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witnessed a bike crash
2025-06-13 19:05No one badly injured, probably.( Read more... )
pastrami disappointment
2025-06-08 14:25After visiting the Jewish museum Friday, I found myself wanting pastrami. BOP Kosh (nee Koch?) deli was a block away, and had a good price ($12), but no pastrami in stock at the moment. Oh well.
Today I set out around my neighborhood, having asked Google Maps for candidates. ( Read more... )
I previously mentioned seeing the lowest recumbent trike I'd ever seen. A day or two later, I passed the highest recumbent bike I'd ever seen. Definitely a bike, 2 wheels, which looked about as big as the 20" wheels of my folding bike. Obviously they're usable, but I have no idea how you mount or stop such a bike, at best it looks like you'd have your leg at a very awkward ankle.
I've been indulging in hot chocolate recently, and realizing it actually costs money. Like I just got some peppermint hot chocolate form Trader Joe's, and it's $6.50 for 8 servings (not counting any milk added), something like 80 cents a serving. An earlier variety was maybe $5.50 for 10, still 55 cents each. On Amazon I see other expensive ones, even over a dollar per.
I also see Swiss Mix, "milk chocolate flavored", for 10 cents a serving. I guess the difference is whether the ingredients list goes "sugar, cocoa..." or "sugar, corn syrup, whey, cocoa..."
Chocolate can counteract the bitter flavor of Bitrex in mask fit testing. I plan to see if sipping hot chocolate works as well, or better.
I now have a new Tdap shot. I'd accidentally gotten a Td shot 2 years ago in Canada; I hadn't known there were different blends, so went in asking for "tetanus" or maybe even "Td", in all ignorance until afterwards that I wasn't getting a pertussis booster. Finally fixed that lack.
Not very deep, but a short video on the virtues of garbage/beater bikes. I'm in the category of people who have only owned a fairly cheap bike, though not garbage. I am reminded of advice I saw once on how to get bikes while moving around between cities: just buy a really cheap one, and sell or abandon it when you leave... Though safety, or having luggage baskets, are another matter.
Place vs. non-place in urban design.
OSP history videos on Cyprus and Sicily. Apparently Cyprus stayed literate through and after the Bronze Age Collapse, and Norman Sicily was a great ferment of multiculturalism, with Muslim scholar in court and coins with Arabic as well as Greek or Latin text.
I forgot that the Dreamwidth Reading page only goes back 14 days. Lame.
Have just had gum graft surgery. Fingers crossed for it going well; it's a lot of money wasted if it doesn't. Many smoothies in my future, anyway.
I've finished re-reading the Steerswoman series. Still good stuff.
I did another round of fit testing of my masks. New 9205 failed, new 9210 passed, old Vflexes failed and passed, small Vflex failed, new Vflex passed. Secure Click passed even with some gauze to protect my nose, though I think I would still suffer worn all day. Some reddit comments say you have to get used to elastomerics, like your nose toughens up. Does that apply to feet too? I wear socks with sandals because my feet will bleed if I don't. Anyway. Adjusted KF94 maybe passed? Need to try again.
AO3 postmortem on the problems they had a month ago. Turns out it wasn't a hostile attack.
I joined Bluesky. Guess my handle.
Otherwise: yuri manga, anime nights, and really sucky job search all continue.
today's excitement
2024-04-23 19:29Well that was interesting... I'm not in the habit of checking my grocery receipts, but on impulse I did tonight, and found $15 of $63 were due to double scanning. Protested, got refund. New habit to cultivate... On the plus side, all 3 employees I saw were wearing some black K-mask.
Relatedly, earlier my walk took me by a middle school that was getting out. 12 kids masked, though mostly in surgicals. I didn't try estimating a proportion, I'd guess under 10%, though I don't know if any kids unmasked as soon as they got outside. Still, it's something.
Also saw a man at a bus stop, wearing a 3M Aura.
heating options
2023-03-07 19:19The latest gas bill had an unpleasant surprise. Not just more money, a lot more money, $270. And not just from running heat more. Symmetry Energy's gas procurement charge jumped from $1.55/therm to over $5/therm. PG&E saw an increased but nothing like that. Symmetry has news articles about price gouging customers in 2001; perhaps it's one of those "flexible pricing" options? Someone in charge of this house made poor past choices...
