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Camping in my House

As a direct result of installing a shut-off valve for my gas dryer, I had turned the gas off to my water heater temporarily (they are on the same line).  Because of this, the pilot light on my water heater went out and I didn’t have any hot water.  Without hot water, I kind of felt like I was back in my cub scout days – camping in a little cabin taking cold showers…

I am not a huge fan of messing around with gas and fire – it is a recipe for disaster.  Unfortunately, that is what was required to get the pilot light lite again.  Emily stopped by with her Dare-to-Repair book for women.  It completely outlined the steps to relight the pilot light.  Each water heater is a little different, so I won’t give instructions here – I would encourage you to buy a repair book or look at the manual for your water heater.

Electric Dryer…Right?

One of the big negotiating points during the purchase process was whether or not the house would come with the  high efficiency washer/dryer set.  The current owners really did not want to part ways with theirs, so I set out to buy a set over the New Years holiday.  HHGreg was running a special on Frigidaire – they came with the pedestals for free, which were worth $400 bucks for the pair.  I ended up getting everything for right around a thousand dollars.

As I was finalizing the order the salesman said, “Electric dryer, right?”.  I was midly flustered and was unaware that there was even an option.  Without really thinking I said yes…

My delivery date came and they showed up with the washer and dryer.  The delivery man went to the basement and asked if I was going to have an electrician come out and install an outlet for the dryer.  Now I was really confused.  Apparently, gas is the other option – and that is what my house was setup for!

I asked the delivery guy which was more efficient – he said electric without missing a beat.  Emily (my girlfriend) and my parents did some massive googling on it while I called the store.  As it turns out, GAS IS MORE EFFICIENT.  At times, it can be up to 50% better.  I don’t blame the delivery guy for misleading me – he simply didn’t want to drive back.

HHGreg returned the next day with a gas dryer, but apparently I didn’t have a shutoff-valve close enough to the hookup and they were not authorized to do the work.  One quick stop at homedepot – I picked up a gas line sealant and a shut-off valve.  The installation is simple enough:

  1. Shutoff the gas to the area of pipe you are working on
  2. Remove the cap
  3. Line the inside of the shut-off valve with the sealant
  4. Twist the valve into place – use a wrench to make sure it is tight
  5. Connect the dryer line to the shut-off valve
  6. Turn the gas back on – if you smell gas turn it off and make sure your connections are tight.

Lesson Learned:

  1. There is a difference between a electric and gas dryer.
  2. Installing a shut-off valve is not to hard.

When is This Year?

Last week Emily, my parents, and I watched the first exhibition game against the Packers.  To be honest I wasn’t totally pumped for the season to kick off, or at least not as much as last year.  That being said, I still made sure we worked out dinner plans far in advanced so I didn’t find myself missing one minute of the game…I can only imagine what I would be capable of if I put so much thought and care into all aspects of my life.  These are the Browns though, they deserve it (no matter what you try to tell yourself).

I picked up the pizza and made it home just in time for the intro video from channel 3.  The four of us were sitting in front of the TV watching to video when we all said “Oh My God!  Where is the remote?”  We frantically looked around the room searching for the remote…Emily was horribly confused because she didn’t see what my parents and me did.  I just kept saying, “You will see…”  Searching for the remote seemed to be one of those moments in life that seemed to go on for hours, but in all reality was just a few moments.  Eventually we found the remote stuffed between two of the cushions of the sofa.  I restarted the show on the TV and we all watched again.  This time though, we paid special attention to what was on the screen.  Emily now saw what we saw…we were all in awe of what was before us on the screen.

I am sure everyone reading this has seen an intro video or two before the game – they are a collage of player shots and a couple fans mixed together to a high pace, country style music – the kind of stuff that gets you pumped up before a game.  Last week was no different except for one thing…we were on the screen!  The video was centered on Emily and I holding up our “THIS YEAR” sign that we brought to every game last year.  We were only on the screen for a moment, but it made our day.

Sadly, that was the high point of the game for us (before it started).  The Browns looked like more of last year’s team than a newly formed team under Mangini.  The team is much like our economy right now – you can’t fix it overnight, there is no “one solution” and things will just take time to turn around.

That being said, when will THIS YEAR be?  I don’t know, none of us do.  All I can control while we wait is how I feel about the team and what actions I will take while waiting.  I can tell you this though – the THIS YEAR sign will be at every game until THIS YEAR is over and we can all celebrate for years to come.

Madden Prediction for this week:

This year I have decided to play the Browns game of the week on Madden before it happens and see what the outcome is.  This week, the Browns were winning 17-0 going into the fourth quarter, but some late interceptions and poor defense resulted in 21 points for the Lions.  The Lions went ahead with a couple minutes to play and managed to hold the lead.

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