This post has nothing to do with economics. Instead, it deals with one of the biggest difficulties we've had since moving to Los Gatos, inflatable things.
To start off, both our original air mattresses got leaks. With the first, we were able to locate and patch the hole but we couldn't find the leak on the second. That led to the search for Wal-mart and discovering that even Wal-mart isn't open 24 hours here.We resolved the issue by buying a new mattress.
Then comes the situation that prompted this rant. Last week we purchased a pair of new bicycles. We got a pair of Jeep Overland S bikes, one men's and one women's style. They required partial assembly, which I handled easily. It's been about twenty years since I was last on a bike, so when we gave the bikes a try-out I thought I was just really out of shape when I quickly became tired. It turns out that the tires weren't fully inflated. In fact, they were a good 20 psi under-inflated!
So, it's off to buy a bike pump. As it was only $5 more than the manual pump, I get the electric pump that plugs into a car cigarette lighter socket. I give it a try and it works for about ten seconds and then dies! I get ticked off and go inside to calm down. Next day, I find out that it's not the pump that died but rather it's just a blown fuse. Off to the hardware store! A new fuse later and the pump is working. The pump's nozzle fits real tight on the valve stems, so it's a bit of effort to get the tires inflated but soon, we're good to go.
Now with properly inflated tires, it's off to the park across the street to try out the bikes. We have a good ride around and head home. On the way back, there's a big hill to get up. I get to the top before Christy and sit down to wait on her. As we're getting ready to leave, I look down to see two flat tires! In checking them, I find some of these small yet sharp and tough thorns stuck in the tires. Christy's bike had some as well, but less than mine. Still, both her tires went flat as well. Needless to say, I was not happy.
After some research Christy found an article on a nasty local plant called, appropriately enough, "Puncture Vine" which appears to be the culprit. So now we've got two brand new bikes with two flat tires each. ARRGGHH!!!!
So, now I'm off to find out what options exist to prevent this from happening again and then I'll have to fix the tires. *sigh* Oh well, at least we got a pair of comfortable folding chairs for our patio at the hardware store.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
California oddities
As a native Mid-westerner relocated to NoCal, there's been some things I've observed that strike me as odd.
- The only 24 hour store we've found is Walgreen's. Even the closest Wal-Mart closes at 11:00 pm! Wal-Mart! I thought Wal-Mart being open 24 hours was a universal constant. Not so. On top of this, many stores close by 7:00 pm. The biggest problem is if one needs or wants something after 10:00 pm, there's few places available. As noted, we recently found that the Walgreen's nearby is open 24 hours and they have $1.00 ice cream pints for sale.
- Banks without drive-ups. In addition to the oddity of CA banks holding your deposits for seven business days for the first month you have the account, I have not seen a single bank with a drive-up teller window.
- No rain yet things stay green. It's rained once since we've gotten here and it was noted that since records had been kept it had never rained on that day before. Some of this is accounted for by regular lawn watering and such. Also, I've noticed that there's a lot of public areas, medians and such that don't have grass but rather a mix of mulch and a variety of viney ground cover and bushes. I guess that the local bushes, trees and such handle the lack of rain better. I'll have to investigate this further.
- Everything is in close proximity. So much so that I've only filled the tank once since we got our apartment. I've heard that many locals consider something two miles distant to be out-of-the-way by a large amount, though that was second-hand information.
These are what occurs to me at this time. I'll let you know if I come up with any more.
- The only 24 hour store we've found is Walgreen's. Even the closest Wal-Mart closes at 11:00 pm! Wal-Mart! I thought Wal-Mart being open 24 hours was a universal constant. Not so. On top of this, many stores close by 7:00 pm. The biggest problem is if one needs or wants something after 10:00 pm, there's few places available. As noted, we recently found that the Walgreen's nearby is open 24 hours and they have $1.00 ice cream pints for sale.
- Banks without drive-ups. In addition to the oddity of CA banks holding your deposits for seven business days for the first month you have the account, I have not seen a single bank with a drive-up teller window.
- No rain yet things stay green. It's rained once since we've gotten here and it was noted that since records had been kept it had never rained on that day before. Some of this is accounted for by regular lawn watering and such. Also, I've noticed that there's a lot of public areas, medians and such that don't have grass but rather a mix of mulch and a variety of viney ground cover and bushes. I guess that the local bushes, trees and such handle the lack of rain better. I'll have to investigate this further.
- Everything is in close proximity. So much so that I've only filled the tank once since we got our apartment. I've heard that many locals consider something two miles distant to be out-of-the-way by a large amount, though that was second-hand information.
These are what occurs to me at this time. I'll let you know if I come up with any more.
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