Dept. of JFC
Jan. 15th, 2026 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaffy_rPer the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
She did not answer reporters' questions as to whether he accepted it.
We are indeed in not only the darkest timeline, but the most fucking surreal timeline.
*wanders off to find alcohol and a wall she can bang her head against*
We are indeed in not only the darkest timeline, but the most fucking surreal timeline.
*wanders off to find alcohol and a wall she can bang her head against*
Forgotten Future - A Scheme for a Great National Monument
Jan. 15th, 2026 07:58 pmffuturesAnother article I forgot to link to when I uploaded it several years ago - a scheme to build a huge pyramid, monument and tomb in London, from the Strand Magazine April 1903
https://forgottenfutures.com/library/mo
If I'd ever completed Forgotten Futures 12 one of the adventures would have started with the reconstruction of this monument after an interstellar war, and an eventual interplanetary hunt for Mad Empress Margaret, the theoretically dead empress of the Anglo-Saxon Empire who built the thing and was responsible for several projects that were somewhat dubious, such as changing the tilt of the Earth's axis to give Britain a better climate.
https://forgottenfutures.com/library/mo
If I'd ever completed Forgotten Futures 12 one of the adventures would have started with the reconstruction of this monument after an interstellar war, and an eventual interplanetary hunt for Mad Empress Margaret, the theoretically dead empress of the Anglo-Saxon Empire who built the thing and was responsible for several projects that were somewhat dubious, such as changing the tilt of the Earth's axis to give Britain a better climate.
Another Repeat Fantasy Bundle - Arden Vul
Jan. 14th, 2026 09:01 pmffuturesA repeat of the Arden Vul Bundle, featuring "the vast megadungeon from Expeditious Retreat Press", last offered in 2022.
https://bundleofholding.com/p
Last time around I said "Really not my cup of tea, but if you like this stuff there seems to be an awful lot of it!" - I don't see any reason to change that.
https://bundleofholding.com/p
Last time around I said "Really not my cup of tea, but if you like this stuff there seems to be an awful lot of it!" - I don't see any reason to change that.
Update: Cincinnati chili
Jan. 13th, 2026 01:08 pmbrithistorianToday I finally had sufficient time around lunchtime to try Cincinnati chili. I fixed it according to the article on "How to Eat Cincinnati Chili Like a Local" and then sat down to eat it. I didn't like the first bite. So I ate some more, hoping it would get better with further exposure. By the time I had eaten half of the serving, I gave up and decided I just didn't like it. So I disposed of it, brushed my teeth, then brushed my teeth again because I could still taste it in my mouth. I wish I liked it, because the concept sounded interesting, but I don't.
I think I might try eating "regular" chili on spaghetti, because it wasn't the "on spaghetti" part that I disliked, but in the meantime I'm over here eating peppermints one after another to try to clear the taste in my mouth. (I'm really not trying to be overly dramatic here. It's just very rare that I try something and don't like it, so I'm having trouble coping with it.)
2025 Blanket
Jan. 13th, 2026 06:42 pmpurplecat
This is the 2025 Mooglycal blanket. I was still attempting to use up the stash which, it transpired, had mostly orange and purple wool in it - not the most auspicious combination but there is now at least a lot less of it than there was and all that really bright orange has gone. The general concept was vertical stripes of red/orange and purple/pink with the darker colours at the top and lighter colours at the bottom. It didn't really work, in part because there was just so much of some colours. Anyway, I have decided to actually have a colour scheme next year since the stash is now under control (well at least that bit of the stash that involves the wool I use for making these blankets).
