Done Since 2018-12-23

[mdlbear]

It's been a week. Again. It was lovely having the entire household together for Christmas; We had roast beast and Yorkshire pudding. Instead of cooking the pudding under the roast I poured out the fat into muffin tins, then roasted a batch of Brussels sprouts and potatoes in the pan with the remaining drippings. Worked well -- I'm going to remember that.

For the last several months I've been scared about my budget shortfall. Yesterday I found a mistake in my spreadsheet that brought it down from nearly $2K to just under $600. Still problematic, and there's enough uncertainty that it could easily go higher. But...

siderea's post: The Vimes Boots Theory: Further Reflections applies here. I may be able to break even on a day-to-day basis, but I'm all out of savings, and some things are going to require money up front, including everything I need to make the apartment into something that we can use as a vacation rental. And if anything happens... there's no slack at all.

Speaking of slack, I spend too much time on social media. And yet, here I am. At least I've mostly dumped FB except for the occasional email notification that looks interesting enough to follow up. I stopped reading Twitter last year. Or the year before. I don't miss it.

I have a bad habit of letting things go until it's too late to do anything about them. Usually I end up regretting the missed opportunity, and too often for comfort it ends up being a disaster. See trainwreck.

Here: have a listen to Beethoven's Ode to Joy Played With 167 Theremins Placed Inside Matryoshka Dolls in Japan. Apparently a matryomin is a thing. A thing you can make, if you don't want to shell out $400 for one. You're welcome.

Notes & links:

1223Su
  * up 6:30; S=7:42;
  * FIRST THING:  re-record the vinyl.  Check speed=45 => actually, it's a re-issue as an
    LP; the cover image I grabbed must be from an earlier version.  So it's good.  Won't
    hurt to have an extra copy, though.
  @ Earthrise: A Video Reconstruction (APOD)
    reconstructed from stills taken by the Apollo 8 crew 50 years ago today.
  : Apparently there are parts of the island that still don't have power.
  * printed CD inserts.  Using thin cases for simplicity.
    -> delivered two to N after testing them in the living room.
    -> she seemed surprised by how well the inserts came out.
  % missed the bottom step from the deck in the dark.  Tingles but doesn't hurt.
    -> N suggested applying cold, since it felt warm.  Helped.
  : google drive is infuriating.  Things like copying a directory full of files require
    tedious workarounds for things that would be one-liners in bash.  You can copy the
    files, but selecting the copies apparently has to be done by hand.
    => apt-get install rclone
  & with N to pick up the kids at the ferry
  @ potofsoup | DW for tumblrites masterpost (minoanmiss)

1224Mo
  * up 6:30; W=198.8, S=5:47;
  @ Beethoven's Ode to Joy Played With 167 Theremins Placed Inside Matryoshka Dolls in
    Japan | Open Culture (via The Moonlight Sonata But the Bass Is a Bar Late, and the Melody Is a Bar Early)
    Open Source Theremin in Matryoshka: 4 Steps (with Pictures) Open.Theremin V3
  * Kibble
  * mail YD's thumb drive
  & opened some mail.  Not enough, obviously.
  % 3:40 very restless
  * tried, once again without success, to reset the troublesome router.
  * Welsh rabbit for dinner.  quick and easy, and we didn't have any available meat.
  & more unsuccessful fighting with the router.  It's simply not connecting to west5.

