Hidden Treasure - Sort of......

We all dream of unearthing some sort of hidden treasure in an older house. Who knows if previous owners buried gold below their basement floors or maybe even used their unaccounted wads of cash to insulate their exterior walls... Anyways - I've dug enough in my basement and ripped out more walls in my house to know that  I'm not going to find anything here!

However - the other day while scouting between the basement ceiling joists (Yes - I do these things for no apparent reason) I saw what looked like a box. On closer inspection and reaching out, I found a total of 5 vintage Leviton boxes all with their products contained within.

Not sure about you..... but I'm calling it Treasure!!!!!

This Justin!!

He's taken over the airwaves. Our little Wunderkind from Stratford, Ontario. Justin Bieber, famous for busking outside the Avon Theater in Stratford has gained a fan following from my daughters who know most of his songs to the letter. I too am not ashamed to admit that I crank up the volume in the car and sing along when he's on.

My question here is not whether I like the new song 'Baby' by Justin featuring Ludacris, but of the two, who's piggybacking on whose career???

Justin on the steps of the Avon Theater busking to pay for creature comforts

'Baby' by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris

Baby, baby, baby nooo

 My baby, baby, baby nooo

My baby, baby, baby nooo

I thought you'd always be mine, oh oh

There is no Google on the Libery

On Saturday Lynda took the girls to the library to exchange some books and get some new ones. I sat in the car with Coach and watched the beginning of Public Enemies.

Layla, being Layla, probably went to one of the PCs reserved for searching the Library Catalogue. Being quite different from her laptop, I imagine that she wrote her frustration down on one of the small note papers hoping to take it up with higher authorities at an opportune time.

I found the note this morning as I was cleaning up.

Kill The Wabbits

So I spoke with brother this morning and he was off to kill rabbits somewhere in Malad.

He could just go here to get his fix.......

http://www.flonga.com/play/kill-the-wabbits.htm

EcoENERGY Grant

On the 8th of December 09 I had a regularly scheduled inspection of my furnace. I normally get this done every year prior to Winter to ensure that the furnace will not fail me when I need it the most.

This time however, I was informed that the heat exchanger was cracked. Heat Exchangers are generally warrantied for the life of the unit, so getting a new one would not be a problem. The issue was the labor cost to get it replaced. It would cost me anything in the range of CAD 800-1200. After opening the unit however there would be other parts that would need replacing as is generally the case with a unit of it's vintage. After the repairs, I would still be stuck with a 15+ year old no efficiency and I'm not sure of going that route....

We decided to bite the bullet and replace the entire unit at a cost of CAD 5,500. I also went with an EcoENERGY audit that would reward me for the upgrade to a High Efficiency furnace. That means that the Canadian Government (Provincial and Federal) would give me back CAD 1,580 for this upgrade.

I now have 18 months within which to do all of the necessary upgrades after which the auditor returns, assesses the changes and then files the paperwork directly with the government to enable me to get my money.

So here's what I plan to do and what I expect to get back in return

High Efficiency Furnace - 1580.00

Energy Star A/C - 500.00

Attic Insulation to R-50 - 1,400.00

Basement Walls Insulation - Between 900.00 and 1,800.00 depending on the R value

Headers Insulation - 250.00

Crawl Space Insulation - 750.00

Air Sealing - 190.00 to 430.00 depending on the readings.

Replace Doors & Windows - 80.00 per unit

Replace Toilets - 130.00

With the exception of the furnace which is already done (and the fact that I would never touch Gas...) the only other work that I would subcontract is the blowing of the insulation into the attic. I's not that I can't do the job, I'm just very afraid of blocking the soffits and causing more harm than good. All other work will be done by me and while I will end up spending more that what I will get back, my expenses will be offset by sweat equity and I will be rewarded with a house that is more comfortable both in winter and summer, lower heating and cooling bills and a warmer basement without the need of supplemental heating devices.

Changing the toilets has to be the one area where I actually make some money. The units I got cost me CAD 250.00 each. HD had an offer where they dropped 100.00 off the price and the Region of Peel gives me 100.00 back making my units cost just 50.00. Then I get back 130.00 per unit from the EcoENERGY initiative.

There is really a lot to be done. And I'm here sitting and blogging.......

Farewell To A Decadent Decade

Jan 02 TwentyTen.

We've just rolled over into a new decade. We celebrated the end of the last decade in Dubai. Layla was not yet born. It was the holy month of Ramadan and as commercial parties or festivities of any kind were banned, we decided to host the 'Millennium' party at our place. It was a party to remember. The highlights of which were Dubai's mounted Police looking over our gate and asking us to keep it civil, someone waving a can of Fosters to the cops whilst convincing them that we had no booze on the premises, Shane being too shitfaced to DJ, Nali's (our then housekeeper) medicine finding it's way into the punch, the punch turning the color of mud whilst being pronounced the best ever and me driving everyone home only to return back to find Francis sitting in a dark corner still waiting for a drop off.

The end of the last decade also saw us preparing for the Millennium Bug or the Y2K problem that never really happened. DHL even gave Lynda a certificate for her part in preparing towards Y2K. I'm not sure what it was that she did and I'm quite sure if asked, she might not know as well.

