markc1957

Not a great week -- very down on myself for having sent N off with the wrong charger for (scooter)Gizmo. It was hiding in a box, and I overlooked it several times. G found it immediately, when asked. I need to change some of my habits to keep it from happening again. N finally managed to get one locally on Friday, with help from the seller and the hotel concierge. The seller had express-shipped one, but it somehow got held up in Turkish customs despite their having charged N extra for getting it expedited. She got back yesterday evening, and we now have a spare charger for Gizmo.

Meanwhile our other scooter and scooter-like vehicles are still out of commission: (Folding scooter)Lizzy is still in the shop, (carlet)Scarlett came back from the shop without her charger, and (walker/wheelchair)Roman is still unusable without a software upgrade. Which requires some kind of special interface (being shipped by boat) and Windows. All of this is due to my procrastination and phone phobia.

On the other, um..., foot, I now have two pairs of compression socks. Getting them on is fairly easy, because I can pull. Getting them off is not; I have ordered a foot-extraction tool. And I walked every day, so there's that.

Germany Just Made Open Document Formats Mandatory! This is particularly timely, because WireGuard And VeraCrypt Developers [were] Locked Out Of Microsoft Accounts... It may or may not be fixed by now, but the fact that they did it means that it will almost certainly happen again.

(Filk-adjacent, s4s-adjacent) linkies: (from Monday -- great way to start a week!) (also serious rabbit-hole warning) Angine de Poitrine - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) - YouTube (h/t to siderea) polka-dotted aliens with loopers, polyrythms and a double-neck quartertone guitar/bass. The band name, Angine de Poitrine, translates as "chest pain" More on Monday and Wednesday. Possible s4s post soonish; this will do until then.

And from Friday, Take a mind-bending ride through the cosmos at light speed Deep time and beyond: the great nothingness at the end of the Universe, both from Aeon.co. Take note: eternity is longer still.

( Notes & links, as usual )

I walked every day this week! And they were good walks -- the shortest was .64km. We'll see whether I can keep it up. My blood count is still low (as of my appointment Wednesday), but it's stable and high enough that they aren't going to recommend a bone marrow biopsy. Whew! I mentioned the hip/back pain that limits my walking; I need to ask my GP for a referral to PT.

On the other hand, they didn't have my compression socks ready by my Tuesday appointment, so it got rescheduled to next week. Another week of uncomfortable leg wraps. Still better than it was before they started.

Still no action on Lizzy's repair or Scarlett's charger.

I posted a Songs for Saturday yesterday -- the last post tagged with s4s was in January. I need to write more.

Linkies: Desolation (One Small Step) by Mike Whitaker made me cry. And from Friday, A Dandelion on the Seder Plate - Keshet For trans love and celebration.

And then there's What’s The Difference between Utopia, Eutopia and Protopia? In case you were wondering what Naomi's book -- subtitled "Stories from a protopian future" -- is all about.

( Notes & links, as usual )

Today I am thankful for...

• The successful launch of NASA's Artemis II mission.
• Contact forms -- when they work.
• The fact that I can dry-roast almonds in the microwave.
• For that matter, microwave ovens. And convection ovens. And let's not forget dishwashers and other kitchen appliances we didn't have when I was a kid.
• Blue cheese.