Another one!

See the post below from yesterday for the basis of this little rant. Today's stubborn jerk was my dentist, or more correctly the dental office manager. I'd gone to this new dentist after a very long wait, and learned that I had a log of work that needed doing. They presented me with an estimate that really made me reel. When I questioned it I was told that all my insurance covered was 20% and I would have to cover the rest. I hadn't used my dental coverage since starting the plan, but was taken aback by the poor coverage. But who am I to tell these people who handle dental insurance day in and day out that they were wrong.

I checked the policy and it did indeed look like the plan covered most of this work, so I called the dentist's office to tell them that I thought they had made a mistake. Once again they insisted that they had it right and I was facing literally thousands in dental costs on my own. So I called the insurance company. After wading through their telephone menus to find help, and making a wrong turn or two, I found a customer server who also told me I had the right picture. To their credit, she called the dentist's office manager and after 10-15 minutes of classical music on hold, she informed me that they realized that they had the rates backward.

I can't wait to hear her response when I go in tomorrow. I've got a feeling Clinton is somehow to blame for this as well.

Some people just can't reverse course

I just took a short trip to the bank to deposit a check. About a block away from the bank I nearly ran into the back of some guy because he stopped suddenly and his brake lights didn't work. I was annoyed, but remained controlled about it. I thought I saw him turn around in his seat but couldn't tell why.

As it turned out, he pulled into my bank's drive up window and I pulled up in the next lane alongside of him. I rolled down my window and informed him, without anger but probably with evidence of my annoyance, that his brake lights were out. He launched into some tirade about my sharing the road. I didn't catch it all because of the distance, but reiterated that his brake lights were not working. He said they'd just been checked and they were okay. I remained calm and told him I just looked and they weren't okay and that he should get them checked again. He just got angrier and angrier. I had to roll up my window to avoid getting riled myself. Fortunately he finished his transaction before I did and drove off.

This guy got off to a bad start apparently when he thought I had nearly hit his car. When I told him that his brake lights weren't working he couldn't stop and think that maybe he was at fault. He had to stay the course. He must have been a Republican.

I wonder what he'll do when the evidence, maybe a real accident or a traffic citation, is overwhelming. He'll probably blame Clinton.

Hot seat

About a year ago we bought a modest size building for our business. We did some remodeling to the interior as it had been a little seedy. One of the things we did was to remodel the single bathroom, which entailed knocking down the walls of the existing bathroom and redoing the plumbing. The bathroom was completed to our satisfaction although many other things were not, but that is not today's story.

Only a few weeks ago I noticed that when I went into the bathroom to use the toilet, I'd lift the lid and get the sensation of warm air on my hand. A new employee was apparently in the habit of putting down both the seat and the lid, as I hadn't noticed this in the past. I was a little perplexed by the warmth of the air and wondered only a little about it. It was summer in Florida and everything gets pretty warm, but after it occurred a few times my curiosity got the better of me.

One time when I noticed the warm air I decided to check for the source. I'd suspected it was the water, so I lifted the top of the toilet tank (sticking my hand in the toilet itself seemed so vile) and sure enough the water was actually hot. It was too hot to be naturally hot water, but instead it was apparently heated water. Our dumbass contractor had actually plumbed the toilet to the hot water pipe. So every time the toilet is flushed I end up paying to heat another couple gallons a water.

Of course I cursed the stupidity of a guy that when faced with an open wall with full access to the hot and cold water pipes actually chooses the wrong pipe. I suppose that I could look for the silver lining, but it's not really there. I could perhaps figure that by flushing the toilet with hot water I'd keep the germs to a minimum, but in reality the water won't stay hot in the tank unless it is flushed often. We only have a tiny hot water heater to begin with so if someone flushes the toilet, we will reduce the hot water available in our kitchenette to wash coffee cups.

How much money am I wasting? Probably not enough to justify paying someone to bust open the wall to switch the pipes, then patch the hole and repaint the wall behind the toilet. Instead I'll just get to think poorly about the idiot every time I hear the toilet flush.