Politics, Schmolotics

     I was going to write about it, but--  It's not worth it.  Go read your favorite news outlet; go read the news outlet you like least.  Noodle around, get a feel for who's saying what and make up your own mind.

     Newsflash: Congressbeings of opposing parties don't much like one another.  There's even some dissent among members of the same parties!  Representatives are especially outspoken, Senators more subtle.  These aren't bugs, they're features!  That's how it's supposed to work. Those people are the distilled essence of our opinions (Senators were supposed to be the distilled essence of our States' opinions but the 17th Amendment undid that, alas) and -- when necessary -- they're supposed to find some resolution we'll all dislike in roughly equal measure.

     Politics isn't about what's best, it's about what works.  As Winston Churchill pointed out, representaive democracies* are terrible -- almost as bad as every system that's been tried or proposed. "Almost" is the important caveat: it's the best we've got, with the best chance of correcting the things it does wrong, sometimes before it gets entirely out of hand.  It's inherently imperfect, just as we are, but like the best of us, it aspires to be better than it is.
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* Yeah, yeah, ours is "A republic, if [we] can keep it," but as a general thing, it's Western Democracy, so we're going with the easy term.

Worrying About Rannie Wu

     The real-life Random Numbers Wu is a very old tortie cat.  She wasn't feeling at all well yesterday -- and to make things worse, Huck, my yellow-striped tomcat, was pestering her.  So they got assigned different parts of the house.

     Rannie slept on my office chair and may be feeling better this morning.  Alas, Huck decided to be very swashbuckling and playful and upset her -- and she won't swat or bite him, she just wants to get away and swears at him in a very human-sounding manner.  So Huck's spending some quality time with Tamara while she watches the news, and Rannie and I are doing the same in the office.

     Meanwhile, my own back pain is localized enough that I'm pretty sure it's the early stages of a kidney stone.  Not looking forward to it.

Better, I Hope

     Slept off and on all day yesterday, and all night last night.  This  seems to have put an end to the lingering sore throat and fatigue.  I think my back feels better, too.

     Here's hoping!

Headache

     "Headache!"  It's what workers yell if they drop something while working overhead.

     I wish someone had yelled it at me.

     Did my usual morning stuff - coffee, breakfast, Internet -- stood up to get ready and realized I wasn't so well.  Whacked with a one-sided headache, the dizzying kind with visual distortions and a kind of numb spot on my face.  I'm pretty sure the numb spot is just a muscle spasm but it's unnerving.

     Update: Things got much worse, rapidly.  I called in sick and went back to bed, where I slept for more than a couple of hours.  Up now and still nowhere near okay, but at least my face stopped being numb.

Writer's Group

     The writer's-group meeting yesterday was interesting. 

     There was a little confusion at the restaurant, which had apparently misplaced our reservation, but it got sorted out and we had our own meeting room, with electrical outlets and everything.  My computers don't much like the wi-fi, but since I do my critiques from hardcopy, that wasn't a problem.

     An effectively infinite supply of potables was nice to have; several of us enjoyed beer in moderation, I had all the coffee I could want, and there was iced tea and soft drinks for the others.  Appetizers and a light meal didn't get in the way at all -- and our waitress was outstanding!  Finding appropriate gaps in the discussions of workshopping writers to take orders, deliver food and refill drinks is something of an art.

     We didn't make great use of the table; I should have been more proactive in who sat where, to ensure everyone had enough room for papers and laptops/iPads.  But it was an excellent room, adequately quiet and with good acoustics.

     This first on-our-own meeting was less structured and more social, without a firm time limit for each critique; it worked okay and we probably needed that informality to get re-acquainted, but next time we'll want to be a little more aware of the clock.

     I think we got a lot done.  The weekly classes called for 2000 to 5000 words of new material; our new meetings, more or less monthly, have an upper limit of roughly 7500 words and several people pushed the limit.  It allows for a little more of a narrative to develop, and proved to not be overwhelming to read and critique (Word and compatible word-processors have great commenting/tracked editing tools) in the weeks leading up to the class.

     We plan to continue.

     And yes, readers, I'm still working on the same novella (or whatever).

Annoying

     Yesterday, I knew I was still recovering from the week of early shifts, but I'd slept a lot and I figured it wasn't much.  I managed to get several things done that I'd put off, like paying my taxes and picking up a package waiting at the Post Office (a Pelikan green highlighter fountain pen -- I have a yellow one but their yellow ink is a little pale).

     Got caught up on laundry -- the first casualty of weird shifts the laundry.  I ordered a battery for my scooter and paper and ink for my color printer, and picked them up an hour later.  Grilled a steak for supper, worked on critiques for my writer's group and hey, it was getting on towards ten p.m., time to think about sleeping.  I knew I was getting a bit mentally fuzzy.

     But first, what about a sign for the writer's group?  We gave it a new name to reflect the reduced membership, and it lends itself well to visual representation.*  I was looking at some writerly props and realized one of my better fountain pens was a little dry.  No problem, I'd already grabbed a bottle of water to set on my nightstand.  Open that up, dip in a fingertip, apply a drop of water to the nib, hey presto!

     Set the water aside and went back to looking at props.  Bumped something, kept looking, thinking--

     Holy cow, what's that glugging sound?  I hadn't put the lid back on the water bottle and I'd knocked it over!  On my keyboard, the nice round-keys Azio retrokeyboard.  Stood the bottle up, stood up, reached over my desktop computer and started groping at back of it to unplug the keyboard -- and failed to notice I had knocked the water bottle over again, this time on my desk.  Water was running across the desktop and dripping onto the chairmat.

