Cuddle Party
Jan. 14th, 2026 12:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithEveryone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.
We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!
We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!
At least 29 dead after crane collapses onto passenger train in Thailand
Jan. 14th, 2026 01:09 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
cbc_topnews_feed
The crane, which was being used to construct an elevated highspeed railway, fell onto the moving train causing it to derail and catch fire.
Fannish Fifty Challenge 2026: Post # 3: Postal Mail from Fen (Holiday Edition)
Jan. 14th, 2026 12:23 amride_4everThank you kindly to the fen who sent me holiday cards in December and early January: noxelementalist, james, dine, adafrog, aurumcalendula, spikesgirl58, elayna, lauramcewan, sidleypkhermit, and brumeier.
If you sent me a card and you aren't listed here, that's a postal fail. If you are listed here and didn't get a card from me, that's another postal fail.
noxelementalist, james, dine, adafrog, aurumcalendula, spikesgirl58, elayna, lauramcewan, sidleypkhermit, and brumeier.If you sent me a card and you aren't listed here, that's a postal fail. If you are listed here and didn't get a card from me, that's another postal fail.
Baldur's Gate 3: Apophis
Jan. 14th, 2026 01:18 amsettiaiFor pretty much all video games (at least TTRPGs), I typically have a minimum of three playthroughs going at any time. Baldur's Gate 3 is no exception and, while I'm trying to stay in the habit of playing at least a few times a week, I'm alternating between the playthroughs that I'm focusing on.
The main reason for the multiple playthroughs is that it helps keep me from burning out if I have several different characters who are doing different things at different points in the game. If I'm not in the mood for one particular character's story or the particular part of the plot they're dealing with, I can always switch to another.
On that note? Meet Apophis, my embrace Dark Urge.
I've got to admit, I usually stick with the more good-leaning playthroughs, but it's kinda fun to let loose with the occasional evil one. The playthrough as a whole moves a lot faster than it does when you're playing a good aligned character (and are a completionist like me) since a lot of the various side plots and such start being cut off the later you get in the game, because the characters involved are all dead. And there's some interesting cut scenes and such here and there that you'd otherwise miss, as they're only available when you're taking the evil route.
Major potential spoilers for most of the game, including discussion of some definitely evil actions.
( More under the cut. )
The main reason for the multiple playthroughs is that it helps keep me from burning out if I have several different characters who are doing different things at different points in the game. If I'm not in the mood for one particular character's story or the particular part of the plot they're dealing with, I can always switch to another.
On that note? Meet Apophis, my embrace Dark Urge.
I've got to admit, I usually stick with the more good-leaning playthroughs, but it's kinda fun to let loose with the occasional evil one. The playthrough as a whole moves a lot faster than it does when you're playing a good aligned character (and are a completionist like me) since a lot of the various side plots and such start being cut off the later you get in the game, because the characters involved are all dead. And there's some interesting cut scenes and such here and there that you'd otherwise miss, as they're only available when you're taking the evil route.
Major potential spoilers for most of the game, including discussion of some definitely evil actions.
( More under the cut. )
Found in the street
Jan. 13th, 2026 09:41 pmsoniaOver the weekend, I was heading out on my bike early in the morning, and saw a small kid's book in the street just off the driveway. I picked it up to toss it to the sidewalk and went on my way.
When I got back, I was pleased to see it was gone, but then saw someone had propped it up on our fence. The next time I was going out, I took it with me and put it in the nearby Little Free Library, even though it mostly has grownup books.
When I was walking home, I ran into a couple with a two year old whom I often see walking up the block, and whom I had chatted with at a recent neighborhood gathering. I saw that the kid was happily clutching the book, and said, "Oh good, you picked it up!" They said he has been obsessed with that character.
Yesterday I was biking home from an appointment, and I saw a phone lying next to a parked car in the street. I pulled over, leaned my bike against a pole, and picked it up. It had a drivers license in the case with the address of the apartment building across the street. There was no way to get in or ring a doorbell at the gated front entrance, but there was a door open around the corner.
The people inside were noisily doing something which sounded kind of like having sex, laughing, maybe just roughhousing, but ... door open? I stood there hesitantly, and a maybe 8 year old kid inside gestured to the other people and they came out (dressed, whew). I said, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but this phone was in the street. Is this (building address)?" They said yes, and they recognized the name on the license and said she's at work. I turned the phone over to them.
I only realized later that it might be unsettling for a Black family to have a white lady come stand at the door. I'm glad I approached them with softness.
So that's two things put closer to where they belong, and hopefully a bad day averted for the phone's owner. Not sure how her phone ended up on the ground next to the driver's side door of a parked car if she's at work.
When I got back, I was pleased to see it was gone, but then saw someone had propped it up on our fence. The next time I was going out, I took it with me and put it in the nearby Little Free Library, even though it mostly has grownup books.
