Stock Market Commentary

The Dow Jones average ended the year up 16%, and the NASDAQ and S&P ended the year up 20%, from their lowest closing of the year, on November 20.

Up 20%!!!

Why don't I feel any joy?

Keeping Warm

We lost heat Tuesday evening when the outside temperature was 21 F. The furnace continued to run half-heartedly, but it did not keep the house warm. By morning, the inside temperature was down to 58 F, but the outside temperature had risen to the mid-30s. By now the furnace was not even trying to run. I turned on every light in the house, added a 1500 W electric space heater on the fireplace hearth, turned on the grow lights (640 W), and turned on the electric oven and opened the door. Pretty quick, we shut off the grow lights and oven. We discovered that we could keep the house warm (66 F) with the lights and the 1500 W heater. At 3,000 square feet, it is not a small house, either. I was amazed, because it was still in the mid-30s outside. Of course, the electricity usage went from a normal of 24 kWh/day to 97 kWh/day.

Epilogue – the furnace guy finished the repair work today, so the house is pretty dark again. The problem was the motor on the air blower was not giving the proper feedback to the speed controller. He said it was an unusual problem.

Aside - My Subaru was a bit lonely in the parking lot at work today.

Quick Pick-Me-Up

For a quick pick-me-up on these cold, dark winter mornings, start with a half-inch of lemon juice in the bottom of a tall glass. Fill the glass with hot tap water and sip it while puttering around the kitchen. For a little extra zing, heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds before drinking.

Snow!

It is snowing, and it is sticking.

Finally, some Subaru weather! I took my Subaru out for a spin. I drove around the neighborhood "testing the traction": accelereating rapidly to see if I could spin the wheels (I could not), braking hard to see if I could activate the ABS (I could), and making quick u-turns in cul-de-sacs (our fancy northwest name for a dead end street) to see if I could slide sideways (I most certainly could).

Merry Christmas!