Thirteen Crows

I sourced almost all the parts from Lowe’s. Home Depot or a good hardware store will have these parts, too. I would’ve preferred to use a local Ace or True Value, but there wasn’t one within 10 miles of my house, but a Lowe’s was under 3 miles.

I got Mario from Amazon. It was a keychain that I modified for use as a pull. I had to buy a cheap ornamental pull from Lowe’s for parts to connect Mario to the pull chain switch. The switch is a simple pull chain two position switch for use in ceiling fan repairs. The light fixture is a ceramic socket from the lamp repair rack as well and the power cord. Very simple writing job using wire nuts.

I think the pipe pieces are pretty self explanatory. I didn’t glue any of them together. The ceramic light fixture is glued in with the epoxy. I’m not certain of the fire retardant properties of the epoxy, if there is any, so I wouldn’t leave the light on while gone. Just sayin’.

I drilled a hole for the switch and another for the power cord to exit on the back side. I would suggest starting with a small bit and drill successfully larger holes. Put the pieces you are drilling in a vice if possible. Trust me.

Oh, the bulb is one of those cool “Edison” style antique looking bulbs. It has a nice sepia yellow glow and is not bright.

On the Internet, I’ve seen the green tube and light mounted on a board. Personally, I thought it detracted from the look because it was just a painted board. I may think of a cool way to mount the two pieces that would be in the style of Mario Bros, but for now I just have them free.VThe light is very stable like it is.

Since my unexpected change in domicile arrangement, I’ve had to pick up a piece of two of furniture. Complicating things further, I’m broke.

I feel like I’m back in college and trying to furnish my studio apartment again. This time, however, I’m not charging anything. It has to be cheap and cash only.

I scored a great chair for $15 and I’m looking at a desk this weekend. I’ve not been able to sit at a desk since before we moved to Texas last year. Even then, it was at the office. I’ve not been allowed to have a desk to myself at home since… never.

I like the Swedish design sensibilities. Very Apple Store and the sets from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I hate for this to be my first post since I revamped this space. However, I have to say I miss my Apple Magic Mouse very much. I left it behind when I moved from Houston to San Antonio. The cover plate that keeps the batteries in wasn’t staying on anyway. To get me by and get some work done I picked up a cheap one at Wal-Mart. It is a basic Logitech cordless mouse. It is a solid mouse, but the clicky wheel is way too clicky.

Oh, I do use the trackpad on my MacBook Air most of the time, but when I’m inside a Creative Suite app, I need a little finer precision. I miss the smooth scrolling that occurs with a light stroke on the top of the mouse.

When I scrape together $69 and lose my better judgement inside the Apple Store, I will have one again.