WORLD worst zoos by By News Desk

It's not a fair report/ranking.  San Antonio Zoo was ranked one of the top 10 the WORLD worst zoos by By News Desk — GlobalPost Editors.  It took the honor for the worst zoo in America.

The zoo was sited for not having adequate space for an elephant, but squeezing in one more companion elephant into the same existing limited space made it the "worst".

Give me a break.

Is the space is only thing elephant need?  Elephant is a social animal - having a companion is more important than giving it "more space". Have you visited the zoo? It's not caged in where she can only stand and turn around like raising chicken in a commercial farm!.

Who's News Desk anyway!

San Antonio Zoo Rating

It's not a fair report/ranking.  San Antonio Zoo was ranked one of the top 10 the WORLD worst zoos by By News Desk — GlobalPost Editors.  It took the honor for the worst zoo in America.

The zoo was sited for not having adequate space for an elephant, but squeezing in one more companion elephant into the same existing limited space made it the "worst". 

Give me a break.  

Is the space is only thing elephant need?  Elephant is a social animal - having a companion is more important than giving it "more space". Have you visited the zoo? It's not caged in where she can only stand and turn around like raising chicken in a commercial farm!.

Who's News Desk anyway!

Shopping for Tiles, Bath-Flooring-Kitchen

I tried out my first bath remodeling last month.  I was all excited about the tile works.  Tiles need to cover  all the flooring and tub surround, was only $200. Why people don't upgrade their bath more?

When it comes to make it a stand out, the cost of tiles are starting to add up.  A bull-nose 2x4" tile cost more than the 18x18 tiles. ($3.50 versus $2.00).  A 4x4 tile costs 22 cents, where as the same tile with a rounded side/nose costs 96 cents. A 4x4 mosaic tile $5.12, 6x6 mosaic tile $7.50.

Is the labor worth it to cut down your own 4x4 tiles? How much is that wear on the tile cutter blade? The tile guy suggested to forget the bull-nose pieces, and just stick with square edge tiles, and apply a thicker tile grout to round out the edges. Ok,  it's is acceptable to go cheap then.

# # # #

For the next bathroom, I started to working on the "decorative tiles pieces" by visiting all local home improvement stores.  As turn out - the "close out" "discounts" aren't the same for the chain stores; apparently, the store managers decide what to discount and by how much.

I found that 22 cents 4x4 tiles (regularly priced) was discounted to 12 cents - I picked up all the remaining tiles 3 boxes and the change. That purchase enough for 1 bathroom "decorative strips".  I visited another store, the same tiles was discounted to 9 cents a tile I picked up even more of the tiles.  How much do I save? $100 tiles for $50. Is it worth the effort? I don't know, what do you think?

Another example, the 2x2 -1 sq ft tile piece listed for $9.50 each, discounted for $4.50.  I found it is ideal for shower flooring - its rough texture and size provides a non-slippery surface.  There were 10 decent pieces (w/o damage) - that is enough to make a 3x3 shower stall. so, that's a $100 tile project for $50.

The amount time spent to save that $200 of material cost isn't very smart.  But knowing you can have what you wanted for less - is very satisfying.

Everything Smart SA

http://782sa.blogspot.com/

What's Reefer Oil Change

Reefer oil change, what is that?

I googled the word "reefer", as turn out it's a slang word for drug of some sort according the urban dictionary.

What I had in mind was about the preventative maintenance program (PM) offered at may truck stop/commercial vehicles. In this case "Reefer" refers to the refrigerated container, or shipping trailers equipped with refrigeration system.

The refrigeration trailer/container uses combustion engine to generate the power to run the refrigeration system. It also requires the PM like tractor and trailer.

What's going on at Hyundai Showroom

TV ads are popping up everywhere about how good the Hyundai cars. The car magazine often give them high marks too.

I was drawn by the Hyundai Sonata because of price, fuel efficiency, and it's ranked higher than Honda Accord and Camry in most criteria. I went to the show room and checked out the car.