When I was walking home, I ran into a couple with a two year old whom I often see walking up the block, and whom I had chatted with at a recent neighborhood gathering. I saw that the kid was happily clutching the book, and said, "Oh good, you picked it up!" They said he has been obsessed with that character.
Yesterday I was biking home from an appointment, and I saw a phone lying next to a parked car in the street. I pulled over, leaned my bike against a pole, and picked it up. It had a drivers license in the case with the address of the apartment building across the street. There was no way to get in or ring a doorbell at the gated front entrance, but there was a door open around the corner.
The people inside were noisily doing something which sounded kind of like having sex, laughing, maybe just roughhousing, but ... door open? I stood there hesitantly, and a maybe 8 year old kid inside gestured to the other people and they came out (dressed, whew). I said, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but this phone was in the street. Is this (building address)?" They said yes, and they recognized the name on the license and said she's at work. I turned the phone over to them.
I only realized later that it might be unsettling for a Black family to have a white lady come stand at the door. I'm glad I approached them with softness.
So that's two things put closer to where they belong, and hopefully a bad day averted for the phone's owner. Not sure how her phone ended up on the ground next to the driver's side door of a parked car if she's at work.
Houston, TX Week 2 part 1: Golden Day, Holed In Day
Jan. 13th, 2026 11:08 pmtaz_39**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
I was awake early, tired but excited because I am Treating Myself today! YAY Golden Day!!
(A "golden day" is slang for a true day off on tour. No shows + remaining in the same city.)
The plan: Houston's Galleria mall (possibly, no pressure), a noon showing of Zootopia at a fancy theater, and Central Market!
Breakfast and admiring my "clown lips" in the mirror. My lips are swollen, chapped, and kinda burn-y. This is because A) it's the first week back on tour after a layoff where I played less than half as much as usual; B) we had a temperature drop of 30 degrees a few days ago; and C) the streets between Houston's skyscrapers create wind tunnels, i.e. skin gets windburnt and dried out faster. It may not LOOK that chapped, but it FEELS chap-tastic.
But don't worry fam. This is nothing new.
Ringling Bros Circus, circa 2014.
"Clown lips" at the end of a 6-show weekend (12 hours of playing.)
I was sitting on the ringmaster float backstage, waiting for the bus.
I slather on chapstick or Vaseline, wear a mask or scarf, and take every possible precaution, but this happens at least once each winter no matter what I do. It makes playing a bit harder for a while, but ultimately resolves itself. Just thought I'd share one of the joys of brass musicianship!
Right as I was finishing breakfast, housekeeping came by to do my room. Yay! I ran away and goofed off in the lobby for 15-20 minutes and that was enough for them. How nice to start a new week with clean sheets and towels :) Then an Uber to The Galleria to look around!
The Galleria is a big fancy mall with lots of high-end stores selling stuff I can't afford like Hermes watches and designer clothing and "real" jewelry. But they also have some shops for Us Poors, like Macys and Hot Topic. I went to the former to rifle through their clearance rack, and the latter to see if there was any new Hazbin Hotel merch. Nothing found for me, but I did get Jameson a Hellfire Club shirt.
From there I walked to the movie theater which was in an even snootier, even MORE posh shopping plaza, with people in rare $,$$$,$$$ sports cars cruising up and down and security posted at the entrances to most shops. I didn't even recognize the names of most stores...it was true designer stuff, premium leather goods, platinum jewelry, and even an upscale tobacco shop. The movie theater had a fine dining restaurant and bar in the lobby, no cheapo popcorn or candy to be seen (though it's on their menu.) The theaters are small and intimate with maybe 30-40 seats, all of which are plush recliners complete with fluffy blankets and little tables for your food. I had the entire theater to myself today!
I had arrived early on purpose so that wait staff could serve me before the movie started and not have to grope around in the dark. I got a sauvignon blanc and a bison burger with white cheddar, blueberry aioli, sunflower seed pesto, arugula, and fire-roasted tomatoes on brioche. It came with sweet potato fries. Oh and there's bacon on there (I took some of it off tbh)
Now THIS is luxury! Having that whole theater to myself, it was essentially a private showing. The burger was delicious and the wine hit the spot. Zootopia 2 is almost as good as the first movie! I only wished they'd fleshed out the primary reptile character a bit more so that the emotional connection to them might have been stronger at the end (it was still a very touching ending.)
A chill movie and some comfort food were just what I needed today. Afterward I walked to a nearby Central Market for my groceries for next week. Central Market is H-E-B's upscale answer to Whole Paycheck, and it is AWESOME! They have normal groceries, but also so much interesting food that I'll spend an hour or more just staring at everything.
They grow many of their own herbs and mushrooms in house.
There are always delicious-looking fresh fish in the seafood area, and the cuts of meat look amazing too. There were a lot of people at the butcher counter today so I didn't get a picture there.
The bakery section is massive and mostly features their own house-made loaves. There are so many flavors that I want to try!!
