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Members of the Grateful Dead keep passing on. That's a commentary of some sort.
Cool. I’m getting a free chair with a footstool for the library room!
The dogs woke me up a little before 7. Ugh, I want to go back to sleep. Whole lot of munching going on (dogs).
Hmm, I found a used washable rug that would be good for the library room.
I faked Oliver out this morning. I wanted him shut away while I brought the dogs in, so I opened the door to the basement. He took the bait. Now Lily and Zara ate in peace. I’ll let him up now.
Ugh. I dumped cereal (dry, thankfully) all over the floor. Luckily, the canine cleaning crew was on duty.
I had to explain to Gracie that I don’t play dog play and she should play with her sister. Eventually, she did. Then Bella sneezed and startled the both of them.
Showered. I’m really tired, but I need to get out. Got most of the groceries in. Crud, I don’t see the garlic and the onion. Must look again. Not there. It looks like I didn’t order the garlic, but the onion wasn’t there. I’ll have to stop at the local grocery store.
I’m back. I asked the nice guy at the car supply store if he could pop my windshield wiper back on, and in return, I’d buy windshield wiper fluid and a funnel. He did and I did. Then I popped into the grocery store and got an onion and garlic. Then I picked up the free chair with a footstool. The cushions need washing, but still, free. I left the chair in the car because I really needed to use the washroom. I’ll get it later or tomorrow morning.
Crap. The gym nearby has closed. I’ll need to look for another one.
Put a load of pajamas in the wash. Now I’m taking a nap. I’m giving up on my nap. The dogs have been restless. I seem to be getting a full-blown cold. I’m feeling too crappy to get anything done. I’m thinking of staying out sick tomorrow.
I tried a test transfer to my Schwab brokerage account, and it looks like it's working. I'll do $10000 at a time just in case something goes wrong. Once I have some money in my account, I'll transfer some to checking and they'll send me a debit card. I checked my address on the account. So, cool, it looks like I won't have to go over to Schwab to get set up.
I have pajamas in the dryer and a blanket in the washer. Once they're done, I'll go to sleep.
Cool. I’m getting a free chair with a footstool for the library room!
The dogs woke me up a little before 7. Ugh, I want to go back to sleep. Whole lot of munching going on (dogs).
Hmm, I found a used washable rug that would be good for the library room.
I faked Oliver out this morning. I wanted him shut away while I brought the dogs in, so I opened the door to the basement. He took the bait. Now Lily and Zara ate in peace. I’ll let him up now.
Ugh. I dumped cereal (dry, thankfully) all over the floor. Luckily, the canine cleaning crew was on duty.
I had to explain to Gracie that I don’t play dog play and she should play with her sister. Eventually, she did. Then Bella sneezed and startled the both of them.
Showered. I’m really tired, but I need to get out. Got most of the groceries in. Crud, I don’t see the garlic and the onion. Must look again. Not there. It looks like I didn’t order the garlic, but the onion wasn’t there. I’ll have to stop at the local grocery store.
I’m back. I asked the nice guy at the car supply store if he could pop my windshield wiper back on, and in return, I’d buy windshield wiper fluid and a funnel. He did and I did. Then I popped into the grocery store and got an onion and garlic. Then I picked up the free chair with a footstool. The cushions need washing, but still, free. I left the chair in the car because I really needed to use the washroom. I’ll get it later or tomorrow morning.
Crap. The gym nearby has closed. I’ll need to look for another one.
Put a load of pajamas in the wash. Now I’m taking a nap. I’m giving up on my nap. The dogs have been restless. I seem to be getting a full-blown cold. I’m feeling too crappy to get anything done. I’m thinking of staying out sick tomorrow.
I tried a test transfer to my Schwab brokerage account, and it looks like it's working. I'll do $10000 at a time just in case something goes wrong. Once I have some money in my account, I'll transfer some to checking and they'll send me a debit card. I checked my address on the account. So, cool, it looks like I won't have to go over to Schwab to get set up.
I have pajamas in the dryer and a blanket in the washer. Once they're done, I'll go to sleep.
