Odd Citizen
An Odd Citizen’s Search For Vanishing Freedoms

Nov

15

About Showers and Water

Filed Under Uncategorized

After reading the Wall Street Journal piece of shower heads I made a note to write about it, but once again, Coyote beat me to it. All Our Shower Heads In My House Have Been Hacked Nonetheless, the subject is such a good one that I’ll add my two cents.

Coyote’s article is, as usual, cerebral. My thoughts are more gut-level. The shower head I use now and transport to wherever I live came from a San Francisco house built in the 1930’s. It puts out a really invigorating shower that can’t compare to the puny water-saving, Al Gore variety that is mandated by bureaucratic idiots. After my current house was built and inspected, the first thing I did was to replace the little piss-head with my real 1930’s shower head. I’ve enjoyed good showers ever since.

Which brings to mind a story about Lyndon Johnson. He reputedly had his White House shower outfitted with multiple high-pressure shower heads, I think it was something like six. Now that was a shower!

And while we’re on the subject of plumbing fixtures, we shouldn’t forget those water-saving toilets, which have to be flushed several times to do their work. One of mine had to undergo a dam-otomy and it still doesn’t work all that well. (Thanks Al.)

Then there are the back-flow preventers that were mandated for each outdoor hose bib. They all caused a racket when the water was turned on. So they had to be removed. A back-flow-otomy. Even though one stuck set screw caused me to drill a hole right through the threads of the hose-bib. Some JB Weld has fixed that. Paul Harvey recommended it so I guess I don’t have to keep my fingers crossed. The fix has held for over 10 years.

Whenever I try to fix plumbing it takes at least 3 trips to town to get tools and replace parts that break off while I’m trying to fix them. I really hate plumbing and now employ a real plumber when needed. It seems to me that plumbing was invented in Ancient Roman times and should have been improved since then. It hasn’t been. Why not a clog-proof pipe? Why not a washer or a valve that lasts? Why do we buy plastic junk from China to replace sturdy brass fittings from Cleveland?

So spill it. Ramble on. The Delta Smelt in California are still being eaten by predator fish after the water supply to the farmers was cut off to restore the river flow — all at the behest of environmental activists. The result is that a very productive part of the California agricultural economy has been turned into a dust bowl and hundreds of farm workers are jobless. (Thanks Al.)

An old western saying: “Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting.” So don’t touch my shower head!

Enough griping for one day. It seems each blog post becomes more bitter than the last. Next week I’m determined to find some sunshine and share it. Some optimism is needed. “Yes, we can?????” Ouch.

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