In addition to the huge bulk section with grains and dried fruits and nuts and candies, they've got a whole bulk chocolate section with every kind of chocolate you can think of including rare ones like ruby chocolate or couverture chocolate.
Some other interesting things that I saw, not pictured, included floral-infused salts, black cherry brie potato chips, ube potato spread, herbal sparkling water from France, basil hawthorn berry tea, camel milk yogurt, and so much more! I only needed a few things and am trying hard not to overbuy, so just looked for the most part. But I can never resist picking up at least a few intriguing things to try!
Here's my Small Haul.
As in the past, I will do a review once I've tried one of everything. The two little orange fruits are "mandarinquats." I expect them to be like a larger and slightly sweeter kumquat. I was SUPER intrigued by the two shelf-stable milks in banana cream and cookie flavors...they are whole milk so I'm gonna have to take Lactaid with them, but could not pass them up. Those little tuna tins are relatively low in fat and sodium, I wonder if they can still manage to taste good? As usual, can't wait to try everything!
Back at the hotel, put everything away and had a nice hot shower and tried a new face wash (it seems fine?) A very light dinner and lots of hydrating, starting on the 3rd season of Vox Machina, chatting with Jameson and my sisters via text. This was a very nice Golden Day :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
Woke up "late" for me, 8:30. Breakfast and kind of wondering what to do with myself...the whole day was free until the evening show. As it turned out, it was rainy wet and cold for the entire day so my motivation to do anything at all went directly down the toilet.
Ate lunch, read my book, watched anime, had a nap, and the only productive thing I did all day was to work on building a powerpoint presentation for future masterclasses that I might do. This is one instance where I will allow AI to interfere, because formatting the slides myself is both tedious and doesn't look good. I only got through the introductory slides and the first portion of the "gig info" slides, but did learn how to effectively insert pictures and video. From here on most of the slides should be fairly copy-paste as far as layout.
Dinner, and I tried eating a saffron gummy for mood/anxiety about 2 hours before showtime. The dosage is 2 gummies but I'm paranoid about medications that could impact my work, so I'm doing half for a week and then adding the other half next week. The reason for this, by the way, is that I am a tense and anxious person. Up until now I've handled it with square breathing and Saint John's Wort, but was recently informed by my birth control provider that I need to stop taking that as it interferes with the birth control. I'm trying to find a substitute, so it's saffron first and if that doesn't work I'll try L-theanine.
Anyway, I walked to the theater a bit early to put my horns together and warm up. As band buddies filtered in we asked each other about our days off; some people had gone to see local bands perform, or had gone out of town with loved ones in the area, or eaten at nice places. I had a new sticker to add to my case as well: it's 1930s Mickey Mouse (who is public domain) riding an alligator, holding a six-shooter and smoking.
I didn't share this on my socials because while Mickey HAS had guns (Minnie too for that matter), he's never smoked. Maybe we can pretend he picked up the habit from Walt? There's a corresponding Minnie Mouse sticker where she's riding a flamingo, has a python around her neck like a scarf, and is equally six-shooting and smoking. As a Florida Person I thought it was funny and cute.
The show was nice, there seemed to be some high school-aged school groups here and they were energetic, cheering for just about everything and REALLY cheering during bows :) And at intermission lots of young little kids and their parents came to the pit edge. I answered lots of the usual questions ("How many people are down there?" "How do you GET down there?" "What's this net for?" "Why are the drums in a box?") and when the questions ran out I made slidey noises and race car noises for the kids. There was lots of giggling over it! Gotta teach 'em young why the trombone is THE COOLEST :p
On the walk back to the hotel I saw two interesting things.
The first was a Waymo sitting at the light across from me. Apparently they are edging into Houston now too. But they've got drivers here.
The other was a juvenile raccoon (at least I assume because it didn't look full grown) sitting directly in the middle of the sidewalk. It got up as I approached but didn't run away, just moved to the side. I spoke gentle words as I passed, and weirdly, it moved as though it wanted to follow me then. But I kept walking and saw it hesitate, then turn and trot into the bushes. Perhaps someone has fed it or been kind to it...which is nice in the moment but ultimately puts these animals in danger.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: One evening show and a trip to the fine art museum!
Thursday: One evening show. Possibly a Foodie Find? Haven't decided yet.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
I was awake early, tired but excited because I am Treating Myself today! YAY Golden Day!!
(A "golden day" is slang for a true day off on tour. No shows + remaining in the same city.)
The plan: Houston's Galleria mall (possibly, no pressure), a noon showing of Zootopia at a fancy theater, and Central Market!
Breakfast and admiring my "clown lips" in the mirror. My lips are swollen, chapped, and kinda burn-y. This is because A) it's the first week back on tour after a layoff where I played less than half as much as usual; B) we had a temperature drop of 30 degrees a few days ago; and C) the streets between Houston's skyscrapers create wind tunnels, i.e. skin gets windburnt and dried out faster. It may not LOOK that chapped, but it FEELS chap-tastic.