I only just learned about this paper (note, opens a PDF). It was apparently published in The Annals of Improbable Research, but my introduction was via a link to a talk the author gave, here: https://youtu.be/yL_-1d9OSdk?si=YyldHEMEdFnW2uY7
I wonder how long it took the author to compose the paper.
I wonder how long it took the author to compose the paper.
I will write my 2025 Year in Review in a few days. But, first, let me catch up on what I’ve been doing.
I scurried around to get out of the house for my first trip of the year, which was late on the afternoon of New Year’s Day. I didn’t quite finish everything on my to-do list, alas, so I resolved to just ignore that I’d be returning to even greater chaos than usual. I had no issues getting to DCA. My flight on American up to BOS was delayed about a half hour, which was no big deal since I’d opted to stay at the Logan Airport Hilton that night. In the morning I took the Silver Line to South Station (which is still free from the airport) and got the newish train to New Bedford. I actually had to change trains in East Taunton, but it was just across the platform. When I arrived in New Bedford, I got a Lyft to my hotel. While it was not particularly far, the sidewalks hadn’t been cleared from snow a day or two before and my backpack was heavy.
I stayed Friday night at the New Bedford Harbor Hotel, which is a reasonably short walk to the Whaling Museum. The room was perfectly adequate, though the soundproofing could have been better. I had time for a short nap before walking over to the museum for the opening dinner (which is pricy, but good for meeting people). I found it interesting how many people hadn’t read a lot of literary classics before reading Moby Dick. (If I remember correctly, my gateway drug was Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year.) Most of the people at my table were from New York, but there was one guy who came all the way from Vancouver. Anyway, the speaker, Dr. Joe Roman of the University of Vermont, talked about the positive impact of various environmental laws on whale populations. Apparently, some countries (e.g. Japan) had expressed concerns that preserving whale populations would diminish the fish populations they relied on for food. His studies (which focused on whale poop) showed that actually the fish populations increased with the whale populations.
The hotel breakfast was pretty mediocre, with no hot food. But it was adequate and I was able to store my backpack overnight. The actual marathon started late in the morning on Saturday, with several people reading Excerpts. The official opening was at noon (8 bells!) with Regie Gibson, poet laureate of Massachusetts proclaiming “Call me Ishmael.”
I had been lucky and won the lottery for a ticket to the Seamen’s Bethel for Father Mapple’s sermon. I’d been in the building before (many years ago), but it was still amazing to see the sermon acted out. And, yes, everybody stood and sang “The Ribs and Terrors in the Whale.”
On my way out, I got a picture of Herman Melville’s pew.
The reading continued up on the third floor of the museum, which was very crowded. I later heard that approximately 3500 people attended some part of the marathon. (This was, by the way, the 30th Moby Dick Marathon in New Bedford. The first one ever was in Mystic, Connecticut, and I do need to get to that one some day.)
I’d also been lucky enough to get a seat in the theatre for Chapter 40, which is done as a play by a local theatre group. The song “Yankee Whalermen” is still stuck in my head.
The reading continued overnight in the theatre. Senator Ed Markey read via video. I had gotten a reading slot (reader #102) off the waiting list. The whole marathon is available on YouTube, but if you just want to hear me read, you can do so in the second (of three) videos starting a little after 2:45.
I listened to more reading for a while after I was done, but I also had to take breaks to obtain coffee. The previous time I’d gone, they sold snacks and drinks all night, but they didn’t this year. They did have coffee and tea available free for a while but ran out. I spent some time chit chatting with other attendees. I went back into the theatre and may have dozed off for a while. (After the marathon was over, I did go back and read the sections I had missed.) Eventually, they did start selling food again and also served free malasadas (Portuguese fried dough) which are really better if eaten still warm.
They shut down the theatre and people went back up to the third floor, but there were also several overflow rooms which were less crowded and, hence, more comfortable. The actor who read the final chapter was very good. The Epilogue is brief and was received with thunderous applause. They gave out bags to the hardy souls who had spent the whole day and night. There was a poster (which I declined, as it would be too awkward to carry home), but also a book of pictures, a bumper sticker, and some stickers.
