Derik Badman's Journal

A big fast moving thunderstorm rolled through early yesterday afternoon. The power went out, then it came back on. At least some things came on. During the day there are less signs to know. The clock worked, the light on the printer came on. My computer would not turn on, and I was convinced it had been fried. But it turns out we have power just not much of it. Lights are dim, the fridge is kind of working, but not really well. Somehow the internet and router came back this morning. I'm outside on the porch again, unable to work. I kept saying I was going to take a day off and some new problem kept coming up at work to stop me. Now the situation has been forced, though not exactly in the way I would like. Lots of generators running as I took my walk this morning, though now all sound is overwhelmed by some kind of tree shredder machine. I was surprised how many branches were scattered about on my walk. Our yard somehow remained unaffected, but clearly the winds were strong.

I woke up yesterday morning with that "walking on broken glass" song stuck in my head, and it reminded me of a dream I had where I did walk on broken glass. I vividly remember pulling shards of glass out of my bloody feet, and cuts on my hands from doing so, then walking around trying to find a nurse (it was a long series of dreams where I was at some kind of college). That seems like a stress dream to me.

So here I am with what may be a day off. I finished up the latest Jacobin issue that arrived (probably last week), focused on the pandemic. I'm only two issues into my subscription and I'm still undecided about the magazine as a whole. The previous issue was not that great, very focused on the idea of Bernie Sanders winning the nomination, and by the time I read it, that was already outdated and many of the articles seemed more wishful thinking. This one on the pandemic is much more focused and interesting, with articles specifically about viruses and vaccines and the drug industry, as well as the economy and the potential changes that could come from all this as so many strutural problems with the economic and government system become so obvious in this type of crisis.

I started rereading Wolfe's Book of the New Sun last night, this time with my Lexicon Urthus at hand to look up the occasionaly obscure word or reference. Even just two chapters in, it's so obvious how much great Wolfe is compared to so many other writers, and having read the book(s) before, you can see how he foreshadows and makes references to places the book will go. It is well constructed, mysterious, and engaging. Will probably read a few more chapters today. Not sure I can watch any movies, as I'm not sure my laptop will charge (Lianne had issues charging her phone with the reduced power).