Witty Wednesday – Site Accident Report
Here is an old classic Accident Report. I remember hearing this when I was just a young lad…
Site Accident Report
Dear Sirs,
I am writing in response to your request for additional information for line number 3 of the accident reporting form. I put “poor planning” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully and I trust the following detail will be sufficient.
I am a construction worker and on the day of the accident, I was working alone on the top section of a new 80 foot radio tower. When I had completed my work, I discovered that I had, over the course of several trips up the tower, brought up about 300 pounds of tools and spare hardware. Rather than carry the now un-needed tools and material down by hand, I decided to lower the items down in a small barrel by using a pulley, which fortunately was attached to the gin pole at the top of the tower.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the top of the tower and loaded the tools and material into the barrel. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow decent of the 300 pounds of tools. You will note in line number 11 of the accident reporting form, that I weigh only 155 pounds.
Due to my surprise of being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate of speed up the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40 foot level, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and broken collarbone.
Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold onto the rope in spite of my pain.
At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of tools hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the tools, the barrel now weighed approximately 20 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in line number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the
Frugal Family Fun – Act I Scene I
Act One, Scene One
by Bruce Incze
Anne got it in her head that re-enacting Monty Python’s “In Search of the Holy Grail” was the best way to commemorate her brother’s fifteenth birthday. Right she was! Anne worked hard. She found a script on the Internet, edited it a bit, and printed off copies for the multitude of friends she had invited. There are woods not far from our house, and Anne scouted out venues in the woods for acting out various scenes from the movie. For days before the birthday party, she had taken over the basement for her “special project” where she was constructing a number of props.
When the big day arrived, so did the large number of invited guests. With scripts in hand, some donnedCrusader garb, some carried plastic swords, and others had simple props that Anne had collected or made. Our cast marched off to the woods to begin a birthday celebration that will not be forgotten. “In Search of the Holy Grail” is an intrinsically funny script, with many oft-quoted lines. In the midst of one of the scenes, someone tossed a large prop into the midst of the knights. It was a near-human-sized cardboard “killer beasty” (i.e., a bunny). On cue, all the knights turned and scattered, yelling “Run away! Run away !” We all laughed so hard that it was several minutes before we could return to reading our scripts. A lot of raucous laughter echoed through the woods that day, with parents laughing as heartily as the kids.
I tend not to remember the details of social events and, for the most part, birthdays are all a blur. “In Search of the Holy Grail,” however, is a birthday celebration I shall never forget. It is a reminder that sometimes the best family activities are those that are conceived of and/or led by the children.
Next time, “The Road Trip.”
Simply Clean
Simply Clean
By Lisa Barthuly
I find that keeping it simple is best. That theory applies to many things in life, especially in my homekeeping efforts! In my attempts to keep things frugal and be a good steward, as well as keep all the chemicals and toxic cleaners OUT of our homestead— we make our own, and it is so simple!
I love cleaning my homestead with things that I KNOW are not harming my family! Just yesterday I was cleaning up a broken egg from the kitchen floor, and after getting the bulk of it wiped up with an old rag, I tossed it out and then sprayed some of my ‘all-purpose cleaner’ (see below for this recipe) on the floor to kill any germs and just wipe up and finish up the job. Ahh…clean! Lo and behold there is my son, crawling into the kitchen and right where I just cleaned, of course. I don’t worry about his little hands, feet and clothing absorbing some chemical-laden cleaner, because the ‘cleaner’ I just used is water and all-natural lavender essential oil! Not only do natural cleaners WORK, they can be very inexpensive too!
So what are some recipes for these simple, effective concoctions I use to keep my homestead clean? I use a wide variety—based on what I’ve found that works for my family plus what I have available to work with (that is one HUGE bonus with homemade cleaners,you can often substitute one oil or ingredient for another with similar properties and get the same results)!
