general Arsenal Women Arsecast 96: Arsenal 5 Brighton 0 By shows.acast.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 13:51:00 GMT In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie dissect the 5-0 win over Brighton at Emirates Stadium on Friday evening. Tim and Jamie consider how far this was a vintage Arsenal performance and a bad Brighton one, whether trademark goals from Mead, Foord, Maanum and Hurtig suggest that Arsenal are back in the swing of things attacking wise and they consider Renee Slegers' willingness to make early substitutions. In the second half, they take listener questions on the new manager search, the decision to switch the Bayern Munich UWCL game away from the Emirates, the future of the midfield and a team featuring players who were largely signed several years ago. Get extra bonus content and help support Arseblog by becoming an Arseblog Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arseblog Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Full Article
general Arsecast Extra Episode 611 - 11.11.2024 By shows.acast.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 12:06:46 GMT In this episode we look back at Sunday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. We chat about the return of Martin Odegaard and his influence on the team, going ahead and letting the lead slip again, tight offside decisions and missed chances, how to view a point away from home in the context of the game, and well the season so far. We also discuss the analysis of the team and the way it has played this campaign, with lots of issues to deal with but also plenty of room for improvement. Then there are listener questions about the future of Gabriel Jesus, whether Odegaard should play for Norway during the Interlull, the amount of goals we're conceding, the January window, and lots more.Get extra bonus content and help support Arseblog by becoming an Arseblog Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arseblog Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Full Article
general The Council is Meeting to Discuss You By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 16:02:13 -0800 (Image credit: catcurio)There exists a delightful subreddit called Council of Cats. This is where you'll find groups of cats having important discussions of matters both urgent and mundane. I have four cats, and I find it difficult to get all of them in one picture if they aren't asleep, so seeing many cats getting along is really nice. You can often guess what they are discussing at their council meeting, or they might be enjoying some group activity like birdwatching or annoying their human. They often get together to make demands on your time, or in other words, they gang up to get what they want. (Image source: reddit)But there are also pictures that show cats just like each other's company. Bored Panda has collected 50 of the most amusing photographs from Council of Cats to give us a taste of a cat colony's strength in numbers, presented in a ranked list for your amusement. Full Article
general Happy Birthday, Harrison Ruffin Tyler! By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 17:30:51 -0800 November 9 is the 96th birthday of Harrison Ruffin Tyler, a retired chemical engineer and a historical preservationist who lives in Virginia. His claim to fame is that he is the grandson of U.S. President John Tyler, our tenth president who served in office from 1841 to 1845. That's like, 180 years ago. How is that possible? President Tyler fathered 15 children. The thirteenth was Lyon Gardiner Tyler, born in 1853, when the former president was 63 years old. Lyon Gardiner Tyler had six children, the fifth being Harrison Ruffin Tyler, who was born in 1928 when his father was 75 years old. Therefore, a president who was born 234 years ago has a living grandchild today. Harrison Ruffin Tyler is also a descendant of Pocahontas and several other prominent figures from both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Happy Birthday, Mr. Tyler. -via Boing Boing(Portrait of President Tyler from Wikimedia Commons) Full Article
general VISOVASO Ceramic Vase by Jimmy Lanza By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 19:32:31 -0800 Here's a vase that's sure to be a conversation piece for your next family gathering. Just put it at the center of the dinner table, and make sure that the face is pointing towards the person you love the most. Or the least. We're not sure.Check out VisoVaso, handmade ceramic vase by Italian artist Jimmy Lanza over at his Instagram page. Full Article
