(no subject)
Nov. 12th, 2015 08:07 pmI didn't do anything exciting this week except stop drinking caffinated coffee. It's just too much of the stuff for me. Back to tea for a more reasonable fix.
The water heater we got for our wedding is the best goddamn thing in the universe. Perfect water temperature all day, with a turn off timer for when I'm gone, and the dog does not bark at it.
The water heater we got for our wedding is the best goddamn thing in the universe. Perfect water temperature all day, with a turn off timer for when I'm gone, and the dog does not bark at it.
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Nov. 7th, 2015 09:00 amMy favorite ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
uss_spambot is posting awesome stories again, so here I am dropping a plug.
The place is flocked, but really good about checking up on who wants access. :3
uss_spambot is posting awesome stories again, so here I am dropping a plug. The place is flocked, but really good about checking up on who wants access. :3
(no subject)
Nov. 3rd, 2015 09:45 pmYay, first fanfic post since last December on AO3!
Tiny angry Darth Maul was actually in stock at Target today, so I snagged him. He looks appropriately cranky, and sometime soon I have to make him join the general melee on top of my book pile.. which I need to work on shrinking.
Made my NaNoWriMo goal to simply write something new every day, because trying to do word counts on top of my insane job would be insane.. so far I'm 3 for 3. Stickers erryday!
Tiny angry Darth Maul was actually in stock at Target today, so I snagged him. He looks appropriately cranky, and sometime soon I have to make him join the general melee on top of my book pile.. which I need to work on shrinking.
Made my NaNoWriMo goal to simply write something new every day, because trying to do word counts on top of my insane job would be insane.. so far I'm 3 for 3. Stickers erryday!
One year later...
Nov. 1st, 2015 07:34 pmSo after the long hiatus, a brief summary of all the back story everyone missed:
-we bought a house thanks to mooching off the in-laws for a down payment. Been here a year already. This time last year we were repainting.
-I finally got a fucking raise after a five-year pay freeze. Woo.
-raised some herbs. Tore up a bed, killed a hydrangea, planted azaleas, probably managed to kill them too. The rose bush is doing great and we need to deal with a mint so we can replant.
-learned how to rear monarch butterflies. Want to redo the mint bed with butterfly weed so we get some in the yard.
-worked a lot on some original fiction and knitted half an afghan. Weekend afghans was a lie.
I may toss money at dw too later, but for now typing with my thumbs. The mobile site is actually pretty good.
-we bought a house thanks to mooching off the in-laws for a down payment. Been here a year already. This time last year we were repainting.
-I finally got a fucking raise after a five-year pay freeze. Woo.
-raised some herbs. Tore up a bed, killed a hydrangea, planted azaleas, probably managed to kill them too. The rose bush is doing great and we need to deal with a mint so we can replant.
-learned how to rear monarch butterflies. Want to redo the mint bed with butterfly weed so we get some in the yard.
-worked a lot on some original fiction and knitted half an afghan. Weekend afghans was a lie.
I may toss money at dw too later, but for now typing with my thumbs. The mobile site is actually pretty good.
#4 The Wave by Susan Casey
Jul. 5th, 2014 12:20 pmThe Wave was pretty much everything Moby-Duck was not, which made for nice reading.
Basically it's about people going after rogue waves. The author primarily follows a bunch of big-wave surfers around, because they're the ones who spend the most time doing the thing, but she also takes the time to interview oceanographers and even some guys from Lloyd's of London (who insure the big container ships) about them. It's still a bit thinner on the science, but that's pretty quickly explained by the fact that really we don't know much of anything about very large waves.
The author's part of the story, but unlike with Moby-Duck she mostly stays out of it instead of trying to make herself the focus. It's the adventure that the book focuses on the most-- the adventure of the surfers chasing the perfect wave and the politics of professional surfing, the mystery of the ocean and how and why these things happen... I might go looking for her other book to see what that's all about.
It was generally just really fun, definitely a good one if you're having a moment of wanting to feel the mystery and romance of the ocean.
Basically it's about people going after rogue waves. The author primarily follows a bunch of big-wave surfers around, because they're the ones who spend the most time doing the thing, but she also takes the time to interview oceanographers and even some guys from Lloyd's of London (who insure the big container ships) about them. It's still a bit thinner on the science, but that's pretty quickly explained by the fact that really we don't know much of anything about very large waves.
The author's part of the story, but unlike with Moby-Duck she mostly stays out of it instead of trying to make herself the focus. It's the adventure that the book focuses on the most-- the adventure of the surfers chasing the perfect wave and the politics of professional surfing, the mystery of the ocean and how and why these things happen... I might go looking for her other book to see what that's all about.
