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There's magic in finding the right words
May. 13th, 2026 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brithistorianThe other day on Facebook I read a post that was a repost of an earlier conversation from Tumblr (I'm sure you've all seen this sort of thing). Anyway, the topic was a discussion of whether or not a vampire policeman (a la Forever Knight) could use a judicial warrant to force you could grant them permission to enter your house. The discussion seemed to divide into two camps:
- Yes, they can.
- No, they can't, because the permission forced from you by the warrant is not a true expression of your will.
Recently I've been reading Seanan McGuire's October Daye series (highly recommend, if you haven't read them), which contain a lot of this sort of verbal jiggery-pokery tied into the magic system. This got me to thinking further about the vampire policeman problem and how, as the person in the house, it seems like there's got to be some combination of words that you can say which will simultaneously keep you out of trouble with human law (by honoring the validity of the warrant) while at the same time protecting yourself from the vampire (by indicating to the vampire that you do not freely give permission for them to enter your house), and which further could be stated in such a way that a bystander who is not aware of the existence of vampires/fairies/etc. would not find anything amiss in what you said. I was mulling this over while doing some chores and listening to some music when the Grateful Dead's "Trucking" came on and (in my opinion) handed me the answer on a silver platter[^1]: "If you've got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in." It simultaneously acknowledges that the warrant grants the power of entry and fails to grant your open personal permission to enter.
[^1] Upon writing it here, I'm wondering if "on a silver platter" has any relevance to faerie. Expect a post on that in the future.
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May. 13th, 2026 11:17 amdreamsrundeepAdventures:
First adventure:
Brenner got a haircut yesterday. It is so short and cute and tousled and grown-up looking. He decided he wanted to shave his sideburns, too - so we had a full cut AND taught him to use his electric razor to shave yesterday. Banner day. He looks great. I know several of you on social media - I'll post a picture when I can. His Nana hasn't seen him yet and Karen's reaction to him cutting his hair is going to be *a thing* - so I have to wait for her to see him first. I hope she is kind to him about it. When he was talking about it, she started getting a little whiny (I'm not sure that's the right word, but kind of) about how beautiful his hair is and asking him not to cut it. But she also had a conversation with Nicole telling her that she was the parent and could refuse to let him cut it and tell him no.
But. It's his hair. He wanted to. And one of the hills Nicole and I are *not* going to die on is hair. It's his body. It's just hair. I'd rather him have agency there so that he *really* listens to me about other things like sex and drugs that *do* have very real consequences than alienate his feelings of bodily autonomy over a haircut.
Trust me: He looks amazing.
Next adventure:
For the last two days, we've been cleaning out the "Free Store" on Hollins campus. We take donations of used clothing and things for the students who might need it. My responsibility is Business Casual clothing supply, but I also help out where I can. The Free Store accumulates so much. Craft supplies, kitchen supplies, office supplies, sheets and pillowcases, pillows, cups and mugs - it's like a tiny Goodwill. And we accept new donations as students move out of the residence halls, too. So for the last week, we've had the little gym reserved, Goodwill brought over giant rolling bins for us and we have tables set out so that we can sort and make sense of what the students are leaving behind. Some of it will go back to the Free Store and then the rest we will put in the Goodwill bins to be picked up and taken for donation.
Part of that, though - we have an overflow space in the fall-out shelter in the Chapel. The last two days have been in the basement, mostly decided what is trash and what needs to go on to Goodwill because it sat in the musty basement for so long OR just isn't moving in the Free Store. Binders, desk caddies, mugs/cups, art, stained things, a plethora of jeans, posters, etc. We loaded Amy's car with donation stuff and my car with trash.
I had two helium tanks in my office that I've been storing to take to the transfer station/dump anyway, so I volunteered.
But. I volunteered having NO idea how to do the thing. So I asked Nicole to pleas, please, please come with me this morning and show me how to do the thing.
So we took the kids to school, she parked her car and hopped into mine for the adventure.
Reader: I wore jeans and work shoes all week to do these lifting, carrying, dusty and dirty chores. Today? My cute silver Rothys flats and business casual.
We get to the transfer station. I drove over the scale where they weigh my car. I drove up into the station and do what Nicole tells me - backing in next to a guy with a HUGE dumpster he's evacuating ... and ... the floor is WET with TRASH JUICE.