I finally considered space heaters again. Since the one in the house is nigh useless, I impulse bought two Lasko ones from Amazon. Similar, basic 'ceramic' heat and fan. I had second thoughts about getting two but it was two late to modify my Overnight order.
They're here, and work well, and don't make measured VOC worse than usual for the house. But I had second thoughts about whether it will save money. The electric bill wasn't high but I haven't been using much; doing the math, the average cost (after charges and rebates) has been 30 cents per kWh, and the marginal cost looks like 50 cents. I was used to 12 cents in Boston. Running a kilowatt heater full time would be $360 at 50 cents. And would only heat one room. Granted I don't run it full time, but still...
It has been nice getting a specific room cozy, and feeling virtuous because I'm not heating a 1600 sqft house. OTOH I still have to pass through the rest of the house, and spend time in the kitchen, and doing that at 50 F / 10 C has been getting unpleasant. I had gotten 2 heaters largely for the convenience of not moving one around, but right now do I have both running: one in the office that I started using again, and the bedroom one moved temporarily to the kitchen so I could cook without feeling miserable.
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I finally considered space heaters again. Since the one in the house is nigh useless, I impulse bought two Lasko ones from Amazon. Similar, basic 'ceramic' heat and fan. I had second thoughts about getting two but it was two late to modify my Overnight order.
They're here, and work well, and don't make measured VOC worse than usual for the house. But I had second thoughts about whether it will save money. The electric bill wasn't high but I haven't been using much; doing the math, the average cost (after charges and rebates) has been 30 cents per kWh, and the marginal cost looks like 50 cents. I was used to 12 cents in Boston. Running a kilowatt heater full time would be $360 at 50 cents. And would only heat one room. Granted I don't run it full time, but still...
It has been nice getting a specific room cozy, and feeling virtuous because I'm not heating a 1600 sqft house. OTOH I still have to pass through the rest of the house, and spend time in the kitchen, and doing that at 50 F / 10 C has been getting unpleasant. I had gotten 2 heaters largely for the convenience of not moving one around, but right now do I have both running: one in the office that I started using again, and the bedroom one moved temporarily to the kitchen so I could cook without feeling miserable.
Comments disabled due to a flood of spam.
I have joined the alleged 30% of Americans who own an electric kettle. It really is nicer than microwaving a mug. Especially since I discovered that my green tea days have led me astray: you really are supposed to boil anything other than non-black true tea. Since my 'teas' are currently rooibos and various berry things... boil. It does seem to improve the flavor. (Also have barley tea but I cold brew that -- or warm brew now, now that I can make a bunch of warm water in the kettle. Not hot, I'm using a 1 quart soup container from a restaurant as my brew jug.)
I recently read a twist on stovetop popcorn. Heat oil, with a few test kernels; when they pop, add the rest of the popcorn. Then (this is the new part) take it off heat for 30 seconds. Then back, and (this also new) leave the lid ajar to avoid steaming the popcorn too much. The 30 seconds bit is alleged to heat up the kernels more evenly; it does seem like a lot more of them pop all at once, this way.
Saturday Jane and I went to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, in the Berkeley hills. We agreed that it was a decent mild hiking+greenery experience but a pretty lame botanic garden, with unhelpful and ancient plant labels, and supposed but not very obvious ecozones.
I also verified that I don't have T-Mobile signal up there, cementing my refusal to take Uber/Lyft in, since I wouldn't be able to call for a ride out again.
Apparently the new right-wing persecution fantasy is about 15 minute cities, so I tweeted an explainer of what the concept means. https://twitter.com/mindstalk/status/1627753815612223490
I recently read a twist on stovetop popcorn. Heat oil, with a few test kernels; when they pop, add the rest of the popcorn. Then (this is the new part) take it off heat for 30 seconds. Then back, and (this also new) leave the lid ajar to avoid steaming the popcorn too much. The 30 seconds bit is alleged to heat up the kernels more evenly; it does seem like a lot more of them pop all at once, this way.
Saturday Jane and I went to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, in the Berkeley hills. We agreed that it was a decent mild hiking+greenery experience but a pretty lame botanic garden, with unhelpful and ancient plant labels, and supposed but not very obvious ecozones.
