Plumb Smart, Inc - November 2020

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NOVEMBER 2020

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And What I Learned From Some of My Favorites THE POWER OF A GREAT SCI-FI OR HISTORICAL FICTION NOVEL

There’s something about a good science fiction or historical fiction novel that keeps me coming back to those genres time and time again. Over the years, I’ve developed quite a list of favorite sci-fi and historical fiction books and authors, and with Nov. 7 being National Book Lovers Day, I thought I would share some of them with all of you, as well as why they remain some of my favorites. One of the first really good science fiction books that I read was actually “Battlefield Earth: A Sage of the Year 3000” by L. Ron Hubbard. Now, I know what you’re thinking: the crazy guy who started Scientology? Yes, the very same. However, before Hubbard went on to start his religion, he actually wrote some pretty decent science fiction, including “Battlefield Earth.” It’s a story about a guy fighting to retake the Earth from a dangerous alien race that’s nearly exterminated humans over the course of 1,000 years.

barely any human intervention, we’ve let Alexa invade our homes, and we have cell phones that spy on us all the time. It might not be exactly how Asimov imagined things, but he wasn’t far off in his predictions!

When it comes to historical fiction, I appreciate how the genre blends the accounts of fictional characters with real-life historical events. It gives the reader insight into the political and historical context in which certain events happened in a way that’s far more exciting than just reading about them in a textbook. One of my favorite authors in this genre is C.S. Forester, who wrote a 10-book series about a fictional Royal Navy officer fighting during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as a book called “The General,” which I share with any young person I know who is thinking about joining the military. It’s a book that depicts the brutal horrors of trench warfare in World War I through the eyes of a British general who continually sends his soldiers to their deaths, while he remains largely unharmed. It’s also a story that touches on societal classes and the consequences of buying your way through the ranks in the military, and by extension, buying your way through life. It leads to a society where the people on top are far less qualified than they should be! Really good fiction — in any genre — can give you insight into how the real world works through a story that’s completely made up. With exciting plots, memorable characters, and themes to learn from, why wouldn’t you start a good fiction novel this upcoming Book Lovers Day?

“Really good fiction — in any genre — can give you insight into how the real world works through a story that’s completely made up.”

It’s overall a pretty good story, but as I was reading it for the first time, I was surprised by some of the libertarian themes that pervade the story. It is, after all, a story about a man fighting for the liberty of the people he loves from an evil, tyrannical race of aliens. Those are the kinds of themes you can explore in science fiction, whether you read Hubbard’s books or books by science fiction legends like Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, or Arthur C. Clarke. It’s also pretty interesting to see just how many of these authors’ predictions about technology have come true today. Asimov wrote at length about robots replacing humans in the workforce and about artificial intelligence. Now, factories make cars with

–Pa u l Little

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Healthy Holiday Choices FOODS FOR HAPPY TEETH

Among your favorite Thanksgiving treats are a few foods that not only taste good but are also healthy for your teeth. If you’ve volunteered to bring a side dish to a family Thanksgiving meal or are planning on cooking the whole meal yourself, make sure to include these foods. The Main Course: Turkey There are a lot of nutrients in the foods we eat that help make our teeth stronger, including protein. Luckily, the main course of a traditional Thanksgiving meal is full of it! Protein — when combined with vitamin D and calcium — helps keep our teeth strong, which reduces tooth loss and allows us to chew and talk properly. So enjoy your turkey and know that in addition to being delicious, it’s also improving your smile. The Side Dish: Cranberries Cranberry sauce is a key side dish for Thanksgiving, and it’s also exactly what your smile needs. Cranberries are full of nutrients

your body needs to be healthy, including potassium, beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin C, just to name a few. However, that’s not all cranberries can do for your teeth. The tart berry’s juice actually has a tendency to reduce plaque in the mouth thanks to proanthocyanidins (a class of nutrients), which prevent bacteria from sticking together. By simply enjoying cranberries with your Thanksgiving meal, you’re fighting harmful bacteria that could damage your teeth. The Dessert: Pumpkin Pie Unlike other Thanksgiving favorites like apple pie or pecan pie, pumpkin pie tends to have less sugar and far more nutrients, including vitamin A and calcium. Vitamin A is especially important, as it’s an essential part of strengthening the enamel on our teeth. When eaten in moderation, pumpkin pie can be both a sweet treat and an oral health booster. These are only three of the foods that can help your teeth this Thanksgiving. Before you roll up your sleeves and get started on your feast, check out a few more healthy recipes by visiting FoodNetwork.com or Delish.com.

