The Heat Pump Pictures

Darn, I forgot I had pictures of the repair.  So for what it's worth...

Jeff, the repair manager called me before the repair and said he had good news.  The supplier (who aparently controls warrantee replacements), had said they didn't have the specific "Thermal eXchange Valve" (TXV) available for my unit, but that he "bitched and complained" and they agreed to provide a whole "coil".

I had no idea what that meant, but if the repair manager was happy, that seemed good.  Well, it was more significant than I thought!  The TXV seems to be that little gold colored thing in the center.  The "coil" is the entire guts of the inside unit!

Really, they took out everything!

And here is the new (for free after 6 year's use) replacement!

The guy on the left is the repair manager.  The guy on the right is the "so-called" repairman.   HE didn't have a clue about what to do.  The repair manager kept teaching him every step of the way!

And if I had not called the repair manager with concerns about repairguy, repairguy would have tried to do all that work and messed up royally!  Note the Repair Manager is doing all the work.  Even the heavy lifting!  

The replacement units are not IDENTICAL to the original ones.  He had to cut away some side sheet metal to make it fit.  But HE knew about that and repairguy didn't...  I can only imagine (with shudders) what repairguy would have struggled to do to make it fit.  Hammerring maybe?

The replacement unit didn't fit to Repair Manager's satisfaction.  Out it came for more shaping....

Then back in and Repair Manager was happy.   And if he's happy, I probably will be happy...

And to my surprise, there was welding involved!  And guess who did it.  Quite frankly, the Repair Manager wasn't letting the repairguy do ANYTHING important.

Welding going on.  I'm surprised the camera could take this pic!

Back outside for replacing the coolant, even THEN Repair Manager was doing all the work while repairguy stood around not paying attention.  I think I could reach repairguy's skill level in a week of training!  Well, for one thing, I would pay careful attention...

And again, repairguy is watching while Repair Manager shows how to do basic stuff.  And I mean that.  Is there anything more basic to heating and cooling systems than loading coolant?  On the other hand, repairguy is the one who overpressured my system by 4x in Feb and caused most of currentthe problems...

So Repair Manager left after the mechanical problems were fixed and there were "only" measurement to be recorded.  I'm not sure repairguy knew how to do THAT right.  He kept calling some other people on his phone asking questions. 

BUT, after 3 days of switching the system from heat to cooling, the system is working better than I recall from the initial installation.  There MAY have been problems from the start.  I dropped the temperature from 72 to 68F in 30 minutes.  That used to take an hour.  Raising the temperature is faster, but it happened faster than usual.

I am glad of this repair.

But I think the success was all because I complained to the company first about problems with the previous repair, and then the Repair Manager when I was not pleased with the repairguy they sent.  And Repair Manager did almost all of the work himself!  Let that be a lesson to you...  Demand the best-qualified person to do the job...

The Heat Pump...

The repairmen came, they went.  In their wake, they SEEM to have left me with a working heat pump.

I was worried when the repairman showed up.  It was the same guy who messed up my system in Feb.  While he started working on the unit, I called the office repair manager.  He called back a few minutes later to assure me that the guy he sent was especially good at replacing parts.  But also would come by in 30 minutes (from another job) to make sure all went smoothly.

And it was a damn good thing he did.  Because the repair manager had to do most of the work himself!  He had promised me a free part and free labor, but I did not know the free "part" was almost the entire inside unit.

It took them 4 hours.  Because of some gradual equipment changes, the replacement coil was not a "pull and replace" unit.  The manager went "hands on" to it, cutting some sheet metal to fit.  I got a kick out of saying to the sent repair guy "This is why I worked to be Manager, so as to not have to do this stuff".

The "sent" guy would not have known to do that shaping work.  If I hadn't called, he might STILL BE HERE 6 hours later botching the job.  And that is a lesson learned.  If a simple repair is done right, great.  If a complicated repair is done well by a talented repairman, great!.. But if a repair is in the middle and they send the simple repairman to fix it, you need a Manager!

And did this guy know his stuff!  It was like watching a surgeon.

And it got better!  A few times when he was waiting for equipment to provide results, I asked a few questions.  Apparently, they were good questions.  Having a Dad as an engineer helps...

So I mentioned understanding gas expansion cooling, and he mentioned that he had taken AP classes in physics, so we had a great discussion about dark matter and dark energy and fun stuff while his equipment measured pressures and temperature changes.

