One key issue about the entire process that comes to mind is, whether it was worth it; would everyone have been better off had my mother hired the plumber who quoted a price of $450 to do the job (see August 29)?  Well, my mother is better off with me doing the job because it cost her about $50 in parts (and shipping) and $0 in labor; she was better off by $400.  Was I better off?  I devoted the equivalent of a total day to all acts related to fixing her tub drain (e.g., driving out to her house, driving home, searching for products on the Internet, installation, etc.) and my daily consulting or speaking rate is significantly more than $450 per day.  This would suggest that I was worse off, and if one were to consider the total family welfare, it would suggest also that we would have been better off paying a plumber $450.

Naturally, if one's time plus $50 (the parts and shipping) is less than $450, then it can be argued that one should do the job oneself, assuming the ability to do it well enough.  I would argue, however, from a societal perspective, that it was worth it for me to have installed the tub drain, even though my personal loss from a strictly monetary perspective could theoretically be considered great.  I perform research and try to find answers to questions not only because I am curious and enjoy the process, but also because I want to help people or organizations who could benefit from my experience, observations and analysis; this partly explains my decision to become a professor.  When I thought about repairing my mother's tub drain, I considered whether my investigation and actions could possibly benefit others in society such that the total societal benefit would exceed my daily consulting or speaking rate.

I knew my mother could benefit by $400.  At the time that I decided to go ahead and make the repair, I believed that there were a few more people on this planet who could also benefit from my experience -- and the information generated because of it -- to the tune of hundreds of dollars each.  For example, if thirty other people were to save $400 because of what they learned due to my experience, then the societal benefit would be $12,400 (30 x $400 plus my mother's savings of $400).

Incidentally, I am not opposed to using plumbers or any other services.  I do find wasteful, however, individuals or organization who use their power to gouge others.  In many instances, these individuals and organizations are doing nothing but excessively padding their own pockets at the expense of  consumers and creating inefficiency for society.  Many automobile dealerships offer a wonderful example of this type of behavior.  Many auto buyers dislike intensely the process of entering the facility of and purchasing a car from an auto dealership.  The specific reasons for this dislike are many, however, in the end, a primary cause for the disgust with auto dealers and the auto buying process is the poor value that their auto buying process provides to buyers.  In many instances, the salesperson knows little about the vehicle that he/she is "selling" and consumers have, in essence, no alternatives to playing an undesirable game because of auto dealership lobbyists and their "protection" by franchise laws.  Hang in there folks as the walls will come a tumbling down on some of these gunnifs (also spelled ganif).

The Tub Drain Installation Details
The existing plumbing facts:
(A) - A bath tub drain hole in the bottom front part of the tub,
(B) - A bath tub hole on the side front part of the tub that is about
          one foot up the side from the bath tub drain hole; this hole
          is sometimes referred to as an overflow outlet,
(C) - A catch pipe that is connected to a pipe that ultimately connects
          to the main water and sewer pipe system

My task was to install a set of pipes that would connect the tub drain hole (A) and the overflow hole (B) to the catch pipe (C).

The tub drain plumbing parts that I purchased from OurHouse.com are pictured here.

Here is a photo of the space in which I was working; that piece of metal hanging off the top side part of the tub is the overflow outlet (B).  Here is a photo of the catch pipe.

Here is a photo of the completed installation.

One aspect about the catch pipe that I did not discover until after I had placed my order with OurHouse and begun the installation process was that the entrance to the catch pipe was threaded and 1 3/4 inches wide.  This is an important detail because in order to connect a pipe to the catch and make a tight seal, one would need a 1 1/2 inch pipe that was also threaded and could then could be screwed into the catch .  I had not purchased a pipe with the intent of screwing a pipe into the catch pipe.

Fortunately, some of the 1 1/2 inch extension pipes that I had purchased were threaded at one end and could absolutely be screwed into the catch pipe and make a secure seal, however, my initial installation plan did not call for them to be used in this way.  I changed my plans and used the parts I had in a way that was different from what I had originally planned.  This enabled me to connect the tub drain (A) to the catch pipe (B), however, I was unable to connect the overflow outlet (C) to the catch pipe (B), which is not a big deal unless the drain clogs again and water is looking to back up somewhere -- that somewhere would be underneath the tub rather than in the tub.
 

Luis Castillo RBI Watch (Through August 31, 2000)

Number of Hits......Batting Average......Number of RBI......Runs Scored
......150.......................350............................10........................80

Luis and the Marlins  had the night off.  One more month left in the season; Luis, don't do anything crazy.  If he maintains his typical monthly rbi performance, he will likely end the season with either 12 or 13 rbi.  Here is the at-bat and rbi breakdown for Luis on a monthly basis:

Month......# At-Bats......# RBI
April..............42..............0
May..............94..............2
June..............96..............2
July.............104..............3
August..........93..............3