Tecnu

This is more a reminder to myself than a plug to you for a product named Tecnu. I mention it because I'm now about 6 weeks into trying to get over a serious bout of poison ivy.

Yes, I've seen a doctor. Prednisone was part of my treatment. That got the worst out but more lingered. My doctor thinks it may have triggered shingles. Though I doubt that I can't argue with the success of the medication he prescribed: famciclovir; the remainder of the rash is retreating quickly now.

Phew!

Hence my advocacy of Tecnu. Had I used it within 8 hours of raking piles and piles of leaves for Mary, I could have been spared a lot of discomfort. The stuff is effective in removing the oils within poison ivy that bonds to your skin. It's even fairly good in mild cases of poison ivy once you get it.

Live and learn. :^)

Pacifica Space Saver

I spotted this little number at Bed, Bath, and Beyond while shopping for other bathroom items. Now, as you can see, it's part of my new bathroom. To the right, you can see my new brushed nickel towel holders. All at affordable prices, thanks to the many genuine virtues of capitalism. Life is so very good.

Thanksgiving: Capitalism vs Communism aka Life vs Death

John Stossel has an interesting and very short article posted at http://www.nysun.com/article/66843?page_no=1. Check it out. Its content gave rise to this post's title.

TV/DVD Stand

Finally, here's a pic of the TV/DVD stand. The speakers on top are supposed to be surround sound but they don't work, at least not yet. I'm still trying to fathom that part.

If my struggle with the DVD player speakers continue, I'll just return the DVD set to the store and stick with a simpler system. Besides, the placement of the surround sound speakers requires more work than I'm willing to do for the space with which I'm working.

Not shown is my VCR. Can't get that to work yet either. It's heading to storage for now. More pressing tasks await. :^)

Coffee table

Check out this coffee table we picked up at Pilgrim Furniture in Southington. It's an excellent space saver.

No company? No problem. Just leave the set as is.

Guests arrive? As needed, just roll out one or more of the four stools. Each has a soft, microfiber cover.

This coffee table is part of the set I purchased over the weekend. The set includes a long TV stand, love seat, and comfy chair. The love seat and chair set are on order with delivery scheduled for sometime in early January. The TV stand is not ready for a pic yet. Still messy in that area. Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving 2007

If you haven't already seen my post about Thanksgiving, you can view it here.

This year finds me especially thankful for my personal experience with a genuine producer, Mary. She's an attorney, a good mother, an office/operations manager, actively involved in her town, my personal general contractor and home improvement consultant, and much more. I count my many blessings.

While we're counting, here's a snapshot of the latest fruit of our labor.


Gone now is a 20 year old small metal medicine cabinet. This one is a foot wider and, as you can see, wood. It's loaded with space for my supplies and Mary's. This combined with the increased acreage in the vanity has gone a long way to boost my condo's eventual resale value as well as its value to me now.

Technical note: With just the two of us trying to mount this big, bulky thing to the wall as neatly as possible, I turned my attention to options for handling that. The thought of my arms shaking and tiring quickly while Mary, properly, took her time to get the positioning just right was solid motivation. The idea I came up with was scaffolding. Two plastic crates proved to be perfect foundations for this idea. We mounted them over the faucets and then added my drill case, a couple of one inch wood blocks, and, finally, a few shims to get everything perfectly level and positioned at precisely the right height. From there, all I had to do was to hold the cabinet steady while Mary drilled the holes and applied the toggle bolts into the dry wall.

The light fixture above it is new too. The previous light fixture was built into the old cabinet. It was a dusty mess. The electrician I hired on Mary's recommendation did an excellent job. He had to punch a hole in the wall to install a junction box and then snake a wire to handle the lights at the higher level you see here to make room for this healthy sized medicine cabinet.

While the electrician was here, I had him install an electrical outlet on the kitchen wall. Not having one there had been forcing me into having electrical cords straying across traffic paths. Things are much neater now...thanks to this particular producer—my electrician.

2007 has been a year of productive effort from the following crew:

• Carpet installers (Lowe's)
  
• Tile installers (Lowe's)
  
• Painters (me and Mary, especially Mary's knowledge of patching all kinds of holes)
  
• Ceiling scrapers (me and Mary)
  
• Furniture movers/installers (me and Mary) and toilet remover/installer (me)
  
• Plumbers (Lowe's dishwasher installation & Fletcher's rebuilding my washer/dryer pipes)
  
• Washer/dryer mover—(me; This was one of my biggest coups. I found a set of heavy duty metal casters at Lowe's to deal with the substantial challenge of moving my large washer/dryer from a very tight space alone. It was a job for 2 young, fit men. Narrowly avoiding the loss of the tip of one of my fingers, I managed to perch (precariously) the washer/dryer onto the casters and then fought it past the old carpet tacking that was still under it. Once I got it clear of its narrow confines, I finished mounting the washer/dryer safely onto the casters with Mary's welcome assistance. The casters now sit permanently under the washer/dryer for easy maintenance—just roll that puppy out as if were in a drawer!
  
