and rode in the streets if not. i was in belmont to do 2 things: find the tamper-proof security bits, and remove the snow from the solar panels. i knew the panels were covered because we were hardly generating any electricity this morning. the security bits i found right away, in my father's radio equipment cart. i went to the front of the house to shovel the small pile of snow blocking the driveway but it was basically a solid block of ice and i wasn't making any progress.
the main event was clearing the snow off the solar panels. we'd bought a new 24ft extension pole about a month ago so this was the first time using it to clear the snow. i climbed the 8ft platform ladder to survey the roof. most of the snow on the left panels of the main roof had sloshed off on its own; a bit of the top panels were peeking out; most of the right panels were covered; and all of the sunroom panels were buried.
i started with the right panels first. i mounted the gopro camera onto the handle of the 24ft extension pole and set it to film in time warp mode with linear FOV plus horizon leveling. 
normally i shoot in wide angle, and linear means a more cropped image, but with the added benefit of horizon leveling stabilization. originally i used the step ladder but it wasn't high enough for me to see over the roof, so i switched to the platform ladder instead. the snow on the panels had the consistency of ice pellets with an icy hard underlayer. the trick was to break apart the ice layer first, and then get them to slide down the panels in sheets.
i then moved to the left panels. one thing i noticed is the foam head would spin on the 3/4" threaded adapter, no matter how much i tightened. not a big deal normally, but because i had the gopro mounted on the handle, the camera would spin when the foam head started spinning. i used the platform ladder from the top of the basement entrance. this was close enough for me to get to the bottom panels easily, but for the higher panels i needed to extend the pole all the way, and i noticed a few things. fully extended, the pole started to bend. that made it so parts of the pole were hitting the panels. fully extended, it was also much heavier to hold. so i ended placing the platform ladder close to the house - near the bathroom - which then made it easier to remove the snow.
finally i moved on to the sunroom panels. i used the platform ladder at first, but i could only see the bottom of the panels. so i switched to the extension ladder so i could get closer to the house. the new extension pole was very easy to use, and the clip-locking mechanism was better than what we used before, which was either slotted positions or twist tightening mechanisms. from the extension ladder, with the extension pole fully extended at 24ft, i could reach the top of the roof. i used that method to gently remove the snow from the topmost panels. as for the sunroom panels, at first i thought it was a lost cause because the ice layer was so thick. but i found once i managed to break the ice layer by forcefully thumping on the snow, it'd eventually break, and sheets of if would them slide off the panels. i had to make sure the sheets didn't hit the ladder and throw me backwards.
i was finished a bit after 1pm. i managed to twist my back and felt a debilitating pain on the left side of my body. would i be able to ride the bike home? or even work tomorrow? but after i got off the ladder and moved around a bit, the pain was gone. i put the ladders away and shrank the extension poles. that's when i discovered i couldn't push in the last segment of the 24ft extension pole, no matter how hard i tried. hopefully it's just frozen-stuck from the cold, but if not, we may need to replace it. thankfully i still have a week left on the amazon return window.
the replacement hot water cartridge for the bathroom sink arrived yesterday. i checked it out, it's about 38mm long (1.5"). while i was at it, i went to the bathroom to examine the faucet handle. the cartridge has a flat side on the spline so i thought maybe the handle had it too, but the handle actually has splines all the way around, so in the future we might be able to use a different (generic) brand of cartridges.
i was going to go home, but decided to do a bit of drone flying from the backyard. snowy landscapes always make for dramatic photos. plus i updated the DJI fly app on my pixel 3XL phone and i wanted to give it a try. none of the pixel phones worked reliably with the DJI fly app until some recent updates, that's why i normally use my mother's old samsung phone. but the advantage of using the pixel 3XL is i can upload to my google photos account for free (one of those weird legacy perks).
i didn't go far, just up in the air to take some photos. normally i might fly it farther, but it was so windy, the DJI fly app kept warning me to land the drone immediately, so i didn't want to risk it.
i also took a peek at my aeroponic plants. even though the ones with the tall stems have more growth (because they sprouted earlier), they don't look very healthy as those early plants have all toppled. the healthiest plants are the ones without stems, that are just leafing out from the rockwool. in my next iteration, i'm going to just sprout the seeds directly underneath grow lights, so there's risk of leggy seedlings.
i finally left belmont around 2pm, after shoveling the driveway one last time. the few hours of afternoon sun seemed to have thawed out the ice and i managed to clean it a lot better compared to earlier.
because a temu package had arrived, instead of going home, i stopped by the cafe to drop it off, since i knew it included a bunch of yarns my mother had ordered. business today at the cafe was slow. my father was putting the finishing touches on the folding shelf. he managed to find a piece of shelf of the proper size. i helped him put in the final screw. the folding shelf seems to working well, can't wait to use it.
i got back home by 3pm. i went out again briefly to whole foods to return the defective pixel 7 screen protectors.
back at home (for the last time), i had some beef pastries my mother had given me when i was at the cafe. it was already 4pm by the time i finally ate some lunch.
with the tamperproof security bits, i could finally open up my broken microwave and figure out what's broken on the inside. the main culprit was the ceramic fuse. i removed it from the board and tested it for continuity. it was fine, nothing wrong with it. i was certain that was what was causing the microwave from not turning on. out of ideas, i reassembled the microwave and prepared myself for buying a new microwave.
after i few minutes i went online and did some more digging on microwaves. apparently there's also a thermal fuse. maybe that was causing the error. so i went back to the microwave, opened it up, and tested the thermal fuse for continuity. it was also fine. in fact, everything inside the microwave looked new for a 13 year old appliance. it wasn't even dusty on the inside, which is normally the case with any kind of electronics. i was about to close it up again for the second time, when i noticed a second thermal fuse on the other side of the oven. excited that maybe that was the problem, i did a continuity with the multimeter. it too was fine.
so at this point i have no idea what's broken. it's either something simple or something complicated. but besides replacing a broken fuse, my expertise doesn't go beyond that when it comes to fixing microwaves. there's also an inherent danger of the capacitor, which still might hold enough charge to kill someone. i reassembled the microwave. maybe this weekend i'll go microwave shopping at target and best buy.
i contacted amazon and asked for an extension pole replacement. i have a feeling the extension pole is broken and can't be fixed. one of the options amazon gave me was contacting the manufacturer directly, but i felt that would take too long, easier to deal with amazon instead, have them send me a new replacement. the problem is how will i return the damn thing if i can't collapse it? it's currently 14ft long partially extended, i'm not going to have a fun time dropping it off at the UPS store.
for dinner - instead of luxury korean ramen - i ended up reheating the last of the beef pastries plus a mixed green salad.