#Hot water heater temperature problem

[aturnoftheearth]

muscles are soooo sore i want to take a bath but our hot water is never hot enough so if i want to take a bath i have to act like a victorian woman fetching her bucket (electric kettle) of hot water :(

[paulmescalsbiceps]

heeey can ask for a roommate James in which the air conditioning ends up going out and it's unbearable hot and the reader ends up going to sleep in James' room (which in the end doesn't solve her problem because James is a human heater that gets stuck with him) - 🍓

𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 ☆.｡.:* roommate!jamespotter x reader wc: 1k

The heat is unbearable. The late July warmth is flooding your small apartment, only managing to be endurable with the work of a shitty floor fan, stolen from James room, now placed in front of your couch. Your luck ran out this morning when the air-con decided to terminate itself on the hottest day of the year. Of course.

You nurse a cold bottle of water head laid back against the pile of pillows resting on the couch. You hear the familiar click of a lock but don’t bother to look up, the movement alone could make you sweat in this weather. “Hey” James said, voice cheery as he took in your exhausted figure laid sprawled out on the couch. 

“Air-con’s still broken, won’t be fixed till Monday” You groaned, still not moving. The thought of even just a weekend stuck without it is too much to bare. “Well I brought you dumplings if that makes it any better?” James confesses placing the plastic bag of takeaway containers on the bench before pulling off his gym bag and throwing it towards the door. 

At that you pull your sweaty body off the sticky leather and make your way to the kitchen. You take in James' figure standing tall before you. Beads of sweat fall from his curls, either from the heat or the gym. Both probably. Heat was kind to James, unlike others. Summer made his skin turn tan and glowy adding to his already god-like presence. Sweat never made him smell bad, instead it made his enticing scent even more notable making it hard to be around him. Just like now.

James serves himself a hefty portion from each container, still leaving enough for you. You take your serve and move to sit on the couch next to him. God, just sitting next to him has your skin rising in temperature even more than before. Your cheeks feel flushed as you try to distract yourself with the meal in front of you. 

You can feel his hazel eyes examining you closely. “You okay lovey?”. Ugh, that stupid nickname that always has you melting at the knees. “Yeah, sorry James. It’s just the heat is making my brain all fuzzy” You sputter out. “I guess I’ll just have to go to bed early.” You joke with a nervous laugh. 

“Wanna take the fan tonight?” He offers, spooning the last mouthful from his plate into his mouth. “No no it’s fine” brushing off his words as you take his plate along with yours and flee to the kitchen to busy yourself with washing up.

-

The evening winds bring the heat down from unbearable to unfavourable. Even in your thinnest pyjamas with the sheets brushed off and away from yourself, it still feels like you're sleeping in an oven. You should have just taken that fan. You make a mental note to go out and buy one tomorrow, there's no way you can survive another night like this. 

James walks past your door, a maroon towel wrapped securely around his trained waist. “You going to bed?” he asks, holding another, smaller,  towel in his hand to scrunch at his damp curls. “Trying too, might end up in a puddle by the morning” You croak. Warm eyes take in your frame, tracing your hips before making their way back to your flushed face. “If you get hot you're always welcome to come to my room, there's plenty of space in my bed.” James says almost nervously, like he was anxious for your reaction to such a bold offer.

The thought of James beautifully bronzing skin against your back is enticing. But the thought of not being able to control your thoughts with him asleep beside you is less ideal. “Thank James” You reply, offering him a polite smile. “Goodnight”. 

"Goodnight, love” He speaks with a wink, usual demeanour back, before turning away and leaving you with flushed cheeks and weak knees.

-

Lifting your head you peer at the alarm clock resting on your side table. 3 am. Your brain is bone-tired and exhausted. You’ve been internally battling yourself on forfeiting to James' offer and just slipping under his sheets. Instead, you wander to the kitchen to grab a cool glass of water to occupy your thoughts.

Setting your cup down by the dishwasher you decide to just bite the bullet. Feet softly padding on the floor, you are met with the front of James door. Knocking softly on the hardwood, you twist the knob open and peek inside. There lay James fast asleep, hair spread across his pillow and chest very much bare.

He’s clad in nothing but his boxers, arms clinging to the pillow in front of him. You step towards his bed, taking the pillow carefully from between his arms and slip in the space left behind. His sheets are significantly cooler than yours, thanks to the fan facing directly where you now lay. Resting your head on the pillow, your body finally feels as if it can sleep.

Seconds later, muscular arms wrap around your torso pulling you flush to a warm chest. James' warm chest. His hand reaches down to hold onto your lower stomach, digging into the fat, not letting go. His body was like a human furnace, one you can’t pull away from either due to his iron grip on your waist. 

But maybe it’s a sacrifice worth taking. His heat pulls you to sleep as you breathe in his delicious scent, eyes falling shut and breath falling soft as you sink deeper and deeper…

[hillbillyoracle]

Preparing for a Winter Storm

I thought I'd share what I'm doing to prepare for the winter storm that's supposed to blow through on Sunday evening into Monday morning in case it's helpful to anyone. I know a few people got a lot out of my post on tornados and the first winter storm I went through on my own really rattled me so I hope it helps someone.

This wound up being longer than I thought it would be so TL;DR is stay warm, stock up on foods that don't require cooking, know when and how to bail.

The Challenges

Snow and ice cause different but related problems. The ice totals are what look more nasty for my particular area so that's what I'll be focusing on.

With ice there's some key issues I've experienced in the past:

Power Outages - this impacts all aspects of the home, lighting, cooking, hot air, hot water, communication, etc.

Cell Phone Outages - this can make getting help in an emergency very difficult, can make it difficult to search for information you need as well

Pipes Freeze and Burst - pretty self explanatory and also hell

Damage to Cars - tree limbs falling on it, ice can build up and cause issues if there are gaps that allow it to get into internal components, can cause damage to gas lines, driving in hazardous conditions can lead to a wreck, etc.

Trees Falling - Can fall on house, power lines, car, people, etc.

Power Outage Prep

Food

Stock up on foods that don't require any cooking at all. Try to get 3 days worth. I'm getting things like crackers, chips, Bobo's PB&Js, dried fruit, fruit pouches, and peanut butter. You might consider trail mix, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, clementines, etc.

Get paper plates and plastic utensils if you'll be using a back up cooking method. Cleaning becomes infinitely more onerous in a winter storm so it's best to limit it. I'll be using my rice cooker plugged into my Jackery as a backup cooking method. Back up to the backup is an alcohol stove - which you might be able to find for pretty cheap at a camping store. Propane camp stoves are another good option you can find in most Walmarts.

Have a plan for your fridge and freezer. People not infrequently wind up with food poisoning after a power outage because they try to eat food in their fridges and freezers that they shouldn't. USDA recommends you discard all food in the fridge if the power is off for more then 4 hours - this is with not opening the door. For you freezer, the recommendation is 48 hours (for a full freezer). If the temperatures allow for it, you can place your frozen goods outside.

Heat

Layer, layer, layer. Find all the warm clothes in your wardrobe and be prepared to layer up. Socks and hats are particularly important. You do not want to sweat though! If you start sweating take something off.

Blankets galore. Make sure you've got plenty of blankets. If you've got a decent sleeping bag, even better. You can use sheets to help trap a little more air around you like a tent.

Know the signs of cold exposure and know when to call for help. Cold exposure involves more than I can get into here but it's one of those things that can kill very quickly and in a way where people are often too far gone before they notice. Basically if you are cold and having trouble staying awake - call for help.

Know where your local shelters will be. Emergency departments often put this information out on Facebook and Twitter. You can also call the non-emergency line and ask in most places. Keep in mind many won't accept pets.

Grab a spare heater if you can and know how to use it safely. I live in an area where woodstoves are common but my place doesn't have one (yet) so I have a propane heater (you can grab small ones for apartments even). If you have a spare heater, be sure to grab fuel if you're able (tends to go fast). I also have an air quality detector which is extremely important. A lot of ice storm deaths are from people dying of monoxide (and similar) poisoning.

Hot water bottles are a godsend. If you live in an area with propane for hot water, then you'll likely still have it if the power goes out. When I was younger we got through 8 days of no power in the middle of winter in part because of hot water bottles specifically. They're so handy.

Keep a fire extinguisher handy. Even if you're not using a heater honestly.

Power

Charge batteries and battery banks. Pretty self explanatory. If you're able to grab even a cheap back up battery, I would. So many people in past ice storms sat on their phones, drained it of battery, then didn't have it to call for help when they needed it. Even a small boost could be good in an emergency.

Know where your electrical box is. Sometimes power outages can cause issues with breakers. Know where it is in case you need to turn things off or back on.

Have a radio. I mention this all the time. With no power your radio is your lifeline to public emergency broadcasts, weather forecasts, and locating resources. Get a radio. A cheap one is better than nothing.

Lighting

Charge flashlights. One thing a lot of people don't realize about power outages in winter is just how much we've come to rely on artificial light. Have backups to your back ups if possible. They're a safety tool.

Consider a solar light. My solar lantern has saved my ass so many times not it's not even funny. They tend to be very energy efficient - so easy to recharge off of a battery bank - but the you have the option of charging them slowly in the sun you get during the day.

Turn a small light into a lantern. I've used this trick so many times I almost forgot to include this. If you need to take a small light and make it more of an area light, fill a bottle (ideally plastic and 1L+) with water and place the light right on the bottle. This works great for headlamps especially. It'll cast the light like a lamp instead of focusing it on one area, making it easier to do chores and play games in the dark.

Chores to do before the storm:

Laundry

Shower

Dishes

Take out trash

Cell Phone/Internet Outage Prep

Write down important numbers somewhere that isn't your phone or laptop. If you run out of power on either, you still might be able to borrow someone else's phone and call.

If you're unfamiliar with your area, print or buy a map. In the event you need to leave, you need to know your way around enough to get where you're going.

If you have a ham radio license and gear, make sure it's charged and has local repeaters programmed in. Check to see if any will be running any weather nets you can monitor. If you don't have a license, you are technically allowed to transmit if you're experiencing a true emergency so if you have access to that gear also make sure it's charged and you have an idea of how you'd do that.

When the power goes out, use the phone as a phone only. Something I see every ice storm ever since smart phones took over, is people having nothing to do so they sit on their phones and drain it of battery. Or everyone overloads the cell towers and they go down. I am begging you, please, if the power goes out, do not use your phone for anything other than calling for help or checking in with neighbors and loved ones (once or twice a day).

Create an entertainment box. Grab an box. Put in things you can do with absolutely zero power. I recommend playing cards, puzzles, board games, books you might want to read, art supplies, TTRPG (there are solo ones). This way when you start to get the itch to check your phone, you know where to look instead. I know it seems simple but having it prepped ahead of time saves you a lot of brainpower (believe me).