     My computer sits on top of a small two-drawer gadget that holds envelopes, well above the desk, but the desktop is very cluttered with pens, gadgets and papers.  I stood the bottle back up, turned the computer off at the power switch, grabbed the office roll of paper towel and started mopping.  Eventually, I was able to wipe off the keyboard and turn it over on a mat of paper toweling; I got the desktop unloaded as best I could, and dried off mousepad, mouse, wrist rest....  I kept finding little pools and puddles.

     I think I got it all.  The Azio keyboard proved tricky to open up, so I dried it more and will let it set.  After an hour's work, I was extremely ready for bed.

     This morning, I had another check for water, got out a backup keyboard (Qwerkywriter S -- the latest version has a wired-connection mode), put the now dry mousepad, mouse and wrist rest back in place and started up the computer.  Let's not tempt the Fates but at least I have got this far.
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* I'd tell you, but it's a secret.  As R. Buckminster Fuller said, "Never show unfinished work," and ours is as unfinished as cheap furniture.

Okay, Now...

     Now I'm back on days, at least for the weekend and Monday (I checked).  The weather today is supposed to be remarkably nice, so I'm hoping to charge up the scooter battery, or find out if I need to buy another one.  Also maybe get a few things done in the yard - there is a scattering of leaves to be raked up, twigs and small branches to be gathered, and I might even do some weeding and add a layer of dirt to the raised flowerbed out front.

     It's going to be nice to get some sunlight.

* * *

     Meanwhile, out in the wide world, India has tested a satellite killer and created an ugly scattering of orbital debris.  Why?  To show that they can.

     I think that's every member of the Space Club having demonstrated some version of antisatellite capability except the EU's ESA, and they still remember WW II (and sat through Moonraker five times).  So could they all please stop now?  There's are people up there, and phone calls,  and the Internet and your pocket navigation system; there's a future up there, if we will only reach for it.  So don't screw it up.

     Also, if you want to see Russia and the U.S. suddenly find common ground, hit the ISS with some damaging debris that injures the crew and see how long it takes for Donald and Vlad to let you know you don't have a space program any more, both cheered on by their domestic opposition and backed up by anti-antisatellite systems that'll leave the rubble bouncing.

One Week On The Early Shift

     It was difficult.  I used to have trouble adjusting to working the early shift when it was five a.m. to one p.m.; it was moved to a three a.m. start some years back and has been trouble for me every time I have to fill in for the techs who usually work it.

     Even using the weekend to gradually change my hours didn't help much.  I was muzzy when I woke, staggered through getting ready, managed to be fairly alert for the trip in and for about the first hour and a half of my shift, then I'd just run out of energy.  More than once, I woke up face-down on my desk, just slumped forward in my chair.  Yesterday, it was a struggle to stay awake while walking.

     Need to do a better job moving my body clock the next time I work this shift.  I've slacked off on the vitamin B and some of that might have helped, too.

On The Other Hand

     Two or three hours into my shift yesterday, I looked down and realized I was wearing mismatched shoes.

     Yes, I'd been that out of it while getting ready.  I prefer a particular make and style of show for work -- Merrill "Moab 2" hikers -- and buy them in different colors.  Mine were in two hues.

     The previous night (my night, that is), I'd awakened after about three hours and then spent at least two hours trying to get back to sleep.  Spent my lunch break with my head down on my desk, dozing.  I was still pretty muzzy all that day.

     When I got home, I had a light meal and took one of Tam's melatonin pills, and that knocked me out pretty well -- with the addition of the radio version of Dragnet playing on my Kindle!

     It's not that Jack Webb is boring; I'd found the programs while looking for a script as an example of how he used simple, straightforward sentences in natural-sounding language without becoming dull.  He did it very well; even the TV version of Dragnet got away with a lot more straight exposition than usual, thanks to Joe Friday's matter-of-fact voiceovers.

     That calm speech pattern comes very close to my childhood memories of falling asleep while my parents and occasional visitors spoke quietly in the living room down the hall.  Couldn't even make out the words, just the soft ebb and flow of conversation. Jack Webb's character even sounds a little like my father did.  So the radio shows are a win-win: an interesting story if I'm awake enough to follow it, a soothing background when I'm sleepy.

     Speaking of sleepy, I just realized I didn't pick up my coffee mug, but one of Tam's with a similar design and colors! 

This Shift Has Drawbacks. It Has Compensations, Too

     I'm coming to dislike going to bed with an idea for a post, or waking up with an idea, and then by the time I'm sitting at the computer, it has fled.

     Yesterday did have a nice side.  Tam and I had a nice lunch at Brugge, the nice Belgian restaurant in Broad Ripple.  We went with simple fare, hanger steak and eggs over frites, that Belgian dish you know as French Fries.  They've got a huge selection of dipping sauces for the frites and the meal comes with a choice of two; I picked pesto and horseradish while Tam had pesto and curry, which pairs nicely with the steak and eggs, too.

     Tam pointed out a sign: just upstairs from Brugge is Txuleta, a Basque cider house!  It's a fairly recent addition, open in the evenings.  In Basque country, cider houses are a seasonal treat, serving hard cider and hearty dishes, and "discovered" by gastronomes a few years back.  Our local version appears to be offering the foodie take on this tradition and it makes my mouth water -- have a look at their menu and gallery at the link!  We'l be finding out what that's about.

So, Then

     Really, just another placeholder -- and a reminder, politicians are scum; your neighbor who votes for them is just a nitwit.  The distinction is important; we can get along with nitwits.  And they can get along with us.

Civics, Who Needs It?

     Not Indiana high school graduates, I guess.  The state legislature had considered adding the test required of prospective U. S. citizens as a requirement to graduate high school, but decided not to because it would be too much of a burden on the schools.

     That's right, turning out graduates with the basic knowledge required to become a naturalized U. S. citizen is too much to ask of our high schools.

     And yes, they'll be voting.