148 replies to this topic

[Emax]

"new item 3
The news gives both praise and blame on the army of nuclear engineers in Fukushima . But I have a sneaky suspicion that there is a group of electricians and mechanics that are putting in really long tough days, working maximum to save the world. I don't pray much, not since I was a kid. But I'm praying now for these guys"

Yeah - I hear that, Mitch.

Today it was pointed out that the Tokyo ground water has been showing signs of contamination. Jeeze - that's 130 miles from the broken plant!
This will not be good.

The high gust over the weekend at Brian Head was 94 mph. Something, somewhere is sucking.

It was on 23 March in 1775 that Patrick Henry proclaimed: "Give me liberty or give me death". In the end, he got both.
The first known use of "OK" (oll korrect) was on this day in 1839.
1903: The Wright brothers obtain a patent for the airplane.
1912: The Dixie cup was invented.
1925: Tennessee becomes the first state to outlaw teaching theory of evolution.
1929: First telephone installed in the White House.
1957: The US Army sells the last of its homing pigeons.
1972: Evil Knievel breaks 93 bones after successfully clearing 35 cars.
1989: Two Utah scientists claim they have produced fusion at room temperature. Yeah, right.

This post has been edited by Emax: 23 March 2011 - 02:00 PM

[liftmech]

Emax, on 23 March 2011 - 01:59 PM, said:

1989: Two Utah scientists claim they have produced fusion at room temperature. Yeah, right.

If that were the case we most likely wouldn't be discussing the reactor issues in Fukushima right now. And someone who knows those guys (but ISN'T them) would be filthy rich right now.

[cjb]

"1972: Evil Knievel breaks 93 bones after successfully clearing 35 cars."

I don't see how that was successful.

[Allan]

Successfully cleared the cars; but unsuccessfully negotiated the landing?

[Emax]

Allan, on 24 March 2011 - 09:19 AM, said:

Successfully cleared the cars; but unsuccessfully negotiated the landing?

So it would seem. He always bragged about the 93 broken bones - strange man.

March 24th 1832: Mormon Joseph Smith beaten, tarred & feathered in Ohio
March 24th 1898: 1st automobile sold
March 24th 1930: Planet Pluto named
March 24th 1989: Worst US oil spill, Exxon's Valdez spills 11.3 mil gallons off Alaska

This post has been edited by Emax: 24 March 2011 - 10:44 AM

[mthornton]

Today Randy Roesch turned 50.

Randy has worked continuously at Panorama since he was 17... That's 33 years, full-time, year-round.
He is a great, super-mellow guy.
He is a bad golfer.
He is a good welder.
He is a very good excavator operator.
He is an excellent lift mechanic.
He loves rum.

Pano sent Randy heli-skiing today. It was sunny & a bit of fresh. Happy 50th man!

[Emax]

25 March: CNN morning reports

NTSB: Air traffic controller fell asleep:
"He had been working his fourth consecutive overnight shift (10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.)."
"Human fatigue issues are one of the areas being investigated,"

Just a minute now - that is an 8-hour night shift. A lot of people do that - including ski resort groomers. Why is it more "fatiguing" to work in a control tower? It does seem a bad idea, though, that there was only a single controller on duty.

**************************************************
Containment vessel may be leaking radioactive material
Uhh - hasn't this been the issue all along? Why is this "news". Seems like it's an "old". If the ground water in Tokyo, 130 miles away, is radioactive - isn't that a clue that the thing was already "leaking"? FULL STORY

**************************************************
Postal Service offering $20,000 buyouts

7500 administrative jobs are being eliminated by the U.S. Postal service and seven offices are being closed. Here comes another round "gunpowder backlash".

This post has been edited by Emax: 25 March 2011 - 07:20 AM

[aug]

I think that some of the readers here may be too young to know what the meaning of " Going Postal" is ...

"Going postal, in American English slang, means becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry, often to the point of shooting people to death, usually in a workplace environment.

