Victoria Tradesmen

[spanky123]

Originally Posted by G-Man

Anyone know any brave ninjas capable of trimming the jagged claws of three vicious felines?

You will want to double check with them but at one point Bosley's would do nail trimming for free if you are a regular client.

[LJ]

^Of cats?

[arfenarf]

My sister the vet says cat-wrapping is an art, perhaps the most useful thing she ever learned in twelve years of post-secondary education. Done correctly, the creature is mummified with only the peccant part protruding. Not, she emphasizes, a job for the timid or the unsure.

This may call for a trip to the <skeery music> vet.

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by spanky123

You will want to double check with them but at one point Bosley's would do nail trimming for free if you are a regular client.

That sounds good in theory but that would require transporting these demons in some sort of container and I would expect that getting the cats into a container may be a risky proposition unless you can legally use tranquilizer darts on them (can you?).

[Mike K.]

Originally Posted by G-Man

That sounds good in theory but that would require transporting these demons in some sort of container and I would expect that getting the cats into a container may be a risky proposition unless you can legally use tranquilizer darts on them (can you?).

Sleeping pills in the kitty food oughtta do it.

[Holden West]

The story of the fuel truck delivery to the wrong house reminded me of a story of a local roofing company that began a roof replacement on a house. The tenants weren't aware of any repairs but figured the landlord didn't bother telling them. Turns out the company was at the wrong house. The neighbour assumed the guy next door was getting his roof done at the same time until he noticed his guys never showed and he clued in. Both houses ended up with free roofs.

[Mike K.]

Why would the first house end up with a free roof? I understand the inconvenience of having to wait several days for the crew to move onto the proper house, but a free roof?

[Holden West]

I don't know why. For some reason, the company thought it was worth compensating.

[geekthegreek]

Anyone have a contact for a good chimney sweep? We'd like to avoid the whole chimney fire thing. Many thanks.

[sebberry]

Originally Posted by geekthegreek

Anyone have a contact for a good chimney sweep? We'd like to avoid the whole chimney fire thing. Many thanks.

My condo has used Phillips Power Vac a few times with good results for our chimney and dryer vent cleaning.

[Holden West]

Looks like the heavy rains have caused some water seepage into the basement. I'll see if the downspout drain under ground is blocked but if it turns out to be something requiring some heavy duty excavation I'd appreciate some recommended contractors experienced in this sort of problem.

[G-Man]

I got some good service on my recent sewage line replacement from Active Bobcat - They did a good job and Dave is a very nice guy.

[Mr_E_Squirrel]

Friend of mine started this in Victoria http://www.easyjobquote.com/ Not in the market myself for any home reno's at this time. Looks like a good premise

[LJ]

^Might be a good service as long as it doesn't morph into something like Shell Busey's referral network became.

Keep it honest and competitive with a way to mediate any disputes and it will grow and prosper.

[Holden West]

We have a bit of a problem with our car. The very tip of the key broke off in the lock. Price's Alarm said they'd try to fish it out with a serrated wire but the piece is so small I'm not confident it can be retrieved. They're not allowed to remove the lock because their insurance company does not allow mechanical work on cars. Anyone have any tips?

[vandervalk]

Would it not have been easier to just go to the dealership for something like this? I've had ignition replacement before on a Mazda and it's only been a couple of hours plus parts, not that expensive.

[Holden West]

Couple hours labour at a dealership? My wallet is moaning already.

[History Buff]

Put something sticky on the tip of a wooden stir stick from Starbucks then insert it and you may catch the broken peice. It may not work if you twisted the key.

Be gentle dont break the stick in there

As for what kind of sticky stuff to use I would try a very small quantity of rubber cement. Put a little on the tip of the stir stick and let it start to set. you want it like the consistency of tree sap. Not too wet not too dry.
Slide the stick in and let it sit for a few moments.

Another thing you can attempt if you have a vaccuum with hard suction try that make sure you have a good seal.
You could also use your mouth as a vacuum by inserting the small red straw that comes on a can of WD40 and suck on that while it is inserted in ignition

[Holden West]

^Some good tips there, thanks. Price's said they typically use a a tiny twisted wire. The serrated edge often is able to catch the metal.

[Bingo]

If you can get into the car through the trunk, kick out the back seat then open the door with the stuck key from the inside. Then you fasten a Mr. Bean style padlock on the door to secure the vehicle.

[History Buff]

Jaws of life at local fire Dept

[cakeman]

Whats the car.. or, more importantly, is the key cylinder simply sitting in the sheet metal below the handle or is it integral to the door handle? Really, if someone is remotely handy, has some manual dexterity, some basic hand tools (couple screw drivers, putty knife, possibly a ratchet set and a flashlight) you could spend an hour pulling the door panel, pulling the lock cyl (or handle complete) and then holding the little flap door open with a dental pick or similar tiny device while tapping the handle upside down .. or taking that assembly into Prices and let them disassemble the lock

other options, off the top of my head..

take one of those rubberized fridge magnets, cut it with a pair of scissors into a strip that will fit inside the lock (again, while holding the little flap door open with a pick of some sort) and trying to fish it out.. (this assumes keys contain enough ferrous material to be magnetic??)

buy can of compressed air (for cleaning out computers etc), put small straw in end of can, insert into lock, hold door open with pick, blast air

does car have remote locking with remote control? simply ignore problem forever and use remote to unlock doors.


cakes..

[Bingo]

Go to one of the roundabouts and drive around in circles until the centrifugal force spits the piece out of the lock. If the lock happens to be on the drivers side, you will have to go around in the opposite direction.

[Holden West]

^That's my favourite technique. Although it's actually the trunk lock, so I guess that means I'll have to suddenly accelerate to extremely high g-forces for the key to fall out. Which might be hard in a '94 three cylinder Geo Metro.

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Holden West

Which might be hard in a '94 three cylinder Geo Metro.

If this is the vehicle the chunk of key is stuck in, you absolutely have to ditch the Metro and get a new vehicle. No questions asked! This is a great excuse to divorce one of the worst vehicles ever manufactured on this planet.