TITAM - Technical issues that affected me

Problem:  For no visible reason, and suddenly, a Bosch dishwasher (such as a 500, 600 or 800 series, our model SHP65T56UC) starts with the following: -  No indicator lights or display -  Does not respond to buttons -  No beeps or lights of any kind and, most importantly: -  The drain pump turns on continuously, or cycles on and off over and over / periodically, with or without the door open, even though the machine is not on and has no water in the tub. This may happen right after plunging or otherwise clearing a clogged sink drain. Power cycling at the breaker does not help.  Pouring water into the DW to try to fool it also does not help, though the pump will happily drain whatever your pour in. Potential solution:  A small (possibly tiny) amount of water has leaked in to the bottom of the dishwasher, tripping the flood protection. Basically, the bottom of the dishwasher is the last place to catch a leak.  So there is a small flo...

@#$%# Firefox just ate my post.  Here we go again: Like most motorcycles, my (used) bike came with a toolkit.  However, experience showed it was not that useful.  I did not find a lot of help out there with respect to tool kits specific to motorcycles, so here's what I've ended up with. The most common problem I had with the bike was a dead battery.  This has only happened a few times in ten years, but does require the seat to be removed for a jump.  Oddly, the factory toolkit does not include the right tools for this. Here is the stock tool kit.  Obviously some of these might prove useful if you were doing certain types of work.  I would say that if you're in such a situation, you're probably screwed, since you ain't going to be going anywhere soon, but you never know. I have a tough time seeing how many of these are even vaguely useful for my motorcycle.  The big wrenches, OK - though if you're needing to remove a major bolt, you are (...

It seems the general deterioration of everything into general junk has eroded even the paper industry beyond all hope.  As Chris Norstrom aptly puts it here , there is, in fact, a conspiracy - one is intended to prevent righteous and right-minded people from buying good, old-fashioned 3x5 index cards that don't suck. Basically, nobody seems to product index cards made of card stock any more.  Which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Index cards are supposed to be made of 110 lb. card stock.  That's why it's called CARD STOCK, y'know? But even index cards are no longer made with card stock any more; it seems that, at best, you might be able to find 70-80 lb. weight cards nowadays.  (Some seem as thin as 40 lb, or about twice the thickness of regular printer paper.) Nothing available anywhere is 110 lb anymore, it seems - read the Amazon reviews for proof. Solutions: -  You can buy them from Chris above - I'm not a relation or anything, and d...

So install was a pain.  Drilling concrete is never easy. Besides a pencil/Sharpie, earplugs, a level (if wall mounted), pliers, gloves, glasses, etc, you will probably need to acquire: -  A decent 1/2" hammer drill.  A rotary hammer is better, but expensive.  Consider renting one, it may make life easier. -  Masonry bits in various sizes from 1/8" through 3/4".  Why so many bits?  Several reasons: -  You need the smaller sizes because nobody in their right mind will try to drill a 3/4" hole in concrete straight off.  Start with a very small pilot hole and work up slowly. -  Masonry bits can wear out quickly.  You may need two or three of the smaller sizes to get four holes. -  The bracket fasteners are 16mm.  They will not quite fit into a 5/8" hole, and DO NOT try and tap them in or they will deform and/or come apart.  They will fit and tighten in a 3/4" hole if you cannot find the requisite 16m...

A little bit ago, I found myself wanting to install new garage cabinets.  So naturally I tended to wander into stores looking for new ones. Of course, I didn't carry a measuring tape or anything.  So figuring it out was a little harder than it should have been.  I wanted something for measuring I could keep with me. I checked all of the usual EDC forums and found this as the best suggestion: This is an ordinary tailors tape.  You can get these nowadays at the dollar store.  But this was too big for me. Other suggestions included carrying a proper, albeit small, measuring tape around.  Most were just as big or bigger than the blue sucker above. If you crack open the tailoring tape, you'll find half of the space is taken up by the spring that retracts it for you.  A waste of space, in my opinion. So I went ahead and created this: This is the cloth measuring tape from the tailoring tape wound around a common sewing bobbin.  This ...

OK, Altoids tins don't really suck, I guess.  Altoids themselves are pretty OK in my book, and the tins are admittedly an extremely handy item. However, EDC seems to be all the rage these days, and every EDC proponent wants to start with an Altoids tin for their first aid / survival / whatever kit. To which I say: Why??? I got a tin of Altoids.  That tin is HUGE!  Seriously!  It doesn't fit in my pocket, so how am I supposed to carry it with me?  I don't believe for one second that most people who claim this to be their "EDC" actually carry this tin around daily. Sure, maybe in a pocket of a bag or backpack, which you "always" have.  OK, fine, I guess.  The point is, it bothers me a bit that the standard "Altoids tin" kit has become such the de facto standard that nobody even thinks to question it anymore.  Sure, you need to start somewhere, and maybe that tin is what you want.  Maybe it's not.  How about sparing it a thought ...