sometimes, you're just lucky

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:44 pm

2.5" hose, haha, I would be bitter too.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:57 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:2.5" hose, haha, I would be bitter too.

that's diameter, cowboy.

MyDearFriend · Post by **MyDearFriend** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 3:05 am

Bwahahahahahahaha, I shouldn't laugh Yggy but wow.

That is how to keep your lightning-quick reflexes sharp! Challenge them!!

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 5:45 am

ygmir wrote:
Ugly Dougly wrote:2.5" hose, haha, I would be bitter too.
that's diameter, cowboy.

Oh my...

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 5:49 am

Straight line for Dougly there now ...

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:17 pm

so, I learned about plastics and pressure today:

I was making my famous home made insect/mold/mildew preventative, and getting ready to treat the inside of some walls we tore the sheetrock off of, as I make a new studio apartment in my basement.
I always try to do stuff when things are apart,and, since it is down to bare framing, I can treat the insides of the walls, plates and studs.

So, I measure and mix the ingredients, 2 gallons< all is well, and I grab one of my plastic Hudson sprayers.
It's a couple years old, but has worked just fine.........
a few test pumps, a little gunk plugs the tip so I clean it, and pump up to normal, for a test, while it'd on the table in the shop.........
30 seconds after pumping and locking, BAM!! the whole thing exploded, totally soaking me and everything around me.........normal amount of pumps,but,the plastic must have gotten brittle or some such?
I am so lucky my formula is not very toxic to mammals, so, getting hit in the face and all was no big deal. Just made another batch, got a better sprayer,and went at it........showered after, figuring if it happened again I might as well wait.........
Damn glad I was not mixing some of my acid washes or other way more toxic bug or dry rot stuff.........

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:15 pm

It took 4 attempts for Rain to find me. Playa Info not only had the address wrong, but posted location was " Rosie's Bar" not MASH 4207 like the registered fucking camp. He persisted all day. He's a smart fuck, and I can only imagine how many would be volunteers gave up.
We just got off the phone. He got me back down and tethered to the plant surface like he did most of the week. This looks like a very powerful and mutually beneficial friendship.
And the fucking pimped potty artists better check in with me before taking an artistic crap in MY Porta potties!

MyDearFriend · Post by **MyDearFriend** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 7:10 am

Gosh Yggy!!! Good thing you're not a bug!!!

That is unsettling news about Playa Info, Robbi! They failed to find Doc Pyro at Barbie Death Camp this year, too, with news that his father was in critical condition... oh well.

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 7:39 am

Yggy,

Glad to hear you're OK. Now, I want you to put on your 'safety equipment list', "chainsaw chaps". Our departmebnt has had over a dozen workers protected by these when clearing brush in the right of way. Sure, it might be a hassle and take a minute. But that's better than the damage the saw could cause to your legs.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:44 am

^Rhino! wrote:Yggy,

Glad to hear you're OK. Now, I want you to put on your 'safety equipment list', "chainsaw chaps". Our departmebnt has had over a dozen workers protected by these when clearing brush in the right of way. Sure, it might be a hassle and take a minute. But that's better than the damage the saw could cause to your legs.

chaps over my shorts? will they cover my lumberjack crocs? Good call Rhino!! This, is why you are management............

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:11 pm

ygmir wrote:
^Rhino! wrote:Yggy,

Glad to hear you're OK. Now, I want you to put on your 'safety equipment list', "chainsaw chaps". Our departmebnt has had over a dozen workers protected by these when clearing brush in the right of way. Sure, it might be a hassle and take a minute. But that's better than the damage the saw could cause to your legs.
chaps over my shorts? will they cover my lumberjack crocs? Good call Rhino!! This, is why you are management............

I got lucky to get into management in the first place. After all, I never had my sense of humor surgically removed at birth, and that's usually a requirement, too.......

Actually, it's because I'm a safety adherent and promoter. In twenty-two years I've never had a crew hit an underground utility, never had a piece of equipment touch an overhead powerline, and NO MEMBER OF ANY CREW WITH ME HAS HAD A LOST-TIME ACCIDENT. I'm ferocious when it comes to protecting MY people.

