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klutzygirl posting in

Title: Trip And Fall

Fandom: 9-1-1

Character: Tommy Kinard

Ship>: Tommy & Theo

Rating: General Audiences

Summary: Tommy takes care of Theo after he trips and falls.

pauraque

Éalú (Irish for "escape") is a puzzle game where you play as a mouse trying to find a way out of a diabolical maze. What caught my eye about it is that it's stop-motion animated—not digital art in the style of stop-motion, but actual video clips of physical hand-built rooms and models made of wood and wire.

wooden mouse with a wire tail examines a wooden puzzle box with three symbols and three buttons, with closed doors beyond

wooden mouse with a wire tail examines a wooden puzzle box with three symbols and three buttons, with closed doors beyond

It's a simple one-click interface where you just interact with things. The puzzles are, unsurprisingly, of a very concrete physical nature: Turn a handle in this room to change something in another room, or press buttons on a box to rotate a mechanism until things line up. Successful puzzle solves unlock doors to new areas. Thorough exploration is rewarded, as you may find clues to puzzles in distant rooms—but also punished, as seemingly innocuous and even attractive objects may instantly kill you and send you back to the start of the maze. (If you cannot handle the thought of the cute wooden mouse dying, do not play this game.) But you get unlimited second chances, armed with new knowledge each time you venture out again.

( cut for length )

Éalú is on Steam for $14.99 USD. It's advertised as taking 2-4 hours, which is probably about right. I completed it with all achievements (well, except the one achievement that's currently bugged) in a little under three hours, but I've played a lot of puzzle games. The price may seem high for the duration, but on the other hand, stop-motion animation is incredibly laborious, so I feel like it's fair to give some leeway for that, and I don't think it feels incomplete or needed to be more than what it is.

tedwords

"The phrase 'working mother' is redundant." — Jane Sellman

After the week we've had, Corb and I are dining alone tonight, having spent four days in complete socialization mode.

It was totally worth it, that socialization thing. But man, it does get us tired. We had dinner with Theo on Monday, caught up with with MB and Pauline on Tuesday, received travel tips on Paris and Barcelona from the lovely Bea Schmid at the Norton Singers fundraiser Wednesday (PS: I won the lottery tree! Go me!), and of course, spent seven hours yesterday videotaping the Money Unscripted segment with my friends Jessi and Ally, after which we were thoroughly exhausted. Corb asked, is that what your life was like, before you retired? I nodded. Yes. Different, of course, but just as intense.

I'm excited to see how that segment turns out. It was interesting being on the other side of the media lens. I think I took direction well. Ally said I did just fine. You know I'll be sure to share it.

Also, let's talk a wee bit about mothers, shall we? This weekend is of course mother's day, and we will be socializing with my parents tomorrow and Corb's mom on Sunday. And how lucky and grateful we both are to still have our parents in their 80s, still so vital and enduring. My sister Laurie and I were discussing this, this afternoon, and we both feel so blessed (and looking forward to spending a week with them this summer). I know that MB was discussing how her mom is now 96 and going strong. She sleeps a lot, but I figure that's just the batteries recharging. Long life is such a gift; not many are not this fortunate. We need to remember just how lucky we are.

Happy mothers day in advance, to all my favorite mothers out there. You know who you are. But Josie and Annie, you are definitely at the top of the list!

So tonight, I raise a lavender lemon drop martini and toast to socialization, to mothers, and to living life on the other side of the lens. Life on that other side is good, my friends. And of course, only two and a half weeks to go before we head off to gay Paree! So, a toast to the launch of another big adventure.

As always, I raise a cup to my friends, to all the awesome members of the Friday night Martini club! And love you, mom and pop! You truly mean the world to us.  Have a great weekend, everyone.

###

Post-Friday night scribblings

And after that night...we went right back into socialization mode. 

Saturday we woke up at 6:30 for the annual Eldredge Players Yard Sale. Anna was there but was clearly sad about the passing of her sister, who she was extremely close to, despite Wales being so far away. We stayed there until around 1:30 and celebrated Bea's birthday.

