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Dec. 24th, 2025 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flamingswordSo for Christmas, Stepdad gave me a head cold, which I might be over by tomorrow or Friday if I’m lucky? I’m upset that he didn’t tell me he was sick until after I spent the 45 minute ride home from the airport in a car with his sniffly self. I could have kept my mask on, but it didn’t occur to him that risking my health was … let’s just say rude. Also he doesn’t cover his mouth when he coughs and sneezes apparently? So gross. I have been hiding in my room most of the time between my Pacific Northwest trip and now, even after he got me sick 🤒 🤧 😾
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Merry Christmas, everyone!
Dec. 24th, 2025 07:23 pmloganberrybunnyPublic
327/365: Confused car?
Click for a larger, sharper image
As usual, I'll be completely offline on Christmas Day, so first of all I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope for all of you it's as good as it can be. :)
As I won't be here tomorrow, the 365 photo I take will be uploaded on Boxing Day, along with the one I take that day. This amused me in a small car park today: it's clearly a Mercedes, but apparently it thinks it's a Jaguar. :P
327/365: Confused car?
Click for a larger, sharper image
As usual, I'll be completely offline on Christmas Day, so first of all I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope for all of you it's as good as it can be. :)
As I won't be here tomorrow, the 365 photo I take will be uploaded on Boxing Day, along with the one I take that day. This amused me in a small car park today: it's clearly a Mercedes, but apparently it thinks it's a Jaguar. :P
Happy Wok
Dec. 24th, 2025 12:47 pmbill_schubertRather than worry about whether our favorite Chinese restaurant is open tomorrow (or, heaven forbid, actually call around and find out) I decided to order tonight and just put it in the refrigerator to be ready for tomorrow. Chinese food is always better the next day.
Tonight will be pork loin in white gravy, grits and whatever green stuff we have lying around.
Just the four of us. I did not get the four legs any treats so I may have to go to the store and remedy that. Poor planning.
PB this morning was OK. Nothing wrong with it but I played mediocre. I really need to get with the ball machine and/or coaching. Maybe this weekend. I'll ask on Friday if there is a time when things will be quiet enough for me to snag a court and the machine. No telling with kids out and families looking for stuff to do.
It is nearly summer around here. Lovely weather to be out and about. I think we'll end up with the AC on by tomorrow. I don't much mind. This is what the days look like now. The tree will dump and start regrowing all at once, I suspect.
We got my pension pay today and it was an extra hundred bucks, less taxes. We've been thrifty so our bank and investment accounts are getting larger and with the USAA mutual dump back to me and now this extra and, I guess, SS will go up a bit. So we're losing out to inflation (which does not, of course, actually exist) but are making it up with thrift. And in a bull market all the investments decisions are brilliant.
All in all a decent end to the year. In six months we'll be ahead of where we were before last summer's crappy dental and car spending spree.
I heard back from Nest support and then remembered a similar response from them last year. They can't find my account. And they won't be able to. And this happened last year and they were never able to fix it. I had to dispute the charge but the card was fine so I never did cancel it. Now I no longer need the card and have set it so nothing can be charged. I guess I'll go through the same dispute and then cancel it altogether once the balance is zero. If I had left myself a memo on the calendar I'd have already cancelled. The only way Google will ever find the transaction is when it fails next year, I guess. Won't be my problem.
I just shot myself with my weekly Semaglutide dose. I'm still losing weight looking forward to the 180's. I'm 191 or 192 right now. Somewhere after 180 I'll start looking seriously at the end game. Meanwhile it is kind of nice to be losing my stomach. And downright weird to hug Dana. We are two different people.
Tonight will be pork loin in white gravy, grits and whatever green stuff we have lying around.
Just the four of us. I did not get the four legs any treats so I may have to go to the store and remedy that. Poor planning.
PB this morning was OK. Nothing wrong with it but I played mediocre. I really need to get with the ball machine and/or coaching. Maybe this weekend. I'll ask on Friday if there is a time when things will be quiet enough for me to snag a court and the machine. No telling with kids out and families looking for stuff to do.
