Day 3042

The appliance repairman said that there was nothing wrong with the stove. He agreed that the stainless steel countertop got pretty darn hot when the burners were on high for a while, but could find nothing wrong with the wiring. He suggested that we stop boiling large pots of water on the stovetop, but I don't think Janet is going to like this idea. Sadly, the stove repair was a failure, but I was able to get the washing machine fixed.

All front loader washing machines have a thick rubber gasket that seals the door when you are doing a load of wash. Unfortunately this gasket retains water after you've finished doing a load and since it never gets dry, eventually the rubber starts to mold. Almost all front loader washing machines do this, which is why they are not as popular anymore. A YouTube video showed me how I could replace this gasket myself, but I'm glad I didn't try. The repairman had to to use a special tool to unlock the clamp that held the gasket in place. The YouTube video never mentioned this tool. He also had to remove a large and very heavy concrete counterweight that keeps the metal drum in balance while it is rotating. You basically had to take the machine apart to remove the thick rubber sleeve. I guess the effort was worth it though. I now have a brand new door gasket that probably won't begin to mold for another three years.

Dash slept through the entire two hours the repairman was here. Actually, he continued sleeping for an additional hour after the guy left. Dot would have spent the entire time barking. I don't know if Dash is really tired or he just doesn't care. Either way, repairmen just don't seem to bother him.

I was surprised to get a call about a very old invoice that I'd almost given up on. Apparently, the bookkeeper quit and nobody was aware of the invoice. The owner's wife was doing the books now and asked if I took credit cards. None of this sounded normal, but at least this February invoice might finally get paid. I wonder if I'll ever get any more work from this company? They used to keep me pretty busy, but these days they seem in worse shape than I am.

I got a post card from my sister thanking me for a voicemail message I'd left on her birthday. She never returned the call, but the cryptic message on the postcard was reassuring. I'm not terribly close with family, but when someone has cancer you start to worry if they disappear for a while. I guess we can go back to sending letters back and forth every few months.

I wore the silicon fitness tracker band I repaired today and it didn't immediately fall apart. In my book, that's a success. So far, there's no skin irritation either. I'm already looking for more broken silicon stuff to repair. I'm sure the Jawbone tracker will break again eventually. It might break tomorrow. For now, I am satisfied that both the tracker and the front loader washing machine will live to see another day.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2467

Dot fell on her morning walk and injured herself. She's limping on one of her front legs again. The only solution is lots of bed rest and maybe canceling her therapy sessions for a while. I think she is just sore, but she did take a nasty tumble. It's really hard to walk Dot when she stumbles so easily, but we do the best we can. It's still important to keep her moving. The last time this happened, she was a lot better 24 hours later. Hopefully, some added rest will help her recuperate again.

We've had trouble with our front loader washer almost from the day we got it, so I was encouraged today to read that a large class action lawsuit against multiple manufacturers of these machines had been settled and owners were going to be compensated for repairs. Whirlpool, Maytag, LG and a number of other popular brands were covered in this settlement. Where was Frigidaire though? Was I going to be compensated too? Nope. Frigidaire and their parent company Electrolux were the only companies still fighting the lawsuit and refusing to settle. The problem with all of these machines is that they they never really dry out after doing a load of wash and eventually mold starts to build up inside the machine. It doesn't take long for the rubber boot that is used to seal the front loading door to turn black. Frigidaire refuses to even acknowledge that there is a problem. I can show them a big problem.

One of my clients is having problems with their website forms again. Problems with forms seems to happen with disturbing regularity. The hosting company changes something on their server and doesn't bother to tell their customers. Sometimes they move the CGI Bin to a different location. Sometimes they stop supporting older forms altogether. I spent a considerable amount of time with tech support this morning trying to determine what was causing the "Internal Server Error" message people were getting when they submitted the forms, but I basically got nowhere. Tech support people don't seem to know as much as they used to. The person I talked to today opened a job ticket on my case and said she was going to escalate my request to a higher level of service. I'll probably have to call four or five more times before the forms are actually fixed.

The roofer still hasn't responded to my request to come out and examine the roof again. I was very polite when I told them about the latest problems, but so far they're ignoring me. This happens sometimes. Do they think I'm just going to go away?  I'll keep calling and sending e-mail until I get results. It's so frustrating when people over promise and under deliver. All I really want is the roof these guys promised in the first place.

I remembered to take the trash out to the curb this evening, but during the short time I was away, Dot pooped on one of the large living room rugs and then stumbled and fell in the poop. In case you haven't noticed, this hasn't been a very good day.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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