Geez, I hope managing a heat pump repair unit pays well...

Anyway, the high pressure whistling sound is gone inside and out, the screeching sound of the outside fan is gone, the heating and cooling seem to be working, and all I had to pay for was the coolant.

I hope I feel as happy in mid-summer and next winter!  The repair company maybe doesn't have the best basic repairmen, but they sure stand by their promise to make everything right eventually.  That sounds like a back-handed compliment, but I mean better than that.  They COULD have just fought my complaints and said go call someone else if I wasn't happy, but they didn't.

It was 70 degrees outside.  They heated the house up to 80 and cooled it down to 65 in just an hour.  AFAICT, that means it is working.

And BTW, Iza is a Very Brave Cat .  She followed us all around, watching what was going on.  Marley an Ayla hid in the bedroom.  Iza got extra treats after they left.  She is a "Snoopervisor Extraordinary"!

Baseball

The Washington Nationals have been having a fabulous year so far.  They had a winning percentage of over .700 going into a road trip against 3 of the best teams in both leagues.  They went 5 and 1 against the 1st 2 teams.  So they went to play the Chicago Cubs.  Apparently, that was the first time to teams both playing over .700 had met in decades (50 years, 80 years, something like that).

The Nationals lost all 4 games.  Hard-fought games are nice, but splitting them would have been nicer.  Sometimes, a team plays well and just loses.  The Nationals hit slashing line drives - directly to fielders.  They hit long right to the outfield walls - just within jumping reach of the outfielders.  When they hit to the corners of the outfield where no one could catch them, they were a foot foul.

The Cubs were so afraid of Bryce Harper, they walked him 6 times in one game.  It would have been 7 ( a record), but one pitch hit him on the foot.  He got on base 7 of 7 times in one gamne and not a single one counts as an official "at-bat"!  He was walked 18 times in a 4 game series.  The Nationals lead several of the games, but lost in the last inning of each.   Hey, that's what WE normally do to other teams.

Those Cubs are GOOD!  I won't deny that at ALL!  But that's a harsh way to lose a series.  Can you imagine having a 19-12 record and being in 2ND PLACE?  This is going to be one HELL of an exciting season if things keep up like this!

Better news.  One of our pitchers, Max Scherzer, struck out 20 Detroit  Tigers tonight, tying the record...

Statuses

Well, the good news is that my Heat Pump is scheduled to be fixed tomorrow morning.  The repair company called me this morning.  They got their supplier to provide the part for free, they are doing the labor for free, I will pay for the replacement coolant ($200).

I accepted.  They could have given me a bunch of technical runaround "proving" none of it was their fault, but they didn't.  And I get the 1st appointment of the day, so I won't have to sit around waiting in a 4-hour window.

It will be good to having the heat pump working properly again (possibly for the 1st time ever).  My electric company sends me monthly reports showing that my Winter electrical usage is 3x the average of my neighbors (Summer is close).  And I have been extraordinarily fortunate that the outside temperature has been unusually moderate (highs of 70 and lows of 55 for almost 2 weeks while the system was completely off).  I'm a real warm-bodied person and don't sleep well above 70.

I'm patiently waiting for the bathtub tile replacement.  The entire tile surround and backerboard will be replaced, as well as the faucet and temperature valve, the showerhead, soap dish, towelrack, and the tub itself.  I guess for a cheaply built "starter house",  30 years was long enough before some repairs were needed.

I was encouraged when the remodeler said not to use the tub before the replacement work (2 weeks hence) so that they could better tell if any moisture on the studs behind the walls was just dampness from the leaks or actual damaged.

I know that its routine for bathroom remodelers to go for increases to the work required claiming unseen stud damage or mold.  That the remodeler seems to be trying to make sure any such signs of moisture are real is probably why they have an "A" rating on Angie's List.

The aggravation is that they say the work will take 10 days.  I have a showerstall in a half bath to use, but I don't like it much.  And I'm not thrilled about having to be available for workers here 4 or 5 days (it takes 10 days, but they won't be here every day - some things need time to "set").  But after a year of increasingly worsening tiles problems it will be worth it.

My knee (twisted on April 5th) is still not normal again, but I can walk straight-forward almost as usual.  I still feel it on stairs and getting into bed.  I've missed the whole Spring on yardwork, though and the weeds are taking over.  I'll be busy when I can dig again!

Other Complaints

Sort of continued from yesterday...