It is nearly summer around here. Lovely weather to be out and about. I think we'll end up with the AC on by tomorrow. I don't much mind. This is what the days look like now. The tree will dump and start regrowing all at once, I suspect.
We got my pension pay today and it was an extra hundred bucks, less taxes. We've been thrifty so our bank and investment accounts are getting larger and with the USAA mutual dump back to me and now this extra and, I guess, SS will go up a bit. So we're losing out to inflation (which does not, of course, actually exist) but are making it up with thrift. And in a bull market all the investments decisions are brilliant.
All in all a decent end to the year. In six months we'll be ahead of where we were before last summer's crappy dental and car spending spree.
I heard back from Nest support and then remembered a similar response from them last year. They can't find my account. And they won't be able to. And this happened last year and they were never able to fix it. I had to dispute the charge but the card was fine so I never did cancel it. Now I no longer need the card and have set it so nothing can be charged. I guess I'll go through the same dispute and then cancel it altogether once the balance is zero. If I had left myself a memo on the calendar I'd have already cancelled. The only way Google will ever find the transaction is when it fails next year, I guess. Won't be my problem.
I just shot myself with my weekly Semaglutide dose. I'm still losing weight looking forward to the 180's. I'm 191 or 192 right now. Somewhere after 180 I'll start looking seriously at the end game. Meanwhile it is kind of nice to be losing my stomach. And downright weird to hug Dana. We are two different people.
Purimgifts 2026: Banner Countdown
Dec. 24th, 2025 12:59 pmautobotscoutriella posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
purimgifts
Believe it or not, this 2017 banner is from almost nine years ago, and we are only nine days from signups opening for Purimgifts 2026! I have no idea where the time went (I could swear last time I blinked it was 2020), but we're looking forward to seeing you all for this year's celebration!
DEADLINE 23 Feb (anywhere in the world)
REVEALS 2-4 March
Find us on Dreamwidth, Livejournal, tumblr, and the Archive of Our Own.
What I'm Doing Wednesday
Dec. 24th, 2025 11:42 amsagebooks
The Fortune of War (Aubreyad #6) by Patrick O'Brian. Very satisfying, if occasionally super gross. I'm rationing these, because I'll be sad when they're over.
Ancient Iran and Its Neighbours: Local Developments and Long-range Interactions in the 4th Millennium BC by Cameron A. Petrie (Editor). 2013. I started this an age ago & put it down in the middle of the driest of dry articles. It's a lot of archaeology, and little of it is engaging, but I love the general subject matter so I finished it.
still reading: The Impossible Fortune (Thursday Murder Club #5) by Richard Osman. This one is failing to hook me.
yarning
I went to yarn group Sunday and had a good time, though I messed up the bunny I worked on there, doh. Adding a Made To Order option in my etsy shop for kickbunnies was a good idea. I've had several sales already, and also the burgundy and rose pink ones keep selling out. Etsy's color of the year for 2026 is "Patina Blue," or blue copper, which is basically teal, so I'm focusing on burgundy and teal now, while hoping the brown and yellow bunnies in the shop will eventually sell. A fun aside: my Santa from the Kitten Academy holiday card exchange drew a great, colorful scene in the card he sent -- a Christmas tree filled with cats and two kickbunnies looking up at them from in front of a fire in the fireplace. A very happy-making surprise!
yuletide
I've been volunteering as a SPAG beta on the Yuletide discord & have gotten to preview some really cute/sweet/charming fics! Fic reveals are THIS AFTERNOON!! and I cannot wait! \o/
( healthcrap ) However, the flu is, and my brother has it, so Christmas is delayed until he gets better and has a few days off again, whenever that will be. At least I'll have Yuletide to keep me company.
Solstice
was Sunday at 9:03am CST. Happy YULE!! Welcome to the return of the light, northern hemisphere peeps! Happy Summer Solstice, antipodeans! \o/
#resist
Tuesday, January 20: #50501 General Walk-out, 2pm local time. https://www.FreeAmeri.ca
Wishing everyone safe travels and a very happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate! <333
The Fortune of War (Aubreyad #6) by Patrick O'Brian. Very satisfying, if occasionally super gross. I'm rationing these, because I'll be sad when they're over.