Overall, this was an excellent weekend. I’d been to the Moby Dick Marathon before (in 2023) and I found this ran even more smoothly, despite the crowds. I still consider the book to be THE Great American Novel and find new things in it every time I read it (or hear it read). This experience is, in particular, a great way to appreciate Melville’s humor. For example, I know many people dread Cetology (the chapter describing whales, which is horribly inaccurate scientifically) but this was an audience that was able to laugh along with it.
I walked back to the hotel and retrieved my bag. I decided it was worth taking a Lyft to Providence to avoid having to either go all the way to Boston and back out by train (which would take over 3 hours) or to wait nearly 5 hours for the direct Peter Pan bus. I’ll write about that part of the trip in a separate post.
I scurried around to get out of the house for my first trip of the year, which was late on the afternoon of New Year’s Day. I didn’t quite finish everything on my to-do list, alas, so I resolved to just ignore that I’d be returning to even greater chaos than usual. I had no issues getting to DCA. My flight on American up to BOS was delayed about a half hour, which was no big deal since I’d opted to stay at the Logan Airport Hilton that night. In the morning I took the Silver Line to South Station (which is still free from the airport) and got the newish train to New Bedford. I actually had to change trains in East Taunton, but it was just across the platform. When I arrived in New Bedford, I got a Lyft to my hotel. While it was not particularly far, the sidewalks hadn’t been cleared from snow a day or two before and my backpack was heavy.
I stayed Friday night at the New Bedford Harbor Hotel, which is a reasonably short walk to the Whaling Museum. The room was perfectly adequate, though the soundproofing could have been better. I had time for a short nap before walking over to the museum for the opening dinner (which is pricy, but good for meeting people). I found it interesting how many people hadn’t read a lot of literary classics before reading Moby Dick. (If I remember correctly, my gateway drug was Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year.) Most of the people at my table were from New York, but there was one guy who came all the way from Vancouver. Anyway, the speaker, Dr. Joe Roman of the University of Vermont, talked about the positive impact of various environmental laws on whale populations. Apparently, some countries (e.g. Japan) had expressed concerns that preserving whale populations would diminish the fish populations they relied on for food. His studies (which focused on whale poop) showed that actually the fish populations increased with the whale populations.
The hotel breakfast was pretty mediocre, with no hot food. But it was adequate and I was able to store my backpack overnight. The actual marathon started late in the morning on Saturday, with several people reading Excerpts. The official opening was at noon (8 bells!) with Regie Gibson, poet laureate of Massachusetts proclaiming “Call me Ishmael.”
I had been lucky and won the lottery for a ticket to the Seamen’s Bethel for Father Mapple’s sermon. I’d been in the building before (many years ago), but it was still amazing to see the sermon acted out. And, yes, everybody stood and sang “The Ribs and Terrors in the Whale.”
On my way out, I got a picture of Herman Melville’s pew.
The reading continued up on the third floor of the museum, which was very crowded. I later heard that approximately 3500 people attended some part of the marathon. (This was, by the way, the 30th Moby Dick Marathon in New Bedford. The first one ever was in Mystic, Connecticut, and I do need to get to that one some day.)
I’d also been lucky enough to get a seat in the theatre for Chapter 40, which is done as a play by a local theatre group. The song “Yankee Whalermen” is still stuck in my head.
The reading continued overnight in the theatre. Senator Ed Markey read via video. I had gotten a reading slot (reader #102) off the waiting list. The whole marathon is available on YouTube, but if you just want to hear me read, you can do so in the second (of three) videos starting a little after 2:45.
I listened to more reading for a while after I was done, but I also had to take breaks to obtain coffee. The previous time I’d gone, they sold snacks and drinks all night, but they didn’t this year. They did have coffee and tea available free for a while but ran out. I spent some time chit chatting with other attendees. I went back into the theatre and may have dozed off for a while. (After the marathon was over, I did go back and read the sections I had missed.) Eventually, they did start selling food again and also served free malasadas (Portuguese fried dough) which are really better if eaten still warm.
