December 2023
Summary: Etienne Charles: Creole Christmas at SFJAZZ, Macondray cookie decorating, Christmas Eve at Frances with Patrick then at 15th Avenue House with Bernard and mostly the usual crowd, Christmas at home and at Kerry and Mom Ryan's
Dates on this page
Fri Dec 1, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. HTML email work: CP leadership transition. Reviewed link vs button research. Lots of listserv audit and config all day. Lunch at desk: leftover mac and cheese, water. UCSF town hall. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover curry with newly cooked rice, water. We watched Sex Education s4:e7 on Netflix. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: fries with ketchup, water.
Sat Dec 2, 2023
Listened to podcast Finding Fire Island episodes 8 and 9 and Apple News In Conversation: "How facial recognition technology is upending privacy as we know it" and "What a former astronaut says TV gets right and wrong about space." Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Cleaned the garage door and our front door of dirt and mold using a solution of borax, warm water, and dish soap. For lunch Patrick and I walked to Chalos for empanadas, three each. Patrick had spicy chicken, humita (corn), and sweet beef. I had beef and egg, provolone and herbs, and chalos (ham and cheese). All fried rather than baked. To drink, Patrick had a large mocha and I had a medium chai latte. We returned home, stopping at Asian American Food Company (2048 Taraval Street) for frozen shrimp and chive dumplings and frozen beef with carrot dumplings. At home I installed a replacement heated mattress pad, which arrived today. The previous one failed in its fourth year, and it had a five-year warranty. The warranty process took a long time, and it wasn't replaced with exactly the same product, but it seems to work alright enough, and I'm glad my bed is warm again. Dinner at home with Patrick: turkey chili with Hawaiian rolls, water. We watched Sex Education s4:e8 (season finale) on Netflix. I washed dishes; Patrick dried. Patrick went to bed. Updates for home devices. Late snack: one microwaved corn on the cob, water.
Sun Dec 3, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water; coffee with milk. Financial paperwork. Reconfigured the heated mattress pad controllers. Walked to Lou's for lunch with Patrick: we shared a CBR (chicken, bacon, ranch). Potato chips. Large mocha for Patrick, San Pell blood orange for me. Walked home. Vacuumed. More financial paperwork. Began converting email rules in Apple Mail to server-side email filters inside my web hosting tools so that when traveling and my laptop is not connected to the internet I won't be deluged with messages in my inbox. Cut my hair, showered. Dinner at home with Patrick: various flavors of steamed dumplings from frozen from Asian American Food Company with dipping sauce. I washed dishes. Dessert: Patrick had Mexican hot chocolate with whipped cream. I had a white russian with whipped cream, cinnamon, and grated nutmeg. We watched Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool on Netflix with butter microwave popcorn then one YouTube video. Patrick went to bed. I continued watching YouTube videos, revisiting videos from my Favorites playlist. I washed dishes. More mail rules work. Late snack: one microwaved corn on the cob, water.
Mon Dec 4, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Attended a retirement planning webinar. Snack: seaweed. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Listserv work. Lunch from Jamba Juice: egg and sausage sandwich, water from my water bottle, ate at desk. Met with Eric to discuss action links. Rode Muni home, obtaining the fastest time in a very long time: 30 minutes: N to 28R to 48. Dinner at home with Patrick: turkey chili with cornbread, sparkling water for Patrick, tart cherry juice for me. Patrick attended color class on Zoom. I took care of financial paperwork. More email rules migration. Late snack: one navel orange, water.
Tue Dec 5, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Mission Bay, using the new Muni app for the first time to buy my ticket. Attended a retirement planning webinar. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Prepared an image of Lisa K for Eric for a party invitation. Published edited news stories for Suzan. Checked in with Joel about updating admissions deadlines. Staff Appreciation Lunch and Holiday Reception at Mission Rock Resort. Errand: bank. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: grilled cheese with side salad, water. More financial paperwork. Archived a document. Uploaded October's photos privately to Flickr so that I could title and organize them before making them public.
Wed Dec 6, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Attended a retirement planning webinar. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Lunch at home by myself: noodle soup with chicken broth, shrimp and chive dumplings, shrimp, green onions, minced ginger, lime juice, seasoning packet. Prepped html email for holiday early release. Replaced square with round Facebook icon in some html email templates. Weeded accounts I follow on X. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover turkey gumbo with french bread and butter. We watched various YouTube videos and Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: sharp white cheddar on toast, water.
