Tidy Husband

Eligible for the seniors discount and the Happy Meal deal at the same time.

  1. We Have That at Home

    A story about side projects.

    This usually happens to BW more than me but what usually happens is she will come out of her home office all excited about the fact that she’s going to write a paper on the history of the Paraguayan Turtle in in 1700’s - or some topic of the like.

    Photo by Jordan Spalding on Unsplash | my new facebook profile photo

    I try to be the encouraging husband, I do. But I’m not feeling it when she tells me about her projects - and that’s okay — everybody marches to their own drum and interests are individual.

    Summary: Don’t expect me to get to excited about really old turtles.

    The door swings both ways. I have been working on a little project too and to BW she’s about interested in what I’m creating about the same as I love her turtle projects

    This means WE ARE MADE FOR EACH OTHER.

    But this also means I don’t have anybody to share my creations with but then I realized that I can write about my project here on my very important newsletter - and it’s okay if you don’t care too because we’re good with rejection here - also most of you aren’t paying for this - today’s lesson: you get what you pay for.

    Anyway…let me introduce my latest website creation:

    We Have That at Home

    Allow me explain how this came to be - as we’re apt to do here, the child likes to get on my phone with me and surf Amazon and shop.

    The trouble with Amazon is that a lot of the stuff is crap. She’s still waiting for the pen for her tablet that she’ll never get because she’ll lose it in 22 minutes. Then the other day she wanted bluetooth headphones.

    She thought she was getting some pink ones with lights she saw on Amazon. The look on her face when I handed her the headphones we already had at home (which are perfectly fine by the way) was not good.

    I got to thinking - there should be a site that isn’t just a shill or crappy “review” site, but what if there was a site that actually researched what stuff there is on Amazon that’s actually good and getting good reviews - and good enough to warrant a replacement of the stuff we have at home already.

    Thus, a ~~star~~ website was born: Here’s the link again in case you forgot, so you can check it out yourself.

    All review sites are the same: product intro, “review” and a lot of buy it now buttons for you to click. What if instead of a review - there’s..research?

    I’ve designed the site as if the child was texting dear old Dad about whatever the item is they have to have - in this example it’s a nintendo switch:

    The research happens and I look at the pros/cons and even offer an alternative at a lower price. Sometimes it’s a flat out “NO” and don’t buy this. Because life is hard and NO’s happen in this world.

    Turns out - this particular item is actually worth it.

    I also offer alternatives that are cheaper because we all can’t afford a switch. Heck I’m still ubering to pay off the one the child has now.

    All products are not great, so the ones I find get a rating: YES/MEH or NO - because a lot of crap on Amazon is well, crap. I just do the legwork to check the reviews and figure out whether it’s worth it or not and pass on my thoughts and suggestions.

    I have had so much fun making this you guys - BW thinks I am nuts, so that means she’s probably right but I had a lot of fun and BW watched her shows on TV without interruption so she should be glad I am home and entertaining myself.

    Of course, the goal is to make a few bucks here on commissions from Amazon sales - whether that will happen is yet to be determined but it doesn’t cost much to run and because I’m a lazy husband as well as tidy - I created a system so this all happens automatically with new stuff listed every day on the site without my intervention.

    So you have choices - visit my site or my next post will be about really old turtles.

    And you really don’t want to write about old turtles. Trust me on this one.

    Always Shopping and Scheming and Dreaming of Blue Turtles,

    TH and Co.

    Permalink

  2. About this Homework Thing

    I’ve done more homework in her first grade than I had ever done in all the grades.

    So - Homework. Another thing they didn’t warn you about when you become a parent.

    Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

    Remember homework as a kid? Actually, to be completely honest I have absolutely zero recall of doing any homework. Ever. This probably explains a lot but that’s a story for another day.

    The child? She has two days of homework every week. TWO DAYS! In first grade.

    The first homework is the one we do Sunday night and it’s kind of lame - she’s supposed to read poetry and talk about it. This sounds like a session in a shrink’s office more than homework for first grade if you ask me.

    I let BW tackle this one.

    The spelling word challenge? That’s me most times. I am not sure why - but to quote Bruce Hornsby and his Range - that’s just the way it is.

    Word homework is so effing complicated it took both BW and I multiple times to read the instructions when she first came home with it. We were both so confused at first at what the teacher even wanted us to do.

