For the Highlander fans who didn't already know this.
Sep. 19th, 2017 01:01 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
havocthecatIn case anyone doesn't already know:
![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hlh_shortcuts.
(I mean, I didn't. There might be someone else who doesn't?)
hlh_shortcuts.(I mean, I didn't. There might be someone else who doesn't?)
Harvest (The Festival of Genius, 2nd of the Complementary Days, Year 226)
Sep. 18th, 2017 07:57 pmcrafty_packratI harvested two of the candy roaster squash today -- on was 8lb and the other was 13.5lb.
Someone stole the third one of the garden sometime in the last week -- so I have a terrible neighbor, somewhere.
The table gold acorn squash are progressing well. I might harvest one of those soon as well.
Someone stole the third one of the garden sometime in the last week -- so I have a terrible neighbor, somewhere.
The table gold acorn squash are progressing well. I might harvest one of those soon as well.
The joys of parenting as a history nerd.
Sep. 18th, 2017 08:36 amhavocthecatWe were reviewing the kidlet's U.S. history project on Colonial Virginia, which involved Jamestown, and I took it kind of farther than his teacher did. (I do that a lot. History is broadly expansive.) Also I got to explain that Captain John Smith was an asshole, and I got to whine later to Mr. Havoc that I really don't like Pocahontas (the Disney film), not because I don't like Pocahontas (she was awesome), but because John Smith was an asshole, not a romantic lead.
You have no idea how much my dad told me about John Smith and Jamestown when I was a kid. You really have no idea.
So I also learned that the kidlet didn't know why the Church of England formed, and this all culminated in my explaining to him that Henry VIII wanted to get remarried, the Pope told him no, and the Henry said, essentially, "Screw you, I'm the King of England! I'll start my own church!"
It was a glorious moment. I love being a parent.
You have no idea how much my dad told me about John Smith and Jamestown when I was a kid. You really have no idea.
So I also learned that the kidlet didn't know why the Church of England formed, and this all culminated in my explaining to him that Henry VIII wanted to get remarried, the Pope told him no, and the Henry said, essentially, "Screw you, I'm the King of England! I'll start my own church!"
It was a glorious moment. I love being a parent.
Tech tips time: Chrome Task Manager and "hanstracker.com"
Sep. 17th, 2017 03:14 pmxtina"Why the fuck is there an entry in Activity Monitor for "Google Chrome Helper" that's taking up ~98% CPU?!?"
Steps to resolve:
* In Chrome, go to Window > Task Manager, or to [menu dots thing] > More Tools > Task Manager.
* Sort the list by CPU descending.
* Find whatever is making that top entry so horrible and kill it.
In my specific case, it's this entry:
It's correct in the CTM. I just don't want folk accidentally clicking it.
I googled on "hanstracker" and got a thread that suggested disabling a couple of specific extensions. The one I disabled that entirely removed this entry was Flatbook. It might be because the hanstracker[dot]com site appears to be down. Regardless, I uninstalled the extension and left annoyed noises on the extension in the Chrome store, because don't do that.
Steps to resolve:
* In Chrome, go to Window > Task Manager, or to [menu dots thing] > More Tools > Task Manager.
* Sort the list by CPU descending.
* Find whatever is making that top entry so horrible and kill it.
In my specific case, it's this entry:
Subframe: http:__hanstrackr[dot]comIt's correct in the CTM. I just don't want folk accidentally clicking it.
I googled on "hanstracker" and got a thread that suggested disabling a couple of specific extensions. The one I disabled that entirely removed this entry was Flatbook. It might be because the hanstracker[dot]com site appears to be down. Regardless, I uninstalled the extension and left annoyed noises on the extension in the Chrome store, because don't do that.
SPX (Pack Basket Day, 30th of Fruits, Year 225)
Sep. 16th, 2017 08:31 pmcrafty_packratI went with greenygal to Small Press Expo today. ipleasance was supposed to come put came up sick; greenygal got her hardcopies of Check Please!.