Water + Pipes Freezing Prep

Leave facets dripping and cabinet doors open. Vital you do both. They help prevent your pipes from freezing and bursting.

Find out where your water shut off is. I just found out mine is underneath my house in the crawl space - hurrah for me. Most apartments have much more easily accessible shut offs. Even if you're not certain you can shut it off yourself, know where it is so you can save time and direct someone who can. In the event a pipe bursts, shut the water off immediately and do not turn on water in the house until a professional can service it.

Find a number of a well reviewed plumber (or two) ahead of time. Sometimes cell service and internet goes out. Consider having these written down somewhere other than your phone or computer ahead of time.

Find out how you can flush your toilet with no power. Most people can add water to the back of the tank and still flush. So if you still have water you're good. Some places require a pump that runs on electricity. So find out beforehand. During power outages my family adopts the "if it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, send it down" toilet rule to conserve water.

Consider grabbing a backup toilet option. I keep a five gallon bucket and extra trash bags for just such an occasion (and some cedar chips to help with smell but it's not strictly speaking necessary). Separating liquids from solids also helps with smell. I do this because if a pipe bursts, there's a good shot you won't be able to use your toilet any more. This is also important if your toilet runs on an electric pump and the power goes out.

Damage to Cars

Keep your car filled up to at least a half a tank. This protects the fuel lines and gives you enough gas to get out if you need to.

If you'll be traveling during the storm, make sure you have a winter car kit in the vehicle and know how to flag for help if you get stranded. It's beyond what I can cover here but there are a ton of great articles out there.

Check your levels and make sure nothing is running too low.

Have the number of your mechanic written down somewhere that's not your phone or laptop. Pretty self explanatory.

Trees Falling

I'm gonna be honest, I don't have a lot for this one given my disabilities. I have a plan with my neighbors who are in a better position to use it. You could consider grabbing some extra tarps in the event that you need to cover a window that gets damaged or similar. Basically, just have an idea of where your most vulnerable trees are and keep an ear out for them as the storm progresses.

Hope these spark some ideas for how to prep and stay safe out there!

[steddieasitgoes]

Do I have more important projects with actual deadlines I should be working on? Yes. Did I write a silly failed shower sex ficlet instead? Also yes. Enjoy!

Also, they don’t actually do anything but there is some suggestive language/jokes so minors be gone!

When it came to showering, Eddie and Steve had very different ideas about the ideal water temperature.

Eddie’s used to fast, lukewarm showers that border more on the cold side. Years and years of conserving the hot water for Wayne and his aching bones have taught him how to be quick and adjust to the cold water hitting his body. If he’s honest with himself, he prefers the cold water now. It energizes him in a way a cup of bitter coffee never has.

Steve, on the other hand, is used to warm showers with water so hot it’s a degree away from scalding temperatures. The type of showers that leave the mirror fogged up and his body flushed red when he steps out fifteen or twenty minutes later.

Naturally, the first time Steve and Eddie decided to shower together was an utter disaster.

It was meant to be intimate and sexy. Steve had mentioned that he’d never fucked anyone in his shower before and Eddie, always eager to take a first away from Steve, had sprung up from the plush mattress and dragged him into the en suite.

They stripped the clothes off each other in a quiet sort of fervor. Eager, but also wanting to savor the moment. It wasn’t often they got to see each other like this. Standing bare in the warm lighting of Steve’s bedroom. Usually, they spent their time, naked on their backs in beds. This was different.

Marveling at Steve’s adonis-level body for too long always made Eddie a bit twitch, so after a moment or two he tugged him into the shower to officially get things started. At least, that was the plan but the minute the warm water landed on Eddie’s skin he let out an ear-piercing yelp and leaped so high, he nearly hit his head on the ceiling above.

“Jesus H. Christ,” he swore.

“What the hell, Eds?” Steve shouts back, slicking his wet hair back as the warm water hits his back.

“What do you mean ‘what the hell’ you’re the one who's trying to burn my dick off!”

Steve snorted, stepping further into the stream of hot water. “Don’t be dramatic. S’just a little warm.”

“Just a little warm,” Eddie mocked as he stepped further away from the shower head, backing himself into a corner. “Stevie, you’re turning redder and redder by the second. It’s too hot!”

“No such thing as too hot.”

“My dick begs to differ!”

Without waiting for Steve to retort, Eddie reached a hand into the scalding water and turned the faucet 45 degrees in the opposite direction. In a matter of seconds, the water started cooling off. Eddie had never been more grateful for Steve’s fancy ass house and working water heater system than that moment.

This time it was Steve who yelped as the cold water assaulted his body. Thankfully, he didn’t leap like Eddie had and instead sidestepped out from under the faucet leaving enough room for Eddie to dive right under the cool stream.

“Now this is an appropriate water temperature.”

“Are you kidding me?” Steve scoffed. “My dick is shriveling up in this! Look!”

Eddie’s gaze immediately dropped and yeah, okay, that was going to be a problem.

“Damn, you really are a grower.”

“Oh my god,” Steve groaned before yanking Eddie away from the shower head.

Just as Steve was about to turn the faucet in the other direction, Eddie’s hand was on his, holding it steady.

“Eddie! I’m going to freeze if I don’t make it warmer.”

“And I’m going to melt! It’s not that bad, you’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t want to get used to it. You get used to my temperature.”

They stayed like that, hands clutched around the faucet, bickering back and forth for several more moments before coming to an impasse. In the end, neither one won The Great Water Temperature Debate and instead, they sprinted back into Steve’s room to satisfy themselves the old-fashioned way: sprawled out on Steve’s mattress, taking turns tearing each other apart.

It wasn’t until years later when they stayed at a hotel with dual shower heads, that they finally got to cross “shower sex” off their not-safe for Dustin’s eyes bucket list.

[bumblebeehug]

Lovely Seasons - Winter

Summary: Lucy has the worst morning known to human kind, until Natsu comes to her rescue. Notes: If you're wondering where Happy is during all of this, no you don't. Part 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 of the Lovely Seasons series Ao3

***

Lucy slowly sat up, blinking and rubbing out the crust that had appeared in her eyes during the night. A tired yawn managed to escape her lips before she could check the clock. 7:30 in the morning. She groaned to herself. She fell asleep late last night, not being able to drop the book she was reading, and barely getting 6 hours of sleep made her feel cranky. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the sun wouldn’t rise in another two hours and the temperature outside made her house feel colder than usual. It was an abnormally cold winter, rarely rising above -10 degrees Celsius, and due to her not paying enough rent last month, the landlady had cut down on her heating. Usually that would be fine, since Magnolia’s weather was quite warm most of the time, but without the blessings of a merciful winter and without her human heater constantly hanging around, the apartment got ruthlessly cold.

In an attempt to properly wake up she placed her bare feet on the floor. Leaving the warm comfort of her bed was unappealing to say the least, and feeling the coldness against the soles of her feet made her cringe. Without bothering to put on slippers or socks, she hurried to the bathroom. A warm, long shower was the only salvation this morning could have. As she entered the bathroom she once again regretted the lack of socks, since the tiled floor was multiple times colder than the wooden floor in her bedroom. With goosebumps all over her body she sped up her movements, turning the knob in her shower to the highest heat.

Another mistake, she soon learned. After having stripped down she felt the water with her hand, and the dropping temperature of the high streaming water only meant one thing - the hot water had run out, rapidly changing to cooler and cooler degrees.

“No, no, no!” In an attempt to savour the last bit of barely comfortable water, she immediately jumped in the shower, focusing on just wetting her hair so she could pour shampoo into it and rinse it out before she turned to an actual ice block. No matter if this day seemed to have everything against her, she was determined to get clean - even if that meant cutting down her shower time from 45 minutes to 5. Every muscle got stiff as she hurried to lather her hair, and breathing became a chore for her frozen body. Even concentrating to the fullest, she felt the lungs move in spasms.

Lucy had never been good with the cold. Not even after living on the streets for a year after running away from home, had she gotten used to the fierce sensation of getting robbed off her body heat. On the other hand, warm weather had never been a challenge. Anywhere with a hot climate was the ideal vacation spot for her, since she’d much rather sweat like a pig than not being able to feel her hands and feet from being so cold. Maybe her body’s natural agreement with warmth was one of the reasons she and Natsu got along so well. Though, given that he wasn’t here to heat up the apartment at the moment, he wasn’t on her best side currently.

As soon as she felt the lathered shampoo leave her hair completely, she turned off the tap and practically pounced her fluffy towels. From the last few weeks she had learned that any body part left wet would be freezing cold if she didn’t wipe herself dry the second she came out of the shower. She was in fact so fast at drying herself off and getting clothed today that she probably beat a personal record - and luckily for her, she could still use her hair dryer, so no cold, wet, dripping down her back today.

Though, just as things were starting to look up, she encountered yet another problem as she stepped out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. The dishwasher hadn’t gotten turned on last night, so she had to hand wash her cup before using it, which usually was a manageable job, but that became tedious now that she had no warm water. To add to that, she was fully out of oatmeal which meant that she’d have to go out to buy more when the stores opened in a few hours. Even if she didn’t have to plough through snow, the strong winds and the frosty air was more than enough to go through even her thickest, warmest jacket, and if she were to actually arrive at the market, there was no telling if they’d be open today. A lot of fresh fruit didn’t handle the cold well, and anything tightly sealed into glass bottles would likely expand and explode if they didn’t stay inside.

Since Lucy had nowhere close to enough energy to deal with that now, she decided to grab her kettle, make it across the kitchen towards the stove, and OUCH!

“Shit, crap, fucking ass- fuckhorse!!” Lucy howled as she jumped around on one leg, trying to get her big toe on her second leg to stop pulsing. “There’s no fucking way this is happening to me today!” She stumbled across the room once again, this time aiming for the kitchen table so she could sit down and inspect the injury. The kettle was forgotten the second she put it down, and she immediately threw off her slipper and her sock that she had properly remembered to put on after the shower..

Just her luck. She was bleeding under her toenail, which meant weeks of taking care of this insignificant but maddening injury. Wendy was about as locked inside as Lucy was, so no magical cure for this one. At this point she was holding back tears. Nothing could have prepared her for how unlucky she was today. Yesterday had been a good day, same as most of her previous days, where she enjoyed the stillness of being alone with her own thoughts in her apartment. No jobs or missions to rush to, no worrying about destruction and lack of payment, no Natsu to burn her couch and no Happy to scratch her walls. She ate good meals, played music and danced, and now this - no heat, no warm water, no clean dishes, out of her favourite breakfast and now an injured toe. It felt like the spirits were against her. The mixture of exasperation and exhaustion made her throat thicken, and the pressure from holding back tears made her head hurt. It was still early in the morning, and she already wanted to go back to bed and sleep until the next day - or better, she could sleep until spring and skip the depressing gray life that came with the winter months.