Thu Dec 7, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; tart cherry juice; hot water. Worked from home. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Attended a retirement planning webinar. Drug Research Unit microsite new content build. Attended via Zoom the UCSF 2023 State of the University Address called Confluence. Lunch at home: leftover turkey chili, leftover cornbread, water. More DRU work. Added a bylaws page for AICD3. Dinner at home with Patrick: spaghetti with marinara and garlic bread, water. Afterwards we set up our Christmas tree and decorations. I drank caffeine-free vanilla and cinnamon rooibos tea (tisane?). We watched Stuttgart Christmas Markets - Germany Walking Tour - 4K with Captions via Prowalk Tours on YouTube. I washed dishes and Patrick dried them. Patrick went to bed. Cutting board wood butter treatment.
Fri Dec 8, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; tart cherry juice; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Mission Bay. Followup with Peter L about web editing and Savic Lab site. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Made live Apsel Winger Lab site. At lunchtime I met Bernard, who was surprised I could access the 6th floor, and we walked to Blue Bottle (whose interior design I described as "a minimalist's wet dream") so that he could get espresso, then I got a salmon taco from a food truck at Spark. We chatted until two women at a nearby table asked us if we could offer them a hotspot to work, but we were about to leave anyhow. Later I realized we should have told them that Spark has free wifi (but I've never used it). Bernard and I discovered via Instagram that we both knew andiroo1. Back to work, encountering Levi briefly while reentering the building. Later Eric arrived, and we joined others in the Dean's Office across the street at STEM Kitchen and Garden (aka STEM Kitchen | Garden or, in Helvetica, STEM Kitchen I Garden) for a holiday party. Upon arrival we received one raffle ticket and three drink tickets. Suzan won a gift card! The food included a veggie platter, a cheese platter with crackers, shrimp cocktail, polenta with (tomato squooge?), fried chicken sliders, and more. For dessert, red velvet cake, gingergread cookie with chocolate mousse. We mingled and chatted for hours. Kathy said a few words. It was a nice time despite a low turnout. Rode Muni to dinner at Souvla Mission (758 Valencia Street): chicken sandwich and white wine for Patrick, chicken salad and red wine for me. Afterwards we attended Kitchen Table, a series centered around poetry and literature, food and drink, and culture and politics. We were invited by Paolo and Lucie. The featured writers were Zara Jamshed (poetry), Kimi Sugioka (poetry), and Ariana Bindman (food writing journalist, photographer, musician). The food collaborator was Porch Party serving jook and other foods which looked delicious but we did not try.
Sat Dec 9, 2023
Exhausted today, perhaps from socializing. Slept in. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; tart cherry juice; hot water. Lunch: leftover spaghetti with marinara, water. Helped Patrick with color management and printing and image. Nap. We needed to be at Brenda's at 5:30 p.m., and Google Maps told us a car ride there might take 20 minutes or it might take 50 minutes. So we rode UberX an hour in advance to Books Inc Van Ness, $24.96 before a $2.50 tip, where we browsed books for about half an hour. Dinner at Brenda's: Patrick had a Grandma’s Molasses-Black Walnut Iced Coffee no whip. I had a mint tisane. Appetizer: we ordered and shared two crawfish beignets. These beignets are very round but not quite a ball. The walls are thick and doughy because they need to hold the weighty filling. They are covered in a red spice blend which includes paprika and which has only a hint of heat. I was able to tolerate it. I thought it was delicious. Patrick said, "It was acceptable as an appetizer, but it wasn't a beignet. They're passing off heavy doughnuts as beignets. Three beignets in New Orleans weigh less than one of their 'beignets.'" Mains: Patrick had Red Beans and Rice—Oh So Nice! (smoky, spicy stewed kidney beans with andouille sausage and steamed white rice), $15. Patrick's comment: "Acceptable. The safe bet." This dish was spicy, so I did not taste it. The menu said it was served with toasted french roll, but he instead received a large slice of french bread. I had a Brenda's fried chicken combo (our secret recipe fried chicken served with hot pepper jelly); thigh, drumstick, and biscuit; $12.50. As on our visits before the crust on the chicken is noticeably thick. There is only a hint of spiciness that arrives late and builds as you eat more of the chicken. I was able to tolerate it. Also on the menu but which I decided to not get because it seemed overpriced: hot spiced apple cider for $9 or with a shot of rum for $12. The restaurant was full, but our plates were delivered in expected amounts of time, and staff seemed calm and efficient despite the heavy volume of customers and delivery and takeout orders. We walked to SFJAZZ where we attended a performance of Etienne Charles: Creole Christmas. We avoided Polk Street but still encountered a few homeless persons who made us feel somewhat unsafe. At SFJAZZ we arrived early and sat upstairs by the self-service coat check aka coat rack, which seems like an odd thing to provide. The performance was great with lots of small, fun moments, especially hearing bits of Christmas tunes worked into other songs at quiet moments like a DJ might do when sampling. All the musicians seemed at the top of their games, and the surprise guest vocalist delighted with incredible vocal range. I did not catch all the names of the performers, and they were not listed on SFJAZZ's website. Rode Uber Green home.