I look at Nicole and I'm like, "But I'm in my ROTHYS."
~~
That's a lot for less than 24 hours!
First adventure:
Brenner got a haircut yesterday. It is so short and cute and tousled and grown-up looking. He decided he wanted to shave his sideburns, too - so we had a full cut AND taught him to use his electric razor to shave yesterday. Banner day. He looks great. I know several of you on social media - I'll post a picture when I can. His Nana hasn't seen him yet and Karen's reaction to him cutting his hair is going to be *a thing* - so I have to wait for her to see him first. I hope she is kind to him about it. When he was talking about it, she started getting a little whiny (I'm not sure that's the right word, but kind of) about how beautiful his hair is and asking him not to cut it. But she also had a conversation with Nicole telling her that she was the parent and could refuse to let him cut it and tell him no.
But. It's his hair. He wanted to. And one of the hills Nicole and I are *not* going to die on is hair. It's his body. It's just hair. I'd rather him have agency there so that he *really* listens to me about other things like sex and drugs that *do* have very real consequences than alienate his feelings of bodily autonomy over a haircut.
Trust me: He looks amazing.
Next adventure:
For the last two days, we've been cleaning out the "Free Store" on Hollins campus. We take donations of used clothing and things for the students who might need it. My responsibility is Business Casual clothing supply, but I also help out where I can. The Free Store accumulates so much. Craft supplies, kitchen supplies, office supplies, sheets and pillowcases, pillows, cups and mugs - it's like a tiny Goodwill. And we accept new donations as students move out of the residence halls, too. So for the last week, we've had the little gym reserved, Goodwill brought over giant rolling bins for us and we have tables set out so that we can sort and make sense of what the students are leaving behind. Some of it will go back to the Free Store and then the rest we will put in the Goodwill bins to be picked up and taken for donation.
Part of that, though - we have an overflow space in the fall-out shelter in the Chapel. The last two days have been in the basement, mostly decided what is trash and what needs to go on to Goodwill because it sat in the musty basement for so long OR just isn't moving in the Free Store. Binders, desk caddies, mugs/cups, art, stained things, a plethora of jeans, posters, etc. We loaded Amy's car with donation stuff and my car with trash.
I had two helium tanks in my office that I've been storing to take to the transfer station/dump anyway, so I volunteered.
But. I volunteered having NO idea how to do the thing. So I asked Nicole to pleas, please, please come with me this morning and show me how to do the thing.
So we took the kids to school, she parked her car and hopped into mine for the adventure.
Reader: I wore jeans and work shoes all week to do these lifting, carrying, dusty and dirty chores. Today? My cute silver Rothys flats and business casual.
We get to the transfer station. I drove over the scale where they weigh my car. I drove up into the station and do what Nicole tells me - backing in next to a guy with a HUGE dumpster he's evacuating ... and ... the floor is WET with TRASH JUICE.
I look at Nicole and I'm like, "But I'm in my ROTHYS."
She looked at me and was like, "What did you think you were going to be doing this morning?!"
And I was like, "I didn't expect this to be WET. My trash is DRY!"
I tiptoed around my car, found the driest place to stand, and helped toss trash. It was SO GROSS. I feel like I can still smell it.
They weigh your car once more on the way out.
I took Nicole back to her car and went to work with a story.
Then Nicole called me. She lost her wallet. I looked in my car. No wallet. She thinks that maybe in her zeal tossing out trash she dropped it IN THE DUMP.
OMG. No good deed, as they say. Now she's at home cancelling all her credit cards and figuring out how to reorder her driver's license. Shit.
Final Adventure:
Brooks band teacher was fired yesterday.
I think I wrote about this guy back in December. Something weird happened where the teacher came to school obviously drunk, slurring his speech and unable to really walk a straight line. They were working on Christmas music and the teacher started crying and talking about how hard Christmas is with his family and how lonely he is... all the kids felt super weird about it and Brooks said something to me about how he felt emotionally responsible to this guy and how bad it made him feel that he was lonely.
I immediately texted a fellow mom. I just looked back at my text exchange with her and both of us were icked out by the oversharing and the emotional labor put on the kids, but I also said that it sounded like the kids were trying to protect this teacher, too.
