Month: February 2020

Categories
DIY Repair

Drilling through a broken zipper slider and adding a paperclip pull

The slider on my zipper – in this case, on a waterproof bag for holding soiled cloth diapers – broke such that the top of the bridge separated from the slider body. I tried to glue it to no avail.

Two tailors told me they’d need to replace the entire 16″ run of zipper and quoted me $25 and $26. I could get a new bag for that much. So I took a shot at repairing it.

I drilled through the side of the slider bridge, using a 1/16″ bit. I first used a hammer & nail to make a tiny indentation so the bit wouldn’t walk. If the hole is even a little off-center, it will leave a thin border prone to breaking.

I drilled that hole. Like usual, I forgot to take a “before” picture. It looked like any zipper.

Then I stripped a spare piece of 22 AWG wire I had lying around, bending the copper into a loop. Kind of pretty, I think!

It took just a few minutes and seems to slide well. We’ll see how it holds up.

UPDATE May 2020: the twisted wire was impractical and failed quickly. It has been replaced by a paperclip, which is working much better. The clip falls off in the washing machine, which might pose a risk to the machine. I now remove it before tossing the bag into the wash and reattach afterward. Overall the bag now works as well as new!

Categories
DIY Making

An Excel grocery checklist template

Being in an unfamiliar setting can lead to epiphanies, big and small. Travel is great for this. For instance, I first learned about cargo bikes when I saw one in Brooklyn on a work trip.

In 2012 I stayed in an apartment that had a physical grocery list hung on the kitchen wall. It listed common items – apples, eggs, etc. – and had arrows you could flip to note that you needed something.

I liked the idea. It solves the tricky problem of trying to see in your fridge the things that aren’t there, providing a checklist instead. But you can’t take it with you to cross things off and it’s hard to modify the items as your needs change over time.

So I made an Excel version of this checklist, organized by section of the store and with space to write in custom items. I’ve tweaked it over the years and it’s worked great.

In the spirit of knowledge sharing, I’ve posted it for others to download and adapt. It’s not “open-source” because it’s a Microsoft Excel file. But I share it in that spirit. It should be accessible to regular people who want to make a customized grocery list. I hope someone else can benefit from the time I spent tweaking the formatting!

(don’t judge me for the list contents, everyone is different)

Categories
Local reporting Politics

I voted today, early and without cause

Today’s the New Hampshire presidential primary. That got me thinking it would be a good day to vote in Michigan’s presidential primary, even though it’s not for another month.

In 2018, Michigan voters approved Prop 3, allowing for no-cause absentee voting. Previously, you could only request an absentee ballot if you met certain specific conditions: you’d be out of town, you were over 60 years old, you were in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, etc. Now, in a win for voting access, anyone can request an absentee ballot without stating a reason.

So today I celebrated my birthday by walking over to the city clerk’s office, obtaining an absentee ballot, voting, and submitting it. I avoid any lines on Election Day (March 10th) and can rest assured that my vote is cast. I don’t have to worry about the potential for an unexpected emergency or rush at work. And candidate campaigns can see in their data systems that I’ve already voted, leaving me in peace as they focus their resources elsewhere. (Who has requested, and returned, their absentee ballots is a matter of public record).

Happy Birthday to Me

This isn’t as good as official early voting, like what Illinois has. And it’s not as good as official voting by mail, like Oregon has. But it can be those things in practice if you take advantage of it. Here’s to winning expanded ballot access – and using it!

Categories
DIY How-to Repair

Watch repair: metal spring bar tore a channel in a Casio G-Shock end piece

For Hanukkah 2008, I received a new watch from my wife. (I don’t remember the watch before that). It was particularly magical in my job as a high school teacher. After the first bell of the day rang, it was 4 minutes to the start of school, then 46 minutes per period alternating with a 4-minute passing period.

The watch had a auto-repeating countdown timer that I set for 50 minutes and would synchronize with the day’s first bell. At any point during the day I could look down and see precisely how many seconds were left in a class or passing period. I could walk the hallways and announce “27 seconds!” or count down “5-4-3-2-1” and then the bell would ring, with me the only person in the school who had that level of precision.

After years of daily wear and companionship, I received a smartwatch as a gift and stopped wearing the digital watch. I went from the Fitbit to a Basis and then a Garmin. At one point I realized I’d fallen into a consumerism trap and sought to go back. The notifications were disruptive and the data I was generating was useless to me but creepy in the hands of Big Tech. I tried to go back to the Casio, but it had a problem. (Remember the torn-out spring bar in the page title? This post is about the torn-out spring bar).

Each strap is attached to the end piece / bezel by a spring bar. In the course of replacing a broken band and with wear and tear over time, the spring bar on one strap carved a channel from the hole it sits in. With slight force, the strap would pull the pin out through the channel and detach from the bezel. (If this post wasn’t an afterthought I’d have a “before” picture). This person appears to have the same problem, though they too did not post a picture.

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