It was generally just really fun, definitely a good one if you're having a moment of wanting to feel the mystery and romance of the ocean.
(no subject)
Jul. 2nd, 2014 09:26 amI got a cartilage piercing yesterday-- third set of holes coming up from my earlobes. It's cartilage since last time I tried I got it done right where the lobe meets the stuff and it yucked up horribly, never quite healed right from rubbing. This way things ought to go just fine-- my other cartilage piercing healed fine and sat around for 12 years, after all. (The hole is still mostly there but eh don't want to re-pierce it because the placement was awkward, which is why I finally let it close this year. I think if I get something done high on my ear again, it'll be in a different spot.)
Think I might be developing a slight masochistic streak. It actually felt good. Didn't hurt as much as I vaguely remembered, and while yeah I stopped for advil for the swelling even that didn't bother me as much as I remember it doing. (Swelling's down today, too... so I might just also be better at healing IDK.)
Cashier girl at LUSH talked me into getting a toner spray when I went to get face goop... actually I think it was worth the money. If I use it with the night cream I got, it lets me use a lot less lotion and still feel soft as a baby's ass in the morning. Much less greasy. I have a sample of LUSH's fancy face lotion, but I think I'll sit on it until I'm finished with the Aveeno stuff I got. I wish face lotion wasn't so damn expensive.
In other news, I am not finishing a book which is unusual. I tried to get into this book called Moby-Duck that I found in the library. Looked like it was going to be a nice combo of whimsy and science-- it's written by this guy who decided to learn more about that news story from the nineties about bath toys going overboard. You'd think it'd make for a fun adventure story given he supposedly does the whole thing on the cheap and ends up navigating the Pacific and the Arctic... but nope.
Book suffers from what I like to call trying too hard to be Thoreau. Blue Highways suffered from it too, though not quite as badly. I'm starting to think I should just avoid anything memoir-like from a male former English teacher because really he spent the 67 pages of it that I did read mostly going on about how ineffectual he was and trying to establish some kind of literati cred by referencing all these bits of literary canon that a general audience doesn't care about and little ol' me rolls her eyes at. It took him 67 pages to even get to the first leg of this stupid trip, and then he writes of not even going outside of his hotel room for days. Like.. wtf mate. Don't sell your self-indulgent literary masturbation material as a whimsical adventure story you hack. And stop pretending that this is at all related to science when you keep name-dropping shit without explaining it. I take offense at your title, sir, because Moby-Dick will definitely teach you a lot about whaling during the time period and you, sir, got nothing.
Sad thing is that Thoreau was more entertaining. The unexpurgated Walden is basically a fixed-time-period blog in book form. It's got your expected "this is what I did today" interspersed with philosophical musings and political rants. It actually made for pretty hilarious reading because I had to teach an excerpt from it for a few years and Thoreau was pretty clearly an anti-capitalist libertarian. (Yeah wrap your head around that.) Needless to say the textbook heavily purged even the chunks that it used in order to make it sanitized for kiddie protection. (I may have to dive back into Walden because I am contemplating being bad next year and using an uncensored extraction when I hit this one.)
So yeah, 0/10 don't waste your time.
I need to hit the library again for books and start picking out what I want to truck to the beach. I don't really want to take my Kindle because sand errywhar and I don't want to take library stuff because water so I'll probably raid my shelves for paperbacks I haven't read in a while. I should at least dig out my copy of Dune since I bought it at the beach years ago to read and I think it would be nice to have a re-read on the beach. (Dune is the only one out of that series I really like, and I've read most of them. Herbert got on the cat drugs right quick.)
Think I might be developing a slight masochistic streak. It actually felt good. Didn't hurt as much as I vaguely remembered, and while yeah I stopped for advil for the swelling even that didn't bother me as much as I remember it doing. (Swelling's down today, too... so I might just also be better at healing IDK.)
Cashier girl at LUSH talked me into getting a toner spray when I went to get face goop... actually I think it was worth the money. If I use it with the night cream I got, it lets me use a lot less lotion and still feel soft as a baby's ass in the morning. Much less greasy. I have a sample of LUSH's fancy face lotion, but I think I'll sit on it until I'm finished with the Aveeno stuff I got. I wish face lotion wasn't so damn expensive.
In other news, I am not finishing a book which is unusual. I tried to get into this book called Moby-Duck that I found in the library. Looked like it was going to be a nice combo of whimsy and science-- it's written by this guy who decided to learn more about that news story from the nineties about bath toys going overboard. You'd think it'd make for a fun adventure story given he supposedly does the whole thing on the cheap and ends up navigating the Pacific and the Arctic... but nope.
