Signage takes workers to heights
Photo KDG
A long way up for the competing signs coming into Merritt from the North,
On this Day: April 21 753
Romulus founds Rome:
Category: Crime and punishment
They look innocuous but they can be deadly. Water dripping off a roof can produce icicles weighting multiple tens of pounds quickly, these items falling can do serious damage to a human.
Damage and injuries caused by icicles
Icicles can pose both safety and structural dangers.[5] Icicles that hang from an object may fall and cause injury and/or damage to whoever or whatever is below them. In addition, ice deposits can be heavy. If enough icicles form on an object, the weight of the ice can severely damage the structural integrity of the object and may cause the object to break.
The story of an English youth who was killed by a falling icicle in 1776 has been often recounted.[6][7][8][9]
Armstrong, the scientist from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, told a journalist, “Another twist is very large icicles falling from cliffs along highways hitting cars. Where I used to work doing avalanche hazard assessment and forecasting along U.S. Highway 550 in southwestern Colorado, icicles have fallen and destroyed passing cars.”[1]
In 2010, five people were killed and 150 injured by icicles in Saint Petersburg, Russia after a heavy snow that also caused apartment block roofs to collapse, as well as creating water damage to private homes and to the National Library of Russia.[10]
Kathleen F. Jones of the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory states, “The combination of the ice load and the wind on ice load can break wires, cross arms, and poles and/or other supporting structures. Damage associated with icicles on roofs may be to vehicles parked next to the overhang. Icicles on roofs are also often associated with ice dams that may cause water to infiltrate under the shingles with possible water damage to the house or building and its contents.”
Today in history: January 8th 1887
Wolf Mountain Montana sees the last battle between Crazy Horse and the United States Army
Helicopters doing work can be an overhead hazard
File photo KDG
The 130 KV transmission line from Merritt to the Highland Valley is under way. A legal notice from BC Hydro put in the local paper says that helicopters will be stringing rope lines for the line for less then a week and be finished by mid December. Sources say that the line is a two wooded pole “H style” construction.
The project is slated to finish in 2015.
Today in History: December 2nd 1970, December 3rd 1997
Opinion:
The news that a nurse hosting the Ebola Virus has been declared free of the disease is well received and hopeful. Logic says that a person once quarantined now free is also carrying antibodies against the virus, making serum from her blood is now a possible treatment for carriers, this use of her blood could be as expediential as the cotangent could have been. With thousands of forces going to West Africa to treat the source of the outbreak it gives us calm to know this resource exists.
The WHO has stated that transfusion of whole blood or purified serum from Ebola survivors is the therapy with the greatest potential to be implemented immediately, although there is little information as to its efficacy.[209] September 2014, WHO issued an interim guideline for this therapy.[210] The blood serum from those who have survived an infection is currently being studied to see if it is an effective treatment.[211] During a meeting arranged by WHO, this research was deemed to be a top priority.[211] Seven of eight people with Ebola survived after receiving a transfusion of blood donated by individuals who had previously survived the infection in an 1999 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[97][212] This treatment, however, was started late in the disease meaning they may have already been recovering on their own and the rest of their care was better than usual.[97] Thus this potential treatment remains controversial.[18]Intravenous antibodies appear to be protective in nonhuman primates who have been exposed to large doses of Ebola.[213] The WHO has approved the use of convalescent serum and whole blood products to treat people with Ebola source Wikipedia
Stay safe and take all reasonable precautions in this interconnected world we have.
Today in history: Oct 28th 1538
The first university in the new world is established in the Hispaniola (Dominican Republic)
Speaking to a local CO this week we became aware that it is a busy time for the conservation office office. ” hunting season is full on we are busy said a local officer. When asked if court time takes up a lot of his time he replied that not himself but others in the office time is taken up by it. “I will prosecute minor ticketed offences myself serious cases are referred to crown council” Is there a motion for confiscation of sporting equipment? If its evidence it can wind up in a punitive forfeit said the officer.
Merritt is in region 3 Thompson it is always good advice to follow the published regulations.
Today in History: October 16th 1997
The Cassini probe is on its way to Saturn
Demolition of the 2000 block Quilchena avenue building: underway
Poto KDG
The Excavator came back, tarps and traffic cones with warning tapes for asbestos in place demolition of the old pool hall started at 2PM the 23rd of September/14.
Today in history: September 25th 1912
The Columbia Graduate school of journalism is founded.
There is a computerized trainer at the local community college NVIT, the trainer simulates the operation of haulage trucks in an industrial application, such as an open-pit mine. A student that was a professional driver with a class one highway licence says that it is used in a month-long course that certifies participants to drive 250 ton haulage trucks. He says it is necessary to get employment in an open-pit mining operation regardless of your highway qualification.
The 180 degree visual simulator trainer is like an aircraft simulator and gives the potential driver a leg up to be able to acquire a job and go right to work without interfering with production at a mine. This is according to an instructor with The College of the Rockies that puts the course on.
Although a regular drivers licence is not required for the course a sourse says it is a requirement for hire, making it essentail for the industrial training as well.
Editors note: It takes a lot to make a livelihood these days and Kudos to the operations that help make the workplace safer.
Today in history: August 8th 1991
The “8888” uprising in Burma.
A contractor was flushing out the sprinkler system at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena on the 29th. Fire safe from Salmon Arm had hoses connected to the system on both sides of the building, and water was flushing through a fine filter at the end of it and into the storm sewer. the rusty water was the result of the 15 year time since any flow had been in it, according to a worker that identified himself as just a helper.
The Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, is home to the oldest BCJHL hockey team in the province, and had a major reno and expansion some two decades ago.
Today in history: July 30th 1729
The foundation of the city Baltimore.
Fire fighting crews got a a break from the heat by way of heavy rain yesterday. Two helicopters were seen over the airstrip around noon, just before a brief ice storm was followed by a summer cloud burst. People were kept in the local Starbucks for about a half an hour as thunder and heavy rain fell. One conversation about what to do if the power went off, was answered by an offical, the plan is use the made coffee and call to see how long it would be off. If it was hours then the store would close. Editors note: most public buildings over a capacity have emergency lighting, some like hospitals have emergency generators.
Three days of rain are in the forecast from Wednesday, thursday morning is forecast to feel like 9 degrees c.
Friday should see partly sunny conditions with 25 degree C temperatures, here.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/canada/british-columbia/merritt
Today in history: July 24th 1866
Reconstruction, Tennessee becomes the first state readmitted to the US after the civil war.
A 58,000 liter fuel truck delivers gasoline to a service station
Photo KDG
A source says this truck , in the 40 degree heat a 6000 liter delivery may have been 5500 liters.
The holding tanks in a service station are in the cool ground and we estimate that the gasoline would return to its volume density fairly quickly, however if you have the choice and you know of a delivery you may get better value sometime after a delivery on a hot 40 degree day. Perhaps gas up would be better in the early morning hours in the current conditions.
Quality gasoline should be stable almost indefinitely if stored properly. Such storage should be in an airtight container (to prevent oxidation or water vapors mixing), and which can withstand the vapor pressure of the gasoline without venting ( to prevent the loss of the more volatile fractions), and at a stable cool temperature (to reduce the excess pressure from liquid expansion, and to reduce the rate of any decomposition reactions). When gasoline is not stored correctly, gums and solids may be created, which can corrode system components and accumulate on wetted surfaces, resulting in a condition called “stale fuel”. Gasoline containing ethanol is especially subject to absorbing atmospheric moisture, then forming gums, solids, or two phases (a hydrocarbon phase floating on top of a water-alcohol phase).
The presence of these degradation products in fuel tank, lines, carburetor or fuel injection components makes it harder to start the engine, or causes reduced engine performance. On resumption of regular engine use, the buildup is often eventually cleaned out by the flow of fresh gasoline. The addition of a fuel stabilizer to gasoline can extend the life of fuel that is not or cannot be stored properly. Some typical fuel stabilizers are proprietary mixtures containing mineral spirits, isopropyl alcohol, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene,or other additives. Fuel stabilizer is commonly used for small engines, such as lawnmower and tractor engines, especially when their use is seasonal (low to no use for one or more seasons of the year). Users have been advised to keep gasoline containers more than half full and properly capped to reduce air exposure, to avoid storage at high temperatures, to run an engine for ten minutes to circulate the stabilizer through all components prior to storage, and to run the engine at intervals to purge stale fuel from the carburetor Source Wikipedia
We think that if you fill your tank in the current temperatures that filling to the top may not be advisable. However expansion of the tank in your vehicle is also a consideration.
Apparent and absolute expansion
When measuring the expansion of a liquid, the measurement must account for the expansion of the container as well. For example, a flask, that has been constructed with a long narrow stem filled with enough liquid that the stem itself is partially filled, when placed in a heat bath will initially show the column of liquid in the stem to drop followed by the immediate increase of that column until the flask/liquid/heat bath system has thermalized. The initial observation of the column of liquid dropping is not due to an initial contraction of the liquid but rather the expansion of the flask as it contacts the heat bath first. Soon after, the liquid in the flask is heated by the flask itself and begins to expand. Since liquids typically have a greater expansion over solids the liquid in the flask eventually exceeds that of the flask causing the column of liquid in the flask to rise. A direct measurement of the height of the liquid column is a measurement of the Apparent Expansion of the liquid. The Absolute expansion of the liquid is the apparent expansion corrected for the expansion of the containing vessel
Our final word is be more careful with gasoline and its vapour in the heat. KDG
update: A comment from facebook:
Rory wrote: “Good article Kev. When I was towing, we would get calls from either the police or fire to tow away parked vehicles that were leaking gasoline caused by full tanks and heat expansion.”
Today in History: July 16th 1994
The comet shoe maker collides with Jupiter
The city is trying out a new way of marking cross-walks, the main work was completed in a timely fashion and as a right of spring by painting contractors, but this week the works foreman and a worker were using a torch to bond cross walk bars on the cross-walks across the way from MacDonald’s of Voght Street. They tried one application last year and it is still serviceable this spring. ” the stop line is very well preserved” ” we are not early opters they have been used elswhere” works foreman.
Cross-walks are by far the safest way to cross a street, however using groups and high-visability clothing is another way to increase your chances of not getting injured. There is no substitute to eye contact with drivers and awareness. Watch for some pickup trucks that have metal pieces between side windows and the back window, especially if they California stop. A person was killed here off Nicola avenue wearing dark clothing and relying on the cross walk to be safe after dark.
Not all pedestrians are licensed drivers to rely on there actions may be folly, and right away is cold comfort to permanent chronic pain.
Today in History: June 18th 1983
Sally Ride becomes the first American women in space.
Kevin Griffiths
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