Done Since 2019-05-13

[mdlbear]

Colleen's health has been iffy all week -- Monday and Tuesday her edema was so bad she couldn't get out of bed; we -- I -- finally got a doctor's attention late Tuesday; Wednesday she got put on IV antibiotics; Friday she was able to walk five feet; and yesterday she walked 45 feet. So... TurboSnail. She's been in rehab three weeks -- it's taking her to get back in shape this time, and the infections...

There's getting to be a little activity on underground_rail following more Republican cruelties; I reprised Cat's song on Songs for Saturday, and finally got a (currently one line) placeholder page up on undergroundrail.org, which has been a "coming soon" stub since 2012. Part of the problem has always been that I can't think of a good way to use it safely for organizing rides; it could work for news and resources as long as things don't get too bad.

You know things are getting bad when you can't tell which version of Hell your handbasket is headed for. Something by Margaret Atwood, most likely.

Notes & links:

0513Mo
  * up 7:30; S=7:51; 
  * pick up cats from Bayview Pet Resort (left house 10:30ish;
    % noticed that I'd forgotten to plug Molly in.  Growf.
  : call from V.  C's edema is worse, and she's not getting attention.
  * trailer supposed to get picked up
  * can pay car loan now
  * 6ish called C; she's back in bed and was about to eat dinner
  * picked up Jen Midkiff from the ferry dock after a day in Seattle

0514Tu
  * Up 6:20; W=202.2, S=6:04;
  * Jen getting picked up by V for sightseeing and ride to the ferry
    % nice conversation and cat time before that
  * 10ish leave to visit C
    -> edema much worse; has been asking to see a doctor since Sunday evening.
    -> 11: spoke to receptionist, who pointed me at...
    -> "care manager" Emily.  Attempting to find.  This is infuriating.  Has been sent
       email; who knows whether she ever looks at it.
    -> they did bloodwork yesterday but she hasn't ever gotten her test results.
       who knows what they're even testing.
       -> kidney function looks good (2.x), so the edema is extra-worrisome.
    -> her nurse came in; looked at her legs, promised to have Dr (actually ARNP) come in
       when he arrives.
    -> doctor didn't show up until mid afternoon; Emily never did.
    -> stopped by the care managers' (there are 3-4 of them) office and griped.
  * wrote simple filter script to aid constructing examples for $GIG

0515We
  & Awake 3ish; back down ~4
  * up 8:30ish; S=7:20;
  $ AX C $250 to Carleton for class gift
  @ What If We Haven't Met Aliens Yet Because They've Messed Up Their Planets Too?
    (ysabetwordsmith | Drake's Equation)
  * Spent most of the day on $GIG.
  : Heard from V; C is on IV antibiotics via a PICC line.
  * Pushed changes to $GIG and fired off an email.

0516Th
  * up 6:15; W=201, S=5:27; shower
  * $GIG
  @ Rainbow Con 4 pushed
    (wanted to link to it for Thankful Thursday)
  @ N's RainbowCon 4 announcement (FB)
  @ How to pitch an editor – Esther Schindler – Medium
  @ Succession planning for when you leave a job | HPE 
  : tracked down care manager
  : visit from social worker (Tawnya).  Received Medicaid application.
  * SL: cocoa butter (OTC; in orders from hospital)
    & snacks and tofu on the way home
  % originally wanted to eat something on the way up, but nothing looked appealing.  What
    fun is going out when you can't go out _with_?

0517Fr
  & awake briefly around 3; didn't get out of bed
  * Up 6:30ish; W=201, S=7:25;
  * (harp)Lisa called - will pick up this afternoon sometime after 2 -> 3ish
  * $GIG manuscript shipped (or will be, as soon as Desti gets off my desk)
    Entire day spent working on it, with occasional breaks.

