Done Since 2025-09-28
2025-10-05 05:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdlbearMixed, as usual. Four walks (which sounds good except that the total was only 2.9km), a little work on the HSX website (fixing a busted link counts, right?), and a little work in the recording studio (with disappointingly little to show for it). Pretty sure I'm not getting enough sleep, either, although it's been somewhat better now that I'm using the duvet and duvet cover (a bit of a weighted blanket effect?), and going to bed a little later.
Lots of difficulty with motivation. Nothing new there, either.
N and G are going to be gone for two weeks (plus a bit) at the end of the month. I have been looking into "personal alarm" buttons/pendants, in case I need emergency help. Somewhat problematic.
Here, have an amusing link: Portlanders mock Trump by posting pics of peaceful weekend activities in ‘War ravaged’ city | The Independent.
Notes & links:
0928Su * sift litter boxen
& awake
% the duvet, under my usual blankets, felt very cosy. weighted blanket effect??
* up 6:30ish; ;
* cat snuggle at the laptop desk
% very dry mouth/throat. last couple of days. WTF?
* drugs: am1 7:30; am2 09:15; 2*coffee; pm 8ish
@ Portlanders mock Trump by posting pics of peaceful weekend activities in ‘War
ravaged’ city | The Independent
Letter from the Portland War Front (humor about something deadly serious)
@ First Malicious MCP in the Wild: The Postmark Backdoor That's Stealing Your Emails
What Are MCP Servers? The New AI Trend Explained for Everyone | Sebastian Buzdugan
* 11:00 vocal warm-ups with N;
-> discussion about arrangements. not all just me on guitar
some songs may be without guitar altogether.
% L shoulder hurts. Feels like tension, as well as mouse; probably started with mouse
-> 20:04 400mg ibuprofen, heat
* take out cardboard for pickup
& went upstairs to bed ~23:15
0929Mo * sift litter boxen
& awake 3ish? -- freezing. Don't think I made it out of bed.
* up 06:30; ; bed exercises!... Dutch
% late bedtime last night almost certainly helped, so I should keep doing that.
* drugs: am1 7ish; am2 07:45; 2*coffee; pm 20:01
* finish answering email from Andy H.
* walk; -cane S arm of Jan Greshoffplantsoen 08:14, 3hp, 11mm, 907st, .5km
% turned back early because I was leaning over -- silly bear forgot their cane
@ Pluralistic: The real (economic) AI apocalypse is nigh (27 Sep 2025) – Pluralistic
* 10:30ish bring in cardboard bin
@ We Know How Ancient Civilizations Solved Debt Crises. Do Modern Economists Care? | by
Wesley Edits | Write Your World | Sep, 2025 | Medium
" Graeber’s implication: Question whether debt-based economics serves human welfare at
all. Consider policies like debt jubilees, universal basic services, or economic
systems that prioritize human flourishing over creditor profits. "
* 11:30-12:30 kf work session (shifted and shortened for N; do my stuff after)
* s.s.net/Songs needs to replace CDBaby widget with local pic and link to Bandcamp
% time-wasting for about the last four hours.
@ [Austrian] military just ditched Microsoft for open-source LibreOffice | ZDNET
digital sovereignty, obviously, only the latest.
% feeling cold. ambient 24.4°C = 76°F
0930Tu * sift litter boxen
& awake 4ish?
* up 7:30; ; some exercises; Dutch; dishes (really don't need to call out dishes)
* drugs: am1 7:40; am2 ?; 2*coffee; pm 21:40
* walk: far end of Simon Vestdijkstraat loop, .6km, 5hp, 26mm, 1055st
~ 11-14 or whenever kf work session
. get back to 2024 taxes * locate papers
* load drugs
% nose congested pretty much all day
1001We * sift litter boxen
& awake 3:30
* up 7am; ;
* drugs: am1 7:30; am2 8ish; 2*coffee; pm 8ish
* walk: 08:44 DSB801 - bridge before turnaround 09:04; 1km, 7hp, 20mm, 19min, 1560st
@ Laptop Revive – Sociaal, duurzaam en open
" At Laptop Revive, we offer students and students who cannot afford it, laptops for
their education: sustainable, and open. " (translated fron Dutch)
@ (scooter)Lizzy: Relync R2 (here for easy findability with dg. Also put in notes.done)
* 11-14 or whenever kf work session
@ Alarm button for the elderly in the house? | Service point XL -> livechat is a
bot; asked for callback via email.
