COVID, Day Three

Slept until 9:45 this morning. I really needed it. I’ve been taking NyQuil at night and it seems to help with the runny nose a bit and I don’t have fits of coughing through the nigh, just once in a great while.

I don’t feel any better this morning but, thankfully, I don’t feel any worse.

Exhausted, my eyes hurt, raspy dry cough, and a runny nose are still at work.

My lungs ache from coughing. I’m not sure if it’s the bed I’m sleeping in or what but my lower back hurts.

Since testing positive I’ve isolated myself in our guest room, worn a mask when I use the toilet, or get something from the kitchen. I’m constantly washing my hands and generally stay in the room. I have my kitty cat, Flynn, to keep me company.

Please, mask.

😷

Conducting a little experiment here to see if coffee helps cure COVID.

Even if it doesn’t, it still tastes great. ☕️

Kolby enjoying his time outside on the porch.

Such a proper young man.

It’s not a WWDC name tag, but I do plan on having a lot of fun this week!

Perhaps I’ll just sit outside all day?

View from the side of WillowTree’s Woolen Mills office in Charlottesville, Virginia.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back in this building.

Enjoying the morning out front, sipping my coffee, listening to the birds.

Good morning.

Not Surprising

AHHHHHH!CNBC: “In 2017 and 2018, as some workers sought to form a union at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company was paying a consultancy, MWW PR, to monitor employees in a Facebook group and more broadly on social media, according to invoices and other documents reviewed by CNBC.”

Remember, pay attention to what they do, not what they say.

Musk drones on and on about freedom in the “town square” of Twitter but he sure doesn’t care for his workers right to organize, does he?

Snow White

I have zero capacity to work in the yard and not get absolutely filthy. 😂

Today I’ve been planting some shrubs for my dear wife.

Lucky being Lucky. 🍀

I have no idea who created this, but they’re a genius.

The 12 Seasons of Virginia

  1. Winter
  2. Fool’s Spring
  3. Second Winter
  4. Spring of Deception
  5. Third Winter
  6. The Pollening
  7. Actual Spring
  8. Summer
  9. Hells Front Porch
  10. False Fall
  11. Second Summer
  12. Actual Fall

See Elon Musk’s Crash Course

After watching The New York Times Presents: S2E1 Elon Musk’s Crash Course I’m more convinced than ever that autonomous driving is a near term pipe dream. It seems to me we’re tens of years away, at the least, and I still wholeheartedly believe the way to make it happens includes building roads to help the car navigate properly.

If I were to buy a Tesla I definitely wouldn’t buy Autopilot. It’s just nowhere near being ready.

Sometimes I feel like Dr. Dolittle.

What the picture doesn’t show is our old kitty, Khloe, laying on the other side of me.

Pictured are our puppers, Kolby, and our younger kitties, Flynn. He thinks I’m cat furniture.

Saturday Morning Coffee

Robert Reich: “Decades ago, America’s wealthy backed a Republican establishment that believed in fiscal conservatism, anti-communism, and constitutional democracy. But today’s billionaire class is pushing a radically anti-democratic agenda for America — backing Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, calling for restrictions on voting, and even questioning the value of democracy.”

Our slide toward the destruction of American Democracy is real and it sucks.

I’m shocked! Said no one ever. Musk is just another billionaire bro who gets off manipulating people and systems.

Real piece of work.

Lickability: “While there have always been many third-party iOS apps for Mastodon on the App Store, Eugen wanted us to create a native first-party application that showcased what’s unique about Mastodon while also focusing on bringing in entirely new users.”

This piece is a bit older but it’s worth mentioning if you’d like to move off Twitter to Mastodon. The Lickability built, native, iOS app is really nice.

Rolling Stone - Adam Rawnsley: “As of Tuesday, Truth Social hasn’t even submitted an Android app to Google to review for Play Store approval, an individual familiar with the matter and two Trumpworld sources with knowledge of the situation tell Rolling Stone.”

Trumps paranoia is real and his band of grifters and politicians aren’t serious people trying to do things the right way, like us regular people.

Bloomberg - Mark Gurman: “Apple Inc. delayed a plan to require workers to come back to the office three days a week, citing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, marking the latest setback in its efforts to return to normal.”

Apple has lost some folks and others really don’t want to come back to the office.

It’s gonna be a challenge.

CNN - Marianne Garvey: “Ward, known for his work in “The Right Stuff,” “Short Cuts,” and numerous other films, died on May 8 at age 79.”

This death was a gut punch to me for some reason. I liked watching Fred Ward movies. My favorites are Tremors and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. Of course those weren’t mentioned in the article.

The Sun Gazette - John Lindt: “On May 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its 2022 almond forecast estimating the California almond crop will be 4% lower than 2021, meaning there will be about 100 million fewer pounds produced in the Golden State.”

I don’t think folks realize how much of the worlds fruits and vegetables come out of California’s San Joaquin Valley. It’s not L.A. it’s not San Francisco or any other well know California destination. It’s the poor part of California nobody pays attention to. It’s hot and dusty and full of hardworking migrants to deliver us the food we need to survive. Crops like Almonds are very popular, they also use a ton of water. The only other nut crop I know of that uses more water than Almonds is Walnuts.