As Lucy’s nose started getting stuffy, an angel sailed down from heaven and sang the most beautiful melody known to the human race. Well, no, her doorbell rang, but it was practically the same thing, because she sensed from the reckless stomping up the hallway that her hot headed best friend had decided to come to visit.

“Lucy? Ya home?” Normally his cheery voice would feel like a punch to the gut after having a bad day, since any sign that people could live happily while bad things happened only to her, would feel like mockery. Today however, she was just glad to no longer be alone with this dull atmosphere dragging her down.

She hurried to the door, not without limping a bit, to unlock it for him. As the door swung open, Lucy couldn’t stop her lip from quivering, threatening to burst out into tears just from seeing his face. She was so, so, happy he was here.

Natsu himself however felt his grin fade the moment their eyes met.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Did anything happen? What’s goin’ on?” Lucy barely noticed him dropping off two grocery bags by the entry, before he gently grabbed her arms. The tender look in his eyes was the final blow for her - she felt so angry and sad at the world, yet she had never felt so seen and cared for as she did when Natsu came. The dam was broken and the waterfalls were set loose, and she was hiccuping and hulking like a child failing to communicate its emotions.

“My… my…” she began, “My toe huuurts” She couldn’t stop herself from crying out, unable to form any other words to explain her out of place behaviour.

“What?”

“My- my- my thoe-” With sobs cracking through her voice it was hard to talk any clearer, but luckily for her she didn’t have to explain any further.

“Oh my god- Lucy, you’re bleeding! Hey- come here.” With a swift motion he scooped her up from her feet, immediately heading for the bathroom. “How did things end up like this?” He wasn’t expecting an answer - not yet anyways. Inside of the bathroom he sat her down on the toilet lid, immediately tending to the swollen toe.

At the same time Lucy was trying to collect herself. It was embarrassing enough that she had broken down like this in front of him, but now he probably thought she was weeping over a stubbed toe. It really wasn’t fair, she thought, because she wasn’t crying because of her frustration. She was incredibly happy right now, to have Natsu there to help her cope with her unfortunate day. If he had caught her just a moment earlier she wouldn’t have broken down like that - she’d be upset and short tempered, sure, but nothing like this.

Thanks to her manual breathing, she calmed down significantly. Not enough to actually stop the consistent flow of tears, but now she wasn’t gasping for air in panic anymore.

“Thanks for helping me,” Lucy sniffled. “And sorry for scaring you.”

Natsu, who just finished putting a bandaid around the now purple nail, looked up at her with a gentle smile.

“No worries. Stuff happens, right?” Though his words told her that he was fine not knowing what was going on, his face was clearly searching for the explanation to her behaviour.

“Well,” a sob slipped out, “I guess it does.” She wanted to tell him about her morning, she really did, but right now she just wanted to get comfortable and warm in her bed. Truth is, she really wanted Natsu to lay beside her - not only for the heat, but for the comfort of human contact as well.

“Wanna check out what I got for you?” It took a brief moment before Lucy understood he meant the grocery bags that almost were forgotten in her hallway.

“Does anything have to go in the fridge or the freezer?”

“No… Why?” He stood up from his squat, cleaning up the small mess he had made rummaging through her cupboards.

“Then… Can we rest for a minute?” Lucy took a square of toilet paper to wipe her tears. “I don’t have any energy to… do stuff right now.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem. Can you walk fine?” Lucy nodded, the toe wasn’t that injured - she had gone through way worse, though those times her body was pumped with adrenaline. Natsu helped her up anyway, held her close to him as they headed to the bedroom. Lucy might not be hurt physically, but she rarely broke down to this extent emotionally, so of course he was still worried.

“Isn’t it kinda cold in here?” He always thought Lucy’s apartment felt colder whenever he hadn’t been there in a while, but wasn’t this way colder than usual?

Lucy didn’t answer. She only had one goal ahead of her, and that was to get into those sheets and get some well deserved rest. Besides, she could tell him all about her day later, they weren’t in a rush. So as soon as she could she crawled up on her soft bedding, and without a moment of hesitation, she dived in under the comforter. She had her back turned towards Natsu, but before shutting her eyes, she turned slightly and lifted the duvet, giving a clear invitation for Natsu to join her. The mattress sunk behind her as he laid down, shuffling closer and embracing his position as the bigger spoon.

“The landlady cut off the heating a few days ago. That’s why it’s cold here,” Lucy explained, her voice cracking meekly. Natsu pulled her closer, making sure his body heat warmed up the bed for her. He properly felt bad for her - clearly the cold and the stubbed toe weren’t the only reasons why she cried, so she probably had a really bad day overall. Whether or not she had been having nightmares or bad memories from her past, or if built up sorrow and anger just let loose, he didn’t know, but he knew that Lucy would tell him when she was ready to. His hand reached over her upper body in search of hers, and as he found it he gave it a supportive squeeze.

“That’s not all though,” she continued after a deep breath, “I also barely got any sleep last night. Totally my own fault, cause I went to sleep really late, but the cold made me unable to sleep in.” She spoke softly and rubbed her thumb across the palm of Natsu’s hand. “And then I went to take a shower, except the warm water had run out.”

“So you took a cold shower? You? Lucy Heartfilia, master of turning up the heat until not even I can stand it?” Chuckles filled his lungs, because he really found it ironic. Understandably annoying and upsetting for Lucy of course, but ironic nevertheless.

“Yes, and you bet I’ll never do that again. It felt worse than getting in the middle of a fight between Gray and Lyon. Look, my fingernails are still purple!” She shoved her free hand up in his face, attempting to display the cold, stale fingertips, but accidentally smashing them against his cheek in the process. After a quick apology, she continued. “As if that wasn’t bad enough though, my dishwasher didn’t start last night, so all my dishes are dirty, which wouldn’t be a huge problem if I didn’t start washing them in that cold water, only to learn that I’m out of oats!”

Remembering her streak of unluckiness made her heart drop slightly again, but surprisingly she had already gotten in a better mood. As she shared her burdens with Natsu, she felt a weight lifted from her chest. She even got in a good enough mood that she could initiate chuckling at her mishaps.

“Hold on a minute,” Natsu intervened, “didn’t I tell you only last week not to delay grocery shopping?” They had already been through a similar scene where Lucy had procrastinated going outside for so long that she started using normal hand soap on her body instead of her usual body wash.

“I knooow,” Lucy grumbled, “but it’s so cold out! You know I don’t have proper clothing for this weather! And I have plenty of food for lunches and dinners, just not for breakfast…” She tried to defend her actions, but she knew Natsu was right. Laziness would always come back to bite her in the back if she didn’t deal with things properly.

“Good thing I know you too well.” Natsu had a smug grin plastered on his face, the type of grin she’d usually want to wipe off with a kick. Overconfident Natsu wasn’t pleasant to hang out with, mostly because he got them into trouble when he acted like that. Today however, he looked like a saint. “I went shopping yesterday and thought you could use some food to stock up on.”

“No, you didn’t.” She turned so she laid on her back, head facing Natsu. She tried to look for any sign that he was pranking her, without any luck. “You bought oats?” He nodded proudly, teeth flashing through his cheeky smile. “Thank you.” She dug her face into his chest, hugging him as tightly as she could.

“But I bet the lack of oats didn’t make your toe explode, so how did you get hurt?” Even though Natsu suspected that he had an understanding of what had happened, he wanted to hear it from her.

“I stubbed it really hard against the leg of the kitchen table when I went to boil some water,” she explained with a muffled voice. There was really nothing more to it, which kind of felt embarrassing now that she had said it out loud. She knew she was blushing, but since Natsu couldn’t see it she didn’t mind.

“I guess I came at the perfect time,” Natsu joked, now taking the liberty to rub Lucy’s arms up and down.

“You really did. Thanks.” She lifted her head to meet his gaze, giving him a thankful smile before going back to hugging him. See, what they were doing right now was weird. As in, actually odd behaviour considering their relationship. Except, despite acting weird, Lucy found great comfort in the warm touches of Natsu’s hands, which still roamed her chilled body. She would never allow this to happen if the circumstances were different, because friendship simply couldn’t cross those lines. It would only end in disappointments when she learned that he didn’t feel the same way. Today though, she just wanted to indulge in their overly close relationship. Just their torsos touching didn’t even feel like enough, so she gathered some courage and moved closer. Playing it off as an attempt to warm her feet, she tangled their legs together. Natsu didn’t have the heart to tell her that her cold feet felt incredibly uncomfortable against his calves, so he decided to persevere. After all, he knew his discomfort was far from what Lucy was experiencing, injured toe and all.

The air under the blanket was finally starting to heat up, making Lucy even more grateful for Natsu’s presence. He must’ve acquired some 6th sense that told him whenever she felt lonely - a Lucy-radar if you want, because he always managed to come to her exactly when she needed him. But no matter if it was thanks to supernatural senses or if it was just pure dumb luck, she was currently content enough in their situation that she had the courage to do things that she normally wouldn’t do. Her fingers took the liberty to trail his muscular arms, slowly following the dips and bumps that made out his figure. Natsu, who couldn’t say he was used to this bolder personality Lucy sometimes showed, got goosebumps from her touch. Nice goosebumps though, the type that leaves a warm feeling in his heart. And with Lucy touching him freely, he took the chance to caress her in return, his hands moving from her upper arms to her back and ribcage, then continuing down the curve where her waist dipped the deepest. Lucy’s breathing got slow and relaxed with every stroke he made, so instead of stopping at the small of her waist, he slowly continued the quiet exploration of her body, moving down to her hips and then her thigh. He suddenly felt a huge craving to grip the soft flesh that hid under her long pyjama pants, so he grabbed her leg and pulled it over his own, also making them move closer in the process.

Lucy, who had moved on from her previous place as well, was giving Natsu’s shoulder a light massage, stroking the stiff musculature. She hid further into the shirt that clothed his chest before she collected some courage to speak.

“Did you know?” She began.

“What?”

“In the Best Friends Rulebook, the first listed rule is that best friends must have clear boundaries when it comes to physical contact.”

“What a dumb rule. Who came up with that?”

“Everyone agrees on it. You wouldn’t want to be cuddling with Gray like this, would you?” A disgusted sound made its way out from Natsu’s lips. No, he definitely wouldn’t want that.

“You know it’s different with you,” he began, trying to defend their actions. He didn’t get further in his explanation though, as Lucy’s fingertips grazed the side of his neck.

“I know. But we can’t do stuff like this if we go by the Best Friends Rulebook. Though… there is a way to make it work.” Natsu waited silently in anticipation of hearing her solution. “We could change the rulebook.”

