Done Since 2023-04-30

[mdlbear]

Today is International Bereaved Mothers Day. If that label applies to you, you have all my sympathy. I know Colleen's thoughts would be with you, if she was here, and I wish we'd known about it earlier -- it was founded in 2010, and like International Widow's Day and National Widow's Day (which was Wednesday) doesn't get a lot of recognition.

I have started learning Dutch, via Mondly. (I was studying French with it a few years ago, but let it drop. We'll see how I do this time.) N, G, and I are vacationing in the Netherlands for a couple of weeks this summer.

This functional but totally useless Lego construction is a gearbox with a reduction ratio of approximately 10^100:1. It's a bit like the legendary (apocryphal, really) Towers of Hanoi, only with a much longer cycle.

Notes & links:
0430Su  * litter boxen
  * up 5:30ish; S=6:31; exercises (15 sit-ups, just barely)
  : DD-WRT on wap3 (in the Lair) has an old version of sshd; passwordless login fails.
    -> could replace it with wap2, which runs OpenWRT and is already configured as an
       access point; it was removed from the box room a month or so ago.
  % having even more trouble than usual starting something.  Anything.  Decision paralysis
    -> so I'm reading dead trees :/
  : Middle-eastern take-out.  Yum.  I'll have leftovers.
    also Cupcakes -- it's G's birthday (observed)
  % a lot of trouble from dry, itchy eyes, and wisps of hair in my eyes.

0501Mo  May Day / Beltane
  & awake 11:45ish; no mask, gas? pain (R lower abdomen) -> Tums, simethecone.  Water.
  & awake 3:30ish; felt overheated -> turned off heated tube on CPAP -- had been on max
    -> will have to try to remember to turn it back on when it gets cold
  * up 7:15; S=6:31; lots of cat cuddle, exercises (20 situps)
  @ self-care for covid and other respiratory illnesses : r/Coronavirus
  * Dutch (Mondly.  Daily; finish first lesson.) -> Note: unmute microphone
  @ "Hymn of the Nations" HQ COMPLETE UNCENSORED VERSION - Toscanini - Part 1
    "Hymn of the Nations" HQ COMPLETE UNCENSORED VERSION - Toscanini - Part 2
  @ Measuring network quality to better understand the end-user experience
    Internet Speed Test | Cloudflare
  @ Finally Cat Can Haz Cheezburger
    " Every time I order a burger, my cat haunts me and my burger, and I can’t eat it
      peacefully. Can you please cook another mini burger for him by slicing 20 gram from
      my own burger. "
  @ The Luring Test: AI and the engineering of consumer trust | FTC (osewalrus)
    " Given these many concerns about the use of new AI tools, it’s perhaps not the best
      time for firms building or deploying them to remove or fire personnel devoted to
      ethics and responsibility for AI and engineering. "
  @ E. Jean Carroll rape trial: The judge has admitted a remarkable piece of evidence
    about Donald Trump.
    " Evidence of a defendant’s general propensity for doing something is not usually
      admissible as proof that they committed a distinct act, but the judge decided that
      Carroll’s case falls within a federal exception to that norm: In civil cases “based
      on” an alleged sexual assault, the plaintiff can provide evidence that the defendant
      committed any other sexual assault. "
  @ Priced Out of API Access: Jetpack and WordPress.com Discontinue Support for Twitter
    Auto-Sharing – WP Tavern
  * call Habitat to schedule a pickup Freeland store: (360) 331-6272  -> 0511Th
  * Renew OnStar Essentials plan for Molly - $400+tax - expires 5/2024
  
0502Tu  * litter boxen
  & awake 3:30ish; ; cat cuddle
  * up 4:30; S=6:57; exercises
  & phishing email re:westernunion.com, claiming I had an incomplete transaction.  Made
    the mistake of clicking, which got me to the WU site, which showed no incomplete
    transactions.  Don't remember whether I actually clicked the link or went direct;
    that's what I should have done but it was 4:30am and I was a little out of it.
    -> changed password, called WU to verify that it appeared to be fraudulent; reported
       as phishing at both gmail and WU.  Cleared history.  Ick.
  * */1    CPAP:  change paper filter, wash tubs
  @ Lego Googol Machine | Brick Experiment Channel (andrewducker)
  @ Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk-Rock Troubadour, Dead at 84 – Rolling Stone (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ Behavioral and Neural Signatures of Visual Imagery Vividness Extremes: Aphantasia
    versus Hyperphantasia - PMC
  * 1:45 leave for... 2:20 teeth cleaning
    -> BP high; ought to floss and brush after lunch
  @ Are mental health apps better or worse at privacy in 2023? tl;dr: mostly worse
    Wysa and PTSD Coach
    are still good, and still recommended  (links point to reviews)
  : 7:55pm call from Skyline West -- down-hill neighbors are getting runoff from a major
    leak again.  I told them to check my meter and turn it off if necessary, but crap.
    -> Last time was 2020/10.done:389.  Andy at Apollo Drain and Rooter
    -> OTOH the _last_ time, in August of 2022, it was someone else.  We'll see.
    -> (5/4) it was in fact next door, so I'm off the hook.
  @ Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general | The Seattle Times
  % 9:45 ibuprefen
  % 10pm wave of ?depression? -> dry sobs.  just a minute or so but intense

