mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)
[personal profile] mdlbear

Not a bad week. Almost counts as productive -- at least I finished $writing-gig-3 and shipped it off to $editor. Ended up ~ 3400 words (though a good bit of that is code blocks, which I don't really know how to allow for).

The musical highlight of the week was the Lamplighters Music Theatre's 2007 production of "The Merry Widow", streamed out to their Patreon supporters last Sunday. If you're in the Bay Area, it's on Pocket Opera's schedule for March of next year. The same excellent translation, by the late Donald Pippin.

I seem to be in the process of converting most of my Ubuntu systems to Mint. There are a couple of reasons for that: Ubuntu's use of (proprietary) snaps, and the fact that Ubuntu's "Gnome Flashback" is really just Gnome 3 with a Gnome 2 panel, and sort of works like the Gnome 2 that I prefer, and sort of doesn't. Mint's MATE is an actual fork of Gnome 2, and Just Works the way I want it to. I'm probably going to go back to Debian on servers.

I also set up a website on GitLab -- yet another project that I seem to have acquired. GitLab Pages has support for all the major static site generators as well as plain HTML. Good way to get a website up in a hurry if you don't mind using the command line.

There's a recall out against my CPAP, a Phillips Respironics Dreamstation, which I somehow missed the email about. And the notifications on the web page. Of course, they don't have a fix yet, and suggest not using your CPAP until they do. Right. The problem is bits of soundproofing foam getting into the airstream, and is really only significant if you've been cleaning it with ozone. Is that really something people do? Anyway, they suggest using an anti-bacterial filter if you have to keep using it -- the ones I ordered from Amazon will be arriving tomorrow.

That makes the second incomplete recall I'm waiting for, the other being on the Chevrolet Bolt, which has a slight tendency to burst into flames if it's overcharged. The mitigation for that is to put it on "hilltop reserve", which limits charging to 90% or so. Eventually they're going to fix it by installing a new battery pack; I'm not going to complain about that. Especially since it is a bit larger and they're extending the warranty to cover it.

Notes & links:
0919Su
  * up 7ish; S=6:39; exercises, shower
  ~ 10am make sure N is awake
  @ A New App Helps Iranians Hide Messages in Plain Sight | WIRED
    u4i-admin/Nahoft
  * leave early enough to   x swing by Lake Union boat show
    -> swing by the Troll; shoot some video with N's GoPro
  @ Anonymous leaks gigabytes of data from alt-right web host Epik | Ars Technica
    notified by Have I Been Pwned, so :P
  * adjust $A sub to get pate rather than the current variety pack
  * 4pm Lamplighters stream Merry Widow - from 2007 - gorgeous choreography
  % 9:50ish sleepy

0920Mo
  * up 7am (alarm); S=8:25, BP=111/78,P=50; heat
    -> finished am browser session 8am.  Previous save, after updating to.do, was 7:30
  * guitar: a little noodling, just to keep my fingers from getting soft.
  * spent most of the day on $writing-gig-3 (and getting nothing _else_ done).
  % not decision paralysis - motivation paralysis.  Depression symptom?
  * started working on installing Mint on Panther
  : email from a fellow druid about RDNA.org - need to put the existing site on GitLab
  : Sea turtle mouse pad from G

0921Tu
  & awake 4:05; S=5.5; back down 5ish
  * up 7am (alarm); S=7:07;
  $ pay $1000 UB -> AX-Pt
  * finish $writing-gig-3; email to $editor
  ? trying to decide which OS to put on Panther.  Mint, probably.  Tempting to try to
    simply clone Sable, but Sable's disk is UEFI and Panther's is MBR.  OTGH Panther's
    Win7/WinPE is corrupted, and it apparently has some bad sectors.
  : N wanted a list of my "adventures", for a blog post.  Will post to DW soon.
    wrote post-to-web-page converter: MakeStuff/blogging/post-preview
    -> rename master->main on Git??b.  Easier on GH
  @ Framework | DIY Edition
    Modular laptop.  Hmm.  No mouse buttons, though.
    Framework Laptop Review | PCMag
    The Framework is the most exciting laptop I’ve ever used | by Cory Doctorow
    Framework Laptop review: The anti-MacBook has arrived | Tom's Guide
    The Framework Laptop is the future of laptops — and that’s why I’m buying one
  * R sent his recording of Saturday's FotLR concert.  Cuts off a bit of the first verse
    of "Eyes Like the Morning", but other than that seems pretty good.  Guitar very sloppy
    especially at first, but improves as it goes along.  Still swallowing the first
    syllable of almost every line -- have to work on that.

