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My case manager and one other mental health clinic staff member came to Portland to conduct a Housing Assessment for me. Mostly I signed forms to authorize that my psychiatric history be disclosed to the people that actually provide the housing.

It's not HUD Section 8, rather it is a branch of the same agency as funds my clinic.

I'm on the "PACT Team". I don't recall the acronym's proper title but I'm given to understand that everyone on the PACT Team is Extra Special. Most of the others I've met were pretty loopy. I've declined the housing in the past because I wanted that limited resource to go to them, as I felt the others needed it more than I.

I have the Boy Scout Wilderness Survival Merit Badge, see. My troop in Moscow, Idaho went camping once per month without any regard whatsoever for the weather. That was a little hard to take when I first moved there from California, but eventually I grew to enjoy camping in the snow.

Even so, I've been homeless for almost three years. I haven't been on the streets this whole time but when I was in a place, I was definitely a houseguest, not a resident. I figure I've given enough people my spot that I deserve a place myself.

Ironically I may be flushed for cash soon. It's not a sure thing in that it's consulting, it's not employment. If my code does not meet their written specification, then I don't get paid - I don't work through agencies.

It's not going to be easy work, but then if the job were easy, the client wouldn't need a consultant.

I was for a while stricken with terror over the difficulty of the work required. But many times I've told myself that I've done far, far more difficult work in the past.

When I was at Apple in '96 we had a "phase of the moon bug" that QA could not reproduce. The fourth time it was encountered, the bug was assigned directly to me rather than to QA. That is, I had no regression.

One week later, through Apple Developer Tech Support I advised Microsoft of the exact byte offset in Word 6's binary where their bug lay.

The old Mac OS - not really "Classic" but most people call it that, it was System 7.5.2 - didn't really have a proper concept of processes. When you called ExitToShell you could not count on certain resources being freed. Word 6 had a timer that reset itself each time it was fired. Under certain conditions, the timer was still firing after Word 6's binary was overwritten by some other data.

If I could isolate that problem then my present work should be a cakewalk.

We're not expecting my actual work to start until next week as their windows people had some problem they needed to work around. They expect I'll need to apply the same fix on OS X.

But back to housing...

They told me that six slots were opening soon, and that I was at the head of the line. I still have to wait, I don't think it will be long but those slots aren't actually open yet, also my application has to go through their process.

But both case managers were completely convinced I'm qualified.

I don't know what I do to deserve the TLC they give me, but I've had to insist that I pick up my prescriptions myself, at a regular pharmacy, rather than having them hand-delivered. I've also insisted on getting to the clinic on public transit, rather than being chauffered, despite that a long walk is required.

We've settled for them giving me a monthly bus pass. If I don't have to spend my busker tips on bus fare, then I can blow it at Starbucks while I look for work.

Finally, my depression is quite definitely getting better. Yesterday I shaved with a fresh blade. You might not think that's such a big deal but a very common symptom of my kind of mental illness is that one develops a "disheveled appearance".

I've spent a lot of time pondering my bearded, long-haired colleagues, realizing that I would look just like them soon, maybe I wouldn't be so welcome in some of the businesses I frequent. Maybe I wouldn't be able to pick up chicks. It's much harder to shave off a full beard than it is to shave off stubble.

I have a real trendy goatee though - have a look at my CNN interview on YouTube, the difference is that my hair is grey now. The goatee is a little longer than I prefer, and my hair is growing unkempt. It doesn't help to comb it, so tomorrow - if I can get myself there - I'm going to get them trimmed at the "Homeless Connect" event in Vancouver.

It's not that I'm not Aqualung, I just don't look like him.

Rouhani in Europe: Italy covers nudes for Iran president

Italian hospitality for the visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has stretched to covering up nude statues.

Mr Rouhani and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi spoke at Rome's Capitoline Museum after Italian firms signed business deals with Iran.

But several nudes there were hidden to avoid offending the Iranian president.

Italy also chose not to serve wine at official meals, a gesture France, where Mr Rouhani travels next, has refused to copy.

An Islamic republic, Iran has strict laws governing the consumption of alcohol.

Mr Rouhani is in Europe on a five-day tour seeking to boost economic ties after the implementation of a deal on rolling back Iran's nuclear activity saw sanctions lifted.

"Iran is the safest and most stable country of the entire region," the Iranian president told Italian business leaders.

He also stressed growth would be key to combating extremism, saying "unemployment creates soldiers for terrorists".

Monday saw contracts worth around €17bn ($18.4bn; £12bn) signed between Iran and Italian companies.

On Tuesday, Mr Rouhani also met Pope Francis, who urged Iran to work with other Middle Eastern countries against terrorism and arms trafficking, the Vatican said.