Book suffers from what I like to call trying too hard to be Thoreau. Blue Highways suffered from it too, though not quite as badly. I'm starting to think I should just avoid anything memoir-like from a male former English teacher because really he spent the 67 pages of it that I did read mostly going on about how ineffectual he was and trying to establish some kind of literati cred by referencing all these bits of literary canon that a general audience doesn't care about and little ol' me rolls her eyes at. It took him 67 pages to even get to the first leg of this stupid trip, and then he writes of not even going outside of his hotel room for days. Like.. wtf mate. Don't sell your self-indulgent literary masturbation material as a whimsical adventure story you hack. And stop pretending that this is at all related to science when you keep name-dropping shit without explaining it. I take offense at your title, sir, because Moby-Dick will definitely teach you a lot about whaling during the time period and you, sir, got nothing.
Sad thing is that Thoreau was more entertaining. The unexpurgated Walden is basically a fixed-time-period blog in book form. It's got your expected "this is what I did today" interspersed with philosophical musings and political rants. It actually made for pretty hilarious reading because I had to teach an excerpt from it for a few years and Thoreau was pretty clearly an anti-capitalist libertarian. (Yeah wrap your head around that.) Needless to say the textbook heavily purged even the chunks that it used in order to make it sanitized for kiddie protection. (I may have to dive back into Walden because I am contemplating being bad next year and using an uncensored extraction when I hit this one.)
So yeah, 0/10 don't waste your time.
I need to hit the library again for books and start picking out what I want to truck to the beach. I don't really want to take my Kindle because sand errywhar and I don't want to take library stuff because water so I'll probably raid my shelves for paperbacks I haven't read in a while. I should at least dig out my copy of Dune since I bought it at the beach years ago to read and I think it would be nice to have a re-read on the beach. (Dune is the only one out of that series I really like, and I've read most of them. Herbert got on the cat drugs right quick.)
Book #2 & #3
Jun. 26th, 2014 11:44 am#2 The Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll
Not too much to say about particle physics for the masses-- the facts are kind of non-negotiable. Carroll brings a nice, spritely quality to the story of the Large Hadron Collider and what the Higgs boson is and why it's a big deal. I read From Eternity to Here a while ago, and this book also has the same laser-like focus. Instead of getting into the entire bloody history of modern physics since Einstein that a lot of popular-science books try to do when they want to talk about contemporary physics problems, Carroll sticks to just the narrative that involves the Higgs and why it's a big deal. (Well, that and the history of particle accelerators, but since it's a book as much about the LHC and the future direction of basic research in science as it is about explaining why the particle is a big deal, it makes sense.)
Book did make me bitter that the Superconducting Supercollider was cancelled. There's actually a Gogol Bordello song that references it. As it is, good primer on WTF the LHC was supposed to be looking for and why it's important.
#3 Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber
And this one was just pure id-candy. Darth Maul ends up in a space prison devoted to putting the inmates through gladatorial contests so that the galaxy can bet on them, trying to find an arms dealer because his master told him to.
It opens with a fight scene and sticks pretty much exclusively to investigation and gory fight scenes, with only just enough cuts to what other characters are doing to keep the plot humming along without making the crap Maul runs into seem random. There's also a lot of Darth Sidious going oh shit oh shit oh shit because his master, who was alive at the time, is also fucking with him.
No boring prequel Jedi here. You do actually root for Maul most of the time-- he's a total amoral super kill guy, but this book stuck with the characterization established in the earlier EU stories about Maul and left his somewhat quixotic sense of honor intact. He still doesn't kill unnecessarily (though naturally the definition of necessary is a little more arbitrary than most) and rather than the stereotypical Sith scheming for power that everyone else gets into, he remains dedicated to the Grand Plan and wants a larger role in it because it's a Cause.
All right, so I am maybe a sucker for ultra-violence and weirdly honorable killing machines looking for meaning in their lives. A++ would read again.
Not too much to say about particle physics for the masses-- the facts are kind of non-negotiable. Carroll brings a nice, spritely quality to the story of the Large Hadron Collider and what the Higgs boson is and why it's a big deal. I read From Eternity to Here a while ago, and this book also has the same laser-like focus. Instead of getting into the entire bloody history of modern physics since Einstein that a lot of popular-science books try to do when they want to talk about contemporary physics problems, Carroll sticks to just the narrative that involves the Higgs and why it's a big deal. (Well, that and the history of particle accelerators, but since it's a book as much about the LHC and the future direction of basic research in science as it is about explaining why the particle is a big deal, it makes sense.)
