Dern PVC

This is what happened...

Running the PVC drain pipes was one of the first things Rick and I did. If you look at some of the pictures in the older posts you'll see the white pipe fitted into the floor.

If you haven't run PVC yet it's really easy to do. Just make sure you are ready to glue when you glue because the glue sets in about 30 seconds and there is no ungluing possible.

Well...

I finished all the way to the toilet this weekend. Only there was one problem. The elbow we got for the toilet flange required a piece of pipe to connect to the flange. Being able to connect it wasn't a big deal. What was a big deal was the fact that the flange would have stuck up about 2" above the surface of the floor. Not good. If you're wondering the flange should be flush with the floor. Otherwise you really do end up with a throne.

AND I had already glued everything together. There was no taking it apart. So I decided to cut the assembly out and re-fit it to get the toilet flange in the range where, when it is glued, it will be level with the floor. (Don't glue it until you know for sure where the floor will be!)

Well, I got some 4" fittings thinking if the flange set down in the pipe then maybe that would work better than the 3" pipe we were using. (The cast iron house drain is 4" so we had to get 4" pipe and reduce it to 3" anyway. I had a lot of 4" pipe left over.) I cut some of the 4" and fit it then discovered I would need to take out more wood from the floor beams. They are in sad enough shape already. That seemed like a bad idea. So I figured I would see if there was a flange for 3" pipe. I went back to the store again the next day and it turns out that all I needed was another different type of elbow and the fitting slipped right down the outside. Phew.

SO I tried fitting the pipe in again last night and ended up with one of the fittings upside down. Yes, and it was glued too. After lots of bad words I gave up for the night. I am back to the drawing board today. I so can't wait to start working on something other than plumbing!

Sweating Copper? No Sweat....

Tip – Before dismantling your bathroom, even a little bit, turn off the water and the electrical supply.

When I first ripped the floor out of my bathroom and realized that in the process I had both nicked a copper supply line and broken one of the PVC drain lines I thought, “Uh oh, now I have to do plumbing.” Yup, I was a bit intimidated and had more than a few worries about the potential for leaks once I had the floor back in. What if I did it wrong?

When I am facing something new that I don’t completely understand I read about it. Google “soldering copper” or “sweating copper” and you’ll find plenty of articles giving step by step instruction on how to solder copper water supply lines. My Black & Decker book on plumbing shows a guy in his neat flannel button-down tucked into a neat pair of jeans with a neat pair of work boots happily applying his torch to a copper joint. The articles tend to be either about how easy it really is to soldering copper pipe OR about how it’s a mix between art and science with warnings about where you could go wrong –making it seem difficult.

A good online tutorial can be found here:

http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=18276

I also have a Black & Decker book on plumbing that’s been helpful.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781589232013&itm=2

OK, I have a whole library of Black & Decker books, but that’s another story.

So, anyway, right after I had finished tearing out most of my upstairs bathroom my friend Rick (contractor arts mentor) came over and we made the decision to tear up the floor and re-arrange the whole bathroom. Doing this got me past my mental block against tearing out old plumbing. I was now committed to learning about removing and reinstalling both copper supply lines and PVC waste pipes.

Rick showed me how to do a few of the copper joints then let me put some together. It’s actually quite easy – plan a route, cut your pipe, clean the pipe and the fitting, and dry fit the assembly, make adjustments as needed, then solder. Most times it’s easiest to remove the sub-assemblies, take them to your shop, clamp them in a workbench, and solder them there. The big plus is that you can orient the assemblies to make them easier to solder (hint – vertical pipes and fittings are harder than horizontal pipes and fittings). After a while you’ll also start to get a feel for nice places to make a break to put the sub assemblies together. For example, connecting two pieces of pipe with one 90 degree fitting is easy. You can clamp one piece of pipe in the workbench, attach the 90 and the second pipe, and fill both joints (places where the pipe is inserted into the fitting) in one shot. Plus, you don’t have to worry about angles with simple assemblies like these. (Hint – if you do have weird angles and assemblies you can mark them up with a permanent marker numbering each piece of pipe to get the pipes in the right place and the angles lined up correctly.) You can then bring the sub-assemblies back to where you are installing the plumbing and check the fit before soldering everything in place.

