Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is just around the corner. Have you checked your fireplace?

Homeowners are starting to order cords of wood, and getting their fireplaces ready for a fire. Some owners are even checking chimneys for bird nests.

A beautifully lit fire in the fireplace can add so much to your living area. But in order to have a safe fire, chimney maintenance is important.

At least once a year, you should have your chimney checked and cleaned if necessary, by a chimney professional. If you heat with wood, or if special circumstances of your chimney system warrant it, it may be wise to have the chimney checked more frequently.

The best time to have your chimney checked is every year before the burning season, says Chris Sparks, sales manager of The Mad Hatter, a chimney cleaning company.

Although we are well into the burning season, if you havent maintained your chimney, its a good idea not to wait. A chimney fire can easily destroy a house.

Chimney fires are serious. A hot, destructive chimney fire sounds like a freight train running through the house, and its not uncommon to see 30-foot flames shooting from the chimney top. If there is a chimney fire, get everyone out of the house and call the fire department.

You can avoid a chimney fire by learning to operate your fireplace correctly, and routinely cleaning your chimney. Many times what causes the fire is creosote. Creosote deposits are created from unburned, flammable tar vapors from wood smoke. They are often sticky or hard, and difficult to remove from chimneys. Long, slow burns, or the use of green or wet wood can create these dangerous creosote deposits.

Fire building seems simple, but its not like lighting a campfire or firing up the barbecue. Even the most skilled pyrotechnic wizard runs the risk of a major flop by trying to light a fire in a fireplace without knowing about the appliances and the correct way to use them.

A good fire requires not only a functional appliance, but also a good fuel. For the best results, use seasoned firewood wood that has been stored covered for the better part of a year. Season your wood under cover, but with good airflow.

Unseasoned or green wood has too high a moisture content, and doesnt burn well. Hardwoods, like oak, tend to be better than softwoods, like pine, since hardwoods have a BTU content, and will give a longer burn time and better performance. (A BTU is a British Thermal Unit, the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit).

Believe it or not, super-dry wood like that pile thats been out in the shed for decades isnt good firewood. This type of wood will burn fast and furious, and it might throw a lot of sparks.

Do not burn anything other than seasoned firewood. Burning treated lumber, painted wood, trash, and such, releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere (including your home). So recycle your pizza boxes and plastic wrap, and do yourself and our environment a favor.

Newspaper is great for starting a fire, but its not a replacement for firewood. Use just enough to start the fire, and recycle the rest. Dont use sections with color print, as it contains chemicals that are unsafe to burn. Use the plain, black-and-white parts.

Now put down a layer of crumpled newspapers, snug, but not crammed tightly together. You want space for air to get in, or youll have a smoldering pile of papers. Put the papers under the grate.

Next, put down a couple of handfuls of small, dry kindling: twigs and small branches are fine, or small splits of wood. Crisscross them in a few layers, to allow air circulation. Dont be stingy with the kindling. Its the key to a one-start fire. Then add a few larger splits, and top it off with a couple of small logs. Thats it. Your fire is ready. Before striking the match make sure your damper is open. You may also need to preheat the flue.

The purpose of a fireplace is to provide warmth, comfort and atmosphere. Knowing how to take care of your fireplace can bring you these desired effects, instead of those undesirables, such smoke, foul odors and house fires. Its all part of taking care of your home.

Helena Hill is a Dallas real estate broker and a contributor to the Flower Mound Homes Weblog.

There are three main types of ISP plans to choose from: Dial-Up, DSL and Cable. Each of these three plan types download internet pages and files at different speeds. The fastest is a Cable (around 1000 kilobits per second) connection followed by DSL (around 300 kilobits per second) and Dial-Up (around 30 kilobits per second), respectively. If you are planning on only using the internet for email and surfing web pages, a Dial-Up plan would be perfect for you. Dial-Up is also the cheapest of the three followed by DSL and Cable, respectively. However, if you are planning on purchasing a membership at a movie or music download website that lets you download unlimited movies or music per month, you will want a DSL or Cable connection so you can take advantage of the offer.

In summary, when choosing an ISP plan first decide on what you want to accomplish and second how much you are willing to spend.

Find an ISP at ISPShakedown.com – directory of affordable internet service providers.