I also verified that I don't have T-Mobile signal up there, cementing my refusal to take Uber/Lyft in, since I wouldn't be able to call for a ride out again.
Apparently the new right-wing persecution fantasy is about 15 minute cities, so I tweeted an explainer of what the concept means. https://twitter.com/mindstalk/status/1627753815612223490
I made soup dumplings just now! ...by which, I mean that I successfully steamed frozen dumplings I bought in Chinatown. But hey, tasty!
(For those unfamiliar, these are xiao long bao, not dumplings you put in soup -- though you could -- but dumplings made so the contents liquefy on being cooked and thus contain hot 'soup' when you eat them at the right temperature.)
I'd also thrown in some other dumplings, and an egg, intended for medium cooked but it came out more soft. I've taken to lining the collapsible metal steamer basket with paper towels and some left over paper-with-holes from a dim sum order, to prevent sticking; this works, but I suspect the towels are slowing down the steam process.
Today has been a blah day, from not enough sleep and maybe other things, I felt sluggish. But then I felt sluggish about feeling sluggish, if that makes any sense, and forced myself to go for a walk, which helped.
Recent reading: the 1953 "when we get back from Japan" book, some cartoons from which have been making the rounds on social media. But you can read the whole thing here: https://archive.org/details/when-we-get-back-home-from-japan/mode/2up
I was particularly tickled by the page on masking, saying that the Japanese would put on a mask when they had a cold, or in crowds when they didn't want to catch a cold. 1953!
(For those unfamiliar, these are xiao long bao, not dumplings you put in soup -- though you could -- but dumplings made so the contents liquefy on being cooked and thus contain hot 'soup' when you eat them at the right temperature.)
I'd also thrown in some other dumplings, and an egg, intended for medium cooked but it came out more soft. I've taken to lining the collapsible metal steamer basket with paper towels and some left over paper-with-holes from a dim sum order, to prevent sticking; this works, but I suspect the towels are slowing down the steam process.
Today has been a blah day, from not enough sleep and maybe other things, I felt sluggish. But then I felt sluggish about feeling sluggish, if that makes any sense, and forced myself to go for a walk, which helped.
Recent reading: the 1953 "when we get back from Japan" book, some cartoons from which have been making the rounds on social media. But you can read the whole thing here: https://archive.org/details/when-we-get-back-home-from-japan/mode/2up
I was particularly tickled by the page on masking, saying that the Japanese would put on a mask when they had a cold, or in crowds when they didn't want to catch a cold. 1953!
Morning adventure
2022-11-19 11:51Went for a walk, aiming for the Albany library eventually. On Solano, the small town "Main Street", I found a "Church On the Corner" with a nook with benches and a fountain. It was nice to hang out in for a while, though a woman standing nearby and coughing drove me on. I thought the church might be fairly liberal, with a public space like that... technically, I still don't know what they are politically, but their website is eager to tell you that all sorts of Old Testament prophecies came true in Jesus, and that astronomy proves a Creator, so I wouldn't bet on it. Covid-wise, they say they have some built-in distancing, and MERV 13 filters, though claiming that MERV 13 removes 99% of particles is I think somewhere between vague and inaccurate.
Further west, on the south side, some woman was selling home-cooked bagels on the sidewalk. I got an everything one for $3. Just a still-warm bagel, if you want toppings you're on your own. It was good as it was, though after a few bites I remembered that bagels are refined cereals, which I'm trying to minimize. Then I realized pizza dough is too, and became even sadder. I did finish the bagel.
Actually, before I bought it, I'd kept going, up to a crepe shop (maybe not refined! buckwheat!) which was open (of interest, since it was around 10 AM and few things were). I nearly got something to eat in the outdoor seating, but another customer was playing something loud and annoying on their phone. Since I wanted relaxation as much as food, I passed.
I finally found the library, on Marin. Masks required! I think that's an Alameda County public buildings thing. (Tangentially, the two bus drivers I've looked at were both masked.) Compliance good apart from one kid. I even hung out to read a kid's book on South American myths and legends, though I also lost confidence in my KF94 nose seal and didn't stick around after that. The library is 9 minutes away, vs. 16 for the Berkeley one; I wonder if I can use my Berkeley card. The grounds aren't as nice as the North Berkeley library -- not *bad*, but not nearly as green.
