Just rambling...

[BobbiSueEllen]

So, back to construction plans: I'm doing market-estimating for materials for the home, pricing out stuff. Then I go to these DIY sites to look at wall-construction codes and am appalled at how many "half-step-ahead" thinkers there are who post there, who make more declarations than ask questions.

So, the big amateur topic at these places? "92-5/8 studs are a rip-off! They're not even real 2x4s!" and they moan about "lumber shrinkflation". How immature...want a 'scandal'? Even if they're 8 feet long, they're only 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches cross-section...not truly 2x4. So that deflates their arguments right there. But that's not the real gripe...it's that in their inflexible minds, walls that use 92-5/8-inch 2x4s are not "real walls".

So, read up and understand...yes, they are. And they're code.

Real walls, from subfloor to rafter-bottom, are 97-1/8 inches. That is fact. And here's why: in a wall, the basic elements are 2x4 lumber. A horizontal 2x4 at the bottom is the "bottom rail", upon which vertical 2x4 "studs" are placed. Topping those off to complete the wall are two horizontal 2x4s called "top plates". Two are used; after all walls (with single top plates) are built & erected, they are interconnected with another, secondary top plate nailed on all the way around, with 2x4 end seams staggered at a 4-foot minimum. This helps hold it all together & gives the walls strength to hold the roof up.

So, add it all together: one 92-5/8 stud plus the three horizontal 2x4s at 4-1/2 inches (1.5 inches x 3 plates) is 97-1/8 inches. Goddat? Good. Now, let's go inside and hang drywall...

Drywall is 4x8 (feet)...i.e. 48 x 96 inches. And half-inch thick. The ceiling drywall always goes up first. Subtract that 1/2-inch-thick drywall from 97-1/8 and you get 96-5/8...allowing you to put up that 4x8 drywall either cross-ways horizontally or vertically (the former is preferred to hide seams better, to avoid "peaking" at the studs). Subtract 96 from 96-5/8...you get a 5/8-inch gap at the bottom, which comes in handy for slipping a drywall foot-lever to heft a bottom sheet of drywall up & snug to an installed top drywall sheet...or to slip a 1/2-inch floor underlayment sheet under (kitchen, bath, utility/mud-room) for good fit & finish.

And that's how it all works. So, the 92-5/8-inch-long stud is your friend. And it's not a "rip-off". 8-footers will always have a place...just not as wall studs, unless you wanna lose time nipping ends off a lot (and risk getting a few a lit-tle too short).

Now, let's look at the next so-called "lumber rip-off": 2x3s. Those...are for mobile homes...and Adult Baby Crib top & bottom side-rails. Hope ya brought a sack-lunch...cuz "class dismissed"!

 

[KBoy]

I wish you had been a building inspector back when I had to deal with building inspectors. lol.
I'm used to institutional code, my world, but you are correct and if you follow the formula, and I am sure you will.
Then your load bearing walls will bear the load.
Good luck BobbiSueEllen
By the way some of the distractors are not wrong, it's not what it used to be out there in the building supply world, but people are building differently too.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

Well, codes do change over time: the extremes of time, weather & wear test structures out, resulting in existing codes rewritten, new codes enacted...always scribed by splinters, sometimes written in blood.

I got into construction in 1988 via my flooring job...and learned so much more along the way! I wanna use what I learned to build my dream...all I need now is a Nevada Residential Building Code book, plenty of time reading it "in-conference" (e.g. on the toilet, LOL), reviewing, notating, bookmarking...I have 18 months in which to do it all, before I buy my land. Once I buy the land...I'm committed. Gotta do it right.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

I'm back. Winter's teeth are upon us once more! Here in Boise, yesterday's warm Chinook Wind, which melted the roofs clean as well as most of the fields, yielded to a new onslaught of snow...twice as much as what fell 2 days before! 3 inches! And over the next 84 hours, we're expecting more...anywhere from 8 to 16 inches (20-40 cms) more!

So, a slightly-revised version of my song "Winter Wonderland v. 2.0". So, gitchyosef a cuppa coffee or cocoa...an' enjoy!

Car horns scream, are you list'nin'?
Others' radiators hissin';
Or batteries dead,
There's so much to dread,
Drivin' in a winter wonderland...

Closed today is the Mother Pass,
The same way is the Other Pass
(alt.: "On our way, 'cross the Other Pass");
We'll get there real soon,
But not until noon (to-mor-row),
Drivin' in a winter wonderland...

