Earlier this year we replaced the outside unit to our air conditioner. Figuring, “what’s a hundred more dollars…”, we sprung for a fancy programable thermostat to go along for the ride to financial ruin. After the installation folks left, we read about all of the cool features of our new thermostat, most of which we could figure out on our own. One documented feature eluded us – the capability to have the thermostat alternately cool or heat the house without having to manually switch between heating and cooling modes. Yesterday evening we finally figured it out. What you do is wait until something else with the air conditioning stops working. Then when the repair guy comes out to fix it, ask him for “one more thing”.

Now it’s all figured out. Sure, I feel a little less independent, a little less like a real man. I’ve put less sweat equity into the house; but perhaps more importantly, I’ve put some serious psychological equity into my marriage.

Here’s to your mental health!