My "New" floor lamp

Found it on the curb, awaiting the trash pickup. The switch wasn't working, and as a replacement socket would be a pittance, I brought it home.

Here's what the problem is:

It's a three-way socket, and as such, has a rotary switch. The knob screws onto the switch shaft inside the socket.

The threads on the knob were stripped. I stuck a short length of thin wire into the threaded bit on the knob and screwed it back onto the switch shaft.

Works just fine now.

Plenty of light to read by, and as the light reflects off the wall and ceiling, it provides ample, glare free illumination for the entire room, and there is no reflection of the lamp itself on the screen of my monitor.

At some point, I'll replace the three-way socket with a simple on-off socket, as I use Compact Fluorescent bulbs, and the switch itself is quite stiff to turn. I can see how the threads on the knob wound up getting stripped.

What annoyed me greatly about this lamp is that the fix was SO simple. Yet, someone didn't even bother to diagnose the problem and attempt to fix it.

Oh, and as for the Harry Potter book 7 shipping box affixed to my air conditioner. The A.C. is not that powerful, and the vents direct the cool air upwards. The box redirects the air flow downward and towards my chair.