Done Since 2026-04-12

[mdlbear]

Last week had some high points: reading the draft of N's next book, and a nice zoom reunion-ish thing. (I initially thought there were two of those, but the other was last Saturday.) Also sent several emails and made two phone calls following up (well, one and a half -- I abandoned the second after looking in my spam folder and finding the reply I was hoping for), paid our property tax, and got my US taxes done to the point where I could have filed for an extension, but determined that I didn't need to because I'm living overseas.

I'm supposed to celebrate accomplishments, even small ones. Right?

On the other hand, I only took five walks (skipping one because of pain and the other because of timing) and two short guitar-practice sessions. I can try to blame the latter on hand issues, but really (on the gripping hands?) it's mostly just laziness.

I am not at all happy with my body. See above under pain, and here under diclofenac. I'm not all that old, am I? Not happy with my brain, either -- see next paragraph.

Getting back to the zoom reunion-ish thing(s): there was a 65th reunion of my high school class last year; it was in Norwalk, Connecticut on the day after Thanksgiving, and I didn't go. Which was painful, because I'd ghosted the 50th for reasons I still don't entirely understand, although suffering from burnout may have had something to do with it and makes a convenient shorthand excuse. Anyway, enough people complained about not being to go for some other classmates of mine to organize a zoom version, which was last night. It was pretty good, although I lost the thread of what I was about to say at one point, resulting in an uncomfortable pause. See above about brain.

The reunion-ish thing Saturday didn't get called out last week, so I'll mention it here. Seems every year Carleton College has a "Coffee With Carls" event, and this year they had a virtual version for people who couldn't make it to one of the cities where versions of it were hosted. (There must be a briefer and less awkward way to phrase that.) Not bad, but it got cut short by a power outage before I had a chance to speak. Maybe next year.

Huge congratulations to this year's Filk Hall of Fame inductees: Margaret Davis, Tim Griffin, and Amy McNally! 🎉

Linkies: The system prompt for Meta’s AI model got leaked in 2 hours. The two Greatest Software Systems ever built: NASA Shuttle vs TeX.

And finally, Born on [April 15] in 1921, the Singer-Songwriter Behind the Most Famous No. 1 Hit Novelty Song of the 1950s. See Wednesday for spoiler.

Notes & links:
0411Sa continued
  : N brought back, among other things, some Turkish coffee and an ibrik.
  
0412Su
  * walk:  08:32 Erasmusweg 1.2km, 14hp, 31min, 2200st
  @ Grow Your Own Services – A beginner's guide to
    creating your own little corner of the Internet (via Fedi.Tips IIRC)
  % hands, especially the left, stiff.  L has some triggers.  -> diclofenac, ibuprofen
    How to Soothe Trigger Finger With Easy Remedies
  % spent about an hour upstairs with the kitties, just hanging out, doing breathing
    exercises, and meditating (or something meditation-adjacent, anyway).  I should do
    that more often.  At least every Sunday, because no deliveries on Sundays.
  @ 600 women’s health leaders warn social media platforms are censoring vital
    information | The Independent
    " If a company like Hertility, built on peer-reviewed science and clinical evidence,
      can be censored while misinformation spreads freely, then the system designed to
      protect people is clearly failing them. "
  * hx work session
    * Dutch
    @ Framework | Framework [Next Gen] Event is live on April 21 (blog post)
    % continuing to dither over Travelpro vs. Antler backpack.
  % 22:04 L hand considerably improved
  * go upstairs at 22 uhr.  -shower-  Wash socks

