Third day, worse than the first (a short post)

The above is not the kind of "Hot Dog" one usually eats on the July 4th weekend.  But, this year, it might be too hot outside to put anything on the grill today.

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With temperatures expected to reach over 100 degrees today, the last thing on our minds would be to go outside in this heat.  Instead, we stayed inside watching movies on TV.  Around 4 pm, the outside heat overwhelmed the AC and it became uncomfortable inside.

In short, this was a Jammie Day, and I don't have anything much worth saying.  Hopefully, this heat wave will break before the weekend is over.

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Sorry for the short post, but we're having electricity issues in my county today.

The second day of the heatwave - more brutal than the first.

I hate hot weather with a passion.  And when the thermometer reaches 104 degrees, not even my apartment's A/C couldn't keep up with the heat from outside.  At least, my car's A/C could keep up with the heat - even when doing a drive which averages 37+ mph.  But I digress.

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The day opened up slowly, and I didn't get moving until 1 pm.  RQS wouldn't be arriving until 7, so I had time to do some minimal cleanup in the apartment.  By the time I was ready to go out, it was 4 pm, and my task was to pick up lobsters.  ShopRite had them on sale, and we take advantage of these sales at least once every season.  So off to the nearby store for me, and they only had 1 lobster left.  That would not be enough for 2 people.  The man behind the counter suggested that I try the store in Mohegan Lake - which I did.  The lobster tank was full, and I came home with 5 lobsters and a newly emptied wallet.  (I went to the ATM on the way home to refresh my money supply.)  Once home, the lobsters went into the ice box, and I found the equipment needed to steam the critters to perfection.,

RQS arrived at 7:15, and she had forgotten her medicine at home.  Instead of doing without, I said we could make a drive to Queens much later in the evening.  So, we proceeded home and started to cook the lobsters.  In this heat, boiling or steaming lobsters would be a big mistake, as it adds way too much heat to my top floor apartment.  But the savings from eating in vs. eating out at a local restaurant made this splurge worthwhile.

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When the clock struck 10, we got moving and drove to Queens.  Normally, getting to RQS's place takes roughly 2 hours.  Tonight, with minimal traffic, it took just a little more than an hour.  Yet, it was a little scary, as I noticed that I was a little tired and not at the top of my driving game.  Couple this with an excessive number of people driving like they were in a NASCAR event, and it could have been a recipe for disaster. (There were unlicensed motorbikes weaving through traffic on the urban parkways, as well as souped up cars zig-zagging through narrow gaps between cars on the suburban roads.)  Even RQS was shocked about how crazy the roads were on the drive down and back.  After a 10 minute stop at RQS's place, we returned home without incident. And even though I was legally speeding on the full trip down and back, the car got 37 mpg.  

Arriving home before 1 am, we noticed that the A/C had finally cooled off the apartment.  We'll have to depend on foods that don't depend on stove top or oven cooking this weekend if we want to stay cool.  So, I'm hoping for this heatwave to break soon!    

The first of 5 days in Mother Nature's Sauna

 

As I write this, Independence Day is still a day or two away.  And yet, I have things to do to prepare for the long weekend that require that I leave the comfort of my apartment and brave the 100 degree heat outside.  Knowing that RQS is coming up makes things a little worse, as I don't want her to suffer heatstroke on her trip to see me, nor do I want the headaches of dealing with the heat.  But this "brave little girl" will do so, simply because it's the right thing to do.

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The day started off with me lying in bed when the A/C shut off.  No, there was no problem with the A/C.  Instead, the fan turned off because the desired temperature was reached.  At that point, there was no going back to sleep for me.  Yet, there was a great reluctance to do anything while the temperature outside was tolerable enough for light outside activities.  It would have been nice to put on one of my exercise dresses and take a walk today.  (Maybe I can do that tomorrow morning.)

After wasting much of the day time, I took a shower, did my makeup, got dressed, and took some garbage outside.  (I didn't want the cardboard box and packing materials from my new chair to get in the way any longer than needed.)  Then, I took a drive, not caring about the destination - I simply wanted to get out of the house. A half hour later, I found myself at Trader Joe's looking for some foodstuffs that would justify my drive.  

