Friday Judy went to check out the “spa services” at the hot springs. Hot oil
massage. Last day of fieldwork on this job. Spent a fair amount of time discussing
options with the client about how to deal with the $100,000 problem, and the
$50,000 problem. They both belong in previous years, but only partially in
the year immediately prior to my work. We can either: ignore them and
issue a one-year report, or we can deal with them. We decided to deal with
them. That requires more work, but ultimately, is more satisfying. You know, sometimes you can’t always get what you want. I don’t find myself
saying that much, but it is true for this job. I want to do the entire job
in one week, wrap it, and deliver a completed product to the client before I
go, but it just can’t be done this time around. Too much to sort out. With
some follow-up work, however, we’ll make this job make a lot more sense for
the next time around. A very flushed, relaxed, and limp Judy reports that the spa services at the
local hot springs are just fine. A little more racquetball therapy was in order tonight. Got in some good
work on the backhand. No new victims, though. Michael the local RV repair guy came by tonight. He took a look at the
furnace controls for us. They both still work, but the back furnace
controls aren’t quite as responsive as the front furnace. Sometimes it will
stall out before it gets all the way up to temperature. He figures there is
nothing really wrong with the thermostat controls. He thinks it’s more
likely that it is a voltage thing. He went straight to the outside battery
compartment. The water in the batteries was a little low. We had the
beginning of a little corrosion on the terminals. He said that was enough
to disrupt the digital systems. He says I need to clean and fill the
batteries once a month. I pointed out that we weren’t even using the
batteries; we’re plugged into shore power. No matter. He says everything
goes through the batteries and the inverter. I didn’t know that! We topped off the water in the batteries. We hosed them down. He sprayed
some battery cleaner on the terminals. We hosed them down again. He said
that would fix the furnace thermostat. Yeah. Right. Tomorrow, the steam train. We’ve been watching it go by all week. Tomorrow
we won’t be able to see it because we’ll be on it. We’ll be right there,
watching all the scenery go by. We reserved space in a parlor car. That
could be good.