Done Since 2023-11-19

[mdlbear]

Thanks to Thanksgiving, I think it worked out to being a pretty good week, modulo health problems and $A's customer service. (As for the latter, apparently "invalid address" means "the manufacturer won't allow $A to sell that product in your state". That's three hours I won't get back.)

The feast on Turkey Day was excellent. The niblings' other parents M and J) were here, along with N's foster-kids K, s" and g". J brought the bird, gravy, and roasted potatoes; I made my usual cranberry relish; and G made the rest. s" and g", who have been up on Whidbey, brought down apple and cherry Whidbey Pies, plus a (non-WP) pecan pie. Good food, good conversation, and Alice's Restaurant for after-dinner entertainment.

I stayed down in Seattle this weekend, rather than going up to Whidbey the way I usually do. It felt like slacking off, except that it wasn't really because most of my time and attention went into preparing for tomorrow's initial appointments with urological, radiation, and medical oncologists. And I spent some time on Wednesday making an icon out of an old illustration of the appropriate constellation.

In the links, Looking for the last universal common ancestor of all living organisms (the original paper is also linked from Friday's notes). Also, Metal clouds and liquid gems spotted in the atmosphere of hot Jupiter WASP-121 b may be of interest to fans of Cordwainer Smith (see also, story linked from last week), and Kim Kardashian’s Ultimate Nipple Bra is likely to be of interest to trans women and breast cancer survivors.

Notes & links:
1119Su 
  & awake 7:30;
  * up 8ish; S=6:12; bed exercises, ..., Dutch
  % some back pain (on L) -- can't tell whether it's a muscle or a kidney
  % 9:53am 200mg ibuprofen
  @ Metal clouds and liquid gems spotted in the atmosphere of hot Jupiter WASP-121 b
  : for some reason, we've never had a rag bag.
  * in one unsorted box, found some of Colleen's SCA memorabilia, and my senior prom pic
  * clean and pack folding chairs.
    -> two on the deck.  There may be one or two more in the box room
  * with g", sort the big box from Mom's.  Sculpture (most of it turtles), baskets, one
    stencilled picture of a  goose (that she made in 2004).  And my rug.
  % 14:47 one too many bend-overs; now my R QL is spasming.  Standing very straight helped
  @ he FCC says new rules will curb SIM swapping. I’m pessimistic SIM swaps and port-out
    scams are a fact of life. New rules aren't likely to change that. | Ars
  @ Rosalynn Carter, outspoken former first lady, dead at 96
  : Amazon claims it can't ship to RE.  That address has been working for at least 2 years
    -> chatted with rep; it's being escallated.  We'll see. -> only OcuSoft products!
  @ What we can learn from WotC’s Core Book Sensitivity and Inclusivity Changes
  @ Bristol stool scale
  * change address with USPS

1120Mo  * litter boxen
  * up 7:30; S=7:48; bed exercises
  * SL:  ($A) Cetaphil Flare-Up Relief Colloidal Oatmeal Body Wash, Kleenex, leg bags
  * SL:  ($A) hand-held shower; (Bartell via N) Depends (men's L), desitin purple, 
  . continue changing address on stuff (12+ more)
  * 15min:  organizing in to.do, tracking.do, and medications
  @ fedi.tips How do I verify my account on Mastodon and the Fediverse?
  % I need to change underwear more often now.  Damp.  Disgusting.  May need 2 showers/d
  % itching behind R knee (where the upper bag strap goes)
  & order soft washcloths, leg bags, and a hand-held showerhead from $A

