Well, aren't we special?

Not only did we get a visit from one service technician yesterday, but it just so happens there was a second visit as well.

The first one was expected:

Our landlady came by on Monday morning on her bike to tell me that someone would be coming to service the furnace. This is good, since I had noticed before Christmas that the thing was labouring a tad and I figured it would be a good idea to clean the filter, which helped a great deal.
I was in the meanwhile planning on getting a replacement, but you can't just walk into a place like Home Despot or Canadian Tire and pick one off the shelves it seems. So I hadn't gotten around to that, and it turns out it was just as well, since replacing the filter is part of the maintenance agreement.

That would be good to know. Mind you, it would have been good to know that there even was a service contract, but let's not get all snippy.

Maybe someone told us, and I simply missed that little piece of information? Like....the part where there's no flippin' heat in yer bedroom...

Must have missed that too.

Service Technician dude was a nice enough fellow (didn't take his picture....darn it) and he did recommend that the filter be vacuumed once a month, and put in a crisp new one. He did some other mucking around, but since the furnace is only about eight years old, there's not too much else required.

Now...the second "visit" was a little unexpected, since at some point in the day yesterday I heard something being dropped into the goofy little mail slot at the front, and discovered a notice from Cogas that our cable had been cut off.

Swell.

Now, we had had our suspicions that there was something up with that, since there had been a couple notices back before Christmas (I think it was...I didn't really pay attention) but we figured that first of all, what does a company called "Cogas" have to do with cable service and....that which they were offering wasn't really worth paying for anyway?
Seriously ....it was pitiful.
So I figure it took these chimps six months to figure out that no body's going to pay for their lousy cable, so it's gone.

And not really missed.

With the exception of the odd rugby game on the BBC, along with the odd snooker match, there was precious little that I wanted to watch, and the TV only served as a means of taking a brief nap in the afternoon.
We might check into getting Ziggo, or some other such service, but the only change in our activity I've noticed so far, is that Gabe now falls asleep in front of the computer, instead of in front of the TV.

Like I say....not really missed.


Now, I'm sure you recall that I had been mucking around with shooting video from the bike a few days back. With limited results.
I didn't even bother with the first setup, even though it looked good, it was way too wobbly. So I mounted the camera a bit farther down on the forks by putting it on a small tripod and then wedging it in with the help of some "non-slip attachment devices". (um...bits of garden hose)

I have actually seen worse on Youtube, but it's still a bit annoying since you can certainly tell that I'm not even that good a bike rider. Keeping my balance is still a challenge.
Probably the same reason I don't do well on the roof of a house.

Not for the weak of stomach, but you're welcome to take a look.
It's just below.
Try not to hurl.

Click To Play

And yes, I realise I'm not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, but it's deadsville most of the time....and the bell ringing was an accident. I swear!
Don't judge me.