If you find yourself making a male-to-male adapter stop. Question all the steps that lead you there. Probably find another way.
You sound like my religious product development manager.
Stares at my network cable with disdain
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Fixed
Used to do property preservation (cleaning out foreclosed homes), and would use a male-male to get power from the generator around the house. I’ve never felt so much fear as when hooking those things up. I was as safe with it as possible, which is, obviously, not safe enough. But my dad now knows that’s possible, and I’ve caught him trying to do similar since, and it scares the shit out of me, because he’s the type that thinks some duct tape around a frayed extension cord is good enough.
That works great until you accidentally connect one side of the split-phase service with the other side… Your male-to-male cable becomes a short across 240vac.
Also: if you don’t turn the main breaker off first, you are now back-feeding power into lines the local linemen expect to be dead, potentially electrocuting them… This is why specific receptacles connected with a generator interlock kit (breaker that can only be turned on while the main is off) are used.
Docking always worked fine for me
You mean suicide.
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Be better, friend.
Check that the electrical power is off with a meter. Don’t trust that you shut the switch. Some really creative wiring or frayed wires can cause them to be unexpectedly live.
I heard a story of a guy working on a high voltage, high current piece of equipment. He confirmed that the power was off. Just to be sure, he threw a big wrench at the terminals so they would short if they were still live. His wrench evaporated. Then they actually turned the power off. He lost his wrench, but saved his life.
I have a habit of shorting “dead” wires with a screwdriver every time, before touching them. In theory, it should never be impressive, due to the other checks I do. It has saved me from a shock or two though.
Good trade.
I would pay to see shit get evaporated by electricity
Non-contact voltage tester pens are cheap and made for this purpose. Don’t need a meter to measure. Just need to know live or not.
They’re also notoriously unreliable. Fine for casually looking for powered circuits, but if you’re going to touch the conductors at all, use a meter.
As an electrician; it’s drilled into your head to use an actual physical-contact meter that you’ve just tested for function on a known good power supply.
Some courses even demand you re-test the meter after you’ve checked the circuit you’re testing.
Dead live dead test. Always
They are called death sticks for a reason. Always use a known working 2 point meter, and know how to use it correctly. That is the live saving tip here.
And don’t let anyone close to the breaker box while you are working, my grandfather nearly died when some idiot turned the power back on for an industrial machine he was repairing. In his case both the elecrricity and the machine itself could have killed or disabled him.
I believe that’s why a lot of machines now have locks, so the person working on it can lock the machine with a padlock and take the key with them.
Looking around, it seems like some setups now have a lock per person doing the work, so no one can accidentally leave someone in danger.
I remember the first time I saw lock out tag out proceedures, I audibly said “oh fuck yeah” involuntarily in front of a bunch of people I didnt know
I was walking someone around once who basically asked “it looks like you could cut it”. I mean yeah… I guess. The point isn’t to make it literally impossible, it’s to make sure it doesn’t happen accidentally. The person driving the excavator could just decide to chase me with it to if they really wanted.
Jesus Christ lol
Could not have missed the point more than that
Would you have a video on how to do that
Something like this
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uFn1zucoaRA&si=22QdamXFHwRDGhFr
They also have little contactless voltage pens, but I’ve heard mixed reviews about them.
Reading a bit, it seems like they’re not the most accurate and are better in conditions where your life isn’t on the line.
I would say at least 20% of the water heaters I’ve replaced were not wired to the breaker labeled “water heater”. I only had to learn that lesson once.
If you’re cleaning, don’t mix bleach and vinegar. It produces chlorine gas which can kill you.
Or bleach and ammonia. That makes mustard gas.
Or bleach and anything. If you’re mixing chemicals to clean you’re doing it wrong.
Mixing bleach and ammonia creates chloramine which is not mustard gas.
https://sciencenotes.org/mixing-bleach-and-ammonia-heres-what-happens/
Well then how do I make mustard gas?!