Sun Dec 10, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Recently my Volt Heat (aka 3Volt) Lava Boots stopped working. More specifically, the right boot would fail some time after working properly for about an hour. If I swapped batteries between the two boots, the right boot would consistently fail after about an hour. I purchased them in May last year, and it has been one year and seven months. The warranty lasts for only 30 days. I suspected a loose connection, and while troubleshooting, I found that a wire inside had broken. Began shopping for a soldering iron. Rode Muni to Macondray for a holiday cookie decorating party. I met (owner?) Aaron, and a few minutes later Tai and Drew arrived. After some confusion over where we were to sit, we ordered drinks and food and were decorating cookies a while later. Drew had a whiskey. Tai had a Hit Me Baby One More Thyme (mezcal, tequila, pomegranate, thyme, serrano chile). I had A Spooky Story (whiskey, pear, cinnamon, anise, clove, pear foam). Pier fries (crinkle-cut, sea salt, malt vinegar powder) and lobster bites for the table. The menu said our lobster bites came with potato chips, but we didn't receive potato chips, and I forgot to mention it to anyone. Aaron had also brought us complimentary shots: baileys, sambuca, and creme de menthe. We ordered another round of fries—so delicious. I misunderstood how to use the frosting bottles, so my cookies came out sloppier than Tai's and Drew's. Drew ate his cookie. Tai and I took ours to go. Afterwards we walked in the neighborhood, encountering Bernard with—and whom I met for the first time—Matt and Andy—on their way to decorate cookies. We chatted briefly then parted. Tai and Drew drove me home. Dinner at home with Patrick: veggie cheese burgers and fries, water. We watched The Suicide Squad (2021) on Netflix. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Mon Dec 11, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Lunch at Moffitt Cafe: fish and chips, apricot La Croix. Edited a news story for Suzan. Styling work in Drupal. Rode Muni home. Door to door: about an hour. Dinner at home with Patrick: creamy mushroom fusilli, water. Afterwards Patrick had color class. To bed early.
Tue Dec 12, 2023
No breakfast before riding Muni to UCSF Mission Bay. Staff Appreciation Breakfast with Suzan: croissant sandwiches, mandarins, holiday cookies, coffee/tea. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. For lunch, Suzan, Eric, Levi, and I agreed to meet in the 3rd floor hotel space, each bringing lunch purchased or from home. Suzan and Levi met for the first time. Back to work. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: sliced baked fried chicken tender soft tacos with refried beans, water. Dessert: the frosted polar bear holiday cookie I received earlier today. Afterwards we watched various YouTube videos.
Wed Dec 13, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Edited a news story for Suzan. Sent an html email for Eric. Lunch: leftover creamy mushroom fusilli, water. Began experimenting with Microsoft Loop components. Updates for web editor permissions. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. 1:1 web editor training with Frances P. Dinner at home with Patrick: red lentil soup with warm pita, water. Afterwards we started writing Christmas cards and I began a new template for the address labels. We watched various YouTube videos related to Christmas.
Thu Dec 14, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. There was a lot of traffic backed up on Parnassus Avenue due to construction related to the demolition of UC Hall, so I walked to the N-Judah and rode that instead. Closed the Scoliosis microsite for Nadav. Prepped the Nullomers microsite for golive for Nadav and sent it to Shondell M and EFD for review. Spam management. Followup with a listserv request: owner change to access list. Responded to a Siteimprove support request reply. Followup with Vicky V and Angelie K about an HR request. Followup with old and unresolved Teams threads. Lunch to go from Panda Express: orange chicken and chow mein bowl, ate at desk. Water from my water bottle. My fortune: Those who have hope have everything. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Medical appointment. Dinner at Ebisu with Patrick: chicken teriyaki bento for Patrick, chicken teriyaki donburi for me, hot green tea for both. Service was abysmally slow, but I tipped 15% anyway. We rode Muni home and watched various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I continued watching, including rewatching the ending of Star Trek (2009) several times. Late snack: half quesadilla with pickled onion, four ounces of tart cherry juice. Updates for home devices.
