Well, it looks like I got my drone at exactly the right time. The US Government banned all new foreign-made drones in the U.S., essentially shutting DJI out of the domestic market as of yesterday.
In my continuing quest to get current on all of my vaccinations before Bobby Brainworms makes it illegal, I got my shingles vaccine this morning at about 11 o’clock. By 2 o’clock my left arm felt like somebody had hit it with a baseball bat. I can’t tell, but I think I might have a low-grade fever. We’re going to see how this affects me tomorrow and that will tell whether or not I’m going to work. I’ve still got several more to go plus a booster for this and for hepatitis B upcoming. I’m trying to stretch them out every two weeks so that I give my immune system time to bounce back before I dose with something else.
Update: You thought I was wearing my tinfoil hat when I wrote this, but you’d be mistaken.
Redwood watches just released a new GMT model that looks beautiful. The price isn’t eye-wateringly high and I like the subtle details in the dial face—the numbers around the crown are perfectly imprecise, the ribs on the edges are just the right height, and the orange GMT hand is sharp. Plus, it’s got a date window. At 40mm it’s at the very top edge of sizing for my wrist, but it’s really pretty. The only thing I’d like to know is how thick it is; my solar Vaer diver is the tallest watch I own at 10mm and it verges on being annoying when it catches on my sleeves.
If the world was a normal place right now, I’d consider buying one of these.
I’ve had these tabs open in Safari for a while now, which is my cue to do something with them other than have them take up space in the menu bar. From the top:
- Vintage Truck Magazine does what it says in the title; they’ve got back issues available online for order, and they cover the gamut of brands and years and models. I don’t need more paper laying around the house, but I might buy an issue for $7 just to see how deep they go on some of the models I’m interested in.
- Choose Democracy has a list of actions you can do to fight the coup, starting with how to orient yourself and ending with reminders to take a breath and not try to do everything all at once.
- Because I haven’t finished this yet, this is a video on how to install a Holley Sniper EFI unit. I suspect my issues go deeper than the install—there’s still something not right with the engine itself. Further investigation is warranted.
- I’ve had two rolls of 120 film from the Yashica sitting on my desk waiting to be developed; I’m getting off my ass and sending these out to thedarkroom.com, who I’ve been using for years as my go-to large format development shop.
There’s nothing like straight-ahead stoner rock played with energy and accompanied by a funny video. This is Wires by Red Fang, a Portland band with a history of this kind of thing. Some of their songs hit and some don’t—I tend to gravitate to their earlier stuff—but it’s all good and on the Spotify playlist. And even more appreciated, it knocked Wanna Be Starting Something out of my brain, which had been stuck there like tape to the bottom of a shoe, all day Thursday.
I spend a lot of time listening to historical podcasts about World War 2 while I’m working, which has always been an interest of mine. New scholarship about this subject is fascinating, and there are also multiple YouTube channels dedicated to particular events, ships, and people. This video popped up in my feed recently, and it’s catnip for a ship nerd like me: an ROV was sent down to the USS Yorktown, which was sunk during the Battle of Midway, and spent 4+ hours surveying the wreck with a high-def camera, including commentary from several historians. This is the clearest footage I’ve seen yet of any of these ships, and it is incredible.
See also: the recent discovery of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, one of the main combatants of the Battle off Samar, and the deepest shipwreck surveyed by a crewed submersible.
Finn and I were up in New York State to visit my family over the Easter break, and spent the majority of the time sitting, eating, and relaxing, which was lovely. Their seasons are about three weeks behind us, so it was nice to drive south toward home and watch the trees go from gray to green. All of the fields in Pennsylvania are that brilliant iridescent shade of Kelly green I remember from Ireland, and the daffodils have mostly given way to the second wave of bulbs blooming. Apparently Hazel has caught the springtime bug; because everything outside is waking up, she’s pacing the house whimpering and barking because she can smell it all and the FOLO is overwhelming.
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I went to the pharmacy yesterday to continue getting current on my vaccinations; we’ve decided to get as current on as many of them as possible before any political interference might occur, knowing who the current head of HHS is. I did a two-fer of Pneumococcal and Hepatitis B, both in the left arm, and I could clearly feel the needle in my muscle both times. Today it’s more sore than usual (I didn’t feel anything after the MMR shot two weeks ago) but I’m still able to move my arm, which is a relief. And so far I don’t feel any of the side-effects that a double-whammy might have brought, even with a suppressed immune system. BRING ON THE TYPHUS.
I don’t feel like I have a lot to share at the moment. Just trying to manage my anxiety and hang on to my sanity. I’m just going to keep focusing on the few things I can control, and try to do those things to the best of my ability.