The rest of the decade saw humanity becoming more avaricious and living well beyond their means. And then everything went south and soon. While we're still recovering from the recession, I think that the general population has still not got a grip on what exactly it was that we went through. The malls were full for Christmas shopping and we saw lines outside stores for the Boxing Day Sales. We too did succumb, but I only bought a pair of boots out of necessity. Or so I've convinced myself.

Having said that, I just gifted myself a DeWalt Random Orbital Sander and a Porter Cable Compressor with a Brad Nailer and a Finish Nailer, but they are for projects will be undertaken this month.

I've not really made a lot of resolutions and when I do, I normally tend not to see them through. This year however I've resolved not to carry my paunch with me to the end of this year. I've not resolved so much but decided that I will question all of my purchases - Thrice. I will want less and will make do with what I have. I will simplify and I will Reduce, ReUse and Recycle and I will enjoy what I've been gifted.

Happy New Year. Let's not Royally Fuck this one up!!!

The 50 Best Inventions of 2009 according to 'Time'

Time Magazine just released a list of 50 inventions that they state are the best of 2009. Here is what I think (thought) of them when they first made the news. And even though I scour the daily tech blogs as part of a daily ritual, I'll be the first to admit that there were some of those that I had not heard of until now.

1. NASA's Ares Rockets - I'm not that interested in the Space Race. Just keep the Near Earth Objects at bay and I'm good.

2. The Tank-Bred Tuna - This must interest someone. I'm not that someone. My Tuna was bred in a can and I'm OK with that as well. Unless of course, the tank in question, is a Sherman!!!

3. The $10 Million Light bulb - This is probably one of the most interesting items on the list. 10 years ago I would constantly tell Lynda how LED's would be the lighting of the future. Now they're ubiquitous, appearing everywhere from toys to lighting on vehicles and signalling. However Philips has taken this up a level beyond what I expected. I will go out and buy this.....

4. The Smart Thermostat - Not too impressed. Give me a thermostat that connects to my router, has it's own IP address and is accessible anywhere for simple GUI programming. One that has a built in humidistat with an external sensor to self adjust humidity levels based on current levels and internal and external temperatures.

5. Controller-Free Gaming - Really. This made the list!!!

6. Teleportation - It's with Data only so far. With people, visions of 'The Fly' creep to mind.

7. The Telescope for Invisible Stars - Maybe if there was a telescope for visible stars, the Paparazzi would keep out of their face.....

8. The AIDS Vaccine - A long time in the making, now let's get on out for Cancer

9. Tweeting by Thinking - Really!!!! We find that we can convert our thoughts to a mechanical process and Tweeting is the best use for it?????

10. The Electric Eye - Imagine living without the faculty of sight. To be unable to see the beauty of Tulips in spring, the joy on children's faces in splash pads across the nation during summer, the sheer majesty of fall, and the wonder of standing in the midst of a snowstorm in Winter.

11. The Mercury Probe - We needed this right?? Right? Hellooo anyone????

12. The Personal Carbon Footprint - My wife and kids probably hate me for yelling out to put off the lights when they exit their rooms - It might be purely a financial motivation, but it has to start somewhere.

13. The Solar Shingle - Oh Joy! Bring this on. Make it reasonably priced, throw in some Regional, Provincial and Federal Rebates, interest free loans from lenders as well as Credits from the Utility company for buying back the surplus electricity and we've got a winner. Basically if you give it to me for free, you can have all the surplus electricity at no cost.

14. The Handheld Ultrasound - I can see the uses for this in the field.

15. The YikeBike - Hmmmmmm.

16. Vertical Farming - Read this in Pop Sci recently. I still don't buy the benefits of this v/s traditional farming. Maybe I did not understand what I was reading.

17. The Planetary Skin - It's debuting 2010. Why did it make this list???

18. The $20 Knee - It's simple and it will do the poorest of poor a world of good. Put this at the top of the list

19. A Watchdog for Financial Products - Make this a rabid Pitbull.

20. The Electric Microbe - Fun in concept.

21. The Bladeless Fan - I have a beef with this one. Sure Dyson has made some exceptional products like his vacuums and the airblade, but this seems very ripoffish to me. 15 years ago I remember holding in my hand a Parker-Hannifin product that used compressed air as a starting point to create a large volume of airflow. I did not fully comprehend the usage at that point, but this 'fan' uses the very same principle.

22. The Custom Puppy - Cloning dogs is just wrong.

23. The Cyborg Beetle - I like my Beatles as part of my audio collection.

24. The Biotech Stradivarius - Very interesting. It has do do with music, so it get my vote - sort of.

25. The Nissan Leaf - Okay.

26. The Robo-Penguin - I can envision uses for this.

27. The Universal Unicycle - I can envision people falling off this and making it to 'FAILBlog'

28. YouTube Funk - I can see why this made it to the list

29. Dandelion Rubber - ????

30. Wooden Bones - Cool. Poor Sheep get tested on everything

31. The Living Wall - This made it to all of the home magazines and design blogs and I can see why.

32. The School of One - People need interaction with each other however I can see how the personally tailored approach works.