Fri Dec 15, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Ticket followup with Siteimprove. 1:1 with Eric including troubleshooting a problem in which search results include pages on test and dev sites. Lunch at home: garden vegetable soup, half avocado and sour cream quesadilla, water. Edited a news story for Suzan. Afternoon snack: one navel orange. HR update. Listserv followup with James F and Julia S. Dinner at home with Patrick: potstickers and steamed dumplings with dipping sauce, water. Cocktails: hot buttered bourbon. Christmas cards prep. We watched about half of Spirited on Apple TV+.
Sat Dec 16, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Patrick mailed the first batch of Christmas cards at the post office. Cleaned the bathroom. Foot care. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftovers from Ebisu for Patrick, garden vegetable soup and pita for me, water. Completed and submitted beneficiary paperwork. After a few hours, we finished watching Spirited on Apple TV+, which was mostly terrific. Afternoon snack: two TJ's mini samosas each from frozen. We ate Martha Stewart's Movie-Theater-Style Popcorn and drank iced cranberry-flavored sparkling water while watching. More Christmas cards prep. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Underdogs Too: Patrick had pollo asado burrito, I had kid street tacos (two: carne asada and pollo), we shared chips and salsa and guacamole. We watched an hour of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget on Netflix. I washed dishes. Patrick went to bed.
Sun Dec 17, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Patrick walked to Twisted and returned with six donuts. We ate three together with coffee and milk. Housecleaning (floors) and setting up more indoor Christmas lights. Lunch at home: Patrick had leftover burrito and leftover lentil soup. I had TJ's enchiladas from frozen. Cleaned the bathroom. Cut my hair, showered. Cleaned the bathroom. Dinner at home with Patrick: soy garlic crispy tofu with steamed rice. I washed dishes. We finished watching Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget on Netflix while sharing a small chocolate-covered cronut and holiday tisanes, peppermint bark for Patrick, cinnamon vanilla for me. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one Gardein chick'n slider from frozen. Water to drink.
Mon Dec 18, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Made live the Nullomers website for Nadav and Ilias. Chatted with Bernard for a bit after he came over to pick up packages intended for him. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Early lunch with Bernard. He brought a half turkey sandwich from Subway. I brought leftover tofu and rice from home. We talked about Macondray, Starbucks, the Bronze shuttle, supporting local businesses, the Israel-Hamas war, NBC, dating, attachment styles, holiday parties, previous relationships, and more. Submitted an email alias request to IT on behalf of Frances P. Followup with Angelie and Vicky about a directory problem. Populated a new listserv and tweaked its config. Reported several problems I encountered with search. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: bulgur-wheat meatballs with mint yogurt sauce, side salad, and warm pita; water. Patrick attended color class online. I finished writing Christmas and Hanukkah cards then wrapped a gift.
Tue Dec 19, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Mission Bay. Edited a news story for Suzan. Helped Suzan with setting paragraph spacing for headings in Word and sync a shared OneDrive folder to Finder. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Lunch at STEM Kitchen and Garden with Eric D and Suzan R. I had a fried chicken sandwich with salad, Eric had a burger and fries, and I think Suzan had a garden salad garden bowl with skirt steak. Dinner at home with Patrick: baked coconut-cilantro tilapia with steamed rice and green beans, water. We watched various YouTube videos. I washed dishes at a break in the middle. Patrick went to bed. I troubleshot problems with external hard drives, at least one appears to be failing. Late snack: one navel orange, water. Later snack: prawn wontons from frozen.
Wed Dec 20, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Lots of listserv config for PharmD student mailing lists. Lunch at home with Patrick: Patrick had lentils with spaghetti. I had leftovers from last night's dinner. Chatted twice today on Zoom with Frances P to set up a rule in Outlook. Edited the commencement web page for Julia S. Postdoc symposium followup. Html email work: office closures and early release. Dinner at home with Patrick: porcini mushroom tortelloni in vegetable soup with warm ciabatta, water. We watched various YouTube videos and movie trailers on Apple TV+. The external drive that was having trouble was reformatted and returned to its original installation point, and I began backups again. Patrick had upgraded his computer to macOS Sonoma, so maybe that will make a difference and resolve the previous errors? Late small meal: star pasta in tomato cheese sauce from a can, water.
