Unsettlers

This book chronicles the author meeting three families who wanted to escape. They were against many things including government, taxes, and the grid.

One family set up some sort of community. They worked to grow food they could eat. They had a hard time attracting anybody to join the community long term. There was a rule that the community voted on things together. However the wife seemed to think she could overrule the votes. They had a neighbor who ran a cow farm that helped them out when they needed things like an emergency ride in a car to the hospital.

Another family focused on the young daughter. She was in a bad part of Detroit. She was not allowed to walk outside alone due to crime. She loved agriculture. She went to school for it. But she could only find a minimum wage job at a government place that was doomed to go out of business.

The third was about a family that strove to make money from their farming. It was rough. They lucked out when they could get businesses to buy from them. They also sold they produce at a market. Even though they had some sales, it was hard to make ends meet. They needed to adapt to sell the items that made the most profit.

The New Yorker Sales Pitch

I got an advertisement in the mail to subscribe to The New Yorker magazine. It is published weekly. Cover price is $10. They were willing to give me a 26 week subscription for $1 a week (total $26). If I ordered online, the price would drop to $21.

I don't know much about the magazine. But I do know a good deal when I see one. I went online to subscribe. Almost got to the checkout. Then I saw the fine print. They plan to use my credit card to automatically resubscribe me at $180 a year.

I detest this kind of sneaky practice. So much so that I am definitely not subscribing. They got so close. If they would only have had stand up practices, provided me with great content, I may have resubscribed at will. But no. They will never get the chance because of this underhanded technique. Shame on you New Yorker.

Water Under the Sink

Last week, I went to get some garbage bags from under the sink. The garbage bag box was soaked with water. The bags all fell out on the floor. I cleared half the stuff under the sink. There seemed to be water under and to left of the disposal.

I dried everything off. Placed the items in bankers boxes. Then I cleaned up the bottom of the cabinet under the sink. I emailed the family. Nobody noticed anything. Little Kat did the dishes. He said the water sprayer was leaking whenever the water was turned on.

I called the plumber who did our toilet. They sent out a guy ASAP. He confirmed the sprayer was no good. He said I should buy a new faucet. He said get a name brand like Moen or Kohler. I ran to Lowe's. There was one faucet that looked like ours. But it was some other unknown brand. I settled for a Moen.

Tried to call the plumber back. Had to leave a message. Ate lunch at Jerry's. When home, got a call back from the plumber. They said they could return this afternoon. I read my book, sitting by the winder, waiting for the plumber. A new guy came and spent 30 minutes replacing the faucet.

No Hot Water

Momoko took a shower and said the water was not as hot with the normal shower settings. Water at the sink was also not very hot. Later that day, I tried to take a shower. The water was cold. This morning I tried to press the button to light the hot water tank pilot. It did not work.

I tried a couple times calling the plumber that fixed out toilet last. They never picked up the call. Then I tried to call the guy who installed the hot water heater. Just got a message saying he is no longer a plumber. So I just googled for plumbers and chose a name I recognized. They gave me a 3 hour window this afternoon for a plumber to come.

After lunch I got a call from the company. They said the plumber was on his way, and would be here in 45 minutes to an hour. I just read my books. Three and a half hours later, I called the main office back. Nobody had shown up.

I stayed on hold for 15 minutes and hung up when the plumber showed up at the door. He said for $300 he could try to light the pilot. I asked him what would happen if he could not. He said something about me having to pay less. That was unsettling. But it was the end of the day. I watched as he did a few things and lit the pilot. I made sure I could replicate those actions myself. He said we should have full hot water in 1 hour.