Hooked up the old one. Had to try twice to get the damned wires to stay on the leads. Cross fingers that banging noise means heat for the first time in 8 hours.

While I am in the business of electrocuting myself, I must ask -- say you've got pretty wide-bore wires coming out of the wall, and thermostats, even old ones, don't seem to be designed for wires that wide. (We are talking 4mm wide, wide enough you couldn't use that size wire for an earring.) Is it legitimate to work up a kludge whereby you attach tiny fine wires to the giganto-useless wires, and then wind your fine pretty wires around the infinitessimal leads? And if I tried to do that, would I necessarily electrocute myself?

(Okay, yes to that last, since I know the wires are live and know where the fuse box is. So if I promised to turn everything off first, would it be a legitimate kludge? And, who designs these things? And how can I arrange for that person to be hanged, preferably with coax cable from a telephone pole?)

I'm not an electrician, but my understanding is that the thermostat wires are low voltage DC that simply open and close a relay; you won't electrocute yourself. As to why they used those large gauge wires, I imagine it was what they had on hand. I think (but don't hold me to it if your house burns to the ground) that you'll be fine with the fine wires.

Is it legitimate to work up a kludge whereby you attach tiny fine wires to the giganto-useless wires, and then wind your fine pretty wires around the infinitessimal leads?

You should be able to to attach thinner wire to the leads. You need to get some wire nuts at the Depot. Explain to one of the folks there what you want them for. They may have a better solution. (Or, if it can wait until Saturday, I can come up and take a look at it for you.)

Thermostats don't need the kind of cable it sounds like you found. 4 mm is an exaggeration, right? Heavy gauge wire is used for wiring the outlets and light switches (maybe 1 mm thick or so). The leads for the thermostat should be low voltage, like phone wiring, so in theory there's little chance of electrocution. However, it sounds like something is whacked there.

Hi all.

I seem to have screwed up a very simply thing in an access database.

There is a form, and the form has a button the designer made to close the form. I tried to make a find button, which didn't work. Now somehow, I have screwed up this button.

The command is in VBA form, and currently says

Private Sub Close_Form_Click()

End Sub

But nothing happens. and I have no other way to close the form, so right now the only way to close the database is to switch off the computer! What did I do?

ETA: Nevermind- I just made a new button with the wizard and deleted the old one! Problem solved

Random randomness:

Do folks suppose Apple will be releasing any new iPods come MacWorld? Like, say, an 80 Gig model? One with a built-in can opener?

Any preferences as to iPod battery upgrade kits? (my 3rd gen iPod now has a battery life of about 70 minutes.)

From Wired: Firefox Hacks You Must Have: [link]

One with a built-in can opener?

Also, it should do laundry and read minds.

I'd be happy with it just doing my homework for me.

Y'all saw yesterday's Opus, right?

I just got a following email from payment-messages@amazon.com:

Dear ____

Greetings from Amazon Payments.

Your bank has contacted us regarding some attempts of charges from your credit card via the Amazon system. We have reasons to believe that you changed your registration information or that someone else has unauthorized access to your Amazon account Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorized listings placed on your account, we will require a second confirmation of your identity with us in order to allow us to investigate this matter further. Your account is not suspended, but if in 48 hours after you receive this message your account is not confirmed we reserve the right to suspend your Amazon registration. If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of Amazon policy to represent oneself as another Amazon user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. Amazon is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To confirm your identity with us click here:

... followed by a link that takes me to an add/update credit card page on the Amazon.com page, which looks reasonably legit. Except it has a slot for my ATM PIN number, like, the hell? Why would Amazon want to know my ATM PIN number? I just want to run it by here to make sure it isn't some scam. Has anyone received emails like this from Amazon? I've checked my credit card statement, and there aren't any unauthorized purchases.

It sounds like a scam.