Further west, on the south side, some woman was selling home-cooked bagels on the sidewalk. I got an everything one for $3. Just a still-warm bagel, if you want toppings you're on your own. It was good as it was, though after a few bites I remembered that bagels are refined cereals, which I'm trying to minimize. Then I realized pizza dough is too, and became even sadder. I did finish the bagel.
Actually, before I bought it, I'd kept going, up to a crepe shop (maybe not refined! buckwheat!) which was open (of interest, since it was around 10 AM and few things were). I nearly got something to eat in the outdoor seating, but another customer was playing something loud and annoying on their phone. Since I wanted relaxation as much as food, I passed.
I finally found the library, on Marin. Masks required! I think that's an Alameda County public buildings thing. (Tangentially, the two bus drivers I've looked at were both masked.) Compliance good apart from one kid. I even hung out to read a kid's book on South American myths and legends, though I also lost confidence in my KF94 nose seal and didn't stick around after that. The library is 9 minutes away, vs. 16 for the Berkeley one; I wonder if I can use my Berkeley card. The grounds aren't as nice as the North Berkeley library -- not *bad*, but not nearly as green.
more Vancouver
2022-03-13 22:36Only 3 week delay, haha.
Still in the 'north' place of my last post. The first week felt very busy, like I couldn't believe it was only a week. The last two weeks have been faster. Not sure why, I did a bunch of walks but nothing that seems all that novel in my diary. Maybe just local shopping, checking Chinese markets, trying a Vietnamese restaurant, I dunno. Walking enough to find the big Japanese market... huh, didn't realize that was so far back.
Job hunt continues.
BC has gone back to Normal. Masking no longer required even on public transit, though "recommended". At least one big pharmacy, London Drugs, has also collapsed, with a "masks strongly recommended" sign. I am wondering if returning to the US would make sense for covid safety reasons.
Airbnb one week out was looking rather horrible, but I found a cheap 2-week place in Richmond BC, a suburb to the south of Vancouver, which holds the airport and a lot of Chinese people. Then looking for 30 day places after that has good options again, though I wonder if I want to keep staying here. OTOH I don't want to juggle disruption and job hunt that much, and have some medical concerns that might call for staying still -- or for going somewhere where I have more friends to help out if I need it.
Yeah, not a lot of exciting 'Vancouver' things recently, been more internal stuff. Reading the new Liaden book, reading Niven Warlock stories, 'being there' for a friend trying to escape Russia (they made it), reading a book on *early* Roman history, immune system stuff I've already posted about, couple new-to-me filk groups (thefaithfulsidekicks.com, viabellaband.com). And some computer stuff, that can be its own post.
Still in the 'north' place of my last post. The first week felt very busy, like I couldn't believe it was only a week. The last two weeks have been faster. Not sure why, I did a bunch of walks but nothing that seems all that novel in my diary. Maybe just local shopping, checking Chinese markets, trying a Vietnamese restaurant, I dunno. Walking enough to find the big Japanese market... huh, didn't realize that was so far back.
Job hunt continues.
BC has gone back to Normal. Masking no longer required even on public transit, though "recommended". At least one big pharmacy, London Drugs, has also collapsed, with a "masks strongly recommended" sign. I am wondering if returning to the US would make sense for covid safety reasons.
Airbnb one week out was looking rather horrible, but I found a cheap 2-week place in Richmond BC, a suburb to the south of Vancouver, which holds the airport and a lot of Chinese people. Then looking for 30 day places after that has good options again, though I wonder if I want to keep staying here. OTOH I don't want to juggle disruption and job hunt that much, and have some medical concerns that might call for staying still -- or for going somewhere where I have more friends to help out if I need it.
