Tip of the Moment (battery springs)

Tip of the moment: Check the springs when you change the batteries.

I recently got a Palm PDA as a present from my wife. I changed the batteries for the second time since I got it and rushed off to an appointment. Upon arriving, I discovered my Palm had reset and I'd lost everything. Investigating, I discovered one of the springs that's supposed to make contact with a battery was bent sideways. I fixed it and restored all my data upon my first opportunity. (Yes, as recommended, I'd done a HotSync just before changing them.)

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the eighth tip and 13th and final post overall. Although the page and the section on my home page stayed there through 2009, I let it stagnate and never updated it again, even though I didn't yet have a proper blog or other venue to replace it.

This tip refers to my first PDA, a Palm IIIxe. Unlike later PDAs, it used regular, disposable AAA batteries instead of a rechargeable one. It did have some way to maintain its memory during battery changes, but it was a very short term thing. — 28 May 2009]

Tip of the Moment (holes in walls)

Tip of the moment: Leave the holes in your walls alone.

In preparing a bedroom for our new baby, I needed to install a proper phone jack where the current one was simply hanging out of the wall on wires. In the process of fooling with it, I managed to make the hole bigger and bigger, so I had to replace a section of drywall before I could install the outlet.

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the seventh tip and 12th post overall. It refers to preparing what had been—up until that point—our guest bedroom/storeroom as a nursery for our first child. — 28 May 2009]

Tip of the Moment (tax withholding)

Tip of the moment: Don't forget to change your tax withholdings!

This tax season, my wife and I were hit with a major payment to the federal goverment. It seems I forgot to change my deductions when my wife got a full-time job. (Break out the W-4.)

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the sixth tip and tenth post overall. I didn't keep track of the dates beyond the year, so the date is an estimate. — 28 May 2009]

Tip of the Moment (second opinion for cars)

Tip of the moment: Get a second opinion for your car's ailments, too.

I had a supposed Honda specialist shop do my car's tune up and check on what was wrong with my air conditioner. They told me either of two parts might be broken and how much it would be to replace each. I decided to wait to have it fixed. Eventually, I took it somewhere else to have the A/C fixed. They checked it over and told me that the A/C in some of Honda's models won't work unless it's absolutely full of freon. That was my only problem: it was missing a few ounces of freon. (Mind you, thanks to the EPA, checking it for leaks and filling it up cost almost as much as the first shop's estimate for one of the two parts that needed replacing.) I won't embarrass myself by saying how long I went without A/C because of this.

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the fifth tip and ninth post overall. I didn't keep track of the dates beyond the year, so the date is a guess. Unfortunately, I didn't run the A/C during the winter(s) to keep the hoses sealed, so it eventually stopped working again. — 28 May 2009]

Tip of the Moment (washing machine hoses)

Tip of the moment: Replace both washing machine hoses at the same time.

I came home from lunch one day to find water coming out from under the door. One of the washing machine hoses had burst and been shooting water out for up to three hours. Two days later, the other hose did the exact same thing. We had to replace the floors in three rooms. If I had been thinking straight when the plumber was there the first time, I would have had him replace both hoses. It's hard to think straight while you're trying to clean up a flooded house.

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the fourth tip and eighth post overall. At least we got some nice hardwood floors out of it. — 28 May 2009]

[A more complete account can now be found in the 14 May 1996 entry. — 17 June 2010]

Tip of the Moment (laser surgery)

Tip of the moment: Don't walk on fresh laser surgery wounds.

I recently had some laser surgery done on my foot. Although the doctor insisted I would be able to walk on it, it began bleeding profusely the next day. He insisted it was okay and I should just walk on my toes instead of my heel, where the bleeding wound was. I couldn't seem to convince him I was doing this already.

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the third tip and seventh post overall. — 28 May 2009]

Tip of the Moment (company in the red)

Tip of the moment: Don't work for a company that's been in the red for 10 quarters.

I, along with a few hundred others, was laid off from Intergraph after working there for two years. They were unprofitable during that entire time and eariler. Ironically, Intergraph kept hiring during this period. Although they did indeed manage to get back in the black the following quarter, it wasn't long until they were back in the red.

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the second tip and second post overall. This one was listed as being in 1995, but the page creation date is 10 Jan 1996. Since I was let go at the beginning of Q3 1995, it would have had to be at least Q1 1996 before I'd know Intergraph was back in the red. — 28 May 2009]

Tip of the Moment (cat in bushes)

Tip of the moment: If your cat which usually stays inside gets out, look behind the hedges.

Our cat, who has never been an outdoor cat, got out one night without our realizing until we went to bed. We did not see him and he did not come when called. As I drove around the neighborhood calling, my wife kept checking around our house. A neighbor saw her when he came home and came over to help. "When my cats get out, they usually hide in the shrubs," he said as he checked. There was our cat, hiding in the hedges beside the house. If he ever gets out again, that's where we're going to check first!

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the first post that started the whole "Tip of the moment" thing on my home page. I didn't keep track of the dates beyond the year, so the date is a guess.

Below you can see how I posted the tips and thoughts to my home page. — 28 May 2009]