Thu Dec 21, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half pear; hot water. Worked from home. Finalized and sent office closures and early release html email. Postdoc symposium followup. Followup with Julia S about the intern jobs listserv. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Lunch at home: leftover baked coconut-cilantro tilapia and leftover porcini mushroom tortelloni in vegetable soup, water. Met 1:1 with Eric. Built a postdoc symposium survey in Qualtrics with Frances P watching. Followup with A-Z List issues with Jill W and Eric G. Began DRU content redesign build following weeks of draft work. Dinner at home with Patrick: roasted smoked turkey with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach, water. I washed dishes. Troubleshot Sonoma issues: how to stop click on wallpaper to reveal desktop (install Onyx, turn on Quit Finder, toggle the wallpaper switch, quit Finder?), file sharing broken (the solution that worked for me: travellerva, Nov 15, 2023 9:35 PM). Butcher block wood butter treatment. We watched various YouTube videos including 60 - MIN SPECIAL | Cirque du Soleil | CORTEO, LUZIA, VOLTA. Patrick went to bed. Continued troubleshooting external drive problems. Late snack: mild cheddar on toast, water.
Fri Dec 22, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced quarter pear, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Drug Research Unit content redesign build. Holiday early release from work. Walked to errands: the bank, the post office. Rode Muni to Cinderella Bakery intending to lunch, but the line was extraordinarily long, so I ate two doors down at Foghorn Taproom: fried chicken sandwich, fries, water. It was too much food, and I took half to go. Walked to a doctor appointment. Met Patrick at his mom and Kerry's place and we visited a while with them. Dinner with Patrick. We had wanted to go to Warakubune but they weren't open early enough. Same with the other sushi restaurant closer to Market Street. We ate at Red Jade: sizzling rice soup with chicken, beef chow mein, orange chicken, hot tea. Dessert: complimentary sesame balls and fortune cookies. Rode Muni home. We watched Moonlighting s3:e8 It's a Wonderful Job on Hulu. Patrick went to bed.
Sat Dec 23, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Wrapped a gift. Portable vacuum cleaner maintenance. Emptied the paper shredder. Attempted to repair one of my Volt Heat Lava Boots. A few weeks ago it started intermittently and unexpectedly turning off during use. While troubleshooting, I discovered that a wire had broken. I spent weeks researching which soldering iron to purchase, decided on and purchased a PINE64 Pinecil, purchased soldering supplies, and today attempted to fix the problem. I discovered that the red wire had broken at the point of the switch, which is covered in a rubbery substance which makes it hard or impossible to access the contact point I needed to resolve. I have deemed the boot unrepairable. The boots have only a 30 day warranty, and they worked for 6 months. I have long liked Volt Heat, previously 3Volt, products, but I have never loved them. They are the best products of its kind that I know, but they seem to fail to meet my expectations over and over again. Attempted to get some banking done by telephone but was told that to do what I wanted I needed to come into the branch office. Helped Patrick with much baking, mostly by washing dishes. Lunch with Patrick: Patrick had leftover fried chicken burger and fries, I had leftover sizzling rice soup, orange chicken, and beef chow mein. Began preparations for a bulky item recycle pickup. Again troubleshot file sharing connection problems with macOS Sonoma. The same fix that I used two days ago fixed it today: turn off file sharing, turn off computer, turn off router, turn on router, turn on computer, turn on file sharing. Researched replacement for the failed external drive, made a purchase. Continued troubleshooting problems with an external hard drive, decided to just buy a new drive to replace it even though it is still under warranty. Tagged Laurel Heights photos on Flickr. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared smoked turkey sandwiches on ciabatta and, for me only, leftover french fries. Water to drink. We both washed some of the dishes. Afterwards we watched holidays standup comedy on YouTube. Patrick went to bed.