First things first…I love to start a pot of water and add herbs or essential oils to add a nice fragrance to the home, I usually do this on the woodstove, or I’ll just use water and essential oils in my oil burner…either way the aromatherapy is wonderful! Now, break out the rag bag, an old empty sprayer bottle or two and a couple old sour cream containers or canning jars (with lids!). Let’s start with a very simple recipe that will keep your home and linens smelling heavenly! A sweet-smelling home is welcoming and enjoyed by all:
Spring & Summer Potpourri Blend
- 1 Cup Dried Rose Petals
- ½ Cup Dried Rose Buds
- 1 TBS Whole Cloves
- ½ Cup Dried Chamomile Flowers
- ½ Cup Dried Calendula Flowers
Place all ingredients in a wide bowl, mix together well, drizzle 20 drops of Lavender essential
Debt Can Threaten Your Health
Your Debt Can Threaten Your Health
by Dr. James Dill
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.”
-Mr. Micawber (in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens)
Here are some recent statistics related to consumer debt in the United States:
- • Average credit card debt per household with credit card debt: $15,799
- • 609.8 million credit cards held by U.S. consumers
- • Average number of credit cards held by cardholders: 3.5
- • Average APR on new credit card offer: 14.89 percent
- • Average APR on credit card with a balance on it: 13.10 percent
- • Total U.S. revolving debt (98 percent of which is made up of credit card debt): $793.1 billion
- • Total U.S. consumer debt: $2.43 trillion
With debt comes misery, as Mr. Micawber said. With misery comes stress and ultimately ill health— psychologically and physically, and sometimes relationally. An article published on WebMD describes the chain of health-related consequences from having more debt than you can handle: “In an Associated Press/IPSOS poll of 1,000 adults taken in early December, half of all Americans say they worry frequently about their debt, many of them saying they worry ‘most of the time,’ ” the article said. “Stress increases levels of the hormone cortisol, which can lead to or worsen heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer.” Other results can include gastrointestinal problems and loss of sleep, plus “comfort eating,” which leads to obesity. Thus, it’s not only the interest that compounds; psychological stress and physical disease follow hard in the wake of compounding debt.
The feeling that you are drowning in debt, if it continues long term, will be detrimental to your own health and the health of your relationships, due to the unresolved stress and conflict that can arise if one party is hiding the facts or one is blaming the other for the situation.
By contrast, when both spouses view their debt as a shared challenge to be overcome together, they are halfway to the solution, which includes steps like the following:
- • Set financial goals—related to where you want to be, financially, three, five, or ten years from now.
- • Determine where you are—because the only way to get from where you are to where you want to go is to compute your assets and subtract your debts. This is your “net worth.”
- • Create a spending plan—a budget is central to this
Prudent Living to Build Largest Private Solar Power Project in Vermont
Prudent Living Wins Bid to Build Largest Private Solar Power Project in Vermont
Black River Produce of N. Springfield
Prudent Living recently won the bid to install the largest private solar power system in Vermont. The $1.3 million photovoltaic project for Black River Produce of N. Springfield, a wholesaler to stores and farmers’ markets of fresh, organic and specialty produce and products for more than 30 years, will use 1600 240-watt solar panels to cover 62,300 square feet of roof, generating enough power to save as much as 50% of Black River’s annual utility bill.
“This is a very exciting project for us,” said Prudent Living Vice-President Tim Biebel. “We’re delighted by the environmental leadership Black River Produce is showing and proud to be a part of that good stewardship. Beyond being the largest privately-built photovoltaic system in Vermont, what’s really rewarding about this project is that Black River Produce brings people high quality, delicious, garden-fresh fruits, vegetables and specialty products. And now they’re going to do it in a way that is good for the planet that grows those fruits and vegetables, with clean energy from the sun.”
