Done Since 2025-08-10

[mdlbear]

It doesn't feel like it was a long week, probably just because I don't remember too many bad things about it. Kaleidofolk had some very good rehearsal/practice sessions, and I got to read the draft of the book that N is working on. On the other hand, my back has been giving me trouble and still isn't back (pun intended) to normal. Pain, as it turns out, uses a lot of energy. In other news, it finally occurred to me to look up symptoms of cataracts and connect the dots with my night vision problems. Duh.

I spent Monday afternoon through Thursday wearing a blood pressure monitor. I'm now on a calcium-channel blocker. So we'll see whether that helps. And whether the infusion of iron I got on Friday helps with my anemia.

I seem to be sleeping a little longer, possibly because of increased cat cuddles. And if you look down to the very last entry from yesterday, you'll see that I refer to Ticia's "hunting call" -- the sound she makes after pouncing on a crinkle ball. Sort of a cross between a purr and an angry growl. Scared the heck out of me the first time I heard it. Now it's just incredibly cute. In the morning I found the crinkle ball on the floor at the foot of the bed. Several times this week I found them on the bed.

She still won't play "fetch" though, and she doesn't chase them the way she used to half a decade ago. Of course, she's an old lady now, and needs to look out for her dignity. Or something.

In other news, according to this report, students retain more from reading than they do from podcasts of the same material. (One can easily imagine confounding factors that they didn't take into account, but...)

If you're thinking about letting an AI do your programming for you, you should probably read this first.

Notes & links:
0810Su  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 1:30ish, 4ish
  * up 6:30ish; ;
  * drugs:  first am 6:45; rest am 07:30; 2*coffee; pm 22:46
  * walk:  end of block, with garbage bag.  Didn't want to push my luck.
  & N needed a bag to use for after-class shopping.  I gave her Colleen's old folding bag
    with its zippered case.  Didn't work for me because I prefer one-piece bags
    ! made us both very happy thinking of Colleen
  @ They Hear, but Do Not Listen: Retention for Podcasted Material in a Classroom Context
    - David B. Daniel, William Douglas Woody, 2010 
    " Quiz scores revealed that the podcast group performed more poorly than did students
      who read the text. "  # I am not surprised
  * music:  rehearsal:  The Fox.  Tricky timing.  Then N and I did "I have a song to sing,
    Oh" a capella to see if we wanted to consider adding it to our repertoire, after I'd
    mentioned that G&S were out of copyright, so fair game.
  : As it turns out, Nova did NOT have python2 on it.  Leaving Raven as the only machine
    in the house that does.  For now.

0811Mo  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 2:45, 4:30ish
  * up 6:45ish; ; 
  * drugs:  first am 7ish; coffee; rest am 07:50; pm 
  * 13:00 leave for 13:45 Berestein 24h BP.
    *- ask about tomorrow's 8am appointment.  -> not needed, just plan on showing up early
  * 16:30 Huisdierenarts voor alle katten (at Schildhaven) 
    *- N will ask about whether Cricket still needs antibiotics and pain med
    -> solensia for Ticia
  @ Writing experience: Emacs, you won | aviskase
  @ A note to the community from someone who's gone through this before
    : r/MyBoyfriendIsAI
  % 22:13 500mg acetaminophen.  Next allowed dose 6h, which is 4:15am

0812Tu  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4am
  * up 7ish
  * drugs:  first am 7ish; rest am 07:54; coffee; pm 
  * load drugs
  @ US to rewrite its past national climate reports
  * 09:15 leave for 09:30 Berestein 
    * bring back BP monitor -- no particular time ??
  * 10:10  Berestein  plan on showing up early, say 9:30
    -> kidney function a little low    -> should get kidney ultrasound
    -> scrip for Amlodipine -- calcium channel blocker.  Pick up tomorrow.
    ~- constipation.
    x- Did not bring up balance until late becaused confused by Dr. asking about dizziness
  * Air Force bid for Tesla Cybertrucks in target practice symbolizes the ‘evolving’
    relationship between the Pentagon and Big Tech, expert says | Fortune WTF
  * SL:  B12  -> seems to have been ordered
  @ How A Simple Metaphor Can Save Planet Earth  " blanket of pollution "  maybe.
    
