The other place where I found myself wanting an end-table was my second bedroom. I found myself bringing home a small plastic three-drawer cabinet, again compliments of a neighbor getting rid of it. It terms of style, it was nicer than most plastic ones, and in the back room this wouldn’t be as much of an issue. If the space it provided could be used advantageously, I could replace it later. It turned out that my office supplies really needed a better home and overall, that room had a few too many odds and ends. Three more drawers could be used. The drawback? The cabinet would be an ideal spot on which to place my shredder. But the shredder is fairly heavy and buckles the plastic to where the drawers are hard to open.
Again, off to Wayfair. I’d been looking for several items recently and was thus getting several emails from them, one being for end-tables and small cabinets. I looked at these and found one that would replace either of the above two P of Cs. They were on sale, and I jumped and simply bought two. They’re now assembled and in place, looking good and working out well, as is the rug. In all three cases, getting a free trial version worked out great.
Yeah, I own a house in the San Francisco Bay area. I just missed the anniversary of the date I purchased it, Nov. 1, 1981, and I hope it isn't too upset with me. Perhaps having a section of my website dedicated to this fine bit of paradise will make it feel better. Probably not as much as if I cleaned it up real nice, but it's a start.
Shin the Homeowner
Proof of Concept
I don’t know whether I got the phrase “proof of concept” from my days living a corporate life or my brief interface with the US Patent Office. Yes, I once had an idea for a patent – a device to hold a board vertically so a learning martial arts student could break the a without having someone else hold it. My design strapped to a heavy bag in seconds allowing anyone with access to such a contraption to practice breaking techniques. To apply for a patent, I needed to show a design or hopefully a working model or “proof of concept.”
Good news, bad news. The good news was that I was able to put a working model together. The bad news is that someone else had done the same and was already marketing the device with “patent pending”. How my patent search missed this I’m not sure.
But I still use the phrase to come up with ideas for home improvements. I’ve recently cashed in on three. One was about six months ago. I had tried a couple of mats to place under my computer chair. I’m sitting on it right now! (The chair, not the mat). The problem with the mat was that it was just too small, and my chair kept rolling off. But what was the alternative?
One day as I was taking my daily walk, I saw someone getting rid of a good-sized area rug, about 8 feet by 5-feet. I decided to tuck a large part under the rug of about the same size in my living room but leave a fair size piece sticking out so it would be under the chair. Sure enough, it was big enough to accommodate the area where I wanted to roll my chair and was perfectly functional. It was a bit ratty-looking, but for the price (free) it was an easy way to test the theory that a standard rug of the right size would work better than the mats made for the purpose: proof of concept. New rugs of the size I needed weren’t expensive. As usual, Wayfair had just what I needed. It’s a simple design and about 5 feet by 6 feet, so a small part still slides under the room’s larger rug. I use the “free” rug in the garage saving some wear and tear on the cement floor. Hey, it was free!
Another proof of concept item, or actually pair of items I got hold of was a pair of small three-drawer cabinets. Actually, they aren’t a pair at all. One is made of wood and, like the rug, was found on the roadside. I saw it as big enough to store some of my computer desk excess, and small enough to fit neatly beside said computer desk. It turned out that I had to devise a stand for it so I could access the bottom drawer. I soon wished it had its own legs and was a bit bigger, both vertically and horizontally, but being wood, it simply looks nicer than the old plastic one I used in that location. Further, being wood makes it sturdier so I could put a few notebooks on top of it in a magazine rack without causing the lower portions to lose their shape under the weight. In general, it works out great as a proof of concept addition.
Last Update: September 5, 2026
The John Shinnick Web Site
One of the two end-tables. The rug just in front of it is the one I discussed. Very nice. I even found a use for the small cabinet this replaced!
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