[rescue] Looking for IRIX and advice

[Sheldon T. Hall]

Peter Corlett writes ...
> Sheldon T. Hall <shel at cmhcsys.com> wrote:
> [...]
> > If you have an electric clothes dryer, some hackery with a
> > heavy-duty extension cord and some stuff from the hardware store
> > will work, most probably. I wouldn't run it that way unattended
> > until you get some idea of the load, etc., since the dryer outlet is
> > probably 50 Amps, and the extension cord will melt before the
> > breaker pops.
>
> UK outlets are rated 13A, but since there's a fuse in the plug, the
> cord doesn't need to be rated 13A. Well, you're supposed to put the
> lowest rated fuse possible in the plug, but most people just stick 13A
> fuses in which negates some of the protection.

Fused plugs are pretty rare over here.  I think the only ones we have in the
house are on the Christmas tree lights.

You guys have a generally more sane home wiring scheme, I think, with ring
mains and all that.

> UK outlets have a protective cover over the live and neutral
> conductors which slides out of the way when a pin is inserted into the
> earth. The net result is that children can't (easily) poke things into
> sockets and electrocute themselves, but you can insert a plug and it
> will just work.

Yeah, but it wasn't always that way, and I remember Much Whinging from UKian
friends when things were changing over.  Not like when they decimalised the
currency or nationalised the monasteries, though.

[...]
> > It'll probably void your insurance if it starts a fire, etc. Still,
> > I ran a 220V espresso machine that way for a year with no problems.
>
> I stick to a bog standard kettle (the current one being a pathetic
> 1.1kW - I'm more used to 3kW) and a cafetiere. Another member of this
> list has reported hallucinations after drinking one of my more
> experimental brews.

May I have the recipe?

> I'm currently trying to wean myself off excessive coffee consumption
> to dislodge a semipermanent headache. So far, it's not really working.

People who are both sensitive to and addicted to caffeine usually get
big-time headaches when they try to quit the stuff, so you may be going in
the wrong direction.

-Shel