But don't worry fam. This is nothing new.
Ringling Bros Circus, circa 2014.
"Clown lips" at the end of a 6-show weekend (12 hours of playing.)
I was sitting on the ringmaster float backstage, waiting for the bus.
I slather on chapstick or Vaseline, wear a mask or scarf, and take every possible precaution, but this happens at least once each winter no matter what I do. It makes playing a bit harder for a while, but ultimately resolves itself. Just thought I'd share one of the joys of brass musicianship!
Right as I was finishing breakfast, housekeeping came by to do my room. Yay! I ran away and goofed off in the lobby for 15-20 minutes and that was enough for them. How nice to start a new week with clean sheets and towels :) Then an Uber to The Galleria to look around!
The Galleria is a big fancy mall with lots of high-end stores selling stuff I can't afford like Hermes watches and designer clothing and "real" jewelry. But they also have some shops for Us Poors, like Macys and Hot Topic. I went to the former to rifle through their clearance rack, and the latter to see if there was any new Hazbin Hotel merch. Nothing found for me, but I did get Jameson a Hellfire Club shirt.
From there I walked to the movie theater which was in an even snootier, even MORE posh shopping plaza, with people in rare $,$$$,$$$ sports cars cruising up and down and security posted at the entrances to most shops. I didn't even recognize the names of most stores...it was true designer stuff, premium leather goods, platinum jewelry, and even an upscale tobacco shop. The movie theater had a fine dining restaurant and bar in the lobby, no cheapo popcorn or candy to be seen (though it's on their menu.) The theaters are small and intimate with maybe 30-40 seats, all of which are plush recliners complete with fluffy blankets and little tables for your food. I had the entire theater to myself today!
I had arrived early on purpose so that wait staff could serve me before the movie started and not have to grope around in the dark. I got a sauvignon blanc and a bison burger with white cheddar, blueberry aioli, sunflower seed pesto, arugula, and fire-roasted tomatoes on brioche. It came with sweet potato fries. Oh and there's bacon on there (I took some of it off tbh)
Now THIS is luxury! Having that whole theater to myself, it was essentially a private showing. The burger was delicious and the wine hit the spot. Zootopia 2 is almost as good as the first movie! I only wished they'd fleshed out the primary reptile character a bit more so that the emotional connection to them might have been stronger at the end (it was still a very touching ending.)
A chill movie and some comfort food were just what I needed today. Afterward I walked to a nearby Central Market for my groceries for next week. Central Market is H-E-B's upscale answer to Whole Paycheck, and it is AWESOME! They have normal groceries, but also so much interesting food that I'll spend an hour or more just staring at everything.
They grow many of their own herbs and mushrooms in house.
There are always delicious-looking fresh fish in the seafood area, and the cuts of meat look amazing too. There were a lot of people at the butcher counter today so I didn't get a picture there.
The bakery section is massive and mostly features their own house-made loaves. There are so many flavors that I want to try!!
In addition to the huge bulk section with grains and dried fruits and nuts and candies, they've got a whole bulk chocolate section with every kind of chocolate you can think of including rare ones like ruby chocolate or couverture chocolate.
Some other interesting things that I saw, not pictured, included floral-infused salts, black cherry brie potato chips, ube potato spread, herbal sparkling water from France, basil hawthorn berry tea, camel milk yogurt, and so much more! I only needed a few things and am trying hard not to overbuy, so just looked for the most part. But I can never resist picking up at least a few intriguing things to try!
Here's my Small Haul.
As in the past, I will do a review once I've tried one of everything. The two little orange fruits are "mandarinquats." I expect them to be like a larger and slightly sweeter kumquat. I was SUPER intrigued by the two shelf-stable milks in banana cream and cookie flavors...they are whole milk so I'm gonna have to take Lactaid with them, but could not pass them up. Those little tuna tins are relatively low in fat and sodium, I wonder if they can still manage to taste good? As usual, can't wait to try everything!
Back at the hotel, put everything away and had a nice hot shower and tried a new face wash (it seems fine?) A very light dinner and lots of hydrating, starting on the 3rd season of Vox Machina, chatting with Jameson and my sisters via text. This was a very nice Golden Day :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
Woke up "late" for me, 8:30. Breakfast and kind of wondering what to do with myself...the whole day was free until the evening show. As it turned out, it was rainy wet and cold for the entire day so my motivation to do anything at all went directly down the toilet.
Ate lunch, read my book, watched anime, had a nap, and the only productive thing I did all day was to work on building a powerpoint presentation for future masterclasses that I might do. This is one instance where I will allow AI to interfere, because formatting the slides myself is both tedious and doesn't look good. I only got through the introductory slides and the first portion of the "gig info" slides, but did learn how to effectively insert pictures and video. From here on most of the slides should be fairly copy-paste as far as layout.