general The Nutty Narrows Bridge Puts Washington State Squirrels on the Map By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sun, 10 Nov 2024 06:17:42 -0800 You've certainly heard of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but have you heard of the Nutty Narrows Bridge? Futility Closet introduces us to this bridge that was built in 1963 in Longview, Washington. Workers in an office building near the R. A. Long Park noticed a number of squirrels that were killed crossing the street from the park to an area with abundant nut trees. They proposed that the city build a bridge for them. Two local architects and an engineer designed the bridge, and it was built by contractor Amos Peters. He built the bridge with recycled aluminum piping and a recycled fire hose, for a total cost of a thousand dollars. The bridge is 60 feet long and 22 feet high over the street. A city councilwoman named it the Nutty Narrows Bridge. The bridge has since been removed and repaired several times, and the location has been changed slightly a couple of times. The squirrels love it and use it regularly. The tourist attraction is known as "the world's narrowest bridge," and inspired the city to launch their annual Squirrel Fest in 2011. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. -via Nag on the Lake (Image credit: SounderBruce) Full Article
general A Surprise from the Classroom Bunny By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sun, 10 Nov 2024 15:40:11 -0800 Breanna Teel is a high school science teacher who keeps things like fish and eels in her classroom. She did not foresee becoming a rabbit rescuer. A student brought a rabbit to school not knowing she was pregnant. While there, the rabbit gave birth to two bright pink baby bunnies, but didn't feed them, so Teel went into overdrive to save the newborns. She would have done so under any other circumstances, but when your students are following along, you go the extra mile to set a good example. I can imagine that no one in the classroom has ever seen newborn rabbits. I certainly haven't. Teel's efforts paid off when the babies began to grow and flourish. They appear to be some odd breed of show rabbits that resemble large powder puffs with wiggly noses. Are they tribbles? At any rate, they've become a permanent part of the classroom into which they were born. Full Article
general Would You Let Your Child Ride in a Classic Car? By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sun, 10 Nov 2024 15:54:37 -0800 Car manufacturers have made great strides in automobile safety in the last few decades. When I was a child, my family drove everywhere in a Volkswagen Beetle or a Microbus that didn't have seatbelts. Nor did they have crumple zones, antilock brakes, or airbags. Riding in the bed of a pickup truck was a regular experience. Fifty years later, my oldest child wanted to get a classic Beetle, but was dissuaded when my brother called them "death traps." Now she has children, and purchased an SUV the size of a tank to keep the kids safe. The newer a car is, the safer it will be, but when does that become overkill? We know large SUVs are safer for the occupants, yet more dangerous for others around them. We also know that accidents can happen anywhere, but deadly accidents are more likely at high speeds on highways than a short trip to school. And we know that children learn situational awareness and how to test their limits and manage their fears by being in slightly unsafe situations, such as old-fashioned playgrounds. Today, we have young adults who are terrified at the idea of learning to drive. Jason Torchinsky at Autopian asked reader's opinions on letting their child ride in a classic car such as the original Volkswagen Beetle, and got plenty of replies about how much automotive safety is enough, from farm kids who drove tractors at a young age to ultimate safety advocates. The best comment: "Being unsafe in a car was how I got kids in the first place." Full Article
general The Piano on the Submarine By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Sun, 10 Nov 2024 16:30:22 -0800 The USS Thomas A. Edison was an Ethan Allen-class ballistic missile submarine in the service of the United States Navy from 1961 until 1983. Although submarines, especially boomers, are supposed to prize silence, the Edison was built with a fully functional piano that remained in use throughout the boat's service.The Naval Submarine League reports that Steinway and Sons made the custom upright piano for the Navy, which installed the huge instrument during the submarine's construction. Crew members who knew how to play it did so and the piano was often the centerpiece of musical performances conducted by the crew.The piano was removed when the Edison was scrapped. Veterans of the boat rescued the piano from destruction and arranged for its restoration. It's now in the Steinway and Sons Museum in New York.-via U.S. Naval Institute Full Article
general Scientific Replication is Harder Than YouThink -and Can Be Hilarious By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 06:08:19 -0800 Science experiments are not considered completely valid unless they can be replicated. Replicating an experiment is pretty much impossible unless you've been steeped in the various factors of scientific theory. And even if you are thoroughly trained in those factors, it's easy to lose track when you're doing a casual experiment at home. That goes double when your aim is to debunk something that you find obviously wrong. Sage the Bad Naturalist jumped into such a debunking experiment with both feet, and then got entangled in them. She spent an entire year trying to replicate a dubious TikTok, which turned into an embarrassing adventure in how not to do science. But negative results are still results, and the goal of science is always to learn something. She bravely admits all the things she did wrong, because scientists have to have humility to be accepted. What's funniest is how many things went wrong, and how they all piled up to the end. What she ended up with is an amusing and rather charming video on the dangers of throwing your heart (and time) into debunking something you saw on the internet. -via Metafilter Full Article