Routing the plumbing isn’t hard either. Hot on the left, cold on the right – run the pipes near joists and beams so you can secure them with pipe hangars, and with the supply lines, get them close to where they need to be. Don’t forget to make sure of your routing is below floor level and make sure you leave clearance for any drain pipes! Once the new supply lines are in place you’ll be connecting to the hardware with flexible fittings (with the exception of the tub) which leaves some room for improvisation!

The actual soldering of the joint isn’t so bad either. After cleaning both the inside of the fitting and the outside of the pipe apply flux to both surfaces. Make sure you get a good coating. Insert the pipe into the fitting and make sure it bottoms out. If you have several places you want to join then it’s easier to clean, flux, fit, then solder them all at once.

Un-spool about 12 inches of solder and kink the end at a 90 degree angle with about 2-3 inches sticking out. Strike up your torch and apply the interior bright blue flame to both the fitting and the pipe where it enters the pipe. Move the flame back and forth and try to heat the fitting evenly. The flux will start to sizzle. Touch the solder to the pipe. At first the solder may form a small bead, then the bead will run and some will disappear into the pipe (this is pretty cool to watch). Move the solder all the way around the fitting where the pipe enters the joint. Keep hit on the fitting during this process. The flux will draw the solder into the joint. Once you’ve been all the way around the joint and the solder starts dripping remove the solder and the heat and wipe around the fitting with a rag. This both forces more solder into the joint and cleans up the appearance of the joint (that’s the art part of the deal).

Some joints will look better than others. Some will have blobs of solder everywhere and on everything. Others will look textbook. My first few were Vincent Van Gogh with drips and lumps and rough spots. With some practice they were looking more like Rembrandt. Vertical fittings are still difficult to make look pretty, but they are functional.

Rick came over this past weekend to check my progress and help out a bit. He thought I had things under control and headed home. On Saturday I wrapped up all of the supply lines and soldered temporary caps in place. With Lucia keeping an eye on things I turned the water supply to the bathroom back on. NO LEAKS! This was my first time sweating copper ever and I had no leaks. You can do it too.

The verdict? To start getting a feel for sweating copper is time consuming, but it’s not that hard and it’s a skill that’s well worth learning – especially if there is a lot of copper pipe in your house. It can probably save hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars in plumbing costs.

So Tired

I think I am either a night person or otherwise am just always trying to jam my day full, full, full and typically end up shutting off the light somewhere around midnight.

I guess this worked out ok when I was younger. Or maybe not. Hmmmmm... I can fall asleep nearly anywhere.

My battle to stay awake started in High School. I slept through Geometry, ended up with a D, and had to go to summer school (where I got an A in the class). I used to sleep through my classes in college too. Not a problem in a lecture with 250 other students, but definitely noticeable for my major classes. Once, one of my professors woke me up and asked if I'd like to get a drink of water. Another talked to me about natural sleep cycles and how there is a slow down in the afternoon.

I have fallen asleep in meetings. Back when I was in sales I remember a meeting with an important client where I was struggling to stay awake. Another time a coworker and I missed our afternoon flight to visit one of our plants and we ended up getting in to the hotel well after midnight. During the afternoon the next day I was battling to stay awake. I was trying to continue to take notes in a meeting and later on we all got a laugh out of my meaningless scrawl.

I often fall asleep when I am a passenger in a car. The last time I was in the UK I spent nearly the entire drive to one of our customer locations taking a nap. Fortunately I have never nodded off while driving, but there have been times when I was so tired I was afraid that I might.

I guess I notice it more now because I don't want to be drowsy at work - it's hard to accomplish anything when all of your energy is going into staying awake - and I am drowsy pretty often.
Maybe I need to trim down the number of things I am trying to do during the day and make sleep a higher priority. Once I get into a regular habit of going to bed earlier then I can re-evaluate and find out if something like sleep apnea is keeping me from getting fully rested.

Lucia, the Mighty Jetta, and the Dynamic GTI

How do I get it home?

That is the obvious question I asked myself when it came to the new bathtub, toilet, sink, and vanity. As I stood pondering the tub I wondered whether or not I could jam the box through my trunk and fit it into my car with the seats folded down. That seemed like a long shot. AND could a friend and I even lift the box? So, I asked if Lowe's would deliver. They can and they did. The next day for $75. Not bad. AND it turns out that the tub, which is made out of some sort of reinforced plastic (I think), really isn't very heavy at all.

