Aw...sheets

I have a queen bed, fairly plush, but by no means ridiculously oversized. I needed a set of sheets for said bed.

I went to Wal-Mart to buy their best sheets, figuring the best sheets from a discount store average out pretty well. I found a color and style I liked, and made sure the queen set hadn't been opened.

You probably know what's coming next... When I got home, I attempted to make the bed with my new sheets. There was no amount of stretching that would have gotten that fitted sheet onto my mattress.

[more after the break -- click below]

Resurrecting a fish tank, part 1

My 29-gallon fish tank has been dormant for four months. It went uncleaned for a couple months before that. My lack of aquatic attention can be blamed on the amount of time needed to search for and move to a new place.

I'm not proud of it, but the caked-on scum in my fish tank developed into a rainbow of colors. There was green scum. There was purple scum. There was black scum. And I kid you not, there was scum that changed colors like the corner of a $20-dollar bill.

Clearly, there are only a few industrial products I could use to remove that scum, none of which would be safe for any future fish residents, which require a narrow range of pH levels and water chemicals to survive.

Or I could take the fish tank to a (manual) car wash and blast it with the high-pressure rinse cycle. Guess which option I chose?

It actually was fun to clean the fish tank at the car wash (obvious note: remove any live fish from the the tank before attempting this), though I got many strange looks from other car wash patrons.

Using the soap setting on the water gun (not the separate soap wand) helped loosen the entrenched scum. And the high-pressure rinse cycle did, in fact, clean everything out, though it sprayed soap bubbles everywhere.

After drying the fish tank off. I brought it home and filled it with some new gravel and decorations. Now I just need fish.

[freshly cleaned tank, with its light off and its light on]

 

 

I can see you

OK, so the title is a bit creepy. But that's kind of the point: My front door now has a peephole.

The architects of my townhouse for some inexplicable reason did not include any side glass or windows near the front door. So I had no idea whether the person ringing my doorbell is a neighborhood girl scout selling cookies or a Uzi-toting madman hell-bent on world destruction. (Yes, I watch a lot of REALLY bad movies.)

I had the idea to install a peephole/viewfinder after I evaluated my new home's security. About a month after I had the idea, a local company sent me an advertisement, telling me they'd install a peephole for what seemed like a lot of money.

I was right, it WAS a lot of money. My local hardware store sold me a peephole for about $10-12 dollars. (Amazon sells them, too.) I already had the drill and half-inch drill bit.

Don't want to drill a hole yourself? Find a Triangle-based security company with this Google search.

Some tips:
Splurge on the peephole: I got the peephole with the largest viewing angle available. I almost can see more through the peephole than I can with the door open. It cost about $2 more than a limited-scope peephole.
Make sure you know your door: If your door used to be a bank vault, you're probably going to need some heavy-duty equipment, or at least some extra drill bits.
Install the peephole at a comfortable height: I'm kind of a tall dude, so the peephole went in a few inches below eye level so others don't have to stand on their toes. If you have children around, consider installing a second, lower peephole.

More good tips and peephole alternatives can be found here. It's alarmist, but useful.

And now, I'm safe(r) from Uzi-toting madmen.

Being sick saps productivity

I haven't forgotten about this fledgling blog. I've been battling a nasty cold for the past week, and that really reduces my ability to get stuff done around the house.

But I have much to do during the next 10 days, so expect some real updates soon. Stay well out there.

Swimming in my money like Scrooge McDuck

In case you haven't looked directly to your right, or slightly up and to the right, I recently became a first-time homeowner. That means I qualified for the original first-time homeowner federal government tax credit* (not to be confused with the original first-time homeowner perk of a no-interest loan.)

*If you're thinking about buying your first home, and you have the money to do so, get it done QUICKLY. The current tax credit opportunity expires at the end of April.

I don't understand *why* the feds allowed this, but I was able to amend my 2008 return to claim the tax credit, rather than waiting to claim the tax credit on my 2009 taxes, when I actually bought my townhouse. Thus, when I checked my mailbox this week, a lovely four-figure check from the U.S. government had arrived.

I actually did a happy dance when I saw the check (luckily, nobody saw me, so there isn't any video).

Before any of my wonderful blog readers hit me up for free drinks or financial favors, know that I've already deposited the money in my bank account. After all, I do have a down payment to defray.

What would you do with the money? Spend it? Save it? Cash it in for quarters and swim in it like Scrooge McDuck?

Trash vs. recycling

During the last few weeks, I'm proud to say there's been more stuff at the curb in my recycling bin than in my trash can. I'm down to about one kitchen trash bag per week.

The difference came after I reread the City of Raleigh's recycling rules, which reminded me all the junk mail I accumulate can be recycled. In fact, I have another foot-high stack of newspaper, junk mail and old envelopes ready to go out this week, plus some cardboard boxes I should have ditched weeks ago.

Two caveats: I *do* create a lot of trash. But I eat most of my meals at/near work, so most of my trash doesn't come home with me. Also, recycling isn't necessarily the most "green" solution, but at least all of my waste isn't going to the landfill.

Plastic cut

You've gotten a paper cut before, right? Last night, I got a paper cut from PLASTIC.

One of my Christmas gifts was acrylic display cases for some old Hess trucks I have. With the mirrored back piece and clear sides, these cases will really show off the collection nicely.

But as I removed the packing supplies, I sliced my knuckle on a fairly sharp corner. No worries -- I waited for the bleeding to stop and resumed unpacking the cases. The problem came today as I got dressed. Doing that reopened the wound, getting blood everywhere. (Oh, sorry ... hope you're not squeamish)

Here's the upside: I originally intended to mount the cases in a high-traffic hallway. I know now that location won't work: Either I or a houseguest (OK, just me) will invariably make contact with the case. And cleaning blood up just isn't fun. So the display cases will be relocated to another prominent location.