general Michelangelo Depicting Breast Cancer By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 10:50:20 -0800 Nightis a sculpture on the tomb of Giuliano de Medici, the Duke of Urbino, in the city of Florence. Michelangelo carved it between 1526 and 1531 and composed these lines to place in the mouth of this personification of the night:Precious is sleep, better to be of stone,while the oppression and the shame still last;not seeing and not hearing, I am blest;so do not wake me, hush! keep your voice downIn a 2000 letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, James J. Stark and Jonathan Katz Nelson argue that the model that Michelanglo used likely had advanced breast cancer. Her left breast has lumps indicative of a tumor in the nipple or the lymphatics beneath the nipple. As these shapes are not present in the other female breasts that Michelanglo composed, it's likely that this shape reflects, tragically, the model herself.-via TYWKIWDBI Full Article
general What You Should Know About Baking the Perfect Cheesecake By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 18:03:07 -0800 This is the time of year we think about overindulging on rich and elaborate foods. We also open our doors to family and friends to celebrate winter holidays. That's why you've always wanted to impress them with a delicious home made cheese cake. There are plenty of classic recipes on the internet that involve cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and flavoring, but the process is rather delicate. If you've tried before and had a less-then-perfect result, The Takeout will troubleshoot for you with the 12 most common mistakes in baking cheesecake. If you've never made a cheesecake before, so many possible mistakes may intimidate you. Relax, I've made cheesecake a few times and it's not as difficult as you might be led to believe. Even when it isn't perfect, it's still cheesecake, and that's a wonderful thing.But if you have perfected the art of baking a cheesecake, you might want to take it up a notch and make Japanese cheesecake, which is the light and airy soufflé version. The Takeout has you covered with instructions for that, too. Now you'll be ready to really impress your holiday guests. (Image credit: Alice Wiegand) Full Article
general Mario Visits the Overlook Hotel By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 18:13:11 -0800 There's no doubt that Mario is king of the video game universe. His many adventures take him to strange places, the latest of which is the Overlook Hotel from the 1980 Stanley Kubrick movie The Shining. This isn't just another castle; it's the setting for weird and creepy hallucinations brought on by isolation. The tricycle is there, as are the twins, the blood flood, and room 237's bathroom. How many other callbacks from The Shining can you spot? There are a lot crammed into this 90-second video, so you'll have to watch this CGI mashup from Mark Cannataro Films more than once to catch all the references. Other characters from the Mario universe take on familiar and frightening roles roles from the horror film, some of them infinitely appropriate; others absurdly contrary. All in all, it's an absurd mashup that is sure to give you a smile. -via Geeks Are Sexy Full Article
general The <i>S.S. Relief</i>--A Floating Outhouse in California By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 06:13:20 -0800 Altas Obscura tells us about the S.S. Relief--the formal name for an outhouse that floats in Lake Casitas near Ventura, California. The artificial lake is an important water reservoir for the thirsty people of southern California, so the Casitas Municipal Water District takes its cleanliness very seriously.The lake is popular among boaters and fishermen. After a few hours out on the water, people need to relieve themselves. They can then paddle up to the S.S. Relief, which is a 2-seater outhouse that floats on the surface of the water. The waste is contained on the barge, so there's no contamination of the lake's purity. Full Article
general How Harlan Ellison Claimed <i>The Terminator</i> By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 14:57:21 -0800 Prolific science fiction author Harlan Ellison wrote two episodes of the TV series The Outer Limits, "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Head." They both ran during the show's second season in 1964. In 1984, Ellison heard that James Cameron was working on a film that seemed quite similar to the plot of "Soldier," which you can watch in full. Hemdale Productions wouldn't let him see the script. When he saw The Terminator, Ellison was ready to sue. The lawsuit never came about, because Hemdale Productions settled the case, for money, screen credit in subsequent releases of the film, and a gag order. To this day, people argue over whether The Terminator was at all plagiarized and if so, how much. Read what Ellison had to say about the case at the time and the reaction from James Cameron at Den of Geek. You've probably already seen The Terminator, and it's up to you to watch The Outer Limits episode if you want to form your own opinion. Full Article
