Day 4409

Yay. We've got heat again. Our gas was shut off for most of the day while a work crew repaired a gas leak in the alley behind our house. I didn't give the outage much thought at first because the repair people had already told me that they would be finished before the end of the day and that service would be restored. As the day progressed and the cold front got closer and closer I started to get nervous. The house was starting to get cold and the two things you need the most during freezing weather are a working furnace and hot water.

Toward the end of the day a gas company technician arrived and hooked up our gas meter again. I asked if he could come in the house and start the water heater and furnace again. He said he wasn't allowed to come inside. What? "But that's where the gas appliances are," I said. He said it was gas company policy and he could get fired for violating it. He did call me a plumber though and said I wouldn't be charged. Very weird. Why was it OK for a plumber to come inside, but not a gas company technician. I'm pretty sure that I could have restarted everything myself, but I didn't want to screw up and burn down the house. I've always had a healthy respect for flames. 

Surprisingly, the plumber arrived quickly and restarted the old and cranky water heater. I actually restarted the furnace myself because I was cold and impatient. I was a lot more familiar with the furnace as well. I've had to restart it numerous times to clean the flame sensor. The furnace has sophisticated shut-off features as well. I wasn't so sure about the water heater. Oddly, the water heater flame has never gone out before. The water heater has been one of the few totally reliable things in the house. 

I still don't know what was wrong with the gas line. Whatever they fixed was buried at least four feet underground. How did they even know the pipe was leaking that far underground? I don't know why they replaced my gas meter either. I suspect that the new meter allows them to read the meter remotely and I was due for a replacement anyway. All is well though. We are headed for one of the coldest nights of the year and the house is nice and warm again.

I really didn't get a lot done today. I took my long walk in a light mist, but didn't get very wet. My feet were terrible today, so maybe the foot pain does have something to do with the humidity. The weather is definitely getting nasty. Janet and Dawn didn't even go to training class tonight. I'm tired of winter already although I know that the worst is yet to come. Often February is our coldest month. At least we haven't gotten snow yet. I hope we don't. A winter without snow would be a blessing.

I was going to resume testing the star tracker today since there has been another update to the software. I decided to wait however, because I didn't want to be aggravated by two things at the same time. Dealing with the natural gas outage was enough for one day. I have absolutely no faith that things will go as planned anymore, so I was actually expecting to be sleeping under a big pile of blankets in a very cold house. The gas company actually did pretty well today. Much better than I expected.

I hope tomorrow goes smoothly.  I don't like surprises and I've grown weary of dealing with problems. A boring day is a good day as far as I'm concerned. Dawn is a good role model for me. All she does is eat, sleep and walk. Basically, that's all I do as well.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4408

Today was a mess. I had to go to the bank this morning and on the way home I had a flat tire. Luckily, there was a tire store nearby and they were able to fix the tire. The place only took cash though. Who uses cash anymore? They said I should go across the street and use the ATM machine at the 7-11 store. That didn't work. The machine would only accept debit cards. I've never used a debit card and generally just shred them as soon as a bank sends me one. I asked the tire guys if they'd mind if I drove back to my bank to get some cash. 

The ATM machine at the bank didn't work either. I guess all ATM machines expect a debit card. I didn't think the bank would let me in the lobby because I didn't have a mask with me. The drive-thru teller said they'd give me one and eventually I got the $30 the tire guys wanted for fixing two nails in my rear tire. This seemed a little expensive, but I wasn't in a position to argue. I was actually amazed that the tire guys didn't seem at all concerned that I was wandering around town for forty-five minutes looking for cash. I didn't try to stiff the guys though. I came back and gave them their money. It sure beat trying to change the tire myself.

When I returned to the house, there was a work crew digging up the alley again. They asked if this was my house and told me that there was a gas leak they had to repair. Evidently the faulty pipe was right near where they had discovered a leak at my neighbor's house several months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they had caused this leak when they were trying to repair the other one. At any rate, they told me that they would have to shut off our gas tomorrow. "How long is it going to be off," I asked? Another cold wave is on the way and I wasn't looking forward to spending a night without heat. I'm not even sure I know how to shut off the gas to the house. We've lost electricity many times, but we've never lost natural gas.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. My phone works great with the new battery. It's nice to not have to put the phone on the charger every few hours. I don't think I'd ever get an electric car. I'm plagued with battery problems. Something I own always seems to be having a battery issue. Probably as soon as I figure out how to use the star tracker, I'll start having battery problems with it.

I waited until later in the day to take my long walk. It was cold this morning when we walked with Dawn, but I knew that it would warm up quickly. It would have been an enjoyable walk if it wasn't for my feet. When all this started, I was only having problems with my left foot. Now, both feet hurt. The Hoka shoes help, but I don't know what else I can do. Over-the-counter pain medications do nothing. 

I got the invitation to apply for press credentials for the Artemis 1 launch today. The launch is supposed to take place sometime in March now, although insiders tell me that it probably won't take place until this Summer. I'll go ahead an apply, but it doesn't guarantee that I'll be accepted. We'll see. I'd really like to attend this launch, but the bloom is off the rose as far as travel is concerned. Who knows what new Covid variant will be around when the launch takes place. Covid had made travel such a hassle that I'm tempted to just stay home and do nothing until this whole thing is ancient history.

