Done last month (20130921 Sa - 30 Mo)

[mdlbear]

Or anyway, the last ten days of last month. I finally got around to doing some much-needed maintenance on the computers and their configuration... and figured out why the UPS kept turning itself off -- it must have been doing its periodic battery test... on a totally dead battery. :P

I also got the backup scripts back in operation. I now have a complete, almost-ready-to-boot mirror drive as well as my traditional incremental backup. What, me paranoid?

The Shuttle box I've been using as a desktop system is dead; it runs for a few minutes, then kernel panics. Possibly memory. Not going to worry about it; it's had a good run. I seem to be doing ok with just the netbook for most purposes.

Colleen's caregiver turned in her resignation on Monday, after leaving early Saturday for a family emergency, and not showing up at all on Monday. That's ok; today was going to have been her last day anyway. We've doubled Emmy's allowance.

The YD is just as good a caregiver as May was, and more concerned with cooking things the whole household would like to eat. I'll miss the occasional spicy dish, but that's what sriracha's for.

Colleen is mostly doing better, gradually getting her strength back. The YD is more willing to be firm with her about exercise than May was, so that's a plus, too. Of course she did spend the week with a fever of 102, not eating, and ended up spending most of the weekend in the hospital. (With a UTI, low blood pressure, dehydration, and messed-up blood chemistry.) She's better now, as I said.

The LG washer/dryer combo arrived last Saturday; they couldn't actually install it because there wasn't a 110V outlet within reach. Got that taken care of, and finished the install myself. Not as tight against the wall as it should be, but it'll do. It's nice to have the extra laundry capacity.

Somebody, probably May, didn't close the door to the deck firmly enough, and it blew open. Naturally, out little cat burgler found it and went outside. She hadn't gone far, though; after I tracked her down Naomi coaxed her back inside, looking wet and bedraggled. I doubt she's learned anything from her little adventure, though.

Oh, and the idiot Republicans let the government go into shutdown. Again. The problem with coming up with a string of lies aimed at getting stupid people to vote the way you want, is that eventually they end up voting in stupid people who believe the lies. Oops. Did I mention idiots?

Links in the notes.

0921 Sa
  * up 7:45; w=204.2, p=2; d, n; shower
  * 7-9am expect call about measuring G's room for carpet
  * 15min: detangling power cords in the computer corner
  : ... and it looks like the UPS is hosed -- joggled the plug and it turned off.
    ! grumpy but not really upset.
  * swapped UPSs.  Figured out why the old one kept turning off every night -- it must
    have been doing its periodic battery test, on a totally dead battery.
  * 11-1 carpet measuring
  * 15min:  update WiFi config.  Now have rainbows-end (G) and rainbows-end-5G (N) on the
    main router, and rainbows-end-N on the former starport, in bridge mode with no dhcp.
    The DD-WRT router is seriously underutilized, but it all works and if nova et.al. go
    offline or the UPS fails, the main rainbows-end network stays up.  I'll take it.
  * Shopping.  No luck on the drier-to-110 adapter or the remote switch :(
  * Upgrade firmware in wap2.  Totally painless.
  * take off stairlift chairs so washer can be hauled upstairs.  Damaged one; fixable but
    tedious -- one of the end caps came off (because you can't lift it that way) and the
    indicator light popped out of its mount.
  * Install doorknob on N's room; wrangle cats into it.  Both easy for once.
  * 4-7pm Washer-dryer arriving.  In place; not installed because no 110V to hook up to.
  * 15min:  install locking door handle on N's studio.
  * replace bulbs in kids' room
  * 10ish fire up Algol (the shoebox workstation).  Needs reconfiguring, of course.
  : Colleen seems to have some kind of stomach bug; fever of 102.2

