For several years we’ve been buying the 18-gallon Sterilite plastic storage totes. They’ve offered the same grey tubs (item #1815) for years, and we’ve bought dozens of them. They sell for around $4 and are roughly 24 inches long, 18 inches wide, and exactly 15-3/8 inches tall. Because of this de facto standardization, I’ve built […]
Category Archives: Rants
Aren’t reverse lights sacred?
Over the past couple of weeks, there have a fair number of occasions where I thought someone was going to back out of a parking spot while I was approaching. Of course, I stopped to avoid get hit, but then I noticed that the driver is out of the car and walking toward the store. […]
What’s going on with Packet8’s Freedom Choice 500 plan?
We use Packet8 for our home phone service. It’s an inexpensive VoIP service which provides 500 outgoing minutes for $15 a month. Today I received an email from Packet8 (now known as 8×8) which says: 8×8 will be discontinuing the Freedom Choice plan, and effective June 1, 2009, your plan will be changed to: 8×8 […]
Underground wiring
How long will standard NM 12-2 wire (like “Romex”) last if buried directly in the ground? Answer: about 11 years. For past year or two, the GFCI outlet in our garage has tripped occasionally. We were never able to figure out exactly what was going on, despite lots of experimentation and replacing the GFCI outlet […]
Burger King in Wenona Illinois
On Friday, on the way to a camping trip, my family and I stopped at the Burger King in Wenona for lunch. We placed our order, then the kids and I sat down with our drinks as my wife filled hers. When she looked in her cup, there were large green and white chunks floating […]
False start
This morning, I got out of bed, wandered in the dark to the bathroom, and dragged myself through shaving. As I got in the shower I couldn’t believe how tired I was and wasn’t looking forward to the day. I got out of the shower and headed toward the dresser for some clothes, but something […]
Dear homebuilder
Dear Homebuilder- When installing an exterior door, don’t worry about using shims between the door frame and the rough opening for proper support. Three drywall screws on the hinge side only should be more than enough to attach the door into the opening. If not, the load-bearing ability of the exterior trim will suffice. When […]
Lefty-loosey
Tonight we went to Walmart for some necessities, and while we were there we got Evan a little treat. It’s an Aquadoodle Mini Mat with Thomas on it. It’s just a little pen that holds water along with a couple of coloring book pages. When you get the pages wet, the black and white pages […]
Tax time heart attack
I’ve slacked a little bit this year on filing my tax return, but I basically finished up tonight. I’m using the TurboTax online service, which guides you through the process of entering the numbers from your forms and finding deductions, etc. As you enter your data, a little ticker displays your estimated tax refund/bill. As […]
The Christmas (shopping) Spirit!
I’ve always been under the impression that Christmas, regardless of your religious affiliation, was a time of giving and goodwill toward your fellow man. Whereas Christmas might bring out the best in people, Christmas shopping certainly must bring out the worst. In an attempt to get past some of the incidents of this Christmas shopping […]