“Are we still talking about books?” Natsu asked. He knew what metaphors were and how they worked, but dragging them out like this made him lose the thread.

“No,” Lucy answered bluntly. “I’m talking about you and me.” She was incredibly happy he couldn’t see her face right now, because even though she felt like they were on the same page with their feelings for once in their lives, being this open with her emotions made her embarrassed, and frankly, a bit nervous. Any sign of rejection would cut deep, now that she was this vulnerable. But she continued. “Best friends might not be able to act like this, do these things, but… when they’re not only best friends, but also…”

Her heart was beating so fast now, to the point that she wondered if Natsu could even hear what she was saying over the loud heartbeat. She had to continue though, this was the moment of truth. Her hand, that hadn’t stopped moving across his shoulders, arms and upper back, gripped his T-shirt in an attempt to calm herself - or to at least make sure she wouldn’t float away from all the air she was holding in her lungs.

“Also lovers… they can do this.” There. She said it. Knowing she couldn’t change the outcome no matter what at this point, she looked up at Natsu again, determination flowing in her eyes. And Natsu… he looked normal. He didn’t look surprised, sad, confused or angry - just like his normal, easy going self. She would have felt offended when his ribs started shaking in a lighthearted chuckle, except she really couldn’t get upset with him when he looked so thoroughly happy. He took her face in his hands and gave her forehead a soft kiss.

“Then let’s change to that other rulebook,” he said, continuing to kiss her left and then her right cheek, before giving in to what could only be described as cute aggression, showering her face in quick, sloppy pecks. Lucy, who was surprised by this sudden affection, couldn’t stop her bubbling laughter from spilling out of her mouth. She was so relieved that he understood the implication. She had told him that she wanted them to be lovers, and he had accepted. In fits of giggles she tried to bend away from him so she could properly look at him. She failed, at first, due to his constant moving, but after a second try she could pry herself away from his smooching-rifle. Natsu looked so joyful as he looked at her, that she fleetingly wondered how they ever could have gone as only friends for as long as they had. She grabbed his face in the same way he had grabbed hers, and felt an overwhelming amount of love pulse through her veins.

“Natsu Dragneel, I love you. I love you so, so much,” she confessed. She had dreamt about this moment for way too long, and even if it went nothing like she had expected, she felt like the happiest girl on earth. Give it to Natsu to solve the challenge of making Lucy’s days better, no matter what she goes through, because he has always known exactly how to cheer her up, even when he didn’t know it himself.

“I love you more, Lucy.” She could no longer wait, so she smashed their lips together, allowing them to mould into what could only be described as a perfect kiss. Natsu moved his hand away from Lucy’s cheek and into her tangled blonde hair, deepening their connection. This certainly wasn’t what Natsu had expected waking up today, and he had definitely not expected it after seeing her cry like she did, but nevertheless he was happy with the outcome.

Happiness has always been known as a short emotion, sneaking up in pulses, giving people licks of serotonin during the long winters of their emotions. Happiness has that in common with a lot of other emotions - anger comes in upset explosions, sadness waters the grieving fields of memories, only for the rain to cease after short periods of time. Jealousy comes as a storm, ripping up carefully planted and cared for greenery, only to leave the vaguer emotions like confusion to deal with the aftermath. Love, however, enters lives slowly, growing stronger for every kind and selfless act between the pair, staying unnoticed until the deepest feelings of frustration destructs the surroundings. Only then do they truly notice what amazing powers come with love - it heals, evolves and comforts.

In spring love blooms, in summer it sweats, in autumn it plays, and in winter it warms. Lucy and Natsu experience love all of the time - they have felt love for friends, family and even enemies at times, but most importantly, they have felt love for each other. The seasons have tested their resilience, gotten them through many trials and errors, but even the feeling of love comes to a consensus once in a while. Today it came in the act of showing up, tomorrow it might come in the act of keeping a distance. But they continue to love nevertheless.

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

*breaks fingers* Let's go, mod Sus' rant on 247°F (2011)

Talking from the viewpoint of a finnish person, while the movie itself is American, and no I haven't actually watched this one but I did read the plot summary and watch a little bit for proper arguments.

TLDR: Characters are freaking idiots and physics don't work in this world, apparently.

For the reference, 247° fahrenheit is about ~120° celcius. So yes we're talking about hot sauna. I personally can stand 100°C for a while at best but anyways.

I guess we could start by inspecting the sauna itself first. It's supposedly electric sauna (which, it doesn't even look like a proper one but more spa/steam sauna than an actual good one) but also with this large rock pillar stove in the middle of RELATIVELY LARGE ROOM. With no leveled up seats, just one seats on same level + you could sit on the backrests for more space and height I guess. Compare that to actual proper finnish sauna:

This is a bit of a mix of modern and traditional sauna but only by the looks. Pay attention to seats on different levels, you want to have seats near the ceilings because that's where it's the hottest. Hot air raises up so it's cooler at the floor level, if not even very cold after getting used to the temperature at standing level.

Now the stove in the movie is supposedly the kind you throw water onto to release the steam and more heat. And here comes the fun part. In the beginning, they set the temperature to 187° F AKA ~86° C???? AND THEN THEY SAY IT'S "CRAZY HOT"???? IN THIS VERY LARGE ROOM WHERE HEAT SPREADS OUT A TON? BITCH THAT PLACE IS COLD and they act like they're already toasting in there???? Weak ass americans. AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN TOSS WATER ONTO STOVE BEFORE THAT, they have just this one huge heat source in the middle of LARGE ROOM that's like WARM at best??? You're supposedly to throw water on that thing, or otherwise it'd be same as you'd just stand next to a hot cooking stove. You don't even start sweating properly without the steam which helps with the heat releasing from your body. You're just cooking yourself with that thing.

Okay, so just? Turn off the electric heater (which becomes a major plot point of the movie, so that's not an option here for some reason?), and don't toss water onto stove. LAY DOWN ON THE FREAKING FLOOR??? WHERE IT'S COOLEST OR EVEN COLD BECAUSE IT'S ASSUMINGLY MARBLE/ROCK/WHATEVER FLOOR. Sure if the average temperature in the room is 247°F aka ~120°C it is hot, but it's still cooler at floor level far away from the stove.

And speaking of the heater. At first I thought it was like, they set the heater to get hotter and hotter on purpose but why would you do that if you can't handle shit??? I guess the thermosthat malfunctions or some shit or because the heat keeps rising??? That's not how electronics work as far as I'm aware but suspend my disbelief I guess. I can't tell too much what the characters decide to do without spoilers but let's say they're all massive idiots with their choices. This is all on them. (BTW if this was a traditional wood-heated sauna, just stop putting more logs in the fire, lol).

Okay, let's assume it's all because uh physics broke or something. It's getting hot in there. You got a small window there, and even in trailer we see characters manage to break it. But apparently??? THE HEAT DOESN'T ESCAPE ENOUGH FROM IT???? WHAT. You can this huge room with one heat source, it's cold outside, and the heat still doesn't escape enough to make it more managable in there or at least near the window to cool them off??? Physics, hello???

Like legit the entire point of the movie is it's getting too hot in there but there's so many things that help you to stay cool in there until something gets fixed. The characters aren't even drunk which would've made this so much more belieable because alcohol is probably the main reason (aside sudden health problems like cardiac arrest) people would die in saunas because they pass out in there. But no, this is just idiot characters being idiots.

Also take your freaking clothes off, cowards. You can't even call yourself a sauna movie if there's no bare butts and peenors and natural hanging booba in non-sexual bathing setting through entire movie smh.

[plutoniumpossum]

Being a Plumber on a Election Year Gothic

(USA edition)

You tell a old man how soon he should have hot water, now that you've set the temperature on his new water heater. He replies by telling you unprompted that the supreme court is all catholic and is ruining everything. You wonder if the words "between 30 to 45 minutes" is secretly an activation code for something.

You had a late call for a water leak, its 10:30pm but you got it fixed. You hand the woman her invoice and tell her the total of the Bill. Its now 11:20pm and you've been told every possible way how the Earth is screwed due to global warming, pollution, politics (American), and how there's no hope for the future. The invoice is still unsigned and unpaid. You hope the skunk that's been wondering up the street towards the two of you doesn't get any closer.

You've been working on a broken sewer line under the house, when you crawl out from under it to give an update you're asked what you think about so-and-so running and how disgusting is that? You think that you've been crawling through sewage and you now have insulation in your hair.

The dorm kitchen sink is clogged and there's enough Drain-o in the line to start a meth lab. "Have you ever been sexually harassed while at work? That's way we have to vote Democratic, they care about women's rights." By the end of the job they've repeated the question so many times you begin to wonder if you're about to be.

You knock on the door and introduce yourself. Your customer was watching the news before they answered the door. They now want to talk about it and their political opinions before they remember the plumbing problem they called you for in the first place. You wish you had clocked out and taken lunch before this job.

You're doing a normal plumbing job at a normal house. The neighbor a few houses down has a display covering the front yard full of flags for both political parties, their candidates, and a few other opposing factions thrown in. You wonder what kind of toilet they have.

Your customer is making small talk with you as you walk through the door. They ask you what your political party alignment is. You wish you had fell through that rotten board on the porch and broken your leg.

[mariacallous]

Moldova’s Transnistria has faced mass heating, hot water, and electricity outages since the halt of Russian gas flow to the breakaway region on January 1. The cutoff came after Kyiv refused to renew its gas transit agreement with Moscow, allowing it to expire at the start of 2025. However, in late December, Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom announced plans to stop deliveries to all of Moldova, citing a dispute over Chisinau’s gas debt. 

Since Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukraine on New Year’s Day, Transnistria residents have taken to TikTok, posting videos of their new electric heaters and saying goodbye to their gas stoves. More than 1,500 residential high-rises in the region have been left without heating and hot water, and more than 70,000 homes are without gas. School holidays have been extended until January 19, as 131 schools and 147 kindergartens remain without heating. 

The breakaway region is also experiencing power outages, and the authorities announced rolling blackouts starting on January 3. According to Transnistria’s leader, Vadim Krasnoselsky, residents are currently consuming a third more electricity than the local power grid normally produces. While the planned blackouts were supposed to last for one hour in the evenings, certain neighborhoods have been left without power for three or four hours at a time. 

Moldova-based journalist Vladimir Solovyov reported that residents left without heating have turned to electrical appliances, driving up electricity consumption. “Hospitals are operating, they’re supplied with both gas and electricity, and the schools are on holiday right now; all industry has ground to a halt — with the exception of enterprises producing food,” Solovyov said. According to the journalist, the extended blackouts have also left high-rise residents unable to adequately heat their homes amid freezing winter temperatures. 