Aside from the heat pump problems, I've had damaged/loose tiles around the bathtub for almost a year.  At first, I couldn't get any highly-rated company on Angie's List to come out.  The job was too small.  Then it gradually got too big.  Them I couldn't get a bathroom remodeler to come out because the job was too small. 

I have a plastic trash bag duct-taped over the loose tiles.  Well, it FINALLY got big enough of a problem for one remodeler to come look Wed.  Quite frankly, I hadn't looked under the plastic covering lately, and it was worse than I thought. 

I expected bad news and I got it!  Now let me mention that this "starter house"  (where I have lived for 30 years) was not the best-built of houses.  The builder took shortcuts all over the place.  Apparently, one of those shortcuts was around the bathtub.  The seal around the tub faucet was leaky, the tile was poorly applied, the grout cracked, and the wall behind the tiles was truly waterproof. 

The remodeler popped one seemingly sound tile right off and pushed an awl right through the wall behind it.  Everything seem rotted...  So he came by yesterday with a basic proposal, subject to change after they remove the tiles and see behind the wall. 

They propose to remove all the tiles, replace the backer board wall, repair some damaged drywall, replace the tub faucet and showerhead (upper tile loosening suggests it is leaking inside the wall), and re-tile higher than it currently is  (which is below the showerhead).  And replace the bathtub itself.

I asked about why to replace the bathtub, and he said that, at 30 years old my cheap one won't last much longer and it would require pulling off the new tiles and some drywall to replace it then at twice the price.

I did some internet research and I know the routine for bathroom remodelers.  They get the initial job, then find all sorts of further problems (replace studs, scrape and spray mold, replace the floor, discover insect damage, etc).   I'm resigned to that.  There are some repairs you just HAVE to have done even when you know you are being taken advantage of.

At least I have some advantages myself.  I know wood, so they won't be able to lie about the condition of the studs.  I know the floor is solid; I can see it from the basement and there is no waterstain.  But also, I chose this company because their Angie's List rating is A+ for price and quality of work.  So they not only have a good rating, they care about their rating.  And if *I'm* not happy, they won't be happy!

At $5700 for the contracted work, they BETTER make me happy.  But it will be 3 weeks before they get to me on their schedule.  And they estimate 10 days of work (not every day, some parts have to sit a couple days to set). 

And then there is my right knee.  It has been a month since I first twisted it.  At first, it was pinful just getting it and out of bed.  And getting up and down stairs was an adventure in caution.  At least now I can walk almost normally.  Stairs are still annoying, but not actually painful.  Putting on my right sock and shoe are still awkward (but just an "err" and not a "GRRRR".  But it all means that I have not been able to do any gardening work in this extended mild temperature we have had all April and early May.  It will heal...

But then there is the weather.   After 3 weeks of drought late March and early April, we have had 10 days of daily off-and-on drizzle.  5" of drizzle and not any heavy rain but 1 hour.  So, good knee or bad, I wasn't going to get to do much work in the flower or vegetable gardens.  The vegetable garden is newly redone, so it doesn't need much work and the early crops were in and the warm weather crops will wait. 

But the flowerbeds are all gone to heck.  Weed grasses and regular weeds are nearly taking over.  This was going to be a Spring of renovation.  Too many of my perennial flowers have slowly died back (perennials don't live forever) and I was planning to dig up everything worth saving and rototill large areas to start over with some perennials that DO seem to live forever and add lots of annuals this year while I decide what to do in the future. 

I went big into perennials 15 years ago, but they are disappointing.  Most only flower a week or two.  Some flower longer, but are shorter-lived (3-5 years).  Some are very special in their short blooms (oriental lilies, tulips, daffodils, etc), and some have great foliage (Hostas, Brunella).  But I like the ones that flower all season or at least all Fall (Coneflowers, Goldenrod, Astilbe, Clatis, Asters).

I'm going back to annuals ( Zinnias, Salvia, Marigolds, Coleus, Impatiens).  More work each Spring to plant under lights inside and transplant, but I have time for that.  And growing seeds from scratch gives my better varieties than the local Walmart sells.

But if my knee doesn't heal soon, I won't be able to get down and scrape the weeds off the soil (and dig out the deep-rooted ones) and plant all those seedlings. 

Mom used to tell me that "getting old isn't for sissies".  I understood that theoretically a decade ago; now I know personally.  I'll turn 66 in 2 weeks.  LOL!