Once done at TJ's, it was back home for the night.  It was nice to get out again as Marian, and I wish I didn't have to change back to Mario as often as I've needed to lately.  At least, today's hot weather justified wearing one of my more comfortable summer dresses. 

A visit to the Danbury Railway Museum

 

The weather forecast for the day was for a bit of humidity and for 90° (or more) thermometer readings.  Ouch!  And yet, RQS and I figured that we'd venture out to the museum and see what they had to offer.

But first....

We woke up to an alarm  that didn't want to stop.  Both of us were shouting at our "Smart" (?) device to stop, and it took 5 minutes to do so. After this, neither of us were in the mood to go to church as we had originally planned. So we chilled until 11 am, and then prepared to go out.

Both of us decided to get dressed in blue dresses today, and drive over to the museum.  We left my apartment around 12:30, and reached the museum shortly before 2:00.  Neither of us were really prepared  for the heat outside.  We had to air out the car a little before getting inside the car.  Thankfully, the AC worked at full speed, and we had a comfortable ride.

There were many artifacts in the museum building, including a couple of miniature railroad exhibits.  Yet, if it were only the model railroad stuff, it would not have been worth the visit.  Instead, there were other artifacts from the golden age of railroading that were worth looking at.    

But the real value of this museum came from the short ride through the rail yard, followed by a tour of the museum's rolling stock.

Our tour guide told us about the history of each of their pieces of rolling stock, as well as the history of the yard in which the museum's rolling stock is stored.  We also got a chance to take a ride on the yard's turntable.  (You'll note that there is a woman in a blue dress in 2 of these pictures.  That's as much of RQS as I want to show my readers for privacy's sake.)  The last stop of the day was the rail car in the last photo.  This was a treat, as it was an early example of a rail car used on the 20th Century Limited, the New York Central railroad's flagship train which ran from NYC to Chicago and back.

A little bit before 4:00, we left for home.  On our way back, we stopped at a local Chinese restaurant for dinner.  Neither of us realized how drained we were from the heat outside, so when we got home, we passed out for a couple of hours before regaining consciousness.

Lunch with a friend and zoom after dinner

The day started with a gradual waking up.  By 11 am, I was up and running and getting ready to have lunch with MSJ.  It was nice to be able to see her again, as we have had way too many postponements of our lunches this summer.

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I made sure that I was properly shaved and made up before getting dressed.  It was still warm enough for me to wear a casual denim dress from Universal Standard that has been a staple of my summer wardrobe since I bought it.  Rushing out of the apartment, I barely made it to the pizzeria on time.  When we met, it was as if no time had passed.  So we went inside, ordered a couple of slices each, then went to the park to chat and eat.

MSJ talked about family affairs, and how recent dealings with the government put her and her family through the ringer.  Then, we discussed medical issues, specifically an incident with her and marine life, while I mentioned my recent pinched nerves and doctor's recommendations.  She brought me up to date on what was happening with her sons, and while she was talking, a mendicant came up asking us for money.  Neither of us had ever seen a homeless person or a beggar in Croton before, and we handed this person some small bills so that she could get some food.  (I hated seeing her hunt through nearby garbage cans for food, that I felt I should help her out a little.)  We then shifted to talking about current political events, and both of us felt we had good cause to worry about what is happening to us, or what could happen to us in the near future.

All too soon, we had to part. I went home, and awaited a zoom meeting with our Texas friends.  Opening the meeting at 8, I had to use my Chromebook in the living room, as the AC in the bedroom wouldn't keep me cool while I was wearing my wig.  RQS and I talked about our Alaska trip, and I showed off some pictures I took.  I made a joke about who would wear the white dress if we got married, and it evolved into me saying that a wedding would be held in San Francisco, and that our friends would be invited.  I'm pretty sure that they would come if we were to do so.

Shortly after the zoom meeting ended, I had my nightly phone call with RQS, and then closed things up for the day....

