A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.

Hardware to Find: Commenters on Frozen Tropics are of mixed views on a potentially forthcoming Ace Hardware franchise on H Street NE; an existing hardware store, Park’s, would face competition. Of Park’s, the blog writes, “Park’s has a decent selection, though nothing close to Frager’s. Their biggest issue is probably that they don’t allow you to shop all of the individual aisles. If you want certain types of items you have to ask for them to be retrieved by an employee. That’s kind of a big turnoff for many potential shoppers.” One commenter says, “I honestly didn’t know Parks had hardware; I thought it was just a cell phone store. That’s what all the signs out front say. If it’s like you say then yeah, I’d shop there if they let me browse the aisles. I should stop in. Or maybe I shouldn’t get attached if Ace is about to steal their business anyway.” Another responds, “I would welcome Ace but I always liked Parks hardware. Very nice and very helpful…and they clean up in front of their property.” A third offers this anecdote: “Park’s can probably survive just by focusing on selling their phones and stuff. They apparently are doing well enough in a big space with limited hours. Shrink the space and associated costs and stay open longer if you need to. Its not like Park’s sells power tools, snow blowers, grills and other high end items (at least that I know of). The most complex thing I bought there was a pair of knock-off vise grips that I think had been on their shelf for years.”

Meow Meow Meow Meow: “Any advice on which kind of ‘fountain’ drinking system to get for one cat? Would like something simple, small, quiet. Water would be already filtered, and not interested in having food bowl attached. Has anyone had success with one of these? Any advice appreciated! And if you have a simple one that your cat doesn’t use, would love to give it a try. We all know what they say about horses and water. Suppose the same adage applies to cats!” requests a member of the Chevy Chase email list. Another member responds: “There is a smaller version of the fountain that is great for one {or even two} kitties. I believe it’s manufactured by DrinkWell, the folks who make the larger fountains. There are fountains that provide a stream of water that falls into the bowl, some that simply keep the bowl filled with fresh water as the cat drinks {no ‘waterfall’} and some that are like little ‘bubblers’.. …the water goes into the reservior/bowl, and the mechanism keeps the water “bubbling” so the cat can drink as if from an old fashioned person-type drinking fountain. My cats and I prefer the fountains with a ‘waterfall’ but I have used all of these different takes on the fountains at pet sitting clients home and all do a great job and are easy to use.” But that’s not all the advice the second member has to give; the rest of her message is over 500 words in length and addresses, among other topics, the problem of “kitty acne.”

Try Turning it Off, Then Back On?: Requests a member of the Columbia Heights email list, “Can anyone recommend a trustworthy computer person who will come to my house (as opposed to my shlepping computer to him/her)? I have a new computer for which I need help setting up – e.g., can’t seem to get the new CPU to talk to the printer; funny ‘fade-in/fade- out/crash’ when using WORD. Help!”