Fun with Home Repair

I have some nominal ability to effect repairs around the house. Electrical work, however, has been something up with which I shall not put (paraphrasing Churchill). Recently, when our microwave oven died after plugging a radio into an outlet, I called an electrician for help. This happening on a weekend, the service wanted a credit card number for the "emergency service fee". I told them that I could cook on a stove top, so this was not considered an emergency. Schedule something for Monday, please.

In the mean time, I jumped on the internet to see if I could troubleshoot the problem. I came across a great web site, The Circuit Detective. This fellow has a great troubleshooting page (I had an open neutral in a circuit that ended at the microwave), advice, even telephone consultation if you are not near enough that he can visit in person. On top of that, you can order his book from Amazon!



Bottom line, with the advice from this site, about $9.00 worth of outlets (including a cheap tester), I effected a repair that would have cost $125.00 just for the service call, had I considered it an emergency.

Interesting side note: The electrical repair shop never did call me to set an appointment.

Special on iPods at Calumet

Yes, a blatant plug. Full disclosure - I (through my company, Camera Collectors, Inc. am an affiliate of Calumet Photographic. A new relationship, I hope they can supply items my customers may want, but that I cannot supply. With luck, I may make a buck or two as well.

That said, they are offering free shipping on iPods. My older daughter loves hers, and I was sufficiently impressed I may replace my MP3 player with an iPod (I have some Scot blood in me, so I won't do it until the MP3 player breathes it's last breath).

How does this apply to homeschooling? Please, if you haven't already, check out iTunes University. My MP3 player does not have any music. I have iTunes U college lectures on the Epistles, I have lessons on Biblical Greek (these lectures are downloaded free of charge), and a few audio books from Audible.com. I load Jack Benny's radio programs to listen to while traveling - driving at night, kids and wife asleep, and I'm laughing out loud.

Anyway - here is the link. If it looks like a good deal, try them out. I buy hard-to-find photographic gear from Calumet, and have always been pleased by their prices and service.

Free Shipping on ALL iPods at Calumet Photographic! while supplies last. no code necessary

To steal a line from Monty Python...

And now, for something completely different.... Technochicken!

Who has this much time on their hands?

Ugly Lessons

And I'm not referring to the ugly mug my kids see during their home school lessons. No, this was an unfortunate (but fortunately rare) lesson in human nature.

An acquaintance of my older daughter was creating a ruckus in the parking lot between several buildings in our townhouse complex. An owner (middle aged woman) came out to holler a complaint. She was obviously already in a bad mood - who knows what had happened in her day (or life) to upset her - and this boy became the target of her ire. Being a nosy neighbor, and knowing the boy, I suggested to the youngster that he quit making such a din, as the lady was upset enough. That suggestion lasted as long as one would suspect with an eleven-year-old boy, about five minutes.

The next time our irate neighbor approached the boy his sitter intervened. This girl has anger issues of her own. Imagine being seventeen years old, oldest of six children, in charge of watching and schooling all five siblings for a majority of each day (the youngest still in diapers) as momma works afternoons and nights, and pappa is gone (a divorce the children learned of when the legal papers were left lying about) - no social life, no contact with kids outside the immediate area, in a crowded two bedroom townhouse all day - I think the anger and attitude are understandable, right or not.

Long story short, the two short tempers ended up choking each other until the seventeen-year-old hit the pavement. Police cars, firetruck, ambulance... more excitement than this quiet neighborhood has seen in many years.

Sad situation, but it does provide a "teachable moment". The kids learned some of what leads to the anger, how the situation escalates, how people should and should not handle these problems, and a quick Bible lesson in turning the other cheek. Sometimes good can come from bad.

Busy Week

Here is the problem with a blog - I don't write consistently. Lots of fun this last week, though.

We finally made the home-made cheese referenced below. It was fun, and I figure it counts as home economics and chemistry. It needs a little something - a great texture, but a little bland. I think with a little garlic, maybe some herbs, it will be delightful. Next step, aged cheese!

Adoption vs. IVF

Much has been said about the anniversary of the first child born as a result of in vitro fertilization. My wife and I went through a series of fertility treatments, including in utero fertilization, but fell into that category of infertility known in doctor-speak as "I dunno".

The result of our long journey is our two daughters. While this response to an article on National Review Online does not mirror our experience exactly, it does reflect many of our experiences and certainly reflects the feelings we have toward our daughters.

Make meals interesting

Sometimes when feeding the kids it can be helpful to make a meal a bit interesting. This doesn't have to be a major project. For instance, this simple arrangement (shown before the corn dogs were added to the plate - yeah, a real gourmet meal) is easy, but got a rating of "Cool!" from the girls.

Now, before you get the idea I think I am a presentation genius, I should direct you to some real pros in the field. The Japanese serve lunches in cute compartmented stackable Bento boxes, Bento being a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal. The creative cooks make their lunches resemble people, animals, cartoon characters, landscapes, and the like. This style is called kyaraben, and one example is shown below.

You can click on the picture to go to a blog with more examples. I don't recommend the blog for the kiddies, as some entries have questionable language. The page with the examples of creative food is safe, and well worth a visit.