Right now, I'm the only one in the office with responsibility for making all of the one-call notifications. You know, "call before you dig"? Whether you're a professional excavator or private homeowner, it's the LAW. Nationally, you call '8-1-1' and you're automatically connected to your state's one-call service. Think you're too intelligent and don't need it? There was a California surgeon who rented a backhoe and started digging a pedestal for a new mailbox in front of his home, hit a gas line, and promptly died when it blew up. A man who had all the education of medical school thinks he has the touch to operate a backhoe and finds out there's more to operating it than he knew...much to his dismay. You never know where the utilities are unless they're marked. THAT is why you call 811.

**steps off soapbox**

VultureChow · Post by **VultureChow** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:19 pm

ygmir wrote: chaps over my shorts? will they cover my lumberjack crocs? Good call Rhino!! This, is why you are management............

Who said anything about shorts?

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:58 pm

VultureChow wrote:
ygmir wrote: chaps over my shorts? will they cover my lumberjack crocs? Good call Rhino!! This, is why you are management............
Who said anything about shorts?

I read " lumberjack crotch" at first...

Oh my

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 8:41 am

lucky420 wrote:
VultureChow wrote:
ygmir wrote: chaps over my shorts? will they cover my lumberjack crocs? Good call Rhino!! This, is why you are management............
Who said anything about shorts?

I read " lumberjack crotch" at first...

Oh my

[media]

Sunbeam56 · Post by **Sunbeam56** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:43 pm

Rhino - you are definately right! I had a bulldozer in the back yard digging out a koi pond. The gas line was supposed to be on the other side of the fence!!!
Good thing we called...

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:58 pm

as a young trencher operator, I was trenching in an urban neighborhood, all USA done, gas company inspector, county inspector, and my boss, all watching me, to see how I was doing.
As I approached the marked gas line, knowing when I was right over the mark, I was about 8' from it with the boom, I stopped, and said "how do I do this, when do I stop trenching to pull out , go over, and start on the other side". The two inspectors laughed and my boss yelled "look dumb ass, the green mark means it's an abandon line, and the yellow mark 30' over is the live one, ask me then!! Now! trench right through that line and get going, you're holding us all up!" Well, I felt stupid, knowing surely it was double checked.

I went forth, and hit said pipe, and it actually killed the engine on the big Vermeer trencher (8' boom, forget the model). I looked over, and the said "more rpm, get the power and rip that fucker out, and now!!" the one inspector said it was tough pipe, because it was a high pressure line.

so, rev. it I did, and yes, it was tough......and high pressure! I heard the gas escaping as soon as the chain pulled through the pipe, while it was still 5' or so deep, even before any smell appeared, I hit the kill switch and jumped off and ran........the others, followed, realizing what had just happened...........

lights, sirens, cars and trucks descended minutes later........as it turned out, the locator had run out of yellow paint, and used the other color, but had said he wrote a note, and made some sort of mark at the transition point........which of course was not visible from the trencher or where the bosses were standing...........

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:56 pm

Close call, yggy.

I was peripherally involved in the I-270 debacle at Manchester Road in St. Louis. The contractor, who shall remain nameless to protect his guilt, had done the required one call. Laclede Gas showed up at 9:00 a.m. on their marks where the contractor was preparing to dig, and the driver remarked, "Have you hit our gas line yet?'

Answer: "No"

Digging continued.

At 11:00 a.m. Laclede Gas again showed up. Same remark and answer.

At 11:20 a.m. the backhoe struck the 1200 cubic foot per minute Laclede gas main. Result: I-270 closed for 8 hours while repairs were made. It wasn't until the next day that traffic returned to normal.

I get real nervous when the downttime cost alone is half a million dollars. The contractor ended up paying that one.

And then we have trenchers.....this one is the baddest of them all: Trenches in 100' of 4' deep cable in under a minute. Good thing it's only a demo model. I present to you the Super Witch Mark VII:

[media]

Utilities have nightmares over things like this.

