First time COVID tester

 You can find all the information on Google, as my daycare provider explained to me I need a COVID test for my daughter to be re-admitted to daycare.

Despite the fact, above is the wrong way to find any information, I had no choice but to turn to the web.  Note, web and not Google.  Most people don't distinguish that Google is not the web.  And while most information is available on-line but  the first source should be valid and verified document which should be available to those who are in the position to recommend tests, e.g. daycares in this scenario.

In any case, I had no choice but to turn to the web, and use search engines to find the answers to my questions:  where the test is performed ?  how is the test performed?  how do they admit patients for testing? 

 From conversation with the daycare provider: throat swabs for COVID-19 testing could be done at drive-thru assessment center by appointment.

What I end up doing, and it seemed to be the only option available to me, was nasal swab, at a physical location, by appointment.

It took me three hours to find the location closest to me, make an appointment online, arrive there, park, go through the process of being admitted, and get the test done.  I believe this is great, and I got extremely LUCKY.   

I started here:

COVID 19 testing locations for my area

I found out eligibility to get tests done at the pharmacy is to have no symptoms.  From there I searched for an 'Assessment Center' closest to me.  

The next step was to find out how they admit people for testing.  It was incredibly frustrating when the page would not load.  I used many different browsers on different devices to get there faster.   Slapping this information on top of a poorly designed website is wrong at many levels.

Finally, I tried a link from the not fully loaded page, that got me to appointment booking page.  This page, unlike its parent, loaded all the information quickly.  I was happy to find out the center can accommodate me in a couple of hours.  So, I booked the time slot.

We arrived at the center five minutes late.  At the entrance, I was asked if I had an appointment and since I did, I was shown in.  There was a line up at the entrance.  Which I don't know if it was for COVID testing or something else.  

The first step after entering was to give the reception my daughter's information and receive a bracelet, just as if we were being admitted to the hospital.  It was quick.

The next step was to be seen and checked for vitals, temperature, and oxygen level, and explain the symptoms.  There were six people ahead of us.  Two out of three stations were staffed.  It took us 20 minutes to be seen by the nurse.

The last step was to get the test.  We were called in almost immediately, or I guess relative to the last step it felt much faster!  A series of white plastics were hung from the ceiling to form a makeshift rooms to get the test done.  There was one chair placed in this room.  I was told to sit on the chair, and hold my baby in my lap.  I was incredibly grateful when the person performing the test appeared so quickly.  I cannot imagine how I could have kept my daughter still in such small possibly infected place.

The swab was, understandably, painful, but was quick, and the instructions I was given was really helpful to get it done fast, despite of discomfort my daughter was in.

When it was over, I waited long enough to finish his sentence about how I can access results, and just ran out of the place, all the way to the car, holding my daughter as close as possible.  

I got extremely lucky!  It could have been much worse and by that I mean it could have taken longer more dragged out, tiring.  It was not.  I thank the staff for it.

The results came the next day before noon, that's less than half a day.  Negative!

Learning Jenkins in an adhoc way

 It just happens that I have to setup a CI/CD ecosystem to test a series of changes to the compiler.  I am using Git and Jenkins as the framework.

I am getting to know both!

I am using corporate Jenkins, which means another team has downloaded, and configured Jenkins.  I have a personal Jenkins space, with limited configuration capabilities.  It is connected to a source repository which contains an application code, toolchain and build scripts.  The relationship between these pieces are as follow:

  the build scripts build the toolchain, which then is used to build the application code.

Each of these, the scripts, toolchain, and application, is maintained in a separate repository.  The main goal is changes to each repository triggers the build, guided by Jenkinsfile.

I added the build scripts and toolchain repositories as submodules of the application.  I then navigated through the Jenkinsfile documentation online to find a way to trigger a build when a commit was made to the git submodules.  After a couple days on the topic, I gave up.  

I tried GitSCM with various settings and none worked.

In order to make progress, I moved to an alternative way.  It is a simple minded way.  I git clone each repository, within on Jenkins Pipeline and go build the toolchain and the application in that order.

Jenkins, being so pervasive in the development world, should be able to handle multiple repositories and invoke the build when there's a change to one of them.  

Please, leave me a comment here, if you know how.  Thanks in advance!

GNU GCC Register Transfer Expression RTX

Not a whole lot of documentation available on the topic!  I guess when you find something the hard way, you earned the right to show it off.  But, besides vanity, it's good to document it for future reference.  I can refresh my memory using this page.  It can also prove helpful to others.

