Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1610
Election day, parent teacher conferences, blown. up trackpad, the cheap electronics are the least enshittified, learning to write in lower case
(Originally mis-numbered as 1599)
Good morning good morning. It is 8:02 I just woke up. Nine and a half hours, still sleepy. I can never get enough sleep this autumn. Autumn sleep sickness. Sounds Victorian. I’ll take it.
Have has today off. Election day and parent teacher conferences. Very excited to see Mamdami win and moderately excited to see Spanberger win even though she smack talked Mamdami yesterday my god what is it with these people just chill. Think I might even sit around watching MSNBC tonight. Wonder if they’ll wheel out Kornacki. Virginia AG is a mail-biter. Hope we can pull that one out.
I wore a white band t-shirt today instead of a black one so the teacher wouldn’t think I was that weird. Just, you know, arrested development.
Woah just got a text that Dick Cheney died. Welp. Man remember when he was considered the worst of the worst?
Moving on.
Had a dream last night that the powers that be were forcing me into an arranged marriage with my friend Diana. This is because I read the chapter in Game of Thrones where they make Tyrion and Sansa get married. I felt lucky getting Diana in the forced marriage lottery. Weirdly I just got an email from her as I woke up. MAGIC.
They displayed my mom and cousin’s banners at the church in Fairbanks. I wrote a month or two ago about how my sister, aunt and I did a conference call with a bunch of kids at the church who do a sort of remembrance project and make banners for all the church members who pass away. They showed them all in the church this weekend for, I believe, all saints day? Not sure. Anyway Val said she knew like 40% of the people listed on banners and it was a real emotional experience. My cousin Mickey loved tie die I love that his was the only tie die banner that is a really great touch.
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We are listening to They Are Gutting a Body of Water, album is LOTTO. I don’t know anything about them but as a member of Rockets Burst From the Streetlamps, I have the utmost respect for shoegaze-inflicted bands with really long names. Feel like “inflected” was the wrong word there? Effected? Is “eflected” a word? My brain is not working right now. Neither are my fingers. It is weird how much more difficult it is to type this morning as it is on normal mornings when I’ve been up an hour. Anyway they sound sorta like Rollerskate Skinny without the circus tinge, but that description will only make sense to Ben (hi Ben). Flaming Lips back on album 2 when they were scary and not fun? Medicine with Melody? Radial Spangle oh yeah remember them? Bit o Radial Spangle in here. Man this is some real good guitar sounds I am very into this album. I might have to google them. They are from Philly. Started out as a solo project. Jesus the dude was born in 1990 oh my god oh my god oh my god.
So I left my new(ish) Apple Wireless Trackpad plugged in at my Library computer and the thing blew up. I mean, it, like, bloated and warped and twisted and cracked and no longer works. I am mildly upset about this because I really thought I was a genius leaving my apple wireless keyboards and trackpads plugged in all the time? I have been doing this for years no problem but now? Ugh. Uh oh.
But the good news is I took this opportunity as the final straw in buying a few of those old stock Logitech three button mice with scroll-wheels, USB corded editions. You know, the basic perfect mouse. You know how much those things cost now? Eight dollars? My god, what a deal. Emma has freed up an old Mac Mini she no longer needs so, you know, gotta wipe it, install a new OS, do all that stuff. And it’s always a pain because I have to drag a giant monitor out of the closet and get it all set up.
So I had this epiphany that they probably sell small portable monitors and yeah, of course they do because of lunatics in coffee shops. Anyway, super small monitor, best mouse in the world, Bob’s your uncle, I am ready to refurb this computer whole setup cost me like $60. Love it.
I think at this point the only good electronics that aren’t completely enshittified is the bottom end? The cheapest of the cheap Chinese knock-offs. They’re still not good but they don’t really suffer from bloatware or feature creep, and you’re not overpaying for garbage. Just a theory.
RIP lovely little sleek black Mac Trackpad. You were really rare when I got you: only available with the iMac Pro, which was probably the best Mac desktop machine ever made my god that thing your life was too short.
I am trying to learn to write in lower case. I don’t know if you’ve seen my handwriting but ever since I took a drafting class back in 1985, I decided lower case is for the birds, and only wrote in title caps. Relatedly, or perhaps even as a consequence, my handwriting is borderline illegible. So I am trying to make amends, to fix this problem. I have my beloved Kindle Scribes (enshittified but still incredibly versitile) and whenever I take notes now I am writing in lower case. It is kind of a mess — d’s especially cause me grief, and n’s. But also it is already more legible than my regular handwriting? It is somewhat stunning.
I may work up some courage and offer you a sample soon.
Jane is going to cooking camp in 56 minutes. This might be a bit abbreviated. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to pack a lunch for cooking camp. No, right? That would be weird. Jesus H so much to remember as a parent. She’s been like six times you’d think I have this down right now.
Real meltdown last night. She was stuck in this fugue state of manic unkindness, couldn’t snap out of it. Emma had to call in reinforcements. I had to brush her teeth for the first time in ages, though at least she didn’t do the massive resistance that makes the whole endeavor absolutely miserable. She did try and spit on me, though. Been thinking lately we were having a really good run. I guess I will never not get fooled thinking that maybe that means we are coming out of a phase. At one point we asked if she was going to be kind because otherwise we were done hanging out with her and she said “well no one can predict the future.”
And Emma (very kindly) said “remember when you said that about commitment in marriage? You deserve this. This is your child.”
Touché, touché.
Justa mix for you today, almost all new except I threw on the beautiful Carter USM song cuz it came on random the other day. I do like the new Florence album but a) it does not have enough Isabella I really wish she was still writing songs in the band I don’t know what is up with that I hope they are still getting along. This album is intensely raw and personal and vaguely uncomfortable and I don’t know if she’ll ever do anything that hits me as hard as Ceremonials but it is solid. And she does sing about “streetlights bursting” and, you know, see above for my old band name. She must also be an Anaïs reader boy that does not shock me.
Love this Just Mustard band, don’t know anything about them but man that album rules. New Dad is also a solid new band I know nothing about, also Horse Vision seriosuly I don’t know anything about any of these new bands. Gotta investigate. Oh and I love this “Lou Reed on the Radio” song it has a real timeless melancholy to it. Much investigating is needed will keep you apprised.
Okay off to parent teacher conferences. Jane is very bright and enthusiastic and smart and she is making progress controlling her emotions. That is what they always say let’s see if this time is any different.
xo
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Good Morning, Hello, How Are You vol 1.