car batteries, dogs, termites, and idiots

Today I learned that car batteries' average lifespan in Tucson is 22 months, and it's the heat that kills them. The AAA Battery Replacement guy said they are busiest in the summer, and it hadn't been too bad this morning, when it was 26 F (-3 C). I guess our car, which lived back East for 20 years before we took it to retiree-land, just has habits.

In other news, I faced down a three-dog pack this morning so one of the neighbors could get her dog home safely, so I learned that I may be broken, but I'm still good for something. (If only there were a stipend for Neighborhood Dog Pack Chaser.) Then we went and hung around in the street with another neighbor whose cat had been treed, waiting for animal control. His cat was only outside because the termite guys were drilling at his house, and the cat couldn't stand the noise inside. The upshot was that I learned that I can't be anywhere near a conventional termite guy truck even if they haven't started spraying yet, so nicotine really is a whole lot safer than conventional pesticide.

Last but not least, I learned that sometimes people who get thrown out of clubs announce to the bouncers outside that they intend to come back with guns, but they don't get very far.