Done Since 2023-03-05

[mdlbear]

Not a good week. I'm not going to go into detail, but the week's news was particularly bad for trans and queer people, people who might become pregnant, children, academic freedom in Florida, freedom of speech, and human rights in general in the US. If you've had it with those headlines, you want to skip looking under the cut. Monday was one big anxiety attack -- or something -- for me, and it took me until Tuesday night to recover. (It's probably going to take all afternoon to recover from writing this post.)

Michigan and Minnesota notwithstanding, trans people are in grave danger, as are people seeking mifepristone online.

Good luck, be careful, pack a go bag, and pray to Naja, the small god of Getting Out.

Notes & links:
0305Su
  * awake 4:55; S=6:32(?);
    % cold -- turned up(? the light above the knob turns off when you turn it up) heater
  * up 7am; S=; 
  * install/set up Meross smart bulb in the lamp on the counter.  bar?  Whatever.
    -> None of the available colors are very good -- can't seem to get a decent amber
    -> white works, though, and I might try red for night-time
  @ Astronomers Were Not Expecting This
    " The early universe was, somehow, bold and brash and remarkably luminous. " ...
    " Recent computer simulations guided by the standard model have shown that the
      universe could indeed have created some of the galaxies that Webb has found. "
  & try various ways to diagnose lack of wireless charging.  Nothing works.  Tried:
    * remove case  * reboot  * reboot in safe mode  * power off, wait, restart
    Should try with pixel stand, but that's at RE
  @ Writing inclusively
    Writing - Foundations - Human Interface Guidelines - Design - Apple Developer 
  & unsubscribe to endcitizensunited.org -- mental self-care.
  @ dreamwidth/jbackup.pl at main · dreamwidth/dreamwidth
    NOTE:  DW/LJ URL paths are /($evt->itemid * 256 + $evt->anum) where
    itemid is a sequential database ID, and anum is an "arbitrary number" added to prevent
    wholesale slurping by evildoers.  This note added because I keep not documenting it
  * a few minutes of guitar noodling; I do _not_ pick up the guitar often enough.  Didn't
    do my exercises this morning, either.
  % drifting.  apathetic.  bored, in other words.  also mildly depressed.  and hopeless.
  @ Florida bills would ban gender studies, limit trans pronouns, erode tenure - WaPo 