What wasn't so obvious was getting home things like the cement board, the greenboard, and the plywood. Handling a few 2x4's isn't a big deal. Figuring out how to get a large sheet of plywood back to the house is another story.

My girlfriend Lucia ended up saving the day! She came to the store with me and we bought 1 sheet of 1/2 inch plywood, 1 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood, two sheets of greenboard, 5 2x4's and a 2x6. We took all of that out to the card on a cold and windy afternoon and tied it to my Jetta's roof rack. That isn't been the first time the roof rack has been a huge help to have. We layered the greenboard between the plywood to give the greenboard some stiffness and support and no problems getting it home! (BTW, I recommend a Thule roof rack. That thing is solid! There is no chance of the rack coming off the roof.)

The cement board was another story. To me it seems brittle and I figured it made more sense to put it in the back of Lucia's GTI than to try and strap it to my roof. We picked up 5 1/2 inch thick pieces of Hardibacker and 4 1/4 inch pieces of the same. (The 1/2 is recommended for tiling walls and the 1/4 inch for floors.) The sheets are smaller than regular wallboard sheets which makes them a little bit easier to handle. Still, I crushed Lu's thumb while we were loading the cart and she wandered off to find a band aid while I paid for the backer board.

Lucia has been a super-great help with the house. She has helped with lots of painting, helped me take the tub and dozens of heavy garbage bags down to the curb, went to the store with me to get large building supplies that I can't handle on my own, and been patient and tolerant with the slow progress of my first renovation project. She's also been good about me coming home with tools every other day. :) She's given blood when I smashed her thumb, sweat when we brought tons of stuff up to the bathroom, and probably tears at me spending all my time working on the project. All in all she's a great girlfriend!

Bathroom Renovation Pics

Ok, here are some pics of the progress in the bathroom...

The mighty Sawzall!

The bathtub cut in half!

Just the lonely old toilet...

Some shots of the new piping.

Renovations

Well, the first thing you learn when you are doing renovations is that everything takes much longer than you think it will. I have been working on renovating my upstairs bathroom since somewhere around mid-December. Often it seems like what you are looking at doing would be simple – you can imagine the layout of some pipes or fittings in your head – and two hours later you are still soldering. Or taking out this or that won’t be a big deal until you cut through something you shouldn’t have or made a hole here when you wanted one there. Anyway… when I started the project my primary tools were – a 12V Cordless Drill, an 18V Cordless Circular Saw, and an 18V Cordless Jig Saw

The first real power tool I bought was a Milwaukee Sawzall. I went and got it almost immediately after I started working on getting the tile down. If you are doing any kind of demolition this is the tool to have. Sawzall says it all. With this tool I have cut through wall tile, cement board, plywood with nails, copper pipe, PVC, cast iron pipe, and cut a bathtub in half. It’s made so you can start anywhere on almost any surface. Need a hole in the floor? No problem – just don’t cut too deep or you may take out electrical or plumbing that you didn’t want to replace.

The next tool that I got was a drywall screwdriver. This was a Christmas present from my girlfriend’s brother Rick (who has been giving me a crash course in “contractor arts”). A drywall screwdriver is different than using a hand drill to drive screws. It has a clutch mechanism that engages the motor when you press in on the drill bit. SO, speed is controlled with the trigger on the handle and the tool is engage by pressing inward on a screw. It makes life much easier for driving screws and removing them.

I had been thinking about getting a circular saw and why not? I would get to use it on this project. So when Rick and I went out for supplies we grabbed a Dewalt lightweight circular saw. It’s been nice for cutting 2x4’s. Fast and straight!

As Rick and I were working we put my poor little cordless drill the test. I kept running out of battery. We had been trying to cut larger diameter holes in the floor 2x6 support beams – 2 inches for the PVC pipe and ¾ for the copper. It seemed like it took hours. The next tool was a Dewalt 7.8 amp drill. What a difference! With the new Dewalt I started out to ream a ¾ size hole up to one inch and nearly twisted my thumb off my hand! Wow!

To round out the shop I also bought a chop saw so I can now cut PVC quickly without fumbling around too much and a table saw. The table saw had been on my list for a while so that I can make things like radiator covers. I also picked up a small workbench with a clamp oriented so I could solder sections of copper piping.

