Thought for Today

"Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of."

~~~~~ Jonathan Swift

Thought for Today

"Two kinds of men generally best succeed in political life; men of no principle, but of great talent; and men of no talent, but of one principle – that of obedience to their superiors."

~~~~~ Wendell Phillips

Thought for Today

"It would be foolhardy to count on the conscience of the world."

~~~~~ Stefan Zweig

Thought for Today

"You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence."

~~~~~ Charles A. Beard

Thought for Today

"Knowledge is proud that it knows so much; wisdom is humble that it knows no more."

~~~~~ William Cowper

Thought for Today

"There is little success where there is little laughter."

~~~~~ Andrew Carnegie

Thought for Today

"Every man has three characters – that which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has."

~~~~~ Alphonse Karr

Thought for Today

"Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion."

~~~~~ Franklin Pierce

Thought for Today

"Falsehood is easy, truth so difficult."

~~~~~ George Eliot

Thought for Today

"The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice."

~~~~~ Voltaire

Thought for Today

"Admitting Error clears the Score,
And proves you Wiser than before."

~~~~~ Arthur Guiterman

Thought for Today

"The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."

~~~~~ James A. Garfield

Thought for Today

"If you wish in this world to advance
Your merits you're bound to enhance;
You must stir it and stump it,
And blow your own trumpet,
Or, trust me, you haven't a chance."

~~~~~ William Gilbert

Thought for Today

"Discipline strengthens the mind so that it becomes impervious to the corroding influence of fear."

~~~~~ Bernard Law Montgomery

TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) in Your Dishwasher

In recent years, many of us who use automatic dishwashers have been disappointed with the results. Instead of coming out gleaming and spotless, as they used to do years ago, our dishes and silverware come out with a dull film all over them. In hard water areas, the machine itself builds up a mineral film over time.

It turns out that the reason is a political decision based on pseudoscience. In a well-intentioned effort to prevent algal blooms in water which can result in fish kills, governments have restricted or forbidden the use of phosphates in automatic dishwasher detergents. So now, we are forced to use ineffective phosphate-free detergents which do a poor job of cleaning food residue off our dishes and leave a dull film behind. We're not really doing the fish any good, either, because by far the greatest source of phosphate in water is agricultural runoff, both from chemical fertilizer (the P in N-P-K fertilizer is phosphate) and from animal manure. The amount we add by using a small amount of TSP in our dishwashers is negligible.

The solution is very simple. Go to the nearest store with a paint department and pick up a box of TSP (trisodium phosphate). Get the smallest size, which is a 1-lb box. It'll last you a long time, and it's easy to store. Also pick up a box of 1-quart ziplock bags if you don't already have some. The TSP box has no spout, so you'll need to cut the corner off for easy dispensing. Then, since you'll want to protect the contents, you can store the opened TSP box in a closed 1-quart ziplock bag between uses. When you run your dishwasher, fill both cups in the detergent dispenser with your favorite detergent -- powder or gel -- as you normally do, then pour approximately 1/4 teaspoonful of TSP on top of the detergent in each cup. Close the cups and start the machine normally. That's all there is to it.

Before washing any dishes, I ran one cycle with an empty machine in order to clean out the mineral residue which had built up inside. I won't say that step is strictly necessary, but if you have a noticeable film inside the machine, it's certainly a good idea. Let it go through all the rinse cycles, but stop it before it starts to dry.

Now put in a load of dishes and run another cycle with TSP-fortified detergent.

When the dishwasher completes its cycle, compare the results with those you were getting without the TSP. You should see a dramatic difference.

In an area with extremely hard water, you may need to add as much as 1/2 teaspoonful of TSP to each cup, but certainly no more than that. Our water in this area comes from the Cumberland River, and is fairly hard because of dissolved calcium salts. Even so, I find that 1/4 teaspoon per dispenser cup does an excellent job.

Remember that TSP is a powerful chemical, so don't get it on your skin, and keep it away from children. If you should get any on your skin, wash it off immediately with large quantities of water. There's no need to be concerned about any residue on your dishes, though. TSP is highly water-soluble, so every bit of it will be rinsed down the drain along with the detergent.

Thought for Today

"If you do things well one at a time, you end up in a really good place. Don't get ahead of yourself. Control the things you can."

~~~~~ Ron Johnson

Thought for Today

"When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people."

~~~~~ Edmund Burke

Thought for Today

"Don't look at the downside of everything that comes along. It helps life move along so much smoother and nicer."

~~~~~ George Smathers

Thought for Today

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us."

~~~~~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Thought for Today

"To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt."

~~~~~ Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Thought for Today

"We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way."

~~~~~ George S. Patton

Thought for Today

"It does not prove a thing to be right because the majority say it is so."

~~~~~ Friedrich Schiller

Thought for Today

"I know why most people never get rich. They put the money ahead of the job. If you just think of the job, the money will automatically follow. This never fails."

~~~~~ Hedy Lamarr

Thought for Today

"Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false."

~~~~~ Richard Cecil

Thought for Today

"There is no sense in making statements that will not continue to be true after they are made."

~~~~~ Frank Knight

Thought for Today

"Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals."

~~~~~ James Naismith

Thought for Today

"'Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows along like a song;
But the man worth while is the one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong."

~~~~~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Thought for Today

"Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far."

~~~~~ Will Rogers

Thought for Today

"Truth gets well if she is run over by a locomotive, while error dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger."

~~~~~ William Cullen Bryant

Thought for Today

"Felicity, the companion of content, is rather found in our own breasts than in the enjoyment of external things; and I firmly believe it requires but a little philosophy to make a man happy in whatever state he is."

~~~~~ Daniel Boone

Thought for Today

"The sediments of the past are many miles in collective thickness: yet the feeble silt of the rivers built them all from base to summit."

~~~~~ John Joly