~ found the info via search: uses https://www.hwwzorg.nl/thuiszorg/alarmknop
which appears to only connect via POTS. However, the company whose alarm they link
to, https://www.tunstall.nl/producten/smart-hub/ , DOES have a GSM base unit.
<- How does the pendant connect to the base unit
<- Does the pendant include fall detection
<- Does the pendant allow a voice connection
<- can the call center tell emergency services how to get into the house
@ Socially Monitored Alarm (Telecare Base Unit) +353 1 843 5889
*- How does the pendant connect to the base unit -> wireless; 8690MHz band
*- Does the pendant include fall detection -> no; the GPS version does
*- Does the pendant allow a voice connection -> no, they call back on your phone
*- can the call center tell emergency services how to get in -> key safe comb. on file
-> they have BT mesh beacons for location indoors
@ RIP: Jane Goodall, renowned chimpanzee researcher and animal advocate, dies at 91
Jane Goodall - Wikipedia
* SL: timer for bug zapper, battery box, soldering iron
~ take out PMD (yellow) bin -> only half full
1002Th * sift litter boxen
& awake ? awakened 6ish by little furry alarm clocks
* up 6:30ish; ; laundry
* drugs: am1 7ish; am2 07:59; 2*coffee; pm 20:20
@ The dawn of the post-literate society - by James Marriott
Project MUSE - They Don’t Read Very Well: A Study of the Reading Comprehension Skills
of English Majors at Two Midwestern Universities
* 11-14 or whenever kf work session
-> bring down Snuggles; see if she improves chording -> maybe a little? -> breathing.
N noticed Snuggles, so had a nice little talk about Colleen as well.
-> working on problem songs
F fingering: Where the heart is/Windward, Wheelin', Ship of stone,
chords: things we did not choose; arrangement: life-cycle of flowers
@ The Unix Epochalypse might be sooner than you think • The Register
* 16:30-1700 vet to give Cricket her rabies booster and pet passport
~ aquire emergency call button
-> down rabbit hole about watches with fall detection. Task has a watch, but it
doesn't seem particularly smart.
1003Fr * sift litter boxen
& awake ?
* up 6:30ish; ;
* drugs: am1 07:46; am2 08:38; 2*coffee; pm 20:46
: forgot to re-fill (filtered)water bottle yesterday, so had to go back upstairs to
re-fill CPAP. Growf. Also brought down dry laundry from yesterday.
@ Sora 2 and the end of copyright as we know it – TechnoLlama
@ Creators of This Police Location Tracking Tool Aren't Vetting Buyers. Here's How To
Protect Yourself | Electronic Frontier Foundation
@ Wildfires are getting deadlier and costing more. Experts warn they’re becoming
unstoppable | Wildfires | The Guardian
~ 11-14 or whenever kf work session
. get back to 2024 taxes * locate papers o data entry DUE 1015We
* re-string Snuggles. Some of the strings look a bit tarnished; probably from having
been in the box for who-knows-how-long. (newer strings are packed in plastic)
% 20:18 23.9C and I''m freezing.
: HSX: N's book is finished! Goes live on the 9th.
% made me realize that _my_ book was published 40 years ago!
@ Real-Time Microprocessor Systems by Stephen R. Savitzky
Real-Time Microprocessor Systems: Savitzky, Stephen R : Amazon.com cheap, too!
