The Mandelbear's Musings

Not a particularly productive week, especially on the job front: one application, some email, a phone conversation, and setting up another phone conversation for this week. I have made some progress on software; the React web app I started last week is basically working, and just needs some CSS cleanup and refactoring before I won't be embarrassed to link to it. (At which point I'll have to figure out just how to deploy it, but that's another matter.)

The React app is partly aimed at adding a marketable skill to my repertoire, and partly at giving me something (a related phone app, using React Native) that I can potentially sell. Because I don't want to count on being able to land an actual job. It's no longer a given, at my age.

React is an extremely popular Javascript framework for building "single-page (web) applications", usually abbreviated SPAs. It's pretty good as such things go, and lets you use functional programming for almost everything. It gets confusing when you actually need to manage state; I eventually figured out that you have to put all your state in one place, in a top-level object that only gets created once.

It's also been pointed out (thanks, texxgadget!) that I should pull my entries tagged with curmudgeon together into a book. That's always been the plan, actually; the only question is how long it would take me to do it. See above about "not particularly productive". I have wasted a lot of time over the last year. (Some people are no doubt going to point out that I've also been recovering from a bad case of burnout; that's true but doesn't keep me from being annoyed at myself about it.)

An intermediate step in that program is mirroring my computer-related blogging to someplace other than DW; Stephen.Savitzky.net is the obvious choice. I've made a little progress with setup there, but I got stuck a week or two ago trying to find a templating engine I can stand. The other possibility is a GitHub blog.

I had a lot of fun yesterday going to the Whidbey Island Area Fair with C and N. N came up Friday night and stayed in what used to be her bedroom, where we've set up an airbed.

Other activity for the week included a trip to Coupeville so C could have labs done and her PICC line taken out, and two trips to the mainland: one for C's urology appointment, and the other for dentist appointments for both of us. The urology appointment is always a good excuse to visit the Mexican restaurant across the parking lot. They have salsa mole. C's labs showed that her kidneys are continuing to recover, but her potassium is low. We went home and ate bananas, potato chips, and baked potatoes.

Neither of us has anything scheduled for this week, so I may take an opportunity to go down and visit the other end of the caravan. Tuesday might work.

Notes & links:

0715Su
  * up 6:40; W=197.8, S=6.5;
  * selecting a questionaire turns out to be _very_ complicated; punt for now and show
    both of them.  The correct fix will be a router.
  * SL: milk, peanuts, miniature sweet peppers, boursin, apples, raspberries, yogurt,
    cottage cheese, juices, pretzels, potstickers
  * Sunday: chili
  % 11:50 drifty.  kind of dazed.
  * ^CB to insert a poetry-styled blockquote tag pair.

0716Mo
  * up 6:20; W=197.8, S=1.7+?5; some nice Ticia cuddle after waking up.
    % Woke up 4:30ish to find that I had gone to sleep without either my mask or my bite
      guard.  Interestingly, no tooth pain.  Maybe it _is_ jaw-clenching, as the dentist
      suggested last time (some is still there, though).  As if to make up for it, the
      hand pain is worse.
  @ Opinion: GitHub vs GitLab | Linux Journal
  @ JSX | XML-like syntax extension to ECMAScript
    jsx-transform: JSX
    transpiler. A standard and configurable implementation of JSX decoupled from React.
  @ React’s JSX vs Vue’s templates: a showdown on the front end
  @ Server-Side React Rendering | CSS-Tricks -> use for templating?
    -> probably not.  JSX is XHTML and produces weird output.
  @ bigpipe/react-jsx: Compile transform
    your JSX templates into a template engine that works client AND server side
  * applied at Articulate https://articulate.fyi/platform-engineering-job
    " Writing software and songs for decades, including OO code in macro assembler
      (also wrote that) and a CD called "Coffee, Computers, and Song! "
  * leave 11ish - V coming along.  Barely made it; long line but we got on the 12:30
  * 1:15 C UNW
    <- suprapubic catheter is the main agenda item.
    -> probably wouldn't reduce chance of infection; probably still leak out urethra.
  * Mazatlan with C and V afterwards.  Leftovers.  Probably not going to have much dinner
  : http://example.com works fine to connect with a portal that intercepts connections
    Almost everything else I use is on https now.
  : about ready to give up on gnome-panel completely -- insists on being on the right
    rather than the left.  Weird.  Dragging no longer works.  lxpanel?
  % no tooth pain.  Because I didn't use the bite guard last night?  I'll try that tonight
    and see.
  * pick up CPAP supplies at Island Drug in Clinton
    -> apparently they gave me a (second) medium nosepiece instead of a second small.
       will have to inform them, which probably means driving up to Oak Harbor again.
  & experiment with themes in Emacs.  deeper-blue, tango-blue, and wheatgrass seem to work
    well; the theme settings carry over to terminal mode, which is where I was having the
    most trouble.  I like the dark backgrounds; too bad it's hard to find those on the web
    @ Emacs Theme Gallery
    Retro green is really close to what I have on the terminal -- select with
    customize group Color Theme; expand Color Theme Selection -- but it clobbers syntax
    coloring.  Possibly too bright for normal use.