I've stayed young long.  You know how, in high school, there were those who matured fast?  Well, they aged fast too.  I always took some comfort in that.  Well, age is starting to catch up with me...  Small matters to be sure.  But I bet I need a knee transplant in 10 years.  My knees have always been a bit loose.

Most people fidget in some way.  They doodle, they hum, they tap their fingers.  I shake my ankles.  Sound weird?  Put your right ankle up on your left knee.  Now shake your ankle up and down constantly.  That's what I do at the computer.  I'll bet I loosened that knee badly over the decades...

"tempis fugit, momento mori".

 

Heat Pump Problems

I don't like to be complaining often, and I recognize that my worst complaints are minor compared to many other people's.  But they are what *I* am suffering, if you understand what I mean.  Sort of the "I was sad I had no shoes, til I met a man who had no feet".  Well, I still have no shoes, so I'm not happy.

My heat pump is non-functional.  Brief history is that the heating function barely worked in early Feb and I had to pay $120 for a diagnostic visit, then $745 for a replacement of the outdoors unit "thermal exchange valve" and a coolant recharge.  It worked, but not like it used to.  And there was often a weird high-pressure whistling sound both inside and outside after that.

Then when the weather warmed into the low 80s in mid-April, I turned on the cooling function.  It struggled.  How could it struggle when it's only 80 outside?   So I had to pay $120 for another diagnostic visit.  Naturally, it was only 65 outside that day and the system worked perfectly...

Monday the system simply stopped completely.  No heating, no cooling, not even the fan operated.  Even the thermostat display was dark.  I checked the main circuit breaker panel, the inside unit ciruit breaker, the outside circuit breaker, nothing. 

Wed, another repairman came out.  THIS guy knew what he was doing!  First, he ACTUALLY listened to my description of the recent history of diagnoses and repair, and he listened to my observations of noises and heating/cooling failures.

The 1st thing he did was get into the inside unit where there was yer ANOTHER circuit breaker, and replaced it.  It promptly blew out when he turned the system back on.  So he shut everything off again and checked the coolant because "that high pressure whistle you described is bad news".  Sure enough, he found the coolant recharge done in Feb was 4x too high.  There was some by-passing valve that protects against that but it meant the system wasn't doing much.  He said the previous week's diagnostician didn't measure for long enough to discover that.  And terms like "those clowns" were used...

He suspects the INTERNAL "thermal exchange valve" was damaged by the coolant overpressure and said he needed to speak to the repairs manager because they had screwed up my system and owed me some free work (that he couldn't authorize on his own).  The nice news was that he said I had observed the problems accurately, had been right that the noise was due to high pressure, and that if the previous guys had paid attention to what I was telling them, they might have fixed the problem right to begin with!

And, in fact, I had described the pattern of cooling failure to the last week's diagnostician in detail.  Not 10 minutes later he told me that I should observe the pattern of failure.  Exactly what I had just previously done.  I think that, like doctors, repairmen shut off their hearing when clients speak.  Seriously, how often have you explained symptoms in detail to a doctor only to have him/her ask you about symptoms you just mentioned?  Often, right?

I spoke to the repairs manage this afternoon.  My system is a year out of warranty, but he has gotten authorization to replace the inside thermal exchange valve at no charge and the labor charge will be at 50%.  Plus any other problems found during full repair will be cost-adjusted. 

I mentioned that seemed generally fair, since it was likely the Feb over pressuring caused some of the problems, but I didn't push it further.  I'm not a skilled negotiator (I'm always afraid people will just say "NO" and THEN get mad and unhelpful). 

They expect the part to arrive Monday and will be out to replace it ASAP.  I've been very fortunate that the temperatures have been very stable between highs of 65 and lows of 50.  I can deal with that.  I'm a very warm-bodied person, I have a heated waterbed, and I'm a lot more comfortable at 65 than 75.  And the house stays warmer than the outside.  All that electronic stuff that stays permanently 1/2 on creates heat, as does the refrigerator, water heater, cooking, etc.  And the house got a detailed attic-to-basement spray insulation and blown-in insulation job 18 months ago. 

When it is 50 outside, the house stays at 65.  But that also means that when the outside temperature is 80, the inside will reach 90 even with windows open and I can't sleep in THAT!  And it will get into the 80s Tuesday!  So the repair will be a close call...

It could be much worse.  Heat pumps usually die on the coldest or hottest days.  My previous 2 heat pumps died in mid August and the in-house temperature reached 100!

