Explore the World in a Year

Hubby is binge-watching a sci-fi TV show where aliens come to Earth for nefarious reasons. This triggered a thought cascade whereupon first I thought about interstellar travel, then planetary exploration, and then Star Trek©®™ (where the Federation had people go explore planets for various reasons), and finally I landed on the idea that planets are worlds, and worlds are really, really big regardless of the size of the planet. For example, a person can spend his or her entire life exploring just the United States and still not see everything worth seeing, and this is just one country out of nearly 200 of them on Planet Earth. How is someone supposed to explore this one planet, much less multiple of them in a lifetime?

But then I remembered that in the Star Trek©®™ universe they have transporter technology that allows them to travel from place to place virtually instantly. So for example, a person could beam up to an orbiting space station and then beam back down to the surface at another location. And in this way, a person could do a cursory exploration of a lot of places in a short time.

And this is where I got the idea of exploring Earth in just one year. The premise is that a person would start in one place, spend the day there checking things out, and then beam to a new place the next day. I thought, well, a person could visit every country on Earth and still have nearly half of the year left over. Of course, some countries are small and you could get a good idea of the place in just a day. But some countries are very large and varied, and it would be better to visit them more than once.

So, I came upon the idea of determining this. What countries would be visited more than once, and how many times would they be visited? I used an apportionment technique similar to what is done for the United States Congress. In that legislative body, each state receives at a minimum one representative, and then additional ones are assigned based on population until all 435 seats have been assigned, with the goal of having the number of people per representative as nearly equal as possible. Thus, I assigned 1 day to every country, and then apportioned the remainder until 365 days had been assigned, and doing this in a way that was as equitable as possible. I added in a visit to Antarctica for the 366th day, if it were a leap year. However, instead of basing these daily visits on population, I based in on a country’s land area excluding water. Now, there are valid reasons for exploring lakes and oceans, but from a cursory standpoint they’re mostly just water and aren’t much to look at. How hard is it to explore a level, featureless surface that stretches to the horizon? I started with the “Sporcle-recognized countries”, removed Kosovo since, well, there are reasons I won’t go into here, and then looked up each country’s land area in square kilometers (well, any unit will do, since it’s all relative) from Wikipedia, and then calculated the numbers.

The results showed each country had between 1 and 5 visits, except for six countries that had more than 12. Each country on this map is color-coded for the number of times you would visit that country in your Explore Earth In One Year program. For the six countries, their numbers are labeled on the map. Dependent territories are colored the same as their sovereign state, so just because an island somewhere is colored, doesn’t necessarily mean it gets its own visit. The United Kingdom, for example, qualifies for one visit, but it has territories scattered all over the planet. To which place will you go? Odds are it will be Great Britain and not Saint Helena.

One thing that surprised me was that I was expecting most countries to have one visit, with a few having several. I was surprised that Russia’s apportionment was as high as 28. And even such obscure countries as Central African Republic would be visited twice. Interestingly, even though nearly all of the countries of Europe are visited only once, you’d still spend more time on that continent than in mainland North America, where you would spend a little more than two weeks each in the United States and Canada. One would spend 86 days in Africa and another 114 days in Asia and 36 days in South America.

Have fun exploring!

Strange Days DLXXIV

Day 574 – October 3, 2021

I’ve been working from home for a year and a half, now. The last time I went to the office was in January. Over Labor Day weekend, however, someone had visited the office and was subsequently diagnosed with the coronavirus, so I’m glad I wasn’t around any of that.

Hubby is getting stir crazy, and willing to take more risks than he already does. I understand that, but I’d rather take pre-planned, well-considered, calculated risks when we need to do so instead of just saying “Fuckitt, we are vaccinated, why are we still at home?” … Well, that’s because half the population isn’t vaccinated, the delta variant is running rampant and still as high as it was last winter, the hospitals are all overwhelmed, and a “mild” case is one that doesn’t send you to the hospital. It can still fuck you up, and there are breakthrough infections. Because he had the Pfizer vaccine he was able to get a booster. I got the Moderna vaccine (considered the gold standard) and evidence is that I don’t need a booster… they say. But it’s been almost 8 months and I’m not as confident in the strength of the vaccine as I was. They do wane over time.

Anyway, I’m now starting to think about the upcoming holidays and am uncertain about what we should do. Anyway, I spend my days going to work and working hard and too much. And on the weekends I am very lazy and mess around on the computer. It’s not good for my eyes or my overall health. But it’s just kind of depressing these days.

Strange Days DXXVIII

Day 528 – Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Things were going so well by the end of June. We attended Bearadise up in Oklahoma City with a minimum of worry the week after Independence Day. … And how things changed so dramatically in just five weeks.

