The Mandelbear's Musings

Morticia and Cricket have been fighting all week. Ticia is acting scared and skittish, and still isn't eating much. (OTOH she doesn't seem to be starving herself, so I'm not excessively worried.) She continues to sleep with us, though she seems a little shy of people reaching down to pet her.

Went out with Naomi on Sunday (i.e. a week ago) to look at tools and hardwood. Rockler also has CNC mills and laser cutters, in the $5K range. That said, there are some fairly inexpensive kits out there.

Went out for dinner with Colleen Saturday (i.e. yesterday) -- Anthony's in Alderwood Mall. Their menu has acquired quite a lot of variety since the last time we went there.

Did a lot of puttering around the house. The downstairs washer is broken; symptoms indicate the drive belt. Fortunately, the upstairs washer is fast and efficient.

Lots of links in the notes, on a wide range of subjects.

1115Su
  * up 5ish; W=196.6; dishes, laundry
  @ Decoding Daesh: Why is the new name for ISIS so hard to understand? f(Jean Rosser et. al.) 
  @ Home | Seattle Attic: a feminist,
    woman-centered, trans- and queer- inclusive space for tinkerers, makers, crafters and
    hackers of all genders.  Their blog is on DW.
  @ ThreeUp v2 3D Printer Kit 7" x 7" x 8.25" i3 Build Dimensions 50 Micron 1.75mm PLA
    ABS Nylon 5* reviews.  $350!!  There are related kits even lower.  Heated bed $50
    more and worth it for printing with other than PLA.  Looks too flimsy for a mill,
    though. 
  @ HIC Reprap Prusa I3 Clear Frame Full 3d Printer Kit with LCD Screen Gt2 Mk8
    $359, looks a little more rugged if we want to turn it into a mill. 
  * Went to the garage to look for more tools.  Hopeless for now, but there's a way
    forward.  If we move the mattresses (who knows where?) we could move a set of shelves.
    The ladder, on the floor, could go outside.  There are at least two boxes of books,
    and some of what's in the middle is three boxes to be shredded.  Still pretty bad,
    though.
  * Out with N for wood, carving tools (Rockler), hot fudge sundaes (B-R), and last minute
    groceries (QFC).

1116MKo
  * up 5:45ish; W=194.4; laundry, ..., dishes
  @ The Joy of Tech comic... When the music dies... Vive la Paris
  : the cats have been fighting again.  Not Morticia and Cricket are giving each other the
    beady eyeball between my desk (T)and the klik-klak.  Both of them insist on using the
    space between Nova (on the shelf) and its monitor (on the desk) as a passageway; I
    tried moving Nova back but there's still enough room for a cat to squeeze past. so
    they do.  Need to find something for that gap.
    Could maybe shove Nova all the way back; that would only leave the space under the
    left side of the monitor.

1117Tu
  * up 5:30ish; W=195.2; ...laundry
  * leave 1:30ish; Felicity is parked at Minor and John
    -> arrived at 2pm; next time allow 45min instead of 90.
  * 3pm Anita Brown
  * on return, pick up N from work
    -> Dinner at Roti, an Indian place on Queen Anne Ave.

1118We
  * up 5:30; W=196; laundry, dishes
  
1119Th
  * up 5:30; W=196; dishes, ..., laundry
  * made Conflikt hotel reservation
  x 11:30 Colleen UNW -> let's cancel this, since it was changed Saturday
  @ haikujaguar asks about hot alcoholic drinks ->
    " Subject: Yes
        Glögg is a
      Scandinavian Christmas drink. The recipes vary widely, but all of them
      use either red wine or port as a base with the addition of mulling
      spices, sugar and usually other liquors such as brandy or vodka. It's
      great to get you through the cold winter season!
        Bumbo (also known as bombo
      or bumboo) is a drink made from rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg.
      Cinnamon is sometimes substituted for or added to the nutmeg. Modern
      bumbo is often made with dark rum, citrus juice, Grenadine, and nutmeg. A
      related drink is the Traitor, made with orange juice, rum, honey and
      nutmeg, mixed and heated. Bumbo was popular in the Caribbean during the
      era of piracy, largely because it tasted better than Royal Navy grog.
	I'm rather fond of Hot buttered rum"
  * Walk:  just to the plaza just south of Mercer, so basically around 2 blocks.
    But I haven't taken a walk at lunchtime for ages.
  % feeling a little shaky.  Not sure why. ... moving slowly
  % nose very congested.  I'll do a second round of neti before bed.  Hate this.

1120Fr
  * Up 5:05; W=196; dishes, ..., laundry
  @ ISoSLD 2015 - Amy's Randomness:  International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is November 21, 2015
  * ordered backpack from REI.
  * some work done, but too many meetings to get it finished.
  : phone upgraded to 5.1.1; installed goddamn WildTangent.  Can be uninstalled.  Maybe.
    It's called "Games"; I only recognized it by the logo.  Last time I had a Windows
    machine infected with it I had to reinstall from scratch.
  * transfered money from BECU checking to the household account for H (That's for
    Housekeeper, since G is seriously overloaded, and so is g)
  * Ticia is once again curled up on my desk.  She makes an excellent villain's cat.
  : H apparently took C's pants downstairs to wash, probably with other stuff.  That, or
    they're in with N's.  I'll have to hide them better next time.
  : My Samsung tablet isn't charging.  (Colleen's is fine) Leaving it plugged in overnight

1121Sa
  * up 6am; W=196; shower, ..., laundry
  * Tablet still not turning on; swapped cords.
  * used a small Amazon box to block the cat passage between Nova and its monitor.  Ugly,
    but it seems to work.  I'd prefer to find something that actually has a reason to be
    there.  Went through the rolltop card box; could work but has no reason to be there.
  % I have the sun in my eyes.  What's that thing doing in Seattle in wintertime?  OTOH it
    probably makes a pretty effective SAD light.
  * 15min: looking on the floor for my missing ORCA card.  Didn't find it, but did find a
    stainless steel card case and the missing uSD cards.  Moved those to RAM&Flash box.
  : Went down to check on downstairs laundry.  Washer not working.  :P  Given how old it
    is, this is not really surprising, but it's highly annoying and one more expense we
    don't need.  Grump.  Water and drain pump both working; drum doesn't turn.
  * read the CiviCRM user guide
    Looks potentially useful, but based on PHP and integrated with Drupal, Joomla, or
    Wordpress.  All of which are also PHP-based.  Although, if I'm going to be hosted on
    DH, that's what they have.  (There's also fastcgi, though.)
  % 1:30 having trouble motivating myself to do anything.  I will do laundry.
    Drained the load downstairs -- fortunately, that worked -- and started it upstairs on
    a fast cycle.  Wash, but no soap because it already had plenty.  Glad of a backup.
  * 15min:  puttering.  Bringing Rolly upstairs, restacking canned cat food, etc.  LR
    cleanup. 
  * 15min:  maintainance in wibnif - 10 items done (out of 177)
  * Pay bills: Amex (past due :P)
  * drive and/or dinner with Colleen.  Preferably and.
    Anthony's, in Alderwood Mall.  So, "and".
  ~  a variety of catfood (G); fish oil ($A)