I made a post the other day about power being out for most of the day. It is commonplace here, as I said, and a lot of people have generators. Believe me, I am thinking about a generator or a whole house solar system for this new year.

Up until now, I have relied on these huge batteries to keep my devices charged when the power fails. I did not like being caught un prepared so I asked my mechanic - who lives with me - for some help. My son, before he left to go spend the holidays with his girlfriend, changed out the batteries on my electric unicycle. When I bought it, I got a box of "extra" parts that came with it. It was nice to have a pair of batteries that are essentially new in stock. The guy I bought if from bought custom upgrades - so the originals are now extra parts.

While @vatman was changing the batteries, the power went out again and was out most of the day. Parts are hard to get from China if you buy things made there, good that we had them. I was surprised how quickly he did the job. Before, It would only charge to 70% - now it is back to new. This shot was taken after I took it for a ride late night last night.

The wheel (electric unicycle) was done at 11:00 a.m. and my mechanic left. It was now my turn to set up the power pads. These are necessary for acceleration and braking while riding. I carefully marked the position of the pads. Once I put them on, they can be adjusted but since I glued the velcro to the new batteries, I can only put them on one time and I wanted to ride it before the day ended.

At the bottom left is the 'pedal' I stand on while riding. The power pads are positioned to hug my calf and feet keeping me on the wheel if I hit a pot hole or ride down a staircase.

So I spend the majority of the last day of 2025 gluing velcro to the sides of the old (original) battery packs, the extra ones that came with the wheel, and getting the power pads installed. Today, I am happy to say that I am ready for a power outage that last 3 weeks, and all my devices will be charged because my battery is at 100%, which can charge my phone several hundred times in case the power goes out again.

I plan to keep the wheel at or near full because of the electrical issues in this country. Here is the completed job with one of the old batteries sitting on the floor.

I was not able to charge many devices via my electric vehicle the other day, but now I am golden.

As far as vehicle function goes, I took the wheel out for a test drive and all seems to be in order. The two batteries are fully balanced which is important. I was charging the new batteries while doing the power pads. It charged to 100%, which wasn't the case with one bad battery.

I should now get about a hundred miles on one charge with both batteries functioning fully, which used to be the case and I expected to see it when I turned on the display. You usually says that I have 200 km of riding left when it's fully charged.

Leaving 2025 Behind

Last year had seen a decrease in inflation, gas prices going down, wars ended and a lot of provocation to try and get more started. I heard that the Ukraine, using weapons from the UK and other countries, tried to attack Putin at his own residence. Then the president of Ukraine wants Donald Trump to go see him in Ukraine without flying into Poland first, which is the norm. I'm sorry Vlad, you have lost all credibility, whether you have weapons from other countries or not. You are fighting a nuclear superpower, which is very metered in the responses to you, otherwise you would be a glowing ember on the face of the earth.

Russia was never the aggressor. They responded to the genocidal actions against people who spoke Russian. It is not the norm in war to kill the president of the country being fought, but since the Ukraine "went there", I am wondering if the precedent has now been set. There are other things at play here. I think Putin will let it slide and take the abuse. Maybe the Ukrainian president is needed to put corrupt politicians behind bars in the end.

On other wars and rumors of war... Say what you want about Trump, but he went into Rwanda and killed the Christian killers. The fact that that is even happening is very Hitlerish and I think Trump did the right thing.

Money

I am not talking about paper money... Silver finally moved because everyone needs it and nobody can find it at the old prices. I am not selling. I think it is heading to triple the price from January 2025 which was $29 per ounce. The latest price before New Years was $79 - there are a lot of people out there, me included, that like silver. Paper contracts have kept it down for years, but now shortages are bringing it up to where it should be.

Crypto is crypto. Bitcoin is lower today than it was on the first of January 2025. But, last year saw it hitting $130k per. Like silver, I am not selling the tiny bit I am holding. Hive is headed back to $0.06 as it always has. I personally believe that the price drop is due to downvoting people before they can learn the ropes of the platform. We, no be, essentially kick people off the platform before they realize its value. When we get into the five and six cent range, that tomfoolery ends. Sanity comes back because nobody is earning anything for participating, Nothing to take away and freedom comes back. I live here and I have seen this all happen many times before.

Crypto is moving a bit like it used to. The alts rise in price, as they used to, when Bitcoin drops. Then before Bitcoin rises, the alts drop as people change out their alts for Bitcoin. Pre-2017 was the same. It is a very profitable time for trading.

Politics and Religion

Two subjects that are never discussed after dinner, for good reason. I try to stay away from it but these two are joined at the hip. I see a lot of corruption and crime in governments worldwide. When wrongdoing is exposed, war becomes more likely. Who wants to put a leader in jail when they are defending the country? The ones that are guilty of atrocious deeds are chomping at the bit to start war so that the news can cover the war instead of their crimes. Dangerous times. Pick the late xx20's of any century and see the chaos and suffering that occurs. This century is no different. If we can avoid war, then we will see the corruption punished. If not, then their scheme will play out again.

This time, the world in general is trying to put every human being under their thumb with a one world currency, one world government, and full control over people's money, movement, activities, etc. I will never comply with that because of what the Bible says about how it all ends. There will be, as part of all that, a one world mandatory religion. There will be no more Christians and no more Atheists. I think people should be able to choose their faith. What they are trying to build will end all of that and the *person" that will be worshiped is not even a god.

The world survived Hitler. Let's hope the world recognizes the next megalomaniac and takes that one down as well.

New Year - New Life

Lastly, the least of the human race are the little ones. They are tiny and helpless. In the next few days, it is already in process, I will become a "Grandpa" for the first time. This is a new role for me. Even with all the other things I was working on yesterday, I was getting the play by play information on my new grandson. He is the only continuation of the family name. I have three boys and none of them had gotten busy until now. He will be born in Tennessee in the next few days. I am elated! Here is his first social media picture.

So I will be starting this year as a grandfather which pleases me immensely. My son in the states and his lady are checking on direct flights from there to here which take only 10 to 12 hours with no connections. That is really good news. Hopefully, they will be here in April, May or June with baby in tow.

I already love my daughter-in-law, and I already love my grandson. His name is Nikolai.. or it will be in 4 to 5 days. She's being induced due to her her health issues.

Anyway, that is what's going on in my life right now. I am very happy to have 2025 end and I am very hopeful for this new year. What about you? What's up with you and what are you hopeful for?

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^{Originally posted on DClub Community Articles. Hive blog powered by ENGRAVE.}