Russia’s Gazprom previously supplied Transnistria with gas via Ukraine, but the region’s energy company, Tiraspoltransgaz, didn’t pay for the deliveries. In late December, however, Gazprom warned its Moldovan subsidiary, Moldovagaz, that it would halt all gas supplies from January 1, citing Chisinau’s alleged refusal to pay some $709 million in debt. 

Moldova maintains that according to an international audit, it only owes Gazprom $8.6 million. And though Transnistria is now facing an energy crisis, the rest of the country is not experiencing gas shortages, having taken steps to diversify supplies following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

On January 5, Moldova’s secretary of state for energy, Constantin Borosan, told reporters that Transnistria’s energy company ignored a proposal in December that would have allowed it to buy gas from Romania in the event that Russia cut off supplies. Earlier, Moldovagaz CEO Vadim Ceban said that Tiraspoltransgaz also rejected his company’s offer to facilitate “the purchase of natural gas on any European gas platform” to supply the left bank of Dniester River. “They justified their refusal by saying that they’re still waiting for Gazprom to restore natural gas supplies and recommend continuing negotiations with Gazprom,” Ceban explained. 

In a statement on January 6, the Russian Embassy in Moldova blamed Chisinau for the energy crisis in Transnistria, accusing Moldovan officials of “deliberately ignoring numerous problems in their relations with Gazprom.” The statement also blamed Ukraine and the “collective West” for creating an “artificial” crisis in the breakaway region. 

According to Sergey Obolonik, Transnistria’s first deputy prime minister, the region’s gas reserves could last for 20 days in the south and 10 days in the north, “if used sparingly.” But Krasnoselsky has warned that a “technical malfunction” or “fire” at the region’s main power station could leave Transnistria “without any electricity at all.” Locals have begun buying up electrical appliances and firewood, and Krasnoselsky himself has urged residents to use wood stoves for heating. The Transnistrian leader has also scheduled a security council meeting for January 8. 

[niteshade925]

Just going to complain a little bit because man this is fuckin absurd.

So my water heater broke, literally a week after it was "fixed". I had my suspicions about it being fixed, because I did a little digging myself and it didn't seem like something that simply switching the mode would help, I would probably need a part replaced. But that was a week ago. I've already spent a week in winter (through Christmas!) without any hot or warm water, while the temperature outside dipped below freezing and stayed there. My personal estimate is that my tap water is now at about 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and it has been this way for a week. However, and here comes the really frustrating part: I've contacted the property management days before the 24th, told them this is an urgent issue, they contacted me saying someone will show up and guess what? Nobody has shown up. Not only has nobody shown up, but they sounded annoyed when I asked them to give me an approximate time of when they could come in. Now, I wasn't asking this question to force them to come look at it sooner, I was asking about it because I work fucking night shift. I need sleep. If they can just tell me approximately when they can come here then I will be able to get some sleep, albeit fragmented sleep, before I go off to work for 13 hours straight. But oh no they sounded annoyed. And by the way last week when they "fixed" the problem, because they said it was a simple "change the mode" thing, I asked them what mode it should be on, and their reply was "are you trying to take my job?" Like fuck you, this was never about you, I just want the hot water that I paid for, plain and simple.

Anyway, problem remains unresolved, and I'm still trying to get a hold of them. This property management (meaning everyone there from the agents to the techs) has been known to ignore phone calls and requests, and I'm getting really fucking tired of paying them for basic services that they are reluctant about providing.

[fixmyhomedenver]

Emergency Furnace Repair in Westminster: Quick Fixes to Beat the Chill

As the winter chill sets in and the temperatures drop, the last thing you want is for your furnace to malfunction. In Westminster, where winter can be particularly unforgiving, having a reliable heating system is essential to stay comfortable and safe indoors. However, furnace breakdowns can happen unexpectedly, leaving you in need of immediate assistance. That's where emergency furnace repair services come to the rescue. In this blog post, we'll explore some quick fixes for emergency furnace repair in Westminster, ensuring you stay warm and cozy even in the coldest of days.

Furnace Repair Westminster:

When your furnace starts acting up, it can be a stressful situation, especially during the peak of winter. Common issues include strange noises, lack of heat, or a malfunctioning thermostat. In Westminster, furnace repair services are readily available to address these issues promptly. Whether it's a faulty ignition system, a clogged air filter, or a malfunctioning thermostat, professional technicians can diagnose and fix the problem efficiently.

Heater Repair Westminster:

Similar to furnaces, heaters can encounter various issues, leading to a loss of heat and comfort in your home. From worn-out parts to electrical issues, heater repair services in Westminster are equipped to handle all kinds of problems. With their expertise and experience, they can quickly identify the root cause of the issue and provide effective solutions to restore your heater's functionality.

Furnace Replacement Westminster:

In some cases, furnace repair may not be sufficient, especially if the unit is old or extensively damaged. Furnace replacement becomes necessary to ensure optimal heating efficiency and safety in your home. Westminster residents can rely on professional HVAC technicians to guide them through the furnace replacement process, helping them choose the right unit for their needs and budget.

Furnace Installation Westminster:

For new homeowners or those looking to upgrade their heating system, furnace installation services are indispensable. Proper installation is crucial for the efficient operation of your furnace and ensuring its longevity. Expert technicians in Westminster can handle the entire installation process, from sizing the unit to integrating it seamlessly into your home's HVAC system.

Emergency Water Heater Repair Denver:

In addition to furnaces, water heaters play a vital role in maintaining comfort during the winter months. A malfunctioning water heater can disrupt your daily routine and leave you without hot water when you need it most. Emergency water heater repair services in Denver are available around the clock to address leaks, heating issues, or any other problems affecting your water heater's performance.

Air Conditioner Westminster:

While the focus is often on heating during the winter, it's essential not to neglect your air conditioning system. Regular maintenance and timely repairs are necessary to ensure your AC unit operates efficiently when the warmer months arrive. Whether it's repairing a malfunctioning compressor or replacing worn-out components, air conditioner services in Westminster can keep your home cool and comfortable all year round.

When it comes to emergency furnace repair in Westminster and surrounding areas, prompt action is key to restoring comfort in your home. Whether you're facing a furnace breakdown, water heater issues, or AC problems, professional HVAC technicians are just a phone call away. With their expertise and dedication, they can quickly diagnose the problem and provide effective solutions to get your heating and cooling systems back up and running. For top-notch HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services, trust Fix-it 24/7 Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric to deliver exceptional results every time.

[soswaterheatercypresstx]

SOS Water Heater Cypress TX

Are your hot water rusty or stained, or the hot water runs out? I've seen observable sediment! Do the unit's leaks exist? Noises are coming from the heater! Have inconsistent water temperature! Are there corrosion indicators? Is the heating element having issues? These problems are frequent, and our team can solve them with high-quality and affordable prices in Cypress, TX. if you face any previous hot water heater issues, do not hesitate to contact SOS Water Heater Cypress, TX, if you experience any of these issues. We are conveniently located throughout Cypress, TX, and provide the most trustworthy water heater repair, installation, maintenance, and replacement services. In addition, we guarantee you a long-lasting unit after our repair.

[near-canton-ma]

Tankless Water Heaters

A tankless water heater heats water as needed without needing a storage tank. It passes cold water through a heat exchanger, rapidly warming it to the desired temperature before delivering it to the faucet, shower, or appliance.

Tankless water heaters primarily provide hot water for various domestic purposes, such as bathing, washing dishes, and doing laundry. Unlike traditional water heaters with storage tanks, tankless models offer several advantages, including energy efficiency, space-saving design, and an endless hot water supply since they don't run out as long as they have a sufficient flow rate and appropriate sizing. They are especially popular in homes with limited space and for users looking to reduce energy consumption and utility costs.

In commercial settings, they can meet the demands of various applications such as hotels, restaurants, and industrial processes, ensuring uninterrupted supply, lessening operating costs, and optimizing space.

HVAC Professionals

Green Energy Mechanical’s HVAC technicians perform essential tasks related to heating, cooling, and indoor air quality systems. Their responsibilities include:

Install heating and cooling systems, including furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, and ventilation units. They ensure proper system placement and connection.

Conduct inspections, clean components, replace filters, and identify potential issues to prevent breakdowns.

Diagnose the problem and carry out repairs. This includes fixing leaks, replacing faulty parts, and restoring proper functionality.

Recommend and implement system upgrades or replacements to improve energy efficiency and meet evolving HVAC standards.

Inspect, repair, or replace ductwork to ensure efficient air distribution.

Educate customers on proper system usage, maintenance, and energy-saving practices.

Provide emergency repairs for unexpected system failures.

The company is dedicated to delivering high-quality heating and cooling solutions, ensuring comfort, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality for residential and commercial clients. Choose them if you're searching for HVAC near me in Canton, MA.

Air Conditioner Repair and Maintenance

Air conditioners can break down for various reasons, necessitating services like those provided by Green Energy Mechanical in Canton, MA. Common causes include:

Neglecting regular maintenance, such as cleaning coils and changing filters, can reduce efficiency and breakdowns.

Dirty filters restrict airflow, causing the system to work harder and potentially freeze, leading to breakdowns.

Leaking refrigerant can reduce cooling capacity and damage the compressor, resulting in system failure.

Problems with wiring, circuit breakers, or capacitors can disrupt the electrical components, causing the AC to malfunction or not turn on.

Insufficient airflow or refrigerant issues can cause the evaporator coils to freeze, affecting cooling performance.

The compressor is a critical component, and its issues can lead to costly repairs or AC replacement.

As air conditioners age, their components can wear out or become less efficient, increasing the risk of breakdowns.

If you're searching for AC repair near me in Canton, MA, choose Green Energy Mechanical.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Recharging

I have not had sufficient time to recharge and recover from the weeks of overtime. I was hoping to have a nice quiet steady week before the run-up to MCM Comic Con, but that apparently was not to be. Then again, it's kind of in a good cause, because my stepfather is finally sorting out some of the heating nonsense in the flat.

See, my parentals paying the electricity bill on this flat...

(Side note: my stepfather originally said that it wouldn't make any sense to transfer the bills until I was living here permanently, especially since it was only going to be for a short time. It has been two and a half years. So while I do try to mitigate my electricity usage somewhat so I'm not abusing this good fortune, I figure having to live in a flat where only half of everything works deserves some compensation. Also my mother must be pissed; the second flat is supposed to be an investment property and she can't put it up for rent until both flats are renovated, so my stepfather's procrastination is kind of negatively affecting the family income. But again, that's kind of her problem.)

