The Guide to Shutting Off Utilities

The Definitive Guide to Shutting Off (and Turning On) Home Utilities Safely

You might not give much thought to the utility gas, plumbing, and electrical wires that enter your home but if you're doing a project or there is an emergency, you might need to shut off the electricity, gas, or water and sometimes in a hurry. I've developed a comprehensive digital guide to walk you through this process - keep reading...

The amount of distributed information on the internet today can make it difficult to find what you're looking for. For years my relatives have asked me for advice on how to shut off or turn on their water, main gas lines, or electricity to their homes for various reasons. After having no luck searching online for information that demonstrated these procedures and that illustrated how, when, and why to shut off or turn on utilities safely, I decided to spend the many hours compiling this guide. So here is the result of years of experience and lots of time researching to complete this easy to use but comprehensive guide. It's designed to save YOU the time and money often spent searching online or hiring someone else to do something you can easily do yourself for free.

Introducing the Guide to Shutting Off Utilities - The Definitive Guide to Shutting Off Home Utilities Safely.

With this fresh and informative 15 page PDF guide, you'll learn:

• How to shut off gas to your house
• How to shut off electricity to your house
• How to shut off water to your house
• How to turn gas, electricity, and water on to your house
• What to watch out for when turning utilities on and off

In addition to these detailed but easy to use procedures you'll also:

• Learn about and see examples of local plumbing shutoffs to help with localized projects and repairs
• Learn about circuit breakers and fuses along with what they're used for and what they look like
• Learn important fire safety information that can help you prepare for and save lives in an emergency
• Have instant access to download the digital Guide to Shutting Off Utilities right now
• Always have an easy to use quick guide for utility shutoffs for future use or emergencies

Visit my secure website at www.utilityshutoffs.com to instantly download your digital copy of the Guide to Shutting Off Utilities for $9.99. 

Spring in The Colony

Snapped a few shots with the trusty Nexus 4 while on the jogging trail by my house today. It's nice to see signs of spring popping up more and more everyday!

Happy Easter!

Sold: One Beat Up 1977 Honda CT125 from a Dallas Cowboy!

1977 Honda CT125

Lately I've been keeping an eye out on craigslist for an old vintage bike to pick up and restore. I've done this once before with an piece of crap 1999 Honda XR 200R that I picked up a few years ago, half of it was in a box. I'll add a couple of pictures of the old XR too. That was a fun project but I wanted something a little less involved this time, something that didn't come with the engine in a box. The last project was mostly for fun, basically a winter project to keep me busy but not to make any profit. I ended up spending a little bit too much time on the plastics making them perfect.

1999 XR 200R Before

1999 XR 200R After

Anyways, back to the point of the story. I searched and searched and finally found an ad for this old 77 you see in the back of my truck. It was for sale for $675. I called the guy and talked to him about it, explained I didn't know a lot about the bike and what it was worth but I was interested. We sort of agreed on a probable sale at $500. for the bike. I'm in North Dallas and he lived down in Valley Ranch so I was trying to fit something into my schedule to get down and check out the bike. So I started working out the details with Sean (the seller).

1977 Honda CT125

1977 Honda CT125

To make a longer story short, he offered to bring the bike up to me. He said he had the time because he was on vacation. So we agree to meet the next day around lunch. I show up and wait a few minutes and then see him show up with the bike in the back of his truck. He gets out (big fellow) and we shake hands and introduce ourselves. Then I got up in the back up his truck and checked out the bike. I fired it up and went over it. I had a meeting to get to and not a lot of time, plus it's an old ass bike that has good compression and fires up so it sort of is what it is. So I said let's do it and we started getting the bike out of the back of his truck. I held the steering wheel and he pretty much picked up up out of the back of the truck and put it on the pavement. He'd asked me what I did when we were looking it over and we sort of had a bit of small talk.