I guess last week (Thursday) teacher showed up and said, "Fuck it, it's Thursday." and proceeded to take a flask out and drink in class while also already inebriated. He got angry(?) kicked over a music stand that hit and hurt a kid and then lost his mind a little and started telling the kid, "Just hit me back, bro." and offering to go outside to let the kid hit him as pay back? The kid in question is NOT that kind of kid and was overwhelmed.
Parents then got involved. Kids got interviewed by the headmaster. Teacher was fired immediately.
We got an email from the school and the headmaster explained what happened (as much as he could) and stated he wished he'd known sooner. I felt bad because Keely and I decided in December not to say anything because surely it would eventually out if it was a *real* problem. Brooks did say that the teacher told them that he wanted to be the 'cool teacher' and not to say anything about his drinking in class - I can't quite remember HOW Brooks phrased it now, but it was clearly emotional manipulation. Some of the kids felt terrible about confessing what they'd seen and others were all too happy to share after last Thursday.
One kid said, "He's a good person. It's just really hard to like [teacher] right now."
~~
That's a lot for less than 24 hours!
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, volume 1 by Rifujin Na Magonote
May. 13th, 2026 08:56 amjames_davis_nicoll
A selfless act of heroism costs a homeless NEET his life. Waking in an unfamiliar world, he resolves to do better in his next incarnation.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, volume 1 by Rifujin Na Magonote
trying to organise a weekend away
May. 13th, 2026 04:51 pmtielanI'm trying to organise a weekend away, first weekend in June. Only had the idea last week, sent an email out, got about a half-dozen interested people, but the price of accomodation is going to be the sticking point.
Just sent out another email to check budgets, will have to wait to hear back. I'm pretty sure at least two women, and at least one couple will come - their finances are reasonably in order. The others... I'm not sure.
Oh well, if it all collapses, I could drag a couple of friends out maybe. Just do a day trip on the Saturday instead maybe.
Just sent out another email to check budgets, will have to wait to hear back. I'm pretty sure at least two women, and at least one couple will come - their finances are reasonably in order. The others... I'm not sure.
Oh well, if it all collapses, I could drag a couple of friends out maybe. Just do a day trip on the Saturday instead maybe.
My sinews have withered grievously
May. 12th, 2026 01:52 pmdorchadasI like how I put that into Google and the soulless machine summary immediately popped up with a helpful definition and usage as though this is some common phrase that we all know from our school days.
Having finally beaten Wall World and done some catch-up on Final Fantasy XIV, I've been thinking about what I want to play next. I want to play through Actraiser, which I've played but never beaten in the past, but after that I think it's time to finally play through Final Fantasy III. So I scrolled through my Steam game list to find it, since I know I booted it up not that long ago to make sure the Japanese language option works, and I find it and it says:
But no, it wasn't that long ago, was it? It can't be, I clearly remember doing it. How can it be two years ago?
I do think a lot about how the Plague Years really feel like they threw the world out of balance.![[instagram.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/instagram.png)
sashagee and I have been together for six years but it feels much longer than that, and it felt much longer than that even a couple years ago. On the other hand, my life where I was going out most nights, back in 2018-2020, wasn't that long ago but it feels like an entirely different lifetime. This is also the weird part about being older is that my memories feel unstuck in time--things that happened ten years ago (like my last trip to Japan) are clear in my mind and don't feel any older than the Hawai'i trip I took recently. Intellectually I know it's because memories have no time sense, their vividness is based on the emotional impression they leave on you, and I also know that your sense of time changes when you get older because a year is an increasingly-smaller fraction of your life, but it's still weird to have all these events I know took place at quite-different times seem like they might have happened recently.
Still going to play Final Fantasy III this year. I wonder if that'll be fresh in my mind in a decade?
Having finally beaten Wall World and done some catch-up on Final Fantasy XIV, I've been thinking about what I want to play next. I want to play through Actraiser, which I've played but never beaten in the past, but after that I think it's time to finally play through Final Fantasy III. So I scrolled through my Steam game list to find it, since I know I booted it up not that long ago to make sure the Japanese language option works, and I find it and it says:
Last Played: April 24, 20242024?
