Barriers in Sheetz Conveniece Stores Parking Lots are Too Low and causing damage to cars and inviting Lawsuits

 When you go to park in most parking lots that have barriers they usually have a concrete or wood  Sleeper  or some times called policeman which stops your vehicle from hitting the wall or other barrier.

But not so with Sheetz Convenience stores in Pa. 

Every store parking lot you go into have these  too low barriers you can not see if driving a Pickup or SUV and as a result almost every barrier in the lot has damage and as you can see in this case in Latrobe store  severe damage was done to the vehicle .

Of course Sheetz does not care and ignores calls for posts to be replaced with taller ones or sleepers put in place to prevent accidents. I am sure they are going to be sued over this one.

I have also hit one with my Pick Up because you can not tell how close you are.

Sheetz you are officially Put on Notice with this article to fix the problem. Since you have ignored all Emails etc. 

 

OSHA's New Blue Light on Forklift Regulation is a good ideas but was it thoroughly tested to protect epileptics and others

 Forklifts do important tasks in Warehouses but they also present a serious safety issue with hundreds of incidents of workers being injured either while operating or pedestrian in warehouse being hit by an operating forklift. 

With this in mind OSHA has a new regulation which requires new forklifts to have a special blue/purple Light on front and back of forklift which helps pedestrians and other forklift operators from colliding. 

The blue lights put a blue circle on the ground as forklift backs up so a pedestrian sees the blue on floor knows one is approaching and as forklift goes forward it alerts other operators one is approaching them.

 

https://www.tralert.com/en/blog/blue-light-on-truck-what-this-blue-light-does/

It works well but there is one big question.  Have these lights been tested to make sure those with Epilepsy and other spectrum disorders like Dyslexia been tested to make sure it dies not bother them ?

As a Dyslexic I can tell you that it does bother me  . So just like the Fire Alarm Strobes which where tested for epilepsy but not Dyslexia  I see plenty of complaints and lawsuits coming from this new regulation.

Why would you test for one thing but not the entire spectrum of a disease ?

 

Old 3 Way Carter System wiring in Knob and Tube wired homes . Causing problems when trying to use LED bulbs now that Incandescent are no longer available

 If you own an old Knob and Tube style wired home  chances are it has its 3 way switches  wired in a now Illegal Carter wiring system as seen in diagram below  Now that EPA has rules that Incandescent bulbs can no longer be made r sold for consumer use has caused a real problem for those who have older homes.

In a carter system the Shell of the lamp socket switches polarity every time the opposite switch changes position it goes from shell being hot to shell being neutral . this constant back and forth is not tolerated by modern LED bulbs causing them to burn out faster and even possibly catch fire as i have seen some severely damaged bulbs which where on Carter Systems.

The bulbs are not meant to be powered reverse where a old incandescent bulb does not care.

Carter Circuits also do not allow dimmers to be used as well. 

But once again make up a regulation and not think far enough ahead to see if there are any ramifications .

How the Alarm Industry Pulled off off a master Deception all over the Tri State in late 70s early 80s

 Yes Dictograph Corporation   in the 1970's and 80's  stopped and deterred many shop lifters and employee thieves By leasing to to merchants  for $350.00 a month a CCTV Camera system 

With its big 3 inch Lens and red blinking light it panned back and forth  or was sometimes stationary carefully keeping an eye on shoppers and employees . Some times just 1 camera or as many as 3 to 6 cameras in a business 

A warning sign  warned that a sophisticated anti theft camera system was deployed

Once a month a technician would come in with his special suitcase go up a ladder open it up pull up an antenna and talk to a person at central control who gave directions how to adjust the camera.  

Except the whole thing was a charade the cameras where Fake   and the technician talking to master control that was a tape recording he was talking to in the brief case .

One of the most best kept secrets in the industry  they pulled it off for several years till thieves figured out what was going on. 

I thought all along they where fake but i was in the industry and knew we had fakes I even put up some that looked real at the time and still some times use them strategically  along with real cameras to give the impression every area on a floor is being watched. 

Plus the trick worked it stopped a lot of problems by being a deterrent .

Of course many business now have cameras and many times they are broken or not working or are of such poor quality the images can not be used in court but all in all dummy cameras have done their job.

 

Another Honeywell /Resideo Fail Vista 20P Panels Chip changes Version all by itself

 The Resideo ? Honeywell Panels have been a very solid platform for several decades now but they have an inherent issue with their chip set . My self and other dealers have gone thru.

When the chip is made it has both the Vista 20P platform and First Alert  platform versions in it. 

