The Mandelbear's Musings

Somewhat eventful week, and I see that I didn't get it posted yesterday. Grumph. And today is a busy one, so this will be worked on only in the interstices.

This was our first week of school for both of N's kids, and in particular of homeschooling for j. N and I are taking turns, with N on Tuesday and Thursday, and me on Monday and Wednesday (when C has a caregiver in, although it's a little more hectic right now because we're between caregivers). Friday is for catch-up and projects. J also got the first weekly call from his teacher, where we were able to determine that we have a lot more freedom to choose which activities (e.g. science experiments) we actually do. It's still a bit of a scramble.

This weekend (ok, last weekend -- I'm finishing this up on Tuesday at this point) one of our neighbors, Dean, threw a huge party. He apparently does this every year for his birthday. He's 67, and has been building his house and "landscaping" his property since sometime in the '70s. It's awesome. "Landscaping" in quotes because landscaping doesn't normally include secret tunnels, grottos, and water slides. I only found out about it because I was standing behind him in line at the grocery store. Fairly large amount of music. He's a fiddler! We have a lot of songs that could use fiddle. He also repairs pianos.

The hash I made of "Wheelin'" on Saturday afternoon prompted me to finally reprint the LgF songbook -- two-sided, using my new style definitions. Worked great. There are still a few glitches, but on the whole it's a big improvement.

I made fudgies for the party. Recipe in the notes.

We hired a new caregiver for Colleen. As soon as we saw her purple hair we knew she was going to be a good fit. She'll start on the 25th, after giving two weeks' notice at her previous job.

Notes & links:

0903Su
  * up 5:10; W=108.4; 
  * go over to g's room and collect catfood cans:  Cricket doesn't eat wet food anymore
    With what I got yesterday and the nearly full box already in the house, we have plenty
  * 15min:  used 5 and 6 foot wire shelves (from headboard) in bathroom.
    4' is too long for that spot.  Should have ordered 2's and 3's for the 5' closets
  * Took sorted art box and a box of banker's boxen down to garage.  Back with shelving.
    longish explore in the back of the garage; found some 33" kitchen shelves from RE;
    installed them in the hall.  Much narrower than I would have liked, but ok for now.
  * out to pick up a couple of prescriptions for C; also got cooking wine, mushrooms,
    English muffins, radishes, (Country Store) kibble (found large bag).
    % flash on how much Clea would have liked the radish greens.
  : Drill arrived.  Unfortunately it's not the one I ordered - I ordered a P271, and got a
    P277, which is heavier and doesn't have a level.  :P
  $ 25 Mine! : a comics collection to benefit Planned Parenthood Kickstarter (ysabetwordsmith)

0904Mo
  * up 7am; ; 
  ~ 8am wake N if not already up - kids on 9am ferry
  @ Behold the amazing poetry-generating machine! (amaebi)
  * school:  copy materials lists; print schedule
    -> need sharable location where N, j, and I can keep school-related documents (like
       scans and lab notebooks).  Google docs?
    -> and a place where I can put teaching materials for the programming course.  That's
       likely to be useful elsewhere, so something under s.s.net
    -> reading material should be on nova; i.e. get nova/mm working.
    -> j's computer projects directory probably wants to be separate, and of course under
       git control.
  @ Hello, World Page!
  * j: math, science.  Both going a lot slower than they need to.  More prep needed.
    Still winging it, esp. on CS.
  ~ get Colleen's Express Scripts online account set up so that I can manage her drugs
    She actually had one, with her email address as username, but she had either forgotten
    her password or never set it up.
  : Bronx got himself locked in my closet.  Might have been me when I was looking for a
    place to put the over-the-door hanger set.  Or somebody left it open.  Unclear.
  % got sleepy and headed for bed at 10;  took naproxen for QL pain
  * down 11ish