But no, it wasn't that long ago, was it? It can't be, I clearly remember doing it. How can it be two years ago?I do think a lot about how the Plague Years really feel like they threw the world out of balance.
sashagee and I have been together for six years but it feels much longer than that, and it felt much longer than that even a couple years ago. On the other hand, my life where I was going out most nights, back in 2018-2020, wasn't that long ago but it feels like an entirely different lifetime. This is also the weird part about being older is that my memories feel unstuck in time--things that happened ten years ago (like my last trip to Japan) are clear in my mind and don't feel any older than the Hawai'i trip I took recently. Intellectually I know it's because memories have no time sense, their vividness is based on the emotional impression they leave on you, and I also know that your sense of time changes when you get older because a year is an increasingly-smaller fraction of your life, but it's still weird to have all these events I know took place at quite-different times seem like they might have happened recently.Still going to play Final Fantasy III this year. I wonder if that'll be fresh in my mind in a decade?
Random natterings
May. 12th, 2026 12:58 pmhrjIt's my birthday today -- the first time in quite a while when I'm not going to Kalamazoo for my birthday. (The Medieval Congress) As a result, I don't really have standard practices for what to do to commemorate the day. There will be a family dinner on the weekend, but today it's just me.
So I started with a fancy-breakfast-in-the-garden, which I don't do as often as I could. (I prefer to start the day with my bike ride, which practice is incompatible with a leisurely breakfast.) Other plans involved a movie and going out for sushi. I half-heartedly dropped my movie plans (Sheep Detective) on facebook with a solicitation for company, but facebook is facebook, the day is a weekday, and unsurprisingly no one took me up on it.
In the past week I've moved into the next stage of learning skills for self-publishing by working on formatting The Theory of Related-ivity in Vellum. So far Vellum is user-friendly, in that every time I've had a question about how to do something, it's either easy to figure out, easy to find in the help files, or easy to determine that you just can't do the thing I'm trying to do. As one review of the program noted, it isn't really designed for complicated non-fiction books, but there are only a few places that's been frustrating.
I solved one issue not related to Vellum when I figured out how to get better resolution jpegs of my Excel graphs. (Something that was a bit of a "Doh!" moment once I'd solved it.) But it wasn't until I did a test-export of the project into ebook and pdf versions that I was reminded that the lovely multi-colored graphs that are so easy to publish online and in ebooks also need to work in black-and-white for the hard copy. (It isn't that I expect to sell all that many hardcopy versions, but I want to have the option.) So now I need to go back through a couple dozen graphs and select color sets that will provide good B&W contrast. (Tricky for the percentage bar graphs with 13 variables! But there are only two of those.)
I've also decided to put out my translation and commentary of the 18th century French appeal record of Anne Grandjean (gender and sexuality issues) as a published book. That one has me thinking about the complexities of designing layout for both ebook and print. For print, it might be nice to do facing-page text with the commentary at the bottom of the pages, but that's impossible for the ebook. (Also, I'm not sure it would be possible in Vellum, though I know exactly how I'd do it in InDesign.) I'm also thinking ahead to the LHMP book and some fun layout ideas that wouldn't work for both. I should probably take a look at some examples of print/ebook pairs that have complex layouts in print.
By "complex" I mean things like separate text boxes for sidebars. (One idea I'm toying with would be rather than having all my mini-biographies in a single section, inserting them as sidebars in the topical chapters that they're most closely relevant to.)
One of the secondary functions for publishing low-impact smaller projects is to explore these sorts of questions. But compared to the non-fiction projects, novels will be easy!
When I think about my writing catalog, it always brings me back to that ill-fitting advice that a writer should stick to focused "branding" even if it means having multiple pen names. But my writing projects don't separate out neatly that way. the Grandjean translation is directly related to the LHMP book. But the LHMP book is directly related to my lesbian historical fiction. And the historical fiction is closely connected to my lesbian historical fantasy. And there would be no point to distinguishing that from any of the other types of fantasy I write. I still have a twinge of regret for using a pen name for Baby Names for Dummies, because it, too, connects up with my historical research. And what would be the point in using anything other than my real name for the Related-ivity book, since my identity is solidly connected to the reason I was interested in the topic.
I am me. I contain multitudes. I refuse to be fragmented.