You buy a 20P platform panel it should always be a 20P panel and should be able to upload and download info when customer needs it done over Alarmnet 360  ? WRONG

There are times the First Alert Platform comes active in panel  after a power surge and now you are stuck with a worthless panel unless you have the special dealer only  First Alert program personality disk to access it . 

Even if you do there is no way to reverse this action chip is now a First Alert chip.

Which is total complete bullshit . Just had this happen with a long time customers panel I put in 3 years ago.

Went to change access codes and now panel is worthless to me and customer and must be replaced.

This is total and complete Fu#%^king Nonsense .

Never ever heard of a manufacture putting more than one version type of software platform on a chip that can change itself .

So customer is stuck buying a new panel. which retail for around $ 300 to$ 500.00  depending where you are buying it from . 

SO CUSTOMER ONCE AGAIN GETS SCREWED BY RESIDEO AND HONEYWELL

First Alert Natural Gas and Carbon Monoxide Alarm. How the hell could UL and NFPA allow something on market which does not fully protect you when it goes on Back Up Battery

 After the Catastrophic Natural Gas Explosion in the Neighborhood of Rustic Ridge in Plum Boro  Allegheny County Pa  which killed 6 and destroyed several homes about 5 miles from where I live many Home Owners where quick to go out and buy or where given First Alert Natural Gas and CO alarms for peace of mind. 

 

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/investigators-say-nothing-from-outside-the-house-caused-fatal-plum-house-explosion/

I had a  Residential Grade Grade Macurco unit on my home security system  which went bad so I figured I should get one as well as the gas units Macurco turn out are of poor quality and often fail early I stopped buying and installing them. 

So while I was at Local Discount Store in Murraysville  I saw he had the First Alert units on sale for $54.00 normally there in 70.00 plus range 

l

 At first it looked like a very impressive unit and fact it had a battery back up when not on house power was a bonus

That was till I read the units Warnings

When you read down in the warning the unit when on back up battery has a reduced amount of times its sense Gas and explosive gas could be present and unit will not go into alarm ,

WTF is this I have never seen a life safety  unit with a back up battery like a smoke detector a weather radio etc go to reduced function when on back up battery. So the unit is pretty much worthless on backup battery other than to let you know it has no power.

How in the hell did UL and NFPA allow this unit on the market the homeowner thinks there protected because there is a back up battery but they are not and we all know how many home owners actually read instruction? 

Once again the consumer gets screwed by First Alert .and a lawsuit waiting to happen

 

Museum in Northern Pa . Has a display so dark everyone should see it so the can understand Pure Evil

 Eldred Pa. located in Mckean County in North Western tip of Pa. is your typical rural small town except for a very unique an interesting museum on World War II 

The Eldred WWII Museum located on the Main Street of Eldred   along US 6 

is one of the most impressive museums I have been in. You can see the time and care the staff put into the displays 

 

https://eldredpawwiimuseum.com/

You have 3 levels to explore  including the Anderson Library full of WWII books and literature 

The museum works on donations and there is no set fee .

But why a museum all the way up north in Western Pa. in middle of no where ? 

Its because of the National Munitions Plant once located there 

 https://eldredpawwiimuseum.com/about-us/

 

 

When you first enter the museum  a large area is full of displays and dioramas  and then work your way up to Col. Mitchell Paige Hall who was a native from Jeanette Pa and recipient of Medal of Honor. 

 

 

 

 

But Then as you enter the next display room you spy something out of the left corner of your eye

You see Nazi Flags and a mannequin dressed as a Gestapo Agent complete with leather trench coat.

You do not want to go any further you want to turn away . But this man beckons you to enter the display You do not want to but the closer you get the more evil  and despair  coming from this room compels you to enter-as you feel it pull you in

You come to the doorway and a sign warns you what you are to experience  Pure Evil.

As you turn the corner you see wall plaques with time lines of the Holocaust 

But from there it gets much worse and photography is not permitted .

Lining both sides of this small room with only one way in and out you will find  glass cases  filled  with authentic items which where donated and curated from the Nazi Death Camps  including restraints  prisoner uniform's, Jewish star patches  , keys from Dachau  prison cells  and a lamp made of Jewish skin

Plus many Photographs of inside the camps .The display is Chilling and Horrifying how man could do to man what they did. 

Every man women and child needs to visit this room to understand what happened  and why we need to make sure it never happens again .

Below is some of the Nazi Uniforms and Regalia  that can also be viewed. at the museum along with Japanese items. when telling a story you have to tell both sides. .

