Done Since 2025-05-04

[mdlbear]

It hasn't been a very productive week for me, but not totally unproductive either. You can see the improved font selections -- Atkinson HyperLegible Next and Merriweather -- on HyperSpace Express. There's not really all that much to see, it still needs some improvements, and it took me too long to get around to. But it's something.

In my partial defense, CSS is a very deep rabbit-hole, and I am easily distracted. Especially if I can frame it as something I can use.

 

Music. I didn't publish an s4s post yesterday, but I meant to, because I ran across The music of dying stars -- head over to the Zwicky Transient Facility's Sonify the Cosmos page for more information, a combined sonification and visualization, and an interview. You can make your own.

I this is not the first time I've used a sonification as my s4s. Maybe not even the second, depending on whether you count The Songs of Pando.

 

In other news, Pope Leo XIII cared for the poor, fought for labor union rights. He was against Socialism and Laissez Faire Capitalism. What influence Leo XIV will have on the way the US is going remains to be seen, but the fact that his first homily as pope has apparently upset some MAGAts gives reason for hope.

I could use some hope right now.

Notes & links:
0504Su  * sift litter boxen  Star Wars Day
  @ Star Wars Day - Wikipedia
  & awake 3ish; 
  * up 7:35; ; Dutch
  * drugs:  first am 07:48; rest am 08:54; 2*coffee; pm 20:00
  * Brooklyn fed 3ish, 08:20, noonish; 17:19; 
  * try to get laundry done before N and G get back
  @ Why Balcony Solar Panels Haven’t Taken Off in the US | WIRED
  @ The Phony Physics of Star Wars Are a Blast | WIRED
  @ The mechanics behind the beauty of roses | Science
  @ Television is dead: LG hammers the final nail in the coffin of privacy
    " [LG] introduces a system for delivering ads based on how you’re feeling. "
  @ PHP Developer Pardoned by Trump: Once Facing Life in Prison
    " Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace “Silk Road,” which the FBI
      once called “the most sophisticated and largest criminal marketplace on the
      internet.” "
  * guitar.  not keeping good track.  several short sessions.  QV, Lock-Keeper, Bad Guys,

0505Mo Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day)  o sift litter boxen
  @ Liberation Day
  & awake 3ish
  * up 7:15?; ; exercises, ... Dutch
    % I can now do two or three partial sit-ups
  * drugs:  first am 07:30; rest am 08:26; 2*coffee; pm 19:19
  @ 1,700 sheep [graze under] solar panels : scientists publish surprising results
  @ The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked
  @ The Substack Dilemma: How Creators Are Inadvertently Fueling America's Failure
    " Pro-democracy creators currently publishing on Substack should be cognizant of the
      fact that they are operating behind enemy lines, and that the company's backers are
      antagonistic to your goals. Be sure to export your subscription lists early and
      often, as there is no way to know when this feature may be removed or
      curtailed. Assume the worst. "
  @ “I like being autistic”: Assessing the benefit of autistic-led psychoeducation for
    autistic children | medRxiv
  * set up web/Common for git deployment on dh and centraal.
    -> Could maybe have done it with make deployable, but it's been a very
       lonng time since I used that, so I just copied the post-update hook from another
       site and cloned it to vv/web both on dh and centraal.  Easy.  Tested with a push
       after some adds -- worked fine, as expected.
  % during a conversation with N about my pathological lack of self-confidence, she
    suggested that I try to find a shrink.  Apparently one does that through one's GP
    @ related: How to Be Smarter When You’re Feeling Depressed | by Steven C. Hayes
  * Scarlett's insurance (ENRA) paid by direct debit from Bunq, verifying that I did, in
    fact, set up autopay for it.
  % pain in left eyelid; not as bad as yesterday
  & deep wikipedia, etc. dive starting from Vicent Van Gogh
  * guitar:  Millennium's Dawn -- much as I like "where is Hal now when we need him", that
    verse is way past its expiration date.  There may have been another song before that,
    but I can't remember it.
  * load drugs

0506Tu  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4ish
  * up 7ish; ; Dutch, exercises kegels, bends, squats 13:55
  * drugs:  first am 7:05ish; 2*coffee; rest am missed; pm 20:39
  % iron deficiency symptoms include brittle nails.  Right.
  @ A Note From the Netherlands-Paul Krugman The Dutch have nice things. Why can’t we?
  @ A.I. Hallucinations Are Getting Worse, Even as New Systems Become More Powerful
  * guitar:  October Country, Ship of Stone, ...  Freight Train,
    the broken nail on R. second finger wasn't really noticable.
  % 14:29 another broken nail, picking up the (catfud) package from Zooplus.
  * call Haga about CT scan - Interne  (070) 210 2605  called ~1510; email sent 16:23
    -> call dropped after 28 minutes on hold.   *- try poli-interne@hagaziekenhuis.nl
  * 19:00 - 20:30 (10am-11:30 PST) Healing Center Passages support grp - 1st, 3rd Tu

