• Kaizen
  • I experimented with correcting my pictures in Darktable. Pretty nifty.
  • After some annoyance trying to find a layout library or collage tool that would make it easy to create labeled collages, I made a quick layout tool in JS that exported tikz code for LaTeX. Cropping is mildly annoying, though. I'm tempted to make a little React thing to help me search for, select, and arrange pictures. It has come to this.
  • I tried out an old stylus with the tablet. I'm not too keen on it, which might mean that I should consider either streamlining my workflow for my tablet PC or trying out an iPad. I wonder if the tablet PC plus a Bluetooth keyboard might actually be an interesting combination, at least when I'm near a power outlet.
  • I wonder if it might be interesting to learn how to use LuaLaTeX. If I can port my layout code to Lua, then I can update it with less copying and pasting. Alternatively, maybe I can pull the dimensions out of the aux file.
  • I sketched a reflection on sick days at home while A- slept beside me. I'll try focusing on my own sleep and self-care, lowering expectations and self-judgment, and helping A- feel cozy and comfortable. Drawing reflections with a gel pen on 8.5×11 paper felt good even in the dim light. It was easier than drawing or writing on my phone or my laptop. That might be a good way to put more thinking and drawing time into my day.
  • I practised drawing a floppy A- using my phone.
  • I reflected on separation anxiety. My plan is to stay in the background instead of trying to push A- away. She'll explore more if she feels safe. I can work on giving her more reasons to wander and reinforcing our confidence in her. I'll also consider dropping babysitting until she wants to pick it up again, or scaling back to 4 hour shifts and ramping it up if she wants more. Looking back, the yearly plan might not have been the best decision, but I can treat it as a sunk cost and focus on what's good for us right now. I can work on making parenting happier and more fulfilling. Coding and consulting have waited this long, and they can wait a little more. I don't have to worry too much about kindergarten yet. The teachers are going to be pretty experienced and we'll figure things out when we get there.
• Us
  • I went to the dentist for a filling in one of my lower left molars. The dentist was able to do it without freezing.
  • I finished monthly summaries for 2019.
  • I tried copying the metadata from my thumbnails, but I messed up a little. Also struggling with making a labeled collage using straight LaTeX or Android apps. Hmm…
  • I cooked falafel and Japanese curry. Scooping the falafel and squishing them down was much faster than forming patties.
  • The tablet didn't turn on. W- disassembled it and used a multimeter to check the battery status. It still seemed okay. When he reassembled it, it started working again. Mysterious.
  • I think my taxes are going to be a bit more complicated this year, so I asked for help with the Philippine side of things.
  • J- and K- picked up Tylenol and cat food for us, which was very helpful because A- and I didn't make it outside today.
  • I penciled circles and turned them into figures. Then I painted two of them with watercolour. That was actually pretty nice.
  • I finished reading Drop the Ball while A- snoozed on me. It's quite similar to Fair Play. I thought Fair Play was a bit more relatable, since that book offered more specific help in enumerating and thinking about household responsibilities. Drop the Ball had more references to books, and I might check out a few of those.
  • I started writing the text for A-‘s book about being three years old.
  • I started reflecting on things I'm postponing.
  • I sketched A- pretending to be different animals.
  • I sketched hands pulling taffy.
• Gross motor
  • A- didn't want to be on her feet, so she precariously balanced on her tower with her feet up in order to wash her hands.
  • I taught A- the chicken dance because of the book The Chickens are Coming.
• Fine motor
  • A-‘s getting better at hot-gluing cardboard. She can squeeze a nice thick bead on the edge now, and she can usually do it quickly enough to have it stick where she wants.
• Sensory
  • A- relished messing around with the yogurt using her hands.
• Language
  • “What happened? Everything is chaos.”
  • A- is getting better at asking indirectly instead of demanding something she wants. She said, “Is the grapes for everyone?(sic) Let's put it in the middle.”
  • “Do you have very light black hair?” said A- to W-. “Thank you for saying gray so nicely,” said W-. “You are very old,” A- said.
  • “It floated. I did some science.”
  • “You have the right kind of baby.” “Oh, what kind is that?” “A science baby.”
• Self-care and independence
  • A- had a cough, a cold, and a low-grade fever. I'm starting to sniffle too. It looks like it might be a low-key stay-at-home sort of week. Sickness protocol engaged.
  • I gave A- fever meds in the middle of the night. I said she could go to sleep after rinsing her mouth. She asked, “How do I take the sugar bugs away?” and insisted that I brush her teeth.
• Eating
  • Pulled pork pitas: A- didn't try it. J- liked it, though.
  • Popcorn by the window might be a reasonable way to get A- to look outside at least part of the day.
  • A- wanted another snack after bedtime routine, which made us a bit grumpy. I was leaning towards being firm, but relented when W- suggested yogurt. We got through a trimmed-down bedtime routine and told A- we want to stick to just one dinner tomorrow.
• Sleep
  • A- was tired because of her cold and slight fever. She asked to nap in the carrier, so I rocked her back and forth. When she slept, I sat down and coded a bit more.
  • A- finished one jigsaw puzzle. She started to drift off in the middle of the second one, so I helped her nap in the carrier.
  • I was mildly grumpy with A- for delaying bedtime, but I cooled down while she looked at the pictures in a book. We read and cuddled a bit, then she got a bit rough. When I asked her if she wanted to cool down together or apart, she picked together, so we eventually settled down.
• Emotion
  • A- was pretty grumpy at 5pm, tipping chairs over, throwing things, and hitting people. I think she was hangry (turns out a canker sore has been getting in the way of eating), tired, and sick. W- ended up cooking the hash browns I started. No worries. We got her settled into bed by 6pm.
• Household
  • A- has been interested in candy-making videos lately, so we made taffy. She helped me mix it, and she waited patiently while I cooked it (the scary part!). Then we stretched and stretched and stretched the taffy. That was fun!
• Pretend
  • A- wanted germ face paint.
• Thoughts
  • It occurred to me that I spend a large part of the day being an OCR and text-to-speech engine.

Blog posts

• I’ve been making time to draw
• 2020-01-27 Emacs news

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