We had our first lunch in the garden of the year, today. I even spent half an hour out there writing, afterwards. In February.

I got a reply to the Twitter version of my last post which pointed me to something called the Badger Seal. It’s a DIY attachment you can make that’s meant to hold masks on better. Not just at the top for the glasses issue, but all around, for overall better filtration.

Because let’s face it, when we breathe out with a mask on, a lot of that breath is not going through the mask, but round the sides.

It looks like it might be pretty effective, but making it looks like a hassle – or at least, getting the components. It needs something called ‘foam wire,’ which I’ve never heard of, and I don’t know if you can even get it in this country (a quick search at B&Q’s site suggests not). But if you can, it’s likely to be in a big roll, when all you want is 30cm or so per mask.

Not to put a downer on good ideas, I mean. That site sells them too, but they’re heavily back ordered, and who knows how long they’ll take to get here from the US.

There are other, similar, things out there, but I can’t so far find anything sourced in the UK.

I’ll stick with micropore for now.

These days I double-mask
These days I double-mask -- as well as using tape

It’s reading week again already! Or it will be from Monday. Halfway through the second term already. Time flies when you’re writing a lot.

Deeply saddened to learn that Mira Furlan, who played Delenn in Babylon 5, has died. Only 65.

Over to JMS:

Dave Winer asks:

What’s “neo” about neo-Nazis? Why not just call them Nazis? I’ve asked this question a bunch of times, over many years, never heard a satisfactory answer.

– Dave Winer, Scripting News

I’ve always thought it was just to distinguish from the original Nazis, the ones in Germany in the 30s and 40s.

And of course, congratulations Kamala. Her swearing-in was historic.

Biden’s speech talks of unity, and states that white supremacists will be defeated. I think we can all get behind that.

A new dawn for America. Congratulations, Joe.

Watching the US presidential inauguration. Somebody sanitises the podium between speakers. Covid times.

We finished Schitt’s Creek last night. Late to the party, but it was worth the wait.

We also finished the Christmas cake today. The true end of the season.

Submitted the first assessed pieces for my two modules today.

I could use such short, tweet-like posts as, effectively, paragraphs on a ‘Today Page,’ as Dave Winer and some other bloggers do.

I have a sort of mental goal of increasing my post-count this year. Ideally I’d like to hit 365. That doesn’t mean posting every day, necessarily (I didn’t post yesterday); but would need me to post several times per day. Even inconsequential fripperies like this.

And a Happy New Year to all.

Honestly, it’s great: I love the fact that I can stream all the albums in the world for one flat monthly fee.

I just wish that so many of them didn’t end their titles with ‘(Expanded Edition)’.

Or at least that the ‘Original Edition’ was there too.

Happy Christmas everyone.

The soundtrack for today starts with Earthquake Weather. How can Joe Strummer have been dead for eighteen years already?

I know, that’s just the way time works. The music lives on.

Yesterday I tried removing my taped-on mask slowly, and it was actually much better. So I rescind my advice from the day before about removing it quickly.

Trump may never concede, but this video shows us he’s at least said all the right words, if not necessarily in the right order.