0507We  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4ish
    % dream seemed to include something about fonts, and the [details] tag.
    % quite a lot of lovely Bronx petting time
  * up 7:15ish; W=90.1; 
  * drugs:  first am 7:40; rest am 08:48; 2*coffee; pm 20:00
  @ WorldCon use of AI to vet panelists prompts backlash • The Register
  @ Duolingo ditches more contractors in 'AI-first' refocus • The Register Hmmm.
  @ OpenAI caves to pressure, keeps nonprofit in charge • The Register
  @ TIL:  HTML mark Tag
    i = idiomatic; b = bring attention to (e.g keywords in a summary)
  @ Security Researchers Warn a Widely Used Open Source Tool Poses a 'Persistent' Risk to
    the US | WIRED -- mailru/easyjson
  * Add font families Atkinson and Merriweather to HSX.  May want to add others later;
    it's trivially easy, by symlinking web/Common/fonts from site/fonts.  First site
    updated was HyperSpace Express
  * 20:00 - 21:30 (11:00-12:30 PST) Virginia Mason Living w\ Cancer grp - 1st, 3rd We

0508Th  * sift litter boxen  VE Day
  @ Victory in Europe Day
  & awake 3ish
  % earworm/dream-bits from "To Your Scattered Bodies Go"
  * up 6:30ish; ; Dutch, kegels, 15 bends, 10 squats
  * drugs:  first am 6:35; rest am 8:40; 2*coffee; pm 18:37
  @ 80 years ago World War II in Europe was over. Celebrating V-E Day is now tinged with
    some dread | AP News
  & email to pkc@hagaziekenhuis.nl about scan, since I know that address works.
    -> Goedemiddag,/They call again whent they know the appointment
       We have to wait for the appointment for the scan.
    -> so it doesn't look like there's any choice about when -- they'll just tell me.
    -> the reply was prompt, but did not go to my gmail, just to DH
    -> The appointment for CT scan is nog yet planned, it is sent to radiology to plan
       this. You can call the department on phone number 0702102349.
  : N returned the chargeasap charger.  Damned if I know where the US plug went.
  : NASA's aggregated blog page has not been updated since 04-18.  ISS blog has been, tho
  * PharmaMarket.eu has a lot of what I've been looking for- bacitracin, antifungal, ...
  * 18:30pm - 20:30 (9:30-11:30) Overlake med. center cancer support group - 2nd Th
    -> good one -- kind of glad I decided not to skip it.

0509Fr  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 3ish
  * if up around 6am, check on N
  * up 6ish; ; Dutch
  * drugs:  first am 6:15; rest am 8:30ish; 2*coffee; pm 20:28
  @ dylanaraps/pure-bash-bible:
    A collection of pure bash alternatives to external processes.
    dylanaraps/pure-sh-bible:
    A collection of pure POSIX sh alternatives to external processes.
  @ The Birth of Music Piracy -
    YT Mozart.  Miserere Mei Deus, formerly confined to the Vatican during holy week.
    Legend has it that M heard it, _memorized it_, then went back a few days later to
    correct his score.  The  Wikipedia article casts some doubt on this.
    Miserere - Allegri - The Gesualdo Six - free on YouTube
  @ May 8, 2025 - by Heather Cox Richardson
    " Today, on the second day of the papal conclave, the cardinal electors [...] elected
      a new pope. They chose 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago,
      thus making him the first pope chosen from the United States. But he spent much of
      his ministry in Peru and became a citizen of Peru in 2015, making him the first pope
      from Peru, as well. "
  @ The history of album art || Matthew Ström, designer-leader
  @ Musopen: Free Sheet Music, Royalty Free & PD Music
    Musopen - Wikipedia free recordings
    of PD classical music; " It describes its mission as "to set music free" "
      [fremium for lossless downloads and > 5/day]
  @ Sonify the Cosmos: Create your Supernova Melody
    High School Student Creates Soundscape of Exploding Stars - www.caltech.edu
  @ ‘The Only Person in the World Claiming to Be the Pope Right Now’ - NYT Ada Palmer
  @ Google Starts Scanning Your Photos—3 Billion Users Must Now Decide

0510Sa  * sift & top up litter boxen
  & awake 3aish
  * up 7:15ish; ; dishes, bath, exercises
  * drugs:  first am 7:15; rest am 08:19; 2*coffee; pm 21:13
  @ Read Pope Leo XIV’s first homily as pope : NPR
    very long but very worthwhile  thread by rahaeli on bsky
  * walk:  just around the block.  More tired than expected?  hip/lower back pain
  @ AI use damages professional reputation, study suggests - Ars Technica (andrewducker)
  @ Pope Leo's stance on issues, from climate to LGBTQ+ to politics : NPR
  @ SoundCloud has updated their Terms of Use and state that you agree anything you
    upload can be used to train AI models.
    SoundCloud changes policies to allow AI training on user content | TechCrunch
    " A SoundCloud spokesperson provided a statement via email, which we’ve published in
      part below: 
     “SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI
      tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform
      for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a
      ‘no AI’ tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use. "
  * guitar:  noodling mostly in Dm