Anyway. I only explain that my parentals pay the electricity bill on this flat because the fact that he changed the energy tariff that this flat was originally using was nothing to do with me. This is important to note because, for the last two years or so since he changed the tariff, certain things in the house haven't been working. Basically there are two circuits in the house. One's day-to-day usage stuff - computer, TV, microwave, stuff like that. The other's core usage, generally less expensive, and mostly has to do with the boiler and the storage heaters. It's the boiler-and-storage-heater circuit that hasn't been working for two years. Now, my stepfather has been chasing the energy company to figure out whether it's their fault that this happened (spoiler - after two fucking years, he found out that yes, this particular tariff moved all the energy output onto one circuit and shut off the one that the boiler etc are on, and no, I don't know why, because my stepfather has only now just started explaining this shit to me), but he hasn't done a whole lot to fix the problem. He only really grasped the implications of the problem during last winter's cold snap, when I was bundled up in multiple layers of clothing with one electric space heater going only when I just couldn't take it anymore, just because of how obscene the energy prices were getting. And to be honest, I think he's only doing something about it now because my friend from France is coming to stay with me while we both go to MCM Comic Con next weekend. Because, like, his stepdaughter can suffer with freezing rooms and having to switch on the day boost for two hours to get a decent bath but gods forbid a total stranger to him be inconvenienced.

Long story short: my stepfather's been in and out of the flat on and off at random throughout the week, because he's installing energy-efficient electric heaters into the rooms that really need them (specifically the sitting room and the study; I have enough duvet to cope when I'm in the bedroom) and hooking them up to the one operational circuit. On Sunday, he will be hooking the boiler to the operational circuit. So I will have proper hot water all the time instead of having to switch on the day boost for two hours. And then I get to spend 4-5 days figuring out exactly how to get the temperature to my liking because for two years I have been switching on the day boost for 1.5-2 hours, then just turning on the hot water and leaving it until the tub's about full, because the hot water goes cold fast and that makes the bathwater not be scalding.

My problem is how he does it. My stepfather is of a certain generation and a certain mindset and "popping by with very little notice" is a thing he's fine with. And since he's fine with it, apparently so should everyone else be. So last weekend was him calling up at 11:30 on Saturday morning going, "I'm just going to pop by this afternoon to bring in these heaters; is that okay?" The "Is that okay?" is really more of an afterthought for him, honestly; the tone is "Of course it is; why wouldn't it be?" when I'm just going, "I am trying to recharge and recover and now I have you in my personal space using power tools with no notice?!?" I want time to prepare my headspace for someone being in my personal space, damnit! (And never mind that he had to shut off the power to the sockets so I couldn't sit watching TV or playing video games for most of that time.) He was late on Sunday - he said 2pm; turned up at half-three. Then came in on Tuesday while I was working - "I shouldn't disturb you", he says, just before taking a fucking power drill to the shared wall between the living room and the study where I was working, causing said wall to vibrate. At least I talked him out of coming in today, but that's because I'm going to get my Covid booster in a couple of hours and I'm honestly preparing to feel like crap for the rest of the day.

I cannot recharge with people in my personal space. And if he's changing the circuit, I'm probably going to be denied power again tomorrow. So the schedule for the next week or so is as follows:

Today - Covid booster; maybe pick up a few essentials; make up at least some relaxation time

Tomorrow - Stepfather working on the flat; D&D Sunday

Monday - Stepfather probably coming back to work on the flat because He Be Like That

Tuesday-Wednesday - Work, with added 'bonus' of Teams meeting with Scruffman because apparently we're moving offices next month and I should probably make an appearance at the office to clear my desk

Thursday - Marion's arrival, Being Hostess begins

Friday-Sunday - MCM Comic Con

Monday - Seeing Marion off; the start of nearby neighbour getting their flat renovated (which will apparently get loud on at least one day, so fuck my life completely)

Tuesday - One day to relax, hindered by neighbour's renovations

Wednesday onward - Back to work

Now, I do have to book the rest of my time off by the end of October but I've been having to hold off on that because Scruffman still hasn't approved my leave dates over Christmas. He's approved my traditional birthday week off in February, but not the Christmas leave. Sorry, but it makes sense if I go off on Christmas because there won't be that much typing while the doctors are also probably on leave and it's mostly phone cover that will be the issue. Anyway, I don't know how much leave I have until he approves or denies all of my leave requests, including the one he "just didn't want to touch" when I put in for it in fucking August.

Right. I have an hour or so to chill out before I have to go find the place where I am getting my Covid booster, so I'd best do that, or at least try to. I just want one week where I don't have to do anything.

[sunsetsands]

Questionnaire Answers: Akada

General Anatomy

LIMBS

Akada have no legs, but they do have two arms, which are their primary manipulators. Even with how few fingers they have, their hands are extremely dextrous, much like an elephant's trunk or an octopus's tentacles. Also like these other animals, their arms, being made out of solid muscle, are incredibly strong, much moreso than you would probably expect by looking at them. 

BODY COVERING

Most of an akada’s body is just plain skin. This skin has a bumpy, wrinkly texture, similar to Earth gastropods, and is covered by a thin layer of mucus. All that needs to be done to keep this skin healthy is regular bathing, just like what humans do.

They also have their shells, which have a similar chemical composition to silicate stone, but are fully organic. These shells must frequently be polished in the same way we humans brush our teeth, or else they may soften or become stained. 

HABITAT AND ADAPTATIONS

Akada are terrestrial, mostly living in the tropical areas of their planet where their species originated. They have since spread out to the rest of the world, though they tend to avoid overly cold regions, only ever going there for more temporary visits like vacations or research excursions. 

Similarly to melanin in humans, the pink pigmentation in their skin helps block out UV radiation, which there is a lot of in equatorial areas. Further north or south, populations of akada tend to have less of this pigment, leading to a more purpley or bluish coloration.

Fun fact: The above image was created in MS Paint, whereas all of the others were made in procreate. This is because I created it during the third revision of this post and didn't feel like going through the process of uploading any more photos from my phone onto my computer. Please excuse the general bad quality.

TEMPERATURE HOMEOSTASIS

Akada do not have the ability to regulate their internal body temperature. Instead, they use technology, such as clothing, heaters, or humidifiers to maintain their ideal hot, humid conditions or just live in areas that are always like that, such as tropical marshes and rainforests.

EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY

The creature on the left is the closest extant relative of akada. It is descended from the same social burrowing species as akada are, but unlike their cousins, never emerged above ground. As such, their bodies are built for a digging-centric lifestyle. For example, their flatter bodies are better for fitting through small crevices, and their paddle-like arms are better for tunneling through dirt. The chemical composition of their shells is also a bit different, being more similar to limestone than silicate, a difference owed to a slightly different diet. In terms of intelligence, they do have more brainpower than most creatures, but quite to the point where they can be considered sapient, being more comparable to a chimpanzee than a human.

The creature on the right is an extinct ancestor species to akada which had only recently moved from an underground habitat to the surface. While their bodies were very different, having lower heads and shorter arms, their brains were more or less the same as their modern counterparts, being capable of complex language, originally used to coordinate movement through and creation of tunnels, creative problem solving, which helped protect their soft, vulnerable bodies from predators, and abstract thought, which they used to just appreciate the beauty of the world whenever they had a moment of free time. 

NECESSARY RESOURCES

Akada require a lot of water to survive, as their skin loses moisture very quickly. Most of this water is consumed through drinking, though some can also just be absorbed through the skin.

Additionally, due to the composition of their shells, they need to consume high amounts of calcium and silicon to stay healthy. What exactly they eat in order to meet this need will be described in more detail further down.

COMMON MUTATIONS

A common mutation akada can have is the formation of patterns on their shells. These patterns are the result of minerals not being evenly distributed throughout the shell during its formation, the same way certain stones can have colorful bands in them.

There are many different patterns that can form depending on how exactly the minerals are distributed. Below are four examples, though there are many more than this.

INJURIES AND HEALING

One of the most common injuries an akada can incur is a broken shell. Due to the size of the shell, it can take a while for any cracks to heal, but it doesn't do much to limit their mobility, so they can still live life fairly normally in the meantime.

Their soft parts, however, are much more easily healed, thanks to their powerful regenerative abilities. They can regrow any lost body part within a matter of weeks, no matter what part or how much they lose, though the regenerated flesh will always come back scarred and discolored. After the first regeneration, that particular part of the body will be a bit harder to grow back, a fact that will stack with each subsequent injury. It takes about five or six losses for a body part to become fully unregeneratable. 

If you're wondering, that white circle is a nerve cord, not a bone. Akada do not have bones.

Senses

SENSES

Akada have all of the same senses that humans have, but rely a lot more on smell and vibration detection. This is a holdover from their days as a burrowing species, where sight wasn't as important to being able to tell where they were going. Their sight is not as good as that of humans, with most akada being at least a little bit nearsighted, but they do have corrective lenses they can use to make seeing things easier.

Movement

MOVEMENT METHODS

Akada move by slithering on the ground. It's slow and doesn't offer them a lot of agility, but they can do it for long periods of time without getting tired.

Because this is so slow, they often make use of vehicles to get from place to place. Individual akada often use small scooters or hoverboards to navigate streets more quickly than they could on foot, while groups will travel around in bullet trains or carts pulled by animals. Blimps are also quite popular, even with how slowly they move, as akada tend to have higher tolerance for long travel times than humans. Their slow movement and long lifespans make them naturally very patient.

Reproduction and Lifecycle 

SEXES

By default, akada have both male and female reproductive organs. As such, most societies have no conception of gender, and the ones that do base their genders off of something non-sex-related, such as occupation or political ranking. It is possible for imperfect (male only/female only) akada to be born, but they are the exception rather than the norm, and this does not have any bearing on their gender identity. 

COURTSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP

Akada attract mates through a method commonly known to humans as "asking politely". Typically, akada will form couples of three, all of which have the same roles and responsibilities, although tasks will typically be split between them for extra efficiency. Courtship is a mutual arrangement, and all participants must consent for it to become official.

BEAUTY STANDARDS

Things like shell hygiene, eyestalk length, and physical strength are taken into consideration when judging the attractiveness of others. Shell hygiene especially is seen as important, considering how immediately obvious any blemishes will be. Outside of that, it's hard to describe anything in exact detail, since beauty fads come and go about as frequently as they do on Earth, and often make just as little sense.

LIFESPAN

Akada live, on average, for about 120 Earth years/200 Almud years, at least with current medical technology. Future life expectancies will likely be much longer. 

CHILDBIRTH AND CHILDCARE

Akada hatch from small eggs incubated in pools of warm water. In the early days of the species, these pools would usually be ponds or lakes, but in modern times, most groups use artificial vats.

Very little care is put into the aquatic larvae, which lack consciousnesses and are as a result not yet seen as people. Many of these larvae will die from either starvation or being eaten by other larvae, so only the largest and strongest will be able to metamorphose and emerge. Once they emerge from the water, however, younglings are pampered, raised with the help of the entire community, lasting from emergence until adulthood, with the town acting like an immense but ever-caring family. In short, akada use r-selection for their newborn young and K-selection for any that survive past infancy.