Sun Dec 24, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries, diced half banana; hot water. Helped Patrick with much baking, mostly by washing dishes. Lunch: delivery from L&L Hawaiian Barbecue: two half and half lunch plates, both with mac salad: bbq chicken, chicken katsu, bbq beef, kahlua pork. Patrick napped while I showered. I organized and titled photos on Flickr from the Los Angeles and New Orleans trip. Dinner at Frances with Patrick. We prepaid $125 each, gratuity included, when placing the reservation. The set menu: oysters, passion-fruit-verjus mignonette; mushroom custard, hen of the wood mushroom, chanterelles, sicilian chili crisp; dayboat scallop crudo, winter citrus, fennel confit, togarashi; parsnip cakes, kimchi relish, puffed black rice, xo sauce; star route lettuces, purple daikon, house levain, burnt mandarin dressing; tagliatelle, veal and pork bolognese, lacinato kale, pangrattato. For main courses, Patrick had the wagyu short rib, sunchoke, broccolini, coriander caper bordelaise and I had the steamed gulf snapper, creamy cauliflower, blistered brussels sprouts, fines herbs. Dessert: gingerbread yule log, caramelia mousse, pineapple quince ice cream. All food and drink were delicious. Patrick said it was hard to pick a favorite course and that the parsnip cakes, the short rib, and the tagliatelle were all contenders. Timing between courses was noticeably slow at times. Service by Katie C was excellent. Patrick drank a glass of Delecheneau Bel Air chenin blanc; I drank a glass of Presqu'ile Santa Barbara pinot noir. At the end of the meal we paid only for the two glasses of wine plus tip—about $50. Afterwards we rode Uber to 15th Avenue House for a Christmas Eve party with Phil, Drew, Tai, Yang, Igor, Danny, Annita, Cricket, Sean, Richard, Michael, Quyen, Dave, Bernard, and others whose names I didn't get or remember. A feast was available, but we partook very little having just eaten. Cricket brought and shared a Tasmanian coffee liqueur which was delicious, and Drew pulled out a bottle of Firelit, Blue Bottle batch 7, in case anyone wanted to compare the two. Patrick met Bernard for the first time. Patrick and I chatted for a few hours before tiring and riding Uber home.
Mon Dec 25, 2023
Christmas. Patrick baked chocolate muffins. Finished organizing and titling photos on Flickr from the Los Angeles and New Orleans trip, then published them. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries, diced half banana; hot water. Troubleshot file sharing problems after copying files from my computer to Patrick's computer. Solution: chmod 664. Organized mail and mail folders. Troubleshot problems with Apple Mail not properly creating or moving new mailboxes. Solution: use Roundcube instead. Patrick and I had planned to have Christmas brunch at home with Sam, Kerry, and Mom Ryan, but Mom wasn't feeling well this morning, so we changed plans. Sam came over and we opened cards and gifts. I gave Patrick a small jar of Heilala vanilla paste and a Victoria cast iron grill and bacon press. Patrick gave me a box of homemade cherry-pistachio biscotti. We gave Sam new bed sheets, a new pair of khakis from Uniqlo, and a box of Southern cheese straws. We ate our choice of bagels with spreads: toasted everything, poppy seed, and sesame bagels with chive cream cheese, whipped cream cheese, garlic and herb cheese spread, and golden-hour hummus. To drink: decaf PJ's southern pecan coffee with half and half; orange juice. Second course for some of us: homemade pecan pie, homemade chocolate gingerbread cookies, and homemade ruby-chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons. Afterwards we drove to Kerry and Mom Ryan's, bringing cards, gifts, and the foods from brunch. Mom Ryan got a large tin of many chocolate muffins with ziploc bags for freezing. Kerry got Southern cheese straws. They both received chocolate gingerbread cookies. We visited a few hours, and Mom admitted she was feeling much better than before. Sam drove us home. Rested. I began preparing some legal documents for Patrick and me for notarization. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover Hawaiian food. Water to drink. For dessert, Patrick had a ruby-chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon, and I had peppermint bark holiday tisane. We watched What If…? s2:e1 then The Simpsons s32:e16 then Duck the Halls, a short animated film about Donald Duck wanting to not fly south for the winter so he could celebrate Christmas, all on Disney+. I walked in place while we watched. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one navel orange.
Tue Dec 26, 2023
Holiday. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries; hot water. Learned about the networkQuality tool in macOS. Published more photos on Flickr. Lunch: I prepared for myself a roast turkey on everything bagel sandwich. Patrick and I spent some time in the garage deciding what can be submitted for a bulky item recycle pickup, then I submitted the request. Research: I began creating a Google Sheet listing companies that sell socks and determined for each company what my sock size is, what ranges exist within sizes, and whether they might have boys socks that fit me. Did some shopping for socks and clothes. Patrick and I shared a midafternoon snack: chocolate muffin. I also had a half mug of milk. Continued shopping. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared mac and cheese from a box to which I added leftover roast turkey and frozen peas. Water to drink. Installed macOS Monterey 12.7.2 on my work laptop. Afterwards we watched The Fabelmans on Paramount+ with microwave butter popcorn. I walked in place while we watched. I loved every moment of it. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: two mandarins, water.
