I'm nervous about this because it entails alot of personal info, but here goes anyway. I'm not posting to expect any kind of handout. Although I would like a copy of the game to use for homebrew. This post will help explain why I lowered myself to using expletives in the post I made in the other topic on this subject. Specifically why it was so frustrating to find out that I now could not afford to buy the game (when it was only $5) because someone went and bought every copy in town so that they could put them on eBay for $30 and up.
First some background. I am an A/C-Heating technician in las vegas. Normally the weather in the summers here is such that my particular chosen trade can be quite profitable. However, this has been a very rough year. Weather has been very mild and so the daily call count was only one or maybe 2 calls a day. In fact the entire last 14 to 16 months have been very mild compared to the weather extremes we are used to here. We aren't paid hourly but kind of like piece work. A maintenance call pays around $20, so one of those a day, with only myself working (wife got laid off and has had a hell of a time trying to find work), will not pay the bills. We also get commission if we sell replacement systems. That commission is reduced by every bit we reduce the sale price by though. The commission cuts become larger exponentially as the discounts become larger.
I'm not perfect, nor am I a saint. I am a decent person (thanks mom for your wisdom and guidance over the years) and was taught to help my fellow man if able.
So, a couple days ago, we got our first real cold snap of the year. We started to get repair calls which to us, as technicians, means finally an end to barely feeding ourselves so that we can be sure our children are eating well. My first call of the day was a strange call. In the notes it said that the client needed someone to insulate the system. When I arrived at the call and read the notes, I was confused and a bit angry that the office would waste my time on a call like this. I met the homeowners' adult son outside and he explained to me what was needed. His parents Have lived in the house a long time. The heating/cooling system on the house, was very old and every heating or cooling season, needed to be repaired in some way before it could be used. This year This son ad a friend of his had gone up on the roof (yeah a long time ago some genius had the brilliant idea to put air conditioners on the roof of the houses in the middle of a desert) to look at the system. The system was leaking air all over the place and had no insulation left on the outer panels that make up the box that the functional parts are enclosed in. This means that the heating/cooling system is now very inefficient and basically attempting to condition the airspace that we refer to as the atmosphere. An exercise in futility as well as a sinkhole for money if I have ever seen one. The son and his friend, with purely good intentions (I will explain), decided to seal the air leaks and insulate the cabinet, using polyurethane foam. A great idea except for one fact. This unit is a gaspack. It uses natural gas to heat an exchanger which it then blows air across and into the home to heat it. Polyurethane will burn and release poisonous gas when heated to the extreme temperatures that it would now be exposed to from the glowing red hot heat exchanger. They had basically ruined an already outdated and inefficient system and the only safe option left would be to replace it.
The son brought his father out to speak with me at this point. He explained to me that he was just about to retire when his wife was diagnosed with a very serious and very expensive to treat medical condition. The cold and very dusty air that was being pumped out by the old leaky system exacerbated her condition. She had ended up needing medical transport to the emergency room a couple times already before they were able to figure out that it was the very thing that was supposed to be making their home more comfortable for her that was in fact making her health worse. This is why the son and his friend did what they did. They were only trying to make the home comfortable for the sick mom.
After reviewing pricing to replace the system and comparing that to the funds they had at their disposal, they felt there would be no way possible. I placed a couple calls and eventually ended up on the phone with the general manager of the company I work for. Remember, the more I discount, the less I get. He eventually gave me a number that made sense for the family. A price they could afford but with a personal cost to me. It cut my commission to $0. We replaced the system for them this morning. My company included cleaning the dirt out of the duct system as well. It's funny too. This family actually lives just 2 blocks from where I live with my family. I was able to stop by on my way home this evening to check on them. They are very happy, comfortable, and safe!
Does that constitute awesome? I also did amazing interviews with amazing people here on the forum who were massively helpful. Currently writing it. Almost finished 
Xdqwerty
Psionic Roshambo
BakerMan