After emerging from the water, there are a few more changes that an akada's body will go through as they age, primarily just an increase in size and the enlongthenizing of their proportions. Outside of that, their shells also become harder and more deeply segmented, starting out as a smooth sheet of cartilage and becoming six fully distinct stony segments by mid-adolescence. The deepening of these grooves is often considered a sign that an akada is coming of age.

SEXUALITY

Nonreproductive sex between members of couples is common and expected. It is considered somewhat unusual for an akada to not have ever had sex, but it is not as frowned upon as it is among humans, since the more group-based society structure means less pressure is placed on the individual to produce offspring.

Diet and Foodchain

DIET

Akada are herbivores, primarily eating fruit, roots, and mold. They may also eat the discarded shells of clamlike creatures that wash up on shores as a way of supplementing more calcium into their diet, though this is frowned upon in some cultures, where the idea of eating any part of any animal is very taboo.

One important source of minerals is a crop called sukolo (or at least, that’s its name in the only language I’ve bothered creating so far), a sort of hard, dusty, mold-like saprotroph that grows in tall pillars. It has the texture of chalk and the flavor of drywall, but supplies so much nutritional value that it remains a cornerstone of most akada's diets regardless. 

When this isn't enough to meet their mineral intake needs, some akada will just straight up eat rocks and crystals. Their teeth are strong enough to make this not impossible, though it's hardly a pleasant process. Condiments may be used to alleviate the process.

EATING HABITS

In most cultures, food is consumed in small portions at irregular intervals. There are no standardized times where one is expected to eat, nor is there any conception of “early day” or “late day” foods the same way we associate certain types of food with breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. 

PREDATORS

As large herbivores, there are many predators that occasionally attempt to prey on akada. This is, understandably, something that akada are not huge fans of, so they have developed several ways of fighting back. Many cities are encased in walls too tall for the predators to get past or are equipped with turrets to shoot them with pellets as a nonlethal deterrent. Other groups have attempted to drive their predator species to extinction, mostly unsuccessfully. Most of the time, though, they just avoid areas known to have predators present or use repellent spray to get them to leave them alone. 

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER ORGANISMS

There are a handful of small parasites that may infect akada, such as digestive endoparasites or worms that burrow through their shells. All of these creatures are just considered to be mild annoyances, and many treatments are available to get rid of them.

On a larger scale, several entire ecosystems are reliant on the presence of akada-built structures, just like how cities on Earth have become havens for certain species. These urban ecosystems are even more complex than their Earthen equivalents, as most large Almudian cities being built primarily from clay means plants are able to grow on and around them uninhibited, providing many more areas for creatures to make their homes. 

Body Rhythms

SLEEP

Similar to their eating habits, rather than having one long period of sleep at one specific time of day, akada have several short naps throughout the day. A side effect of this is that the scheduling for most other parts of their lives, such as work, are very nonstandardized, since there’s no possible time that could work for everyone. People are just allowed to customize their work schedules to best fit their sleep schedule (or lack thereof).

Communication

LANGUAGE

Akada, like humans, communicate mostly through vocalizations, though some cultures rely more on bodily movements or other nonverbal cues. A few settlements use exclusively nonverbal signing as language, mainly extremely cold/dry areas where their faces are too heavily covered up to speak.

BODY LANGUAGE

Most akada body language is in some way based around part of their body recoiling/retracting inwards or stretching outwards. This is especially noticeable in any fear/surprise-based expressions, where their entire heads may compress inward. Other behaviors include arm gesticulation, antenna wiggling, mouth scrunching, and neck lowering/raising. I have not yet mapped out exactly what these gestures mean, but I'll get around to it eventually. Maybe. Hopefully.

Society

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Akada are very sociable and tend to live in intricately interconnected communities. These communities range wildly in size, with smaller ones having only a few dozen akada and larger ones having tens of thousands. The larger a group is, the less intimate they are, but there's always some degree of connection.

Most of the work done by an akada is done for the sake of their community. They are naturally inclined to put others' needs before their own, and any purely selfish act done at the expense of others is immediately shamed.

There are no strictly-defined nations on Almud in the same way there are on Earth. Cultural associations, trade routes, and political alliances may tie smaller collections of cities together, but they aren’t surrounded by borders. Territorialism between groups is low to nonexistent. 

DISPUTES

Due to how slowly they move, akada lack the athleticism required for any sort of large-scale war, leaving diplomacy as the only viable option. When a dispute occurs, long discussions will be held in order to find the outcome that would best benefit everyone involved. These discussions have a tendency to move along at a snail's pace, though.

If battles do happen, they are performed either entirely with ranged weapons or on the back of Almud’s closest equivalent to a horse. Combat such as this has become increasingly rare in recent history. 

IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP MENTALITY

Akada are typically more welcoming of outsiders than humans, thanks in part to the aforementioned intrinsic drive to help and be kind to others, but they aren't immune to bias by any means. Exactly how prone to bigotry akada are varies between different regions of the globe. Generally, societies with an abundance of resources, like those near the equator, are typically more accepting, since they have less reason to push away others, while far north or far south groups tend to be slightly more paranoid and xenophobic. These are not universal by any means, however.

BONDING

Akada live very community-oriented lives, which necessitates forming strong bonds with others. There is a wide variety of types of bonds they may form, encompassing really any type of connection you can think of a human forming on Earth, like distant family bonds with townspeople, closer family bonds with those they spend most of their time with, friendships with people from other towns, romantic bonds with mates, and associations with coworkers. All of this leads to day-to-day life being very dynamic and complex.

SENSE OF IDENTITY

Most of an akada's sense of identity comes from which town they reside in. As mentioned before, a single settlement of akada is functionally a massive family, so the place they grow up has a huge impact on how they act and view the world around them.

The most widespread naming convention in akada society is one or two given names, then a surname denoting their hometown. For example, if an akada was named Talo Vozenalk, it would mean "Talo from the city of Vozena." The "-alk" suffix is typically used to denote residency.

DOMESTICATION

Akada have domesticated a wide range of creatures over their history, including large herbivores to pull carts, small carnivores to ward off pests, and a variety of docile animals kept as pets.

Of these pets, one of the most popular is the zhay (again, name in the one currently existing language), an eel-like creature in the same order as akada. Zhays were originally domesticated to scare off aquatic predators and keep pests out of lake farms. They fill a similar societal role to dogs, sometimes being considered as much of a part of the family/community as an akada would be.

ART

The artform given the most importance in most cultures is ceramics and clay sculptures. Clay, as a whole, plays a very important role in Almudian society, being not just the material most buildings are built out of, but the medium of the early writing styles most modern scripts are derived from.

There are clay sculptures dating back to the earliest days of akada civilization, depicting all sorts of things, mostly culturally significant animals and historical figures. A good chunk of archaeological information about early societies comes from these sculptures.

Modern sculptures tend to take more abstract forms. There have been innumerable art movements over the years, each with their own substyles and subsubstyles, as well as snobs proclaiming their preferred style to be better than all of the others. These sorts of debates get heated very quickly.

That's all there is to say for this questionnaire. It took a very long time to fill all of this out, so I hope that it was worth reading.

Alien Questionnaire - A Biological Perspective

A while ago, somebody linked me a very comprehensive worldbuilding questionnaire. For most aspects of a fictional society, it was great, but I noticed it assumed that anyone using it was making up a fictional human society, or at least a society of beings very similar to humans. As such, there was almost nothing in the biology department, which to me is one of the best parts! Thus, this questionnaire was born.

These questions are designed to help people worldbuild from a biological foundation. As such, the questionnaire only touches lightly on other aspects of a fictional society, and is more of a jumping off point. I wrote it with the aim of using it to develop aliens, but it should be suitable for any project with non-humanoid species, such as sapient terrestrial animals.

Have fun! I'd love to see your answers :)

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General Anatomy How many limbs do they have? Do they have limbs at all?

What are their primary manipulators? Where are they located? How does this affect their tool use, building ability, etc?

What kind of body covering do they have, e.g. hair, scales, feathers? How do they clean it? Do they shed this covering constantly, or all at once at certain times? 

Can they maintain a constant body temperature? If not, how do they deal with changing environmental temperatures? 

What kind of habitat do they live in? Both specific habitat, and broader such as on land vs in water.

What adaptations do they have for living in this habitat?

What kind of creature did they evolve from?

What are the similarities and differences to their closest living relatives? 

What resource(s) is the most necessary and urgent for them? E.g. for many animals, but not all, it’s water.

What are some common mutations? E.g. eye colours, ability to digest lactose in humans.

What injuries or illnesses are considered disabling? 

How is their healing ability? Can they regenerate? If they can, is that limited to certain body parts or a certain number of times?

Senses What senses do they have? E.g. sight, smell, electroreception, etc.

How good are those senses?

Which of their sense/s do they use the most in everyday life?

How might this choice of sense impact the way they interact with the world? 

Can they detect things that Earth creatures cannot? If yes, how and why?

Movement  How do they move? Do they walk, crawl, fly, etc? 

If they have multiple modes of movement, which is preferred, and why?

Which part/s of their body do they use to move?

What is their speed and endurance like? 

How agile are they? 

Do they rely mainly on their own bodies for travel, or do they use pack animals and machines? 

How often do they move around? Are they mainly sedentary, do they move a lot within a set area, do they migrate, etc?

Do they have different levels of mobility depending on age, sex, or other biological group? E.g. young barnacles are able to swim, while adults are anchored permanently to a surface. 

Reproduction and Lifecycle  How many sexes are there? 

Are there differences between the sexes (ignoring the reproductive system)? 

Are there different castes, such as in honeybees or naked mole rats? If so, what is the function of each caste? 

Are differences in sex or caste used to justify discrimination or hierarchy? How might these ideas differ in different populations? 

Do they have a concept of gender? If so, is gender affected by sex, caste, or some other factor?

How do they attract a mate? Do they release a chemical into the air, do an elaborate display, etc?

Does one individual try to actively woo another, or is courtship more mutual?

What do they find attractive in members of the same species?

What is the usual reproductive partnership? E.g. two individuals, one main reproducing individual with a harem, no set partner, etc. 

How long do they live?

How are young brought into the world? Live birth, eggs, spores, etc?

Is producing young a painful, dangerous process, or is it easy?

How much parental investment is there? Are there many young with little investment, or few young with a lot of investment (r vs K strategy)? Or is it somewhere in the middle? 

How many offspring are produced at a time? Think about how attitudes towards children may differ between a species that produces one or two, and a species that produces dozens or even hundreds at a time.

