And to my list of "Reasons why colonials are uncultured slobs who would benefit from a good dose of European Culture (tm)", I can now add
a) They are really slow delivering my modem b) They design apartments with too few power outlets, so I cannot hook up my modem, , computer screen, and speakers at the same time. c) They refuse to believe I will pay my bills, the reason being, I have never taken a loan, so I have no credit history. I don't borrow money, so I am not a good bill-payer? Yep, makes a lot of sense.
Apart from that, though, California is looking a lot better than Ohio. It's dry! And reasonably, but not too, warm! There are bike lanes in the roads! Everything costs fifty percent more! (Which may not strike you as a good thing, but to a Norwegian, it's positively homelike. )
Apart from that, it seems you people have been having a moderately major flamewar in my absence. Tch, tch, people! That's my job, that is. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I just have two questions:
1) Who are you?
2) Did I used to like you?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by King of Men: Apart from that, though, California is looking a lot better than Ohio. It's dry!
What part of California would that be? It's rained fairly hard all the way from NorCal to SoCal in the last week or so, neh?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
If the answer to #2 is yes, you might want to rethink it....
Welcome back, KoM!
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
Yay! There have been many threads that made me think "Where's KoM when you really need him?" We can't have the discussions getting too reasonable or the theists getting too uppity, you know.
Hope you had a nice trip.
--Enigmatic (just really wanted to say "uppity")
Posted by dh (Member # 6929) on :
I'm gonna have to have a talk to that colonial who designed your appartment. He apperently included a few too many power outlets.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Golly, I've missed you. There have been too too many threads that have been crying out for your incomparable bon mots.
So, tell us, what neat stuff did you see in the heartland? It can be a pretty cool country, no?
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
I noticed an interesting pattern : As you go from Ohio to Kansas to Nevada, the freeway speed limit goes up from 65, to 70, to 75; then it comes back down again as you hit California. It seems flyover country is also well designed to be drive-by country. Not that it matters, since everybody goes a steady 85 anyway. Have I mentioned that Americans are nuts? Going above 30 miles per hour is un-natural and will surely cause major health problems.
No, seriously. The most impressive thing I saw was the Grand Canyon. It is really, truly, amazing - quite literally breath-taking. It's so big my eyes couldn't quite take it in at first; it looked two-dimensional, like a painting, until I re-adjusted and realised what I was looking at. It is really quite awful, in the old sense of the word : It fills you with awe and wonder.
I wonder if crows ever get scared of heights? You could see them from above, swooping about and cawing in what looked like sheer exuberant fun; but personally I wouldn't have tried it for a million dollars, even if I did have wings. Theyw ould swoop down until they were little black dots against the landscape, and still be hundreds of meters up! They were the rights sort of birds for the landscape, though : You could easily imagine them as old, wise spirit animals, filled with the soul of that place and ready to dispense it to humans.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by King of Men: I noticed an interesting pattern : As you go from Ohio to Kansas to Nevada, the freeway speed limit goes up from 65, to 70, to 75; then it comes back down again as you hit California.
Pfft. Flat versus curved. Some physicist you are.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
So did you wave at me as you went through Kansas?
Oh -- and problem "b)" -- that's why they invented power strips..
FG
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Power strips are unoubtedly a fine thing, but right at the moment I am having a minor cash-flow problem. An Ohio salary does not really support a California apartment, which won't be a problem when my travel allowance gets approved. But right now I'm living off my Norwegian money, which I don't want to draw on any more than absolutely necessary. Especially since the tax people just caught up with me to the tune of $1200. Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
When you get a small bit of cash flow, you can pick up a power strip for $10, easy (or even $5, often).
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:right at the moment I am having a minor cash-flow problem
So whomever it was that was suspicious of your bill-paying ability was justly so?
As an electrical designer, there's nothing more infuriating than a building with too few electrical outlets. I have this fight with architects twice a week. When is there ever an overabundance of outlets?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Welcome back.
There is an overabundence of outlets in the little annex off our home office. In a space approximately 5 ft x 5 ft there are, I believe 14 outlets.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
That's a well designed space right there!
I'm actually considering having my office wall be constructed entirely out of receptacles. I think it would be useless, expensive, and very cool.
All joking aside, dana, in your case that probably indicates an add-on done by a DIYer without proper permits. If he didn't use several circuits for all those outlets they're a pretty big fire hazard.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:Originally posted by El JT de Spang: [QB]
quote:right at the moment I am having a minor cash-flow problem
So whomever it was that was suspicious of your bill-paying ability was justly so?
No, the reason being, I have money for important stuff like phone bill, I just don't want to use it on non-necessary stuff like power strips. See?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Yeah, I understand the difference.
The power strip would fall under 'disposable income', I think.
But I was joking anyway.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Besides, places which have so few outlets that there ain't spare plugs for stereo systems, computers, etc tend to be underwired/undercircuit-breakered for electricity. So be careful about using power strips. Don't have too many appliances running off of a single wall outlet.
And if ya didn't know already, ya live in SiliconValley, one of the most expensive places to live in the continental USA, excluding wealth ghettos like BeverlyHills/etc.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Sounds kinda like my house (built in 1880) obviously, power was added later. And obviously they didn't think they would need much of it.
My son's room and my room each have exactly one two-prong power outlet. Where I'm sitting now at the computer in the dining room, there are two outlets in this room -- and into this one I have plugged two computers (w/monitors, of course), printer, scanner, etc.
I couldn't live without power strips.
Yeah, I know about fire hazard. Don't worry, I unplug everything when it is not in use.
FG
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
The main fire hazard is running too many appliances at the same time off of a single wall outlet -- even multiple plugs in a unit counts as a single wall outlet -- because you can plug them all into a power strip. Which causes too much current to be drawn through the wire feeding that outlet, the current overload in turn heating the outlet wires' insulation until it catches on fire.
It can also cause your appliances -- especially ones with electrical motors like vacuums, fans, and hair dryers -- to catch on fire because the combined power draw of using multiple appliances simultaneously causes a drop in voltage. The drop in voltage will in turn cause the appliances to draw more current, causing the wires to the single outlet and the windings (electric motor wiring) to overheat. Again leading to a fire if the circuit breaker on that wall outlet's line doesn't work or if that circuit breaker's amperage rating (current-handling ability) is too high to cut off power.
[ October 21, 2005, 09:52 AM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by camus (Member # 8052) on :
What! no arguments yet in this thread? I was expecting a huge backlog of insults to be unleashed on everyone in this thread. Well, the fire hazard discussion has the potential to turn into a flamewar. In any case, welcome back KoM!
<runs and hides hoping he doesn't remember that I'm a theist>
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Fun fun fun
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
quote:All joking aside, dana, in your case that probably indicates an add-on done by a DIYer without proper permits. If he didn't use several circuits for all those outlets they're a pretty big fire hazard.
No, what indicates that it's an add-on is the bright blue plastic conduit running all over the place. And the ground wire that was draped over the door not even in conduit.
But don't worry, it's not the worst fire hazzard our previous do-it-yourselfer left us!
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I'm glad your aware of the issue. We had two outlets get hot enough to touch due to faulty wiring in our last house. It was pretty scary to see where the arcs had landed.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
The fact that it's in any conduit is a little surprising. I would've guess straight romex with a job like that. Things like this are why the Darwin Awards were started.
Posted by Treason (Member # 7587) on :
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