The bathroom renovation has been going pretty well, but has been time consuming. The first weekend I took out most of the tile around the tub. The second weekend I took out the tub, vanity, toilet, and floor tile. Taking down the drywall was tedious too. It was glued and drilled in place. Other tools required for the job include –
Drilling Hammer or Sledge Hammer
Drywall Axe – Handy, but not not necessary
Masonry Chisel
Floor Chisel
Floor Scraper
Hammer
Screwdrivers
Utility Knife
Channel Lock Pliers
Adjustable Wrench
Pipe Wrench
Dust Pan and Broom
Dust Masks
Eye Protection
Ear Protection
Prybars
Blow Torch
Tube Cutter
Fat Permanent Marker (This is a must have!)

Supplies Bought so Far
½ inch Copper Pipe
Copper Pipe Fittings
Flux
Pipe Cleaners (Emory Cloth and Wire Brush)
Solder
Cement Board for Walls
Cement Board for Floor
Green Board for Areas Not Tiled/Wet
Plywood
(10) 2x4’s
(4) 2x6’s
1 ½ inch PVC Pipe
PVC Pipe Fittings
PVC Cleaner
Tub
Vanity/Sink
Toilet
Various Screws/Nails
Saw Blades

So there you have it. I’ll try and post regularly on the progress and talk about what I am learning. Oh, and I will definitely put up some pics too!

“Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box…”

“Religion is the smile on the dog…
I'm not aware of too many things, but I know what I know if you know what I mean.”

- Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians

I am thinking about maybe doing a PhD in Philosophy. This might be the first subject that I have been truly interested in that doesn’t have some sort of practical application in my life. Usually I follow the path of studying things that I like as long as I can earn a living using what I have learned. Not so with this, but it would make good blog fodder!

Ideologies and theologies are interesting to me. About a year ago I listened to the book on CD “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” by Jon Krakauer. The book gave a fairly in-depth look at the beginnings of the Mormon faith and the extremes of a few Mormon fundamentalists who took revenge on a wife for not accepting the tenet of plural marriage.

Fundamentalists of any sort are by definition more extreme in their beliefs. There are many examples throughout history of religions fundamentalists of many stripes forcing their viewpoints upon society through acts of violence. There are also plenty of examples of charismatic leaders surfacing and leading near-theological movements with a band of fervent followers.

What are we looking for? Why would otherwise rational people become so deeply immersed in a belief system that from the outside seems obviously strange and rife with implausibility? What causes us to suspend our critical thinking?

Another reason why this is fascinating to me is that I have trouble with people expressing authoritarian viewpoints. For me there are no absolutes. It’s interesting to think about possibilities, but the truth of our existence and our experience is such that our ability to reduce it to words and an overarching ideology is an unending challenge. What is truth for me is unseen by others and vice versa.

So I ordered a book to see if this is a transient interest for me or something I’d like to take a deeper dive into. Should be interesting…

You Are What You Say...

"People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.”
- Emerson

Or - what you say about someone else is actually a reflection of yourself.

More on Landmark tomorrow....

Bye, Bye Ricky…

And please, don't come back!

Rick Santorum, R-PA

Bob Casey Jr. has been leading in the polls in the PA Senate Race for a long time now. At this point he appears to have a nice double-digit lead over Santorum. It will be great to see the poster boy for social intolerance unseated.

I recently read that the US had been left leaning from the 1930'2 up until 1968 or so. Through the 70's we sort of wandered. And then from the 80's until now the country had been leaning or slowly swinging right. The story I read suggested the Republican party is out of new ideas, has exhausted their agenda, and that this election might signify a move back toward the left. That would be nice.

The NY Times, in supporting a relatively unknown candidate in CT over a Republican the paper had endorsed many times before. The gist of the article suggested that it's time for the leadership in Congress to change and the way to bring about that change is to vote the party line - even if you don't know the candidates.

I always vote the party line and was a little surprised that it could be considered low-brow to do so. I suppose there are some people out there who like to say, "I weigh each candidate on their individual merits." To me that's surprising. For anything to change in our government you need a critical mass. Candidates run talking about individual issues, but in a broader sense are committed to support and promote the party platform. Once in Congress our representatives tend to do just that and vote the party line. Especially on issues contentious issues that highlight the big differences in the two platforms. So when you pull the lever you may think you are voting for a person, but for the most part, you aren't. You are voting to support a party.

