Score!

So my kid received a comment from someone on her currently running comic asking if she could make it "a bit more obvious" who is male and who is female in the comic, since the reader was having trouble deciding this important issue.

My kid's reply: (a direct quotation here): "nah the gender binary is bullshit my friend"

Yep, I do parenting right.

Reading

While our AC was down, I was just not able to function. I am not functional when in an environment where the temperature is 90+ and the humidity is 80+, though mad props to all y'all who are. (Dr. Skull is one who is. He loved the AC crisis.)

Essentially all I did was teach (the university AC was wonderful -- I'm the only one left on our hallway, as our building is scheduled to be torn down soon, so I could crank our AC down to 66 degrees, and I did), and -- when I reluctantly returned to the pit of hell that is our house, slouch in my chair in the middle of three different fans and under a ceiling fan and read.

Here is what I read:

Update: Much Rejoicing!

The air condition repair guys, having worked from just past eight this morning until now, just past four, have -- knock wood -- fixed the air conditioning.

Are we not filled with bliss?

Help. Send Ice. Send Ice Packs. Send Winter.

So here is what it is like in Arkansas when your air conditioning has not worked for three days.

Number One: Every linoleum floor is sticky or else literally covered with a fine slimy layer of condensation. Mopping this up will only work briefly. This humidity-induced slime, by the way? Oh my what a fine stench.

Number Two: Every thing begins to smell, almost at once. You can't leave garbage in the pail all day, or milk in a cup by the sink. Deal with that shit pronto.

Teaching Again

I've picked up a Summer I class from a colleague who has a family emergency, which mean we have a little more money this summer -- yay!

In other news, the air conditioner which was fixed three days ago failed again yesterday afternoon. The landlord sent new guys to fix it. The other guy had said it needed Freon and also my filters needed cleaning (they didn't -- I clean them religiously, mainly because that's one way to help keep the cost of electricity down, summers). He cleaned the clean filters and put in new Freon.

These guys said the compressor was shot. They're supposed to come back today with a new compressor.  I hope they do, and I hope this works. Summer in Arkansas without AC is... well, many people in this country are having a worse week than I am this week, obviously, so I won't say hell on earth. But it's very unpleasant.

Right now I'm in my office, where I'm the only one on the hallway, since it's summer.  I have the AC cranked down to 66.  Bliss.

Fragile Updates!

Fragile, the comic by our favorite kid, has updated.

This panel might be my favorite so far.

Read it here: Fragile.

Complaining Post

This is going to be a whine, so feel free to skip it.

We rent, because my cancer some years back destroyed me financially in a way we are only just beginning to recover from. I don't think we'll ever own a house, at this point.

Luckily, we live in an area where rent is cheap. And we've had more or less decent luck with landlords.