On the shoulders we can put on snow chains,
Fingers numb from frozen slush and mud;
Then you wonder why you're feeling no pain
When both your hands are showing lots of blood!
(I can't feel it!)

(Instrumental for 2 parts)

On the shoulders we can put on snow chains,
While ev'rybody else is rollin' studs;
Then ya got bare-tire folks with no brains,
Slippin' off the roads into the crud (or in-to us)...

Later on, we'll perspire,
As we fight an engine fire;
Deductibles flare,
Our wallets are bare
From drivin' in a winter wonderland!

Our spare tire's flat?
Well, how about that!
We're drivin' in a winter wonderland.
Driv-in' in a win-ter won-der-laaaaaand!

Or...​

O, the weather outside's ker-plowie,
It's a great time to fly to Maui!
So after I pack and go,
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Mele Kawintermaka!

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

I'm watching Story Television tonight and, in particular: Nazis: Ultimate Evil. Of all the people who'd show up for their contribution to the guest commentary: Jerry Springer.

Springer was born in an English subway station in 1944 during a German bombing raid of London. He related that his parents were Jewish refugees who fled Germany immediately before Germany invaded Poland; he also related that his parents were among the very first victims of the opening Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") hostilities, when Jewish-owned businesses, homes and Jews themselves within Germany were attacked, defaced, damaged, destroyed. Killed. He also related how he lost both grandmothers to various executions, from the infamous gas-vans to the concentration camps. He and his parents made it to the US in 1949.

For the life of me, how can a person of such a sensitive, tragic background allow himself to become a world-renowned TV personality who facilitated hate; not fomented it, but facilitated it. Gave it a forum, a venue...gave it exposure, gave it an appeal. For fame and profit. Just as Hitler himself did not personally kill anyone during the Nazi regime yet still bears the command responsibility for every death under the Nazi flag, so it is with Springer: he gave hate a platform, and that makes him as equally culpable as his hating audience themselves. It's amazing, the modern incarnations, the modern forms of the so-called thirty pieces of silver.

As both a human being and a person of Dutch-Jewish heritage, I now have absolutely zero sympathy, kind regard or respect for Jerry Springer or his legacy, such as it is. #TwoFaced

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

And I'm still rambling...earlier this morning, I was prattling about my impending entry into "The FL410 Club", meaning, in this instance, reaching the 41,000 Reaction-point number. I'd also mentioned it was comparatively safer than another form of "The FL410 Club". So...I'll elaborate a bit here.

FL410 is an altitude which, when translated into 100-foot increments, represents 41,000 feet. That's the aviation-tech lingo for it. What makes this altitude so special is that it's the highest altitude at which many commercial airliner jets will attain and cruise at. But not all. You see, at this altitude, the air density is low, permitting aircraft which can achieve the altitude to fly faster cruise speeds, get relatively-better fuel economy, fly in typically-smoother air...and encounter less air traffic. Air Canada's "Gimli Glider" 767 was flying at that altitude when their plane ran out of fuel--due to a miscalculation in fuel pumped into the plane due to recent volume swap-over by Canadian government & industry standards--and was safely glided into a decommissioned airport. But the altitude did not factor in that case...

FL410 represents a welcome challenge to many airline pilots, mostly the young bucks; in fact, there exists, with neither corporate nor national borders, an unsanctioned, ad-hoc club which is known as "The FL410 Club" (or other variants, depending; that's how ad-hoc it is), representing a goal for said young bucks to achieve in order to brag at the next social gathering over a few beers, albeit with no chains of office, no medals, no gold pins & guards. Their little secret, although it's well known among the bosses, too. In one instance, the altitude factored deeply, lethally into one case-in-point: Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701, a Bombardier CRJ-200 flying in now-defunct Northwest Airlines colors.

14 October 2004: Northwest urgently needed a fresh jet ferried to Minneapolis/St. Paul (a former Northwest hub) and found N8396A, a Bombardier CRJ-200 built in 2000 and relatively fresh, waiting at Little Rock Airport in Arkansas...this exact aircraft, N-number and all:

N8396A, the subject aircraft, in better times. I flew on an American Eagle variant,
which almost overran the runway in Texarkana, TX on 2 SEP 2015.
​

Corporate contacted two pilots: Captain Jesse R. (age 31, 6,900 hours/973 hours in-type) and First Officer Peter C. (age 23, 761 hours/222 in-type), determined they were in proper condition to pilot...and dispatched pilots & aircraft from LIT to MSP on a nice, balmy, broken-overcast October night.

