Do it yourself

Perhaps I should not ask but for the odd phrasing... "sundry" children? Joe

08Dec04 Hello Members, Thought a small bit of humor was needed after all those ?????-n-one tool wars and the Phd engeineering of Christmas tree lights. So enjoy the following that has both the humor and truth. Enjoy, jdb Prison VS. Work Just in case you ever got the two mixed up, This should make things a bit more clear.... IN PRISON...you spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell. AT WORK...you spend the majority of your time in a 6X8 cubicle. IN PRISON...you get three meals a day. AT WORK...you only get a break for one meal and you pay for it. IN PRISON...you get time off for good behavior. AT WORK...you get more work for good behavior. IN PRISON...the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you. AT WORK...you must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself. IN PRISON...you can watch TV and play games. AT WORK...you get fired for watching TV and playing games. IN PRISON...you get your own toilet. AT WORK... you have to share with some idiot who pees on the toilet. IN PRISON...they allow your family and friends to visit. AT WORK...you can't speak to your family. IN PRISON...all expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required. AT WORK...you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners. IN PRISON...you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out. AT WORK...you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars. IN PRISON...you must deal with sadistic wardens. AT WORK...they are called managers.

Hi, I'm trying to find a motion sensor plug-in. Essentially, I need a motion sensor that I can plug into an outlet and then plug something else into it. This will be used to plug in a set of low level lighting hidden below the edge of the kitchen cabinets -- that way there's some lighting when someone comes in from outside or just walking through during the night... The only one's I have found online have been related to fully integrated home automation systems (my wife says i can't spend that much!!!). Radio Shack didn't have anything either. Stores? Website? Thanks Casey B. Chelsea, Michigan

I am considering getting a generator as a back up power source for our home. I would need it to run the water pump for our well as well as the electric start on my oil forced hot air heating system. On top of all that I would like to be able to keep the refrigerators running and we also has an electric stove. What size generator would you all recommend? At Home Depot I saw a few in the 5000, 6000 watt range. Would they be big enough to handle my home power setup or should I go even higher into the 7000 range? Thanks in advance for your help. Roger

I have a good chop saw (compound). My basic shop use is household general stuff; though soon I'm going to start building some kitchen- style cabinets; possibly some clocks; maybe an entertainment center. If I must have both saws, I could probably make it work. Please let me know what you thank. Jim... I have a radial arm saw. Don't own a chop or table saw (yet). Surprise! If I had a good chop saw, I'd buy a table saw rather than a radial arm. The chop saw will handle most cross cuts while the table saw with a sled can handle the big cross cuts. So now for the rip cuts...I hate my RAS for rips. Never felt safe...never will (to me). No matter where I stand, to get to the other side of a cut requires reaching around the vertical columm or a spinning blade. With a table saw, there is no vertical columm...and the amount of potentially exposed blade is way less. I've heard the following argued both ways, but personally I think a table saw is generally more precise. The length of the vertical column and reach of the radial arm is a source of more "slop" than what I think exists in a RAS. Personal opinion...my next large saw purchase will be a table saw. Ideally with a sliding table. Joel

I have developed a problem with a sluggish toilet. This is the toilet in the master bedroom and the drain line ties in really quickly (in terms of linear feet) with the only other toilet in my house. The other toilet is working fine. Problem is that there just does not seem to be as much flushing action with this toilet. In unpleasant terms, the solid stuff does not always completely go away. In the past, a push with the plungger has taken care of this problem but now, that is just not curing the problem. If it is working halfway does this mean that there could be some sort of blockage just near the base of this toilet that does not affect the other? How can I get rid of it. Seems like it just needs a good push. Is there a DIY solution? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Ande

At Home Depot we know the Christmas season has arrived when all three of these things happen: 1. Our first shipment of Christmas trees arrives 2. Our music vendor starts playing nothing but Christmas carols 3. And someone asks for a male-to-male AC adapter. The M - T - M adapter is used when you decided to drink a whole case of wine before hanging the Christmas lights because no one is this stupid without chemical assistance. You put up the first strand of lights, plug it in, then put up the second strand of lights without checking which end you're dealing with. Next thing you know, the female ends of both strands are right next to each other and you can't plug them together. Instead of running an extension cord between the female end of the first set and the male end of the second (good), taking the second strand off and putting it back on correctly (better) or plugging all of the lights together before you try putting them on the tree (best), off to Home Depot you go for a male-to-male adapter. We don't have them. No one else has them. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to make such a thing. And even if it wasn't, you shouldn't use such a thing because you'll either kill your cat, kill your kids, or burn your house down. Do you really want live 110-volt electricity poking out the top of your Christmas tree? Do it right. Doin' it wrong ain't worth it. A message from the Grinch Who Made You Take Down 80 Feet of Christmas Lights. --jim

In our last house, we had a free-standing vermont castings propane fired stove but it was vented like a woodstove through the roof and it worked great even when the electricity was off. It looked just like a real fire (well almost) when it was burning. We did have a blower on it which we used when the electricity was on. One thing though - I think these type of stoves have a trickle electric start so if the electricity is off you won't be able to ignite it. The stove would have to be running already when the electricity goes off - there must be some other type with a battery back up in this day and age but I am unfamiliar. We also had a propane wall heater but that too was vented through the roof with a pipe through the wall like a bathroom vent is. This also worked well - we had that in our bedroom which was downstairs and since heat doesn't sink - we needed a source of heat down there too. Linda

Today I learned that my store is purchasing a house, converting it into a handicapped residence, and donating it to the Army for them to use to train severely wounded soldiers--amputees, brain damage, and other life-changing injuries (we have paratroopers here; guys are coming down (pun not intended) with life-changing injuries all the time)--to live normally. I also learned that I'm lead carpenter on this project. Anyone got any suggestions? -- --jmowreader

Zinc is for moss. Copper is for algae. If there is an ABC Supply store in your area, go there. They will have it. -- --jmowreader