You know how you think you have something figured out so you jump into it and then realize it wasn't as easy as you thought so then you start to think about it and then you get a little bit confused and then you try to read about it to understand it a little better and then it gets even more confusing so in the end you feel like curling up in a corner and just crying?
I would like electricity to be simple. Like plumbing. You know. You have water that comes in through a pipe, and it flows in one direction out of the faucet and into the drain pipe. See? Easy. But don't forget the p-trap. That is important. That holds a little water to block all the nasty smells that would come back up through the pipe from the sewer. Oh, then don't forget the vent pipe. That helps the water drain. But does that go before or after the p-trap? Or does it matter?
I have a physics degree. You would think that I would be smart enough to handle all of this. And it's true. I am smart enough. But also dumb enough to think I have to understand every little detail. And so I pore over diagrams, tracing out the path of the power through the switch and down the traveler, and it all makes sense (I think) until I realize we have more lights than just the one in the diagram, and so I try to visualize all those black and white and red wires and the difference between running it all in series or parallel, and just about that time, my brain implodes.
Hang it all.
And so I go put on my rain boots and splash in some puddles with Z.
1 comment:
Hmm.. When you get that all figured out, consider installing some 4-way switches and you'll really have some fun. They are actually quite useful for some places....
Post a Comment