Done Since 2020-09-06

[mdlbear]

Not a good week. Not horrible, either, by contemporary standards, but Colleen spent Monday through Thursday in the hospital with another UTI, and the air quality has gotten progressively worse. Up until today Whidbey Island -- or at least the Oak Harbor measuring station -- has had a slightly lower AQI than most of the surrounding measurements, but today it's solidly up into "Unhealthy" (around 185, though it depends somewhat on which map you're looking at and how you interpolate; the Washington department of Ecology's map has it in the mid-to-high 200s, which is Very Unhealthy). Parts of Seattle are up into the Hazardous range. "Don't breathe anything you can see" -- good advice if you can manage it. I can't.

I've been making progress on upgrading (laptop)Sable to a 1TB SSD and three distributions (Mint/MATE, LMDE/Cinnamon, and UbuntuStudio/Xfce4). The main obstacles are the fact that Mint and UStudio both identify themselves as "ubuntu", so their boot/efi information clobber one another, and the fact that a lot of my setup for (window manager)Xmonad was based on Gnome, which doesn't play well with MATE or Xfce. And some of it was based on the (previously-valid) assumption that I would need only one set of config files per machine. Working on it, and (setup manager)Honu will be the better for it when I'm done. Hopefully this week. I also expect to get a few curmudgeon posts out of it.

I have not been singing nearly as much as (I feel that) I should be. A lot less than is good for me. This is, sadly, typical.

Notes & links:

0906Su
  * up 0635; S=6:54, W=192.8; shower
  : the linux-lowlatency package exists in Mint.
  @ UbuntuStudio/AudioHandbook - Community Help Wiki
  * started working on Sable -- available tools for GPT partitioning are weird
    (Mostly just that I don't understand them yet.  Mint 20 installed very smoothly.)
  * get C's labs done lab hours 12-4; go early (went ~1:30ish)
    lobster rolls on the way back.  $18, nominally S-friendly, Atantic lobster.  YUM!
  * sable picked up the correct IP address, etc.  Easy to assign user steve the right UID.
    (except that it doesn't change the GID to go with it -- have to use chgrp -R)
    It also appears to have all the UbuntuStudio packages, so I probably won't have to
    triple-boot with it.  Might anyway.  LMDE uses /boot/efi/EFI/debian, so no need to
    reinstall mint.  Yay!  Got impatient and didn't make mount points for other partitions
  : note: an SSD in a USB-3 case is damned fast.  So's booting from a USB-3 thumb drive.
  / 11:40 semi-major cleanup (liquid)

0907Mo US!Labor Day  * litter boxen
  * Up 5:15; S=5:27;
  @ Grief Doesn’t Have Five Stages
  / needs to have catheter flushed - bag's empty
    -> it was hurting.  No return, so don't know.
  @ Researchers think they finally found the key to stopping the coronavirus – BGR
    A mechanistic model and therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 involving a
    RAS-mediated bradykinin storm | eLife
  * 8:30 zoom call with Mom, Al, Caroline, Alex.  I'd forgotten, so got in a little late
  / 9:10 vomiting -> promethazine suppository (1/6hours, so next is 3:10pm)
  / 1pm catheter not flushing (either this morning or just now)  She's very weak.
  / 2pm C to ER with V.  Damn; should have done this yesterday.
    called 911; they made sure she didn't fall on the transfers, but didn't need ambulance
  * realized that Honu/dotfiles/.xmonad was going to have problems on sable because it
    contains compiled executables and state.  Fixed, by treating it like dotconfig.  There
    are probably other things with this problem, though fortunately most of my projects
    are interpreted.  It would be more readable if I implemented it with a script.
  % 3:50 suddenly realized I hadn't had lunch.
  / V called; they're doing a kidney scan; blood drawn, catheter changed
  / 6:20 she's been admitted - room 2211 (0907)Admitted to Whidbey General)
  * toss some laundry in

