‘This has to be the wettest April ever,’ Camp complained as soon as we were seated. ‘Mind you people read books when they can’t go outside. And the ducks are happy.’

    ‘My washing machine broke down, meaning the machine sounded like it was full of chains instead of laundry. I spent the next few hours trying to find out what’s wrong, how to fix it and how much it would cost.’

      ‘Let me guess: You couldn’t find a tecky in Gibsons, the problem could be fatal for the machine and parts could be weeks away and the cost prohibitive,’ Camp said.

        ‘How did you know? I spoke to a rep for two hours until he asked me for my zip code at which point he confessed that his branch office did not service Canada. A sad waste of time. Next, I watched some U-Tube clips about fixing my specific washer problem and how to solve it. Turns out that the machine is built to fail, after about ten years. An aluminium part next to a stainless steel drum which is frequently full of water. There is such a thing as galvanic corrosion which happens when the metals are exposed to a liquid like water. Really? Electricity is conducted between the stainless-steel cathode and the aluminum anode. It’s a washing machine for chrissake!  Something the makers of these machines are perfectly aware of. My machine is only six years old.’

        ‘Spacex is building a new Starship since the first one exploded shortly after takeoff. Musk calls it a success. Think about that! I suppose you’re buying a new washing machine?’