Category Archives: General

General

Aquatic Disaster

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Patricia heard a noise in the middle of the night that she described as “gnashing of teeth.” When I went out to look at the pond this morning, it was almost empty, with a couple of the large rocks that line the edge of it having fallen into it, and apparently having cut the liner. Likely it was a raccoon trying to get the fish, who tipped the rocks over and fell in. Fortunately, at least some of the fish, including the one koi, are still in the bottom, but I’m going to have to find and repair the leak before I can refill it, and with fish in it, I’m going to have to neutralize the chlorine when I add water. And it’s a chilly day to be dealing with it.

Late-afternoon update]

Well, if I have a leak, it isn’t in the pond. I added some water that had been sitting overnight in a bucket to evaporate off the chlorine, and it didn’t go down. If it doesn’t go down overnight, I’ll turn the stream back on and see if that’s where the leak is.

[Friday-morning update]

The pond didn’t go down overnight, but when I turned on the stream, I found the leak. It was backing up to the beginning of it, beyond the liner.

General, History, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Space

Happy Thanksgiving

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I’m posting this from Windows in the new computer (I ended up using the Microsoft tool to build a boot drive). I’m loading software on it now, while following my Thanksgiving tradition of watching the Lions lose.

Given the events of the past year since the election, it’s hard to be thankful, but I’m guessing that we’ll have a lot more to be after the election next year, if the country survives the lunatics currently running it that long.

But we have our health, and we’re financially comfortable. I’m continuing to look forward to the next year, and years in space, and feel like we are finally on the verge of achieving the things I’ve been hoping for for decades.

Here are some interesting links: Why we should be thankful for the Pilgrims, and no, we didn’t steal the land from the natives. The latter isn’t a new piece, but it’s a useful corrective to those who oppose the settlement of space because it’s “colonialization.”

I hope that all of my readers are having a good day as well.

[Late-afternoon update]

It’s the four hundredth anniversary of the first Thanksgiving.