0306Mo  ~ litter boxen
  & awake 1:30ish
    : the blue light that was flashing on the counter turned out to be on the iGo charger
      (the bug trap also has a blue light, but there was still some after turning it off)
  * up 7am; S=8:02; exercises
  * phone troubleshooting:  un/re-installed meross; still not charging wirelessly
    next step is try with the official stand (at RE), and after that nuke it.
  % Right knee hurting -- a little more than yesterday, I think.
  @ Police Are Getting Help From Social-Media Sites to Prosecute People for Abortion
    " ProPublica found similar web trackers that capture user data on the sites of at
      least nine online pharmacies that offer abortion pills by mail, including Abortion
      Ease, BestAbortionPill.com, PrivacyPillRX, PillsOnlineRX, Secure Abortion Pills,
      AbortionRx, Generic Abortion Pills, Abortion Privacy, and Online Abortion Pill Rx. "
    " It's so tempting to give benefit of the doubt to law enforcement, and that's why
      it's so hard for us to confront the reality: Maybe there are times they don't
      deserve that benefit. "
  @ How US police use digital data to prosecute abortions | TechCrunch
  @ Florida Bill Would Allow Courts to Take Custody of Kids With Trans Parents
    Alejandra Caraballo on Twitter: "Florida has introduced a bill that allows for the
    legal kidnapping of trans children. It grants Florida courts emergency jurisdiction
    over those children and would allow courts to ignore all other court orders and
    custody determinations. https://t.co/YMNiOyyBzm https://t.co/484vDSIddN"
 @ Texas lawmakers proposed a bill to separate trans children from their families,
    labeling transgender care 'child abuse' | Business Insider India
  @ Twitter insiders: We can't protect users from trolling under Musk - BBC News
    " Musk did however tweet about our piece after its publication, saying: "Sorry for
      turning Twitter from nurturing paradise into place that has… trolls." "
  @ The Forgotten History of the World's First Trans Clinic - Scientific American
    " Notably, the doctor’s name never appears in the novel that inspired the movie, and
      despite these few exceptions the history of Hirschfeld’s clinic has been effectively
      erased. So effectively, in fact, that although the Nazi newsreels still exist, and
      the pictures of the burning library are often reproduced, few know they feature the
      world’s first trans clinic. "
    What Will
    Happen To Everyone Who is Not White, Straight, & Male If We Don't Speak Out?
    " Pastor Martin Niemöller’s famous poem begins with, “First they came for the
      socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist.” But, in fact,
      first they came for the queer people. "
  @ Trans People Are in Grave Danger | Dame Magazine
  @ Naja – the small god of Getting Out | Lee Moyer
    " If you go back far enough in the annals of her faithful, you’ll find that once, she
      wasn’t Naja, Small God of Getting Out.  She was Naja, Small God of Marriage and
      Eternal Loyalty.  The day she broke and ran was a small war in the heavens,
      lightning and thunder.  The clouds wept saltwater for a week, and she took shelter
      with the gods she trusted until her black eye faded into memory and the cast came
      off her arm. "
  @ A Win: The Michigan Legislature Passed Statewide Protections for LGBTQ+ People
  @ Twitter glitches as links, images fail to load | AP News
    " Musk tweeted Monday: “This platform is so brittle (sigh). Will be fixed shortly.” "
    [sarcasm]How could that possibly have happened?[/sarcasm]
  % severe adrenaline / ?cortisol reaction; see above.  Is there a word for fury+worry?.
    also stress, tension, frustration, fear, anxiety,...
    @ see also, Fear and Anger: Similarities, Differences, and Interaction | Psychology Today UK
    -> a slightly stiffer than usual glass of gin ~4:15
  & 2:45 respond to text about ophthalmology appointment - 8335205500
    -> since the corneal abrasion has healed, the 5/5 optometry app't will do.
  * call Seattle Gastro Health (Fremont) 206-838-1777 to see if I have an appointment
    scheduled that I didn't write down, or still have to do that.  last contact 0223
    -> 2:54 called, left message
  : Not enough litter in the Lair for a full change: just scooped and topped off.

0307Tu
  % awake 2ish;  awake 4am; S=5:29     % L shoulder hurting -- slept wrong. -> heat
    : phone saw the charger when i put it in the holder.  WTF? also still blue flashes
      from something in the kitchen corner.  huh???  -> the battery charger
  * up 6am; S=6:48;
  @ Introducing Ambient 0.1
    " Ambient is a runtime for building high-performance multiplayer games and 3D
      applications, powered by WebAssembly, Rust and WebGPU. "  MIT license
  @ Mastodon•ART 🎨 Curator :masto:: "General advice for people comi…" hashtags
    Mastodon•ART 🎨 Curator :masto:: "We have a lot of blind and par…" alt text
  @ Jennifer McMurray: "RT @AlyAlyOutnFree on #Twitter…" - Indieweb.Social
    " Transgender people in the United States are now the victims of stage 8 of the Ten
      Steps of Genocide.  /  The steps that have already happened:
      1. Classification / 2. Symbolization / 3. Discrimination / 4. Dehumanization /
      5. Organization   / 6. Polarization  / 7. Preparation    / 8. Persecution 
      The only stages left are Extermination and Denial. 
      Florida has bills introduced yesterday which are the beginning of that process. "
  & update Chewy autoship from 6 8# boxes to 4 12# boxes of litter per 2 wks
  & upgrade Academia.edu account so that I could actually read papers and get context for
    the barrage of "is this you?" emails.  Found a mention of WitC, a few from RDNA, a few
    of (text editor)SOS (Son of Stopgap) and several of (book)Real-Time Microprocessor
    Systems, but most mentions (113 out of 129) are bogus.
  @ Dominate Search Rankings with AIOSEO's AI Title/Description Generator
  * 15min:  treat Molly's glass (windshields and mirrors) with Rain-X.  Still want wipers?
  % maybe a little too much fried rice.  But putting candied ginger in it was a good idea
  * singing:  The Cap and Bells
  * 6pm leave for 6:30 recording class at Earwig Studio  -> keyboards
  @ revisiting ‘Things Fall Apart’: The Apocalyptic Appeal of Wb Yeats's the Second Coming 2020
    " If it feels especially potent now, perhaps it is because we have become painfully
      accustomed to the idea that progress is fragile and it is all too easy to fall
      back. "
  @ Fintan O’Toole: ‘Yeats Test’ criteria reveal we are doomed – The Irish Times
  % Earworm for yesterday and today has been "Children of Darkness".  So there's that too