I will mix vinegar and baking soda to clean the insides of my paper mache mountains (this mixture is a good way to clean a smelly sink drain).
The fuck does Cuno care?
Is vinegar and baking soda for the drain still allowed
Baking soda + vinegar = salty water. Salty water doesn’t help the drain. Vinegar or baking soda could, depending on the problem, but it’s best to stick to hot water and mechanical solutions.
Vinegar and potassium bitartrate is the chemical solution for cleaning.
Don’t mix chemicals period
If you party around people who do hard drugs (festivals, shows, etc), get a narcan inhaler and know how to administer it. It’s very simple, and there are orgs that will give you one for free. Fent is way too common, and there’s other bad shit out there. You could save a life.
Learn CPR for infants and small kids. It’s usually a different or additional class to standard adult and kid CPR that I think goes down to 2 year olds. You don’t want that memory.
Always wait a second before going if you’re in the front after light turns green. See too many fucking murderous psychos trying to save 20 seconds by roaring through fully red lights that they missed when it turned from yellow.
Add a water filter with pump to your survival kit. Costs like $20 bucks and means you could drink out of a damn stream in a disaster if mains burst, etc. given the state of poor emergency response and planning that has been on display in the US since Katrina and continues through COVID, NO ONE is planning or going to save you. Water is as important as it gets.
Insulated foil bags/blankets for your car. If you get suck and have to sleep overnight, if you run out of gas they might mean the difference between keeping toes, legs, fingers or your life. They’re like $5 and smaller than a deck of cards and weigh almost nighting.
Always have a hatchet in your trunk. It’s a hammer, a cutting tool, weapon, and 500 other things I learned reading The Hatchet as a kid.
Know how to find north, and read a map.
Go for your free annual checkups, especially if you’re healthy–keep yourself that way!
I would add in addition to waiting a second after the light turns green, look both ways while you’re waiting. Takes almost no time, but saves lives.
Please repeat that to the guy who ignored a stop sign and hit me in a zebra crossing last week.
Thankfully for me, I was paying attention. I managed to hop on the hood and roll through the impact.
A few years ago a dump truck slid through an intersection in front of me and the light was green my way. It was going too fast for the road conditions. If I hadn’t looked, it would have t-boned me on the driver’s side.
I have been tboned by a person who didnt stop at a red light. If I had waited 2 seconds they would have missed me completely.
I got sent to the hospital, they tried to say I ran the light. Fortunately helpful bystanders corrected her and she was found at fault.
Are the blankets you mention the same as the thermal Mylar blankets or space blankets?
Yep.
I agree with the second one. I very nearly wound up compacted into jello after a semi blew through a light and t-boned the driver’s side back end of my work van going a good 50-60 MPH. Now everyone on the road thinks I drive like a grandma, but I’d rather be slow and make everyone behind me upset than be dead.
Use jack stands for your car. If your body will be under the car for even a second, there should be jack stands. There were five different people at my high school who were in a wheel chair because they thought the jack was enough.
I don’t care if your jack costs $100,000 made of pure titanium; do not trust it.
That had to be a HUGE wheelchair
wheelbench
Lmao
Similar to this, once you have a vehicle on jack stands, shake it lightly to make sure it doesn’t fall easily. Better to find out now by shaking the car before being under it.
True. It’s okay if your car falls a few inches. At worst you’ll have a blown shock.
Related pro tip, if you’re changing a flat tire and don’t have any jack stands, place the spare/damaged wheel under the car while you’re working on it. Better to have the car fall on the wheel then potentially your leg
They really need to print this one on the spare tire.
Why would you be under a vehicle to change a flat? You just sitting at the wheel legs under the car?
If no one told you not to, you wouldn’t know not to.
“My knees hurt from kneeling fussing with the nuts, but I still need to be close…”
I do this anytime I take a wheel off, even with jack stands. Doesn’t hurt anything and I’ll take anything extra between the chassis and my head I can get.