Book did make me bitter that the Superconducting Supercollider was cancelled. There's actually a Gogol Bordello song that references it. As it is, good primer on WTF the LHC was supposed to be looking for and why it's important.
#3 Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber
And this one was just pure id-candy. Darth Maul ends up in a space prison devoted to putting the inmates through gladatorial contests so that the galaxy can bet on them, trying to find an arms dealer because his master told him to.
It opens with a fight scene and sticks pretty much exclusively to investigation and gory fight scenes, with only just enough cuts to what other characters are doing to keep the plot humming along without making the crap Maul runs into seem random. There's also a lot of Darth Sidious going oh shit oh shit oh shit because his master, who was alive at the time, is also fucking with him.
No boring prequel Jedi here. You do actually root for Maul most of the time-- he's a total amoral super kill guy, but this book stuck with the characterization established in the earlier EU stories about Maul and left his somewhat quixotic sense of honor intact. He still doesn't kill unnecessarily (though naturally the definition of necessary is a little more arbitrary than most) and rather than the stereotypical Sith scheming for power that everyone else gets into, he remains dedicated to the Grand Plan and wants a larger role in it because it's a Cause.
All right, so I am maybe a sucker for ultra-violence and weirdly honorable killing machines looking for meaning in their lives. A++ would read again.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhh I'm remembering why I stopped reading EU novels after Darksaber.
I have a personal pet theory that when Lucas threw his "the EU isn't canon anymore gaiz" fit, all the regular EU writers just looked at each other and shrugged and blew it all up and that's where we got the New Jedi Order. (I made the mistake of reading Vector Prime and I am still bitter about the grimdark turn ok.)
I am starting to think that after the prequels, the feud got even more intense. (Makes me wonder what the novelists will do after the sequel trilogy is out...)
I mean, I get it, the EU writers basically had to take what amounts to maybe twenty minutes of lore on the Jedi from the movies and make it go. They did some brilliant stuff... and then the prequels basically pissed all over it. The prequel Jedi are already pretty unlikable in that I am super bland watch me bland kinda way, but in this they're all people I actively dislike aside from Lorana, who may as well be Knight Doormat for all that she actually ever does. It's especially egregious because you can see exactly where ethical and moral principles that are pretty well-established on Earth were taken to an extreme and as a result go off the rails.
Of course, OTOH, I liked the EU writing on Darth Maul, so I'm going to see if the books on the Sith are better. They just might be.
A good quarter of the text, at least on my edition, was previews and shit for something else, so the book is a lot shorter than it looks. Things basically go from bad to punchable to blown up, and there are a lot of loose ends that are annoying given that I know Zahn can write better than this. I was expecting this book to actually show the incident that got Thrawn kicked out of Chiss space... and while it established he had a pattern of troublemaking, we don't get that payoff. His tactical skill also is extremely Gary-Stu-ish in this because of the point on the timeline it hits. You can believe Thrawn is a tactical genius in the trilogy in which he first appeared because he'd clearly done his time. He'd worked his way up the ranks, had a lot of experience, and been tested in pitched space battles, and even then he never saw his final comeuppance coming. In this... he's a savant who seems to have supernatural abilities at interpreting art as it relates to psychology and he's annoyingly right all the time.
All in all.. meh. It was a read and I did finish it just because I wanted to find out just how badly the Outbound Flight expedition would end, but I'm not a huge fan of books where I want to punch most of the people I'm supposed to be rooting for.
I have a personal pet theory that when Lucas threw his "the EU isn't canon anymore gaiz" fit, all the regular EU writers just looked at each other and shrugged and blew it all up and that's where we got the New Jedi Order. (I made the mistake of reading Vector Prime and I am still bitter about the grimdark turn ok.)
I am starting to think that after the prequels, the feud got even more intense. (Makes me wonder what the novelists will do after the sequel trilogy is out...)
I mean, I get it, the EU writers basically had to take what amounts to maybe twenty minutes of lore on the Jedi from the movies and make it go. They did some brilliant stuff... and then the prequels basically pissed all over it. The prequel Jedi are already pretty unlikable in that I am super bland watch me bland kinda way, but in this they're all people I actively dislike aside from Lorana, who may as well be Knight Doormat for all that she actually ever does. It's especially egregious because you can see exactly where ethical and moral principles that are pretty well-established on Earth were taken to an extreme and as a result go off the rails.
Of course, OTOH, I liked the EU writing on Darth Maul, so I'm going to see if the books on the Sith are better. They just might be.