0413Mo
  @ Yom HaShoah
  : Note that putting a damp towel into the sock drawer is a bad idea.  Switch to a dry
    one after washing and toweling the csocks
  * walk:  7:36 Erasmusweg 1.2km, 16hp, 26mm, 31min, 2100st
  & catch up on yesterday's sleep and walk logging.
  @ How to Soothe Trigger Finger With Easy Remedies
  % now my L shoulder hurts.  -> 17:21 ibuprofen  -> 20:30 still hurts
  @ You Can’t Delete the Internet. Anthropic Just Learned That. | The Latency Gambler
  @ Pluralistic: Process knowledge (08 Apr 2026) - Cory Doctorow
    " I've come to believe that process knowledge is the most undervalued part of our
      society. So undervalued that business geniuses like Elon Musk think you can fire
      skilled lifers from key government agencies and simply hire new ones if turns out
      you cut too deep. "
  @ Reticulum Network Network Stack 1.0.4 documentation
    Zen of Reticulum
    I2P - The Invisible Internet Project | EN
  @ Booking.com warns customers of hack that exposed their data | Guardian
  @ The US small town coffee shop that created a viral drink: ‘I still don’t understand
    how it went so far’ | Coffee | The Guardian Northfield, MN
  * hx work session
    & re-send email to eConelo re: Scarlett spare charger
    & re-send email to scootplaza re getting Lizzy back
    ~ file for extension (US)
      If you live and your main place of business is outside the United States, you’re
      allowed two extra months (usually until June 15) to file your return and pay any tax
      due. You can do this without requesting an extension if you’re a U.S. citizen or
      resident alien.
      -> can ask for another 4 months (to Oct 15) but probably not necessary
    * guitar:  noodling, mostly strum
    * Dutch
  * SL:  aveeno lotion for legs, mixed nuts

0414Tu
  * 7:52 Erasmusweg: 1.2km, 17hp, 24mm, 23min, 2100st,
  @ Meta’s AI model, with a budget of the entire country’s GDP (their system prompt got
    leaked in 2 hours) | by Ship X/ TechX | Apr, 2026 | Medium
    System Prompt of Meta Muse Spark from Metal Superintelligence Lab
    https://ai.meta.com/blog/introducing-muse-spark-msl/ cloned
    How I Extracted the Full Muse Spark System Prompt on Launch Day
    elder-plinius/CL4R1T4S: LEAKED SYSTEM PROMPTS FOR CHATGPT, GEMINI, GROK, CLAUDE,
    PERPLEXITY, CURSOR, DEVIN, REPLIT, AND MORE! - AI SYSTEMS TRANSPARENCY FOR ALL!
  @ LinkedIn Has Been Reading Your Browser for Years, and Nobody Noticed | David Lee
    chrome only -- skips firefox.  But SHEESH!
  * hx work session
    * pay Den Haag municipal tax (gemeentelijke belasting)
    : N read me her favorite chapter, which she just finished editing, from her next book
      % There were a few spots where I happy-cried.  It's going to be amazing
    * Dutch
  * load drugs
  ~ 22:15 go upstairs at 22 uhr.  shower Wash socks

0415We
  ~ US Income Tax Deadline --> June 15 because living outside US
  * walk: 8:05 Erasmusweg: 1.2km, 18hp, 34mm, 26min, 2100st
  @ Two Greatest Software Systems: NASA Shuttle vs TeX | IT Chronicles
  @ Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer – WordPress plugin | WordPress.org
    [Github: A WordPress plugin designed to combat link rot]
  @ W3C Link Checker
  % feeling kind of strung out -- a little like having had too much coffee, except that I
    only had my usual 2 cups this morning.  Damned if I know.
  * SL:  folic acid, B12
  @ Born on This Day in 1921, the Singer-Songwriter Behind the Most Famous No. 1 Hit
    Novelty Song of the 1950s - American Songwriter tl;dr: Purple People Eater
  @ Wit, unker, git: The lost medieval pronouns of English intimacy - BBC Future 
  * hx work session
    & investigate link fixers.  Wordpress plugin (see above) will work for GS
      W3C Link Checker finds broken links
        in any page or whole site, but doesn't do any fixing.
      https://wordpress.org/plugins/internet-archive-wayback-machine-link-fixer
    * Dutch
    * guitar:  Cap and Bells
    & update the Mint install on Lilac (I usually run LMDE on it).  The setup is very
      incomplete at this point -- Honu and Mathilda have not been installed yet.
  * 22: take out PMD bin