Taking a wheel off of a car, and you don’t have jack stands? You have jack stands and are taking a wheel off as part of your work? Does it involve being under the car? Throw that wheel on the ground under the frame rail / pinch weld. If something horrible happens and the jack kicks, dropping the car on you, it may save your life, and you have to put that wheel somewhere anyway
There was a waiter at my second job who was crushed by a car that fell off a Jack. Same, he was in a wheelchair. But then he (probably partially from continuing to do meth) had a heart attack and died 6 months later.
I was not expecting that ending
We weren’t either. I guess being in a wheelchair is hard on your heart already. He was only 45 too, and a really chill and nice dude.
I just posted elsewhere in the thread, neighbor had his car roll off his jack stands because he was, let’s face it, dumb enough to be working on a sloped driveway. Crushed his head and killed him. His parents found him.
If you’re only using two jack stands get chocks too, not just a log from the wood pile.
People seem to think nothing bad will happen to them because it never has before. This is wrong.
People are way too comfortable with getting underneath unsecured loads, especially cars. I feel bad for the kid, but damn, don’t get under a car on a slope.
I need to buy some chocks now that you mention it. Parking brakes aren’t enough
People are way too comfortable with a lot of dangerous situations. There were two sanitation engineers in my city just a week ago who died trying to replace a pump in a subsurface pumping station (read: one of those big manholes that had a pump inside it). One dude went down to secure a rope around the pump, didn’t come back up, his buddy went in to save him, also didn’t come out. This is an almost identical event to one that happened 6 years ago in the same city, for the same sanitation department.
I lost a coworker when his beloved 70s Camaro fell on him while he was alone at home. His partner had to come home and find him, and he was never quite the same. I tell everyone to use jack stands or a block or a wheel.
Don’t carry a gun unless you put the work into the learning curve. And it’s a steep curve.
Make safety an unbreakable habit, and that takes practice. Shoot with someone more experienced, let them correct your mistakes, no matter how minor.
Putting steel on target, especially under stress, takes mad practice. If you haven’t put 1,000 rounds through your personal weapon, leave it at home. How do you trust a gun you haven’t shot 1,000 times?! Hell, 200 rounds is standard “break in” on a new pistol.
Can you draw it and get on target, shaking yourself shitless? Because if that day comes, you’ll be scared shitless. Have you tried? Try. Run until you can’t breathe, draw and fire. Try. Now do it again.
You don’t have to go nuts memorizing ballistics charts, but have an idea what you can expect from $round at $range. You’re going to have to watch a fuck-ton of videos, and practice, to get a real-world idea of what you’re carrying and what you can do with it. Adjust accordingly.
Most people are woefully ignorant of what their state law allows in self-defense. Seen the craziest comments from such people. Hint: The law allows far less than you probably think, even in the reddest of states. Again, fuck ton of videos. Learn, or you might find yourself in a concrete and steel cage.
One more thought; A pistol is not a magical self-defense talisman. A gun is not a, “Get off me!” or “Leave me alone!”, ward. A concealed gun is for one thing only, killing the person you show it to. If you cannot do that thing, I get you, and I’m with you, but don’t carry.
Much the same goes for a home defense gun. Learn and train. Or do not. You’re my friend either way.
(I’ll plug Paul Harrell’s channel. Zero politics, just the facts, stated and demonstrated, mildly amusing. Hundreds of videos on gun related subjects. And some fun presentations outside the gun world!)
Why all the exceptions? Just don´t carry a gun.
There is definitely a time and place for firearms, though most folks in the developed world have neither reason nor knowledge to do that.
My cousins for instance - they’ve a farm in southern Sweden, and have hunting rifles. Mostly for hunting, protecting cattle and crops (wild boar can tear up a field in a jiffy). However, I don’t doubt they’d use them for protection if it came to that. The travel time for cops if they called 112 (our 911) would be in excess of an hour.
That’s the same issues with pickup trucks and SUVs. There are people who really need them. But most people who own them never, ever actually use the features that make them special.