There was, as always, a lot of incredible talent on display! The stand-out for me was the art forReturn of the Dapper Men (available from TopShelf)-- I talked to the artist Janet Lee brief, and looked a some pages of artwork she had brought. It's decoupage!
Also, I picked up an A to Z minicomic of dinosaurs. It was adorable, and I wound up talking to the artist about opposite birds. There weren't nearly enough dinosaur or science books this year, in my opinion, but I admit it's a niche interest.
When we were gearing up to leave, we chatted with a librarian from NY (city or state, I don't know) about some of the middle-readers we'd seen. She was there on a press pass, so I hope she can get a good story and write-ups for some of the more interesting books into the library trade publications. There are a lot of really interesting and diverse works out there that need more exposure.
greenygal to Small Press Expo today. ipleasance was supposed to come put came up sick; greenygal got her hardcopies of Check Please!.There was, as always, a lot of incredible talent on display! The stand-out for me was the art forReturn of the Dapper Men (available from TopShelf)-- I talked to the artist Janet Lee brief, and looked a some pages of artwork she had brought. It's decoupage!
Also, I picked up an A to Z minicomic of dinosaurs. It was adorable, and I wound up talking to the artist about opposite birds. There weren't nearly enough dinosaur or science books this year, in my opinion, but I admit it's a niche interest.
When we were gearing up to leave, we chatted with a librarian from NY (city or state, I don't know) about some of the middle-readers we'd seen. She was there on a press pass, so I hope she can get a good story and write-ups for some of the more interesting books into the library trade publications. There are a lot of really interesting and diverse works out there that need more exposure.
Reading: The Shortest Way to Hades
Sep. 16th, 2017 10:08 amwhite_hartThe Shortest Way to Hades is the second of Sarah Caudwell's Hilary Tamar novels, and is very similar to the first; Hilary, Professor of Legal History at Oxford, is called in by the junior members of the barristers' chambers at 62 New Square to investigate the death of a young woman who was recently involved in a variation of trusts case in which all of them represented various parties, and which they feel was suspicious. Like the first novel, it's entertaining and contains some lovely comic scenes; I particularly enjoyed the account of how Selena, on finding herself present at an orgy, decides that her preferred pleasure is in fact reading the copy of Pride and Prejudice she happened to have in her bag (a woman after my own heart!), and, having an Oxford background, I also very much liked Hilary's justification for not taking part in examining, which was an absolutely pitch-perfect example of the Oxford don's refusal to carry out a disagreeable task couched as a favour to absolutely everyone else. Meanwhile, the mystery was well enough plotted that I didn't come anywhere close to suspecting the real murderer until the final reveal, which is all you can really ask of a mystery, after all.
I think I enjoyed Thus Was Adonis Murdered more, but I'm not sure whether that's because the second book is so similar that I knew exactly what I was going to be getting and there wasn't the pleasure of discovering something new, or if I simply wasn't quite in the right mood for it; I certainly think it's just as good a book.
I think I enjoyed Thus Was Adonis Murdered more, but I'm not sure whether that's because the second book is so similar that I knew exactly what I was going to be getting and there wasn't the pleasure of discovering something new, or if I simply wasn't quite in the right mood for it; I certainly think it's just as good a book.
i'm swamped
Sep. 15th, 2017 12:21 pmsporky_ratI'm teaching a Heraldry 101 class tomorrow at Kingdom A&S and I have exactly one thing typed for a hand out - my list of sources. Everything else is going to be a quick run down, showing off SENA and the Admin Handbook, and then questions! I like answering questions. I will make sure my phone is ready to go and maybe even my notebook computer since it's sometimes easier to see something on that screen that a phone screen.
I am a terrible lecturer. AND Adalyde put me up against Morin's Poison Garden class. HOW COULD SHE. I've offered a prize to whoever shows up to my class with Morin's handout.
