Cool and drier today than the past few weeks. Yesterday was very nice, starting at 50F but getting to 80F in the sun. It got cool enough in the evening that my wife and kids turned on the heat. Today should be the same.
Even though I got up at 830 I still got a slow start to the day. Did some auction stuff, did some internet time wasting (reading several people about the shipping situation, shortages, etc) I mean “intelligence gathering”, and did a bit of house cleaning. Went up in the attic and started moving stuff around and getting the Halloween decor down. The main reason to go up there was to look for the rat in the trap that was banging around last night, but since I couldn’t find him, I did stuff I’ve been putting off.
Hooked up an antenna, put some of the luggage from our trip away, swapped out a monitor for my wife since she was WFH last week, etc. Small stuff, but helps on the homefront.
I did get a little bit of decor up outdoors, but then had to head to a meeting of the Board of our Rec Association, ie. pool. Meatspace. Neighbors. Community. I avoided getting drafted onto the new Board, and cast my vote for the slate of suckers that volunteered. If you’ve never served on a Board for something like that, or for a volunteer group, or some hobby association, you’ve got no idea of the mess and work involved. I’ll do far more than my part to keep the place running, but I don’t want to be on the Board…
And then home. Made dinner from Costco heat and eat (some sort of curry and chicken) and put the kids to bed. A totally normal weekend.
Which is completely NOT normal for me. Nice break though, and I am doing stuff to connect to my local community.
And that community is waking up to the stuff going on in the world. I passed NINE Help Wanted signs that I noticed on small businesses along 1 mile of main street on my way to the meeting. About half were for food service. We’re totally open here, and people are even starting NEW restaurants in the neighborhood. There are a lot of unfilled jobs and I don’t really think it’s people staying home and collecting benefits. I personally don’t know anyone doing that. It might just be the circles we move in, as, for example, we really don’t know anyone who smokes dope on a regular basis anymore and I can’t recall the last time anyone asked me if I ‘party’. Could just be selection bias is what I’m saying.
One of the guys at the meeting had some choice comments about the benefits of living in a red state vs blue when we spoke after the meeting. It was not a guy I’ve ever had that conversation with. Then there was the lady I wrote about at the Costco, putting away canned goods even though she doesn’t eat canned food. Everyone I bump into seems to see the writing on the wall and is getting ready. There are a few exceptions. And this is a hurricane/flood/freeze-flood/disaster area so that probably skews the curve a bit too. But in general, people seem to be noticing that we are not in ‘usual’ times.
So I get thrown for a bit of a loop when I come across something as ordinary as Disney continuing to make movies and shows, with a public calendar that stretches out for years. Or when I read a trade mag that has articles about the bright future of one technology or another. I teased that I’d write a bit more science-y something, so here it is.
There are some VERY WEIRD things going on in life sciences and quantum mechanics. https://www.photonics.com/Articles/How_Quantum_Effects_Influence_the_Building_Blocks/a66318
The article looks at some new research aimed at explaining things like ‘why anesthesia works’ and ‘how does consciousness happen’. And particularly whether those are the result of quantum effects from the shape and composition of various molecules. They are just getting started because they are just developing the tools. Along the way, the article also covers some other things they’ve been doing in the quantum realm and it’s more than I thought.
Worth a read, not too long, and certainly accessible to anyone here. Some folks are just barrelling along into the future, assuming it will be there and will welcome them. I am surprised that I find the behavior a bit shocking. Good to look up once in a while.
And then get back to stacking all the things.
nick