Fire Extinguishers

Photo from http://www.kidde.com/utcfs/Templates/Pages/Template-53/0,8062,pageId%3D1201%26siteId%3D384,00.html


Do you have a fire extinguisher in your house? It's a really good idea, for obvious reasons. An investment of less than $20 can save your home, or at least save thousands of dollars in damages. I didn't have one for the longest time, and then I finally got around to taking care of it. At first, this seemed like an intimidating project because there are so many different kinds of extinguishers. Each type handles certain kinds of fires, which is where I got hung up. If I have a fire in my office, it would consist of paper, computer parts, upholstery, housing materials (walls, floors), window treatments and furniture. There's also a lot of electric in there. I couldn't figure out which extinguisher would cover this kind of fire. The same issue happens all over the house. The extinguishers are described as being for a very specific type of fire, and any fire I would have would have lots of different materials. Here's how I tackled it:

I went to Lowe's, where they had a small department with fire extinguishers. I was glad to see there were not that many. I looked at the ones designed for home use, which further narrowed my choices. The brand they carried, Kidde, had about 4 different kinds. What enabled me to pick the right ones for my house was a convenient diagram on the box showing the various rooms of a house and which one to use for that room. Problem solved! Since we have a small, 1 story house, I purchased two extinguishers - one for the kitchen, and one to be kept in the middle of the rest of the house. I later figured out that I should have one for the garage as well, so that's on my shopping list now.

The extinguishers come with mounting hardware, but I have mine in under the kitchen sink and in a closet near the center of the house. They need to be replaced, whether used or not, every 12 years. They should also be checked every month, a simple procedure (about 20 seconds per extinguisher) shown in the owner's manual.

That's all there is to it. Don't neglect this important, inexpensive safety device in your home because it seems to complex. Head to a hardware store and pick one or more out (follow the links above for more information). It will be a relief. (Note: this is not meant as en endorsment of the Kidde brand. It was what the store had so I bought it.)




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Goof Off - A product I use a lot!

Image from http://www.goof-off.com/

In the course of doing our remodel, I have used Goof Off 2 so many times I cannot even begin to count them. I use it a few times a month at least. What does it do? It removes all kinds of hard-to-remove messes such as ink and oil, but the main thing I use it for is to remove sticker residue. It seems like almost everything I've put in the house has had stickers on it - every piece of the closet organizer system, every kitchen cabinet, almost every tool I buy, etc. Right now, I'm using it to remove factory stickers from the windows and to remove residue from a temporary curtain we had taped over the front door glass.

I use Goof Off 2, which is pictured above. It has less fumes and less harsh chemicals. It has worked great for everything I've needed it to do. There is a Goof Off (regular formula), which is described as professional strength, but I have not needed it and I've used this product a lot.









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Barack Obama's interesting genealogy

Here is an article showing some fascinating genealogy on Barack Obama, including that he shares ancestors with George Washington and several other presidents. Obama also shares ancestors with Senator John McCain! Here is a page from the company that did the research showing that Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush also share a lot of relatives, including some other presidents.

While I do find this fascinating, there is a line toward the end of the article that says that the common ancestor of Barack Obama and George Washington has over 1 million living descendants. In light of the fact that the common ancestor is 500 years old and has 1 million living descendants, maybe it's not so unlikely.



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