Done last week (20171119Su - 1125Sa)
2017-11-26 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdlbearThis is going to be something of an experiment; I've hacked together a command-line posting client out of a python client called "charm" -- see the last couple of test posts -- and a shell script front end. Not really satisfactory, but it'll work for the moment.
Very mixed week. I've gotten a moderate amount of unpacking done, and I made a very successful turkey dinner on Sunday for me, Colleen, N, and G. And (see above) I finally found a command-line blog client.
On the other hand, I was a complete wreck Wednesday evening, for reasons that I still don't understand. I was still something of a wreck Thursday, and between that and Colleen feeling ill, neither of us was up for the three-hour drive (because I didn't make ferry reservations early enough) to Port Townsend for Thanksgiving dinner with Emmy and company.
I'm going to try to contact a therapist. Apparently I need one rather badly. If I wait to get up the nerve to call, I'll never do it -- need to send email.
1119Su
* up 7:15ish; W=198.2;
: liquid, most likely cat urine, on the floor in the bedroom. Ick. WTF?
* Brunch at Charmer's Came straight home because there's a high wind advisory up.
& tried to replace the garbage can in our bathroom with the one from the laundry room
that we were using as a hamper while we were sleeping in the living room
-> failed, because that one needs 30-gallon bags. Since the 15-gallon ones we've been
using in the old one are heavy enough when it's full, no thanks. Give away or use
for yard trash perhaps.
-> there was a banker's box full of paper bags behind it, under the bag stash.
: The shelf with the UPS in the laundry room needs to go up a couple of notches if we
want to use the trash container with the domed lid. Think I'll swap it for a smaller
one and skip trying to raise the shelf -> one of the square bamboo ones. looks good
~ make ferry reservations for Wednesday
6:45 sailing coming back - arrive between 30-45 minutes before, so between 6 and 6:15
* 15min: clear out the box of spices, with Colleen. Most went into the trash -- they
were from the bottom drawer of the island, and I don't think we added much if anything
to that since we left San Jose.
* 15min: relocated the paper bag stash into an Amazon box (slightly larger footprint
than the bag they were in, but neater) and emptied the banker's box.
* 15min: consolidated 2 boxes of Colleen's dresser contents in the closet.
@ Keep Rechargeable Batteries in Freezer | REUK.co.uk
reduce self-discharge from 1-3%/day to a-2%/month. Win.
Keep in sealed bag; allow to warm up before using.
Note that rechargeable batteries are next to worthless in something not used often.
@ ysabetwordsmith | How to Use a Giveaway Box
* 15min: cleared the box of bulbs that I brought up from the garage yesterday. Most
were LED, but there were a few CFL and some odds and ends. Something leaked oil over
much of the bottom layer -- I suspect the oil-filled LED bulb. Tossed them.
~ Sunday: leg of lamb; rice; squash; baked potatoes
# I note in passing that configuring printing, even with a local, CloudPrint-enabled
printer, is a pain in the ass.
1120Mo
& Awake 2:30; reading; down 3:30; probably didn't get back to sleep until 5ish
* up 8:15; W=198.2;
* finally pulled up FB to track down E's wedding information.
& 15min: re-checked the rechargeable batteries -- they had indeed lost a lot of
charge. Started recharging them and immediately putting them in the freezer.
-> Battery protocol: anything that's supposed to sit around waiting to be used should
be left empty, to be loaded with rechargeable batteries as needed.
-> Items that might be needed immediately in an outage should be loaded up with
alkaline batteries, which have a much lower self-discharge rate. As soon as
possible during an outage, re-fill them with rechargables and put the alkalines
aside. After the outage, put the alkalines back in and recharge.
-> Flashlights and other things in constant or frequent use should use rechargeables;
keep a set on trickle-charge. That set will of course change seasonally.
* 15min: took a couple of empty banker's boxes out; brought in a bag of books. Moved
the remainder of the books from that (large) box into a smaller one, and started a
recycling box in the garage.
# The plan, in case I haven't mentioned it, is to bring in _something_ from the garage
every trip.