Yeah, not a lot of exciting 'Vancouver' things recently, been more internal stuff. Reading the new Liaden book, reading Niven Warlock stories, 'being there' for a friend trying to escape Russia (they made it), reading a book on *early* Roman history, immune system stuff I've already posted about, couple new-to-me filk groups (thefaithfulsidekicks.com, viabellaband.com). And some computer stuff, that can be its own post.
week update
2021-11-12 13:54It's been a quiet week in Montreal; I haven't left Monkland/Villa Maria, despite having 9 transit fares to use. I thought about it yesterday, to get mugicha and dim sum, but everywhere I want to go is 30+ minutes away, and I found little enthusiasm for it just to doing a bit of shopping. And today it's raining. Which might be all the more reason to spend time on a train, but meh. Bit behind on work too, and waiting for laundry... Though I've barely seen the 'underground Montreal' this visit, I should maybe check it out properly.
Shogun changes all the names. A friend pointed out that this means I don't necessarily know how it ends, perhaps the not-Tokugawa doesn't actually become shogun?
Finished Shirobako. Still fun. Reading Bakuman, the manga about making manga, now. The romance plot is hilariously terrible, even granting that the people involved are shy romantic 14 year olds. Well, 15 now. A friend said the writer wasn't good at romance in Death Note either, though my dim memories are that romance there was scarce and unhealthy, not unrealistic. She agreed that maybe he's not great at female characters in general.
I procrastinated on buying a plane ticket to Lisbon, and now it's notably more expensive. Feh. Also Portugal covid rates are ticking up a bit; a source says that Spain seems to be the only heavily vacced European country not throwing masks and caution to the wind. All the more reason to just go there I suppose, but there are no direct flights from Canada. Grrr.
Shogun changes all the names. A friend pointed out that this means I don't necessarily know how it ends, perhaps the not-Tokugawa doesn't actually become shogun?
Finished Shirobako. Still fun. Reading Bakuman, the manga about making manga, now. The romance plot is hilariously terrible, even granting that the people involved are shy romantic 14 year olds. Well, 15 now. A friend said the writer wasn't good at romance in Death Note either, though my dim memories are that romance there was scarce and unhealthy, not unrealistic. She agreed that maybe he's not great at female characters in general.
I procrastinated on buying a plane ticket to Lisbon, and now it's notably more expensive. Feh. Also Portugal covid rates are ticking up a bit; a source says that Spain seems to be the only heavily vacced European country not throwing masks and caution to the wind. All the more reason to just go there I suppose, but there are no direct flights from Canada. Grrr.
one minute shopping
2021-11-07 00:10I'm back in Montreal for a week. New location.
I tell people about living most of my life within a 10 minute walk of a supermarket, but I've outdone myself this time; it's just one minute away.
It seems like I've reset the season a bit; trees are colored and leaves are falling, but the trees aren't as bare as they were getting in Quebec City. Though that could also be an altitude/microclimate thing, Old Quebec is like 60 meters above the river, I don't think most of Montreal is that high. But we're also a bit further south.
Montreal has had the most disappointing Thai food I've ever had. Beef fried rice from the Thai Express chain before, pad see ew from Baba Thai tonight. Edible but unexciting.
I'm watching Shirobako, the original anime about making anime. It's a lot of fun. There's stuff I could criticize, but whatever. Fun.
I somehow learned of The Shogun's Daughter from 1910; it was a fun read. Somewhat pulpy and romantic, but seemed pretty well researched, especially for 1910. Shorter and with more appealing character than Clavell's Shogun, which I'm reading now. Different time period; Daughter is about the Perry period, right before and right after.
I tell people about living most of my life within a 10 minute walk of a supermarket, but I've outdone myself this time; it's just one minute away.
It seems like I've reset the season a bit; trees are colored and leaves are falling, but the trees aren't as bare as they were getting in Quebec City. Though that could also be an altitude/microclimate thing, Old Quebec is like 60 meters above the river, I don't think most of Montreal is that high. But we're also a bit further south.
Montreal has had the most disappointing Thai food I've ever had. Beef fried rice from the Thai Express chain before, pad see ew from Baba Thai tonight. Edible but unexciting.
I'm watching Shirobako, the original anime about making anime. It's a lot of fun. There's stuff I could criticize, but whatever. Fun.
