What did you do today? - 2020 version

[W2R]

Wow, that's hot there. We are seeing high 90's F but with 70+% humidity. And that humidity is tough, but we are not being dry roasted! Great job on saving money on power, and you are correct saying more panels and capacity are required there. Your system would probably work well here with no added capacity.

Last month we used about 1500 kWh at a cost of $161. Next month is the hottest and last year we used about 1700 kWh. Our house is one level, 2,000 sq. ft. and with tree shade 1/3 the day. Hard to justify solar.

Good job on keeping that electric bill down! Texas is the hottest place I ever lived, even hotter than New Orleans (I never lived in Arizona). It does get hot here, but often our summer rains cut the heat.

Anyway, my latest electric bill (due August 10th) is $112 for a 1500 sf one level brick home with no shade. Some people here have solar panels on their roofs, but I'd worry about one more thing to become a missile when heaved by hurricane force winds. Arizona sounds like the perfect location for solar energy, though.

 

[Walt34]

Played around with my new Milwaukee brushless cordless chainsaw kit that has been on the "wish list" for quite a while. Home Depot sent me a 15% off code and I kind of doubt that item is going to be on sale for a long time so I bit on it. For a long time after it came out they had a hard time keeping them in stock even at full price.

It has one of those newfangled chain brakes on it, unlike my old Stihl that I bought about 1979 or so and as far as I can tell cuts just as well or maybe even better. There was an impressive amount of chips coming out from the bottom and it cut with speed.

 

[Ronstar]

Had our dryer vent line professionally cleaned. Went for a hike. Took some photos. Took a nap. Got some Mexican food carryout. Now watching tv. Medicare starts in 4 hrs.

 

[harley]

Happy birthday.

Oops. In 3 months.

 

[travelover]

Had our dryer vent line professionally cleaned. ...........

I took a tip from cutefuzzybunny and use a leaf blower. Boy, does that clean it out.

 

[Ronstar]

I took a tip from cutefuzzybunny and use a leaf blower. Boy, does that clean it out.

I used to use my leaf blower too. But the pro got a lot more lint out than I did. He used a brush that went through the whole pipe. Pushed the brush in from the outside while the dryer was on.

My line is ribbed flexible pipe. He said that the problem with leaf blowers is that they blow lint into elbows, joints, etc in the pipe and build up lint balls in these areas. So it is best to hire the pros with a brush.

 

[Ronstar]

Happy birthday.

Oops. In 3 months.

In 2 weeks. Medicare starts at the beginning of the month one turns 65. Now i need to redo pages of paperwork the next time I go to the Dr.

 

[W2R]

I had a wonderful day yesterday.

First, the roofer fixed two bad leaks and only charged me $130. These were not "drip drip drip" leaks, but "giant puddle of several cups of rainwater, get out the mop" leaks on opposite sides of the house. He is coming back next week to fix the wind damage on my roof or if it turns out to be worse than expected, he will arrange to have my roof replaced. But for now, only $130 is such a bargain. He's a longtime friend of a longtime friend.

Second, I returned two Amazon orders to the UPS store; one was the wrong item, and the other item didn't work. They scanned in the QR codes that Amazon gave me, and amazingly, just hours later the money was in my Amazon account as a gift card balance (over $200).

Then I slept like a rock for over 9 hours, dreaming that I was living inside Ultima VII (a terrific old video game I haven't played for probably 25-30 years).

I don't think I've had a better day since the pandemic began.

 

[gayl]

I've settled into a new morning routine which I actually find comfortable in these trying times. Get up. Shower. / M / W / F dog park. T / Th / Sa hike. I know it's boring but beats looking for work which is next on my daily agenda (both kids & adult GS are on UI applying for every job out there with no response. SIL supposedly has a job to go back to but no call back yet so DD's house should be OK.)

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow, that's hot there. We are seeing high 90's F but with 70+% humidity. And that humidity is tough, but we are not being dry roasted! Great job on saving money on power, and you are correct saying more panels and capacity are required there. Your system would probably work well here with no added capacity.

Last month we used about 1500 kWh at a cost of $161. Next month is the hottest and last year we used about 1700 kWh. Our house is one level, 2,000 sq. ft. and with tree shade 1/3 the day. Hard to justify solar.

