Need the answer?

by BRIAN LOCKHART

A couple of years ago I decided to put up new ceiling lights in the kitchen.

I replaced the old ugly builder's lights with snazzy, flush-mounted LED lights. They looked good.

Replacing a light fixture is a simple job. Usually, it's two wires and a couple of screws.

If you turn off the electricity before you start, it's even easier.

Except this time, when I turned the power back on, one of the lights stayed lit, even when I flipped the switch.

Having a perpetually lit kitchen probably wouldn't be a good thing.

I took down the light and took another look at the situation. I rewired and tried it again.

Sure enough, the one light stayed on.

There are two ceiling-mounted lights, and two switches with one face plate and one junction box so the lights were wired together. 

The one light had three wires, which I assumed were incoming, outgoing, and ground.

I tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked.

I decided to check the modern version of the Home Electrician How To book, and looked up a site for electrical problems on the internet.

Sure enough, there was a site for just such dilemmas.

I took a photo of the wires dangling from the light fixture and posted the problem.

A couple of hours later, someone replied with the solution. I tried it, and it worked.

Lesson learned – pay attention to details. I unscrewed the wires without taking note of the third wire and where it should be attached.

At one time, just about every household had a set of encyclopedias. Kids needed them for schoolwork. They were great books and many people took pride in lining up A to Z in the family bookcase.

The days of the encyclopedia salesman are long gone. Having a set of encyclopedias is like having an old upright piano - you can't give them away.

That's the same for automotive repair books, do-it-yourself handyman books, and a whole host of others that people just don't buy anymore.

YouTube has an incredible amount of information.

If you need to find out how to install a new Johnson Rod on your car, YouTube will probably have several demonstration videos on how to do it.

There have been many times I needed help in doing a household-type chore, and entered the information into the Youtube search, and sure enough, there will be an instructional video on the subject. And that includes even the smallest things.

When I bought my vehicle, I tried to open the hood to refill the windshield washer fluid for the first time. After popping the hood from the inside of the car, I was reaching around under the hood for the hood release.

I couldn't find it.

I turned to YouTube and entered, “How to release the hood on a Ford Escape.”

Sure enough, several videos were showing how it's done. It turns out the Ford Motor Company decided to deviate from the normal hood release and sort of hid it off one side.

Several mechanics realized this could cause problems and took the time to do a video showing the procedure for something as simple as opening the hood of a vehicle.

Furnace not working? There's a YouTube video for that. Need plumbing or drywall help? There are videos that show you how to do it.

Need help with a computer program? There are plenty of videos that show every aspect of every computer program, what you can do with them and how to solve problems.

Several times I've considered buying a product but wasn't sure which brand or model would be best for me.

YouTube to the rescue. There is a product review from someone who already owns it, on just about every consumer good.

Apparently, there are channels on the internet that teach you how to build bombs or engage in other criminal activity.

I don't visit those sites at all. I don't have a need to build a bomb and I don't want CSIS agents showing up at my door asking me why I'm researching the subject.

I don't even need sheet music to play a song anymore. All the music and I mean pretty much everything, has charts, chords, notes, lyrics, and how-to-play videos online.

We are in an information age like no other time in human history. 

It's no longer an excuse to say, “I don't know” when asked a question.

If there is a question, there's an answer at your fingertips.