Done Since 2020-09-27

Apart from some welcome schadenfreude, it hasn't been a particularly good week.

Mom... I think I've mentioned that she has colon cancer. I spoke to her yesterday, after a call from my brother. I feel bad about not calling often enough; it's way too easy for this phone-phobic bear to let that slip. But she's not doing well. Her 100th birthday is December 28th, and she's not likely to live that long. We're all glad that she decided to have her big party last year.

There were only two days during the week when I got less than seven hours of sleep, and only one of those was under six; that's a lot more than my usual amount of sleep, and I'm not sure whether that's good or bad. A change in sleep patterns could be a sign of depression, but I'm not sure that applies when chronic depression is one's baseline. It feels like I've been more lethargic than usual lately. I spent most of Thursday afternoon and evening thinking it was Friday, and was rather surprised Friday morning when Colleen's caregiver came in around 11.

Colleen's exercises are making her noticeably stronger, and her skin problems are improving. But she's not in "good" health by any means.

(Also) on the plus side, I've done a bit more programming than usual (it's not hard to do more than nothing), an upgrade (on Raven, to Ubuntu 20.04.1, and a keyboard replacement (on Cygnus). Tried to do a little writing, but it's hard to find motivation. Not nearly enough music. See motivation.

There are quite a few good links on Friday, some with pretty extensive quotes. A mixed bag; "I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There" by Indi Samarajiva is... yeah. That. As discouraging as the "Message from Members of the UK and Irish Publishing Community" in support of trans rights is encouraging.

( Notes & links, as usual )

River: Ethical Grook

From Grooks of Piet Hein

    AN ETHICAL GROOK
    I see
       and I hear
          and I speak no evil;
    I carry
       no malice
          within my breast;
    yet quite without
       wishing
          a man to the Devil
    one may be
       permitted
          to hope for the best.  -- Piet Hein

see also Grooks by Piet Hein There are several different collections on the web; most are probably pirated. Of course, given Hein's ancestry, that may be appropriate.