in Santa Cruz County, for example...logical and
>> fiscal arguements be darned!
>
> Train travel here is good. My wife, a frequent Amtrak
> customer is amazed how fast UK trains travel.
>

I am envious. I did take a long distance trip to see son in Longview, WA
leaving from Salinas, CA ca; 810 miles. Took 30 hours or something like
that. It was a beautiful trip, though.

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 20:57:35 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>

The mini cars shown are electric power. That's officially 33.7 kWh
equivalent per gallon of gasoline. The smaller mini cars typical get
150 to 170 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent). None of cheap Chinese
mini-cars run on petroleum. Some of those in the Google photo gallery
run on exotic power sources, such as compressed air or flywheels, but
most are electric.

[pH]

I remember the Tata Air car was *perhaps* slated to show up during one of
the various gasoline crises.

The thing about electric is you are dependent on the grid.
(Yes, petrol cars are dependent upon refineries unless you're using
biodiesel etc. etc. too much to type).

If you have a *big* battery bank and solar panels you can charge overnight,
but during the day most people want to drive their electric car. With
remote work or a night job you could charge at home, I suppose.

I suspect a lot of people would be perfectly happy w/ an electric as a 2nd
car...I just want personal preference and the market to dictate when happens
and not a friendly governor. Does that mean I grew up to be a conservative?

pH