Just as a follow-up to my post about getting and paying attention, I got about a 1,000 views in less than a day on one of my recent YouTube videos, “Backyard Animal Parade.” It’s now over 1.2K.
I never get that kind of response. Usually, it take years before I get that many views on my YouTube channel videos.
Thanks!
Today, we finally got the right bottom of the door weather seal—only not from Pella. We gave up on them after they crapped out after the third try to ship us the right seal. The third one was an even worse failure than the second. It was 51 inches long and the barbs were not spaced right.
I got transferred to a Pella Corporation supervisor who told me that the issue should have been handed to their service department long before it got so far into this circus of mistakes. So supposedly, the supervisor contacted the service department—who never contacted us. Apparently, the supervisor didn’t stay on the case to ensure we got the right item because we never heard back.
Pella just dropped us.
We finally found Hass Wholesale in South Bend, Indiana (update 3/4/2024: no longer has a website, apparently). The story is a little complicated. Evidently, Pella manufactured the bottom door seal we needed at an Ohio factory until around 2010 or so and then shut down the factory.
On the other hand, the invoice on the item we got from Cloud Brothers Wholesale LLC (evidently associated with Hass) identified it as “Pella-Pease 2/8 Bottom Sweep from (2001-2014 5/8” Kerf.” UPS delivered it.
The Pease company also makes their own door seals which would have fit our Pella door. They even call it a Pella seal. But they manufacture them and have nothing to do with Pella. They also don’t make them in the 32-inch length.
Both Pease and Hass sell Pella bottom drive on door seals just like the one we needed. I think Hass gets some of them from Pease. I don’t know what relationship they might have with Pella. Pella never commented on one of our messages indicating we were aware of Hass Wholesale inventory containing an item Pella apparently was not able to find in their own inventory.
Enough of them were available such that Hass Wholesale was able to ship us the right item 3 days after we ordered it.
Pella Corporation in Iowa fumbled the ball repeatedly for more than a month.
We give Hass Wholesale two thumbs up for a job well done. On the other hand, Pella Corporation customer service representatives (in Pella, Iowa no less) while friendly, couldn’t get the job done at all. Pella gets two thumbs down.
Of course, we were nervous about installing the seal, but it looked almost exactly like the old one and the measurements were spot on. The barbs didn’t run the whole length of the seal, but they really didn’t need to be that long. The important thing is that they were 5/8’’ center on center wide to fit the kerfs.
We were a little hesitant about doing the job today, because there’s a Heat Advisory (temperatures up to 105 degrees) and we had to take the entry door off the hinges and air condition the garage so to speak.
There was not much effort other than I used a rubber mallet to help drive the seal securely into the kerfs. I also hammered a couple of small nails into both ends. I didn’t need to adjust the height of the threshold. The door closed securely and the seal was snug.
We had to push towels against the entry door bottom for weeks and worried about bugs and energy bills, waiting for Pella to send us the right seal. We don’t have to do that now.
I have no idea how many people actually replace their bottom of the door seals. I wish them luck if they are on Pella doors. You might want to just go with Hass Wholesale to save time.
The Novavax Covid-19 vaccine was approved by the CDC a few days ago. University of Iowa Health Care was one of the sites in the multi-site Phase 3 trial.
The vaccine is not based on mRNA technology; it uses a more traditional method similar to the flu vaccine, which is familiar to more people.
Heard this tonight on ‘da Friday Blues KCCK with John Heim AKA Big Mo. It’s a little rock and roll from Boz Scaggs.
We have a new water heater today! What a relief. We spent a whole week on pins and needles waiting for the hot water to stop flowing again (maybe abruptly), and put us back on the cold shower regimen.
But the plumber was in and out in 2 hours flat. He was personable, knowledgeable, efficient, fast, and neat. He even put down drop cloths to keep the floors clean as he carted the old tank out and the new one in.
He gave us a quick rundown on the controls. They look easier to read and adjusting the temperature is simple—just turn a dial. The old one had a confusing light array. If you didn’t press them in just the right order, you could end up like a lobster being prepared for dinner.
There is an LED light on the control box and there are more than a dozen System Status Code sequences and they all mean something different. One is called “Heartbeat” (alternates bright and dim) and the control status description is “Call for Heat (no fault conditions).” I guess that means I call the plumber whenever I want hot water, which sounds a little inconvenient, but that’s how these newfangled gadgets are.
He was good with a joke, too. When we were discussing the controls and the LED indicator light, I asked him how we would know if something is wrong. On cue, he quipped, “You won’t have hot water.” I think he’s told that one about a million times. I’ll give him a call when the Heartbeat LED blinks.
