So, yesterday I enlisted the help of a neighbor and we installed new lights on the front and back porches.  Now, one thing I learned from this experience is it pays to read the instructions first.  Still after a few do-overs, we managed to get the front light hung.

The second thing I learned is that electricity can be a pretty unforgiving thing.  Now before you jump to any conclusions about my intelligence, I want to state right up front that I did in fact turn off the lighting breaker at the panel before starting the project.  And we got the front porch taken care without anything, ahem, shocking taking place.

As we installed the back porch light, the exposed wires touched and they made a pretty impressive spark.  My neighbor was incredulous when I assured him I had in fact thrown the breaker.  But before continuing I did the smart thing and turned off the main breaker and the install was completed without further incident.

Except when we were finished the porch light didn’t work.  I checked the breaker panel and saw that the switch for the great room was tripped.  I reset it and the lamp was lit.  So, I also now know that the back porch is not on the lighting circuit after all.

But the biggest surprise came this morning when I attempted to turn on my television.  Because it no longer works.  I can only surmise that despite being on a surge protector, that spark on the great room circuit must have done some internal damage to the TV.

Now, this is a 47 inch flat panel I purchased at the PX in Korea.  It’s a Korean brand I’ve never seen anywhere else (AVOL).  I looked up their USA service number on the Internet and called about getting it fixed.  They said they’d be glad to take a look if I shipped it to California.  Did I mention this is a 47″ flat screen?  The AVOL folks helpfully suggested I contact AAFES (the retailer) to see if they could suggest someone for local servicing.

The way things are looking I may have the most expensive back porch lighting fixture in the neighborhood.

Weird stuff in Oregon.

Let me get this straight. We’re going to be “gifted” with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don’t, which purportedly covers at least 10 million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a congress that didn’t read it but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, for which we’ll be taxed for 4 years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted social security and medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s broke!!! What the hell go possibly go wrong?

–from the comments at Politico.

Spent the past several days shopping for furniture to fill the house in anticipation of eventually closing the deal.  Uncle Sam (in the guise of HUD) is taking his sweet time, although the contract offer has been accepted and approved.

Once I actually take possession I’m going to have to have the interior painted and new flooring installed before I actually move in.  But when that day comes, I’ll have the living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture I’ve now purchased delivered.

I won’t bore you with the details of my shopping experience (at least any more so than I already have), but I will relate a little story that I thought was kinda funny.

I had looked at a leather couch/love seat combo I rather fancied at Ashley Furniture.  About twice as expensive as the leather blends that are quite popular, but I’m hoping to make this the final furniture purchase in this lifetime.  So I had to consider quality over price, at least to the extent I could afford to do so. Still,  I wanted to stew on the decision for a bit before pulling the trigger.  A few days later I found a bedroom suite that filled the bill at Value City and I completed the purchase transaction with my salesman, Maurice.

Having now made up my mind to go with the leather at the Ashley store, I hooked up with Eva, the salesperson who had assisted me on my previous visit.  She asked me if I had bought a bedroom set at Value City the previous day. I was somewhat taken aback, but confessed that I had in fact done so.  It turns out that Maurice is Eva’s husband.  Apparently he had told her about his “big sale” (these folks work on commission) and I guess his description of us rang a bell with Eva.

Anyway, I thought that was a pretty amazing coincidence.  I mean, the sales staff in both stores just grab the customers randomly as they enter the store.  What are the odds that I’d just happen to get both ends of the married couple?

I guess I made both of their days. And Eva said she’d be sure and remind Maurice she got the bigger sale.  Me?  I’m feeling quite a bit poorer for the experience.  But I got some nice stuff.

Everybody around here seems to talking about that age old question of which came first, the soup or the bowl.   It seems fairly obvious that you couldn’t possible invent soup unless and until you had a bowl in which to place it.  But that’s just me.

Anyway, I understand that the issue is to be decided on something called a gridiron today.  Seems these soup packers from Green Bay or going to attempt to fill some steel bowls made in Pittsburgh or something.  Everyone is getting together at my daughter’s house to watch the action.

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.  I’m not that hot on soup anyway.  Now, some good ol’ chili is always nice.  Especially in a steel bowl.