Oops, I forgot. Back now.
It would appear I haven’t updated this thing for a third of a year, for which my apologies. Also, LJ seems to be deleting formatting, so sorry about that too.
I am not being *emotionally* effected by the quarantine. However, the lack of genuine human contact seems to be impeding my focus, and writing to y’all, even tho’ in many cases I have no real proof you’re not AIs, is a very good focusing endeavor. So, here’s what’s going on:
I have a potential new web designer for the Justice Oregon website. Interesting issue to deal with there is that while he’s physically 25, he’s emotionally maybe 12 or 13, and doesn’t have a concept that might correlate to “work habits”. He does what he feels like doing when he feels like doing it, and if I’m going to get anything useful out of him I have to help him learn that there are practical consideratioins that go into deciding what to want. What I have to do *first* is a thorough review of what’s already up on the site, and compile a formal written list of what I *want* to be up on the site. Some of that will be user interface, which job I want him to assume; some of it will be content creation, which is entirely my job.
I’ve set up a Slack for Represent Us Oregon, and I want to use that as a tool to establish more of a leadership role for myself in that group. I’m one of two nominal heads of Represent Us Portland, and had been making some progress establishing regular meetings before the quarantine shut that down. There are two nominal heads because there are two different groups with different foci - the other one is a STAR voting group, the one I’m leading has as its declared purpose addressing the whole issue of political corruption, of which voting systems is one item in six. The others are lobbying, ethics, gerrymandering, transparency, and election funding. What we have to be doing about those six things are making ourselves familiar with what law already exists, creating new laws to cover the gaps, recruiting lawyers to check that work and sign off on it, lobby legislators to support it, recruit other people to also lobby legislators, phone bank to support similar legislation in other states, and use that phone-banking to set up ongoing supportive relationships with people and organizations in other states. So far I’ve sent out an invitation letter to attract people to the new Slack, and I’ve gotten 7 out of an anticipated 10-40 acceptances out of a 600-name contact list. I need to learn more about running Slack so I can support the above matrix of activities, and organize people in small local groups to get things done. Probably will first try organizing by State Representative districts.
I’ve been slacking on Oregon Justice Democrats, and really need to get back on the ball with that. I was contacted today by a new State Rep candidate, who seems to be deserving of an endorsement, but it’s been so many months since I’ve done JD stuff I couldn’t remember what questions to ask him. So review that stuff, call him back, and set up an OJD Slack and FB page to use as organizing tools. I can’t afford more web domains right now.
The Iron Fireman story hasn’t gotten any attentioni since last summer, and I want to start and complete Chapter Two of that. It’s at https://archiveofourown.org/works/19348423 in case you’d care to review it, and constructive criticism is extremely welcome. Chapter Two will start out from the viewpoint of Caleb’s fan-girl, who started out the story namd Cynthia and due to an error on my part somehow became Diane halfway through the chapter. So, pick a name and stick with it, and let her explain how her relationship with Caleb got started. She’s emotionally savvy but not intellectually bright, and since there are already two alpha-geeks on the team there’s no reason she should be. She’s the oldest in the group at the ripe old age of 15, but a lot of the real leadership currently rests with Zari, who’s seven. Twelve-year-old Andy is the power behind the throne, so to speak, but Andy wants to work, not lead, and so is happy for anybody else to do the job.
In addition to those substantive projects, I have three relatively minor physical projects that need to get done: Switching over to a new phone and phone service, getting my ebike working properly, and finishing the spear I’ve built as a gift to my friend Grant. I need one more part for the spear that I’m not going to be able to get until after quarantine is lifted, so that one’s on hold. The other two between ‘em might or might not fill up a busy morning, but I’ve got to get my ass in gear and working for that to happen.
On the personal front I’m still not getting enough exercise, which has been exacerbated by the quarantine, and my digestion is still acting up, tho’ I *think* I may have identified a possible cause in lactose intolerance. Eating yogurt or sour cream doesn’t trigger it, but eating cheese or drinking milk does. They make pills for that, easy to adapt.
Bio-son Zack is still in Philly and working for Comcast, which he has mixed feelings about, but paychecks are nice. Working from home is only mildly annoying to him, and probably wouldn’t be if his apartment complex hadn’t closed down their gym for the duration. Gabe is being much more affected; as an actor with a day-job as a bartender and an apartment in Queens NY that has five or six other people living in it and a grand total of one bathroom, he has retreatd to his Mom’s house out on Long Island and is overdubbing himself to produce clips of barbershop quartettery he then puts up on his FB page, www.facebook.com/grspector if you want to give a listen. I’m biased, but he’s seriously good.
Dad is still in Redondo Beach with his partner Carol, and the lockdown hasn’t affected him much. He would like to go out for walks, but he’s 87, and postponing the walks for a few months doesn’t seem to upset him any.
So that’s here and now. What’s up with you?