Your consumption is about 50 kWh/day. I am getting somewhere around 40-45 kWh/day from my system. Should be a bit more, but I get some early-morning and afternoon shading from neighbor's trees as well as my own 2-story home.

My peak consumption used to be 100 kWh/day on a 120F day, but is around 60-70 kWh/day now using the 2 mini-splits instead of the central AC. This means I am still short around 20-25 kWh/day.

I am paying 7c/kWh during off-peak hours, but 24c/kWh during the on-peak period of 2PM-8PM. Hence, I now use the grid power early in the day, in order to stockpile that solar juice to use it later when it is worth more.

I have been able to manage to have the ACs switching to the grid at 8PM or later, using the simple approach above. Had I not have enough solar production for use during the peak period, then I would precharge the battery with cheap grid power in the morning, in order to not have to draw on the grid during the 2PM-8PM period. Arbitraging between the off and on-peak rates will gain me the 17c difference, ignoring the losses in energy storage and retrieval.

So far, I do not have to charge the battery with grid power, and only need to manage my solar storage/consumption better. This keeps me busy at home during this Covid pandemic. Eventually, I will build a microcontroller system to automate all this.

 

[braumeister]

Since putting a new floor surface in the garage/workshop a few weeks ago, I've been wanting to keep it clean and looking good. So I bought another Dyson vacuum just for out there. Blowing that dough, but man, I'm always amazed at how good they are.

 

[Gumby]

Went to the garden and harvested a bunch of tomatoes, okra and zucchini. Ate lunch outside. Did some research on a volunteer watermelon that has sprung up in our garden and is growing vigorously - it has not yet set fruit, but based on the leaves, it appears to be a Moon and Stars variety. I look forward to seeing how it tastes. Brought my potted tomatoes and eggplants into the garage in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaias. Prepared all my ripe Principe Borghese tomatoes and put them in the dehydrator.

 

[street]

Finished up a sand point water well also buried the pipe to pull in wire for motor when it arrives. It was more of a job then I thought. My arms and shoulders are tired tonight. 17 feet deep and had 7feet 4 inch of water in pipe when I stopped driving pipe. Should be good to go and pump gets hooked up.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Late update: Closed on condo on July 30. We have been packing and moving boxes ever since. Movers come tomorrow for boxes and furniture. DS moves out into his apt Aug 8. We will spend a few weeks spiffing up the old place to sell.

 

[W2R]

Late update: Closed on condo on July 30. We have been packing and moving boxes ever since. Movers come tomorrow for boxes and furniture. DS moves out into his apt Aug 8. We will spend a few weeks spiffing up the old place to sell.

Excellent! Sounds like your plans are moving forward swiftly.

 

[USA]

Reading “Proper Names Geographical and Biographical” from Webster’s Upper School Level Dictionary of 1938. Such a wealth of information post WWI and pre WWII along with people known throughout the centuries.
I would not have the time for this leisure of thought had I not retired.

 

[MBAustin]

I've decided to start my day by making a (short) list of things I want to get done. Somehow crossing things off makes me feel better about my day when most days are just the same. I paid some bills, tried out a new online game for our family to play during our weekly sessions, updated a document for one of my volunteer gigs, skimmed a bunch of old newspapers that I hadn't read, and wrote about 15 get-out-the-vote postcards. Then when I sat down at my computer just now I had positive responses from two friends to my suggestion that they join in on the get-out-the-vote project. So I feel like I accomplished something today for a change! (Oh, and I also refilled the bird feeder - I got a SquirrelBuster a few weeks ago and the birds are really enjoying it.)

 

[Time2]

Loaded the bicycles in the truck, put hot dogs and supplies in a cooler and headed to the local state park for a ride and a swim. Went with my wife and 26 yr old son. After the ride and the swim we gathered some dead wood and built a fire in one of the grills and cooked the hot dogs.
Very refreshing morning.


P.S. While waiting in line to get into the park, I knocked my wife's wallet size purse out of the vehicle. This was while looking for it to pay to get into the park. We didn't find it, I paid and we got in. We looked some more after we were in the park and gave up. After our ride and swim, I went to the gate and ask if anyone had turned in a wallet. Yes!
It had about $200 in it. My wife said it is her good karma that brought it back.