On that note, I will never, ever vote Republican as long as the GOP plays on ignorant fears related to stereotyping certain groups of people in this country.

Pics From My Last Trip to the UK

These posts are a little out of order. I am in the UK right now - coming home tomorrow. The pics below are from a trip over the summer to attend the Farnborough Air Show. Our office is in Nottingham so I went there for a few days before heading south to the show. Proir to that is my post from this trip. This time around was all business so mostly all I saw were lots of fields and farms while traveling down the highway.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem
The Oldest Pub In England
Founded in 1189AD - Built Right into the Nottingham Castle Wall















Nottingham Castle















Yes, it's an old red phone booth...




















The A380 at Farnborough - Pretty Amazing

Magpie

London Calling...

Alright, no pictures this time. I didn't bring my camera. I do have to say though that England is quite beautiful. Lots of rolling green fields dotted with sheep. I was struck by the absence of strip malls and subdivisions. Maybe that difference highlights America's youth.. England, quiet, peaceful, subdued.. America, loud, well lit, lots of places to buy the latest thing.. Ah, who knows. Maybe I am reading too much into the lack of sprawl. Regardless, it just seems nicer.

I did see a magpie this trip - a black bird with white wings - that was pretty cool.

What am I doing here? Visiting accounts, doing marketing research. I was able to go to Airbus and Rolls Royce this week. It was great learning about the new developments each are working on. I think there are great opportunities for my company if only we can move fast enough to take advantage of them.

I got here last Sunday and fly out tomorrow. I am at the Holiday at Heathrow Airport. A HUGE airport. They have an old Concorde parked here too. It was surprising to see one. I didn't think I'd seen one live before, but I did - at Boeing's Museum of Flight in Seattle. The Museum of Flight has a couple of two seat full motion simulators. You can loop, roll, do pretty much any stunt you can imagine. They were a ton of fun.

Anyways, I haven't written in a while, but maybe I should get back to it. I have moved back to Philadelphia.. Actually have been in the area since May. I bought a house in Abington. It's 2200 square feet with a full mother-in-law suite for mom. I have been busy over the last month or so painting and refurbishing it. It has come up real nice. I think it will be great once I get it done and get everything put away. The job is going well too. I feel like I can stretch my legs more and have come into my own with the position. It's good being in a positive environment.

And have I said I have the best girlfriend in the universe? I think she's awesome. We fit with each other really well too. Offsetting in personality would be a good way to think of it. And she's beautiful and loving and caring and attentive and I adore her.

That's the news for now. Back to the US tomorrow.

News, news, news, and more news....

First off, some pics from the Dirty Martini's Pub Crawl back in January...

Lu Being Silly













Me and my girl!













Nan and the DM's. This is serious business, right Nan?













SO, it looks like I haven't written in a few weeks. A LOT has happened!

I started an interview process with a company in Philadelphia in early April. I went through two phone screenings and flew in for an interview on April 11. On April 13 I was offered a job! Hoorray! I am moving back to Philly.

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I gave my two weeks notice on Monday the 17th and have been busy wrapping things up here at work and cleaning up the house to get it ready to sell. Cleaned up and ready to sell translates to - laying 5,000 square feet of sod to fix an area that got torn up while the builder was putting in a french drain AND adding sod to the back of the property to keep it from washing away, pressure washing the front siding, windows, and deck, putting a new coat of white paint on the railings, and just generally finding homes for the random stuff that tends to collect places like on the countertops. It's a brand new house, yeah, but I feel like putting out a few hours work and a few hundred will help keep my sale price close to asking. That would be great.

Things I will miss about the south - ok, I admit it, I like the weather. I don't like being cold and have started getting used to 80 and 90 degree days in April. It feels like summer. I guess by mid-August I would be praying for the heat to break, but right now it's nice. I'll also miss the boiled peanuts. You'd never find them up north and they do take some getting used to, but I like them. Pretty tasty!

Things I could do without - contractors and laborers. It typically takes several phone calls to get someone to come out. And if the job isn't done or there is something that needs to be fixed it takes double the amount of calls to get them to come back! Egads!

Interesting things... The animals are cool. I have seen little green lizards hanging out on my porch and some more colorful lizards - blues and browns and greens - when hiking in the parks here.

