Random nonsense

[DC Concours]

Anytime my old GFI circuits go bad it's always been the outlets themselves. I don’t know if it’s moisture, or the intricacies of these GFI outlets themselves, but they always break sooner than the rest.

Virginia doesnt fail tires due to plugs.
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincodefull/title19/agency30/chapter70/partIV/

[maxtog]

Ohio is recklessly free of the ravages of state inspections.

I just don't get my Concours inspected.

Motorcycles (in VA at least) typically have small inspection stickers that are typically on the fork tube.  When I bought the bike in 2011, one couldn't even see the sticker unless he/she bent over and looked for it.  Sometime after  it expired, I just removed it and have never had an inspection on the Concours.  So, I am risking a ticket.  (I am lazy and it just isn't worth the inconvenience; rest assured I would not ride an unsafe or poor condition vehicle).

I do get the car inspected every year.  The sticker is FAR more visible

[maxtog]

Anytime my old GFI circuits go bad it's always been the outlets themselves. I don’t know if it’s moisture, or the intricacies of these GFI outlets themselves, but they always break sooner than the rest.

I have never had any of my GFI outlets fail (in the 32 years of this house) and need replacement.  Maybe I am lucky with those or ended up buying a good brand.  I think I have about 4 of them.  But the one I installed on the patio, for the outside circuits, does false trip occasionally, even though the outlets are all in weather-shield boxes.  I think it is due to spiders making a web inside them and a filament gets humidity-wet and then allows an ever so slight short.  Well, I guess that isn't a false trip, it is actually doing its job properly.  It can just be annoying

I have no GFCI breakers, just "normal" ones.  And after 32 years, I did have one breaker go defective, just recently.  It was the 30A dryer circuit.  I have no idea when it actually started failing, though.  I happened to be in the garage while running the dryer inside and it was quiet and I heard a crackling sound coming from the panel.  No light/heat/smell, though.  Yet that unmistakable electric sound.  Pressing on the affected breaker changed the sound, I assumed it was a poor connection.  Killed and opened the panel and removed the the breaker and inspected the contacts, they and the panel rails were fine.  Tightened the hot and reinserted.  Problem persisted.  On second removal I finally noticed that a bunch of "char" came out of the breaker when I tilted it around and shook it.  Replaced it a few weeks ago and no more problem.

[VirginiaJim]

I've had a GFCI breaker fail in the past and replacing it fixed it.  However I do agree that the receptacles are usually the issue 99% of the time.

[Big Red]

GFCI outlets have moving parts and extra circuitry. A regular outlet is more a flexure than something with moving parts, and generally makes them quite long lived. There are still original two prong outlets in my grandmother's house that still work perfect.

[Strawboss]

Cue-pon or coo-pon
Grow sher rees or grow sir rees
Root, rut or rout

And lastly

Ohio was the first state to use political jurisdictional boundries for it's counties in 1803, all other before used natural boundries, rivers, mountains, etc...

[Boomer]

Coo-pon
Grow Sir Rees
Root - Below ground part of a plant. (slang - to have sex in Australia)
Rut - What a male deer does, or deep groove worn by repeated use.
Rout - Disorderly retreat or to quote Month Python "Run Away!!!"

If you were referring to the word Route, then it is a way or course taken from start to destination and is pronounced Root in UK and Rout in USA.

And finally a Concourse (Con-Cor-Ssss) is "A place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space."
Personally I have never ridden a Concourse or seen one fitted with side-bags.

I have however ridden a few different Kawasaki Concours (Con-Coors (yes, like the beer!)) and even a couple of Kawasaki Concours 14s, in addition to many 1000GTR, and 1400GTR.

[maxtog]

I have however ridden a few different Kawasaki Concours (Con-Coors (yes, like the beer!))

Actually, it is "KHAN kour" (as in "tour", no "s" sound), since the word/term is a French derivative   No beer.