0518Sa
  & awake 1:30ish; Ticia being annoying.
    5ish, some nice kitty time.  Ticia being adorable; both within reach and purring
    % dreams involving intricately carved and decorated rutabagas and a road trip that
      included waking up in a sleeping bag near what seemed to be Cape Horn.  Don't know
      who was driving. 
  * up 5:30ish; S=6:05;
  @ The English Word That Hasn’t Changed in Sound or Meaning in 8,000 Years "lox"
  @ Cat Amazing – Best Interactive Toys & Feeders for Cats & Kittens! (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ What to Know About Self-Managed Abortion Care | Literary Hub (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ “Please, I Am Out of Options” - PopConnect
  @ The Return of the Coat Hanger Abortion
  @ Along the Old Underground Railroad, One Photo at a Time | Literary Hub (ysabetwordsmith)
    THROUGH
    DARKNESS TO LIGHT: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad [2002 - 2016] — Jeanine
    Michna-Bales | JMBales Photography    Project Photographs
  @ mdlbear | Songs for Saturday: Underground Rail
    underground_rail
     note that //undergroundrail.livejournal.com has been purged - that's okay
  @ Songs of the Underground Railroad - Wikipedia
    -> set up undergroundrail.org;
       starting an s4s post, will signal boost on the community 
  : C walked 45 feet!  Compared to 5 yesterday.  Catheter is leaking -- that's worrisome
  * lunch from the pizza joint next to back-in-the-box; also serves hot Italian sausage
    grinders and Greek olives.  I win.
  & deprecate sav="ssh savitzky.net"; add dh, which makes more sense in context.
  * ~3:30 expect video call from N and m
    -> Had to use Signal for voice and video because the phone service in the room is
       negligible.  Hangouts might have worked too.
  % back pain - 2 aspirin, since that's what I had.
  @ 9 Cat Breeds That Love To Snuggle (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ Best Cat Breeds for Pet Therapy - Pet Care Facts
    Therapy Cat 101: Let Your Cat Share Its Calming Cuddles with Others! | CertaPet
  % a little unsteady when I got out of the car at Payless this evening, and for a while
    thereafter.  Worrying.
  @ posted mdlbear | Songs for Saturday: Underground Rail Reprise

Comments

[jtthomas]

Up in this corner of the country, it's definitely Oryx & Crake in the handbasket, going by the daily afternoon thunderstorms and floods. No pigs yet, though.

All the hopes that the TurboSnail's strength keeps increasing exponentially.

[alatefeline]

<3

[siliconshaman]

Suggestion, borrow an idea from the dark web. Keep the home page bland, something about the history of the original underground rail, and make a link to hidden section of pages using a single symbol somewhere that leads to a password protected set of pages.

think of the hyperlinks like physical doorways..with one hidden and one with a gatekeeper

[jtthomas]

At the same time, if someone were to run across the website in desperation and didn't have the passwords, that might not end well. But I agree, it needs a layer of anonymization available to those who might want it.

[siliconshaman]

*sigh*

I know... it's not easy balancing accessibility and utility, with security.

The problem is, if you set up a system of signs, a network of people, that can be found by those that need it.... then it can be found by those that want to shut it down.

Hmm...

you know how the underground rail had stations? Pick up points, where you boarded the train? Well... imagine there are those, where they can be found on web. You click on a link, it sends an email via VPN and anonymous end-to-end encryption [like proton mail] the conductors check out the person's social media profile, see if they are legit, and then send a one-use only password that gets you access to *only* the way-points and boarding points in your local area.

Yes, it could be abused..someone could impersonate someone else... but with a cell-like structure, and no real-world links between conductors, and rotating 'stations' where you board the physical 'train' and randomly shifting routes...

It could work.

[mdlbear]

At this point there are way too many links between me, underground_rail, and undergroundrail.org; it's kind of too late to hide. I've had the domain parked for quite a while; if I'd really wanted to hide the connection I'd have had to establish an alternate identity (at least in email), buy the domain with cash or bitcoin, and host it somewhere out of the US. I'm not even sure that would be especially safe. These days one would have to use a .onion domain on TOR, rent the server with bitcoin, and talk to it through a VPN. And even if someone else set it up, I'd still be associated with the idea.

If it comes to that, I'd be well advised to start rowing to Canada.

Hmm. Information wants to be free. Gitlab? I'd still need a rowboat, but the list of resources wouldn't go down with me if it sank.

[siliconshaman]

yeah... that's a problem.. or you know, just straight up sell it to someone else who you trust. Preferably someone out of their reach and below the radar. [no.. not suggesting me. I got enough on my plate!]

I would suggest github and distribute. Juian is banged up, but wikileaks persists, ditto pirate bay despite everything. Open source works.

[mdlbear]

Pretty much. So I guess the revised plan is that the links and whatever software anyone needs to set up a small network of friends -- a route? a line? -- will be open source and widely distributed. Routes should be set up friend-to-friend.

Communication software is already there. (Do you know about Signal?) Have to think about route planning.