1121Tu
  & awake 4ish;
  * up 7:30; S=6:57; bed exercises, shower
  @ A City on Mars: Reality kills space settlement dreams  | Ars Technica
  @ No Bing, no Edge, no upselling: De-crufted Windows 11 coming to Europe soon | Ars
  @ From toy to tool: DALL-E 3 is a wake-up call for visual artists—and the rest of us
  * 10:25 leave for 11am Memory Keepers realspace at Third Place.
  & Made calls from the parking lot
    * returned call to UW oncology; made appointment for medical oncologist.  Same day but
      at Fred Huch, which is a different location.  There may be a shuttle.
    * tried getting hold of $A customer service; both chat and redirected to a phone rep --
      apparently someone in the supply chain is not allowing it to be shipped to WA.  weird
      % also a near-total waste of two hours.
      -> I did learn that the problem is with that product, not my $A address book or subs
      -> also, that an "invalid address" error doesn't have anything to do with the addr.
  & picked up 5 fish tacos on the way back.  Later, a glass of gin.  Hazard pay.
  : Wire transfer limit from USB is $1000, which is stupid and sucks.  I have other options
  * bring bathrobe to lair because I need it there and I'm not likely to use it in house
  % big skin tag on L upper thigh, which I don't remember noticing before.  Black?
    -> so I'll be hitting urgent care tomorrow regardless
  % and something hurts on the outside edge of my R ring finger
  * shower, using the hand-held showerhead I ordered yesterday.
    % The Cetaphil body wash and bamboo washcloth were very helpful
    % and the catheter seems to be draining, so whew.  Modified whew, because skin tag,
      I'm still constipated, and my butt hurts (though somewhat less)

1122We  * litter boxen
  & awake 3ish;
  * up 7:30; S=7:18, BP=119/77, P=77; exercises, ... Dutch
    % ~300ml in bag, so we know it's draining properly
    % butt hurts less, but still constipated; nose and finger still hurt
  @ Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants | Reuters
    " In the first half of the year, 68 gas power plant projects were put on hold or
      cancelled globally "
  @ File:Cancer - Corbinian Thomas.jpg - Wikimedia Commons square, PD
    * make icon from the file above
  @ Sam Altman’s Hidden Message at OpenAI DevDay Keynote | by Alberto Romero | Medium
  @ Kim Kardashian’s Ultimate Nipple Bra Launched Today… | by joono | Medium
    -> of particular interest to transwomen and breast cancer survivors, among others
  : Bag arrived from Bag It.
    most (all?) of it is also on the web, and I've read most of that.
  & take m to urgent care.  Same building where Colleen's urologist used to be
    % forgot phone, but laptop gives me access to Signal and Discord, so NBD
    * stop at McD's on the way home (m hadn't eaten all day!); M picked up scrips since he
      knew where the pharmacy was and I wanted to get m home without an interminable wait
  . continue filling out FredHuch, UW paperwork
  . continue working on draft gratitude post
  x urgent care -- foley, skin tag, (finger?) -> not today thanks
  * measure skin temp. on both forearms  -> same, so probably little or no inflamation
    -> 11/23 arm looking better
  * load drugs; shower

1123Th Turkey Day
  * up 6:56; S=6:06; exercises, Dutch
  * bring in some washcloths for m (blue bag)
  * make cranberry relish
  & good, long conversation with m ~10am
  @ Cornell Discovers a Threat at the Core of ChatGPT | Towards AI
    Text Embeddings Reveal (Almost) As Much As Text [pdf] original paper
  @ This Brilliantly Simple Wind Turbine Could Spark A Revolution | by Will Lockett
  % major warning twinges from L QL
  % later (after dinner) R QL
  ? urgent care -- foley, skin tag, redness on R arm, (finger?) -> not today thanks
  * Thanksgiving dinner - J and M came by; J had made the turkey and roasted potatoes; G
    made mashed potatoes, stuffing, string beans, and rolls;  G and K made pumpkin bread;
    I made cranberry relish; g" and s" drove down from RE with pies.
    <- nb.  seems to work better in a food processor if you do the orange first -- the
      juice circulates, so you don't have to keep scraping the walls.
  : 9:30ish out to the lair
  & turned on heat pump; set to 73 because I'm always cold here.  Didn't error, so maybe
    the excess water has evaporated.  At least some.
  * 23:20 shower, change bags