The Delta variant is ravaging the world. It’s breaking through the vaccines, which only slow it down and ameliorate its effects, but not prevent them. Hospitals are full. Children, now, are getting sick and dying. And our elected leaders are doing everything they can to thwart strategies to combat it.

If it’s any consolation, the Moderna vaccine (which I received) appears so far to be doing the best an preventing breakthrough infections and keeping people out of the hospital who do get a breakthrough infection. That said, I’m getting anxious about leaving the house again. I want so bad to just go somewhere, but I also feel like I could catch the virus and be dead in 24 hours.

Anyway, as you can see, I haven’t posted anything on here in a while. That’s because there’s nothing new to report, other than what I just wrote. My routine has been get up, go to work, work, get off work, do some chores, chat on-line, go to bed, rinse, and repeat… day in and day out. It’s like that haunted merry-go-round with the kreepy out-of-tune music, and that just spins faster and faster and faster and one day I may just go crazy.

Finally!

• bounces with glee •
I HATE that thing!!!

Click Here for GIF

Strange Days CDXXXIV

Day 434 – Sunday, May 16, 2021

As far as the pandemic is concerned, we’re not out of the woods yet, but we can start to see sunlight coming in between the trees.

Today was the first day since the state started keeping track that there were no deaths in Texas attributed to the coronavirus. The vaccination rate in Texas has surpassed 50%. Denton County Public Health is shutting down its mass vaccination site at Texas Motor Speedway after administering over 350,000 doses of vaccine. (Interest is waning, and so I don’t think Texas will reach the 80% vaccination rate necessary for herd immunity.) Locally, our case numbers continues to drop slowly and are now approximately where they were last July.

I found some statistics and determined we were in the first 0.57% of people globally to be fully vaccinated. Wow! We are truly fortunate and special! There are many countries where the supply of vaccines is still basically non-existent.

Hubby and finally went out and ate at a restaurant last week. I had not sat and eaten in a restaurant in 14 months! We’ve started socializing some more (but only baby steps). But we still wear masks when out shopping even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that fully vaccinated people don’t need them anymore. And that’s because, well, half of the people around us still aren’t vaccinated and don’t appear to be interested in becoming vaccinated. … But maybe our numbers will go up some more now that teenagers can get vaccinated.

Hubby was remarking yesterday that because of masks, handwashing, social distancing, and staying home, he has not had so much as a cold in over a year. I haven’t either. This is literally unprecedented in my lifetime, since I have always contracted 2 or 3 colds per year. Flu is nonexistent this past year, too. It makes me wonder what the long-term effects of this will be.

Texas Spring Elections

D’oh! I totally spaced out that there were local elections today. I have always hated the spring elections because they happen at the worst time of year for an election, and they sneak up with very little fanfare or announcement. I missed early voting by one day, and then of course, forgot about today’s election, too, since there has been like NO news about it. Turnout was 8.68%.

Denton City Council – District 1
The candidate I would have voted for won the election. So, it’s probably a good thing I forgot to vote since the candidates/issues I vote for almost almost always lose. She unseated the incumbent who I did NOT want to win last time, but did. So, I’m happy about that. The other candidate had some great ideas, but I believe he is Republican in sheep’s clothing and we can’t have that. He got the fewest votes.

Denton Independent School District – Trustee 1
The candidate I would have voted for was re-elected. Of course, her only opponent dropped out of the race after the ballots were printed, so she was running un-opposed. But from what I know she’s been a good trustee.

Denton Independent School District – Trustee 2
There were three candidates. The one I did NOT want to win I also felt he was a Republican in sheep’s clothing and we can’t have that. Fortunately he got the fewest votes. The other two candidates were both good and I couldn’t really decide which one to vote for. However, neither of them reached 50% of the vote and will be headed for a runoff. But whoever I wins I think we’ll be in good hands.

Elsewhere in Denton County:
Brookfield Fresh Water Supply District #1 was established and 4 propositions there passed by a vote of 1 to 0. These kinds of things have been reported on in the local news before. Developers exploit loopholes to establish these districts so they can build giant subdivisions, take the profit, and pass the costs along on to everyone else via future taxes to the district. And how do they do this? Some old farmer geezer dies. His city-living children have no need for his 1,000 acres of land, which is under development pressure due to suburban sprawl on its doorsteps. So they sell the land to a developer and walk away with the cash. The developer puts a mobile home on the land, if there isn’t already the old geezer’s house there. They pay a college student’s tuition for a semester and have them live there. After 30 days, they can register to vote in that precinct. Then when the election comes, they’re expected to vote in favor of the supply district and its propositions. And then the semester ends, and the student goes home for the summer, and the developer comes in with bulldozers. Bonds to pay for infrastructure are taken out by the district and not the developer, and so the developer doesn’t have to pay for any of that. Ch-ching, ch-ching, ch-ching.

