We have no heat at the house because there's not enough gas volume in Mid-City's old lines for us to be able to run heat, hot water, and the stove, and we've discovered that hot water is what we don't want to lose the most, because we can always wear hats and gloves and big socks, until today. Entergy's in our neighborhood setting up the grid for new high pressure lines, which'll be great, but ain't gonna happen until maybe next week. I'm not complaining, just shivering while we wait. Over the next 10 years, they'll be laying down 844 miles of new gas line - some of the pipes are cast iron and 100 years old - at a cost of $250 million. You might've already figured this out, but that's $450,000/mile. It took Entergy until now to get their insurance settlement. Meanwhile, New Orleans is setting records for lows. The temp's in the 30s and the wind's gusting up to 20 mph out of the north. Our house faces north. We have three small space heaters, and we've been lugging them from room to room, and my hands and face and sinus cavities have turned to sandpaper. These ceramic contraptions suck the humidity out of the air. Tonight we're gonna stay in a hotel downtown, which'll put the taciturn teenage A in the same room as his parents for more than a few minutes. Sometimes things happen because you need them to.