Things That Wake Me at Night

I awoke at 1:00 am. As I laid in bed, I listened, couldn't find any sound that was out of place, and realized I had a tiny bit of heartburn, so I got out of bed. I dressed, walked into the kitchen, took an antacid and walked out on the porch. 

Outside, it was a typical Summer night in many ways. The temperature was in the upper seventies, the humidity was thick, a few night critters were busy with their cadence, and Scorpio was high toward the south. The difference was to the east. 

A cumulus cloud towered toward the heavens. The top was spreading out with the the wispy cirrus, which were almost overhead. The lights of the nearby larger city lit the clouds; a dim, grayish tower reminding me of a black and white photo of the Pillars of Creation.  I'd seen such things before. Nocturnal thunderstorms will signify the clash of the cooler air of the land between the warmer, moist air from the Gulf. 

I thought I heard the low rumble of thunder; faint, almost imperceptible, and making me wonder if it was just the rumble of a large truck far away. I looked toward the cloud, didn't see any lightning, and was thinking my thought about a truck was correct. 

My wife, who was now awake, came onto the porch with our dog. I told her I thought I heard a low rumble of thunder, but didn't see any lightning. She soon thought she saw a flash, while I was looking away. It took a long time, but I thought I heard thunder again. Then, I saw a flash in the top of the cloud, and counted to 40 seconds before the low rumble was heard. Soon another flash lit the top of the cloud. Thirty five seconds later a louder rumble arrived. My wife went back inside, and our dog only waited a little longer before he wanted me to let him in. He doesn't like thunder, and I imagine his more sensitive ears told him it was time to flee what he fears.

I went and checked the radar. It showed a single thunderstorm moving in our direction. I heard a few more rumbles of thunder. It wasn't long before the radar showed the rain right on top of my locations, so I went back to the porch to watch.

There was nothing left of the storm, except a thick deck of cirrus clouds overhead. To the east, pale stars could be seen. To the northwest, Canis Major was clear, and almost setting. Light rain fell, which made the entire event surreal. 

If I had rolled over and went back to sleep, I would have missed the event. Such things are rare to observe, and I treasure seeing them. So, I'll stay up a little longer, look once again, and probably go back to bed, or not. I might stay up, wait until 4:00 am, and make a trip to town for donuts. 

Heat Index and Weather Folks

The weather folks place warnings when the heat index becomes high enough to be dangerous. When the temperature, and humidity, calculate a heat index above 103 Fahrenheit, they post an advisory of a dangerous heat index. When it exceeds 124 degrees, it's considered deadly. Today, the heat index at 11:00 am is 114 degrees, yet we don't have an advisory. I don't know where the weather folks are stationed, but it isn't anywhere near where I live. 

The worst heat index I was ever exposed to was working on a roof replacement in Galveston. I knew it was brutally hot, we only worked in shifts of around 15 minutes, but we were down to 4 sheets, and needed to finish the project. Rain was forecast, and the old sheets were already removed. I didn't know at the time, but after checking on the temperature related to the humidity, the index was well above 130 degrees. My brother didn't believe me when I told him. Of course, he wasn't there, and probably thought I was exaggerating. 

That afternoon, while going to a meeting with a steel detailer, the cold air-conditioning in my truck started the heat cramps. They started in my legs and continued until they were in my back muscles. Unable to continue further, I bailed from the freeway, found a dollar store, bought a jar of dill pickles, and gulped down half the juice in the parking lot. Within minutes, the cramps subsided and I could continue. Even though I had been taking heat supplements, and drinking lots of water with Gatorade, it didn't make a huge difference. We were working in an environment not suitable for heavy exercise, and paid the price.

Old School Engineer

Years ago, while discussing what wind force a structure needed to endure, an old engineer told me a good rule of thumb for construction in the area was 50 psf. I then asked him about round columns. He answered the force is calculated by halving the area, if it was a square column. Otherwise, a column 4 feet in diameter will endure the same force as a square column 2 feet wide. 

It doesn't sound like a lot of pressure, but I looked up a formula for determining wind force, built a small spreadsheet, and loaded some numbers in the formula. I was a little surprised, since a wind speed of a 140 mph is a hair over 50 psf. That's the wind speed of a category 4 hurricane.

After fiddling around with different numbers, it didn't take long to understand a 40 mph wind gust is much more of a force than most people envision. A 4 x 8 sheet of plywood exposed to a 20 mph wind has 32 pounds of force against the sheet. Of course, that doesn't calculate the complexities of the sheet shifting, or change in direction to the wind, but if it is suddenly hit with a 40 mph gust, the force against the sheet is now 165 pounds. That's definitely more than I can handle, and if I was in that situation, I'd have to let it go, and give up the project until the wind dies. 

Locally, two major hurricanes pretty well removed the structures that can't handle hurricane force winds; especially at the local beach. Rebuilding required adhering to codes, and grandfathered structures disappeared. The result was higher insurance rates, the loss of family properties, and a better understanding of why they want people to evacuate from the storms. I've stayed through one, knew after it started I was in for the ride, and regretted staying. There was no fleeing in a wind force that can blow your car off the road. Even reaching the car is a gamble, and if you're hit with flying debris, they'll probably add you to the list of the dead.

It Happens, But Not Often

A relative called to ask about their water well yesterday evening. They said they had low pressure today, and wondered why. I told them I would have a look, and went to examine the well. 

When I arrived, they pointed to the ground around the well, and stated it looked like it was leaking below the discharge line to the tank. I noticed the well wasn't running, and there was no pressure. Since we just had a heavy shower, and an examination of the points on the pressure switch showed it should be running,  I told them I would go for my multi-meter and check the voltage. 

After I returned, I checked the voltage at the switch. There was none, so I went to the breaker box. There was no voltage on the load side of the breaker, so I flipped it off, turned it back on, and checked again. Still no voltage. I flipped the breaker a few more times, but it didn't have a sharp click when flipped. So, since it was so late, and finding a breaker would mean a long trip to a box store, I told them I would pull it in the morning and find a replacement. 

I found the breaker this morning, replaced it, and checked the well for operation. It pressured up, so they have water again. As far as the low pressure they had, it was the tank emptying, and the air bladder allowed a little pressure before the pressure went to zero.

It's rare to have a breaker fail, but with the thunderstorm yesterday, we had a power blip, which probably killed the old breaker. It's a Square D, and not the Homeline series. They usually last a long time, but some don't; especially if they're used as a switch on a circuit that usually isn't turned off.

Garter Visitor

While sitting on the porch the other evening, my wife noticed a small garter snake under her chair. Surprisingly, she didn't panic, and only shooed it away. It slithered from the porch, only to appear a little later. 

I knew why it was on the porch. The porch light attracts the little tree frogs, and the frogs attract the little snake. It will eventually find one, have its meal, and disappear for a few weeks. It will be back for another meal, and I consider it a welcome visitor. It's harmless, and hungry. It will never be big, and the larger snakes have a good source of meals on the neighbor's property. There are plenty of chickens for a meal, and if the snakes can make it pass the pigs, they might have a chick, or an egg, for supper.