Dinner, and I tried eating a saffron gummy for mood/anxiety about 2 hours before showtime. The dosage is 2 gummies but I'm paranoid about medications that could impact my work, so I'm doing half for a week and then adding the other half next week. The reason for this, by the way, is that I am a tense and anxious person. Up until now I've handled it with square breathing and Saint John's Wort, but was recently informed by my birth control provider that I need to stop taking that as it interferes with the birth control. I'm trying to find a substitute, so it's saffron first and if that doesn't work I'll try L-theanine.
Anyway, I walked to the theater a bit early to put my horns together and warm up. As band buddies filtered in we asked each other about our days off; some people had gone to see local bands perform, or had gone out of town with loved ones in the area, or eaten at nice places. I had a new sticker to add to my case as well: it's 1930s Mickey Mouse (who is public domain) riding an alligator, holding a six-shooter and smoking.
I didn't share this on my socials because while Mickey HAS had guns (Minnie too for that matter), he's never smoked. Maybe we can pretend he picked up the habit from Walt? There's a corresponding Minnie Mouse sticker where she's riding a flamingo, has a python around her neck like a scarf, and is equally six-shooting and smoking. As a Florida Person I thought it was funny and cute.
The show was nice, there seemed to be some high school-aged school groups here and they were energetic, cheering for just about everything and REALLY cheering during bows :) And at intermission lots of young little kids and their parents came to the pit edge. I answered lots of the usual questions ("How many people are down there?" "How do you GET down there?" "What's this net for?" "Why are the drums in a box?") and when the questions ran out I made slidey noises and race car noises for the kids. There was lots of giggling over it! Gotta teach 'em young why the trombone is THE COOLEST :p
On the walk back to the hotel I saw two interesting things.
The first was a Waymo sitting at the light across from me. Apparently they are edging into Houston now too. But they've got drivers here.
The other was a juvenile raccoon (at least I assume because it didn't look full grown) sitting directly in the middle of the sidewalk. It got up as I approached but didn't run away, just moved to the side. I spoke gentle words as I passed, and weirdly, it moved as though it wanted to follow me then. But I kept walking and saw it hesitate, then turn and trot into the bushes. Perhaps someone has fed it or been kind to it...which is nice in the moment but ultimately puts these animals in danger.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: One evening show and a trip to the fine art museum!
Thursday: One evening show. Possibly a Foodie Find? Haven't decided yet.
#TheMoment he became the 1st Canadian to run a half-marathon in under an hour
Jan. 13th, 2026 11:03 pmcbc_topnews_feed
Rory Linkletter, an Olympic marathon runner, tells The National about the moment he became the first Canadian to complete a half-marathon in less than an hour during a race in Houston, Texas.
Poem: "The Most Dangerous Animal in the Zoo"
Jan. 13th, 2026 10:21 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the September 6, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by chanter1944 and dividedbyblue. It also fills the "She had to learn it for herself." square in my 9-1-22 card for the Land of Oz Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred. It belongs to the Iron Horses thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes the aftermath of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, a survivor of mad science experiments, race-based rivalry, paperwork war, rude language, Dr. Bernhardt is always a warning, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
chanter1944 and dividedbyblue. It also fills the "She had to learn it for herself." square in my 9-1-22 card for the Land of Oz Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred. It belongs to the Iron Horses thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes the aftermath of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, a survivor of mad science experiments, race-based rivalry, paperwork war, rude language, Dr. Bernhardt is always a warning, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
January Talking Meme - What have you read lately that has stuck with you?
Jan. 13th, 2026 11:57 pmaurumcalendulaJan 13 - 'What have you read lately that has stuck with you, either for good reasons or for bad reasons?' for serrico
( Read more... )
(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)
serrico( Read more... )
(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)
I'd like a refund on this day
Jan. 13th, 2026 11:18 pmcornerofmadnessIt started good really. The first class went well. I answered a few emails from basketball girls who are gone this week and one anatomy student telling me for some reason she was put in DM's lab instead of mine. I said it has to be a mistake. We'll sort it after class.
I'm finally putting away Terror Town when a half dozen of my students come blazing up to my office. 'WE Were Pulled Out Of Your Lab!!!' WAAAAAH. WHY?
I get from them that the 'dean' ordered this. WTF? My dean is good about communicating and I can't imagine her doing this without telling me. I take the gaggle of anxious students down to DMs office because they're upset, they want my class, the head of their program wants them in my class since she rearranged her whole class schedule to fit them in there. Which yes that's true. It was a big drama after Thanksgiving.
DM's now upset because her labs can't take 26 more students. I run back to my office pull up my class schedule. It wasn't just that the ultrasound students were taken out of my friday lab. My lab is GONE. No trace of it. WHO would have done this?