1225Tu Newton's Birthday
  * up 6ish; S=7:24;
  * get roast out first thing to let it come up to room temp.  Rub.
  % morning thoughts:  I've done everything wrong and have no idea why or what I can do to
    fix things.  Ostrich.
  ~ another go at the router.
  ~ (G) if N and j aren't visible by 9, go after them.  m should be left alone.
  * start twtytw and new-year posts
  * 10am roast in.  Out at noon, a trifle underdone.
  : the goat I got N was a big hit, especially since L had sent her a picture of the very
    same goat last night as a virtual present.  It really is the best goat.
  * Yorkshire pudding made by pouring drippings into the bottom of muffin cups; extra
    (with peanut oil) in a baking pan.  Roasted veggies in the bottom of the roasting pan
    (I saw that L was having trouble finding a pan) -- worked brilliantly.
  @ 37 Self-Care Tips For Anyone Who Feels Sad At Christmas
  % how the fuck could I forget C's present?  (Possibly related to how the fuck could I
    let myself run out of money?)  It's too late to fix either of those now, and it's not
    clear which is the more stupid.
  ~ upload wedding pix shared with the group.  No idea how to "upload" or what that even
    means in the google world.
  % left QL hurts like heck.  2 naproxen and heat.
  @ Dirty dealing in the $175 billion Amazon Marketplace - The Verge
  : Not going to beat my head against wap3 anymore.  2.4GHz band works just fine as client
    bridge, 5GHz band does not -- it simply won't connect.  Did I ever have it working, or
    was I hallucinating?

1226We Boxing Day
  * up 5:30ish; W=198.2, S=3:29; shower
  * tried on the shirts I got at Good Cheer a couple of days ago.  They mostly fit, but
    the arms are too long and the cuffs are tight when rolled over and practically
    impossible to button one-handed.
  * 11:40am C Dr. Rochier (V)
  * N and the kids left shortly after C got back from the Dr.
    -> never did do any music.
  * SL: tikka masala, tube biscuits, ground beef, 1ga ziplocks, farman's dill pickles,
    garlic, ginger, cran/blood orange juice, general tso's chicken, hash browns, vodka
    (because C got me a gin-brewing kit)
    C's magnesium, L's meds -> one won't be in until tomorrow.  + B6, B12, 2 rolls of
    wrapping paper (solid foil)
  -> started gin brew 12/26.  Should be ready to taste 1230Su (evening - 4 days); continue
     brewing until 0102We, at which point the botanicals should be removed.
  % 7:15 or so -- sleepy.  Lower back hurts; mostly left QL as usual, but a lot of itching
    more toward the middle.  Naproxen
  % waiting until it's too late to fix is what got me into trouble at $A, too.

1227Th
  * up 6ish; W=199.4, S=7:24; ... cat boxes
  * Job application at Pivotal
  & re-arrange plugs under the desk to make room for the mac.  Damned if I know where the
    power brick for the Iomega backup drive went.  I did, however, turn up my stereo pair
    of small condenser mics, underneath the sound baffle.
  * Download tax software.  Good price expired the 21st, of course.
    -> required firing up (Mac mini) Whitewood.  ssh with X forwarding on caused it to
       fire up my old Xapps configuration, because Honu's dotfiles include .xinitrc.  Of
       course.  Kind of impressive, actually, that that stuff still works.
    -> still able to find the laser printer in spite of it being behind the GL300.  Nice.
  % I'm doing stuff I should have been doing three months ago.  Or six.  Or twelve.
    The later it gets the harder it is to get started.
  & tired of typing parts of my password into assorted windows; set screen to lock
    immediately when blanked.
  * Two job applications
    % Gracenote / Nielsen was my first experience with a "gamified" personality test.
      Hopefully also my last.  Most of them required fast reflexes.  Now I have to decide
      whether I'm annoyed enough at them to sound off in the interview, if I get one.
      I don't like what they did with CDDB, either.  Slimy.
  @ jesse-the-k | Boost! great local-to-DW reading fandom on DW
  * Finally found the missing power brick, or at least I think so:  12V, right size plug.
  : I really got too wrapped up in downsizing; should have kept the kids' PC and
    Snowflake, at least.  That stuff's going to be impossible to replace at this point.