* Shopping list: small turkey, breadcrumbs for stuffing, cranberries, oranges, onions,
garlic, bake at home bread, stick butter, funny cheese (blue, not-blue), english
muffins, stick butter, juices, whole milk, tofu, probiotics (Colleen), C batteries,
Bacon, x 13ga lidded garbage can.
* Monday: Leftovers; bake-at-home sourdough; hard-boiled eggs
1121Tu
* awake 2:30ish; got back to sleep fairly quickly for once
* up 7:20; W=199.8;
* 15min: installed second towel ring in bathroom. The first one is a bit too low.
* 2pm Colleen Freeland Clinic for re-piping due to leakage.
* make doctor appointment. Kosloff? -> Clark
* deliver paperwork to WhidbeyHealth
: N's keyboard had milk spilled into it. Part# 60.EF3N7.020; Case ID 4949276U
chat log saved in 2017/1121-acer.chat
New Acer Chromebook C910 Laptop Black Upper Case Palmrest & Keyboard $50
Apparently with Acer one replaces the "palmrest" (actually the entire upper deck of
the case) along with the keyboard. (I'm also seeing the keyboard by itself, but I'm
less confident of a successful replacement in that case.)
@ xmonad layouts for netbooks
* Tuesday: -Lamb curry; salad- _cheese boards_, _mac and cheese_
% stress/anxiety; cause appears to have been C getting hungry and requiring food sooner
than I was ready to make it. Switched to mac and cheese because I thought N and g
would be needing comfort food. Got rushed and rattled. Tense around abdomen; scared?
Damned if I know. Can't read myself well enough to tell.
-> muttering to myself trying to counter the bad self-talk. _Maybe_ it helped?
% I wonder whether I've taken long-lasting damage from $A. OTOH this kind of stress
reaction isn't exactly new. OTGH my self-esteem has gone pretty far downhill,
probably since leaving CRC, and the last couple of years at $A didn't help.
1122We
* up 6:30; W=200.8;
@ How to Buy a Cuckoo Clock Like a Pro | German Cuckoo Clocks (ysabetwordsmith)
@ I, Cringely Net Neutrality will die, so let's take the profit out of killing it.
-> ZeroTier | Home
: Call from OnStar about the phone app. Case closed because it works on the new phone
updated about the web problems; case# 80412892 still open.
Can reach senior technical team 888-466-7827(onstar) menu item 3
* called Bill Pierre's service department to verify that the email I got last week was
indeed time-based and not related to what the car actually needs; there is no need for
service for about another 3k miles.
& pick up antihistamines for Bronx, and two prescriptions for N
$ $1K retainer to (lawyer for Caravan Massage) from household account
* verified that the account has (more than) enough to cover it.
: the MyChevrolet phone app now requires KeyPass (bluetooth) setup. That's new since
*this morning* It also looks like it will require either a pin or a fingerprint to
use it. Every time, probably.
% Yelled at C out of frustration when I couldn't find the dried tangerine peel that she
swore was in the kitchen. This happens more than I'd like, and this was a
particularly bad one. Finally made her a lamb sandwitch before trying to make
vindaloo out of the remainder. Things kept going wrong. The result is maybe ok, but
I'm in really bad shape. I don't know what's wrong with me.
~ Wednesday: -Tangerine Peel Chicken- _lamb {vindaloo for me, sandwich for C}_
* made cranberry relish. The secret, it seems, is to start with some orange; that's
juicy enough to make the other ingredients liquid enough to start circulating.
@ Meet the Teen Who Discovered the Secret of Social Capital f(Judi Miller)
Sit With Us
: Not having any luck getting Bronx to take his pill. Just nibbled around it in the
pill pocket. Will try grinding next; that will rely on keeping him isolated long
enough to actually eat something.
% This on top of the rest of the evening has me severely distressed.
-> no interest in pill mixed with food, either. (no interest in food, apparently)
1123Th Thanksgiving
* up 6:20; W=199.8;
: Bronx ate about half of the crushed pill plus kitten food.
