It never fails: I get an extended vacation, therefore I get sick.
It also seems to never fail that when I'm sick, there's no hot water in the bathroom. I was able to take a bath last night so it's not a complete disaster, but I could sure have used a hot shower this morning. Alas, it was not to be.
I don't even have any attack vectors for how I got this one - my entire contact with the outside world since Wednesday has been leaving my apartment to visit Fionna, who has been playing video games pretty much the entire time.
The only things I can think of are food poisoning, or maybe the kids next door are sick and it's air transmitted.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
I love Louisville
Actually, I think I would pretty much love anywhere I lived. I even really like this apartment, other than its minor weirdnesses and occasional major problem. On that front:
- My bathroom finally got painted. They didn't sand it down well enough, but the paint covers it acceptably. The painter didn't use any drop cloths or masks, but it doesn't look like he splattered anything of importance this time.
- It's been either warm or not windy for pretty much the last week. Either way, with the modifications I made to the apartment, I've been able to keep the temperature downright balmy in here. Hopefully this will last through the rest of the winter.
- I think my neighbors belong to a cult. They're from India, so I understand there may be various rituals that differ from ours - but their volume and frequency have become somewhat alarming. It's like those horror story exposee's you expect to see on TV:
"Louisville Indian Death Cult Massacre! Innocent bystander in neighboring apartment killed in blood ritual"
- My bathroom finally got painted. They didn't sand it down well enough, but the paint covers it acceptably. The painter didn't use any drop cloths or masks, but it doesn't look like he splattered anything of importance this time.
- It's been either warm or not windy for pretty much the last week. Either way, with the modifications I made to the apartment, I've been able to keep the temperature downright balmy in here. Hopefully this will last through the rest of the winter.
- I think my neighbors belong to a cult. They're from India, so I understand there may be various rituals that differ from ours - but their volume and frequency have become somewhat alarming. It's like those horror story exposee's you expect to see on TV:
"Louisville Indian Death Cult Massacre! Innocent bystander in neighboring apartment killed in blood ritual"
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I love these elevators
This morning, elevator number 1 was on the fritz again. I've never seen this kind of failure mode before; it was sitting at the lobby floor, repeatedly opening and closing its door on about a ten second cycle. It was doing this when I started my laundry; and it was still doing it when I was finished. It's probably still going right now.
On the plus side, I saw the washing machine guy come in to work on the washers, so perhaps we'll get number 3 and number 6 working again. It's good that the building is only a quarter full; if we were at max capacity, the only way to get an empty washer would be to do laundry at 3 am.
In other news, the weather has started to get pretty cold, but other than a difference of 20+ degrees between the floor and ceiling the internal heat is keeping up. The tap water in the bathroom is also unusually hot - so I suspect someone turned up the temperature on the main boilers downstairs. It's a much needed change.
On the plus side, I saw the washing machine guy come in to work on the washers, so perhaps we'll get number 3 and number 6 working again. It's good that the building is only a quarter full; if we were at max capacity, the only way to get an empty washer would be to do laundry at 3 am.
In other news, the weather has started to get pretty cold, but other than a difference of 20+ degrees between the floor and ceiling the internal heat is keeping up. The tap water in the bathroom is also unusually hot - so I suspect someone turned up the temperature on the main boilers downstairs. It's a much needed change.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Ahh, winter
The last few days have been interesting. It's been pretty cold, which isn't a huge problem on its own; as long as it's dead calm outside, you draw all the shades properly, and you don't turn on any fans, the temperature in the apartment stays livable. Uncomfortable, but livable.
Unfortunately, the wind has been blowing like crazy. I never realized before now the sheer level of draftiness here. Perhaps I was simply not looking for it before.
There are of course the obvious candidates of the sliding glass door and the seals around the heating units. But the real surprise was the kitchen: apparently the space behind the dishwasher and garbage disposal is connected directly to the large utility space between the walls. That utility space is cold as hell and the wind pushes it all into the kitchen.
It never really occurred to me to block off the kitchen of all places, but doing so has helped the heat situation a lot. Just another helpful tip from an 800 building resident!
