Done Since 2023-04-02

[mdlbear]

Not a good week. Certainly not in US politics, at any rate, and not so good psychologically either. Also, It's Time for Foreigners to Leave Russia (see Wednesday). Following on the heels of siderea's suggestion last Wednesday to leave coathanger states if you're in one of the populations under attack. And these reminders that the "S" in "IoT" stands for "Security".

Completely apart from the obvious outrage fatigue impied by the above, I was hit Friday evening by a sudden wave of something that might have been depression, loneliness, low blood sugar, or some combination. This was after... let me back up a little. N and G left for a week in NYC Thursday evening, and the kids were picked up by their stepmom J Friday evening to spend their spring break with their other parents. Somehow it feels different from spending a weekend by myself on the Island, or isolating with my cats in the Lair. I'm okay now, but Friday evening was a bit rough.

Meanwhile I have five cats to take care of and to keep me company for the week, and I've started working on my taxes (which is going more smoothly than usual for once). Determining yesterday afternoon that I'm likely to get a refund for once certainly helped my mood, as did spending the evening with J, M, and the kids for Seder.

I might even get some singing and writing in this week.

Also, quote of the week, from RFC 9402: Concat Notation (this year's April 1 RFC, which proposes a standard notation for describing cats and containers):

A cat might find themselves in a container smaller than the perceived volume of the cat. While this might seem to be a dangerous situation, it's actually a natural occurrence when the cat is in its liquid form.

Notes & links:
0402Su  Palm Sunday  
  * Up 5ish; S=4:32; shower
  % right foot hurts, worse when I walk on it.  WTF?  Injury or neuropathy?
  : update RE card exp. date at $A.  Will keep happening over the next few months.  :P
  @ 30 Clever Illustrations By Tang Yau Hoong That Make Use Of Negative Space
  : 10:30 someone came by who heard a rumor that the house might be for sale:
  @ At Long Last, Mathematicians Have Found a Shape With a Pattern That Never Repeats
  @ Could Gut Bacteria Impact Your Motivation to Exercise? | Smithsonian Magazine
  @ RFC 9402: Concat Notation (this year's April 1 RFC)
    " A cat might find themselves in a container smaller than the perceived volume of the
      cat. While this might seem to be a dangerous situation, it's actually a natural
      occurrence when the cat is in its liquid form. "
  @ Judge orders books removed from Texas public libraries due to LGBTQ and racial
    content must be replaced within 24 hours | CNN
  @ BetterHelp shared customer data while promising it was private, says FTC - Verge
  * Tax:  extract donations"  dg '\$ C '|grep 2022 > 2022-donations.done
  * Tax:  print out RJA 1099s
  * Tax:  download/print AX year-end summary
  @ Unite Against Book Bans | ALA
  @ Try Putting Your Clutter in ‘Purgatory’
    Bracing for the sting of disposal: Product purgatories encourage mental simulation of
    the disposal process
  @ Inside a Hoarder's Brain: Why They Can't Ditch Their Stuff | Live Science
    " the disorder is associated with perfectionism, tied to a fear of making the wrong
      decision. "  -> makes sense

