Tuesday, June 2, 2009 -
I spent the morning reading all of the information about the tankless water heater and decided that the cost and problems with installing it presented more problems than I wanted to deal with. It seems that the Bosch tankless water heaters need batteries to ignite the gas and the increased amount of heat given off by the flames used to instantly heat the water, requires 50 cubic square feet of open space, a 5” special vent (my existing is only 4”), and can’t be installed in the same space I have the inverter.
So much for that idea, but I will do more research, if I ever get online, before giving up on the idea. I know that Camping World is selling one that is portable and can be mounted outside, for $238.00, but it is only good to 5 degrees, as the water in the lines will freeze at lower temperatures. If I leave in the winter and drain or remove it, it would be okay, so that may be an option. I will price replacement LP water heaters in town and see if I can get by cheaper.
I have my doctor’s appointment at 3 PM, so need to watch my time and leave here no later than 12:40 to make the 1:15 departure of the follow me truck. I’ll be glad when they finish the road so we don’t have to put up with all of this. At least I have it better than those in town as they have to put up with all of the dust and noise of the work, plus the torn up driveways.
Zack and I left and managed to meet the time schedules, arriving at my doctor’s office at 2:56. I checked in and the nurse took me to an exam room to do the update of information, weight, temperature, and of course, blood pressure. Again, it was too high (158/89). The doctor came in shortly after that and said that we needed to address my blood pressure issue before her blood pressure went up. We talked about options and what medications I had tried in the past, coming to the agreement that I would try a water pill to help thin my blood and reduce my pressure.
We moved on to the main reason I made the appointment, which was for the tiresome problem of involuntary air swallowing, due to my acid reflux problem. I was having an episode at the moment, so she could sympathize with me and we discussed surgery to correct the problem, but she wants me to try another antacid before going in that direction. She did say that she would order a colonoscopy and have them do an oral examine at the same time. In other words, do both ends at the same time. Her exact words, not mine.
We had a discussion about my allergy medication being a cause for high blood pressure, and heaven knows I’ve been using it a lot lately, so she scheduled me for an appointment for an allergist to see if a newer medication might be available. We had tried several different types a couple of years ago, but they didn’t help and she put me back on my original medication, which I have been on for over 40 years.
Once all was finished and she gave me a new script for my medications, she had me make any appoint for a blood draw and biopsy of a small spot on my arm that doesn’t heal. I will have those done on Wednesday of next week and will have to fast before the blood draw.
I drove over to the battery shop where I had originally purchased my batteries and talked to the second in charge. They have more than 8 of the L-16 batteries and need my old ones in exchange. I told him I’d have to get my truck running so I could haul them down and get the new ones. I asked about the price and told him that I had gotten a discount on the previous ones because I bought eight of them. He called the owner, explained the situation, and was told he would give me a discount, selling me the batteries for $280.00 each, instead of the $285.00 they sell for. I sarcastically told the guy that was real generous of him, and he agreed, but then business is tough all over and the boss needs to make a living, like everyone else.
Having done a lot of research the last time I purchased the batteries, I knew that this was still the best price and I will simply have to swallow hard and pay the $2,240.00. Living off the grid has its advantages, but this isn’t one of them. At least there isn’t any sales tax, so I guess I should be thankful for that.
I spoke to India, regarding my lack of internet, and when a heavily accented female answered, I asked to speak to someone without an accent. She tried to tell me she didn’t have an accent, and would s-p-e-a-k- v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, and when I told her no, I wanted someone with English as their FIRST language, she started to argue with me. I asked for her supervisor and when Gary came on, he told me - in broken English - their was no one there that spoke English as a first language and that if I wanted help, I would have to speak to him. I questioned his statement and made him repeat every third word, as I couldn’t f--king understand him. I will be contacting Hughes and lodging a formal complaint.
I managed to “What?” “What did you say,” through his explanation of what I should try to resolve my issue, AFTER I repeatedly told him that I wasn’t in front of the computer, but 40 miles away! He then told me that because my warranty was up in 2005, I would have to pay $125.00 to have a technician make a house call to check the problem. I asked him if he meant that Hughes expected me to pay my monthly fee of $59.95 for NOT receiving any service. He told me no, that I had to pay to get a technician to fix the reason why I wasn’t getting any service. Did I mention my high blood pressure? This wasn’t helping.
I made him tell me all of the procedures that he would have me go through IF I WAS IN FRONT OF MY COMPUTER. I wrote them down and told him I would try those things and then call back in a day or two. He wanted to know why I couldn’t call back today, and try as I might, to explain my situation to someone living in the heaviest populated city in the world, I just couldn’t get him to understand, and I finally just hung up.
Back home, I tried all of the things he told me about and several that he didn’t. I finally got a message saying, “Modem can’t range due to distance to satellite has changed.” I guess my cabin moved while I was gone, or their satellite did. In either instance, I should think that Hughes should pay someone to come out and verify the problem was their equipment, not me or my computer. I will be looking into one of the other satellite providers services and tell Hughes to go stuff themselves.
Three drinks and some dinner later, I simply put all of it out of my mind and focused on other things, which right now is multiple. I watched television while enjoying a fire as the night is much colder than previous nights and in fact it is supposed to go to freezing at my altitude tonight.