I don't know where to start first....

 

If it weren't for the Orange Snowflake, I'd be going on one of my upcoming cruises as Marian.  However, his ill will towards transgenders, especially transgender youth made me choose to travel in stealth mode until this monster passes away from the scene.  In today's news reporting, his DOJ is sending out subpoenas to doctors treating transgender patients (especially youths) to get medical information which normally be privileged information under HIPAA.  The monster and his sycophants have no respect for the rule of law; they only want power.

Tomorrow, I'll be driving to RQS's place, and I'm not sure if I'll be traveling as Marian or as Mario.  I realize that I have to build a Marian "to-go" kit, including toiletries, makeup, shaving supplies, etc. if I'm going to do this often.  So, I went to Walmart and spent $90 to start building such a kit, and have more money to go.  And this is where the next disturbing issue of the day confronted me. 

Lately, many stores have been locking down much of their inventory behind glass to prevent losses from shrinkage. Today, I encountered this happening at the local Walmart, where deodorant, makeup and other goods were locked up and unavailable without the help of a store associate.  The problem - it took over 10 minutes for the 4 of us to get assistance.  AARGH!  I was almost ready to dump the stuff I was about to buy and go elsewhere.

Now, if this wasn't the worst, it would be close enough to it.  The master control unit (MCU) on my air conditioner has gone bad.  The display panel and controls aren't working, as the display is frozen on a setting made last night. The push buttons which control the fan speed, temperature, etc. didn't work as expected.  Instead, the only things that would affect the workings of the AC were the remote controls.  I know that getting this fixed is going to cost me several hundred bucks.  However, I'm lucky in one regard, as I have 2 "extra" MCUs ready for installation, as my 2 air conditioners (same product, different cooling powers) were delivered before the master control units were debugged and ready to ship.  I never installed the MCUs, as I knew that I'd screw things up.  So now, I can pay to have this done right.  Maybe I can have the unit pulled before I go on my next cruise, and have it reinstalled the day after I get back?  I'll have to call to find out.

At least, one good thing happened today - the printer I sent out for servicing was replaced by a brand new printer.  It took a while to get things set up, but it works like a charm.... 

 

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I'm a little concerned about supply chain issues getting worse.

 

Several months ago, I mentioned that it took forever for me to get this replacement head unit for my air conditioner. Supply chain issues prevented it from being manufactured and delivered in a timely manner. Today, I watched a video that makes me think that this incident may just be the tip of an iceberg...

One of the things I've noticed when I went to the beach with FH last years was the presence of cargo ships sitting outside New York harbor.  They had yet to cross under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and enter the Ports of NY/NJ for unloading. Today's video came from someone who seemed to be a survivalist by nature, but had a valuable insight to what's happening on the West Coast.  His most salient point in the video had nothing directly to do with the problems with world shipping.  Instead, it had to do with the Russia-Ukraine war.  Even though Russia is not well integrated into the Western economies, we lose a lot by cutting off trade with Russia, and he focused on their fish and fertilizer exports.  He also noted that Ukraine being a bread basket for the world.  Couple these factors with supply chain issues at major ports, and we likely will soon see major food shortages - even in the USA.

I feel that we will have to learn how to live with sudden short term periods of scarcity as supply chain issues work themselves out.  Smart people will need to learn how to maintain inventories of things they need, so that they have reserves for when selective items are temporarily scarce and hard to find. Strangely enough, this will pump up our economy while making things worse.  America has always been a land of plenty, and this period of temporary shortages will be a hard thing for Americans to get used to. It will likely cause major social disruption, as our culture defines America as THE land of plenty (for a price) when we're not in the middle of a world war.

You may ask, what does this have to do about being transgender?  The answer is simple.  When times get bad, people become more conservative and prone to populist insurrections.  January 6, 2001 was just the start of a problem for us transgender people, as people in "Red States" now feel free to enact laws regarding what we can and can't do with our bodies (think of abortion laws and transgender participation in sporting events).  As things get worse for the general population, politicians will make minorities like us sacrificial lambs to deflect attention from the fact that they aren't getting anything done to solve the problems average people face.

