A small tornado hit 10 blocks south of me last night. No injuries -- just downed trees and a few damaged cars.

 

Since I posted earlier we have gotten maybe another inch give or take. The dogs are having fun in it.

Ron

Just heard from a c0-worker that lives in Cleveland . She said she had 5 inches. Not true for you?

 

Just how bad has the weather been this winter? So bad that even anarchist groups are patching potholes.
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/anarchist-group-repairing-portland-potholes/422421601

 

Just heard from a c0-worker that lives in Cleveland . She said she had 5 inches. Not true for you?

As of now in the SE burbs (Bedford) I am guessing maybe 5.0". Been snowing pretty constant all morning. Getting pretty bright leading me to believe the cloud cover is getting thin so it may be moving out. Between "lake effect" hard to say what we will end up with.

Ron

 

As of now in the SE burbs (Bedford) I am guessing maybe 5.0". Been snowing pretty constant all morning. Getting pretty bright leading me to believe the cloud cover is getting thin so it may be moving out. Between "lake effect" hard to say what we will end up with.

Ron

The "storm of the year" (I.e. snow) finally arrived yesterday. It wasn't worth starting the snowblower. It was taken care of with the leaf blower. The parts I missed were melted by 5pm.

 

Two days of cold here. That's enough to soak through the concrete block houses and start up the calls for furnace repairs.
People will tough out one day of cold, but two days means, "call the fixit guy".
The temperatures will be back to normal tomorrow...about 70F +/- 5 degrees.

Been studying the schematics for my car. I want to get in there and find out why the ceiling light never goes off.
It could be a welded relay or it could be the MPU in the instrument cluster.
Imagine building a car like that. The ceiling light won't go off so you just need the whole instrument cluster for $1000.

The other option is the, "battery saver" relay. It is buried so deep under the dash board that I swore the next time I opened that cavity it would be with a Sawzall. There is absolutely no way you can pull the board down and measure anything because there is no slack in the cables. You have to go at it from the front, and that route is covered with dashboard support framework. I can get the instrument cluster out easier than I can get to the fuse and relay block under the dash. If it's the MPU, I will design in a new relay that only connects when the ignition switch is on. If it's the relay already in the car, I will be vacuuming metal saw dust out of the drivers' side carpeting.

 

The "storm of the year" (I.e. snow) finally arrived yesterday. It wasn't worth starting the snowblower. It was taken care of with the leaf blower. The parts I missed were melted by 5pm.

I actually had less snow in my yard than the day before. I was really disappointed. I wanted to see the new snowblower get a workout.

 

Augggh! I hate static electricity! The dew point has been below 40F for 2 days and every time I get out of a chair I spark against the first wall or appliance I get near.

TCM probably has it worse.

It's just that static is rare here and it's hard to remember painless discharge procedures. I lived in California for a few years and static avoidance was a habit. Here, it's a lost art and I have to relearn it every few years.

 

Augggh! I hate static electricity! The dew point has been below 40F for 2 days and every time I get out of a chair I spark against the first wall or appliance I get near.

TCM probably has it worse.

It's just that static is rare here and it's hard to remember painless discharge procedures. I lived in California for a few years and static avoidance was a habit. Here, it's a lost art and I have to relearn it every few years.

I suggest you come and visit Monterrey, if you ever want to get training on that subject... I always unconsciously tap the door of my car using my elbow after I put my foot on the ground and then I get off... moisture or no moisture... Another technique is to firmly grasp the door frame, and then put your foot on the ground.

Also, I installed a metal door in my workshop, and now I've learned to first clench my fist, and then touch it with my knuckles before grabbing the knob...

Those two procedures make the difference between a (some times downright painful, hateful and infuriating) annoyance ... and a non-event.

 

I always unconsciously tap the door of my car using my elbow after I put my foot on the ground and then I get off

I've been feeling kind of silly tapping the refrigerator as I go by, but yeah, I've taken up fisting a wall every time I stand up so a 1 inch spark doesn't jump through my shirt as I brush by.

Those two procedures make the difference between a (some times downright painful, hateful and infuriating) annoyance ... and a non-event.

The only infuriating thing left is my anger at myself for forgetting these procedures during the 363 days a year that I don't need them.

 

The only infuriating thing left is my anger at myself for forgetting these procedures during the 363 days a year that I don't need them.

Hey, maybe you could apply for a job at Motorola or something... test their FET's for human ESD for those two days that you're feeling "sparky"

 

Hey, maybe you could apply for a job at Motorola or something... test their FET's for human ESD for those two days that you're feeling "sparky"

I have sent prototypes to California for exactly that purpose. One of my designs developed a low frequency oscillation after being sparked a few times. I changed the input protection and that design has been working for 20 years now.

 

I have sent prototypes to California for exactly that purpose. One of my designs developed a low frequency oscillation after being sparked a few times. I changed the input protection and that design has been working for 20 years now. J-fet input, 1meg input impedance, add a 39K in series with the input capacitor. That fixed it.

talk about finding a silver lining to an annoyance... did you get paid for that?

 

I have sent prototypes to California for exactly that purpose.

did you get paid for that?

Uhh...no. Money goes the other way when a person works for me.

 

Also, I installed a metal door in my workshop, and now I've learned to first clench my fist, and then touch it with my knuckles before grabbing the knob...

Those two procedures make the difference between a (some times downright painful, hateful and infuriating) annoyance ... and a non-event.

What about a grounded metal plate for a "door mat"? Wonder if that would work??

 

I always unconsciously tap the door of my car using my elbow after I put my foot on the ground and then I get off... moisture or no moisture... Another technique is to firmly grasp the door frame, and then put your foot on the ground.

Also, I installed a metal door in my workshop, and now I've learned to first clench my fist, and then touch it with my knuckles before grabbing the knob...

Just touch your wife on the cheek. The laughs are worth the pain.

 

Just touch your wife on the cheek. The laughs are worth the pain.

... obviously, you've never met my wife...

 

What about a grounded metal plate for a "door mat"? Wonder if that would work??

It wouldn't... it's the shoes that play the part of isolators when our bodies act as capacitors.

The electronics industry solves that problem by making you wear special conductive bags on your shoes that are strapped around your bare ankles whenever they invite you into their manufacturing facilities.

 

It wouldn't... it's the shoes that play the part of isolators when our bodies act as capacitors.

The electronics industry solves that problem by making you wear special conductive bags on your shoes that are strapped around your bare ankles whenever they invite you into their manufacturing facilities.

Then go around with plastic bags on your shoes. Or drag a cable behind you. Of course the local psychiatric hospital might come looking for you.

Or go barefoot. That would be my solution. I often go barefoot to get the mail even in the winter.

 

I often go barefoot to get the mail even in the winter.

and you're afraid of me getting locked up in Bedlam?