0717Tu
  * Up 5:30ish; W=199.8, S=6:21; 
  @ Pydio | Enterprise File Sharing & Sync Platform [LJ]
    FOSS Project Spotlight: Pydio Cells, an Enterprise-Focused File-Sharing Solution 
  : 'htmlize-buffer':     Convert BUFFER to HTML, preserving colors and decorations.
    -> i.e. exactly what's needed to do syntax coloring when editing raw HTML
    hniksic/emacs-htmlize: Convert buffer text and decorations to HTML.
  * downloaded lubuntu -- want to try it on blackbird.  Would also be good on the Dell
    netbooks, so I should get the 32-bit version too.  (Which I did, but ISTR that all of
    the 32-bit machines I'd want it on are probably running Ubuntu anyway.  May still be a
    good idea because they'd mostly be old versions.)
    -> as it turned out I already have it on a thumb drive.  So...
    -> AND on Blackbird!  What was I thinking?  Still a good idea for the 386's.  
  @ HTML5 UP! Responsive HTML5 and CSS3 Site Templates
    found via LXDE.org CC-licensed.  Made with
    ajlkn/responsive-tools: Make responsive design less annoying (link at bottom
  * 9:30 Huzail Ssemakula (Google) kaggle.com just bought by $G; hiring on hold ATM but
    only group in $G that's working remote.  Data science and ML.
    H will also get me in touch with a friend doing a startup in Vancouver
  @ Learn | Kaggle
    They run ML competitions -- that's probably not interesting.  Many interesting
    datasets, though.  Could be useful.  One can sign up with Google; because of their
    current ownership that shouldn't be a problem.
    -> free short courses in Python, ML, Pandas, data visualization, SQL, R, TensorFlow
  % Yike!  Starting to get some pain in my right wrist, just at the base of the thumb.
    Space bar and left mouse button.  Lay off trackball for a while?
  @ A Whirlwind Tour of Python [Book] free, online and pdf, 100pp (via Kaggle)
    The Jupyter Notebooks behind my OReilly report, "A Whirlwind Tour of Python"
    recent, so python 3.  Jupyter notebooks are pretty cool in their own right.
  @ Project Jupyter | Home  Notebooks can be converted
    into LaTeX.  I note a lack of eLisp and anything music related.  Well,
    Using Jupyter as a Music Notebook | Graham Wheeler's Random Forest ... okay then
    Creating Language Kernels for IPython - Andrew Gibiansky
    text in notebooks goes into markdown cells
    The Continued Existence of the Emacs IPython Notebook (EIN)
    The Emacs IPython Notebook — Emacs IPython Notebook 0.14.0 documentation
    Welcome to Hy’s documentation! — hy 0.14.0 documentation
    lisp running on top of python; accessible via EIN
  * 2ish start leaving.
  * 3pm C MAC clinic - labs and PICC removal
  * finally got a panel configured on the left on Cygnus.  The old one was apparently
    either a top panel, or imported from some older version.  In any case, it wouldn't
    recognize "left" as a position.  Weird.
  * 4ish labs came back with very low potassium.  May need IV, in which case it's
    unfortunate that she got the PICC out.
    -> sent home with instructions to drink gatorade.  Well, a serving of that has 1% of
       the MDR of K.  Potato chips have 12%.  Went to Payless and got (in addition to
       gatorade) bananas, baking potatoes, and potato chips.  Also grated cheddar, because
       we're out.
  & reading the Whirlwind Tour of Python (see above).  It's turned out to be a
    significantly better language than javascript
  @ ajlkn/responsive-tools: Make responsive design less annoying

0718We
  * Up 5:50; W=200.2, S=7.0; shower
  @ finally watched '66 Living Well, Dying Well | Reunion 2016 | Carleton College (clearing my tabs)
  % serious twinge in my right knee - better get a knee brace on it.
  * Bacon and eggs for breakfast
  @ Smooth Game Animations in React – Tech @ Quizlet – Medium
  * call Safeco re: N. -> yes, she's on the policy.  She's also co-owner of Rosie.
  * walk just half a block past Nautilus.  Had sense enough to take my cane.
  * guitar:  A little Travis-picking noodling mostly in Am
  * Singing:  Millennium's Dawn.  Nailed it.  N' thinks it needs a bridge somewhere.
  