I call my dean. She's at lunch. I call the nursing/allied health dean and she's like WTF are you talking about? I didn't do that. Talk to the registrar and get the paper telling them to cancel to the class to see who did it. Oh great idea. Before I can, my dean calls my chair. SHE didn't do it either.
Only she did via a rubber stamp (why are we rubber stamping stuff like this?) Turns out DM wanted to move her friday lab from 121 (which is MY lab and where my lab was at the same time...) but when they put things through going up the chain they accidentally dropped DM's lab number off and thought it was mine so combined my lab with DM's on thursday evening.
At least it was an easy fix. I told the students. They're like HOW did you get that fixed so fast. I was THAT angry, that's very motivating. I wrote an email to the others to explain and later found out so did my chair as an apology (she knows my temper and probably assumed I ripped someone's head off)
Everyone was traumatized. Nothing got done. Terror Town remains standing another day.
I come home to find a message from Carelon that said Medical Mutual (my former health care insurance) had contacted them about care for me. WTF?!? That's a behavioral health clinic. Is someone committing me and I don't know about it? At this point, that wouldn't be anyone's worst idea. So now I need to call them tomorrow.
I had planned during my office hour to finish a![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtrees story but then all that happened and I didn't and now that person has 2 stories and doesn't need mine. Eh, I will finish it anyhow. There are still several trees with only one gift if anyone wants to take a shot.
Also I bought something over the weekend, the aluminum free deodorant. I figure it's winter I won't sweat too much. It's supposed to be healthier Monday I wasn't impressed with it. today with all the extra stress, I smelled like an unwashed horse in the desert sun. I will be getting actual anti-perspirant next time I'm in town. I'm NOT the person to go aluminum free apparently unless we want to smell like it's 1830 and I need a tussy-mussy to hide my stench.
And I'm too drained to go into tuesday's fannish 50. I'm going to crawl into bed and finish my novel (it's so good).
I'm finally putting away Terror Town when a half dozen of my students come blazing up to my office. 'WE Were Pulled Out Of Your Lab!!!' WAAAAAH. WHY?
I get from them that the 'dean' ordered this. WTF? My dean is good about communicating and I can't imagine her doing this without telling me. I take the gaggle of anxious students down to DMs office because they're upset, they want my class, the head of their program wants them in my class since she rearranged her whole class schedule to fit them in there. Which yes that's true. It was a big drama after Thanksgiving.
DM's now upset because her labs can't take 26 more students. I run back to my office pull up my class schedule. It wasn't just that the ultrasound students were taken out of my friday lab. My lab is GONE. No trace of it. WHO would have done this?
I call my dean. She's at lunch. I call the nursing/allied health dean and she's like WTF are you talking about? I didn't do that. Talk to the registrar and get the paper telling them to cancel to the class to see who did it. Oh great idea. Before I can, my dean calls my chair. SHE didn't do it either.
Only she did via a rubber stamp (why are we rubber stamping stuff like this?) Turns out DM wanted to move her friday lab from 121 (which is MY lab and where my lab was at the same time...) but when they put things through going up the chain they accidentally dropped DM's lab number off and thought it was mine so combined my lab with DM's on thursday evening.
At least it was an easy fix. I told the students. They're like HOW did you get that fixed so fast. I was THAT angry, that's very motivating. I wrote an email to the others to explain and later found out so did my chair as an apology (she knows my temper and probably assumed I ripped someone's head off)
Everyone was traumatized. Nothing got done. Terror Town remains standing another day.
I come home to find a message from Carelon that said Medical Mutual (my former health care insurance) had contacted them about care for me. WTF?!? That's a behavioral health clinic. Is someone committing me and I don't know about it? At this point, that wouldn't be anyone's worst idea. So now I need to call them tomorrow.
I had planned during my office hour to finish a
fandomtrees story but then all that happened and I didn't and now that person has 2 stories and doesn't need mine. Eh, I will finish it anyhow. There are still several trees with only one gift if anyone wants to take a shot.Also I bought something over the weekend, the aluminum free deodorant. I figure it's winter I won't sweat too much. It's supposed to be healthier Monday I wasn't impressed with it. today with all the extra stress, I smelled like an unwashed horse in the desert sun. I will be getting actual anti-perspirant next time I'm in town. I'm NOT the person to go aluminum free apparently unless we want to smell like it's 1830 and I need a tussy-mussy to hide my stench.
And I'm too drained to go into tuesday's fannish 50. I'm going to crawl into bed and finish my novel (it's so good).
One of those general updates...
Jan. 13th, 2026 11:25 pmsettiaiTwo days of work down, three days to go. Let's see if I can make it through them. Preferably without strangling any coworkers. 🙃
Overall, it's going to be a busy week. I have D&D tomorrow night, as usual, but my Friday game is also supposed to start back this week after three months of not playing. I'm sure that's going to be very chaotic as everyone tries to remember how to play their characters, both mechanically and personality-wise. Especially since we kinda left off on a cliffhanger thanks to my cleric succeeding on a Divine Intervention.
