Some Days You're The Dog,
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Not exactly garden tools... We were installing our own sprinkler system, and the only buried utility that I had to worry about (at the time) was the telephone. I did call before I dug, and they came out and nicely marked where the line ran through my property (It was the drop to my house... not a main phone line). I had rented a trencher, and was hurrying trying to get all the trenches dug so that I could get the machine back before I had to pay extra. I was on the last one, and was running "full speed ahead" when the trencher started grunting and groaning like it had run onto something more substantial than the Florida sand they call dirt here. I looked down, and there, about half-way down the business end of the trencher was the bright orange mark in the grass showing where my phone drop was. (Doh!)
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated.
Ouch! Did you patch it yourself, or abase yourself before the phone company gods to get it repaired? I'm going to run into that when I pull out the oleander stumps - they say it can't be killed, but I managed it with a chain saw and half a gallon of undiluted Roundup. :-D I haven't called the phone company for a locate, but I remember the last time they did it and the line for the entire neighborhood runs along my fence. The oleanders are planted directly on top of the line, and it's one of those 25-pair jobs. This is going to be a nasty chore, digging them up a small spadeful at a time, but I think I can make it go a bit easier using a high-pressure water nozzle. That's the only way to dig a trench here, as the soil laughs at picks and shovels, and fools who try to wield them.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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:laugh: I have a shed in the back of my yard, probably 200 feet from my house. The year after I bought my house I rented a ditch witch and ran power out to the shed. Several years later I planted a garden in the back part of my yard in front of my shed. I had a row of tomatoes and I wanted to string a wire between two t-posts so I could tie off my tomato cages. As I was driving one of the t-posts with my sledge hammer, I felt it hit a "rock." Not wanting the rock to foil my plan, I hit the post harder and drove it on through the rock. As I was putting my tools back in the shed, I noticed the light wasn't working and the breaker was tripped. Needless to say... :-O
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Me blog, You read
Oops! Don't feel so badly. One of our apprentice linemen was assigned the task of replacing a corroded ground rod in a 12kV sectionalizing cabinet (those green boxes the power company uses to run underground cables). He removed the stump of the old one, then picked a spot and started driving the new one with all his might. I wasn't around to see it, but from what I hear the fireworks were spectacular when the crew re-energized the circuit, as he'd driven the rod right through one of the buried phases. We now call that spot, "Mark's Corner." :-D
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
They must have buried them fairly shallow. Or you were truly, truly on a mission. Dumbest thing? Shovelling in sandals. 20 years later I still have the scar on my foot.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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They must have buried them fairly shallow. Or you were truly, truly on a mission. Dumbest thing? Shovelling in sandals. 20 years later I still have the scar on my foot.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Chris Maunder wrote:
They must have buried them fairly shallow
Yup, about 4" deep. I should have known better, as I watched the installer put it in. But I was just out of surgery, doped on morphine or Percocet (I forget which, for some reason), and the memory is rather vague. To this day I still wonder why they disconnected my morphine drip, wheeled me out to the parking lot, and let me drive home. I can't go to the dentist for a simple extraction without identifying a designated driver for the trip home. Weird American medicine...
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Over here in the UK, all cable / utilities companies have to bury their pipes etc at least 4 feet below the surface. That helps with these kind of things. Once, i worked as a commercial kitchen engineer with my father, and we'd got a job to install a full kitchen counter in a ground floor office. the job went well, we got all the counters installed, wired up and plumbed. So, one of the last things to do was to dig a trench to the nearest manhole for the drain pipework. So, there's me, happily pounding away with a pnumatic drill, when there's a 'Clunk', the drill drops about 2 inches, and water starts bubbling up around my feet... On removal of the drill, we were presented with a very pretty fountain, spouting from where it shouldn't!! As it turned out, i'd gone straight through a 2 inch pressurised fire main. So, we found out where the stopcock was, went and turned it off, cleared some muck & dirt from around the pipe, while my old man went to get some equipment to patch it all up. Once he returned, we chopped out the pierced piece, but we couldn't actually fix it, due to some leakage through the stopcock. One of the ways to sort that out, is to re-open the stopcock to it's fullest extent, which will usually clear whatever blockage is holding it slightly open. So, off i go, to perform this task, but what did i see when i returned? My father, standing there, dripping wet, having been clearing a little more dirt when the water came rushing back through the pipe, hit the angled wall of the trench and blasted up into his face! Heh! Bad luck pops!
XML is not a development language
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
Not really had any personally - but when my Dad borrowed my (new, unused) hedge trimmers, he managed to slice through the power cord. Bit of a DOH! moment...
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Good thing you know how to repair those cables, I wouldn't have a hope. Dumbest thing I've done is stand in the wrong spot while using a panga on banana trees. It goes clean through them with one stroke. A satisfying feeling right up until your swing buries the panga in your shin. Hurt like the dickens but thankfully did little real damage, just a scar.
cheers, Paul M. Watson.
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
Using them to begin with...
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Not garden tools, but I once put a power drill bit through a buried mains cable in a kitchen wall. Now that was what I call a blue flash!
Anna :rose: Having a bad bug day? Tech Blog | Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "If mushy peas are the food of the devil, the stotty cake is the frisbee of God"
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
splice connectors
What are splice connectors? I used to work with cable and have never heard the term, but probably seen a million.
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Ouch! Did you patch it yourself, or abase yourself before the phone company gods to get it repaired? I'm going to run into that when I pull out the oleander stumps - they say it can't be killed, but I managed it with a chain saw and half a gallon of undiluted Roundup. :-D I haven't called the phone company for a locate, but I remember the last time they did it and the line for the entire neighborhood runs along my fence. The oleanders are planted directly on top of the line, and it's one of those 25-pair jobs. This is going to be a nasty chore, digging them up a small spadeful at a time, but I think I can make it go a bit easier using a high-pressure water nozzle. That's the only way to dig a trench here, as the soil laughs at picks and shovels, and fools who try to wield them.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
one of those 25-pair jobs
I knew a man that happily, and intentionally, snipped through a 100 pair with a side cutter, and it's not just one snip, thinking he had the right cable. When other tenants in the office building started complaining, he realised he was wrong.
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Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
People normally unplug their mowers before falling?
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People normally unplug their mowers before falling?
Er?
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Er?
Steve_Harris wrote:
my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it
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Steve_Harris wrote:
my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it
I think you'll find that the past tense of "to fall" is actually "fell", not "felt". "Felt" is the past tense of "to feel".
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I think you'll find that the past tense of "to fall" is actually "fell", not "felt". "Felt" is the past tense of "to feel".
I think you will find that I was quoting you using 'felt' instead of 'fell'. Once more,
Steve_Harris wrote:
Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
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I think you will find that I was quoting you using 'felt' instead of 'fell'. Once more,
Steve_Harris wrote:
Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
So why did you say "People normally unplug their mowers before falling"?
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So why did you say "People normally unplug their mowers before falling"?
Oh dear. Don't people check their grammar before posting? I'm referring to a general case, and so I'm using the present tense. Your aunt fell under her lawnmower without unplugging it. As falling is generally an accidental act, and thus unplanned, I asked if people generally unplug their mowers before falling under them.
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Roger Wright wrote:
splice connectors
What are splice connectors? I used to work with cable and have never heard the term, but probably seen a million.
Splice connector is a term I use for brevity, consisting of two male connectors and one female-to-female adapter between them. The male connectors are installed on the cut ends of the cable, then screwed into the adapter to make an end-to-end connection. It probably costs me 2 - 3 dB of signal strength, but the signal is excellent. One of these days I'll need to re-install the whole works up in the air, but for now it works fine lying on the ground.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
