Rant for the Day (keep it clean)

[Peanut]

My rant is about me and a bone head move. About this time last year, I was finishing up rewiring most of my house.

I’ve had a fluke 115 multimeter for about 8 or 10 years, suits my needs although I still miss my old fluke 87. My dad fried it trying to measure starter current on a tractor.

I usually take the battery out of my meter if I don’t intend to use it in the foreseeable future. I had intended to put one more outlet in my herb room which I didn’t get around to. The battery never got removed.

Today I tried to use my meter to make sure a circuit was off. I was replacing an old ballast florescent light with a new led light.

The 9v battery was dead. As I pulled out the old battery the metal pressure tab against one of the poles snapped off. I now have a useless fluke 115. The odds of successfully repairing a pressure tab are slim and none. I once watched a co-worker waste 1/2 a day trying to repair one before tossing his pile of junk into the trash.

I now have a fluke 117 in my amazon wish list. Tonight, I picked out a good set of leads and a hard case. I’ll order them in a few days.

How did I find out if the circuit to the florescent light was off? I disassembled the receptacle just enough to connect a small jumper wire across the hot and ground wires. No sparks or melting plastic is a good sign!

Not pulling out a 9v battery cost me about $225, bonehead!

 

[Bacpacker]

I'm not familiar with the Model 115, I use the 87's at work and around the house. Is the pressure terminal located in such a way that you could wire in a couple leads and connectors to hook the battery and make everything fit? Better than buying new if it works.
I know the feeling. I normally swap batteries in all my flashlight/headlamps/etc in the spring. I missed it this past year and have lost 2 good flashlight because of it. It sucks, but it happens sometimes.

 

[Peanut]

I'm not familiar with the Model 115, I use the 87's at work and around the house. Is the pressure terminal located in such a way that you could wire in a couple leads and connectors to hook the battery and make everything fit? Better than buying new if it works.
I know the feeling. I normally swap batteries in all my flashlight/headlamps/etc in the spring. I missed it this past year and have lost 2 good flashlight because of it. It sucks, but it happens sometimes.

That battery made a bigger mess than I described. However what you said would work in a pinch so I won't throw the 115 away. I might need an extra meter some day.

Tools in my kits are always in good working order, as a rule... no baling wire or duct tape. So, time for a new meter. The 117 has a few advantages over the model 115. The 117 can read frequency and test diodes. Seems once every year or so I run into a situation where it would be nice to see frequency. Also, as it happens I have a box of diodes that need testing, are they trash or worth hanging on to? So, I'm up grading a bit.

 

[Peanut]

Another rant on a cold winter day with a steady rain falling. I noticed a couple of days ago the right rear tire on my truck was low of air. For the last several days it’s been to cold to drive up to my shop and put more air in it.

Today I went to the little town for a few groceries. I forgot about the tire until I tried to put my groceries in the passenger side of my truck. I noticed the R/R tire. I will add that trying to wrestle a 52lb bag of dog food into the passenger seat of my truck while getting soaked was a B*. Seams like every thing I bought today was heavy, cartons of sodas, gallons of Clorox…

So, I stopped the first gas station I saw to air up my R/R tire. Their air station was out of order. So it was at the next 3 stations I stopped at. Thanks to the rain I got wetter at all 4 stops. My umbrella is on its last leg.

Finally, the 5th station, gold, their air thingy was working. My truck was under a roof, except the right rear quarter. Their air dispensing machine required two hands to operate. I couldn’t hold my umbrella… So, I drove home soaked by cold rain but with a properly inflated R/R tire.

What ever happened to real gas stations?

 

[Bacpacker]

I seem to recall them being called Service Stations. I worked at one affiliated with Gulf right after high school. Pump gas, clean windshield, check air in tires, change wipers light bulbs, change oil, tune ups, even brake jobs at times. Our shop had 3 bays and 6 pumps. It would keep you hopin at times.