After that, we drove to celebrate Mother's day with my parents and Kerrie at Longhorn. Theo was supposed to go, but my parents changed the time and it was too late for him. 

But it was a nice dinner. Tommy has decided he wants to live full time in Florida as he cannot afford paying for two houses. That means Kerrie and I will have oversight for Mom and Dad full time. I have mixed feelings about that. 

Sunday we went to Scott and Tina's at around one. It was okay, and for a change, the food was decent, since Scott did the cooking (Tina is an awful cook). 

However, around six or so, after about an hour of Corbett and his brothers reminiscing about their high school years, and the faint whiff of misogyny and racial microtriggers that follow Scott and Greg everywhere they go, I kind of hit the wall. And I was kind of anxious about trying to get Corb to go...I made a beeline to the garage to exit and moved into the car as quickly as I could. But frankly, by that point, Gregg and Scott were talking entirely to each other, not including everyone in the conversation, and Corb and his mom were just standing there listening to them talk. I am not a fan of standing their listening to cis white males chatter on incessantly about "man talk"...it bores me to tears, and I don't realluy have any need at this point in my life to put up with it. 

Still. It is something I think I have to get better at, as it is probably embarrassing to Corb. I am really going to make an effort to be less "let's get a move on" in the future. Really. Seriously.

oursin

Having spent a fair amount of time last week finally doing some prep for forthcoming talk on condomz - well, at least pulling together existing visuals from former presentations and digging up a few fresh items to create suitable slides - get message that advance bookings are being very laggardly (apparently a problem with event programme generally?) and they may have to cancel.

SIGH, though I feel this is not lost work and may very well come in useful at some time.

And of course they may not have to cancel, bookings may pick up I suppose.

In rather more cheery news, a little while ago I bopped off an enquiry to The Academic Press with which I published The Co-authored Volume, since I have not heard from them for many a year, and in spite of the fact that lo, 'tis over twenty years now since it burst upon the world, it is still in print. (And still getting cited, yay.)

And I must say their website was a bit of a nightmare to navigate and I ended up sending a plaintive message to a very generic enquiry email as I could not find any other relevant one to apply to.

Behold, I have heard from an Accounts person that they sent a cheque to Former Workplace in 2020 (hah!) which was never cashed, surprise - what between lockdown and the various staff upheavals I was not at all astonished to hear this - but they have now sent me a statement of the royalties accruing (a very modest sum) and asking for my bank details.

Which is better than a bat in the eye with a burnt stick, do admit.

(I am not sure whether the royalties match up to the amounts earned for the same work via the Authors' Licensing and Copyright Society over the same period, but I am not sure that I am massively motivated to check.)

james_davis_nicoll

Nine complete .PDF graphic albums of the Atomic Robo comic series from Tesladyne LLC, plus the 2014 Atomic Robo RPG tabletop roleplaying game from Evil Hat Productions.

Bundle of Holding: Atomic Robo (from 2021)

Eight more albums of Robo's continuing adventures for an unbeatable bargain price.

Bundle of Holding: Atomic Robo New Era

umadoshi

Reading: I had a pretty good reading week--I read both Role Model and The Long Game, so I'm caught up on the Game Changers books until whenever the new one comes out, and read Platform Decay once my hard copy finally arrived on Friday night. (Tracking info put it in the city by last Sunday and it got delivered around 8 PM on Friday. WTF.)

I also read The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope.

And tomorrow All Hail Chaos (Sarah Rees Brennan, sequel to Long Live Evil) comes out! So that'll be my next read. (I'm going to get it in hard copy and also in ebook, and doing so will only cost a few dollars more than buying Platform Decay did in hard copy alone. Fucking book pricing.)

I also need to browse my manga collection and decide what to read next from it.

Watching: A few more episodes of Justice in the Dark, and we also watched ep. 1 of Witch Hat Atelier. (I read a volume or two of the manga quite a while ago, and remember essentially nothing about it.)