So I started with a fancy-breakfast-in-the-garden, which I don't do as often as I could. (I prefer to start the day with my bike ride, which practice is incompatible with a leisurely breakfast.) Other plans involved a movie and going out for sushi. I half-heartedly dropped my movie plans (Sheep Detective) on facebook with a solicitation for company, but facebook is facebook, the day is a weekday, and unsurprisingly no one took me up on it.
In the past week I've moved into the next stage of learning skills for self-publishing by working on formatting The Theory of Related-ivity in Vellum. So far Vellum is user-friendly, in that every time I've had a question about how to do something, it's either easy to figure out, easy to find in the help files, or easy to determine that you just can't do the thing I'm trying to do. As one review of the program noted, it isn't really designed for complicated non-fiction books, but there are only a few places that's been frustrating.
I solved one issue not related to Vellum when I figured out how to get better resolution jpegs of my Excel graphs. (Something that was a bit of a "Doh!" moment once I'd solved it.) But it wasn't until I did a test-export of the project into ebook and pdf versions that I was reminded that the lovely multi-colored graphs that are so easy to publish online and in ebooks also need to work in black-and-white for the hard copy. (It isn't that I expect to sell all that many hardcopy versions, but I want to have the option.) So now I need to go back through a couple dozen graphs and select color sets that will provide good B&W contrast. (Tricky for the percentage bar graphs with 13 variables! But there are only two of those.)
I've also decided to put out my translation and commentary of the 18th century French appeal record of Anne Grandjean (gender and sexuality issues) as a published book. That one has me thinking about the complexities of designing layout for both ebook and print. For print, it might be nice to do facing-page text with the commentary at the bottom of the pages, but that's impossible for the ebook. (Also, I'm not sure it would be possible in Vellum, though I know exactly how I'd do it in InDesign.) I'm also thinking ahead to the LHMP book and some fun layout ideas that wouldn't work for both. I should probably take a look at some examples of print/ebook pairs that have complex layouts in print.
By "complex" I mean things like separate text boxes for sidebars. (One idea I'm toying with would be rather than having all my mini-biographies in a single section, inserting them as sidebars in the topical chapters that they're most closely relevant to.)
One of the secondary functions for publishing low-impact smaller projects is to explore these sorts of questions. But compared to the non-fiction projects, novels will be easy!
When I think about my writing catalog, it always brings me back to that ill-fitting advice that a writer should stick to focused "branding" even if it means having multiple pen names. But my writing projects don't separate out neatly that way. the Grandjean translation is directly related to the LHMP book. But the LHMP book is directly related to my lesbian historical fiction. And the historical fiction is closely connected to my lesbian historical fantasy. And there would be no point to distinguishing that from any of the other types of fantasy I write. I still have a twinge of regret for using a pen name for Baby Names for Dummies, because it, too, connects up with my historical research. And what would be the point in using anything other than my real name for the Related-ivity book, since my identity is solidly connected to the reason I was interested in the topic.
I am me. I contain multitudes. I refuse to be fragmented.
patient's progress
May. 12th, 2026 12:09 pmsistawendyI just ate Korean mushroom ramen, which isn't spicy, with diced tofu. And applesauce. An actual more-or-less solid meal that I had to (gently) chew. O frabjous day!
It's such a weird feeling not to go 'Unnnnngh' every time I look in the mirror because of my brows & chin. Mind you, I'm not in love with my face yet because a) my eyebrows have run wild for six weeks, b) I can't yet pull hairs from my face, only shave, c) slight bruises (?) appear under my eyes when I get up and disappear by lunch, d) my face is finishing up peeling from the cast, and e) things are basically unsettled, especially around my mouth. But do I think I'll eventually be a satisfied patient? Yes.
It's such a weird feeling not to go 'Unnnnngh' every time I look in the mirror because of my brows & chin. Mind you, I'm not in love with my face yet because a) my eyebrows have run wild for six weeks, b) I can't yet pull hairs from my face, only shave, c) slight bruises (?) appear under my eyes when I get up and disappear by lunch, d) my face is finishing up peeling from the cast, and e) things are basically unsettled, especially around my mouth. But do I think I'll eventually be a satisfied patient? Yes.