It sounded simple, even the filed flight-plan of FL330 (33,000 feet) was simple enough: a simple, non-revenue, non-stop positioning flight. Take an empty jet from LIT to MSP, drop it off, then "deadhead" on a flight back. Easy. But it wasn't simple: before the preflight, both pilots had been discussing various factors: a night-flight with no passengers or other crew whatsoever, in good weather, especially up top. Tempting...

The cats would soon be away and the mice would play. The cheese was mighty tempting...but unbeknownst to them, a tad too high, and their reach was exceeding their grasp. The siren call of FL410 sounded; they decided to accept the challenge. They boarded, fired up, taxied out and were soon airborne. Within moments of the take-off, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) picked up unusual data: the aircraft was being deliberately flown aggressively, with high-G pitch-ups and intermittent climb rates of an unreasonable 10,000 feet-per-minute, rivaling the climb rate of jet fighters on mild days. This, for those in-the-know, was a very-steep climb rate with a vertical component of over 110 miles per hour, very unreasonable for even a smaller corporate-class jet, let alone a dedicated jet airliner. And thus began the festivities.

In the dark skies over the Arkansas/Missouri border region, FL330 was achieved in sporadic bursts of climb...and one near-stall which activated the "stick-shaker", whereas the plane's flight system vibrated the yoke-column several times to warn of an imminent stall. Since averted, now the pilot sought their target: FL410. They called in and got approval, surprisingly...and began their ascent. Both pilots knew, as did the Air Traffic Controller on-duty, that the CRJ-200 was approaching an unusual altitude: even though Bombardier said the plane could do FL410, they derated it for passenger safety and mechanical safety; Northwest Airlink & Pinnacle both stated in their Pilots Operational Handbooks, that the plane's altitude would be capped at FL370 (37,000 feet).

But not tonight: after reaching FL410, with considerable difficulty, ATC called to the plane, told the crew their altitude was very unusual for the type; Jesse, the pilot-in-command, replied "...we don't have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here". The ATC person didn't warn or protest.

But something else was: not only was the plane at a nose-high attitude due to altitude, their indicated airspeed was showing a speed just above stall speed...and the engines were at maximum-safe power. But that was only as far as revs; the right-hand engine-core temperature, as well as exhaust temp, were 500 degrees F beyond redline; the left engine was running 180 degrees F below redline...but had sustained its terminal damage during initial climbout. Neither pilot was monitoring the engines because they had a more-occupying problem: the plane was trying to stall. They were now in "Coffin Corner" and they knew it, due to repetitive stick-shakings. They couldn't speed up, they couldn't slow down. Within seconds, the reality would be hammered firmly into their awareness.

After the 4th stick-shaking, the engines lost power and completely shut down. The plane lost all electrical power, the engines' bleed-air was no longer pressurizing the plane or supplying hot cabin air to counter the -50F outside temperature. Pinnacle 3701 was now starting to turn into a stone...and stalled. Both pilots apparently lost much of their cool and hierarchal command authority was lost because Captain Jesse did not command First Officer Peter to deploy emergency power, enact a dual-flameout checklist procedure and attempt restarting of the engines. Both pilots were now in terror.

The plane fell from FL410 to FL380 before some flight control was regained and greater control achieved at FL340. At that point, there were 5 airports they could've reached in their condition but that was overlooked due to the crew's fear and the reality that their jobs were now as good as gone. Rule #1 of Aviation was being ignored: "FLY THE PLANE". There was little to no delegation of authority and they didn't notify ATC as they descended further & further, progressively losing airport options one at a time. They gradually gained only a little composure to put on oxygen masks and try a "windmill restart" at 300 knots indicated-airspeed, but were still too befuddled to realize they hadn't even reached 230 knots. It was apparent the terror/disbelief level in the cockpit was still high. Professional control was all but entirely lost.

And the engines were not even trying to start. A couple more reachable-airport options dropped off the list.