The Telecommunication Act of 1996 was created to promote competition. It allowed companies to build their own networks and switches so they could compete against already established carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon. It also mandated that companies could purchase services from the established carriers (those doing business before the Act was passed) at wholesale prices and resell them to consumers. These local-area companies are known as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC). They can offer any mix of local and long distance telephone services (including Voice over Internet Protocol VoIP) for homes and businesses, radio and television broadcasting, and cable and satellite broadcasting services.

Those CLECs which invest in their own networks are able to eliminate much of the overhead associated with established carriers (caused by their national and global infrastructures) so they pass those savings along to consumers. CLECs who resell services have no investment in the network but, because they too have less overhead, they can pass savings along to their customers. This allows CLECs to provide high-quality telecommunication products at significant savings to you the consumer. Many CLECs also offer feature packages –such as call forwarding, caller ID, voice mail — for free or at low prices.

Tony Gattuso is an Authorized Agent for Cavalier Telephone Service. As an agent he provides residential Cavalier telephone service throughout the east coast.

T1 tariffs will vary depending on the location, state tariffs for T1, competition in a location, mileage and available capacity. Stiff competition will always result in plummeting prices, just like it recently happened in Chicago, Illinois. The lowest T1 rates vary from $300 to $450 dollars per month for a low speed connection and short contract period with the company.

The best way to get cheap T1 lines is to shop around for it thoroughly. Do not be satisfied with one quote from one T1 line provider. Finding out all the available features for the lowest monthly rents before coming to a decision will ensure that you are getting the best deal you could afford. You can also get instant quotes from websites and compare prices from different providers in your area. This will give you a rough idea what you are up against as far as pricing, features and services in your area is concerned.

Broadband.com has T1 line services starting as low as $69 dollars for a business DSL for very limited features and their full T1 line is offered for a monthly rent of $399 dollars.

Broadbandbuyer.com gives T1 lines for as low as $290 dollars per month and this includes full T1 line service. The local ISP of New Jersey has 1.5 Mbps for $495 per month.

Net Logics Internet service T1 line prices start from $399 dollars a month. Though their highest price range goes up to even $1000 dollars a month, they also have cheaper offers for small time business men.

T1 Lines provides detailed information on T1 Lines, T1 Line Prices, How To Test T1 Lines, Cheap T1 Lines and more. T1 Lines is affiliated with T3 Bandwidth.

Ever since coming to college, ICQ and email have become my primary methods of keeping in contact with, leaving messages for, and having discussions with my friends. When I meet a person, the first means for establishing future contact is no longer “What is your phone number?” but rather, “What is your email address?” which is closely followed by “Do you have ICQ?” Electronic communication media are not only convenient, but they are economical and allow instantaneous contact. If I initiate an ICQ Chat with one of my friends, I can even save it as a file and replay the conversation with every detail, including the misspellings and corrections.

Information technology has boomed in the last ten years or so. We seem to have landed in the middle of a completely networked world without quite knowing how we got there. Distance no longer inhibits communication, and we have become a world that is better connected.

Or have we? My freshman year college roommate spent his entire freshman year ICQ-ing / IM-ing , and surfing the web. Even when we were sitting in the same room, he always opted to initiate conversation with me through ICQ rather than simply speaking to me directly. Another one of my web-friendly friends, Jeff, spent his sophomore year in college playing an online role-playing computer game almost continuously. When he was not playing the game, he was in a hurry to get back to playing it because he felt like “he was missing out as other people were playing, getting more points, and getting ahead.” Unable to comprehend his obsession with these virtual friends who were assuming imaginary roles in imaginary worlds, I tried literally to tear Jeff from his computer. My actions nearly destroyed our friendship. The Internet, in the form of a game, had entrapped him within a world which slowly drew him away from the reality around him.

Although few of us become that enthralled with the Internet, we cannot help but admit that it captures our attention with a scary tenacity. An hour can pass by seemingly in the blink of an eye as we respond to email or surf the web. The very technology that expands our access to the world has helped us also to shrink into isolation. Why walk outside when you can experience a virtual 3D world in the comfort of your room with a friend from the electronic chat-room? Why visit the person two floors down, when you can email her or him? We have become satisfied with the worlds that our 17″ screens present us. The Internet provides the opportunity for us to meet and to converse with new acquaintances from a range of backgrounds, experiences, and locations. But we will never meet these people face to face, even though we invest hours of our time in these relationships. For a significant number of Americans, these chat-room interactions are slowly replacing real-time friendships. Should we be concerned?

