"If you rest, you rust." - Helen Hayes

I will not rust tonight! I had a string of things on today's to-do list that required special focus, or was physically demanding, or challenged me in some way. Most of it I can't write about in a blog post so you'll have to take my word for it.
Pam calls before she goes to bed at her mom's, and with the three hour time difference that's usually between 7 and 7:30 here. I have a feeling our bedtimes won't be far apart tonight.

This afternoon I replaced a shower faucet at Noel's. They're in Minnesota for the summer but returning next Thursday. He called last week to say Marvin, his neighbor who looks in on the house while they're gone, reported that the shower faucet was stuck. Wouldn't budge.
Because Noel has ALS and has entirely lost the use of his arms and hands he works the faucet with his mouth, and it needs to be loose. He's had trouble in the past and I've disassembled/lubricated/reassembled it at least twice, but when I checked it today I quickly saw what Marvin meant. Even my massive bulk couldn't get it to work.
So, take it apart, take the cartridge to the plumbing supply store, and get a new one. Turns out Moen (do yourself a favor - never buy a Moen anything) has redesigned the cartridge. I installed it, tested it, and it works as easily and smoothly as anyone could want. I think Noel will find this suits his needs well.
We hit 102 today and the dew point has been in the lower 70's since this morning. What does that have to do with the faucet at Noel's? A: the AC was off in his house and must have been turned off at the breaker box because changing the thermostat had no effect on it. By the time I was done I was pretty much drenched in sweat.

Pam arrives late tomorrow afternoon. Given the time zone change she'll be dealing with it will be well past her dinner time so we'll stop on the way home from the airport. Phone calls are good but it's hard to discuss things that way. And we've got lots to catch up on.

I have six or eight news sites I check a couple times a day, including one devoted to automotive related stories. Today I read about the way sub-prime auto lenders are using technology to keep track of the people who borrow money from them.
(Do you know about the blight that is the sub-prime auto loan business? It's as bad as the sub-prime mortgage market, just on a smaller dollar scale. But like that now-dead beast it's just as dangerous for everyone, including those of us who will never go near a sub-prime auto loan.)
Using existing technology already built into newer cars the lender can remotely de-activate the ignition module if the buyer is late on a payment. Most jurisdictions require a borrower be behind at least 30 days before the lender can take any action but some don't have a time requirement. And some lenders ignore one that's on the books.

Four days late? Come out of work to discover your new Toyota won't start. Need to get to a doctor? Your payment was due last week, you missed it, and that Focus isn't going anywhere.

But wait! There's more! Some lenders have used the built in GPS tracking to define a "geo-fenced" area. Go outside of that zone and you'll find you can't start your car.

Yes, it's a small minority of lenders who are using a car's technology this way. Most sub-prime lenders wait the required 30 days, and some create a code that you can use to start the car once - to get you home from work or, - but it demonstrates that any technological advance has a corresponding associated risk of abuse.

Did I mention that '65 Falcons don't have computers or GPS modules? Turns out '59 Apache trucks don't either.

A storm system is rolling into the valley tonight that they say may bring over an inch of rain between midnight and tomorrow afternoon.
Color me skeptical.