Wed Dec 27, 2023
Holiday. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced dried jackfruit; hot water; holiday blend black tea. Continued sock sizing research throughout the day. Lunch at home by myself: poppy seed bagel sandwich with roast turkey and chive cream cheese, water. Afternoon nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared steamed white rice with leftovers from L&L Barbecue. Dessert: cherry-pistachio biscotti. Some interesting findings from my sock sizing research: Many brands—Nordstrom, Falke, Adidas, and Happy Socks in particular—do not have consistent sizing even within the brand. Most brands are also not consistent when it comes to each shoe size range within one size; some sizes cover 2.5 shoe sizes and others cover 4. The larger this range within one size, the more likely the sock will fit poorly for at least some people. Ideally, socks are available in many sizes, with small ranges, and your exact size is in the center of the range that matches your size. Darn Tough has the most sizes (6); Uniqlo has the least (1). Nike has four sizes, but it also has the largest range (4) within one size (8-12). At The Gap, sock sizing is very ambiguous with no details; there appears to be no way of ordering with confidence that you'll receive a size that fits you. At Socksmith it seems that if you wear mens S/M you can find a larger selection in their womens section. There used to be a company called Kane 11 (as found on amazon.com) which offered the great idea of 11 sock sizes for men and 7 sock sizes for women, but the company seems to be defunct as of 2022ish (as now found with an F rating on bbb.org in part due to unfulfilled orders) and distinct from kanefootwear.com. ("THE KANE 11 DIFFERENCE: All other sock brands only offer you socks in size ranges. We think you deserve socks in your exact size. 11 sizes for men and 7 for women. Experience the comfort of socks that fit. Experience the Kane 11 difference.") Since sock sizes typically correspond to ranges of shoe sizes (e.g., one brand's medium sock size = shoe size 6 to 9), if your shoe size is on either end of that range then the sock might fit looser or tighter than if your shoe size were more toward the middle of the range. Having more sizes is more important for people whose feet are smaller or larger than average, but some of these people might still be able to find socks that fit properly if a company has only two sizes; it just depends on whether either size happens to be a good fit. For socks that frequently develop holes at the toe, it's good to ask if your size is at the top of the range for that size. If the next size up fits a range of shoe sizes larger than, say, 2, it might be better to avoid that brand entirely. Large ranges within a size present problems for people just outside of that range. For example, if your shoe size is between 8.5 and 9 and the medium sock size corresponds to shoe sizes 6 to 8.5 and the large sock size corresponds to shoe sizes 9 to 12, the 2.5-size range of the medium sock size might be slightly too tight, and the three-size range of the large sock size is probably going to be too large. If you wear a shoe size between 6 and 9.5, boys socks from Falke, H&M, and Smartwool might fit you and of course be less expensive, but some styles for boys tend to be different than men usually want. Weeded email forwarders. Late snack: the last of the leftover smoked turkey with leftover steamed white rice. Water to drink.
Thu Dec 28, 2023
Vacation day. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced banana, golden raisins; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus not to work but to give Patrick space at home. Troubleshot problems with email delivery, spent over an hour on chat with the web hosting provider. They said there was a problem with my domain's MX record and they made a change to correct it, but I suspect this is not going to resolve the problem and possibly make things worse. Less than two hours later sure enough mail was neither receiving nor sending, so I undid the support engineer's change and it was back to the previous state. I also made a change to my DKIM configuration to make it less strict. Lunch from Ladle and Leaf: salmon salad, chicken noodle soup, side of sourdough bread. Rode Muni to Cole Hardware in Cole Valley to buy lamp sockets. There I encountered Susie L and met her sister Sally. Susie and I chatted briefly and did some catching up. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: kicked-up frozen pizza, water, red wine. Patrick washed dishes while I repaired the first of two Crate & Barrel salon lamps purchased in 2000. This was the first time I used the Pinecil. I needed to tin the wires during the lamp repair. The repair took 45 minutes and was successful. We watched What If…? s2:e2 on Disney+. I walked in place while we watched. Patrick went to bed. Backups and updates for home devices and websites, including uninstalling and clean reinstalling homebrew on Patrick's MacBook Pro which was recently upgraded to macOS Sonoma. Tested using the speakers connected to Patrick's Mac as an AirPlay destination. It works!