With this installation, Black River Produce will be protected from rising electricity costs and, more importantly, reduce their carbon footprint. “One disadvantage of our business is that we’re energy hogs, with a need for reliable refrigeration and many diesel delivery trucks,” said Mark Curran, Partner, Black River Produce. “Because of our big carbon footprint, we’d been looking for a better way to use energy for years but the payback was too long, as much as 20 to 30 years. But, this year, with good pricing, tax credits and Prudent Living’s innovative micro-inverter system which keeps one failing solar panel from taking down the whole system, it was much more feasible.” The impending solar project is just one of many renewable energy solutions Black River has adopted. “The cheapest watt is the watt you don’t use,” Curran explained. “We redid our lighting to make it more efficient. Our refrigeration system is computer-controlled . We power our fleet of trucks with vegetable oil from our restaurants converted to bio-diesel. And now, we’re investing in ourselves and our environment with solar power. Our goal is to get as much local food on the plate as possible. More than 22% of
Letter To Prudent Living
Every now and then we receive handwritten letters in the mail from loyal customers asking for their subscription to Prudent Living Magazine but this one really caught my eye. This is a scanned copy of a letter that was delivered earlier in the week from a gentleman named Scott. Unfortunately, we do not have a print issue of the magazine, it is only digital so we can not fulfill Scott’s request at this time. We really appreciate people like Scott who take the time to write us handwritten letters boldly asking for a subscription to our magazine and humbly explaining how he has converted an old barn into a very efficient home. How cool! Thank you Scott for your letter and maybe one day we can fulfill your request. Who knows, maybe we will do an article on Scott’s home if he is willing.
Note: the writing under Scott’s name changes direction because it is from page 2 of the letter.
You can subscribe to our online magazine here
A “Spin” You Can Trust
A “Spin” You Can Trust
by Paul Biebel
How often do we wonder if what we hear on the news is really the truth? “It’s all in how you spin it,” they say. One reporter says that “such and such happened” and we believe it. But then we change channels and get hit with a totally different “spin” from a different perspective. One spins their story to the right and another one spins it to the left.Somewhere on the fringes, they even find ways to spin it sideways and just when we think they have spun something around and around in every way they can possibly spin it, they spin to it up and then they spin it down. By the time they are done, our heads are spinning so much that we’ve all given up on believing anything. We just shake our heads, give up and wonder, “Is anything we hear being said the real truth anymore?” Well, I am glad to announce that there is one direction of spin that you can believe in. When you see your electric meter spinning backward, you can believe that some thing very good is happening. There are still some things in life that pay you back and renewable energy is one of them. When I sit on my porch and watch my meter spinning backward faster than I can focus on it, I am a very happy person. Your meter can spin backward, too. Solar photovoltaic systems, when properly designed will always pay you back.
Solar Hot Water Systems
Solar Hot Water Systems: How to Reduce Your Energy Bill by 20–40 Percent
by Don Wemple
Solar hot water systems (SHW) use basic thermal principles to capture incoming solar radiation and heat water for domestic and other uses. Over the years, a variety of system designs have been developed and tested to meet specific consumer needs and conditions. Due to the cold climate in the Northeast we use primarily closed-loop systems with a 50/50 glycol mix. The main difference between domestic and commercial systems is the sizing of components and the number of thermal collectors required. As a general rule, a smaller family would require 1-2 collectors with an 80 gallon storage tank. A larger family might require 3 collectors with a 160 gallon solar storage tank. The average solar hot water system will provide up to 70% of your family’s hot water needs.
Businesses that use a lot of hot water are excellent candidates for a solar hot water system, including gymnasiums, laundromats, restaurants, car washes, pools and factories that use a lot of hot water in the manufacturing process. We can use either flat plate solar collectors or evacuated tube solar collectors. Evacuated tube solar collectors perform better during cold or cloudy days; flat plate collectors perform better during the summer months. Collector arrays can be mounted on a sloped or a flat roof, on the south wall of your building, or even on the ground.
What is SHW?
