Friday, October 23, 2009

pcLearning4U is Open for Business

To my loyal readers, and anybody else who hath stumbled upon this blog:

As part of my efforts to learn more about learning (and to obtain additional dirty filthy lucre, moolah, dinero, etc.), I have founded pcLearning4U, a new company dedicated to bringing individual personal computer instruction to Richmond, VA people of every age.

Instruction topics include computer basics, introduction to MS-Office products, and uses of social media, among others.

Please visit the pcLearning4U Site for more information. If you are a Facebook user, please also visit our Facebook Fan Page and become a fan!

Thanks - Ted

Monday, October 12, 2009

Jammed Garbage Disposal

You may be asking, what does a jammed garbage disposal have to do with eLearning?

Well, folks, we had just bought a new disposal a couple of years ago, and a narrow glass bottle fell into the darn thang, and it jammed, so instead of calling the plumber (or even the store I bought it from), I consulted the Internet (the "e" part) and Googled "jammed garbage disposal" for solutions (the "Learning" part).

Found this link - this in effect was the courseware. Among other things, I learned that the humming sound was the circuit breaker keeping the motor from overheating - in other words, electricity still flowed into the unit. They then suggested that I turn the central hex opening at the bottom of the unit to manually turn the motor and see if I could loosen the obstruction. Problem - I didn't have the correct size Allen wrench to do this. Solution - I found a sorta L-shaped thingy for a replaceable-head screwdriver that just happened to fit the opening.

So then I started to try to turn the motor, and the dang thing wouldn't budge. Then it budged a little. Then a bit more. Then a bit more as I heard a grinding sound as I turned it - hoping I was grinding the glass piece by hand, rather than stripping the gears. Tried running the disposal - still nothing but a humming sound. Finally, the thingy spun in a complete circle w/ no resistance, turned on the water, turned on the disposal - success! Last but not least, it handled cat food and coffee grounds as good as new.

Lessons learned:
  • eLearning is all around you
  • Feels good to not have to spend the money to call a repairman!