Unfortunately, yesterday took a lousy turn with a certain event that put me in a foul mood (made worse by Calvin hiding under the couch and refusing to come out). I’m not going to blog about it if for no other reason than I didn’t have the foresight to make this blog anonymous, but if you’re up for a crazy scavenger hunt, most of it can be pieced together from blog comments elsewhere yesterday. Enjoy, diehards!
As a result, I was more or less just dragging my ass by the time I made it to the second Halifax social media meet-up. Seeing another crowd of 25-30 smart, hip, local professionals took the edge off a busy and lousy week though. Plus we got to learn about a great upcoming opportunity for a creative workspace. Oh. And the gin. I definitely can’t overlook the gin.
I was a little disappointed that it was so hard to hear our presenters over the John Mayer but maybe that’ll be my motivation to play around with our host locations in the future. On the plus side, Paul Wesson was on the ball and took video. You can find it here.
Of course, all the reviews started pouring in before I even got home last night so here they are (like last time, I’ll update as more get posted). Check the event wiki for details on events past and present and stay tuned for the June edition:
Yes, this was a group of people from diverse career-walks, but they all easily connected together through discussions around social media and technology. It was interesting to talk about Twitter, blogging, tech conferences, and streaming video. Everyone was learning from each other but underlying that were the bonds of friendships and connections that were being made through a genuine networking event. It seems a movement has started in Halifax that will serve the community well going forward. – Marketing IntegrityWith the introductions primarily finished at the first meet up this time around the core group spoke more openly and in more depth to each other – more as friends than acquaintances. There were definitely some news faces out tonight which was great to see. But we have a core group of goers who will continue to support these meet ups and ensure it’s future success. - Justin Gill
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Such wheels are certainly in motion!
Oh no, that’s awful. But at least it was free.
Something like that happened to my family once when we were on vacation. A neighborhood kid was watching the pets and he flipped the kill switch. It was summer in Georgia, and when we got home, it was like 90 million degrees in the house. It was awful. Now there is a big sign above it that says “Not a Light Switch.” Maybe you guys should make one of those!
Punk’d? HAHAHA! That’s a good one!
That furnace guy probably blogged about you guys ;>
I know what you mean about the “blame” thing. The newf didn’t mean it but it made you mad, right?
Well, today the hubby cut through a vital reticulation pipe in the backyard. He didn’t mean to but I’m so mad!
We’re cursed to forever have brown, dead lawns.
It happened at the last place too…
I had no clue that furnaces had those!
you should feel somewhat relieved that it was really cold. you can always make yourself warmer.. whereas if it’s 40 degrees celcius… that’s it, no cooling and you’d probably die..
or something of the like.
i like your writing
that is SO something that would happen to me. and then Hubs would be like “uhm, did you check the switch?” and i’d be like “i hate you.”
but you? YOU i love.
They are expensive hot water bottles!! Ha!
I think my kitty could maintain a nice 72 degree household. Seriously. 75 if he purred a lot.
Who are we kidding here… it’s totally his fault.
We have a switch like that in our apartment, apparrently no use for it whatsoever.
F’n funny!! Don’t hurt the Newf too bad!
Homeowning brings great joy and at the same time grief! But, I wouldn’t go back to paying someone elses house payment. Not if my life depended on it!!
Wow, those do look similar! You should put your own skull and crossbone signs around it, it could be pretty fun to design it yourself lol. And hey, now you have something to tease him about for the rest of however long. And also, if you ever end up doing something like that, there’s always “but remember the time….”
And once again, I loved your descriptions!
Yeah, I want to pour my hot tea all over my frozen self everyday at work. I feel your frostbitten pain. (I’m at work so I’m still actively feeling it. Right now, right now.)
If you were a service man, I’d let you service me!
(Hooray! Got one in there!)
Appropriate(ish) comment:
Fuck. THAT!
I will just let somebody else buy a house FOR me– I will just live in it.
