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Interesting fact about natural gas
Feb. 9th, 2006 10:03 amEric stepped outside our house a couple of mornings ago and came right back in to tell me to call PG&E. (Pacific Gas and Electric). There was a strong odor of natural gas in our front yard. Before I called, I wanted to see for myself so I went out to sniff around. Sure enough, it was the distinctive odor of natural gas. I checked by our meter and the smell wasn't there so it wasn't our line leaking at the meter. It was stronger in the middle of the yard where the gentle breeze had brought it down the street.
I had visions of one of our neighbor's houses blowing up so I went inside and called their emergency hazard number. The lady said they'd send someone right out. So I pulled on some clothes and had my breakfast. After 30 minutes, I thought I heard a truck so I went outside. It was a PG&E truck down at the end of the block with a trailer attached. They were unloading a construction vehicle from the trailer. I noticed the smell was gone. OK, I called the emergency number again to tell them not to bother coming because whatever caused the leak was apparently gone. She said a guy was already on the way so he'd check it out anyway. Oh, all right. It was getting late and I needed to get ready for work. He showed up 45 minutes after I placed the first call. I explained it was gone, but he still checked the meters on our house and our neighbor's house. He asked if it was really natural gas or diesel I'd smelled. I know he saw that big truck at the end of the block. I told him I knew the difference and it was definitely natural gas.
Here's the interesting fact. Furnaces will sometimes vent unburned natural gas before they light. One of our upwind neighbors probably had that happen and because the breeze was so gentle, it didn't dissipate the gas cloud very fast so it hung in our front yard. We just happened to come out of the house at the right time to smell it. In all my years no this planet and the 13 years in this neighborhood, wouldn't you think I might have smelled it once or twice before? I guess the winds were stronger or something.
Then he spotted a hawk on a tree a block away and asked if I knew what it was. That led to a conversation about the Cooper's hawks we see every year and birdwatching in general. He was a really nice guy and I enjoyed talking to him. Finally, I had to tell him I was late leaving for work and had to go.
He asked, "Should I just close the call, then?"
I answered, "Definitely. Thanks for coming out!"
We waved cheery goodbyes and I got ready for work.
Once I got to work I explained why I was late and that I hadn't let Eric know what it was. I kiddingly said I should tell Eric they said it was him and he should stop eating so many beans! Mike, my mentor, said I should tell Eric it was him and PG&E wanted to attach a pipeline so they could tap the supply! LOL
I did when I got home from school. Eric said, "ha ha" (as in "that's so funny I forgot to laugh") so I told him Mike told me to say that. Quick! Shift the credit! LOL I told him the real story.
Then I got karmic payback for saying something so mean. My "M" key came off my laptop. Nothing is broken, the keytop just snapped off the little white plastic pieces that hook onto the keyboard. Eric tried to get it back on with no luck. He's so good with tiny things like that it surprised me when he couldn't do it. I had an idea or two while I was watching and naturally, my ideas fell onto deaf ears. So when he handed it back, I tried for a while with no luck.
The HP chat guy was helpful. I can take it to Best Buy or The Good Guys/Comp USA to have them fix it. Oh good. It's past opening time now. I can try to call them again to make sure before I take it in. Typing the letter "M" has been interesting without the keytop. With the white plastic pieces it didn't work. I had to take those out, too. I snapped them into the keytop to keep them safe. When I'm using the laptop, the key is on my little table. I put it back before I close the laptop so it doesn't end up a kitty toy and lost.
Later my dears!
I had visions of one of our neighbor's houses blowing up so I went inside and called their emergency hazard number. The lady said they'd send someone right out. So I pulled on some clothes and had my breakfast. After 30 minutes, I thought I heard a truck so I went outside. It was a PG&E truck down at the end of the block with a trailer attached. They were unloading a construction vehicle from the trailer. I noticed the smell was gone. OK, I called the emergency number again to tell them not to bother coming because whatever caused the leak was apparently gone. She said a guy was already on the way so he'd check it out anyway. Oh, all right. It was getting late and I needed to get ready for work. He showed up 45 minutes after I placed the first call. I explained it was gone, but he still checked the meters on our house and our neighbor's house. He asked if it was really natural gas or diesel I'd smelled. I know he saw that big truck at the end of the block. I told him I knew the difference and it was definitely natural gas.
Here's the interesting fact. Furnaces will sometimes vent unburned natural gas before they light. One of our upwind neighbors probably had that happen and because the breeze was so gentle, it didn't dissipate the gas cloud very fast so it hung in our front yard. We just happened to come out of the house at the right time to smell it. In all my years no this planet and the 13 years in this neighborhood, wouldn't you think I might have smelled it once or twice before? I guess the winds were stronger or something.
Then he spotted a hawk on a tree a block away and asked if I knew what it was. That led to a conversation about the Cooper's hawks we see every year and birdwatching in general. He was a really nice guy and I enjoyed talking to him. Finally, I had to tell him I was late leaving for work and had to go.
He asked, "Should I just close the call, then?"
I answered, "Definitely. Thanks for coming out!"
We waved cheery goodbyes and I got ready for work.
Once I got to work I explained why I was late and that I hadn't let Eric know what it was. I kiddingly said I should tell Eric they said it was him and he should stop eating so many beans! Mike, my mentor, said I should tell Eric it was him and PG&E wanted to attach a pipeline so they could tap the supply! LOL
I did when I got home from school. Eric said, "ha ha" (as in "that's so funny I forgot to laugh") so I told him Mike told me to say that. Quick! Shift the credit! LOL I told him the real story.
Then I got karmic payback for saying something so mean. My "M" key came off my laptop. Nothing is broken, the keytop just snapped off the little white plastic pieces that hook onto the keyboard. Eric tried to get it back on with no luck. He's so good with tiny things like that it surprised me when he couldn't do it. I had an idea or two while I was watching and naturally, my ideas fell onto deaf ears. So when he handed it back, I tried for a while with no luck.
The HP chat guy was helpful. I can take it to Best Buy or The Good Guys/Comp USA to have them fix it. Oh good. It's past opening time now. I can try to call them again to make sure before I take it in. Typing the letter "M" has been interesting without the keytop. With the white plastic pieces it didn't work. I had to take those out, too. I snapped them into the keytop to keep them safe. When I'm using the laptop, the key is on my little table. I put it back before I close the laptop so it doesn't end up a kitty toy and lost.
Later my dears!