Ancient Iran and Its Neighbours: Local Developments and Long-range Interactions in the 4th Millennium BC by Cameron A. Petrie (Editor). 2013. I started this an age ago & put it down in the middle of the driest of dry articles. It's a lot of archaeology, and little of it is engaging, but I love the general subject matter so I finished it.
still reading: The Impossible Fortune (Thursday Murder Club #5) by Richard Osman. This one is failing to hook me.
yarning
I went to yarn group Sunday and had a good time, though I messed up the bunny I worked on there, doh. Adding a Made To Order option in my etsy shop for kickbunnies was a good idea. I've had several sales already, and also the burgundy and rose pink ones keep selling out. Etsy's color of the year for 2026 is "Patina Blue," or blue copper, which is basically teal, so I'm focusing on burgundy and teal now, while hoping the brown and yellow bunnies in the shop will eventually sell. A fun aside: my Santa from the Kitten Academy holiday card exchange drew a great, colorful scene in the card he sent -- a Christmas tree filled with cats and two kickbunnies looking up at them from in front of a fire in the fireplace. A very happy-making surprise!
yuletide
I've been volunteering as a SPAG beta on the Yuletide discord & have gotten to preview some really cute/sweet/charming fics! Fic reveals are THIS AFTERNOON!! and I cannot wait! \o/
( healthcrap ) However, the flu is, and my brother has it, so Christmas is delayed until he gets better and has a few days off again, whenever that will be. At least I'll have Yuletide to keep me company.
Solstice
was Sunday at 9:03am CST. Happy YULE!! Welcome to the return of the light, northern hemisphere peeps! Happy Summer Solstice, antipodeans! \o/
#resist
Tuesday, January 20: #50501 General Walk-out, 2pm local time. https://www.FreeAmeri.ca
Wishing everyone safe travels and a very happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate! <333
How K is it, really?
Dec. 24th, 2025 11:07 amlauradi7dwNPR, WUMB, WERS, and others are putting out or preparing end of year best song lists (or maybe favorite songs?). I listen to the radio a lot, mostly those and sometimes 92.5 The River (what does that mean?) which seems to be a franchise of some sort, because there is a different version in western Mass that still calls itself The River. I have heard a lot of songs this year that I like, but I don't know most of the artists or titles because the DJs don't tell me often enough, and when they do I don't have pen and paper at the ready. I know my favorite Kpop songs of 2025, although almost all of them are in English. Should that count?
It was a big Kpop Demon Hunters year for a lot of the world. Golden was my head song for months, but I like a lot of the other songs as well.
A soundtrack list starts here
https://youtu.be/yebNIHKAC4A?si=8lCWbvXx-_b_jLsY
There was a short tiktok reposted on twitter of a cute little kid singing it but I can't figure out how to link it.
Does anybody need the movie screenplay? Here it is:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26438527-kpop-demon-hunters-read-the-screenplay-2/#document/p1
J-Hope and GloRilla Killin' it Girl (not my favorite of J-Hope's releases this year, but it stuck most in my head).
Stray Kids Do it
The Do It challenge dance performed by a Hamilton cast
https://youtube.com/shorts/ytBg-BJNQPo?si=efbis9e5_g6cQQ-5
WERS played Billie Eilish's "Birds of a Feather" a lot this year. Why is the group name just her name (Eilish is her middle name) when her brother Fineas is part of every project? Wouldn't Billie & Fineas made more sense?
I prefer the cover by Kim Seungmin
Here's one that's not in English (except I only know the English title)
Hwasa Good Goodbye
There isn't a standardized challenge dance for it, but people have posted little skits of themselves to the music, often including the sort of hand-wavy part at about 2:20.
But here's Hwasa singing in English, for Christmas
https://youtube.com/shorts/prgRbO-xJ8g?si=_gO574amExfd--Yb
This is K but not pop and it's not 2025, but almost (early December 2024). I have watched it a lot this fall. I think of it as the Santa's Helpers pungmul group
It was a big Kpop Demon Hunters year for a lot of the world. Golden was my head song for months, but I like a lot of the other songs as well.
