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WEEK 52 2018 

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 Eleven Years Ago, This Week, 2007
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2011
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2012		 Five Years Ago,
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2013		 Four Years Ago This Week 2014 Three Years Ago This Week, 2015 Two Years Ago This Week, 2016 One Year Ago This Week, 2017


 



Monday 31 December 2018
Monday - New Years Eve!

This is actually my first New Years at the house in Antelope Acres, last year I went into town and stayed overnight with R&S.

Overall it's been a pretty good year.  I've verified I'm in good health and begun some deferred dental work.

I made less progress on the property rehabilitation than I'd hoped, but it's not a big deal, I've been cool when needed, and warm when needed, so it's fine.

It's quiet and peaceful out here, and much less stressful than living in a declining community in town.  I have good neighbors, and my walks (apart from occasional loose large dogs) are much more pleasant than they were.

What has suffered the most are my programming tasks: moving takes a great deal of time and attention, so that's been in short supply.

Next year, hopefully.


My neighbor AH was going into town to get some tools for fixing his old Ford Ranger, so I tagged along, and we picked up some fuel for our respective pellet stoves.  I actually had more bags of pellets than I thought, stashed away on shelves in the garage, so I've over a dozen bags now, and feel much better about things.

I think the pellet stove will run about 12 hours, unattended, with the hopper full.  A hopper is probably 1/2 or 1/3 of a bag. I have a couple of different brands of pellets, one has significantly less ash than the other.


I went to A&H's house for dinner.  They had a nice bean soup for dinner, and then we all sat around and watched Star Trek: Discovery, on some Blu-Ray disks. ( I like STD so far, the plot changes quickly and usually unexpectedly, and there are some amusing parts.  There are politically correct bits, and some huge plot holes as well, but so it goes. )

At midnight we went outside, but it was a fairly subdued celebration out here in the 'Acres, one gunshot and a series of muffled booms off in the distance.

It felt very cold, perhaps it kept people inside. Officially it was 41F, which is ridiculously high, I'm sure it was below freezing even at midnight.  But either General Fox Airfield has a bad sensor, or Weather Underground is reporting it wrong - I've noticed this discrepancy several times recently.

I should get my own recording system.  It's supposed to be 19F tomorrow night.



Books, 2018



Bookshelf with Riley


#1 Dreadnought (Lost Colonies #2)
#2 Star Carrier (Lost Colonies #3)
#3 Atremis
#4 CNTL ALT Revolt
#5 Hammer of the Witches		 #6 Superluminary
#7 Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours
#8 The Wright Brothers
#9 Adapt and Overcome
#10 Stand Against the Storm
#11 Stoke the Flames Higher
#12 Hunter Killer
#13 The Circle
#14 The Med
#15 The Gulf		 #16 The Lawdog Files
#17 Oregairu Vol. 5
#18 Oregairu Vol. 6
#19 Tomahawk (Lenson #4)
#20 China Sea(Lenson #6)
#21 Black Storm,
#22 The Command
#23 Korea Strait (Lenson #10)
#24 The Weapon  (Lenson #11)
#25  Superluminary #2		 #26 Superluminary #3
#27 The Crisis (Lenson #12)
#28 The Devil You Know
#29 The Passage (Lenson #2)
#30 Uncharted
#31  The Towers (Lenson #13)
#32  The Grave's a Fine and Private Place (Flavia de Luce #9)
#33  Ready Player One
#34  Colours in the Steel (Fencer #1)
#35  Dr. Dogsbody's Leg
 #36 The Belly of the Bow
#37 The Proof House
#38 How to tell if Your Cat Trying to Kill You
#39 A Sailor of Austria
#40 Tomorrow The World: (Otto Prohaska)
#41 Warship (Black Fleet Trilogy #1)
#42 Call to Arms (Black Fleet Trilogy #2)
#43 Counterstrike (Black Fleet Trilogy #3)
#44 New Frontiers (Expansion War Trilogy #1)
 #45 Iron & Blood (Expansion Wars Trilogy #2)		 #46 Destroyer (Expansion Wars Trilogy #3)
#47 The Perfectionists
 #48 The Official I Hate Cats Book
#49 Oregairu, Volume 7
#50 Oregairu, Volume 8


Nothing really stands out as "The Book of the Year".

The Otto Prohaska books were good, as was the C++ and the Simon Winchester Perfectionist book, but nothing that really really really surprised or impressed me.