0503We National Widow's Day
  * up 6:55; S=8:17, BP=125/77, P=87; exercises (16 situps)
  @ National Widow's Day - Whats your Grief
    " Today [5/3/2014] is the first annual National Widow’s Day. This day was declared by
      the folks over at Widow Wednesday "
    Widow Wednesday | Connecting Every Widow To Someone Who Cares
    " We started National Widow's Day to raise awareness and encourage people everywhere
      to remember the widows in their communities and lives. Every year we do something
      special for the Widow's we've been fortunate to connect with over the years. "
    -> sufficiently Christian to be off-putting; widowers not mentioned in the description
       of the holiday, though they're briefly mentioned elsewhere on the site
    National Widow’s Day: those Who Chose To Stay - Hope For Widows Foundation
    " For many, this day is insignificant. / Just another national day on the calendar. /
      But for the 3.48 million widowed men and 11.27 million widowed women living in the
      US, it is significant. "
    -> but all their services are still just for widowed women.
  @ see also, International Widows’ Day | United Nations...
    ... but that's specifically for widows and not widowers.
  @ NASA Animation Sizes Up the Universe’s Biggest Black Holes | NASA
  @ Mozilla acquires review-checking, scammer-spotting service Fakespot for Firefox|Ars
  @ Elon Musk threatens to reassign @NPR on Twitter to 'another company' : NPR
  @ US House
    Members Unveil Stock Trading Ban: Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act
  @ Acetaminophen Reduces Social Pain: Behavioral and Neural Evidence
    " We found that daily doses of acetaminophen, a painkiller used to reduce physical
      pain, diminished daily psychological hurt feelings. "
  @ New York Times Magazine Interview With Dr. Fauci: Science Fiction | by Donald
    G. McNeil Jr. | Apr, 2023 | Medium
  @ SolarWinds: The Untold Story of the Boldest Supply-Chain Hack | WIRED
  % slight sore throat; checked temp. and O2 in lair; those were okay.

0504Th  Star Wars Day (May the 4th)
  & awake 3:30ish;
  * up 6:30; S=8:07; cat cuddle, exercises
  * Dutch
  * laundry -- out of socks.  Desti was in the laundry basket, which complicated things
    -> put the laundry into a tote bag and the liner back in the basket.  Didn't want
       Desti getting her claws caught on the open weave.
  * confirmed that the water leak was coming from my next-door neighbors'.  Huge relief!
  * order CPAP supplies from norco.  Didn't ask about condition, so may be out of pocket
    Mistakenly checked "pillows" -- sent message; check back tomorrow.
  * make appointmemt at sleep clinic 360-240-4080  -> 0629Th 3pm video.
  @ How to cope when life seems unreal | Psyche Guides
  * load drugs

0505Fr  * litter boxen (E')
  & awake 3:30ish; gave up trying to get back to sleep 4:15.
  * up 4:30; S=5:31; out of bed 5:45; ~1/3 of exercises
  * dutch
  @ Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder Screws up on Trans Kids’ Care – Skepchick
  @ Mozilla Social Private Beta Launch
    Ready to try Mastodon? Here’s how to get started
  @ Proud Boys trial: Four members found guilty of seditious conspiracy | CNN
  @ Google accounts now support passkeys for password-free sign-in - The Verge
    But what happens if you lose your phone?  Or your laptop doesn't read fingerprints
  @ Neil Gaiman's Journal: A speech I once gave: On Lewis, Tolkien and Chesterton
  * check Norco's portal to see if order corrected.  If not, cancel.  -> no, and can't
    -> call 1-844-371-8195.  order# 85-00219366  -> fixed.
  @ Sailing boat rescued by the Götheborg | Götheborg of Sweden
    " Imagine losing your rudder out at sea and sending out a distress call. And then the
      largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship in the world comes to your rescue. Or in the
      words of the sailors on the sailing boat: "This moment was very strange, and we
      wondered if we were dreaming. Where were we? What time period was it?" "
  * 2:05 leave for 2:45pm checkin for 3pm opthalmology at Shoreline (map says 21m via 99)
    -> no need for new glasses; it's close enough.  20/25  -> OTC eyedrops, eyelid wipes
       cataracts getting close to line of sight; may start interfering.
  * stopped at Freddie's on the way back, mainly for OTC eyedrops, but missed a few items
    -> I really need to stop using self-checkout.  I'm too careless.
  @ Boomer Developers: 10 Lessons I Learned From Them | by Jan Kammerath | Apr, 2023
  @ Gmail Exposed: The Scandalous Reason Why I Had to Say Goodbye | by wordsmithwriter
    clickbait.  privacy.  

0506Sa
  % awake 1:08; no mask
  * up 5:45; S=4+25+?2, W=194.4; exercises
  * Dutch
  @ Science Fiction Movie Lettering
  * 9am N and G will be off getting haircuts
  @ Adobe Tells Users They Can Get Sued for Using Old Versions of Photoshop
  @ The Imgur Apocalypse Is Going to Break Large Parts of the Internet
    " Ultimately, image hosting platforms are subject to the same kinds of business
      pressures as everyone else—and when those pressures prove incompatible with free
      hosting, that makes them potential victims of the whims of partners, governments,
      even shifting interests.
       It’s enough to make you want to self-host. "
  @ Google "We Have No Moat, And Neither Does OpenAI"
    " Scalable Personal AI: You can finetune a personalized AI on your laptop in an
      evening. "  -> e.g. tloen/alpaca-lora: Instruct-tune LLaMA on consumer hardware
    " low-cost public involvement was enabled by a vastly cheaper mechanism for fine
      tuning called low rank adaptation, or LoRA, combined with a significant breakthrough
      in scale (latent diffusion for image synthesis, Chinchilla for LLMs). "
  @ The Bizarre Story of 'Vasa,' the Ship That Keeps On Giving | Smithsonian Magazine
    " The management world has a name for human problems of communication and management
      that cause projects to founder and fail–Vasa syndrome. "

Comments

[spiffyvoxel]

Here in the UK, I've been spending the extended weekend avoiding the Coronation. 🤮 #NotMyKing