A negative trend I am positive about, 73

Since my solar system was flipped on I have been monitoring it’s daily output with the app included with the system.  So far my best output for a day has been 89+ kwh which is really good, especially considering we are in the part of year with the shortest days and least intense sun.  However recently I started looking at the data provided to me by the electric company as well.

This data is the stuff that really matters, my net usage, meaning how much the house consumed versus how much the solar array provided.  You can see that at the end of December when we had a string of mostly cloudy days we were still pulling a good amount of power from the grid.  However since the new year flipped we have had a lot of sun.  The end result has been most days we have been finishing at a power deficit where the sun has given us more power than we used, which is awesome. Our household uses a lot of power and since solar was installed we have not done anything to modify our usage pattern.  To still be running a surplus of solar power is a nice feeling.  Of course that feeling may get a little less nice once I start making my solar payments next month.

I also discovered that I can allow the public to see the output of my system.   If you are interested in seeing how much sun I am harvesting you can do it with the link here.

Today is my dad’s 73rd birthday.  I am not sure if there is anyone on the planet less excited about birthdays and holidays than dad is but I’ll be sure to wish him a happy one all the same.  Just like the difficulty I have coming to grips with the fact that I am 52, I have a hard time believing my dad is this age.  Hell when my dad was my age he was only a couple years away from retiring which he did somewhere around 55 if I recall correctly.

Children always gain personality traits of both parents.  In my case I think I am more like my mom but I definitely have aspects of my dad, good and bad.  On the bad side would be things like my dark moods at times and overall pessimistic view of the world.  On the good side would be things like a drive to exercise, dad used to run, lift weights and swim most of his adult life. A strong will to provide for others and a determination to accomplish tasks, sometimes even in detrimental, dangerous, or silly situations, ie. mowing grass in lightning storms, are some other positive things I attribute to him.

Dad has had a rough time physically over the last decade or so where a lot of joint related deterioration coupled with less focus on his health has made day to day living painful.  I do also appreciate the fact that despite being in a situation where the Trump environment benefits him personally from a financial standpoint, he still despises the man and the system he represents.  I suppose I may have gotten some of my greater good thinking from dad as well.

This weekend has a number of small to medium tasks ahead.  A lot will be focused on the chicken area and I have a new motor to install in one my EUCs, not because I have to but because I want to.