I have more complaints, but this post is long enough (and my appreciation to all who have read to this point)!  So the rest tomorrow...

US Presidential Campaign

Well, with the Indiana Primary results in, it looks like it will be Donald Trump as the Republican nominee and Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee.  And I don't see anyone mounting a credible 3rd party campaign.

That's too bad.  I respect Clinton; breadth of experience, thoughtfulness, and a progressive approach suit me.  I would have been OK with Sanders; I like him personally, I completely agree that money has too much influence in politics and sometimes some radical approaches are needed, but I just don't see him as "Manager of The Executive Branch".  Hey, maybe he would have been a genious at it, but we will never know.

But Donald Trump deeply worries me.  I don't mean for this to be a screed, but the man has more holes in his psyche than swiss cheese.  He lies outrageously, he unashamedly repeats proven falsehoods, he makes promises that he could never keep, he detests almost everyone, he wants to start fights with both opposing and friendly nations, and he seems to have little concept of how government works (3 equal branches of government, constitutional restrictions, law in general, etc).  He approves of torture as "effective", he wants MORE nations to have nuclear weapons, and he would expect the military to follow "illegal" orders.

Trump would make an excellent dictator in a small nation.  He has openly admired Vladamir Putin and Benito Mussolini.  Oddly, in a very dysfunctional small nation, he might even do some good.  I don't think he is "evil", he's just sort of nuts.  He wouldn't be vicious like many dictators and would probably forcibly implement some economic improvements.  But that won't work in any developed democracy.

If Trump were elected, the  Congress and Supreme Court would probably just block him out of governance for his single term, but even then he could probably cause enough confusion and chaos to damage the economy, destroy our international influence, and divide the nation domestically for a decade.  Whatever he could effect, he would make worse.

This is not to say that Clinton would be the best President we have ever had.  She would work unbelievably hard, bring in a lot of international good will, appoint qualified but not historic Supreme Court Justices, and improve many continuing domestic problems.  But she isn't going to excite and stimulate the nation, and she isn't going to solve The Big Problems (but she sure won't make any of them worse). 

This Presidential campaign will be best for political commentators and comedians.  I saw one statement that the Republicans had 3 major candidates; the grandson of an immigrant (Trump), the son of immigrants (Rubio), and an actual immigrant (Cruz) all competing to claim to hate immigrants the most!  Ah, c'mon, ya GOTTA laugh about THAT!

Another good one was that Sanders had a good motto ("Feel The Bern") but Clinton's was not as good ("Trudge Uphill"). 

I vote for Clinton without any hesitation.  Experienced/hard-working/good intentions beat a lying/bullying/megalomaniac nutso EVERY time.

But this election may be the best argument against the 2 term limitation.  I would gladly take a 3rd Obama term.  Heck, I'd take a 3rd Bill Clinton term.  But maybe that is just fear of uncertainty.  I'll bet Hillary Clinton is going to be a good President (and I can hope, better).

The most hopeful possibility is that a Clinton victory over Trump is so overwhelming that the Democrats regain control over the Congress.  I think that would be good for the nation in general terms.  But also, that divided government is not working these days (with the "just say no to anything" Republicans) and at least it might be good to get SOMETHING done.

I know that a lot of you out there are Republicans.  I used to be one too.  I don't mean anything negative to Republicans in general.  We need 2 functioning parties, competition of ideas is good, and the times in our history when one party has controlled government for too long have not been good.

This election suggests a blowout.  I've experienced 2 of those.  The Goldwater landslide defeat in 1964 and the McGovern landslide defeat in 1972.  In fact my (50 page OMG it killed me writing it) senior political science paper compared the 2 campaigns.  From opposite sides of the political spectrum, the nomination campaigns were surprisingly similar...

So, prediction:  Clinton will get more Electoral College votes than Obama did, the Republican Party will finally (after 36 years) move toward the center, and the Democrats will stay where they are...

Bathtub Tile Repair

I mentioned recently that my bathroom tub tiles were loose and needed repair.  And since I am a reasonably talented D-I-Yr, I was asked why I couldn't do it myself. 

Well, I've never done any tile work, and this sure isn't the place to start...

Here is the humiliating proof...

I am quite sure that the tile backing is utterly rotted.  It may need studs replaced.  And I know for sure I don't want to mess with grout...

This is one thing I don't feel remotely competent to fix.