general Doc is Caught in a Time Loop of His Own Making By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:02:28 -0800 If you had a real working time machine, the temptation to use it as much as you could would be overwhelming, even when it doesn't make sense. Would you get stuck on trying to make everything perfect, just for the excuse to go back and forth? Doc's become a little obsessed, to the point where you might want to take his keys away and make him remain in one timeline for a while. Why make the 1985 Marty always save the day when you could just ask 2015 Marty to do the same? Or maybe even take care of the problem yourself. Maybe this is why Doc eventually decided to stay in the 19th century in the third film. No, right, that was for love. Studio C did a good job of recreating the characters of Back to the Future 2 in order to explore the absurdities of what that kind of power can do to someone. Full Article
general Cats Are Masters of Camouflage By www.neatorama.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:36:34 -0800 (Image source: daddyisproudofme) Cats, like most animals, have developed camouflage appearances so that they blend into the background in their natural habitat. But they can also blend into the background in manmade spaces, like the kitchen cabinets, so they can hide and spy on their humans. Have you found the cat in the image above yet? It took me an embarrassing amount of time to see it, but now I can't un-see it. But that's just the beginning. In the picture below, you can easily see three cats. But there are four.(Image credit: No_Internal9345)The subreddit Find the Sniper is full of these kinds of puzzles -and they're not all cats. Bored Panda selected 30 very hard ones for a ranked list that may drive you insane. I believe finding the owl was the hardest. There are answers in the comments, but if you want to find the hidden thing on your own, you can click the credit under each photo and go the the original reddit post, where you can enlarge the picture greatly. If you try more than a couple, it will suck up hours of your time. Full Article
general Weeknotes wk0 By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Sat, 02 Jan 2021 13:20:27 +0000 Another year, another attempt at keeping track of what I’m doing. The weird thing about this site is… Full Article WRPL
general Wk2: Knows the Grindstone By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Jan 2021 15:09:57 +0000 Work 2021 at work started in a fairly typical way. Over the course of the christmas break our… Full Article Uncategorized
general Wk3/4: Better late than dead By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Sun, 24 Jan 2021 22:52:18 +0000 The difficulty of this weeknotes things is that entire weeks can go by without anything interesting happening. That’s… Full Article Uncategorized
general Life Begins By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Tue, 26 Jan 2021 20:12:01 +0000 One of my strongest memories of my childhood is a fridge magnet. It was a small white cube… Full Article Uncategorized
general Bripe and the world Bripes with you By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Apr 2021 08:56:54 +0000 This is, without doubt, the stupidest coffee device I have ever bought. But I have bought it. Full Article Uncategorized
general Hot takes on an 11 year old game: Mass Effect 2 By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Sun, 06 Jun 2021 13:12:36 +0000 I completed Mass Effect 2 a couple of days ago for the first time. This article contains spoilers… Full Article Computer Games Mass Effect
general Pupdate By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Sat, 06 Nov 2021 11:04:55 +0000 This is Rylan. How (Not) To Buy A Puppy There’s a meme wandering around Twitter/Facebook at the moment:… Full Article Uncategorized Bearded Collie Dog Pet Rylan
general Geekcode 2022 By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:14:08 +0000 Another even year, another odd Geekcode. The Geekcode is a very old tradition. It was written by Robert… Full Article Uncategorized
general Record of Achievement By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Fri, 20 May 2022 15:13:14 +0000 On the interesting properties of becoming the kind of person who buys vinyl records. Full Article Uncategorized
general 2022 in Video Games By www.aquarionics.com Published On :: Mon, 26 Dec 2022 22:54:36 +0000 I’ve played some computer games in 2022. Here are some words about some of them. Final Fantasy 14… Full Article Computer Games
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sat, 07 Sep 2024 10:43:23 -0800 One day I will see this mop bucket and not immediately start singing Ready for the World’s 1985 synth-funk hit. Today is not that day. Full Article
