Posts

Showing posts from March, 2022

It's covered in orange but does it have balconies?

Image
Gah. Those went up fast. 5.5 hours plus a snooze in the chair.  Gorgeous day out. Taking a break from war news to listen to a legislative bill-signing. HIGH Excitement.

Magistral

Somewhere over 4 hours of sleep. I should pay better attention to when my body wants to sleep and aim to be ready to be in bed and NOT have one more round of youtube videos before being home and brushing my teeth. Why do I need to be reminded of this? I made the grownup decision to watch a video about who killed Boris Nemtsov, a Russian reformer murdered in 2014 partly because of his views about the annexation of Crimea. It turns out, according to the Guardian with info from Belling Cat, the Russian national database related to booking ANY kind of transportation (idk about uber and lyft and taxis) Magistral or major highway is both a data feast for assassination squads AND a hot commodity on the international dark web data market for stolen data. The not commodity part and the fact that assassination squads book their surveillance trips in the same system makes a GOLD mine. This is all fascinating in a morbid and dystopian way. It is also NOT the most soothing bedtime content.  Happy W

Car crashes, speed bumps and lavender azaleas right close to home.

Image
almost six hours of sleep. Going to bed too late only works if one can go back to bed in the morning. TRYING to inch the duration up longer. Trying. As for the car crashes, it's just depressing when someone gets hit twice in his own neighborhood, never mind resonance with other crashes in the lives of people one knows. Meanwhile thanks to the truck driver who got a roof shearing from a pedestrian bridge, Twitter is full of we're certain it's a good idea chatter about speed limits and traffic calming in the arboretum. I MUST do more walking and aren't these fun! And I get to enjoy azaleas on my way to Taco time.  

Even the dandelions

Image
On the way to the bus stop about 5.5 hours of sleep, I think or maybe almost 6 Up in time for breakfast and shower before 9 am worship. Monday shower ritual: clean the glob of gooey soapy hair left behind from Saturday shampoo out of the Tub Shroom. Sorry not sorry if this is TMI. Also scour callus on bottom of one foot. And then it's off to the races and zoom co-hosting on a screen big enough to think about faces instead of on my phone. Oh the responsibilities of tech geekiness. Yesterday was the kind of spring day when even the dandelions evoke joy. But whose bright idea was it to schedule cherry blossom day and move back in on campus day for the same weekend and then not tell the cherry blossom gawkers to TAKE TRANSIT. I mean, the red camelias are also gorgeous and it's always something to celebrate when i can see out the bus window. Looking at them for minutes on end while the bus creeps forward, though....? And I so wish my mother and I lived only one transit segment apart

Commandment Cathedral. Orthodox lent is a few days away but....

Image
Around 5.5 hours of sleep. If the human does not have the wit to put her hand back under the covers after about the tenth time the cat licks her knuckles, she deserves to have to wake up. It's cherry blossom move back to campus time. Do not go anywhere near the university. In front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow Sign says 6th commandment do not kill  

Snarky Vocabulary lesson Dulcé Sloan Reacts to SCOTUS Hearings

Image
somewhere under 6 hours of sleep Vocabulary lessons from Senate hearings. Not quite as ... as the former President but If every behaves really well there might be pictures of actual nature tomorrow or one of these days, tree pictures. I want some pots of herbs in one window. Today was go buy cat food and appreciate nature time. Stay home and turn ingredients into food time will be another day. Happy saturday. Happy Spring.

Cruz Missile PR

Image
About 4.5 hours of sleep A bit of humor in solidarity with everyone who is disgusted and triggered by Republican blubbering about a certain judicial nomination.

Blue sharkskin suit.

