I last plugged anything into an outlet, even at NYU, April 29, as I wrote in Plug in again or work less?. That day was my second time plugging in since March 13, as I wrote in One month without even my “cheat” of plugging in at work. Then both batteries died.

Today, one battery is dead, at the manufacturer to be fixed. I want to keep my streak of not even plugging in at work alive, but I’m facing my first forecast with no sunny days in a while.

What will I do? Forecasts can be wrong, so maybe one day will turn sunny, but I can’t rely on hope. It’s summer, which means delicious vegetables that don’t need cooking, so I won’t use the pressure cooker.

I’ll cut down on computer use. I prioritize using it for paid work at least an hour a day. If I don’t work, I don’t eat and would lose my apartment. I’ve shifted much of my video work back to using the phone, which uses far less energy. I have several physical books to read. I also have a couple conceptual writing pieces to work on that I’ve been putting off. Working on concepts and at the level of composition often benefits from writing by hand. I’ll go to the library too. When times like this happen, like when I went away for five days over New Year’s and decided to make do without recharging, meaning under an hour online per day, I start thinking about finally reading Moby Dick or War and Peace.

I think thoughts like: humans lived for 300,000 years without a power grid. They lived on this island without electric power for almost 10,000 years. People live around the world today without power grids. If they could do it, why can’t I? Shouldn’t progress make me more capable and resilient, not less?

Update: Overcast skies led to a full rainbow almost directly overhead, a fun plus of experiencing nature’s beauty when I can. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before. The photograph didn’t pick up the full color. I suspect the sun in the center of the frame makes messes up the exposure, though to my naked eye it wasn’t that colorful, just a bit more than in the picture.

Update: It’s Saturday. There was a hint of blue sky. I was down by the Hudson meeting a friend and podcast guest, Markus Pukonen, biking through Manhattan, two weeks from finishing his eight-year tour around the world using no motors, picking berries. See his story here. He left and I hurried back. I’m on the roof, but the clouds are back. Drawing only 16 watts, nearly nothing. I’ll stay up longer in case the clouds clear again. Looking west, I don’t see any clearings. I’ll take what I can get.

Update: I made it. I meant to update at the end of the week, but it’s July 8 and I still haven’t plugged in to NYU.

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