Books read in 2013

50.  Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh
49.  Agatha Heterodyne and the Siege of Mechanicsburg, Phil & Kaja Foglio
48.  Doc, Mary Doria Russel (e)
47.  Mr. Wuffles!, David Wiesner
46. Newt's Emerald, Garth Nix (e)
45. Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
44. Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh (e)
43. The Rook: A Novel, Daniel O'Malley (e)
42. And All the Stars, Andrea Host (e)
41. Above, Leah Bobet (e)
40. Night Calls, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
39. Wild Ride, Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (e)
38. 2012: Midnight at the Spanish Garden, Alma Alexander (e)
37. The Hummingbird Wizard, Meredith Blevins (e)
36. Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier, W.B. (Bat) Masterson
35. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (re-read)
34. Creatures of Light and Darkness, Roger Zelazny (re-read)
33. Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (e)
32. Ice Crown, Andre Norton (e)
31. Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (e)
30. Frost Burned, Patricia Briggs (e)
29. Through a Brazen Mirror, Delia Sherman
28. Protector, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud with Steve)
27. Eight Million Gods, Wen Spencer (e)
26. Promises to Keep, Laura Anne Gilman (e)
25. Miles to Go, Laura Anne Gilman (e)
24. Even Money, Dick Francis & Felix Francis
23. Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews
22. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey
21. The Diviners, Libba Bray (e)
20. The Eighth Succession, Don Sakers
19. You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, Tom Gauld
18. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (e)
17. Hellspark, Janet Kagan (re-re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
16. The Year of the Dog, Grace Lin
15. The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi (e)
14. Let's Pretend This Never Happened (a mostly true memoir), Jenny Lawson
13. How Dark the World Becomes, Frank Chadwick (e)
12. Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal
11. French Fried, Chris Dolley (e)
10. My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett (read aloud w/Steve)
9. Fair Game, Patricia Briggs (e)
8. Nymph, Francesca Lia Block (read aloud w/Steve)
7. Oh, Myyy, George Takei (e)
6. Hunting Ground, Patricia Briggs (e)
5. Cry Wolf, Patricia Briggs (e)
4. Alpha and Omega, Patricia Briggs (e)
3. Miss Buncle, Married, D.E. Stevenson (read aloud w/Steve)
2. Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell, Phil & Kaja Foglio
1. Moonrise Kingdom screenplay, Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola (e)

The Way Life Should Be

Maine's tag-line is: Maine: The way life should be

In case you didn't know that.

As I may have mentioned here once or twice, I like living in Maine, and anticipate no necessity in future to shift to, say, Florida. Or Arizona.  Or any of those other Warm Places with Interesting Weather of their own.

Maine's Interesting Weather usually happens in the winter. I think this is a serious error in planning.  Maine should schedule its Interesting Weather in the summer time, when the tourists can enjoy it, and when the Interesting Results of the Interesting Weather can be contained by Seasonal Weather.

An ice storm in July would be just the thing, providing welcome relief from what we like to call "heat"; a deftly timed power outage would impart the thrill of being alone in the achingly cold dark, tempered by the knowledge that the next day would dawn bright and hot, melting the ice in time for everyone to enjoy a noon swim.

I appeal to the Maine Department of Tourism to look into this slight change of schedule.  It could bring Million$ into the state's tourism efforts.

Back here at the Old Schedule, we had an ice storm Saturday through Sunday and into Monday afternoon.  We briefly lost power on Monday morning, but it came back, lulling us into a sense of false security, until it went out with a vengeance in the small hours of Tuesday morning.

And it remained out.

After a breakfast of tuna fish on rolls, with hot tea (eating off the shelves, you know), we went outside, where it was 23F-feels-like-16F, and worked up a sweat chipping the cars free of their icy sarcophagi.

We came back inside, had another cup of hot tea, and a cookie and discussed whether we should start the wood stove.  The problem being that the woodstove and the oil furnace share the same flue.  Meaning that, if the power came back on soon -- as was our devout wish -- we'd need to turn it off until the woodstove had finished its burn. We have an 18-hour woodstove.

In the end, we decided to play the old Who Cares About The House, We're Going To Town card, and see if that brought the power back.

So, we went to town and picked up the mail (Christmas cards! A check for our share of an anthology sale to Audible! My limited edition Major Arcana deck of the Tarot of the Zirkus created and produced by Waterville's own Doug Thornsjo!) hit the various hardware stores to replace the snowmelt we'd used up, and to buy birdseed, then had dinner at the Weathervane before heading home, where we found that!

The power was still out.

It was now approaching 4:30 pm, and I was beginning to fear for the items in the fridge.

We lit the woodstove, with much help from the cats, took one of the back-up batteries down to the basement to power a light and recharge the cellphones, and sat by the side of the woodstove, reading.

Until the power came back on, around...7:30?

