Category: everyday life

User Error:)

It took me a while to replace the toilet in the smaller bathroom, even after a plumber told me it was time to stop fixing it and get a new one. A new one required at least some thinking and planning, and I had enough going on. Finally, I went to Lowes, ordered a new one, and the installers came and installed it. Right after that, I went on my European trip.

Then I returned, and after a while, I was sure that something was not right: it was not flushing enough water. Boris told me that he would be able to fix it. I just needed to wait until he came next time, but I decided to call the installers because I thought they messed up and should fix it. As always, it took me a while to make a call, and while Lena visited me, she checked and said that she was not sure why the tank did not fill to the maximum. Finally, I called the installers and scheduled them to come back and take a look. Now, the funny part: when they returned and checked, it appeared that everything was working normally. I simply forgot that in some models, you need to hold the flush to keep the water running. And I completely forgot that this could be the case – I didn’t have such models for a while! So there was no need to suffer for two months. Just a user error 🙂

PG Day Paris 2023

I didn’t post this picture a year ago, after the previous PG Day Paris. That was a picture from an all-female (almost :)) track. This year, I am not there because the conference is on the same day as SCALE, but I just found this picture, which I didn’t post last year, so let it be here! And next year, hopefully, there will be no conflict!

Elpha.com

Post on Elpha – first tin=me posting something personal to my professional network

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Boris arrived Sunday evening. I was thinking about how, during my February trip, we didn’t spend enough time talking and being together overall because I couldn’t detach myself from work, relax, or just be happy. Even the time which was technically a vacation time, didn’t work like this. I decided that this time would be different. I think that although work is still insane, I managed to put my life back on track during the last several days. Escorting after a long time not doing it and then spending a lot of time together with N. felt like finally doing the right thing. Our plan for Monday was for Boris to come to the Lopp and attend another screening of the CEUFF, but the weather was summer-like again, and I knew it was not for long, so I decided to change the plan. I left work earlier, came home, and we went for a long walk, and then sat and talked for several hours straight. And that was the best thing I did for a very long time!

One friend of mine will tell that she always knows who took a picture judging by how I look 🙂

Friendship

When we met with my friend N. on Sunday, she asked me whether I could promise her to wear the gift she was going to give me all the time. I said yes, and this bracelet is on my wrist now – all the time!

Summer Days

At the beginning of March, we had several summer-like days, and although the weather had already returned to normal, these couple of days were amazing! I biked before dawn and in the afternoon, and I swear I saw people at the beach!!!

It might not be very visible, but he is playing the guitar sitting on a tree.
Just before sunrise!

Biking In February

Sunday, when it started to warm up after a frigit Saturday
Tuesday just before sunrise

Apple Vision – Keeping Exploring

Last weekend, I tried several more things with Apple Vision, with intermittent success.

  1. I shot a couple of immersive videos with my granddaughters while they visited. I learned that I should resist my instincts and do not move my head around – Apple Vision will take care of the panoramic view by itself. When I move my head around, the video becomes so jumpy, that you can’t watch it. But when I sat still, the results were great, I indeed felt in the middle of action.
  2. While reading the manual, I found out that you can take immersive videos using iPhone 15. The instructions stated that you could switch to the immersive video mode, and although your video won’t be immersive on the iPhone, it will be immersive when you watch it on Apple Vision. I tried it, and it was definitely not as great as the videos I made using Apple Vision itself. I will give it another try before pronouncing it an experience, but so far, I am not impressed. I was hoping that Boris would be able to send me the blooming lilacs from Helsinki :), but no!
  3. Device sharing didn’t work at all how I expected. I figured out how to start a guest session, and I thought it would be as easy as I would take off the device, give it to another person, and they continue from there. But it turned out that each “guest” had to go through the whole setup session, setting their eyes’ movements, their hands’ recognition, their sight focus, and so on. They say that Apple Vision can’t be used by anybody younger than 13, and honestly, it is hardly possible! The setup would be challenging even for some adults. So, my hopes of sharing the experience with my granddaughters will have to wait!

Theft, Building Access, And What To Do About It

We had several cases of stolen packages in our building back in December, and you may remember that some of my outgoing mail (four packages with holiday cookies) was stolen as well. At that point, our association raised a question of rekeying the building, but many residents doubted that the theft had happened due to somebody having the building key. They thought that, most likely, the residents were buzzing visitors in without looking. I doubt that (everyone has windows facing the gate, and it takes a second to check). Also, I knew that my packages were stolen during the night hours. In December, everybody agreed to wait till we got new management in January.

A week ago, there was another case of theft, and the same as with me, it happened during the night hours. Once again, there was a conversation about the building re-keying, but this time, our board member related that this project is expensive, and she does not think it will help since the locks are not difficult to break. She even shared the link where you can buy a “lock gun” online.

At first, I was distraught with the decision not to rekey the building, and I was about to write an angry letter to the board, especially when they suggested I could have my packages delivered to a nearby Walgreens (it’s not “nearby,” and time is the most precious resource for me). But then I thought about it and reread the email one more time. This time, I realized that she was right and that locks do not stop thieves, and I am very well aware of that. If somebody is determined to steal, no lock will stop them. The theft does not exist when there is no reason for it. I thought about how I was always against “gating” oneself from the rest of the world and how now I was about to suggest just that, so something was wrong with my moral compass. And then I thought I already knew the answer: the only way to reduce crime, including theft, in my community is to improve the community itself. And my participation in the beat meetings and my new idea to get involved with Howard Community Board were all about that.

I often hear people complaining about the increasing number of homeless people on the streets of Chicago, and I hear their cries, “What do police think?!” I understand that seeing a lot of this misery is disturbing and unpleasant. And I hear some well-off people articulating that they want to be able to pay for never seeing “all that.”

Recently, I thought about how it felt on the streets of Chicago 150 years ago, when there were a lot of very poor people and very few rich people, and how these rich people felt walking the streets and seeing other people’s misery, and how they probably didn’t want to see it, and the policemen were here ready to remove the beggars from the public places. And how these rich people could isolate themselves from the reality behind the closed gates. And I do not want to be one of them.

And I do not want to be that

Conference Prep

We have the conference schedule published. Our Talk Selection Committee did a really fantastic job. I don’t remember when (or whether it was!) the authors’ notifications, final acceptance, and scheduling – everything was on time!

But even with the best CfP committee ever, the conference takes all the time I have, plus more. Just saying 🙂