0403Mo
  * up 6ish; S=7:19; exercises
  : WA mask mandate for health care ends.  :P We'll keep on masking, of course.
  @ Introducing Mozilla.ai: Investing in trustworthy AI
    " A startup — and a community — that will build a trustworthy and independent
      open-source AI ecosystem. [...]
      Mozilla.ai’s initial focus? Tools that make generative AI safer and more
      transparent. And, people-centric recommendation systems that don’t misinform or
      undermine our well-being. "
  @ siderea | How Not to Run a Bank, Credit Card Edition [banking, tech]
    " If you have a business PayPal account in the US, you are likely being actively
      advertised their PayPal Business Mastercard through Concerto.
      Do not take this offer. "
  * 15min:  collect tax docs for transfer to RS
  @ The Fujoshi Guide to Web Development by Essential Randomness — Kickstarter (elf)
    " Learn web development from hot anime guys in a dating sim. Well, not actually a
      dating sim. But it looks like a dating sim. "
    " The Fujoshi Guide to Web Development is a series of zines/books featuring
      anthropomorphized versions of programming languages and concepts (aka gijinka), each
      one engineered from the ground up to cater to transformational fandom's
      sensibilities and interests. "
  * 15min:  garbage (including reduce dump volume)
  ~ attempt to treat hemlock with round-up.  Sprayer not working.  At all.  As usual.
  * SL: RS:  * coffee for Lair  * wet catfood
  * 15min:  dishes
  & wasted ~half an hour looking for a property tax withdrawal from either the RE or UB
    checking acct; BUT: 1. they only keep statements for 90d. 2. the lender pays it
    -> I think I go through this exercise every year or two.
  * SL: RS: silicone glue/calk for curtain rod finial  -> from $A; will arrive tomorrow
  * Start 375ml bottle of Empress 1908 gin.  It's blue.  85proof.  Very smooth.
  * email to potential buyers to set up a time for them to visit the house. (11am 4/26)
  * email to (realtor)Suzanne asking her to meet us there
  @ Anders Norén Releases Abisko, a New Free WordPress Theme with 30+ Block Patterns
    Abisko
    " “Same as most block themes, Abisko is really lightweight and fast,[...] It has a
      small CSS file, includes no JavaScript at all, and uses locally hosted variable
      fonts to keep external requests and page size at a minimum.” [...]
      Norén said he designed it with travel blogs in mind, "
  % getting into bed and maneuvering around cats, practically everything made my hip hurt

0404Tu  Date Not Found  * litter boxen
  & awake 3:30ish
  * up 7am; S=8:34; exercises
    % very stiff and painful, like most mornings.  Fortunately, like most mornings,
      exercising helped.
  @ A Toxic Time Bomb Is Ticking in the Arctic | WIRED
  * 15min:  arranging time possibilities for a meeting with Greg and Al
  $ transfer $10k from Schwab to cover vet bills -> email to Jerad -> arriving Friday
  @ Twitter Suspends WordPress.com’s Access to Twitter API, Breaking Jetpack Social
    Sharing – WP Tavern WordPress.com News
  @ Tulare Lake was drained off the map. Nature would like a word | The Seattle Times
    " ... described the potential for flooding as “biblical.” "
  % 5pm drifty
  @ I Walked 600 Miles Across Japan for Pizza Toast

0405We  Passover starts at sundown
  & awake 3:30ish; no mask
  * up 6:15ish; S=5:05+; cats
  @ Why people sometimes feel a 'presence' in an empty room
    Presence: The Strange Science and True Stories of the Unseen Other
  @ It's Time for Foreigners to Leave Russia
    " Now that the Russian Federation has fully embraced fascism, more parallels with Iran
      and other autocratic states like China are emerging. One of the biggest is
      hostage-taking. And that means that for Americans and other Westerners from
      countries helping fight Russia’s brutality, it’s past time to get out. "
  @ Repeating radio signal leads astronomers to an Earth-size exoplanet
  @ Elephants may be domesticating themselves | Science | AAAS
  @ Black holes may grow quantum 'hair | Live Science
  % 1:39 stress?  anxiety?  or just some ?low blood sugar effect?  dehydration?
  * leave 2:30 for...  * 3pm Bronx, Cricket re-check
  * briefing on feeding sched, etc. for the house cats
    litter boxen Sunday and Tuesday (E' on Friday)  Swap daily to even out usage
    food packets 1each separate plates broken up -- all in the master bedroom
      -> first thing in morning, last thing at night, 3 other times in between
      -> they'll indicate when they're hungry
    cats will sleep together in the master bedroom.  Leave m's door open during day
    first when I come in; last when I leave (right now first is ~10am and last ~10pm)
      -> i.e. ~4h between feedings.
  @ Rebecca Giblin on chokepoint capitalism [LWN.net]
  * 15min:  load drugs

