Dumb meter

 After an prolonged delay the electricity retailer visited my house and replaced the spinning meter with a new electronic "smart" meter.

No instructions were provided with the meter, so I went to the internet. The retailers web site showed a single pdf page for three different makes of meters with confusing terminology and it did not cover what I wanted to know. Next I searched for and found the manufacturers instructions which included some standard definitions.

I learned that IMPORT means imported to the grid so what all the consumers call exporting power is defined to be importing because the terminology all is from the utility point of view. All perfectly understandable except that the information provided by the retailer does not explain it.

On my meter - EDMI Altas Mark 7C - there are tiny arrows in the upper left of the display window. 

The big red arrow points to the tiny left arrow - The left arrow means power is being imported to the grid. So when this is showing my solar is making more power than I am using.

The big blue arrow arrow points to the tiny right arrow - The right arrow means power is being exported from the grid to my house. So when this is showing I am using more power than my solar is making.

When I was engineering I was often hunting down the technical data for products and then analysing it. A sure sign of a poor product was a lack of technical data.

Caravan Improvements #5

 The first thing I broke on my caravan - within 2 hours of owing it - was the ventilation hatch winder handle. Of course it was plastic. I looked up the web site and saw that it was a prominently displayed spare part - obviously these things broke all the time.

So I made my own wooden handle by modifying a wooden knob for drawers from my local hardware warehouse [ Bunnings ]. The larger diameter of the wooden knob made the ventilation hatch easier to open and close.

Shoes for ever

 Shoes last longer if rested.

I have four pair - all the same make:

 - Very good

 - Everyday

 - Working/gardening

 - Painting

They are the same make - Kathmandu Strowan NGX - because I have found that wearing hiking shoes stops my back hurting.

Always learning

 I just learned how to tie my shoelace a better way -

https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

The knotting method I learned as a child was not the best way!

For months I have tying double knots on my laces to stop them coming undone - But I have tested Ian's knot and it works well - not coming loose. As an ex-scout I should have known reef knots are better than granny knots.

Best Ever Xmas Songs

 When I visit op shops I look for second hand Xmas CDs -There seem to be plenty to choose from. Occasionally I find one with some original or different songs. These I collect for my own Xmas mix.

Any songs from the Bing Crosby songbook are too cliched to be included.

My favourite song is Tim Minchin's White Wine in the Sun. It expresses the atheist's Xmas perspective. Kate Miller-Heidke sings a great version on the album Spirit of Christmas 2010.

My favourite album of unusual Xmas songs is the Best Ever Christmas Mix - from EMI 2004 - 724387476820

Down to Earth

 Op shopping I also found Down to Earth by Rhonda Hetzel (ISBN 978-0-670-07592-8, 2012). She is also from South-east Queensland.

So far I've only read five chapters but it is engaging, and she has a recipe for making soap. Her theme is simple living and it is from the view of a retiree.

She also has a blog https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

Leaf cutter

 Earlier in the year I noticed a bee - I think a native solitary bee - flying around the ferns like it was looking for something. So I took a tree branch out of the rubbish pile and drilled a hole in one end then put it with the ferns.

Now a leaf cutter bee has made a nest in the bore hole. I has laided eggs in the hole and made chambers with leaves.

Now I watch and wait.