: one of the kittens apparently tried to eat some foam earplugs; probably part of the
stuff they knocked off C's jewelry cabinet. Didn't know they were there. We'll have
to watch them in case one actually got swallowed. One had a piece missing, but I
remember taking that away from one of them earlier last night. Or perhaps yesterday;
I may have taken them away and put them on the cabinet instead of throwing them away.
One more thing to feel guilty about.
-> realized afterward that they're too big for a kitten to swallow, and in any case
(according to the vet on Friday) they would have been vomiting all over the place
after no more than an hour. So my best guess is that they were playing with them,
and one or more got into the food dish.
: C up most of the night coughing. Not clear we'll be able to go.
. N at G's
: Car isn't fully charged; says 179 miles, and we have about 100 to go today, some of
which is ferries. (actually that's over 90%; less mileage now because of heater)
: looked behind the brown chair - there's a lot of fluff scattered around. Should clean
that up. Wonder whether either of the kittens has tried to eat some.
x leave around 10am
-> not going. I'm a wreck--anxiety--and C was up all night coughing. I'll be more of
a wreck--already crying. But I don't want to risk an anxiety attack or an overload
in the car, and it would be four hours in the car. And since it would be at the
Legion rather than at E's, it would mean at least four more hours of noise and
strangers. And it's raining. Plus I'm worried sick about the cats. And politics.
It sucks. I'll try to make an appointment with a therapist tomorrow.
-> I wonder whether I would have been ok if I'd had a bigger breakfast. Probably
not. I could have done it if we'd had ferry reservations both ways, I think; we
could have left much later. Yet another way I screwed up.
-> a lot of it comes down to zero self-confidence, doesn't it.
% depressed, guilty, general distress (because alexithymia)
& looking into tag questions
The "doesn't it" 3 lines up has a falling tone, but there appears to be no correct way
to indicate that with punctuation. I used a period; correct usage would be a question
mark and, what? leave it ambiguous?
: noon. Colleen has been asleep for a couple of hours; she only got an hour or two last
night. Guaifenesin seems to have stopped the post-nasal drip.
& 1ish: cranberry relish and stove-top stuffing. C said she'd been looking for an
excuse not to go because of the change of venue; I admit I had been also.
% 1:35 second or third back (right QL) twinge today; a couple yesterday. -> naproxen
: 2:15 both kittens eating ok, which is a good sign.
% C said she figured that the main thing she was afraid of was that I would freak out
and she would have to drive home. The first was unlikely and the second impossible,
but this is feelings we're talking about. So, ...
: apropos of which, the dried tangerine peel that she was positive had been put away
(see last night) turned up behind her rolling cabinet/side table.
: so, ... there's a Ruby livejournal client, but it's a client _library_ -- you'd
actually have to write a command-line client around it, and nobody appears to have
done that. :P
-> charm works! You have to specify www... as the server, because otherwise it gets
redirected. Doing that still doesn't work in ljupdate.
@ git@github.com:ssavitzky/charm.git
x No reservation for ferry going out, so take the Edmonds -> Kingston. 3 hours.
x 2pm dinner at Legion: 209 Monroe St, Port Townsend 98368 American Legion 26 Club.
x 6:00-6:15pm at Port Townsend ferry. Reservation. -> cancelled. Late, so cost $8
@ linux - How to parse HTTP headers using Bash? - Stack Overflow or mail headers.
Doesn't handle folded headers, but that's ok. Question is, do I make a bash script,
do it in Perl, or parse the headers in Python as part of charm. The latter would use
18.1.2. email.parser: Parsing email messages Python 2.7.14 documentation
1124Fr
* Up 4:30; W=198.8;
: Colleen got up, too, and went into the living room to her recliner. Unlike me, she is
able to get back to sleep when that happens.
% more back twinges.
* Enrolled in EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) - needed for electronic
payments of estimated tax. PIN will be mailed.
@ ysabetwordsmith | Celebrate Buy Nothing Day
: Colleen nauseous; spent much of the day in bed.
* 10am Bronx -> doing fine. Gave him his shots, so he won't have to come in Monday.
Very snuggly, probably because I was wearing my leather jacket. Because Bronx has a
leather fetish.
