rectangularcat | Reading

Last year we replaced our roof, which unlocked solar panels. (We didn't want to put in panels and then have to lift them to replace the roof. And it turned out that the provider wouldn't have put panels on a roof that old anyway.) Permits and supply chains and inspections and the actual work took a while, but everything was installed and paid for before the tax year ended. It took until last week to get through the utility company's inspection so we could turn it on, and we finally got our "permission to operate" confirmation yesterday morning.

I didn't expect much in the middle of winter, especially on a cloudy day like today, but yesterday when it was sunny we returned more power to the grid than we drew, and today we're doing ok now but it looks like we'll be pulling from the grid overnight. (The battery is getting close to its "do not drop below" point, that being a buffer in case of actual outages.) I have never been so involved in power usage...

The battery has been on since it was installed; we didn't have a power outage during that time, but I assume it would have kicked in if so. 'Tis the season, so I was taken by surprise the first time I got a notification on my phone from my battery saying "National Weather Service says there's a storm coming so I'm charging up to 100%", because of course it does that. This is a whole new world for me. :-)

hrj

There's a terrible tension when reading fiction submissions between wanting to share the experience (both the good and the questionable) and knowing that no good ever came from discussing specific submissions in public. [1] Especially when...*waves hi to some of my submitters who also read this journal.*

If I had an editorial team, then that would be the appropriate forum for such discussions, but the project simply isn't big enough to call for anyone besides me. (Also, part of the joy of a small project is that ability to cater to one's own tastes without the need for compromise.)

I think as the Fiction Series has evolved, I've gotten a bit more skilled at identifying and articulating what I'm looking for and what drives my decisions. I've blogged a couple times in general terms on that topic (and link to it in the Call for Submissions) so even those who don't follow me personally in social media can have a glimpse inside my decisions process, if they care to.

Anyway, nothing really important here, just ruminating on my current priority. Only 7 more stories to read in the first round, then comes the harder part.

[1] Conventions have occasionally had panels on the theme "it came from the slush pile" where stories get shared, but anything that gets specific enough that a particular story/author could be identified is rather in bad taste.

hrj

I forget whether I discovered the technique for turning artichoke leaves into cardoons earlier than last year. Having solidly learned the knack, I've started the harvest already (while the globes won't start showing up for a couple more months). The result is basically a slightly bitter "carrier" for other flavors, but they add bulk and fiber to a dish. They go well with marinara sauce, for example.

I actually got my act together to grow some "winter vegetables" this year and have a dozen cabbages thinking about doing something, as well as some assorted greens. Haven't checked to see if the peas have come up, but there are also onions that were started as seed last spring that have gotten as far as scallions now. This is the tricky time of year when I don't have the irrigation turned on, so I need to pay attention to whether it's raining often enough to keep things going.

I harvested all dozen or so of my grapefruit and they're chilling happily in the crisper drawer. (Some critter had gotten to a couple of them, so I didn't want to leave them on the tree.) I have a half grapefruit every couple of days, since the word is that they don't always play well with blood thinners and I don't want to overdo it, but that'll take me through the end of the month or so.

The juice oranges are mostly ripe and I'm picking one or two at a time. (I think there may be a couple dozen in total across three trees.) And it's time to Do Something with this year's Seville orange crop, which reminds me I need to reach out to the friend who wants some for marmalade. (I can never remember what the middle vowel in marmalade should be on the first try.)

Other than that, I need to spend a lot more time pruning and weeding during the wet-and-fallow season. But the first daffodil bloomed today, so there's that.

cellio

Constrained by the limits of the web form, this is what I sent Senator Fetterman on Sunday:

Senator,

In October, you joined Republicans to end a government shutdown without getting any meaningful concessions for the top issue at the time. Health care costs are out of control for ordinary people, and losing the subsidies made it worse. Now, another shutdown looms and there is an even bigger issue: ICE is out of control, using excessive force to kill citizens who posed no threat and to suppress lawful dissent. The Senate has an opportunity to strip DHS funding from the measure and fund everything else. This is important: if you roll over again, you will be complicit in Congress's failure to be a co-equal branch of government. You will let executive abuses, abuses that are KILLING PEOPLE, go unchecked. How many more people will they kill and how many more cities will they destroy if you fund them for the next eight months?

Congress has abdicated its duty to stand against authoritarian rule. You have a singular opportunity to push back. Please do not squander it again. It was bad enough when Congress's actions only endangered our finances and livelihoods; now you risk endangering our lives. Vote NO on DHS funding until it is held accountable and reforms.

Fetterman is afraid of government shutdowns, but he should be more concerned about unaccountable thugs.

cellio

We got a bunch of snow on Sunday and paid someone to clear the sidewalks, but as expected, there was a lot more snow overnight. This morning I noticed that someone had done another pass on the public sidewalk in front of our house -- nice! I suspected our next-door neighbor, who's done that for us before (and I return the favor if I get outside first, though he usually beats me), but he said it wasn't him this time. He did, however, start shoveling my front steps at about the time I went out to clear a path from our door to the public sidewalk, which is how I found out he didn't know who did the sidewalk in front of both our houses. Later, when Dani and I were shoveling the back sidewalk and mini-driveway, he showed up again to help. After he helped us he proceeded up the block.

A bit over a year ago, we had a furnace emergency on a very cold day -- contractors had nicked the gas line, so service was cut off and couldn't be turned on until someone from the utility could inspect the repair, which in the end happened at 2AM. The neighbor three doors up noticed the activity going well into the evening, came by to ask if we needed any help, and upon learning that it was a furnace problem, immediately offered space heaters and said to call at any hour if we were too cold that night. I was touched that someone who I've only had occasional sidewalk conversations with both noticed the possible problem and offered help unprompted.

I'm very glad to live in a place where neighbors look out for each other.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28

I know what I know, and perhaps more importantly, I know what I don't know...

tous naissent fous. peu le demeurent.

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solar: day 2

Reading Submissions

Veggies of My Estates

Congress: don't chicken out again

neighbors

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February 2026

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