Growing up in California’s San Joaquin Valley water was always an issue. But now? Now is way more extreme than those days and is only going to get worse due to climate change.

Harvard Business Review - Thomas Stackpole: “White created the website Web3 Is Going Just Great, a time line that tracks scams, hacks, rug pulls, collapses, shady dealings, and other examples of problems with Web3. HBR.org spoke to White over email about what people aren’t hearing about Web3, how blockchain could make internet harassment much worse, and why the whole project might be ‘an enormous grift that’s pouring lighter fluid on our already-smoldering planet.’”

Crypto coin values fell off a cliff shortly after this article appeared.

Check out Web3 Is Going Just Great it’s full of interesting reads.

Tiny Apple Core

This is how you work on the front porch.

Took a half day off to do some additional storm cleanup in the backyard.

Now to move that stack of wood to another location and get the lawn started.

It never fails. When I get to the end of a project I get a little down and start thinking of my own little software projects. 🌾

Which makes me wish I could do those full time. 🕛

Every time.

My brain is weird. 🧠

A Good Day

Late Friday afternoon I got my every three month injections of cortisone in both knees. My knees were actually feeling better than they had in a really long time, but I got them anyway, because it’s the final set I can have prior to surgery to replace my left one in August.

This afternoon Kim and I spent time in her garden planting some new azaleas and pulling her plants out of the greenhouse.

I feel amazing. I had about a level two, maybe three, on my pain levels and only had a couple moments of sharp pain.

We finished up and I still feel great. I wish I could feel like this every day for the remainder of my life. 😀

Y’all ready to see the bump Stream got when Musk announced he was buying Twitter!

Drumroll please. 🥁

Yep, I got that nice day of three downloads!

I am greateful folks do take the time to consider Stream. 🙏🏼

Holding hands with Kolby

Saturday Morning Coffee

I’m composing this at 5:30AM, flying down the highway, Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feel Good on the radio. We’re headed to Durham this morning to watch our granddaughter play soccer. I’m really excited to see her run around the field in a clump with all the other kids.

Where the heck is a Starbucks. I need coffee. ☕️

Richmond Times-Dispatch: “From sassy deviled eggs to a Duke’s heart with an arrow through it, guests can choose from a variety of pre-drawn Duke’s designs. These small and medium sized tattoos – intended for arms and legs only – would typically run $150.”

Not gonna lie. I was ready to do this. 🤣 Lucky for me they were already booked up. No Dukes Mayo tattoo for Rob.

Apple: “Genuine Apple parts and tools can now be purchased by US customers”

If you visit the website Apple setup for this you’re gonna think you’ve landed at some sort of scam site. Don’t worry, it’s not a scam. You’d think they’d have hosted it somewhere at apple.com, right?

The Daily Beast: “Although one senior U.S. official admitted to me (somewhat uneasily) that “Austin said the quiet part out loud,” it soon became clear that the U.S. was publicly willing to own the new goal of turning Russia’s unprovoked, brutal escalation of its ongoing eight-year war in Ukraine into a lasting and meaningful defeat for the Kremlin.”

I have this weird feeling Putin has some kind of terminal illness. Perhaps he just realizes he’s getting older. It seems like he wants to go out in a blaze of glory.

Hopefully that doesn’t include a nuclear cloud.

Daring Fireball: “I know that as a pundit, spending Apple’s money is easy, but UI Browser seems like a tool Apple should have purchased long ago”

I’ve heard the name Bill Cheeseman but never knew what he did. The man is calling it quits at age 79. Wow!

NPR: “He also took issue with the many Biblical references to rape, bestiality, cannibalism and infanticide. “In the end, if Jimmy and Susie are curious about any of the above, they can do what everyone else does – get a room at the Motel Six and grab the Gideons,” he wrote.”

I know some mighty fine people in Florida, but it’s also home of some really crazy people.

Yet another example of authoritarians losing their collective mind because the United States continues its march to become more liberal and they can’t cope with it.

Before you know it they’ll be burning books and recruiting young folks to be an army of tattle tales, complete with little arm bands signifying their importance.

The Ringer: “Saul Goodman had a toupee. He wore colorful suits and a pinky ring. And he drove a boat-sized Cadillac. On the surface, he was a cartoon attorney—the kind that may have even popped up in the ’90s on Mr. Show, the beloved sketch comedy series Odenkirk created with David Cross. Yet there was much more to Saul than that.”

Bob Odenkirk is an amazing actor. I really loved him in Nobody.

Dead State: “MyPillow CEO and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell wants you to know that he finally has the goods to prove the 2020 election was stolen which will lead to the election being overturned as soon as — this Thursday.”

Oh, it’s that nutter again. Dude, give up. There was no fraud.

Tiny Apple Core

The baby birdies behind the wreath on our front door are getting big. 😃

Also, look at all that poop on the door! 😂

Already missing my Exeter Coffee Co family, but happy to be home. 🧡