We’re listening to some Tito Puente this Thanksgiving Day. It’s not a great match ….

It’s 32° outside here on Whidbey Island. This morning I realize that the “Minor Figures Barista Oat” liquid is less convincing than the “Oatly Barista” when under-poured — that is, when there isn’t quite enough in the coffee. But once your oat-to-coffee ratio is above a certain threshold, it’s fine. I’ll probably stick with it for a while.

After having consulted many of the social media websites I conclude there is no hope for humankind. - god

Aretha’s “Chain of Fools” is my earworm this morning.

Today’s substack newsletter from John Naughton contains this splendid quote:

“The last thing one discovers in composing a work is what to put first.” - Blaise Pascal

That should give my mind a bit of ease.

We’re nearing the end of our two-night stay on Orcas Island. Cold and rainy, but what else could the weather be?

Had a restless night after yesterday’s covid booster. This morning I strained my lower back. I don’t have any placebos around, so I’m instead consuming white wine, pretending it’s a kind of non-steroidal muscle relaxer.

bsky.app/profile/b…

I do not know any adults who chew their fingernails.

Yes, I can be pedantic. Why do you ask?

For the first cup of the day …

I suppose if I had LOTS of money I would buy a fine new iPhone, but I am no stranger to buyer’s remorse.

I have not learned how to add alt text to images in my micro.blog posts.

Today (September 19) is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. In that spirit I will begin reading the excellent novel “Yiddish for Pirates” by Gary Barwin. (The narrator is an African Gray parrot.)

Bad air this morning — Purpleair numbers are about 145 at 7am. We have a small air filter running the kitchen area of the house which does a fair job of pulling out the bad things. I have all the parts to make a serious filter, but have been procrastinating.

We’re in the middle days of our ‘camping’ getaway. Not far away from home, but very different. Amazing how much writing I can get done without the temptations of the internet.

Normally I would not tap into my phone’s hotspot, but I’m making an exception for micro.blog.

And now, back to actual typing.

Doing that camping thing. Ms Me and I, camping for the first time in a year.

I fired up one of the many “AI” or “LLM” apps. This one is known as “Poe”. I asked it to “define classical democracy”, then “modern democracy”. No problem. The response was instantaneous.

Then I asked it to “define socialism”. The response was delivered as if the response was being constructed in real time.

For no good reason, I was surprised to find a post by Manton on Threads: www.threads.net/@manton

Bulletin: gato ≠ gateau

We’re dealing with this year’s outbreak of “rabbit hemorrhagic disease.” I guess it’s nature reminding us that we’re all here on borrowed time.

Some people here in town (Langley, Washington, USA) had to take their potted plants indoors because of the unexpected hail this morning.

This seems as good a time as any for a leisurely
sit-down and an ounce or two of Lost Republic rye.

For those who may have been too often married: punchdrink.com/recipes/r…

Sunny day with excellent coffee from freshly-ground beans. I will not disturb the moment by taking up Maurizio Lazzarato’s “Capital Hates Everyone”.