But the standard to which I hold myself is much the same as when I enrolled at Caltech to study Astronomy. While my life's course is much different than I originally intended, I still aim to leave something of value behind when I'm gone.

For the last fifteen years, that thing of value has been my writing - essays like Living with Schizoaffective Disorder.

While I expect I could make money from my writing, I do not yet attempt to do so, so at least for now I'm a coder. In some ways it appeals to me but in other ways I want nothing to do with it. I feel very strongly that the software industry is a Den of Iniquity. Coders - especially young coders - are often quite naive; those with the money take advantage of us.

By contrast I am recently able to realize there are many people in software who are genuinely good people. The clients I will start working for next week are that way. Their product is something that is genuinely useful to their customers. They treat me really well.

Among the reasons I have grown to dislike software is today's prevalence of Javascript. It's not exactly a bad language, however it is often used in reckless ways, with the result that many websites work poorly. That is, javascript isn't bad, javascript coders are.

I prefer C++, Python and Assembly Code.

When you consider my mental illness, compare it to that of my friend "Annellie". That's not her real name. She was twenty-nine years old when we met at Washington's Western State Hospital. She is a lovely young woman, always cheerful and full of happy things to say.

All the time she either wears a rain hat or holds a newspaper above her head because she has the delusion that a chemical rain is falling from the sky. She was especially terrified when we were out in the exercise yard.

"Look up in the sky. Can you see that it's sunny? Do you feel the sun's warmth on your face?"

"Oh yes, it's very nice!"

But when she turns away she can sense the chemical rain again.

Mighty No. 9 Suffers Another Delay, Inafune "Sincerely Sorry" for Disappointing Fans

Mighty No. 9, Keiji Inafune's spiritual successor to Mega Man, has been delayed again. The announcement was made in an update to Kickstarter backers, where Inafune--who created Mega Man along with a number of iconic properties for Capcom, before leaving in 2010--explained developer Comcept encountered "critical" issues in the game's online matchmaking.

Keiji Inafune’s Mighty No. 9 delayed … again

Mighty No. 9 is a lesson for future Kickstarters

I've been taking the antidepressant imipramine for a month now. It has worked well in the past, and in many ways I feel it's working now. However I am finding that the things that once interested me, no longer do. I can't motivate myself to do anything productive. Instead I just hit the Reload button in my web browser.

When I reload a page only to discover no new content has appeared, I feel totally useless.

I've experienced this before; the experience passed after some time, even without medication. So at times I tell myself just be patient this will go away.

My depression is not the "Goodbye Cruel World" sort. I've experienced that before as well, and have attempted several times. These days I feel silly about that - I demolished a perfectly good car because I lost all hope, but then a few months later that hope had returned, but with the exception that I was riding public transport.

In reality there are many things I could do to enjoy my time.

Yesterday I contemplated this problem then walked about five miles round trip to fetch my prescriptions, also to hang out in a day center for the mentally ill. It was a good experience. I felt really weary when I finally got back to my camp and lay down in my sleeping bag, but it was a good sort of weariness.

I often write Walls Of Text then publish them online. Lately I cannot even do that I have nothing to write about, and when I attempt to write a new Wall Of Text it falls flat.

I know this will pass too, I am heavily into writing.

George Washington slave book pulled after criticism

A children's picture book about George Washington and his slaves has been pulled by publishers Scholastic.

A Birthday Cake for George Washington tells the story of Washington's slave Hercules, a cook, and his daughter.

It had been criticised for its images of smiling slaves, and described as being "highly problematic".

Scholastic said in a statement that without more historical context, the book "may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves".

The book, telling the story of Hercules and Delia making a cake together, had been released on 5 January. It was met with a barrage of one-star reviews on Amazon, with readers describing it as "disgustingly inaccurate", and one writing: "I can't believe people are celebrating a children's story that depicts happy, joyful slaves."

Scholastic's description of the story had read: "Everyone is buzzing about the president's birthday! Especially George Washington's servants, who scurry around the kitchen preparing to make this the best celebration ever. Oh, how George Washington loves his cake! And, oh, how he depends on Hercules, his head chef, to make it for him. Hercules, a slave, takes great pride in baking the president's cake."

Thank you, Soylent News, for not limiting the rate at which I can make posts. I just ran into that limit back over there, and it's insanely annoying. Soylent News has got me spoiled.

This is just one of the many great benefits you get for subscribing. Another great benefit is that you'll keep this great place going.

Auschwitz price-fixing claims: Israel police arrest nine

Nine executives at Israeli travel agencies have been arrested on suspicion of fixing the price of high school students' trips to former Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz.

Police say they are investigating allegations of a secret price-fixing arrangement by companies who organise the trips for students.

