The electric company in Las Vegas has gotten yet another rate increase approved, expected to add $5.24 a month to the average bill. One reason was millions to support energy saving programs like better insulation for low-income folks, and the other millions were because the electric company is getting less revenue due to people conserving on energy.

In other words, the more we conserve to save money, the more it's going to cost us anyway. Apparently, no matter how many people including teachers and public employees get laid off or take pay cuts, the privately-owned utility companies are entitled to a set amount of huge profit and their employees are entitled to continue to draw huge salaries.

On a cheerier note, Mr. Troutbend was able to do some work on the furnace ducts at the guest cabin next door. Some of them weren't connected at all, so the dirt blowing into the house, according to him, was falling off the tops of the ductwork into the airflow. There was a lot of ductwork he couldn't reach, but he could see a lot of it, and there weren't any more of the big gaps.

Today we're waiting for the rain to start falling, and I need to heat up some lunch - homemade bean soup and some lovely red rice left from last night's dinner.