last week

Heating

We have given up! Our heating has been switched on. We were trying to make it to the totally arbitrary goal of reaching October before needing to do such, but after a couple of very cold and disturbed (presumably related) nights, we decided to give up just a little early. I wonder how long it will be before we can turn it off again?

Late nights, and sleep

I had a rare night out with friends in Brighton this week that meant I got to bed far later than normal. So I used the journey to start reading (well, listening to) Why we sleep, obviously!. For as long as I can remember I've been a fan of sleep. :-) There have been times when I've tried to "hack" my sleep patterns to trick myself into coping with less, although always unsuccessfully. But for the most part, and certainly for the last decade or so with children, I've been trying (and failing) to get enough in the traditional way. I had no idea just how important sleep really is though, nor how much of that importance has now been conclusively proved.

The book, by virtue of the knowledge it provides, is a bit on the depressing side for anyone who's a bit short of sleep (ie everyone I'd expect might read this!). Be prepared for some hard truths! I'm still only a few chapters in too - a friend who's already finished this book assures me it gets even more depressing later on!

Burns

Touching really hot things is generally a bad idea. Unfortunately our eldest decided to learn this the hard way while cooking banana bread this weekend. A lot (apparently 20 minutes is now recommended) of cold water followed, along with a trip to A&E. They bandaged up his hands but thankfully they didn't think it was too bad. Hand burns can often cause reduced mobility due to tightened/restricted skin so it's important to get them properly treated.

(As I'm posting this a few days late, I can include an update on this...)

He's since had a follow-up appointment to remove the bandages and he's managed to escape with just a few, very small blisters. Considering he picked up a pan that had just been taken from the oven, he's very fortunate it wasn't worse.

Technology

I had some "fun" making LXD use LVM for container storage.