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  • Childproof knife storage options
    Memstad2011_copy_small

    This may not work for everyone, but I have open upper shelves and I took the knife block off the counter and made room for it on the shelf over the stove. Kid can't reach it, still very accessible to me. It worked so well that my youngest son is 12 and it's still up there, whereas the thrice damned child safety locks on the lower cupboards were in the garbage the day he turned three.

  • Quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey? What was it like?
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    First two days, sweating at night, no sleep, irritable, constantly thinking about having a smoke. After this every hour became a buzz because the change was a hit in itself. Your body gets so used to nicotine that when there is none the body experiences a high. This high is the body clearing out the carcinogenic poisons. People’s minds tell them this is not good and they must have another cigarette to kill this so called craving. I say sit back and enjoy the buzz instead; it helps to tell yourself this is a good thing not a bad or uncomfortable feeling. It’s a bit like some people who enjoy pain. If you wish to give up smoking you must educate yourself to this fact. You are only smoking the cigarette you are currently smoking to deal with the withdrawal symptoms’ from the one you had before that is now wearing off. If a person can realise this they will normally stop.

  • Recommend a decent auto salvage/junkyard in or around Seattle for 1984-1996 Jeep XJ parts?
    Job_small

    I've had success at the Pick-n-Pull on 99 in Lynwood. I've picked up small parts for my '93 Subaru there on multiple occasions (she's not pretty, but still going strong!)
    They'll ask you the make and model you're after and tell you where you can find them in the lot. Then you can indeed take your toolbox and scour the whole lot. Prices were cheap for mirrors, visors, shift knobs and headlight stuff - bulbs, wiring and mounting rigs. I always got out of there for less than $20 and I think they charge you a buck to enter. I can't tell you about Jeeps as I've never looked for them.
    There's also a hot dog shop attached to the entrance (called "Junkyard Dogs," of course) that's also cheap and tasty.

  • What's the best exercise to fix my posture?
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    Fixing your posture can be hard, but it doesn't have to.

    The problem is, conventional wisdom looks at things in a mechanical way and tries to fix them by adding extra strain. Whereas fixing posture is very often about removing extraneous strain.

    Here's something I came across recently. A guy asked:
    Why is 'good posture' uncomfortable?
    I slouch a lot, although I know I shouldn't, and the result is frequent lower back pain. So I pose the question, why isn't good posture more comfortable? I would always sit properly if it were, but slouching on a sofa is just really relaxing. Is there a comfortable way to sit properly? Or a better way to slouch?

    He is having exactly the problem that conventional wisdom creates.

    The truth is, good posture is very comfortable. But you'll have to think about it in a new way.

  • What is going on with the tankers at the Manchester Fuel Depot?
    Wa_usa_small

    I suspect it may have to do with the State's largest refinery - BP Cherry Point - being completely shut down as a result of the Feb 17, 2012 explosion.

    I have a lot of friends who work there, and word around the water cooler is that the restart is not going well. I had dinner yesterday and breakfast today with guys who work/have worked there. This is the first time since it was constructed in 1971 that the refinery has been completely idled, and they are discovering problems they didn't know existed which must be fixed before it's brought online. They had anticipated that it would be up and running in early may, so it is highly likely that tanker traffic inbound to Puget Sound began resuming a normal pace in anticpation of this. 

    This April 19 Article that ran in the Bellingham Herald and Tacoma News Tribune quotes BP as saying the refinery should be back online in early May. It didn't happen, they have encountered unexpected problems and are still not back online. 

    So why are they off Manchester? There's only about a dozen places in Puget Sound where these guys can anchor up, and many of them have an extensive list of restrictions (Anacortes in particular) or are in exposed open water areas where you really don't want to moor (Cherry Point being high among them). 

    The waters off Manchester are demarcated as Anchorage Area 110.230 in the Federal Regulations, and constitute arguably Puget Sound's most protected and least restricted anchorage for tankers. You can see Anchorage 110.230 on NOAA Chart 18449. If you read the complete list off federally-approved Anchorages in Puget Sound under 33 CFR 110.230 - Puget Sound Area, Wash. you'll see that there are really only a few places they can stop and wait at anchor. I was on Bellingham Bay this morning, and this tanker was sitting in the Bellingham Bay Whiskey Anchorage, which is not unheard of, but is unusual. I can also report, anecdotally, that I was on the water in Skagit County the last two weekneds and saw several tankers - more than I am accustomed to seeing - stacked up in the Anacortes Anchorage 

    It is highly likely that those tankers headed to Puget Sound in anticipation of BP Cherry Point restarting in early May, and are now anchored off Manchester simply because it's just about the best place on Puget Sound to sit and wait. Whether they are waiting to get in to US Oil in Tacoma, or biding their time until Cherry Point comes back online, I have no way of knowing. But, I would say that one way or another it is highly likely that the fleet of tankers you see off Manchester is related to the fact that our state's largest refinery is offline, and way behind schedule in restarting. 

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Recent Comments
  • Comment on O my captain's answer…
    Avatar_default

    I agree. My parents' house would have this same problem every now and again, always preceded by a dead rat in the walls (they live close to the water where rats like to infiltrate). However, if you've had a dead rodent in your house, you'll know it from the smell for sure. If you smelled something gross and rotting for a few weeks prior to the flies, then that's where they came from.

  • Comment on Bion Satir's answer…
    Photo_on_2011-05-23_at_16

    Thanks! I can totally imagine that it would be much more fun to work there. :)

  • Comment on Russ Campbell, NWEBS's answer…
    Qlandav2ex_small

    These systems usually have a reset menu choice or some other way to go back to the initial or factory settings. This makes playing around with adjusting the various parameters on one of these subcategory choices easy to always get back to what was there before you started.

  • Comment on Russ Campbell, NWEBS's answer…
    05-01-06_1814_small

    I just discovered one can download calibration dvd's for one's TeeVee system. I plan on taking the time to calibrate mine soon. Perhaps that will help.

    But nothing else on any channel or input looks as consistently bad as House. Perhaps the producers are just going for a bleak mood. The GF didn't really notice until I pointed it out to her, and she still doesn't mind.

  • Comment on Russ Campbell, NWEBS's answer…
    Qlandav2ex_small

    Time is approaching that three week window and I am wondering how things are going with your attic fledglings.