% a couple of nice reviews -- not sure I'd seen those before
$ I HSX $7 from Bandcamp in September
1004Sa x sift litter boxen
& awake 6ish
* up 8ish; ;
* drugs: am1 7ish; am2 08:20; 2*coffee; pm 22:54
* walk: to/from StudiOjo: .8km
% decided to wear the purple fuzzy shirt. Good choice.
~ 11-14 or whenever kf work session -> should have done warmups. Didn't
@ Your Life Has Just Changed. For the Worse. | Medium
* 13:35 leave for 14:00-16:00 recording/coaching
% dry throat -- should have hydrated more. Insufficient practice.
: good, solid, critique. Not really encouraging.
-> professional recording/production will take too long
-> N's current idea is to make Amethyst Rose to roughly the same standard as CC+S:
what I'd call a little above "living-room concert" quality, recorded here.
-> work on AR appears to have stopped sometime in early 2011 -- WTF?
no subject
Date: 2025-10-05 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-05 05:34 pm (UTC)These days I go by what my body will tolerate, which is annoyingly little. It's frustrating -- when I was living in San Jose 15+ years ago I usually spent my entire lunch hour walking.
I realize that back then I was in my early 60s, and now I'm in my late 70s, but my self-image stubbornly refuses to take that into account.
However
Date: 2025-10-05 06:03 pm (UTC)The climate there is different than in San Jose. The climate is different everywhere than it was fifteen years ago. It's early October and it feels like the first days of September used to-- I haven't broken out sweaters yet, even though it's supposed to start snowing any day now, according to the older patterns.
The terrain there is different. The microclimate at your elevation may be different, even though it's the same elevation, plus or minus five feet, to San Jose. I don't know that, and looking it up feels too stalkerish, LOL.
So, take those variables into account along with your slowly changing body image. Be gentle with yourself.
I've now got the balance to walk five steps without the rollator, but I don't have the endurance to go back to using a cane or even two canes, without building up endurance a great deal more. So, I've changed my goal to fit that specific need. Would something similar help you? "Walked thirty minutes without stopping to rest," might be a longer term goal than "walk around the block without a break," which is longer term goal than "walk around the block."
I'll end with: congratulations for walking as much as you did this week. It's progress.
Re: However
Date: 2025-10-05 07:19 pm (UTC)I looked it up -- San Jose has an average elevation of 25m (82ft). The Hague? 1m. The highest elevation within waking distance of my house is probably the top of a little bridge over one of the canals. They probably arch up no more than half a meter.
Your point is well taken, though; today was the farthest I've gone without having to sit down or lean on a lamppost in ... a while. Weeks, maybe months. If I can keep it up I hope to get back to where I was when we moved here; I can already reliably get to the nearest bus or tram stop. Haven't actually gotten on, mind you.
Re: However
Date: 2025-10-05 07:50 pm (UTC)Re: However
Date: 2025-10-10 09:44 pm (UTC)Hey, kick ass, that's AWESOME, not falling down is SO nice.
Re: However
Date: 2025-10-10 11:00 pm (UTC)Re: However
Date: 2025-10-14 01:15 am (UTC)Re: However
Date: 2025-10-14 11:44 am (UTC)Friday will mark a year since my last fall. (If you don't count the one last April where I tried to avoid a cat getting into bed, and fell out the other side. Both of us were none the worse for wear.)
Re: However
Date: 2025-10-14 12:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-06 11:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-06 12:54 pm (UTC)I am, too. Not much I can do about it, though, and anybody paying attention probably knows already.
I try to end the weekly posts on something amusing or uplifting, if I can.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-06 01:01 pm (UTC)It's Portland too.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-11 09:20 am (UTC)Point taken. But I am not a journalist, this is not a political blog, and my Sunday posts in particular are not intended to be comprehensive in any way; they just record (maybe too much of) what I've been doing and a little of what I've been reading.
I did not say "It really isn't so bad." It's horrible. Feel free to call me out if I do say anything that stupid. And I did not say "People must already know.", I said "anybody paying attention probably knows." The "people [who] need to be told" etc. are not following this blog. I have no way to reach those people.
[/rant]