One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

The older model toilets, ones with actual handles, continued to function
during the blackout without interruption.

Ain't technology grand?

On 9/10/2011 7:26 AM, HeyBub wrote:
One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

The older model toilets, ones with actual handles, continued to function
during the blackout without interruption.

Ain't technology grand?


Great lesson for some folks.

My toilets don't work during a power outage because I am on a well.

Since we have frequent power outages where I live because of trees, I
have redundant backups like a generator, stored water, flashlights, camp
stove etc.

Some people that this has never happened to, may not even have a flashlight.

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is flawed.



--
People thought cybersex was a safe alternative,
until patients started presenting with sexually
acquired carpal tunnel syndrome.-Howard Berkowitz

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in
Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San
Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because
the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is flawed.


Is that an *electric* flush button?

On Sep 10, 8:38*am, "Bill" wrote:
"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message

...

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in
Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San
Diego
refused to work.

* ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because
the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is flawed.

Is that an *electric* flush button?

Electric flush valves have a battery. They are not hooked to grid
power.

On 9/10/2011 8:38 AM, Bill wrote:
"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is flawed.


Is that an *electric* flush button?

While there are some that run on AC, many, especially retrofits, have a
battery.

Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption
in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at
UC-San Diego
refused to work.

The older model toilets, ones with actual handles, continued
to function
during the blackout without interruption.

Ain't technology grand?

Makes me wonder. Lot of folks in south Cal might have been
on well water. I hope they had plenty of water stored
already, for drinking and flushing and cooking. As you say,
I'd guess that most folks do not have any kind of prep gear,
nor do they know how to "work around" things.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Frank"
wrote in message ...

Great lesson for some folks.

My toilets don't work during a power outage because I am on
a well.

Since we have frequent power outages where I live because of
trees, I
have redundant backups like a generator, stored water,
flashlights, camp
stove etc.

Some people that this has never happened to, may not even
have a flashlight.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote
Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?


Too late, they already have them. I've seen them is Whole Foods restrooms
and some park restrooms.

So, you can manually push the soft touch, gel switch button
which activates the electric valve? But, the electric valve
doesn't have any electric.

You're back to square one, which is that the electric is
out, and the valve won't work.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...


One blogger writes that during the recent power
interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at
UC-San Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just
because the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is
flawed.

Batteries supply electricity. It may not be grid power, but
it is electric.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Art Todesco" wrote in message
...

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just
because the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism
is flawed.


Is that an *electric* flush button?

While there are some that run on AC, many, especially
retrofits, have a
battery.

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...
On Sep 10, 8:38 am, "Bill" wrote:
"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message

...

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in
Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at
UC-San
Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because
the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is
flawed.

Is that an *electric* flush button?

Electric flush valves have a battery. They are not hooked to grid
power.

Then the electric "eye" should work as well during a power outage???

Ed Pawlowski wrote the following:

"Stormin Mormon" wrote
Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?


Too late, they already have them. I've seen them is Whole Foods
restrooms and some park restrooms.


They've had them for centuries. They are called 'outhouses'.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On 9/10/2011 9:02 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Stormin Mormon" wrote
Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?


Too late, they already have them. I've seen them is Whole Foods
restrooms and some park restrooms.

The replacement travel plazas on the PA pike they build after tearing
the old ones down are fitted with waterless urinals.

They obviously get heavy use and they always look clean and you never
get the usual aromas associated with urinals if any more than a short
time after they have been cleaned.

In article ,
"Bill" wrote:



Is that an *electric* flush button?

Good point. I am not sure now that you mention it.

--
People thought cybersex was a safe alternative,
until patients started presenting with sexually
acquired carpal tunnel syndrome.-Howard Berkowitz

In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?

Those are all the rage in the FL Keys. I am not sure if mandated or just
thought of as a GOOD thing.

--
People thought cybersex was a safe alternative,
until patients started presenting with sexually
acquired carpal tunnel syndrome.-Howard Berkowitz

On 9/10/11 9:00 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinal#Waterless_urinals

On 9/10/2011 8:14 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In articletKGdnaTqF7fD1PbTnZ2dnUVZ_rmdnZ2d@earthlink .com,
wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is flawed.




Around this part of country, the flush button on electric toilets trips
a solenoid, it isn't a mechanical lever. Still needs juice to work, as
do the damn automagic sink faucets. Some have battery backup, at least
when first installed, I think.

