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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In domestic electrical situations in the the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>… we have brown and blue wires in an
outer grey sleeving with a separate earth wire with no sleeving that you add a
green sleeve to<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>… or red and black wires in a white
outer sleeving<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>… or sometimes just black wires and red
wires which may be reversed <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>… or sometimes they are just bits of
braided steel sleeved in pvc and held together with tape<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>… or sometimes just lengths of lead
wrapped in some form of rubber that don’t terminate anywhere but are joined
under the floor into live junction boxes<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Or if you bought my house (a small 3 bed
house built in 1929) – you might find all of the above.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>You have my empathy.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>M.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
groop-bounces@groo.com [mailto:groop-bounces@groo.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Gary Grossmann<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> 20 April 2010 22:09<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> groop@groo.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> petergrossmann@mail.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [Groop] I
Grooed-Adventures in Home Improvement</span></font><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Groo Changes a Light Fixture (or How to Turn a 30 Minute Job into a 4
Hour Job) <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>One day Groo decides to change a ceiling light fixture.
Shockingly (No pun intended. Well, maybe a little.), he remembers to turn off
the power to the room. He then takes off the old fixture, which has one
white wire and one black wire. “I am a good ceiling light fixture
changer, Rufferto. I will attach the ceiling white wire to the fixture white
wire and the do the same with the black wires, just as I have done in the
past.” But Groo is soon confused. His new light fixture has
two white wires and two black wires. And Groo sees many wires up in the
little box in the ceiling. There are three black wires and three white
wires and one of the white wires is attached to two of the black wires and it
is all very strange to Groo. (Rufferto thought bubble: “Groo,
why don’t you forget about those other wires and just attach the two
white wires from the new fixture onto the one white wire from the ceiling that
the old fixture was attached to and do the same with the black
wires.”) But Groo says “I do not want to make a
mistake. I will separate all of the wires from each other and then figure
which ones go to the new fixture.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Now, of course, Groo is even more hopelessly confused and has no idea
which wire goes where. He tries to remember how they were hooked together
before, but when he turns on the power, only half the lights on the circuit
come on and the ceiling fixture will not turn off! So he goes to
the hardware store closest to his house and asks the grumpy man on duty:
“Hey, you hardware store employee person, what should I do …”
and then explains the situation. The grumpy man tells him to put all five
white wires together and all five black wires together. This sounds
strange even to Groo, but the grumpy man is a hardware store
employee…Fortunately, the house Groo is in has breakers and not
fuses so there is no harm done when Groo tries to turn the power on after doing
what the grumpy man suggested. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I must now alter the narrative somewhat. Because if this was
really Groo, the house would have burned down by now and Groo would have either
pummeled the grumpy man (on purpose) or burned down his hardware store
(accidently) or both. But to paraphrase that great line from “The
Princess Bride” unlike Groo, who is completely stupid, I am only <b><i><span
style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>mostly</span></i></b> stupid.
I went to Home Depot and was directed to Master Electrician Bill, who told me
everything I needed to know to connect the wires properly while not electrocuting
myself or burning my house down. So, fortunately, no harm was done
other than wasting an entire afternoon. The End. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Moral: Just because a lot of <b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'>your </span></i></b>wires are disconnected, doesn’t
mean you should disconnect all of the wires in a light fixture box. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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