- At the end of last week, our kitchen faucet spring a huge leak. With the single-control lever in the closed position, water just pours out of the base of the faucet. Lucky for us, Dad Stevens (who's a plumber by one of his trades) installed shut-off valves for the kitchen faucet water supplies when he installed our dishwasher -- so that we still have water to the rest of the house even if we don't have a kitchen faucet.
- It turns out that after taking the tap apart, the culprit is a cracked ceramic disk in the faucet mechanics. Home Depot says that this could be because of either a lot of force, or exposing the ceramic disk to a change in water temperature from extreme hot to extreme cold. Either way, the part is about $12 to replace, and on top of which, Price Pfister, the manufacturer of the faucet offers a lifetime warranty on the parts and operation of the faucet.
- After going to three different Home Depot stores, only to find out that none of them had the ceramic disk replacement that I needed, I decided to call Price Pfister and find out where we could get the proper replacement part. Of course, this was Saturday night, and when I called, the recording says they only work Monday to Friday 8AM to 5PM. The good news is, spoke to the representative today, and the replacement part is on its way -- should be here in a couple of days. The faucet, as installed is part of Price Pfister's Professional Series. It's not sold to the general public, and Home Depot doesn't carry replacement parts. Only builders install them.
- It's ironic that builders only install Professional Series faucets, and Home Depot only sells the consumer grade faucets, and only carries consumer grade series parts replacements. With the number of new homes and therefore builder supplied faucets, wouldn't it make more sense for Price Pfister, and Home Depot, who is Price Pfister's only Canadian retail source, to stock more Professional Series replacement parts?
- We are the proud owners of yet another digital camera, this time an ultra-portable model, a Pentax Optio S5z. A 5MP camera with a 2" LCD screen, and very small form factor. For the size and price, the performance is quite good. It will even draw a live histogram which updates in real-time when you're framing a shot using the LCD screen (it has no viewfinder). Kelly's going to take it with her on her upcoming trip to L.A., so stay tuned for some paparazzi-style shots of Rodeo Drive and Hollywood Boulevard.
- Speaking of digital photography, I came across a good read reviewing and contrasting the differences between digital and film photography, by Ken Rockwell.