Freak accidents

“Strange how mother nature cleans house.
I got a call from a number of people saying that about 40 birds were dead or near death. So I raced there and came upon a very bad scene. I have never seen so much death and blood in one place. The police and fire dept and brass and ESU were all there waiting for me. After talking to everyone and getting statements the story went like this. The birds were Brants, and they like to hang out at a golf course. Well there is a new guy there that takes his dog out at the end of his shift and lets the dog run loose to scare the geese away. Well the dog did his job but instead of just flying away, they flew up and stright into overheard wires. the birds that did not die right away fell to the street only to be killed by rush hour traffic. a total of 30 birds were dead when I got there. I got the 6 injured birds into my truck. I would later be able to only release two and had to put the rest to sleep.
so 30 birds were electrocuted, man it was messed up. the local papers picked up the story.

so you just never know when mother nature will throw a hissy fit.




last edited: 2/09/06 8:52:05 AM”

“Roast Goose with Fruited Stuffing
From Diana Rattray,

Roast goose recipe is stuffed with a fruited bread stuffing with raisins and pecans and apples.
INGREDIENTS:

2 medium navel oranges
4 cups bread cubes, toasted (about 6 slices bread)
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped, about 1 cup
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 to 12 pound goose
PREPARATION:

Peel and section the oranges over a measuring cup; reserve 2 tablespoons of juice. Dice oranges. In a large mixing bowl, toss together bread cubes, diced oranges, chopped apple, raisins, pecans, reserved orange juice, salt, and nutmeg.
Cover and let stand at room temperature for 60 minutes; toss again.
Stuff body cavity of goose. With a sharp fork, prick goose legs and wings all over so excess fat will be released while roasting. Do not put any additional fat on goose.

Place goose on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast at 325° for 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours, spooning off excess fat from time to time.
Roast goose serves 4 to 6.”

“Oh Thank Goodness!
I read the thread title and my first thought was "How has Mapes hurt herself NOW?"”

“bit after what I saw, you would not want to eat these birds.

LOL stovie, if the muskrat that chased me didnt bite me then I am ok”

“Could you imagine what was going through the dog’s mind?

“Wow! I chased the birdies and they flew up and died! I must be a god!! Fear me avians everywhere!””

“LOL!! That's hilarious, Nigal.

Don't the birds have to touch two wires at once to get electrocuted? Was there something wrong with the wires?”

“At least you weren't whopped on the head by a falling brant. Frozen turkeys are about all any person could handle.”

“Do they taste good? Might as well make a meal out of them.”

“Anyone remember the WKRP episode when Arthur Carlson threw turkeys from a helicopter for thanksgiving?”

“i spoke to the con ed guys. i also did not think this could happen. they said that even if it is covered, it takes just a little break in the wires to do this. I was talking to a park ranger friend of mine and she told me how to check to see if they were
electrocuted. if there legs were stiff. so i checked and sure enough they were. none of them could walk.”

“Goose pate on the greens is the worst. That dog deserves a medal.”

“So you're saying your geese were cooked?”

““Anyone remember the WKRP episode when Arthur Carlson threw turkeys from a helicopter for thanksgiving?”
Nigal
10:11:52 AM
2/09/06


Ha! I thought the same thing! Les Nesman crying "Oh my God, they're turkeys...the turkeys are hitting the ground like bags of wet cement!"”

“so i checked and sure enough they were. none of them could walk.”
mapleleaf
9:13:07 AM

Of course not, they were dead, right?”

“LOL @ Noncom! My all time favorite was when Andy gave Carlson some cocaine and he thought it was foot powder. When Andy tells him the truth he rips his shoe of and starts banging his foot saying, “Help me Andy! I’ve got a monkey on my foot!”.”

“Anyone remember the WKRP episode when Arthur Carlson threw turkeys from a helicopter for thanksgiving?”
Nigal
10:11:52 AM
2/09/06

As God is my witness, I thought Turkeys could fly.


Now, about the Brants - Stop feeding the #&%!$ing animals!”

“lyra, overhead wires are usually uninsulated except for special situations. 99% of the wires you see are bare. Birds can land on them and be fine because they aren't completing the circuit to the other wire several feet away. In this case, the birds were in a big "cloud" - some were touching the wires in mid-flight and many others were touching them. *Zap*, instant completed circuit through all the wings touching each other and the wires. Since the bodies of the birds are mosly water, they conduct electricity very well.

The Allies developed large clouds of aluminum foil strips that could be dropped from planes over high-voltage lines, creating blackouts over Germany and occupied countries during raids. Same principle - close the air gap with a bunch of small conductive objects and *zap*!”

“If you try and feed the animals while they are #&%!$ing, they will snap at you.”

“LOL, I think I would snap at you too!”

“A pissed off Mute Swan is a pretty #&%!$ing scary sight.”

“Tech...today they drop graphite threads....They are damn near invisible and you have to clean the wires by hand to get rid of them. Actually birds land with both feet at the same time..they don't ground themselves so no circuit is created. As it was one bird grounded to the next who grounded to the next.

Years ago we had to recover an electrical worker who was working on a transformer. He got careless and grounded himself by touching the wrong thing.

Electricity just has to find a pathway.”

“Very interesting techntrek, ya smarty-pants!”

“Hey! Watch the name calling on non feugo threads. Some of us have feugo clicked off so we don't have to put up with that type of stuff.”

“Damn. That's a gruesume story.”

“One of the people Edison hired was Nikola Tesla, a scientist and inventor of the radio as well as the owner of 300 other patents.

Edison and Tesla became bitter enemies over electrical currents.