The world of film certainly isn’t troubled; in fact, it encourages us to seek companionship through the Internet. In the romantic comedy “You’ve Got Mail,” Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, who are both unhappy in their existing relationships, fall in love through emailing and chatting. The movie exploits the mysterious component to a relationship over the Internet, and it conveys the message that if our relationships in our lives fail to satisfy, the solutions can be found through the Internet. In fact, maybe the Love-of-our-Life is waiting at the local chat room for us. And the Internet has even conveniently eliminated the awkwardness of the first blind date.

In being able to buy clothes, groceries, electronics, plane tickets, and just about anything else with the click of a finger while sitting in our favorite chair, isolation from human contact has become a natural and accepted part of our culture and way of life. A cheerful attendant offering to pump gas for me surprises me now, because both his presence and his friendliness are anomalies in the world around us. If the average city-dweller is seeking to exercise, he or she purchases a Walkman and jogs three times a week. Portable electronic devices such as Walkmen, cell phones, laptops, and Palm Pilots themselves promote isolationism. People pull out these devices while waiting in lines or walking to work, and instantly they erect an invisible neon sign shouting, “Do NOT Disturb.”

We accept and embrace the isolation technology has brought us, but our interpersonal communication skills are suffering depressing consequences, as the need for personal contact decreases. As more and more hackers spend time in front of the computer, the image of the dorky nerd who can program with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes blindfolded, but cannot carry on a normal conversation has also become more prominent. Before I began to receive his 15K emails, I never realized how much my friend David, who is studying Computer Science at Northwestern, had to say. However, in person he can rarely finish a thought or fully convey what he thinks or how he feels. Although the Internet gives people like David an outlet for expression, does it truly help them to better deal with situations where spoken communication is necessary? Perhaps with all the new developments in Internet applications, spoken communication will not be necessary in a few years. We will be able to complete all transactions without ever having to interact with another human being.

In evaluating the impact of this technology, this question inevitably arises: “What is the lure of these friendships over the Net?” As a semi-introvert, I sometimes choose to eat in front of my computer and chat with friends of friends of friends over ICQ rather than eat with my floor-mates in the kitchen, simply because being with other people requires a lot of energy from me. When I am typing my responses, I have the time to think them over carefully and the opportunity to pace the conversation to my level of comfort.

But perhaps chat rooms, ICQ, and Instant Messenger appeal to a deeper aspect of the human subconscious. Within our minds lives a desire for other people to perceive us in the way we want them to, rather than the way we really are. Just as we manufacture an image for ourselves through clothes, makeup, cars, and even smiles, we can create an image for ourselves though the shield of the Internet, which blocks personal observation through the senses. Other people will see only what we want them to.

As the application possibilities of this technology approach the limitless, we need to decide how much we want our lives to become more entwined within this technology. Without a balance with the reality around us, we may lose ourselves within the virtual world of the Internet. Perhaps driving to the store, picking out groceries, and getting into an argument with the checkout person will do us more good than the half hour we save by grocery shopping through HomeRuns.com.

A little over a week ago, when a virus wiped out my computer, I lost network access in my room. I dreaded the inconveniences I would face before getting my computer fixed. No more ICQ, no more instant email. For a two weeks now, I have needed to check my email in a friend’s room, read a newspaper to find out the news and the weather instead of checking cnn.com, and make phone calls in order to locate people instead of ICQing them. As I evaluate these two Internet-less weeks, however, I find that I have had more intellectually stimulating conversations in this week than I have had in the previous month. Who knows? I may resist the desire to fix the connection.

http://www.lonelycanuck.com

Most keys, even brass and nickle-plated keys, will eventually wear out and break along any of a key’s cuts. But some conditions will speed up the process such as:

1. The key has one or more deep cuts which become the “weak point” of the key. After so much use (or just a little abuse) the key will break at these points. Having a deep cut as the first cut (next to the head of the key) can be real trouble but a deep cut in the middle of the key can cause big problems too;

2. The key is made of a light-weight material not suitable for everyday use. Keys cut on aluminum blanks are a prime example. They will also break at a deep-cut “weak point” only sooner. Identified by their light weight and either grey in color or sometimes bright colors such as red, green, blue or gold.

