Coded green.

Wednesday 1 November 2006

Magnus Itland in living room

Pic of the day: The clothes and flashlight from today's entry. Perhaps I should just have stayed inside... some days are like that.

Writing & other exercises

It was a surprisingly cold day, and clear. And yes, it had been a dark and stormy night, but at least not rainy. Strangely, I became sleepy after a couple thousand words (I was about to write a couple thousand years) and fell asleep repeatedly in my chair. I moved on to the bed and slept for 6 hours, more than for days. Perhaps writing is good for the soul or something. ^_^

I still have to go to work. I don't get any vacation at all this year, quite the opposite, since I have spent it on sick days. When I am sick just one day, I don't go to the doctor to get a permission for sick leave. But when it happens almost every week, there isn't much vacation left after 10 months.

Last year I was off work every other day. This was kinda nice, but my wrist and my voice were both worn down before the end of the month anyway. They will likely be this year too. By taking time off from work, I'll just wear them down at home instead, and probably faster.

***

During break at work I went out and bought a new small torchlight. They tend to not last very long, and currently I had none that works. The one I bought was quite cool: It has two different types of light, blue LED and white Xenon. The xenon bulb will eventually have to be replaced, but the LED has no parts that are degraded with use. The three blue LEDs should be able to last nearly as long as the aluminum casing. They also can run on used batteries for way longer, whereas ordinary light bulbs lose effect dramatically when the battery starts to wind down. They also draw more power at that time. LEDs will not reduce their light output more than the electricity input is reduced, so you could pop in a used battery from some other flashlight or other electronic gadget, and use it for weeks or months before it started to get useless. LEDs use very little power at the outset, as it does not convert most of the power into heat like light bulbs.

I'd prefer if I could turn on the LEDs and the xenon bulb separately. Not only would this give the option of combining the two for maximum output, it would also let me stay with the blue LEDs for most of the time if I did not need the more intense xenon light. Unfortunately you can't do that with this "focus" flashlight. Every other time you click it on, it is blue, and every other time white. It is a very safe bet that the on/off switch will wear out before the LEDS. Long before. Many years before. Because an LED could last for generations, although they only promise 80 000 hours.

***

After dark I took a walk. Not overly long, just 40 minutes or so, but I burned 700 kcal ("calories")! Admittedly, some of it was from the shivering. Even walking quickly was not quite enough to keep up the heat in the sudden cold (it was now below the freezing point). I guess I could have dressed more winterly if I knew how cold it would feel. (Wore jogging suit, thin jacket and a thin cap.) Also burned some kcal from energetically trying to re-enter the house without a key. Will spare the huddled masses the details today, lest you start thinking that this is a major hobby of mine. (It is not like I did it every year even in my previous domicile, you know. Really.) Good exercise, but a bit too intense for me. Will probably bring key for my next walk, if any. Oh, and I did get back in without help. So there.

Oh, and lest you think you can just waltz into my home at any time, you should be aware that it is so wisely arranged that your attempt will make lots of noise even should you do so without burglary alarm active. And I would not be amused. Don't even think about it, casual reader.

Added another 2000 words or so. So all in all it was a good day.


Yesterday <-- This month --> Tomorrow?
One year ago: And so it begins
Two years ago: Sick. Writing.
Three years ago: A day in a writer's life
Four years ago: Finally: ADSL!
Five years ago: Trick or treat?
Six years ago: Moving on
Seven years ago: Doc Happy
Eight years ago: Hair washing day

Visit the archive page for the older diaries I've put out to pasture.


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