How do they grow? Are they born looking like miniature adults, gradually growing bigger? Do they have specific phases of high growth, like puberty? Do they have a larval phase, metamorphosis? 

How self-sufficient are they as young? Can they move around and feed themselves as soon as they are born? Do they require parental care? 

What is the usual structure of childcare? Single or multiple parents/related individuals? Communally raised? 

Is sex purely for reproduction, or does it serve other purposes?

What kind of sexuality is considered the norm? This doesn’t just refer to same/other sex pairings, but the culture around sex in general.

Diet and Foodchain What is their diet? Are they carnivores, omnivores, frugivores, insectivores, etc?

Do they feed off an unusual source, for example rocks, metals, or (in appropriate settings) something like magic or souls?

What physical adaptations do they have for this diet? 

Is their diet very restricted, or can they have a wide range of foods?

How often do they eat? What is the culture around mealtimes, if any?

Are they prey for other organisms? For each other?

If they are, how do they deal with it? Do they fight back, have barriers, or do they accept it as a part of life?

If they are hunters themselves, what is their attitude to killing other organisms? Are they respectful? Prideful of their kill? Is it completely trivial? 

If they are hunters, how do they hunt? Are they solitary or packhunters? Are certain members of the group designated to hunt? 

Are the results of foraging or hunting shared, or is it everyone for themself?

Are they parasitic, parasitised, or in a symbiotic relationship with any other organisms? 

Body Rhythms How often do they sleep?

What time of the day are they most active? Are they nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular? 

Do they generally sleep for one long period a day, multiple shorter periods throughout, or something in between? 

Do they sleep to cope with extreme temperatures or bad conditions, i.e. hibernate or aestivate?

Do they have any biological processes that disrupt their life e.g. moulting, reproductive cycles, etc?

If yes, how does their society accommodate for these processes? Does it accommodate them at all? 

Communication What is their main method of communication? Sound, visuals, scent, etc? Think about their main sense and how this would affect communication.

What is their body language like? What small moving parts might aid their body language?

If they have multiple methods of communication, are they all given equal weight, or is one considered higher than others? 

Society How sociable are they? 

If social, what is the usual social structure? 

Are there hierarchies? How strict or relaxed are the roles?

How are disputes usually settled? Is it more common to be violent or appease the other party? 

If not social, what is the reaction to being with other individuals? Do they become aggressive or stressed? Do they tolerate each other? 

What is the usual size of a community? Do they have communities at all? 

Do they have an in-group vs out-group mentality? If so, how strong is it? This generally relates to how scarce or plentiful resources were during their evolution, and how territorial their ancestors were.

What kind of bonds do they form? 

On the spectrum of individualistic to community-oriented, where do they fall?

Do they have a strong sense of personal identity? Think about how this might tie in with the previous question. 

What are the main things they derive identity from? Occupation, gender, family ties, etc?

Do they have names? If yes, how are these names formed? Are they given by another party or chosen by the individual?

Have they domesticated any creatures? If so, what do they use these creatures for?

Do they have any unusual relationships with other creatures on their planet (beyond predation, parasitism or mutualism)?

Do they produce art? What are their main forms of artistic expression? Think about how this will be linked to their main sense(s), communication method, and/or primary manipulators.

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GLOSSARY Primary manipulator: Main body part used to manipulate objects, e.g. hands in humans, trunks in elephants, feet in parrots.

Sedentary: Inactive, staying in the same place.

Caste (reproductive): A group within a species with differences in body type and reproductive ability.

Symbiosis/Mutualism: Interactions where both parties benefit, e.g. cleaner fish getting a meal in exchange for picking irritating parasites off larger fish.

Aestivate: To become inactive during hot or dry periods, usually involving being sealed in mucus or soil e.g. lungfish, snails. 

Reproductive cycle: Regular hormone fluctuations that affect an animal’s fertility or attitude towards breeding. The cycles can range from months to years and can include things such as antler growth in male deer, heat cycles, and menstruation in humans.

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Clogs have a big place in plumbing. It can be as simple as a slow-draining sink or as complicated as a fully blocked toilet. Call a Plumber Orange County, CA, who can use all the right tools for the job to clear the plumbing and get it flowing normally again.

3. Water Heater Problems.

No person wants their water heater to go down. For starters, they want it as soon as possible because showering in cold water during the colder months is not an option. A Plumber Orange County can help you repair or replace defective water heaters, assuring that you have hot water when you need it. 

4. Damage to Sewer Lines.

Sewer line problems are not just discomfort but serious health hazards. Whether clogging, cracking, or total collapse, a Plumber Orange County CA has a good, quick, and safest possible way of handling the sewer line troubles.

5. Frozen Pipes.

During the chill months, pipes freeze, resulting in their bursting. In turn, this leads to excessive flooding with damages to the property. A Plumber Orange County can even help with insulating your pipes and then repairing most damage because of cold temperatures.

Why Should You Trust a Local Plumber Orange County CA? 

Wherever you go for a Plumber Orange County, perhaps you might be wondering what's so good in hiring a local hand. Here are some reasons why hiring a local plumber can be good for homeowners living in Orange County: 

1. Availability and Flexibility

Local plumbers also avail flexibility when it comes to fixing appointments. They can often accommodate with less notice and accept emergencies. If a situation occurs after hours, a Plumber Orange County CA will be available for emergency service. 2. Knowledge of the Mediation Water Systems

Orange County is endowed with unique water systems having different water pressure levels and different plumbing network structures. This makes a local plumber experienced in working with such systems and knowing the best ways to fix locally.

3. Personalized Service 

Most local plumbers have an eye for personal touch. They are localized and focused on building a local community and have the understanding that it does not end here - the customer is more likely to come back for his next project. All this necessitates better customer service and more hands in the job above.

4. Responsibility and Reputation 

Here, a local plumber will be more likely to be concerned about his reputation. They are aware that word of mouth in your area may come to be their success or failure, and so they will do all to make sure that every customer has a great experience with their services.

How to Choose the Right Plumber Orange County CA

Choosing the right plumber Orange County is key in getting an all-around good service. Here are some tips that you can consider to ensure you are picking a reasonably trustworthy and dependable plumber:

1. Check for Licensing and Insurance

A professional plumber in Orange County should be licensed and insured. This protects you as the homeowner and ensures that the plumber has adequate training and qualification to perform the job safely and rightly.

2. Ask for References

Before hiring a plumber in Orange County, CA, ask for references or go online to check customers' reviews. Hear from other clients so you can gauge the reliability and workmanship caliber of the plumber.

3. Ask for an Estimate

Get an estimate from the plumber before work begins. A renowned plumber in Orange County will keep everything transparent about pricing and would never surprise you with any hidden costs. It's essential to be aware of your charges before putting your name on any work agreement for repairs or installations.

4. Check Their Experience

Experience counts in plumbing. A plumber doing this for a number of years has mostly seen most plumbing problems and has established solutions for them. Hire a plumber this experienced-for the specific plumbing problem you are facing-to limit your risk of hiring one with little or no experience. Maintenance of Plumbing Routine in Advantage

To keep job site plumbing from turning into a catastrophe, regular maintenance should be performed by an expert plumber in Orange County. Minor repairs would be looked at during an inspection; by doing so, the client would not incur costly repairs later on.

1. Longevity of the Plumbing System

Regular maintenance helps keep the pipework, water heater, and other fixtures of plumbing in good working order for as long as possible.

2. Efficiency

Good maintenance of our plumbing works efficiently and cost-effectively, in no way eating well when needed.

3. Prevention of Major Repairs

An Orange County, CA plumber strives to nip small problem repairs in the bud so as not to let them turn into large, costly repairs that would keep the plumbing system running smoothly. Conclusion A Plumber Orange County that you can trust is crucial in plumbing to ensure the comfort and safety of your home. Be it a routinely scheduled inspection or something like a stopgap measure in solving a clogged-up drain, getting a plumber within the ambit of the reliable and experienced Plumber Orange County CA might also make the difference. They can respond promptly, know the area, and have your satisfaction at heart.

Contact Us for your plumbing needs in Orange County, and see the difference of working with a trusted professional!

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Springfield HVAC Experts Working Overtime to Keep Homes Warm After Winter Storms

Recent winter storms in the Ozarks have left many homeowners in a tough spot, dealing with furnace failures, busted pipes, and water heater malfunctions. With temperatures plummeting, HVAC companies in Springfield, MO, are working around the clock to restore warmth and comfort to local homes.

At Redeemed HVAC, we’ve seen a surge in emergency calls from homeowners needing fast, reliable heating system repairs. Cold weather can be tough on HVAC systems, and when temperatures drop suddenly, older or poorly maintained units often struggle to keep up. Furnace breakdowns, frozen pipes, and inefficient heating can turn a cozy home into an unlivable space in no time.

Winter Weather Wreaks Havoc on HVAC Systems

The recent storms have exposed how vulnerable heating systems can be during extreme conditions. Homeowners with older furnaces or neglected maintenance schedules are the ones facing the biggest challenges. Common problems we’re seeing include: ✅ Furnace malfunctions – Units overworking and failing due to clogged filters or worn-out components. ✅ Busted pipes – Freezing temperatures causing pipes to burst, leading to expensive water damage. ✅ Water heater failures – Cold weather straining water heaters, making hot water unavailable when it’s needed most. ✅ Poor indoor air quality – Homeowners staying indoors longer and noticing issues with dust, allergens, and humidity imbalances.

At Redeemed HVAC, we’re not just about fixing problems when they happen—we believe in preventing them before they start. Our heating system services, air quality tune-ups, and water heater maintenance can help keep your home warm and safe no matter how harsh the winter gets.

Be Prepared: How to Protect Your HVAC System in Cold Weather

To avoid winter HVAC disasters, homeowners should take proactive steps: 🔹 Schedule regular furnace tune-ups – A simple inspection and maintenance check can prevent costly breakdowns. 🔹 Replace air filters – Dirty filters force your furnace to work harder, leading to inefficiencies and malfunctions. 🔹 Insulate pipes – Prevent freezing and bursting by ensuring your pipes are properly insulated. 🔹 Check your water heater – If your water heater is old or struggling, consider a repair or replacement before it fails completely.

With the high demand for HVAC services in Springfield, now is the time to schedule an appointment before small issues turn into major problems.

Need HVAC or Plumbing Services? We’re Here to Help!

If your furnace isn’t keeping up, your pipes are at risk, or your water heater is struggling, don’t wait—call Redeemed HVAC today! Our team is ready to provide fast, professional service to keep your home warm and comfortable.

📞 Call us now: (417) 241-5687 🌐 Visit our website: http://www.redeemedhvac.com/ 📍 Find us on Google Maps: Redeemed HVAC - Springfield, MO

Stay warm, Springfield! And remember, we’re here when you need us most. ❄🔥