Monday, April 5, 2010

Day 111

I really thought I was making progress today. I got the new locks successfully installed in the rental property. I got my car scheduled for a service appointment at the Land Rover dealer tomorrow. I took the remaining missing tax forms over to my accountant. Then, since it was actually over 80 degrees today, I went home and turned on the air conditioner. Nothing. I checked the fuse box. I checked the thermostat. Everything seemed normal, but the air conditioner was still dead. This seems to happen every time the seasons change. The first day it gets cold I have to call Marty, my HVAC guy, to come out and fix the furnace. The first hot day I call him again to come out and fix the air conditioner.

If my life seems to be a litany of broken machinery, it's only because I foolishly still think things should be built to last. I'm not comfortable with the whole concept of planned obsolescence. I'd much rather buy something that's well made and keep repairing it forever than to buy shoddy inexpensive stuff, fully expecting to just throw it away the first time it breaks. The only problem is that it's getting harder and harder to find good repair people. If you call someone out to repair your refrigerator, 9 times out of 10 you'll get a salesman disguised as a repairman. These are the people who'll make a cursory inspection, then tell you your appliance is obsolete and quote you an attractive price on something brand new instead. Again and again I've had people tell me that my broken stuff is worthless and obsolete, only to discover later that all it took was a three dollar part to make things good as new again. Marty will fix the air conditioner though. He's one of the good guys: a repairman who actually fixes things instead of trying to sell you something new instead.

I noticed the dogs were walking a bit slower today. It wasn't even that hot outside, but Dalmatians hate the heat. When Summer really arrives it's hard to even get Dot and Dash out of the house. I'd better move fixing the air conditioner all the way to the top of my to-do list. With Dot, Dash and Janet all hating the heat, there will be no peace in this house until the cold air starts flowing again.

Dalmatian of the Day

    Watch of the Day