It wasn't until the plane dropped to 13,000 feet that both pilots went for Engine Start Plan B: an APU restart. It was impossible because both engine cores had seized up...locked up due to overstress. Both engines were officially paperweights. Only then did the crew contact ATC and say they had a single-engine failure (not dual-engine) and ask for help...but by then, they were lucky if they had two airports to choose from. They finally confessed they lost both engines; ATC gave them the only option perceivable: Jefferson City Memorial Airport. But at that time, the pilots' practical options had dropped to zero and they began frantically scoping the blackened terrain for a suitable landing zone. One minute before impact, Captain Jesse stated the gear should remain up so as not to strike any houses. These were among the last words on the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). Then...impact, just outside of Jefferson City. A house's deck & yard were damaged at the end of the plane's travel. Both pilots died on impact.

Jesse R. was survived by a wife and two young daughters, as well as other usual family. Peter C. had no wife or children but had plenty of family who survived him.

The incident is still referred to by many airlines and flight-training academies, as well as used in their mandatory flight simulations, to show pilots what the desire to join "The FL410 Club" in smaller regional jets can--and most likely will--lead to. Another lesson, with its newest rules written in even more blood.

Pinnacle 3701, resting in a salvage yard near Kansas City, Kansas.
The plane has since been scrapped.​

 

[KBoy]

And I'm still rambling...earlier this morning, I was prattling about my impending entry into "The FL410 Club", meaning, in this instance, reaching the 41,000 Reaction-point number. I'd also mentioned it was comparatively safer than another form of "The FL410 Club". So...I'll elaborate a bit here.

FL410 is an altitude which, when translated into 100-foot increments, represents 41,000 feet. That's the aviation-tech lingo for it. What makes this altitude so special is that it's the highest altitude at which many commercial airliner jets will attain and cruise at. But not all. You see, at this altitude, the air density is low, permitting aircraft which can achieve the altitude to fly faster cruise speeds, get relatively-better fuel economy, fly in typically-smoother air...and encounter less air traffic. Air Canada's "Gimli Glider" 767 was flying at that altitude when their plane ran out of fuel--due to a miscalculation in fuel pumped into the plane due to recent volume swap-over by Canadian government & industry standards--and was safely glided into a decommissioned airport. But the altitude did not factor in that case...

FL410 represents a welcome challenge to many airline pilots, mostly the young bucks; in fact, there exists, with neither corporate nor national borders, an unsanctioned, ad-hoc club which is known as "The FL410 Club" (or other variants, depending; that's how ad-hoc it is), representing a goal for said young bucks to achieve in order to brag at the next social gathering over a few beers, albeit with no chains of office, no medals, no gold pins & guards. Their little secret, although it's well known among the bosses, too. In one instance, the altitude factored deeply, lethally into one case-in-point: Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701, a Bombardier CRJ-200 flying in now-defunct Northwest Airlines colors.

14 October 2004: Northwest urgently needed a fresh jet ferried to Minneapolis/St. Paul (a former Northwest hub) and found N8396A, a Bombardier CRJ-200 built in 2000 and relatively fresh, waiting at Little Rock Airport in Arkansas...this exact aircraft, N-number and all:

View attachment 128267
N8396A, the subject aircraft, in better times. I flew on an American Eagle variant,
which almost overran the runway in Texarkana, TX on 2 SEP 2015.
​

Corporate contacted two pilots: Captain Jesse R. (age 31, 6,900 hours/973 hours in-type) and First Officer Peter C. (age 23, 761 hours/222 in-type), determined they were in proper condition to pilot...and dispatched pilots & aircraft from LIT to MSP on a nice, balmy, broken-overcast October night.

It sounded simple, even the filed flight-plan of FL330 (33,000 feet) was simple enough: a simple, non-revenue, non-stop positioning flight. Take an empty jet from LIT to MSP, drop it off, then "deadhead" on a flight back. Easy. But it wasn't simple: before the preflight, both pilots had been discussing various factors: a night-flight with no passengers or other crew whatsoever, in good weather, especially up top. Tempting...

The cats would soon be away and the mice would play. The cheese was mighty tempting...but unbeknownst to them, a tad too high, and their reach was exceeding their grasp. The siren call of FL410 sounded; they decided to accept the challenge. They boarded, fired up, taxied out and were soon airborne. Within moments of the take-off, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) picked up unusual data: the aircraft was being deliberately flown aggressively, with high-G pitch-ups and intermittent climb rates of an unreasonable 10,000 feet-per-minute, rivaling the climb rate of jet fighters on mild days. This, for those in-the-know, was a very-steep climb rate with a vertical component of over 110 miles per hour, very unreasonable for even a smaller corporate-class jet, let alone a dedicated jet airliner. And thus began the festivities.