With Edison still championing the direct current, Tesla now set out to develop a better system for electrical transmission — alternating current, the current that powers our homes and industry today.

To control his monopoly, Edison sought to discredit Tesla — and show the dangers of alternating current by performing crude experiments on small animals, such as dogs, and large animals, such as an irritable Coney Island elephant named "Topsy," according to Margaret Cheney's book, "Tesla: Man Out of Time."

Dozens of those experiments involved tying these animals to a table and then electrocuting them, according to PBS's documentary "Tesla: Master of Lightning War of the Currents."

In the documentary, George Westinghouse, who financially backed Tesla's alternating current, said, "I remember Tom (Edison) telling them that direct current was like a river flowing peacefully to the sea, while alternating current was like a torrent rushing violently over a precipice. Imagine that! Why they even had a professor named Harold Brown who went around talking to audiences ... and electrocuting dogs and old horses right on stage to show how dangerous alternating current was."

Edison sought to portray Tesla's alternating current as dangerous while promoting his direct current. While both currents could be lethal if used improperly, Edison's experiments ultimately led New York State to use alternating current as the means to power the electric chair.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050305/LIFESTYLES/503050409/1075

Apparently Edison also did this at Chautauqua Institutes.”

“XL - "Actually birds land with both feet at the same time." Wouldn't matter even if they did land one foot at a time, they still aren't touching the other conductor on the other side of the pole, or the ground.

"As it was one bird grounded to the next who grounded to the next." In electric terminology, "ground" is different than "neutral". I was referring to completing a circuit with the neutral (the other) wire. Could have just as easily made contact with the ground, too with a large cloud of birds. Same result, instant bar-b-que.”

“"if the muskrat that chased me didnt bite me then I am ok."
mapleleaf
9:01:54 AM
2/09/06

Muskrat love??

Maybe he wanted a smooch!!
last edited: 2/09/06 11:40:17 AM”

“Oh shut your pie-hole, Nigal!! LOL! I like you guys, I just didn't want you to fight with each other. Unless you were pillow-fighting in your underwear.”

“Damn and here I was hoping you were gonna break me in half...

heehee”

“lyra wants to pillow fight in her underwear? I'm there!!!!!!!!!!!”

“AND BTW my point was not that I had fuego unclicked so I didn't have to see that stuff, but rather that it was silly to for some people to pretend they were looking out for the sanctity of fuego threads, when really they were undermining their intended purpose.

But, smooches! And I'll also break you in half anyway, if you'd like. LOL!!”

“She looks like she could break someone in half any minute!!
:-D”

“Takes powerful arms to strum those.

"strum"?????”

“Direct current is mo' dangerous.

There was a guy playing in a band on a flat bed trailer.
He flipped over the PA amp to check on some kind of trouble.
This was a tube amp with DC to the anodes of each tube and he touched one of the socket pins carrying maybe 250 volts.
For a couple of seconds his finger was "stuck" to the pin until a band mate hit him with a flying tackle to knock him loose and save his life.
Had the other guy grabbed him, he too would have been stuck and both would have had their hearts stop.
The one who touched the socket pin had a neat and deep cut on his finger and no bleeding.

My experiences with AC have always thrown me on my ass.”

“




last edited: 2/09/06 12:06:51 PM”

“Marko, true because AC causes your muscles to vibrate - violently - which throws you clear of the source. Since AC moves in 2 directions, so do your muscles. DC, since its is only moving in one direction causes your muscles to lock up, keeping you right were you were the second you touched whatever it is that is "live".

*BzzzzzzzZap*”

“http://www.yellville.com/turkeytrot.html

SATURDAY
10:00 A.M...................................................................................Music by Yellville-Summit Band
10:15 A.M.......................................................................................Invocation by Sterling McBee
10:20 A.M............................................................................................................Announcements
10:30 A.M......................................................................................Turkey Toss for Children Only
10:45 A.M.......................................................Turkey Auction by Cols. Winebrenner & Ferguson
11:00 A.M..............................................................................Animal Imitations by Ruth Kroamer
11:30 A.M.......................................................................................Turkey Toss for Women Only
2:00 P.M..............................................................................................Turkey Toss for Men Only
2:30 P.M...........................................................................Personal Appearance of Public Officials
3:00 P.M..........................................................Turkey Auction by Cols. Winebrenner & Ferguson
3:30 P.M................................................................................................Turkey Toss Free For All
4:00 P.M.......................................................................Music by Slim Wilson & Goodwill Family
4:15 P.M......................................................................................................Free Turkey Drawing
(Approximately 25 Turkeys to be given away as prizes)”

“I thought Maple had an accident.......thank goodness!!”

“Hey Tech, maybe that cloud of birds was like a space charge.”

“Tech...ever seen electricity follow smoke particles? In major grass fires you can have a situation where there is enough "material" in the air that you can get arcing...never seen it, don't want to.

Now for the underwear pillow fight....if we are more...um Commando, can we still play?”

“Geese are too greasy for me. I'll take the pheasant & grouse if you can elotrocute a batch of them. Hmmmmmmm good.”

“Greasier than duck?”

“too bad it wasn't canada geese...we got a few of those to spare”

“maybe it's not the geese but the people that are too many?

;)”

“BM just volunteered to jump off the rock.”

“I said "people".”

“On a set of overhead powerlines there is no ground or neutral. The neutral/ground (same point electrically on a utility service) only goes from the occupancy (home,office etc) to the nearest pole where its grounded. The birds crossed multiple live wires(different phases) that'll get ya everytime. We had a squirrel cross phases on a 7200v line, it was gruesome.”

“Are squirrels greasy?”