Image
Well over 5 hours of sleep. Almost 6 in fact. Do not get me started about bluetooth connections and whether I can see CPAP device data independently. Do not get me started. As for the sartorial title, HAPPY 55th ANNIVERSARY to my mother's next younger sister and her husband. Morning email included really sweet remembrances of their wedding and pictures of the age. My aunt made her own wedding dress. Also the rental car radiator exploded. And the wedding dinner menu involved frog legs. PS what the heck kind of fabric is "shark skin?" Custom-designed wedding rings  

Trying to get excited about pages and pages of bureaucratese via screen reader

Image
Somewhere over 5 hours of sleep. Not enough exercise. Do I repeat myself? Clean bras socks masks are GLORIOUS. Now about how to get exercise on other days.  As for the pages and pages of bureaucratese, TEAMWORK badly needed. Yeah spring landscaping  

No signs of recent shelling

Image
Almost 6 hours of sleep. No morning Quaker worship. When I went to sign on to my Zoom pro account the first time today I saw some page about "this site is not registered for this server." EXCEPT the message was in Russian. For now data without intepretation. It's a  beautiful day. I made the mistake of shopping for supper when I was hungry. Now I have meals for several days. Maybe someday we will be back to indoor dining even if there is a tolerable place to sit and dine in the sunshine near the bus stop. And the title? My old 'hood at 23rd and Union, all built up

Just don't open email or Twitter or even turn on the news

Image
Did I really sleep almost SIX hours? How about some nice primroses? Just look at flowers. Skip the media. Or be prepared...  

It's the equinox for cripes sake. Time to let the Christmas tree move on!

Image
5 ish hours of sleep in bed and another hour almost immobilized like not even able to move oto o back to bed in the chair after I fed the cat.   Bye Bye Christmas tree I fully intended to go to worship with Quakers in Kiev but thank you international time change time warp, I think I was off by an hour.  As it turned out maybe i was where I was supposed to be and figuring out to move the Christmas tree along is just part of that. PS also posting some daffs with a specific story, reflecting history, realism, magical thinking, and honestly just SPRING. Dedicated to kind of an Energizer Bunny about gardening

Camelias, daffs, primroses and ... the Workers World Party

Image
About 5 hours of sleep. Not enough exercise yesterday. Also what of all that roils my soul needs to be blogged about? Anyway today I opted out of blind thing IN PERSON with people whose vax status I don't even want to think about. Instead, tomorrow is a mess so today was MOM TIME. Sign wheatpasted to pole. Bless your heart Workers World Party. I guess I am glad you are still around, and even have a Twitter ID. But for now wheatpaste on a pole at the bus stop is PLENTY.. All that is floral by way of  RantMom's current abode, Pictures later.  

What happens when white evangelicals try to rap? DELUSIONAL Preachers Rant

Image
About six hours of sleep! No fire alarms, but some blue light flashing outside my window for a bit around bedtime. Presenting a wholesome (?) interlude from my nightly video diet of disinformation streams, bombing-induced horror, political expounding, and in your face accounts of Ukrainian resistance: hello, you are NOT considered liberators if grandmothers are handing you sunflower seeds and hoping something beautiful will sprout from your corpse. Weird dreams getting combed into blog posts.  Wondering what to make of recent apparent uptick in notice here. Happy Friday. 

Dave Grohl and Animal Drum Battle - The Muppets

Image
5.5 hours of sleep. No, not exactly lulled to sleep but somehow comfortably amused by a drum off between popular culture figures. Also wholesome break from multilingual war streams Thank you fire alarm at 4:30 am for last night's interruption. Luckily in spite of resonance with war and a really BAD event at another SHA building, this was just the same mentally ill chick with lousy neighbor skills that management has been working on "lease enforcement" about for months. I am glad it was safe just to go back to sleep. And today, thanks to an abundance of devices, I get a bunch of different voices in my head. Not sure what accounts for the variability of Mr/ Zoom text's voice: it's the same voice I read Orhan Pamul's book Istanbul with so I always associate that voice with Flauvert references and cars speeding along the Bosporus. That does keep work from getting too tedious but maybe a different flavor of distraction would be a better idea. Happy St. Patrick'

Sleep long enough to wake up with weird dreams?

Almost SEVEN hours of sleep counting time to go back to bed AND make it to 9 am techie zoom. Amazing what a difference some exercise makes. Shower, fresh cat box. clean dishes: the best I can do for virtue today. Up to the second war on Twitter is a mixed blessing. So many swirling strands of analysis.

