The Thermo Gaseous Electro Daily Fragment Modulator.

aka the Steampunk Clock.

I went to Ikea one day and among many other things I got a wooden, cabinet style wall clock that was on sale for $21.00 or so. Then it sat on my floor for a month or two until I could figure out what I wanted to do with it. Eventually I came up with an idea and went out and spent some money on some copper plumbing fittings and some electrical parts. I also ordered an assortment of different light bulbs and sifted through a bag of odds and ends. So, an additional $50.00 later I now have a unique wall mounted clock that looks like this.



The two antique looking bulbs on each side are actually "Balafire" bulbs that have a moving carbon filament so that it looks as if a flame is burning inside the bulb.
When the thing is turned on it looks like this.



So, the big question becomes ..... "Where do I put it?" That was easy. It hangs in my office where I am slowly framing some weird and wonderful patents of inventions from Dayton, Ohio and placing them on a wall with an 1870 version of a birds-eye view of the city.



Eventually this wall should get covered in these patent pictures. I just need to find some time to go through all the patents. There are thousands of them. The step ladder was invented in Dayton, Ohio for all you home renovation enthusiasts out there. The clock and pictures are the perfect compliment for the radiograph machine, L.C. Smith typewriter and the Plasma lamp on my credenza!

Ask and you shall receive!

Many years ago I posted a link on the right side of this page that told readers what few items we were in the market for. The main two items were a door that is 101" X 36 " and a ceiling light fixture for the parlor. Well, we have had several referrals but no luck on the door. We got one email about a month or so ago regarding a light fixture though. I took up the offer to acquire the fixture and installed it the day that it arrived. The only issue was that it came without the six shades that it needed. I don't know if you have ever looked for shades but they can end up costing more than the light fixture if you are not careful. Kind of like getting a picture framed. I just spent $300 a piece getting two $20 posters framed. Some things just don't make sense!
Any way. The person who sold me the light fixture has been eager to see if I would make a post about this. I held off until the light shades arrived. I was able to get the best possible price for these shades at Lehmans which is here in Ohio. Believe me I searched extensively online at many options. These were the most cost effective. Of course I had to order 6 pieces which caused an automatic backorder situation which delayed delivery. Anyway, here is the light fixture in all it's glory.



Now I am going to have to paint the room!

A Direct Reply from Rejuvenation!

Before I posted my Indirect Reply post I sent a copy to Jim Kelly (the Owner) at Rejuvenation so they wouldn't get any more surprises from me. He responded with nice note indicating that he had tried to post a comment but experienced some difficulties with posting. He approved of my post and added that he was going to post a direct response on HIS BLOG.
I got an email a short while ago indicating that he has done this so you can all go over to HIS BLOG and see what he has to say! If you are interested in what he had to say about my marketing idea here it is:

"I will forward your marketing ideas to Tony Penca, our marketing director. I am not really up to speed with what all we are doing, but we are always willing to look at new ideas"

So, while you are at HIS BLOG site stop over and look at some of their light fixtures, put a wish list together and then let him know if you would support this kind of idea. If enough of us do it, it could happen! Let him know that Gary sent you.

There may be more to this houseblogging thing than meets the eye! Now if it would just get a little warmer so I could work on the house.....

Rejuvenation Lighting Analysis

I got my 30th anniversary edition of the Rejuvenation Light Fixtures catalogue yesterday and promptly sat down and "Ooohhed and Ahhhed" at the fixtures. Then I thought about when I got my first light fixtures from them in 1997 and whether the prices were much different. So, what do you think I did? Actually I went to my closet and looked through a bunch of old catalogues that I have kept and found the 20th anniversary catalogue from 1997 and the 12the edition catalogue from 1998! Then I went through and compared some fixtures. My findings are quite interesting. If anyone from Rejuvenation is reading this I'm certain there is a perfectly good explanation to what I am about to reveal and it would be quite appropriate to post it in the comments. I am posting this purely as information and without malice or intent to cause problems. I would expect a 30% average increase over a 10 year period based on a 3% cost of living adjustment per year so any results in that range would be satisfactory. Some of the results are way beyond that range.
There are many more fixtures now then there were in 1997 and some of the old fixtures have been discontinued or at least aren't listed in the new catalogue so I can only compare fixtures that are still in production or only slightly different from the original. I am also only listing the fixture price without any shades since that could cause the price to vary in an unfair manner. I'm not going to post pictures of the fixtures, you can go to their website to view them if you want. I haven't listed all of the fixtures either because I don't have the time. Instead I have listed 10 fixtures of increasing compexity and then another 5 with a big increase over the 1998 catalogue price since some weren't in production in 1997. I have listed the current name and model # of the fixture and have listed prices in the catagory 1 finish (the least expensive) since I understand that metal costs have increased substantially in the last three years for certain metals. I have also listed the 1997 price as well as the current price and the % increase as a % of the 1997 price. I shall not express any opinions or conclusions other than, if you plan to purchase certain fixtures in the next ten years you may want to do it now. Otherwise start saving.

I can't post this in a chart format with Blogger so the figures may not line up properly with the column title.

The "Not so Bad News"

Model # /NAME /$1997 /$2007 /$Increase /%Increase

AA9479 /Burnside / $54 / $79 / $25 / 46%
AB0976 /St Helens / $57 / $72/ $15 / 26%
AB6982 /Carlton / $112 / $126 / $14 / 13%
AA2513 /Upshur / $63 / $81 / $18 / 29%
AA4819 /Mocks Crest / $156 / $212 / $56 / 36%
AA0399 /Abernethy / $310 / $409 / $99 / 32%
AA3858(4) /Brooklyn / $284 / $375 / $71 / 32%
AA9047 /Fremont / $272 / $352 / $80 / 29%
AA1696 /South Shore / $1269 / $1595 / $326 / 26%
AA6068 /Nob Hill / $2255 / $2836 / $581 / 26%

The "Really Bad News"

Model # /NAME /$1998 /$2007 /$Increase /%Increase

AA1312 / Vincent / $115 / $223 / $108 / 94%
AB4868 / Lafayette / $74 / $128 / $54 / 73%
AB3763 / Oceanside / $70 / $140 / $70 / 100%
AA2417 / Drake(Salem) / $895 / $1549 / $654 / 73%
AB5685 / La Grand / $65 / $113 / $48 / 74%


The "Excellent News" for you Art Deco people. These two are on the clearance list and discontinued. Per their web site.

NAME /$1998 /$2007 /$Increase /% Increase

Clearance Lotus Isle / $270 / $190 (orig $353) / -$80 / -30%
Clearance Tropicana / $215 / $160 (orig $297)/ -$55 / -26%


Other interesting information is that the push button switch plate (single) was $9 each in 1997 in one finish only and are now $15 each with a choice of 14 finishes for the same price. A 66% increase only if you buy the polished brass finish. In 1998 they offered a catagory 2 finish for $11 each and a catagory 3 finish for $13.50 each.( An increase of 27% and 11% respectfully)

The old style carbon filament bulbs were $10 or $11 in 1997. They were $10 or $12 in 1998 and are now $12 and $13.

I have not been compensated for this report but if anyone from Rejuvenation would like to compensate me for my time and want a few photos of their fixtures in the "Old Crack House" for the next catalogue and wonderful praises for the life of this blog, there are a couple of ceiling lights I have had my eye on for the last six years that I won't be able to afford in another 4 years (unless they are discontinued) that would look perfect in my house!