Damn you Hot Tub!

So. The leak is fixed. This is good.

The electrical system is going wonky still, though. The heater kept cutting off after I turned it on yesterday, and after messing around with it I started to smell smoke. Looks like the junction box that connects the heater to the timer has gone and will need to be replaced. No big deal, really. Just annoying. It’s covered in lint from the dryer (in a very poor example of proper planning the dryer vent is right next to the door to the mechanics of the hot tub), so I’m thinking some of it got inside. That can be a Very Bad Thing. Just to be safe I’m going to switch out the whole unit as opposed to trying to clean it.

I may or may not do this today.

See, after working all day outside yesterday I had a bit of an issue. This isn’t the first time it has happened, either. Last weekend after doing yard work for several hours I got pretty damned close to heat stroke. I got in the shower with pretty much nothing on but Cold and didn’t actually FEEL the cold for about 5 minutes. Yeah. I also burned myself pretty bad. No sunblock. Bad me. No biscuit.

Yesterday, I figured it wouldn’t be so bad because I was working on the porch. You know, shade? No direct sunlight for extended periods. Apparently not. I didn’t get heat stroke. I got dehydrated. Severely. I spent all told about 6 hours working outside, grabbed a bite to eat, and came in to take a shower. When I got out of the shower I was suddenly, and quite violently, ill. I had severe stomach cramps. I started to dry heave. I was having a hard time breathing or responding to K. She grabbed my wrist to check my pulse and it was tingly when she did so.

Yeah, looked like a heart attack.

One call to 911 and six paramedics in my bedroom later and we find out I was just dehydrated. The tingling was because I was hyperventilating. Drink some water, they told me. Warm water. Maybe some Gatorade. Go to the hospital if you don’t feel any better.

An hour later I was fine. Sitting in front of my computer eating Chips and Queso and watching The Usual Suspects.

I was scolded for not wearing a hat or sunscreen by the EMT’s, even though I wasn’t in the sun. I was reminded the my meds make me photosensitive.

They laughingingly said I should get a sombrero.

Bastards.

So yeah. Looks like from now on if I go outside it’s hat and sunscreen for me. Joy of joys.

You know, I’m only 32 here. Isn’t this kind of shit supposed to wait until you actually get OLD?

Feh.

There are many depressing things in the news. I don’t really want to talk about them right now. Besides, maladr1n wrote something this morning that echoed a lot of my feelings, so I’ll just link to him and say “Yeah, what he said.”

Up to and including the shit about getting a gun. How fucking sad is that?

I’m going to go try to enjoy a nice day around my house. I hope those of you who are able to do the same as well. Never know how many of them you’ve got.

Some of you may recall my various adventures in hot tub repair. Long story short, I’ve been trying to get this thing running properly for over a year now. The primary problem with it has been a leak, but I’ve also had to do a considerable amount of rewiring. Let’s face it – The damned thing is old, and I’m not sure it was wired properly to begin with. There was a lot of rust on the connections, causing several of them to short out. This happened a few months ago. K. and I were sitting on the back porch when we heard a loud pop. From that point on, the hot tub would turn on no more.

I had pretty much given up on it.

But, you know, having something that large hauled away is expensive as hell and right now I don’t have that kind of money.

So this morning I attacked the hot tub again.

First of all, I completely rewired the four prong outlet that connects to the control panel. Sure enough, rust had caused a burn to appear on one of the cables. I cut off all the connections, restripped the wires to make new ones, and put two new receptacles in. Flipped back on the breaker – All working properly.

Step one complete.

The other step I’m less sure of. Well, kind of. I’ve known where the main leak has been for a long time, and I’ve done everything I could to try and patch it. I’ve used this putty that K. affectionately calls “gorilla snot,” and I used this watertight cast like material as well. As far as I could tell, the results were mediocre and temporary at best. So today I said to hell with it and completely cut the filter out of the pipeline. Upon removing the threaded connectors I found the problem – The pipe going into the filter had cracked on the threads. As a result, no matter how much sealant I put in there it couldn’t hold the leak because there was a gap between it and the sealing compound. So I got new connectors, a few couplers, and some new pipe. Threw it all together and put it back in.

So far, so good. The initial tests seem to hold.

I’m currently in the process of bailing out the hot tub (which sucks, in case you are wondering). I will soon fill it again and find out if that was the ONLY leak. If not, I’m going to have to resort to pulling side panels off this thing to try and get it patched up.

So wish me luck.

Back to it – I want to get this finished so I can take a damned shower.

Veterinarian

I’m looking for a reliable and reasonably priced veterinarian in Pinellas County. Anyone out there have a suggestion?

Cross posted.

Internet Cowboy Justice

This truly is one of the most beautiful examples of poetic justice I’ve ever seen.

Link ganked from muskrat_john. Pass it on.

Weight Tracking Summary

Your current weight | 279.8 lbs
Weight change since your last recorded weight | +1.6 lbs
Total weight change to date | -139.4 lbs

Blah

Open letter to the media

Hey asshats – How about you stop trying to MAKE news and just report it.

I just sat here and watched Miles O’Brien from CNN piss the Governor of Mississippi off. Big time. He was, essentially, trying to get the Gov. to say that the Feds dropped the ball on this and should have been more prepared. Not only that, but he said the response was faster after the Tsunami.

Stop it. Just. Fucking. Stop. Stop trying to BLAME people for the devastating effects of a NATURAL disaster. Stop trying to make everyone panic. You know why there are suddenly gas shortages? Because you fuckholes got out there and said there would be and you made people panic.

This shit is bad enough as it is. Don’t contribute to the problem.

Hell, Foamy said it best.

Damn.

Explain it to me

This is a serious request – Despite the fact that it may sound like a trap. I really wanna know.

What’s the problem with Venezuela? Why do our leaders have such a problem with it? Why are we picking fights with them while things are so chaotic in the middle east?

I can’t say I’ve ever heard reports of Venezuela going to war with its neighbors or committing acts of genocide. I mean, I was always under the impression that it was a pretty happening place.

I am admitting my ignorance in this, and asking to be enlightened.

He really has gone off the deep end

Seriously. Tom Cruise is getting really, really scary.

Brooke Shields was Sigmund Freud’s lover????

Edit According to at least one site this is a hoax. I was under the impression that the Daily Record was a legit news source, but I’m starting to hear that it’s just a gossip rag itself?

Oh well. He’s still fucking crazy.