I had internet access back in 1979. I used it for several research projects. Yes, I was in college or grad school but it was available before the official "released" to the public date.

I had internet access back in 1979. I used it for several research projects. Yes, I was in college or grad school but it was available before the official "released" to the public date.

Yes, bang paths.

... And in our modern day online world, banging!yer!head!against!bureaucratic!perversity...


So... I've suffered a particularly frustrating afternoon game of chase... All whilst other immediate real world work waits in great need...


Briefly:

Whilst checking through some of the invoices/bills, I noticed that we appeared to be being taken for a ride with some triple overcharging for the same one service!...

The sneaky bit was in the service name having been changed without acknowledgement from ourselves, and then back-dated!!...

So... To clear that up?...

Outsourcing can work very well depending upon how that outsourcing is done...

I'm also suspicious there is some 'convenient' obfuscation in part of the game that either the outsourcing are unaware of or whether there is active instructions to ignore... The contentious bit was challenged three times and three times I got fobbed off with either a no answer of a different answer that conveniently missed the questionable point...

The game was steadily moving towards bringing in the Ombudsman when we hit upon another path that has a less time wasteful partial resolution.

So, in summary:

Ok, so we were only being double charged... Except the backdating has separately stung us for an extra charge... Regardless, it is still that we have been charged extra for the same service. All nuances?

Part of the problem was also that supplier has part of their own services offline or just on a go-slow... And the documentation is steered to up-sell rather than be useful.

All just a game?


Well, I'm now more wisely educated on supplier procedures I didn't wish to know about. We've now abandoned that supplier to pick up a new service.

Yet more silly is that no one has won from the day.


And the day should be over yet there is still to catch up with what was originally planned for the day! ... Annoyingly, some tasks will get pushed into the next two weeks... And that then cramps some hard deadlines quickly coming up...

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Winning while the sun shines on this Saturday morning before buckets of rain supposedly arrive.

Cheers.

An evening with a short but quite strong thunderstorm and heavy downpour. A close discharge within... thunder just half a second after lightning. Yikes... a not so frequent spectacle here. Temperature fell to 15°C (60F), tomorrow up to 18°C (65F). Good to have some not so warm days in spring too.

Ah, reminds me of when I was only a handful of feet latterly of the strike. Vertically I had some room. I was also in a moving steel box. It hit the very high tension tower lightning protection over the road I was driving on. Time between flash and sound is so small and the usual multiple strikes on a single ionized path that it might as well be zero. You hear the crack of a whip and it takes half second or so before it begins to sound like thunder as you are hearing the parts that are father up and away from you. I had the pleasure of a second close strike this one about 150 feet laterally but less vertical as it hit a distribution power pole and set it on fire. I've also heard one hitting a power line where there was a pronounced growl (like a Jacob's ladder) after the crack as the power was sufficient to keep the ionization going.

Unadventurous summertime sunshine and rush.

Do I have time to drink my coffee???

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Interesting weather. Currently, 56f dropping to 27f by 11 this afternoon.

Thor was here last night doing his storm concert. Now he has left and there is gorgeous spring weather outside. Makes you want to slather on the sunscreen and sit in a shaded spot and enjoy.

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Winning on a cool and damp Sunday morning in the highlands down under.

Cheers.

Made it! And only 30mins late!!...

The tasks got 'rationalized' and then everything came together nicely.

And I'm back in the Food Desert... Hopefully only briefly...

With this first weekend of summertime, I really should be enjoying myself at home or on holiday...

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Late? Go write on the blackboard after class 30 times: "I will not be late"... /S

On another note the Monday trulicity 4.5mg/0.5 ml injection is working.

Currently 76F and Fair/Wind, predicted 83, Sunday 68 is predicted, Monday is 81, and Tuesday is 85.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Well we certainly havn't received those buckets of rain here as yet and I doubt that we will, but while the lite rain is finally taking a break we're up to 14C (feels like 13C) with another 2C still expected

Though I have been working away downstairs in 27C comfort for the last few hours preparing for and deconstructing 3 of my ver. 1.0 wicking tubs to get them ready for ver. 2.2B conversions, but I've decided that I'll take a cool down/coffee break for a bit before I begin on the 1st upgrade candidate.

Cheers.

Snow on my car this morning. 31f with a high of 49 today. Don't thing I will go out on the water today.

Winning on a cool Monday morning while enjoying a coffee and thinking about going downstairs to light the fire so I can get back to work down there.

Cheers.

Here in the Food Desert the place is deserted of people. They all escaped off elsewhere for the Bank Holiday weekend??...

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Food Desert, I live in an actual desert too, one where rain varies from 0.00" to 0.51" and temps as low as 20F and as high as 115, in 2008 this area had 6" of SNOW and was 20 outside, brr and it was quiet too, bring your own shade as there is very little out here.

Today I vacuumed the kitchen floor, Grace has been working overtime shedding hair, the living room is next.

On Monday I'm driving to the Post Office for my mail and then 13 miles into town for the rest of my food and then back home, I also need to inject myself with some trulicity too. The Post Office is closed today and it's windy from 31-44mph and 64F outside, plus the car door on a windy day tried to chop my foot in two once, so I can wait.

