A Bunch of Links from This Week

In no particular order... 

• It is still stormy here but nowhere near as bad as in California!
• Our library has always been amazing but now they have added another great feature--we can now check out day passes to our state parks!  While I don't mind paying for the annual senior pass (an inexpensive $30), for years that we don't go to many parks, free is definitely a great option!
• Speaking of parks, all National Parks offer free entry day next Monday for MLK Jr Day.
• We finally got our natural gas bill and it is a good $40 over the normal price we have been paying for years.  We use natural gas for our stove, hot water heater, dryer, and furnace so I guess we will try to cut back on using these appliances as much as possible.  That is a huge increase!  :(
• January 26th is the annual point-in-time homeless count.  This is a national event and I am thinking about volunteering to do this in our city.  While I have done these counts many times in our previous city, homeless people here seem particularly shooty and stabby so I'm not sure if I will do this or not...
• I finally got a new cell phone and I think I will be keeping it.  I've had the Galaxy S10 for a few years so I figured it was time to upgrade.  I tried the S 22+ and it was big and clunky and not even as clear, screen and photo-wise, as my S 10.  I then tried the S 22 Ultra and while it took amazing pictures, it too was big and clunky.  I really like the small folding form factor of the Z Flip 4 that I picked up yesterday at Best Buy (they even matched the price I found on Amazon for the phone so I saved an additional $150 and I will check to see if the price drops any more for the next two weeks because they also do price adjustments!).
• If you like skywatching, you should be able to see the first green comet near our planet in more than 50,000 years this month!
• Finally, I just ran across an offer from our local electric utility company for free things like dryers and refrigerators!  After I do our taxes next month I will see if we qualify, income-wise, and if so we will definitely sign up for this program!  Note that many utility companies offer similar programs across the nation.