Ok, so have you been wasting water in the drought? Or did this crazy concatenation of complex parts help to conserve water? Were you just doing the LA thing of 'if it's yellow, let it mellow?' And will the new contraption thingy work? Oh, and how long has it been like this? And finally, shouldn't we change the newspaper in their cage? (What a bizarre expression.)

Oz

The drought started in 2004 and ended in mid-November 2006. We started wasting wate rin late November 2006, so we're safe on that point. It took a little while for the plumber to arrive due to the Immaculate Constitution super-long weekend.

The complex parts seem to flush the toilet similar to the way that a non-complex American toilet mechanism accomplishes the same thing.

The idea of not flushing unless absolutely necessary has not seemed to occur to Spaniards yet.

Yes, canaries need clean cages and food, but also water -- and probably more stuff too. Canaries are popular pets in Spain. People put them out on their balconies (in cages, obviously) to serenade the street, and it's lovely to hear them. The Canary Islands are part of Spain. "Canary" refers to the many dogs (canines) that populated the island at some point in history.

This reply is late because I had deadlines for some translating projects. Sorry.