The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1983 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police or general public in acts of mass murder. Between 1986 and 1997, more than forty people were gunned down by spree killers in at least twenty incidents of workplace rage. The term gained popularity due to the movie Clueless."

[Emax]

aug, on 25 March 2011 - 05:23 PM, said:

I think that some of the readers here may be too young to know what the meaning of " Going Postal" is ...

"Going postal, in American English slang, means becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry, often to the point of shooting people to death, usually in a workplace environment.

The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1983 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police or general public in acts of mass murder. Between 1986 and 1997, more than forty people were gunned down by spree killers in at least twenty incidents of workplace rage. The term gained popularity due to the movie Clueless."

Agreed.
I invite those readers still "wet behind the ears" (and wetware) to gather information from some other source - but for God's sake, gather it. Cerebral numbness is nearly incurable once it takes hold.

[Emax]

March 28th 1799 NY State abolished slavery

March 28th 1804 Ohio passed law restricting movement of Blacks, 1804

(I’m not sure if the latter two are related)

March 28th 1881 "Greatest Show On Earth" is formed by P.T. Barnum & James A. Bailey.

March 28th 1921 E.M.II - father of yours truly E.M.III - is born in Irvington, NJ. He made it to Monday, June 19^th, 1991. The son of a denture science practitioner (E.M. Sr.) and owner of Fischer & Seiler Laboratories, Emax II immersed himself in the (then) fledgling field of radio electronics – later including video electronics. Though little of my experience in the electrical field was gained from him, he taught me how to think. The methods of problem-solving that I learned from him have been a great asset throughout my life. Thanks, Dad. Proud to be E.M.III.

March 28th 1922 1st microfilm device introduced

March 28th 1935 Dr. Robert H. Goddard uses gyroscopes to control a rocket. His design used carbon vanes at the motor’s exhaust nozzle to control the direction of thrust. Modern designs use gimbal-mounted engines. Dr Goddard was an American professor, physicist and inventor who is credited with many of the developments that made spaceflight possible. Two of his 214 patents – one for multi-staging (1915) and another for the use of liquid fuel (also 1915) are regarded as milestones in the rocket community.

March 28th 1945 Last German V-2 (buzz bomb) attack on London

[liftmech]

29 March 1973-- Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America's direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees remained behind to aid South Vietnam in conducting what looked to be a fierce and ongoing war with communist North Vietnam.

1974-- The unmanned U.S. space probe Mariner 10, launched by NASA in November 1973, becomes the first spacecraft to visit the planet Mercury, sending back close-up images of a celestial body usually obscured because of its proximity to the sun.

1982-- The combination of an earthquake and a volcanic eruption at El Chichon in southern Mexico converts a hill into a crater, kills thousands of people and destroys acres of farmland on this day in 1982. The eruptions, which continued for over a week, caught many of the area residents unaware and unprepared. For most of the residents living in the shadow of El Chichon (also known as Chinhonal), the 4,500-foot mountain seemed to pose no danger. Because its last eruption was 130 years earlier and minor, most people ignored its potential for destruction and enjoyed the fertile soil its volcanic past provided. However, late in 1981, two geologists, intrigued by hot springs and steaming gaps in the earth near the volcano, did an investigation that revealed increased seismic activity and the possibility of a major eruption of the volcano. Unfortunately, their report was ignored.

[Emax]

liftmech, on 29 March 2011 - 03:50 AM, said:

29 March 1973-- Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America's direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees remained behind to aid South Vietnam in conducting what looked to be a fierce and ongoing war with communist North Vietnam.

1974-- The unmanned U.S. space probe Mariner 10, launched by NASA in November 1973, becomes the first spacecraft to visit the planet Mercury, sending back close-up images of a celestial body usually obscured because of its proximity to the sun.