I somehow learned of The Shogun's Daughter from 1910; it was a fun read. Somewhat pulpy and romantic, but seemed pretty well researched, especially for 1910. Shorter and with more appealing character than Clavell's Shogun, which I'm reading now. Different time period; Daughter is about the Perry period, right before and right after.
vacc and stuff
2021-05-16 13:56Have received my second Moderna. I moved my arms through the 15 minute waiting period, and walked around the park for an hour or so before daring to take the trains home rather than another Lyft. Late that evening I started to feel aches and blah, and I slept so-so with all the blankets on. Next day, I don't think I ever had a really high fever, but definitely slept a lot.
Coupled days of idleness after that, I'd felt fine at home, but I went for a 40 minute walk and it figuratively killed me (and became a 45-50 minute walk, not counting breaks). Got some nice Filipino food out of it, though.
In unrelated news I have ended up in a cutthroat leaderboard on Duolingo. The top score isn't that high, only 1269, not in the 2000s, but no one seems willing to fall into the demotion zone, and I'm struggling to stay neutral.
Books read:
Pyramids (Pratchett)
Bloom into you: Regarding Saeki Sayaka (all 3 volumes)
The Truth
Going Postal
Soul Music
Coupled days of idleness after that, I'd felt fine at home, but I went for a 40 minute walk and it figuratively killed me (and became a 45-50 minute walk, not counting breaks). Got some nice Filipino food out of it, though.
In unrelated news I have ended up in a cutthroat leaderboard on Duolingo. The top score isn't that high, only 1269, not in the 2000s, but no one seems willing to fall into the demotion zone, and I'm struggling to stay neutral.
Books read:
Pyramids (Pratchett)
Bloom into you: Regarding Saeki Sayaka (all 3 volumes)
The Truth
Going Postal
Soul Music
life update
2021-05-03 18:05I just had my first corn dog of living memory, actually a Korean one. It was everything I dreamed a hot dog covered in fried dough would be: meh.
The odd thing is that the meat 'dogs' are the cheapest from that place. Replacing it with corn or potato makes it more expensive -- I didn't buy one, but from what I was told the cheese dog would be like a cheese stick in fried dough.
I toasted oatmeal yesterday. It made a pleasant difference. Not sure if it made enough of one to be worth a 5 minute setup if I don't make it in bulk.
Bought a pineapple from the grocery truck. $5! No idea if that's cheap or not. Good, though also a lot of pineapple... damn, I picked up real groceries today, and I should have thought to get potato chips and cottage cheese, for the nostalgia mix.
Between vaccine and CDC advice, I've been bolder outdoors, and ate out (outside, unenclosed) on a walk Saturday. I still feel I'd like to have my mask brace on before spending any significant time inside; I found an ice cream place yesterday ("Dolly Llama") but backed out when I found I'd have to wait in a stuffy interior.
Recent books: The Logic of Life; Soul Music; Regarding Saeki Sayaka vols 1 and 2; God Stalk (for a discussion group, none of whom liked it much; Aral Vorkosigan's Dog; Leaf By Niggle (sometimes Tolkien did like allegory). Currently reading The Undercover Economist.
Wishing my A/C wasn't a piece of shit. My host says he's trying to find a replacement. I'm here for another 6 weeks but between vaccine and summer I think it's getting time to move on, even if it's just to a cheaper LA room.
The odd thing is that the meat 'dogs' are the cheapest from that place. Replacing it with corn or potato makes it more expensive -- I didn't buy one, but from what I was told the cheese dog would be like a cheese stick in fried dough.
I toasted oatmeal yesterday. It made a pleasant difference. Not sure if it made enough of one to be worth a 5 minute setup if I don't make it in bulk.
Bought a pineapple from the grocery truck. $5! No idea if that's cheap or not. Good, though also a lot of pineapple... damn, I picked up real groceries today, and I should have thought to get potato chips and cottage cheese, for the nostalgia mix.
Between vaccine and CDC advice, I've been bolder outdoors, and ate out (outside, unenclosed) on a walk Saturday. I still feel I'd like to have my mask brace on before spending any significant time inside; I found an ice cream place yesterday ("Dolly Llama") but backed out when I found I'd have to wait in a stuffy interior.
Recent books: The Logic of Life; Soul Music; Regarding Saeki Sayaka vols 1 and 2; God Stalk (for a discussion group, none of whom liked it much; Aral Vorkosigan's Dog; Leaf By Niggle (sometimes Tolkien did like allegory). Currently reading The Undercover Economist.
