The Signal is All Wrong

OK, I need to rant for a minute. There is a new trend in car headlights/signal lights that is not only annoying, it is useless and perhaps dangerous. I'm talking about the trend to include all the lights on the front of a car into one unit (see top picture). Now this may be a very clever and stylish way to do it, but it's not very useful. When the headlight is on, it completely washes out the signal light. (Clever is often the enemy of good). There needs to be a reasonable separation of the two lights, so you can actually see the dimmer one  - signal light (see bottom picture). Look sometime - with these new cars, you can't see the signal. Enough said!

Sharpen Your Ice Scraper

Here in New England we are well into winter weather. For those of us who don't have a garage, this means scraping the frost and ice off your windshield most days. My ice scraper hasn't been cutting the mustard (or shall I say ice) lately. So I decided to sharpen it. Sharpen it? Yes, you heard me. While you might be tempted to chuck it and go buy a new ice scraper, like any other cutting tool (although it's plastic), you can sharpen it and restore it to full functionality.

Here's what you do: Place a piece of 100 grit (medium) sand paper on a flat surface.

While maintaining the proper angle - so that the front edge of the scraper is flat against the paper (see diagram on right), sand it back and forth. When you have removed enough plastic to restore the sharp edge, smooth it off with some 150 grit (fine) sandpaper.

That's all there is to it. With a little maintenance, you may be able to pass your plastic ice scraper on to your grandchildren!

Safe Pest Control - Small Animals

Talk to any gardener, and you will find out they each have their secrets. How do you, for example, keep the small nibbling animals (like bunnies and woodchucks) from eating your garden? Some will say, "Sprinkle dried blood around." This is not as gruesome as it sounds. Dried blood is an organic fertilizer you can get at most garden centers. I know a guy who tried hair. He brought back a bag of hair clippings from the barber, and spread it liberally around the garden. Alas, neither of these methods works all that well, although some may swear by them. My father likes to put a small transistor radio in the garden, tuned to talk radio. He figures the animals will hear voices and go away.

Well, I'l going to tell you my favorite method of keeping the nibblers away. I sprinkle the plants with baby powder - the kind with talc, not corn starch. Whether it's the smell, or the taste, it seems to work. The only down side is you have to re-sprinkle whenever it rains.

There you have it, my gardening secret. If you have another way of dealing with this problem, feel free to post it in the comments.

Financing Bike Paths

I see them every day. The hearty souls riding their bikes to work, or just out for some exercise. There's only one problem. They are riding on roads that were, quite frankly, only designed for cars. Both car drivers and the cyclists have opinions about who needs to go, but that is not the subject of this blog. As I see it, part of the problem is how to pay for the addition of bike paths, either as separate roads, of additional lanes. One idea is to use old abandoned rail right-of-ways as bike paths. Chelmsford, MA has just opened a new bike lane - the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. Much more of the bicycle infrastructure still needs to be developed.
Auto roads are paid for, in part by gas taxes, but cyclists don't buy gas. So here's my idea: Sell sponsorships. You see this on traffic islands, and sections of highway. Why not have corporate or private sponsorship of a bike trail. In return, you put up a sign (make it tasteful) identifying the benefactor.
I watched an interesting PBS show recently (called "e2) talking about the bike sharing system that has been set up in Paris called "Velib". To help finance it, they put up signs that could show advertising. They are small, only about a foot or so. It may be less than perfect, but it pays for the bike system which has changed the nature of the city of Paris. Watch e2 episode here.
So you get corporate sponsorship to finance these new bikeways, and put up some signs. Be creative, and sensitive to the area, but give credit to the sponsors, and build more bikeways. Car drivers are happy, cyclists are happy, advertisers (I mean sponsors) are happy. Happy riding.

The "New" Morning News

If you are anything like me, you probably turn on the morning television news while you are waking up with your morning cup of coffee. I usually only watch for less than 1/2 hour, but I am struck by how much of the time is spent on commercials and teasers (tantalizing pieces of news stories designed to get you to keep watching after the commercial). There is also a lot of repeated information such as weather and traffic.
I got to thinking, what I see everyday is old school television. What if it looked more like the internet. Here's what I propose: Drop the news anchor into a box in the corner; have continuous weather, sports ticker, traffic ticker, etc. There can always be a commercial running. The image above is what it might look like. More news, weather or traffic at a glance, continuous advertising .. what's not to like. You can watch for five minutes, and still the advertisers would get you to see their ads. Very efficient. Very helpful. Morning news MY way.

Post Office Ideas

So, I see in the news that the Post Office is losing money big-time. Regular readers know I have no lack of ideas. So here goes ... As I was driving to work today, it struck me that the Post Office (USPS) should run more like a business. Let me explain. There are currently two main ways to get your mail: 1) home delivery, and 2) post office box. I would think that home delivery costs more, since you need a vehicle to drive all around town. It's also more convenient. In most business plans, if something is more expensive to do, or easier for the consumer you charge more. The USPS does just the opposite. They deliver to your home for free, but charge you to go and pick it up. Here's my idea: flip the pricing scheme. Charge a "Home Delivery Surcharge" and provide a post office box free to anyone who wants it. This way, since it costs them more, they charge more. Yes, I realize this might mean expanding the post office building, but you can get rid of some mail trucks. They could also provide a senior citizen waiver of the surcharge if requested.
Oh, and btw, it's fine with me if they want to drop Saturday delivery.

Let There Be Light - A New Lighting Idea

Wouldn't it be cool if you could light a room in such a way that it just "glowed?" No visible light source, just light? Here's what I'm picturing: instead of a few lamps, the whole ceiling, let's say, would glow a gentle blueish light - not so much that it was glaring, but enough to see well by. Or you could use a wall. The possibilities are endless.
Electroluminsecence (EL for short). That's the ticket. What am I talking about? EL is a technology that's been around since the early 1960's. It consists of a simple device that has a thin layer in it that glows when you apply electricity, using very little electricity in the process. It was developed by Sylvania, who called it "Panelescent." My dad worked for Sylvania, and I remember him bringing home a Panelescent nite-lite. It was a small disc, about 3 inches, that glowed blue when you plugged it in (See the picture at left). This is, by the way, the basic idea behind the Timex Indiglo watch faces. You can read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescence. Apparently, Chrysler Corp. used Panelescent lighting in their dashboards in the 1960s (read more here.)
Well, when I write these things, I usually look around to see if anyone else has already thought up my idea. Check out this website. Apparently, Light Tape Ltd. sells this stuff in rolls of tape - different colors. It looks so cool! I don't know how expensive it is, but this might be just the thing for lighting a room. What do you think? Glow on!

Disclaimer: Dave has no relationship with Light Tape Ltd, Chrysler or Timex. My only connection to Sylvania is that my father worked for them until he retired.