A good quarter of the text, at least on my edition, was previews and shit for something else, so the book is a lot shorter than it looks. Things basically go from bad to punchable to blown up, and there are a lot of loose ends that are annoying given that I know Zahn can write better than this. I was expecting this book to actually show the incident that got Thrawn kicked out of Chiss space... and while it established he had a pattern of troublemaking, we don't get that payoff. His tactical skill also is extremely Gary-Stu-ish in this because of the point on the timeline it hits. You can believe Thrawn is a tactical genius in the trilogy in which he first appeared because he'd clearly done his time. He'd worked his way up the ranks, had a lot of experience, and been tested in pitched space battles, and even then he never saw his final comeuppance coming. In this... he's a savant who seems to have supernatural abilities at interpreting art as it relates to psychology and he's annoyingly right all the time.
All in all.. meh. It was a read and I did finish it just because I wanted to find out just how badly the Outbound Flight expedition would end, but I'm not a huge fan of books where I want to punch most of the people I'm supposed to be rooting for.
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Jun. 15th, 2014 10:52 pmMade banana bread. It was amazing. I am tempted now to try that no-knead bread thing, since I happen to have a dutch oven that's all metal. (Though.. I dunno at the same time because 450 is hot in the summer. That might have to wait for winter unless I can find something that bakes at a lower temp... or maybe I'll just hit the bakery tomorrow when I go looking for the damn bok choy.)
(Wegmans irregularly has baby bok choy and I want it for a recipe ok?)
Also went on a short walk around the pond. Got some pictures of the geese. I might go back tomorrow with the zoom lens on the camera-- I got some very nice snaps but I wasn't about to piss off the geese... they always produce a clutch of goslings and one of the parents (not sure which) is super hella aggressive with anything that gets too close to the precious babbies. Got to watch it run several of its flockmates away, actually. I think it might be the dad since it tolerates the other parent being around, but dang son.
Also gonna hit the physical library because I want that stupid Star Wars book and I'm halfway through Outbound Flight. Thrawn is still hella Gary Stu, and I still want to punch all the Jedi (including Obi-Wan even though he's normally my favorite because Obi-Wan you should not be agreeing with Master I-Wish-I-Was-A-Darth you should be punching him in the face and shutting this farce down JMFC). I'm gonna need books if I'm going to bake myself at the pool this week, and it's either pool or sit in the house come midweek because it's going to hit the nineties for the first time this week. (I say for the first time because this is a normal occurrence in July and August. I think it's a little early this year-- haven't even had the solstice yet.)
I have to admit that being stuck on a giant super-ship flying to who the fuck knows under the control of a cracked out autocratic mind-controlling madman sounds like a fun game setting. :3
Weekend I actually have plans! Brother's b-day falls on Monday so he's having his birthday party on Saturday. Maybe I'll take the camera-- I wanna get some decent shots of fireflies but this place is ass at night with the super-bright lamps everyfuckinwhere. It's so bright at night you can see the green of the grass pretty much all over the place. Like, midnight rolls around and you can go outside and watch the bats and enjoy the greenery of your lawn. We'll take the dog. That should be funny too.
(Wegmans irregularly has baby bok choy and I want it for a recipe ok?)
Also went on a short walk around the pond. Got some pictures of the geese. I might go back tomorrow with the zoom lens on the camera-- I got some very nice snaps but I wasn't about to piss off the geese... they always produce a clutch of goslings and one of the parents (not sure which) is super hella aggressive with anything that gets too close to the precious babbies. Got to watch it run several of its flockmates away, actually. I think it might be the dad since it tolerates the other parent being around, but dang son.
Also gonna hit the physical library because I want that stupid Star Wars book and I'm halfway through Outbound Flight. Thrawn is still hella Gary Stu, and I still want to punch all the Jedi (including Obi-Wan even though he's normally my favorite because Obi-Wan you should not be agreeing with Master I-Wish-I-Was-A-Darth you should be punching him in the face and shutting this farce down JMFC). I'm gonna need books if I'm going to bake myself at the pool this week, and it's either pool or sit in the house come midweek because it's going to hit the nineties for the first time this week. (I say for the first time because this is a normal occurrence in July and August. I think it's a little early this year-- haven't even had the solstice yet.)
I have to admit that being stuck on a giant super-ship flying to who the fuck knows under the control of a cracked out autocratic mind-controlling madman sounds like a fun game setting. :3
Weekend I actually have plans! Brother's b-day falls on Monday so he's having his birthday party on Saturday. Maybe I'll take the camera-- I wanna get some decent shots of fireflies but this place is ass at night with the super-bright lamps everyfuckinwhere. It's so bright at night you can see the green of the grass pretty much all over the place. Like, midnight rolls around and you can go outside and watch the bats and enjoy the greenery of your lawn. We'll take the dog. That should be funny too.
