more media ranting and other topics

On Saturday evening when I got home, 6:45-ish, it was just starting to change between rain and snow/sleet. I walked into the house, and D had channel 7 news on his TV, so I went to look at what the weather was saying. The douche on there (Pete Bouchard? I think)--who by the way, was the same douche who on the Sunday of the hurricane kept saying all morning and all afternoon, with a barely disguised glee under his veneer of concerned face, that NO MATTER HOW HOPEFUL IT LOOKED OUT THERE, don't be complacent, because a tree was still probably going to fall on your house, and here's why--was saying that this October storm was going to be as bad as the great ice storm of 2008 or Irene, and you, viewer, were going to probably lose your power, so this might well be the last TV weather report you'd be hearing, maybe for days. Seriously. And again, with this kind of barely-disguised sadistic glee, like wasn't this fun that you, viewer, were screwed, and he got to tell you about it. I can't even. I understand TV meteorologists being excited by big storms. Back in the good old days, Dicky Albert used to be like a five year old who got into the Halloween candy and followed it up with three Pepsis and maybe a Red Bull, but it was more, "Well, this model is telling us *this* and this model is telling us *that*, and OMFG, isn't it fascinating? let's see which way this baby goes!" Never, "Dudes, you're all probably gonna die, so start worrying now!" Sigh.

I pretty much gave up watching the local news in the early 90s because every morning when I was getting dressed for work, it was a never ending parade of stories about horrific abuse cases, rapes, kidnappings, grisly murders--basically the more sordid, disgusting, and soul-killing the crime, the more they gleefully covered it, and it made me start every day off in a bad, bad mood. Apparently, this journalistic bent now applies to the weather forecast as well. Sensationalize it as much as you can and never look at the upside. If I was more of a conspiracy theorist, I'd suggest they're in cahoots with BigPharma to sell more antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. But, really, the whole consumer culture we're living in is driven by various forms of anxiety, isn't it? People who are calm and content and at peace with themselves aren't the ones who can be convinced that they really need objects and services they don't really need.

And that's my smooth segue to asking all y'all how long a water heater usually lasts. Lulz. Just over the last week or so, my water isn't getting as hot and is running out sooner. Like, when I'm rinsing off dishes, usually if I have the hot water turned on all the way, it gets hot enough that it's difficult for me to keep my hands under it. Now, no. Or, if I try to take a bath, there isn't enough hot water to fill it up as deep as I want to the temperature I want, and that's never been a problem. So yesterday when I was down the basement cleaning and purging again, I took a look at the water heater, and while there was nothing visibly wrong with it, the sticker on it said it was installed in 1997. That's almost 15 years (yeah, I did the math for you--you're welcome). Do you think it's just reaching the end of its natural life and needs to be replaced? How much is that gonna run me? I don't remember how much it cost in 1997, yo. You'll be happy to know I'm conserving money by, as I resolved, not cracking and putting the heat on yet. It was 58 in the downstairs and 54 in the upstairs yesterday. Ha! (And, WTF, doesn't heat *rise*? Shouldn't the sun on the roof make the upstairs warmer, all other things considered?)

And finally, I did put out another metal chair with my trash this week, along with a couple plastic table thingies and an old lawn chair, but, alas, I slept too late this morning to see whether anyone collected any of it off my curb before the trash guys showed up.

Happy Halloween!

xoxo