In addition to that, Critical Role starts back this week after several weeks off. And I still haven't watched the last episode of 2025, because I knew it was going to be entirely combat-based. So, uh, I should probably try to do that during work tomorrow or Thursday if I want to be able to try to watch live on Thursday night.
On the fannish side of things, the first quarter of this year is surprisingly exchange-filled for me, mostly because there's a bunch of new Dragon Age exchanges cropping up that are run by people that I know. In the past, the late autumn and early winter has been the busy season, but several of those have died off the last few years (you're very missed,femslashex) so that time of the year isn't nearly as exchange heavy as it used to be for me.
Holly Poly (multifandom poly relationships) and The Platonic Ideal (Dragon Age platonic relationships) both already have assignments out, the Crow Contracts Exchange (Dragon Age Crows focused) is in the middle of nominations, Spectre Requisitions (Mass Effect rare relationships) starts nominations later this week, Pride's Solace (Dragon Age Solas focused) starts nominations later this month, and Gaatlock & Lyrium (Dragon Age dwarves and qunari focused) is supposed to be sometime in the spring.
In addition to all that, I'm trying my best to set aside at least a little time most days to play video games. It's easier to find the time some days than others, but I'm doing my best. I've learned from past experience that it's healthier for me overall to, you know, set aside some time to actually do things that I enjoy. So I'm giving it a whirl at least. Right now, I'm mainly focusing on Baldur's Gate 3, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a free update in the next day or so which may see me playing a bit more of it for a while.
Speaking of health, the less said about my sleep schedule lately the better. It's very much its usual chaotic self, which is about as fun as it sounds.
Overall, it's going to be a busy week. I have D&D tomorrow night, as usual, but my Friday game is also supposed to start back this week after three months of not playing. I'm sure that's going to be very chaotic as everyone tries to remember how to play their characters, both mechanically and personality-wise. Especially since we kinda left off on a cliffhanger thanks to my cleric succeeding on a Divine Intervention.
In addition to that, Critical Role starts back this week after several weeks off. And I still haven't watched the last episode of 2025, because I knew it was going to be entirely combat-based. So, uh, I should probably try to do that during work tomorrow or Thursday if I want to be able to try to watch live on Thursday night.
On the fannish side of things, the first quarter of this year is surprisingly exchange-filled for me, mostly because there's a bunch of new Dragon Age exchanges cropping up that are run by people that I know. In the past, the late autumn and early winter has been the busy season, but several of those have died off the last few years (you're very missed,
femslashex) so that time of the year isn't nearly as exchange heavy as it used to be for me.Holly Poly (multifandom poly relationships) and The Platonic Ideal (Dragon Age platonic relationships) both already have assignments out, the Crow Contracts Exchange (Dragon Age Crows focused) is in the middle of nominations, Spectre Requisitions (Mass Effect rare relationships) starts nominations later this week, Pride's Solace (Dragon Age Solas focused) starts nominations later this month, and Gaatlock & Lyrium (Dragon Age dwarves and qunari focused) is supposed to be sometime in the spring.
In addition to all that, I'm trying my best to set aside at least a little time most days to play video games. It's easier to find the time some days than others, but I'm doing my best. I've learned from past experience that it's healthier for me overall to, you know, set aside some time to actually do things that I enjoy. So I'm giving it a whirl at least. Right now, I'm mainly focusing on Baldur's Gate 3, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a free update in the next day or so which may see me playing a bit more of it for a while.
Speaking of health, the less said about my sleep schedule lately the better. It's very much its usual chaotic self, which is about as fun as it sounds.
Kiefer Sutherland arrested after alleged assault in Los Angeles
Jan. 13th, 2026 09:32 pmcbc_topnews_feed
Actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Monday morning after Los Angeles police responded to a call reporting an assault involving a ride-hail driver, authorities said.
HTTP RateLimit headers
Jan. 14th, 2026 03:02 amfanfhttps://dotat.at/@/2026-01-13-http-ratelimit.html
There is an IETF draft that aims to standardize RateLimit header
fields for HTTP. A RateLimit header in a successful response
can inform a client when it might expect to be throttled, so it can
avoid 429 Too Many Requests errors. Servers can also send
RateLimit headers in 429 errors to make the response more
informative.
The draft is in reasonably good shape. However as written it seems to require (or at least it assumes) that the server uses bad quota-reset rate limit algorithms. Quota-reset algorithms encourage clients into cyclic burst-pause behaviour; the draft has several paragraphs discussing this problem.
However, if we consider that RateLimit headers are supposed to tell
the client what acceptable behaviour looks like, they can be used with
any rate limit algorithm. (And it isn't too hard to rephrase the draft
so that it is written in terms of client behaviour instead of server
behaviour.)