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Jun. 14th, 2014 10:23 pmWell... Re/Al is closing in July, and Crux is going through a slow heat death with the main mod never on. I think fate just decided the rp situation for me, there.
I suppose I'll have to actually figure out a hobby for a bit.
I suppose I'll have to actually figure out a hobby for a bit.
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Jun. 14th, 2014 05:59 pmHello summer vacation.
The dog is naked now. He looks ridiculous, but he always does when he's shaved. (But he's also not camped on the tile anymore.)
There's a nice cool snap going on this weekend, highs are back down in the seventies. It's going to spike up again next week, but that's what the pool's for. Contemplating a library run on Monday for books, but I also have a pretty good sized list of them to download from Overdrive as well, so we'll see.
I'm wondering if I should do things with my Flickr account again. You can sign up to have your images open to the stock photography companies, and then if they add you to the library you get some cash. It's highly unlikely, though, and yahoo has pretty notoriously mismanaged the service so I dunno. Have to think about it.
The dog is naked now. He looks ridiculous, but he always does when he's shaved. (But he's also not camped on the tile anymore.)
There's a nice cool snap going on this weekend, highs are back down in the seventies. It's going to spike up again next week, but that's what the pool's for. Contemplating a library run on Monday for books, but I also have a pretty good sized list of them to download from Overdrive as well, so we'll see.
I'm wondering if I should do things with my Flickr account again. You can sign up to have your images open to the stock photography companies, and then if they add you to the library you get some cash. It's highly unlikely, though, and yahoo has pretty notoriously mismanaged the service so I dunno. Have to think about it.
I think I might take a break from RPing and attempting to look at plurk. Going through a pissy period because of employment sucking, and I'm a little bummed since there are maybe two people online who actually talk to me anymore. I shouldn't be so surprised that this happened since I had a circle of people I RPed with a few years ago and the same thing happened when I left that game-- most people just stopped talking to me. Probably doubly so since plurk anymore seems to be one gigantic self-pity circle-jerk and I'm really tired of woe is me and an avalanche of hug emotes being 90% of what I see when all I really want to talk about is actual stuff. (The other 10% being about games I'm not involved/interested in... but seriously when did endless bitching about things become the norm when I wasn't looking? Well.. ok that and Game of Thrones, but I refuse to have anything to do with it because I like my fiction to be escapism and there's nothing escapist about assholes having shitty lives and dying senselessly and gruesomely while the even bigger assholes make out like kings... If I want that I can watch CNN. And yes I am speaking from experience because I tried really hard to read the first book when it came out and the only storyline I actually finished was Dany's because the rest was so fucking grimdark. First time I didn't finish a book in my preferred genre.)
Just gonna chuck tags into the archives for now and take some time off. I like the games I'm in, just not sure if I really wanna continue with it at the moment. Maybe it was starting off with tabletop that got me because I'm just used to actually being friends however transiently with my rp buddies and it's just not happening anymore, so that sorta sucks the fun out of it. Maybe I need to put together a tabletop group or something.
In other news, I finished reading a book about introversion. It was interesting-- lots of space devoted to the biological basis for introversion and how our cultural ideas about extroversion always being better are stupid for a variety of reasons. It sort of skimmed the idea of how extroverts can better support the introverts in their lives, but it was pretty interesting reading. And then I read The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking, but it seemed a lot more muddled than his last book since the gist seemed to be anthropic principle because quantum physics. I sort of got what he was talking about, but The Cosmic Landscape really lays out the case better for the idea that the universe is a ridiculously crazy and diverse place and we shouldn't be surprised that we're here because out there somewhere is everything that could have ever possibly existed.
And now I'm reading a Star Wars book because reasons. Thrawn is a total Gary Stu little shit and it's kind of glorious when it's not eyerollingly annoying, but the Jedi are assholes again and it makes me roll my eyes. Sure, Lucas, retcon the Jedi into being completely emotionally repressed in the Old Republic era because that's so the kind of people you want being the protagonists. I mean hell the Sith are cartoon villains and they still often come across as being more complete people than half the Old Repub-era Jedi are. (Not reading the New Jedi Order books, nope. Read the first one and then I was like this is bullshit and stopped. See earlier statement about hating things that get grimdark just because, and from all I've looked at that references it, things just get worse.)
Tempted to track down the trilogy about Darth Bane just because he sounds fun. Also still waiting for the other Darth Maul novel to come out in paperback because the last one was fun even though the prose was purple as hell.