In the dark skies over the Arkansas/Missouri border region, FL330 was achieved in sporadic bursts of climb...and one near-stall which activated the "stick-shaker", whereas the plane's flight system vibrated the yoke-column several times to warn of an imminent stall. Since averted, now the pilot sought their target: FL410. They called in and got approval, surprisingly...and began their ascent. Both pilots knew, as did the Air Traffic Controller on-duty, that the CRJ-200 was approaching an unusual altitude: even though Bombardier said the plane could do FL410, they derated it for passenger safety and mechanical safety; Northwest Airlink & Pinnacle both stated in their Pilots Operational Handbooks, that the plane's altitude would be capped at FL370 (37,000 feet).

But not tonight: after reaching FL410, with considerable difficulty, ATC called to the plane, told the crew their altitude was very unusual for the type; Jesse, the pilot-in-command, replied "...we don't have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here". The ATC person didn't warn or protest.

But something else was: not only was the plane at a nose-high attitude due to altitude, their indicated airspeed was showing a speed just above stall speed...and the engines were at maximum-safe power. But that was only as far as revs; the right-hand engine-core temperature, as well as exhaust temp, were 500 degrees F beyond redline; the left engine was running 180 degrees F below redline...but had sustained its terminal damage during initial climbout. Neither pilot was monitoring the engines because they had a more-occupying problem: the plane was trying to stall. They were now in "Coffin Corner" and they knew it, due to repetitive stick-shakings. They couldn't speed up, they couldn't slow down. Within seconds, the reality would be hammered firmly into their awareness.

After the 4th stick-shaking, the engines lost power and completely shut down. The plane lost all electrical power, the engines' bleed-air was no longer pressurizing the plane or supplying hot cabin air to counter the -50F outside temperature. Pinnacle 3701 was now starting to turn into a stone...and stalled. Both pilots apparently lost much of their cool and hierarchal command authority was lost because Captain Jesse did not command First Officer Peter to deploy emergency power, enact a dual-flameout checklist procedure and attempt restarting of the engines. Both pilots were now in terror.

The plane fell from FL410 to FL380 before some flight control was regained and greater control achieved at FL340. At that point, there were 5 airports they could've reached in their condition but that was overlooked due to the crew's fear and the reality that their jobs were now as good as gone. Rule #1 of Aviation was being ignored: "FLY THE PLANE". There was little to no delegation of authority and they didn't notify ATC as they descended further & further, progressively losing airport options one at a time. They gradually gained only a little composure to put on oxygen masks and try a "windmill restart" at 300 knots indicated-airspeed, but were still too befuddled to realize they hadn't even reached 230 knots. It was apparent the terror/disbelief level in the cockpit was still high. Professional control was all but entirely lost.

And the engines were not even trying to start. A couple more reachable-airport options dropped off the list.

It wasn't until the plane dropped to 13,000 feet that both pilots went for Engine Start Plan B: an APU restart. It was impossible because both engine cores had seized up...locked up due to overstress. Both engines were officially paperweights. Only then did the crew contact ATC and say they had a single-engine failure (not dual-engine) and ask for help...but by then, they were lucky if they had two airports to choose from. They finally confessed they lost both engines; ATC gave them the only option perceivable: Jefferson City Memorial Airport. But at that time, the pilots' practical options had dropped to zero and they began frantically scoping the blackened terrain for a suitable landing zone. One minute before impact, Captain Jesse stated the gear should remain up so as not to strike any houses. These were among the last words on the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). Then...impact, just outside of Jefferson City. A house's deck & yard were damaged at the end of the plane's travel. Both pilots died on impact.

Jesse R. was survived by a wife and two young daughters, as well as other usual family. Peter C. had no wife or children but had plenty of family who survived him.

The incident is still referred to by many airlines and flight-training academies, as well as used in their mandatory flight simulations, to show pilots what the desire to join "The FL410 Club" in smaller regional jets can--and most likely will--lead to. Another lesson, with its newest rules written in even more blood.

View attachment 128270
Pinnacle 3701, resting in a salvage yard near Kansas City, Kansas.
The plane has since been scrapped.​

Well, you write really well. As always.....
Sad story, that's ok. Its a good one. I like it, it's sad but I like it.
Congratulations Bobbi, how's that for some exceptance, people are reading you and they are responding to your posts.
I read your posts and the responses, you are very well liked here.
Sure you know how I feel
Keep it up



.

