Heart and Lungs

This week, we've replaced the heart and lungs of our house - furnace, air conditioner, and water heater. None of these were broken, per se. The hot water tank was sixteen years old, though, and due for a replacement due to age alone. The furnace was about 80% efficient and had dangerous Plexvent piping. The a/c was about 8 SEER and wasn't properly fused (the contacts had welded themselves "on" a couple years ago, which was a fun problem to troubleshoot).

Much like our kitchen, things worked but required more and more maintenance. I had replaced valves on the hot water tank. A blower on the furnace. Knife switch on the a/c. At a minimum I was looking at a couple thousand to reconfigure the furnace vent with a pull-fan in b-pipe, add a new drop in filter box, replace our forced-vent water heater, rewire and re-insulate the air conditioner lines. So we decided to just replace it all with a ten-year warranty.

With the variable-speed, more efficient furnace our house will be more comfortable and will cost less to heat. We also relocated the thermostat to a more representative location (away from the heat caused by our laundry room, and away from an area where we might install a fireplace someday). I also figured we'd save a couple hundred dollars per year just with the switch from an 8 SEER air conditioner to a 16 SEER.

In essence, we will recoup our costs over the next decade (except for the water heater) and not have to worry as much about breakdowns and repairs. Seemed like the right decision, but it puts off our flooring replacement another year...and I really want to replace our flooring throughout the house.

Space Station

Today I did something I had only done once before. Today, I watched the Space Station.

Just about every day, weather permitting, it is visible where you are. A silent, white light spanning the sky in a couple minutes. Like an aircraft that doesn't blink, it is bright. As bright as the brightest star. Easily spotted despite the light pollution from nearby cities.

NASA makes this information easy to find, via Skywatch.

I know it might strike some as odd that a bona fide rocket scientist wouldn't necessarily take his work home with him. It's not a hobby for me, although it is for many. Oh, I enjoy science fiction. I like high tech propulsion systems - be they rocket or jet engines. I just don't have a NASA fetish.

Still, the cold light made me a bit sad. My melancholy lingers from the light that was behind me as I watched the ISS course across the night sky. The moon. I returned to NASA to put some poor SOB back on the moon. Not to watch the product of two decades ago pass me by.

Haunted by Big Chuck

Having taken my kids to their first haunted house experience reminds me of my own, thirty-five years ago or so.

It was back behind the Hills Department store in Champion. I don't remember the set up, probably a couple trailers strung together. What I do remember is that parts of it were scary. Well, one part, with zombies clawing at me from behind a cage - having to pass close enough for them to grab me due to the narrow hall. It was one of those stop moments, where you can't go on. Mr. Smith, who had taken Kevin and I, prodded me forward and I somehow survived the encounter.

The other thing I remember was Big Chuck and Hoolihan autographing pictures from their show, under a black light (which made the photos glow...really cool). Hoolihan signed mine.

I had a lot of fun being scared as a kid. More so than I think my daughter has been able to enjoy. I remember seeing Jaws at her age and, subsequently, being afraid of swimming pools and bathtubs (I had a boy's natural antipathy towards bathing, but that's a different story). One way in which I think we have erred, as parents, is overly sheltering our children from being frightened. Roller coasters, haunted houses, scary movies - they're fun!

Let 'em have fun.

Haunted House

Last night I took my daughter to her first haunted house experience - Bloodview. Staffed by the Legion of Terror, the LoT actors did a wonderful job not only populating the haunted houses and walkways with monsters, but leaving no place "safe" for those in attendance. The parking lot, the food court, there was no place you couldn't run into a ghoulish figure bent on scaring you.

Even the location is a bit off the beaten path. Dark. Somewhat foreboding.

My daughter got her money's worth before we even bought our tickets. Like a typical pre-teen, she isn't always aware of her surroundings and a man with a hook slammed the hurricane fence next to her and screamed in her face. There was a lot of screaming in your face, which makes me wonder if the actors don't end up with sore throats.

Anyway, it was a wonderfully frightening experience for her. I had a blast, too, watching her and enjoying the work that was put into the production.

I even went back later, with my wife and son. Judging that it would be too intense for my son, I sent my wife through with my daughter. Evidently, it was different enough on the second pass to scare my daughter again. I hung out in the food court with my son, who enjoyed the roaming actors and the fire-breathing show.

Admission is a bit pricey at $15 pp, but the proceeds go to charity. The food and drink, however, was very affordable (most things $1).

Catching Up

I haven't written much lately. I guess I just fell out of the habit. So let me catch up with some of my life's events.

• Became Brunswick Nation Chief of the Medina Guides & Princesses
• Spent an overnight at The Wilds, a game preserve in southern Ohio
• Needed some work done on our furnace, a/c, & water tank - decided to replace it all
• Work has gotten more weird for me, which was unexpected
• Forty-fifth birthday: camera and Arduino (I'm such a geek)