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Boxes, brothers, cold, and weather...
Dec. 20th, 2002 09:43 pmThis morning's ham breakfast was marred slightly by a failure of my Nissan truck's heater to engage during the drive down to the Pagosa Lodge. The same thing happened yesterday, during the drive to and from the hardware store, but then the problem went away for the rest of the day, as it did today.
I suspect there's a thermostatic valve in the heating loop that's getting stuck in the closed position the first thing these past two mornings (the temperature this morning was negative, in Fahrenheit degrees). On the other hand, it may not be that valve at all, since the engine temperature continued to climb past the midway mark, and I'm quite sure that's not supposed to happen, heater or no heater.
The Christmas rush continues to ramp down, although the traffic in the store today was still noticeable, and some people who would otherwise never consider sending things via overnight or two-day courier were shelling out the shekels. (Moreover, it turns out we received bum scoop on UPS not delivering on Tuesday. They are. That and a whole lot of other scuttlebutt got straightened out today.)
The postal parcel pile was, in fact, so small that there was actually no need for a second vehicle to come out to the store (as was the case - and the need - for the past few days) to haul stuff downtown. During a couple of quiet moments, we learned that the volume of parcels through the main post office was smaller this year than last (a feeling Galina shares with regard to our UPS traffic).
We also learned that the post office will be open for the entire day on Tuesday, which I personally think is pretty silly, as just about everyone in the world who operates in the non-critical service sector is going to be more interested in getting home on Tuesday afternoon than in stopping by the post office to send off that VISA payment.
* * * Last night, I watched the third Band of Brothers DVD, containing episodes five and six (Crossroads and Bastogne, respectively). Tonight, I watched episode seven, The Breaking Point, and then joined Galina for the evening foot-rubbing ceremony as we watched Firefly on Fox. I think it was possibly the pilot episode in a rerun, and I thought it was pretty good. Too bad the network decided to can the series. The captain of the Firefly is no Jim Kirk, let me tell you (and that is a good thing).
I watched Bastogne in a cold room last night, for no particular reason (i.e., I didn't make the room cold on purpose; undoubtedly, I was too lazy to turn up the thermostat). I say that because I noticed my discomfort while watching the dramatized discomfort from the cold of a bunch of guys from long ago and far away.
The level of the cold I experienced in my house, of course, was nowhere near the bone-chilling freeze experienced by members of the 101st Airborne during the "Battle of the Bulge" (so called because the German counterattack ballooned the line between the opposing armies). In fact, to tell the truth, last night's "cold" was nothing like the chill I experienced during a two-week session of cold-weather training when I was in the Marines, either.
And that level of cold, I am sure, was nothing like Bastogne, since we'uns were (a) amply supplied with cold-weather gear, food, and water and the knowledge that (b) nobody was trying doing their best to try to kill us, and (c) if something bad did happen, a well-stocked aid station was a klick or so down the road. In addition, if things got really dicey, a medevac chopper could be on the scene within minutes.
I seem to recall we all survived our ordeal with nary any work for the corpsmen, which probably qualified all of us for a medal attesting to our ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.
* * * The weather forecast calls for snow this weekend, some of it heavy. That's good news for folks who enjoy snow sports, as well as for those of us who like to see lots of the white stuff still on the mountains in June. The sand in the bed of the Nissan does improve traction, but some tentative tries at putting the truck into a skid show that it's a condition that's all to easily achievable, so I shall have to be on my lookout.
I imagine tomorrow will be a "heavy" Saturday at the store, but that may change if the weather becomes nasty. The way I figure it, the people who have not yet sent their packages are not terribly worried at this point about getting those packages anywhere in time for Christmas. We are about the enter a "glide path" of activity, which will be somewhat heavier than normal for the next 3 to 4 weeks, after which business will (if the previous two years are typical) fall off to a trickle.
Cheers...
I suspect there's a thermostatic valve in the heating loop that's getting stuck in the closed position the first thing these past two mornings (the temperature this morning was negative, in Fahrenheit degrees). On the other hand, it may not be that valve at all, since the engine temperature continued to climb past the midway mark, and I'm quite sure that's not supposed to happen, heater or no heater.
The Christmas rush continues to ramp down, although the traffic in the store today was still noticeable, and some people who would otherwise never consider sending things via overnight or two-day courier were shelling out the shekels. (Moreover, it turns out we received bum scoop on UPS not delivering on Tuesday. They are. That and a whole lot of other scuttlebutt got straightened out today.)
The postal parcel pile was, in fact, so small that there was actually no need for a second vehicle to come out to the store (as was the case - and the need - for the past few days) to haul stuff downtown. During a couple of quiet moments, we learned that the volume of parcels through the main post office was smaller this year than last (a feeling Galina shares with regard to our UPS traffic).
We also learned that the post office will be open for the entire day on Tuesday, which I personally think is pretty silly, as just about everyone in the world who operates in the non-critical service sector is going to be more interested in getting home on Tuesday afternoon than in stopping by the post office to send off that VISA payment.
I watched Bastogne in a cold room last night, for no particular reason (i.e., I didn't make the room cold on purpose; undoubtedly, I was too lazy to turn up the thermostat). I say that because I noticed my discomfort while watching the dramatized discomfort from the cold of a bunch of guys from long ago and far away.
The level of the cold I experienced in my house, of course, was nowhere near the bone-chilling freeze experienced by members of the 101st Airborne during the "Battle of the Bulge" (so called because the German counterattack ballooned the line between the opposing armies). In fact, to tell the truth, last night's "cold" was nothing like the chill I experienced during a two-week session of cold-weather training when I was in the Marines, either.
And that level of cold, I am sure, was nothing like Bastogne, since we'uns were (a) amply supplied with cold-weather gear, food, and water and the knowledge that (b) nobody was trying doing their best to try to kill us, and (c) if something bad did happen, a well-stocked aid station was a klick or so down the road. In addition, if things got really dicey, a medevac chopper could be on the scene within minutes.
I seem to recall we all survived our ordeal with nary any work for the corpsmen, which probably qualified all of us for a medal attesting to our ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.
I imagine tomorrow will be a "heavy" Saturday at the store, but that may change if the weather becomes nasty. The way I figure it, the people who have not yet sent their packages are not terribly worried at this point about getting those packages anywhere in time for Christmas. We are about the enter a "glide path" of activity, which will be somewhat heavier than normal for the next 3 to 4 weeks, after which business will (if the previous two years are typical) fall off to a trickle.
Cheers...
