Posts

Showing posts from February 19, 2006

Carbon Monoxide!?

-
Image
Weird. The smoke alarm went off, not incredibly odd when I am using the fireplace, but it wasn't the smoke detector. It was the CO alarm. I was totally surprised. It had never gone off as long as I have had one, over many many years. Yep, after resetting it a few times. It was getting a reading over 200 ppm CO. When I took it downstairs I got a reading near 300 ppm. I started getting light headed at this point. After thinking maybe the furnace heat exchanger failed and puzzling around a bit I figured out what happened. As part of the huge winter storm that recently covered almost half of the US, we lost our electricity. So, being well prepared, I rolled out the generator and started doing what I normally do. The generator (although it was completely outside) was creating CO to get in the house. Using the fireplace draft (and possibly other leaks) the whole house created a vacuum around the seal of the basement garage door. After the CO got into the house the forced air heat...
Post a Comment
Read more
-
There must be a term surrounding the concept of analying but not understanding. I mean the alpha llama Professor can stare at me and a match, watch me strike it and light the heater so close, right next to my face with all his might and sadly will never figure out how to make his herd-friends warm when he wants. This is a fact of which I am certain. The same condition applies to watching something like the Nightly Business Report. You can talk about all sorts of stuff and show all sorts of graphs, how do you communicate what took you a lifetime to figure out to another individual? The llamas got their rabies shots the other day. In NY we have to have a licenced vet administer a rabies shot. Jim the vet said, you have to watch out, your llamas may give llamas a good name. It took about 15 minutes for Dr. Jim to get them all. He agreed, our llamas are well trained.
Post a Comment
Read more
-
Image
It was cold this weekend; It got down to about 5 below on the farm. It was pretty windy and nasty until it got down to about zero. The cool air felt great. The wind was a pain. The llamas decided to hold up for most of it in their house until the temperature dropped and the wind calmed. They have the heater, their straw and each other. I decided to spend some concerted effort on CAD for the property. I am getting frustrated on my lack of progress on the plan. We have lots of concepts. I have the tools; let's get it on drawings with scales, numbers and realities. I am somewhat taken back that the GE low voltage switching system that seemed ubiquitous with remote switching is no longer made. I was relying on that stuff. I hope there is a replacement. I suspect there is. I have been getting a Debian (linux) machine going in the ham shack. My common sense and "off the cuff" realization continues to be that L inux is unix but since there is no real "paper trail...
Post a Comment
Read more