[conspire] Risks of automation

[Rick Moen]

Update:

> The losses: 
> 
> o  We're pretty sure the calamansi tree's a goner -- the worst of this
>    calamity.

Today, I went out there (it's just north of the greenhouse, near the
rear corner of the garage), and saw something astonishing:  There's a
brand-new shoot from the main trunk, branching sideways and then
straight up.  It's already about 3/8" thick, about two feet long (tall),
and has over a dozen leaves on it(!).  I can swear it wasn't there at
all a few days ago, but in any event it must be growing like
gangbusters.

Also, on the probably-dead main canopy, the part that's probably not
coming back, after I separated off the shriveled dead leaves, I spotted
another astonishing thing:  an unripe calamansi fruit, about the size of
a large marble.

I should explain that calamansi is sometimes called Philippine lime,
being a citrus native there, but adapted to other warm climates.  Parts
of Southern California qualify; Northen California is so if-ey that
trees are at considerable risk of death from hard freezes, and said to
be borderline for ever fruiting.  _After_ we planted the tree, I saw
cautions that, if you don't live in a semi-tropical or tropical climate,
you should make sure the tree has a southern exposure to sunlight at
least.  And we, like dumbasses, put it just outside the _north_ side of
the greenhouse.  Shaded.

Yet, hey, it tried to give us fruit, anyway -- right on schedule, as
it's said that maturing trees take a couple of years to start producing
fruit.

Filipino groceries offer calamansi concentrate (with honey or sugar),
which I've been buying for years and makes a delightful cold drink.

Local vendors in Sunnyvale:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/western-pacific-filipino-grocery-sunnyvale
https://www.yelp.com/biz/new-wing-yuan-market-sunnyvale


I have yet to do anything about the damned rain sensor.


(In other news, Ruben Safir flounced off this mailing list, again.)