Song: “Skyliner” by Charlie Barnet
Mood: 6.5
Nightmares: 0
Ghosts: Lots
I didn’t sleep that well last night. Woke up quite a few times worrying about things, so it took me a little longer than usual to heave myself out of bed this morning. That aside, I’m not sure if I’m imagining things or if it’s just a fluke, but I think that since my quetiapine was reduced, my morning fog hasn’t been lasting as long. I’m not sure but I’ll keep an eye on it.
Today was a very thinking-intensive day. J’s aunt stopped by briefly on her way out of town to pick up some stuff just before noon, and I went for my walk shortly after that. It’s difficult for me to ponder stuff while I’m walking because all I want to do when I leave the house is get back home, but I’ve had some thoughts bouncing around in my head over the last few days and I found myself thinking about them a few times while I shuffled along. That was a long sentence.
Anyway, after I got back home I went out and looked at the garden and made sure it wasn’t parched. We got some rain yesterday so things looked okay, so I went back inside, did some grounding, and started working on things again. I designed another part and started it printing, then sat down and hammered away at an electronics problem I’ve been trying to figure out for a few days.
It probably wouldn’t have taken as much time as it did, but I finally figured it out. Two things kept interrupting me, though – chasing ghosts (which wasn’t as bad today as it has been the last little while), and my mind kept wandering to those other ideas and projects that I’ve been thinking about. I’ve got a couple of ideas for DA’s cottage that I need to get down on paper, and I’ve been thinking a lot about electronic-y stuff around the house. We have a little digital weather station that I really like but the backlight isn’t working properly so we can only see the numbers at night. It doesn’t owe us anything but if I can’t fix
[Looks like the backlight is completely dead now]
it, I was thinking of making one. One of the modules that FA let me borrow is a temperature and humidity sensor, and I’ve been able to get it working. One of those inside, one outside, a digital barometer, a screen, and a radio transmitter and receiver, and BAM – instant weather station! Aside from the barometer, I’ve had all of those components working in other projects at other times, so it’s just a matter of stitching the right things together.
I’m also thinking of creative ways to automatically water the garden. Yes, it’s only 32 square feet and yes, it’s only ten steps from the deck stairs, but I was thinking of doing something… kind of artsy. I don’t know if I’d be able to make it work, and I don’t know if it’d even be practical even if it did work, but it’s something I’ve been enjoying thinking about.
Also, robot lawn mowers. Again, probably extremely impractical but could be fun.
I spent some time writing today, too. I don’t do it as much as I used to, but every once in a while I feel the itch to dump some of the stuff in my brain out onto a screen. It’s relaxing in its own way.
J and I watched another episode of Blue Planet (the first one, not Blue Planet II). It was made in 2001 and it’s pretty amazing how far technology has come in 18 years. The cameras in Blue Planet are shaky and grainy, and the footage in low light is pretty poor compared to the newer shows. Still, it’s a fascinating watch, and I’ll watch pretty much anything if it means I can hang out with J.
No appointments tomorrow, but I think I may have convinced J to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind with me tomorrow evening. She watched Alien with me years ago (to be fair, she actually only watched about half of it – she had her eyes covered for the other half), so she should be okay with CE3K. Just in case you’re thinking, “Mark, that’s horrible! Why would you make your sweetie watch something so scary?” allow me to say that we, on occasion, have what we call “cultural exchanges” where we watch a movie from each others’ lists. J watched Alien and the Marvel movies, I watched Legally Blonde and the Harry Potter movies. And a movie with Harrison Ford that I can’t really remember but he wasn’t playing a space guy, an explorer guy, a police android guy, or the president of the USA.
It’s supposed to get up to 34C tomorrow. 34C! That’s almost 72 degrees hotter than the melting point of mercury! I’d better make sure I wear my hat when I go for my walk…
Stay safe.