Once we had the bike loaded in my truck I asked him what he did and he said humbly "I play football" I said "oh cool (thinking yeah this guy could play some ball)" and then I asked him for what team. Then he said "The Cowboys". I said, "oh cool" half embarrassed that I didn't recognize him and half not wanting to seem like an idiot flabbergasted fan.  Anyways from there it was Bill of Sale some small talk and that was the deal.

All and all, it was a really cool experience. He was really nice and it was interesting to me that a guy that just signed a 3 year $3 million extension with a $2 million bonus was even messing around with this bike and the time it took to sell it on Craigslist and deliver it.  This guy was super grounded, polite, and just as humble as they came. I'm glad I picked this bike. BTW it was Sean Lissemore.

Ford Atlas Concept

After having just purchased a brand new 2013 F150 Limited, this is somewhat bittersweet. This new model seems incredible, it's just a tough pill to swallow that it will likely be next years model. However, it's super refreshing to see some new approaches to the same problems. It seems a bit more than another incremental change that has been the theme lately. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't fly and it's not electric, not even hybrid but nonetheless it's still pretty impressive compared to anything else I've seen so far from Chevy or Dodge.




DETROIT—Ford Motor Co. showed a concept vehicle that gave hints about its next-generation F-150 pickup, promising the next model would raise the bar on technology and fuel economy as it seeks hold onto its top-selling full-size pickup crown.

The F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. and has been for three decades. It is a huge profit maker for Ford, generating as much as a third of the company’s global profits by some estimates. The next generation of the model comes out in 2014 as higher fuel economy standards demand innovations to wring out more miles per gallon.

The oversized “Atlas” concept vehicle gives hints about the changes in styling for the truck, which is expected to get a complete overhaul in 2014. Changes include new rectangular LED headlamps and tail lights, auto stop and start engine, an automatic air dam that cuts down on wind resistance and a channel on the roof as well as bump out fenders.

“It is the centerpiece of” the Ford lineup, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said following the unveiling. “And it’s like the heart and soul of America.” Ford sold more than 645,000 F-series trucks in the U.S. in 2012 and about three-quarters were F-150s.

The actual vehicle is likely to share features with the concept, but there will be changes. The last time Ford showed a concept truck, the Super Chief, it gave strong clues to the next F-150, including changes to the front grille design.

Ford executives would say little about the actual F-150 under development, other than to confirm that it would be much lighter than the current model. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the new truck will be built with a largely aluminum body and will weigh about 700 pounds less than the current version, citing people familiar with the truck development.

Raj Nair, Ford’s global product development chief, said the next truck would be 700 pounds lighter, though a company spokesman clarified that the Ford only has said new platforms—the structures underpinning the body—would weigh up to 750 pounds less than the current generation. The company hasn’t acknowledged that the next-generation truck will use aluminum extensively.

“We will have a significant weight reduction,” Mr. Nair said. “700 pounds, that’s what we’ve been saying.”


Ford Atlas Concept Technical Specifications:

Dimensions
Length: 238 inches
Width: 88 inches, without mirrors
Height: 81 inches
Wheelbase: 150 inches
Track: 78 inches
Engine
Next-generation EcoBoost® with Auto Start-Stop optimized for trucks
Transmission
Six-speed SelectShift® automatic, Auto Start-Stop system
Wheels and Tires

22-inch alloy wheels
All-Terrain LT325/50R22 tires
Cargo Cradle Weight Capacity
500 pounds
Maximum Towing
Not rated
Maximum Payload
Not rated
Frame
55,000-psi high-strength steel ladder frame
Body
High-strength steel including boron

Limited Snow

I mentioned I would post a few pictures after getting the windows tinted so here they are. I'll get some more after the snow melts and when it's not so cold but thought I'd at least slap these up for now.

Deaths of 500 dogs blamed on jerky treats, FDA says

This is somewhat concerning to me. After reading the article I went through all of my dog's treats and found the Milo’s Kitchen Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers. Needless to say he won't be getting any more of those. I'm going to start looking for a safer solution to dog treats that isn't so widely tainted.

