I didn't really intend to go into routine maintenance and the defrag is a good maintenance item to do occasionally and should be done after a disk check. If you have bad sectors on your hard drive it will complicate the defrag and it'll cause performance problems too. Other maintenance, clean out old files, sort so you can find things, organize your computer, wipe the dust off it, and other stuff! Jodi, that's a great analogy on defrag. I'm gonna "Berle" it! ;) alisande, static electricity is way over-hyped. If you're in a dry climate and walk on the carpet, yes you can get some static sparks. And yes, you need to be careful when in the computer. There are static leashes that some swear by, but I never use them. If you know what you're doing, you're fine and the leash won't prevent other problems. When you open the computer UNPLUG IT FIRST. This should be a no-brainer, but... Then pull the screws if so equipped and open it up. If you've walked around a dry room on carpet, touch the metal case or the back of the power supply before sticking your hand in there to discharge yourself. Using a vacuum won't generate static electricity. Incidently, when using the vacuum, get the big chunks out first then turn it to blow to loosen up underneath the board and in the power supply. If your computer is really packed with lint you should use compressed air or else open the power supply. Be careful of the capacitors in there... FWIW, I don't recommend keyboard covers except in rare situations. Do you REALLY HAVE to eat cookies and crackers like a slob, right over the keyboard? The occasional lint, dust, dirt and crumbs can be removed by turning it over, tapping gently and a spurt of compressed air occasionally. Keyboard covers break, crack, get hard and somehow spending $30 on a $5 keyboard doesn't seem to make much sense to me. I even know people who put plastic bags over the keyboard because they insist on using them as a plate. Considering how full of bacteria a keyboard is to start with and people having to have food on it on top of it... eeewwwwwww... I find that disgusting! LOL Set the computer aside and eat for 5-10 minutes. And wipe the keyboard occasionally and do your phone too. They're dirtier than your toilet seat, did you realize that? Now go wash your hands and enjoy your computer! :)

Interesting thoughts -- we could all improve on paperwork storage in our homes. Two things I think I'm doing well that differ from the above mentioned Script, and someone else might find some ideas in my methods: Taxes. Yes, like Script, I am scrupulous about maintaining records for my taxes. About a dozen years ago I went to the office supply and bought two big boxes of BRIGHT GREEN folders (green like money). I labeled them Taxes 2000 ... Taxes 2001 ... Taxes 2002 ... Taxes 2003 ... and so on. Given my family's typical lifespan, I made enough green folders to take me to age 110 -- probably more than I'll need, but I'm ready! They're all stored in my file cabinet, taking up very little space. Now when I receive anything tax-related -- a charitable receipt, an end-of-the-year bank statement, whatever -- I have a place to file it. In April, I have a place to file a copy of my taxes, and I can go back and see previous tax years. For the rest of my life, this system is in place. Death folder. Ours is a notebook. Two identical notebooks, actually, since we have two children. Our girls are young adults now, but they've never dealt with an estate -- even if they don't open it 'til they're old, it'll be useful to them. It contains a lot of stuff: - A personal letter to the two of them - A list of our wishes about funeral and items we'd like donated to various family members or charities - A list of things they must do immediately; it starts with going to our house and taking possession of the dog, but it also includes small details like canceling our voting registration and destroying any medicines in the house. At every turn this list includes addresses and phone numbers, including the lawyer we suggest for probate, the funeral home our family's always used, and family members who should be contacted. - A copy our will; they know what's in it -- everything split between the two of them - A list of our financial assets -- bank accounts, investments, insurance, deeds/maps of real estate ... when our youngest became a legal adult, we made the two girls co-beneficiaries of every account; note that this was done before either was married, so our two kids -- not future son-in-laws -- will own these items. - A list of the bills we pay each month -- electricity, phone, even the guy who cuts our grass. - Official copies of our birth certificates, our marriage certificates, and the girls' birth certificates -- they might not be needed, but the girls won't have to scramble to find them - A flashdrive with all of the above in digital format plus photographs that might be useful in putting together the funeral Our rule: We keep two years of tax returns in the notebooks ... the reason being that someday an accountant will file our final estate tax return, and he or she will want our last two years of returns -- so every April we pull out the notebook, discard one old return and insert the newest ... so our rule is that every April we look over the notebook and update anything that's changed. For example, last year we changed bank accounts, and someday we hope to add items concerning grandchildren to the book. Our girls know that the notebooks are stored in the safe, and they know where the key to the safe is hidden, and they know it's labeled with a misleading name so that a thief wouldn't look at it twice. Last thought on this notebook: Though this project took us the better part of a year --- we kept remembering one more thing, one more thing that really should be included -- we didn't find it difficult emotionally. I suspect that if we were older and/or one of us were in poor health, it might've been different.

Could I ask if this was regular eye doctor, an eye specialist or an a eye super specialist? I ask because my husband has had appointments with one of Toronto's super specialists - appointments were booked for 9:00 a.m. and those in the know take lunch and dinner with them - they often turned into all-day events. But this specialist does Vitrectomies, detached retina eye surgeries, that type of thing and there aren't that many Toronto doctors who perform these surgeries. Most of the patients are diabetics - my husband is one of the few who is not, so on a first visit a person with diabetes has a problem with food. Food sharing then happens. Then we have the various levels of more junior eye specialists - some being too senior to do say cataract surgery so you are referred to a lower specialist. Quite the ordeal. The wait times differ depending on the specialist. The optometrist is very good - usually on time. She does Part 1 of the exam, then puts in the drops and has people return to the waiting room for a few minutes while she takes care of a few other matters and then is ready to see the patient with the drops as soon as the drops have done their bit. Of course with me, the drops burn off immediately and I never get blurry eyes. I think you should sleep on your letter and then decide what to do. Years ago I had to see a specialist - every time you would swear that you were in a bus terminal full of people. The receptionist would always tell people that the doctor had been called out on an emergency. So one day one of my fellow patients stood up and asked how many of us had an appointment booked for 5:00 p.m. - every hand in the room was raised. The receptionist looked scared - not her fault though. It is very common for a few people to have the same appointment time - I think doctors hope that some appointments will be quicker than others. Doesn't always happen though.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Paula. I ordered through Lowe's online. They do not offer them in the store, so I know they came straight from the supplier. The tiles are perfectly uniform in thickness and edging. I loved them until I started moving them around. I am using the lightest touch and they are still chipping, bottom and top. They are not through-body color, so I am left with dark taupe where they have chipped. I am going to contact Olean tomorrow to see if they possibly had a recall on this lot. I am glad to hear yours have held up. Perhaps if I can get them installed without more damage, they will be ok. I am really nervous about cutting and installing them, though. Your bathroom remodel looks fantastic. Do you recall what color and brand of grout was used? Thanks again, Andrea P.S. I hope my son finds a house that doesn't need a bathroom remodel. ;-)