0813We  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 2:30?; 4:45ish
  * up 5:30ish; ; Dutch
  * drugs:  first am 5:30ish; rest am 7ish?; coffee; pm
  @ Before Edward Lear Was a Limerick Genius, He Was a Teenage Parrot-Painting Prodigy
  * leave 8ish for Berestein - lab btw. 8 and 9:30 for blood and urine tests
  * Apotheek - pick up amlodipine
  ! emotion attack reading #10: "Weathered" (starting around the end of Part 3) in the
    collection of stort stories that is turning into N's book
  & music:  working with m on Things...  Notes transcribed; no idea what key it's in.
  % the bridge of my nose hurts.  WTF???  Sinus problem?  Dental?
    -> 22:32 ibuprofen 400

0814Th  * sift litter boxen
  & awake 4ish
  * up 7:15; ; Dutch
  * drugs:  first am 7:25; rest am 08:44; 2*coffee; pm
  * walk:  8:19: second bridge north; .75km, 5hp, 1375st, 35min, 22mm
  @ Amphioctopus marginatus - Wikipedia first known true tool-using
    invertebrate, collecting coconut halves to use later
  @ Denethor in Lord of the Rings is now a metaphor for doomscrolling
  @ Pepijn: "I'm on the server floor of a "…highly secure data center with 24/7/365
    surveillance, direct access control and robust perimeter security".
    An actual duck just walked by.  🦆  The panic is absolutely glorious...
  @ Bread and Butter angd Hope - Robert Reich
  * pay AX - have to split between USB and BECU
  
0815Fr  ? sift litter boxen
  & awake 4ish
  * up 7:05ish; ; Dutch
  * drugs:  first am 7:10; rest am 08:ish; pm 8ish
  @ Grief is Like a Ball in a Box – Lauren Herschel’s Metaphor
  @ What Every European Knows About Healthcare That Trump’s America Refuses to Learn
  * 10:15 leave for 11:15 appointment at Haga - iron infusion
    -> recommends gastroscopy.  Dubious about colonoscopy.
       <- scan and send to transferium@hagaziekenhuis.nl
    * 11:30 stay in waiting room for 30min.  -> 12:03
  @ Brilliant illustrations bring this 1976 Soviet edition of 'The Hobbit' to life
  * laundry
  ~ top up Bunq -> not working.

0816Sa  * sift litter boxen  Debian turns 100000 (32base10) 
  @ Happy 100000th birthday, Debian founded on 1993-08-16
  & awake 2ish???.  5:15
  * up 6ish; ; ...bath (after walk), ...dishes
    % Bronx in lap for a while.  cuddles from both cats but mostly Bronx, because he
      pushes Ticia off the bed.
    % very tired.  both nostrils plugged when I got up, so maybe oxygen dep?
      also very achy.
  * drugs:  first am 6:15; rest am 08:01; coffee; pm 23:03
  * walk: to N arm of Jan Greshoffplantsoen; 11mm, 850st, 25min, 440m
    % 09:10 tylenol 1g (2 caps); next dose allowed after 15:30
    % back pain, probably mostly L QL
    % 15:24 naproxen 440mg - could have tylenol but if I still have muscle pain there's
      probably some inflamation or tearing
  * SL: eyebleach for upstairs ($A, because neither Bol nor PharmaMarket has it)
  @ My Trip to Vibe Coding Hell. Let me start by saying that I use AI to… | by Brian
    Jenney | Medium
    " And that’s when reality hits: AI didn’t replace the need for engineers. It just made
      it easier to lie to ourselves and produce trash at scale. "
  @ LinkedIn quietly amends policy around anti-trans hate speech
  @ Cataracts - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic  yup, yup, yup.  halos around lights
  * RSVP Ace's memorial
  @ Liberating A Collapsible Chair From A Single Piece Of Wood | Hackaday
  : Getting into bed I heard Ticia's hunting call; in the morning I found her
    crinkle-ball prey on the floor by the bed.