0719Th Juneteenth
  % awake ~2am or earlier; not clear how much actual sleep I got
  * up 6ish; S=5:57?? ;
  % Tooth not hurting at all; thumb much worse
  @ Juneteenth - Wikipedia
    Very little visibility -- not noted on Google or Wikipedia
  @ Yellowstone Volcano latest: Grand Teton National Park closed due to fissure (ysabetwordsmith)
    Hidden Falls fissure may be dated | Local | jhnewsandguide.com
    " University of Utah professor Jamie Farrell, an expert on the Yellowstone hotspot,
      said that it’s baseless to link the crack to a dormant supervolcano some 40 miles
      away.  “It’s not unheard of that deformations from Yellowstone can affect things in
      the Tetons area,” Farrell said, “but it wouldn’t be as localized as what you’re
      seeing.”
  : 7:49 a couple of raccoons just went by.
  @ The Update Framework [LWN]
    " The Update Framework (TUF) helps developers maintain the security of a software
      update system, even against attackers that compromise the repository or signing
      keys. "
  * changed WM from openbox to xmonad on my lubuntu installs (raven and blackbird)
  @ Your Google Drive, now within your Emacs – Emacs Notes requires version 26;
    Ubuntu 18.04 is only at 25.
  @ Literate Programming: Empower Your Writing with Emacs Org-Mode - OfferZen
  * 11am get ready to leave for dentist.  Out of house by 11:30 
  * 1pm S&C Dentist
  * very tired; 2 car transfers is a lot.
  * Thursday: sandwich night -> leftovers
  : 7:01 power outage started.  Est. restoration time 9:30, meaning they don't really know
    It's kind of impressive how little it affects us.
    -> power came back at 8:07 -- easy to compute because the glitch knocked out Cygnus.
       I should remember to unplug when we have an outage.
  & phone call with N (after a text exchange that I didn't think was going through)
  % cat time, with both cats on the floor in their room.  (Which is how I think of it)
  @ Privacy Newsletter (via DDG)

0720Fr Apollo landing + 49
  * up 6:25ish; W=198.2, S=7:53
  % adjustments yesterday to the bite guard seem to have been mostly effective.
    a little pain still chewing almonds; may have to alternate days or something
  % thumb not hurting, no triggering.  We'll see how long that lasts.
    -> apparently until about i:20am, though it's barely noticable so far.
  @ stardreamer | Climate change, right before your eyes! hardiness zones moving
    north; very obvious comparing 1990 and 2015 maps side by side.
  @ The Opposite of Forecasting – Austin, TX's Weather, Sonified (siderea)
  @ PUBLIC BY DEFAULT - Venmo Stories of 2017
    Venmo: how the payment app exposes our private lives | The Guardian (thnidu)
    " Anyone can track a Venmo user’s purchase history and glean a detailed profile –
      including their drug deals, eating habits and arguments – because the payment app
      lacks default privacy protections. "
  * buy aspirin
  * pay auto loan -- due Sunday - so far can't log in -> broken in chrome
    (privacybadger? -> nope.  Possibly chrome's broken DNS)
  * wrote body text for Bigger on the Inside
    There are a lot of songs up there that need text.
  : Went out to pick up C's sertraline and found that the doctor had also ordered KCl and
    humura!  The latter was especially surpising; we normally order it from the mail-
    order pharmacy.  Weird.  But anyway.  (It's possible that when he checked on her
    potassium he saw that she was due for a dose.  Still odd that Rite Aid hadn't called)
  * renew handicap placards
  @ posted mdlbear | PSA: Venmo users check your privacy settings!
  * N arrived 9ish -- staying overnight and going to fair tomorrow

0721Sa
  * up 5:45; W=199.2, S=6:37; 
  * remember to post Journals/Music/s4s-austin-weather.html
  : my mood journal phone app (m is using it)
  * Just before heading out, I got my React app to work.  The pieces had been working, but
    every time I switched to another page the old one lost its state.  My solution,
    caching state in setState and retrieving it in the constructor, probably isn't the
    best one, but it works.
  * 11ish head out for Fair.  N drove out; I drove back.  About what I figured.
    It was a lot of fun.  Ran into V while sitting in the food court.
  % my right knee has been feeling unstable again.  And my left ankle gave me a few
    twinges.  Probably time for braces, but the one I used two days ago on my knee left a
    lot of irritation.  I'm pretty sure I took meloxicam this morning, so that's out too.
  @ HOW TO rebuild your life after breakdown[pdf] 
  * Saturday: baked chicken -> leftovers
  * remind N to get gas
  % I have no idea where I put my glasses.
    -> oddly, they were lurking _behind_ my laptop.
  : apparently Medium can't really distinguish between signing _up_ and signing _in_, even
    if you use the same email address, if you're using different browsers.

menu 0715-0722
  * Sunday: chili
  ~ Monday: very light because of lunch at Mazatlan  x leftover chili, salad
  ~ Tuesday: baked potatoes w\ cheese--high K  x cheese board (peppers, boursin, apple)
  * Wednesday: pesto chicken; cauliflower tabouli (C and V)
  * Thursday: sandwich night -> leftovers
  * Friday: hamburgers -> chili mac
  * Saturday: baked chicken -> leftovers