Switched Keys

Today I got another break from the books. Yesterday I mowed our grass and did a little yard work. Part of that work involved getting the chain saw out and trying to use it. The chain was dangling when I started so it wasn't surprising when it came off. I wasn't familiar with how to put on or tighten the chain on this model, so I set it aside until I had time to work on it.

Also, yesterday, my wife pointed out some problems we have been having with one of the doorknobs. After a trip to Starbucks this morning and after gassing and oiling our car, I decided to tackle the doorknob.

First chore was to remove and disassemble the door knob. There was some kind of snag when opening the door, so I examined all of the parts for a dent in the assembly. I cleaned the units, and then tried graphite on all of the moving parts. Then, with the doorknob removed I tried it again, and there was still something snagging it, but not as badly. Finally I reinstalled it and afterward it worked like new.

When I went to put the tools back I spotted the chainsaw, and with confidence of my success, I tackled that task as well. Again, took it apart, even though I found out I didn't have to. The chain went back on and I tightened it up and gave it a spin. Super.

That reminds me of the time that one of our clocks went out. I took the cheap clock unit out of the clock and started taking that apart while my wife watched. I couldn't find a problem with the main components so, clowning around, I took those apart. Still I couldn't find a fix, so I took all of the screws out, and soon had gears as small as the lead out  of a pencil spread out over the counter. We wondered how they made something with such small pieces. After that I really didn't expect to be able to fix it, but my wife and I had so much fun exploring the inner workings of that $2 clock unit.

If you want to have fun, take something apart. It's nice to be able to put it back together again and have it be functional, but taking it apart is the most fun. That's all I'm saying. Now, back to my bankruptcy studies. Sounds boring but it's not that bad. I only have to cover three chapters.