mdlbear | Done Since 2026-02-02 (Reply)

I seem to have spent a lot of this week catching up on the sleep debt from Contabile plus the overnight ferry trip (three and a half; my usual is more like six). The con itself was a good one -- I had fun, and did some singing. Only three walks as such; however the ferry's gangway is long enough that it counts as walks for Monday and Tuesday, especially the 4.2k steps on Monday. (My goal is 3k/day, and I usually at least come close on days when I actually get out of the house and walk.)

I didn't post about it at the time, but my father died 27 years ago last Thursday. I still find myself wanting to call him to tell him about some recent development in software or science. He got me interested in both, along with science fiction. And wine. He got interested in wine and gourmet cooking to have something interesting to talk about at parties.

Links: Germany and Denmark Just Fired Microsoft: 15 Million Euros Saved | by Can Artuc and Microsoft's Quiet Exodus: Why Enterprise Developers Are Abandoning Windows for Linux Workstations (the last one is from Don Marti, who is well worth following).

And of course Meet Tombili: Istanbul’s Most Famous Street Cat And His Iconic Statue.

Notes & links:
0202Mo (here because con)
+ some catching up over breakfast with the Suttons, Smac and Katy, et. al.
@ Stand With Minnesota
* noon checkout - Sitting with G in the lobby/bar. One table in the bar has outlets.
* 16:30ish Taxi for return trip
* The ferry trip back will be overnight, so I'll have F+C for dinner and something else
for breakfast if I get up early enough.

0203Tu
@ Exhausterwhelmulated
@ 10 Countries Where Americans Can Move in 24 Hours (And Stay Long-Term) - YouTube
Albania Georgia Canada Mexico UK Panama Spain The Netherlands Croatia Turkey
Escape Options | Digital Émigré
@ 1.5 Million Developers Just Had Their Code Stolen, And They Never Saw It Coming
" legitimate functionality creates perfect camouflage for malicious behavior. How do
you distinguish between an AI assistant reading 20 lines of context and one that’s
reading entire files? "
@ X marks the raid: French cops swoop on Musk's Paris ops • The Register
* hx work session
* unpack, do laundry -> new suitcase empty, stuffed inside the big Maxlite 5
* move list of forgotten items to checklists.done
* guitar: Millennium's Dawn, Bad Guys.
@ How to craft great page titles for SEO
@ La Suite numérique
" La Suite numérique is a set of open-source applications for digital collaboration
and teamwork. It offers modern solutions for the digital workplace. "
" La Suite is built by French government agencies DINUM and ANCT. It is also the
product of a close european collaboration with the Netherlands and German state. "
suitenumerique/meet: Open source video conferencing app powered by LiveKit.
Used by French government. Possible Zoom replacement. Audio may not be good enough.
* 19:00 - 20:30 (10am-11:30 PST) Healing Center Passages support grp - 1st, 3rd Tu
* load drugs -> two bupropion 150
@ Meet Tombili: Istanbul’s Most Famous Street Cat And His Iconic Statue
* 22:00 go up to feed cats and get to bed early

0204We
* walk: 10ish bridges .5km, 4hp, 12mm, 19min, 1000st,
% short, but still about as much as my hips (QLs?) could tolerate.
* SL: * cat fud, * litter, * watch/phone charger/stand for desk
* hx work session
* call totaalthuiszorg about Scarlett +31 6 86055641
I also spelled the house number, post code, and my name with Dutch pronunciations.
Not entirely sure I got the street name across but postcode+house# is unique.
* assemble a floor lamp. Actually assemble two, but one was defective and had to be
disassembled and repacked for return. replacement (ordered by G) morgen in huis
% had a glass of gin, because hazard pay.
* order drugs: pantoprozol, ferrofumaraat, buspirone
* SL: aspirin, also pantsu, barrier cream, loratidine