In order to achieve the fuel efficiency, all modern cars are slopped so much now, the outward visibility is compromised if you are 6 ft tall. I missed the old Honda from the late 80's and early 90s. The low hanging double wishbone suspension, semi-upright windshield - ultra wide view in every direction. The closest thing to riding a motorcycle. I missed that very much.

Copper Pipes - Specification

I am preparing a material list (or budget) for a bathroom remodeling. Running new plumbing with copper pipes seems to be a better choice than PVCs when it is used as water supply line.

When checking out the various 1/2" 3/4" copper pipes, I encounter the "classification" codes,

type 'M' (thin; typically only allowed as drain pipe by IPC code),
type 'L' (thicker, standard duty for water lines and water service), and
type 'K' (thickest, typically used underground between the main and the meter)

The price difference between the M and L aren't that great, $2.50 per 10 ft of pipes. For $50 more, I could have 200 ft of pipes I need to do two bathroom. Why taking the risk of using "M"? For draining, I though PVC schedule 40 should do the job. Why use copper pipe for drain??

Subaru Outback - An Alternative to SUV

Why buy a full size SUV when the cross-over does the job (Chevy Tahoe vs Chevy Traverse)? Often the "special needs" come with many mechanical baggage - weight, additional horsepower and fuel burns.

How fast do we need to go? How fast a car need to go to make freeway merging safe?

We turned away the mini-vans to SUV, and now cross-overs. What we want is a vehicle with useful space while deliver the fuel economy we can bear. So what's the next vehicle that will do it all?

Space - comfortable room for 5, plenty of legrooms and cargo space.
Go anywhere attitude - all wheel drives
Fuel economy - 30mpg freeway, 25 mix driving, 22 city (better than cross-over, better than SUV)

What come to my mind are the Honda CR-V, Subaru Outback, RAV 4, Mazda5, Escape or GMC Terrain

For the money - Mazda5 - is cheap
RAV 4, CR-V - have the reliability and reputation for a good car
My pick is the Subaru Outback because it is wider than the most, with the seat folded down, - the cargo space is astonishing.





photos:  2010 Poland Krakow
plugs:  782SA.BlogSpot.com

What to Do With Older GPS

2007 Plenio VXA-3000 7-inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech

2008 NV-U73T | 4.3" Portable Navigation System NV-U73T



# # #

These old GPS have the original map loaded, and they have not received any software (map) update since they were out of boxes. Live in the old part of town, the maps do just fine, there is no new constructions, but these map are out dated with the newly build toll roads and new houses in the suburbs.

I have been using iphone/Google map for driving instruction, it's small, hard to read. Should I spend the money to buy a new GPS/with newer map loaded? Using the iphone/google map for long distance driving drains the battery in couple hours, plug-in 12v charger to the iPhone solves that problem. But making direction changes on iPhone while driving is very DANGEROUS.

Has the GPSs unit becoming a disposable unit, like ink-jet printer cartridges where we buy the "maps" and the GPS units are free?


# # ###

New GPS unit can be had for $130 (brand name - big 4.3" screen), and the cost of map update for the SONY runs $100, if you can get it..

So, Buy a new one- and give the old one away, is the right thing to do!

Everything Smart SA

http://782sa.blogspot.com/

Unemployment Benefit Is Becoming Entitlement

When does unemployment benefit come another form for entitlement?

1. Payout for benefit is more than what was collected in premium.

2. Payout term is extended than it was originally promised.

3. One will not take a job because the pay difference between pay and unemployment benefit check isn't worth "spending 8 hours on the job".

4. Using unemployment check to supplement under-table cash-side jobs.

5. One will not save money aside for raining days, counting only on the unemployment check.

Catchy Phrases for Marketing

Over priced,
Over promised and
Under delivered.