And UPS has two packages from amazon which is:

7 boxes of cereal,
a beige Nema 14-50 faceplate,
two 5-20p to TT30r adapters, and
a 1080p usb webcam with a privacy shield, light, and microphones.

On Wednesday:

1-Southwire 9044SW8808 Range Power Cord; 4-Foot; 1/4-Inch Flanged Terminals
For use in charging my Car @ 232v/|\

Asap or as soon as my $524.00 grant check gets here:

1-Cable Matters 3-Pack 4 Pin Molex to SATA Power Cable
1-zdyCGTime 6-Inch 15Pin SATA Male to Molex 4 Pin+15Pin SATA Power Cable
For use in my PC/|\

1-ONETAK NEMA 2 Port TT-30P 120V 30 Amp 3 Prong Plug Male to 14-50R 120/240V 50Amp Power Cord Adapter
1-Joinfworld 50 Amp RV Power Outlet Box, 125/250V NEMA 14-50R, Weatherproof Lockable Electrical Power Outlet
1-Southwire MSB2G Two Gang Device Box
1-PlugSaf 25 FT 50 Amp RV/EV Extension Cord Outdoor, 4 Prong Flexible Heavy Duty 6/3+8/1 Gauge STW RV Power Cord
For use in charging my Car @ 232v/|\

1-20 30 Amp Tandem Circuit Breaker
1-30 PCs Push Pins Picture Hangers Wall Hooks, Double Headed Thumb Tacks
For use with my window A/C unit to replace a 20 amp circuit and for a future 30 amp 120v circuit/|\

1-Vent Systems 4" Galvanized Steel Duct End Cap with Rubber Gasket - Dryer Vent Cap
For use with a new all in one heat pump equipped clothes washer and dryer/|\

1-Eastman Aluminum Water Heater Drain Pan with PVC Fittings, 20 Inch ID x 22 Inch
For use with a new water heater/|\

1-WinZo Modern Elongated One Piece Toilet Modern Single Side Flush 1.28 GPF Standard Seat Height In White-Black Button
For my "larger" bathroom/|\

1-Ortho Ground Clear Weed & Grass Killer Ready-to-Use - Grass Weed Killer Spray
To deny ticks a place to hide outside near my home and to get into my home /|\

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Well I only have to get across to the supermarket now to complete my usual Monday morning domestic duties.

Meanwhile between Robbie the Robot and the shed's solar heating system both working in tandem has downstairs already up to 28C while it's 12C (feels like 10C) outside with 18C being expected, but those clouds are building up yet again after the sunny start to the day.

Anyhow I better get across the road.

[edit] Well I got across the road quickly enough, but I picked the wrong time to go over as there was a crowd in there.

Cheers.

1-ONETAK NEMA 2 Port TT-30P 120V 30 Amp 3 Prong Plug Male to 14-50R 120/240V 50Amp Power Cord Adapter

Remember the previous TLPTPHW (331) thread? At March 13, I wrote there:

Understood. We have 400V, 3 AC phases offset by 120 degrees. That means up to 415v between each two of three phases and ~230 volts between each phase and ground. So you can easily splitup a 415V socket (3 hot wires) to three 230 V (one hot) circuits with a simple adaptor you can buy in DIY markets.

Now, I have an idea... I can get some 2.5mm² (~AWG13) cables (3 cores: brown for hot, blue is neutral, yellow/green to ground), three 230V CEE7/4 plugs and one red 415V, 16A (industrial) CEE17 socket. Then I could manufacture my own "special" adaptor connecting the three 230V plugs to separate cables, all feeding the needed 415 V, 16A CEE socket for my EV. The difficult part would be to identify three separate sockets in my flat which are fed by three distinct 230V circuits, each attached to a distinct phase to truely balance the load from the 415 V socket across all available phases. From an electrical point of view this should be safe, if properly connected. But I fear that's outside the agreed terms and conditions of my grid company. What a pity.

Of course this was a joke, but not serious. Now I learned you can buy such an "adaptor" for the US 120/240V grid at Amazon.

Crazy. I'dont know exactly from memory how the U.S. 120/240 volts system is designed. I assume:

• 2 live wires at 120 Volts against ground which are two different AC phases, 180 degrees apart
  
• so voltage between two live wires is 240 volts
  

I would say, you guys in the U.S. are about to burn your country down... if you continue to feed the growing needs of a growing fleet of BEVs this way. Stressing the distribution grid to the extreme with all kinds of extension cables, adaptors, and... two-way (even three-way?) merger cables. Yikes...

Here in Germany you would definitely have to call an accredited electrician to install a (415 volts, 3 x 16amps) red industrial outlet or a 16/32 amps AC 'wallbox' for BEVs (as they are called in "Denglish" here). And if your house's or your street's grid isn't capable to add another one, the answer will be: Nyet! No further BEV or heat pumps in this neighbourhood until the grid is reinforced with new cables and/or transformer (which easily can take a decade).