Another RPG Bundle - Eichhorn Mörk Borg
Jan. 12th, 2026 08:44 pmffuturesThis is a new bundle of material by Christian Eichhorn for Mörk Borg RPG
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/EichhornMork
Unfortunately I'm really not the intended audience for this game - I don't do grimdark, and I usually find that the layout and typography of Mörk Borg material gives me eyestrain and headaches. This one is slightly better than others I've seen in that respect, but unfortunately that isn't saying a lot. If you like this material the price isn't unreasonable, it just isn't for me.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/EichhornMork
Unfortunately I'm really not the intended audience for this game - I don't do grimdark, and I usually find that the layout and typography of Mörk Borg material gives me eyestrain and headaches. This one is slightly better than others I've seen in that respect, but unfortunately that isn't saying a lot. If you like this material the price isn't unreasonable, it just isn't for me.
Dept. of Mice
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:06 pmkaffy_rNow and Forever?
I certainly hope not. And yet, when I got up this morning and started to clean the kitchen, I found mouse droppings. Yay. We figure we have to pull out the stove's lower drawer to access the floor and the wall behind it, since we're pretty sure the mice are getting into our place from the outside somewhere in that area.
I'd bet Bob that we'll find no baseboards behind the stove, but it's too obviously a bad bet. We're going to keep an eye on the kitchen counters near the stove for a day or so to see how bold the little buggers are. If it's little to no action, then we'll wait. But if we spot their leavings, then it's time to do the inspection. Which, of course, I'm not looking forward to, especially since we can't really use the foam barrier spray near the stove. Oven heat could end up releasing toxic or potentially toxic fumes, and so we're going to have to buy a whole lot more steel wool. It's going to be a mess.
*wanders away, grumbling*
I certainly hope not. And yet, when I got up this morning and started to clean the kitchen, I found mouse droppings. Yay. We figure we have to pull out the stove's lower drawer to access the floor and the wall behind it, since we're pretty sure the mice are getting into our place from the outside somewhere in that area.
I'd bet Bob that we'll find no baseboards behind the stove, but it's too obviously a bad bet. We're going to keep an eye on the kitchen counters near the stove for a day or so to see how bold the little buggers are. If it's little to no action, then we'll wait. But if we spot their leavings, then it's time to do the inspection. Which, of course, I'm not looking forward to, especially since we can't really use the foam barrier spray near the stove. Oven heat could end up releasing toxic or potentially toxic fumes, and so we're going to have to buy a whole lot more steel wool. It's going to be a mess.
*wanders away, grumbling*
Random Doctor Who Picture
Jan. 10th, 2026 02:24 pmpurplecat
This is the cover from Lawrence Miles' Christmas on a Rational Planet New Adventure. This was his debut novel. I recall very little about it. I think many people immediately recognised him as someone with an exciting suffeit of ideas, but sadly, I can not claim to have been among them.
Dept. of This and That
Jan. 9th, 2026 08:15 pmkaffy_rPills and Novels
There's nothing like getting up, grabbing the handful of pills you normally scarf down, and having one of the horse pill-sized vitamins get caught in your throat. There's that initial split second of "Oh, it'll go down when I swallow again" and then panic - and pain - as the damn thing doesn't go down.
Actually, painful doesn't even begin to describe it; agony is probably a better description. I kept trying to dissolve it with water, but it wasn't working. I was literally on my knees because of the pain. I woke up BB and between crying and gagging I managed to tell him what was wrong. He got up and did the Heimlich maneuver on me. It didn't shoot the pill out of my mouth, but it did move it just enough so that, about a minute later, I was able to cough, and the cough finally sent the thing stomach-ward.
Truly, for him to roll out of bed, bleary-eyed, and immediately know to do the maneuver, just reminds me that he is by far the most level-headed man I know.
As of tonight, my throat feels as if I've come down with something flu-like. I know my struggle to get the pill down my gullet caused some bleeding, since I had that coppery taste in my mouth that's unmistakable. With any luck, it will heal relatively quickly.
