Today 28Feb2023: Last Friday in January 2023

I did not take pictures today, sorry. However, Dondrea sent me one of Zophia (see below).

Going backward, I finally went to bed after midnight. I was coding in Python (I am not sure Python thought my code was Pythonic), but I was having issues with Pandas syntax and was not doing something right. I am coding on the site Kaggle which has contests (for real money) to solve computer problems using various Artificial Intelligence techniques. My program, running on the environments supplied by Kaggle, could read the enormous amount of data and progress through the directory of multiple files. Still, I was trying to reduce data into a summary using cool Pandas GroupBy and seemed to have created a time series, not a data frame of the reduction. Finally, at about midnight, I understood I needed to change an index to get the helpful data frame. I still do not know how to fix it–soon!

The contest has a bonus for supplying test results by 6 Feb 2023, so I am motivated to get something working that just at least sends in a syntactically correct answer. I am taking on the Ice Cube contest. My Python skills have faded over the last five years, and the tools have improved. My math goes back to college in the 1980s. I will try and see if I can re-ignite my passion for coding and math–should not take more than a spark–I love this stuff.

Before disappearing into my own mind and Python coding, I worked on my next spelljammer model. This is the second one. I have the deck planked, shaped, and sanded. The Turb Dork metallic paint has made the SciFi ring look not like laser-cut plywood. It takes four coats over white (some darker metallic paints want a black undercoat) to get the look. The plywood has stigels cut into it with the laser that the light coats of primer and paint have left (but no longer black from the burning). I will paint them by hand later to stand out. I have primed all the wood underneath with three coats of primer. I also coated the SciFi Ring holding stuff and did not deck that section. I will paint the areas in Star Wars colors of grays, blacks, and red–the usual color for equipment in that universe. Only the decking will look like wood.

Moving back in time, I was at Zophia’s play at Whitford Middle School. She was Suiter #3 and part of Scylia (the monster that munches on Odysseus’ crew) in The SoussOdyssey. They had the usual problems with sound, both from equipment and the younger cast, but the forty-five-minute work was well done. Replacing the translations of the Greek (seldom lyrical), the story is told in Doctor Souss’s style, and they “dropped the boring parts.” While I missed the trip to the underworld (the dropping of it wisely avoiding some controversy and boring bits there) and Kirk Douglass (1954 version), having it back in some rhyme seemed to bring it back to life for me. I would recommend it even for classic lovers.

(Zophia as Suiter #3)

Zophia is shot in the eye (somewhat comedically) when Odysseus is revealed, making her the worst of the suiters, as in the story, Odysseus kills the worst first. It was also fun that all the crew members were numbered (they all die in the story), and there was a countdown through the play as crew members fell. It was great fun, and there were various allusions to the 1990s and other things that I sometimes understood.

Before this, I was at dinner with Mariah at Golden Valley Brewery; I was supposed to be at BJ’s. Unfortunately, I went to the wrong place, but Mariah made it work. There I had a beer, some Moroccan-styled sweet potato fries that were quite nice, a small salad, and an appetizer version of their fried oysters. Mariah and I caught up and talked some about plans and things. Mariah is reworking her ride as she is less pleased with her current vehicle. The place was loud, so we moved to a booth on the restaurant side.

Before this, I had finished working from home today (Mondays and Fridays are working-from-home days). The day ended after a lot of frustrating discussions about some mistakes made. Elementary mistakes were made, and that requires, it seems, more emails and meetings. Details do not belong here.

I called Rev. Anne Weld-Martin and asked her if January was a month of stress or stupidity or where folks just do crazy things. With the pandemic and all the months seeming to be the same, I was unsure about my previous experiences. Yes, was the answer that January-February is the high point for deaths in the USA in her experience (she is also a local Chaplain for the EMT services in the area). So it is a month of abnormal stress, and this January is following the trend, if not setting a new high (low).

I will not describe much about work, I was swamped in the morning and had a few crises of the moment to resolve and some to continue to work on. It was quieter in the afternoon, as usual for Fridays (I do not support production, so I don’t get the notorious 4PM Friday SL1/SL2 production issues; service level 1 is for a total loss of functionality, and 2 is for a critical loss of service–both are 7/24 fire fighting at Nike). I took a few questions in the later afternoon and closed my Nike laptop for the weekend (I hope).

Lunch was two hot dogs, trying to use up the Olympic Provisions’ local meat products, with sour kraut. Always good, and the dessert was a Girl Scout cookie (peanut butter–I got two of those boxes and gave one to Susie). I try to avoid cookies, but I make an exception for these cookies. So good!

I started the day at 7:15, having started before my alarm. I made a breakfast of a banana with yogurt and liberal coffee, Equal Trade brand, made in my French Press. I skipped my exercises and dressed in the late morning, as is my habit on Friday.

Bouncing back–in the middle of the day, I visited Susie at the hummingbird house. There was no traffic, and I had a momentary break in the chaos that was January-stressed-out-stupid-crazy-s***t work today. Susie was delighted to see me; she was in her recliner in the shared living room. Susie was comfy in her new blanket. We held hands for a bit; Susie looked like she was a bit confused today and was happy to see me, and just holding her hand helped ground her. I am sure that waking in a new bed and a new place every morning is disconcerting–we lived twenty-five years at the Volvo Cave.

We called her mother, Leta, and talked for a while. Leta and Susie use my iPhone and FaceTime to see each other. This visual connection is essential to the two of them. It is important to me to visit, even for short workday trips, to see Susie. I can also provide the connection for Susie and Leta (Leta will call Susie on the phone if I am delayed or prevented from visiting).

Susie seemed alert and more responsive today. Someday I can see her struggle with falling asleep while taking or understanding (her eyes show her confusion). Today was a better day–it is good to have another good day.

That is a wrap for Friday; thank you for reading. I will try to remember to take more pictures.