03.19.06
She’s gonna blow!
SO Saturday I was rudely interrupted from my morning coffee by the downstairs tenant, a whiny guy who can’t handle little things like water leaking from his ceiling. I wandered down to his hovel, simply to look at the gentle sheeting action of a leak somewhere in the vicinity of the bathroom.
I dodged a bullet by having him come up to look at the bathroom and kitchen to see that nothing of ours was leaking, and told him, sorry, it must be somebody else. Only to quick, break into the back bedroom to determine it was the hot water heater burbling away like a coffee pot with rabies, and spitting out scalding water like it was a baby spitting up. After getting the roomie to turn off the power and open up all the hot water taps to drain it, I did a little internet research to determine that it most likely it is the thermostat, and that by going inn the fritz, it was causing the water to continually heat up without ever shutting off.
I also discovered that left unchecked, the unit could explode, thus taking half the building with us.
So, off we went, looking for a hardware store that was open, and carried a replacement. Only to find that said item is a plumbing supply, and all those stores are closed on the weekend. We are now in a state of panic, switching on the power to heat up water, while everyone does laundry and takes showers in quick succession…
Hey, at least we’re all clean.
On an unrelated note: In the photo below I have documented a NY phenomenon that I have failed to understand, or find anyone with an explanation. Embedded in the streets on random corners are these signs, made of some durable substance that resists being rubbed or scraped off. The photo below is an example of one in the best condition I’ve ever seen. I have no idea what this message means, nor any clue about who put it there or why, or even how. Any insight from you, faithful reader, would be greatly appreciated.
