Speaking of Belgium

Some of the early installments of Tintin by Georges Remi, aka Hergé, are racist. The Nazis allowed Remi to work undisturbed in German-occupied Belgium, leading to his arrest as a collaborator after the war. The case was later dropped.

The Adventures of Tintin, from 1991-92, is a mostly faithful cartoon adaptation of the books, minus the objectionable material. Some enterprising person has made the series available online in its original aspect ratio. Some other copies are zoomed and cropped to distraction.

Sitting on Empty

We are finally enjoying typical New England winter temperatures. (Looks like the battery in that thermometer will need to be replaced soon.)

Thermometer

The heating oil company schedules deliveries using a computer program that tracks each day’s temperature and compares it to a customer’s past usage. The tank has always been refilled during the winter when it’s just under half full.

A month ago I said, “Now that I’m being billed the same amount every month year-round, I’m not worrying about the cost of each oil delivery, or the thermostat settings. They’re set to 70 degrees all day and 65 at night. So, yeah, I’m burning a lot more oil, but enjoying the comfort level.”

This is the result on a very cold morning. I’ve never seen the tank get so close to empty.

I called and the word is the indicator shows about 30 gallons (out of 250) remaining in the tank. I was told daily consumption in this weather is 2-3 gallons. They have me scheduled for delivery tomorrow.