The JCC is trying to encourage members to come in and exercise this month – if you workout there eight times during February, you get some merch. We usually work out there twice a week, which would make it easy to qualify – but next week, we’ll be in Hawaii.

So we got up early and worked out this morning before Torah Study; it wasn’t a bad way to start Shabbat.

After Torah Study, we took a walk to the nearby Amazon Locker and picked up the remote case I’d mentioned in Thursday’s blog entry. The case provides much-needed bulk, friction, and visibility for the Samsung remote, which I hope not to have to fish out of the couch again!

One advantage of going to Hawaii in February is that there’s very little overlap between the clothes we’ll be wearing there and what we’re wearing here, so we were able to pack almost everything this afternoon (we have a Lyft scheduled for 5am on Monday, another reason we got up early this morning). It feels very strange to be packed so far in advance!

There was a beautiful crescent moon when I went out this morning, so I ran back in to grab my camera (I knew my phone wouldn’t do it justice). I hadn’t used the camera since we got back from Hawaii in early December, so I wasn’t surprised to find it had a dead battery.

I was surprised, though, that it took considerable effort to pry the battery out of the camera body; I popped in a new battery and went back outside before the sky got too light.

I came back in and put the dead battery into the charger; it seemed like a tighter fit than usual. Suddenly, a light dawned. I turned off the charger, pulled the battery out, and put it down on the table.

It should have lain flat on the table, but it wiggled from side to side. I looked more closely and saw that it was only contacting the table at the center of the battery, not the entire surface, as you’d expect.

I compared it to the other batteries I had, and it was clear that it had started to swell, so it’s a good thing I didn’t finish charging it.

Diane and I checked our other camera batteries; all of mine were OK, but she had one which didn’t quite lie flat (and which she said didn’t hold its charge well). We took the two bad batteries to the local Ace Hardware where they’ll dispose of them.

On a brighter note, the installer we picked signed the paperwork for the solar system; the next step is for them to come out and verify the condition of the roof and ensure that they can mount the panels in the right place. Oh, and I guess we’ll have to send them a deposit, too. :-)

Shabbat Shalom!