Solar hot water systems use the “greenhouse effect” to heat water in a thermal collector with a suitably sized storage tank, for use in homes and businesses. SHW works as a pre-heat system that operates in series with your existing heating source by preheating the incoming cold domestic water, with the existing hot water heater as a backup. There is usually no need to alter your existing hot water heating system. If the water in the solar storage tank is hotter than the temperature setting in the primary tank, then the solar heated water passes through without further heating. If the water in the solar storage tank is cooler than the temperature setting in the primary tank, then additional heating is provided by existing or backup system. This means you get hot water from the solar system when the sun is shining, with assist from the backup system when the sun is
The Four-Season Gardener’s Winter Plan
October – January
by Nancy Wolff
Nancy Wolff lives in Vermont. She has been gardening for the last 30 years. She has completed both the Master Gardener and the Master Composter programs offered through the state extension bureaus. She is interested in providing delicious, nutritious, chemical-free food for her family. She gardens organically, and what food is not consumed immediately she tries to preserve to be enjoyed later. She loves walking into her pantry and seeing shelves filled with the garden’s bounty! You can follow her at http://homefront.prudentliving.com
Fall has come to the mountains of Vermont, the leaves are at their peak and the frost has touched the garden. For the most part my garden is put to bed. I have some kale still growing in my makeshift cold frame and some carrots still in the ground protected under some straw. It’s a beautiful time of year, a time to reflect on the past season’s garden and make plans for the following year.
I don’t bother to till the garden in the fall; instead, I let our small flock of chickens have free run of the space. In a matter of weeks they have managed to scratch up the whole garden, digging for various bugs and seeds as well as fertilizing the garden itself! I have cut back the few perennials I have growing around the edge of the garden and pulled up the plants such as the tomato plants. The potatoes have been harvested and are stored away in our garage. I usually harvest the potatoes in early September once the plant tops have died back. I wait for a warm, dry day before digging the potatoes. It is better to harvest on a cloudy day so the sun doesn’t turn the freshly dug potatoes green, which changes their flavor! After digging the potatoes I spread them on a flat surface to make sure they are dry before placing them in bushel baskets to store for winter use. If I dig them early enough in the day I can usually just leave them sitting in the garden for the day, giving them a chance to dry off. Potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark location.
My pantry is filled with the summer’s harvest. Jars of bright yellow peaches, red tomatoes, and various jams
Prudent Living To Install Large Solar Power System
Prudent Living To Install Solar Power System for Hidden Springs Maple Syrup
Prudent Living is installing a large solar power system for Hidden Springs Maple Syrup’s new headquarters in Putney, VT. Hidden Springs is a family-owned and operated producer of pure maple syrup, selling on-line across the US. The new photovoltaic system will generate electricity and offset electric utility costs. The new PV system uses seventy-two 235-watt solar modules; the 17-kilowatt system generates enough energy to completely power three average homes. The new post-and-beam Hidden Springs headquarters is heated and cooled primarily by geo-thermal energy.
According to Prudent Living Vice-President Tim Biebel, the photovoltaic system is projected to save as much as 70 to 80% on electricity costs, depending upon usage. “This is a fantastic project,” Biebel stated. “What’s cool is Hidden Springs is making a product from nature– syrup–and now they will be doing that with clean energy from the sun. So, they will be using the sun for both their product and their process. Plus, it’s smart business. They’ve set themselves up for levelized energy costs: every year for the next 25 years they’ll know what their electricity costs will be. They are immune to electricity cost increases, thanks to this new PV system. We enjoyed working with a good environmental steward like Hidden Springs and are excited about the leadership they are showing.”
Renewable energy made so much sense to Hidden Springs that they decided to use an alternative energy solution to offset their energy needs. “We believe in renewable energy,” said Hidden Springs Manager Sarah Weck. “Our geo-thermal system powers the building, providing most of the heat in both the store and the attached house. But, the geo-thermal system requires a lot of electricity which costs a lot of money. So, we decided to put solar panels on our huge, southern-facing roof and use free solar energy to power our geo-thermal system. We’re very happy with our decision. Prudent Living has a lot of experience and did a great job explaining the process and installing the system. We look forward to generating so much free electricity with our new solar panel system that we’ll be able to offset energy costs at our other locations.” For more information about Hidden Springs Maple Syrup, go to https://hiddenspringsmaple.com.
