amazing tuba spinning

When I was a freshman in high school, some of the upperclassman would do at least the first part of the spin (off the shoulder, behind the back, on to the next shoulder) but I never got the knack. And I assume it's even less likely with my 25-lb+ brass sousaphone. And being 35 years older. Trying to mix the metaphors of inbox zero (or nearly), my condo right after the cleaners are done with it, and my newly detailed (yet still 20 years old) car.

Like in both of the latter cases, it is just that duality of "clean" and "uncluttered". It does feel empowering. And a nearly empty inbox feels the same way.

I want to double down on daily rituals of cleaning both personal and work email out on the regular.

Being born on the 31st, or even 30th is rarer than being born on any other day of a month.

Only those Feb 29th-ers have it weirder.

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I've been thinking about curating emotions again. Sure it's well worn territory for me, but just been on my mind this week - this idea that we don't really have a moral obligation to live in stress and worry. I mean, to some extent we usually don't have a much of a choice - and we definitely don't want to start a snowball of self-recrimination for feeling worried. But more so than many people I seem to have an ability to shift my mood-focus a bit, at least temporarily, and most often it doesn't seem like worrying about something is getting me to be more proactive about trying to materially improve the situation. But sometimes I feel guilty about that - like I'm obliged to feel worried. That I'd just be a grinning idiot if I focused on all the OK and good and seemingly stable things, rather than thinking how things may go from middling to worse. And/Or that I'll just become to blasé about the world, but I don't think that's too likely an outcome. (missed a day again... maybe it's the proximity to my birthday that makes this day more miss-able?)

Oh don't worry guys, our top intelligence official is just casually boosting Russian state media, but it's fine because it's her personal account. Totally normal.

Rest of conversation -

HIMES: Do you think it's responsible for you, as head of the intelligence community, to retweet posts from individuals affiliated with Russian state media?

GABBARD: That retweet came from my personal account.

HIMES: Personal account? You're the Director of National Intelligence, not an Instagram influencer. There's no such thing as "personal" when you're elevating Kremlin propaganda.

GABBARD: I have the right to share information--

HIMES: Information? You mean Russian disinformation. You sit in high-level intelligence briefings, then turn around and boost the same narratives Moscow is pushing. Should we just CC the Kremlin on your next meeting and cut out the middleman?

GABBARD: This is just an attempt to smear me--

HIMES: Smear you? You lied under oath in a Senate hearing yesterday, claiming you knew nothing about classified information, while sitting in Signal chats where war plans were discussed. You retweet Kremlin-backed sources, then act shocked when people question your loyalties.

GABBARD: I'm focused on national security--

HIMES: National security? While pushing Russian propaganda and pretending you're clueless about intelligence leaks? If a Democrat had done half of this, you'd be screaming treason on national TV.

GABBARD: This is about free speech--

HIMES: Free speech? You're the President's top intelligence advisor, not some random guy on Twitter. Every word you amplify has consequences. And right now, you're handing America's enemies exactly what they want--straight from your "personal account."

https://x.com/Acyn/status/1904907517261705605

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The computer language Forth - best hope for after-collapse technological rebuild?