 

[Terri9630]

I seem to recall them being called Service Stations. I worked at one affiliated with Gulf right after high school. Pump gas, clean windshield, check air in tires, change wipers light bulbs, change oil, tune ups, even brake jobs at times. Our shop had 3 bays and 6 pumps. It would keep you hopin at times.

I miss those stations. There was one where I went to school, closed years ago.

 

[Amish Heart]

Had to talk with mom yesterday about a story she's telling that is not true at all. Somehow if she repeats something enough she'll believe it. She's 86. Likes to lie, but now she believes weird stuff. Can't tell if she makes stuff up, dreams it, or what. Anyway, she's pretty mad at me, even though I did remind her that I would always be honest with her and never hide anything from her no matter what.

 

[Weedygarden]

Had to talk with mom yesterday about a story she's telling that is not true at all. Somehow if she repeats something enough she'll believe it. She's 86. Likes to lie, but now she believes weird stuff. Can't tell if she makes stuff up, dreams it, or what. Anyway, she's pretty mad at me, even though I did remind her that I would always be honest with her and never hide anything from her no matter what.

Were those lies about you? If they were, you are lucky to have someone tell you about it. My sister is a manipulative, lying narcissist. Everyone believes her lies, because she is so well rehearsed at it.

 

[SheepDog]

For about $15 you can get a 12 volt air pump that will inflate your tires. Some tire centers will fix the leaking tire for free or at most a few dollars.
You should also have a spare tire that is in good shape. I'm sorry but I have very little sympathy for anyone who runs on a low tire.
Part of being prepared is having a spare tire, a tire plug kit, a few tools, water, and oil in your car.

 

[backlash]

My rant is about me and a bone head move. About this time last year, I was finishing up rewiring most of my house.

I’ve had a fluke 115 multimeter for about 8 or 10 years, suits my needs although I still miss my old fluke 87. My dad fried it trying to measure starter current on a tractor.

I usually take the battery out of my meter if I don’t intend to use it in the foreseeable future. I had intended to put one more outlet in my herb room which I didn’t get around to. The battery never got removed.

Today I tried to use my meter to make sure a circuit was off. I was replacing an old ballast florescent light with a new led light.

The 9v battery was dead. As I pulled out the old battery the metal pressure tab against one of the poles snapped off. I now have a useless fluke 115. The odds of successfully repairing a pressure tab are slim and none. I once watched a co-worker waste 1/2 a day trying to repair one before tossing his pile of junk into the trash.

I now have a fluke 117 in my amazon wish list. Tonight, I picked out a good set of leads and a hard case. I’ll order them in a few days.

How did I find out if the circuit to the florescent light was off? I disassembled the receptacle just enough to connect a small jumper wire across the hot and ground wires. No sparks or melting plastic is a good sign!

Not pulling out a 9v battery cost me about $225, bonehead!

Contact Fluke.
They can repair it.
It will just depend on the cost whether it's worth it or not.
I have had fluke repair several instruments over the years.
In a real pinch Harbor Freight had meters cheap.
They are cheap for a reason but way way better than shorting hot to ground to test.

 

[backlash]

Had to talk with mom yesterday about a story she's telling that is not true at all. Somehow if she repeats something enough she'll believe it. She's 86. Likes to lie, but now she believes weird stuff. Can't tell if she makes stuff up, dreams it, or what. Anyway, she's pretty mad at me, even though I did remind her that I would always be honest with her and never hide anything from her no matter what.

Old people, especially those with mental decline, sometimes can't tell the difference between fact and fantasy.
Some hallucinate and they don't know it's not real. She may truly belief what she said is fact.
My Grandma did that. People were always trying to get her.
She would say I'm going to go make supper for Tramon now and Grandpa had been dead for 10 years.
If you reminded her that he was gone she would start crying because it was news to her.

 

[Amish Heart]

I get that, but mom has always stretched the truth (considerably) to get attention. Now it's hard to tell how much she's losing it. She does fine in assisted living, loves having her own apartment, watching Hallmark 24/7 and eating honey buns non stop. She keeps herself clean and her place clean, so she's not incompetent. She just drives me crazy because her stories always end up talking bad about someone and then spreading the rumor. This time, though, she turned on me when I called her on it. Ticks me off.