See, that’s actually the part that worries me, and I have those friends to. I spend a decent amount of time at the range, and been around “farm guns” plenty.
But in a situation where I’m defending myself I’m probably NOT grabbing it. I haven’t put in the hours, and every statistic says it’s a drunk neighbor or some stupid kid. You absolutely should not grab a firearm for defense unless you’ve put in the mental work around NOT pulling the trigger, and just being comfortable with one doesn’t cut it.
You don’t have to look far for stories where someone was lost and pulled into the wrong driveway or the like and got blown away.
It’s case by case for each person, and it really depends where you live. The vast majority of people do not need to carry a weapon to defend themselves. But for those that do have that need, be it crime, environment or something else, it’s kind of like a seat belt, something you hope to never have to use, but could save your life or the life of someone you care about.
Vulnerable people should be able to defend themselves. GSRM have a high rate of being assaulted and weapons can be a strong deterrent to that, although it probably would be a better idea to carry pepper spray and other nonlethal weapons provided you know how to use them.
Not everyone lives in a developed country, some of us live in third world countries. I have a firearm and I wish to never have to use it for self defence, I will be extremely happy with that outcome.
One big thing that i learned while training for my CCW was even if you are in the right and shoot someone, your life is about to be hell. The average self defense shooting will run around 500K or something like that. It’s just a life ruining event no matter what.
Don’t get USCCA, lot’s of bad shit from those guys not paying out.
Yeah I’ve heard that before. I went with CCW Safe since there’s records of them paying out.
Yep, heard the same thing.
Don’t carry a gun.
Thanks for that insight…do you have a pocket Leo you wish to share with the rest of us?
Cops aren’t here for you my dude.
No shit… that’s why I carry. That was my whole point of my comment.
Are you having a stroke lad?
Leo = law enforcement officer…aka a cop, the popo, the fuzzy, the rozzers, pigs, plods, etc…
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Group shooting with rednecks will get you well on your way on the basics. It’s like having a shitload of uncles all excited to have you sharing a hobby. You’ll get to fire a lot of different firearms, too.
Very few rednecks actually practice gun safety. I’ll pass.
You’re insane. I’ve gone shooting with them and they’re spectacular about safety. Once they know you’re a noob they’re all there to tell you how to shoot.
- Never ever stand next to a loaded chain or a rope when something is being towed or dragged. - If, and eventually when, that thing snaps it will cut you clean in half or cause a very painful injury;
- When messing with wires that might be powered never use both of your hands. - If you get shocked you reduce chances of serious injury significantly;
- Never wear gloves and too long sleeves when working with rotary tools. - If a tool catches your apparel it will pull the rest of the hand into it;
- Don’t enter steel containers that only have top hatch (like boat anchor chambers and similar). - Process of rusting is consuming oxygen. Entering such room which has no ventilation is deadly. There’s no time to even notice something is wrong and you’ll just pass out and die;
- Avoid painted parts on the road when riding anything on two wheels. - During the summer this is not a problem, but making a habit is a useful thing. The very first rain or frost will make painted parts be as slippery as ice;
- Always assume everyone in traffic will kill you. - There are no safe assumptions. If a person has turn signal on, only certainty there is that they have turn signal on. Don’t assume they are turning. Wait for them to start their action, then react. This is especially important if you are cycling or riding a motorcycle;
- Always obey the traffic rules, even if there’s no one close by. - Rules are set in place to make everyone behave in predictable manner. The fact you didn’t see anyone doesn’t mean there’s no one around and doing something unpredictably can kill you. One stupid example is when someone lets you merge but they have right of way. Doing such a thing makes it a very dangerous situation to everyone else who have no idea what to expect.
For your second point: If you suspect lines are live, you shouldn’t be messing with them at all. And don’t trust those little AC detector probes that light up and beep when they detect power nearby. Electricians call those widowmakers, because the apprentices will trust it, it fails to detect power, then the apprentice gets shocked because they think they’re working on dead lines when they’re actually live.