• Town dump transporters (me and Mary)
  
• Linoleum removers (me and Lowe's)
  
• Wallpaper removers (me and Mary)
  
• Wallpaper installers (Mary and her apprentice, me)

All this and more was a logical extension of my decades long integration of Ayn Rand's ideas (Objectivism) into the fabric of my life. Ideas are not mere words that float in conversations...if you take ideas seriously. Ideas are calls to action. Honoring an idea in action requires you to do something many don't do—hold context across time.

"Life is good" my friends often hear me say. Well, that fact is now vividly evident in the structure of my home, literally from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. The permanence of lovely tile states it clearly, calmly, and surely. The sturdy, reflective wallpaper echoes it lightly. The new ceiling fan and light fixtures echo it. My new furniture and high definition TV (pics forthcoming) reflect it.

Holding context across the decades of my life, I have passed by the disappointing spirits that gave up along the way, thinking that maturity consisted of abandoning the eternally youthful vision projected in Ayn Rand's writing. Few things are more immature than such a spiritual surrender.

So, here I am, 30 years after reading the introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of The Fountainhead, wrapping up condo renovations to set the stage for the next stage of my life and the welcome challenges it holds.

That said, let me give thanks to the most important passage of non-fiction I ever read:

The best of mankind’s youth start life with an undefined sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one’s life is important, that great achievements are within one’s capacity, and that great things lie ahead.

It is not in the nature of man—nor of any living entity—to start out by giving up, by spitting in one’s own face and damning existence; that requires a process of corruption whose rapidity differs from man to man. Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lose it. Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one’s mind; security, of abandoning one’s values; practicality, of losing self-esteem. Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that the fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential.

There are very few guideposts to find. The Fountainhead is one of them.

That is one of the cardinal reasons of The Fountainhead’s lasting appeal: it is the confirmation of the spirit of youth, proclaiming man’s glory, showing how much is possible.

Chicago Blues...

...is one of the cool stations I was able to set as one of my favorites at Pandora.com. Mary and I enjoyed the blues during the renovations to my living room & kitchen.

Pandora

Check out Pandora.com. It's basically a free, personalized radio station. You set it up to play music you like.

While doing that, the site takes into account what you've already played and starts playing similar music from other artists you may like. If you hear something you don't like, click the "thumbs up" to signal your pleasure. Otherwise, thumbs down or, if you're on the fence, ignore it. Thumbs down ends the song immediately and a new song starts playing.

Easy stuff.

I've found some nice tunes for my iPod using this site. For example, I created a Tangerine Dream station. Right now, Pandora is playing The Real Dream of Sails by Harold Budd. Never heard of him before but I like this soothing music in this context of late night typing, ending my broadcast day. :^)

Earth-rise, courtesy of Japan

Have you seen this yet? It caught me unaware of Japan's space technology. Wonderful!

Growing up in the 60s, "Made in Japan" was a common joke. Talk about being light years away from that context!

Bathroom Upgrade

Well, at long last, I've finally found some time to report on major changes to my condo's bathroom. I opted not to collect before pics. It's sufficient that those who have seen it will appreciate the contrast.

Reminder: Click a pic to see it enlarged.

Vanity First, check out this vanity. It's 36 inches wide vs. the old one's 24. For my taste, I had too much space on either side. I wanted to fill it with something attractive as well as gain drawers (none in the older one) and ample storage space to reduce counter clutter. This pic also gives you the first view of my new wallpaper. I really like this pattern. I like how it catches the light as well as blending in with the other light colors of the room.

Sink This pic is a closer look at the granite sink. It was on sale at Home Depot. It's quite a contrast to the cheap vinyl top of my previous counter top.

Wallpaper This pic shows a corner of the bathroom to highlight the new wallpaper. However, looking at it now, I realize it needs something there to set it off well. The shopping continues!

Shower This final pic is, of course, of my shower stall. Check out the tile about it. That space right under the shower nozzle was previously occupied by peeling, thin wallpaper. How the previous owner/builder thought it prudent to place wallpaper (not even wallpaper suitable to a heavy water area) directly underneath a shower nozzle escapes me. Worse, the wallpaper was affixed without first priming the drywall. Now, as you can see, tile adorns the area above the shower. Sensible and pleasing to the eye, at least to my eye. This angle also shows the kind of look Mary and I were going for in our selections—wallpaper, tile, and tub juxtaposed. The new shower nozzle and its extension have been a welcome treat. Missing here is a pic of the new nickle plated light fixture and the new towel rods. We're not done with those yet. More to follow. I can't end without thanking Mary effusively for her relentless help in every detail, including installing the wallpaper. Productivity is a major Objectivist virtue. Mary owns that virtue in spades!