Musings, Commentaries, Photos and Reviews

What are the rules for a mailbox? The regulation height is 42" from the bottom of the mailbox to the ground. Your house number should be clearly marked on the mailbox with painted numbers or stickers no less than 1" high. The box should be on the right-hand side of the road as traveled by the mail carrier. It should be located approximately 2' from the side of the road to ensure the carrier can get off the road enough to clear traffic. In my town there is another unwritten “suggestion”. That is to make your mailbox vandal-proof. I have had my mailbox smashed numerous times with baseball bats. Once my attention was drawn to a small fire. Somebody had set the newspaper on fire and the plastic newspaper tube was burning in spectacular fashion. For me it was a moment of suspend belief, wondering what why I was seeing this orange glow from the road side. My neighbor has constructed a mailbox that is truly awe-inspiring, only pictures can do ...

We woke up to a rather chilly first floor. It was obvious that the baseboards were downright COLD. I measured 52 degrees F with my trusty and handy infrared thermometer. I suspected the check valve in the return line, so I went to the cellar and beat it with a hammer (right tool for the right job) I tried to listen to the circulating pump and it appeared to be operational. We are using a programmable thermostat (Honeywell) that produces an audible click when it turns on. I tried cycling the heat and heard the click. I thought I had completed my troubleshooting. It was obvious to me that either the pipe was clogged or that the pump had failed. After a call to our oil burner experts, they called me back and suggested I check the batteries in the thermostat. I explained that I dutifully change these when we switch back to standard time, but when fresh batteries were installed the heat came on and all is well. What happened? Apparently the 11 days of no power had an effect on the bat...