Yes if you want to fully understand  pure evil and see with your own eyes what man has done to his fellow man then this museum is a must visit and well worth the trip.

 

G&E Whole House Surge Protectors being installed impropelry and causing issues when surges happen

 G&E  makes an excellent line of Load Centers and Breakers and they also make a Whole House Surge Protector to protect the panels from surges .

But there are those electricians who say surge protectors on panels do not work. They are Completely and absolutely wrong.  Because they are too lazy to read the instructions and make sure they are properly installing them and making sure panels grounding is properly unified. 

I had 2 recent Forensic  Electrical Inspections where the Surge units where improperly installed and failed but they did provide some protection even thou not properly installed .

Green light not working shows unit is blown

The Manufacturer specifically shows in the instructions these units are to be installed at the top of the panels  But that's not the case here as a result the home owner had damage they 

would not of otherwise had. 

In both cases the Electricians also failed to tell the home owners these surge units have a 3 year $15,000  guarantee against failure.

Which of course the manufacturer would deny the claim because they where installed wrong. 

 

 

Until Electricians learn to read instructions and stop acting like Primadonas there will continue to be  damage to homes when home owners spent the extra money to help prevent it 

Disturbing Issue I am seeing where Service Entrance Wire for Electrical services is Deteriorating Quicker than it should

 As a Forensic Electrical Inspector I have been seeing a very disturbing Issue where Service Entrance Cable is deteriorating quicker than it should be

As you can see in the above the Plastic wiring jacket has completely split and is allowing water to drip into the electrical service .

I am seeing it more and more often on services with less than 20 to 30 years  use. This wiring should easily last 50 years like older service wires have . But instead the jackets are splitting and flaking off 

Home Owners in mean time have no clue there is a problem  their service is deteriating until the lights start blinking and they call  Power Company whose troubleshooters often have to turn power off to the home till situation is corrected .

left uncorrected the breakers will rust and no longer trip and a fire will result 

Here you can see a double hazard a dangerous Federal Pacific Panel which has been Recalled  loaded up with rust from water

I am in the process of collecting data to see which wire manufactuer is having this issue and will be contacting the CPSC on this issue. 

In the mean time might want to have an elctrician check out your service.

A Dangerous Trick Truck Drivers use on Neville Island to get into Calgon Carbon which could Pin a driver in his car

 The old Dravo Corporation Buildings on Neville Island along Grand Ave  are now occupied by Calgon Carbon which is a good thing. However an extremely dangerous entrance to the plant  when approaching from East where truck drivers swing left like they are making a left turn or pulling off the road  and then quickly swinging a hard right into the tight plant entrance has resulted in more than a few drivers including myself following these trucks to have to slam on our brakes  or be pinned and crushed by the truck driver who is violating driving rules doing this button hook maneuver

 .As you can see its tight and posts have been hit by numerous trucks.

this entrance needs closed and redone before someone gets seriously hurt and why the hell did Neville Twp. ever allow it in the first place .

Of course officials are clueless as usual to the problem and have ignored this entrance for too long.

The Dark Side of GFCI- Ground Fault Circuit Interupters No one wants to talk about . They are a Fire Hazard when a Serious Power Surge hits a residence

 GFCI outlets have been around since the late 70's and have been ever increasing in use because they help protect individuals from Electric shock. But they have a down side no one wants to talk about .

When an extreme power surge caused by Lightning or downed power lines hits a home the GFCI outlets can burn and explode .

I do work for an Insurance Provider as a Forensic Electrical Inspector   and go to many power surges 

to evaluate damage to Electrical Services , Appliances and home Electronics  and I am seeing more and more  dangerous GFCI blow outs which almost caused a home fire

Take a good look at this GFCI which was on a kitchen counter 

behind a toaster oven which had a Dish Towel sitting on top when the surge hit the outlet it blew out flame and Singed  the Dish Towel .

The home owner is very lucky they did not loose their home.

Now even just plain duplex outlets can blow out during a surge but not as violent as when GFCI and AFCI Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters  or combo GFCI /AFCI Outlets blow out .

Now GFCI and AFCI do have some built in surge protection it is not enough .

I have advocated for years that whole house surge and lightning arrestor's be installed because they can either eliminate a surge or greatly reduce the damage done by a serious surge .

They are now required on all new Electric services but like all products they will only work when properly  installed and service is properly grounded and maintained .

Once again where is the worthless  UL and NFPA when there is a serious issue that needs discussed ?

Just like every time they come up with a new code they never look at the possible downside to it..

The above GFCI the home had a G&E Whole House protector and still you can see damage when suppressor failed