Damned if I do, damned if I don't

I’m mad. 

We had been out of town for the holiday weekend, and when we came home yesterday we found water all over our kitchen floor.  Somehow the dishwasher filled up with water and started overflowing onto the floor.  Here’s the kicker though…before I left for the weekend, I shut off the water main to the house.  Ever since our basement flooded three years ago from a leak in the water softener, I always shut the water off before we leave for trips longer than one night.  I thought that would help me avoid another flood.

We just bought this dishwasher back in January.  I called the store we bought it from this morning and talked to their maintenance guy.  His theory was that it flooded BECAUSE I shut of the water and relieved the pressure by briefly turning on a faucet before we left.  He said the valve requires pressure to work properly.  He also called a Whirlpool technician and he agreed with this theory.  I still have a hard time buying it though.  There was a lot of water in the bottom of the dishwasher and floor…more than what was probably left in the lines.  I think it had to have taken water from the water heater somehow.  But unless there was an electrical malfunction, which the repairman doubted, I don’t see how it could have drawn the water up from the water heater.  It just doesn’t make sense.

I’ll have an insurance adjustor coming soon to assess the damage.  There are two spots in the basement with water marks on the ceiling.  Some water made it to the carpet in the living room, so I pulled up the edge and tore out all the wet padding.  I propped the carpet edge up and blew a fan on it to help dry things out.  I’m just afraid that we’re going to need a new sub-floor in the kitchen, or at least parts of it.  Our deductible is $500, but I think we’re going to wind up with far more than $500 worth of damage.  It just burns me up that this happened when I took measures to make sure something like this would never happen again. 

2-0

I had another late softball game tonight, so I’m trying to wind down from that before I go to bed.  We had another good game and won 23–5 in five innings.  The field was wet from the rain, but at least it quit by the second inning.  The other team didn’t do themselves any favors and had at least eight errors.  There was some entertainment when a drunk heckler from an earlier game started razzing the other team for their play.  The ump had to escort him off the premises and threatened to call the police. There were almost fisticuffs.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any pics, so here’s one of Payton from last weekend.  Uncle Dean found this slide in the apartment complex he manages, and Payton really loves it.  Thanks Dean and Leslie!

 

It's a monster!

Holy crap!

 

I've never seen something like this before

I was quite surprised to come across this article this morning.  The Sporting News, which is a reputable publication, is picking Iowa State to win the Big 12 North in football this season.  Also, they will begin the season at number 22 in the polls.  Pre-season polls are pretty worthless, but it’s still nice to see the Cyclones get some national respect.  Unfortunately, I think this prediction is based more on the rest of the North being awful, than ISU being a dominant team.  Hopefully they don’t collapse under the heightened expectations.  It’s one thing to come out of nowhere last year and have a shot at the Big 12 North, but it’s quite another to be the pre-season favorite.  I just hope this means more games will be televised so I can watch them in this potentially historic season.

 

Quick thoughts for today

• Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” could possibly be the worst song ever written.
• I saw Revenge of the Sith yesterday and loved it.  Good job George.
• No more Rob and Amber crap.  Who’s going to watch their wedding special anyway?

Happy Joe's Part II

A while back, I mentioned that Happy Joe’s will be coming to Rochester.  Now I find out that the people who were going to do that have come up with a different business idea instead.  I think they are making a big mistake with their Dish it Up concept.  I really don’t see that taking off, and I bet it will be closed within a year.  So if I understand this right, they have a few pre-packaged, uncooked meal choices and you take them home and can have a meal ready in about an hour.  Guess what, this already exists, and it’s called a grocery store.  Big mistake folks.  You had a winner with Happy Joe’s. 

I guess that means that the ball is back in my court to bring Happy Joe’s to Rochester.  As you can see, opening a full service restaurant takes quite a bit of money, and in Rochester, I’m assuming I’d be looking at a figure toward the upper end of that price range.  I think I need to find a couple partners to go in on this with.  Let me know if you’d be interested in a business opportunity like this.  I am certain Happy Joe’s would do well in the Rochester market.

I don't agree

I got this from Ryan’s blog.  I’ve been to Austin before for work, and sorry, but it’s not a place I’d want to live.  I think Denver is the only place on here I’d consider. 

American Cities That Best Fit You:

75% Austin

65% Denver

65% Las Vegas

65% Miami

60% Atlanta

Which American Cities Best Fit You?