    The word homework of the week is this: The child has to write about five words of each phrase or whatever they are learning that week.

    Today was plurals with both -s and -es. For example: frogs and boxes, dogs and purses - you get the idea.

    This should be where the homework ends. You sit with the the child and help her spell a few words and you’re done right?

    Oh. No.

    Now you have to play some games with her - they give you about five choices and you have to do three. I try to pick the three easiest and of course the child picks the 3 most annoying.

    How annoying? Annoying. Very Annoying. Very, and even more VERY. Annoying.

    Tonight she had to write the words on the piece of paper, cut them out and then lay the small paper with words on them and then throw a “snowball” at them. The snowball was supposed to be a pair of socks - does the school think we’re rich? A PAIR of SOCKS? THAT MATCH?

    In this house? - Ha!

    So here we are a past-bedtime-o’clock throwing a pair of socks at little pieces of paper on the floor. And, because it’s a 7-year-old throwing a sock - aim isn’t the best skillset we have here - so it takes multiple attempts to land said sock on said word so that the homework can end and we can go to bed.

    I may have helped her at the end:

    It’s D.O.G. Okay, we’re done - let’s go to B-E-D.

    That’s one word I know how to spell real good.:)

    Keep Learning,

    TH and Co.

    Permalink

  3. Boys and Girls at Play

    A one-eyed observation.

    Today was not our best day here. I had my every-two-months needle in the eyeball where when done with getting a needle in my eyeball - I get home as fast as possible and fall asleep for four hours and then by dinnertime I’m back in business and pretend the morning was a bad dream.

    I woke to the child coming home from school asking to go to Carson’s house. Great - quiet house for a bit longer.

    Then she came back - with Carson. So much for a quiet house. All of sudden there’s 2 children in the house and one is a boy. OMG you guys. To those with boys - I don’t know how you do it - the couch jumping, and the running and the constant movement.

    An example overheard today and how play works at our house:

    The child - “let’s play pretend - you’re the baby and…..”

    Carson: - “OMG YOU HAVE MAGNA-TILES!” as they get dumped over the floor without a moment’s hesitation - and then promptly ignored because now he’s lifting the dog’s tail to see what’s going on back there.

    Photo by Sebastian Schuster on Unsplash

    Two completely different wavelengths these two. But somehow these two seem to make it work. He wants to play with the remote control car non-stop and she wants to make grandiose play themes with blankets and pillows and squishmallows as babies.

    For a good half hour I watched and listened as these two played and it was entertaining to say the least. She was the ideas, and he was just …OMG - Feel sorry for the dog is all I can tell you.

    And then Carson had to go home and I sighed a million sighs and thanked the universe for a girl where there’s unicorns and drawing. After today’s wake up call on how the other half lives, I will happily play pretend or ponies or whatever if the alternative is we have to have Carson over soon again and increase the deductible on our home insurance.

    “Goodbye for now, Carson. Come back anytime” - Just not before I get my home insurance increased.

    See you soon,

    TH and Co.

    Permalink

  4. I am in Charge

    Whether I like it or not.

    I have a few cables.

    Photo by Andrey Matveev on Unsplash

    a lot.

    I have HDMI cables, I have USB cables with every end possible. I have DisplayPort cables and lightning cables and stereo cables and well…you get the idea.

    I have so many cables I am known for my cables and get teased about how many cables do I need? (the answer is always the same: more).

    Having a lot of cables means somehow I need to know how to charge all the things all the time and have a cable that meets the requirement at a moment’s notice. After charging her kitten night light tonight I realized that somehow - and only in this capacity - I have become in charge.

    I am in charge of charging. King of Charging, if you will. A Hero in Charge. 1

    Currently charging (or recently charged) are:

    1. iPad - USB-C
    2. Phone - USB -C
    3. Phone 2 - USB-C
    4. Phone 3 - USB-C
    5. Tablet 2 - USB-C
    6. Game controllers x 2 - USB-C
    7. Kitten Night Light - USB-C
    8. Ring Camera - Micro USB (this format needs to die)
    9. Portable Battery - USB-C
    10. Battery for Remote control car - has it’s own proprietary connector so when you lose the cord you’re screwed.
    11. More than one Laptop - USB C.
    12. Three (yes, 3) smartwatches - each with their own proprietary connector for expensive replacements when you lose them (ask me how I know)

    As you can see, I am in charge of a lot. That’s a dozen things to think about and keep powered up and on in the house.