Steve took advice on the internet, but it was as we had supposed; we turned off the furnace and repaired upstairs to have dinner and, eventually, to bed.  With extra blankets.  And coon cats.

It was Quite Chilly this morning when we got up.  The fire had burned down to a nice even ash, and the furnace has been brought back into play.

I've downloaded the Federal Government's lists of what food items are safe to keep after an extended time without power, and which must be thrown away, and after breakfast -- I'm thinking grilled cheese sandwiches, here, since the eggs are unsafe -- I'll spend some time cleaning out the fridge.  On the one hand, it's good we weren't planning a Feast and lost a families-worth of holiday dinner.  On the other hand, the fridge wasn't exactly empty.

Today, it's bright and sunny, though very, very cold (8F/-13C feels-like-minus 6F/minus 21C).  And I am extremely happy to have the furnace running, and the lights on.

To those who celebrate:  Merry Christmas.

Books read in 2013

51.  Kissing Midnight, Laura Bradley Rede (e)
50.  Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh
49.  Agatha Heterodyne and the Siege of Mechanicsburg, Phil & Kaja Foglio
48.  Doc, Mary Doria Russel (e)
47.  Mr. Wuffles!, David Wiesner
46. Newt's Emerald, Garth Nix (e)
45. Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
44. Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh (e)
43. The Rook: A Novel, Daniel O'Malley (e)
42. And All the Stars, Andrea Host (e)
41. Above, Leah Bobet (e)
40. Night Calls, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
39. Wild Ride, Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (e)
38. 2012: Midnight at the Spanish Garden, Alma Alexander (e)
37. The Hummingbird Wizard, Meredith Blevins (e)
36. Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier, W.B. (Bat) Masterson
35. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (re-read)
34. Creatures of Light and Darkness, Roger Zelazny (re-read)
33. Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (e)
32. Ice Crown, Andre Norton (e)
31. Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (e)
30. Frost Burned, Patricia Briggs (e)
29. Through a Brazen Mirror, Delia Sherman
28. Protector, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud with Steve)
27. Eight Million Gods, Wen Spencer (e)
26. Promises to Keep, Laura Anne Gilman (e)
25. Miles to Go, Laura Anne Gilman (e)
24. Even Money, Dick Francis & Felix Francis
23. Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews
22. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey
21. The Diviners, Libba Bray (e)
20. The Eighth Succession, Don Sakers
19. You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, Tom Gauld
18. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (e)
17. Hellspark, Janet Kagan (re-re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
16. The Year of the Dog, Grace Lin
15. The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi (e)
14. Let's Pretend This Never Happened (a mostly true memoir), Jenny Lawson
13. How Dark the World Becomes, Frank Chadwick (e)
12. Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal
11. French Fried, Chris Dolley (e)
10. My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett (read aloud w/Steve)
9. Fair Game, Patricia Briggs (e)
8. Nymph, Francesca Lia Block (read aloud w/Steve)
7. Oh, Myyy, George Takei (e)
6. Hunting Ground, Patricia Briggs (e)
5. Cry Wolf, Patricia Briggs (e)
4. Alpha and Omega, Patricia Briggs (e)
3. Miss Buncle, Married, D.E. Stevenson (read aloud w/Steve)
2. Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell, Phil & Kaja Foglio
1. Moonrise Kingdom screenplay, Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola (e)

Plot Device Question

Oh, look, a Winter Storm Warning, starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow, when I Fully Expect to be at the grocery store, if I'm not at the vet's office with Mozart.  (Good wishes and prayer wheel spinnings for Mozart, please.  He's decided that baby food is even kind of a chore to eat.  We think (hope) he's got something going with his mouth that maybe the vets can fix.  They're cautious, and reasonably so, about putting a 15 year old cat under anesthesia.  On the other hand, baby food shouldn't be that tough to chew...)

So, anyhow, 3-6 inches of snow expected from 10 a.m. tomorrow through 10 p.m. tomorrow night.  The good news is that the projected temperatures are higher; the original forecasted temps would have almost been too cold for snow...

But, that's not why I called y'all here today.

What I'd like to know is, Would you want to live forever?

Or, alternatively, Why would someone want to live forever -- absent, OK, a Deathless Enemy who must be pursued and neutralized, or Science!  or True Love or Fear of Eternal Damnation -- though we're starting to get thin, here, by my reckoning.  At some point, I think, one would become So Weary that even the threat of Eternal Damnation might not trump the wish to simply lie down the burden and sleep.

This may, I note, Just Be Me.

And I will, in fairness, also note that we deal with at least two Deathless in our work.  What seems to keep them going is Their Work, and they are fortunate, that their work is infinitely variable.

But, given your everyday guy who happens to be a vampire, or who otherwise has to perform some vile act in order to NOT DIE, when their lives seem to be, aside the quest to NOT DIE, pointless or without purpose. Why does that person want to live forever?