I can still remember the name calling that FCP did after the unfortunate dissolution of our friendship. In many ways, it showed the true nature of what she felt inside about me.  (Just drop the words of anger, and focus on internal definitions...)  We will see a lot of that in our friends as things get hard for them.  They will be saying that there are more important things to worry about than gender identity, expression, and preference.  And from their perspective, they may be right.  But from our perspectives, it reaches deep into our identities of self - and this could be a live or die issue for many.  I am lucky NOT to have severe gender dysphoria.  But what about those who do?  Can they live, much less, prosper in stealth mode?  I don't know.

As the fictional Margo Channing once said: "Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night." I'd change that to say it's going to be a bumpy year or two at best....

Guess what came in today....

 

Guess what I unexpectedly found on my doorstep today.   A box!!! 

But what could be in it?  You may ask....

Inside, I found two boxes like the one below:

 

 Hmmm...  This is getting interesting.  Could it be something useful?

So, I opened one of them, and saw the following goodies, plus an instruction sheet:

 

This looks amazingly familiar....

But what could it be?

 

Yes, miracles do happen!!!   It is the replacement control unit for  my air conditioner!  YAY!

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As you can see, some disassembly/assembly is required.  And I do not plan to do this while the NYC Tristate area can expect several days of 90+ weather.  So the boxes will sit for a while, waiting for a "cooler" day for me to work on this project.

 

A Quick Air Conditioner Update

 

I figured that I'd make another quick post about my Air Conditioners....

On Saturday, I sent a quick message to Friedrich regarding the Firmware for my AC.  Today, I received a reply telling me that it is back ordered, with no shipping date yet available.  So I asked the gentleman another quick question: Do I need 2 separate shipments?

I'll keep you informed.  At least, I'm keeping cool up here....

A quick note on life passing way too quickly

 

It's hard to believe that I haven't found the time to write a new entry for several days.  So I figure that I should put down some bullets to let you know what's happening in my life....

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First, I'm still waiting on getting a fix to the broken Wi-Fi connectivity on my air conditioners.  Later today, I'll be writing Friedrich's CEO to let him (or one of his flunkies) know that I'm very upset that they don't have a solution to my problem yet....

Believe it or not, I'm still going to my mind numbing job.  I don't know how long I will last there.  But I can use the money, I enjoy going to work as Marian, and I have nothing else to give me reasons to get up in the morning at a schedule that most people consider normal.

And last, I am going to see my friend, LK, the former student clinician from Mercy who helped me with my voice training.  It will be a rushed dinner, but something we've wanted to fit in for a long while.

It's now 2 weeks since I first started to call for tech support, and still nada....

 

Air conditioners are relatively simple mechanical devices. A pump compresses a refrigerant (Freon was once the most common one used), passes it through a nozzle which cools a refrigerant that is then passed through a radiator to cool the air in a room. (I hope I got the process correct here.) Waste heat from the warmed refrigerant is passed through an external radiator to the outside of the building. With the exception of the refrigerant being changed over the years to protect the environment, the principle used in today's machines is the same as that used several generations ago.

What has changed is the electronic circuitry controlling the units.   It has grown much more complex, so that it can maintain a constant temperature as desired, turn the machine on and off at selected times without operator intervention, and conserve energy which was wasted in older air conditioner design.  In the case of my two new air conditioners, the manufacturer has implemented a Wi-Fi interface, so that one can control the unit from one's own cell phone.  By today's standards, this is not rocket science.  But it is something that Friedrich as gotten wrong.  Both of my units have faulty Wi-Fi connectivity which has not yet been corrected by a manufacturer supplied firmware update.  

As of the time this entry was written, all I have is a case number and some nice words from tech support.  No fix has yet been shipped. And I expect that the manufacturer does not care much about quality control, as it rushed to send these units to distributors (and on to retail customers) before it verified that the product was ready to ship.

