Plumbing Emergency? It
depends, have you seen “Poseidon Adventure?’
By
Iris and Corey Kirschner
Chatham
IL
CHATHAM IL | 25 January 2007: It wasn't a
storm; it wasn't ice; it was a broken washing machine waterline that flooded
our house on Jan. 25. This article serves as a friendly warning to every home,
apartment or trailer dweller: Please check your washing machine and dishwasher
water lines every three to five years.
Ours was a completely preventable disaster for people who should
certainly have known better. We have a backup sump pump, carbon
monoxide/explosive gas detectors and backup power for our electronics, and a
home security system. We're careful about safeguarding our home and valuables.
We wouldn't wish our accident on anyone and hope readers take the time to
inspect their hoses.
In early February, there was
a home show at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Orr Building. We retold our
horror story and searched for even more ways to keep our house safe. We thank
"This Old House" on central Illinois public television for the "Watts
Intelliflow." We purchased one after the flood to avoid this happening
again. This device attaches between the hot and cold water service lines and
your washing machine. It operates by
sensing the electrical impulse from the washer then automatically switching on
the flow of hot or cold water as needed. When the washer is turned off, the
device electronically closes the flow of water from the faucets, preventing
buildup of pressure on the hoses. Also,
our hot and cold service lines are now flexible steel wrapped around
high-pressure rubber to avoid future problems.
The Intelliflow also includes
a water sensor that reaches to the laundry room floor and shuts off your water
electronically if water is detected at the base of the machine. A real life-saver
and something we wish we had before the accident. We only learned about the
Intelliflow from watching "This Old House." Another great idea is a
whole-house surge suppressor. We hope to avoid any more unknown unknowns as
home owners and wish our neighbors the same!
Dental Worries Abound
(Again) in 2008
By
Iris Miranda-Kirschner
Chatham
IL
CHATHAM IL | 29 January 2007 and 28 November 2007: On the
heels of the flood, Iris fractured one of her upper molars which required it be
extracted and replaced with a bridge.
Iris had intensive oral surgery to prepare her gums and surrounding
teeth for the temporary bridge. With
luck, by the time you read this, she’ll have gotten her permanent bridge. Iris broke another tooth in proximity to the
bridge in late November. This one
required relatively minor repair but added to her woes for “the holidays.”
Corey had a relatively calm
dental year spending only routine “chair time” with his dentist. However, those of you who gnash, grind, or
otherwise manifest all manners of “bruxism” should be aware of the latest
breakthrough in night guards. Corey
chewed through his Lexan® plastic night guard in late November and had his
replaced with the latest technology high-strength acrylics. Hopefully this will “hold” for a while since
neither dental insurance plan covers these devices.
Romantic
Valentine’s Day Blizzard
By Iris and
Corey Kirschner
Chatham IL
CHATHAM IL | 14 February 2007: Iris and Corey spent a romantic day with several of their
closest friends: Mark the plumber, Dave the ADT™ Security technician, Jeremy
the electrician; and John the Ameren Gas Meter technician. Iris and Corey provided the chocolates and
roses while the cast of several went about re-building their kitchen and basement
following the heretofore mentioned Poseidon Adventure on Jan 25th. Iris and Corey had also scheduled the
installation of a whole-house generator to accompany their heretofore mentioned
whole house surge suppressor. Exercising
an abundance of caution, the generator planning included increasing the
capacity of the gas meter to accommodate double the load during periods when
the generator was running. Did we forget
to mention there was 15 inches of newly fallen snow on the ground? That extra special gift warmed the cockles of
Iris and Corey’s hearts – and caused Corey to buy a snow blower…assemble it…and
clear both driveways and walks while the technicians took turns sliding down
them courtesy of their baloney skinned tires!
Re-Housification Completed 16
Mar 07
By
Iris and Corey Kirschner
Chatham
IL
CHATHAM IL | 16 March 2007: Repair
Masters® and Evans Restoration® completed their efforts building back Iris and
Corey’s kitchen, basement, garage, foyer, laundry room, etc. Like the well-oiled machine that was their
early spring, Iris and Corey had mere minutes to observe the work before the
generator installation got underway.
This also didn’t escape the second blizzard of the season which gave
Corey more time to master his snow blowing skills and making friends
extricating several neighbors’ snowed-in vehicles. For complete photos of the flood and
“build-back” see:
http://www.corey-kirschner.com/Flood
TAX Freedom Day: Still
Waiting!
