>> That thing totally offends me - it was never wonderful, and
it needs better sealing on top; but it's the idiotic string-taut
assembly that makes it break if you breathe on it. <<

  And here i thought it was only me who could break one of those-
kind of low on my list of things to fix.

  Anyone else ever have a waterlogged float?  My "There, I Fixed It"
repair for that is simple as a strip of styrofoam off a coffee cup
wrapped around that rascal and held on with a rubber band.

George/ATL