reno - when I was out of a job and became the temporary local handyman (mainly paint, millwork, and fencing), I came upon a bad situation. A house I was working on had 3 wire outlets with only 2 wire NM, and some "smart" person decided to MacGuyver the ground by connecting a jumper from the ground screw to the neutral. The only thing is, the white wire wasn't really neutral, it had been switched halfway down the chain. Every outlet except one had a hot ground. I had grounded power tools plugged into both, and it's a miracle i didn't get shocked.
I discovered this situation when i took my no-contact citcuit tester (i forget the slang name) and it lit up almost everywhere. What's worse was it was the baby's room. I shut it off and told them to call an electrician and don't turn it on until it's fixed. (only because i'm too poor to be in a liability situation.) I feel like I saved a life, and there was no glamour or Nobel Peace Prize for Accidentally Finding a Problem. I pulled a Homer Simpson (i.e. the episode where he accidentally prevents a meltdown.) But I got the greatest prize of all.... the thanks of parents for possibly saving them and their only child at the time. Actually, i got another prize, because they named their second child Joshua Penn Saunders. And truthfully, there is no greater honor to me than all of this.
That's why us working men are so great (granted, most of you guys work harder than I do). We're not looking for medals, fame, or fortune (other than enough to provide for our families). We're satisfied by just doing our jobs.
Kudos to Reno and working men and women everywhere!