Wishing my A/C wasn't a piece of shit. My host says he's trying to find a replacement. I'm here for another 6 weeks but between vaccine and summer I think it's getting time to move on, even if it's just to a cheaper LA room.
I'll put most of this in a cut because some people who can't get vaccine don't like hearing about others getting it, but first some resources:
https://vaccinefinder.org/
https://carbonhealth.com/covid-19-vaccines/los-angeles
https://myturn.ca.gov/
https://www.kroger.com/rx/covid-vaccine
https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/apt-scheduler
( Read more... )
https://vaccinefinder.org/
https://carbonhealth.com/covid-19-vaccines/los-angeles
https://myturn.ca.gov/
https://www.kroger.com/rx/covid-vaccine
https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/apt-scheduler
( Read more... )
minor update
2021-01-11 12:42Wow, I haven't posted in a month. Oops. Well, still alive and uninfected (AFAIK). Still in Koreatown, and here for a few more months. Not getting a ton out of it; I moved on the 4th, went to Ralph's, and got stuck in a long line with some guy who kept pulling down his mask to talk, which defeats the whole point. After that I switched to curbside pickup (which you can use without a car, not that the website suggests that); H-Mart doesn't have that, and I've figured I should avoid H-Mart as well to be safe. I have started getting more Korean take-out, though bibimbap is surprisingly non-ubiquitous; if anything the default entree seems to be soup or stew.
My rent makes me wince but I am very glad to be in my own space while LA tries to infect everyone before we can get a vaccine.
Work gave me aobscene very large amount of money to spend on a very nice holiday dinner takeout. After much consideration and consultation I went with steak: I knew I would enjoy it, and with limited portions I got like six servings out of it, so I feel less "first against the wall when the Revolution comes".
Last night I had the pleasure of learning that an old SF author was on Facebook, following her page, and discovering that it was not horrible. I would have given maybe 60% odds.
books:
Piranesi: weird and good
Dragondrums: kind of meh. May contain pederasty subtext.
Moribito, first three novels (in translations): enjoyable. I also enjoyed learning that the torture in the live-action adaptation was unique to it.
Outgrowing God: enjoyable.
Sugar (James Walvin): informative
My rent makes me wince but I am very glad to be in my own space while LA tries to infect everyone before we can get a vaccine.
Work gave me a
Last night I had the pleasure of learning that an old SF author was on Facebook, following her page, and discovering that it was not horrible. I would have given maybe 60% odds.
books:
Piranesi: weird and good
Dragondrums: kind of meh. May contain pederasty subtext.
Moribito, first three novels (in translations): enjoyable. I also enjoyed learning that the torture in the live-action adaptation was unique to it.
Outgrowing God: enjoyable.
Sugar (James Walvin): informative
anger management, part 2
2020-11-26 20:07Last year around Thanksgiving I was in an Airbnb in Honolulu. 3 rooms. I had the house to myself Thanksgiving weekend itself. Makes sense, right? Americans are home with their family or something.
Not this year. Despite the pandemic, we have a full house, with the last two rooms being filled in the past 30 minutes. (It's 8PM as I type.) Who the hell is traveling on Thanksgiving evening? Non-Americans, maybe. They're white, but I don't know more than that.
And of course full house means one (or two?) of them is *upstairs* whence I can hear every step.
Not this year. Despite the pandemic, we have a full house, with the last two rooms being filled in the past 30 minutes. (It's 8PM as I type.) Who the hell is traveling on Thanksgiving evening? Non-Americans, maybe. They're white, but I don't know more than that.
And of course full house means one (or two?) of them is *upstairs* whence I can hear every step.
anger management
2020-11-25 20:01Going for a walk really can help. Helped in January, when there was a catastrophic blowup in my life. And tonight, for pettier causes. After losing my last Airbnb to house sale, I reserved this place for 5 weeks. But the old place had a 30 day minimum, so turnover wasn't that high. This place has 5 rooms and high turnover, which is *really fun* in a pandemic. But tonight's thing was that I'd anticipated a quiet Thanksgiving -- fewer people traveling, I'd been told last week no one had booked it, and so I figured it was just me and the other long term guest, a very quiet girl.
