Natterings From Nepantla

I have read a bunch of obituaries for Tom Lehrer, and this one at The Register is the only one that credits him with the invention of the Jell-O shot, notes that his fans included Ursula K. Le Guin and some members of the British royal family, or provides an entertaining quote from the time he gave permission for one of his works to be sampled in a rap song. None of which I'd known about.

Per The Register:

Come Sunday, October 24, 2021, those using applications that rely on gpsd for handling time data may find that they're living 1,024 weeks – 19.6 years – in the past.

A bug in gpsd that rolls clocks back to March, 2002, is set to strike this coming weekend.

What kind of apps are we talking about?

Miller, who asked that GPS kit maker Meinberg be recognized for its support for gpsd, said he's not sure who is actually using the software he maintains. "I know for a fact that a lot of military stuff uses it," he said, pointing to "man-portable" or "manpack" radios. "I know it's in at least one rocket system. I'm told it's in tanks and delivery trucks and divers' watches."

You may recently have heard of Brood X, the largest group of 17-year cicadas on the east coast of the US, which has recently emerged to breed. In most news coverage they are a loud, messy inconvenience, but The Register is covering them as though they are an evil alien hivemind bent on taking over the world. In the latest dispatch, the President is being sent to Cornwall for his own safety as the horde attempts to take down the highest levels of US government.

The Washington Post's contribution to coping with the coronavirus situation today is advice from top chefs on what to stock your pantry with in case you have to spend a couple weeks in self-isolation. The most common suggestions are rice and frozen peas, which we tend to have lying around anyway, so I guess we're already prepared on that score.

Meanwhile, the inexplicable global run on toilet paper has produced a clever marketing stunt in Australia.

It was dark when I got up even though I lazed around until after 7am. I can't wait for the end of daylight saving time.

Cat

A rather handsome if apprehensive fellow on the catio tour. No, I didn't take many pictures of actual catio features...

Fandom

I got my Orycon panel schedule. It consists of one panel, but it's one I've been pitching to almost every convention I've been a panelist at for over a decade, so I'm happy.

Gaming

Went to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo this weekend, which is a post all by itself. While there, played a lot of Mii Plaza and a couple chapters of Fire Emblem: Awakening.

I learned that The Crucible, the unofficial online KeyForge play forum, has updated itself to the current card set after all, so I've started playing a game or two a day there. It's a good way to practice not making stupid mistakes, but it's not going to replace the gaming store games. It doesn't have the camaraderie, or the benefit of just getting out of the house... and what it does have is rather a lot of people who will quit in the middle of games rather than lose.

Books and media

The final push to get the anime premieres over with crowded just about everything else out. Though I did finally remember to pre-order Salvation Lost.
( Politics )

The Register on the impending arrival of a Russian android at the ISS: "My god, it's full of tsars"