Just gonna chuck tags into the archives for now and take some time off. I like the games I'm in, just not sure if I really wanna continue with it at the moment. Maybe it was starting off with tabletop that got me because I'm just used to actually being friends however transiently with my rp buddies and it's just not happening anymore, so that sorta sucks the fun out of it. Maybe I need to put together a tabletop group or something.
In other news, I finished reading a book about introversion. It was interesting-- lots of space devoted to the biological basis for introversion and how our cultural ideas about extroversion always being better are stupid for a variety of reasons. It sort of skimmed the idea of how extroverts can better support the introverts in their lives, but it was pretty interesting reading. And then I read The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking, but it seemed a lot more muddled than his last book since the gist seemed to be anthropic principle because quantum physics. I sort of got what he was talking about, but The Cosmic Landscape really lays out the case better for the idea that the universe is a ridiculously crazy and diverse place and we shouldn't be surprised that we're here because out there somewhere is everything that could have ever possibly existed.
And now I'm reading a Star Wars book because reasons. Thrawn is a total Gary Stu little shit and it's kind of glorious when it's not eyerollingly annoying, but the Jedi are assholes again and it makes me roll my eyes. Sure, Lucas, retcon the Jedi into being completely emotionally repressed in the Old Republic era because that's so the kind of people you want being the protagonists. I mean hell the Sith are cartoon villains and they still often come across as being more complete people than half the Old Repub-era Jedi are. (Not reading the New Jedi Order books, nope. Read the first one and then I was like this is bullshit and stopped. See earlier statement about hating things that get grimdark just because, and from all I've looked at that references it, things just get worse.)
Tempted to track down the trilogy about Darth Bane just because he sounds fun. Also still waiting for the other Darth Maul novel to come out in paperback because the last one was fun even though the prose was purple as hell.
(no subject)
May. 22nd, 2014 09:36 pmSo I wrote something for the first time in several months. Glad to know that's coming back up and running. I'd like to finish my main Tron fandom project. It's set somewhere in Domestic-verse since that's getting to be the canon-compliant 'verse that ate Tokyo, but I'm not sure if this bit will cross over or not. Will have to see.
I bought a camera yesterday-- it should come in the mail tomorrow. Got a really, really nice deal on an Olympus PEN-series kit. Body and two kit lenses for only $299-- the original really great deal with for $399 but there was an inexplicable markdown as sometimes happens on Amazon and well. Wasn't gonna get a better price than that. I just got home with a 32gig memory card for the new camera. :3
I'm going to need to do some google mapping. We're contemplating taking one of those cruises on the Virginia side of Assateague now to go look at the ponies. (Maryland's ponies are more spread out, and the Virginia ones are more tame besides, so...) That means driving into VA, probably via the bridge-tunnel which will be its own bit of interesting since the damn thing is so huge it actually has a rest stop/visitor's center in the middle of it. (I remember it decently well from a family trip to Virginia Beach years and years ago. It'll be interesting to see what it's like now since I was in middle school then.)
I bought a camera yesterday-- it should come in the mail tomorrow. Got a really, really nice deal on an Olympus PEN-series kit. Body and two kit lenses for only $299-- the original really great deal with for $399 but there was an inexplicable markdown as sometimes happens on Amazon and well. Wasn't gonna get a better price than that. I just got home with a 32gig memory card for the new camera. :3
I'm going to need to do some google mapping. We're contemplating taking one of those cruises on the Virginia side of Assateague now to go look at the ponies. (Maryland's ponies are more spread out, and the Virginia ones are more tame besides, so...) That means driving into VA, probably via the bridge-tunnel which will be its own bit of interesting since the damn thing is so huge it actually has a rest stop/visitor's center in the middle of it. (I remember it decently well from a family trip to Virginia Beach years and years ago. It'll be interesting to see what it's like now since I was in middle school then.)
bits and pieces
May. 5th, 2014 06:11 pm1. Broke into some v-day candy. OMG, I know what I'm tucking into my lunch the rest of the week. Dark chocolate truffles... so good. (I think I'm in the middle of a bit of a yen for chocolate, but meh I'm getting fussier and fussier about sweets.)
2. Ordered a new watch! My current one is starting to see the gold-tone stuff peel off, and since I'm also trying to curate my wardrobe a little more intelligently, silver-tone only for me from now on. (And silver things are cheap, which is nice!) Free one-day shipping too since Amazon is convinced moms like watches for Mother's Day. This one's going to be stainless steel with an actual jewelry clasp, so hopefully no more hideous red marks on my wrists at the end of the day and it'll keep looking nice without much intervention from me. (Though I have to go back to reading analog... oh well.)
