Done Since 2024-12-29

[mdlbear]

Some good things happened this week: I finally, with a lot of help from the Fred Hutch pharmacy, got my abiraterone picked up, to be carried here by m next week. The New Year's Eve filk circle on zoom, which actually went on for about 28 hours, was grand (see below).

Some things aren't going so well, in part because many of my go-to over-the-counter meds, including Flonase, PEG 3500, and senna, seem to be hard, or in some cases impossible, to find here. And I didn't sing -- or sleep -- as much as I wanted to Tuesday night because the (illegal) fireworks going off nearby were pretty extreme. I went upstairs to encourage my cats to hide under the bed, and wish that there was enough headroom for me.

I sang five songs Tuesday night, and six on Wednesday after rejoining the circle. (You'll only see three five songs listed under Wednesday because Travelers is a twofer: "Where the Heart Is" and "Windward".) A few more of my songs were sung by R and a friend of theirs, and different versions of some of my favorite Yeats songs were done by others. When I joined the circle Tuesday, I was just in time to follow someone's recitation of "The Song of Wandering Aengus" with my setting of "The Cap and Bells".

Friday was my 49th anniversary, which may help explain why not a whole lot got done last week. Or at least it makes a plausible excuse.

For links this week, here are the NYE songs, with links mostly to the pages on steve.savitzky.net: (2024) "The Cap and Bells", "The October Country", "Get Up and Go", "Ship of Stone", "Riverheart". (2025) "The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of", "Eyes Like the Morning", Ripple (Official Music Video)", "A Tribute to the Middle-Aged Bear", "Where the Heart Is", "Windward".

My performance of Ripple was execrable; what you have in the links is the official video, which I hadn't seen before. Worth watching. For mine, I need to track (sic) down more audio.

Notes & links:
1229Su  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4:30ish
  * up 8ish (alarm); Dutch
  * abiraterone --; rest of am drugs 8ish; 2*coffee; pm drugs 22:05
  @ Finland boards oil tanker suspected of causing internet, power cable outages
  @ 2024 Was Truly the End of the 'End of History' - Newsweek
  @ MAGA shocked to learn President Elon Musk is an immigrant \me grabs some popcorn
  : the battery I installed in Sable yesterday is defunct.
  * finish response to Ellen's email
  @ How Do Abortion Bans Affect Miscarriage Treatment? What to Know — ProPublica
  : G went and charged Scarlett from the extension cord.  ~6-7 hours to full or nearly so
  % 21:33 cold.  At the stage of the evening when all I want to do is curl up under a
    blanket. 

1230Mo  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4:30ish
    % One thing I remember from my dream because it was so unusual is that it had purple
      in it!  (someone was using it in a presentation about quantum states)  No memorable
      colors anywhere else, but that one scene had bright purple dots in it.
  * up  7am (alarm); ;
  * abiraterone --; rest of am drugs 7:ish; 2*coffee; pm drugs 21:00
  @ Jimmy Carter, 39th US president, has died at 100 | AP News
    A look at Jimmy Carter's life, legacy | AP News
    Jimmy Carter - Wikipedia
  * 08 - 11 delivery window for m's bed -> 9ish very fast
  @ EFF’s 2023 Annual Report Highlights a Year of Victories: 2024 in Review | EFF
  $ C 66.95 to EFF via AX Au
  x go back to $A to check on delayed package of mochi -> refunded (by them)
  $ C $96 to ACLU via AX Au
  * 15min:  make account/order from pharmamarket.eu mainly because they have PEG3350
    Also added a scale to make up their free delivery amount.  Very low prices for most
    OTC meds, but not the kind of variety you find in US drugstores.  No senna tabs.
  * singing:  bigger-on-the-inside riverheart inherit
    inherit -- chords first line on page 2 s/Dm/Em/, 5th line Em -> Dm
    % Also, should have done a warmup, or more quiet songs, before launching into
      Riverheart and Inherit the Earth.
  : sound on Sable is _very_ confused.
    -> install ubuntustudio-pulseaudio-config -
       Replaces PipeWire with PulseAudio on Ubuntu Studio
       This metapackage simply removes the default PipeWire integration and reinstalls the
       traditional PulseAudio/JACK configuration.
    -> Edirol now looks like Analog Stereo Duplex again.  Does it also fix Thinkplus?
    -> no, each ear behaves like a separate stereo device.
 @ If anyone wants to know why every tech company in the world right now is clamoring for
   AI like drowned rats scrabbling to board... – @andrewducker on Tumblr
   " Drowned rats. Swimming to the one ship in sight. "
  % 8ish cold, or something
  * load drugs 21:05
  * ask Dr. Sunkara about tapering off prednisone:
    5mg 14 days -- started Su; every other day 14 days; every two days 14 days.

1231Tu  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4:30
  * up 8ish;; Dutch
  * abiraterone x; rest of am drugs 08:50; pm drugs 8ish
  : apparently UPS wants me to pick up the shipment in person.  Not happening.
    -> Called pharmacy.  they're working on it but apparently  this UPS store (it's a
       franchise) is making its own rules.  Their shipping expert has kicked it up to
       management.  We'll see.
  * 10am (9am UTC) NYE filk starts -> joined ~11am
    singing: Cap and Bells (following Song of Wandering Aengus recited by Monologue John)
    The October Country 13:35  Get Up and Go.  Ship of Stone 19:00  Riverheart 19:45
  & 00:10ish went upstairs to comfort the cats.  