general 2024 Week 36 Notes: Planners Gotta Plan By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 08 Sep 2024 18:12:44 -0800 The new 2024-25 COVID vaccines are available, so FunkyPlaid and I got ours on Friday. Because we went to a pharmacy, my health insurance didn’t cover them, so I had to use funds from my HRA. (We could have waited until our medical provider had appointments, but that would have been late September or early October — and with travel coming up soon, I was unwilling to wait.) It is bizarre and enraging to see how agencies supposedly dedicated to public health are flailing in this moment. I’m extremely fortunate to have a job that provides health insurance, an HRA, and sick leave, and I can afford KN95 masks and rapid antigen tests. What about people who are uninsured or underinsured? I know it’s a bummer to read this, but it’s a bigger bummer to try to survive during yet another COVID surge. Let’s take care of our health, for ourselves and for our communities. Concentrating on This time of year is Planner Season, when the 2025 planners are released and people like me (and maybe you too) gobble them up and then spend the rest of this year hoping that next year we have lives exciting enough to plan. Ever the optimist, my planner line-up for 2025 is: For my personal planner, daily log, habit tracker, reading journal, and commonplace book, I’ll be trying the Sterling Ink Common Planner in their new N1 size, which fits inside a Traveler’s Notebook. I’m currently using a Hobonichi Weeks, which is 95mm x 186mm; the N1 size is 110mm x 210mm. For my work planner, the Wonderland 222 A5 Weekly Planner has been working well for me this year, so I’ll try it again in 2025. Cultivating ✍???? Drafting two stories, one for performance (I hope ????????) and one for a collection. ???? Still knitting that gift for someone. ???? Food I made that was yummy: Peperonata with peppers from a coworker’s CSA box, plus peppers from our own CSA box. CSA boxes are great! Gluten-free vegan apple crisp. I am not a huge fan of apples in their primary form; I prefer them as a cinnamon delivery device. So this recipe from Minimalist Baker, apples chopped up and baked with oats and sugar? That works. Sliced heirloom tomatoes on toast spread thinly with mayonnaise. Truffle salt if you’re feeling fancy. (I was.) ???????? Learning Italian with Duolingo. ???? The workweek was short because of the holiday on Monday, but also long because of everything. I’m still trying to create better boundaries around that. Consuming ????️ One of my planner pals shared a sample of Bungukan Kobayashi’s Yagentoshiro Reflex Violet, a dusky blue with iridescent purple shimmer. ???? “girlfriend” by Hemlocke Springs is on repeat on my brain radio. ???? You don’t need to be a Rolling Stones fan to enjoy the “I Can’t Get No Legal Action” episode of the Judge John Hodgman podcast. ???? Still working my way through the crossword puzzle books I’ve hoarded and enjoying the daily Cross|word on Puzzmo. Also, Minute Cryptic is quite humbling. ???? One last episode of “Fargo” to go, then we’ll start the latest season of “Slow Horses”. ???? What I’m reading and quoting: “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler: “The great and terrible thing about humankind is simply this: we will always do what we are capable of.” Some links From “What would an adequate COVID response look like?” by Julia Doubleday: Right now, state representatives are deliberately avoiding mention of COVID, while propagandizing the safety of infection and/or the end of the pandemic by refusing to mask. It is hard to imagine how successful a pandemic response might be if public officials were actually trying to end the pandemic. We quite literally have public health and political and media figures working to hide three pieces of critical information: public knowledge of the virus, public knowledge of mitigation measures that would reduce viral spread, and public knowledge of the severity of the virus (which would motivate desire to reduce viral spread). Other links: NaNoWriMo Shits The Bed On Artificial Intelligence (Chuck Wendig) Why Goblin Mode Is the New Self-Care Routine (Cleveland Clinic) 2024 Winners of the 17th Annual iPhone Photography Awards One more thing Today I’m journaling about this quote from Seneca: “Life, if well lived, is long enough.” Full Article
general 2024 Week 37 Notes: R&R By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 15 Sep 2024 19:52:00 -0800 Look at this absolutely good girl: my canine sister, Willa. Concentrating on Rest, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones! We’re visiting family in Pennsylvania this week and attending a wedding in Kentucky on Friday. When packing, I restricted myself to three notebooks and three pens because I tend to overpack and then immediately regret as I am schlepping around a stationery store in my backpack. Cultivating ✍???? Drafting two (very different) stories. I’m looking forward to time off work to let my creative writing brain percolate. ???? Food I made that was yummy: Pork chops in garlic mushroom sauce, with mashed potatoes and salad on the side. I am not a huge fan of pork chops, but I got them in our CSA box, so I looked for a recipe that incorporated other things I am a huge fan of, like garlic and mushrooms. ???????? When my brain is full of Italian, I switch over to music lessons in Duolingo. It’s fun! ???? No. Consuming ????