Objective: gen_reg_rtx (machine_mode) vs gen_rtx_REG (machine_mode)

Declared: rtl.h

Defined: emit-rtf.c

Returns: a pseudo register/a hardware register (type rtx)

Implementation difference:   gen_reg_rtx asserts if called after compiler's register allocation phase is completed.

Code changes all the time! Above information is valid for GCC v8.3.1 source.

Toronto Zoo Opens this weekend, May 23rd, to offer Drive-thru tours --and it's already sold out

I have not been to Toronto Zoo.  So, I am not about to ruin my first time experience by jumping into the car and going there, because I have nowhere else to go.  And when I look at the ticket prices for this "unique" experience --I am less inclined to do so!

Canada is reopening without knowing where Canadians are getting COVID-19

Canada is reopening without knowing where Canadians are getting COVID-19

is the title of this article, by Adam Miller, and published by CBC yesterday! 

He is taking advantage of two recently identified active clusters of COVID19 in Peel region, as well as London, Ontario to publish a very poorly written, very confusing article.  He sites Alberta and BC as provinces who have been 'successful' in keeping the spread of the virus under control. Then sites South Koreas' opening of night clubs as making the country taking two steps back into shutting down the night clubs!!

How the South Koreas' example is relevant to Canada not knowing where its COVID-19 cases are coming from, and how BC's, and Alberta's success (both being part of Canada) contribute to Canada's failure are questions I have when I read his article.

It's journalistic effort to grab clicks, based on the most talked about topic these days.

Really bad article!

How am I coping with the imposed quarantine?

I am full-time work-from-home compiler developer or simply a software developer.  I got this gig after 1.5 years being off, caring for my daughter.  I love it, all aspects of it.  The work, pay, and my colleagues.

I am also full-time house-wife, a very traditional kind, where most responsibilities of keeping home/life running falls on my shoulder.

I also take care of our daughter, feed, bath, and keep her social calendar filled with playdates, age appropriate classes, and activities.  I had found her a great daycare where she looks forward to going daily, and it has been so great for both of us.  I get to do my work and she gets to learn and socialize.  Of course the daycare is closed for now.

I enjoy all aspects of my life, except at times, I don't get good quality sleep and that grossly hinders my ability to cope with everything.  It's at these times, that it occurs to me I am doing more than my share.  But when this passes, it's all back to good and normal.

With quarantine I am getting very little sleep.  I am overtired, and most nights I wake up after a couple hours sleep unable to fall back asleep.  My days are not long enough, I attend to my daughter's online learning schedule, play with her, take her on walks, and only turn T.V. on when I absolutely have no other choice, like I have a 1-1 with my boss.   This is quite disruptive.  The two windows of opportunity I have to get work done, is during her nap and when she sleeps.  Both have been disrupted pretty badly.  She doesn't sleep well at night, and doesn't nap long during the day either.

I don't know for how long we are expected to stay quarantined, or more importantly how long the childcare centres will be closed for.  I google this every other day, and last I checked it was not clear when.

I don't have a plan B.  

How has the quarantine impacted my husband's life?

My husband's main concern is not to contract the virus, and he has been successful in altering and limiting his daily activities to pursue this goal.

This change is amazing, since he used to spend two hours of every three hours outside of the home every single day, without any exception.  When asked to stay home on social occasions, and other life situations, his mood would turn sour after two hours.

But now, he calmly spends his whole day at home.  Paces the small living/dining space with his phone in hand to get his 2KM daily walk everyday.  Eats his breakfast and lunch at home, something that probably happened less than the count of my fingers over the course of 8 years marriage.  Get his work done remotely, and watches T.V. with our daughter.  

He rarely helps out with the work around the house, that has not been his thing, and he is not about to change now that he's at home all the time to see the amount of work that goes on daily to keep the house and life in general running.

He can continue with this lifestyle until it's declared safe to go out.

How is this quarantine changing the way my toddler perceives the world?

To her, with limited vocabulary, certain things such as school, supermarket, library, parks, are "broken".

I am trying my best to convince her, it's "broken", but not for good, and not only for her.

She gets excited to meet her friends virtually but half way through the meet up she tears up, and starts shaking her head, that she no longer wants to continue with this.  These days she can spent hours with the animated characters, she knows their names, and happily references them in her conversation.  Reminding her of the names of her real life friends have the reverse effect on her mood.

I am trying my best to convince her, no matter what the situation, we need to keep in touch with our real friends, even if they aren't physically close to us.

The idea of fresh air, and spending time outdoors appeals to her, but when we are out, with careful planning ahead, and much caution, it only takes 10 minutes for her to ask to go home.

While our governments' effort in taking slow, and calculated steps to reopen our economy is much appreciated, kids and their re-integration in the normal cycle of life should be discussed too.