Silly coincidences make me jump!

[Ausman]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure you've all had those amazing instances where you do something on a site and some totally unrelated action happens exactly as you finish some switch action or similar.  It makes you jump and think that you've caused something somehow, but it is just simply silly coincidence.

Well....today, I would swear that my wife has some sort of ESP tuned into me.  I was checking our pump systems over, getting ready for the upcoming bushfire season.  We are on acres and bushfires are a fact of life, given we are in one of the most prone areas in the world.  You have to look out for yourself.  (We do, but many don't!)  Our extensive pump system draws from a number of dams. It uses diesels for main fire use and electrics for general watering of her great gardens of an acre or so.  For ease of use I have it set up so that she can switch the electrics on with a remote.

So I toddle off to the pump shed which is a fair way down slopes from the garden areas and start work.  15 minutes in and I reconnect the diesel's battery after cleaning the posts and oil change etc.  Just as I touch the + terminal to the post, on comes the electric.  In the enclosed pump shed the sudden startup is very loud, so as I jump in fright I klonk my head on the low roof for the first time.  "How does she do that?", I chuckle/curse to myself!  She turns it off after about 10 minutes, and it remains off for another 20 minutes or so.

I'm then wiggling/checking the physical SIM contacts in the modem system, and once finished turn it back on.  Absolutely concurrently, up starts the pump again!  Huh?  Head klonk number 2.  More "How does she do that?", but this time it involves a bit more cursing.  She turns it off about 5 minutes later and doesn't run it again.

For another test about an hour later after doing myriad minor other checks of filters etc, I dial into the system to initiate the "bushfire is close" response.  The diesel is not started until everything else checks out correctly for a start, eg valves adjusted ok etc.  At exactly the same time the diesel starts to crank, on comes the electric AGAIN, thus stuffing up my careful listening to the seqence.

This time I cracked it, as I really need to listen carefully to the end of the sequence and I couldn't believe in coincidence number 3.  I run up the stairs and paths to see if she's playing little tricks on me, to find her merrily watering away, totally oblivious to all the angst she somehow caused at exactly the right moments, 3 times in a row, for maximum heart attack.

I am often amazed how such coincidences happen.  A number of times over the years, I've flicked a breaker off on any small HVAC system, only to have the entire suburb go off at exactly that moment. Uhhmmmmm....I didn't do anything!!....or maybe...that was a hell of a spike from that 0.5Kw evap motor!!   Or done a fundamental change to my computer network cabling layout, only to have it not work once finished.  Spend hours chasing it to no avail, with everything checking out ok, only to then discover that some dick has chopped the main state line somewhere with a backhoe during the time I've had it off.  What?!!!

I can't be alone in this long line of strange happenings.  It is just life playing little jokes on me.   Perhaps someone else might like to relate their equivalents.   Please tell me I'm not THAT weird!

cheers,

Aus

[Cara Bereck Levy]

On 12/4/2016 at 0:46 PM, Ausman said:

Well....today, I would swear that my wife has some sort of ESP tuned into me

She does. We all do - genetically hardwired.
And the system is watching you :-)

 

[Ausman]

Fair Dinkum!…..(Aussie for "exasperated incredulousness".)

What is it with me and the Poltergeists looking over my shoulder waiting for just the right moment to do something?

When turned off, my air compressor has a control system that instantly releases the remaining air once the tank gets down to about 20psi.  I keep my air connections in good condition and it takes any time over a week for pressures to drop enough for this to happen, depending on what is on the lines.

In the workshop over the New Year I spent an entertaining few hours doing a complex wiring lash-up of an idea I'd been working on.  Finished the final connection b/n the various components and checked it all over carefully…everything looked OK.

Powered on the supply and WHOOOOSSHHHHHH!!!!  5m away the compressor release had opened at EXACTLY that moment.

I absolutely pooped my pants....a lovely New Year present for myself. 

After they also applied the defibrillator a few times, I again pondered how these strange timings continue to happen to me.

cheers,  and HNY, 2018.

Aus

 

[hotwires]

I am particularly jumpy when working in or around high voltage electron tube power amplifiers. Even little sounds startle me. I've had other people clap or make a loud bang while I had my head in an equipment cabinet, NOT FUNNY AT ALL! Amazing how the timing can go when you shoot the juice to equipment and something else goes bang, pop, bing, bang or boom. Heart arrhythmia's can certainly result from such events. Happy New Year Aus!

[Cara Bereck Levy]

LOL!!!
Aus, they ARE watching you 

I am jumpy around electricity generally...many, many years ago, during my IDF service, we had an electrical heater stop working, one of those with metal heating spirals. (we used those for more than heating--I could cook a full meal by propping those suckers up and balancing mess tins on them...but I digress) So I found a screwdriver, opened it up, checked to see that everything was attached, tightened connections...
Anyway, when I was finished, I plugged it in and was knocked halfway across the room (at least it seemed that far). We have 220 here. Back then, the fuses were wires that you cut to length and screwed into place (these probably have a proper name in English, but I have no idea what it might be ). And people usually used heavy-duty wires instead of the ones you were supposed to, because you'd get sick of the damn things burning out--so I was very lucky.
Anyway, although I have no problem fixing things around the house, I call my husband when it comes to anything electrical more complicated than changing a light bulb, or rewiring a lamp...can't make myself touch wires coming out of a wall.