And it does wheelies, too.

Sunbeam56 · Post by **Sunbeam56** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 4:49 pm

Both yggies and rhinos stories would have been really good lawsuits if someone died. Thank goodness no lawyers were needed.

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 8:03 pm

Sunbeam56 wrote:Both yggies and rhinos stories would have been really good lawsuits if someone died. Thank goodness no lawyers were needed.

It's great when no lawyers are needed.

That's one reason I'm a HUGE proponent of 811 in my home state. Once you learn it, you pass it on....just like BRC. My department is also fully supportive of my efforts. Sometimes we have the opportunity to laugh a whole lot when we acquire or become aware of new technology like vacuum excavation. Vacuum excavation is used to identify the exact physical location of a utility and expose it to protect it so that no damage is done. The process is sometimes called 'daylighting', because you're exposing the buried utility to daylight.

An example of one company that does this is Badger Daylighting. The video demonstrates the process.

[media]

They put up their motto at equipment exhibitions:

WE SUCK

Indeed they do.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:23 am

ha, so, it's been a while.

I was splitting firewood yesterday afternoon. striking my "stuck" maul, with my backup maul (gnarly black oak, 24"), when, well, you know how when something happens, you know something is wrong, before you look?......
I looked down, and there was a hole in the front of my leg, not huge, maybe 1/4" dia.....but felt funny.........then blood started squirting out....
It seems when striking, a shard of steel had shot into my leg, hit my shin bone, and traveled down and deeper.
Not sure if anything was in there, first, I just said"" crap, and turned and tripped over my wood pile, fell into the wheel barrow, and thought: " awe crap"......hahah
I finished loading the wheelbarrow and took it over to the house, noting pretty profuse bleeding and the feeling "somethings in there" about my leg.
so, I felt it, but could not really feel any foreign body, but still wondered.
so went over to the shop, washed the area with lacquer thinner (clean and sterilize at once).
I felt and still nothing, to grabbed my "rare earth" magnet, and a pieced of stainless steel wire.
Putting my foot on a barrel, I could then work on my leg easily.
I cleaned said wire and magnet, then tried to probe the hole with the wire, but felt nothing. So, ran the magnet over the area, and noted resistance a few inches below the hole......dang, it must have hit bone and bounced.
I could not seem to get the metal out or surfaced with the magnet, and it was too deep to stick the wire, so decided I need to go to the ER.
Of course, as I made that decision, I lost my balance, and since my foot was on the barrel, went over backwards, and the empty barrel rolled over me in the driveway.........haha I wish someone could have filmed that.
I drove to the ER, check in, and noting all the people puking, coughing and on crack, in the waiting room, decided to wait in the hall.
in about 1.5 hours, they xrayed my leg. I asked "is there anything in there"?, the gal said"well, I can't discuss your case, but, look at the photo if you like: yup, metal a couple inches below the entry wound (marked on the xray witha bb on a bandaid), but no telling how deep.
they sent me back out to the waiting room, golf ball size hematoma on my leg,with a bb/bandaid to cover it. hahaha
I waited there another 3.5 hours, as a parade of crack heads, psychotics and super sick people came and went........
Sure I get "severity of injury/illness"......but dang, that was a long wait. I stayed in the hall, considering what was going on in the waiting area.

