sam1's Profile

my biggest problem with CFLs was that all of my light fixtures are dimmable - meaning that I had to buy the most expensive, hardest-to-find, CFLs (if I could find them at all). Or replace all of my fixtures, which also seems like a ridiculous thing to do. I essentially ended up stockpiling traditional incandescent bulbs in higher wattages (I need 100 and 150W bulbs for a few fixtures) so that I could bridge the gap until LEDs gained more traction. Glad to see that it's starting to happen.

I'm doing one. or attempting again to do one. I've started a few as part of group projects, but never seem to get past a few months. This time I've decided to do one on my own. I'm also trying to wean myself from the idea that I can only take good pictures with my fancy SLR. now that I have a phone with a good camera, I'm experimenting with app-tools like snapseed and others to make the entire process less "bulky camera and desktop computer" - reliant (at least some of the time).

I've been on a few remote vacations where there was no phone, internet, tv, etc. But generally my job wouldn't let me disconnect, even if I were to get rid of all of my non-work-related connections.

cute idea in theory, but all I can think about (particularly with my heavy, old-school nikon film lens), is that the weight balance is going to be way off, and uncomfortable. Also, given the fact that the lens is most of the weight/size, i'm not sure this is actually saving me anything (particularly once you add in the converter piece) in bag space at the end of the day. Might be useful if I damaged my base though.

If you only record things in the evening (or really, between any limited number of hours in the day), you could possibly hook it up to one of those lamp timers and set it so that the "power" goes on and off at certain times of the day. i.e., I really only record things during primetime, so only having the power run from, say 7pm to midnight or 1 am (to allow for both the power-on/boot time and watching later in the evening) might be a possible way to go.

My old office ordered aeron chairs for everyone, which was great, but everyone had their own "settings", so sharing wasn't an option.

It usually wasn't a problem (and we were a law firm where everyone had their own office), but at least one friend discovered his chair stolen on more than on occassion - The default chair size ordered was medium, but he needed a small, so they special ordered one for him. Periodically though, he would come in to discover a too-large chair sitting behind his desk, and he'd have to go hunting through the office for "his".

I know for me, I spend so much time getting the seat height and the lumbar support correct, that if someone came in and took my chair, I'd probably want to punch them. Secretaries in particular spend all day sitting, and I can see how they would (quite reasonably) get very territorial over their seats.

I've got white subway tile as well, and love it. If you wanted to get "decorative with it, you could always do on row of the "skinny" tile in a different color (similar to the old school bathroom tiling, with the decorative row near the top of the tiles) - perhaps to match your countertops.

You could also do subway tile in an off-white or a really light grey, if you don't want so much white.

I just got my (entry level) soda stream in the mail today after reading a recommendation on AT a few weeks ago. I love fizzy water, and was buying case of poland spring sparkling water from fresh direct on a regular basis. Just doing the math, this is going to save me much money, not to mention room in my tiny fridge since I can just continually cycle through a few bottles.

I thought about getting the penguin, but when I saw it in the store I actually didn't like the bottles - the plastic ones fit better in my fridge.

I was actually pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn't need to plug it in.

And I ended up getting the "starter" kit, so it came with an extra CO2 cylinder and extra bottles. The extra cylinder was key, as you can send back the old ones for recycling/credit, but I don't want to have a gap, so when one runs out, I can install the second and send back the first/wait for the refill.

I'm a lefty too, and I always make sure to strategically place myself at a left corner (usually announcing that I'm left-handed) so that I don't annoy everyone. We do two things at Thanksgiving - have a folding card table that we add on to the dining table for more room, and we serve all food buffet-style, so that there are no serving dishes in the dining room at all. Plus, it allows for more mingling.

My brother just got out of a two year stint in the Peace Corps. Most of the stuff we sent him was not fragile, so it wasn't too much of a problem - books and magazines, canned goods, extra toothpaste and deodorant. It's not like he was asking for hummel figurines. I did send him a bunch of my dvds at one point, but I bought one of those cd sleeves and put them in there - he still uses the sleeve now.

Two hints that may differ a bit from the above - the postal service is VERY picky about how items are shipped overseas. If you're going to reuse boxes with any sort of markings on them, get a roll of brown craft paper to wrap them in. Also, depending on where your brother is stationed, air mail may be the only way to go. Mine was in Pohnpei, Micronesia. USPS was the only one that shipped there, and 2-day air mail generally took at least a month.