🌧️ Rain, Repairs and Readiness

Yet another day when not all went to plan, but it all worked out in the end so… silver linings?

🛑 Act I: Red Shirts and Rain Clouds

If you’re going to step outside into a sweeping flood warning that covers the entire stretch from home to the East Coast, you might as well dress for the occasion. The Shirt Du Jour was a vibrant red, featuring a familiar white triangular star logo on the chest accompanied by the text: "Red Shirt — I might not make it."

It felt entirely appropriate as the rain set in overnight, turning the landscape into a continuous, soggy deluge that lasted all day. Armed with peak sci-fi gallows humour, I prepared to face whatever hazards the day’s away mission threw at me.

🔋 Act II: The Power of Perseverance (and Battery Backups)

Against all meteorological odds, the installer for our house battery showed up to correct a lingering issue. Previously, the solar panels weren't charging the storage unit, and the emergency backup only kept the power flowing to the front two rooms.

The tech rolled up his sleeves, and by the time he left, the system was finally behaving. The battery appears to be actively charging now—though we won't know for absolute certainty until the Tasmanian sky stops crying—and the backup circuit now covers the front rooms, the kitchen, and the house lights. It’s a massive relief to have a genuine security net wired up, especially with the current weather and more importantly, we can start using our solar panels to charge Marvin (by saving the charge from the day) instead of getting cents on the dollar for our power production and paying through the nose for the power we use overnight.

🧳 Act III: The Launceston Dash and Delayed Code

With the home front secured, I had to make a swift run into Launceston for some last-minute travel preparation. This Friday, I’m boarding a flight for a week-long trip up to Sydney, and tomorrow is already booked solid with Dr Dave’s Travelling Medicine Show in St Helens.

As for the oyster farm system build from yesterday? The shiny new 27" monitor is officially on order, but it won't arrive until I'm already in the big smoke. That actually works out beautifully, as it gives the client a solid two weeks to iron out their ancient ADSL line issues with their ISP before I return to finish the deployment.

Between the rain, the repairs, and the road trip, there was zero time (or spare electricity) left over for coding. The programming deck is officially mothballed until next week. But hey—the Red Shirt survived the day! Time to pack the bags. 🌧️🔋✈️