Done Since 2023-03-12

[mdlbear]

I didn't expect a week that starts with the Daylight Saving Time switch and goes on to include both my birthday and Colleen's to be anything but weird. Binge-reading Loving Reaper Thursday probably added to that. So did dental work on two of the cats. It shouldn't be surprising that the earworms for the week were Talis Kimberley's "Death Danced at My Party" and Kanef's parody, "Life of the Party". [Links under Friday, though I may do an s4s later.]

I imagine my emotions were all over the map, but my alexithymia makes them hard to identify. I have to go by physical symptoms, but apart from a few tears Thursday, none were notable enough to log. My antidepressant presumably suppresses them, but I'm not about to try going off them as an experiment. Insomnia might be related -- it's usually due to US politics, so that would be anger and anxiety -- but I don't think there was much more of it last week than in the last year. Some fairly severe muscle pain near my left hip is more likely due to arthritis and my habit of sleeping on that side.

We had all three cats from the main house scheduled for teeth-cleaning; they didn't get to Brooklyn because poor little Bronx had to have half his teeth extracted. (Feline dental work is done under anesthesia, and is not cheap.) So Brooklyn's work got rescheduled for this week. So did the house appraisal, originally scheduled for yesterday, because the appraiser did something bad to his back. I gave him some tips -- been there.

Curmudgeonly tip: turn off VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling due to severe Exynos modem vulnerabilities on Pixel 6 and 7, recent Samsung phones, and others -- list at the link.

Notes & links:
0312Su
  : Daylight Time starts in US
  & up 7am (6am PST); S=5:43; exercises, shower
  : LJ reminds me that I registered mandelbear.livehournal.com 19 years ago today
  @ The Daylight Saving Time Mess Just Won't Go Away | WIRED
  x pack: Bar stool from kitchen -- has a backrest -- If not over 25" high. -> 29"
  @ Utah's Governor Should Veto "Social Media Regulations" Bill S.B. 152 | EFF
    " S.B. 152 would require a social media company to stop a resident minor from creating
      an account unless they have the express consent of a parent or guardian. "
  @ Armbian 23.02 supported boards:  download images
  @ Gen Z Dating Trends: Ditching Online Apps and Dating Friends
    " 43% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 said they were in a relationship with
      someone who was first a friend, including an astonishing 50% of women in that
      cohort. "  I guess Colleen and I were ahead of our time.
  * SL: RS: prunes, coffee
  * pack: the other leather folding chair for E''s mom
  @ How to Start an AI Panic | WIRED
  @ How Quantum Physicists ‘Flipped Time’ (and How They Didn’t) | Quanta Hmm.
  @ Margaret Atwood Is Ready to Let It Rip | WIRED
  * 15min:  Dutch baby for dinner(again)
  @ From ELIZA to ChatGPT, our digital reflections show the dangers of AI - Vox
  * pack: bin of laptop chargers
  @ umami is an open source, privacy-focused alternative
    to Google Analytics
  @ Billions of PCs and other devices vulnerable to newly discovered TPM 2.0 flaws
  @ Stealthy UEFI malware bypassing Secure Boot enabled by unpatchable Windows flaw
  @ GitHub makes 2FA mandatory next week for active developers
  * Singing:  Desolation Row
  * email to appraiser  Alan Wynn: 360 632-1698 email: alanwynn@me.com
  @ A Widowed Introvert and the Social/Solitude Balance | Psychology Today
  : bed ~12:15

0313Mo  birthday
  & awake 5:50ish; phone not charging (again)
  * up 7am; S=5:55; L. eye needed wipe -- itching
    : phone didn't charge, so the fix was only temporary
  @ James Webb Space Telescope images — 12 amazing views of our universe | Space
  @ On This Day In Space: March 13, 1781: Uranus is discovered! | Space
  @ Last Contact Sci-Fi Story - Media Chomp (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ John Carlos Baez: "The Vela pulsar is a crazy sor…" - Mathstodon
  @ davywavy | Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Thing’ (@andrewducker@mastodon.scot)
  @ Diversity is not a trope aka The Lesbians with Swords List — Runalong The Shelves
  * 15min:  decluttering.  designated the deskside TV stand for hauling off.
    -> might actually not want to do that; could use after desktop reused as stand for ox
  * 15min:  box up artwork, put in front bedroom
  * salmon omlet for 2nd breakfast
  * ask about junk hauling on Nextdoor
  * 4ish pick up laxative prescription at Bartells on 85th -- $150!  WTF?
  * gave the Lair cats food and treats when I got home, about 4pm.
    Don't know whether they missed me, but they did want their treats.
    I had to coax Ticia out from under the bed to give her hers, though.
  @ My mom died while I was covering covid. It changed my views on grief. - WaPo
    " Most people mistakenly believe grief is the only way to demonstrate deep love for
      those close to us who have died [...]. What they don’t realize [...] is that
      resilience — the ability to go through a potentially traumatic event without falling
      apart — is actually the most common response to a loss. "
  $ $800 on AX to Seth Appraisal Service (quickbooks -- first time I've seen that)
  * 8ish (N) give the house cats their pills - anti-nausea med. an hour before dinner
  * no food for house cats after 10pm