 

[Amish Heart]

Hey Weedy...this time the lies weren't about me. But sometimes they are about me or my kids. Then I get a phone call from one of my cousins telling me. She was at my Uncle Melvins bday gathering. She said an Amish man came up and said to her, "Why did you invite us here? We're not welcome here. Why would you do that?". Then a table full of Amish women in black bonnets over their kapps got up, walked in a straight line right past her and left. So she was mad at my Uncle Mel's daughter in laws, because she said they probably said something bad to the Amish that came. She described the man as someone she had supper with at our farm. She said she was fuming at the daughter in laws and was going to tell them off. So, I called a cousin who had been there and asked what happened. She was sitting near mom most of the whole party, and took her out to dinner afterwards. The man didn't exist. She at first thought she was cousin Jake, but he had left for Indiana a few days earlier. And then the thing about the bonnets...those bonnets are only worn outdoors in the winter for church. Just white kapps are worn. She couldn't tell me anyone who she knew was there. So I called her because she was repeating the story to everybody. Told her it didn't happen. She said it did and cussed a lot. I'll give her time to think about it. I told her it was probably a dream because she only "naps" on the recliner in between junk food. She does love the attention she gets with these stories.

 

[Weedygarden]

Hey Weedy...this time the lies weren't about me. But sometimes they are about me or my kids. Then I get a phone call from one of my cousins telling me. She was at my Uncle Melvins bday gathering. She said an Amish man came up and said to her, "Why did you invite us here? We're not welcome here. Why would you do that?". Then a table full of Amish women in black bonnets over their kapps got up, walked in a straight line right past her and left. So she was mad at my Uncle Mel's daughter in laws, because she said they probably said something bad to the Amish that came. She described the man as someone she had supper with at our farm. She said she was fuming at the daughter in laws and was going to tell them off. So, I called a cousin who had been there and asked what happened. She was sitting near mom most of the whole party, and took her out to dinner afterwards. The man didn't exist. She at first thought she was cousin Jake, but he had left for Indiana a few days earlier. And then the thing about the bonnets...those bonnets are only worn outdoors in the winter for church. Just white kapps are worn. She couldn't tell me anyone who she knew was there. So I called her because she was repeating the story to everybody. Told her it didn't happen. She said it did and cussed a lot. I'll give her time to think about it. I told her it was probably a dream because she only "naps" on the recliner in between junk food. She does love the attention she gets with these stories.

I think it is good that there are others who can help with the facts. It is also good that a bunch of people don't get all bent out of shape based on her stories. Communication about her must be key. I am imagining the phone in the shack with the answering machine!

 

[Amish Heart]

Yep. That shack phone is in use a lot! That sweet cousin (Irene) went with her sis Lydia to visit mom. She repeated that crazy story. Irene said Lydia had to take 2 Aleve after a visit with mom. Then they called me from the shack. I thought that was funny.

 

[Peanut]

Contact Fluke. They can repair it.
It will just depend on the cost whether it's worth it or not.
I have had fluke repair several instruments over the years.
In a real pinch Harbor Freight had meters cheap.
They are cheap for a reason but way way better than shorting hot to ground to test.

I hadn't thought of contacting Fluke, thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8YEI43/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Difference of opinion... Test leads are cheap... less than 29 cents each now, much cheaper back in the day...

Servicing CT's and MRI's... Time is money... More than a few test leads gave up their inexpensive life in my career. They answered far more questions than the pennies they cost... Tools of the trade. Got to know how to use them...

 

[jimLE]

My rant is about me and a bone head move. About this time last year, I was finishing up rewiring most of my house.

I’ve had a fluke 115 multimeter for about 8 or 10 years, suits my needs although I still miss my old fluke 87. My dad fried it trying to measure starter current on a tractor.

I usually take the battery out of my meter if I don’t intend to use it in the foreseeable future. I had intended to put one more outlet in my herb room which I didn’t get around to. The battery never got removed.

