I don't even know what to make of the Toilet Tattoos Frogs in the Moonlight Design. What's worse it was at the bottom of my page as a recommended item. I can only hope this is part of the Father's Day push that retail America is undergoing - yeah that's right, I hope its a phase.

Still, I will be reviewing my recent purchases in the hopes of finding out why I would get this recommendation. I did purchase an HD antenna for the apartment recently. So let that be a warning, if you like free HD broadcast television, you may like a new toilet seat.

Okay, I'm trying to to gush here cause my wife only emailed me this about 30 minutes ago and I'm in love.  I'm sure she saw the appeal from a lot of angles, not the least of which is I use my cell phone as an alarm clock and it has an annoying alarm sound. What I'm gaga for is the Chumby and I've really on begun to investigate.

I'm not going to last the week without ordering one.  Here is what Small Space Living (where my wife found it) has to say about it:

Chumby is tricky device to classify. There are not many other devices that have the multifunction of Chumby.
Chumby is a small Wi-Fi compatible device with a 3.5 inch touch screen and a soft leather case. The Chumby is intended to replace your clock radio. But to call it a clock or radio would be so short sighted. It can be loaded with a number of widgets — the list grows daily.
There is no end to the multifunction goodness of Chumby. The Chumby can be a clock or an internet radio. It can track EBay auctions or display photos form your Flicker account.
The device sells for $179, which is the hardware break-even point for the manufacturers. It’s an unusual thing for a manufacturer to sell a product for no profit, but the intention is to make money by selling advertising on the Chumby units.
Chumby could fit well into your small space life — it’s little and has a multitude of uses.

I've created a virtual Chumby here to get a animated look see. But you really should click through and see what their site shows about this little sucker.

Just FYI, I have no association or relationship what so-ever with the Chumby, I'm just loving the concept

Over a week ago my wife and I moved around our apartment - make office bedroom and vice versa. Part of that was breaking down my killer media setup - 1970's Pioneer Stereo

Awww, yeah you know what I'm talking about. And my killer Philips one notch above bargain priced DVD player, my needs-to-be-replaced 20" CRT television and... My late 90's high end Sony VCR. This is when it occurred to me. I own all of 6 movies on VHS and the last time I used the VCR may have been 2002. So it's time for the VCR to go... Now I have to figure out what to do with it. Do people still buy these things?

Yeah, I wish that meant what it sounds like. But in this case, I'm taking what was my office/tv room (9'6" x 9'6") and swapping it with my bedroom (8'6" x 15'0"). So the small square room that was my office, and jam packed with stuff (i.e. boardgames), will become the bedroom and vice versa. At this point (9:45 PM Sunday) the former office is clear of furniture, all of which having been moved to the former bedroom. We've washed the walls using a TSP Substitute to get the gunk off and get them ready to take paint; sanded the door and window frame; sanded the spackling I did earlier today and am now ready to put on the first coat. The color, Princess Ivory. I know it sounds a little sissy, but I'm looking for something light and warm, it's a small room after all. We have to finish by tomorrow so we can move the furniture (bed and dresser) out of the living room.

Same drill. A lot of folks I know are having Babies either now or in near future. This (Coast Innovations Itzbeen Baby Care Timer) was also in Wired (still cleaning out desk). It seems pretty cool and useful. I have no children here or on the way so "seems" is the best I can do. I decided however to send one to my sister who had a baby (my niece) in mid October. I'll get the inside scoop.

Dad-turned-inventor Greg Sheldon engineered the Itzbeen multitool to track all those baby-care details that can escape your sleep-deprived mush-brain. Last feeding, nap, diaper change — it's all there on the backlit display. It has a light to ease late-night navigation and a right/left breast indicator to remind Mom which side last served up the goods.

Those of you that I know who are having babies soon or just had one, please don't buy yourself one, you'll rob me of my best gift idea. I promise to have it at your place on Day 1 home from the hospital.

Shawn, resist the baby Gadget. Jonk, that goes for you too

I'm sure someone is thinking I'm just doing product plugs to drive traffic to my amazon affiliate setup. My response is, "yeah, bite me".

I am once again cleaning out my desk and came across this page that I ripped out of Wired. I've been looking for a decent BBQ option that doesn't take up too much space in my apartment and is easy to deal with. I'm putting it here so I can recycle the paper.It's called the Sagaform BBQ Metal Bucket Grill 10.60-dia..

This was a complete and total I'm Feeling Lucky Google moment. I was actually looking to have the phrase "we have a problem" translated into German because there is a problem in a UI I'm working on caused by the German version of a label.

Apparently there is a blog about Wii problems called Wii Have a Problem... Complete with a running count of broken parts. The post I stumbled onto was about a guy who had apparently tossed a Wii controller out a 12 story window while playing bowling

On Sunday July 23rd 2007, a Wii Remote committed suicide by launching itself through the blinds and through the window of John Doe's apartment. No one was injured as the glass and controller landed on the roof of the restaurant 12 stories below. There are now alleged reports that this may be an involuntary manslaughter case due to INNOCENT PROTECTED's fingerprints being found on the controller. The controller wrist strap broke off of the primary suspect's wrist and Wii Bowling was believed to be playing at the time of the incident. Witnesses could not be immediately contacted for comment.

I feel like I've seen something like this in a Sci-Fi movie, but I can't remember which one. At any rate, this sounds great. My building is plainly to small for a virtual doorman and as a consequence I have packages sent to me at work and have to lug them home. I guess the security considerations are not really my primary concern.

