the mellow tigger's musings

My car doors magically started working again! The temperature yesterday was still a few degrees below freezing, but that was plenty warm enough for the gears in all three doors to start working again. Yay!!! I went to both grocery stores yesterday to restock my kitchen. I have a variety of food again. :)

As I headed for the car yesterday, I noticed some animal tracks. They're both good signs. One was a bird looking for seeds in the plants that I leave untouched during winter. I'm sure the city would rather I cut everything down, but the local ecosystem benefits from keeping things as natural as possible. This plant was tall enough to poke above the snowline with its old flower shell. A bird was foraging on my front steps for seeds in that plant. I don't know if it had any, but surely other plants around my yard could provide something for it to eat. I also saw cat tracks near the same front porch, where I occasionally put out cat food for the strays. Obviously, at least one cat survived the arctic surge. Survival is good, even if I can't provide more for now. These tracks are good news, and they make me happy. :)

People in warmer climates may not understand the interest, but this Minneapolis car has successfully escaped its snow bank.

Today, the weather is a degree or two above freezing, and I ran errands farther afield. I researched online to find a lubricant rated for -54C/-65F, which would be great for the innards of those doors. Unfortunately, my local AutoZone didn't have it in stock, so I just now ordered some online for delivery tomorrow. Once it arrives, though, I may temporarily give up trying to fix those doors this winter. It may have to wait for warmer weather in a few months. It'd be fine if I had my own dry garage to work in while tearing open the panels for those doors, but I don't have a garage, so this self repair work may have to wait. All that deep snow and slush on the roads right now is just an invitation for me to lose one (or more) door screws in my usual clumsy fashion.

I finally went to the bank to deposit a Christmas check from my parents. Elsewhere, I successfully found some glue rated for all kinds of plastic. I applied it to the broken door handle just now. I have to wait a day for it to bond completely. I'll find out tomorrow if I can easily exit the driver side again. Today, I had to roll down the window and lift the handle from the outside. That's fine, as long as the windows continue to roll down, but they failed me too during the recent arctic weather. But the car engine works, and the doors work. Those are low standards for my old rust bucket, maybe, but I'll take the good news where it's available. :)

1. Linux market share on Steam keeps increasing. The November results of their hardware survey showed Linux at 1.44% of their platform base. That doesn't sound like much, but it's more than 50% of the way to overtaking the MacOS share.  The trend line is very clear, and it seems to be accelerating thanks to the popularity of the Steam Deck which is opening in new eastern markets soon.


2. For the first time ever, the "eOD-GT8 60mer" HIV vaccine induced broadly neutralizing antibody precursors. Everyone's hoping that booster shots will finally put us "over the line" for this critical immunological milestone. That's something that doesn't even happen with infection, or so the rumor goes, which is why HIV+ people should still practice safer sex even with other HIV+ people. There's more than one variant out there.


3. It's not on their website yet, but the Minneapolis Monkeypox Task Force is having more free vaccine events, no appointment needed. The next ones are scheduled for December 8th and January 5th, 4:30-7pm. They are happening at my local Cub grocery store here in the warzone. I'm not sexually active (haven't been for much more than a decade), but I do sometimes socialize with other gay men who are. Monkeypox is still transmissible even in social settings, so I think I'll get one since they're openly available. I've programmed the dates into my phone calendar, so I don't forget.


4. I've mentioned the game Oxygen Not Included before. It's the hardest base-building game that I've ever played. This Canadian company keeps making good free updates to the game, but they also issue fundraisers like this Kickstarter plushie toy of an amusing in-game animal. The effort is already very successful, with only 24 hours left remaining. I'd absolutely spend money on it if I had income right now. I'm a little sorry that I'll miss out.