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Showing posts from December 22, 2002

Carbon Monoxide!?

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Weird. The smoke alarm went off, not incredibly odd when I am using the fireplace, but it wasn't the smoke detector. It was the CO alarm. I was totally surprised. It had never gone off as long as I have had one, over many many years. Yep, after resetting it a few times. It was getting a reading over 200 ppm CO. When I took it downstairs I got a reading near 300 ppm. I started getting light headed at this point. After thinking maybe the furnace heat exchanger failed and puzzling around a bit I figured out what happened. As part of the huge winter storm that recently covered almost half of the US, we lost our electricity. So, being well prepared, I rolled out the generator and started doing what I normally do. The generator (although it was completely outside) was creating CO to get in the house. Using the fireplace draft (and possibly other leaks) the whole house created a vacuum around the seal of the basement garage door. After the CO got into the house the forced air heat...
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The New York Times on the Web Christmas eve was eventful again this year. We left to go to Rochester on Christmas eve and I again this year managed to damage Bonnie's car. Last year we hit some black ice on an overpass up in downtown Rochester. This year I went down a seasonal road that I thought was clear like all the regular roads. It was not. We hit the hardest, thickest, slipperiest ice I have ever seen on a road. I had to put the car in the ditch to avoid getting us killed. The car is still there. We moved it out of the first ditch and then after getting some chains made it down most of the hill. This is the low stress version of the story The chains slipped off at that point and it is back in the ditch. Of course, I can't even get a wrecker up on the road since it is seasonal road. I will not drive on Christmas eve again, I doubt.
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Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters I asked my friend in Japan whjat christmas is like there. His Answer: Generally very commercialized. But we do it at home like we always did in the States. Unfortunately, Dec. 25 is a working day here, so we will be celebrating this weekend. Having some friends over Saturday for our yearly drink-a-thon, then Sunday Motoko's family comes over for a turkey dinner, and we do present exchange, etc. There's a strip of road with nice shops in Harajuku which is lined on either side with trees, and for a few weeks this time of year they light up the entire street. HUGELY popular spot for young couples. I guess it's a crime (or it simply means I'm a pervert) for a man to be walking around the women's fashion floor of a department store over here. I always but Motoko gifts, often clothing. You should see the looks I get and the comments I hear... dayum... I think most fathers here think their single contribution to ...
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