Microblog

With a high of -4°F, stayed in, continued my home energy review. All our lights are LED… except this holdout in the clothes dryer. Decided to keep the 10 watt incandescent bulb because it’s only on for a few minutes per week. Besides, it lets me healthily embrace imperfection.

Stocked up at Wedge Co-op. We’ll be back for another cart-load in three weeks.

Satisfied my inner nerd, at least for today: modified wiring to make lights in the range hood smart, probably invalidating the warranty. The lights are now included in scenes with other kitchen lights, and can be adjusted by voice.

Got back to my Lego Mindstorms robot after resting my brain for a few weeks. Started building a software visualization of the robot to help me understand where to move the joints to position the tip of the robot at a particular position and orientation. Needed a nap afterwards.

Today: The Arrival of the Reamer. It replaces a chipped glass juicer left behind by a roommate in 1976.

Today, after somehow managing without for 2 years, discovered the dishwasher has WiFi. We can now ask Google how much time it has left to run. It can automatically order supplies from Amazon, but I fear a truckload might arrive. Soon I’ll be able to get out again, a good thing.

Finished an actual hardcover, nonfiction, paper book, but skipped the endnotes. Dwight wants to read it, then we’ll pass it on. Generally I read fiction, usually eBooks to save trees and storage space.

Organized learning materials before my GED student arrived via Microsoft Teams. Currently we’re exploring ways to represent opposing arguments. Google Docs is turning out to be an excellent tool as it makes it possible for us to edit a document simultaneously.

Satisfied a craving for comfort food on a snowy day: made a somewhat rustic meatloaf with my new, favorite, secret ingredient: Asian fish sauce. The glaze is not-so-secret: all-American ketchup.

Realized a $2,000+ airline refund from the early days of Covid was still pending after 10 months. It took 90 minutes to resolve this issue in our favor via text with Delta, but the service was excellent, and I have a written record of the discussion.

My big project, today, was to use smart outlets to save energy by automatically turning off the power to chargers when they aren’t charging devices. Learned the chargers are already smart, drawing almost 0 watts when devices aren’t charging. I’ll look elsewhere for wasted energy.

Looked for a warmer jacket in a bricks-and-mortar store: winter isn’t going away any time soon. Ended up ordering this style of jacket, insulated with recycled down, online to get my size and choice of color.

Posted A Preview of Things to Come.

Added stair-climbing to my daily routine. I’ll not be walking outdoors for at least another week: concussions need time.

Found a cure for exercycle boredom: a TV drama series, made in Japan, set in an industrial Hokkaido town. It snows a lot, people get murdered, and the protagonist, manga-style, periodically gets sent back in time to put things right. The cliffhangers bring me back. Deep.

Started booking flights and accommodations for next winter when Hawaii and New Zealand will probably be viable destinations. Flights are good value and can be changed, and there’s plenty available exit row seats.