Current Mood: tired

brerrabbit posting in

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shadowhive

The weekend ended up being more low energy than I expected. That was cause I woke up Saturday and mum had a fall messing outside (she’s fine thankfully but I’ve always told her not to do anything out there unless I’m downstairs to hear her) and then ugh. She decided that the best thing to do would be to argue. There’s stuff she wants doing in the house but, as always, she wants all of them doing at the same time. I tell her to prioritise them, or give me space to do them and it’s like I’m asking the world from her.

It’s frustrating cause this is a repeated thing that happens every few months but she doesn’t care to actually do these things.

Thus I came back from walking the dog, messed upstairs until I exhausted myself and stayed there all day and until lunch the next day.

Yesterday was also fairly uneventful, bar watching the next Doctor Who boxset ep (more on that later) but I didn’t do much of what I’d hoped this weekend. I only watched that and an episode of Ghost Files Saturday night (and the standard gaming stuff).

I did get credits rolled on Tomodachi life though there’s still things to do.i hope they add an update with more stuff (more quirks, more inventory space for people, more unlockables) but I need to add more people.

This morning was spent trying to chase up my hospital appointment (still no answers but had three different numbers to call). One of the calls even said I’d been discharged despite the referral and not being told. The third call did say that was wrong and to chase it up but still…

There was mail this morning, which was the rest of the comic book day comics (I’ve not read them yet or even checked them) and my second intentional 4K which was for Cold Storage. The hmv exclusive does have its own cover and a set of cards… but there’s no special features listed which is odd. Maybe there is something when I watch, but it’s annoying if there’s nothing, (Clown In A Cornfield was odd like that too).

Last night was the next in the Who ray run which was… Caves Of Androzani.

People consider this a classic and… I’m not entirely sure why. It’s so grim, virtually every character is unlikeable (and all but two people end up dead).

The Doctor and Peri land on the world of Androzani Minor. In the process of exploring they end up in a cave system and find out that this world produces a drunk, Spectrox, with life extending properties. However the facilities have been commandeered by a man named Sharaz Jek. Jek has been betrayed by a buisness an on Androzani Major and that’s led to a conflict. Oh and unrefined, the spectrox is toxic.

Like I said pretty much everyone in this is unpleasant. Much like Vengeance Of Varos (from the next season) it’s one of those eps that’s so grim you want it to end sooner. Sharaz Jek is kinda sympathetic as a man betrayed by someone he trusted (leaving him scarred) and his outfit does look good but… he spends a good chunk of time leering over Peri.

Morgus, the businessman is awful. He’s amoral, killing people just because they’re an inconvenience. And he has this… odd way of talking that’s… hard to describe. It’s kinda flat and very off putting (with random asides to camera too, again for some reason? Apparently the actor just did them not understand stage directions and they kept them in)

The only good parts are towards the end, both with Morgus. First his secretary telling him gleefully that she’s took over his buisness and ket the government know his crimes. Second it’s when he confronts Jek and ends up dead for his trouble.

The end of the ep has the doctor (after managing to get poisoned along with Peri at the start) dying of the poisoning, regenerating into the sixth doctor (oh boy) but at least the regeneration brings Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa and Adric back (oh and Kamleion’s there too I guess).

Gonna watch the special features tonight then the next ep (whenever that’ll be) is the last of the season, The Twin Dilemma. Is it as bad as people think? I guess we’ll see

Current Music: Tv

maju

Dinner last night was ok. Not great, but not horrible. My daughter and son in law are very big on eating meat, while I am not so keen. My son in law loves steak and hamburgers, and his daughters also seem to like hamburgers although they're not so interested in steak. (But will eat it when it's served.) The hamburger place we went to for dinner had a few things on the menu that weren't steak, including fish and chips, macaroni cheese, and something they called shepherd's pie. I ordered the shepherd's pie, and I don't think they really understood what shepherd's pie should be like. It was very tasty, if slightly too salty, but there was only a minuscule amount of meat in it, and way too much corn. (In my opinion, any corn in a shepherd's pie is too much corn.) I realise I've just said I'm not a bit meat eater, but the premise of a shepherd's pie is that there is a layer of minced/ground meat topped with a layer of mashed potato, and this pie didn't really have a layer of meat, more just a few scattered pieces of meat here and there under the potato. The mashed potato topping was fine except for being far too wet; it didn't really hold its shape or act like a pie topping should.

