Nebulous

The problem with the plate renewal has been sorted out and we’ve got the new sticker now but…

#$@$!%!

I stripped the head on one of the screws that holds the car’s license plate cover in place!   I had two “Duh!” moments  while trying to remove the plate cover.

First “Duh!” moment…

The head was rusty and this little voice inside my head was saying, “Don’t do it!”.   But like an idiot, I attempted to unscrew it and it totally stripped the head.

The second “Duh!” moment…

My first attempt at using this Black & Decker screw extractor failed because I tried to use an extractor bit that was too big for the job!  Now I’m hoping that I didn’t remove too much material such that I won’t be able to use a smaller extractor bit.

If there isn’t enough material left in the head of the screw, I’ll have to completely drill out the entire screw and probably have to re-tap the hole.  I guess it was serendipitous that I had impulse-purchased a 40-piece tap and die set while it was on 50% discount a few months ago. 

Left-hand Tap

Another alternative, if I can be patient, is to order a left-hand tap and use another smaller screw to extract the stripped screw.

What the left-hand tap does is cuts threads in a counterclockwise direction instead of the standard clockwise thread.

This will allow me to screw in a smaller screw into the bigger stripped screw.   Since the smaller screw is turned counterclockwise when tightened due to the left-handed thread, the stripped screw will be forced to turn in a counterclockwise direction as well and begin to (hopefully) unscrew itself.

Weather…

The cold weather could prove problematic, so I might wait until Spring to tackle this repair.   Luckily, I can still unscrew the right side plate cover screw and lift the plate cover slightly.

With some careful manoeuvering, I can slip the new plate sticker underneath the cover and  into position to affix it.

Today, I’ll try to get out and find new replacement screws for all the plate covers and replace what I can.

This online store is having an international customer appreciation special event where shipping is 50% off.    I figure it’s a good time to pick up a few things since discounted shipping doesn’t happen very often.

I order a few items and select EMS (Express Mail Service) shipping since it’s the fastest and the more reliable overseas shipping method.   I normally don’t use EMS because it’s very expensive but since it’s 50% off shipping, why not?   The shipping cost at 50% off will be almost the same as SAL (Sea-Air-Land) shipping costs but I get my stuff much sooner.

I had completely forgotten about the postal service’s new policy with regards to more aggressive inspection of overseas casual goods shipments shipped via EMS.   This means that the chances are far greater that one’s package will be inspected by customs and brokerage fees will be charged.

When all was said and done, the total cost to get the package to me (brokerage + original shipping fees) was about $23.    It was cheaper than the non-discounted EMS shipping I would have normally paid but it’s virtually half the value of the entire package and almost 3 times more expensive than what it would have cost me if I had stuck to my original plan and had the package shipped via SAL.

The picture at the top says it all.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and went downstairs to survey the progress of the basement clean-up.  Unfortunately, it’s going much slower than I would like…

Apparently, identifying your personality type is one of the steps to help in the de-cluttering process.   Just my luck, I happen to be a mix of  the three primary personality types that often lead to clutter.

The Sentamentalist: Self-explanatory.  I still have two pairs of panties that were given to me as a gag gift years ago by someone I no longer have contact with.  Unless I intend to wear them, why do I still have them?

The Pragmatist: I’ve always been a believer in recycling and re-tasking.  The problem is that, theoretically, one can find an alternate use for nearly everything so generally speaking, keeping things for re-use simply results in a monumental pile of stuff.  Of course, I’m not advocating a wasteful lifestyle but there has to be limits.  Thankfully my city has a fairly progressive recycling system so I can feel a little better about getting rid of certain things like old but functional electronics for instance.

The Wishful Thinker: I  hold on to things, or purchase new things for their potential and for future use.   This is especially true when it comes to hobby, art and craft supplies.   My new philosophy should  be that if I cannot start the project for which I intend to use the product(s) or object(s) within a week’s time, I shouldn’t buy it or keep it around.  This should save me more money, ensure I don’t waste material (e.g. stuff expiring/going bad on me) and stop me from engaging in too many projects at once.

I’m not sure whether or not pinpointing my personality type(s) will actually help in the end.   But I suppose it does help in developing strategies to dealing with and avoiding clutter.