I was having bike seat issues lately, and took it in to get it looked at. The mechanic diagnosed it as needing more Newtons and cranked the relevant bolt hard with a longer Allen wrench than I possess. I hope that's it; if it doesn't do the trick he says it's a head-scratcher.

I did some keychain triage -- my keys had become an interconnected poly-ring affair and many people said they could hear me coming by my keys. I got it down to one generous ring; we'll see if I'm any stealthier.

I've put up a bunch of pictures and certificates, and got a portable AC to help mitigate the heatwave. Then The Ministry for the Future came in at the library. Started reading it and felt distinctly uncomfortable. Elizabeth has been putting books in boxes for me at the old place; I think she wants to claim it as much as I want to get settled here. I'm going to enlist my sister's help for a big push to get things (including all those books) where they need to be. On Canada Day, because we're both lifelong Québec residents.

What have you done lately for improving or maintaining your mental health? What more would you like to do?

I have been getting outside and moving almost every day — running, walking, biking — most days for an hour or more. I'm lucky to have that time to do it, and it feels good to move, get fresh air, and see my local area and how it all fits together. I know where my tofu burgers come from! I know how to get between neighbourhoods! Also, I got my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (Team BioNTech/Pfizer for the curious, although really Team Get Something In My Arm), which is one thing off my mind and a step toward getting to the After Times.

When did you last eat something specifically because it was good for you?

I think the only thing I "eat" for health reasons is actually making a point of drinking water. I'll remind myself to take it easy on something rich or vapid but I try to eat things that I like eating.

These days, what are you learning about, and what would you like to learn about next?

Management, union-ing, exercise training (taper! cross-train! stretch!), 18xx games (mostly 1846).

What’s positive about your physical appearance lately?

I trimmed my hair and beard yesterday! And I'm a bit sleeker than pre-pandemic thanks to all this running.

What will you do this weekend to bring joy into your life and a smile to someone else?

I'm going to play silly online games with a friend living alone, help make nice food appear for Mother's Day, and DM a D&D session with some of my favourite people. And probably get outside on feet or wheels.

From f.riday5.com

It's been a while since I posted, and this has been sitting on the notepad for a while…

When I was at work, I listened to a lot of podcasts to damp down noise from the floor while doing not-too-intense work. At home, I find time here and there — while cooking, sometimes while the kids play if the kids are off doing their own thing, while on the bus to grab a car… it's a small luxury to let a chunk of consciousness run around with smart, different folks across Internet audio.

Here is what I manage to listen to regularly:

Spark from CBC Radio: Nora Young has the best radio voice among living radio hosts, in my opinion (Lister Sinclair gets best ever). The podcast is mostly about technology, but in an expansive, humane way that often focused on usability, accessibility and the creative uses people come up with for existing technologies.

Death, Sex, Money from WNYC is a show of long-form interviews touching on the title topics (usually all three of them) with people who have lived through some interesting stuff.

Planet Money from NPR is a show about economics for laypeople — sometimes they do a show on explaining a hyped topic (What is a collateralized debt obligation? What just happened to the Chinese markets?). Sometimes they look at something mundane and explain the minutiae (t-shirt manufacturing, raisins) and sometimes they follow a person's cunning business plan with an eye to what economic mechanisms are in play underneath (a y taxi medallion empire, for instance).

More or Less from BBC Radio 4 is a show of statistical fact-checking: from political claims to memes about toxic levels of banana consumption (hint: absent a health condition that makes you super-sensitive, you will have trouble keeping down enough bananas to kill you via potassium or radiation poisoning). It's funny, chatty and a neat way to think about all steps of the statistical process while finding out what's preoccupying Brits who listen to or make geeky podcasts.

I also listen to and enjoy Savage Love (US politics and relationship advice), Polyamory Weekly (charmingly indie relationships and media watching), Radiolab (lovingly crafted, humane stories touching on science) and Dan Carlin's Hardcore History (passionate lectures on a huge range of history, mostly military and political, with lots of quotes from original sources and psychological guesswork — and a voice and delivery that I like but is hard to be neutral on).

Any suggestions I might like, especially in the 15–30 minute range?