Unutterably Silly So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

Silica gel can also bought at craft stores - it's used for drying flower arrangements. http://www.michaels.com/activa-flowe...ca+gel&start=1

Good call! For the States, that's a pretty good price for 5lbs of the stuff. And it's basically reusable for ever, as long as you keep drying it out either in the oven or the microwave.


Stitchawl

[crich70]

Loading Gutenberg's SF Bookshelf into Calibre. There are over 990+ short stories and novels in the shelf. Cleaning them up and converting (the epubs) to Kindle will keep me busy for a while this winter.

[trichobezoar]

I have quite a few EPUBS I want to upload onto my ereaders and tablet. 'Have to organize my ebooks again... and sinc everything manually. *sigh*[/#firstworldproblems]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

In humid summer weather, only a few days! That's one of the reasons I buy the ones with the color marker. I can quickly see if they are in need of drying out. If they are in sealed (plastic, not paper) bags, they can last indefinitely, but once exposed to the atmosphere they start to take up water immediately.

When purchased in camera stores or electronics shops, they tend to be in fancy containers and rather expensive for what they actually are. If bought in chemical supply stores (the Yellow Pages are your friend) they are cheap as dirt, but you have to supply your own smaller 'working' containers. As I said, I use empty tea bags for small sachets, but for larger amounts pour 3-4 tablespoons full into coffee filters, fold the edges and tape them down. Works fine.

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

Silica gel can also bought at craft stores - it's used for drying flower arrangements. http://www.michaels.com/activa-flowe...ca+gel&start=1

Thank you both so much for the info! *clicking on link* Wow, $16 for a 5 lb bag--that's pretty good! I think I'll order it next month 'cause the mail service during this time... *shaking head* It's best to just order it next month and not worry about it arriving two weeks late.

I'll have 5 lbs to dump the Nook ST in! lol If that doesn't do the trick, I don't know what will!

[Rumpelteazer]

Pimping Christmas cards. I don't make them from scratch myself but bought ones with a blank inside so I can go wild with stamps, die cuts, sequins and washi tape.

[cromag]

You might also try Febreze, trichobezoar.

I needed to deodorize something many years ago and found a cleaner based on "oil of oranges" -- something like that. It worked incredibly well, but I can't remember the name for the life of me. Maybe you can do a quick check in the cleaning section of a large department store, if you have one nearby?

[Lin2412]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Pimping Christmas cards. I don't make them from scratch myself but bought ones with a blank inside so I can go wild with stamps, die cuts, sequins and washi tape.

Awesome! I still consider those as DIY cards (I do them every year; probably not as much though.)

I'm currently doing Origami Christmas Lanterns! It's very beautiful especially when you light up the christmas lights that are decorated as tree ornaments. I'm using different colors to make the lanterns.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by trichobezoar

I purchased a used Nook Simple Touch on eBay so I could root it. It arrived about a week ago and it smelled horrible--like cigar smoke or a man cave! I cleaned the bezel and outer shell with Endust wipes and the terrible smell remained. I did a google search finally and found out that it could be removed with isopropyl rubbing alcohol. So I pulled out my squirt bottle, squirted some rubbing alcohol on a napkin and began cleaning the bezel and shell with it. Sure enough--it got rid of some of the smell! At least, it doesn't reek of cigar as much.

I think I'll use the rubbing alcohol a few more times.

I don't know if it will work for the smell of cigar smoke on your nook or not trichobezoar but vinegar is a known aid to breaking up tobacco smoke. Putting a small dish of it in a room is said to get rid of the smell of smoking such as after a party. Maybe putting your nook in a container that can be sealed with a small dish of vinegar overnight might help. Another trick that works (for odors from garbage cans) is to soak a piece of bread in vinegar and put it in the bottom of the can before putting a new bag in. It breaks up any bad odor that the can may have picked up over time.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by cromag

You might also try Febreze, trichobezoar.

I needed to deodorize something many years ago and found a cleaner based on "oil of oranges" -- something like that. It worked incredibly well, but I can't remember the name for the life of me. Maybe you can do a quick check in the cleaning section of a large department store, if you have one nearby?

Ah! That brings to mind: how about wrapping the Nook in a dryer sheet (Bounce or some such) for a few nights to try to instill THAT scent instead of the cigar scent?

[trichobezoar]

Originally Posted by cromag

You might also try Febreze, trichobezoar.

I needed to deodorize something many years ago and found a cleaner based on "oil of oranges" -- something like that. It worked incredibly well, but I can't remember the name for the life of me. Maybe you can do a quick check in the cleaning section of a large department store, if you have one nearby?

I think it needs something a little stronger than Febreeze. I did a google search for "oil of oranges" and found Citra Solv which is all natural and cruelty-free. However, a product review warns "never use on any kind of plastic or plexiglass. It will discolor it, or even begin to melt it, depending on how strong your mixture is." I'm thinking if I dilute it as much as possible, it might not discolor or melt the outer shell?