0908Tu
  & Awake 3ish; back to bed 5ish
  * up 9:17; S=7:35; 
  * Colleen wants her purple cape
  : Smoke in the air.  Washington Smoke Information: Statewide Smoke Update
    Strong winds on the western side of the winter storm have brought dangerous and life
    threatening fire weather conditions to large portions of western U.S. from the desert
    Southwest, through the Great Basin, much of California into the Pacific Northwest. 
  * bring lunch
  * sable:  pull in most of the necessary stuff under vv.  Didn't get around to writing a
    script for it, but okay.  Maybe next time.  Also need to put ff add-ons, Signal and
    Discord in Mathilda's setup, and put ff, signal, and discord profiles down into vv.
    The revisions to Honu/dotfiles/Makefile weren't pushed -- will catch up later.
  * call HH: 360-914-5634
  / she has a note from Dr. Rosa Rangel -- she's the good one. (see last April 17th)
    listed provider is Dean Wang, though.
  / kidney scan results:  balloon too big, blocking the ureters.
  : UStudio: error installing signal: (but appears to have installed anyway)
    Error in file "/usr/share/applications/org.kde.kdeconnect_open.desktop": "*/*" 
    is an invalid MIME type ("*" is an unregistered media type)
  : UStudio:  probably should have skipped setup/gnome-pkgs
  x 2 pm C video appointment Dr. Rochier
  * left around 3:40.
  % 5:30 more tired than I think I should be.
  % heat on the back; meloxicam 9:30pm
  & installing Mint on Blackbird.  Use whole disk; maybe it will go EFI.  Didn't see any
    EFI boot options in the BIOS though, which is weird. -> BIOS.  growf. Apparently once
    you disable secure boot the EFI options disappear from the BIOS.  So the alarm bells
    appear to be unfixable, unless maybe it will boot from a secure-boot-enabled disk

0909We
  * up 4:30ish; S=5:17
    6am decided going back to sleep wasn't feasible.
  @ UN report: Increased warming closing in on agreed upon limit
  : dotfiles install made .xmonad a symlink, then after mkdir made lib a symlink.
    looking in wrong place to test?  Not filtering?
  * bring C's phone  x put water bottle in backpack
  x HH PT Colleen
  : something really went wonky about xfce after I installed Mathilda.  No window manager,
    maybe.  Probably happened if Mathilda or Honu installed xfce or gnome.  xmonad works
    (NOTE:  hides under desktop, but ^Q (?) fixes that) and total reinstalls are cheap.
  / conversations with social worker, OT, PT, pharmacist.  C sent me home before the PT
    showed up for her session.
  $ NT AX $100 to Biden Victory Fund
  @ Using xmonad in XFCE
    Example of using
    xmonad inside xfce XMonad.Config.Xfce
  @ Guitars Are Back, Baby: Women and Gen Z Fuel Record Sales During Pandemic - NYT
  % I've been neglecting my exercises.  Growf.
   3 dead as wildfire explodes in Northern California picture gallery: apocalyptic
  % 10:10 I should go to bed.  Was asleep in my chair for half an hour

0910Th
  * Up 4ish; S=4:21; 
  @ Obituary: Dame Diana Rigg - BBC News
    Dame Diana Rigg: Avengers, Bond and Game of Thrones actress dies at 82 - BBC News
    Diana Rigg, Avengers and Game of Thrones star, dies aged 82 | The Guardian
    'Avengers' and 'Game of Thrones' star Diana Rigg dies at 82 | AP
    Diana Rigg, Emma Peel of ‘The Avengers,’ Dies at 82 - The New York Times
  : Also, (filker)Naomi Pardue committed suicide -- heard via #filkhaven
  * call Wayne if haven't heard by today 209-770-2229
  / (0910)Discharged 1:40pm
  : One of the cats managed to dislodge a fabric shelf while I was gone.  That shelf is
    now attached to the brackets with screws.
  : In UbuntuStudio, Super+digits are bound to various apps.  2=pidgin, 3=libreoffice
    ... and emacs has a toolbar.
  * Pick up C's prescriptions:  Magnesium, and an antibiotic called cefdinir
  * start new bottle of gin (Gordon's, 1.75l) (0910)
  : 5pm phone call from Mom.  Asked mostly about the fires and the kids.
  @ Modus Themes (Modus Operandi and Modus Vivendi) | Protesilaos Stavrou

