Happy New Year!

...okay, so I'm a few days late but it's the thought that counts, right? I went back to work today, after two weeks off. That's what happens when my employer "Electric General" (not its real name) has a "use 'em or lose 'em" policy regarding vacation days - we use 'em (I also took off two weeks in November).

But it's officially 2006. The Christmas tree is in the alley waiting for recycling pickup, I took the lights down and packed them away, and I wrote "2006" on my first check. That check bears mentioning, because it was for $17 to the power company ... for two months! Okay, we're helped somewhat by having a gas furnace (which isn't used much - this is Arizona, after all), but the major contributor is the solar panels on the roof. The system saw first light last February, and has generated nearly 4MW of power so far. Solar power rocks!