The Providence development east of Denton was formed this way. Years later, when it was built out and the homeowners there were faced with huge tax bills, they voted to incorporate as a city and take over the district. But then the state supreme court said “No, you can’t do that,” so now they’re still on the hook for the taxes to a district they cannot control and now have Town of Providence Village to run.

Alaska Area Code (560)?

I had a wild hair today and ended up downloading the central office code data for Alaska area code (907). I wanted to know if I could deduce what Alaska’s second area code might be, when the day comes that it will eventually need it. At current growth rates, that is nevertheless more than 30 years into the future.

A phone number in our North American Numbering Plan has ten digits: (AAA) BBB-CCCC
The (AAA) part is commonly known as an area code, although it’s technical name is numbering plan area. The NPA for Alaska is (907). The BBB part is commonly known as an exchange, although its technical name is central office code. The CCCC part is the line number, that rings a particular phone.

Geographically, a region served by an area code (in this case the whole state) is divided up into rate centers. These usually correspond to cities and towns, although in larger cities there can be more than one rate center. They’re called rate centers because this is how long distance calling is billed. These days, where most of us have unlimited cellular service, this is all invisible to us, but places with land line phones often still see this on their monthly bills. Within each rate center there is one or more central office codes.

So, for example, Pizza Hut©®™ in Fairbanks is (907) 456-5656. (They had such an effective TV commercial jingle back in the 1990s that I still remember it today. For the one in Anchorage it is (907) 227-2323.)
Numbering Plan Area: 907
Central Office Code: 456
Line Number: 5656
Rate Center: Fairbanks OCN 3008

A central office code can have up to 10,000 line numbers. If all of the line numbers in a central office code are assigned to a phone/customer, then that rate center needs an additional central office code in order to provide more phone lines. Any code not already assigned can be assigned to it (with some exceptions, which I’ll mention later). Since a central office code cannot start with a 0 or a 1, there are 800 possible codes. If all of these codes are assigned, then a new NPA is required in order to provide more numbers. This usually occurs by natural population growth. But with deregulation of local phone service, a new provider into a rate center will need their own central office code, so they can assign their own numbers. This is why there was an explosion in new area codes in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Alaska isn’t close to needing a new area code. At current forecasts, there is at least 30 years of growth before a new area code will be required to serve the state. But, I do believe that the FCC and telecom industry plan ahead so that they’re not caught in a situation where they can’t assign a new area code due to numbering conflicts that would severely disrupt phone service in a rate center or community. So my idea was to see if I could deduce the number they’re setting aside for a future area code.

There are some codes that are not assigned to a rate center as a central office code. While it is technically possible to have an area code and central office code be the same [for example (907) 907-1234], it’s generally not allowed for technical reasons I won’t go into. There are codes set aside for testing, and of course, you don’t want a phone number that matches a special 3-digit phone number such as 411 or 911. Yeah, it’s not good to be trying to phone up a friend and be connected to Emergency Services because your friend’s phone number is (907) 911-1234.

Of the 800 possible central office codes, 631 (79%) have been assigned to a rate center somewhere, from Shemya to Annette to Utqiagvik, and everywhere in between. There are 152 (19%) central office codes that have not been assigned anywhere and are available for wherever they may be needed. And there are 17 (2%) codes that cannot be assigned or are marked unassignable. And these are the key to answering my question.

Of these 17 codes:
• 8 codes match the n11 format, which conflicts with things like 411, 511, or 911.
• 555 because it’s already assigned for Directory Assistance.
• 700 because this matches area code (700) which is used for something called Interexchange Carrier Services.
• 907 because it matches the existing Alaska (907) area code.
• 950, 958, and 959 because these are used by telecom companies for testing.
• 976 because it conflicts with special 976 local toll numbers; these have become rare due to preference for (900) or those services having moved on-line.

This leaves 492 and 560. I could not find any reason why these would be blocked from assignment. One hunch I had is that maybe one of them matches the central office code of Stewart, British Columbia which also serves Hyder, Alaska. If a local calling area crosses an NPA border, the code in one NPA often will be blocked in the other to preserve seven-digit dialing. Hyder/Stewart is the only cross-border example in Alaska. In any case, the central office code of Stewart, British Columbia is 636, in the (250) area code. Central office code 636 has been assigned in Alaska area code (907) to Noorvik, on the other side of the state from Hyder.