Ok;
Yes and
Absolutely

Ho,
Ka Ho,and
Ding Ho

Bed Size

* Mattress Sizes
o Twin--39 x 75 inches (or 99 x 190 cm)
o X-Long Twin--39 x 80 inches (99 x 203 cm)
o Full--54 x 75 inches (137 x 190 cm)
o Queen--60 x 80 inches (or 153 x 203 cm)
o King--76 x 80 inches (or 198 x 203 cm)
o California King--72 x 84 inches (or 182 x 213 cm)



* Fitted Sheet Sizes
o Twin--39 x 75 inches (or 99 x 190 cm)
o X-Long Twin--39 x 80 inches (99 x 203 cm)
o Full--54 x 75 inches (137 x 190 cm)
o Queen--60 x 80 inches (or 153 x 203 cm)
o King--76 x 80 inches (or 198 x 203 cm)
o California King--72 x 84 inches (or 182 x 213 cm)

* Flat Sheet Sizes
o Twin--66 x 96 inches (or 167 x 243 cm)
o X-Long Twin--66 x 102 inches (or 167 x 259 cm)
o Full--81 x 96 inches (or 205 x 243 cm)
o Queen--90 x 102 inches (or 228 x 259 cm)
o King/California King--108 x 102 inches (or 274 x 259 cm)



* Comforter Sizes
o Twin--68 x 86 inches (or 173 x 218 cm)
o Full/Queen--86 x 86 inches (or 218 x 218 cm)
o King/California King--100 x 90 inches (or 254 x 229 cm)

Vanity Cabinets

Buying replacement vanity cabinets can be real challenge, if saving money is important.



Vanity is sold either with the vanity top, or without the top. Most of units with tops are made of non-stone like material - so call cultured marbles.





There are two options when replacing water damaged cabinets. Buy one just vanity base only, without sink/counter-tops; or buy the complete replacement unit. Low-end cabinets typically sold with tops, where as the better looking one, typically sold with cabinetry only.

Thing to check, beside the obvious like "width of cabinets", and numbers of sinks.

1. Faucet holes (number of), spacing (standard 4").

2. Cabinet depth. Less expensive cabinets are in 18" / 19". The others are in 21.5~22". If the replacement cabinets are in different sizes (different foot print), the flooring may need some redo, and exposing new wall surfaces that needs new paint job.

3. Number of drains (P-traps). Double sink vanity are designed to work with either (a) individual drain outlet. Or (b) sharing with one drain outlet. It affects how the cabinets drawers are utilized. If the slide out drawers are in the middle - it's likely that "individual drain outlets" are used. If the slide out drawers are in both ends of cabinets/doors in the middle - it's likely that "a shared drain outlet" is used.


photos: 2010 Germany Berlin & Poland Krakow
Plugs : 782sa.blogspot.com

Riding Lawn Mowers

COST Factor #1 – transmission
► $$$-$$$$ Hydrostatic-drive tractors = smooth, infinite speed
Tight-turning, "zero-turn-radius" tractors = dual hydrostatic-drive for each wheel
► $$$ Pedal-drive tractors = continuously variable transmission (CVT), control by how hard the drive pedal is pressed. Required shifting to forward/reverse
► $$ Manual-drive tractors = detente level – discrete ground speed with CVT transmission
► (?$) Gear-drive tractors =shifting, clutching, and a distinct set of speed ranges.

COST Factor #2 – Engine
► More HP = $$$
► Fewer HP = $

COST Factor #3 – Deck Size
► Wider 46” plus = $$$
► Less than 42 = $

Others COST Factors/Key Features
► blades for mulching
► bag – clipping catching system
► wagon towing
► engine maker




# # # #

For $850 ► 14 HP / 38” / Manual-Drive

For 30% more $ and 10% improved efficiency (time wise) ~ 17% premium
$1100 ►19 HP / 42” / Pedal-drive

For 65% more $$$ and 20% improved efficiency ~ 36% premium
For $1400 ► 22 HP / 46” / Hydrostatic Drive


# # riding models # # #
Ariens
Bolens
Craftsman
Cub Cadet
John Deere
Husqvana
Toro
Snapper
Troy-Bilt
Weed Easter
# push/lawn mowers#
Brute
Lawn-Boy
Honda
Ryobi
Yard Man

Everything Smart SA

http://782sa.blogspot.com/