skeptical

 We shall see how November starts - but given that most October forecasts came up short, this looks pretty .. enthusiastic.

Here's the news 7-day map. It also appears to be convinced.

Update - Nov 1-7 total ended up at 4.8", a bit lower than most forecasts but not a bust for a wide-area map that put us in the 5-7 inch range. Monday's rain was from the 3rd atmospheric river of the bunch and was pegged as the weakest, but location is everything with such streams of moisture. We had 1½" for the day and its the 4th day since mid-October to be over 0.85". 

We're over 50% for November after the first seven days! The upcoming week may only add an inch or so, putting us at six inches at mid-month. Time will tell, as it so often does..

Updates, on many subjects

 October has been ..active. Here's a summary of the Story so far:

• My health is pretty decent after surgery, but it took several days to be sure that the gut aches were gone since the surgery hurt the same areas of my gut! It seems that all went fine, best evidence being my late-evening discharge. I'll learn more from the doctors in early November.
• Weather has been underperforming for the month, as every large forecast has dried out upon reaching us. Split flow is common with el Niño patterns, as strong fronts are spun up to our north and the southern end does a soft landing near the California border. Maybe they will consolidate more in coming weeks, but October is looking like a 50-60% kind of month.
• Camera gear was a surprise, as the new acquisitions of recent months all slipped through my willing fingers. I'm back to an eM1 and K-s2 - and am convinced that these are the best fits and image quality that I need. I'm a big fan of 4:3 images, more so than 3:2; thankfully Pentax crops to square and 4:3 very easily after capture.

So things are going decently well, other than the somewhat dry weather. More coming tomorrow though!

Riding the tide

I made an informed and reasonable decision, and put the G9 up for sale. The eM5³ was a better fit for me; still not the best fit, but preferable to the Lumix. The g9 was very nice but would require new muscle memory that was unlike my K-s2 and .. well, every advanced digital camera I'd used in 15 years!! Including every Lumix ever made, in the case of the front control dial.

So off went the G9 to market. 

And there it sat.
I dropped the price thrice and had spare time for surgery.. but no one claimed it in three-plus weeks.

Well all right, I can take a hint. Let's put the eM5³ up and test the market with that. An offer came swiftly, though a bit low. I'll wait a bit on that.

But.. what if Both sell ??!??

Honestly? I could live with that.

Update 10-19: I accepted the offer on the eM5³. The listing said I had four followers, so three said flat nothing to me as the price was lowered enough to show the 'price-drop' flag to them. Maybe that's typical; I've never watched such riveting online events before.

I have announced the G9's final price drop, but I won't pull it off-screen just yet. 

Again, whatever happens I can live with it, whether K-s2, G9 or another eM1 Classic.

Update 10-21: the G9 is claimed! In response I grabbed another black eM1 with tripod plate. The more things change the less they stay the same! 

And the end of my time of experiments; the eM1 is my best-fit camera in µ43 format, and now I've tried every alternative except the GX9. Wasting money on cameras isn't much fun any more.

And the K-s2 is just what I'd seek in a Pentax, with its compactness, decent live-view system and great Pentax ergonomics that I could use in my sleep. I really liked the K-5, but its video specs and a few other features make the diagonal step worthwhile. And once the solenoid is swapped out, results could be magical!

Over, and out

Wow. My surgery is done, and I'm resting at home!

The date changed several times before locking down on 10/12. The procedure name changed a few times too. And late in the game, the overnight stay became a 4-day stay! My wife needed to pack many items to stick with her diet plan, and her mom came down to keep her company.

In the end it did some real-time adjusting!

• The 1:30 schedule slid to 4:00 or so
• The time required was a bit less, and
• They threw me out at 9:30!!

Night one of our..one-night stay

Since we had 3 nights scheduled at an on-site room, my wife had done plenty of unpacking. And I couldn't help her to repack! Thankfully her mom helped to get everything crammed into her car, and we left OHSU around 10pm - meaning arrival at home around 11:40pm. I stumbled toward the bed (and past the cats who wondered why they had a 4-day supply of food!) and marveled at how much had changed in 12 hours.

Pain was strong but manageable, though my shoulder ached terribly - which I learned today is a common side effect of laparoscopic surgery. I am more mobile and less miserable now (5pm Saturday) - but that trip was completely impossible to plan!

Results did go according to plan though: no more gallstone factory, and no more liver with a pint-size cyst crowding my belly. And the laparoscopic punctures were entirely predictable. 

It was the clock that never could meet expectations. Ah well, 'tis done.

The next waves

After a nice few days in the 70s, the next cold fronts are set to drop in for a visit. Such is October on the PacNW west slopes: 80s, storm, 70s, storms, low 60s, and.. storms through early March. 

Tomorrow will bring 1/2" of rain, and Tuesday will add over an inch. Maybe two. Similar to the previous set, the forecast Is for around 3" here over the next seven days.

Gold means 5" or more in 7 days

This is why our average each November and December is around eight inches. Three weeks of 2½" and a "dry" week of perhaps an inch. And 60° highs will only come with tropical air; solar energy isn't enough after mid-October.

A milestone

 For no particular reason. I refreshed the DPReview/forum screen after posting. 

Wow, it was my 4000th post!?!

No doubt a few of them were relevant to the topic, eased some tension or produced a chuckle. I was never banned during the dozen years or so that I've participated, which would lead some to conclude that I was pretty boring. I can live with that, from them at least.

I doubt that I'll double this number .. but
here's to the next thousand!