Lu and I also saw a strange red and black furry bug doing laps on a picnic table. We found out later that the bug is called a red velvet ant. This is not an ant at all, but a stinging insect like a wasp! The females are wingless and prey on ground dwelling bumble bees. They burrow into a bumble bee nest and deposit eggs there and the immature velvet ant eat the bee's larva! Ick!













During our adventures Lucia and I also tripped across a large snake sunning himself on a path in the woods (Lu insists it was 30 feet long) and an owl!



















More animals include herrons, hawks, vultures, mocking birds, frogs, water turtles, and more snakes large and tiny. Here is a pic of a southern ring snake. These are harmless snakes that eat small earthworms, slugs, frogs, anoles, geckos, skinks, snakes, and salamanders. I found one while I working in the yard and it was a tiny baby snake! Maybe 4 inches long.











And, well, me and food.. One of the guidebooks I have for South Carolina suggests Lizard's Thicket for down home southern cooking. Well, imagine things like hamburger steak and grits and collards and fried okra served up fast-food style. Most Yankees can't relate, but it's a pretty popular chain in these parts.










Fun words - how about curb buggy? That's a garbage can with wheels. And you'll sometimes hear a shopping cart referred to as a buggy.

Just 3 short days and I am back in the northeast. The drive up will be ten hours and I am bringing my cat. I am sure she won't be happy with the drive, but I can't wait to get back! More soon..

Some notes on quitting smoking...

So, I have, by and large, stopped smoking completely. By and large means once in a while I still have a couple cigarettes, but do not smoke regularly anymore. Yes, my lungs are breathing a sigh of relief. BUT I do chew nicotine gum regularly and might be considered a chronic user. The thought occured to me that this might lead to trouble down the road because I haven't really kicked the nicotine habit. I might just keep relapsing forever... This all convinced me that I needed to do some quick research and reading and kick nicotine for good. Here are the results so far.

The bottom line - if you are planning to quit go cold turkey. Your irritability over not being able to smoke, or chew as the case may be, peaks at 72 hours. After that it's all down hill. The trick, or crux, is that you CAN NOT touch it again or the cycle starts all over again. Another 3 days of cravings..

One other note - nicotine DOES NOT give you anything. It takes away. A cigarette is a potent nicotine delivery vehicle. Within 10 seconds of your first hit on a cigarette your brain is swimming in nicotine. YES, the results are initially pleasurable, but the crash, which starts within minutes after smoking, is what makes you reach for another cigarette, and another cigarette, and another cigarette. (Just like a heroin addict or a cocaine addict or a crack addict.) Nicotine doesn't calm you or help you in any way. It's killing you. And if you toss the pack out the window and never look back within ONE WEEK you'll already be feeling better.

OK, here's that research...

It can take up to 72 hours for the blood-serum to become nicotine-free and 90% of nicotine's metabolites to exit the body via your urine. It's then that the anxieties associated with readjustment normally peak in intensity and begin to gradually decline. But just one powerful "hit" of nicotine and you'll again face another 72 hours of detox anxieties. It's why the one puff survival rate is almost zero. None of us are stronger than nicotine but then we don't need to be as it is simply a chemical with an I.Q. of zero. It does not plot, plan or conspire and is not some demon within us. Our most effective weapon against it is, and always has been, our vastly superior intelligence but only if put to work.

The key to nicotine dependency recovery is not in dragging out the 72 hours of detox by toying for weeks or months with gradual nicotine weaning or other creative means for delivering nicotine. The nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) industry want smokers to believe that a natural poison is medicine, that its use is therapy, and that it is somehow different from the tobacco plant's nicotine molecule. The truth is that the pharmaceutical industry buys its nicotiana from the exact same growers as the tobacco industry. They want you to believe that double-blind placebo controlled studies proved that NRT doubles a cold turkey quitters odds of quitting and that only superheros can quit without it. The truth is that their studies were not blind as claimed, and that all but a tiny sliver of earth's successful quitters are quitting entirely on their own. Here are a few facts that those selling creative nicotine delivery devices would rather you not know:

Nicotine is a psychoactive drug whose "high" provides a dopamine "aaahhh" sensation and an adrenaline rush. Would you have been able to tell, within 5 minutes, whether the gum or lozenge you'd been given contained the nicotine equilivent of smoking two cigarettes or was instead a nicotine-free placebo? So could they. A 2004 study found that NRT studies suffered from massive wide-spread blinding failures (May 2004)