️ Only three pens means only three inks: De Atramentis Charles Dickens, Sailor Manyo Hinoki, and Robert Oster Sydney Lavender. ???? I heard “White Gloves” by Khruangbin for the first time in a while and forgot how much I enjoy their music. ???? Recently FunkyPlaid and I tried to watch the show “Kaos” and lasted about ten minutes. I had listened to the Pop Culture Happy Hour episode on the show and thought I might enjoy it. ???? No time for games this week. I’m looking forward to some Puzzmo! ???? We started watching “My Brilliant Friend”, the adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet, which I read last year and loved. ???? What I’m reading and quoting: “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler: “How we see the world matters — but knowing how the world sees us also matters.” Some links I love Tracy Durnell’s latest weeknotes post. I’m not even mad at how it makes me feel like I’ve done absolutely nothing in comparison. ???? Neither Elon Musk Nor Anybody Else Will Ever Colonize Mars (Albert Burneko) Firefly Atlas: I’m eager to see fireflies while I’m here, so I’m doing some research. One more thing I was a bit anxious to travel during a COVID surge, so in addition to getting the new vaccine as soon as I could, I invested in a Flo Mask Pro to wear in airports, planes, and any other crowded spaces. I’m so glad I did; it was very comfortable to wear all day, once I got used to how it felt. My glasses didn’t fog up at all, which is a minor miracle. I did get some looks (you know the kind) but that was a small price to pay for a greater chance of avoiding Covid and/or Long Covid. I only saw a handful of other people masked. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 15 Sep 2024 20:07:09 -0800 The reminder for the next Micro.blog Analog Tools Meetup has been emailed! ????️????????️ If you’re not on this list and would like to join us, let @jessekelber or me know. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Wed, 18 Sep 2024 18:22:06 -0800 All charms, no luck. Spotted in the local supermarket. (Did not purchase. Was tempted.) Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Thu, 19 Sep 2024 18:16:08 -0800 433 miles on the road today. ???? Grateful for the ability to travel to be with family; yearning for a high-speed rail system. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:37:55 -0800 Despite wearing my Flo Mask Pro in airports and on planes, and a KN95 in other public spaces, I now have Covid. Recently boosted, so it’s not as bad as it could be, but I’m still so sick. Starting Paxlovid tonight. Be careful out there. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Tue, 01 Oct 2024 09:18:13 -0800 Today is the first day I’ve felt better in over a week. I still can’t taste or smell much, but now have a general sense of “banana” or “tea” while consuming those things. I’m resting whenever possible, and I’m so grateful for a supportive partner and workplace. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 13 Oct 2024 15:43:39 -0800 The reminder for the next Micro.blog Analog Tools Meetup has been emailed! ????️????????️ If you’re not on this list and would like to join us, let @jessekelber or me know. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sat, 19 Oct 2024 09:15:06 -0800 At today’s Micro.blog Analog Tools meetup we discussed some of the reasons why we choose digital over analog, and vice versa. ????️????????️ We’ll meet again in November. Let @jessekelber and me know if you’d like to join us! Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:33:04 -0800 If you’re looking for a NaNoWriMo alternative this year, I recommend TrackBear. No data harvesting, tracking, or AI. I imported my old projects from NaNoWriMo into TrackBear so I haven’t lost any statistics. And if competition’s your thing, you can create leaderboards. Full Article
general Writing through cringe By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:22:23 -0800 For the first day of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), I want to start with something difficult, and the reason why I’m participating in this monthly challenge. I’ve lost all affection for my writing voice, and I don’t entirely know why. These days, it’s challenging for me to get excited about writing anything personal. Everything I post, aside from ink swatches, makes me cringe, even simple replies to others' posts. When I started writing online, it was so easy to share any little moss-bulb of detail, despite lacking confidence in my voice or purpose. It was enough to noodle in public; I had a stage (my website) and tap-tap-tapping its microphone didn’t make me feel immediately self-conscious. A few years ago, I pushed — harder than I’ve pushed for many things in my life — for the “community” aspect of Micro.blog to be more than a shared timeline. I wanted it to be something I could lean back softly into, both an audience and support group, comprised of people who shared the same penchant for collecting and amplifying small treasures of moments. The people exist (and they are wonderful, I read what they share with delight) but the community? I know now that what I was asking for doesn’t exist online in the same way it did, but I didn’t know that