Usually before a key breaks, one or more tiny cracks will appear by the cut about to give way. You may want to check your keys right now – at least the ones that you use and depend on every day. If you see a tiny crack being formed by one of the cuts or if the key is bent or misshapen in any way, go to your nearest locksmith or key shop and get another one or two made. And just to be safe, don’t carelessly toss the old key away. A new key could be made from the pieces and used to access your property.

BROKEN KEY REMOVAL TOOLS

We locksmiths have a variety of tools for removing broken keys from locks. One of the more common tools I use is made of springy steel that is 5″ long, 5/16″ wide at the handle and .022″ thick. There is a small tapered barb at the end of this tool that will dig or “bite” into the broken key piece so the piece can be pulled out.

It is not absolutely necessary to invest in a broken key extractor tool. As long as the tool you use is made of sturdy metal, is narrow enough to enter the keyway, and has a barb to grab on to the broken key you will likely be successful. A scroll saw or jig saw blade should do the trick.

PROCEDURE #1 – Partial Key Broken Off In Lock

When a deep cut gets too weak somewhere in the middle of a key, you end up with the front part of the key in the lock and the remainder in your hand. The good news is the lock is probably in the proper position for key removal (more on that later).

FIRST – unless the lock has been in good working order (with the key going in and out smoothly) prior to the key breaking off, I suggest spraying a lubricant such as WD-40 or Tri-Flow in the lock’s keyway first. You want the broken key piece to slip out as easy as possible and a dry or gummy lock will make the job harder.

SECOND – insert the removal tool into the lock’s keyway so that the barb (or teeth) can contact the cuts of the key piece to be removed. You should be able to tell how far to insert the tool based on how much of the key you still have in your hand.

THIRD – let the barb “bite” into one of the cuts of the broken key piece and give the tool a sharp tug towards you. The key piece should come flying out.

FOURTH – take the two pieces of the key to your local locksmith or key center and get another one or two made.

PROCEDURE #2 – All But Key’s Head Broken Off In Lock

When the first cut in the key is deep and gets too weak, you end up with just the head of the key in your hand. Most of the time what remains in the lock is the operating part of the key. That is, all key cuts that are necessary to operate the lock are stuck in the lock (if you are really lucky, enough of the key will be sticking out so a small pliers/tweezers are all you need to remove the broken piece-but that usually doesn’t happen). You can test if the lock will operate by taking a small screwdriver and, using it like a key, try turning the lock cylinder. If the lock cylinder does not turn follow procedure #1. If you can turn the cylinder more than a few degrees to the right or left you have to make sure the lock cylinder is positioned so the key can be removed. Let me explain…

Most locks have one position that a lock cylinder must be in for key removal. If you were to insert a key in most any pin tumbler lock and turn it, the key could not be removed until the lock cylinder is back in the proper key removal position. The same is true when removing a broken key piece that still works the lock. The key cylinder must be in its normal key removal position or you will be wasting your time trying to remove the broken piece.

FIRST – as in Procedure #1, we suggest spraying a lubricant such as WD-40 or Tri-Flow in the lock’s keyway first.

SECOND – insert the removal tool into the lock’s keyway so that the barb (or teeth) can contact the cuts of the key piece to be removed. You should not have to insert the tool very far – just so it reaches the first or second cut of the key piece.

THIRD – let the barb “bite” into one of the cuts of the broken key piece and give the tool a sharp tug towards you. The key piece should come flying out of the keyway.

FOURTH – take the two pieces of the key to your local locksmith or key center and get another one or two made.

Now that you have read through this information, you should be ready to attempt removing a broken key on your own. Good Luck!

NOTE: This article (with pictures) can also be found on my web site www.GoldKeySelect.com/brokenkey.html

Roger J. Fischer is a security professional with over 25 years of experience in providing security solutions for his customers. For more articles related to security, safety and a variety of other topics visit http://www.GoldKeySelect.com