What I don't know is how they get power to the damn things. Some, at
airports, are flushed into wall, but the retrofit ones in many places
have no apparent wired connection. Maybe they are battery-only?

--
aem sends...

On 9/10/2011 9:00 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?


Isn't that called the tree behind the shed in the back yard?

--
aem sends...

On Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:14:58 -0400, Kurt Ullman
wrote:

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button.

More than half of those I've seen don't. I started paying attention
after I read here that they do, but most here don't, and on my drive
to Tennessee iirc.

Just because the
guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is flawed.

On Sat, 10 Sep 2011 09:00:07 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Wow, that's bad. First, we have 1.6 gallon toilets, and now
we have ones that don't work during power failures. Whats
next? Waterless urinals?

But now durign a power failure they are only missing 1.6 gallsons.
Before they were missing more.

aemeijers wrote:
On 9/10/2011 8:14 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In articletKGdnaTqF7fD1PbTnZ2dnUVZ_rmdnZ2d@earthlink .com,
wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in
Southern California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at
UC-San Diego refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because
the guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is
flawed.



Around this part of country, the flush button on electric toilets
trips a solenoid, it isn't a mechanical lever. Still needs juice to
work, as do the damn automagic sink faucets. Some have battery
backup, at least when first installed, I think.

What I don't know is how they get power to the damn things. Some, at
airports, are flushed into wall, but the retrofit ones in many places
have no apparent wired connection. Maybe they are battery-only?

So the urinals are electric powered. As we know, urine is a conductor.

Does the confluence of these two facts influence how and where you relieve
yourself?

On 9/10/2011 8:10 PM, HeyBub wrote:
aemeijers wrote:
On 9/10/2011 8:14 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In articletKGdnaTqF7fD1PbTnZ2dnUVZ_rmdnZ2d@earthlink .com,
wrote:

One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in
Southern California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at
UC-San Diego refused to work.

ALL of eye toilets I have seen have a flush button. Just because
the guy is ignorant, doesn't mean that particular mechanism is
flawed.



Around this part of country, the flush button on electric toilets
trips a solenoid, it isn't a mechanical lever. Still needs juice to
work, as do the damn automagic sink faucets. Some have battery
backup, at least when first installed, I think.

What I don't know is how they get power to the damn things. Some, at
airports, are flushed into wall, but the retrofit ones in many places
have no apparent wired connection. Maybe they are battery-only?

So the urinals are electric powered. As we know, urine is a conductor.

Does the confluence of these two facts influence how and where you relieve
yourself?


Mythbuster debunked that one in one of their early seasons. Solid
streams are conductive, but it isn't a solid stream for more than a few
inches.

aemeijers wrote:

So the urinals are electric powered. As we know, urine is a
conductor. Does the confluence of these two facts influence how and where
you
relieve yourself?


Mythbuster debunked that one in one of their early seasons. Solid
streams are conductive, but it isn't a solid stream for more than a
few inches.

So if I modulate the stream by suitable "squeezes", I should be okay?

Wouldn't it be safer to wear a rubber, er, glove?

HeyBub wrote:
One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

Oh wow. Never thought of that.

Would pouring a bucket of water in remove the waste (it does
on a manual flush toilet where the handle doesn't work)

The older model toilets, ones with actual handles, continued to function
during the blackout without interruption.

I just read that one airline is phasing out flight manuals in paper
book format and replacing them with a popular electronic reader
gadget, which I shall not name.

What could go wrong?

cycjec wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
One blogger writes that during the recent power interruption in Southern
California, the electric-eye toilet flushing mechanisms at UC-San Diego
refused to work.

Oh wow. Never thought of that.

Would pouring a bucket of water in remove the waste (it does
on a manual flush toilet where the handle doesn't work)

The older model toilets, ones with actual handles, continued to function
during the blackout without interruption.

I just read that one airline is phasing out flight manuals in paper
book format and replacing them with a popular electronic reader
gadget, which I shall not name.

What could go wrong?

The battery?
A(some) virus?
Broken screen?
Black(blue) screen of death?

cycjec wrote:

I just read that one airline is phasing out flight manuals in paper
book format and replacing them with a popular electronic reader
gadget, which I shall not name.

What could go wrong?

Notice pilots boarding commercial airliners. They will (were) carrying
catalog cases. In those cases were Jeppeson manuals containing information a
pilot might need to know.