I'm never again taking all my morning pills at once. 😬
On the other hand, I finally put up the 19th and final chapter of "Gleaning Musutachi," the original novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo, of blessed memory, over on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
originalkaffy_r . It's monumentally flawed, and wouldn't make it to anyone's slush pile, much less publication, but I didn't write it to get published. I wrote it because I wanted to complete something of novel length. I'm fond of the characters I created and, despite the flaws, the world I created pleases me. I also managed to keep the plot from completely disintegrating. Yay, me.
So pill pain, and something I could put up as a completed original novel. I love Fridays.
There's nothing like getting up, grabbing the handful of pills you normally scarf down, and having one of the horse pill-sized vitamins get caught in your throat. There's that initial split second of "Oh, it'll go down when I swallow again" and then panic - and pain - as the damn thing doesn't go down.
Actually, painful doesn't even begin to describe it; agony is probably a better description. I kept trying to dissolve it with water, but it wasn't working. I was literally on my knees because of the pain. I woke up BB and between crying and gagging I managed to tell him what was wrong. He got up and did the Heimlich maneuver on me. It didn't shoot the pill out of my mouth, but it did move it just enough so that, about a minute later, I was able to cough, and the cough finally sent the thing stomach-ward.
Truly, for him to roll out of bed, bleary-eyed, and immediately know to do the maneuver, just reminds me that he is by far the most level-headed man I know.
As of tonight, my throat feels as if I've come down with something flu-like. I know my struggle to get the pill down my gullet caused some bleeding, since I had that coppery taste in my mouth that's unmistakable. With any luck, it will heal relatively quickly.
I'm never again taking all my morning pills at once. 😬
On the other hand, I finally put up the 19th and final chapter of "Gleaning Musutachi," the original novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo, of blessed memory, over on
originalkaffy_r . It's monumentally flawed, and wouldn't make it to anyone's slush pile, much less publication, but I didn't write it to get published. I wrote it because I wanted to complete something of novel length. I'm fond of the characters I created and, despite the flaws, the world I created pleases me. I also managed to keep the plot from completely disintegrating. Yay, me. So pill pain, and something I could put up as a completed original novel. I love Fridays.
Dept. of Urge to Kill
Jan. 8th, 2026 07:26 pmkaffy_rStupidity and Mice
It's not the mice that are stupid. Well, they're not very bright, I know that, poor little buggers. I like them. I just don't like them in my home, something I posted about back before Christmas. Well, we had a new mouse adventure recently, one that ended with me wishing ill fortune to the complete fucking idiots who gut rehabbed our building back in 1999 or so, a few years before we bought our condo. Yep. They're the stupid ones, not mus musculus in general.
But let me not get ahead of myself. *clears throat*
One of the two mice we saw at the very beginning of the incursion escaped from Carter and ducked, we figured, into a small space between one side of our refrigerator and the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. We shone a flashlight in there, and saw what appeared to be the spot where he/she/they probably got into our place. So we figured we'd get the fridge out of the very small alcove it's been in for the past 22 or so years, then mouse-proof that area, either with steel wool or the fast-expanding, fast-hardening foam that works very well as a barricade against mice, possibly both. Not quite easy-peasy but fairly straightforward.
It's not the mice that are stupid. Well, they're not very bright, I know that, poor little buggers. I like them. I just don't like them in my home, something I posted about back before Christmas. Well, we had a new mouse adventure recently, one that ended with me wishing ill fortune to the complete fucking idiots who gut rehabbed our building back in 1999 or so, a few years before we bought our condo. Yep. They're the stupid ones, not mus musculus in general.
But let me not get ahead of myself. *clears throat*
One of the two mice we saw at the very beginning of the incursion escaped from Carter and ducked, we figured, into a small space between one side of our refrigerator and the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. We shone a flashlight in there, and saw what appeared to be the spot where he/she/they probably got into our place. So we figured we'd get the fridge out of the very small alcove it's been in for the past 22 or so years, then mouse-proof that area, either with steel wool or the fast-expanding, fast-hardening foam that works very well as a barricade against mice, possibly both. Not quite easy-peasy but fairly straightforward.