First listen at normal speed. Now appreciate our nice pics of tractors pulling tanks away

Somewhere under 6 hours. Go to bed early. Sleep 4+ hours. Get up. Pee. Feed cat. Eat banana. Go back to bed. I wish the time change didn't whack my rhythms so badly. And in listen to the Brits time, Quakes at International MfW AND consults from the RNIB about accessible COVID tests. Happy Tuesday  

I so want to like this sock pattern

Image
 Incredibly almost 5 hours of sleep. Shower and almost dressed before stint as Zoom co-host for international worship. Jade and salmon pattern socks with sandals Almost did not include socks. Zoom host is rattled. Hold in the Light. Breathe.  Heartening to know to look for paths to struggle about peace testimony in current situations. Put socks on off camera. I so want to like the design. The visuals are cool. There seem to be quality issues about fit, and it's the kind of design with threads to catch toenails on. The top is also tighter than other designs. Will I remember to send this complaint to...? Apparently I will not complain yet. First the HVAC guy very conscientiously working on an odor problem. Yeah HVAC guy, And now Legislative Seminar! Bipartisanship. Blindness orgs collaborating. And get up and get moving campaign needs exercises to do during Zoom land.

Time change hiccups and discontinuities

Image
solid SIX hours of sleep in spite of the time change. Also in spite of my fave of the commercial oatmeal cookie realm much later at night than is probably a good idea. Weekly cat pic trying to  decide whether cat is feeling poorly International Zoom worship at the discontinuities between US time change and other countries is kind of chaotic, but making after worship breakout rooms with specific themes was a cool idea. Chat news: Russia just arrested more thousands of protestors in 37 cities. One of my protest faves is people who stand on the street and hold a blank piece of paper because everyone knows what they are talking about. Zoom co-hosting on smart phone is a different interesting animal than on other devices. It's so useful to have zoomed on multiple devices. All morning I had multiple options for where to be on Zoom. I am so glad ACB leadership and legislative advocacy is all virtual. I am impressed with lots of energies--and also bored with some of presentations.. Other t

Green bananas but at the beginning of the deliverywindow

Image
4.5 hours of sleep.  Two sets of prescription bottles on a purple bedspread. Notice on subtle difference? I am a grownup about scheduling but it would have been so much nicer for the grocery delivery to com at the end of the delivery window. Bananas green enough to last all week hopefully without spots KIND OF make up for the kink in the sleep schedule. One antiwar hashtag in Russian found me some other Russian language cat pics. Thank you algorithms

A new topical game: guess that language then guess what they're saying.

Image
Almost 6 hours of sleep! Lots of physical activity and human contact helps! No I didn't hear any Italian despite the title. And, no I don't understand a whole lot of Polish even though I do recognize it and I did not bother looking at the subtitles very much. Today I filled out a survey from the Census bureau about life during COVID. I basically have plenty to eat. I just get tired of the same thing, of supply chain issues, and of so much less opportunity to share meals with people. I also have enough connectivity to access the survey.

Today in terrorist toothpaste

almost SIX hours of slleep.  Woot. MAYBE thank to all those errands yesterday,. Virtue in the form of: --really meaningful international quaker worship, thank you purple hoodie robe though not up to preferred sartorial standards. --taking trash and compost out.  --find bag to carry around new computer. --enough lentil rice and veggies for a couple days --recently laundered clothing to look professional.  And the terrorist toothpaste? Oops. That part of the sink should not be that nice color of blue. Oh wait. Poorly closed toothpaste tube plus gravity. Satirical twitter handle of the day @DietKGB Comrades in Crimea advertising that they want to sell their condos because the war in Ukraine is going nowhere. But they want hard currency.

200 days supply of Vitamin D

Image
almost 5 hours of sleep. I THINK I could have gone back to bed and still made it to my Wednesday Zoom but it didn't happen. Instead, the more or less daily cycle of cute imojis to people near and dear. And nodding off in my usual Wednesday Zoom. Camera off at least. Today featured sunshine and a needed errand to pick up prescriptions--and vitamin d-- followed by errand to get preferred lip balm at a different pharmacy. Despite sun, --idiot driver IN CROSSWALK while I was crossing with the light. --hordes of people eager to get on the bus before I got off. --too many reminders that, although I voted to legalize weed, I did NOT vote for every bus stop in the county to reek of it.  And how is your war / pandemic / struggle of the week going? By the way Twitter is working on improving its Alt text. So just for grins an image to mess around with.     What is the story of the darkened steamy crusty  glasses, mask because COVID IS STILL HERE  

What this war needs is a tank buyback program

4.5 hours of sleep. Thank you lethal combination of doom-scrolling and cat who is rigid about the breakfast schedule. I will now resume solving world peace by suggesting a tank buyback program. That will mean neglecting dirty dishes and compost removal but such sacrifices will be worth it don't You think?

