January 29th

I went up into the attic to look at everything I'd need to do - I've figured out where the vent needs to go, but sadly the joists are 2x4s (of course, everything's as cheap as it can be here).  So, we went and got more lumber.  I had sketched up what I wanted to do, but there are a few things in the way, so I've changed my plans.  Anyway, I spent the day climbing up and down into the attic, cutting wood and measuring things.  Progress has been made, but it's still a ways from getting the fan installed, let alone the wiring.

January 28th

I'd started the day with a lot of good intentions, but ended up playing around in Azeroth for a while.  We went to the airfield, pulled the plane out and did a couple of circuits, but it was a bit early, so it was a bit bumpy.  We were trying to use the GPS in my Dell Streak with a couple of flight GPS applications.  Sadly it didn't seem to be able to connect to the satellites, and I discovered that (of course) the capacitive screen won't work when you're wearing gloves.  More thinking needed, I think :o)  When we got down, I started wiping the exhaust spooge off the tail, and we ended up cleaning the whole thing.

On the way home we picked up some 2x6s so I could get to work installing the whole house fan I've bought - the attic's a nightmare of cables, pipes and trusses, so I'm going to build a box to move the vent from where it needs to be for the hallway to where it needs to be for the fan.  Sounds easy, eh?

January 26th

Vic's been chasing around after one of her guinea pigs, who it seems has diabetes.  The insulin hadn't worked fast enough, so she was in an oxygen tank at one vet's, but died on her way to the emergency vet for overnight care :o(

January 24th

We watched Rock'em Sock'em Robots.  It was actually better than I thought it was going to be.

January 22nd

After a little time in Warcraft (the guild I'm in seems to have died out, so I'm emptying the bank bit by bit and selling the stuff before I /gquit), I glued together some parts of the Vanagon kit in the garage.

It was still raining, so we went to find Vic a new chair for her office - the nasty one that came with her art desk has been broken for ages.  We found nothing in Walmart (I needed socks, as I've run out a couple of times recently), or in Fry's, but there was a decent one in Office Max, and it was even on sale.  Bonus.  We also braved the post-apocalyptic horror that is Ross and picked up a rug for the laundry room.  The one in there collects hay and pet hair, and it pisses me off.  When we got home I put the new chair together, took the old chair apart (and managed to avoid the temptation to make it into something like a little rolling stool in the garage) and put the new rug down.  We know how to live here, don't we?

January 21st

I spent some time banging holes in the clay soil to try and let the water drain out, but it's not helped, the back garden is still semi-flooded.  I picked up dead wood from the trees in the front.

I played Warcraft a little, and did some more work on my taxes, but it looks like some of the forms I need won't be available until next bloody month, which is a shame, as it looks like I have a decent refund due.

We went and did a little shopping, then I spent a little time in the garage tinkering with a Vanagon model kit.  I've started spraying it with car paint I already have, as it'll look better than me brushing the paint on.

January 20th

It rained.  And by rained, I mean threw it down.  Tilly went into a decline, as obviously this was done just to upset her.  We invited Vince to dinner, but he'd already eaten (at 4:30pm?), so we went out without him.

January 18th

Russ got me a key doohickey for Xmas, and I ordered the blanks to use with the van and the DRZ.  They claimed ignorance about the bike, and asked me to send them the keys so they could look at them.  Uh... they have a fscking Suzuki in the image on their web page!  I pointed them at an aftermarket key provider, and got away with not needing to send them my keys... the key blanks I need have come in.  As we've discovered, we need a proper locksmith to cut the keys, as the machines that everybody else uses won't hold the blanks properly.  Vic went to the nearest locksmith, and he expressed discomfort that the keys would work.  Still, he cut one, and it opens the gas cap on the Vanagon, so she went back and got him to cut the rest.  2 of the keys don't work, so I'll have to figure out what I want to do about that.  40% failure rate is disheartening... this is getting to be a headache :o(

January 17th

We watched Dolphin Tale, and it was a pretty good movie, if a little Disney in places :o)

January 16th

Today was Martin Luther King day, where Americans celebrate the civil rights pioneer by going shopping.  I get the day off, so I wasted it playing Warcraft and tinkering in the garage with this and that.  It's nice to just not have to work :o)

We walked Tilly down to Starbucks so she could have some cream, which made her day :o)

January 15th

It turned out to be windy again, so I contented myself with play Warcraft and getting some supplies, then making padding and dividers for my camera bag - it's a little bigger than I need, so rather than have everything rattling around, it's now a tight fit.

