After reviewing a whole bunch of options we choose to go with Clarke Basement Systems, who do an entirely indoor approach rather than the much more expensive and invasive outdoor digging solutions.

Basement Waterproofing, Part 1 from Jay Goldman on Vimeo.

Basement Waterproofing, Part 2 from Jay Goldman on Vimeo.

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1. Tapping in the bottom left and right corner of the pages of your home screen will page left/right without needing to drag across.
2. Tapping the ’status’ bar at the top of the screen, which usually has the clock in it, will scroll back to the top of really long pages. Try it in Safari next time you’re browsing a really long page and want to get back to the top.
3. Holding down the Home button and pressing the Power/Lock button on the top of the phone will take a screenshot of whatever is on the screen right now, saving it into your Photos app.
4. Everyone knows you can zoom in on Maps by double-tapping, but few people know you can zoom back out by tapping with two fingers.
5. You can hold your finger on a link in Safari to see where it goes before you decide you want to follow it. Great for saving bandwidth!
6. Hold your finger on keyboard buttons for 2 seconds to get a pop-up with accented versions of that character. Try it on the . key in Mail to get a pop-up with .net/.edu/.org/.com.
7. Send callers straight to voicemail by clicking the Power/Lock button twice.
8. Sometimes you have music playing in the iPod app and need to pause it or skip a track but you’re off in Safari browsing pages. Instead of going back to the Home screen to change it, double-click the Home button to get an overlay of iPod controls.
9. Speaking of the Home screen, double-clicking the button while you’re on another page in the Home app will take you back to the first screen.
10. You can customize the apps in the tab bar at the bottom of the iPod app by tapping More, then Edit, and then dragging new icons to the bar.

Have any great tips I’ve missed? Leave them below…

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• Mr. Mobile – #66 – An iPad love in Jay Goldman, AKA Mr. Mobile, manages to get his...
• Mr. Mobile – #53 – FoxPop AKA Spot 411 brings DVD bonuses to your iPhone FoxPop is an interesting idea: it uses the microphone...

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Thankfully, this year’s assessment didn’t contain any nasty surprises. We did learn, however, that MPAC thinks our house was built in 1870. We knew it was pre-1920s because the basement is brick and basements apparently stopped being brick in the early 20s when cinder blocks took over as the darling of the foundation world. But 1870! That’s a whole 50 years older! Why, this house was already 106 years old when I was born!

What else happened in 1870, you might not ask? Well, I’ll tell you anyway. Turns out it was a big year, and not just in the Toronto Home Construction industry! In 1870:

• Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge were completed and construction began
• Mississippi, Virginia, Texas, and Georgia joined the Union
• Speaking of Americans, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was passed giving African Americans the right to vote
• The Beach Pneumatic demonstration line opened in New York City, the city’s first and only pneumatic subway (built in secrecy — try that today!)
• Fraternity brothers everywhere rejoiced as Kappa Alpha Theta, the first sorority, was created
• The Bulgarian Exarchate was established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire (for real!)
• The Canadian province of Manitoba was created, eventually leading to my friends John and Megan getting married in Winnipeg a mere 136 years later (house still standing!)
• The United States Department of Justice was created
• Christmas was declared a national holiday in the US, only one thousand, eight hundred and seventy years after the fact
• I turned -108 years old
• Napoleon was deposed in France and the Third Republic was declared, eventually leading to the publication of my Dad’s first novel, Napoleon’s Gambit
• Rome became the capital of Italy and annexed the Vatican
• Vladamir Lenin was born and Charles Dickens died: a sad year for politics and literature

And there you have it! A busy year indeed. Our little house has solidly stood since that day, lasting through some six and a half generations and who knows how many residents. Kind of exciting (and a little freaky!) to know that so many people have passed through its doors. No ghosts to report yet, but I’ll keep you posted!

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We moved into our home at the end of last year, happily taking possession of a three floor Victorian, dated to sometime before 1920, and in great condition thanks to the previous owner who renovated and modernized during his four month tenure. Buying an old home with the intent to green it is a great first step and the second of the fabled three Rs: reuse. Off to a good start!

Next up was a washer and dryer since the house didn’t come with any. We decided that we much preferred starting fresh without someone else’s years of accumulated lint, and so we paid a visit to some appliance stores to checkout the latest in front loading washers and dryers. Front loading machines are considerably more efficient than the old school top loaders in power and water usage, so we picked out a lovely Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer that have been chugging along ever since.

In the next Going Green post: auditing energy with Enwise.

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