A soundtrack list starts here
https://youtu.be/yebNIHKAC4A?si=8lCWbvXx-_b_jLsY
There was a short tiktok reposted on twitter of a cute little kid singing it but I can't figure out how to link it.
Does anybody need the movie screenplay? Here it is:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26438527-kpop-demon-hunters-read-the-screenplay-2/#document/p1
J-Hope and GloRilla Killin' it Girl (not my favorite of J-Hope's releases this year, but it stuck most in my head).
Stray Kids Do it
The Do It challenge dance performed by a Hamilton cast
https://youtube.com/shorts/ytBg-BJNQPo?si=efbis9e5_g6cQQ-5
WERS played Billie Eilish's "Birds of a Feather" a lot this year. Why is the group name just her name (Eilish is her middle name) when her brother Fineas is part of every project? Wouldn't Billie & Fineas made more sense?
I prefer the cover by Kim Seungmin
Here's one that's not in English (except I only know the English title)
Hwasa Good Goodbye
There isn't a standardized challenge dance for it, but people have posted little skits of themselves to the music, often including the sort of hand-wavy part at about 2:20.
But here's Hwasa singing in English, for Christmas
https://youtube.com/shorts/prgRbO-xJ8g?si=_gO574amExfd--Yb
This is K but not pop and it's not 2025, but almost (early December 2024). I have watched it a lot this fall. I think of it as the Santa's Helpers pungmul group
Lost and found
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:30 amoffcntrSometime around last May, I got an email from a potter I knew slightly, up in Portland. He'd looked for me at Ceramic Showcase, wanted to buy some plates, didn't see me. I explained that I haven't done that show since 2019, but would be happy to make some plates for him. We agreed on four patterns, and they went on the list.
Got them done in my June firing, asked if he wanted me to ship them. Oh no, he and wife drove down to California all the time, he could pick them up in Eugene.
Then commenced a series of mishaps and miscues. Phoned about a pickup on our landline when I was away at a show in Roseburg. Email received when I was away in Anacortes. Finally arranged a rendezvous in October, only to have him no-show.
Coming down to mid-December, I finally tracked down his phone number in the Oregon Potters Association directory. I really need to get these plates out of my studio, I said, Can I just ship them to you? So I got his address, sent them off UPS the next morning, called him to get a card number for payment. Case closed.
A week-and-a-half later, I get an email from him, asking if UPS had any indication of when they'd arrive? Only they'd been having a problem with porch bandits in his neighborhood, and he wanted to make sure he got the box.
Oh dear.
Went online to UPS with the tracking number to find they'd been delivered a week previously, complete with photo documentation. Which I copied and sent him. So now what? I shipped them, they were delivered, so even if I had paid extra for insurance--it doesn't come automatically with my discount shipping service--they wouldn't have paid out. I'm pretty sure I told him to look for them in two-three days, but it was on the phone, not email, so I couldn't check. Should I offer to make another set?
Two days ago, I get another email. Found them. One of the girls brought the box in and put it in a closet.
Whew!
Got them done in my June firing, asked if he wanted me to ship them. Oh no, he and wife drove down to California all the time, he could pick them up in Eugene.
Then commenced a series of mishaps and miscues. Phoned about a pickup on our landline when I was away at a show in Roseburg. Email received when I was away in Anacortes. Finally arranged a rendezvous in October, only to have him no-show.
Coming down to mid-December, I finally tracked down his phone number in the Oregon Potters Association directory. I really need to get these plates out of my studio, I said, Can I just ship them to you? So I got his address, sent them off UPS the next morning, called him to get a card number for payment. Case closed.
A week-and-a-half later, I get an email from him, asking if UPS had any indication of when they'd arrive? Only they'd been having a problem with porch bandits in his neighborhood, and he wanted to make sure he got the box.
Oh dear.