I suppose The Wright Brothers was the most illuminating, making Wilbur and Orville more human - remarkable humans - rather than the vague heroic legends I grew up with.

The Lenson books were fun, but not so much that I want to personally buy the current volume, just out this December.  I suppose I should put it on order from the library.


A Link to the Historical Listings:
  1. The Year in Books, 2017 (42)
  2. The Year in Books, 2016 (68)
  3. The Year in Books, 2015 (53)
  4. The Year in Books, 2014 (53)
  5. The Year in Books, 2013 (53)
  6. The Year in Books, 2012 (101)
  7. The Year in Books, 2011 (151)
  8. The Year in Books, 2010 (98)
  9. The Year in Books, 2009 (84)
  10. The Year in Books, 2008 (54)
  11. The Year in Books, 2007 (64)
  12. The Year in Books, 2006 (53)
  13. The Year in Books, 2005 (50)
Including this years 50 books, we are up to 971 total.

But who's counting?

Sunday 30 December 2018
Sunday - In the 20's overnight, warming up to around 50F during the day.

S went shopping for me, since I don't have the Explorer running yet, and dropped them off.  We had breakfast next door with the neighbors.

She's off to visit her father and ailing mother-in-law on the new years, and R needs to visit his mother at the same time.

Actually, given that R is NASA, perhaps he can go any time, they're on government shutdown I believe.

Saturday 29  December  2018
Saturday - Typical winter weather.

R came by, and picked up the dogs.  He needed a piece off the derelict Mercedes out back, a glow plug relay, and it was a good chance to pick up the critters.  They were very happy to see him!


Book #48 was The Official I Hate Cats Book, by Skip Morrow. Amusing, in a kind of horrifying way.

I'm a bit short on books, but I did finish the Oregairu light novels, in unofficial translations through Volume 11, online.  I'll apply a couple here, to bring it up to 50.

Amusing still, though the plot is starting to flag a bit towards the end.  I don't really follow this stuff, but from comments on the translation sites I guess the author started some other works and lost interest?  So the readers are all left hanging, though I think there is finally a Volume 12 out, in Japanese.

Book #49 was Oregairu, Volume 7, by Wataru Watari.

Book #50 was Oregairu, Volume 8, by Wataru Watari.

Friday 28 December 2018
Friday - Clear and cold. It is supposed to be down into the low 20's tonight.

It's predicted to be cold enough that I actually brought out the little electric heater for the dog tent, I'm not sure that the 60W bulb would keep it warm enough for the critters.

Went into town with AH and returned the loaner fuel pump meter.  My mechanic isn't available until the new year, but it's no big deal.

Thursday 27 December 2018
Thursday - Cool but sunny. About 24F in the morning.

AH and I fiddled around with the Explorer, trying to determine the exact cause of the failure to start.  The fuel pump gauge showed zero pressure, so we know it wasn't working. The question is, why? At 273K a simple pump failure is understandable, but it could be the inertial switch, or the relay, or bad wiring.

At the suggestion of my mechanic, Scott, we tapped on the fuel tank near the fuel pump assembly, and it started.  This pretty conclusively means it is the pump, always the leading candidate, but since it's over $100 for the pump and probably $200 in labor to replace it one wants to be sure.

Wednesday 26 December 2018

Wednesday - Boxing Day Cool but sunny, with some clouds.

I had another dentist visit, for a crown build up, in the morning.  Since the Explorer hasn't started in several days I borrowed a little old Toyota corolla from the neighbor - kind of fun to drive!

The visit went fine, and I picked up a fuel pump gauge from O'Reillys, and dropped off a card with another friend, before heading back.

No more doctor or dentist visits for a couple of weeks, then some oral surgery in the middle of January.

Tuesday 25 December 2018
Tuesday - Christmas Day!

i went next door to my neighbors place, A&H, and had a lovely dinner with them and their family.

I did speak to my brother M, who was invited and invited me, but we both had prior engagements.

Monday 24 December 2018
Monday - Christmas Eve.

My shopping is, more or less, done.  Nothing ordered online has arrived.  I've heard rumors of major delays in shipping, that 'Prime' is more like five or six days right now.  Well, everyone is an adult or older teenager, no big deal, they'll understand.

Sunday 23 December 2018
Sunday - A typical winters day for the AV.

Not much to say, doing a bit of reading, taking it easy.



Book #47 was The Perfectionists, by Simon Winchester.  Very interesting.



Picture of the Week

Christmas Lights 2018
First Christmas display at the new place, 2018.

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