Done Since 2023-06-18

[mdlbear]

A slightly more productive week than usual -- email to (brother)Al, several banking-related interactions (both because Union Bank merged with US Bank so all my account numbers are different, and stuff related to my parents' trust accounts that still hasn't been taken care of by Raymond James), yard work on Whidbey, hauling the air conditioner down to Seattle from Whidbey, followup on the (third set of) hearing aids, ...

Also a little singing and a couple of walks, and I got Father's Day wishes from the kids. So why does it feel like nothing happened and I didn't do anything? Maybe because it's always a lot less than what I ought to have been doing for the last year. Or two years. Or five years. Do I hear ten?

I'm stagnating. Or have stagnated. Expect mosquito larvae to hatch any day now.

Notes & links:
0618Su  Father's Day, Autistic Pride Day
  & awake 3:30ish;
  * up 5:30ish; S=5:50, BP=117/77, P=71, W=197.4; exercises, shower
  : 11:30 father's day good wishes from E (R sent his yesterday by email)
  @ Autistic Pride Day
  @ Father's Day - Wikipedia
  @ Spread Mastodon makes it easy
    (via Mastodon Migration: "Do you have a friend or family…" - Indieweb.Social)
    " ... member who is not on Mastodon? / And you are thinking, "love to introduce them,
      but the whole multiple servers thing... 🤔"  / Well, you are in luck "
  @ What we can learn from the world upside down at FOSDEM, the largest existing
    conference organized with open software (and you can even listen to the audio)
    " There are 2 things the Wikimedia movement can learn from FOSDEM :
      1. how to welcome a huge flood of offline and online participants for free and
         without asking or collecting any personal data (just like Wikimedia projects do);
      2. how to organize an event exclusively with free software (exactly the same way
         Wikimedia projects are conceived and made). "
  @ Microsoft says early June disruptions to Outlook, cloud platform, were cyberattacks
  @ Unstable bitcoin’s fractured future | The West Australian
  @ elf | Search Engines - not Google or Bing -> trying Mojeek
    -> probably going back to DDG because of more useful results, including street maps.
  @ Undisclosed AI Content Is Becoming Illegal | by Attila Vágó | Jun, 2023 | Medium
  * 15min:  took the weed whacker to some of the tall grass.  Slow going.
  * 15min:  filled a yard trash bag with blackberry brambles from the shed.  (done 4pm)
  % 4pm - 5:30 basically stalled.  I should do _something_.
  * singing:  The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda (one verse).  Getting it back slowly.
  : measurements:  the AC is 12*13*28" -- best place is probably the back-seat footwell,
    with a box on the seat behind it.

0619Mo Juneteenth (now a national holiday)  * litter boxen
  * up 5:30; S=5:36; exercises
  @ Hiltzik: The horrifying toll of Sweden's lax pandemic policy - Los Angeles Times
  @ Ursula Vernon has breast cancer
  @ Apple Is Taking On Apples in a Truly Weird Trademark Battle | WIRED
  @ Blocking Web Fonts for Speed and Privacy using uBlock Origin
  * 15min:  disconnect air conditioner
  @ Has Reddit Overplayed Its Hand?. It’s easier to own the infrastructure…
    What Reddit Got Wrong | Electronic Frontier Foundation
  @ How to Leave Dying Social Media Platforms | by Cory Doctorow | Medium
  * pack:  * Rubbermaid bottles,  * air conditioner
    -> returning the DS-2 CPAP to RS -- slightly worried about foam deterioration
  * evening drive back to Seattle  left 4pm, arrived 7:15

0620Tu
  & awake 3:30ish; no mask
  * up 6:30ish; S=3:26; exercises; 
  * order canned food and pill pockets
  : Air conditioner in lair showing E4 code -- can't find the manual.
    -> after unsuccessfully searching B+D's website, submitted a request.  Poorly designed
       form.  If I don't get results by tomorrow I'll call.  800-465-6070
  @ Twitter evicted from office amid lawsuits over unpaid rent and cleaning bills|Ars
  * follow-up call to Island Disposal to make sure that I had actually paid them.  Turns
    out they received my payment the day after the mail went out.  :P
  @ 13 Online Will Makers Compared: Which is Best? | Cake Blog
  * call Fidelity to get them to re-issue a check which seems to have been lost.
    -> will be sent to RE in a plain white envelope - 7-10 business days.
    -> 2 phone calls... I seem to be on a roll.  Possibly a dinner roll.  Or hamburger bun
  @ The AI feedback loop: Researchers warn of 'model collapse' as AI trains on
    AI-generated content | VentureBeat
  @ Antimicrobial resistance will be worse than COVID — we have to act now | The Hill