(Any takers??!)
This is the greatest post I’ve yet read about home ownership! Because in the end, you didn’t have to fork out five grand to get it fixed. And because you now know that whoever installed the kill switch was only a step above completely retarded.
this isn’t limited to home ownership
my landlord once forgot to refill the oil and we were without heat for like a day and a half…in january (albeit not in canada…so i guess that counts less)
I am SO sorry! You weren’t kidding about a normal looking switch. I would have lost my cool (maybe that’s the wrong word) if I sat in my house all day freezing and it was because the other owner turned off the damn furnace.
Home ownership. Stealing the food out of our mouths.
I work for a heating and cooling company in NY and it’s a county law here that the “Emergency Switch” has a specific cover plate that tells you what the switch is for, is painted bright red, and placed high up on the wall, as yours is.
http://www.goodexperience.com/broken/images/furnaceswitch.jpg
Doesn’t stop people from flipping them off though and not knowing what the hell is going on. I read your post yesterday and totally thought to ask you that, but figured yours was painted red too and that you would know if it was off. Usually its the old farts that have no idea whats going on.
We woulda charged you for gas mileage though
That is the happiest looking Kill Switch ever.
And it appears to be at normal switch height! I feel like something like that, you should have to assemble a silver monkey or something beforehand. Or at least jump.
OK, I laughed. And I also wouldn’t be surprised if they still charged you $4,000.
My old cottage had a kill switch with an EXTREMELY SHARP edge that was put on the stairs to my bedroom. I’d be lying if I said that I never accidentally turned it off or bumped into it while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
It’s why I just wet the bed a lot.
I laughed and laughed until I got to this part:
“you’re going to end up owning a home (unless you live in Vancouver…sorry…)”
…and now I can’t stop weeping. Why do you do it, Ben? WHY?
Ben, if I am ever lucky enough to get a dream date with you, it simply MUST take place in your gorgeous and glamorous furnace room!!!
Had a similar experience in Connecticut- some random dial was supposed to be turned every so often to keep some random pressure gauge up, but no one told me. The service guy thought I was three shades of stupid. I got charged $78 for the service visit and the right to access heat I already paid for.
This was better than any Cribs episode I’ve ever watched for more than .456 seconds.
That’s right Ben, two can play the “Drop MTV References” game.
In that it’s painful, humorless, and has that pesky Ashton dropping by all the time? God he’s so needy.
electric blankets. they will change your life. at least flipping a switch turned out to be free. congrats!
So when I read the part about someday, somewhere owning a home I got all “no I won’t, Ben Boudreau, you know nothing – NOTHING!” but then got to the “unless you live in Vancouver” part and I laughed. Harsh but fair, my friend. Harsh but fair. Wait, it’s actually not fair at all. Excuse me while I shake my fist at the Vancouver housing market.
Last night I went by my Mom’s house and it was freezing. Their furnace blew up a few days ago. The furnace company says they should have it fixed by February. FEBRUARY! Craziness. My Mom got all “oh hell no” on them but they wouldn’t budge. Apparently because they are not in any danger of freezing to death, they’re low priority. Stupid West Coast and it’s mild temperate. Wait a minute, I didn’t mean that.
As long as the home doesn’t come with Ashton Kutcher, I think I’ll be alright.
Lesson: labels man…labels!
hahaha classic.
Hh and at least you have a heater…I survive on electric blankets, but I live in Texas- which means I turn them on 3 times a year
yeah, we had that experience the first time the AC broke. Dan had his buddy come over, he fiddles there for 30 seconds and then asks;
“When was the last time you changed your filter?”
Dan and I looked at each other and raised our shoulders in that 80′s sitcom style indicating we had no idea what he was talking about.
2 minutes later we had much cleaner cool air blowing through our house…
Oh man. You totally need to put up a little sign above that switch that says:
Furnace Kill Switch: Do Not Turn Off… like you did that one time… and we totally froze for no reason… remember that?
