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Late to the Internet
Nov. 16th, 2010 03:32 pmToday has turned into a very weird day for me. I knew we were meeting with an energy audit guy from Xcel, but I didn't count on how much I've gotten used to my morning routine of internet, coffee, etc. It's already 3:12 pm, and I'm only just now done checking my usual things. I feel completely out of whack.
On a more positive note, our 100 year old house is leaky, but not nearly so much as I'd have thought. Probably the biggest thing facing us is the fact that we NEED to get insulation in the attic floor. Because of our big roofing job, we now have vents in the roof, which are basically big holes for heat to escape (which is in fact why they were installed, but, well, this sort of thing works much better on a modern house in the winter.) But, the guy who came out was actually VERY good at reading us. He could tell from our conversation what we would entertain and what we would not.
I'm afraid I'm very adamant that air is a fine insulation for a house that was built 100 years ago. Despite what our energy auditor attempted to imply, people who constructed houses in 1912 did know how to insulate with the technology they had, and they did KNOW that houses built in Minnesota needed to stay warm in the winter.
However, I would definiately entertain the idea that now that roofers poked holes in our roof, the situation in the attic has changed.
Of course, the auditor tried to sell us an Xcel plan to fix all this, but he also offered other options and told us about a lot of little things we could easily do ourselves to help keep the house warmer and the gas prices down for the winter.
So, for $30, I think we got a good deal, honestly. We now know what we should be considering/saving up for, etc.
In other good news, my second Tate book has been finally officially accepted, so money should be coming shortly for that. Also, my editor sent along cover art, which I like well enough. I only have a .pdf of it right now, so I can't share it yet. I'd suggested a theatre mask be involved to hide part of Ana's face, but they decided not to go with that. Instead, they hide part of her face with her hair. It works okay, but it makes a little less visual sense to me. I'll let y'all decide when I post it. However, they're going with the same model, and the same font, and same basic style, so you know, it could be worse as we say here in Minnesota. She's a very striking woman, and she's looking straight out at us again, so it's very clean, visually.
I finally finished reading an illustrated novel called RAGGEDY CHAN by Camille Picott, Illustrated by Joey Manfre, which I'll be reviewing shortly for my ODDyssey gig (general note: thumbs up!). As part of that, I also recieved a book called IMMACULATE DECEPTION by Scott B. Pruden. You can perhaps see from the title why I thought it might be a good fit. I'm going to try to read it over the Thanksgiving break, since I won't be able to write much with Mason home any way.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
naomikritzer also loaned me her daughter's copy of THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND by Jonathan Stroud, because I pretty much trust Naomi to know what I like in YA after several successful recommendations.
Other than that, my birthday is Thursday. I'll be 43. I already got my present, which is a year's membership to kuk sool wan, which I expect to enjoy twice a week. (Last night was once again made of awesome. I will not only be Captain America by 45, I expect to be Kung Fu Panda by 44!)
Cheers.
On a more positive note, our 100 year old house is leaky, but not nearly so much as I'd have thought. Probably the biggest thing facing us is the fact that we NEED to get insulation in the attic floor. Because of our big roofing job, we now have vents in the roof, which are basically big holes for heat to escape (which is in fact why they were installed, but, well, this sort of thing works much better on a modern house in the winter.) But, the guy who came out was actually VERY good at reading us. He could tell from our conversation what we would entertain and what we would not.
I'm afraid I'm very adamant that air is a fine insulation for a house that was built 100 years ago. Despite what our energy auditor attempted to imply, people who constructed houses in 1912 did know how to insulate with the technology they had, and they did KNOW that houses built in Minnesota needed to stay warm in the winter.
However, I would definiately entertain the idea that now that roofers poked holes in our roof, the situation in the attic has changed.
Of course, the auditor tried to sell us an Xcel plan to fix all this, but he also offered other options and told us about a lot of little things we could easily do ourselves to help keep the house warmer and the gas prices down for the winter.
So, for $30, I think we got a good deal, honestly. We now know what we should be considering/saving up for, etc.
In other good news, my second Tate book has been finally officially accepted, so money should be coming shortly for that. Also, my editor sent along cover art, which I like well enough. I only have a .pdf of it right now, so I can't share it yet. I'd suggested a theatre mask be involved to hide part of Ana's face, but they decided not to go with that. Instead, they hide part of her face with her hair. It works okay, but it makes a little less visual sense to me. I'll let y'all decide when I post it. However, they're going with the same model, and the same font, and same basic style, so you know, it could be worse as we say here in Minnesota. She's a very striking woman, and she's looking straight out at us again, so it's very clean, visually.
I finally finished reading an illustrated novel called RAGGEDY CHAN by Camille Picott, Illustrated by Joey Manfre, which I'll be reviewing shortly for my ODDyssey gig (general note: thumbs up!). As part of that, I also recieved a book called IMMACULATE DECEPTION by Scott B. Pruden. You can perhaps see from the title why I thought it might be a good fit. I'm going to try to read it over the Thanksgiving break, since I won't be able to write much with Mason home any way.
naomikritzer also loaned me her daughter's copy of THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND by Jonathan Stroud, because I pretty much trust Naomi to know what I like in YA after several successful recommendations.Other than that, my birthday is Thursday. I'll be 43. I already got my present, which is a year's membership to kuk sool wan, which I expect to enjoy twice a week. (Last night was once again made of awesome. I will not only be Captain America by 45, I expect to be Kung Fu Panda by 44!)
Cheers.