If you absolutely must check it without a proper multimeter, use the back of your hand, not your palm. It will cause your muscles to clench when you get shocked. So using the back of your hand will cause you to flinch away from the shock; If you use your palm or fingers, there’s a good chance that your muscles will contract around the wire and you’ll be “stuck” to it until someone else kicks you off.
Lastly, if someone nearby is being shocked, don’t grab them to pull them off. For the same reason as stated above. Your muscles will all lock up as soon as you grab them, and you’ll get stuck too. Kick them off instead. Kick hard. Like a full blown Sparta kick. You need to kick so hard their hands are ripped away from whatever they’re locked onto. Or if they’re not in a place you can kick them away, take off your shirt, twist it up, loop it over their shoulders, and pull. And again, you want to pull so hard you knock them completely over and rip their hands away from the electricity.
Wholeheartedly agree with the last point specifically. I once had a dude stop on an intersection to give me the right of way… while I was waiting for a RED STOP SIGN. This dude stopped in the middle of an intersection to allow me to run a red light, like this wasn’t a multi lane thing where he was the only lane giving me a ‘pass’ to run a red. I just looked at him until he decided he’d waited long enough.
Dude. Just go. The light will go green for me, I can wait 20 seconds.
I had that during my exam for motorcycle license, except it wasn’t a stop light, just regular intersection and we were both joining road with right of way. He was so set on letting me pass before him because I was wearing highvis vest with L on it and had a car behind me. Good for me, and him, I knew better not to listen to him and didn’t do anything until the cop from the car said it was okay.
Excellent instinct I’d say!
Thanks, but I think it was mostly common sense and I have heard a lot of stories how someone failed their exam because of silly things like these. I had a friend who failed because he “endangered cyclist” on the road, but he claims he left enough space when overtaking. In reality law only states that you should leave enough space for cyclist so they are not hindered. In my head that means change the lane, others thought it was okay to pass closer.
Quality.
A lot of people forget about not wearing gloves with rotary tools. All of those diy channels on youtube wear them when using a drill press and it makes me die inside.
Indeed. Sometimes when I watch people working with wood I honestly wonder how they still have all the fingers.
With regards to your container bit: don’t enter ANY confined space, regardless of where the egress is, without a lifeline and someone on the outside watching and ready to pull you out, preferably two or three people. Make sure THOSE people do not enter after you to get you if something goes wrong - chances are they’ll just wind up dead as well.
Yeah, plenty of gasses can accumulate on closed spaces but I’ve seen far too many documentaries about people dying with simple rust causing lack of oxygen.
Before getting on a ladder double-check that the feet are placed firmly and (for extension ladders) the angle is not too steep.
Generally the rungs of an extension ladder have a flat spot where you step, that flat spot should be level.
3 points of contact is a pretty simple rule to follow when climbing.
If you need to put out a small kitchen fire in an emergency and have no other way to do it rip the top off a box of baking soda and use the contents to smother the fire. As the baking soda heats it releases CO2 starving the fire of oxygen, the remaining salt also prevents oxygen from reaching the burning material.
Even better, always have a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen - don’t bury it under the sink or in a closet.
Fire extinguishers and baking soda, always have them in the kitchen.
Life saver on fire extinguishers: Practice. See a post like this? JUMP and run to your extinguisher. Can you find it by reflex?
Because if shit goes south, you don’t have time to think about it. Just try it a few times when it occurs to you. Like NOW. A time or three will get you in the zone.
While you’re at it, check the gauge on the side. Look good? OK, there’s a place to pencil in the last time it was checked. Do so. I just did! Thanks OP!
When it gets old, AFTER you bring home a new one, take the old one outside and practice with it until it’s used up. Educational and fun.
If its a dry powder extinguisher WEAR A MASK if only practicing. A lungfull of the powder will fuck your day right up.