Plague is upon us
May. 11th, 2026 09:19 amdorchadasRuin has come to our family.
...which is to say, Laila brought home a sickness from preschool. On Thursday poor Laila was crying because her tummy hurt so much and atsashagee's urging we took her to the doctor. They did an X-ray and found no blockage or anything concerning, and she was still eating normally and using the bathroom, so they told us to keep an eye on her and come back if she got worse. She did not, but we did--sashagee spent most of Saturday hunched over the toilet and I spent a big chunk of last night laying on the floor with a cold hand towel on my forehead trying to prevent the same thing.
Currently at work but neithersashagee nor I have gotten much sleep in the last couple of days. Hopefully nothing too complex comes up.
...which is to say, Laila brought home a sickness from preschool. On Thursday poor Laila was crying because her tummy hurt so much and at
sashagee's urging we took her to the doctor. They did an X-ray and found no blockage or anything concerning, and she was still eating normally and using the bathroom, so they told us to keep an eye on her and come back if she got worse. She did not, but we did--sashagee spent most of Saturday hunched over the toilet and I spent a big chunk of last night laying on the floor with a cold hand towel on my forehead trying to prevent the same thing.Currently at work but neither
sashagee nor I have gotten much sleep in the last couple of days. Hopefully nothing too complex comes up.
Bones of the Earth by Michael Swanwick
May. 12th, 2026 09:38 amjames_davis_nicoll
Human paleontologists have the professional opportunity of a lifetime... but there's a catch.
Bones of the Earth by Michael Swanwick
Frank15's Winx Reviews: 1x10-1x12
May. 12th, 2026 08:19 pmspiderbraidsIn which Frank15 questions really bad plotting choices in the exam episode (also, wrong title Frank15 ;-)), and makes a rare indirect acknowledgement of a 4Kids alteration while reviewing the since-verboten Miss Magix (though not the ones you and I might have hoped)
( Episode 10: Magical Reality Chamber )
( Episode 11: Junior League )
( Episode 12: Miss Magix )
( Episode 10: Magical Reality Chamber )
( Episode 11: Junior League )
( Episode 12: Miss Magix )
spring
May. 11th, 2026 08:59 pmmicrobieEven though I've had to take allergy medicine every day (sometimes more than once a day) for the past two months, spring is still my favorite season. The weather gets more erratic with each year, and so the orderly procession of crocuses, redbuds, cherry blossoms, daffodils, etc. is more chaotic, but they do all eventually appear. [I didn't see many dogwoods, my favorite of the flowering trees, this year.]
Last year I broke up a clump of tulip bulbs and spread them out a bit. This photo is from last month.
Here's the front of the house at its peak, last week. You might have to click through to see everything clearly, but the following flowers are present (from left to right): yellow buttercup, orange buttercup, golden alexander (native), Siberian blue irises, and roses.
Every year, I get a little closer to recreating part of van Gogh's Irises:
On Wednesday we went to a Nationals game:
It was almost perfect weather. About half of the audience was kids--it was DC Public Schools night, plus there were lots of out-of-town school groups. I was excited to try loaded nachos at a stand simply called Loaded Nachos, but it was closed. I ended up with "nachos" from Picoso Taco:
The air quotes are because this dish did not have any cheese; the only dairy was in the crema. No cheese, no nachos, no matter how good the tortilla chips (house made) are.
Last year I broke up a clump of tulip bulbs and spread them out a bit. This photo is from last month.
Here's the front of the house at its peak, last week. You might have to click through to see everything clearly, but the following flowers are present (from left to right): yellow buttercup, orange buttercup, golden alexander (native), Siberian blue irises, and roses.
Every year, I get a little closer to recreating part of van Gogh's Irises:
On Wednesday we went to a Nationals game:
It was almost perfect weather. About half of the audience was kids--it was DC Public Schools night, plus there were lots of out-of-town school groups. I was excited to try loaded nachos at a stand simply called Loaded Nachos, but it was closed. I ended up with "nachos" from Picoso Taco:
The air quotes are because this dish did not have any cheese; the only dairy was in the crema. No cheese, no nachos, no matter how good the tortilla chips (house made) are.