They shut down the theatre and people went back up to the third floor, but there were also several overflow rooms which were less crowded and, hence, more comfortable. The actor who read the final chapter was very good. The Epilogue is brief and was received with thunderous applause. They gave out bags to the hardy souls who had spent the whole day and night. There was a poster (which I declined, as it would be too awkward to carry home), but also a book of pictures, a bumper sticker, and some stickers.
Overall, this was an excellent weekend. I’d been to the Moby Dick Marathon before (in 2023) and I found this ran even more smoothly, despite the crowds. I still consider the book to be THE Great American Novel and find new things in it every time I read it (or hear it read). This experience is, in particular, a great way to appreciate Melville’s humor. For example, I know many people dread Cetology (the chapter describing whales, which is horribly inaccurate scientifically) but this was an audience that was able to laugh along with it.
I walked back to the hotel and retrieved my bag. I decided it was worth taking a Lyft to Providence to avoid having to either go all the way to Boston and back out by train (which would take over 3 hours) or to wait nearly 5 hours for the direct Peter Pan bus. I’ll write about that part of the trip in a separate post.
On weekends I tend to do nothing much while the family life swirls around me; the girls come and go to sit with me in my basement (and use my phone), and I go upstairs for a while here and there. Today I used my rebounder for about 45 minutes; the girls were down here with me for some of that time looking at videos on my phone. After lunch all the girls went to Violet's Scout group meeting (taken by their father) to play kickball, so my daughter and I had some quiet time at home while they were gone. After they came back the older two went to a neighbour's to spend time with the two daughters who are about their age, while Aria watched Bluey, which I half watched while reading. Around 5 pm Aria went to her Scout meeting with her mother.
Now Violet and Eden are down here in the basement with me again, having a rollerskating party accompanied by Taylor Swift playing on my computer. If they haven't got bored and left before 7 pm, I will send them upstairs at that time as we have an agreement that 7 pm is the cutoff time for being down here with me. (After I wrote that their father came down to tell me he has to run to the store, and since my daughter and Aria aren't back yet I won't be able to send the girls upstairs if at 7 if neither of their parents is back yet.)
All three girls have had a habit of running across the room and flinging themselves onto my bed. I don't like it but I've been tolerating it, until this week. Suddenly the bed starting making a sort of clanking sound sometimes when I changed position while sitting on it or lying in it. I checked the slats as well as I could without dismantling the bed and they seemed fine, but yesterday evening it made an alarmingly loud noise so I got down onto the floor to peer under the bed and saw that there is a supporting leg right in the middle and it had somehow worked loose, was bent at an angle, and wasn't really supporting anything any more. I told my son in law, who came down with some tools and tried to tighten the bolt holding it in place, but it was so bent that the screw couldn't grip. He resorted to hammering the leg as straight as he could get it and tightening the bolt as much as he could and the bed is no longer making that clanking noise, but I don't entirely trust the leg to keep supporting the middle of the bed.
After I'd put the bed and bedding back together I had the idea to search online (on Amazon of course) for replacement supporting legs for beds and discovered that there are many types available. I found some that should work as extra support if we place one on each side of the existing damaged one, so I ordered a pair and they should be here tomorrow. I've been on beds before when they've collapsed and I don't really want to repeat the experience.
Now Violet and Eden are down here in the basement with me again, having a rollerskating party accompanied by Taylor Swift playing on my computer. If they haven't got bored and left before 7 pm, I will send them upstairs at that time as we have an agreement that 7 pm is the cutoff time for being down here with me. (After I wrote that their father came down to tell me he has to run to the store, and since my daughter and Aria aren't back yet I won't be able to send the girls upstairs if at 7 if neither of their parents is back yet.)
All three girls have had a habit of running across the room and flinging themselves onto my bed. I don't like it but I've been tolerating it, until this week. Suddenly the bed starting making a sort of clanking sound sometimes when I changed position while sitting on it or lying in it. I checked the slats as well as I could without dismantling the bed and they seemed fine, but yesterday evening it made an alarmingly loud noise so I got down onto the floor to peer under the bed and saw that there is a supporting leg right in the middle and it had somehow worked loose, was bent at an angle, and wasn't really supporting anything any more. I told my son in law, who came down with some tools and tried to tighten the bolt holding it in place, but it was so bent that the screw couldn't grip. He resorted to hammering the leg as straight as he could get it and tightening the bolt as much as he could and the bed is no longer making that clanking noise, but I don't entirely trust the leg to keep supporting the middle of the bed.