[hotwires]

@Cara Bereck Levy

"fusible link" is the term used in the US automotive industry for a length of wire intended to act as a fuse. Happy New Year Ms. Cara ? 

[Cara Bereck Levy]

Happy New Year 

 

[Ausman]

Here's another:

Had to mount something onto the other side of a brick wall from a solar PV grid interactive inverter system that has been in place for 9 years without an issue at all.  There was no other suitable location, and the inverter couldn't be "unmounted" to get away from the vibration from hammer drilling.

Carefully did the work with everything solar fully isolated and finished it all off without any hiccouphs.  Everything back on and Solar cranks up ok.  Phew!

2 hours later solar stops outputting.  Huh?  Ohh no!  This was noticed during an inspection after various simple UPS units stopped.  Odd.  No breakers off, power still on everywhere.  Just no solar and no UPS will run.  Solar interrogation says line fault.  Out with the meter.

Whoah!  We are 240 but the line was 270.    Turns out that some local supply tranny had decided to poop itself just after I finished working near the inverter, and was slowly increasing it's output.

Honestly....do I slash my wrists now?  Is this what the little "coincidence" devils hovering around my head want?  Huh?

cheers,

Aus

[hotwires]

Aus, 

Inevitably some piece of equipment will fail in the same area you were working about an hour after you leave. Then your phone rings, then you explain how you didn't touch it and that it is in no way connected to what you serviced or installed, and then you hear:  "but it was working until you showed up". Then you decide if you should: go into hiding, go back and troubleshoot something you shouldn't be messing with, or wait for other folks to show up and confirm that it had nothing to do with you. Fun times. Happens at least once a year to me.  I would not advise slashing your wrists. Usually finds resolve within 24 hours  

[Ausman]

On 15/01/2018 at 12:58 PM, hotwires said:

Happens at least once a year to me

I hear you Hots, but this sort of thing happens to me about twice a month!   

cheers,

Aus

[Cara Bereck Levy]

DownUnder Gremlins!

[Ausman]

On 16/01/2018 at 11:24 PM, Cara Bereck Levy said:

DownUnder Gremlins!

Yeah, that's right.  Our heads are upside down so all the blood rushes to them, making all those hidden human brain abilities work much better.....like communicating with inanimate objects around us and saying to scare the pants off the human!

cheers,

Aus

[Ausman]

I know you are all likely saying:  "Here we go again!!" but check this one out!

I recently got a little petrol/gas (for you Americanos) inverter genset as a backup for the bigger standby diesel.  Just in case the diesel happened to die at the worst time, the little one would still run enough stuff to cover crucial bases.

So I oiled and fuelled it, set it all up and test ran it fine, started on first pull, and it said everything was ok.  Time for a real world test by making it actually power stuff.

I had been in the workshop all day, and decided to try it on  a row of the flouros in there as a good test.  So I went around turning everything off before working the supply changeover switch.  Checked again that everything was off, changed the switch, cranked up the gen and then flipped it's switch.  Overload!  Stop!   Huh???

Check it all out and all seemed ok.  Try again.  Same thing.  What? 

Wandered around the workshop again checking everything and discovered that I had missed the air compressor supply.  I had used it two days ago and forgotten to turn it off.  It hadn't run AT ALL during the entire 12 hours I had been in the workshop as I would have noticed it and muttered "you idiot" whilst turning it off.

But sure enough the little gremlins that continually sit on my shoulder had arranged for all the tiny leaks to make it flip the pressure switch during the exact 5 seconds it took me to change the supply switch and start the gennie!!  Fair dinkum! If you work it out time wise based on my being there for 12 hours, the odds come out at something like 1 in 8640 for the pressure switch to change during the exact 5 seconds I'm shifting onto the genset!

Sadly....very, very sadly.....none of these exceptional coincidences seem to happen on the occasional time I buy a lottery ticket!  But they do seem to continue to happen to me all the time, leading to lots of perplexing moments!

cheers,

Aus

[Cara Bereck Levy]

 heh 
Aus, the odds at 1 in 8640 definitely mean gremlins - no other explanation, cobber!

I'm only just going through the forum now after a long vacation - took advantage of the fall holiday cycle to do some traveling. 

[Flex727]

Good for you, @Cara Bereck Levy! Where did you go?

[stembera]

Hello World,

some time ago I wrote a small application for ammonia storage in chemical factory. Just some measurements, valves and communication to SCADA system. 
One day, the guys from the factory asked me to perform a routine check of the system. OK, I arrived to site and had a call with control room about the tests.
One of the prescribed tests was simulating overpressure in the storage and checking  if the alarm is sent to control room properly. The emergency valves were electrically disconnected to prevent leakage of the ammonia.
Everything went smoothly, alarm was raised, the control room confirmed alarm so I switched back to real measurement, when...
What the hell? I hear sirens. I just ran out from the equipment room and I saw four red emergency trucks arriving in front of the room. Something went terribly wrong. Maybe the electrician guys disconnected the wrong valves and ammonia leaked due to simulated alarm? My world went black. Emergency situation in the town, probably I will be fired from the company. 
I found the leader of the emergency group and I shouted at him: "It was my fault, how dangerous is the contamination?"
The guy replied: "What contamination?  We were just asked for a presentation for local TV."

Damn, I will never forget that day.

[Cara Bereck Levy]

11 hours ago, stembera said:

Damn, I will never forget that day.

wow--that is a good one!!!