1124Fr  * litter boxen (E' coming Sunday)
  * up 7:30; S=7:55; exercises; Dutch
  % 08:56 17mg polyethylene glycol 3350, 17.2mg senna
  @ Buy Nothing Day (ysabetwordsmith)
  % 10:00 eyedrops - both eyes
  @ Meet the 25-Year-Old AI Model Earning up to $11,000 a Month
    Pixel Perfect: The Rise Of AI Fashion Models
    " Diversity and inclusivity: Companies can create AI models in a multitude of body
      types, ages, sizes, and skin tones. Showing a wide range of models can help brands
      reflect a diverse and inclusive range of customers. "
    Computer-generated inclusivity: fashion turns to ‘diverse’ AI models | Guardian
    " If you look at the history of how tech has evolved – things like selfie sand filters
      – it’s not super positive. "
  @ Looking for the last universal common ancestor of all living organisms  
    ATP synthase evolution on a cross-braced dated tree of life | Nature Comm.
  * 15min: dishes
  % 16:00ish drifty.  Nothing done -- total inertia -- decision paralysis in to.do
  : 17:00 robo-call about my appointment at FredHutch Monday; didn't acknowledge because
    it wasn't a name or number I recognized, but when I didn't respond it went ahead.
    Duplicate of what's on the portal.
  * finished bottle of Dry Fly gin (started 0917)
  : 22:08 back in Lair.
    % don't know why I'm so reluctant to go back up to the house, but I am.  I'll stay
      here all this weekend.  Grief + loneliness maybe??  Probably just laziness.  But I
      won't get any less done down here.
  % oh, and my right nostril hurts, presumably from picking (or maybe pulling hair??)
  % also, skipping the shower tonight.

1125Sa
  & awake 5ish;  very dry -> water, fill humidifier, get bite guard (forgot last night)
  * up 7am; S=7:42, BP=123/78, P=64; exercises; shower
    % eyedrops: L inside, R outside corner itchy (I sleep on L side, so not surprising)
      -> shower, and even with that didn't get completely clean ]
  * -I might just- stay down at RS this weekend
    % feels like slacking off, but in fact most of my attention this week-end- has been on
      research and prep for my oncology appointments Monday, so it's okay.
  : my oncology team members finally showed up on MyChart
  @ Why You Should Still Write Shell Scripts | by Anthony Critelli | Nov, 2023
  * 22:25ish out to lair.

Comments

[acelightning73]

Mazel tov with the doctors. The radioactive tracer they inject into you gets filtered out by the kidneys quite effectively, and creates a readable trace of what your urinary tract is doing with it. It just cracks me up whenever I have it done, when I need to pee during the procedure, I have to use the "hot" rest room, which is designed so that no radioactive human waste products get into the city sewers.

Everything our generation thought about medical science is now WRONG. Cancer is not an automatic death sentence. People can now recover and live a reasonable life after heart attacks or strokes. There are vaccines to prevent a lot of nasty diseases now. (I think I should get the shingles vaccine; I had chicken pox when I was a kid. But Medicare doesn't pay for it.) I was starting to go blind from cataracts in the early 1990s; I now have plastic lens implants that have some correction built into them, and with my glasses on I can see pretty normally. A skilfully applied electrical current re-set my heart rhythm a few years ago, and the results have lasted. About the only think I could wish for now is that they'd be able to replace my gall bladder with a mechanical one (which would work like a diabetic's insulin pump) so I can eat as much bacon as I want.

We now have technology that can knit or weave fabric with one side sleek Spandex and the other side fleecy fake fur. Why don't we have Luna City as a vacation spot yet?

I suspect that you and I will meet in person in 2047, at my 100th birthday party either in an orbital habitat or Luna City. At my party, the rules are anybody is allowed to ask anybody else to dance, but the person asked is allowed to refuse, and nobody is allowed to pester. So I'll ask you to dance with me, in zero or one/sixth G. That ought to amuse the other guests.

[mdlbear]

Sounds like fun -- it's a date!

[acelightning73]

I'm eager to celebrate that party!