I loaned out Seasons 2 and 3 of Game of Thrones to Jenna. She devoured Season 1, so I need to eventually pick up the physical copies of Seasons 4-7.
Dystopia Rising has been awesome lately, I've decided to create a Rover Sawbones (basically a combat medic) and I'm pretty sure I will not use a weapon the first couple of games. Mostly because I need the build for other stuff. Like Rescue and Scrounge and other stuff like that.
I forgot that there was a youngish James Woods in John Carpenter's Vampires. I like this movie a lot, no joke. Then again, I like James Woods. But the effects are really neat. Daniel Baldwin makes me groan a lot, though. I'm not a huge fan of him.
I have an awful lot of stuff to get ready for the month of October. It is full of stuff to do - first weekend in October is actually empty, then there's Coronation, Four Horsemen, Diamond Wars and GAHSS, DR:AR (debuting my Rover on my birthday weekend) and then my cousin Caitlin's wedding. Wow. Busy.
(no subject)
Sep. 14th, 2017 03:18 pmfirecatSaving to read later, Krebs's take on the Equifax security breach
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/09/
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/09/
Why don't more indies have covers like this?
Sep. 14th, 2017 12:48 pmdragovianknight
Click the thumbnail to go to the Amazon series page and see the covers full size.
And granted, I KNOW why more indies don't have covers like that; most indies can only afford covers made from stock images, and stock images are pretty lacking when it comes to fantasy or SF. But these are covers that actually make me want to buy the books and check them out, which I can't say for the usual Photoshop Princess covers I see.
Of course, it's also entirely possible I'm Old, and the people on forums who say readers are now used to stock photo covers and wouldn't WANT illustrated covers are correct.
Edit: This is another good cover; the Book Barbarian newsletter was full of them today. Maybe there's a change in the wind, or maybe today was just a good day.
Fucking ableist bullshit
Sep. 13th, 2017 09:51 pmysobelI have for whatever reason been on a horror movie kick lately. Because sometimes it's fun watching people be horribly surprised when a ghost summoning in a haunted mansion goes horribly wrong or whatever. Especially when they do stupid stuff along the way.
One movie had a somewhat satisfying ending (bad guy gets trapped in a room rull of angry ghosts of people that were killed as a result of his douchenaggery!) in a way that was completely antithetical to the setup (spooky ghosts that were scaring the protagonist and family, are ... suddenly friendly to her wtf).
But the one I just finished watching makes me want to *kick things*. And I don't know what's worse, the fact that it was written this way or the fact that I saw it coming.
CW: anti-autism wtfery. Also spoilers for unnamed movie.
( Read more... )
That beauty and the beast project I'm playing with? I keep being tempted to make the Beast autistic, and the enchantress or fairy or whoever cursed him into beast form just totally misread him (or he said something true but impolite and pissed her off) and is an asshole for what she did, or something.
I worry about doing it wrong, because -- as much as I suspect I have some aspergers-y traits, I am totally not autistic, and risk falling into cliches -- but at least I wouldn't be *points upward* THAT fucking wrong
One movie had a somewhat satisfying ending (bad guy gets trapped in a room rull of angry ghosts of people that were killed as a result of his douchenaggery!) in a way that was completely antithetical to the setup (spooky ghosts that were scaring the protagonist and family, are ... suddenly friendly to her wtf).
But the one I just finished watching makes me want to *kick things*. And I don't know what's worse, the fact that it was written this way or the fact that I saw it coming.
CW: anti-autism wtfery. Also spoilers for unnamed movie.
( Read more... )
That beauty and the beast project I'm playing with? I keep being tempted to make the Beast autistic, and the enchantress or fairy or whoever cursed him into beast form just totally misread him (or he said something true but impolite and pissed her off) and is an asshole for what she did, or something.