Serratus anterior, tontines, etc
May. 11th, 2026 11:39 amflexagonWorkouts are eeeeeenteresting lately. Tiny Person left for a month, with the assignment to me of finding my serratus anterior and researching the best ways to turn them on. I already told you about serratus wall slides with a ball, but these are weak sauce compared to my new trick of zombie squats. These reliably fire my serratus well enough to make them sore, which is great for knowing when they are or are not activating (the bar chokes me a little, but it's not as bad as a chest stand in contortion). I'm not going to do them today because I need to be able to do h2h tonight, but... maybe tomorrow, Satan. In the meantime, last Weds I leveled up my pressing again, and last Friday I succeeded on every single h2h jump we tried. Stupid serratus. I am angrily aware that many exercises over the last many years, from dips to scap pushups, were supposed to be teaching me to activate those things -- but the wiring was never there, and nobody stopped to do the PT-style work to put it in place. SIGH. I'm actually happy that one of my fellow Xennials wrote an angry screed about her own transverse abdominus this week, because I GET THAT SO HARD. The things I'm learning this year are just infuriating.
Some other things:
I just realized you can't spell condominium without "condom", which is a weird thing to think. I'm taking it as a sign to get offline and cook dinner.
Some other things:
- Found out that the guy who sold me my latest rental condo (#3 in a house) is indeed planning to sell his last remaining unit (#1 in the house). Working on a few prep things like getting the city to send me, not him, the house's water bill.
- On a night when I would normally have had a squirrel-date but didn't, I used Claude to dig into a wacky idea I had for a nonprofit. Odds are excellent that my idea is dead in the water, but I contacted a not-for-profit specialist lawyer for a consultation anyway. It's original. It's just something that probably nobody wants. During the investigation I did learn about tontines and also about the Swedish pension system, in which the pension balances of deceased persons are redistributed to the survivors in their similar-age birth cohort.
- My in-laws had a house fire! Yes. They're in their 80s and they were home when suddenly there were actual flames in their bedroom. Probably an electrical fire; whatever it was, they are unable to stay in their home right now, and must live in a hotel while the process of clearing their home for occupancy again grinds on. Probably their nice new master bedroom extension is totaled and will need to be rebuilt.
- The bug got really sick on Thursday and had to cancel a bunch of things (my date with him, a Porchfest performance, tickets we had to a show on Sunday)... and I feel bad for him too. It's a rough week to be related to me by marriage. :(
- I figured out a handy new trick for doing a TGU negative when I'm not strong enough to do the positive. It involves carrying a very heavy weight up to a stair landing and... well... the squirrel covered his face with his hands and said "that's not an exercise, that's an insurance edge case".
- Elections: I signed up to send 100 get-out-the-vote postcards to Ohio, where Sherrod Brown has at least some chance of flipping a Senate seat to Democrat. It's not enough, or what I most want to be doing, but it's more than the zero I had last week
- Magnolias are mostly gone. Lilacs are blooming. I'm trying to become a little more aware of how the seasons unfold. And also, lilac (as a color) came up in kind of a sad way as I was talking a friend through a breakup he's having... it was another case where somehow their communication wasn't great. In particular, they'd never talked about whether to stay friends in the case of a breakup, then ran into their competing assumptions like a bull moose hitting a brick wall. Sigh. Sadness.
- ETA: I finished the Beat Saber campaign this week!
I just realized you can't spell condominium without "condom", which is a weird thing to think. I'm taking it as a sign to get offline and cook dinner.
Bundle of Holding: Atomic Robo (from 2021) & Atomic Robo New Era
May. 11th, 2026 02:17 pmjames_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
Nun gets some culchah on the cheap.
May. 11th, 2026 08:51 amsistawendyI went to the Modular monthly at Substation yesterday, where people play – wait for it – modular synthesizers. It nominally starts at 1730, there's no cover, and it's a walk down the hill and a short bus ride for me. Sold! Since I'm not a hooligan and I can't drink yet, I bought Gatorade.
But on to the show! Young person (I was at the back of the room without my glasses) clashplaid played something that meandered prettily. Dadbaud rocked the house with a set at times reminiscent of Underworld and related '90s club grooves. And by "rocked the house", I mean that the nerds in attendance bopped their heads, which is probably the best you can expect from that crowd. Have I mentioned on here that I love Underworld? Whoever was before clashplaid was loudly wanky. I didn't get their pro name; I didn't want to. But! Certainly worth the price of admission. And somehow, the Modular folks rated the largest, best-shaped room at Substation, which has a choice sound system.
