Technology is becoming more and more advanced, who knows what the future will hold?!  Things are advancing at lightning speed, and we are very fortunate to be living during this era, right?  Mmmmm, well, sometimes you really have to wonder!!

The day is January 21, 2014.  The weathermen have predicted that an Arctic Cold Front is coming our way, following a period of rather mild temperatures.  There will be snow overnight, with accumulation of up to ??? inches, in our area of Massachusetts. You all know the story by now …

Having been mentally prepared for this, my son and I figure that the smart thing to do is add extra layers, if we get cold.  He works all day, but took a nice shower after work, and donned his flannel PJ’s, in preparation of a nice cozy evening.

Earlier in the day, I had also dug out my long johns from skiing years ago.  Put them on under my clothes, and figured I was ready for anything.  Right?  Well, one would think so anyway.

It kept getting colder and colder.  My son showed me his cold hands, and proceeded to put on half gloves while he worked at his computer.  This finally got me to go and check the thermostat.  Hmmm, there was no display!  Was the light shining on it the wrong way, so that I couldn’t see it?  You know how those electronic displays are often difficult to read if the light shines on it from the wrong direction.   Got a flashlight and shone that on the thermostat.  Nope, that wasn’t it.  There was *no* display!!!

OK, it’s electronic, so the first thing you do is check the power, right?!  But I had this installed by an electrician.  The lights are on.  The thermostat is connected to the wall and *should* have current running through it, right?!

Wrong!!!!!!!!!  Honeywell designed a thermostat, which is installed to electrically turn you furnace on and off, as needed.  But the thermometer, which it uses to sense the temperature with, needs 2 AAA batteries!!!  How’s that for advanced planning?? 

It was 59F.  It wouldn’t matter if you have a backup generator in case of power failure, or not.  If you don’t have those 2 spare AAA batteries, your pipes are going to freeze!

Good thing it wasn’t later at night, and I was fast asleep under layers of blankets, while the pipes slowly went to their demise.