Went online to UPS with the tracking number to find they'd been delivered a week previously, complete with photo documentation. Which I copied and sent him. So now what? I shipped them, they were delivered, so even if I had paid extra for insurance--it doesn't come automatically with my discount shipping service--they wouldn't have paid out. I'm pretty sure I told him to look for them in two-three days, but it was on the phone, not email, so I couldn't check. Should I offer to make another set?
Two days ago, I get another email. Found them. One of the girls brought the box in and put it in a closet.
Whew!
Wednesday has just put Angel Biscuit dough into the fridge
Dec. 24th, 2025 03:51 pmoursinWhat I read
Well, the Katherine Addison Cemeteries of Amalo re-read continued: I managed to access Lora Selezh and on to The Witness for the Dead, The Grief of Stones and The Tomb of Dragons (the latter was the one where I first began experiencing weird lagging effects on the ereader).
On the go
Seem to have several things currently on the go.
Still dipping in to Diary at the Centre of the Earth, which is becoming compelling, especially as so much of it is set not quite in my neighbourhood but very close and has allusions to things like busroutes familiar to me.
Started Ursula K Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven (1971), which have been meaning to do since discovering the movie is online available and wishing to refresh my memory. Do have a copy but it is a) somewhere inaccessible and b) 1970s paperback probably in disintegrating condition so shelled out for (v reasonable) ebook. Not very far in yet - wow it's a bit generic c. 1970 nearish future dystopia! - do we need so much futtock-shroudery from Haber about his dream-machine? (feel that this may have been editor thinking this was Necessary Exposition?).
Also have started Dorothy Richardson, Pointed Roofs (Pilgrimage #1) (1915), for online reading group, which after various struggles have given in and am reading via Kindle app on tablet because stutter mode is NOT what one wants with Richardson's prose. Do have 1970sish Virago edition somewhere in the book maelstrom but disinclined to the turmoil of trying to locate.
Up next
That seems like enough to be going on with but I am in expectation of Christmas books.
Five Things on Xmas Eve
Dec. 24th, 2025 10:25 amoracne1. Work load at dayjob has been low this week; we got out at noon yesterday, and today I can log off at 12:30 pm. We are then off through January 2 for winter break (yay, academia). I had a couple of small things I was able to resolve this morning, go me!
2. I did not send out Xmas cards this year, but I appreciate every one I received. I hope to be back to it next year.
3. I am thawing out a chuck roast to cook later this week, probably Friday. My tamarind-sauce-flavored vegetable soup from Sunday, which includes silken tofu, grape tomatoes, carrot, potato, and green beans, is very delicious, especially with a couple tablespoons of congee dumped in. Last night, I finished off my bag of post-surgery chicken nuggets and baked sliced golden potatoes at 425 degrees F with olive oil and salt.
4. I have been listening to a ton of Xmas music, so at least I am somewhat in the holiday spirit. I did not have energy to pull out my ornament tree and dress it up, but we have a smaller one downstairs so I moved it from the corner onto the dining room table--the ornaments were still on it from last year! We have some cards propped around the base, and I have more on the little desk in the guest room. I didn't use my usual space in the back room because it would block my DVD screen, which I need for the Blake's 7 watchalong and possibly even some Shakespeare.
5. I have tentative plans for Xmas afternoon with local friends. I want to get started on my fancy wooden turtle puzzle (which I have had for several years), and also to do some mending of clothing. I especially want to try needle-felting a hole in a very old black cashmere cardigan (commercially knitted); I was wearing it when I broke my elbow years ago, so couldn't wash it for weeks, and it got a moth hole under one arm before I was healed up. I am not sure if the hole is too big for felting. We shall see. I have washed it after its long storage!
2. I did not send out Xmas cards this year, but I appreciate every one I received. I hope to be back to it next year.
3. I am thawing out a chuck roast to cook later this week, probably Friday. My tamarind-sauce-flavored vegetable soup from Sunday, which includes silken tofu, grape tomatoes, carrot, potato, and green beans, is very delicious, especially with a couple tablespoons of congee dumped in. Last night, I finished off my bag of post-surgery chicken nuggets and baked sliced golden potatoes at 425 degrees F with olive oil and salt.
