Putting it in your calendar might not be a bad idea.  Over time one will just start ignoring signs and stickers. They become 'familiar objects' and stop getting read. 

Mon May 11 2026 22:04:32 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

  On the new one, I put a label on it, "installed April 2026, replace anode rod in 2029"

 

As I might have mentioned before, we're consolidating two electric meters down to one, because it was an illegal two family house in the past, and it's not now.  It's not an enormous house, only about 2000sqft, but it's got two panels in two different parts of the house.  Can't do the work myself because it involves a service change.

Today at lunchtime I got a panic call from my electrician.  poco called him and said "we're doing the shutoff today" -- as in right now.

He advised me to let them do it, otherwise we'd end up back in the queue and could be waiting weeks or more.  So the lower level service (right side of the photo) got cut at the pole, and the electrician showed up a few hours later to "jumper it back in" until they can come back tomorrow and do the permanent job.  That disconnect on the left is getting replaced with a trailer panel that will feed the two other panels inside the house.

I love the way this looks.  It has the vibe of someone stealing power in India.

Ya gotta love how the utilities treat us little people. For most people, its not like we can realistically flip them the bird and go elsewhere, its a monopoly. 

Tue Jun 02 2026 22:07:03 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Electric fun!

 

Today at lunchtime I got a panic call from my electrician.  poco called him and said "we're doing the shutoff today" -- as in right now.

 

Related. got an email from our gas company.

"we will have contractors out 7 days a week  the next few weeks to look at your meter and will need access to your back yard" "if you are not there we will come back later"    No, no scheduling at all, not even a hint of what day it might be. ( or even which week.. ) Just "you have to stay home and wait for us"  ( and out on the weekends bothering us for non-emergency, really? )

And being a contractor, not actual gas employees, why do i get the feeling we will start getting targeted flyers " we can do x remodels and home improvements " here soon.   Or even while they are there "ooooh, you need to replace xyz right away, we can do it for x dollars"

( and yes i know, i have lost all faith in everything. Its all a scam if there is a single dollar involved.  And while i may be on the extreme end of this, i keep being proven right every time. And just getting fed up )

Much better now.  They came the next day to do the permanent job (photo above) and I am pleased as punch with the results.

It's 200 amps to the upper level panel via feed through lugs, and a 100 amp breaker to the lower level panel (that's behind the LB you see in the photo).  Now I have one meter, one electric bill, and room to add things out here.

And it's just a few feet away from the site where I plan to add a mini split heat pump.  Perfect.

Speaking of..  still waiting to be bugged and marketed by our gas companies 'contractors' .  Been nice if they gave us a ballpark.

Sort of ironic. And not judging here in either direction. Both sides have points, and both sides are a scam if taken as-is.  Personally i think there is place for both if one stays rational, and the radicals on either side, can GTFO ( O = off the planet )

But back to the irony.... I feel its rather Ironic that a man ( Trump in this case since he is the current leader ) who is fundamentally against 'clean energy'  has in fact, pushed more people and entire countries towards it than any other leader in history. And I hear that for the first time ever, US actually generated more power from solar/nuclear than coal.

( not sure what other room to stick this in, since electric generation directly effects our homes, and many of us have solar panels in addition to traditional supplies..  And i know a few people who that is their main source. And they paid dearly for that.. man its expensive )

4"  rain expected tonight.  Yay. Flooding. 

Went to local harbor freight today to grab a stud finder.  (cant find mine, and its old anyway, so i'm sure its just a metal detector and i need a capacitance one for this project ).

Woman at the counter, unless i misunderstood her, you now have to sign up for their constant ad-spam and be in the 'club' or you get reduced warranty..     Really???

Damned neighbors on both sides of me mowed their grass last night.   I was going to wait until after the heatwave. soooooo i had to at least do the front yard this morning.   104 index, and its not even 10 am yet.

Going to do some more acid cleaning today. Not the super strong stuff like last time..  but it still eats the spray bottle so needed another.

Went to local hardware store cant find any, "you got"  girl at the counter blinked and looked at me like i was nuts. Grocery next door, 3.50 for a EMPTY bottle. what the hell.   they even sell bottles full of stuff for 1.99 right beside it... what a scam.

Family thing today.  Far south end of my county.  As i have ranted before, all being paved.   There was a farm that was rezoned near the border. Still for sale. Had a sign. 40k per acre.

yes 40 thousand dollars an acre.  What in the the hell. 

Bleh.  Plugged in one of the solar batteries yesterday. i routinely drain then charge them. Need to keep the cycle going every once in a while, so they last longer.

Nothing. Tried another battery, same thing ( so at least its not the batteries electronics ) check wires going to the closet.. Look fine.  Get multi-meter out ( related to the BT post from earlier, was just seeing how much cheap ones were, in case i toast this one  Its cheap, but its small so i use to carry it when i was on the road fixing stuff so would like to keep it, or one like it around.. ) and its got 12v.. but zero amps.  Well, that is odd.. 

Pulled them down ( related to the falling post... sigh.. ill be sore tomorrow ) and turns out one is shorted. Not yet sure if its the actual cells or the junction box.