Photo Time!
Dragon Con Photos!
All the photos are titled and tagged. The werewolf baby in the stroller is the creepiest thing I've seen since that guy photoshopped eyes all over his cat's picture to make "Spider/Shoggoth Cat".
Savings? What Savings?
Ack! We dropped the home warranty because of the hassle and disappointments we've had over the last few incidents that we called them to resolve. The service was relatively inexpensive, and its quality tended to reflect that parsimony.
The upstairs A/C managed to work through most of the summer before letting us down...again. After polling co-workers about service companies, we called one of the higher-end ones. This one service call effectively wiped out the savings we made from not having a home warranty, so effectively, it has been a wash for this year--unless they tell us to replace the A/C unit.
The guy showed up right on time this morning, was efficient, looked professional, had all the right equipment with him in the truck, and explained what was going on clearly and effectively. I'm a bit of a skinflint, but extra service and transparency seems to be worth the cost, though I balk a little at the $89 service call fee which gets factored in before any actual work gets done.
However, I didn't have to take a couple of days off work in the hopes they would show up on time, much less repeatedly call their office to find out "Where in the world is Waldo?" We'll have to consider the cost of their service contract--which includes annual inspections of our HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. FIXING them would cost extra (but 15% less than if we didn't have a contract. Better to plan ahead and do preventative maintenance rather than flail around in an emergency. Some budget re-allocation is about to occur.
I asked the service guy to check out the first floor A/C because it smells like wet dirt when it first starts up. It is probably the damp crawlspace's ambient air rather than something wrong with the system. Before I left for the office, I told him go ahead and be technical with my sweetie--she's an engineer, so she'll be able to keep up. :) I'm pretty sure they encounter the helpless housewife routine a lot, so I wanted to make sure he didn't talk down to ealdthryth.
Ælfgifu greeted the service guy warmly and was cute for him, too, so I guess we must approve.
Crowded Fu
After the luxury of a king-sized bed at Dragon*Con, our bed felt small. Last night, this feeling was exacerbated by the fact my sweetie took up more than her fair share of space by sprawling across the bed, and then Ignatius and Josie snuggled in between us, leaving me a tiny strip of mattress to precariously balance on and attempt to get a modicum of sleep. I mostly blame the cats because they refused to budge no matter how much I tried to shift them. Usually, they will simply crawl up on top of us if I do that.
Spoiled kitties!
"I Secretly Quit"
The railroad club meeting last night was shorter than normal because there was no program. The reason for that was the Program Director quit a few months back. Unfortunately, he neglected to tell anyone until I sent him an email asking about upcoming programs so I could list them in the newsletter. Nice... :(
I also got some VERY disappointing news about someone I knew, and at one time, respected. Now I simply respect his work, and that is all I plan on saying.
Archer Marshals Will Cringe
The water pipe was murdered in the basement by the 17-year old with the bow and arrow. Luckily, it was not my basement, and not my 17-year old. One of the new guys was complaining about his little brother's archery antics. How smart is it to shoot a foam target in front of a water pipe? From ten feet away with a 40-pound bow?
Facepalm
I very nearly recommended that he take his target practice outside until I thought about the consequences to the neighbors and local animal population. There is an archery range nearby where they will teach this kid some safety rules and allow him to shoot in an appropriate environment. I STRONGLY recommended this.
I'm not sure it will stick because he is "paranoid" and "stubborn". I'm glad not to know him, but it worries me that he walks among us and there is only two degrees of separation between us.
All the photos are titled and tagged. The werewolf baby in the stroller is the creepiest thing I've seen since that guy photoshopped eyes all over his cat's picture to make "Spider/Shoggoth Cat".
Savings? What Savings?
Ack! We dropped the home warranty because of the hassle and disappointments we've had over the last few incidents that we called them to resolve. The service was relatively inexpensive, and its quality tended to reflect that parsimony.
The upstairs A/C managed to work through most of the summer before letting us down...again. After polling co-workers about service companies, we called one of the higher-end ones. This one service call effectively wiped out the savings we made from not having a home warranty, so effectively, it has been a wash for this year--unless they tell us to replace the A/C unit.
The guy showed up right on time this morning, was efficient, looked professional, had all the right equipment with him in the truck, and explained what was going on clearly and effectively. I'm a bit of a skinflint, but extra service and transparency seems to be worth the cost, though I balk a little at the $89 service call fee which gets factored in before any actual work gets done.
However, I didn't have to take a couple of days off work in the hopes they would show up on time, much less repeatedly call their office to find out "Where in the world is Waldo?" We'll have to consider the cost of their service contract--which includes annual inspections of our HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. FIXING them would cost extra (but 15% less than if we didn't have a contract. Better to plan ahead and do preventative maintenance rather than flail around in an emergency. Some budget re-allocation is about to occur.
I asked the service guy to check out the first floor A/C because it smells like wet dirt when it first starts up. It is probably the damp crawlspace's ambient air rather than something wrong with the system. Before I left for the office, I told him go ahead and be technical with my sweetie--she's an engineer, so she'll be able to keep up. :) I'm pretty sure they encounter the helpless housewife routine a lot, so I wanted to make sure he didn't talk down to ealdthryth.
Ælfgifu greeted the service guy warmly and was cute for him, too, so I guess we must approve.
Crowded Fu
After the luxury of a king-sized bed at Dragon*Con, our bed felt small. Last night, this feeling was exacerbated by the fact my sweetie took up more than her fair share of space by sprawling across the bed, and then Ignatius and Josie snuggled in between us, leaving me a tiny strip of mattress to precariously balance on and attempt to get a modicum of sleep. I mostly blame the cats because they refused to budge no matter how much I tried to shift them. Usually, they will simply crawl up on top of us if I do that.
Spoiled kitties!
"I Secretly Quit"
The railroad club meeting last night was shorter than normal because there was no program. The reason for that was the Program Director quit a few months back. Unfortunately, he neglected to tell anyone until I sent him an email asking about upcoming programs so I could list them in the newsletter. Nice... :(
I also got some VERY disappointing news about someone I knew, and at one time, respected. Now I simply respect his work, and that is all I plan on saying.
Archer Marshals Will Cringe
The water pipe was murdered in the basement by the 17-year old with the bow and arrow. Luckily, it was not my basement, and not my 17-year old. One of the new guys was complaining about his little brother's archery antics. How smart is it to shoot a foam target in front of a water pipe? From ten feet away with a 40-pound bow?
Facepalm
I very nearly recommended that he take his target practice outside until I thought about the consequences to the neighbors and local animal population. There is an archery range nearby where they will teach this kid some safety rules and allow him to shoot in an appropriate environment. I STRONGLY recommended this.
I'm not sure it will stick because he is "paranoid" and "stubborn". I'm glad not to know him, but it worries me that he walks among us and there is only two degrees of separation between us.