Ha. And I repeat, ha.
Tonight, Bob and I are recovering from hauling the fridge out of that alcove in order to do the proofing. We manhandled and half-inched the fridge out and viewed what no one has seen for decades. I knew it was going to be horrid back there, and it certainly was. But you know what made me want to hunt down the "rehabbers" (yes, they're snicker quotes, why do you ask?) and harm them?
The fact that they didn't think it was necessary to put baseboards behind the fridge.
There. were. no. baseboards.
What there were, were lots of were holes and cracks in the walls down near the floor (which was also exceedingly badly laid, we discovered, so there's that as well). I told BB we were lucky that we hadn't been snowed under by mice years ago. We put down the anti-mouse foam around where there should have been baseboards, and I did as much cleanup as I could stand while the foam hardened. I cleared out some gunk that might have been interfering with an air intake section of the fridge. Then I manhandled the fridge back into place and put the kitchen back to rights.
We've probably effectively mouse-proofed the kitchen (or at least I most devoutly hope so) and I suppose we can consider that a win.
But no baseboards. No. Fucking. Baseboards. Those guys deserve to be peed on by many, many, many mice. I certainly hope our mice can be aimed at them. Idiots.
Tonight, Bob and I are recovering from hauling the fridge out of that alcove in order to do the proofing. We manhandled and half-inched the fridge out and viewed what no one has seen for decades. I knew it was going to be horrid back there, and it certainly was. But you know what made me want to hunt down the "rehabbers" (yes, they're snicker quotes, why do you ask?) and harm them?
The fact that they didn't think it was necessary to put baseboards behind the fridge.
There. were. no. baseboards.
What there were, were lots of were holes and cracks in the walls down near the floor (which was also exceedingly badly laid, we discovered, so there's that as well). I told BB we were lucky that we hadn't been snowed under by mice years ago. We put down the anti-mouse foam around where there should have been baseboards, and I did as much cleanup as I could stand while the foam hardened. I cleared out some gunk that might have been interfering with an air intake section of the fridge. Then I manhandled the fridge back into place and put the kitchen back to rights.
We've probably effectively mouse-proofed the kitchen (or at least I most devoutly hope so) and I suppose we can consider that a win.
But no baseboards. No. Fucking. Baseboards. Those guys deserve to be peed on by many, many, many mice. I certainly hope our mice can be aimed at them. Idiots.
The joys of housecleaning
Jan. 8th, 2026 09:44 amshivverHappy 2026! Surprisingly, the new year has not brought much more rain in this part of the world than last year. It's been strangely dry this season, and moving across the border between that part of the solar revolution and this part of the solar revolution hasn't made much of a difference. Yes, I'm trying to be funny and sarcastic, and it really isn't working, is it?
The holiday season was the same for us as it's always been, which is pretty much just the same day-to-day as every other season. Mum-in-law was a little less annoying than usual, calling on both Christmas Eve and Christmas to ask how we liked what she sent us, and then calling every day after that for a week to ask if we'd received the card she sent (which we never did, as I think about it). It's not that it was a special card or had anything extra in it. It was just late (or lost) and she wanted to make sure it got to us (and that we thanked her for it; that's her real goal). I don't know why she doesn't pack the card in the box with the presents when she sends them.
Anyway, more behind the cut.
( Read more... )
The holiday season was the same for us as it's always been, which is pretty much just the same day-to-day as every other season. Mum-in-law was a little less annoying than usual, calling on both Christmas Eve and Christmas to ask how we liked what she sent us, and then calling every day after that for a week to ask if we'd received the card she sent (which we never did, as I think about it). It's not that it was a special card or had anything extra in it. It was just late (or lost) and she wanted to make sure it got to us (and that we thanked her for it; that's her real goal). I don't know why she doesn't pack the card in the box with the presents when she sends them.
Anyway, more behind the cut.
( Read more... )