For example, if the destination airport is closed - say, due to weather -
and the aircraft has to divert, the flight crew scrambles for their cases
and pulls out the volume containing the alternate airport. They need the
information about runways, approach control, radio frequencies, and lots of
other stuff. For any given airport, the manual may contain several pages of
maps, frequencies, Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS), etc.

As for what could go wrong, there are already two things wrong with the
current system:

First, the manual set weighs about thirty pounds. For a three-man crew
that's almost a 100 pounds of weight and, for approximately 5,000 commercial
flights per day, that's a lot of dross (250 tons) and the necessary fuel to
move it around.

Second, the manuals have to be updated weekly. If the update doesn't get to
the pilot, or he neglects to update his personal binder, we have a
significant safety risk. This risk is, of course, somewhat minimized in that
there are usually two other copies on the flight deck.

Contrast the above with a three-pound iPad that's updated automatically
every day.

On 9/13/2011 8:38 AM, HeyBub wrote:
cycjec wrote:

I just read that one airline is phasing out flight manuals in paper
book format and replacing them with a popular electronic reader
gadget, which I shall not name.

What could go wrong?

Notice pilots boarding commercial airliners. They will (were) carrying
catalog cases. In those cases were Jeppeson manuals containing information a
pilot might need to know.

For example, if the destination airport is closed - say, due to weather -
and the aircraft has to divert, the flight crew scrambles for their cases
and pulls out the volume containing the alternate airport. They need the
information about runways, approach control, radio frequencies, and lots of
other stuff. For any given airport, the manual may contain several pages of
maps, frequencies, Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS), etc.

As for what could go wrong, there are already two things wrong with the
current system:

First, the manual set weighs about thirty pounds. For a three-man crew
that's almost a 100 pounds of weight and, for approximately 5,000 commercial
flights per day, that's a lot of dross (250 tons) and the necessary fuel to
move it around.

Really, so a crew flying say an RJ-200 from say EWR to PIT is carrying
charts for California?

Pilots haven't carried cases of charts for the entire country as you
noted for a very, very long time.


Second, the manuals have to be updated weekly.

I guess they don't use the International 28 day standard update interval
where you live.

If the update doesn't get to
the pilot, or he neglects to update his personal binder, we have a
significant safety risk. This risk is, of course, somewhat minimized in that
there are usually two other copies on the flight deck.

Contrast the above with a three-pound iPad that's updated automatically
every day.

George wrote:
On 9/13/2011 8:38 AM, HeyBub wrote:
cycjec wrote:

I just read that one airline is phasing out flight manuals in paper
book format and replacing them with a popular electronic reader
gadget, which I shall not name.

What could go wrong?

Notice pilots boarding commercial airliners. They will (were)
carrying catalog cases. In those cases were Jeppeson manuals
containing information a pilot might need to know.

For example, if the destination airport is closed - say, due to
weather - and the aircraft has to divert, the flight crew scrambles
for their cases and pulls out the volume containing the alternate
airport. They need the information about runways, approach control,
radio frequencies, and lots of other stuff. For any given airport,
the manual may contain several pages of maps, frequencies, Notices
to Airmen (NOTAMS), etc. As for what could go wrong, there are already
two things wrong with
the current system:

First, the manual set weighs about thirty pounds. For a three-man
crew that's almost a 100 pounds of weight and, for approximately
5,000 commercial flights per day, that's a lot of dross (250 tons)
and the necessary fuel to move it around.

Really, so a crew flying say an RJ-200 from say EWR to PIT is carrying
charts for California?

Absolutely. What if over Scranton the plane is hijacked and ordered to fly
to San Juan Capistrano? Or, even more likely, what if, upon landing in
Pittsburgh, the flight crew is rescheduled for a hop to San Francisco?


Pilots haven't carried cases of charts for the entire country as you
noted for a very, very long time.


Second, the manuals have to be updated weekly.

I guess they don't use the International 28 day standard update
interval where you live.

If the update doesn't get to
the pilot, or he neglects to update his personal binder, we have a
significant safety risk. This risk is, of course, somewhat minimized
in that there are usually two other copies on the flight deck.

Contrast the above with a three-pound iPad that's updated
automatically every day.

Thank you for the uppity, though immaterial, corrections.

It's been several decades since I flew a plane and am, admittedly, out of
date. My salient facts (heavy manuals and the necessity for individual
updating) still apply, even though some minor, insignificant, details
glommed on by pedantic fuddy-duddies, are no longer in play.