It appears that I have to really deal with my half-working hot water tanks.

Whirlpool gets an A+ this time for customer service.  Didn't even ask me for proof of purchase on both of my hot water heaters.  They are overnighting the parts to me.  I had zero wait time to talk to a live human, and that human did not come with a thick accent from India which what happened with me dad when I was out of town last year trying to diagnose the other tank.  I have no problems with customer service overseas - but they better be speaking to the demographic they are serving with a hardly noticeable accent.  The last thing a company wants is a bad part combined with bad customer service experience.

So, A+ for Whirlpool so far.  The cold shower this morning only worked due to the freak'in humidity this week.

I can watch the lives of the people of Sterling and Cooper for the rest of my life...I hope they keep them coming.

Oh no.  For the last week my Whirpool hot water tank's pilot light has gone out every other day.  I just replaced this tank last year.    My other Whirlpool tank which is still very new is bad too (duplex).  For a company that specialized in hot water tanks, Whirlpool has an abysmal product.  It's not like the design has changed much the last few decades...they just make it HARDER to fix yourself.  I remember when my dad could just easily replace the bad part as everything wasn't integrated as it is now.   The fix now is replacing the whole integrated controller.  Unless it's cheap with a local plumber, I am going to have to scrap two tanks both less than 5 years old.  Do NOT buy a Whirlpool Hot Water tank.  Do some good research as I DIDN'T do.  Hot water tanks seem like a slam dunk...they either work or wouldn't be selling.  Apparently I was wrong.

Just finished watching the 'Urban Astrophysicist' on UCTV with DeGrasse Tyson...outstanding.  I have seen him on the History Channel when they have a show on 'The Universe' but never a sit-down session with students.
 

Reading the motor vs machine.  I can see both sides of the argument.  A similar argument is made in this article with real world race results alongside some data analysis of your competitors.  Instead of buying a better bike, wheels, carbon parts, etc., first perform a simple analysis...it's ok to get analytical, learn about who your competitors actually are: 

Bring up all of your race results with AG ranking - and make sure you have the results of those racers who were better than you.  Do a little research on the internet to see what time savings a particular piece of equipment (aluminum to carbon bike, non aero to aero wheels) would gain you in time saved over X distance.  Per the article linked above, extrapolate the theoretical maximum time savings over the course of the races you did last year.  Adjust your results to include the time saved.  Did the theoretical maximum time savings help you move up in place?  If you didn't podium but still were in the top 10 of your AG, did you move up significantly to get close to podium?  If you did podium in your AG, would it help you go from position 3 to 2 or 2 to 1?  Then look at how fast your bike splits were compared to the others placing near you...do you have room for improvement?  Do you have the time (more training) to put in for improvement? 

From the calculations:

If getting a more lighter bike, wheels, etc will put you from 5-10th place to near 4rth place in your AG, that part will help and any increasing in training will help you podium.

If getting a more lighter bike, wheels, etc won't get you hardly any closer to podium based on the extrapolated race results, then you probably don't need the lighter, more expensive part and it's best to train more on the bike.

Just from purely a financial standpoint, if you aren't in the top 5-10 of your AG and the time saving calculations of buying this new part won't move your spot, then save your money and train more or train smarter.  ONCE you get to the point in your calculations where you are doing just as well as the top people on bike splits and times and buying that new part will theoretically guarantee you to be near 3, 4 or 5th place in your AG, then go for it.

Use the analysis like a carrot.  Look at your prior race results and of the competitors in your AG, if a theoretical max time savings of the shiny, new part can get you within podium and you have determined that more training won't (you are already training well and your splits are comparable, or you just don't have the time to increaese training load), then go for it and buy it.  BUT if this shiny, new part won't get you near podium yet, use it as a carrot so that you can say 'I WILL buy this part IF I can increase my training load such that my improved bike placement will get me close to where I can be competitive to podium.

OR, just do what makes you happy.  Which is totally fine too as long as it's not the kids lunch money.

Moved about a yard of soil/compost fresh from the treatment plant to the two new 8'x4' plots.  My neighbors will not like me for the next week but this stuff puts vegetables on steroids...amazing and natural.  I hope to plant this weekend:

Brocolli, green beans, snap peas, tomatoes, green peppers, pumpkins, gourds, cucumbers and sunflowers. 

Anybody know how to propagate onions?