I worry about doing it wrong, because -- as much as I suspect I have some aspergers-y traits, I am totally not autistic, and risk falling into cliches -- but at least I wouldn't be *points upward* THAT fucking wrong
Through the Ocean-Glass, now up at AO3
Sep. 13th, 2017 08:22 pmelistaireI had been meaning to get this one up for a long time, and I finally did tonight.
Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/
And beeej's remix is here: http://hl-remix.livejournal.com/22712.
(I hope she gets it up at AO3 so it isn't lost forever. Maybe a few kind words from the rest of us....?)
Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/
And beeej's remix is here: http://hl-remix.livejournal.com/22712.
(I hope she gets it up at AO3 so it isn't lost forever. Maybe a few kind words from the rest of us....?)
I'm so out of everything that has been happening
Sep. 13th, 2017 08:43 amhavocthecatOther than major news incidents, which are mostly weather-related these days. Okay, not really, but I'm not getting into politics right now. I'm not in the right headspace to handle that.
Please tell me how you're doing! What's going on in your life?
Things in my life after the kidlet's bar mitzvah have mostly been terrible and I'm not ready to talk about them yet, which is why I haven't been updating any of them yet. Distract me from that, please.
I'm so far behind on my tv-watching that I'm just now getting to the Supergirl finale. ( One spoilery quibble with the first half of the finale that relates to U.S. Constitutional law. )
I'm very much enjoying everything about Supergirl otherwise, at least. I haven't even touched on my summer tv watching yet. It's been that kind of summer.
Please tell me how you're doing! What's going on in your life?
Things in my life after the kidlet's bar mitzvah have mostly been terrible and I'm not ready to talk about them yet, which is why I haven't been updating any of them yet. Distract me from that, please.
I'm so far behind on my tv-watching that I'm just now getting to the Supergirl finale. ( One spoilery quibble with the first half of the finale that relates to U.S. Constitutional law. )
I'm very much enjoying everything about Supergirl otherwise, at least. I haven't even touched on my summer tv watching yet. It's been that kind of summer.
Reading: The Mark of the Horse Lord
Sep. 12th, 2017 07:07 pmwhite_hartReading Gwyneth Jones put me in mind of Rosemary Sutcliff, and as I'm off to Argyll on holiday soon I thought I would re-read The Mark of the Horse Lord, which is set in Argyll. Unlike most of Sutcliff's novels set in Roman Britain, Phaedrus, the protagonist of The Mark of the Horse Lord, isn't a Roman soldier; instead, he's a half-British ex-gladiator, son of a Greek wine merchant and a slave woman, who lived his whole life as a slave until being freed after winning a fight in the arena. By coincidence, he discovers that he is the exact double of Midir, the exiled prince of the Dalriad tribe, and is persuaded to impersonate Midir and travel beyond the northern boundary of the Empire to lead a rebellion and win back the kingdom of the Dalriads from Queen Liadhan, who has seized the throne and imposed the old matrilineal rule of the Earth-Mother in place of the patrilineal worship of the Sun-God. The plot is not dissimilar to The Prisoner of Zenda, really, as Phaedrus tries to take over another man's life and relationships and learn how to be a king.
This isn't my favorite Sutcliff; Phaedrus is a less sympathetic protagonist than the various members of the family in the Dolphin Ring saga, hardened by the years in the arena as he is, although he does become more sympathetic as the story goes on. I also don't find the society of the Dalriads, beyond the frontiers of the Empire, as interesting as the Roman society depicted in the books set inside the Empire, and, revisiting it now, I also feel that the conflict between the matrilineal and patrilineal societies is probably more nuanced than the book really suggests, and I wish we had got to see Liadhan's point of view as well as Phaedrus's.