Dear incompetent pinhead CUT THE CRAP

Somewhere over 5 hours of sleep. Today in international Zoom co-hosting, I WILL  write the organizers and torment them with a number of accessibility tips. But for today, messages about Gandhi and after worship chatter about life in the UK. As for the incompetent pinhead who SHOULD pay attention to legislative deadlines....stay tuned.

Forecast: HEAVY whining. NTIB of not NTIB here we come

Image
Somewhere around 5 hours of sleep. More sleep would never be terrible but as it was I barely had my act together in time for international Quaker zoom co-hosting. Some parts the screen reader makes easier. Some parts Um, yeah, spending my precious eyeball time... And yes, when there are hundreds of people in worship structure benefits EVERYONE.  Then first visit to Mom in MONTHS. We drank hot beverages and at cookies and talked and talked. And both of us feel silly for not going outside in the sun and garden.  The title? Keep 'em guessing time for now. Sidewalk on regular walking route between buses And a glorious celebration of sidewalk maintenance. Fewer things to trip over. Hopefully improvements also matter to incoming inhabitants of new building.

Gratitude showers

About 5 hours of sleep. Considering the state of the world regular showers are a miracle even if I probably need to clean some hair out of the drain. 

A spell must be intoned for every bill

Not Quite 5 hours of sleep. Telecommunications are awesome. Who knew that Senate floor debate at second house cut off could be so.... 

Put the Russians bombing the nuclear power plant out of your mind.

Somewhere over 5 hours of sleep It would be FABULOUS if I could take my trash out in the evening. Dial A Tirade available about about why that is not possible right now. Three more kick ass hours about transportation. Lots of banging refresh on the Bill Information Page for "my" bills In the last couple hours Putin’s troops were shelling Europe’s biggest nuclear plant in Zaporizhya. Knowingly. It’s called raising the stakes. For now, the fire at the station has been localized. But Jesus… Who is this monster in the Kremlin? #Energodar #ClosetheSkyoverUkraine — olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) March 4, 2022 You know you're at a Quaker event when one person steps away for fresh news about Russians shelling a nuclear power plant and two other people have contributions about what are we doing here if we can't...? The "good" news: the reactors at Zaporozhye are closer in design to reactors at Three Mile Island than the ones at Chernobyl.  I also persist in
 4 hours of sleep After 6 loads of laundry. No idea why I woke up so early. It would have been good just to sleep another hour because going back to bed was not going to happen. Add frets about bed stability and need to rant somewhere about design or also order my concrete blocks etc from Lowe's  Cue the dark and foreboding music and centuries of Russian history. I started to write in writing group about Ukraine and history and an artifact of long ago study abroad trip. I thought the artifact was from Kiev, but it says all over it that it was from Pskov and I got lost in Wikipedia and history. I think it was on the way to Pskov our bus passed a monument to 400 years of brotherly relations between Russians, Beloreussians and Ukrainians. What kind of brothers?

Kelp and slippery sidewalks

somewhere less than 5 hours of sleep. Anxiety Crossword puzzle anxiety about bills not moving in lege anxiety about telling more than one person to PREACH THE GOSPEL OF ACCESSIBILITY and NOT just send it off to a committee. So for grins this morning, I poked out a Troops go home no one needs a war tweet in Russian. Ain't modern technology and modern warfare grand.  Wikipedia item about the Potemkin stairs / Odessa steps Search on Odessa Steps Quentin Tarantino one thing to find And some kelp related enviro thing passed before my eyes  and I braved slippery sidewalks on the breezeway to head to work in the computer lab. The last time the parking lot got redone badly needed improvements occurred but now the drainage sucks and during heavy rains greasy parking lot runoff gets to the breezeway.  Happy Tuesday Happy March. Happy Mardi Gras laissez les bon temps roulez with a poem about traffic marmalade and an anger translator when no one thinks the blogger needs an anger translator. Im