0911Fr
  & awake 4:15; S=5.1
  / semi-major cleanup
  % left QL hurting; heat, ibuprofen (4:30).  Will try getting back to bed at 5
  * up 8:15; S=7:39; 
  * AM: wire transfer to Chaos
  : air quality:  unhealthy for susceptible groups (like old people)
  @ Are robots the answer to pandemic loneliness — or a moral trap? - Vox (Mozilla)
    Robotic seals comfort dementia patients but raise ethical concerns | KALW
  @ Facebook engineer Ashok Chandwaney quits, slamming Zuckerberg’s stances on hateful
    and racist speech - The Washington Post Facebook’s own civil rights auditors say its policy decisions are a ‘tremendous
    setback’ - The Washington Post
    " The civil rights auditors Facebook hired to scrutinize its record delivered on
      Wednesday a long-awaited and scathing indictment of the social media giant’s
      decisions to prioritize free speech above other values, which they called a
      “tremendous setback” that opened the door for abuse by politicians.
        The report criticized Facebook’s choice to leave several posts by President Trump
      untouched, including three in May that the auditors said “clearly violated” the
      company’s policies prohibiting voter suppression, hate speech and incitement of
      violence. The report also found that Facebook provides a forum for white supremacy
      and white nationalism. "
  * Statewide Air Quality Alert Through Weekend
  * 4:30 Dr. Hecker T-10: VSee Clinic app; room_code=everettgi; enter waiting room
  @ There Is No Cure For Burnout – Ella Dawson
    " I’m afraid that there is no cure for burnout. After all, you can’t untoast toast. "
    " If you’re burned out, please believe me when I say that you’re not lazy or crazy or
      difficult or selfish or weak. Don’t turn that exhaustion inward and blame yourself
      for not being strong enough—this isn’t your fault. "
  % 8ish very restless.  Probably ought to call Wayne again, but...
  % 11:00 meloxicam

0912Sa  * litter boxen: BR changed, LR scooped
  & awake 3am;  blue-blocker glasses; neti
    % left knee hurts -> knee brace; acetaminophen (3:15) 2/4-6h
    % 4:30 knee better -- back to bed 4:40ish
  * up 7:50; S=5:47;
  : The light this morning is definitely not normal, but I'm having trouble describing it.
    slightly yellowish gray?
  @ PayPal Is Stalling Cute Tardigrade Merch; a Notorious Weapons Dealer Is to Blame
  @ Obsidious – Small God of Occluding Cats
    " This is a basic fact of the universe, simple and immutable.  The sun is shining, the
      wind is blowing, the cat is in the way. "
  * re-fill the cats' water thing; check litter boxes
  * Singing: Windward, The Song of Wandering Aengus, Bigger on the Inside
  * load up C's drugs (Sunday - Tuesday).

Comments

[amaebi]

Oh, my. :(

[mdlbear]

I've had worse weeks. Some of them much worse. Or my calibration has gotten totally screwed. Or both.

[amaebi]

It sounded pretty sad and exhausting to me, and I'm radically Team Not Doing Misfortune Deathmatches.

[lilysea]

From the Australian fires of 2019/2020

Air pollution particles responsible for spike in UTIs

https://www.smh.com.au/national/air-pollution-particles-responsible-for-spike-in-utis-sepsis-hospitalisations-20191128-p53evz.html

[gorgeousgary]

And if all that isn't enough, apparently now you have parts of the Seattle waterfront falling into the bay: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/pier-58-collapses-on-seattle-waterfront/.