This isn't my favorite Sutcliff; Phaedrus is a less sympathetic protagonist than the various members of the family in the Dolphin Ring saga, hardened by the years in the arena as he is, although he does become more sympathetic as the story goes on. I also don't find the society of the Dalriads, beyond the frontiers of the Empire, as interesting as the Roman society depicted in the books set inside the Empire, and, revisiting it now, I also feel that the conflict between the matrilineal and patrilineal societies is probably more nuanced than the book really suggests, and I wish we had got to see Liadhan's point of view as well as Phaedrus's.
First rehearsal, whee
Sep. 11th, 2017 11:11 pmysobelSo I don't know if you remember my choir dilemna from a bit ago (teal deer version: a combination of "do I have energy for choir at all" and "this other group is doing some pretty awesome stuff and my usual group is kind of blah") but I ended up going with the other group, which is doing fun stuff -- Mozart Requiem in November (in collaboration with an unaffiliated orchestra), a December concert that's some sort of collaboration with handbells, a spring concert that includes the Rutter requiem and Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna.
It's going to take some adjusting to get used to the evening rehearsals; luckily it's once a week, but it's 7-9:30, which means I'm up well past my bedtime, as opposed to the 4-6 rehearsals I'm used to), but I like the feel of the group way better. It was fun to sing again, even if we *did* take the kyrie at like quarter speed and did some of the movements on "da" instead of words. (I am very aware of the fact that I have done the Requiem multiple times, so have plenty of familiarity, and even if it were the first time I'm a damn good sightreader, but that not everyone is me, and not everyone has seen it before, and so I can be patient ... at least for a bit, lol)
I feel vaguely guilty not doing my usual chorus -- I suspect it's going to be low numbers, and it's quite possibly the conductor's last year, though he's been "close to retirement" for at least three or four years. But I don't have energy to do both, and the choir I'm not doing this year hasn't really been feeling fun lately, just more of an obligation. And I wasn't getting paid enough for that. The Chorale director is better about realizing that we're there to have fun -- by singing, yes, but the other director would sometimes get upset at the choir for not being professional level, and that kind of isn't fun to endure. (Not that the upset wasn't justified -- there were times that we'd be going over really basic stuff in the week before performance -- but it was a bit demoralizing.)
Anyway. Yay for being back singing -- and fucking yay for it being fun again.
It's going to take some adjusting to get used to the evening rehearsals; luckily it's once a week, but it's 7-9:30, which means I'm up well past my bedtime, as opposed to the 4-6 rehearsals I'm used to), but I like the feel of the group way better. It was fun to sing again, even if we *did* take the kyrie at like quarter speed and did some of the movements on "da" instead of words. (I am very aware of the fact that I have done the Requiem multiple times, so have plenty of familiarity, and even if it were the first time I'm a damn good sightreader, but that not everyone is me, and not everyone has seen it before, and so I can be patient ... at least for a bit, lol)
I feel vaguely guilty not doing my usual chorus -- I suspect it's going to be low numbers, and it's quite possibly the conductor's last year, though he's been "close to retirement" for at least three or four years. But I don't have energy to do both, and the choir I'm not doing this year hasn't really been feeling fun lately, just more of an obligation. And I wasn't getting paid enough for that. The Chorale director is better about realizing that we're there to have fun -- by singing, yes, but the other director would sometimes get upset at the choir for not being professional level, and that kind of isn't fun to endure. (Not that the upset wasn't justified -- there were times that we'd be going over really basic stuff in the week before performance -- but it was a bit demoralizing.)
Anyway. Yay for being back singing -- and fucking yay for it being fun again.
(no subject)
Sep. 11th, 2017 10:54 pmysobelNote to self:
Trying an app does not commit you to continuing with that app.
Really. Even if the app gives bonuses for daily activity.
The world will not end if you stop doing the crossword apps (you know, the ones that you find at best mildly annoying and at worst frustrating). Nor do you have less moral value for "giving up". And while crosswords are supposedly good for your brain, so are other things; it's less that crosswords are magic bullets, and more that using your brain is good. So is sleeping, and reading, and other things you could be doing with the extra time.