But last minute bookings happen. Two nights ago, a couple and a baby, in the room that shares a very thin wall with mine. Okay. Today they left, yay... and then *four* people move into the same room, lots of stomping, cooking too.
It's not like I can blame anyone. They're renting a room just like I do (though why are they traveling, and for only five days?) and the landlady is of course making money, it's not like she promised no one would check in over the holiday.
But having my expectations, shattered, LOUDLY, really got to me. I was already on edge from the host puttering around cleaning for two hours -- she's diligent, probably natural for her to do so as soon as someone checks out, but it's the day before Thanksgiving, take a break! And now I know why she had to: more guests -- and then, bam.
I feel calmer after the walk. Also after meeting some of them and telling them about the THIN WALLS AND CREAKY FLOOR.
I'd also been mad about them not wearing masks in the kitchen despite being Asians speaking Asian language, but they were apologetic enough when I brought it up and wearing them now.
New policy: when renting long term private rooms, try to find ones that have a 30-ish day minimum, to avoid this turnover problem.
I guess I've noticed my irritation before, but not as strongly. Pandemic doesn't help. Thin walls don't help. And it hasn't been much of an issue in a while: Most of my places for a while have been entire (Osaka, for less than I'm paying for a room here), the only guest room, or multiple guest rooms but fairly isolated (like an ornate garret I stayed in in Berkeley).
Well, two Saturdays from now I start splurging on an entire bungalow for six weeks. Expensive but I started figuring it was worth it to avoid people, especially the sort of people doing short term travel now. Spend on rent instead of medical bills.
Wow, I haven't had an airbnb tag before.
But last minute bookings happen. Two nights ago, a couple and a baby, in the room that shares a very thin wall with mine. Okay. Today they left, yay... and then *four* people move into the same room, lots of stomping, cooking too.
It's not like I can blame anyone. They're renting a room just like I do (though why are they traveling, and for only five days?) and the landlady is of course making money, it's not like she promised no one would check in over the holiday.
But having my expectations, shattered, LOUDLY, really got to me. I was already on edge from the host puttering around cleaning for two hours -- she's diligent, probably natural for her to do so as soon as someone checks out, but it's the day before Thanksgiving, take a break! And now I know why she had to: more guests -- and then, bam.
I feel calmer after the walk. Also after meeting some of them and telling them about the THIN WALLS AND CREAKY FLOOR.
I'd also been mad about them not wearing masks in the kitchen despite being Asians speaking Asian language, but they were apologetic enough when I brought it up and wearing them now.
New policy: when renting long term private rooms, try to find ones that have a 30-ish day minimum, to avoid this turnover problem.
I guess I've noticed my irritation before, but not as strongly. Pandemic doesn't help. Thin walls don't help. And it hasn't been much of an issue in a while: Most of my places for a while have been entire (Osaka, for less than I'm paying for a room here), the only guest room, or multiple guest rooms but fairly isolated (like an ornate garret I stayed in in Berkeley).
Well, two Saturdays from now I start splurging on an entire bungalow for six weeks. Expensive but I started figuring it was worth it to avoid people, especially the sort of people doing short term travel now. Spend on rent instead of medical bills.
Wow, I haven't had an airbnb tag before.
Ktown update
2020-11-10 20:25Had to change Airbnbs. You know you're in Koreatown when there are 3 H-Marts in walking distance. Nice to be on a proper grid again. I've had takeout twice, Yoshinoya and some Vietnamese food. My host is perfect but the physical house is not. Also the microwave is weak, whereas the old one was superpowered. I'm a bit further from the train station, not that I'm taking the trains. I had deja vu on a walk, running into Hotel Normandie where I was put up for a job interview 4 years ago. Current job goes well.
I've done a lot of interesting reading but that's for another post.
I've done a lot of interesting reading but that's for another post.
40 hour week job
2020-09-18 16:30A friend of mine linked to https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=907720996370834&id=100013988260274 which is world-viewable, but basically is someone saying they can't balance a job with dinner, exercise, a clean apartment, and weekends, and someone else saying you're not meant to, 40 hour jobs were 'meant' to have a homemaker.
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