Vakkotaur

Though Jay may be off to California to be on a TV show and is still getting requests for radio interviews, other things do go on. If problems come in threes, hopefully we have the set now and aren't due another installment somewhere along the line.

A week or two ago there were a couple storms. One Saturday evening pelted the are with hail. The one hailstone I measured was an inch across the major axis (it was not spherical). Sunday night there was storm with high winds. Unusually high wind, even for the Plains. There was no major damage, but there are a few spots on the roof where shingles used to be. Someone was called, but as far I know it hasn't even been looked at yet. Hopefully a quick patch job is all that will be needed. While the roof will need replacement in a couple years, I'd like to be able to wait that couple years.

Last Thursday I noticed that the tab on the mailbox felt mushy, which is not a good way for metal to feel. Sure enough, it broke off on Friday. Friday evening was spent removing the old mailbox, fixing up the post and such that it and the neighbor's boxes are mounted on, and putting the new box in place. It was a typical project: A few too many bent nails and two trips to the hardware store. One positive side effect was that I discovered a rattling in my car was probably due to the migration of tools in the trunk. After putting the toolkit back as it ought to be, things should be quiet again, but I haven't really listened hard yet. I might have caught that sooner, but it's been a few years since I've had use the toolkit I carry in the car.

This Saturday I went into the basement for something and found water on the floor. Fortunately it was not all that much water and only in the unfinished part of the basement. I followed the water to the prime suspect: the aging water heater. I just took four hours off work to be around while that was replaced and to see the inspector who signed off on the installation. To cap it all off, the installer pointed out that who ever installed that old water heater had connected it backwards, which would result in running out of hot water quickly. The new installation is much cleaner, without cross-ways piping. Whoever put in the old heater wasn't just lazy, but evidently actively stupid.