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

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Day 1197

I've had the U-verse service for over a year now, so all the promotions that came with my bundle have expired. This, of course, results in a much higher monthly bill. Why are phone companies like this. It's always some sort of bait and switch proposition. Two can play this game though. I remember when we had Time Warner cable, there was always some guy you could call and get your promotions reinstated if you mentioned that you were thinking of dropping the service. I figured that AT&T must have the same sort of guy tucked away somewhere, so I started calling. After a few false starts, I found the guy in St. Louis. He agreed to knock $40 off my monthly bill and throw in some extra HD channels if I would sign a contract for another year. Done! Mission accomplished. I still don't know why this had to be so hard though. Couldn't they just charge a fair price in the first place.

Maybe the whole concept of a fair price doesn't even exist anymore. I received my first bid on the roof today and was amazed that the price was four times more than the last roof I had installed in 1996. When I called the company and asked how prices could have possible gone up so much, the estimator just said that things had gotten "out of control" in recent years. He didn't offer to lower the price though. Not by one nickel. I sure hope the other bids are more reasonable than this initial one.

The Land Rover dealer hasn't even bothered to return my call about the engine running rough. I think they're getting tired of me. I'm sure they'd much rather just sell me a new car than continue to repair one that is eighteen years old. I like the Defender though. I can't help it if Land Rover continues to postpone re-introducing the Defender to North America again. They ought to be glad to have me as a customer. I could have easily bought a new Kia for what I've paid them in repair bills over the years.

It looks like Spring outside. It just doesn't feel that way. Temperatures were in the mid-thirties when I walked the dogs this morning. It didn't really warm up that much as the day progressed either. I don't think it got much above fifty all day. In between all the wrangling with the phone company and the roofing company about prices, I managed to get a couple of websites updated and paid a few bills. My car is still running a bit rough, but it isn't stalling out at stoplights anymore. I guess that's progress.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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