Today I tried to use my meter to make sure a circuit was off. I was replacing an old ballast florescent light with a new led light.

The 9v battery was dead. As I pulled out the old battery the metal pressure tab against one of the poles snapped off. I now have a useless fluke 115. The odds of successfully repairing a pressure tab are slim and none. I once watched a co-worker waste 1/2 a day trying to repair one before tossing his pile of junk into the trash.

I now have a fluke 117 in my amazon wish list. Tonight, I picked out a good set of leads and a hard case. I’ll order them in a few days.

How did I find out if the circuit to the florescent light was off? I disassembled the receptacle just enough to connect a small jumper wire across the hot and ground wires. No sparks or melting plastic is a good sign!

Not pulling out a 9v battery cost me about $225, bonehead!

That's one reason i'll use a table lamp to test a outlet.other reason.why buy a tester when i already have one.

 

[The Lazy L]

Co-worker was included in a notification.
A week after the notification I still don't have the information that only the Co-worker can provide, so I email them a request for the information.
Two day's later the Co-worker calls, "Is there any information that you need?" "Yes", is my reply. Co-worker claims no previous knowledge so I point out the time and date stamps of the original notification and of my follow up request. "Oh. I'll email you the information."

This isn't a rare event, this is normal for this Co-worker. I ask the Co-worker's manager, "What else can I do to help train this employee?" Manager tells me the employee is untrainable and I should just adapted to the co-0worker's methodology

Which brings me to the thought, "Why don't the current generation of Snowflakes melt?"

 

[Amish Heart]

Maybe us older people need to come on hotter. Then, they'd melt. I have let go a few young snowflake employees just because they can't do the job, can't be trained, won't do what's asked. I warn them I'll train one more time. Then I fire them if they are untrainable.

 

[The Lazy L]

Maybe us older people need to come on hotter. Then, they'd melt. I have let go a few young snowflake employees just because they can't do the job, can't be trained, won't do what's asked. I warn them I'll train one more time. Then I fire them if they are untrainable.

We have a unique "management" style here. Managers are not allowed to discipline or terminate employees, that function is reserved by the Business Owner. And the Owner doesn't like confrontation and has a history of shooting the messenger.

 

[Peanut]

Glue... the biggest rip off there is on our society... A couple of months ago I bought a container of "Monkey" glue. I put the cap back on like I was supposed to.

Tonight I needed 2 tiny drops of glue, just 2. The bottle of "Monkey" glue I bought was hard as a rock! I searched the entire house. I found 2 more bottles of "Monkey" glue and 5 tubes of crazy glue. One of those had never been used! They were all hard as a rock except the unused tube of crazy glue.

I opened the crazy glue. The provided pin I used got stuck in the tube. I cut the tube open. The glue had the consistency of partially hardened pine resin. Completely unusable!

Why is it every time I need glue I have to go and buy some?

Would I buy syrup if I used some one day and it was hard as a rock the next?

Would I buy a small tin of 3-in-1 oil if I used it once and a week later it was hard as a rock?

Why can't they make a glue... And put it in a container that can be used again and again? This is a rip OFF! It's obvious they do it on purpose to boost sales! @#$%^

 

[Peanut]

Have the late night wakies... did a little research... and some rough math...

Selling glue to the private sector is a 31 billion a year business... talk about getting ripped off!

Heck, who cares how bad my math is! Say it was only a 5 billion a year business... because every time I need a drop of glue I have to go to the store and buy some!

 

[backlash]

I have a bottle of Gorilla super glue that has been in the shop for over a year and it's still good. In the past with other brands I have had the same experience as you. Use it once and it's rock hard the next time I needed it. Not sure why your bottle went bad.
This is what I use.

 

[SheepDog]

Peanut,
Where and how do you store your glue?
I have glue in used bottles that are usable after more than a year.

 

[Peanut]

I put the lid or cap back on the container. It gets stored on a shelf in the tool room which is temperature stable at around 68 degrees.