1982-- The combination of an earthquake and a volcanic eruption at El Chichon in southern Mexico converts a hill into a crater, kills thousands of people and destroys acres of farmland on this day in 1982. The eruptions, which continued for over a week, caught many of the area residents unaware and unprepared. For most of the residents living in the shadow of El Chichon (also known as Chinhonal), the 4,500-foot mountain seemed to pose no danger. Because its last eruption was 130 years earlier and minor, most people ignored its potential for destruction and enjoyed the fertile soil its volcanic past provided. However, late in 1981, two geologists, intrigued by hot springs and steaming gaps in the earth near the volcano, did an investigation that revealed increased seismic activity and the possibility of a major eruption of the volcano. Unfortunately, their report was ignored.

RED It's not hard to imagine past local residents saying: "someone needs to come up with a way to forecast such events". Someone did. So what.
BLUE Now vacation tours of Vietnam are offered on the internet. It is a beautiful country - I imagine they've picked up all the concertina wire.

[skierdude9450]

Happy New Year... April fools!!

[SuperRat]

Today was the first day after ski season and we had a memorial service at the summit. We ran the gondola for about 100 people, almost as many as we had on the hill yesterday. The dearly departed, a groomer, took his last ride in a cat driven by his son, his sisters were brought to the service in a cat driven by his grandson.

[liftmech]

Pretty neat. Somber, but neat.

Five days to go and NOTHING is happening at Copper mountain. Have a good day.

[lastchair_44]

We also lost a good friend and co-worker over the weekend. Jim was a great guy.
http://teton.outerlo...kanzler-outpost

[yosemitemtb]

^^Sorry for your losses, always sad to hear about fellow snow workers leaving. Here? Less than 2 hours away from a two week vacation.

This post has been edited by yosemitemtb: 21 April 2011 - 02:15 PM

[Emax]

Today is the last day of the ski season at Brian Head. It snowed last night.
Yesterday, there was a "cardboard sled" race - maybe other resorts do something similar. Prior to this year, I had never made a cardboard sled (always busy with something else) - but I have been rolling an idea for one around in my mind for a few years. This year, I set aside the day before the race for putting one together.

Materials from McMaster Carr often arrive in sturdy shipping tubes. It has always seemed to me that these assorted sized tube would be excellent sled material. Using nothing but a hole saw, a Dremel tool, a radial arm saw and a neat template for joining round tubes at a 90 degree "tee", the following sled was constructed... from a wheelchair (bad leg day). Hot melt glue was used for the joints and expanding insulation foam was injected to add rigidity and strengthen the joints. Teflon tape was applied to the bottoms of the runners. Son Matt took second place in the race - the winner was a "school bus" ridden by five people (foul!). The sled survived to run again in next year's race. We will probably add two "F" size Estes rocket engines inside the runner tails - 16 lb of additional thrust should guarantee a win!

I have included a JPEG of the template construction. I can send the original drawing to anyone who has Microsoft Visio. Over the years, I have built many race car frames and other stuff from round tubing - but I never took the time to figure out the geometry of the perfect intersecting joint. This time, I did - and it was FUN! Now I know how to make a template for virtually any kind of round tube joint. The Canadian millwrights reading this probably already know how to do this, but I include the instructions for the rest of you.

 PICT0055.JPG (133.85K)
Number of downloads: 67  PICT0056.JPG (139.38K)
Number of downloads: 84  PICT0057.JPG (147.6K)
Number of downloads: 81  PICT0058.JPG (168.68K)
Number of downloads: 80

 sled.2vsd.jpg (1.02MB)
Number of downloads: 58

This post has been edited by Emax: 24 April 2011 - 09:43 AM

[mthornton]

Emax, on 24 April 2011 - 09:35 AM, said:

We will probably add two "F" size Estes rocket engines inside the runner tails - 16 lb of additional thrust should guarantee a win!

Rocket powered sleds are a beautiful thing!
Next to being a ski-hill electrician, being an engineer for Estes must be the most fun job on the planet.

[Razvan]

mthornton, on 25 April 2011 - 07:32 AM, said:

Next to being a ski-hill electrician, being an engineer for Estes must be the most fun job on the planet.

I was about to correct that to NASA instead of Estes - then I remembered the space shuttle and Constellation termination. You're right, Mitch.