0922 Su
  * up 5:55; W=204.2, p=1; d, n; shower
  : Colleen's fever broke; now she's cold.  Made her some hot tea to bring up her body
    temp; it seemed to work.
  @ GitHub Search Makes Easy Discovery of Encryption Keys, Passwords In Source Code 
  @ Users Sue LinkedIn Over Harvesting of E-Mail Addresses - NYTimes.com 
    LinkedIn Customers Allege Company Hacked E-Mail Addresses - Bloomberg 
  : Algol's main disk appears to be horked.  Why am I not surprised?  Taking forever to
    save /etc/apt/sources.list.  Yupyup.  Hmm.  Worked after reboot.
  : ... but not for long.  wait_on_page_writeback_range... in fsync.
    ... and again, in scheduler!  This begins to sound like memory, or worse.
    ... read error on swap device.  OK, it starts to make sense.
  : interestingly, ubuntu seems ok (for the moment) -- might just be something corrupted
    in Debian's root partition.  Um... no.  Bork, bork, bork!  :P
  * 9:30 pick up Chaos
  : Attempt to install Debian on algol in sda1.  Fail.  The fan is working and CPU temp is
    reasonable, so that isn't the problem.  Grump.  Boot ubuntu fron flash drive.  Fail,
    but that may be due to ubuntu weirdness.
  : trying another install, this time without swap.  Not looking too hopeful.  Nope.
  : trying Debian Live.  If it fails, we can be reasonably sure it's memory or the
    motherboard.  It fails, in several different ways, and not very consistantly.  The
    text installer gets to 55% installed.  Finally got live to run, but I'm dubious.
    ... eventually got hosed.  So, it's almost certainly memory, and it's horked.
  * puttering in garage.  Got one of the door-opener bulbs replaced.  Can't handle larger
    CFLs, but it took a Cree with no problems.  I'll just leave it on.
  : could have sworn I had some 2x2s I could cut down for legs for the computer desk.
  * Found the box I remembered with a couple of power strips, then forgot where I put them
    after I got distracted.
    -> turned up in the laundry room -- I had gone to put laundry into the dryer.
  * After reseating the memory in Algol, the display is totally gone.  So... not good.
  % 17:40 TOTALLY wasted day.  OK, not quite.  But close.
  * I did!  I did -see a puddy tat- _have 2x2s_ -- I now have legs on the desk (held on
    with 2" deck screws), and can get at the shelves behind them.  I also have two empty
    milk crates.
  * Set up mirror disk, updated and ran daily-mirror.  It'll probably run all night.
  * discover that git isn't installed; install it.
  @ The Wordsmith's Forge - Poem: "Feel the Rainbow"
    The Wordsmith's Forge - Poem: "The Thief of Her Heart"
    A couple of poems that really resonate with me.
  * put /backup in external case; mount new drive as /mirror

0923 Mo
  * up 6:40; W=202.4, p=1.5; d, n
  * noonish:  Jennifer (Zulily)

0924 Tu
  * up 6:20; W=202.2, p=2; d, n
  * wake the kids early so they can clean up the downstairs kitchen 
  @ node-cgi write CGIs in javascript
  @ 21 Comics That Capture The Frustrations Of Depression (ysabetwordsmith) 
  * 15min:  some to.do file maintenance/cleanup
  * sync keychain between nova and cygnus -- there were updates on both sides.
  * git pull in nova:Private.  Been a long time since I sync'ed that.
  * convert steve.thestarport.org/Doc from CVS to git.

0925 We
  % vivid dream.  In a hotel with Colleen, Chaos, N, and my late uncle Jack and his family
    (much younger than they are now).  And somehow I knew that N was going to be leaving
    us to marry Arnold Schwartzenegger, who she'd met swimming in Hawai'i.  We gathered in
    a circle for singing, and I tried to sing "And the Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'",
    accompanying myself on a rather wretched drum.  No guitar.  Fluffed the usual bits,
    and woke up (3:30AMish) before I finished.  The next day there was a total solar
    eclipse, or maybe an annular.  I dashed in to wake Chaos.
  * up 6:30; W=203.4, p=3; d, n
  % Well, at least now I have a different earworm (see dream sequence above) -- the
    previous one was "Woad Warrior".
  & made Chaos an "authorized user" on my account so she can get her phone fixed or
    upgraded.  Big kerfuffle because the rep told me she'd need to know the last 4 digits
    of my SSN - that's a red flag issue for me.  Apparently not.
  = apparently Chaos is the only one of the four of us who's not eligible for an upgrade
    right now.  So I'll be upgrading Colleen ASAP, since her Pantech Pocket is a piece of
    absolute ****.
  * started getting ready for bed 9:30; took a bath and finally went splat around 10:30

0926 Th
  * up 6:30; W=204.4, p=2; d, n
  @ How I Hire: How to Blow a Job Offer | LinkedIn 
    My undercaffeinated bear brain transposed a couple of words at first.
  * Stopped at AT+T; They won't have the Galaxy S3 Mini to look at until tomorrow.  Their
    website is horribly incomplete; lots of holes in the grid, and no way to tell whether
    any given feature is missing, or just undocumented.
  @ How California’s imminent Do Not Track law falls short – and why it matters anyway 
  @ The Writer Automaton
    Awesome.  From my Mom, and others.
  @ User Data Manifesto (LWN)