: the problem with lj-update is that http-get can't do https.
* 1pm Lunch Mukilteo Speedway Cafe
& tried to get the myChevrolet app working while waiting in line for the ferry. It kept
asking for KeyPass setup, which kept failing. Then I opened it again on the ferry and
it just worked. WTF?
* Friday: Lunch in Seattle. _scrounge dinner; with rosemary bake-at-home bread_
@ The Guide - Indivisible (One Nation, Indivisible | Voice | Carleton College)
@ How to Start a Business: A Step-by-Step for Entrepreneurs - NerdWallet
1125Sa
* up 7:20; ;
* ordered keyboard/palmrest for N's chromebook - $55 on eBay
. turkey will take ~4:15. Start noonish. Turkey wrapper says 3-3:30.
* brought in mail, and a handful of books from the garage.
* 2:38 take foil tent off bird, start potatoes. Take giblets out of broth to cool.
* 3:38 cut up giblets, put back in broth, heat. Bird still not done. Wondering whether
our oven's calibration is off.
* Saturday: (small) turkey with (some)fixings
-> one of the best turkeys I've done, with one of the better gravies as well. I win.
Took longer than expected, but it worked.
: Definitely the best cranberry relish: Mom's recipe, more or less:
2 bags cranberries
2 navel oranges
1 apple
sugar to taste -- my latest batch used 3/4c
Don't bother peeling anything, even the oranges. Grind up in food processor or,
better, an old-fashioned meat grinder. Better after it's sat in the fridge for a
couple of days.
& Sitting around wanting to listen to "Alice's Restaurant", so I pulled it up on my
phone, which I figured had pretty decent speakers. Turned out it does. Fun!
1119-1125 Menu
~ Sunday: leg of lamb; rice; squash; baked potatoes
* Monday: Leftovers; bake-at-home sourdough; hard-boiled eggs
* Tuesday: -Lamb curry; salad- _cheese boards_, _mac and cheese_
~ Wednesday: -Tangerine Peel Chicken- _lamb {vindaloo for me, sandwich for C}_
x Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner at Emmy's
* Friday: Lunch in Seattle. _scrounge dinner; with rosemary bake-at-home bread_
* Saturday: (small) turkey with (some)fixings
no subject
Date: 2017-11-27 01:23 am (UTC)So it's not you.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-27 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-27 09:20 am (UTC)When it was finally done, it was delicious :-D
no subject
Date: 2017-12-03 09:31 pm (UTC)I put the roasting rack in the bottom part of the oven's broiling pan, which has maybe a one inch lip. Keeps pretty much the whole bird above the level of the pan lip, and lets the natural thermal convection do its thing. I think it also helps to keep the pan centered in the oven, so air circulates freely on all sides.
This year's 17.5 lb turkey finished in 3 hours flat, at 325. So just over 10 minutes/lb.
Another useful trick, from an ancient Craig Claiborne cookbook, is to start the bird up-side down - back up, breast down. Helps keep the breast from getting overdone, without needing to tent it with foil. I flip it over, breast up, when there's about an hour left to go, to brown the skin on the top. Flipping is a pain, though. I take the turkey completely out of the oven, and then lift and turn it with pot holders, which end up filthy and need to go straight into the wash afterwards.
Say hello to Colleen for me,
- Andy
no subject
Date: 2017-11-27 06:10 am (UTC)Good for you for reaching a conclusion that makes sense for you.
>> If I wait to get up the nerve to call, I'll never do it -- need to send email. <<
Yes. Send that email. *hugs?*
no subject
Date: 2017-11-28 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-28 08:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-27 06:15 am (UTC)Roasting turkey
Date: 2017-11-27 10:31 pm (UTC)Re: Roasting turkey
Date: 2017-11-28 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-28 12:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-28 04:51 pm (UTC)ETA: unfortunately, they're not showing any therapists on Whidbey who accept medicare; there are at least 3 according to psychologytoday.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-28 04:56 pm (UTC)therapists, redux
Date: 2017-11-28 04:59 pm (UTC)