After I'd put the bed and bedding back together I had the idea to search online (on Amazon of course) for replacement supporting legs for beds and discovered that there are many types available. I found some that should work as extra support if we place one on each side of the existing damaged one, so I ordered a pair and they should be here tomorrow. I've been on beds before when they've collapsed and I don't really want to repeat the experience.
So hot that I can't sleep. I don't think this is a temperature, put my hand on my head though, and it's cooling so maybe a bit. Got up, wandered through the house, the cold is pleasant.
I hate the cold but not tonight.
Worried, haven't heard from Mum, had a very strong image of Dad yesterday or the day before; bright colours, it really looked like him. I can see it in my mind if I try at all. I'm just worried about Mum I guess. She hasn't contacted me in days, hasn't responded when I tried to contact her, but bro said he spoke to her the day before yesterday. So there's nothing wrong, but I am troubled.
Just learned that Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Ashcroft-Nowicki) died a few days back. Dolores was a pleasant and charming lady; I learned a lot from The Shining Paths, but never felt called to join her mystery school, The Servants of The Light because ... I don't know why really. Dolores, without pushing, was always ready to welcome me. We didn't know each other particularly well, but I remember her giving me one particular piece of advice; she told me never to despair, probably because I was one of those sensitive types who falls into a bleak every ten minutes. I got over it when things improved, a hopelessly fair weather despairer.
RIP Dolores/Daisy. May the shining paths be open for you right now.
I hate the cold but not tonight.
Worried, haven't heard from Mum, had a very strong image of Dad yesterday or the day before; bright colours, it really looked like him. I can see it in my mind if I try at all. I'm just worried about Mum I guess. She hasn't contacted me in days, hasn't responded when I tried to contact her, but bro said he spoke to her the day before yesterday. So there's nothing wrong, but I am troubled.
Just learned that Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Ashcroft-Nowicki) died a few days back. Dolores was a pleasant and charming lady; I learned a lot from The Shining Paths, but never felt called to join her mystery school, The Servants of The Light because ... I don't know why really. Dolores, without pushing, was always ready to welcome me. We didn't know each other particularly well, but I remember her giving me one particular piece of advice; she told me never to despair, probably because I was one of those sensitive types who falls into a bleak every ten minutes. I got over it when things improved, a hopelessly fair weather despairer.
RIP Dolores/Daisy. May the shining paths be open for you right now.
67 days until the vernal equinox
And I'm back with two more days of Horrormas after a bout with the stomach bug. Or something. I have no idea what.
This is basically Parodius but for Castlevaina.
Parodivania, in fact.
It’s equal parts remake and sequel to the Famicom version, which wasn’t released outside of Japan not due to Japaneseness but due to sorcery.
the main theme is based on Claude Debussy’s Golliwogg’s Cakewalk, which is itself a parody of Wagner. Citation needed but yeah, I can hear it.
( clicky )
burning question: but where are the moai?
And I'm back with two more days of Horrormas after a bout with the stomach bug. Or something. I have no idea what.
This is basically Parodius but for Castlevaina.
Parodivania, in fact.
It’s equal parts remake and sequel to the Famicom version, which wasn’t released outside of Japan not due to Japaneseness but due to sorcery.
the main theme is based on Claude Debussy’s Golliwogg’s Cakewalk, which is itself a parody of Wagner. Citation needed but yeah, I can hear it.
( clicky )
burning question: but where are the moai?
- Do you have a favourite cause that you support?
I support multiple causes through charitable donations, but one of the most important to me is the Abortion Support Network, which does exactly what it says on the tin: It helps people in the UK and Europe to get abortions, particularly those who live in areas with restrictive laws. - If so, how do you support it?
I give them as much money per month as I can. When they have fundraising drives, I donate more. When they ask for comments they can use in their promotional materials, I provide as much detail as I can. - Have you been an active member of an organization (attending meetings, volunteering, etc)?