0416Th
  * walk:  7:45ish? DSB801: .85km, 9hp, 20mm, 1900st
  % L side pain - none in the morning, but started after my walk  -> 09:25 heat
  @ Europe’s Tech Breakup with the US Isn’t Going Great | by Burk | Apr, 2026
  * take in PMD bin
  % 13:30 starting to wonder whether 950ml (2 mugs) of coffee is too much for me these days
  @ Adorable Waterspout Tornado Tries to Scare Seattleites Filing Taxes Under Fascism 
  * hx work session
    * Dutch
    * Lizzy picked up 11 maart: Scootplaza B.V.  033-4555444 info@scootplaza.nl
      -> https://www.scootplaza.nl/service/  -> sent via contact form:
      " Waar is onze scootmobiel?  Factuur 202600706
        You picked up our Relync R2 on 11 maart and it has not yet been returned.  See
        subject for invoice number.  Using a different email address in case you are
        having trouble sending to it -- previous messages were sent from
        steve@savitzky.net "
    * Scarlett returned 12 maart: info@totaalthuiszorg.nl 085-4002525
      -> 15:39 linked unSable:firefox to WhatsApp in Dutch phone.  We'll see if it works
      " Hello.  Please excuse the use of English; I'm using whatsapp because it can
        translate.  You recently repaired our  Econelo EV5 -- it was returned to us on 12
        march.  Unfortunately the charger was not with the vehicle.  It had been sitting
        on the back seat.  If you can find it, please ship it to us.  If not, we will want
        to order a new one.  Our address is Stephen Savitzky and Naomi Rivkis,
        J.J. Slauerhoffplantsoen 18, 2548 ED Den Haag.  We would also like to get an
        owner's manual if one exists. "
    * ordered Travelpro Platinum® Elite Slim Backpack (40 x 30 x 15 cm) €186.99
    ~ skipped Eurofilk -- was reading N's new book.  Worth it.
    * ~90min:  reading.  Thinking about how to review it.
    * wash socks

0417Fr
  @ International Haiku Poetry Day - The Haiku Foundation
  * walk:  9:52 DSB804: .64km, 5hp, 23mm, 15min;  % pain and tiredness on the way back
  @ The Cockroach of Dinosaurs Likely Survived Extinction Because of Its Big Wet Eggs
  @ God sleeps in the minerals | Chamblissian gorgeous.  Skip the comments
  * hx work session
    * call re: Scarlett - 085-4002525  ~1500
      -> said to text that # with whatsapp, so did that, 15:15.  No response as of 1600
    * call re: Lizzy  033-4555444  -> abandoned call because I found email reply in spam
      " After conducting several inspections, we are currently in consultation with the
        manufacturer to find a suitable solution. "
      -> G suggests emailing them Monday afternoon requesting a new scooter
    : having trouble finding the info about parking
      -> in the filing cabinet, of course.  There's an email address.
      <- Fire off an email query over the weekend;
      <- call Monday afternoon if no response.
    * Dutch

0418Sa
  : m leaving at some ridiculous hour  -> the Bird has flown
  @ I Ate Lab-Grown Salmon. It Was Nothing Like I Expected. | by Thomas Smith
  & preregister on WhidbeyHealth portal, as suggested by text msg received 11:55 today
    -> meds impossible to update completely.  secondary insurance listed as blue cross.
  @ Europe’s Online Age Verification App Is Here | WIRED anonymous; app
  @ How Big Tech wrote secrecy into EU law to hide data centres’ environmental toll
  @ Burnout as experienced by autistic people: A systematic review - ScienceDirect
  * hx work session
    * RSVP Wally about NHS reunion, w\ time corrections that I should have sent earlier
      -> was wrong about Phoenix -- Arizona doesn't do DST.  Colorado Springs, OTOH, does
    * email Jerad
    @ Great Oxidation Event
      <- it appears that the GOE preceeded the evolution of chloroplasts, so it would have
      been entirely due to cyanobacteria, except perhaps at the very end
    * Dutch
    . email city about parking  -> draft written.
      <- run past N after j leaves
  * 19:00 (1pm EDT) NHS zoom reunion
  * 22:  shower, wash socks