0205Th Dad - 1999
* walk: 9:20 Simon Vestdijkstraat 2: .57km, 24min, 16mm, 6hp, 1117st
@ France: Police raid X offices in Paris, summon Elon Musk
@ The Riemann Hypothesis: Past, Present and a Letter Through Time [HTML]
@ Hedy Lamarr came up in a conversation with G about a 2.4GHz light bulb control
This animated Hedy Lamarr's 101st birthday Google Doodle is fabulous.
@ Crocheters join knitting protest with red 'Melt the ICE' hat
@ Washington Post Begins Laying Off More Than 300 Journalists | The Seattle Times
-> unsubscribe from their email list, too.
@ hankful Thursday posted
* hx work session
* Next year's con paid from personal Bunq account; reimburse from HSX €145.18
In case you were wondering about the two recent Bunq transaction, I reimbursed
myself for the price of next year's Contabile membership. Except that I started by
doing it the wrong way, so I had to send twice as much in the other direction.
* Update WiFi on Sable, Centraal, Lilac, and Raven to schildhaven-0_5G, because G has
replaced the ground-floor router with an Asus AX1800, with gigabit ethernet ports,
and we took the opportunity to give it a rational name (0 because ground floor).
* floor lamp assembled (with G)
* need audio for songs in s4s post. It's probably there in the concert recordings
already there: Stuff That Dreams are made Of, Keep the Dream Alive, Rainbow's Edge
Not there: Rocket Rider's Prayer, Thrill-Seekers' Waltz (also broken link)
rrp is in 2008/05-Baycon/rrprayer.{mp3,ogg} thrill not recorded
* 1800 Eurofilk Theme: protest songs ... 22:00
singing: Toolmakers, Paper Wings (by request)

0206Fr
: 09:47 N got home a few minutes ago.
* roasted another batch of nuts
@ Microsoft's Quiet Exodus: Why Enterprise Developers Are Abandoning Windows for Linux
Workstations (Don Marti: Rewarded Interest fan post also worth reading)
@ Top 10 Sculptures of All Time | TheCollector
@ Kessler syndrome-Wikipedia
@ "Online platforms have always held..." - European Commission on Mastodon
...all the cards.
The DSA is changing that. One clear set of rules to protect people across the EU.
🔸 It’s about choice. The DSA requires the biggest platforms to offer a feed that
isn't based on your personal data.
🔸 It’s about safety. What’s illegal offline should be illegal online.
🔸 It’s about freedom. In Europe, you have the right to challenge content moderation
decisions taken by platforms.
An internet that works for people.
@ The Digital Services Act | Shaping Europe’s digital future
* hx work session
* bring hsx/Log up to date with .../Dog (2026 only. There are gaps)
(last full entry was 0115Th, 3 weeks ago. Eeep!)
* subscribe to @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu . read about DSA (see above)
* Dutch -> decided to aim for >=1/2 hour on days with no work-related zoom or video
Eventually work toward an hour. Same for music. -> 45 min

0207Sa
% second day with fluticasone proprionate -- congestion much reduced. Will continue.
% neuropathy mostly R foot near ankle; cleared up fairly quickly but...
* walk: 08:23 DSB804: .64km, 9hp, 928st, 18mm, 11min
* 9:30 D" -> asked whether she should throw out sprouted potatoes. -> hell, yes!
@ Mori Whispers - YouTube (siliconshaman
" features 100% Original, Non-Looping Animation and BGM. Every video is a continuous,
hand-crafted film where time passes, weather changes, and stories unfold. Inspired
by Studio Ghibli aesthetics ... "
@ "Is AI more important than climate?" - by Jeni Miles (ysabetwordsmith
@ A Single Google Search Blew Up Deloitte’s $290,000 AI Report | Towards AI BUSTED
@ EU over the US? It’s Not a Question | by Douglas Giles, PhD | Jan, 2026 | Medium
% 13:53 feeling ??hungry?? - maybe just a salad and some bread wasn't enough.
-> leftover noodles and bolognese sauce, finished ~14:38
* 13480-1448 postnl (package ordered from PharmaMarket) -> 14:35
@ The big change affecting European travel
" Under the new rule, travellers would be allowed to bring one cabin bag measuring up
to 100cm [L+W+H] on board their flight, as well as an under-the-seat personal item
with a maximum size of 40x30x15cm [15.7 x 11.8 x 5.9 inches] "
New Carry-On Rules Starting January 1, 2026 — What’s Changing?-Travel Bag Insider
" In 2026, the bag’s shape, material, and adherence to the strict 22 x 14 x 9-inch
(56 x 36 x 23 cm) limit determine whether the system flags you. "
(the maxlite 5 is 55x40x20, 4cm too wide, ... and 55+40+20=115. So, crap.)
-> return eligible until 26Feb.
(Plink, in case, is 92x29x?? so that also loses)
* hx work
* Dutch -- short session because waiting for delivery. will fill in later maybe
* ~ 2h researching new European carry-on sizes
* ~ 1h update checklists.done
* 25m guitar: Desolation Row, Bad Guys, River, I think something else in there too
@ Germany and Denmark Just Fired Microsoft: 15 Million Euros Saved | by Can Artuc