yet. I kept pushing and pushing, until one day I just … stopped. Everything I said seemed to repulse people instead of drawing them closer. It was easier to find what I needed and wanted in the friendships I was slowly and intentionally building offline than it was for me to do that online. And that was a first for me. Much of my life, up to that point, had been spent focusing on connecting online. Because much of my life, up to that point, had been lived online. I don’t really want to go back to living so much online. But sometimes I’m nostalgic for the feeling of being understood through my writing, shades of myself that I don’t know how to represent except through words. It’s supremely cringey even to post this, but I’m going to push through in the hopes there’s some self-acceptance on the other side of it. I’m not ready to stop writing altogether. In some ways, I feel like I’ve barely begun. Full Article
general Building community offline By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sat, 02 Nov 2024 22:52:53 -0800 I was overwhelmed by the response to my last post, and so grateful for the reminder that there is still connection to be found online, I just need to push through my own self-consciousness to find it. And I have many good models for this behavior, people who are quick with a kind and supportive word, people who do not shy away from nuance. Today I spent the day offline in the company of people like this, a small group of friends that gathers once a month to share our love of stationery: pens, ink, paper, notebooks, planners, postal mail, and the like. We sit around a big table and journal together while chatting, snacking, and drinking lattes carefully crafted by FunkyPlaid. The middle of the table soon fills with stickers, stamps, inks, and washi tapes that we’ve brought to share with each other. As I look around the table at these treasured people, I think about how much work goes into building community. Healthy communities take intention, upkeep, energy, and shared values. This gathering happens every month because we invest all of this into making it happen. As hosts, FunkyPlaid and I make sure people feel cared for with food and drink in a clean and welcoming space. As guests, everyone brings what they want to share, and expresses interest in what they are interested in (and refrains from expressing disdain for what they aren’t). It’s a lot of work, joyful work. And this work results in a day each month to anticipate, and memories to hold close the rest of the month. I hope never to take this community for granted. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 03 Nov 2024 19:23:14 -0800 I’m feeling shy and anxious today, so here’s an analog interlude. ????️ Our houseguests brought us fountain pen ink, among other thoughtful gifts. Here are swatches of Octopus Fluids' Medusa, a vivid violet with green sheen, and Goblin, a medium green with violet sheen. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 03 Nov 2024 19:45:39 -0800 I love voting by mail. ????️???? This isn’t a cute sticker, but it will have to do. Now it’s time to librarian: Here’s a resource on fighting election disinformation on Bluesky and the Fediverse. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2024 19:37:00 -0800 Not a bad time to start reading this. ???? Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Tue, 05 Nov 2024 19:31:05 -0800 I have such thoughtful coworkers. What’s in your election anxiety support kit? Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 23:37:53 -0800 Today I was grateful for texting with loved ones, commiserating with FunkyPlaid, and filling my journal with everything I cannot say out loud. I’ll be ready to get back to work soon. Until then, here’s Crivens. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 23:00:57 -0800 Currently reading: We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption by Kaira Jewel Lingo ???? Trying to move through it today, and this book is helping. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:29:56 -0800 I’ve seen several people discussing the switch to a low/slow media diet. Use your local library to try before you buy. Many public libraries offer free access to newspapers and other periodicals through PressReader. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 11:06:08 -0800 Yesterday I was struggling to care about cooking for the two of us. It happens more often than I’d like to admit. Luckily, past-me had saved recipes that I tagged “easy”, like this mushroom and potato paprikash in the Instant Pot. ???? It was quite tasty and made enough leftovers to freeze. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 22:00:24 -0800 The reminder for the next Micro.blog Analog Tools Meetup has been emailed! ????️????????️ If you’re not on this list and would like to join us, let @jessekelber or me know. Full Article
general By www.cygnoir.net Published On :: Sun, 10 Nov 2024 15:20:30 -0800 Idea: Create an “introverts' corner” at all future gatherings. Provide an out-of-the-way space with puzzles and craft supplies. As an introvert, I don’t always want to be alone; I want to share energy and joy, and I want to share community, just not in extroverted ways. Full Article