Zeroing it out

Air temperature 0 F, wind calm, partly cloudy sky. May get above freezing today, clouding up later. Heating system continues to function, chewing up scarce resources to maintain our lavish unfrozen lifestyle.

Electronic masters

Heat pump head told me that I needed to clean its filter. Done. That's a calendar prompt rather than a condition, so I usually skip a few months. Our house, lacking pet hair and smokers, requires less filter attention than some. Based on actual examination, I could have skipped this month as well.

Asymmetrical

One of the problems in Gaza is that a single Hamas fighter with a radio or cell phone in a building makes that building a target. Israeli forces track radio signals and regard them as spotters and lookouts . . .