4. I have been listening to a ton of Xmas music, so at least I am somewhat in the holiday spirit. I did not have energy to pull out my ornament tree and dress it up, but we have a smaller one downstairs so I moved it from the corner onto the dining room table--the ornaments were still on it from last year! We have some cards propped around the base, and I have more on the little desk in the guest room. I didn't use my usual space in the back room because it would block my DVD screen, which I need for the Blake's 7 watchalong and possibly even some Shakespeare.
5. I have tentative plans for Xmas afternoon with local friends. I want to get started on my fancy wooden turtle puzzle (which I have had for several years), and also to do some mending of clothing. I especially want to try needle-felting a hole in a very old black cashmere cardigan (commercially knitted); I was wearing it when I broke my elbow years ago, so couldn't wash it for weeks, and it got a moth hole under one arm before I was healed up. I am not sure if the hole is too big for felting. We shall see. I have washed it after its long storage!
Rec-cember Day 20: Heated Rivalry
Dec. 24th, 2025 04:26 pmfalenaI already recced my fave Heated Rivalry fic on Day 5 when I focused on hockey romance more broadly, but since Heated Rivalry has taken over fandom by storm, I thought some more recs would go down well. Everything is Shane/Ilya because duh. Also, they were written before the show, but since the show is such a faithful adaptation of the book, it shouldn't be a problem.
Ilya Rozanov Gets Railed by GlitterCity 13K
“You didn’t like it the last time we tried it,” Shane said.
Ilya gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Was years ago. Maybe it is an acquired taste, like licorice.”
“You also don’t like licorice,” Shane pointed out.
“Yes, but I keep trying it because Luca likes it so much.”
“And then you make a face and tell him how awful it is.”
“When have I ever told you your dick is awful?” Ilya said, looking mildly offended. “I am its number one fan.” I kinda dislike the title because while there's of course quite a lot of smut in this, what makes this story is the amazing characterisation and the fantastic banter (see the quote). Podfic available!
you'd rather die than take your eyes off me by princebutt. 6K, Ilya is in a car accident. Shane hurries to be by his side, and outs them in the process. Set during the year Ilya is playing for Boston. AU.
there's no pretending by moonsock. 13 K. The term, he’s told, is temporary retrograde amnesia. Ilya doesn’t need the direct translation to understand: he forgot things. Ten years of things.
The Pitt
singing in unison by dotsayers. AU. Gen. Leah's sick the night before Pittfest. Robby gets his ticket back. I love a good ensemble piece. And an AU. Two of my fave things rolled in one.
Shelving
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:05 amateolfMy big project of yesterday was shelving all of the books I bought on the trip. Huge undertaking with so many as my shelves are already overfull and half of the shelves (for fiction) are hard to get to and cramped with the overflow around them so I have to make a big step to get over there and I couldn't take all the books that were being added at once and I had to make multiple trips for each shelf as there wasn't enough room in the little area. It took a good while and I had to take a break in the middle. It wiped me out a good bit! Mary Beth shared the trip itinerary with me so I should be ready to do my catch up and see if I can find the things I missed, but I haven't gone over it yet so, soon.
A Merry Christmas
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:49 amthe_comfortable_courtesanA reminder from your humble amanuensis that a little seasonal treat, The Cathcart Apocrypha Volume 6, Times Changing Belowstairs, or, Circumstances Alter, is now downloadable from the website.
Merry wassails, and be careful when playing snapdragon!
Merry wassails, and be careful when playing snapdragon!
So, 1000xResist
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:10 amrydra_wongI was too tired to have the focus for Dark Souls-ing in the last few days, so binge-played 1000xResist and now I feel like I'm been punched in the head.
Basically a walking simulator/visual novel, so don't go expecting complex gameplay, but HOLY FUCK.
For all of you looking for fiction with fucked-up complicated women who are somewhere on a spectrum from "morally grey" to "evil but sympathetic" (with the odd dip into "idealistic but destructive") having fucked-up dynamics with other fucked-up complicated women: 1000xResist has SO MANY of them. It has almost no characters who don't fit that archetype, in fact.