0314Tu  Pi Day  * litter boxen (a day late)
  & awake 3ish?
  * up 5am; S=7:10; (some)exercises
  * no water for house cats
  * set alarm for 6am
  * 7:30am teeth cleaning for Bronx, Brooklyn, Cricket
    ->  Bronx had to have 11 teeth extracted.  Cricket lost only 1.  Brooklyn next week. 
  @ Silicon Valley Bank Proxy Shows Board’s Secret Yearlong Risk Panic
  * 10am Memory Keepers grief support group
  @ Justice Dept. investigating Silicon Valley Bank collapse - The Washington Post
  % 2:30 sleepy
  @ After layoffs, ex-Amazon workers wonder about ‘Earth’s Best Employer’
  * leave ~5 so N can stop at the drug store on the way
  * 5:45 pick up the cats -- poor little Bronx had so many teeth extracted they couldn't
    get to Brooklyn, so we'll have to take him in next week.  Cricket didn't have as many.
  * 6pm leave for 6:30 recording class at Earwig Studio  -> vocals

0315We
  & awake 3:30; no mask :(
  * up 7:40; S=4:08, BP=113/68, P=76, W=197; exercises
    % somehow I seem to have lost 2-3 lbs.  197 has been steady for a couple of weeks. ???
  ~ bring in pill popper for Bronx -> will be using liquid
  @ This teacher is opening a school dedicated to safety for LGBTQ+ students
  @ Microsoft just laid off one of its responsible AI teams
  @ Timothy Paramour on Twitter: "Terrifying watershed moment at work today. For years,
    kids have accidentally called teachers “mum” or “dad” without thinking, with
    hilarity ensuing. Today one of my colleagues got referred to as “Alexa”." 
  * pay AX
  & pick up gabapentin liquid for Bronx at FAH (he won't take pill pockets)
  @ 4 Ways to Tell If Your Self-Care Practice Is Actually Making You Feel Better
  * guitar:  Desolation Row.  Also tried in C (+2, so actually D)
  * reload drugs

0316Th  Colleen's birthday
  * up 6:30ish; S=7:02; 
    : cpap DS-2 not connecting.  Phone not charging wirelessly.
    : cpap connected after a little fiddling; never asked about re-pairing.  WTF?
  @ Best printer 2023: just buy this Brother laser printer everyone has, it’s fine
  : wasted the entire morning on my apolloneuro device - email about nonexistant upgrade
    -> http://help.apolloneuro.com/hc/requests/124864
    -> upgrade only available for iOS; Android maybe later?
    -> claims that the Stay Asleep feature only requires an app upgrade.  I doubt that.
       My guess is it requires an activity tracker like an ouros ring or a smart watch.
  * coping saw icon
  @ reading back strips of Loving Reaper (via f(FW)).  There are tears.
    Follow me - 48 | Loving Reaper is heartbreaking
  @ Google: Turn off VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling due to severe Exynos modem vulnerabilities on
    Pixel 6, more Yipe!
  * (my)birthday party.  Pagliacci's Pizza and chocolate cake with raspberry filling,
    which G made.  The candle, with two wicks, read "Happy Birthday" -- no age mentioned

0317Fr  St. Patrick's Day  * litter boxen (E')
  & awake 12:30ish;   % L shoulder hurting -> heat;  reading;   down 2:30ish
  * up 7am; S=6:50; exercises
  @ Bandcamp United - Home
  @ Replika users fell in love with their AI chatbot companions. Then they lost them
  @ The 6th mass extinction hasn’t begun yet, study claims, but Earth is barreling toward
    it | Live Science (via ΣΞ)
    Scientists just found a hidden 6th mass extinction in Earth's ancient past
  @ The Imminent Calving Retreat of Taku Glacier - Eos (via ΣΞ)
    Diagnosing Thwaites - Eos
    " Icefin’s measurements have now reported that the water at the grounding line is two
      degrees above the freezing point. “That is really, really bad,” [...]  “That’s not a
      sustainable situation for that glacier.” "
  : discovered that I had two entries for R in $G contacts, and I hadn't updated the phone
    number in one of them.  So I've texted some things to the wrong one.  :P
  % Today's earworm:  Talis' Death Danced at My Party (and Life of the Party)
    Probably has something with binge-reading  Loving Reaper yesterday
    @ Death Danced at my Party | Talis Kimberley, John Jones & Kieran Taaffe
    @ Lyrics: Life of the Party - Bob Kanefsky
  : Weather very spring-like when I went out to the car
  : 9:20ish arrived at RE.
  * Back on Whidbey:  let N know that I'm home.  * sort mail
  * SL: RE:  * salted butter  * meat (->back ribs, or -fish-_chicken_)
  $ I $7 from Bandcamp for an album sale -> HSX PayPal

0318Sa
  & awake 00:48; in recliner.  Had been contemplating a bath.
  * Up 6:45ish; S=5:47, BP=120/81, P=63;
  * after arrival:  * water orchids
  @ Studies Link Marijuana Legalization to All Sorts of Positive Public Health
    Outcomes
    " lowered the rates of suicide, binge drinking, traffic fatalities, and perhaps
      ironically, cannabis use in teenagers. "
  * Singing:  Desolation Row (2 verses), For Amy
  ~ house appraisal - got a call: he damaged his back -> reschedule to 3pm _next_ Saturday
  % 3ish L hip hurting, as usual.  Actually it's been hurting all day, but getting worse
  % walk: to Nautilus.  Hip not hurting quite as much so it may have helped.