It's a great day here in Orem, Utah! As many of you are aware, I am officially on the downhill side of life. That's right, I crossed the big 40 this past Friday. To celebrate we had the most morbid party known to man. Over the hill balloons, Over the hill banners, Over the hill streamers and a tombstone cake all helped to usher in the milestone event. Many of you have already experienced this landmark, while others look at it as though it will never happen to them. All I know for sure is that I got a great present. I've got a big lollipop with a logo that says....... "40 SUCKS"...... The truth be told, I am looking forward to the experiences of the coming decade of life.
I am ready to get the 3-D report system, and need some help as to the best portable printer, and laptop PC. I take it that the Compaq iPAQ does a good job, but do I need 206MHz? I would like to buy a refurbished notebook or a new, but not top of the line. . What is the least that I can get by on, and still do a good job? How about Frank Overbeek's comments program. Any advice you guys can give me will be appreciated. Ted B. Harris
Then Ted posted..........
I have just bought the 3-D reporting system. Would any of you Oregon inspectors who have configured the system to meet Oregon reporting requirements be willing to e-mail me a copy of your report? This may be asking a lot, but I could use that as a guide and not have to re-invent the wheel. I agree with Greg Justice, Michael. If you gave a level one class now, more people would be in the Level Two class in November. Ted B. Harris
For Ted and the rest of the newer 3D users....... Fellow 3D Authorized Trainers Straz and Lee are putting on a Report Writer basics course at the end of August in San Diego, California. Here are the details.......
The strength of the Straz Lee course is the manual and picture documentation. The drawback is that it is a full day of Power Point presentation. In other words, there is no hands on learning. The class will contain anywhere from 30 to 200 participants and it will cover all of the basic steps needed to know for using the Report Writer software. We have had AII™ members attend this course in the past, and the feedback was that it is a true beginner level course and the lack of hands on training makes it tough to retain a lot. Straz and Lee realize this weakness in the training, but they feel that the excellent documentation allows you to return back to you own office and easily follow the pictures through each needed step. I encourage new 3D users to take advantage of the Straz Lee course offering.
MICHAEL LEAVITT'S 3D TRAINING PHILOSOPHY - I believe that the best learning occurs when you are looking at you own computer screen. This type of training is also the most difficult to accomplish logistically. Unless you have access to a computer lab it makes it very hard to get all of the computers into the same time zone, into the same room, and plugged into the same 20 amp breaker. Yet with all of the logistical challenges the best learning takes place. I have been asked why I don't put on more 3D trainings. It is because it is tough to get all of our smiling faces into the same city at the same time. If any of the Chapters want to arrange facilities and get a group of eight to fifteen 3D users to sign up, then I would be more than happy to make the trip and put on the training.
For all of the 3D Inspection Software users reading this message I have a warning. In the coming weeks 3D will be releasing another software upgrade that will affect each of you on the subscription plan or new users on the standard upgrading plan. The newest version of 3D has a great upgrade including a newer Word Processing program upgrade. This newer Word Processor lets you see your Headers and Footers automatically without having to click on VIEW then HEADERS & FOOTERS.
With each new innovation comes a rub...... The 3D Word Processor upgrade is no exception. The new Word Processor will open all of your current word processing documents and show you all of the text, but it does not have the ability to convert your old headers and footers into the new Word Processor. There is no conversion program either and each document that you use must be reformatted to the new documents. This means that your background document used on each and every report will also no longer work...... Ahhhgh!!! That is a scary thought!!!
3D is very kind because they give you plenty of warnings before allowing you to install the new upgrade. This is a good thing and rest assured that you are going to want to use all of the added features of the upgrade (There are much more improvements than just the new version of the Word Processor). The difficult part is that most of you have never set up your own headers and footers. The existing background documents, headers and footers in most cases were originally set up by me with your original purchase of my form sets. When I learned that there was no auto-conversion program with the new upgrade I cringed inside because I knew that this would force a lot of you into fear and trembling with the thought of converting your own documents. So here are your options......