By
Iris and Corey Kirschner
Chatham
IL
CHATHAM IL | 15 April 2007: Iris and
Corey took a “big hit” on their income taxes again for 2007 “nuking” their
planned trip to Spain (‘course heavy outlays commensurate with re-Housification
helped). As a cost-saving measure, Iris
and Corey traded in their 2nd and 3rd vehicle for a new
Ford Edge, and their gas-guzzling 2004 F-150 for an ethanol-guzzling 2007
F-150. Corey published a letter to the
editor of the Springfield Journal-Register on ethanol:
'Miles per
dollar' a more accurate E-85 standard. I purchased my 2007 Ford F-150 Flexible
Fuel Vehicle (FFV) pickup truck on April 21. After filling my gas tank with
gasoline for the first few fill-ups, I started filling the tank with E-85 fuel
as an experiment in cost, efficiency and green-mindedness. My owner's manual
and the vehicle's invoice explained the use of E-85 fuel well, so I was
prepared to carry out the experiment. My vehicle is EPA rated to deliver 14 and
18 miles per gallon in the city and on the highway, respectively, while using
gasoline. The E-85 assessment is slightly lower at 10 and 13 miles per gallon,
respectively. After some initial
concern, I arrived at the following conclusion: Miles per gallon might not be the
best consumer index given the spiraling price of gasoline. Since I drive mostly highway miles, my
vehicle has been averaging between 16 and 17 miles per gallon. Since filling up
with E-85, I have been averaging 14.5 miles per gallon under the same driving
conditions. Conventional wisdom would indicate poorer performance with E-85
fuel ... until I apply my new metric: miles per dollar. With gasoline, I have been averaging 4.9
miles per dollar. With E-85, and admittedly it is early days, I have been averaging
5.4 miles per dollar. Clearly, with a gallon of E-85 costing about 60 cents
less than gasoline, I should be spending considerably less overall to drive the
same number of miles. I suspect as market efficiencies continue to improve for
delivering E-85 fuel to local filling stations my miles per dollar rate should
continue to rise.
Iris Celebrates 52nd
Birthday w/Radio-Frequency Ablation (RFA) Procedure
By
Iris and Corey Kirschner
Chatham
IL
CHATHAM IL | 20 May 2007: Iris
suffered another cardiac event on May 20th resulting in an overnight
stay at the Prairie Heart Institute.
Unique to her discharge diagnosis this time around was atrial flutter
versus the expected fibrillation. The
flutter is more an electrical anomaly than physiological and lent itself to a
highly successful Radio-Frequency Ablation (RFA) procedure performed by the
leading cardiac electro-physiologist, Dr. Issa, the master electrician. Iris was released with no restrictions in
late August but had a minor setback in late November. She will be wearing a “cardiac event
recorder” for several weeks into 2008 that she is supposed to activate when her
rhythm goes awry. We will keep you
posted on any developments as they may happen in the New Year.
Viva Las Vegas | Viva Fresno!
By
Iris and Corey Kirschner
Chatham
IL
LAS VEGAS NV | June 2007 and October 2007: Iris and
Corey headed straight for Las Vegas in June on a much-needed rest and
recuperation visit to their favorite massage therapists at THE Hotel at
Mandalay Bay. Iris and Corey stayed at
THE Hotel Wednesday-to-Wednesday. On
Saturday morning, Iris and Corey rented a car and drove to Fresno California to
attend Corey’s childhood friend, Ken Strauss’ wedding ceremony to Rebecca. The world-wind side-trip lasted less than 24
hours as Iris and Corey were back at THE Hotel Sunday afternoon in time for
late lunch. The highlight of the wedding
was everyone commenting on “how pink” Iris looked following her RFA
procedure. Yes…it’s very noticeable:
when she’s pale, her heart’s starting to fail!
Iris
and Corey returned to Las Vegas in October to celebrate Corey’s 50th
birthday. This time, they stayed at
Peace Canyon resort near Red Rock and saw “Spamalot” at Wynn Hotel on Corey’s
birthday. Hilarious!
Do
You Hear What I Hear? Hyperacusis
By
Corey Kirschner
Chatham
IL
SPRINGFIELD IL | July 2007: Corey
prepared for his 50th birthday in October with a new ailment:
hyperacusis. This hearing problem,
similar to tinnitus, amplifies certain sound and frequency ranges to very
uncomfortable levels. Corey first
noticed the problem in his left ear after shooting his pistol at the local
range in Springfield next to another shooter with a Dirty Harry-sized
pistol! The next morning, at work, Corey
swore the telephone switch had been upgraded because dial tones sounded
completely different in his left ear than right. For a long time, since his retirement from
the Air Force in mid-2001, Corey has known about his hearing loss which was
heretofore attributed to heredity, and not exposure. The hyperacusis also has another causative
culprit: Aciphex which Corey takes for his GERD problem. Corey’s having audiologist and Ear, Nose,
Throat, and Wallet doctor evaluations in December and will probably be a
candidate for the Veteran’s Administration “at cost” hearing aid program in
January 2008.
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Passages: Thomas Crowell
By
Iris Miranda-Kirschner
Chatham
IL
BALAD AIR BASE IRAQ | 1 November 2007: Iris
and Corey, and the rest of Scott AFB mourned the passing of a local
hero. Master Sergeant Thomas Crowell, formerly
of Neosho MO, died in an attack near Balad.
Two others were killed in the attack with Crowell: Staff Sgt. David A.
Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, Pa., and Nathan J. Schuldheiss, 27, an Air
Force civilian from Newport, R.I.
Crowell, his wife and two children lived in O’Fallon, Ill., a suburb of St.
Louis. http://www.militarycity.com/valor/3161523.html
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