1228Fr
  * Up 4:30ish; W=199.4, S=5:08; cuddle, cat cuddle, shower
  : widespread CenturyLink outage; 911 is down in western WA
  $ tax note:  depreciate the boxes and the garage remodel
  @ The Shapley - Curtis Debate in 1920
    A bit of a dive starting at today's APOD and the phrase "Island Universe".
  & dive into Twilio.com because of a job posting.
    Somewhat scary - exponential growth and 5 9's.  Wants (but does not require) you to
    have actually built an application using T, so problematic at this point.  Some of the
    projects in their blog look like fun, though.
  : C-link back up here.  Here are the emergency numbers to use when 911 is down:
    if 911 down: call 360-679-9567 360-675-3418 360-320-5795 360-320-5735 (Whidbey Is.)
    @ FCC investigating major CenturyLink outage and 911 disruptions - The Verge
      FCC to investigate CenturyLink as [...] outage continues, 911 calls disrupted
      CenturyLink: Service outage that caused 911 failures not related to hacking |
      king5.com (auto-play with audio) has list of emergency #s by county
    -> 13:17 Still down in some places; Whidbey seems to be okay.
      CenturyLink Outage Map - Outage.Report
  $ re-req missing check from YD's college fund; request check to cover Jul and Dec
  % some cuddle before going to sleep
  ~ a little "work" (mostly staring at) phq.
  * re-req missing check from YD's college fund; request check to cover Jul and Dec
  * verified that the check I received a letter about from Vanguard _had_ been cashed.  So
    no easy money there.
  & posted two PSAs:  one about the outage, the other listing emergency numbers
  @ How Much of the Internet Is Fake? 
  * paid car loan, builder.  both out of household account
    With luck this will be the penultimate payment to the builder.
  : current budget shortfall is 1310/month, even with $1K from Mom.  So I'm screwed.
  % some nice lap time with Desti on the bedroom recliner.  She still insisted on trying
    to sit on the laptop afterward.  Silly cat.
  $ 54.60 on HX to Philip Morgan Consulting for 2 books: The Positioning Manual and
    Specializing Without Failure.  Would have been more useful a year ago.
  
1229Sa
  * Awake ~3am; ; cat cuddle; got a little more sleep 5:30-7
  * up 7:30ish; ; shower
    % the aveeno soap bar seems to have taken care of the itching.  so far.
  * organized/reformatted emergency numbers for use with PHQ
  * SL: probiotics, slow-rel niacin, C's prescription
        tabasco, dry-roasted low salt almonds, sandwich bread, (brand)Simply Limeade,
        multi-grain cheerios
  * tried some of the gin from the ginbrew kit that C gave me.  Pretty good.
  * s4s
  * practice Bells of Norwich (lovely) in drop D, Ship of Stone, Riverheart (g)
    Not sure N and m can handle Bells in D, though.
  !?% There was an error in my budget spreadsheet -- I'm only $593/mo short!
    Computed total monthly total expenses wrong, somehow -- counting something twice in
    the month column.  $600/month is manageable; it's close to annual/12.  Noticed because
    the annual shortfall was a lot less than 12 times the monthly.
    ! I _hate_ spreadsheets.
  @ Getting Help | depression comix
    world-wide list of hotlines; curated links with descriptions.
  @ The Vanilla JS Toolkit I could do something like this with git
  : unemployment?  " if you were fired due to misconduct, or *you voluntarily left your
    employment without providing a good reason for doing so*, your unemployment benefits
    application will be denied. "  May also have waited too long.  N qualifies, though.
    There may conceivably be sufficiently good reasons.

Comments

[madfilkentist]

Yow! I never imagined it was possible for a mass of theremins to play with such precision.

[mdlbear]

Impressive, isn't it?

[amaebi]

Holding my thumbs tightly for you.

[mdlbear]

Thanks!

[jesse_the_k]

Yorkshire muffins is a brilliant idea!

The Beethoven matromyn is wonderful. Somehow I can't imagine such a closely coordinated stunt here in the U.S.--our culture is too individualistic?

Which goat?

You have an iomega drive which still works????

Here's a thought on "stuff I should have been doing N weeks ago." You're doing it now! Major improvement on doing it never!

[mdlbear]

Yorkshire pudding is basically just popovers, which are normally made in
muffin tins, only with beef drippings.

this goat:

The iomega drive is the 1TB backup drive that I got along with a rather old
mac mini when I left Ricoh six years ago. Actually, I'm not certain that it's
working. It's very lightly used because I only fire up the mac a couple of
times a year for taxes.

Unfortunately a lot of it is stuff it's now months past due, so if I guessed wrong
about whether it mattered, I'm screwed.