 

[Grimm]

Glue... the biggest rip off there is on our society... A couple of months ago I bought a container of "Monkey" glue. I put the cap back on like I was supposed to.

Tonight I needed 2 tiny drops of glue, just 2. The bottle of "Monkey" glue I bought was hard as a rock! I searched the entire house. I found 2 more bottles of "Monkey" glue and 5 tubes of crazy glue. One of those had never been used! They were all hard as a rock except the unused tube of crazy glue.

I opened the crazy glue. The provided pin I used got stuck in the tube. I cut the tube open. The glue had the consistency of partially hardened pine resin. Completely unusable!

Why is it every time I need glue I have to go and buy some?

Would I buy syrup if I used some one day and it was hard as a rock the next?

Would I buy a small tin of 3-in-1 oil if I used it once and a week later it was hard as a rock?

Why can't they make a glue... And put it in a container that can be used again and again? This is a rip OFF! It's obvious they do it on purpose to boost sales! @#$%^

I found that one of my bottles of Gorilla Glue has a bad cap. It is suppose to screw on but for some reason this one bottle will not stay screwed on. I clean the threads of the bottle and cap after every use and put the cap back on. Then I use packing tape to hold the cap on tight and create a seal of sorts. If the bottle weren't 90% full I'd toss it and get a new one. Had it for years and use it at least once a month.

When I was working full time on set and location I bought 'stock' in the single use mini tubes of super glue. I used what I needed for a job then tossed the open tubes once we were done shooting. I had one too many tubes of super glue leak or burst in my set bag for my liking. I got in the habit of storing unopened tubes in sandwich bags.

 

[Peanut]

The other night in town I bought super glue by Loctite in tiny .03 oz sized tubes. There were 3 tubes per pack so I grabbed 3 packs. Now I no longer care if the tube I opened gets hard. I only need glue once or twice a year.

 

[Weedygarden]

For about $15 you can get a 12 volt air pump that will inflate your tires. Some tire centers will fix the leaking tire for free or at most a few dollars.
You should also have a spare tire that is in good shape. I'm sorry but I have very little sympathy for anyone who runs on a low tire.
Part of being prepared is having a spare tire, a tire plug kit, a few tools, water, and oil in your car.

And not a donut tire! I wonder when I see people who get stuck by the side of the road with their car jacked up and one of their tires off, and they are not present, if they ever get what a pain in the behind it is to have someone come get you, take you somewhere to get your tire fixed, come back and put the tire on? I see this routine in the cities, but not in the country. New to me car gets a good regular sized spare, jack checked out and tire iron. I do have a tire plug kit in my trunk as well a bunch of other useful stuff. I used to have a 12 volt air pump that I kept in the trunk, but what happens to me is that when I am moving stuff, I empty the trunk into my garage, and sometimes things like the air pump don't get put back soon enough. This is the problem of keeping stuff in the trunk and needing the trunk for moving other stuff.

 

[Grimm]

And not a donut tire! I wonder when I see people who get stuck by the side of the road with their car jacked up and one of their tires off, and they are not present, if they ever get what a pain in the behind it is to have someone come get you, take you somewhere to get your tire fixed, come back and put the tire on? I see this routine in the cities, but not in the country. New to me car gets a good regular sized spare, jack checked out and tire iron. I do have a tire plug kit in my trunk as well a bunch of other useful stuff. I used to have a 12 volt air pump that I kept in the trunk, but what happens to me is that when I am moving stuff, I empty the trunk into my garage, and sometimes things like the air pump don't get put back soon enough. This is the problem of keeping stuff in the trunk and needing the trunk for moving other stuff.

I recently started driving K's car because he has a work truck and his car wasn't being riven to the point of having a dead battery. Since he moved the emergency crate from his car to the truck I have been moving mine back and forth between the wagon and the sedan. I keep forgetting the pump in the wagon! (It has its own compartment in the cargo area of the wagon!) and K never got around to getting that full size spare for the sedan. We got the rim 4+ years ago - he never had a tire put on it!

 

[Amish Heart]

Dollar Tree stocks the single use super glue, I think in three to a pack