A nicotine smoker's natural odds of quitting for six months, entirely on their own, without any products, procedures, education programs, counseling or formal support is roughly 10% (June 2000)

Those using the over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine patch or gum as a stand-alone quitting tool have only a 7% chance of quitting smoking for six months (March 2003)

Up to 7% of OTC nicotine gum quitters are still chronic users of nicotine gum at six months (May 2004). Question: isn't 7 minus 7 still zero? (May 2004)

36.6% of all current nicotine gum users are chronic long-term users (May 2004)

You truly would have to be a superhero to quit while using the nicotine patch if you've already attempted using it once and relapsed. The only two patch user "recycling" studies ever conducted have both shown that nearly 100% of second-time nicotine patch users relapse to smoking nicotine within six months (April 1993 and August 1995)

91.2% of all successful long-term ex-smokers quit entirely on their own without resort to any product, procedure or program of any kind including hypnosis, Zyban, Wellbutrin, acupuncture, magic herbs, laser therapy, or the nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, spray, or inhaler (ACS 2003)

Education, understanding, new skills and serious support can more than triple your natural six-month odds of 10% (April 2003)

Those who refuse to allow any nicotine back into their bloodstream have 100% odds of remaining nicotine free today! (Today, Tomorrow & Always!)















The ONLY way to truly quit is to go cold turkey and never look back!

Uh-oh, a jinxed J-Roll

Sigh. Well, the story I hoped to follow all baseball season quickly came to a close last night. The Cards held Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins hitless in a 4-2 defeat. Rollins was left standing in 9th place with hits in 38 games in a row.

Well, Jimmy, we'll just have to start the count again! Great job!

Jimmy Rollins Record Watch

I love baseball and my team is the Philadelphia Phillies - that is, when I am not rooting for the Yankees and the Red Sox during the playoff race. (Can you really root for both the Yankees and the Red Sox?) Ahem. Anyway, Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies shortstop, is chasing history by having hit in 38 straight games. His most recent hit came in the bottom of the 1st inning last night versus the Cardinals. Unfortunately the Phils went on to lose the game 4-3. Rollins is currently 9th on the all-time list, just behind Paul Moliter with 39.

Go Jimmy! Go Phils!

What Do You Say?

Writer's Digest publishes a new writing prompt each week to help spark creativity. These can be found at www.writersdigest.com. Here is the exercse for this week..

Rewrite a cliché as 10 different headlines. Then burn the paper, vowing to never use them again.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Greener Grass Sighted on the Other Side!
Experts Find Greener Grass on the Other Side.
Study Concludes Grass on the Other Side is Greener.
Other Side Grass Is Found to Be Greener Than the Rest!
When You Are Looking for Greener Grass Try the Other Side.
Other Side Celebrates Greener Grass Bonanza!
The Other Side Holds the Secret to Greener Grass.
Sources Say Greener Grass Found on the Other Side.
Other Side Holds a Commanding Position on Greener Grass.
Economists Determine Unlimited Supply of Greener Grass Found on the Other Side.

Well, I can't exactly burn the paper, but that was fun!

Testing..

I am emailing this to my blog from my email account just to check it out and see if it works. It would be pretty cool just to write up an email and post it.

Today was an exasperating day. I spent most of it trying to find leading indicator data for our strategy presentation. By the end of the day (now) I was whiney and cranky. I am still sitting under a pile of reports and charts and need to work on this some more tomorrow.

I think it's nice out, but I can't tell. I haven't really moved much from my office all day. Maybe I should take up a career as a landscaper so I can get more vitamin D.

Miracle Grow

Ok, just a quick post tonight... My mom and I were re-potting some large ferns today and in the middle of re-potting the second fern was a picture I couldn't pass up. My mom is a big fan of plants and loves Miracle Grow.

The results were great...

Waffles and Crepes

I haven't written in a while. I have been staying up late for the last week or so doing stuff around the house and then doing a little reading before I go to bed. It's got me tired out and I am looking forward to the weekend and spending some time in the yard. It's supposed to be sunny and in the low 80's here on Sunday.