So here is the second letter I sent to the CEO of Friedrich:

Dear Mr. Campbell,

This is the second time I’ve taken the time to write you due to support issues I’ve had with my Friedrich Wallmaster Air Conditioner.  Unfortunately, when my second new unit arrived, it has the same Wi-Fi issue as the first unit – I cannot use the Friedrich Connect app on my phone to control either AC unit.

On Friday (7/9), I was able to reach the same polite gentleman who assisted me on the prior Tuesday (7/6).  This fellow told me that he was a little backed up, and that he couldn’t get the case number established that day – but he gave me one (20536) on Friday.  However, he wasn’t able to send me the firmware update at that time to allow me to get my Wi-Fi connectivity problem fixed. 

On Saturday (7/10), my second AC was delivered and installed in my bedroom. I then tried to connect my phone with it to no avail.  When I checked the unit’s firmware, it was at the same level as its sibling in the living room, thus explaining why it also had connectivity problems.

Case number:  20536

Living Room Unit: Bedroom Unit:
Model: WCT16A30A Model: WCT12A10A
Firmware: 1.02 Firmware: 1.02

As of today, I have not received the help I need to get the Wi-Fi functions of my Wallmaster units working properly. The last time I was in contact with this person at tech support, he noted that it would take 3 days to receive a tracking number. There was no mention on when I would receive the fix that I need to use all the features of my air conditioner. When I contacted him again on Tuesday (7/20), he still had no idea when I could get my AC’s Wi-Fi fixed.

I would appreciate any and all help you (or your office) can give me to get this issue resolved promptly.

So far, I have had no success with Friedrich.  Soon, I plan to let the people who sold me my air conditioners know what is going on so that they can be aware of potential problems in the units they sell.  Additionally, since they have more influence as distributors than I have as a customer, maybe they can get the word out to the people at Friedrich who can get things done.  Who knows?

I only wonder when I'll have this issue resolved....

 

 

It's been a week since my first service call.

Since I don't have much news to report from the home front, I might as well talk about my air conditioner saga for a little while longer....

As, you, my readers know, I bought 2 air conditioners on a staggered schedule.  The first AC was delivered several weeks ago, but came with a firmware flaw which prevents me from using the Wi-Fi link to control the device from my cell phone.  This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to talk with a nice service representative, and he got the process of getting updated firmware in motion.  Today, I called to see what's up, and I spoke with him again.

Hopefully, by this time next week, I'll have two fully functional air conditioners being controlled from either my iPad or my Android phone.

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I may have mentioned that I am replacing a semi-functional AC in my bedroom.  Yes, it works, but I can't rely on it.  So I'm spending the extra $1,000 to be sure that I have a working air conditioner that will last me several years.  How do I know it is doing something?  First, I've seen physical evidence that some cooling is going on: when I had the air filter touching the "cool-air radiator", I found that there was some ice on the filter.  Second, I'm seeing an occasional water droplet drain from the air conditioner when I look at my unit from the outside.

Will I get my $1,000 worth when the new bedroom AC comes?  I hope so.

 

 

 

PS: The bedroom AC unit was installed on Saturday, and it feels like it's cooling off the room much better than the old one.  Additionally, it has the same Wi-Fi issues as the one in the living room.

Yesterday, I bought an air conditioner.

 

This is a tale of two air conditioners.  The first, a Friedrich (above), is one designed to fit my Fedders sleeve perfectly.  The other, a GE (below), is one that fits in a Fedders sleeve, but needs a supplied adapter kit to make a proper seal between the unit and sleeve to be both attractive and cool effectively.

I had to make a hard decision between these two units, and I needed the help of a friend to make me secure in my decision.

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But first....