 

[PetahPetah]

Not a grease monkey, but ... Your dad is your dad, whether you like each other as people or not. Im glad mine not a drunk. We have been up a few mtns and kayaked a few x.

 

[foxkits]

My dad bumped his family when I was 10 years old and was a drinker womanizer and mean at times.
It was better he was not in our life.
He told my sister that Dad and daughter should have sex.
Bobby Sue I'm sorry he make you feel bad and treats you wrong your a great person and very special.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

My dad bumped his family when I was 10 years old and was a drinker womanizer and mean at times.
It was better he was not in our life.
He told my sister that Dad and daughter should have sex.
Bobby Sue I'm sorry he make you feel bad and treats you wrong your a great person and very special.

I don't know what's going on anymore. Father's getting more erratic & pushy, Mother's just getting plain ol' mean. I don't know what it is...dementia? It's just not the usual. I'm just tired of feeling on the out, even more so in the suspense of it all. I don't like suspense. So it doesn't bother me very much that I just blocked everyone on my phone and e-mail. If that's how they feel about me, then they won't miss me. And they won't know why.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

I just got hold of a partial Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript of Pinnacle 3701...it's unbelievable: the recklessness, the blatant violations of Sterile Cockpit Protocol, the neglect of Situational Awareness, the complete absence of professionalism. Loads of vulgarities, carelessness, an attempt to celebrate FL410 with liquor (the liquor cabinet was corporate-sealed, they settled on "ice-cold" Pepsis), the confusion, the impulsiveness...then loss of control, disbelief, panic, fear, loss of organization, distraction, more panic...then it was all over.

The plane's left wing hit a tree first, which ripped the wing off, rolled the fuselage inverted, slammed the cockpit into the ground, killed both pilots instantly, breakup, slide, fire. Gads...

Father got into aircraft recovery in 1975, when I was 8; starting at 9, I went on many recoveries, most of which had fatalities. Most of which were very ugly. Tragic. Some were heartbreaking. They all had something to teach. With the help of NTSB investigators' insights on some, plus some case follow-up...I learned. The biggest lessons:

• Do not bust your butt and do not let others bust your butt for you (i.e., don't succumb to "Get-There-itis");
• Never go beyond your capacity (e.g. train for it!);
• Aircraft fly because of Bernoulli, not Marconi (i.e., do not drop the plane to fly the mic);
• Don't do anything stupid, and;
• Never forget: no matter what, fly the plane.

In closing, a quote...

​

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

New subject: learning new things! And it all started because I received the wrong 'flavor' of Scentsy warmer-wax...

Off to eBay to begin the return process: once done, I got a Seller Offer on a new multimeter, so I looked it over...and might buy it tomorrow. But then something caught my eye: AC and DC are represented by symbols, a wave and then a solid bar with a dashed bar under it, respectively. It seemed odd AC didn't have the dashed bars because once long ago, I decided to swing around a lit extension-cord end for fun...and discovered something...

In a darkened room, swinging that cord-end around, its light-arc was not solid but instead a dashed arc. Odd...then I remembered US household AC electricity is delivered at a frequency of 60Hz (cycle)...one on-off cycle repeated 60 times in a second. So, I decided if I swung that end 3 times around in a second, there should be 20 on-offs for every revolution, three revolutions per second. So...I tried it.

Sure enough, every swing-around yielded 20 on-off light pulses as I swung it around 3 times per second. But the real interesting thing I learned today was that DC current flows through a wire...and AC flows over the surface of a wire. Interesting, huh? I wonder if this is why they tried copper-clad aluminum house wiring (i.e. "Romex") for awhile? It didn't last long...

Speaking of i.e.: that's the other thing I learned today...i.e. vs. e.g., especially how to use them correctly! I'm not much of a Latin person, figuring Latin is for doctors, lawyers, elitists and pedants. What I learned...

• i.e. stands for "in other words" (or, as I see it, "in 'ether' words"), used thusly: "Suddenly, through the window crashed a small, white ball laced in red...i.e. a baseball".
• e.g. stands for "for example" (or, as I see it, "example(s) given"), used thusly: "Proper hygiene begins with a good soap, e.g. Zest" or "...a good soap, e.g. Zest, Ivory, Safeguard".

Interesting how in i.e. the subject is a specific one, with a further-clarifying example, while in e.g. the subject is a vague, general one with specific examples given.

