(The "fortune" program on my linux machine gave me a
snippet of the following today; I found the full thing at
http://master.spiritweb.org/KeelyNet/Humor/10com.asc.html
using an http://www.google.com search. I thought it seemed
somehow relevent to this thread; sorry if it's one of
those periodic posts that never go away...)

--Bob

          10 Commandments for Technicians


I.  Beware the lightning that lurketh in the undischarged
capacitor, lest it cause thee to bounce upon thy buttocks
in a most un-technician-like manner.

II.  Cause thou the switch that supplieth large quantities
of juice to be opened and thusly tagged, that thy days in
this earthly veil of tears may be long.

III.  Prove to thyself that all circuits that radiateth and
upon which thou workest are grounded and thusly tagged,
lest they lift thee up to radio frequency potential and
causeth thee also to make like a radiator.

IV.  Tarry not amongst those fools who engageth in
intentional shocks for they are surely non-believers and
are not long for this world.

V.  Take care that thou useth the proper method when thou
takest the measure of a high voltage circuit, lest thou
incinerate both thyself and thy meter, for verily, though
thou hast no account number and canst be easily surveyed,
thy test meter doth have one and, as a consequence, bringeth
much woe unto the supply depot.

VI.  Take care that thou tampereth not with safety devices
and interlocks, lest thou incurreth the wrath of thy
instructor and bringeth the fury of thy instructor upon
thy head.

VII.  Work thou not with energized equipment, for if thou
dost, thy fellow students will surely buy beers for thy
spouse, who liveth, (and consoleth them in other ways).

VIII.  Trifle thou not with radioactive tubes and
substances, lest thou commence to glow in the dark like a
lightning bug and thy spouse have no further use fo thee
except thy wages.

IX.  Causeth thou not to make unauthorized modifications
to equipment, lest thou arrange to have recorded all
field changes and authorized mods made by thee, that thy
successor shall not tear his hair and go slowly mad in his
attempt to decide what manner of cretin hath made such a
mess in the wiring of such equipment.

X.  Be thou cautious in the placing of thy digits into
such equipment that would cause thee to sorely lament the
loss of thy greatest sexual appendage.

On Mon, Feb 15, 1999 at 10:07:14AM -0600, Lawrence Lile wrote:
> Yesterday I was asked to examine an appliance that had "made a spark" in the
> test kitchen.  I
>
> PUT ON MY SAFETY GLASSES
>
> and plugged it in.  Nothing much happened.  I took off the case, placed a
> voltmeter probe on a likely spot, turned it on and
>
> KABOOM!
>
> Paper everywhere.
>
> A power supply diode was shorted, putting MAINS AC voltage directly on an
> electrolytic capacitor.  They sound like a .22 caliber rifle going off.  And
> they shoot the can across the room hard enough to put a hole in the
> suspended cieling.
>
>
> I could have been blinded.  Wear them specs, boys!

--
============================================================
Bob Drzyzgula                             It's not a problem
bob@drzyzgula.org                until something bad happens
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