0621We  Summer Solstice  * litter boxen  
  & awake 3ish
  * up 6ish; S=7:34;
  : (the litter box in the closet didn't need changing -- just scooped)
  & found the manual for the AC -- it was under the wet catfood box!  :P
    -> E4 means drain the tank.  The upper drain is only for the dehumidifier mode.
  @ firecat | Guardians Against Entropy
    " Those of us who enjoy the hobby of maintaining lists need to step out of the shadows
      and proclaim that we love what we do. Maintaining lists is incredibly soothing!
      Nothing else gives you quite the same sense that you have created peace and order in
      this one little corner of the multiverse "
  @ Natasha Jay "Elon Musk: Apparently using "cis" or "cisgender" will now be considered
    a slur going forward on the birdsite" - LGBTQIA+ Tech Mastodon
  * finally got around to setting up the hearing aids with the app.  Seems to have fixed
    the twittering problem in the left ear, so it may have been maladjusted to start with
    OTOH there are clicks from the ?noise gate? and it really doesn't seem to make much
    difference.  The app computes an audiogram but doesn't show it to me.  Still some
    chirping mainly in L ear.
  * 10am Hearing aid followup appointment with Jackie Cooper
    -> there's stuff she can see and adjust on her end.  It used to be available but FDA
       made them suppress it, which is weird.  Can request adjustments from app
    -> sending dome tips, which should arrive Friday
    -> scheduled new appointment for Monday 10am
    -> Mix uncomfortably with headphones and/or glasses
  @ Top Mental Health and Prayer Apps Fail Spectacularly at Privacy, Security|mozilla
    -> Mental Health Apps | Privacy & security guide | Mozilla Foundation
  @ The North Atlantic is experiencing a 'totally unprecedented' marine heat wave|CNN
  * order CPAP supplies:  mask, tubing, headgear, paper filters.
  @ NASA writer Karin Kirk unpacks MT's youth climate case, Held v. Montana
  @ Scientists discover critical factors that determine the survival of airborne
    viruses  survives longer in alkaline conditions, and CO2 is acidic.
    " Opening a window may be more important than originally thought as fresh air with
      lower carbon dioxide, reduces acid content in the atmosphere and means the virus
      dies significantly quicker. "
  @ Scientists on Twitter head for the exit
  * change bank autopay info at NewAmericanFunding.  Had to set up a new account because
    the site moved.
  * email Greg about payment for the tax prep bills.  May have to pay those from Schwab
  * request data from Quora

0622Th
  & awake 3:30ish as usual
  * up 5:30ish; S=6:26, BP=130/80, P=75; exercises (+15), Dutch
  @ melannen | How To Make Your Own
    Fanfiction Archive, In Just 10 Easy Steps (firecat)
  * 9:12 email Monika to try to get the tax prep invoices paid.
  @ Meta and Mastodon – What’s really on people’s minds? | Technovia
  @ Computer latency: 1977-2017
  @ Elon Musk: Australia threatens to fine Twitter over online hate - BBC News
  @ LGBTQ+  "For up-to-date information on LGBTQ+ and digital rights issues"  EFF
  @ Gravatar Adds New Payment Features for Profiles – WP Tavern
    New on Gravatar: Collect Payments on the Go! – Gravatar Blog
  * email to wish Al happy birthday (allowed for TZ difference, but it turned out he was
    already back home)
  & order 2 bags of cat litter from $A to arrive Saturday

0623Fr Al's birthday!  * litter boxen
  & awake 3:30ish
  * up 7 (alarm); S=6:16, W=94.0, BP=109/78, P=75; exercises (+21)
  % feeling better than I have the last couple of days -- mostly due to much lower anxiety
  * walk: around North-side block
  % left eye itching -> eyedrops -- seems to have helped.
  * hearing aids -> domes arrived today.  Currently using medium in L, large in R
    Getting the damned things positioned is next to impossible.  Detached camera helps.
    -> R. not very comfortable, and twitters a bit
  & spent most of the day reading Yeats
  * singing:  Song of Wandering Aengus (of course)
  * E' is coming Sunday, so I get to do the litter.
  @ India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks—experts are baffled

024Sa
  & awake 3:30ish;
  * up 6ish; S=7:43, W=194.2; 
  % 8:30 hearing aids -- some chirping on the right.  Also pain.
    -> 9:48 trying medium on R; less pain but more twittering
  @ Reddit Exodus
    Reddit News
  ~ pack:  for RE: * fluticasone
  ~ SL: -- RE does _not_ need eggs, or olive oil.
  * drive up to RE
  * SL: RE:  butter, veggies, ground beef, chili kit, maple syrup
  & The maypole has fallen down; one of the guy ropes broke.
  % Got very out of breath retrieving it.  Blood O2 98%, though.
  * Back on Whidbey:  let N know that I'm home.
  * after arrival:  ~ water orchids  * sort mail
  % 7:15 sad.  incipient tears.  don't know why.  also, blank.  bored?  lonely?

Comments

[jenk]

In a lot of ways, having a routine (or "rut") can be reassuring and help humans manage life. You seem to have a routine :) Progress is slow sometimes.

[mdlbear]

I think "rut" may be more accurate. I'm not sure which is more reassuring: making the list, doing the things, or using the list to reassure myself (and my readers, I suppose) that I actually did something during the week. Probably the latter.