They finally called me back, 5 hours after check in.
the charge nurse started to pull the band aid, with the target bb on it, off.
I said "stop". shouldn't the target stay there, so they can measure to where the metal fragment is?
she said: "no, I don't think so, and pulled it off" I said, "how are they going to measure" she shrugged and walked out, not even cleaning the area.
*oh joy*
later the doc comes in, and asks why it's not all clean? I shrug.
he cleans asks what happened, and if that's the hole? I said yeah. He shot some lidocane in there and was preparing to probe, when I told him the metal was quite a ways from the hole, and asked if he'd seen the xray?
he had, and said is should have been straight in.
I said will, it showed it 3 " or so below where the target bb was on the band aid.
he asked: "target bb?" I said yeah, he said. "where is it" I told him and he shook his head......"I needed that to measure from"..........*oh joy*......
I showed him about where the target was, and where I felt the steel with my magnet, at home.
He shrugged and went and got an ultra sound machine, to find it with.......
well, he "located" it, about 3/4' from where I pointed, and when I questioned his mark he said the machine was accurate........so, more lidocane, small spot since he said it would be "right there"......after 10 mins of cutting and probing (reaching the edge of the lidocane effected area), he was bewildered.
I said:
do you have a strong magnet here? he said yeah went, can came back with a wimpy thing that did nothing.
he didn't want to do more xrays, so, I suggested my daughter go home and get my "big magnet". because it would show him in a moment where it was........he agreed.
She got back about 20 mins later with my magnet, he noted it was dirty, and put it in a rubber glove.
then, I showed him how to drag it across and feel the metal pull.......well gosh dang, he could feel it!! and funny, it was right where I had pointed (3/4" away from where he was cutting). He suggested he needed to cut from where he already was, to that spot. to make sure it's not "in between".......I just said "cut away"......and he did.......he forgot to put lidocane in the new areas, but by then the pain was not so bad, so I just said "keep cutting and quit talking, please" He chuckled and continued.
He handed my my magnet, which I set on the tray........and immediately every surgical instrament on the tray stuck to it......haahhaa, we all laughed......
he finally got to the spot, and it was not there, I suggested he go deeper. so he went through the facia and into muscle, when finally he touched it with the probe, and exclaimed it was much deeper than expected.
"more lidocane?" ........"no, just hurry up!", so he got to it and removed it......yay.
he said it must have had nearly the force of a bullet, to penetrate, hit bone, bounce and travel 3" down my leg and well over and inch deep.
I was lucky, it went right between two very large veins and rested just on top of a pretty big artery.

so anyway, yay, for getting to bring tools from home, to help in the ER!!!

now a few days of Keflex and all should be fine, he says...........

**sorry for the long post, just seems a funny story,and hard to short cut.**

ETA: oops forgot one of the photos......*more if I can download them*

10556506_790085154359863_7251101494440412318_n.jpg

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:35 am

Very entertaing story Ygmir...

Yes you got lucky and so glad you did.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:51 am

Perhaps from this point forward we should all refer to Ygmir as the "shard tard".

Patsh · Post by **Patsh** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:53 am

Yikes, Yggy!

We're gonna have to get you some thigh-high safety crocs, now!!
Glad you're home in one piece... sounds like they're kind'a clueless over there at the ER!

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 12:06 pm

yeah the ER.........ha, the nurse took my vitals 4 times, said my heart rate was too low and so was O2 (93%).
after the 4th time, she shrugged and said "it's probably ok)" (IPBA?).......I'm wondering if may a little "shock" was going on? dunno enough about that stuff, though.

VultureChow · Post by **VultureChow** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 12:32 pm

Maybe you just need some good sturdy leather chaps?

Yeah...

That would work for me.

Post by **Eric** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 12:45 pm

Damn Yggy! I'm glad you're okay, but you are going to get stuck with a "shard" based nickname. I kind of just like Shard.

BeeWeeDee · Post by **BeeWeeDee** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 1:49 pm

Down and Deep Shard - I wanna see the scar when it heals. Maybe the Doc could of given you a little extra BM scar for waiting so long.

Great story - Makes me value Eye protection, Hearing protection, and protective eq. in general and I need to be reminded from time to time. Thanks

fernley1 · Post by **fernley1** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 2:02 pm

Happy you are alright now.

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 3:09 pm

Yggy, I'm glad to hear you were all right above all.

One little note: Don't quit taking the Keflex until they're all gone. And then if there's any problem, see an MD IMMEDIATELY. You DON'T want to lose a leg. Retire that wedge, it's done.

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 5:25 pm

Gad-zooks Ygmir! That was lucky!
You're a tough one and no mistake.
YAR, KEEP CUTTIN DOC! It be a fine and sexy scar when you're done there, eh?
You're too much. And no I'm good with accidentally seeing the one pic.

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