Be once again forewarned that if you install the upgrade and you are not successful recreating your headers and footers that you will print out reports with no header, no footer and no page numbers until you figure it out. At that point you will need my services on a rush fee scale which goes up dramatically.
Here's the deal. If you send me your current Top 1 or background document and any custom logos or graphics I will convert your background document to the new format for $50. The $50 will include the new background document as well as a stationary document with your letterhead that you can then use to cut and paste all of your other word processing documents onto. Those of you using Service Agreements, Invoices, Follow-up correspondence and Summaries can send those to me as well and for $5 per document I will convert them for you too....... So for $50 I can alleviate your mental anguish and for somebody with 10 other Service Agreements, Invoices etc. I can keep you up and running for $100.
This upgrading of documents sounds like a scam for me to make a buck off of all of you. The truth is that I foresee a Y2K type of situation coming about and I am providing a service to help you get through it unscathed. I am also giving you all a heads up so that when you run into trouble with the self conversion that you are not clogging my phone lines into the wee hours of the night. I know that many of you will opt to do the conversion yourself, but you will run into challenges when it comes to your graphics because the ones that you are currently using are embedded into you current forms and they will not convert smoothly. Be prepared for this and set apart the needed time. I had to learn how to convert mine all by myself and I think that I have done all of the steps possible that you can do wrong to complete the conversion. I am not trying to blow it out of proportion, but you are out of luck if you upgrade and can't get it figured out. If you would like my services, then send me the files that you want converted and I will get them done quickly and send them back to you so that you can install right after your upgrade disk arrives..... Keep in mind that the upgrade disks will be sent out within the next 3 weeks.
Please include your name so that proper credit can be given.
Roy Cook Sr. shared.........
Volume 11 Number 12 September 1993 EIGHT-PENNY NEWS There was a article in The Journal Of Light Construction re Exploding Water Tanks . This is not as big of a challenge in town as it is in the country . In the country, on you own water system there is no where for the water to back up to , in town your neighbor can get your hot water when it backs up through the system. You can have water at 250 degrees under pressure when the tank lets go it immediately flashes to steam and expands 1200 times its volume and then becomes a rocket ship .... How can this happen if you have a electric element go to ground the thermostat will not shut it down. PRVs are very important and they should be vented close to the floor ......... Roy Cooke sr.
Thank you for the heads up Roy. I did a little search on the JLC CD rom archives and found the story of which you referred.
EXPLODING WATER HEATER RAISES SAFETY CONCERNS
JLC SEPTMBER 1993 - Earlier this year, a 200-pound, 66-gallon water heater ruptured in the basement of a home in South St. Paul, Minn., exploding with the destructive force of dynamite. The water heater developed enough thrust to propel it through the joists, subfloor, and hardwood flooring on the first floor, on up through the attic joists and roof rafters, and another 150 feet into the air before falling to the ground in a neighbor's yard. The force of the blast blew out the doors and windows, reduced furniture to rubble, and knocked the house off its foundation. The rocketing water heater not only made the news, but also raised new concerns about water heater safety. "If enough things go wrong, that's what a water heater will do," says Frank Stanonik of the Gas Appliance Manufacturer's Association (GAMA).
A pressure- relief valve is the third line of protection in modern water heaters. The first is the thermostat, which shuts down the heat source when the water reaches the preset temperature. If the thermostat fails, the high-temperature cutoff is second in line to protect against overheating. The last safety device is the pressure-relief valve, which has been a standard feature on all water heaters for the past 25 years. The 40-year-old electric tank that exploded in St. Paul didn't have one. Today, all manufacturers are required to provide a separate tapping for the valve, but the actual fitting is often sold and installed separately by the contractor. Because differing local codes regulate the valve's capacity, which depends on tank size, manufacturers cannot make a universal fitting. Even when the manufacturer provides a valve in the shipping container, not all contractors bother to install it.