Also on the menu was what sounded like a delectable chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache and with a vanilla filling. I was too full to eat it then and there (and nobody else was having dessert) so I ordered one to take away and have just now eaten it as part of lunch. It was very good but also very very filling and I don't feel like I will need much dinner tonight.

I have no idea why, but I woke up this morning around 1:30 am (after only about 4 hours sleep) and couldn't get back to sleep. I lay in bed reading for a while and eventually got up and started my day an hour or so earlier than usual, deciding that I would do the almost unheard of thing for me, that is, take a nap later in the day. So before lunch I lay down to try to sleep and I think I did manage to drift off for 15 or 20 minutes. I definitely hope to have a better night tonight.

This morning I solved the mystery of the unidentified buzzing/beeping object in my room. It turned out to be the old phone my daughter gave me for receiving log in codes for her work bank account. It's not on any phone plan but can receive codes as long as it's connected to the wifi. I keep it in the top drawer of the chest of drawers next to my bed, and when it was buzzing last week it was hidden behind a pile of clothes in the drawer but this morning it was visible so I could see its screen lit up when the buzzing started and was obviously coming from that drawer. I can't log in to the phone (I don't need to because when the bank sends a code it's visible on the screen even when the phone isn't open), but my daughter was able to sign in to the phone and discover that someone from a UK phone company had been trying to call her about some promotion they were offering. She has turned off the vibrate function and changed some other settings, so we hope we don't get more mysterious sounds from the phone. Obviously I don't really care if it makes noises during my waking hours, but I don't want to be woken up at 3 or 4 am by someone calling from the UK five hours ahead.

prisca posting in

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prisca posting in

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susandennis

Well, let's see... yesterday, Bonny came over, Noelle came by, Jackie got scammed.

Bonny brought her new hip down the hall - her apartment is the farthest from mine. Her news to share was that probably Friday, her refrigerator quit. I cannot understand why she would not have noticed but by the time she did, stuff was warm, ice was melting and she tossed everything out - or rather the maintenance guys did. What a PIA.

Noelle returned the Chromebook I lent her and brought flowers which was a lovely thought but the flowers are ugly and now I have to wait until enough time has passed that the flowers will have died and then return her vase. I think I have a work around, though.

Jackie sent a series of emails yesterday which I finally figured out was a scam but it was the I don't know how to work Amazon so I need you to buy a gift card and send it to my friend, thing. The is pretty much exactly what Jackie would do but... she has tons of close friends and family and would never ask me. Plus her note said her friend was dying of ovarian cancer and it was her birthday. No mention of Mother's Day. And she said all the stores were closed so she couldn't just go by one. Finally about an hour later, Jackie sent a note around that she had been scammed.

Meanwhile, I was actually in the middle of an Amazon buying spree so that was weird. All of a sudden I'm out of stuff or I want stuff. I felt like I ordered stuff all weekend but, turns out, it wasn't quite that much. I do have returns that need to get to FedEx sometime this week.

I have learned to swim in the sun. When the blinds are down, in the mornings, and the Sun is strong, you still get the glare but I have decided not to let it bother me. This morning, it was a killer but I still had a wonderful swim.