Investigators have raided the homes of executives and frozen bank accounts.

At least six travel agencies are accused of violating competition rules.

They are suspected of colluding on prices before responding to an education ministry tender to take students to Holocaust memorials.

When the Israeli education ministry approached a number of different companies, it received identical quotes.

Reports say the alleged collusion was aimed at artificially inflating prices.

Rubio: "we make deals with Iran, we betray our allies like Israel"

...You forgot to say Saudi Arabia.

Long exchange between Trump and Cruz over Cruz's citizenship. It seems most of the boos around this portion are pro-Trump.

~40 minutes in. Carson: "I was mentioned." Host: "You were?" Carson: "He said 'everybody'."

~86 minutes in. Christie trying to be the NSA's top cheerleader yet again. No Rand on stage to balance him out anymore.

~95 minutes in. Kasich: "I believe in the PTT."

~100 minutes in. Trump cuts in to call Jeb weak. Are the boos for Trump or Jeb?

~124 minutes in. Some kind of heckling. "We want ----."

Christie calls FBI Director Comey a friend.

~131 minutes in. Rubio calls Snowden a traitor who committed treason while bashing Cruz.

~134 minutes in. Bush talks about encryption/cybersecurity. "NSA should be put in charge of the civilian side of [cybersecurity]." "If you can encrypt messages, ISIS can." Narrowly avoids endorsing backdoors, but he's a Bush so we know how much that's worth.

Kasich's closing statement mentions reform of military contractor spending. Bencarson.com's closing statement mentions bencarson.com. Rubio: a Hillary Clinton-based closing statement. Cruz: mentions a Benghazi movie, panders to military and law enforcement. Trump: mentions the 10 sailors in Iran, something about making America good again.

I Went to a Cannabis-Themed Gala and Saw the Future

Marketed as "Canada's first vapour gala," the Go Greene Winter Gala was held at a "private upscale location" made known to ticketholders the day of. Go Greene is an advocacy group that promotes diversity within the cannabis community. It was founded by former Alaska-based TV journalist Charlo Greene, who quit her job on air to become a full-time activist.

[...] A table outside the door of the party room was stacked with goodies like THC-infused soda, cookies, and candy. I passed, and by that I mean I stuffed them into my purse, because I knew I wouldn't be able to interview people baked. Once outfitted with green wristbands, we headed into what was akin to a massive hotbox. There was green lighting, gold balloons that spelled out "Go Greene," and a green carpet that was made of felt or something very similar to felt and was secured to the floor with visible packing tape.

The 80 or so guests were instructed to dress to impress, and many of them obliged, wearing gowns, tuxedos, and random head gear. (I put on a grey dress that I wear to work all the time because I'm lazy.) They posed for photos in front of a backdrop branded with the names of different cannabis industry sponsors—the kind normally reserved for film festivals and obnoxious clubs.

[...] Caterers made their way around the room carrying trays of prosciutto-wrapped melon and black bean cakes, while hip-hop artists and DJs performed on a slightly elevated stage. The bar was manned by two dabtenders with blowtorches. (There was no booze on premise, which is probably for the best.)

Sarah Gilles, who works at promotions/events company The High Five, was serving up weed juice shots and giving away swag bags filled with her cannabis-infused beauty products like body butter and a scrub. She told me weed is responsible for her glowing "420 face" and that people who suffer from skin conditions and pain should consider using it.

[...] My photographer and I were separated briefly until I found her sitting alone on a bright red dentist's chair beside the bathroom, hair tousled and eyes glazed.

"I did dabs," she said. "I seriously actually can't feel my face right now." Her words convinced me to do one, after which we posted up on a couch in the loft discussing all the times we'd ghosted on events because we were too high. Then we did exactly that.

In hindsight, I realized the weed ball was novel for more than just its atmosphere; there seemed to be no fear of being busted by cops and, for the first time in my experience reporting on drugs, no one hesitated to give me their name.

But the party is only a small reflection of movements taking place across the country. Pot shops (including a recreational one with a dab bar), already well-established on Canada's west coast, are making their way east. Judges have been calling bullshit on possession-related cases due to the "ridiculous" laws they hinge on, and politicians are vocalizing their visions for having cannabis sold in liquor stores. Dealers are even hosting holiday sales.

So while pragmatists will tell you legalization is a long way from being a reality, in some ways it seems it's already here.

Other selected stories:

Google dives into virtual reality with new division and new boss

Yahoo dumps 13.5TB of users' news interaction data for machine eating

Intel: For Mainstream Gamers, Our IGPs Are Equivalent to Discrete GPUs

Plan For Cuba Ferry Terminal Reveals Shift In Miami Politics

Microsoft Releases Its JavaScript Engine As Open Source 'ChakraCore'