Unfortunately, the wind has been blowing like crazy. I never realized before now the sheer level of draftiness here. Perhaps I was simply not looking for it before.
There are of course the obvious candidates of the sliding glass door and the seals around the heating units. But the real surprise was the kitchen: apparently the space behind the dishwasher and garbage disposal is connected directly to the large utility space between the walls. That utility space is cold as hell and the wind pushes it all into the kitchen.
It never really occurred to me to block off the kitchen of all places, but doing so has helped the heat situation a lot. Just another helpful tip from an 800 building resident!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Broken elevator
Elevator number 1 is stuck at the third floor. With both elevators working, the wait time in the lobby is typically about ten seconds. With one of them stuck, the wait time is typically two minutes.
It's been stuck there since Sunday.
It's been stuck there since Sunday.
Problem report and review - no hot water
And now that all the initial and fun stuff has been posted, we get to my first review and problem report for the building.
If you like taking showers with hot water, live somewhere else.
The hot water is out in the shower today. This seems odd in that the hot water for the bathroom sink was for the first time I can remember too hot for comfort last night.
I can handle the hot water in the shower being out once or even twice a year for scheduled maintenance. However, this is at least the tenth time this year I've unexpectedly not had hot water. (Note that by 'hot', I mean 'not freezing'. The water here is never actually 'hot'.)
If you like taking showers with hot water, live somewhere else.
The hot water is out in the shower today. This seems odd in that the hot water for the bathroom sink was for the first time I can remember too hot for comfort last night.
I can handle the hot water in the shower being out once or even twice a year for scheduled maintenance. However, this is at least the tenth time this year I've unexpectedly not had hot water. (Note that by 'hot', I mean 'not freezing'. The water here is never actually 'hot'.)
Natural Disaster Photos, 800 Style
One of the good things about living here are the natural disasters. The 800 building is extremely well placed in that regard; the disaster comes, the disaster goes, and for the most part the building is unaffected. The building power is on the underground high voltage grid that also serves the nearby hospital complex, so power failures are incredibly rare.
Here are a couple of links to disaster pages I put up in the last year or so. Both of these were really fun to be in, and the only inconvenience was that I had to move a friend's car from the lower level of the garage to the upper level during the flood.
The August 2009 4th Street Louisville Flood
The January 2009 Louisville Ice Storm
There was also a massive wind storm a while back when part of a hurricane made it this far inland, but I didn't think to take pictures at the time. There wasn't a huge amount to see either, which was disappointing given that a quarter of a million people ended up without power. The 800 building power didn't so much as flicker the whole time.
Here are a couple of links to disaster pages I put up in the last year or so. Both of these were really fun to be in, and the only inconvenience was that I had to move a friend's car from the lower level of the garage to the upper level during the flood.
The August 2009 4th Street Louisville Flood
The January 2009 Louisville Ice Storm
There was also a massive wind storm a while back when part of a hurricane made it this far inland, but I didn't think to take pictures at the time. There wasn't a huge amount to see either, which was disappointing given that a quarter of a million people ended up without power. The 800 building power didn't so much as flicker the whole time.
Why this Blog
When I first saw the 800 Building, I pretty much fell in love with it. I'm an electrical engineer, and I've got a soft spot for buildings made out of glass, concrete, and iron. I love the location, and the built in parking garage. I do not want to leave.
However, the building has problems. A lot of them. And if you're considering a place to stay in downtown Louisville, I'd recommend you think twice about saying here. This web page chronicles the problems I've run into living here, and I'll keep updating it so long as I can stand to remain here.
I maintain this page in the feeble hope that management will do something and I won't have to move somewhere else. As I said, I really like the building, but recent events are just ridiculous.
However, the building has problems. A lot of them. And if you're considering a place to stay in downtown Louisville, I'd recommend you think twice about saying here. This web page chronicles the problems I've run into living here, and I'll keep updating it so long as I can stand to remain here.
I maintain this page in the feeble hope that management will do something and I won't have to move somewhere else. As I said, I really like the building, but recent events are just ridiculous.
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