Let’s Talk Thermal Expansion Tanks

A thermal expansion tank is part of your home’s pressure regulating system, and without it, your home’s fixtures can become damaged and cease to function properly. As water flows into your home, it passes through a pressure reducing valve (PRV) that brings the street pressure down to a manageable level for residential fixtures. But then, something else happens: Some of the water in your system gets heated, and when water gets hot, it also expands. So, every time your water heater fires up, it’s actually adding pressure to the entire house. Thermal expansion tanks were created to solve this problem. The tank itself is a small, usually 2-gallon, canister that should be installed near the water heater. They’ve been required by GA code since 2001, so if you don’t have one, you should get one installed. Inside the tank is a pocket for water, a rubber diaphragm, and a pocket of pressurized air. As the water heats up and increases in volume, the extra water ends up in the front end of the expansion tank as the air in the back end gets compressed further. When you run water from any fixture, that air pressure pushes the water back out until it again reaches equilibrium, thus keeping your water pressure constant throughout the heating cycle. Just like any other part, an expansion tank will eventually go bad and stop functioning. They have a life expectancy of 3–5 years depending on your overall pressure and hot water

use. Fortunately, they’re inexpensive to replace, and you can check yours yourself! Just look at the back end (the one away from the water line) and you’ll see a valve identical to the air valve on any tire — it may have a rather large plastic cap on it, but you can take that off by hand without doing any damage.

Simply press on the stem as if you were letting air out of a tire; if air hisses out, the tank is good. If the diaphragm inside has ruptured, you’ll either get nothing or a bit of water when you press it.

That’s all you need to know about your expansion tank! If you check yours and it’s gone bad, or if your home doesn’t have one installed, just give us a call or book an appointment on our website. That’s just Plumb Smart.

–Sam Little

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WORD SEARCH

SINFULLY SWEET BUTTERNUT SQUASH

COBBLER CRANBERRY ELECTION FOOTBALL

NOVEL SAGITTARIUS THANKSGIVING TOPAZ

TURKEY VETERANS VOTING WINDY

Inspired by WellPlated.com

SUDOKU

This butternut squash, oven-roasted and caramelized to perfection, could almost pass for dessert. You’d never guess it’s a dish loaded with vitamins and antioxidants!

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil • 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup Ingredients

• 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt • 3/4 tsp cinnamon • 1/2 tsp black pepper • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, placing the two oven racks at the top and bottom of the oven. Then grease two baking sheets. 2. In a large bowl, combine squash cubes, olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and spices. Toss to coat, then spread mixture in a single layer over the baking sheets. 3. Place both pans in the oven and bake 15 minutes. Turn the cubes with a spatula and return them to the oven, swapping them to different racks. Continue baking 10–15 minutes until tender. 4. Sprinkle with rosemary and serve!

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The Power of a Great Sci-Fi or Historical Fiction Novel 1

Thanksgiving Foods That Make Your Teeth Happy

Let’s Talk Thermal Expansion Tanks 2

Sinfully Sweet Butternut Squash

Take a Break! 3

How a Thanksgiving Dinner Mix‑Up Led to the TV Dinner 4

A Meal for the Changing American Home HOW A THANKSGIVING DINNER MIX-UP LED TO THE TV DINNER

Would you believe that Thanksgiving dinner — a meal dedicated to home cooking, family time, and, well, being thankful — was directly responsible for the invention of the TV dinner, the ultimate manifestation of the solitary, processed meal? If you are a little suspicious of that fact, you’re not alone. But, the connection is real. Those little frozen meals on trays were the result of a Turkey Day mix-up of epic proportions. The year was 1953. That fall, the frozen food company C.A. Swanson & Sons drastically overestimated how many Americans would want a turkey as the centerpiece of

Thomas had a winning idea. He suggested they package up the remaining turkey with a few sides as frozen dinners that would be ready to eat after being thawed. The twist? They would be served in compartmentalized aluminum trays, much like airplane meals, which were the inspiration for Thomas’ idea. Additionally, they would be marketed as “TV dinners,” with their packaging designed to look like a television set. By 1954, roughly half of American households had TVs. Over the next 10 years, that figure jumped to 92%. As the TV rose in prominence in American living rooms, the TV dinner’s

their Thanksgiving spread, leaving them with about 260 tons of extra turkey packed into 10 refrigerated railroad cars. They needed a way to sell this surplus quickly because they had to keep running the train cars back and forth between the East Coast and the Midwest to generate the electricity needed to keep the turkey from spoiling. The company sent out a bulletin asking if any of their employees had a solution to the problem. Swanson salesman Gerry

popularity increased exponentially. Swanson sold nearly 10 million of them during the first year of production. By 1959, Americans spent half a billion dollars gobbling up TV dinners. Several other phenomena have been linked to the advent of the TV dinner, such as the erosion of the traditional family dinner and a preference for TV entertainment over family conversation during mealtime. It’s hard to

believe it all happened because of one Thanksgiving Day with too much turkey!

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