3. My rogue got her name change the other day... and I also managed to snag just enough 502 gear out of a couple of very special ToT runs to be able to start in on Siege. Hopefully this time I will make it all the way to kicking Garrosh in the face. I've been wanting to do that since frickin Burning Crusade ok.
2. Ordered a new watch! My current one is starting to see the gold-tone stuff peel off, and since I'm also trying to curate my wardrobe a little more intelligently, silver-tone only for me from now on. (And silver things are cheap, which is nice!) Free one-day shipping too since Amazon is convinced moms like watches for Mother's Day. This one's going to be stainless steel with an actual jewelry clasp, so hopefully no more hideous red marks on my wrists at the end of the day and it'll keep looking nice without much intervention from me. (Though I have to go back to reading analog... oh well.)
3. My rogue got her name change the other day... and I also managed to snag just enough 502 gear out of a couple of very special ToT runs to be able to start in on Siege. Hopefully this time I will make it all the way to kicking Garrosh in the face. I've been wanting to do that since frickin Burning Crusade ok.
(no subject)
May. 3rd, 2014 06:54 pmI've come to realize something about Tumblr.
It seems a lot of people there are addicted to being outraged, which is hysterical considering they're pretty much all SJW types. I suppose it happens-- I remember being younger and first learning about that stuff and seeing over and over again all the crap in the world that pissed me off because it wasn't fair... but then I got over it and stopped seeking that stuff out because it was terrible for my blood pressure, among other things.
Trying to brainstorm some more blacklist keywords because there are a couple people on my Tumblr list where I like the rest of the stuff they post but good lord I do not need to feel my blood pressure climbing again after scrolling through yet another reblog of some outraged weh already. It doesn't help that on the rare occasion the post actually is something aside from pointless bitching, it's a link to a pointless internet petition.
Like, jeeze guys. There's a reason nobody takes you all seriously.
But it's sort of ironic since you normally hear that addicted to outrage charge leveled at conservatives (and don't get me wrong, the shoe fits) but there's no attempt to stop a moment and go "hey wait a minute" as far as their own behavior. You know you've gone through the looking glass when you see posts that basically amount to "can you please stop being a shitheel to people who happen to have privilege in US society" get reblogged with progressively longer bile-fueled rants about how nobody has an obligation to be not a shitheel to anyone because oppression. Like, wow. Again, this is why nobody takes you seriously, including the people who do happen to actually be fighting for equal rights instead of shooting their mouth off on a stupid social media site.
Seriously, though, if anyone has more ideas for blacklist keywords let me know. "Signal boost" and "representation" made the list today, but I'm trying to brain a few other buzzwords I see a lot so I can hopefully not lose the actual interesting stuff. (Probably was about time to nix the signal boost because if they aren't on stupid SJW rants they're on moneybeg posts which are even more annoying.)
It seems a lot of people there are addicted to being outraged, which is hysterical considering they're pretty much all SJW types. I suppose it happens-- I remember being younger and first learning about that stuff and seeing over and over again all the crap in the world that pissed me off because it wasn't fair... but then I got over it and stopped seeking that stuff out because it was terrible for my blood pressure, among other things.
Trying to brainstorm some more blacklist keywords because there are a couple people on my Tumblr list where I like the rest of the stuff they post but good lord I do not need to feel my blood pressure climbing again after scrolling through yet another reblog of some outraged weh already. It doesn't help that on the rare occasion the post actually is something aside from pointless bitching, it's a link to a pointless internet petition.
Like, jeeze guys. There's a reason nobody takes you all seriously.
But it's sort of ironic since you normally hear that addicted to outrage charge leveled at conservatives (and don't get me wrong, the shoe fits) but there's no attempt to stop a moment and go "hey wait a minute" as far as their own behavior. You know you've gone through the looking glass when you see posts that basically amount to "can you please stop being a shitheel to people who happen to have privilege in US society" get reblogged with progressively longer bile-fueled rants about how nobody has an obligation to be not a shitheel to anyone because oppression. Like, wow. Again, this is why nobody takes you seriously, including the people who do happen to actually be fighting for equal rights instead of shooting their mouth off on a stupid social media site.
Seriously, though, if anyone has more ideas for blacklist keywords let me know. "Signal boost" and "representation" made the list today, but I'm trying to brain a few other buzzwords I see a lot so I can hopefully not lose the actual interesting stuff. (Probably was about time to nix the signal boost because if they aren't on stupid SJW rants they're on moneybeg posts which are even more annoying.)