Fri Dec 29, 2023
Holiday. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced banana, golden raisins; hot water. I began using my second pair of Volt Heat Lava Boots after the right boot of my first pair failed due to a red wire breaking at the switch within the rubbery part of it. Patrick and I took down and stored the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations. Patrick organized old photos and put some of them into an album. I repaired the second of two Crate & Barrel salon lamps purchased in 2000. Same as yesterday; the repair took 45 minutes and was successful. Brunch: buttermilk pancakes, orange juice. Patrick framed various pieces of artwork, and I helped him patch holes in the wall before he hung them. Nap. Rode Muni to the Castro. Intended to meet some from The Syndicate at Detour for drinks then dinner, but it was postponed and I did not see the messages about it until I arrived. Dinner by myself at Jasmine Garden: special clay pot with rice, chicken, shrimp, and chinese sausage; hot tea. The clay pot makes the dish so hot (temperaturewise) that even after waiting a few minutes and blowing several times on my first bite, I still burnt my tongue. Give it 10 minutes to be safe. The heat dries some of the rice enough to provide a distinct crunchiness, and I enjoyed this textural distinction. I wasn't sure I could finish it all, but in time I did. It rained all evening, and despite having an umbrella I got quite wet, particularly while walking to Castro Street Station and then riding Muni home. In retrospect, I wore the wrong shoes for this much rain. Weeded email forwarders. Shopped for rain boots. The L.L. Bean Boots I want cost 36% more than they did in 2016, and their lifetime guarantee was abandoned on February 9, 2018. The guarantee now is only one year except for defects in materials or craftsmanship. The "Find in Page" feature for Firefox for iOS seems to be broken. Workaround: use reader mode before searching.
Sat Dec 30, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced banana, golden raisins; hot water. I heard back from my webhosting provider about my DKIM problems, but based on their response I decided I would need to fix this problem on my own. So unhelpful. Continued troubleshooting DKIM problems. Did some cleaning in the bathroom. Lunch at home: Patrick had a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese and chive, I had Patrick's leftover fried rice from last night and added frozen vegetables and a baked breaded tilapia filet from frozen. Water to drink. Tried again to repair my Volt Heat Lava Boots, this time very carefully digging further in to the rubbery material with needle-nose pliers and an X-acto knife and finally found the connection point and successfully soldered the broken wire to the point and protected the exposed, newly-stripped wire with some shrink wrap tubing. Tested it, and it works! Stitched closed the opened fur lining, and it still works! So now I am back to using my first purchase of Lava Boots, and I have a backup pair and batteries when needed. Beneficiary payout paperwork and prep. Dinner at home with Patrick: chicken and sausage jambalaya, water. Patrick also had a glass of red wine. Continued troubleshooting DKIM problems. Afterwards we watched What If…? s2:e3 and s2:e4 on Disney+. Dessert for Patrick only: chocolate mini pretzels. I walked in place while we watched. Patrick went to bed. I amputagged and put into service new clothing from the boys department at Zara: ribbed socks in four colors, a fleeced knit hat, a jacquard knit infinity scarf, and a brown cashmere scarf. Prepped the new Samsung T7 SSD hard drive for service. It's so tiny! (Patrick said, "But in a few years you're going to say, 'It's so huge!'" and that's probably true.) Strangely, it would not mount on Patrick's computer, but it would on mine. So on my computer I partitioned it the way I wanted. I was then able to plug it into Patrick's computer and see it mount as expected. Began first Time Machine backup. It's extremely fast even on the USB A connection. (I ran out of USB C ports on the docking station.) Late snack: two mandarins, one Siete chocolate grain-free cookie.
Sun Dec 31, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced banana, golden raisins; hot water. Began listing items for sale online. Lunch at home with Patrick: bowl of deli minestrone, hummus and warmed pita, water. Nap. Rode Uber to 15th Avenue House for a new year's eve party with Jonathan O, Tai, Drew, Phil, Leo, Igor, Quyen, Dave, Annita, Dongyi, Chris, and Nate. We played Exploding Kittens; Dave won. We enjoyed a Key lime and mango cake with coconut-graham-cracker crust—so yummy. Patrick grew too tired to make it to midnight. We left around 11:00 p.m. and rode home.