When a client has more work to do than will fit in a single window's
quota, linear rate limit algorithms such as GCRA encourage the client
to smooth out its requests nicely. In this article I'll describe how a
server can use a linear rate limit algorithm with HTTP RateLimit
headers.
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge 02026 #7: Be Nice.
Jan. 13th, 2026 06:58 pmsilveradeptThe dreaded "say nice things about yourself" challenge has appeared at snowflake_challenge!
( Challenge: Say good Things About Yourself. Difficulty: Very )
snowflake_challenge!While we’re busy celebrating fandom, it’s good to remember to celebrate ourselves, too. Fandom is all of us! I know it’s often easier to talk about what we like about other people than it is to talk nicely about ourselves, but challenge yourself here --
Challenge #7
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
( Challenge: Say good Things About Yourself. Difficulty: Very )
Garden, New Panels, Radio
Jan. 13th, 2026 06:02 pmranunculusSince the sun came out the garden has gotten quite a lot of love. The iris bed with the white irises in it got dug over, the irises lifted and divided. It has been at least two or possibly 3 decades since the iris have been divided and they were in a sorry state. There are great numbers of various iris plants sitting around waiting for new homes most of them quite small. The (few) replanted iris should thrive. They will be extra happy without the grass that was threatening to choke them out. Some of the white iris will be replaced with bronze/pink iris from Henry St, and possibly some other colors.
Elsewhere in the garden; A couple of beds no longer have dying tomatoes in them which makes the fava beans, which were trying to grow in tomato plant shade, really happy. Tons of grass has been pulled out and dead sunflowers pulled out to add to the compost. Still have two big beds to go but things are definitely looking a lot better. Sadly there are vole trails all over. They love all the overgrown plants. Yesterday traps were set out to reduce the vole population. So far I've caught 3.
Today the new metal fence panels for Winter Quarters arrived. Dave and his son Grant came up to help. We removed the old beat up/broken panels that decidedly did not fit and put new ones in their place. It all fits and looks SO much better. Included in this order were several gates, one of which is now hanging from the front-center of the Winter Quarters run in shedrow. For months we have been using a temporary panel as a gate. This meant lifting it and hooking it on a hinge pin fitting that was loosely attached. It worked surprisingly well as a latch, but it was a pain in the neck to use. Today we replaced that panel with a nice gate on real hinges!
This afternoon I had an interview down at the local community radio station. I think it went well. Hopefully I didn't say "um" too many times! It was kind of fun: The lady who was interviewing me was using some new equipment; when she had trouble getting her sound levels right, my Stagehand training kicked in and we were able to solve them together.
Elsewhere in the garden; A couple of beds no longer have dying tomatoes in them which makes the fava beans, which were trying to grow in tomato plant shade, really happy. Tons of grass has been pulled out and dead sunflowers pulled out to add to the compost. Still have two big beds to go but things are definitely looking a lot better. Sadly there are vole trails all over. They love all the overgrown plants. Yesterday traps were set out to reduce the vole population. So far I've caught 3.
Today the new metal fence panels for Winter Quarters arrived. Dave and his son Grant came up to help. We removed the old beat up/broken panels that decidedly did not fit and put new ones in their place. It all fits and looks SO much better. Included in this order were several gates, one of which is now hanging from the front-center of the Winter Quarters run in shedrow. For months we have been using a temporary panel as a gate. This meant lifting it and hooking it on a hinge pin fitting that was loosely attached. It worked surprisingly well as a latch, but it was a pain in the neck to use. Today we replaced that panel with a nice gate on real hinges!
This afternoon I had an interview down at the local community radio station. I think it went well. Hopefully I didn't say "um" too many times! It was kind of fun: The lady who was interviewing me was using some new equipment; when she had trouble getting her sound levels right, my Stagehand training kicked in and we were able to solve them together.
snowflake_challenge 2026: Day 7
Jan. 13th, 2026 09:34 pmlightbird
Challenge #7
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
* I have a strong sense of who I am as a person and I'm comfortable with myself.
* I always try to be kind, but I also won't let anyone take advantage of me.
* I'm really, really good at my job, which has allowed me to pretty much do whatever I want when I need it. Need to work from home, even though it's an in-office day? It's fine because everyone I work for trusts me.
Previous Days
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Three things for a post.
Jan. 13th, 2026 08:56 pmhannahChallenge #7
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
1. My hair, which has occasionally gotten the attention of complete strangers, and anything that gets someone's attention in New York City is something to be proud of.
2. My blood, which I donated again yesterday, and being O-, is too useful for me to keep all to myself.
3. My eyebrows, which I have no intention of thinning or threading, and think are charming and cute the way they are.
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
1. My hair, which has occasionally gotten the attention of complete strangers, and anything that gets someone's attention in New York City is something to be proud of.
2. My blood, which I donated again yesterday, and being O-, is too useful for me to keep all to myself.
3. My eyebrows, which I have no intention of thinning or threading, and think are charming and cute the way they are.