 

[1242Vintage]

Another good day.

Got out at sunrise on my bicycle for an hour for daily workout. Then headed over to little brothers house to install an oven and replace a light fixture in the entryway.

Oven was no big deal. Disconnect, slide out, drill new holes in the cabinet for electrical, connect new oven and slide it in. Done.

Replacing the large light fixture hanging from the 20’ vaulted ceiling entryway on the other hand was a little sketchy. Got up there, didn’t look down and got it done too.

Rewarding myself with a mid-afternoon swim and a nap.

 

[gayl]

My oldest granddaughter has a new 'job,' cleaning my house. I only pay her $40 (she's 14 and doesn't really do the bathrooms). Takes her 2 hrs. Did it yesterday then we went to lunch. Restaurant is struggling so I overtipped. We ate outside. I might get 'something' weekly. He mentioned I could buy a dz of his bagels for $7. I said 'that's okay, I just need 2.' Paid $4. Lol. Went back for 1 more @ $2. I'm sure he thought I was nuts but I don't need 10 in my fridge (dz here = 13) and he can make something off the other 10.

Got my DD's basic budget. Waiting for DS' then we will sit down and figure out what they need to outlast this Sheltering in Place. Each are applying for multiple jobs but he says up to 1000 are applying for the ones he's after. She painting houses to augment UIB. But that's not doubling it YET

Its COLD!!!!! 61° This morning at the park so Koda (mutt) and I went home early. Will walk downtown and check out the new bistro later.

 

[Gumby]

...Got my DD's basic budget. Waiting for DS' then we will sit down and figure out what they need to outlast this Sheltering in Place. Each are applying for multiple jobs but he says up to 1000 are applying for the ones he's after. She painting houses to augment UIB. But that's not doubling it YET...

Good luck to your son and daughter in finding something. When I hear things like this, I am reminded how blessed we are to be retired while all this is going on.

 

[aja8888]

Got a haircut this morning after my 7:00 am meeting with my ROMEO group at Burger King. Then went to Costco and spent way more than I planned to. Even at 11:00 am during the week, our Costco is full of shoppers.

Tonight, my three friends and I meet and go on our usual Wednesday evening 2 mile walk before we go to the Grill and Bar for a light dinner. It's going to be 90+ F at 7:00 PM tonight when we meet at the golf course for our walk. We have been meeting and walking for over 20 years now! All of us are in our 70's and these are "no excuses" walks (no complaining about pains, etc).

Our "cleaning team" gets here at 1:30 PM today so I have to vacate the premises for a couple of hours. I haven't decided what to do, but since it's over 90 F outside, I need to find an indoor place. DW stays here and keeps the dog company.

 

[Walt34]

Mowed the front & side, will do the back tomorrow. Or sometime in the next few days. Did some more dethatching on the side yard, I can only do that for about 20 minutes before my back starts hurting. While I was doing that the mail carrier delivered a 50 lb. box of grass seed. I'll bet the mail carriers are all cussing up a storm at Amazon because of stuff like that. When they took the job they probably thought they'd be delivering letters, bills, and the occasional box of cookies. I took the lazy way out and used the hand truck to carry it around back.

 

[Ronstar]

Went for a run, breakfast at Mcd’s drive up, sat on the deck watching and photographing birds, putzed in the workshop, went fishing in the kayak- caught nothing, played with my new camera tripod gimbal. Going to take a nap so that I can get up at 9:30 to watch the Blackhawks.

 

[harley]

Then went to Costco and spent way more than I planned to. Even at 11:00 am during the week, our Costco is full of shoppers.

I've been to Costco a few times recently. We had run very low on disinfectant products, so I started getting there at 8:45 for the 9 am senior hour. They open early if they get everything set in time. They put out the high demand items first thing, even though they limit them to one per customer. But the best part is there are relatively few customers in the huge warehouse. I've seen them turn away younger people, so it is being somewhat enforced. The first time I went I was a bit late, and was still there at 10 when they opened to the general public. 5 minutes later the place was a zoo. So I've been enjoying the peace and quiet. One day you might get some Clorox Wipes, and another day they might have Lysol spray. Some days they don't have anything. I'm stocked up on the disinfectant products now, but it's still great to be able to pick up a few items and get out without having to come into contact with people.