I hope the gas company people don't throw me any surprises tomorrow. I really don't want to be without heat on Thursday when the cold weather arrives. I'm going to have to be really careful about taking Dawn outside as well. Work crews are notorious about leaving gates open. 

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3323

I forgot what day is was again. It's easy to do. Every day begins the same way. I wake up at some point to take Dash outside or clean up poop. If the cleanup is easy, I go back to bed for a while. If it is more extensive, I just stay up. Dash always gets a walk before breakfast. When we return, I pop a Community Coffee Dark Roast pod in the Keurig and start making my smoothie. Turning on the television seldom gives me a clue about what day it is. It's always just something about the ongoing Russia Probe. Enough already. Dash usually poops again just as I am getting ready to eat. Today he made a mess in the office. I wish he'd stay on the bricks, but the bricks are slippery. I can't really blame him for preferring the carpets.

Not that it mattered, but I eventually figured out it was Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I called in some prescriptions for Dash and when they were ready to pick up, I stopped by the hardware store on the way to the vet and got another tube of Shoe Goo. I think I'm keeping the Shoe Goo company in business. The stuff really does help to extend the life of Dash's protective boots.

I guess I'll go ahead and renew my web hosting account, even though it has become too expensive. Truthfully, I don't even know why I have a website anymore. If I shut everything down, I doubt that anyone would notice. There are a few animal rescue sites on the server that are important, but I could care less about my own site. I haven't updated anything in years.

I didn't always feel this way. There was a time when I had a really high Klout score and lots of Twitter followers. I was even listed as one of the top photographers on Google+ for a while. I'll miss Google+ when it disappears in a couple of months. This was the only social media network I actually liked. Too late now. Google+ is going the way of AOL and floppy discs. It's a shame. Back in the day, it was so much better than Facebook. Sadly Google+ never became popular which it probably exactly why it was so good.

The gas company repair crews are still in the neighborhood, but they've moved further away from the house. I'm curious about what they are doing, but not curious enough to go up and ask them. I'll wonder for a while until Spring growth in the park covers all the backhoe tracks in the dirt. Eventually, a neighbor will tell me what has happened long after I've forgotten the entire incident.

I've got to stop taking pictures of Pansies at the hardware store. I can do better. Unfortunately, these are the only flowers I've seen lately. It's Winter and wildflowers won't start appearing in the park again until late March or early April. How did I used to take interesting pictures every single day? It's a mystery now. Maybe I was just more interested in my surroundings.

Tomorrow actually is Wednesday. I'll keep that in mind as I follow a routine that is almost guaranteed to be remarkably similar to today's. Venus, the Moon, and Jupiter will be grouped together in the morning sky tomorrow. If Dash gets me up early, maybe I'll take a look.

Spirit is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3322

There appears to be a gas leak in the neighborhood. You could have fooled me, since we walk by the area where all the digging is going on every morning and I've never smelled gas. I have smelled a skunk in the vicinity recently, but I don't think that's what everybody's looking for. Finding the leak must be a high priority since the crews have set up lights and look like they are ready to continue digging throughout the night. Hopefully, they'll find what they're looking for. The gas company has had some highly publicized problems with leaks in other parts of the city that have resulted in fires and explosions.

I called my web hosting company this morning to ask about the huge increase in my bill. The customer service representative I talked to explained that my last bill included a generous sign up bonus that would never be repeated. They set the trap and lured me in. Now, I've got to pay full price. This scenario was exactly what I was dealing with a few months ago when it came time to renew my storage warehouse lease. The customer service representative was sympathetic. She said the same thing happened to her recently with her phone bill. Her Verizon bill tripled as soon as the special promotional offer expired. I'm a small business owner and an unabashed capitalist but I do think a lot of companies are greedy bastards. Couldn't you guys just charge a fair price in the beginning and stop all the confusing bait and switch trickery?

The increase in web hosting fees wasn't the only dismal financial news today. Apparently I'm going to  need to wait until mid February for my next payment from a very tardy auction buyer. This buyer must be special. There was nothing in the contract that said it was OK to pay a month and a half late. Somehow, I don't think the auction house would be nearly as lenient with me if I was a month and a half late. It looks like I'm going to need the money because apparently even though I made virtually nothing last year, I still need to pay taxes. That's what my accountant tells me anyway.

Dash doesn't have money problems but he definitely has pooping problems. The bed escaped unscathed last night but I had to watch my step around the house. I don't think Dash even realizes he is pooping any more. He just walks around the house and poop falls out. Getting up after a nap is especially hazardous. The extra effort he has to make to stand up these days often causes him to poop.

The weather changes so frequently now that I never know what to wear. I always look at my phone or the thermostat before we go on a walk but I don't think the temperature readings are up to date. This afternoon the thermostat said the outside temperature was 65 degrees so I just wore a light jacket. I just about froze. A rapidly moving cold front had just blown through and the real temperature was much colder. The temperature is still continuing to get colder, so I really hope that those gas company repairmen don't shut off our gas during the night.

I had some left over pizza for dinner. I hope it doesn't give me heartburn. I could have eaten something bland, but I hate to let food go to waste. We'll see what happens. My chances of getting heartburn are about the same as the chances of Dash waking me up during the night.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day