Deciding how to fix health care is hard enough. But when huge problems I didn’t even know were problems come to light, it makes me wonder how we can ever hope to change. Then again, every problem is a solution waiting for someone to take charge.

In this case, drug shortages could be studied and solved through smart tracking software run by a national health organization or on a smaller scale within a hospital system.

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In the made prep for Burning Man 2014, I went in with more knowledge than I had the year prior; I knew I needed lights. Now I have an ongoing project that is an exercise in programming and attempted durability.

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The first week of my first 12 week year is over, and I scored 64.0%. More on that in a bit.

I initially scheduled consistent, solid blocks every day of the week, including the weekends, figuring my routines would get better established if I didn’t take days off. Since I spent much of this week engrossed in microbiome research, I really needed to stretch my biochemistry neurons for the first time in years. Even though that work only totaled about 20 hours, it was somewhat exhausting. I therefore didn’t stick to working all day Saturday and Sunday as planned, and the hours a bit lacking.

My modified calendar after the first 12 week year" class="mt-image-none" height="719

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Since I finally separated from the seductively convenient employment I carried on for nearly five years, I now have some time to focus on myself. My back burner has long been stacked high, and some of those pots are surely rotten by now. If I can’t manage to sort through it now that I have the time, then I may truly be hopeless.

Sledding in Truckee, California

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Last week I built a hackintosh, and it took a few days of troubleshooting to get the USB ports working properly so I could access all my data, which is stored on a Drobo 5D. I had to wait several days before I could fully access my data, and now it seems I have to wait yet again.

I am not sure what event I have to thank for the current edition of 'data protection', but I am hoping it finishes faster than the 290 hours it initially reported!" class="mt-image-none" height="736

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More and more I’ve been thinking about life on this planet. In a strange way, it started with reading “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer. The book has done wonders to catalyze improving my outlook and thinking, which is a story for another time, but it also made me think about thinking and about what makes us us. In the deepest sense, we are not our bodies, nor are we our thoughts or emotions. Those things all somehow exist in front of us, and we can get involved with them or modulate them or ignore them as we please.

Domingo took this photo one time we went to explore Golden Gate Park. Seeing him up close made me miss my degus!

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As explained in my journal, I built my first hackintosh this week. While it’s functional enough, I hope, I still have some potentially major problems with the USB ports, lowering my confidence about using an external drive to store all my data.

About This Mac

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Since I bought my first (Micron) computer when I was 10, I’ve had a thing for desktops and customizability. I did buy a giant Dell laptop in around 2003, but after that, I always built my own desktops.

Moving across the country in 2012, though, started convincing me to try to make a laptop work as a primary computer. I had to fit everything I owned in a small SUV, and desktops take up a lot of space! MacBook Pros around that time were starting to get sufficiently powerful to use with external monitors and play movies and everything else, so it seemed it was time to chuck the desktop. Also, all the travel I’ve done in the last two years was infinitely more feasible while using a laptop as a primary.

The 2015 MacBook has only one port for USB and power, so you need a special adapter. This one didn't work, though, even to connect to my SSD. The 36 inch cable caused too much power loss to keep the drive connected, and it didn't work at all with the power plugged in. I was only able to access data while using a six inch USB2.0 cable and no power. USB3.0 caused intermittent disconnects.

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A month ago I started reading the book “Biocode: the new age of genomics” Yizhen left with me after heading back to Chicago. I posted some comments about the personal genomics section, but then I got super busy with work. (That will not be happening again with that particular job; more on that in a future post.)

Organizational struggles

Last week I made time to finish the book. First I had to settle on a note taking system, since I knew I would want to remember to some of the people and places and projects mentioned. Lately I’ve been taking notes on paper, especially when listening to audiobooks on planes and places I don’t want to deal with my computer. But clearly I need a digital solution.

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