2025
====

0101We  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4:30ish; a few fireworks still going off
  * up 8am; ; laundry, shower 15:51; Dutch
  * abiraterone x; rest of am drugs 8ish; pm drugs [forgotten]
  * reboot Sable and rejoin the filk
    Change name to Steve Savitzky 🇳🇱 ; icon to me-and-colleen-icon.jpg
    R and E? both sang some of my songs.
    singing:  Stuff that Dreams are Made Of, Eyes Like the Morning, Ripple (really never
    caught up with the tune), Middle-Aged Bear, (R did the Middle-Aged Bear), Travelers
    @ 2024-2025-NYE-filk-spreadsheat   Left the filk at 15:23
  @ Facebook Planning to Flood Platform with AI-Powered Users
  @ Public Domain Day 2025 | Duke University School of Law
  % 22:29 L eye still painful despite eyedrops
  * top up prednisone - still on 1/day

0102Th  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 44sh
  * up 6:45ish?; ; Dutch
  * abiraterone x; rest of am drugs 6:45; 2*coffee; pm drugs 22:24
  @ Standard Ebooks: Free and liberated ebooks,
    carefully produced for the true book lover
  % it doesn't feel like a Thursday because yesterday felt like a Sunday.
  @ Short Fiction - The Game of Rat and Dragon " [...] “That’s all she is⁠—a cat!”
      But that was not how his mind saw her⁠—quick beyond all dreams of speed, sharp,
      clever, unbelievably graceful, beautiful, wordless and undemanding. 
      Where would he ever find a woman who could compare with her? "
    % short, intense burst of emotion at the end.  See quote, above; post tomorrow
  @ Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse… FB's AI fake users
  @ 100ml graduated beaker with handle
    For gin, obviously.
  @ The Bizarre History of Dragonriders of Pern - YouTube
  * singing:  Eyes Like the Morning, Ripple... OK, Love-this one's for you:  Lily et. al.
    @ Grateful Dead - Ripple (Official Music Video) - YouTube 2020
      First time I'd seen it -- wow!  Mostly animated tarot imagery, plus weirdness.
    @ JOAN BAEZ ~ Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts - YouTube

0103Fr  49th Anniv.  * sift litter boxen
  & awake  5ish?? stayed in bed, I think
  * up 6:ish; ; Dutch, dishes
  * abiraterone x; rest of am drugs 07:00; 2*coffee; pm drugs 21:15
  * J retrieved the abiraterone and prednisone!
  @ Hundreds of Curious Cats Contemplated Ancient Egyptian Artifacts During a Series of
    'Meowseum Nights' in China | Smithsonian
  * river; make post name=flowercat-49
  @ What science fiction predicted about 2025 | From the Heart of Europe
  @ ysabetwordsmith | New Year Editorial Cartoons 2024-2025
  * posted River: Remembering the FlowerCat: 49
  @ The Whole Hog HogFather docu.
  @ Apple opts everyone into having their Photos analyzed by AI • The Register
  ~ send Alice copies of Betsy's CDs
    -* Send (cousin)Alice a link to Betsy Tinney's Bandcamp page
  @ Court strikes down US net neutrality rules
  % L eye continues to be a problem.  22:09 warm compress seemed to help

0104Sa  * sift litter boxen
  & awake
  * up 6ish
  * iron 6:30ish; rest of am drugs ; pm drugs 8ish; lgs
  @ PhyloPic Free silhouette images of animals,
    plants, and other life forms,
  @ The canaries aren't doing well - by Ann Telnaes "A silenced cartoonist is an
    indicator of an unhealthy environment for freedom of expression." --Ann Telnaes, 2019
    Why I'm quitting the Washington Post - by Ann Telnaes
    " As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions
      accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical
      job. [...] But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because
      as they say, “Democracy dies in darkness”. "
  @ Evidence of ‘Negative Time’ Found in Quantum Physics Experiment | SciAm
    Accentuate The Negative -- Photons Can Spend ‘Negative Time’ as Atomic Excitations
  % L eye very painful -> 15:15 1g paracetamol  Next dose permitted in 6h (21:16)
    (eyedrops 2 or 3 times already today)  I also feel as though I'm underslept
  : somehow Honu/opt/makestuff-pkgs didn't get run.  Bah!
  : m goes from Seattle to NY
  * remind G to pick up cash for N"
  : N sent the names of some business software packages -- will look tomorrow.
    Exact and Twinfield are the most commonly used systems in the Netherlands,
    Moneybird and Snelstart are considered more tailored to small businesses.
    Slickpie is another option that someone recommends, and said that is free online.

Comments

[siliconshaman]

I find blanket forts are a useful thing when it comes to overloud fireworks. Granted, I don't need them, but the cats usually huddle under one on the sofa and I guard the entrance, (conveniently located near by recliner), and provide moral support.

[mdlbear]

I tried to do that, but didn't quite have enough blankets or support to work with. Seemed to be enough for the kitties, though. Next time I'll remember to grab a lap throw from the living room on my way up.