0905Tu
  * up 6:30; ;
  % still have considerable lower-back pain.  Took naproxen, using heating pad
  & take g to school -- she thought it started tomorrow.
    -> There is, apparently, a Whidbey High School.  We needed South Whidbey High School.
       got it straightened out using OnStar, but feeling stupid.
  * 9:30am NASA and Iconic Museum Honor Voyager Spacecraft 40th Anniversary | NASA
    Caught most of it; some with N and j
  @ Voyager - Downloads
  @ Minus Ten and Counting: Songs of the Space Age links to youtube for all songs
    Minus Ten and Counting 18 - Voyager - YouTube
  * Diana Gallagher - Voyager
  & updated LinkedIn preferences - hopefully will get fewer job offers now.
  @ Making brand terrorists out of fans: Huawei's worst-of-breed service recovery
    | Eli Goldberg | Pulse | LinkedIn
  * water (front garden).  Pull hemlocks and other weeds from septic mound.  Ugh.
  & email to [email protected] (address found on another negative review of phone app)
    " Hi -- I found your email in a reply to another one-star review (
      https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gm.chevrolet.nomad.ownership&reviewId=Z3A6QU9xcFRPR0NDUlFGeVBycDMzZHViOXBTM2FMMjNtZTBCRXRfQURVSDdJRGNjZUpNd3BMbkVBSXRZTnVGa0g0NGUxUFdmVGtZWDNWQ1BVcGxkdjNZYXc
      ) of your execrable myChevrolet app; this review reports the same problem, incorrect
      mi/KWh, that mine does and that I have been trying to get fixed -- or even looked at
      -- for MONTHS. 
      See case #76103268, and while you're at it look at case #76246594, which concerns the
      inability of the web server to connect with the car.  I would think these might be
      related. 
      Yours is some of the worst customer service I've ever encountered.
      You can call me at 408-896-6133, but please email me as well, since I have never
      received any of the promised callbacks on this matter. "
  @ ysabetwordsmith | Poetry Fishbowl Open!
  @ RIP: Adblock Plus q(Don Marti)
  @ Textbook for Electrical Engineering & Electronics
  @ Propositional calculus - Wikipedia
    Boolean algebra - Wikipedia
    Mathematical logic - Wikipedia
  * Shelves in my desk corner.  Cut down a 56" hanger rail to 40" (the 16" piece will go
    into the laundry room); 16" and 12" wire shelves, 10" wood just above head level.
  * 15min: 16" hanger strip in laundry room for swiffer and broom.  vacuum stands on floor

0906We
  * up 6:03; W=197;
  : g left for the bus ~6:40.
  : first call with j's MBTP teacher (MBTP = Moving Beyond the Page = non-math)
    we've been trying to do too much, especially in science.
  $ 15 for "Revontulet" by Ysabetwordsmith
  @ Bright Light Treatment and Fluoxetine for Nonseasonal Depression - JAMA Network
    (jesse_the_k)
  * Interview for caregiver - Carol H. -> hired
    -> when we saw that she had purple hair N and I figured she would be a good fit,
       though that's not the only reason.
    -> She will be referred to as C', to distinguish her from Colleen.  We had to go
       to double-prime on the last one, G" -- our previous caregiver/house cleaner had
       been G'.  G''s daughter was g'.  After double-prime I'll have to go to subscripts.
  % 6:20 sleepy

0907Th
  * up 6:30; W=198; 
  * 2pm Colleen - Dentist MOVED: 11511 NE 195th St., Suite 104, Bothell WA 98011
    -> really limited parking, competing with a Subway.
    -> lunch at the Beardsley Public House - brew pub in Beardsley Village on the other
       side of 405.  Sausage, pate, and pickled veggies.  Yum.
  & found the Grateful Dead channel on Sirius, so there's something I can
    stand to listen to in the car
  @ mod_musicindex

0908Fr
  * up 6:05; W=199; shower
  : 7:36am thunder, followed by rain.
  @ Math Worksheets at Math-Drills.com
  @ Free Fonts! Legit Free & Quality » Font Squirrel (jesse_the_k)
  : looked up public transit to Orycon.  It's in Jantzen Beach, so getting there from the
    train station is nontrivial: two transfers via MAX.  Train is $60-90; plane is 200.
    There is, however, an Amtrak station in Everett
  @ Wabash Cannonball
    (current earworm, due to looking up train schedules.  Might want to learn that, and
    work up a LgF arrangement.)  "Fire in the Sky" scans to it.  I'm afraid.
  & cleanup.  Good excuse to start the laundry
  : Trying putting kittens in a crate to see if that works to get them to settle down at
    night.  Not so far.
  * Went out to fetch C's scooter battery for charging;
    : saw what looked like a couple of deer bounding down the hill.  Possibly (doe)
      Elizabeth and (fawn) Danso
  * down 10:36ish
  