To look at it positively: such adapters seem to be simple, quick, and cheap but imperfect problem solvers. That's why we would never do it this way here. It's against the rules.... which make us really nervous.

1-ONETAK NEMA 2 Port TT-30P 120V 30 Amp 3 Prong Plug Male to 14-50R 120/240V 50Amp Power Cord Adapter

Remember the previous TLPTPHW (331) thread? At March 13, I wrote there:

Understood. We have 400V, 3 AC phases offset by 120 degrees. That means up to 415v between each two of three phases and ~230 volts between each phase and ground. So you can easily splitup a 415V socket (3 hot wires) to three 230 V (one hot) circuits with a simple adaptor you can buy in DIY markets.

Now, I have an idea... I can get some 2.5mm² (~AWG13) cables (3 cores: brown for hot, blue is neutral, yellow/green to ground), three 230V CEE7/4 plugs and one red 415V, 16A (industrial) CEE17 socket. Then I could manufacture my own "special" adaptor connecting the three 230V plugs to separate cables, all feeding the needed 415 V, 16A CEE socket for my EV. The difficult part would be to identify three separate sockets in my flat which are fed by three distinct 230V circuits, each attached to a distinct phase to truely balance the load from the 415 V socket across all available phases. From an electrical point of view this should be safe, if properly connected. But I fear that's outside the agreed terms and conditions of my grid company. What a pity.

Of course this was a joke, but not serious. Now I learned you can buy such an "adaptor" for the US 120/240V grid at Amazon.

Crazy. I'dont know exactly from memory how the U.S. 120/240 volts system is designed. I assume:

• 2 live wires at 120 Volts against ground which are two different AC phases, 180 degrees apart
  
• so voltage between two live wires is 240 volts
  

I would say, you guys in the U.S. are about to burn your country down... if you continue to feed the growing needs of a growing fleet of BEVs this way. Stressing the distribution grid to the extreme with all kinds of extension cables, adaptors, and... two-way (even three-way?) merger cables. Yikes...

Here in Germany you would definitely have to call an accredited electrician to install a (415 volts, 3 x 16amps) red industrial outlet or a 16/32 amps AC 'wallbox' for BEVs (as they are called in "Denglish" here). And if your house's or your street's grid isn't capable to add another one, the answer will be: Nyet! No further BEV or heat pumps in this neighbourhood until the grid is reinforced with new cables and/or transformer (which easily can take a decade).

To look at it positively: such adapters seem to be simple, quick, and cheap but imperfect problem solvers. That's why we would never do it this way here. It's against the rules.... which make us really nervous.

One electrician said I'd never be able to charge a car here, I have news for him, I have been doing that here since December 5th 2023. The breaker boxes here have a 120v rail, a Ground, and Neutral, though in NEMA 6-50 and 6-20 there is no Neutral, and there is only one Hot, but then I don't have any NEMA 6-50 or 6-20 here.

I am using a 20 amp breaker and a 10 awg cable, this doesn't get warm with the 3.3kw charger that is built in to the car, 14-50 cables are 6 and 8 awg, Neutral and Ground being 8 awg and Hot being 6 awg, the smaller the number the bigger the cable diameter, TT-30 is 120v @ 30 amps and has Hot, Neutral, and Ground, one less Hot than either 14-30 or 14-50 does, cause of some 14-50 receptacles not being of good enough some have caught fire cause some people plug and unplug the cables more which can cause the connection to loosen, so some people have advised to use industrial receptacles or to hardwire them instead. awg is average wire gauge.

The county building permit if I went that route is $220 at the very least I was told, plus the $200 or more for the electrician, what I have here now was done with a friend and myself, I still can't drive a woodscrew with an electric drill into a piece of lumber, my friend was not paid for this as he just just helps if he can still, but then we're both getting older.

It's not like I can use breakers in here above 20 amps currently, this is cause the park has an ancient system here that is in need of updating, new spare parts are impossible to find, so the park is not allowed to add more homes than the 28 that are currently in service here, the park has 88 spaces, so 60 are either empty or are not installed, there are two large double wide homes the park owns that can't be installed legally which require 200 amps. The park supplies 60 amps, I was told no breakers above 20 amps will not work, next door they have central a/c and it doesn't work as there is not enough power.

My new electric water heater has to be 120v(uses a 15 amp breaker for this 8 gallon 120v water heater) and not a 240v 30 gallon heatpump water heater since needs a 30 amp breaker and might not fit in the space provided for a water heater here which is about 20" wide at the door, the space inside is wider than the door opening is.

both 120V and 240V are referred to as single-phase power. (It’s rare to find three-phase AC power in residential situations).

https://makezine.com/article/workshop/metalworking/understanding-240v-ac-power-heavy-duty-power-tools/

400v is not power to the residence, unless one is rich, last time I was trying to figure out the cost of putting in a power pole on a piece of property, each pole costs $15,000.00, what goes into that $15,000.00 I have no idea.
Black/Red is Hot here, White is Neutral, and Green/Bare wire is Ground.

Oh and the two dedicated 20 amp 120v circuits that I have here used to be a 30 amp 240v clothes dryer circuit, so I'm just combining them.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's