I have suffered for some time from arthritis. This past August the pain in my left knee increased to the point where I now walk with a cane.
X-rays show little cartilage left there, and so I will be needing to replace the knee. I do not think that the pandemic has ebbed enough yet but am hopeful that it will be safe to do so after classes end in May.
I have a vivid imagination and do not like to think about the surgery itself or the rehab, but know that the alternative is worse.
One of the things that I've given more thought to over the past year or two is trying to articulate what I've learned in years of programming Python. Part of it occurs when I document code and realize how better to structure it. Part of it is trying to improve large structures and make them easier to validate and maintain.
Independently I had to write a small program that would consult a data file and I tried using the json format. It was very serviceable, and it started me thinking about doing the same as part of my code review process.
I am in the process of (it will take many weeks) of creating code to progressively document code, producing a LaTeX document that will serve in ensuring consistent documentation (with docstrings) of my code and force me to think about structural issues. It is quite engrossing.
Our Spring semester starts this coming Monday. I'm pretty prepared for the first week. I've also caught up on a lot of paperwork, so I go into the weekend without being under a great pile of work. I hope it lasts.
Joe Biden is now president. He is not a messiah figure, but he is an experienced politician who seems to genuinely want to help people and know how to, qualities missing in Donald Trump. I do believe that we will see some improvements in the pandemic by the end of February, and he has already heartened anti-racists by restoring a lot of protections of non-white males that Trump and gotten rid of.
We still have many people dying each day but I am much more hopeful.
I haven't felt fully awake for a while.
There are some background stressors that I think are the issue. The pandemic continues and is worsening, although it sounds as if things will turn around as soon as Biden is sworn in.
The attack on the Capitol and the ongoing threat of further violence from Trump supporters keeps me checking the news every five minutes. It hurts to think of so many of my fellow citizens being so violently deluded.
In any event I keep taking involuntary naps as soon as my adrenaline fades a bit. It is not much fun.
Nobody seemed to take Trump and his minions seriously. Now we have a violated federal Capitol and a country in shock.
A sizeable number of Republicans living in conspiracy-world still believe that the election of Joe Biden was fraudulent, without any proof. They are finding excuses for the mob that Trump organized and directed to attack the Capitol.
Trump has quieted but has still not conceded the election he lost in November 3. As of this writing he has 12 more days as President. There is talk of the 25th amendment but the folk who would have to invoke it have neither honor nor courage. Congress is moving to impeach him but the earliest they start the procedure is apparently Monday.
Why did no one believe that Trump was capable of this, after four years of violent rhetoric and orders? I expected a circus from assholes like Cruz, Hawley, and Johnson, but never imagined that the people organizing security for the Capitol would treat the mob with kid gloves.
It's been hard to concentrate on anything. I struggle to believe in America as a noble concept but I see that hope fading in my children and I curse the Republicans that brought this to fruition, step by step, away from truth and honor.
More and more I find myself sharing with my family why I am not a big fan of holidays. When I was young there was a lot of pressure from my mother around the holidays to plan a big spread, have folk come, etc. She took on more than she could handle regularly so tears and yelling were the norm. Since then I've done everything I can to lower the stakes for holidays where I have a say.