As I may have mentioned before, both my Living Room and Bedroom air conditioners were having problems after being repaired.  The master circuit board on my living room air conditioner was on the fritz late last AC season, and it would not turn off.  After unplugging it for 8 months, the AC would not turn on properly. Either the AC fan would run without the compressor (no cooling, and a waste of electricity), or the compressor would run without the fan (a bigger waste of electricity).  A second repair on top of last year's repair would cost me as much as replacing the unit, so I decided to bite the bullet and replace this unit.  However, this left me with some decisions to be made with the bedroom unit.  A couple of years ago, the unit had a coolant leak which forced me to call factory authorized service for repairs.  This year, the unit doesn't seem to be cooling properly, and I didn't want to risk another repair which would only be a band-aid on the problem.  So I had to choose between repairing or replacing the unit, and then choosing which unit with which to replace the bedroom unit.

Because my two Friedrich units were lemons, I figured that I'd look for units which would fit into my sleeve with the help of an adapter kit.  None of the stores selling air conditioners gave me that option when I bought my living room AC.  So, I bought the Friedrich AC that would fit my sleeve with the highest cooling capacity.  And I am happy with it.  However, when I shopped for my bedroom AC, things were different.  The Friedrich AC that would fit my bedroom sleeve was out of stock.  And the salesman tried to steer me to the GE unit which uses an adapter kit. I was both unhappy that this option wasn't offered to me the first time I went to the store, and that I needed to choose between two imperfect solutions to my problem.  So I called my friend Vicki.

As my readers know, Vicki has been the voice of sanity in my life.  She is my most reliable and rational friend, now that my friend WDS has likely passed away.  When I reached her, we talked about my options and helped me come to a quick decision.  Although the GE unit would likely work and fit my needs, the Friedrich unit would do a better job for me.  We ended our chat when I reached the second store, where I bought the Friedrich unit.  Although it won't be delivered until after the next heat wave is over, it will be a welcome replacement for a unit which has become unreliable at too early an age.

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Given that I live in a top floor apartment with little cross ventilation, Air Conditioning is a requirement for me.  My persistent "complaining" kept the repair of my bedroom AC sleeve on top of the essential repair list.  So I'd have been foolish NOT to do what was needed to stay cool in the hot summer.  

What do you think I have should done?  Which AC solution should I have chosen?

PS: This question has been made more complex by a matter I'll discuss in my next post.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner with another friend

 

Even though I still am in contact with an ex, I don't say everything about what I do to her, and the same with her not saying everything to me.  She won last year's battle, but at a great cost to both of us.  And I think that cost is trust in the other person's motives.  

Why do I bring up the past, even in passing?

My air conditioner sleeve was being reset today, so that water condensate would drain outside instead of inside.  The ex made a comment (very true) regarding my use of the air conditioner and its use to me.  It is one of the things we can safely talk about without dredging up uncomfortable topics.  Since we got off on the wrong foot after our breakup when I talked about dating again, I don't want to talk about any of my dates with her.  Even then, I brought up FH, as this was another woman who left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I've been chatting with a woman in New Jersey for a while, and it is time to see her in person.  Hopefully, we will get along in person over time as well as we've been getting along on the phone.  It is not the time to mention this to the ex, but not because she would object.  Instead, I would rather wait until I have a new relationship before mentioning it to the past one.  No, not to rub things in.  Instead, as part of a healing process we both need to go through.

- - - - - -

Contractor personnel was on site early in the day, and I had to let them into the place to get an idea of what they would need to do in the afternoon.  Starting around 1:15 or so, they were done with inside work around 3:15 or so, but were still working on the outside of the building after 4:45.  I can only guess what contractor will be charging for this work.  And when I do find out, I won't be mentioning it here, as this is between only the board and the contractor.

Back to the dinner....

We had agreed on a Chinese restaurant that I had gone to before.  When I got there, I found that it was open - but not for dining in.  So when my date arrived, we had to punt.  Instead of having Chinese again (I had eaten at a local Chinese joint the day before), we decided to eat at the Pizzeria next door.  Although the place was noisy, the food was good and the conversation was pleasant.  Afterwards, it was dessert at an ice cream shop down the road - another place I knew of because of TCL.

We'll see what happens with this woman.  She has a nice personality, but I'm not so sure if I'm attracted enough to get physical with her.  (And of course, I still have to reveal Marian to her....)