Virtual-doorman systems can range from very basic services with a few cameras and an Internet connection that allow the operators to watch a front door and accept packages, to space-age operations with biometric readers that scan fingerprints for entry or electronic tags that don’t even have to be taken out of a pocket to open a door — an E-ZPass, of sorts, for humans. Depending on the level of sophistication and the number of cameras, the services cost $10,000 to $70,000 for installation and $6,000 to $30,000 in annual maintenance.

But Matthew Nerzig, a spokesman for the doormen’s union, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, argued that “while cyberdoormen offer building managers a way to cut costs, they obviously can’t compete with actual doorman when it comes to providing professional service and security to tenants.”

Toby A. Ten Eyck, a sociologist at Michigan State University, said the growing acceptance of virtual-doorman services says something about urban living. “We’re always in crowds in the city,” he said, “so people are always watching us at a certain level. Now technology allows us to have cameras everywhere watching what we do, and what’s interesting is we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t care that we’re being watched. We actually like it.”

Which is why residents can find it reassuring when a virtual doorman they have never met calls them by name and opens the door for them, he said. “It’s the ‘Cheers’ mentality of being somewhere where everybody knows your name,” he said, referring to the television show about a Boston bar and its regular customers. “Especially in a city where you’re pretty much an anonymous figure, you just feel good when people know who you are.”

Still, I think this is pretty cool and is a great way to increase quality of life for the people in the building at a fraction of the cost of a person on site. I'm reasonably certain the folks who have a doorman now aren't going to run out and replace them with an "eye-in-the-sky", but this definitely will bring "doormen" to more buildings.

Where to start? Since I last posted the bathroom has more or less been entirely finished. Once they finally vacated last Thursday (Day 10) I was overjoyed. There was a board game group at work that night so I hung out and played. I got home around 11 PM, before my wife who was out with friends, to find a puddle in the bathroom coming out from under the vanity. I looked and found that the cold water feed valve to the sink was leaking. I sopped up the water; put a deli container underneath and called the landlord to express my displeasure.

So, day 11 - they come back and fix the valve. I didn't bother to tell him that the seal around the new kitchen faucet was crap. I'll fix that on my own.

Saturday morning, day 12, I'm cleaning up and going to put down a bath mat and realize there is a 2" darkening of the floor around the toilet - what granite floors do when they are wet. So I call the landlord figuring there is some water seepage from the base of the toilet into the floor. No visible water just evidence there is moisture there. He comes over and visits. Long story short, today, day 13, the landlord and the contract stop by and fix the tiny leak in the vanity drain, I had also found on Saturday. The Landlord called me today and told me the contractor assures him there is no problem with the toliet. Not that I care, not my building, so whatever. But they did fix the leaky drain in the vanity.

Bottom line I am thoroughly unimpressed with this contractor's work. The obvious problems aside, the work overall is ripe with cut corners and things that I am going to feel compelled to go back over and dress up a bit. I have to look at them every day.

All that is left is the vanity, the medicine cabinet, the light fixture over the vanity, and theoretically they are also going to install a new faucet in my kitchen.  The contractor thinks he can do all of this between 8 AM and 11 AM tomorrow.  Yeah right. 

At any rate, the floor is in; the new toilet is in; the shower is in (with my hand picked nice shower head) and I can take showers at home again.  Basically, as soon as he left today and had said I could use the shower I showered, just on principle.

What I'm really afraid of is what he's going to bring for the Vanity.  I mean I already have "Suburban Housewife's Italian Fantasy" (thanks Sarah)  I'm afraid I'm going to get a vanity to match.  It's become painfully clear that because I don't write the check for the work, I am a bystander to be dealt with.  If I really wanted to affect anything I'd have to throw a major fit and piss on the relationship with my landlord, who is pretty great.  Arghhhh.

Well, here is the latest progress. 

I'm guessing this is as boring for you as it is for me, but rest assured you're doing a good deed - this is really cathartic for me.

I guess it must be day 8... They started last Tuesday.  I'm starting to care less what my bathroom looks like and more that I just get one.  Landlord has said it might be done tomorrow.  Let's all hope together.

I just want my bathroom back.

Day 5 - Yep they worked on Saturday

Day 6 - Oh yeah the tile is ugly.

While I was in Phoenix last week for Thanksgiving we did a little antiquing on 7th Avenue. We went to a great antique / architectural salvage place called

QCumberz Highly Recommend
4429 N 7th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85013
map

Long story short, we've been looking for a couch / love seat for our living room - something small and well suited for our tiny NYC apartment. Well we came upon the following and managed to get it for $99 - a bargain if you ask me.

My wife initially picked up on the idea of using them as a couch for our living room. I was a bit skeptical because I'm not a fan of goldenrod, but after the fellow at the store told me how easy they would be to re-upholster and I got a good look at them, I was sold. Now all I have to do is get them here from Phoenix - Road trip anyone?

Where did day 3 go you ask? Yeah, I'm not sure either. Between work and having construction taking over my bathroom I'm a little out of it.

End of Day 3 - I have a new ceiling.

End of Day 4 - I have a bathtub now and the plumbing is in.

Joel on Software has a great post about a site called Walk Score that lets you put in your address and find out how walkable your neighborhood is. I have several friends looking for apartments right now and this is a pretty killer.

I was pleased to find my apartment has a 91 out of 100 walk score.


and my parent's house in Southern California has a score of 54 out of 100 - which is about how I remember it being in my pre-driver's license youth.

Day 1 complete. Living room and kitchen covered entirely in a fine dust of plaster. Luckily the office and the bedroom were more or less spared.