It's strange where a train of thought goes. Best to be on the train than on the tracks ahead of it...i.e., be out of its way instead of in its way!

So: can anyone tell me the difference between "etc." and "et al."?

 

[ade]

: can anyone tell me the difference between "etc." and "et al."?

Same as above, ain't it?
Et cetera is vague and et al is specific.
But it's sounding all a bit too romantic for my liking

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

Same as above, ain't it?
Et cetera is vague and et al is specific.
But it's sounding all a bit too romantic for my liking

Well...dunno but I do know "et cetera" means "and so on" or is synonymous with "ad astra" or "ad infinitum"..."et al." tends to run in a legal vein and means "and others". Class dismissed.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

Okay, new one: "The Wings on the Plane". I wrote this all by myself!

The wings on the plane will lift us up,
Lift us up, lift us up!
The wings on the plane will lift us up,
All 'cross the sky!

The people at the counter tag our bags,
Tag our bags, take our bags!
The people at the counter take our bags,
Waiting to fly...

The crew on the ramp, they fuel us up,
Load our bags, snacks and stuff!
The crew on the plane, they fuel us up,
Ready to fly!

The people on the plane, they buckle up!
Buckle up, buckle up!
The people on the plane, they buckle up,
Ready to fly!

The people in the tower say "Ready! Set! Go!
Ready! Set! Go! Ready! Set! Go!"
The people in the tower say "Ready! Set! Go!
Be safe! Goodbye!"

Now the wings on the plane, they lift us up,
Lift us up, lift us up!
The wings on the plane, they lift us up,
All 'cross the sky!

The engines on the plane, they roar and roar,
Roar and roar, roar and roar!
The engines on the plane, they roar and roar,
All 'cross the sky!

The pilots of the plane, they fly and fly,
Fly and fly, fly and fly!
The pilots of the plane, they fly and fly,
All 'cross the sky!

Attendants on the plane, they bring good stuff,
Bring good stuff, bring good stuff!
Attendants on the plane, they bring good stuff,
All 'cross the sky!

The people in the tower say "Fly to here!
Fly to there! Here and there!"
The people in the tower say "Fly to there!"
All 'cross the sky!

The weather in the sky is sunny & clear,
Clouds out there soon come here!
The weather in the sky is sunny & clear,
All 'cross the sky!

The houses on the ground, they look like spots,
Cars and trucks look like dots!
The houses on the ground, they look like spots
As we fly by...

The mountains in the distance look like bumps,
Not as big, just like lumps!
The mountains in the distance look like bumps,
Against the sky...

The tower on the ground says "Cleared to land!
Cleared to land! Cleared to land!"
The tower on the ground says "Cleared to land,
Down from the sky!"

The tires on the runway skritch and scratch,
Skritch and scratch! Skritch and scratch!
The tires on the runway skritch and scratch,
Gate-time is nigh...

The crew of the plane says "Come back soon!
Come back soon! Come back soon!"
The crew of the plane says "Come back soon!
Thanks and goodbye!"

The wings on the plane are resting up,
Resting up, resting up!
The wings on the plane are resting up,
Waiting to fly! Bye-bye!

 

[KBoy]

I can not say it enough, you write really well. Even though I am really not much into plane crashes your discriptive writing is excellent, your to the point but you paint the picture well. I like your technical stuff to, again, you get the idea across, with enough details so that someone in the know will understand that you know what you are talking about without leaving everyone else in the dark.
Now about your new song...
You are a very sweet baby BobbiSueEllen

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

I got a bit creative during my nap a bit ago--I was in half-sleep, waking up--and came up with my own song, in a childlike tarantella...

No, not a tarantula!

In my crib I'm up and bored,
There's a big world to explore!
I'm a little girl and that's the way I'll stay...

I'm all ready and I'm hyper
In a dressy and a diaper,
Grab my bestest friend, my Bonnie, and go play...

With a binky or a bottle,
See me giggle, toddle-waddle
As I scamper in my Pampers 'cross the floor...

'Cuz BSE's my name, you see,
And that's the way I wanna be,
From now until forevermore! UH-HUH!

 

[mistykitty]

et al also tends to be used mainly for names, etc can be used for anything

 

[PaigeCherubiel]

My teacher named me Paige
My partner in exploration named me Cherubiel
And my parents named me ??????
And that's who I have become.

 

[KBoy]

That's cute Bobbi, sometimes when I read you talking about engines, plane crashes, autism, I completely forget that you are a baby