Original Article By JoNel Aleccia, Staff Writer, NBC News

Some 500 dogs and nine cats may have died after eating chicken jerky pet treats made in China, according to updated complaints logged by federal veterinary health officials.

A new tally of reports filed with the Food and Drug Administration shows the agency has received 2,674 reports of illness involving 3,243 dogs, including 501 deaths. The agency also has received reports of nine illnesses in cats, including one death, the FDA said.

That’s up from an estimated 2,200 reports of illness, 360 dog deaths and one cat death reported last summer. So far, though, FDA has not been able to confirm a link between the treats and the ailments. 

The new figures come less than a week after two of the largest retailers of pet chicken jerky treats issued voluntary recalls of several popular brands after New York state agriculture officials detected unapproved antibiotics in the products.

Nestle Purina PetCare Co. recalled its popular Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brand dog treats, and Del Monte Corp. officials recalled their Milo’s Kitchen Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers home-style dog treats from shelves nationwide.

In addition, two more firms have recalled their treats as well, including Publix stores, which recalled its private brand Chicken Tenders Dog Chew Treats and IMS Pet Industries Inc., which withdrew its Cadet Brand Chicken Jerky Treats sold in the U.S.

The voluntary recalls effectively remove the pet treats from store shelves nationwide, but FDA officials say they still haven’t solved the mystery of what’s been making animals sick. They say tests by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets found trace amounts of antibiotic residue, but that the levels don’t pose a threat to animals or people.

“Based on the FDA’s review of the NYSDAM results, there is no evidence that raises health concerns, and these results are highly unlikely to be related to reports of illnesses FDA has received related to jerky pet treats,” the agency said in a statement.

The New York agriculture agency used a common test to detect chemical contaminants in foods, said Joe Morrissey, a department spokesman. They relied on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, or LC-MS/MS. The tests revealed four antibiotics not approved for use in poultry in the U.S. and one antibiotic that may be used, but is limited to nearly undetectable limits in the finished product.

FDA officials will continue to investigate animal illnesses tied to jerky treats. Since 2007, the agency has warned consumers several times that jerky treats are not necessary for pet health and that eliminating them won’t harm animals.

The agency last spring inspected five Chinese plants that made jerky treats. Officials weren’t allowed to take samples for testing. Now, inspection reports released about the fifth site, Yantai Aska of Yantai, China, shows that plant officials falsified records regarding imports of glycerin, a key component in the jerky treats.

Officials with China’s regulatory agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, or AQSIQ, suspended the firm’s export certificate as a result of the March 2012 inspection.

Rep. Steve Stockman threatens impeachment over Obama gun control efforts

Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, second from right, participates in a mock swearing-in ceremony with Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, for the 113th Congress on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Just over a week on the job, freshman Texas Rep. Steve Stockman has threatened to push impeachment of President Barack Obama over potential gun control efforts.

Stockman, R-Friendswood, asserted that Obama’s plans to use executive orders “to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic.”

Obama is reviewing recommendations from a task force led by Vice President Joe Biden in response to the massacre of 20 students and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., a month ago. The White House is expected to release details this week and likely will push for a congressionally-enacted ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, conceding that the president doesn’t have authority to impose such a ban without Congress.

Still, Stockman is proposing tough pushback.

“I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment,” he said in statement issued Monday that continues:

“The President’s actions are an existential threat to this nation. The right of the people to keep and bear arms is what has kept this nation free and secure for over 200 years. The very purpose of the Second Amendment is to stop the government from disallowing people the means to defend themselves against tyranny. Any proposal to abuse executive power and infringe upon gun rights must be repelled with the stiffest legislative force possible.

Under no circumstances whatsoever may the government take any action that disarms any peaceable person – much less without due process through an executive declaration without a vote of Congress or a ruling of a court.

The President’s actions are not just an attack on the Constitution and a violation of his sworn oath of office – they are a direct attack on Americans that place all of us in danger. If the President is allowed to suspend constitutional rights on his own personal whims, our free republic has effectively ceased to exist.”