Relevant to my interests: there's a meetup on Thursday of people who want to "make synthesizers". I'm pretty sure that means fabricating modular synthesizers. Said the MC, everyone from n00bs to PCB designers show up. There's a Discord that I haven't checked out. I might just reschedule Funny Lady for that.
But on to the show! Young person (I was at the back of the room without my glasses) clashplaid played something that meandered prettily. Dadbaud rocked the house with a set at times reminiscent of Underworld and related '90s club grooves. And by "rocked the house", I mean that the nerds in attendance bopped their heads, which is probably the best you can expect from that crowd. Have I mentioned on here that I love Underworld? Whoever was before clashplaid was loudly wanky. I didn't get their pro name; I didn't want to. But! Certainly worth the price of admission. And somehow, the Modular folks rated the largest, best-shaped room at Substation, which has a choice sound system.
Relevant to my interests: there's a meetup on Thursday of people who want to "make synthesizers". I'm pretty sure that means fabricating modular synthesizers. Said the MC, everyone from n00bs to PCB designers show up. There's a Discord that I haven't checked out. I might just reschedule Funny Lady for that.
Two Plot-Friendly Approaches to Generation Ships
May. 11th, 2026 10:11 amjames_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
mother's day and hockey
May. 11th, 2026 09:42 amtielanFirstly, we won our game on Sunday, a 1-0 win. Which was nice. Full game again, although we had a woman from the next grade up who could sub us when necessary, but about half of us just stayed on for the full game in the end.
I am thinking I may need to start working at being a centre half - attacking-AND-defending midfielder. There's only one woman who can presently play CH and Team 1 is using her too (out of 4 players who were solid centre halves for our two teams, we've lost two of them this year, and we had 5 the year before).
I prefer striker, tbh. I'm a pretty good forward, especially on a team where we have a solid defensive half line, and at least one person who's a good "finisher" (ie. scores goals). But there's nobody else who could learn the position, and I may not be particularly stand-out, but I can run back and forth and offer options.
--
A couple of years ago, Mothers' Day stung. I'm still not sure why; I didn't want children and all that. I still don't. But this year, I felt...almost jaunty about the day.
( better connections with the kids in my family? )
A pretty good weekend.
I am thinking I may need to start working at being a centre half - attacking-AND-defending midfielder. There's only one woman who can presently play CH and Team 1 is using her too (out of 4 players who were solid centre halves for our two teams, we've lost two of them this year, and we had 5 the year before).
I prefer striker, tbh. I'm a pretty good forward, especially on a team where we have a solid defensive half line, and at least one person who's a good "finisher" (ie. scores goals). But there's nobody else who could learn the position, and I may not be particularly stand-out, but I can run back and forth and offer options.
--
A couple of years ago, Mothers' Day stung. I'm still not sure why; I didn't want children and all that. I still don't. But this year, I felt...almost jaunty about the day.
( better connections with the kids in my family? )
A pretty good weekend.
My weekend
May. 10th, 2026 10:09 pmjames_davis_nicollJust as I was closing my house manager shift last night, an important door lost an integral part. So, I was late getting home.
Today, get in, door not fixed. I get to make sure it is used judiciously.
During the early part of the evening shift, someone on campus, concerned that there was someone on campus pretending to be a cop, decided that the best course of action was to dress entirely in black, including mask, then approach random people to warn them there was a fake cop on campus. This did not instill calm but the campus cops dealt with it.
As I was waiting to go home, I thought I could smell skunk. Asked my HM about it. It seems someone managed to anger the local skunk enough to get sprayed. Not me!
Today, get in, door not fixed. I get to make sure it is used judiciously.
During the early part of the evening shift, someone on campus, concerned that there was someone on campus pretending to be a cop, decided that the best course of action was to dress entirely in black, including mask, then approach random people to warn them there was a fake cop on campus. This did not instill calm but the campus cops dealt with it.
As I was waiting to go home, I thought I could smell skunk. Asked my HM about it. It seems someone managed to anger the local skunk enough to get sprayed. Not me!