Reindeer.

Shows how ground isn't so grounded.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/29/12690402/lightning-strike-kills-norway-reindeer-death-why-science

 

The poor animals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_potential_rise

Thin poorly conducting soil on top of mainly non-conductive rock. We had much the same problem with grounding on coral at radio sites. For this we would build a wire mesh grid and use a conductive mixture on the many grounding rods. It worked but it also killed just about everything around it for a very long time.

http://wiki.worldflicks.org/naval_radio_transmitter_facility,_saddlebunch_key.html

 

View attachment 111184
Reindeer.

Shows how ground isn't so grounded.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/29/12690402/lightning-strike-kills-norway-reindeer-death-why-science

A lightning strike is a *LOT* of current that produces a ground voltage gradient radiating out from the hit.

Quadrupeds have some distance between fore and aft legs - so pick up a lot more voltage.

Lightning hazards came up in my 1st yr electrical installation course, we were advised to keep our feet close together when lightning strikes might happen - I got ejected from class for pointing out that women were OK because they have a built in spark gap.

 

The instructor may have kicked you out but you know damn well they laughed about it in the break room!

 

That's going to need a lot of butchers arriving quickly.

 

There is not always something so violent, like a lightning strike to kill.

Close to where I live, a short time ago, there was an incident with a horse killed by a fault current from an outdoor electrical distribution box, that had been partially damaged by an agricultural vehicle.

It was a standard low voltage distribution box carrying a maximum of 230 volts to ground potential, but the horse has obviously been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

That's going to need a lot of butchers arriving quickly.

If current flow was sufficient, only a chef with a carving knife will be needed - maybe with some cranberries or mint jelly.

 

It was a standard low voltage distribution box carrying a maximum of 230 volts to ground potential, but the horse has obviously been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

And the horse didn't believe he stepped on a low voltage.

(In the U.S. low voltage is "not more than 50 volts peak".)

 

I had reindeer steaks in a fine restaurant in Finland. Delicious!

 

And the horse didn't believe he stepped on a low voltage.

(In the U.S. low voltage is "not more than 50 volts peak".)

In my 40+ years of work in the electronics industry, I have always wondered about the legislation defines "Low Voltage" as 50..1000 VAC and 75..1500 VDC.

But with The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) of the European Union, it can probably not be changed.

 

Time for a Texas bar-b-que.

https://www.rt.com/usa/357709-cows-killed-lightning-storm/

 

I had reindeer steaks in a fine restaurant in Finland. Delicious!

A UK freezer food chain has some off the beaten track meats.

Can't remember them all but they include ostrich, wild boar and alligator burgers.

 

A UK freezer food chain has some off the beaten track meats.

Can't remember them all but they include ostrich, wild boar and alligator burgers.

Wild Boar, ostrich and Bison are all available as ground meat here - bison for the past 20 years. Ostrich and wild boar only recently. I have not seen the alligator here but I've heard it is available in other states.

 

I have not seen the alligator here but I've heard it is available in other states.

Maybe if you come down here and try a fresh water swim you can call it self defense.
Fifty years ago I could eat anything I could catch. Now the Nanny State has given itself the power to regulate everything.
One result is that we have alligators all over the place. I won't tell anybody if one of them accidentally walks into your skillet.

 

Maybe if you come down here and try a fresh water swim you can call it self defense.
Fifty years ago I could eat anything I could catch. Now the Nanny State has given itself the power to regulate everything.
One result is that we have alligators all over the place. I won't tell anybody if one of them accidentally walks into your skillet.

We have the same problem with Bambis here. Insurance companies were calling collisions with a deer an "act of nature" or "act of God" and it was not the driver's fault for hitting one. Now, after a billion claims, some insurance companies are dinging the driver.

 

Now, after a billion claims, some insurance companies are dinging the driver.

What did you expect?
They can't make the deer pay them money!

But yeah, deers seem to be more obvious recently. When I visit my sister, I don't have to hunt for them, I have to wait until they get out of the driveway.
The last time I crossed Texas, I counted 23 dead Bambi's beside the road.
Makes me wonder. Are deers so stupid that they can't figure out to stay away from big, noisy cars? Are they so crowded that they push each other in front of cars? Are they naturally suicidal? Is there an epidemic of deer deafness and myopia? I can understand a stupid armadillo, but deer are supposedly smart, skittish prey. Why do they walk out in front of traffic? Do they forget that 12,000 cars and trucks went by on Hwy 10 today, and think the coast is clear?

I realize I'm demonstrating my ignorance, but it's really ignorance. I can't understand the numbers of road kill I see.

 

What did you expect?
They can't make the deer pay them money!

But yeah, deers seem to be more obvious recently. When I visit my sister, I don't have to hunt for them, I have to wait until they get out of the driveway.
The last time I crossed Texas, I counted 23 dead Bambi's beside the road.
Makes me wonder. Are deers so stupid that they can't figure out to stay away from big, noisy cars? Are they so crowded that they push each other in front of cars? Are they naturally suicidal? Is there an epidemic of deer deafness and myopia? I can understand a stupid armadillo, but deer are supposedly smart, skittish prey. Why do they walk out in front of traffic? Do they forget that 12,000 cars and trucks went by on Hwy 10 today, and think the coast is clear?

I realize I'm demonstrating my ignorance, but it's really ignorance. I can't understand the numbers of road kill I see.

I think we should run with the myopia theory. Let's start a GoFundMe.com page and ask insurance companies to help pay for 100,000 pairs of Bambi-sized glasses. "Save a life, buy glasses for deer".

Kidding aside, the Michigan Highway Department was paying for signs that say, "Don't Swerve for Deer". I was told by a MI resident that the signs were installed because a young woman plowed into an on-coming car as she swerved for deer and killed herself, her passenger and a family in another vehicle (head-on collision).

 

I was told by a MI resident that the signs were installed because a young woman plowed into an on-coming car as she swerved for deer and killed herself, her passenger and a family in another vehicle (head-on collision).

I understand. It seems a lot of people haven't thought about the choices:
Hit several hundred pounds of stationary deer/hit several thousand pounds of moving steel
Kill a deer/kill my whole family
It's difficult to do the math in 1.4 seconds at 60 MPH.

 

It's difficult to do the math in 1.4 seconds at 60 MPH.

And even harder with bad road conditions ... down here deer are eagerly hunted, so hitting them with a car is an extremely rare occurrence

 

down here deer are eagerly hunted,

I will never forget observing the complete absence of cats or dogs in Tijuana.