Successes and Failures, Part 2

Today some failures WITH Successes...

When I moved here 30 years ago, there were some things lacking.  One of which were towel racks and toilet paper holders in the bathrooms.  So I bought some decent wood ones and installed them myself.  Some have come loose over the years.  I put up with a lot of minor stuff that is not perfect (there are only so many hours in a day for maintenance) but the main bathroom TP holder finally got so loose it demanded attention.

Image my shock when I discovered that (30 years ago) I had simply put screws into drywall!  OK, I know I wasn't "Harry Homemaker" back then.  Dad was a very talented D-I-Yer, but never involved us boys in his projects (well, quite frankly, he couldn't teach worth a damn and had no patience for helpers who didn't already know what to do).  But I didn't remember I was THAT stupid to try to hold things to drywall with regular wood screws!  The wonder is that they held for so long.

So I put in drywall anchors (ribbed plastic cones you pound into a hole and then the screw expands them tightly).  To be extra good about it, I squeezed some glue into the holes first.  The new attachments should outlast me.

The next complete failure is going to take a professional to fix.  There is a reason professionals hate amateurs.  Amateurs do really stupid things that "make sense at the time".  Well, I had some loose bathtub tiles.  And I had this can of spray insulation that hardened to "waterproof".  Seemed like a good thing to use.

The stuff does penetrate deeply while liquid.  What I didn't realize was that the spray foam expands before hardening.  Yeah, I blew out a dozen tiles all around the faucet.  In fact, no tile repairman will touch the job.  And the bathroom restoration people consider it too small a job.  I'm between a rock and a hard place...

I might actually have to damage the tile wall worse to get anyone to fix it.  I've done some really stupid things before (raise your hands if you haven't), but that qualifies as one of the dumbest! * Right now, I have a plastic trash bag taped over the loosened tiles so that shower water doesn't get into the walls.
 -----------------
* The really dumbest was when I had a car towed to a dealership when I was 21 and being broke, I decided to walk home.  I didn't realize I lived 10 miles away.  And then I had to walk BACK to the dealership 2 days later to be shown an engine crankcase full of tar.  "Oh, you need to add oil".  Gee thanks Dad for not teaching me that stuff.  ("Do you know how to fix this? [to me at 15].  "Then don't bother me")...

The engine was completely destroyed.  I spent a year struggling with buses before I could buy a crappy used car. 

Successes and Failures

Failures first, to get them out of the way! 

My car battery gives me trouble.  The dealership swears it is perfectly OK; that I just dont't drive enough these days.  But I've had times in other cars (and other batteries of course) when I didn't drive much and they stayed charged.  In fact, one time I was away from home for 6 weeks and when I returned, my car started right up.  (I had a roommate who took care of the cat while I was gone)

So when I don't drive for 5 days and the battery is dead, I get pretty PO!  I bought a "battery minder" (a super slow trickle charger that activates only when the charge drops), but hadn't hooked it up (uncertainties about safety of use in an enclosed space). 

But I noticed that the battery was 4 years old AND had a bad rating from Consumer Reports.  So, I decided to replace it even if the dealership wouldn't.  Amazingly, the 2nd rated battery (by a squeek) was from Walmart, of all places.  So I bought one.  Today I set about replacing it. 

Now, replacing a battery is probably one of the easiest things to do in a car.  It's right THERE in easy reach.  You just loosen the terminal clamps, pull them off, lift old the old battery, set in the new, and replace the terminals tightly.

I have no luck sometimes.  There was a hold-down bracket I had to remove.  Removing that was easy.  Retreiving the hooked rod that it was attached to it and dropped down when loosened was annoying.  But I got it.  The other end of the hold-down bracket was just a large metal screw (meaning a screw designed go into metal rather than wood), and I carefully set it aside. 

So, of course, as soon as I removed the battery hold-down bracket, my sleeve brushed the screw and it fell into the bowels of the engine compartment.  15 minutes of searching around with a magnet on a flexible metal rod found nothing.   GRRR!

I went ahead and removed the terminals and pulled the old battery out.  Set in the new one.  That was harder than I thought.  The positive and negative cable insisted on getting under the new battery because they manufacturer doesn't leave 1/4" of extra length AND they have the cables joined with user-unfriendly clamps in several places.  It would have been easy if I had 3 hands...

OK, I got the battery in and the cables unencumbered.  But the cables won't reach the correct + and - terminals.  They are on OPPOSITE sides from the original battery!!!  And yes, it is the correct battery; I double and triple checked! 