0308We  * litter boxen
  & awake 1ish?
  & awake 6:25; S=7:57;
    % dream involving both car and train commuting, plus a real estate dispute involving
      a property line at extreme high water (don't remember whether it was lake or ocean)
  * up 9:40; S=7:57; exercises
  @ Children of same-sex couples fare as well as or better than heterosexual ones, study
    finds | The Independent
  @ How long does Twitter have left? - by Dave Karpf  not much (hopefully)
    financial timebombs: employee lawsuits, fines
  @ The Tennessee House Just Passed a Bill Completely Gutting Marriage Equality
  @ NYC's Eric Adams Wants Shoppers to Remove Masks in Crime-Fighting Measure WTAF?
  @ From marketing to design, brands adopt AI tools despite risk | AP News
  * Fish tacos from the taqueria for lunch, after at least an hour of thinking about it.
    Ruminating?  Procrastinating?  After doing the same literally for weeks
  % 2:15 now it's my right shoulder that hurts.  -> heat
  @ Richard & Mimi Fariña : Children Of Darkness - YouTube
    Joan Baez - Children Of Darkness (Lyrics) [HD] - YouTube
  * post: mdlbear | River: Things Fall Apart
  @ Cây sáo lớn nhất thế giới Tại Trung Quốc.
    ( The world's largest flute In China ) - YouTube
  @ The FBI Just Admitted It Bought US Location Data | WIRED
  * load drugs

0309Th
  & awake 3:40ish; S~=5; cat cuddle, mostly Ticia
  * up 5am; S=6:02;
  * several hundred spam comments on last post.  Screened anonymous comments after
    spotting one, but that one was apparently enough.  All Chinese, all from same IP
  : call from Seattle Gastro -- Made colonoscopy appointment for 4/24
  @ Inside the Secret Working Group That Helped Push Anti-Trans Laws Across the Country –
    Mother Jones
  * SL: Command strips, -> ordered from $A
  * 1:20 start gathering cats.  m will assist.
  * 1:45 leave for 2pm Bronx, Brooklyn, Cricket bloodwork.  m will assist
  % I appear to have lost my glasses case -- must have fallen out of my jacket pocket
  * Guitar - random noodling.  Don't think I've ever played with Gmaj7 before.
  @ Opinion | 8 ideas to help overcome the loneliness epidemic - WaPo maybe?
  @ The unofficial rules for talking on planes - The Washington Post
  * bring a few of USB chargers and cords out to the Lair

