It's September 30 and I'm writing my ROOPHLOCH entry on the last 
possible day. I'm only a few feet off the grid -- in the back yard with 
a pencil and a clipboard, listening to the crickets and the traffic down 
below. It's a beautiful, sunny day. In fact, it's so unseasonably warm 
that I was able to replace a couple of windows in the house. Most years 
it would be too cold to do that, but I suspect this kind of heat is the 
new normal.

I haven't posted often this year. I find myself feeling quite 
disconnected from the world -- not interested in the news -- and I don't 
feel like there's much to say about anything. I guess this must be a 
'general malaise.' If so, it's okay. Most days in the late afternoon I 
listen to the shortwave, hooked up to a 30-foot wire strung across the 
back yard. My wife's a saint for putting up with my oddness.

She surprised me a little while ago by saying that she'd like to move 
back to the north again when we retire. Since then we've been looking 
online at houses in a little town that I used to live in years ago. We 
should probably vacation in the area for a few weeks to get a sense of 
the place again before making any life-altering decisions. I loved the 
place when I lived there, but I haven't lived that far north for a long 
time.

Well, I guess I'll type this in, post it, and send Solderpunk the 
ROOPHLOCH email.

Take care.