For the first time in several years, I'm not out leading a hike in the hills this New Year's Morning; I sent the group off with a substitute leader and came home.
I'd had Great Plans for the week after Christmas: holiday rush over, work pretty much idle until next Monday, time to myself - there are so many creative things I can work on!
Alas, 'twas not to be. While I didn't have the string of misadventures that befell some people, my plans started to go wrong Christmas afternoon with a sore throat. Which developed into a pretty much standard winter cold. Which, basically, made me kind of useless for a few days.
Then, as the cold symptoms were sort of tapering off Monday morning, I lost my voice almost completely. (It's gradually coming back.)
Then, on Tuesday morning, I felt it necessary to run one particular errand before the end of the month: off to the storage place to let them know that I plan to be out by the end of January. As long as I was there, I figured I might as well pick up a Prius-load (Joy having taken the Jeep off to Tahoe for the week) of stuff that goes in the most inaccessible corner of the new shed. Said stuff being, pretty much, my college-era computers, as they're things I don't want to get rid of, but don't actually expect to need access to any time soon.
So what happens? Well, I pick up my primary computer from my college days - an SwTPC 6809 beastie - think 8 bit processor, 56K RAM, and, er, a big honkin' linear power supply - set it on the hallway floor so I can close the door (lifting mainly with my knees, not my back, like the safety posters say), and - sproing! - now I can't stand up straight.
Well, I can almost stand up straight this morning, but I'm not sure hiking up and down hills would have been a good idea, so, between that and the lingering cold symptoms, I felt it prudent not to do the hike.
And what have I accomplished in the Christmas-to-New-Year's week? Apart from lying around sniffling?
Well, I had this big party balloon left over from my birthday, y'see. And, when you're me and you have such a balloon, there's only one thing to do:
Yes, you try to turn it into a blimp. Alas, not having built any RC flying machines before, nor having Perfesser Cosmo Fishhawk's degree in Blimp Engineering, I didn't get it right, in several important respects... the main one, when all's put together, being control authority. Had I thought it through, I would have had a wide, boxy bit just at the back for the motor, propeller, vanes, and servos, and a long skinny body with the radio, motor controller, and battery strung out along it.
As it is, my RC blimp turned out to be a sort of miniature aerial Bootle-Bumtrinket. Looks cute, but is utterly lacking in maneuverability.
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