    I have also given away or donated a few cables to friends and family over the years so they would get their printer to work or keep their phone charged or whatever.

    This has left me with a lower supply of cables than my nervous system can calibrate so I mentioned this to BW today that the next amazon prime day comes along I may need to get some more.

    BW told me NO. 2

    I may have the chargers, but she has the POWER.:)

    Until Next Time,

    TH and Co.

    1. I did put out a fire yesterday after all. ↩

    2. the real response was “how many do you need?” ↩

    Permalink

  5. The Electric Bill

    BW texted me with a screenshot of this month’s electric bill along with all the OMG emoji’s one could use.

    blue and brown padlock lot

    Photo by Jason Richard on Unsplash

    The price almost doubled.

    First, I want to acknowledge that we’re not paying the most in the country as rates differ by state, etc.

    BUT. There’s always a but. Our Bill Doubled This Month.

    This makes BW very very angry.

    Why, you ask?

    I walk around like electricity is free. (spoiler, it’s not). I think it’s childhood trauma from being told to turn off the lights when I was a child has harmed me somehow so now I leave every light on now that I am ~~functioning~~ adult.

    I think I need therapy. Just not the electric kind because that’s too expensive now.

    When BW showed me the bill, my first thought was “oh shit, I’m in trouble”

    But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself: Let’s rewind:

    Because we have 2 electric cars we get cheaper rates in “off peak” times - usually after 8pm and before 6pm. Until this bill, this was actually a very good deal as the off peak rate was about 1/5th the cost of the “on peak rate”.

    Real world numbers: I used to be able to drive my car for about 200 miles for under $3.00.

    Tonight we did some homework and found that the electric rates at least doubled this month. No warning - just poof! - “here’s your bill”

    A “fill” of my car for the day of now costs $13.00. Still a lot cheaper than gas for driving, but it’s not like I’m getting paid any more from Uber all of a sudden this months - the pay is still crappy.

    Further research shows that we use about the same for the same month last year, so it’s not like our usage for this bill skyrocketed compared to even a month ago, or a year ago - the usage has been about the same..

    I asked AI about this: Like WTF?

    Gemini said

    It’s incredibly frustrating to see those costs double, and you’re right—the “Supply” portion of the bill has been the biggest culprit for the massive jump this February.

    While the “Delivery” fee is a slow, steady climb, the “Supply” price is a volatile market rate. Here is exactly why that specific part of your bill effectively doubled:

    1. The “Wholesale Spike” (The Main Event)

    National Grid doesn’t generate the electricity or gas themselves; they buy it on the open market and pass that cost to you without a markup. In late January and early February 2026, the wholesale price of electricity in New York jumped by as much as 300% during peak cold snaps.

    The Cause: Brutal winter storms (like Winter Storm Fern) caused “freeze-offs” at gas wells in the South and Midwest, which physically restricted the supply of natural gas coming into the Northeast.

    The Result: Because natural gas is the primary fuel used to generate electricity in New York, when the gas supply dropped and heating demand hit record highs, the market price for electricity “went to the moon.”

    2. The Post-Indian Point “Vulnerability”

    Since the closure of the Indian Point nuclear plant, the New York grid has become significantly more dependent on natural gas.

    No “Baseload” Buffer: We no longer have that massive, steady supply of nuclear energy to “floor” the price.

    Expensive “Peaker” Plants: To keep the lights on during this February’s sub-zero temperatures, the state had to fire up older “peaker” plants. These plants are incredibly expensive to run, and those high costs are baked directly into your supply charge.

    3. Increased Pipeline Constraints

    New York has blocked several major natural gas pipeline expansions in recent years. While this aligns with state climate goals, it means that during extreme cold, there isn’t enough “pipe” to bring in cheap gas from elsewhere. We end up paying a massive premium for whatever gas is already in the system, or we have to compete with global markets to bring in expensive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by ship.

    So there ya have it. It got cold, and the juice to make the ~~lights~~ internet stay on got a lot more expensive.

    I used to be able to fill my car for the price of a Large Tim Horton’s coffee and now I will have to get a job at Tim Horton’s to help keep the lights on.

    Or, I could just remember to turn off the lights when I leave the room.

    Remember folks, happy wife = happy life.

    “ click ”

    TH and Co.

    Permalink

Every post → · RSS feed