However, even a properly installed automatic relief valve is not foolproof and needs to be tested periodically to see if it is working properly. Lime deposits and other corrosive minerals in the water may damage the valve seat, causing the valve to malfunction. By simply tripping the lever on the valve for a few seconds, you can determine that the valve is still working properly. But it's important, Stanonik says, to test the valve regularly from the start because tampering with a valve that has gone unchecked for years may cause leaks. Under these circumstances, it's safest to shut the water heater off and replace the valve with a properly sized new one. Finally, most codes require a standpipe to be attached to the valve, extending to within a few inches of the floor, to direct the steam away from someone working on or testing the valve. Pressure-relief valves should never be plumbed into the drainage system: If you can't see or hear the steam escaping, you have no way of knowing your water heater is malfunctioning. A better, if slightly more expensive, solution is to build a pan to catch the overflow and direct it to a drain.
WASHINGTON, D.C - A new report (pdf) shows that over a ten-year period, more deaths to children occurred on backyard playgrounds than on public playgrounds. From 1990 to August 2000, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has reports of nearly 150 deaths to children under the age of 15 involving playground equipment; at least 90 of these occurred in a home setting. Almost three-fourths of the deaths in home locations resulted from hangings from ropes, cords, homemade rope swings, and other similar items. New safety standards, aimed at reducing the risk of strangulation, require that ropes be secured at both ends and that makers of home equipment warn against attaching additional ropes. Playground equipment is also a leading cause of injuries to children. In 1999 alone, it is estimated that there were more than 200,000 playground-equipment injuries, with almost 47,000 injuries on home playgrounds to children under age 15. The proportion of pre-school children (younger than age 5) injured on playground equipment was higher on home playgrounds than on playgrounds in general. Almost 40 percent of those injured at home were younger than 5 years, as compared with about 27 percent on other playgrounds. "Children should be out on the playground where they belong, not in the hospital emergency room, " said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "We believe that by sharing our simple safety tips with parents, home playgrounds can be a place where kids have fun and play safely." "Years of advocacy for safe public playgrounds has helped raise standards for those play spaces with the intention to lower injuries to children," said Darell Hammond, co-founder and CEO of KaBOOM!, a non- profit organization based in Washington, D.C.. "Now, it's time to use our experience, and print and Internet resources, to make families aware of the dangers too often posed by home playsets." CPSC and KaBOOM! are teaming up to reduce playground hazards by providing parents with safety information. Parents are encouraged to install and maintain protective surfacing, eliminate unsafe ropes and check for potentially hazardous hooks and edges on swings and slides on home playgrounds. CPSC's study found that only 9 percent of home playgrounds had protective, shock-absorbing surfacing. Dirt and grass, which are the most prevalent surfaces under home playground equipment, do not adequately protect children from serious head injuries. To help prevent injuries from falls and other hazards on home playgrounds, the following safety tips are recommended:
CPSC, in partnership with KaBOOM!, is issuing a "Home Playground Safety Checklist," to educate parents about creating safe home playgrounds for their kids. To order a free copy of the checklist, call the Federal Consumer Information Center (FCIC) toll-free at (888) 878-3256 and ask for item 627H, or go to the FCIC website at www.pueblo.gsa.gov. Consumers also can order the checklist by sending their name and address to FCIC, Dept. 627H, Pueblo, Colo. 81009. For more information on playground safety, contact CPSC at (800) 638- 2772 or www.cpsc.gov. You can view the "Handbook for Playground Safety" (pdf) and the "Public Playground Safety Checklist" (html) or (pdf) or get a free copy by writing to CPSC, Washington, DC 20207. For more information on KaBOOM! and its resources available to develop safe community and backyard playgrounds, call 866-KaBOOM-0 or visit www.kaboom.org. Consumers can also view a video clip about this recall (transcript). This is in "streaming video" format.
There is no spoken audio for this video clip. The picture sequence is as follows:
Each year, more than 200,000 children go to U.S. hospital emergency rooms with injuries associated with playground equipment. Most injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground. Use this simple checklist to help make sure your local community or school playground is a safe place to play.
Today's photo challenge was taken off the internet from another Home Inspector forum...... Sometimes the photos are just so dumb that you have to sit back and chuckle.... Just what were they thinking when they came up with these hairbrained ideas???
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