[Boomer]

You are right about the silent s, but in French it is "Con" pronounced with a nasal n and "Coor"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6qAmej_Bh4

[maxtog]

You are right about the silent s, but in French it is "Con" pronounced with a nasal n and "Coor"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6qAmej_Bh4

I like how he pronounces the anglicized version first, which is very close to how I say it, although usually with the stress on the first syllable (like most two-syllable con words: contour, console, condom, contra, congress, content, conflux, conjure, consort, concave, concert, contact, context, etc; although there ARE exceptions, like contain, convulse, conflate, converse, control, contempt).  The actual French pronunciation is probably not comfortable for most people.

English is whack

[Strawboss]

Many over the years have made fun of my family's way of speech as they are from the south, Birmingham AL to be precise. However, if you knew the King's English, it can said that they speak a more correct version of it than most Americans. Many can't hear this as they have trouble with the various accents and wrongly assume the talkers are not smart. I know differently.

[Boomer]

To be fair many of us Brits struggle with the way people from Birmingham (UK) pronounce words let alone those from Birmingham, AL. 
I love the differences and think that the world will be a poorer place with less accents and languages, but modern communications and media are homogenising these.
However, I will never accept a Kawasaki Concourse unless KHI build a Station/Airport Concourse somewhere and name it after themselves.
Of course we don't have such silly problems over here, except of course the arguments over whether it is a GTR1400 or a 1400GTR,.... 
ZG1000/ZG1400 - Vive la difference!! 

[Strawboss]

Whenever we go to see my family I need to translate for my wife as words and phrases along with the southern accent sometimes mystify her. Oh, and BTW, the accent used by Tom Hanks while playing Forest Gump is no accent I ever heard in Alabama.

[maxtog]

Born and raised in VA, lived my whole life here.  I think it is hilarious that when I call various locations across the country, nobody seems to know where I am from.  Not South, not North, not quite Midwest, not West Coast.  Ultimately I tell them I am a "Mid Atlantican", which is what I consider myself.

I rarely have trouble understanding anyone from anywhere in the USA/CA.  And the variety of speech is very interesting.  And from many years of being in tech, I am also pretty good with most Indian English, as well (I can even speak it, which is HILARIOUS when you see/hear me do it).  No problems with "educated" British English, although I do have some significant difficulty with "less educated" British and Irish English.... some movies I have had to turn on subtitles....

The hardest part of the portability of English isn't the accent (and certainly not spelling- who cares if Brits and such like adding lots of extra, useless "u"'s or have some special hatred of using "z"'s), it is the idioms.  A significant amount of communication is conducted using local-only words/phrases, slang, quirks, figures of speech, etc.  Not knowing these can leave one lost very quickly.   Example- even something as simple and seemly normal as saying "back off" can have a confusing non-literal meaning.  Here is a cool (another idiom) site:  https://www.theidioms.com

[Strawboss]

To add, when we go to Alabama, we stop in at a Hardee's in Montgomery for fries on our way to Florida, I tell my wife, "order, pay, take what they give you and don't question", you can't understand them and they have not a clue to what you are saying.

We watch a of of Brit TV and we also need to enable the subtitles many times too, and, we have also looked up words and phrases online when we don't know what they are taking about.

[Big Red]

Spent the last couple of weekends re-re-rewiring the '63 Chevy II. Just about ready to fire the thing up again for the first time in 3 of 4 years. So many iterations. This latest teardown was to add a more modern transmission and air conditioning. AC isn't quite ready to be finished off as we still need some hoses, but the transmission is in. This weekend will be wiring the trans controller and figuring that nonsense out.

[Strawboss]

If Elke Sommer married Brian Setzer-she'd be Elke Setzer

Is there a peanut shortage in your area, we can't get peanuts here in Cleveland OH

[VirginiaJim]

Another good one!


As far as peanuts go, I live in a peanut state (VA) so no shortage here as far as I know.

[maxtog]

I love peanuts.  They are a great legume.

[Big Red]

I like my nuts salted.