(I considered whether it passes the reverse-Bechdel test -- i.e. two male characters have a conversation that's not about a woman -- and I think it may juuust scrape past in a 5-second exchange in one of the flashbacks, but barely. There are very very few men in this story, for plot-related reasons.)
I found out afterwards that the development team were a devised theatre group who decided to start making a game when everything was shut down during the pandemic, and somehow this fully checks out (complimentary).
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1675830/1000xRESIST/ (you can even pick it up in a bundle with Slay The Princess for bonus visual novel headfuck)
Do note the content notes from the devs: Photosensitivity Warning: Flashing Lights, Cursing and Crude Language, Generational Trauma, Acts of Violence and Terrorism, Disease Outbreak, Mention of Suicide, Mention of Animal Cruelty/Pet Death, Blood, Body Horror, Emotional Abuse, Bullying, Dead Bodies, Vomit, Drowning, Fire, Gore, Needles, Racism and General Mature Content.
(I would also add a specific note for torture, and for fucked-up mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships, that being one of the core elements of the game, along with the aforementioned generational trauma.)
Basically a walking simulator/visual novel, so don't go expecting complex gameplay, but HOLY FUCK.
For all of you looking for fiction with fucked-up complicated women who are somewhere on a spectrum from "morally grey" to "evil but sympathetic" (with the odd dip into "idealistic but destructive") having fucked-up dynamics with other fucked-up complicated women: 1000xResist has SO MANY of them. It has almost no characters who don't fit that archetype, in fact.
(I considered whether it passes the reverse-Bechdel test -- i.e. two male characters have a conversation that's not about a woman -- and I think it may juuust scrape past in a 5-second exchange in one of the flashbacks, but barely. There are very very few men in this story, for plot-related reasons.)
I found out afterwards that the development team were a devised theatre group who decided to start making a game when everything was shut down during the pandemic, and somehow this fully checks out (complimentary).
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1675830/1000xRESIST/ (you can even pick it up in a bundle with Slay The Princess for bonus visual novel headfuck)
Do note the content notes from the devs: Photosensitivity Warning: Flashing Lights, Cursing and Crude Language, Generational Trauma, Acts of Violence and Terrorism, Disease Outbreak, Mention of Suicide, Mention of Animal Cruelty/Pet Death, Blood, Body Horror, Emotional Abuse, Bullying, Dead Bodies, Vomit, Drowning, Fire, Gore, Needles, Racism and General Mature Content.
(I would also add a specific note for torture, and for fucked-up mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships, that being one of the core elements of the game, along with the aforementioned generational trauma.)
D.O.P.-T.
Dec. 23rd, 2025 11:56 pmweofodthignenDespite impending Xmas, we did the fortnightly grocery run on the usual day. It wasn't too crowded.
The weather forecast has turned apocalyptic: 75 mph winds, thunder and lightning, and an appreciable risk of tornadoes. It's resumed raining. I'll take the rest with several pinches of salt.
The weather forecast has turned apocalyptic: 75 mph winds, thunder and lightning, and an appreciable risk of tornadoes. It's resumed raining. I'll take the rest with several pinches of salt.
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PSA: California PG&E baseline allowances
Dec. 23rd, 2025 07:58 pmsoniaIn August 2024, I got a heat pump and switched my heat source from gas to electric.
PG&E has an arcane cost structure where not only do they charge more for electricity between certain hours (4-9pm for my rate plan) but they also have a baseline allowance and charge significantly more for usage over baseline. Neither the contractor nor my neighbor with a heat pump advised me that I needed to call PG&E and tell them I had changed heat sources to change my baselines, so I overpaid a lot for electricity last winter.
I was aware that I was paying a lot even though the heat pump wasn't maintaining temperature. I asked the contractor. I asked my neighbor. Neither mentioned the baseline amounts.
PG&E sent me a message earlier this fall saying I might pay less on a different rate plan, and when I called them (Oct 9, for my records), I found out about notifying them I now had electric heat. One agent told me the was refundable as much as 3 years retroactively, but it turns out he was blowing smoke, and it isn't. :-(
The new rate plan is even more complicated and I still had a really high bill this month despite not keeping the place very warm (and I have double pane windows and everything!), so I spent a long time on the phone with an agent today digging into the numbers and figured out the new rate plan is actually slightly more expensive than just having the right baseline amount, so I'm switching back.
