Friday Night Movie

Go outside and play, kids!

Porter-Cable 7518 Router Base Recall

Well, Porter-Cable really is taking this router base recall thing seriously. My replacement base (the one on the left side of the photo above) arrived in the mail today! I wasn't expecting to see it until the end of next month! The base on the right was never actually used in a hand-held mode because I originally purchased it for use in a portable router table. Now the motor unit lives in my table saw lift station. But it's nice to know that the whole kit can be used hand held or resold at some point as a completely safe item.

In case you're just reading about this for the first time be sure to visit the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's webpage concerning the Porter-Cable Recall and submit your information for a replacement as soon as possible. Porter-Cable recalled these bases early in July 2014 because the uninsulated handles present a potential shock hazard. Routers are inherently dangerous power tools to begin with, but the idea of getting electrically shocked while using one kinda makes my skin crawl. Once you get your new part throw the old one in the trash and send in the postage paid "Recall Corrective Action Acknowledgement" card. The new bases come with a new base plate, so you'll have an extra if you save the original. You can save the locking screw from the old one too before throwing the rest away. Just be sure the old base gets into the landfill where it can't zap anyone ever.

This recall affects all of the following: Porter-Cable 7518, 7519, 7519EC and 22-7519-60 Routers, 75361 base units; and the DeWalt DWP7518 Router.

Safety First out there!

Chilean Tsunami Animation

After many, many years of absolute quiet the Pacific Ocean has been alive with tsunami activity the last few years. The last major tsunami that took lives and caused significant property damage in Hawaii originated with the 1960 9.5 earthquake off the coast of Chile. Waves from that event were up to 35 feet high in Hilo at a time when technology was not as advanced as today.

The 8.2 magnitude quake that struck near Iquique, Chile on Tues, and the 7.6 tembler that struck in the same region yesterday both generated tsunamis. Luckily for everyone outside of the immediate quake area the waves were relatively small. But even these events will roil the entire Pacific basin for hours and hours and create dangerous currents. In Hawaii local officials closed all beaches until about noon on Wednesday to avoid having to rescue the unaware.

The short animation below, produced by the US NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) shows quite clearly what happens when the earth moves suddenly like this beneath the ocean surface. The best thing you can ever, ever do if you are near an ocean beach area and feel a strong earthquake, is to pick yourself up and get as far upland as you can as quickly as you can. Waves from the Chile quake hit shorelines within 5 minutes of this event. You don't have time to think! Just run as fast as you can!



Best viewed at the highest (HD) rate your connection will allow.

And the neighborhood has been quite active with aftershocks, including a 7.6 and many 6.0+ shakers since. Having been thru a 6.7 and a 6.0 in rapid succession myself I know how frazzled a persons nerves get after these things... and how long it takes for a body to settle back down. Large earthquakes are downright terrifying.

Frozen Tundra

The places we call home are all different. But this happens to be mine. Wisconsin. And like all... there's no place like home.

Frozen Tundra from Oliver Würffell on Vimeo.

Significance

I couldn't help thinking of this old Calvin & Hobbs cartoon strip tonite after I'd watched the video below.

Your mileage might vary... but feel free to measure it in "ly" (light years). Proof that none of us are big shots in the real scheme of things.

World Smile Day

Since 1999 the first Friday in October has been World Smile Day. This year it falls on Oct 4. Smile!