Unless I cut off all the cable attachments (and there is some metal involved) I can't use the new battery.  So I undid all my work and put the old battery back in.  At least I can jump the old one when required (not usually needed in warm weather).

However, I DID attach the "battery minder" to the terminals before I reattached them.  That thing is a little weird.  There are cables that you stick out through the front grill so that you don't have to open the hood to attach it.

Here is the surprise:  Before I closed the hood, having spent over an hour to no useful gain, I popped open the tops of the old battery (the one back in the car) where you can see the electrolyt level inside the battery cells.  They were WAY low!

That might be the whole problem!  Sure, I should have checked that first.  But the dealership said the battery was fine just 2 months ago and I assumed they checked that.  But I had just gone through checking my boat batteries and refilling them, and JUST thought I should look in the car battery.

I won't know for a couple days.  I have the battery minder attached and will see what is says about the charge then.

Now, I had intended to write about other things also, but this has gotten long, so I think I will leave the other matters til tomorrow.

In fact, if you read THIS far, I am impressed!  Thank you.  I can get boring sometimes...

Gardenweb

Everything I like goes away.  TV shows, beverages, internet discussion forums, clothes, appliances, etc...

Today I discovered my favorite garden discussion site is essentially "gone".  Oh, I never visited every month, mostly just at the start of each year to talk about "new" heirloom tomatoes I was trying, building raised beds, starting seeds under lights.  I was an "irregular" (very active at times, but absent later in the year).

And it just isn't there anymore.  Well, it exists in name but it was bought by some sales site called "Houzz" (a house improvement sales site).  Gardenweb is there in name, as I said, but they trashed it, deleted all the archives, killed all the usernames, and simplified the format to unusability. 

I had a NAME there "yardenman".  I had a history.  There were people I KNEW!  (And argued with or agreed with).  THAT part is just gone.  And I feel stupid that I'm sitting here crying about it and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

I put the site name as the post title in case it grabs someone using it in a search...

I tried to keep up with the change and re-register.  Can't have a handle; gotta be a plain boring real name.  Goodbye "yardenman".  You could know stuff about people with handles like TomatoLover! You have to choose housing interests and give TMI.  I even did that.  And only then did I find that there wasn't much there.  No one I recognized.  No sense of community...  I deleted my new account.

Doing some searches, I found the place had changed August last year.  Some people had gone to another site that apparently (from comments I read) is run by a (and please forgive me here) religious fundamentalist.  If he doesn't like your tone or disagrees with you, the next time you sign in you are shunted to a Disney site.  Seriously, you get automatically redirected to "Disney" forever after.

I wish I had the skills (and time) to set up my own discussion site...

BTW, about the other things I miss?  I might as well explain. 

TV - M*A*S*H ended, Babylon 5 ended, MSNBC essentially became a "Breaking News" channel 24/7, The Discovery Channel became a weird medical stuff site, National Geographic became a fake nature reality show site, The Science Channel became a fake reality show site, The History Channel does famous people drama, etc, etc, etc...  I watch baseball and a LOT of science/nature/history DVDs now.

Clothes and Kitchen - Bell-bottom pants?  Forget about it.  I wear a lot of camo now.  Bet those disappear soon.  Faded Glory shirts with ample armpits?  Gone.  I liked soft velcro "Shark Leash" watch straps.  Had to go to eBay to get a new one.  Blue Libbey glasses?  Forget it.  And I dropped a soapy coffee mug this week and broke it and 2 of my remaining 4 short blue Libbey glasses!  My old Rival crock pot of 40 years finally died a few months ago.  The new ones are junk and burn everything.  Found an old one on eBay...  Tried to find canned grapefruit lately?  Don't bother.

Beverages - Remember Tom Collins Mix?  I used to drink the stuff straight.  Its gone.  I used to make Singapore Slings using Pomegranate Brandy; discontinued.  You've seen those no-cal water flavorers?  I liked the pineapple one.  Gone.  Caffeine-Free Coke?  Gone.

It's not like I'm looking for VHS tapes and saspirilla.  I just want some things *I* like to stay available.  Speaking of camo pants, they are all cargo pants these days.  I have a 25" inseam.  When the tailor shortens the 30" ones (shortest I can get) I have pockets around my ankles,  LOL! 

I'm trying to stay in good humor.  But damn I miss that gardening site...