*sigh*. I guess some lessons are just expensive. Looks like they instituted this whole baseline thing right around when I moved back in May 2022, which explains why I wasn't aware of it before, and maybe I missed both the existing customer education and the new customer education.
( Last year's missing baseline credits )
I'm continuing to send updates to the contractor who installed the heat pump system, which is under warranty for 3 years. At the end of last winter, he replaced the thermostat, and a control board in the downstairs indoor unit where he cut a jumper that it didn't make sense to cut. Now he says he's going to replace the whole indoor unit, and install one that's more powerful. It's supposed to arrive early-mid January. We'll see if that fixes the problem. He will also have to replace all the coolant, so if he had the wrong amount in there, that will also fix that problem. I suppose if that doesn't help then he replaces the outdoor unit. One step at a time...
PG&E has an arcane cost structure where not only do they charge more for electricity between certain hours (4-9pm for my rate plan) but they also have a baseline allowance and charge significantly more for usage over baseline. Neither the contractor nor my neighbor with a heat pump advised me that I needed to call PG&E and tell them I had changed heat sources to change my baselines, so I overpaid a lot for electricity last winter.
I was aware that I was paying a lot even though the heat pump wasn't maintaining temperature. I asked the contractor. I asked my neighbor. Neither mentioned the baseline amounts.
PG&E sent me a message earlier this fall saying I might pay less on a different rate plan, and when I called them (Oct 9, for my records), I found out about notifying them I now had electric heat. One agent told me the was refundable as much as 3 years retroactively, but it turns out he was blowing smoke, and it isn't. :-(
The new rate plan is even more complicated and I still had a really high bill this month despite not keeping the place very warm (and I have double pane windows and everything!), so I spent a long time on the phone with an agent today digging into the numbers and figured out the new rate plan is actually slightly more expensive than just having the right baseline amount, so I'm switching back.
*sigh*. I guess some lessons are just expensive. Looks like they instituted this whole baseline thing right around when I moved back in May 2022, which explains why I wasn't aware of it before, and maybe I missed both the existing customer education and the new customer education.
( Last year's missing baseline credits )
I'm continuing to send updates to the contractor who installed the heat pump system, which is under warranty for 3 years. At the end of last winter, he replaced the thermostat, and a control board in the downstairs indoor unit where he cut a jumper that it didn't make sense to cut. Now he says he's going to replace the whole indoor unit, and install one that's more powerful. It's supposed to arrive early-mid January. We'll see if that fixes the problem. He will also have to replace all the coolant, so if he had the wrong amount in there, that will also fix that problem. I suppose if that doesn't help then he replaces the outdoor unit. One step at a time...
(no subject)
Dec. 23rd, 2025 06:52 pmhafniaEnd of the year meme, of course. 2024 is here. Kind of awful that I said "fewer funerals to attend" as the thing I wanted, and then...well, yeah, this year happened.
( beneath the jump. )
( beneath the jump. )
Dove
Dec. 23rd, 2025 09:50 pmlegalmooseWe went indoor skydiving this afternoon. The husband, his sister, and I all did it - 3 sessions each of about a minute and a half each session. Two stayed low, the last one we went "high" - maybe 10 feet up - with the instructor. They were very patient and explained things well, and I had a ton of fun doing it. The husband has been known to bungee jump and leap off of buildings for fun, so this was right up his alley. He of course bought another session for the two of us, which we can cash in whenever. Not something I ever expected to do, but I really enjoyed it.
Past that slept better last night, but still not quite enough. Trying to manage the female cat's moods and movement as she gets crankier in her old age is tough. At least I managed not to trap myself under her and the comforter last night, just her and a thin blanket, which was quite warm enough.
Past that slept better last night, but still not quite enough. Trying to manage the female cat's moods and movement as she gets crankier in her old age is tough. At least I managed not to trap myself under her and the comforter last night, just her and a thin blanket, which was quite warm enough.