...as to why this post is going to be so boring? Well, let me break it down for you sports fans: until December 11th I'm without a car. Without a car I can't drive to any place picture worthy.
Why don't you ask your friends to take trips in their cars, you might ask. Unfortunately, I hate being "that guy". The guy who asks for rides, I mean. Nobody likes that guy. So until somebody comes up to me and says, "hey, Colin, wanna go somewhere fun so you can take pictures for your blog?", I'll have to wait until the 11th.
With some motivation I might hoof it somewhere around here... but the closest trail is something like 2-3 miles away along a major road, so it would take a real kick in the pants... but we'll see.
I was given some suggestions by family and friends as to what I could write in the meantime. Ideas included:
** Character profiles of fellow co-workers (how creepy is that?)
** Restaurant reviews (when I told my mom that I wouldn't want to eat alone (my other crew members like to save money), she said to bring my laptop.......... right...)
** A highlight of Port Angeles' primary crop (seriously?)
So with nothing else in mind, I thought I'd update you on my daily life!
Why don't you ask your friends to take trips in their cars, you might ask. Unfortunately, I hate being "that guy". The guy who asks for rides, I mean. Nobody likes that guy. So until somebody comes up to me and says, "hey, Colin, wanna go somewhere fun so you can take pictures for your blog?", I'll have to wait until the 11th.
With some motivation I might hoof it somewhere around here... but the closest trail is something like 2-3 miles away along a major road, so it would take a real kick in the pants... but we'll see.
I was given some suggestions by family and friends as to what I could write in the meantime. Ideas included:
** Character profiles of fellow co-workers (how creepy is that?)
** Restaurant reviews (when I told my mom that I wouldn't want to eat alone (my other crew members like to save money), she said to bring my laptop.......... right...)
** A highlight of Port Angeles' primary crop (seriously?)
So with nothing else in mind, I thought I'd update you on my daily life!
At the grocery store I found these lovely miniature pumpkins and gourds... so I bought them to spice up the place. They go well with my La-Z-Boy, lawn chair, non-existent kitchen table, and bare walls.
With so much free time (4 day work weeks), I've tried my hand at baking. I decided my first attempt would be with an apple pie... and I wasn't about to cheap out on the crust, so I made it myself.
And I'm not sure why the pictures are so blurry, so don't ask.
And I'm not sure why the pictures are so blurry, so don't ask.
This particular recipe called for a crumbly top.
(courtesy of Fox Network)
At work, I won a rock-paper-scissors tournament to be with one other person to help out one of the park electricians to wire the new shop they just constructed by Lake Crescent. Below is a picture of an identical looking setup as the ones we are fitting...
(courtesy of ask-the-electrician.com)
The cool part about the whole thing is that the electrician, Robert, tells us what to do, and then just let's us (my buddy, John, and I) loose. He comes in and out, checking to make sure that we don't really screw things up, but he has let us do all the work. As he explained to us, he could have done the job in a day, and if he were on a bid, he would have. But we can take our time, because the park is paying him (and us) the same, no matter how long the job takes.
So we drilled holes through all the studs with a massive and über-powerful drill, and then ran the wire to the outlets back to the circuit breaker. Robert also explained to us all about how it worked, and said that if we show that we understand the system, than he'll give us more responsibility.
What I've learned is that the power company sends 120 volts (measure of electromagnetic force) to your house. Each circuit you install can carry an individual current of 120 volts, at a strength of a certain number of amperes, depending on the wire. Typical home-wires are either 12-2 or 14-2 gauge, with a capacity for 20 and 15 amps, respectively.
To figure out the maximum wattage that produces, you multiply volts times amps. So, for a 120 volt circuit using a 12 gauge wire, the maximum load is 2,400 watts (120 volts times 20 amps).
So you might ask, would one outlet in a bathroom be enough to provide power for a hair press and a pair of hair clippers without overloading the circuit? Well... if your hair press uses 1000 watts, and your clippers use 500 watts, you would be using 1,500 watts if you used them at the same time -- well under the power capacity for that circuit.
Larger appliances use a lot more power, and so you might use a 12-3 gauge wire... one that carries one additional hot wire hauling 2,400 additional watts, resulting in a 4,800 watt circuit capacity.
Bored yet?
So we drilled holes through all the studs with a massive and über-powerful drill, and then ran the wire to the outlets back to the circuit breaker. Robert also explained to us all about how it worked, and said that if we show that we understand the system, than he'll give us more responsibility.
What I've learned is that the power company sends 120 volts (measure of electromagnetic force) to your house. Each circuit you install can carry an individual current of 120 volts, at a strength of a certain number of amperes, depending on the wire. Typical home-wires are either 12-2 or 14-2 gauge, with a capacity for 20 and 15 amps, respectively.
To figure out the maximum wattage that produces, you multiply volts times amps. So, for a 120 volt circuit using a 12 gauge wire, the maximum load is 2,400 watts (120 volts times 20 amps).
So you might ask, would one outlet in a bathroom be enough to provide power for a hair press and a pair of hair clippers without overloading the circuit? Well... if your hair press uses 1000 watts, and your clippers use 500 watts, you would be using 1,500 watts if you used them at the same time -- well under the power capacity for that circuit.
Larger appliances use a lot more power, and so you might use a 12-3 gauge wire... one that carries one additional hot wire hauling 2,400 additional watts, resulting in a 4,800 watt circuit capacity.
Bored yet?
Colin if you don't start filling in your narrative with colorful characters you will never be able to turn this into a hilarious mockumentary.
ReplyDeleteSoo, it is 3 Am and I couldnt sleep. I begin to think to myself, "How can I make myself pass out the quickest? Alcohol? Pills? Colins Blog!!" After reading the whole blog and drooling over your camera work, I have come to the conclusion that I am in fact jealous of your excursions.
ReplyDeleteI also came up with a new idea for spring break. Ill come to Washington! Well camp, hike, and bake pies. You know just typical bad boy shit. So plan for the week of March 8th. Itll just be me and you mimmicking animal calls and hiking through America's heartland. Think of the possibilities....(should be the plot of a reality tv show)