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#172144 12/14/07 01:36 PM
Joined: Nov 2002
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RSmike Offline OP
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So I'm watching one of those educational channels. There's a show about people that go overboard with Christmas tree lights. Many of these folks have way too much time on their hands and are further bragging about the fact their electrical bills are $200-$800 higher because of the light displays.

They speak with 2 or 3 people that state you can't connect more than 3 strings of lights or the fuse in the plug will blow.... Then they find the idiot. He states the very same thing but adds "if you remove the fuse and install a piece of galvanized nail you can connect as many as you want." He goes on to further state that, "some people think I'm an electrican" as he stands next to a row of plugs on his garage.

I was disgusted enough that I turned the channel and no longer cared. So if your house burns to the ground and the insurance company finds the nail who wins the prize. Not covered under grounds of stupidity?

I'm officially recommending that we add a section to the NEC that states people need to stop being idiots.....

RSlater,
RSmike

Last edited by RSmike; 12/14/07 01:38 PM.
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RSMike:
As I have said in the past.....good old common sense has died. Roger agreed and sent a really good thread on it a while back.

Common sense in the NEC?? Idiot proof devices/equipment?? I guess that's only in a perfect world.



John
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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I've long believed that along with "Death by misadventure," coroners should also be able to return a verdict of "Death by stupidity."

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 812
Member
Originally Posted by RSmike
They speak with 2 or 3 people that state you can't connect more than 3 strings of lights or the fuse in the plug will blow.... Then they find the idiot. He states the very same thing but adds "if you remove the fuse and install a piece of galvanized nail you can connect as many as you want." He goes on to further state that, "some people think I'm an electrican" as he stands next to a row of plugs on his garage.


I think it was a guy on Signalfans forums who did that, hate to see how his outdoor signal is wired...

Originally Posted by RSmike
I'm officially recommending that we add a section to the NEC that states people need to stop being idiots.....

RSlater,
RSmike


Good luck with that.

Ian A.


Is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?
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Every time you make something fool-proof, they come out with a better fool.

Electrical work used to be a 'dark art' whose mysteries deterred most from attempting it. That is not no longer the case. Rather. "You can do it ..." has become an ad slogan.

Holiday lights are likely the area of the most irresponsible electrical practices. I doubt that an technical wizardry can prevent such foolishness. We can, however, take steps to reduce the risk.

I've spoken -nay, even preached- many times: The Code Book is neither a design manual, or a DIY manual. Nor is it enough to 'build to plan.'

As the ONLY qualified professionals in the room, we need to look at things as they really will be used ... and see that the design addresses the actual uses. Things to consider:
-Multiple outdoor receptacles, circuits, and switches for the likely use by holiday lighting;
-Receptacles where they will be used - such as under the eaves;
-Individual GFCI receptacles, rather than placing the entire circuit on one GFCI (to limit the scope of a problem); and,
-Considering indoor requirements as well.


Joined: Nov 2002
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I seen that one. That same guy had one outlet face up, another half buried on mulch, and a row of oulets with plain outdoor plates, and claimed he could add a few more circuits as that was how many spaces were free in his box, whose face is almost up against a cabinet.

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RSmike Offline OP
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classicsat, Yep that's the same show.

I suppose if one could make a panelboard with an infinite amount of breaker spaces there would by definiton be infinite power available. So in reality it's not that we have increasing energy demands...it's that we don't have enough breaker spaces in our panels. Pleeeease!

Yeah I'm thinking of putting in some 3 or 4 phase power myself....maybe "220 or 221...whatever it takes."

RSlater,
RSmike

Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 362
Member
Last year at Scout Camp an elder counselour used a phrase quite often that is appropriate here" Stupidity should be painful"


Ob


Choose your customers, don't let them choose you.
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And you can't make anything "idiot proof", the best you can hope for it "idiot resistant"

Joined: May 2002
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Originally Posted by HotLine1
RSMike:
As I have said in the past.....good old common sense has died. Roger agreed and sent a really good thread on it a while back.

Common sense in the NEC?? Idiot proof devices/equipment?? I guess that's only in a perfect world.



Hello John, I remember that and here it is again.

Quote
The Death of Common Sense
By Lori Borgman


Three yards of black fabric enshroud my computer terminal. I am mourning the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.

His obituary reads as follows:

Common Sense, aka C.S., lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was, his birth records were long ago entangled in miles and miles of bureaucratic red tape.
Known affectionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes, schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering. Rules and regulations and petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S.

A most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet. C.S. also developed sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the kid) and prudent dietary plans (offset eggs and bacon with a little fiber and orange juice).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Technological Revolution and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived sundry cultural and educational trends including disco, the men's movement, body piercing, whole language and new math.

C.S.'s health began declining in the late 1960s when he became infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus. In the following decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal and state rules and regulations and an oppressive tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment than victims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional baseball and golf. His deterioration accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of 6-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing classmates, a teen suspended for taking a swig of Scope mouthwash after lunch, girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart could endure.

As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding regulations on low-flow toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a government plan to ban inhalers from 14 million asthmatics due to a trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the environment, C.S. breathed his last. Services will be at Whispering Pines Cemetery. C.S. was preceded in death by his wife, Discretion; one daughter, Responsibility; and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.

Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Institute for Rational Thought.

Farewell, Common Sense. May you rest in peace.


This is so true

Roger


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