Day: April 10, 2026

This isn’t going to end with the eighth book, it is going to ten books, with the ninth book being split into two parts to have a major cliff hanger dead centre of the two parter. I am no longer racing through to read the sixth & seventh book before number eight drops in May. No point, as there will be at least a two year wait to get both parts of the ninth book. I’m kinda bummed, as I was looking forward to clearing an entire series in one calendar year. Hopes dashed! Plus he said they are going the whole 18 floors, so there goes any sense of worry about them dying before getting there. Oh well. I still enjoy Dungeon Crawler Carl, but I’m not going to ignore everything else in my life just to get to book eight in time. Frees me up just a bit!

In other news I did order the solar power generator, and the food rations, and water straws, as well as a couple books on survival tips. If they drop nukes it won’t much matter, but in the case of a natural disaster we are taken care of for at least a month to six weeks. Beyond that I don’t know if we have the fortitude or grit to carry on as a post apocalyptic tribe of do-gooders. Life is funny like that.

But, the books. I have already read more books cover to cover in the first three months of 2026, than I did all of last year. I’ll consider that a win! My current book, which is number six in the DCC series is the longest one by about 75 pages, so I am moving a whole lot slower through these times, than the earlier slimmer novels. Progress is progress though, whether it’s in ten page increments or fifty, one hundred, or two hundred page blocks. Just get to the next chapter is my current mantra. The page count can act like a pretty big mental obstacle when reading books this thick. I was sticking to 250-300 pagers for a while because of this personal weakness of mine. Overwhelmed meant not bothering. But with much smaller goals it has become easier to wade into longer stories, and still have a good time doing it.

Anywho — I can feel my ten milli Tommy starting to kick in, so I’m going to put on a movie or video and peace out! Happy Friday.

A bit of rain, and a few warm days with sunshine can do wonders for your lawn. With any luck we will continue to get enough rain, (not too much, and definitely not too little) to keep our gardens, and fruit trees growing this year. I have half a mind to buy some sweet corn seeds, and to bury a couple of potatoes to keep us fed come October since the fertilizer shortage due to the Strait of Hormuz is likely going to affect the entire planet with diminished production. Best start looking out for ourselves a bit more eh? Get you some water or a rain barrel cistern, and a whole bunch of non perishable food stuffs just in case these shelves start to run bare. Pasta & rice bags, salt, flour. Don’t go crazy but be prepared to sort yourselves out for several weeks, potentially a couple of months. I’m no prepper, but I am a pessimist with kids to look after. Better safe than sorry.

I’m on the fence about getting an Ecoflow solar panel & battery set up, only because I have a Champion gas inverter, but with fuel going up to $1.79/L that may not be totally viable as an alternative if things go haywire. However I do have some 25yr shelf life ration bars on the way to keep us afloat inbetween rice, pasta, flour, salt, and water. I have some safety straws too, just in case the bottled water, rain barrel idea gives out too early for a family of four. The solar stuff is pricey, but given power outages, and the generator it gives us options. I have a propane fueled heater in the garage, so we could be ok for a little while in the cooler months, but we aren’t a strong hold, and we aren’t exactly doomsday prepper prepared either. I have some guide books on edible plants in Canada, and that pretty much sums it up. In case of food insecurity we could last a few weeks to a month or two, then that’s it. Game over. Hunting with spears, or making traps for bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, foxes or what have you. I’m no pioneer, once my prescription runs out, I’m not going to be much help beyond that. If we can get through two months, possibly three and then see help on the way I think we’d be ok-ish… Maybe. We’re not a hardy bunch. Very soft.

Maybe I’ll bite the bullet and get the solar panel now. Better to have it and not need it, than the other way around. Yeah. I’ll do it.