If you don't find a game actually *fun*, it's okay to stop doing it. I promise.
With love,
Me
#
(Note to future self: if crossword apps turn out to be super duper important after all, I apologize for stopping. -you know who)
Trying an app does not commit you to continuing with that app.
Really. Even if the app gives bonuses for daily activity.
The world will not end if you stop doing the crossword apps (you know, the ones that you find at best mildly annoying and at worst frustrating). Nor do you have less moral value for "giving up". And while crosswords are supposedly good for your brain, so are other things; it's less that crosswords are magic bullets, and more that using your brain is good. So is sleeping, and reading, and other things you could be doing with the extra time.
If you don't find a game actually *fun*, it's okay to stop doing it. I promise.
With love,
Me
#
(Note to future self: if crossword apps turn out to be super duper important after all, I apologize for stopping. -you know who)
Sausage marinara -- Crayfish Day, 25th of Fruits, Year 225
Sep. 11th, 2017 08:53 pmcrafty_packratI made a quick marinara sauce by browning the hot Italian sausage I bought yesterday, adding a 28oz can of crushed tomato, garlic, dried oregano, a fresh bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. When it was finished and the pasta was al dente, I hand shredded the basil over the pasta, and then ladled on the sauce. It smells wonderful, and I will have delicious lunches all week!
Customers of today
Sep. 11th, 2017 09:20 pmalmadsfeikaSo I work in a shop, btw. Today there were two customer interactions that stick with me most. Oddly enough both involve parenting.
Scenario 1:
Young woman, prob my age is walking around the store with her little girl. Little girl asks for sweets. Her mum tells her how they are terribly disgusting, covered in flies and they must tell the shop staff about it because it's so awful. As they go around girl keeps asking for sweets and variations on this are told to her. In one, mum says she has been warned by shop staff about how very disgusting they are already.
I totally get: a) we have chocolate at home, b) you don't like chocolate, c) you're lactose intolerant, d) we can't afford it, e) we have no time/ money right now, f) it's bad for you... Seriously, concocting a big lie like that gets to me. Also I know from experience that a total ban of certain foods is really unhealthy for people and can lead to a really awful eating disorder. Plus it's just impractical and time wasting.
Scenario 2:
A woman and her little girl are at the self checkouts and I come over to approve something. Daughter: "look mum, those are the kind of nails I want to have!"
Mum: "ooh, yes, different colours! And look at her hair! That's so lovely!"
I actually get way more compliments from customers than I do from colleagues, so that wasn't what struck me although very nice. This mum is actually encouraging her daughter to lead her own thought process about how she wants to look. Not only that but alternative looks are OK, even desirable. Nowhere was it said or even implied that she was too young.
Scenario 1:
Young woman, prob my age is walking around the store with her little girl. Little girl asks for sweets. Her mum tells her how they are terribly disgusting, covered in flies and they must tell the shop staff about it because it's so awful. As they go around girl keeps asking for sweets and variations on this are told to her. In one, mum says she has been warned by shop staff about how very disgusting they are already.
I totally get: a) we have chocolate at home, b) you don't like chocolate, c) you're lactose intolerant, d) we can't afford it, e) we have no time/ money right now, f) it's bad for you... Seriously, concocting a big lie like that gets to me. Also I know from experience that a total ban of certain foods is really unhealthy for people and can lead to a really awful eating disorder. Plus it's just impractical and time wasting.
Scenario 2:
A woman and her little girl are at the self checkouts and I come over to approve something. Daughter: "look mum, those are the kind of nails I want to have!"
Mum: "ooh, yes, different colours! And look at her hair! That's so lovely!"
I actually get way more compliments from customers than I do from colleagues, so that wasn't what struck me although very nice. This mum is actually encouraging her daughter to lead her own thought process about how she wants to look. Not only that but alternative looks are OK, even desirable. Nowhere was it said or even implied that she was too young.