0922We Equinox
  & awake 5:45; S=6:40; undecided about trying to go back to sleep
  * up 7am; S=7:02; exercises
  * singing: 1 verse of Wheelin'
  @ "Peace Train" featuring Yusuf / Cat Stevens | Playing For Change (ysabetwordsmith)
  & blew the morning working on the post-previewer.  Would have helped to remember that I
    put $1 in the function rather than $*.  Alias would have been fine.
    post-preview is probably the wrong name for it
  $ $5 to Wikipedia Foundation via PayPal
  : R sent me a .doc file of Xeno #199, which includes a 2-page section about Colleen.
    ! I re-read what I'd put on the memorial page already.  tears, choked up, and not
      recovering all that quickly.  Apparently my little fantasy piece was a trigger.
  $ I $500 from Linode (for GNU Make tutorial)
  $ $50 to Doug Berry's GoFundMe campaign for medical bills
  * install Mint/Xfce on Panther.  Several warnings before it would format the disk
    without an EFI partition.  Very nice user/group management; set gid and uid in GUI
  % meloxicam 11ish.  Water in the CPAP humidifier

0923Th
  * up 5:15; S=5:45; heat.  Left eye stuck together; painful
    -> back in main house ~7:15, having decided not to try getting back to sleep
  @ The spy tech that followed kids home for remote learning—and won’t lea
  @ Nike Go FlyEase is a hands-free shoe for people with disabilities
    Why won’t Nike use the word disabled to promote the Go FlyEase shoe?
  @ The Impending Doom of Expiring Root CAs and Legacy Clients
    Let's Encrypt's Root Certificate is expiring! - includes list of clients
    -> my only affected machine appears to be Whitewood
    Certificate Compatibility - Let's Encrypt
    Smart TVs, fridges and light bulbs may stop working next year: Here's why
    An Internet of Trouble lies ahead as root certificates begin to expire en masse,
    warns security researcher • The Register
  @ Medical Device Recall Notification, Sleep and Respiratory Care devices | Philips
    recall letter [PDF] " On June 14, 2021, Philips issued a recall notification for
     the United States for specific affected ventilation and sleep apnea devices. "
    -> includes device registration and contact information
    -> confirmation code: 2021092301170934  CPAP device serial number: J210317025D37
    -> (email from medicare.gov)
    " If you own or rent one of the Philips products that was recalled, talk to your
      doctor as soon as possible about whether to continue using your recalled equipment. 
      If you would like to replace or repair your equipment, the supplier you bought the
      equipment from is responsible for replacing or repairing rental equipment at no cost
      to you when the equipment is less than 5 years old. " -> 3y: 2018/04.done:282: 0409
      -> Community Update 6.18.2021: Philips Recalls CPAP/BiPAP Devices--WhidbeyHealth
      -> respironicsrecall21
  @ Building an Alternative Ecosystem | Joshua Strobl i.e. not Gnome/Gtk4
  @ Revolt alternative to Discord
    " User-first chat platform built with modern web technologies. "
    Revolt website
  * set up Panther.  Took under an hour for the basics.
    -> should modify Honu et. al. to install MATE rather than gnome flashback
  % I seem to have done something unpleasant to my left shoulder -> heat -> not working
  % meloxicam 10pm

0924Fr
  & awake 2am; back down 3:30ish.  Warm enough that I had to take the cape off the bed
  * up 7:45 (alarm); S=8:11, exercises
  * Panther: uninstall gnome, install mate-desktop-environment
    > list-explicitly-installed-pkgs
    > sudo apt remove --purge gnome-power-manager gnome-session-flashback
    > sudo apt autoremove
  @ Hosting on GitLab.com with GitLab Pages | GitLab
    Note that the pipeline examples on the site may use `master` as the target branch
  * put rdna.org up as a project on GitLab
    Spent most of the day studying GitLab Pages and setting up the group, repo, and site
  * Sailing by Peter Heaton arrived.
  * guitar: a little noodling, starting with talking blues

0925Sa
  & awake 3ish
  * up 7ish; S=7:43;
  * before leaving RS collect   night guard  * drugs  * CPAP  * c's work boots
  * Back on Whidbey:   * let N know that I'm home,  * sort mail
  * give c his mail from RS (in backpack), boxG (from car)
  : V (or somebody she sent) came to pick up Colleen's walker
  : There's room in a 32G thumb drive for all my current ISOs, but I didn't bring one
    found the 500 that was in E's old Acer laptop.
  ~ water orchids, 
  @ *privacy not included | Shop smart and safe | Mozilla Foundation
  * laundry

Date: 2021-09-26 07:08 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] spiffyvoxel

Glad to hear you had a productive week. My week was mostly spent a) recovering from sleep deficit and shaking off the after-effects of the winter flu vaccine shot I had the week before, b) cleaning up my music library prior to ditching my Apple Music subscription, and c) pondering what to do next after failing to pass the intermediate-level copyediting course from the Chartered Institute of Editors & Proofreaders (CIEP).

Date: 2021-09-26 11:09 pm (UTC)
kengr: (Default)
From: [personal profile] kengr
I've seen lots of ads for "cleaning units" that apparently generate ozone to clean CPAP gear. So yes, people do that.

Date: 2021-09-27 05:30 pm (UTC)
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)
From: [personal profile] kaberett
I use MATE with Debian (have been for Quite Some Time at this point) and I'm very happy with it, FWIW!

Date: 2021-09-28 11:01 am (UTC)
moem: A computer drawing that looks like me. (Default)
From: [personal profile] moem
Oh hey... fellow Mint user! 🖐
I use Mint Cinnamon. I like it well enough, and my mother handles it well too... for reasons of support, it's easiest if we use the same OS and DE.

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