0909Sa
  * Up 6am; W=199;
  @ Equifax Security Breach Is A Complete Disaster... And Will Almost Certainly Get Worse
    | Techdirt (Terminal stupidity [The Mad Filkentist])
  * if kittens meowing, let them out
  @ FDA, Homeland Security Issue First Ever Recall, Warnings About Flimsy Pacemaker
    Security | Techdirt
    A close reading of Equifax’s statement about its data breach.
    Will Merely Checking to See Whether You Were a Victim of the Equifax Hack Waive Your
    Right to Sue? 
  ~ 7:30 wake N.
  @ The solution to the Voynich manuscript | Nicholas Gibbs (ysabetwordsmith)
  * 9am Bronx and Brooklyn at SWAC
  @ In Memoriam: Jerry Pournelle - SFWA
    RIP, Jerry Pournelle – Whatever
    Passings…. – Chaos Manor – Jerry Pournelle
    Jerry Pournelle - Wikipedia
    RIP Jerry Pournelle, the first author to write a novel on a computer - The Verge
  * Garage - looking for the bin labeled "fleece blankets"; found it easily but got
    sidetracked as well.
    % every time I go there I get overwhelmed.
  # my immediate response to anyone saying "It's okay" is "No it's not."  Sometimes I
    manage to suppress it, but not always.
  @ How to index and search a large collection of files on hard drives - f(Filker)
  * check out neighborhood party at Dean's on Middle.
    -> wow.  The place is huge, both house and grounds -- guy's been there since the 60s
       or 70s and done most or all of the building himself.
    -> hung out with a couple of other musicians; made absolute hash of Wheelin' but
       pretty much nailed WItC.  Need to bring guitar and book this evening.
    -> gStrings phone app (successor to Waves, which I had purchased) is a win.
  * 15min: brought up C's Dickens Faire hats (purple bowler, purple top, green top)
  * 6ish over to the party with G and N; brought Flame and the songbook.  left ~9; left
    Flame and the book there.   *really* need to get the songbook organized.  Tomorrow
    bring Rise Up Singing.
  * Broke out the Blue Label for G; C wanted a taste, too, which is fairly rare for her.
  : spent over an hour trying to track down Bronx.  Failed.
  * down sometime after midnight
  
0910Su
  * up 3:30ish; ;
    looked for Bronx for a while.  Couldn't get back to sleep
    -> 6:10 checked in N's room.  Apparently he had curled up to sleep somewhere in there
       and never bothered Cricket, so N didn't notice he was there.
  : 7:25 Ticia asleep on the bed, Brooklyn on the cat tree, and Bronx on top of a box
  % very glad Mom isn't living in Florida anymore.  Irma is expected to hit Naples soon.
  * G will do kid pickup; they'll be on the ferry that leaves 10am and arrives 10:15ish
  * bring Rise Up Singing to the party; try to get a good set of lyrics printed.
  * printed LgF songbook.  Some glitches -- several songs should have been marked short
    Ought to automate that, using pdfinfo.  Also, the individual pdfs don't have cover
    pages, but that's probably because they need to be rebuilt.  Hmm.  No.
    Probably broken/missing zongbook.sty.  In steve/Lyrics long songs are tagged [L];
    there may be a global option one can set in zongbook or zingers
  * fudgies;				(double batch) - takes ~1h
      2c     powdered sugar		4c	       - opt: 50% powdered milk
    3/8c     cocoa powder		3/4c
    1/4c     butter			1/2c (2 sticks)
    2 1/4tsp vanilla extract		4 1/2tsp
    3/4c     rolled oats		1 1/2c
      1c     peanut butter		2c
    1/4c     grated white cheese	1/2c
    Combine dry ingredients; add {,peanut} butter, plus a little milk if necessary.
  * Party.  Not nearly as many people as yesterday; we left 5ish.  Lots of good singing,
    though, mostly with the mother of one of g's friends from school.  Colleen bored until
    she got into a cooking discussion with Dean. 
    -> I need to post the fudgie recipe.
  * call Mom.  We're both glad she's not living in FL right now.
    Should try to get out there somewhere near her birthday.
    <- she called twice and I didn't get a ring.