0927 Fr
  * up 6:55; W=202.2, p=2-3; d, n
  @ Git Workflows and Tutorials | Atlassian
  % 21:43 lots of tension, noticed when trying to relax.  
  % bath helped a lot with the tension
 
0928 Sa
  * up 7:25; W=202.2, p=1.5; d, n
  @ Setting Personal Boundaries | Dharma Wisdom
    Limits vs. Boundaries: what’s the difference and why does it matter? | Sacred
    Liminality (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ A user's guide: 20 things to know about the Affordable Care Act f(Jennifer Diamond)
  * rename steve/Doc -> steve/NonFiction-WIP or Doc/WIP
    Note that we can safely keep subprojects as subdirs under one git repo
    until we have a reason for breaking them out.
  * nova:  move steve.thestarport.org/Doc to users/steve
  * Now have steve/{Doc,Doc-WIP}.git on savitzky.net
  @ New York Review of Science Fiction #300 « Weightless Books free issue
  : Colleen in hospital again :(  dehydration, UTI, low BP, and electrolytes messed up.
    (The latter two probably mainly on account of the first)  She's had a fever of 102F on
    and off for about a week; that's the main reason her doctor suggested an ER visit,
    since she's on immunosuppressants for the Crohn's.
  * 15min:  moved some receipts (some dating back to late 2012) into Secret where they
    belong. 
  ! down.  not sure it reaches actual depression, but down.  melancholy.  Worried, some.
  * book:  OVFF  * flight  * 0928 membership  * 0928 room

0929 Su
  * up 6:55; W=202.0; d, n; shower
  * 11ish visited Colleen; not clear whether she'll be coming home today.  Got some good
    info from the PT; apparently there's a rehab unit that we probably should have been
    referred to.
  @ Daily Kos: Better Dead and Red: How the GOP blocked health care for red state
    Americans (filkertom)
  @ Porcupine Burrito - (Rant copied from my Facebook . . .) Well put.
  * I can haz washer/dryer!  Not as far back as I'd like it, but installed.  Found out via
    eHow (How to Remove the Plastic Piece Blocking the Drain on an Oatey Washing Machine
    Outlet) that the approved technique for removing the knock-out is, in fact, to
    force a screwdriver into the groove with a hammer, and pry it out.  :P
    ! The tool abuse involved is appalling, but fortunately I have a screwdriver that has
      been abused in this manner by several previous owners, as well as by me.  I also
      have screwdrivers that are designed for that sort of abuse, but they looked
      a little too big for the groove.
  * Colleen back from hospital -- only about 24 hours; that's almost a record.
    We really need a curb ramp -- the van ramp is way too clumsy and heavy.  That or a
    curb cut, but there's no telling how long that would take.
  * Renewed van's tags; updated address on driver's license.  Oddly, when I updated my
    voter registration, it updated my mailing address but not my residence address.
    : The Honda's tags expired 2 weeks ago, and it needs a smog inspection.  Tomorrow.
  * update backup scripts; make a September archive before the top level gets clobbered
    with tonight's.
  * Chinese for dinner.
  * Somebody (probably Colleen's caregiver, May) left the door to the deck unlocked (it's
    hard to close it firmly enough to latch reliably).  Naturally, Desti snuck out.
    Fortunately, I noticed fairly soon after it happened, and spotted her hanging around
    (going out in my yukata in the rain).  N called her and coaxed her back, looking wet
    and bedraggled.  Think she's learned?  Naah.

0930 Mo
  * up 6:15; W=203.4; d, n
  @ Do Not Link allows you to ethically criticize bad content 
  * get Honda smogged:    South Seattle Station 5	9-5:30pm
    3820 Sixth Ave S    Seattle, WA 98108
    Ended up going to the N. Seattle station because the other route was blocked by a very
    slow freight train.
  * Renew Honda's tags.
  % 4pm sleepy
  : Apparently (caregiver) May resigned today.  *shrug* she was only going to be here
    through tomorrow anyway.  We are doubling the YD's allowance, because she's taken over
    the caregiving and cooking.  (At a factor of 4 less $.  It makes sense because she
    lives here, and only works when she's needed.  May had to be here nominally on the job
    all day.)  And she's more likely to cook stuff that N and the kids will eat.

Comments

[hms42]

Bad link under 0922, so LJ can't display the rest correctly.

[mdlbear]

Thanks; fixed.