Before I left for Asia I told my mom that I would like to get a waffle iron. Well, when I got back one had magically appeared in the kitchen. Somehow I think my mom had something to do with it. Anyway, she wanted me to try it out and I did - mixing up a batch of waffle mix from the Bisquick box. The directions for the cooker said to be careful not to overfill it. I guess waffles fluff when you cook them and if you put too much goo in there you could end up with a mess. SO I diligently put just a little mix in for starters. See the results below. It basically took about 4 tries before I produced one perfect square of a waffle. The upside is that the new iron makes a kickin' waffle. Crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Not too shabby!






The first attempt at waffles...







Last weekend I headed up to Philly to visit my girlfriend Lucia and play a little softball with the team. Amazingly the US Air shuttle out of Columbia was on time, got in to Philly early, and even had a place to park! This compared to some times when there has been no crew, or bad weather, or nowhere to park leaving me sitting on the ramp staring at the gate and wishing I could get off the dern plane.

Loosh and I went out for Japanese on Friday night. I got to practice with my chopsticks again and didn't end up wearing any of my food. The restaurant we went to, the House of Jin, actually serves both Japanese and Chinese cuisine. I picked a rainbow sushi roll. This had rice, cucumber, avacado, and a variety of raw fish. The presentation was great and the food was delicious.

Saturday ended up with so-so weather. We walked up to the High Point Cafe for crepes in the morning. Let me tell you - if you live in Philly GO GET SOME CREPES! And if you don't live in Philly keep it in mind next time you visit. The crepes here are amazing. They come with a fabulous little salad of mixed greens. And the cappucinos and lattes are perfect with lots of foam and raw sugar to compliment. It's an awesome, awesome, awesome way to start the day.

In the afternoon we had practice. It was so much fun to get out and play with the team again! I loved having some time pitching and I was so enthusiastic I ended up jamming up my shoulder while taking some plays at 2nd. Still, it was a great day. I am totally looking forward to playing again!

LOOSH -->

Saturday night Lucia and I headed to the Adobe Cafe in Manayunk for a little Tex-Mex. The food was not as good as I remembered the last time I was there. I got a crab stuffed burrito... maybe I should stick to fajitas or quesadillas.. Anyway, it didn't matter, the conversation was great and the margaritas were tasty and it was a great time.

Sunday was the rockin' Dirty Martini's Beef-n-Beer. My best friend (and vegetarian) Kate showed up with her also vegetarian girlfriend Chris. They stuck with salad and pasta and steered clear of the beef! Yeah, let's invite the vegetarians to the Beef-n-Beer!

The team did an awesome job organizing the event. We had t-shirts on sale, a great live band, good food, good beer, and a great turn-out. I don't know what we netted, but it will definitely help offset World Series expenses this season!

The B-n-B wrapped up around 6, but we hung out until about 9:30. Everyone seemed to be having a blast and it was great to spend some time out with the team.

Monday was pretty low-key. I cooked up 3 and 1/2 pancakes with the remains of Lucia's pancake mix then re-heated some muffins in the frying pan. It was actually a great breakfast and cool to spend some time being domestic. Later in the day we spent some time gardening before I took off for SC again.

The flight, again, amazingly, was on time departing and early getting in. On the way down it was clear enough so that I could pick out Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Reagan National in Washington, DC, the Capitol Building, the Mall, and when I got into Columbia we flew right over my house! Crazy!

Speaking of Washington.. (if your eyes glaze over when you read about our government you can skip this part) if you have been paying attention to politics and Washington lately you might have seen in the news that the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld. The gist of the case is to determine the legality of the military tribunals being used to try detainess being held at Guatanamo Bay. The Supremes have to start the case by weighing in on the Detainee Treatment Act, passed by Congress in December 2005, which prevents Guantanamo Bay detainees from getting a habeas corpus review in Federal Courts. SO this means Congress may have taken away the Supreme's right to even hear the Hamdan case. (This stuff blows me away and it should worry everyone.)

For those not up on latin legal terms the definition of a writ of habeas corpus is a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge. This allows the prisoner to have a hearing and present evidence and it is meant to protect against unlawful imprisonment. The DTA suspends this right for the Gitmo detainees.

For a great article on the hearing follow this link. It's worth the read.

http://www.slate.com/id/2138841/

To quote the summation of the article - the rationalization of the Bush administation is this - "The existing laws do not apply because this is a different kind of war. It's a different kind of war because the president says so. The president gets to say so because he is president."

Wow. OK, off my soapbox..