What Annoyed You Today? (2 Viewers)

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Last summer, I replaced everything on my house's evaporative cooler (pump, float, motor, pulley, belt, pads) and so I was ready for this summer.
When we had high tempsnthe other day, I go to turn on the cooler and...nothing. Just a loud hum.
Great, so I go up on the roof to checknit out and discovered the "squirrel cage" (fan) is seized solid to the shaft.
Add to that, the water supply line (plastic) is sun-rotten.
It's an older model and the bearings are no longer available - the entire unit needs to be replaced.
So all that expense and work last year for nothing.

The up side to all this, is I still haven't been able to move into this disaster they call a house yet - and good thing, it was 98°F/36°C inside (110°F/43°C outside) and just walking through it had me sweating like a whore in church.

I took a photo of the thermostat for proof that my life is an abundance of non-stop joy...
 
I live in Florida, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and a few years back I was visiting my brother in Augusta, GA. I wanted to take the dog for a walk and stepped outsde to check the weather. Seemed hot, but not too bad, so we walked.

A half mile of so down the road we walked by a school sign that gave time and temperature, and it said 93F. My reaction was "No way! I would not be out here walking the dog if it was that hot." Subsequent investigation showed that it was indeed 93F but the RH was only about 30%, which would never occur in Fl except perhaps after a cold front went through in the winter and the outside temp was maybe 50F.
 
In case folks were wondering how we here In California deal with summer temps that range between 100°F/37°C and 115°F/46°C (sometimes as high as 120°F/48°C), it's all about the humidity.

People often joke about "dry heat", but that's real - the lower the humidity, the more efficient the body is at cooling and our relative humidity (inland) can be anywhere from 5% to 15%.

Here's a great chart that shows how the heat index works:

 
29 Palms is certainly a place where a person needs to pay attention to conditions.
With humidity, you know you're hot - with low or extremely low humidity, you're tricked into thinking you're in a comfort zone - meanwhile your core temp can reach critical levels without realizing it and trouble sets in fast.

Ages ago, I was working in Palm Desert and the air temp was about 120° - I felt fine and kept working. At one point, I realized my screwdrivers in my toolbelt all had "squishy" handles and I immediately stopped what I was doing and sought shade.
 
Last week I went to Wendy's and was told their computers were down so they could do no business until they were up and running again.

I recall a few years back going to a Food Lion store in Augusta, GA and being told that their computers were down and they could not sell anything as a result.

They were not trying to launch a ballistic missile, just sell some simple items. I think that commercial enterprises need rather more flexibility.
 
When hurricanes (weather not acft) knock out power, it is the same. Back in 1965 hurricane Betsy hit New Orleans and power was out in my area two weeks, so the grocery near us gave away meat and perishables on the second day after. Our block had decided to put all BBQs in the street and cook everything in the freezers. My wife went to the grocery to get the meat give away and convinced the manager to give away charcoal as well.
 
If it was today they would not have been able to give all that soon-to-rot meat away because their computers would have been down. Go to the auto dealer and they typically can't sell you a part or even make an appointment unless you give the the VIN number; the computers will not let them even access the system without entering the VIN number. I did find that little plastic button that kills the cruise control and makes the brake lights stay on all the time can be procured without the VIN number.

We were without power for about 10 days after the second hurricane hit Florida in 2004. The crazy thing was that the streetlights were on and the people across the street had power. There was nothing much wrong with the lines but they were too busy elsewhere to come spend a couple of hours fix it.
 
I'm third from the end of the line on a rural electric cooperative which has frequent outages because their lines go through the woods rather than along the roads. I have gravity water, a propane cookstove, a wood stove, a chest freezer, plenty of battery operated lights and an appreciation of my company's line crews. My life is easy compared to theirs.
 
Across from my house is the oldest part of a sub division which had the power poles run through the back yards supplying both rows of houses apparently for cosmetic and financial reasons. One less street of poles to buy. Earlier this year the neighbor across from me had a pole fall in the back yard. Interested to see how the replacement would be done with trees and garages and sheds in the way, I was amazed to see a crew (5 large trucks,3 trailers and about 10 men) come from a Texas power company to Louisiana to do the replacement. They brought their own poles (not nationality) and a piece of tracked, self propelled equipment narrow enough to fit in a drive way between houses. This "thing" after unloading from it's trailer lifted a pole from another trailer turned (it's articulated) into the driveway, drove to the back, and erected the pole, all this after it removed the old broken pole. All this equipment, trucks, trailers, and the "thing" appeared to be new. No mud under the fenders, no dirt in the tracks of the "thing" and very shiney paint on all equipment. How much, I wonder, did this cost Entergy Louisiana because I know the cost is passed along.
 
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