Years ago a friend stole a fire extinguisher from an apartment building as we left, unbeknownst to me. He started spraying it out the car window after we were on the road. One turn is all it took for him to fall back a fraction enough to spray it inside the car.
Middle of winter, we’re all choking and gagging. Next day I made him be the one to clean all our frozen vomit from my car.
Good point, and fire it downwind!
Does no one have lids for their cookware? Just cover it. A cutting board or cookie sheet works good too.
Not all kitchen fires are on the stove, toasters and toaster ovens are common culprits as well.
Throwing it into an oven that’s turned off and then closing the oven door can help extinguish the flames too
Don’t start walking around with burning shit
Of course you shouldn’t do that, silly.
What I meant was if you are cooking on your stovetop using a pan and somehow don’t have a lid, fire blanket, fire extinguisher etc, you can just put it inside the oven. Flames and all. Just make sure you shut the door. It works best when the oven is not filled or in use
This stops the fire from spreading, and starves it of oxygen quickly. Another alternative method is to use another pot/pan that’s just big enough to cover the top of the burning pan.
Does no one
Why do you respond like a know it all ass? Maybe your advice is valid but you sound like a prick.
It didn’t read that way to me
I imagine it comes down to what a person is used to. This sounds aggressive and edgy to me.
/Please try to be polite and respectful per rule 1, even if you feel another user isn’t.
Why do you respond like a know it all ass? Maybe your advice is valid but you sound like a prick.
Why do you respond like a know it all ass? Maybe your advice is valid but you sound like a prick.
/Please be polite and respectful per rule 1, even if you feel another user isn’t.
I’m sorry for copy pasting his comment back to him I guess? I didn’t even think it trough because I just found it ironic
Always cut away from yourself (and others).
Sometimes it’s impractical. After several dangerously deep cuts at work, one of the older guys taught me a fantastic trick, whichever way you have to cut:
Tuck your elbow tight to your sides when you’re cutting something that you’re holding.
It limits your range of motion, preventing serious injuries when your knife slips.
Wrist action, bottom up, works as well if the thing you’re trying to cut is short and takes a significant amount of tension. If you suddenly pop through unexpectedly you just quickly turn the knife in an arc with your wrist instead of shoving it towards yourself.
This is an addition to tucking your elbow as you stated.
Cutting down trees of any real size is incredibly dangerous. They can kick or barber chair and instantly kill you.
For anyone like me who didn’t know what barber chair meant in this context: https://youtu.be/9O7H9qWdquk?si=KvGhTKrfYVUN84Pw
It’s when the tree rips in fucking half and tries to murder you specifically as an act of final revenge.
Investing some time in properly learning how to fell a tree is important. It doesn’t take long but can save a life and property damage.
Never ever EVER walk under a forklifts raised load (the pallet it’s carrying).
Things can fall from it, the hydraulics can giveway, the operator may not see you and lower it on you.
Especially an ‘order picker’ as the operator can not see under them.
Really apply this to almost any suspended load. Don’t walk under loads that are mechanically or hydraulically suspended, there are many ways that the load can fall and crush you.
Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.
Shit advice. Every person I’ve seen go against a Sicilian with death on the line has ended up happily riding into the sunset.
inconceivable
You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.
I’d argue never starting a land war in Asia is the better advice.
I mean, 2. Nf3 isn’t that bad of an opening.
Loosen (but do not remove) lug nuts from a wheel, before jacking up the car.
How would failing to do this kill you?
I prefer to jack the car until the wheel is barely touching, then loosen the nuts while the wheel still doesn’t rotate, then jack it all the way up. Have I been risking my life somehow?
If the nuts are too tight you risk rocking the car off the jack when you undo them.
The least you’ll do is possibly damage your cars bodywork the worst is to injure yourself.
That’s about the same. I think the concept is to avoid jerking it around while it’s on the jack.
That and it’s difficult to break the lug nuts free if the wheel can rotate. I solve both problems by just using an impact to ugga dugga them off with the car already jacked up.