I track my swim on my Pixel watch that feeds into Fitbit. My health insurance company pays for Fitbit Premium. Fitbit Premium wants me to sign up with a health coach and do all kinds of ridiculous things. I managed to turn most of it off but... I haven't figured out how to turn off the AI critique of my swim. And now I'm kind of addicted to it. I have a good swim and I enjoy it so whothefuckcares what Fitbit has to say about it??? Turns out, I do! And today I found myself swimming a little harder in the middle of my run just to see if the stupid AI would notice. Of course it did. hahahah

Also now on my radar is the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program. My $349 a month Wegovy bill will go to $50. And July 1 is coming right up. My latest order gives me enough pens to get to July 1. But, of course, I have zero confidence that 1. the program will happen and 2. if it does, it will work as boasted. My doctor is all over it so at least I know that if it happens, I'll be included. In about 4 weeks, I'll need to decide if I want to wait and bet on the program happening when and how they say it will or if I want to spend $350 to ensure I'm covered until we know.

No big plans for today - actually I should go make that Amazon run and I might.

(My friend, Martha, wears yellow Crocs often. Saturday she asked me to make her a doll 'with yellow Crocs with jibbits!')

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

Current Mood: busy

awanderingcoyote posting in

sid_guardian

This is the fanworks round-up post for April! Please link in the comments to any Guardian (or related fandoms) fanworks you created or enjoyed last month.

all kinds of fanworks are welcome – fic, art, vids, picspams, etc. - including those made for exchanges and events
new chapters of WIPs count
meta or discussion posts, too
whether or not you've already linked these in a post of their own, we still want them here!

If you're linking to fanworks you didn't create yourself, please clearly mark these "REC", so there's no confusion about authorship/creatorship.

(And please still do link your fanworks, meta, etc. separately, in their own post, at any time!)

So ... what Guardian and related fandoms works did you create or enjoy in April?

atlas_obscura_places_feed

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/flannery-oconnor-childhood-home

Presenting Flannery O'Connor's collection of short stories in front of her childhood home.

Though many may associate the 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' author with her peacock farm in Milledgeville, celebrated Southern writer Flannery O'Connor began life in Savannah, GA. The townhome in which she spent her childhood is located on a quiet Charlton Street, shaded by live oak, looking over picturesque Lafayette Square, and facing the stunningly gothic revival Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. With such a looming presence, it is no wonder how prominent O'Connor's Catholicism was in her life and writing.

Although, later in life, she would refer to it simply as "the house I was raised in," we can't overlook the fact that it was the home that shaped her world from birth in 1925 to 1938.

Today, The Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home Foundation operates a museum out of the townhouse as well as making efforts to preserve the home itself.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/flannery-oconnor-childhood-home

james_davis_nicoll

When it comes to governing a generation ship, do you prefer the Watsonian or Doylist strategy?

Two Plot-Friendly Approaches to Generation Ships

tedwords

I rode to the high school today to visit Joyce at orchestra practice. It went okay, although Joyce told me later that the girl from Berkley, named Joy Powers, is really awful and both Jenay and Joyce are severely annoyed that she has Reed One. Frank told me she has "man trouble."

Joyce is also angry because Mark said he'd do the show and took the Reed Three music and hasn't come to a rehearsal yet--in fact, she called and he's away somewhere. What an idiot.

I drove Joyce to a small mall and we walked around, then went to Kai Lua. I called Nana to tell her I'd be late and Kerrie told me that Frank is in the hospital--Craig punched him or something like that. I wonder what happened?

Joyce and I had the Pu Pu platter and later went to Mr Gs, and of course I got yelled at when I got home, but that's life. Or, my life, at least.

tedwords

Steve called early in the morning and I managed to get the car and we went to Mr. Gs for a while. Blew about five dollars--Steve had all half dollars. Then we picked up two McDonalds shakes and went to visit Frank. I left Steve to help Frank as I had to go bring Laurie home.

Had rehearsal at night. I let Steve drive the car and he took us on the highway. We became lost for a while and by the time we arrived at his house it was 11:30. So I called Dad and told him that no one was home at Steve's house and Steve didn't want to stay alone (which was partially true). Dad said, "What are you, his babysitter?" Dad was rather pissed that night.

brickhousewench

Thirteen days

9,700+ miles

Two different countries (Lisbon, Portugal, Athens, Greece)

Five different hotel rooms

Seven hours time difference

And I am finally home.