However, I can rule out 492 as a possible reserved code, since no area code can have 9 as the middle digit. These are blocked from assignment to prevent conflicts when the number of area codes runs out and phone numbers have to be expanded to 11 digits. Now, North America isn’t forecast to run out of area codes for at least 40 years, but they have started planning now for when that happens. (I should put if that happens because due to technology, we may have a completely different method of communication by then, such as using IP addressing instead of phone numbers, for example.) The current working plan is to insert a 9 between the first and second digits of an area code. For example, Seattle area code (206) would become (2906). But if (290) were already assigned, this would create a problem for any number that is (290) 6nn–nnnn while the changes are being implemented and phased in.

That leaves 560. So, if central office code 560 is blocked from being assigned, then area code (560) could be implemented by programming it into the software, flipping the switches, and assigning numbers to customers. … But then, who’s to say Alaska will even need it in 30 years if we’re using some new system produced by our rapidly-evolving technology by then?

I checked the NPA records and (560) is reserved for … somewhere. So, someone already has dibs on it. My hunch is it’s dibbed for Alaska.

Eat Your Heart Out Australia

Le Moi: working at my desk, next to the bay window, minding my employer’s business.
When suddenly a screeching noise appears!
It’s outside in the hedge under the window.

Expecting to finally find whatever cat it is I hear howling at night from time to time, I raise the blinds really fast to find …

Two possums!

What are possums doing in my hedge, and during the daytime?

First Possum had screeched at Second Possum for some reason. Second possum slinked away toward the other side of the bay window. I grabbed my phone and started recording. First Possum appeared to be eating something. I think it’s a rat! It appear to be tearing at things. I definitely see a hairless tail.

I’m filming through glass AND a window screen, so the quality is crappy, but at least I’m getting something.

Second Possum turns around and comes back. First Possum is chewing something, and I see a tail sticking out of its mouth. And then •gulp• it all goes slithering down. It’s belly full, First Possum steps back. That’s when I see another dead thing there. … Only, it has a white head, so I think it might be a baby possum.

At this point I’ve called Hubby in to come have a look with me.

First Possum cleans itself and then moves over toward the other side of the bay window. Second Possum sort of hangs out for a moment, until it’s sure the coast is clear… steps forward, then •snatch• grabs the dead thing and scampers off with it, deeper into the hedge. First Possum continues to clean itself while Second Possum begins to devour whatever that thing was.

I see Second Possum tearing at the dead thing and chewing on it. Eventually Second Possum has its fill and turns back to join First Possum. I can see the remnants of dead thing under there; Second Possum did not swallow the whole thing like First Possum did. They were then both up against the house once again, and spent some time cleaning themselves.

After a couple of minutes, First Possum ventured closer to the end of the hedge. It looked out, stepped out carefully, made sure the coast was clear, and then turned the corner of the house and out of sight. Second Possum quickly did the same and followed. I suspect they’ll go down the little dead-end side yard, climb the fence, and then run along the top of the side fence to the back fence where we frequently seem them. I think they live down toward the end of the block toward McKinney Street where there’s a small thicket of trees and understory in the yard of an old house.

Remembering Spike

It was four years ago I carried my best friend ever across the rainbow bridge. I think about Spike a lot, still. Lupe is my new best friend, now. His little tiny amount of ashes sit in a cedar box on our mantel, but it’s out here in the yard where I go to remember him. When I pass by his memorial, I always tell him “Hi MoMo! I miss you!”

Willy-Nilly

My employer switched to Blue Cross Blue Shield for health insurance this year, and we’re really noticing the decline. Our out-of-pocket costs went up >200%, the amount of stuff covered went down, and I’m paying the same amount in premiums ($5,600/year) as I did last year with Cigna, who never once said “No” and covered everything. I will be sending a nastygram about this to our Benefits coordinator. Meanwhile, I’m still going without needed medication, six weeks now, and it’s showing up in my blood tests (which it looks like I now have to pay for).

I had kind of a disturbing dream last night. … Meh, it’s not worth writing about, though.

I’m making a concerted effort to stay off of Facebook, and I have found it very surprising how much I can manage not to say. It’s one thing to get on and just make posts and comments willy-nilly; but it’s another to have to think about generating a WordPress post and then adding a link for people to check out, instead. It’s much easier to just go “Nah, never mind” that way. This could be a good thing.

With WordPress I can see how many times a post has been viewed, and from my first post a couple of days back, I must say I am disappoint. … But this may not be my Friends’ fault, since Facebook’s failed algorithms generally don’t show people what their friends are posting and instead just serves up ads.

Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of our front yard, which looks like this right now. I know Hubby thinks they’re invasive-weedy, but I just love having the Mexican primroses (Oenothera speciosa) growing there. Seeing those wildflowers in Spring always made moody little me feel happy as a child. They still do.

Also, shut the fuck up, Karen, or I will stab you (with a syringe)! You don’t know shit.