Yes. I was a school governor for a while, and I’ve also volunteered for Parkrun, as well as other charitable organisations. - Have you ever led any group?
No, I’ve never had the capacity with either full-time work or academic study to lead a volunteer group. - If so, how was your experience with it?
See above. I’m sure I’d find it very fulfilling, but it’ll have to wait until I retire (or go part-time).
"No one wants to go in there when a random f***ing tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country."
-- oil industry investor, about Venezuela
I was reading a quote from an Exxon exec, talking about how all of Exxon's assets had been nationalized by Venezuela TWICE. Yeah, not a place where oil companies are going to be eager to rush back in to rebuild their infrastructure.
Not going to bother talking about a certain person's habit of changing international policy via social media posts, waste of finger and mental energy.
-- oil industry investor, about Venezuela
I was reading a quote from an Exxon exec, talking about how all of Exxon's assets had been nationalized by Venezuela TWICE. Yeah, not a place where oil companies are going to be eager to rush back in to rebuild their infrastructure.
Not going to bother talking about a certain person's habit of changing international policy via social media posts, waste of finger and mental energy.
As per my previous post, the audit went OK and we re-scoped down to two days onsite. There may be a few followup questions on Monday but we're basically done with it. I managed to make it to the office for 8:45 ahead of a 9am start!
The main complication was Storm Goretti, which hit the West Midlands and South-West on Thursday and Friday. I walked back from the office in a torrential downpour after work on Thursday, having been loaned a golf umbrella. The rain racing down the hilly streets and pavements soaked my feet, but it was still preferable to getting a taxi in the stationary central Bristol traffic.
I did think about trying to meet up with any of my Bristol friends but I was exhausted even after a shorter day at work, not least due to the early start. It was also distinctly not sitting outside weather. I crashed out for a couple of hours and decided to eat at the hotel rather than venture further afield. I did manage a brief mooch until my digestive system wanted to have a go at me for the disruption.
We finished early on Friday as well, and my boss and I shared a taxi to Bristol Temple Meads. All the direct services to Manchester were cancelled (as were many others across the country) but I managed to get home via changes in Birmingham and Stafford. I got a seat on each leg of the journey, and at least the stops meant I got brief breaks from masking. The one disruption that significantly impacted me was a vehicle driving into a bridge in Levenshulme, which stopped all trains between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly - so I jumped out at Stockport and got a taxi home from there. I was very glad to be home, and earlier than planned!
We've so far had one problem identified by the audit - we should have done a risk assessment on our Bristol office, because laptops are stored there overnight. I'd been told that it was only used for meeting space and nothing was stored there, so it's a fair cop. I'll get that sorted tomorrow.
I'm feeling pretty good about the audit - our ISMS is lacking in a lot of ways, not least some overdue document reviews, and I'm glad we didn't get wrapped over the knuckles about that. My boss is happy with me, which is always nice.
My pseudo-LEGO steamship project is done. This one was sturdier than the steampunk magic shop I built last year (different manufacturer, too). I only had to superglue one piece that kept disconnecting, although the silver... ballast tanks (? Whatever those are on the boats?) don't fully connect (they need some re-engineering), and those and the yellow tanks fall off easily. Still, super fun to build:
The Amazon link for that set is here.
I'll be going out for a bike ride soon. The rain has stopped for now, and we're not being plagued by the cold fog, so there should be some good weather ahead at least for a week. I rode outside TWICE in the last 6 1/2 weeks. That's how bad it's been— only a snow climate would have been worse! Not a typical winter for us at all.
I'll be riding during the 49ers playoff game. On purpose. I've hardly watched any games this season— too many injuries, so it's a nail-biter every time whether they'll squeak out a win. Still angry about the Super Bowl they lost, with too many key injuries over the course of the game. I think that was the Niners' year to win, and the referees lost it for them with questionable calls.