33. The No-Punt Offense - Football should be played with the feet as the name suggests, not held in the hand. Players should rely on their agility with the ball not brute force. Soccer is the real football. Enough said.

34. The Human-Powered Vending Machine - This will be fun. I cannot see anyone needing anything from a vending machine that bad.

35. The Handyman's X-Ray Vision - This I want sooooo badly. Drop the price down from 500 to 50 and I'll go out now to buy it.

36. Meat Farms - So so scary.

37. Packing, Improved - It's an algorithm. Did Al Gore have rhythm???

38. The Foldable Speaker - If you ever buy this expecting High Fidelity, you my friend, are an idiot.

39. The Levitating Mouse - Poor poor mice. But I suppose it is for a good cause. Me next.

40. The Edible Race Car - Certain things should just be left alone

41. The High-Speed Helicopter - Spectacular in concept

42. The Supersuit - So not interested.

43. The Eyeborg - I'm ripping my eye out as we speak. Sign me up for one.

44. Spiderweb Silk - Do show me the practicality of this invention

45. The Sky King - Origami at it's best

46. The Smart Bullet - What about a smart gun. One that does not fire......

47. The Fashion Robot - Hey don't talk about my wife like that

48. The 3-D Camera - Gimmicky at best

49. The Newest Cloud - Invention or discovery????

50. The World's Fastest (Steam-Powered) Car - This could so blow up and badly

A Walkthrough My Shed

I finally got the shed in some sort of order and ready for the season ahead. A small electric heater should ensure that my finger tips don't freeze and drop off while working and a radio provides distraction with the local news or some rapper comparing women to the neighborhood ho's.

It's quite a tight squeeze but once I get my tools on those pegboards, it should free up some space taken by the two Stanley toolboxes. Till then....

It's my Tree House that I did not have as a child. It's my Fortress of Solitude. It's a place to ponder nothing while doing something or to ponder something while doing nothing.

And.... I conceptualized, designed & built it myself (with so much help from my Dad of course!!!!)

This rack in the North West corner was built by me in 1995. We had no cash spare to buy even an Ikea bookshelf for our ever growing collection of books. Lynda had just made Supervisor and I had moved up from sweeping floors at the shipyard. The Studs are M20 and the ply 19mm. It is still as rock solid now as it was in '95. We've come some way since the 'Green House' in which I had made almost all of the furniture save for the beds that we slept on.

Hand Drill (BN), Jig Saw (RF), Oscillating Tool (BN), High Speed Rotary Tool (BN)

The Ryobi OnePlus shelf (BN) + (RF)

Router (CL) and Assorted Tools

More Boxes, but only one holds a Palm Sander (BN)

Bench Grinder (GS), Circular Saw (GS) and Plumbing tools (GS)

Under my worktable, a Compound Sliding Mitre Saw (BN) and a Band Saw (CL)

On the Workbench, the Drill Press (CL)

Scroll Saw (CL) & Disc Sander (GS)

Parts Washer (GS) & Router Table (TS)

Legend

BN - Brand New

RF - Refurbished

GS - Garage Sale

TS - Thrift Store

CL - Craigslist

Suburban Archeology & Other Short Stories

I spent the best part of Saturday morning cleaning out the van. It had remnants of Spring, Summer & Fall blended into sticky messes in the cup holders and that was grating on my nerves. I managed to get the car really clean and found a whole load of hidden gems in the cracks and crevices. Among other things, a reading lamp, a jenga block, a paint stirrer from the Home Depot, a fuse block for a car audio system that did not really materialize, a glass jar, magnetix components, Barbie accessories, a hair band, a button, a wrist watch, an American dime, a Canadian Dime, a pencil sharpener, a plethora of pencils and two erasers, one of which kept staring at me.....

After that we drove to London ON., for A. Rosie's birthday and I finally got to visit Forest City Surplus on Dundas St. What a crazy amazing store.... I did not get what I had initially wanted, but walked away with a Tarp to close up the shed for winter and a cat's paw nail puller, both at a decent price. Lynda got some stuff for herself as well and I got some activity books for the girls as well as rubber stamps for their cardmaking. So much more that I should've picked up.

This morning the girls and I raked our entire backyard as well as hopping over the fence and doing Mrs. McDougall's yard as well. Dead headed all of the flowering plants, pruned the rose bushes and cleaned the beds. Tomorrow I will do the final mowing of the season prior to aerating, fertilizing and over seeding the lawn. Looks good so far!!!

Jewelery Storage Solutions

With Lynda's jewelery overrunning her small closet, I had decided a long time ago to solve her problem.

OK, I know the drill, we're supposed to listen and do nothing - but I thought that just this once.....

So I decided to go all out on this one and got her a Gerstner International GI-530 Red Oak Tool Chest. These chests were made to store precision hand tools and are felt lined to protect those tools.

Me thinks it does a good job of storing her jewelery.....

The chest in it's natural setting

The top section holds watches (Lynda does not wear a watch)

With the drawers open