January 14th

I dicked around in Warcraft for a little bit, then went to Lincoln and pulled the plane out.  Larry was there, and we had to reorganise the hangar a little, as there's yet another powered parachute in there.  Larry was going flying with Vince, but this was the first time I'd flown since replacing the carb boots, fuel lines and parachute, so I didn't want to tempt fate and stayed in the circuit.  My first few landings were great, and then they got a little more positive :o)  It was a lovely evening, but the weather's supposed to be changing for a while :o(

January 13th

We watched Moneyball, which is pretty interesting for a movie about a sport that neither of us cares about.  I say "sport", it's more of a game, really.  A child's game.

Jan 11th

We met Jason and Nicole, Scott, Becky, Bug, Randy and Dawn for dinner.  Jason and Nicole are in town to show off their new baby, who apparently can't fetch a ball yet.

January 10th

After work we watched the Planet of the Apes move.  No, not this one, or that one, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Jeez, humans come across like real dicks.

January 8th

We went over to the airfield and refitted the parachute to the plane, and when Vince showed up with an 1/8" tee fitting, finished fitting the 1/8" primer line.  It was a lovely day, but a little windy.  I'm tired, so we didn't fly at all, but at least the plane's all back together and ready to go.  I need to check it for leaks next time we're there, as this time I pumped too much fuel into the primer system so it overfilled the carbs and they leaked.  Doh.  The lines look good for now though.

January 7th

Vic spent most of the day moving guinea pigs around, and other than helping move the futon out of "their room", I kept out of her way.


The furnace has been behaving itself, so I decided to go for the final test - will it run without the ladder leaning against the wall?  I put the ladder away, and so far everything seems fine.


In the evening, we went and met the crazy cat ladies for dinner.

January 6th

John from Second Chantz was coming through Rosevile around noon.  Sorry, 3pm.  Sorry, 5pm.  Sorry, 6pm.  He got here around 7ish, and dropped off the parachute for the plane.

January 4th

I emailed Second Chantz abut the BRS for the plane, and the owner'll probably drop it in on Friday on his way past here to somewhere or other.  He offered to ship it, but meh, I'm not going to do anything with it until the weekend at the earliest, so he might as well save the shipping.  Yay.

I called the HVAC company to ask them what's going on with the pressure switch for the furnace, and they's "lost my phone number".  Still, the engineer showed up at ~7pm, changed the switch and it didn't fix the problem :o(  Banging the control board around made things change, so he figured it was the control board - luckily he had one in his truck as this is the 3rd he's seen this week, so we tried that and problem solved.  It cost twice what I'd been expecting, but at least it's working now.  Yay.

I've been trying to sell one of the futons, as Vic wants to get the one out of the guinea pig room, and this evening a matey showed up and bought it without any hassle, loaded it in his trailer and took it away.  Yay.

January 3rd

After work we watched Cowboys and Aliens.  We told Tilly that Dog was the hero.

January 2nd

We met Vince for breakfast, then spent the day just playing around at home.  Now it's got cold overnight, we're in the stupid situation where it's too cold for the furnace to start.  Hopefully the new pressure switch will be in soon, so we can get over this.

January 1st

Happy new month and new year.

I rode the DRZ out to try and find a 1/8" tee, but couldn't.  Bummer.  In the evening, I spoke to Vince, and he reckons he has one, so I won't bother ordering one just yet.  I made toad in the hole, but Vince prefers frogs, so he didn't join us.

Here's the solar stuff:

Power we've generated

Power we've been billed for