In garage biking, I'm almost to the end of Orphan Black, which is sad. I've really enjoyed it. I'm also close to the end of The Walking Dead, after which I'll have to try one of the spin-offs for biking purposes. I need really engaging TV for garage-biking, and a high level of peril accomplishes that nicely. I've also been watching Is It Cake? out there. I enjoy that series, though I'm getting near the end of its last season as well. I can't fathom why the S3 contestants are so prone to baking vanilla cakes, though. Do you want your cake to impress the judges with its flavor, if the win comes down to that? Then WTF would you pick vanilla? It's as "meh" as you can get. OTOH, I personally would not risk matcha or Earl Grey as a main flavor, either. Those are acquired tastes. And S2 Miko's propensity for using mango always seemed risky. People tend to either love it or hate it, and I'm on the "hate" side.
Monday will be my first day back at work, after 3 weeks off. It's been great— I'm not ready to go back. I got virtually no home projects done during that time off (doesn't that always seem to be the way), apart from Christmas stuff. But the relaxation was nice! \o/
The Amazon link for that set is here.
I'll be going out for a bike ride soon. The rain has stopped for now, and we're not being plagued by the cold fog, so there should be some good weather ahead at least for a week. I rode outside TWICE in the last 6 1/2 weeks. That's how bad it's been— only a snow climate would have been worse! Not a typical winter for us at all.
I'll be riding during the 49ers playoff game. On purpose. I've hardly watched any games this season— too many injuries, so it's a nail-biter every time whether they'll squeak out a win. Still angry about the Super Bowl they lost, with too many key injuries over the course of the game. I think that was the Niners' year to win, and the referees lost it for them with questionable calls.
In garage biking, I'm almost to the end of Orphan Black, which is sad. I've really enjoyed it. I'm also close to the end of The Walking Dead, after which I'll have to try one of the spin-offs for biking purposes. I need really engaging TV for garage-biking, and a high level of peril accomplishes that nicely. I've also been watching Is It Cake? out there. I enjoy that series, though I'm getting near the end of its last season as well. I can't fathom why the S3 contestants are so prone to baking vanilla cakes, though. Do you want your cake to impress the judges with its flavor, if the win comes down to that? Then WTF would you pick vanilla? It's as "meh" as you can get. OTOH, I personally would not risk matcha or Earl Grey as a main flavor, either. Those are acquired tastes. And S2 Miko's propensity for using mango always seemed risky. People tend to either love it or hate it, and I'm on the "hate" side.
Monday will be my first day back at work, after 3 weeks off. It's been great— I'm not ready to go back. I got virtually no home projects done during that time off (doesn't that always seem to be the way), apart from Christmas stuff. But the relaxation was nice! \o/
This is an old article from October '25, I'm clearing out old tabs.
It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!
There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!
There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
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That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality–your soul, if you will–is as bright and shining as any that has ever been….Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.
― George Saunders
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Mosscap and Dex's adventures continue from where they left off. They visit human places, including Dex's large and confusing family. Mosscap has a brush with mortality. Dex does not return to being a tea monk, their vocation still up in the air.
I enjoyed this novella for much the same reasons I enjoyed the first one, though I missed the tea service, which was my favorite part of the first book. Mosscap does turn out to be fallible and learns from Dex as much as Dex learns from it, which was nice. My favorite part of this book was the glimpses of the world, which still seems like an extremely nice place to live in.
Last week's bread held out for most of the week.
Friday night supper: ven pongal (South Indian khichchari).
Saturday breakfast rolls: Tassajarra method, 50:50% wholemeal/strong white flour, maple syprup, dried cranberries, turned out nicely.
Today's lunch: game crumble - the game mix (partridge, pheasant and venison) casseroled in red wine with onion, garlic, bay leaf, juniper berries, coriander seed, 5-pepper blend and salt, before putting the crumble topping (mixture of approx 2:1:1 wholemeal flour/strong white flour/pinhead oatmeal) on for the final half-hour; served with tenderstem broccoli tips which I cooked thusly - sizzled some chopped ginger and cumin seeds in oilve oil, turned the broccoli in this, added some water and steamed for half an hour, turned out rather well although I think the original recipe said fennel seeds....; and stirfried tat soi.
So I attended the one-day Clark Ashton Smith conference yesterday, held in the old Carnegie Library - now just a historical site, devoid of books or historical displays - in Smith's hometown of Auburn, California, in the foothills of the Sierras. In Smith's day this was still the city library, and the self-educated author probably got most of his education from books here.