0406Th
  & awake 3:10; S=5:11; gave up trying to sleep 4:30ish
  * up 4:30ish; S=6:33; cats, exercises
    -> out of bed 5:30ish';
  * 8am (11am EDT) zoom meeting with Al and Greg.  See email for link.
    -> Greg will do the returns for the trusts -- my individual account goes to my 1040
  @ Kenyan court says Facebook's parent, Meta, can be sued for psychological distress
  @ Mozilla launches a new startup focused on ‘trustworthy’ AI | TechCrunch
  @ 15 Free Websites So Valuable That You’ll Wish You Already Knew | by Jerry Keszka
    Open Source Alternatives to Proprietary Software
    80 Best Websites To Download Free ePub and PDF eBooks
  @ Can’t get you out of my head: Australian research reveals the science behind earworms
    | Australia news | The Guardian
  & wrote an answer on Quora to somebody who'd lost their 22-year-old cat.  Some tears.
  & shopping for N
  * put some of the chicken thighs in the freezer
  * 7pm N and G leave for NY - gone until 0414Fr
  *  ? ant baits,  * insulated cup,  * prunes - for Lair  -> couldn't find baits
  * Cricket in m's room tonight; master bedroom thereafter
  * 9:30 feed the boys

0407Fr  Git's 18th birthday  * litter boxen (E')
  * up 5:25ish; S=6:41, BP=118/68, P=76; exercises
    % Must be doing something right with that BP
  * 7:45 feed the boys.  m will feed Cricket, presumably
  @ The Real Reason Amazon Just Called Everyone Back to the Office — you won’t believe
    how scary it is. | by Colin O'Donnell real estate crash
  @ Free VPN Amnezia Helps Users Avoid Censorship in Russia | WIRED
  @ Save the date: One year until total solar eclipse sweeps US | AP News 4/8 2024
  ~ fed the boys sometime betwen 10 and 11, IIRC
  * 11:40 take j to school to arrive ~noon
  * 1:30 feed the boys - Brooklyn came out and yowled
  @ CISA sounds alarm over Nexx smart home vulnerabilities • The Register
    Open garage doors anywhere in the world by exploiting this “smart” device | Ars 
  * 3:20ish pick j up (gets out ~3:40)
  @ Cardboard drones running open source software take flight • The Register
  * ~5pm feed the cats
  @ Texas judge suspends FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone - WaPo
    % outrage fatigue
    In a competing opinion late Friday, a federal judge in Washington state ruled in a
    separate case involving mifepristone that the drug is safe and effective. 
  * evening J picking up the kids before (I would have to serve them) dinner.
    ~ Ask after N's child support check and G's phone battery if J forgets.  Got 'em
    -> invited to seder tomorrow.  Almost certainly yes.
  % 7:20 suddenly hit by a wave of something like mild depression.  Weird.  Don't know why
    it feels so different from when I go up to Whidbey for a weekend, but it does.
    -> I should eat something  -> mushroom omlette
  * 9ish feed the house cats.  Good way to concentrate them in the bedroom before leaving.
    -> went smoothly except for the bedroom being totally dark and I couldn't turn on the
       light switch with three bowls in my hands.  Turned on the light in the hallway,
       then turned the b/r light on after putting the bowls down,

0408Sa
  & awake 3ish as usual
  * up 7:30; S=6:49; exercises
  * 8:30 feed house cats  ... ~11:30 ... 2:30 ... (reschedule for seder) 5:30 ... 8:30
  * 9:30 swap litter pans -- they are _not_ actually interchangable: hood doesn't fit
  * 12:00 feed house cats -- so a bit late
  * 12:30ish start taxes.  Finish preliminary data entry
    -> 1099Rs  Looks like the only 1099s from RJA are the trusts.
    -> my individual account starts in 2023; no tax forms for 2022
  * 2:50 feed house cats
  @ Massive Balada Injector campaign attacking WordPress sites since 2017
    -> How to Remove WordPress Malware & Clean a Hacked Site | Sucuri
  * bring bathrobe in to house
  * 4:30ish feed house cats
  * 5pm Seder at M+J's.
  * 11;20 return home, feed house cats

Comments

[freyjaw]

Chris says cats have rubber bones. Monroe says his rubber bones are itchy, so start skritching him. I think Achilles is regretting pouncing, mounting, and scruffing him now that he's getting chased by Monroe to wrestle. Cats are fun.