0310Fr  * litter boxen (E')
  & awake 2:30ish; no mask; awake 5ish;
  * up 5:50; S=3:47; exercises
  % L shoulder p=4, L thumb p=3.7
  @ Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions: IU News
    root decay -> runoff -> eutrophication -> anoxia
    Archaeopteris - Wikipedia
  @ Vinyl Records Outsell CDs for the First Time Since 1987 The Wall Street Journal
  @ Dr. Jorge Caballero: "14/ The way to do that is to s…" - Indieweb.Social
  @ Canadian police investigate Chinese 'police stations' in Quebec - BBC News
  @ Kouri-Vini: The return of the US' lost language - BBC Travel
    " Creole (Kouri-Vini)" – whose name comes from the Creole pronunciation of the French
      verbs "courir" (to run) and "venir" (to come). "
  @ Bitwarden password manager security risk revealed, LastPass, 1Password
    " Flashpoint researchers found that, unlike some other password manager extensions
      they examined, and more of that shortly, Bitwarden would fill an embedded iframe (if
      the auto-fill on page load option was enabled) asking for login credentials "even if
      they are from different domains." "
    " If you are using Bitwarden, the ‘auto-fill on page load’ option should be disabled
      and ‘Default URI match detection’ should be set to Host or Exact "
  * 9am E'
  @ FL-41 Glasses
    Migraines & FL-41 Tinted Lenses | University of Utah Health
    FL-41 Glasses VS. Blue Light Glasses | Overnight Glasses
    " FL-41 glasses are best for light sensitivity and improving visual function for
      patients with ocular conditions like blepharospasm, migraines, or a history of
      TBI. On the other hand, blue light lenses are best for digital device users who
      suffer from computer vision syndrome and symptoms of eye fatigue, dry eye, and
      blurred vision. Lastly, there is potential they may improve sleep in those with
      sleep disorders, jetlag, and night-shift workers. "
    FL-41 Glasses vs Other Blue Light Glasses: Which is More Protective? - TheraSpecs
  @ Twilight: Blue light filter - Apps on Google Play free; no ads (there's a pro)
    -> maybe worth comparing with Android's built-in blue blocker control:
    How to Schedule the Blue Light Filter on Android
  @ The privacy loophole in your doorbell - POLITICO
  @ What Is the Satiety Index, Anyway? | Saveur
  @ Fruit fly's complete brain wiring map offers insights into human brain : NPR
  @ Minnesota’s Governor Just Made the State a Refuge for Gender-Affirming Care
  @ A Practical Guide to Defeating MAGA
  @ How the FBI proved a remote admin tool was actually malware | TechCrunch 
  @ Telehealth startup Cerebral shared millions of patients’ data with advertisers
  @ A Startling Document Predicted Jan. 6. Democrats Are Missing Its Other Warnings.
  * disassemble bunk bed with k.
    * Also, get k to help bring in the box from Molly that we packed last weekend
  @ Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
    A Dictionary of Science Fiction Runs From Afrofuturism to Zero-G

0311Sa
  & Awake 12:40ish; no mask;  give up 1:50;  down 2:15
  * up 7am; S=5:40;
  @ USDC loses peg to the dollar SVB fallout
  @ I believe chatbots understand part of what they say. Let me explain. - YouTube
    " When have the risks of destroying the world ever stopped us from doing anything if
      there was money to make with it? " -- Sabine Hossenfelder
  @ How to Sleep on a Plane—Even If You're in the Middle Seat | Condé Nast Traveler
  @ Regulators take over Silicon Valley Bank | Banking Dive
  * needed DOWN AT RS to help reassemble bunk bed
    -> got it all together, with G, except for the ladder which is missing some hardware;
    -> 5:15pm: G is going to Stone Way Hardware, and I'm going North
  : found glasses case -- it was on the floor on the passenger side of Molly
  : 7ish on-island -- pretty close to 3mi/kWh

Comments

[lilysea]

I'd be interested in hearing about how you go with the blue light glasses.

Is the idea that someone gets prescription blue light glasses and wears them all the time

or that you wear normal prescription glasses and only switch to the blue light glasses when you have a migraine?

[mdlbear]

I don't wear glasses in the house much anymore; the blue-blockers I use most often can be worn separately or over my prescription glasses -- usually the ones that are adjusted for screen distance -- if I happen to be wearing them.

I bought three kinds -- clip-on, wear-over, and wrap-around -- all with orange lenses, not FL-41 (which I only found out about last week). The clip-ons let a lot of light in from the sides, and I don't recommend them.

I use blue-blockers mainly so that I don't have to stop using my laptop an hour before bedtime, rather than for migraine. I found about the FL-41 filter profile last week when one of the kids in the household got a minor concussion; his doctor recommended them. I might get a set of FL-41 as an experiment, but they're expensive and the orange ones seem to work well enough.

[cornerofmadness]

I feel the same. It's killing me (and hearing my family singing DeSantis's praises is hitting hard)

[freyjaw]

DeathSatan is a real piece of work. Ugh.

My dad's conservative, but he never voted for Velveeta Voldemort.

[cornerofmadness]

That is the perfect name for them both

[freyjaw]

I have a go bag, but it's for the hospital. Sigh.

From your keyboard to God's ears.

[mdlbear]

A hospital go bag is a good start on the essentials. But yeah. Colleen had two of those, for different lengths of stay.