Originally Posted by crich70

I don't know if it will work for the smell of cigar smoke on your nook or not trichobezoar but vinegar is a known aid to breaking up tobacco smoke. Putting a small dish of it in a room is said to get rid of the smell of smoking such as after a party. Maybe putting your nook in a container that can be sealed with a small dish of vinegar overnight might help. Another trick that works (for odors from garbage cans) is to soak a piece of bread in vinegar and put it in the bottom of the can before putting a new bag in. It breaks up any bad odor that the can may have picked up over time.

That's a good idea, Crich. I think I'll try that after using the rubbing alcohol a few more days. I'm sure we have some vinegar somewhere... *searching* I'm sure it's hidden behind containers and stuff in a kitchen cabinet.

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Ah! That brings to mind: how about wrapping the Nook in a dryer sheet (Bounce or some such) for a few nights to try to instill THAT scent instead of the cigar scent?

That's a good idea too. 'Have to buy a box of fabric softener--something citrusy.

The rubbing alcohol seems to be working little by little, more and more each day. That's something? *nods*

[kindlekitten]

Coming from the telecommunications industry, we dealt with a lot of those issues. Cables that are about 100 pair and above are treated, (inside the protective sheath) with a substance that makes the cable easier to manage, ie; pull through small spaces, negotiate bends, etc. When you have arrived at your end destination, you are going to terminate it. So at that point you have to open up the cable to get to the wires to terminate it. The substance I was referring to earlier is "icky pick" (I'm certain it has a real name, I just never bothered to learn it. This icky pick is kind of like honey but more dense, and it gets EVERYWHERE! All over your clothes, into your tool bag (and any tools that require battery or electric current are especially vulnerable, and tools with moving parts run a close second)it didn't matter what you thought your next chore to be, as soon as you had succumbed to the icky pick monster, your next action was getting up close and personal with snail snot. This stuff was INCREDIBLE cleaning hands, clothes, tools and so on. Using it was like taking a bath in oranges, the scent was that powerful. Obviously phone techs have a quirky sense of humour, renaming things being high on the list. I honestly don't know, and don't think I ever knew what the real name for icky pick was. I'm pretty sure that the snail snot was "goof off " (seriously that was the name), and is available at most big hardware stores. I've seen it work on all sorts of graffiti, etc. We'd go through a container per person in about a week. I would anticipate the average householdhousehold would go through one in about 5 to 10 years

[badgoodDeb]

I've heard of the stuff. Goof Off, that is. And sure enough, Amazon recognizes it.

[kindlekitten]

Yay! (Sometimes I go way off left base, combining different memories that only served to confuse the hell out of everyone. Not as bad though as putting Spanish verb endings onto German verbs. Only did that for mmm about my first 4 years)

[cromag]

Getting ready for another road trip. By now the roads should be plowed and de-iced, at least!

[trichobezoar]

Originally Posted by cromag

Getting ready for another road trip. By now the roads should be plowed and de-iced, at least!

Have a safe trip, Cromag!

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Coming from the telecommunications industry, we dealt with a lot of those issues. Cables that are about 100 pair and above are treated, (inside the protective sheath) with a substance that makes the cable easier to manage, ie; pull through small spaces, negotiate bends, etc. When you have arrived at your end destination, you are going to terminate it. So at that point you have to open up the cable to get to the wires to terminate it. The substance I was referring to earlier is "icky pick" (I'm certain it has a real name, I just never bothered to learn it. This icky pick is kind of like honey but more dense, and it gets EVERYWHERE! All over your clothes, into your tool bag (and any tools that require battery or electric current are especially vulnerable, and tools with moving parts run a close second)it didn't matter what you thought your next chore to be, as soon as you had succumbed to the icky pick monster, your next action was getting up close and personal with snail snot. This stuff was INCREDIBLE cleaning hands, clothes, tools and so on. Using it was like taking a bath in oranges, the scent was that powerful. Obviously phone techs have a quirky sense of humour, renaming things being high on the list. I honestly don't know, and don't think I ever knew what the real name for icky pick was. I'm pretty sure that the snail snot was "goof off " (seriously that was the name), and is available at most big hardware stores. I've seen it work on all sorts of graffiti, etc. We'd go through a container per person in about a week. I would anticipate the average householdhousehold would go through one in about 5 to 10 years

I'm not sure if I should use Goof Off on my Nook... Maybe Goof Off Heavy Duty Wipes? They'll come in handy cleaning around the house as well and they're sold on eBay. Hmm, I have a lot of decisions to make next month. lol

Thank you all for the suggestions! *looking at Nook* I think I'll just stick with what I have available this month--rubbing alcohol and vinegar. Next month I'll try something different. *nods*

There's hope for this Nook ST yet!

[crich70]

Good luck trichobezoar. I hope the vinegar works for you. It's quick, inexpensive, won't damage things and it's non-toxic unlike so many things in the world today.