Of course, we got an owner’s manual. It clearly states that the manual “must remain with water heater.” There was no manual with the old water heater when we moved in a couple of years ago.
It’s a pretty big deal to get a new water heater. If you have a young family, you generally have to give up your first born as collateral to cover the cost. That’s why you want to check your insurance coverage. In general, it’s a bad idea to try robbing banks to boost your finances.
The water heater is energy efficient, with an Energy Star label on the tank. It also has an ECO (Energy Cut Off) system that will shut off the water heater if the water temperature is too high.
There is a thorough Troubleshooting Guidelines section which includes Corrective Actions. A couple of them sound kind of Scary: “Combustion Odors,” and “Sizzling, Rumbling Noises.” Funny, I would think the Corrective Action would be to head for a hotel on the other side of town and don’t pack any bags. But it doesn’t mention that.
Anyway, we’re very pleased to be in hot water.
University of Iowa research shows that exercise could help for protecting us against Alzheimer’s disease. After age 65, our risk for this category of dementia doubles every 5 years.
Even if scientists develop effective and safe senolytic compounds that could allow us to live to be 200 years old, that won’t be happening in the near future. There’s another way to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Exercise can lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, especially some form of aerobic exercise.
When it comes to exercise, any exercise is better than none.
This is just a quick shout-out to the Iowa City Fire Department (Iowa City Fire Engine 4 and Engine 1) and the Johnson County ambulance service for their outstanding rescue of a person who suffered a cardiac arrest recently. It was reported in the news and the city of Iowa City wrote a great story about it as well.
We visited with a firefighter at Fire Engine 4 when we were out for a walk a while back.
Every day I see news stories about people acting up just to get attention. I pay attention to the stories about people who exemplify courage and kindness.
The new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number is available starting today. Iowa is with the program and you can read more about it at the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach website.
You can also learn more at the 988 Lifeline web page.
The temperature will climb into the 90s and beyond beginning early next week. Please stay safe. Follow these guidelines about how to keep well-hydrated when the humidity soars. Be prepared to prevent heat illness.
A couple of days ago, while we were playing cribbage, Sena asked me who sang the song “Against the Wind.” I offered a name, which later turned out to be wildly wrong. It bugged her so much she got up from the cribbage game and went to the computer to look it up.
Of course, Bob Seger wrote the lyrics and sang it. She asked me what I thought it meant. I wasn’t sure at the time. I hadn’t thought about it for a really long time.
I read about it on the web. I didn’t know what the lyric “8 miles a minute” meant and found a forum message saying that it corresponds roughly to the speed of a cruising airliner which is about a “480 mph.” That’s technically more like 480 knots, which converts to about 550 mph.
Anyway, it’s really fast and might be a way of saying you’re moving through life at breakneck speed. In Seger’s case, it might have had a more concrete meaning, referring to flying all over from concert to concert.
The song was released in 1980, which was about the time we moved to Ames so I could go back to college at Iowa State University (ISU). It was a big change from working as a draftsman and land surveyor’s assistant in my hometown of Mason City.
If you extend the “against the wind” metaphor a little bit, Sena and I were both moving against the wind in terms of our place in society, income level, location and educational attainment. I thought I wanted to be an engineer at the time, mostly because I had worked for years for consulting engineers.
Backing up in time a little, I had done some undergraduate college work previously at an HBCU (historically black college/university), Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) in Austin, Texas in the mid-1970s.
That was also a kind of move against the wind. I grew up in Mason City, and often I was the only black kid in grade school. I got used to that, although the racism was more overt back then and it was difficult sometimes to bear up against that kind of wind. On the other hand, I felt like a fish out of water at H-TC. I just felt like I didn’t fit in. It was part of the reason I left Austin.
It was also challenging to fit in at ISU. I figured out quickly that I would never complete the engineering degree program. The math and hard science courses were tough from the beginning and only got harder. I realized I was going against the wind there.
So, I changed my major and settled on medical technology, which led to working in a hospital laboratory. But it took about a year to get a job after graduation. Looking back, It was a frustrating time and that really felt like pushing against a headwind. I don’t know what I would have done without Sena.
I finally got into medical school at the University of Iowa. Biostatistics and Biochemistry were brutal. I was very close to quitting before the 3rd year of clinical rotations. I doubted I was cut out to be a physician. I thought about going back to surveying. But I didn’t.
Many deadlines, commitments, and struggles leading to brief forays from academia into private practice led me to think of myself as more of a fireman or a cowboy than an academician. Yet I spent most of my career at the University of Iowa.
Now I’m retired. Sena is my shelter against the wind. I guess if you look hard enough, just about anybody can relate to Bob Seger’s song. Let the cowboys ride.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 