But despite the local boosterism, accentuated by a panel discussing Smith's life here, neither Smith nor any of the panelists hailing from Auburn liked the place much. They thought it a tiresome backwater of a town. I found it charming as a one-day visitor. And my sandwich from a local deli (the con offered to fetch lunch for us if we'd order and pay in advance) was delicious.
The programming was held in the library's one large room. The organizers said the attendance was 80-90; I counted closer to 50. The attendance was largely but not entirely male. And almost all white. And largely but not overwhelmingly old.
Besides writing ornate fantasy stories, Smith also wrote SF, and he began as a once-promising poet, and he also was an artist (drawing and sculpture). The day was occupied with panels discussing all these things, and full of enlightenment on Smith's style, artistic goals, and ethos. Despite his obscurity, a case was made that he was a substantial artist worth studying.
Two panelists were particularly interesting to hear. S.T. Joshi, the well-known weird fiction scholar, is - as you'd guess from his writing - lucidly voluble and erudite. He regaled us with tales of Smith's amorous adventures, and challenged the otherwise universally-held belief that the reason Smith stopped writing weird fiction in the late 1930s was as a reaction to the deaths in short order of both his parents and his colleague/friends H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. I guess we'll find out when Joshi's biography of Smith is published later this year. I got a glimpse at a proof copy; it is not as overwhelmingly large as Joshi's Lovecraft biography.
The other liveliest panelist was the fiction author Cody Goodfellow, who read aloud the opening paragraph of Smith's "The Abominations of Yondo" in a voice so sepulchral that I'd buy a full-length recording of him reading Smith stories.
Downstairs in the basement were book dealers, but the two books I wanted to buy were only in one copy and sold to someone else before I could get them.
There wasn't a single person there I already knew, but the attendees were friendly, and I didn't feel downgraded for not being a real connoisseur or expert; there were others there who clearly had only just begun reading Smith. This was fun, the panels were all interesting throughout (including the other participants) and since this was not a far drive from home, I'm glad I took the trouble to come.
But despite the local boosterism, accentuated by a panel discussing Smith's life here, neither Smith nor any of the panelists hailing from Auburn liked the place much. They thought it a tiresome backwater of a town. I found it charming as a one-day visitor. And my sandwich from a local deli (the con offered to fetch lunch for us if we'd order and pay in advance) was delicious.
The programming was held in the library's one large room. The organizers said the attendance was 80-90; I counted closer to 50. The attendance was largely but not entirely male. And almost all white. And largely but not overwhelmingly old.
Besides writing ornate fantasy stories, Smith also wrote SF, and he began as a once-promising poet, and he also was an artist (drawing and sculpture). The day was occupied with panels discussing all these things, and full of enlightenment on Smith's style, artistic goals, and ethos. Despite his obscurity, a case was made that he was a substantial artist worth studying.
Two panelists were particularly interesting to hear. S.T. Joshi, the well-known weird fiction scholar, is - as you'd guess from his writing - lucidly voluble and erudite. He regaled us with tales of Smith's amorous adventures, and challenged the otherwise universally-held belief that the reason Smith stopped writing weird fiction in the late 1930s was as a reaction to the deaths in short order of both his parents and his colleague/friends H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. I guess we'll find out when Joshi's biography of Smith is published later this year. I got a glimpse at a proof copy; it is not as overwhelmingly large as Joshi's Lovecraft biography.
The other liveliest panelist was the fiction author Cody Goodfellow, who read aloud the opening paragraph of Smith's "The Abominations of Yondo" in a voice so sepulchral that I'd buy a full-length recording of him reading Smith stories.
Downstairs in the basement were book dealers, but the two books I wanted to buy were only in one copy and sold to someone else before I could get them.
There wasn't a single person there I already knew, but the attendees were friendly, and I didn't feel downgraded for not being a real connoisseur or expert; there were others there who clearly had only just begun reading Smith. This was fun, the panels were all interesting throughout (including the other participants) and since this was not a far drive from home, I'm glad I took the trouble to come.