I love using my dog as a hot water bottle in the winter. I think he loves it as well. And even if he doesn’t I don’t care b/c I’m bigger than him and I’m the boss.
Oh, that happened with me and my dishwasher at my condo. I am the only one to blame, too. It worked for the best, though. My dishwasher was harvest gold and needed to go, and thinking it was broken helped me get past the mental block I had about spending the money to replace it.
There is something terribly wrong with that kill switch looking so harmless. WTF? If it helps matters any, the developer of our unit put in all our light switches backwards … as in press down to turn them on and press up to turn them off. Sadistic devil he is!
Oh dear.
I think you should paint the switch red and enclose it in a glass box because this is just embarrassing.
Something tells me this incident is going to come up again in future fights.
I am glad you are all warm and toasty again.
Nothing better than someone you call for help treating you like a bumbling idiot (that you most certainly are NOT). Why do you think I still have no sound drive on my laptop? Yeah, because I don’t want to call the help desk and be laughed at! In the end, I’m glad you’re warm and didn’t have to pay thousands to replace a furnace!
Usually kill switches aren’t so out there saying “flip me, flip me.” What the hell? That was an innocent mistake waiting to happen.
You know I’ve discovered that you learn a lot in owning a home. Little shit like that happens 7 times a year, but next time I guess you’ll know.
FYI I learned last year if the garbage disposal doesn’t work but the motor is running, a broom handle will dislodge anything from it. Everyone probably knows that. Well I didn’t and either did my husband. Now when something in the kitchen breaks, I’m very quick to stick a broom handle in it.
Oh dear…that is an unfortunately placed and unfortunately innocent looking “kill switch”. Growing up, my dad often spoke of his desire for a “kill switch” for every light in the house. He’s probably jealous of your “kill switch”.
Oh man, I’m sorry. I get angry when I can’t get the heat to work when it’s 65. I agree with shaz, there is someone in the world who needs to have their face beaten in, I just think it should be with the faceplate.
Who was the genius that installed a normal faceplate on the “kill” switch? That is the person you should beat with a sock full of golf balls.
Thank goodness it didn’t cost you guys a fortune! So much better that it just cost The Newf respect. Right?
Maybe not? I hope his pride is doing alright!
Maybe I’m completely idiotic here, but one of the reasons I moved back to the Midwest was because I missed the whole, “Fighting with the elements and winning” sort of thing. And electricity/heat/whatever being out is just an excuse to say you fought it and you won.
And not having to pay? That’s priceless. Truly. Get it? Priceless. God, I’m funny today.
Are we on speaking terms again? If not, I totally gave you an award on my blog to make it all better.
Because really, its not my fault I live in Miami and that I don’t even know what a furnace looks like.
Shit, there it is. You not talking to me again.
I’m sorry, but I can’t stop laughing.
OK, and what is it with houses always having at least one phantom switch that you spend forever clueless as to what it does???? I think sometimes electricians just put them there for fun…
So, even though you didn’t mention Tail Spin, you still got your furnace ‘fixed’ for free.
I believe in magical thinking!
Now let’s all focus our attention on me finding a sack full of money waiting for me on my doorstep. I’m not going to be too specific about the time frame; anytime between now and Friday will be fine.
Ok….go!
So you are telling me you didn’t yell or drop some f-bombs? Wow. You are one very patient person. Some very filthy words in very angry tones would have escaped my lips!
On the bright side you didn’t have to pay a gajillion dollars to have it fixed.
You have something in your house called the “Kill Switch” and you are complaining??? You don’t put on a long black robe, flick the switch and then give a creepy laugh like some kind of cartoon villain? What kind of home owner are you?
Been there, done that! Only for me it was the a/c that died during a fun 108deg DC summer. At least it was in a rental though… and their idiot maintenance person didn’t think to check the switch either. So they had to pay $100 for a technician to come out and flip a switch. HAHAHA Suckers!