Code Tour: 2024-12-01 to 2026-02-25
Feb. 25th, 2026 12:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradept posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_devOh, hi, everybody! It's been a little bit since we did a code tour, hasn't it? But never fear, we're here to walk you through the changes that have happened since the last time we took a tour through the code changes in Dreamwidth.
Let's dive in, shall we?
( Your code tour, with some attempts at arrangement by topic. )
There we go! Another year's worth of code commits, issues resolved, and attempts to make Dreamwidth a greater and cooler place to be. And to have it continue working into the future.
(We should do these more often, but volunteers and, well…*gestures broadly around*. So it may be a while before someone has the spoons to do this again, but we're always trying to be more consistent about it.)
Here are the totals for this code tour:
104 total issues resolved.
Contributors in this code tour:![[github.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/github.png)
Copilot, alierak, cmho, [Bad username or site: dependabot[bot] @ github.com], jjbarr, kareila, l1n, momijizukamori, pauamma, sirilyan, zorkian
Let's dive in, shall we?
( Your code tour, with some attempts at arrangement by topic. )
There we go! Another year's worth of code commits, issues resolved, and attempts to make Dreamwidth a greater and cooler place to be. And to have it continue working into the future.
(We should do these more often, but volunteers and, well…*gestures broadly around*. So it may be a while before someone has the spoons to do this again, but we're always trying to be more consistent about it.)
Here are the totals for this code tour:
104 total issues resolved.
Contributors in this code tour:
Copilot, alierak, cmho, [Bad username or site: dependabot[bot] @ github.com], jjbarr, kareila, l1n, momijizukamori, pauamma, sirilyan, zorkian
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
52/358: Dark
Feb. 24th, 2026 10:33 pmrejectomorphRain most of the day, and a nap, and some wet mail. The mail was the utility bill, and it was only a bit over seventy bucks, which was even lower that the bill I got in January. At the moment it looks like next month's could be lower still, as the forecast is now showing more warmer days ahead. Sadly, the prospects for rain early in the week are diminishing. As much as I'd like a lower utility bill I'd rather pay a couple bucks more and have a longer rainy season. The only thing I haven't enjoyed about the rain is the wet mail. The leaky mailbox licked the return envelope for me, and now I'll have to seal it with tape.
I made angel hair pasta for dinner, using up the last of the marinara sauce before it went stale. There was also a spinach salad, with Italian dressing. Yes, there is a risk of reflux, but at least it was tasty going down. I'm hoping it won't keep me awake tonight, as I am tired despite a decent nap this afternoon. If I don't get to sleep early tonight I'll be trying to sleep tomorrow morning, when the sun is apt to be bright. Another disadvantage of a short rainy season. Ah, well. At least it's dark tonight.
I made angel hair pasta for dinner, using up the last of the marinara sauce before it went stale. There was also a spinach salad, with Italian dressing. Yes, there is a risk of reflux, but at least it was tasty going down. I'm hoping it won't keep me awake tonight, as I am tired despite a decent nap this afternoon. If I don't get to sleep early tonight I'll be trying to sleep tomorrow morning, when the sun is apt to be bright. Another disadvantage of a short rainy season. Ah, well. At least it's dark tonight.
Photo cross-post
Feb. 25th, 2026 01:51 amandrewducker
Sophia spent a chunk of Monday evening writing up her half term week
without having to. Her handwriting is already better than mine.
Original
is here on Pixelfed.scot.
Pretty mandelbrot pictures using awk - a language that has no graphics commands
Feb. 25th, 2026 04:37 pmmiriam_eThis graphics server that Kimi AI has been helping me to build lets me do wonderful things. Here are some pictures made using awk to explore the famous mandelbrot set:
x = 0.3798053
y = 0.09999955
side = .0000002
hue = 0.005
x = 0.3798053523334
y = 0.0999995944562
side = 0.000000000005
hue = 0.0035
The x and y coordinates are the position of the middle of the image. The side is the size of the vertical side of the image in the mandelbrot set. And hue is really a measurement of the spread of colors over the values in the image.
When I've eliminated the main bugs in the server I'll upload the program so anybody can use it from any computer language, regardless of whether the language has graphics commands.
x = 0.3798053
y = 0.09999955
side = .0000002
hue = 0.005
x = 0.3798053523334
y = 0.0999995944562
side = 0.000000000005
hue = 0.0035
The x and y coordinates are the position of the middle of the image. The side is the size of the vertical side of the image in the mandelbrot set. And hue is really a measurement of the spread of colors over the values in the image.
When I've eliminated the main bugs in the server I'll upload the program so anybody can use it from any computer language, regardless of whether the language has graphics commands.
Dear High Adrenaline author
Feb. 24th, 2026 10:00 pmbeatrice_otterI use the same name everywhere so I am beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.
I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
( General Likes and Dislikes )
( The Swan )
( Random Harvest )
( Hobson's Choice )
( Guess Who's Coming to Dinner )
( Voyager )
( Crossovers )
( DS9 )
( Star Wars OT )
( Fandom for Robots )
( Babylon 5 )
beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
( General Likes and Dislikes )
( The Swan )
( Random Harvest )
( Hobson's Choice )
( Guess Who's Coming to Dinner )
( Voyager )
( Crossovers )
( DS9 )
( Star Wars OT )
( Fandom for Robots )
( Babylon 5 )
Pokemon Fic: You were beautiful, like a shooting star and I made a wish on you
Feb. 25th, 2026 04:50 pmonomatopoeia
Feb. 25th, 2026 12:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
merriamwebster_feedMerriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 25, 2026 is:
onomatopoeia • \ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh\ • noun
Onomatopoeia refers to the creation of words that imitate natural sounds. It can also refer to the words themselves, such as buzz and hiss.
// The author’s clever use of onomatopoeia delights children especially.
Examples:
“As they began to slurp, columns of noodles steadily streamed upward into their open jaws. The jazz soundtrack of Hiromi’s Sonicwonder playing ‘Yes! Ramen!!’ was punctuated by a gurgling roar reminiscent of shop vacs inhaling shallow pools. ‘We call it ‘hitting the zu’s,’’ says Steigerwald, noting the reference to zuru zuru, the onomatopoeia for slurping ramen in Japanese comics.” — Craig LaBan, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 Jan. 2026
Did you know?
English speakers have only used the word onomatopoeia since the 1500s, but people have been creating words that imitate the sounds heard around them for much longer; chatter, for example, dates to the 1200s. Some onomatopes (as onomatopoeic words are sometimes called) are obvious—fizz, jingle, toot, and pop do not surprise. But did you know that other onomatopes include bounce, tinker, and blimp? Boom! Now you do. In fact, the presence of so many imitative words in language spawned the linguistic bowwow theory, which hypothesizes that language originated in the imitating of natural sounds. While it’s highly unlikely that onomatopoeia is the sole impetus for human language, it certainly made a mark, which is nothing to sneeze at.
Pittsburgh, PA 2026 part 1: Blizzard Travel; First Show in Pittsburgh
Feb. 24th, 2026 11:34 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
It had been snowing when we went to sleep...
And it was snowing when we woke up.
That's the Broad St. view. Here's City Hall from my hotel room, and a close-up of one of the statues that I liked:
I know it doesn't look like it from the photos, but as of 8:45am this morning they'd gotten 13 inches (33.02 cm) of snow! And at time of typing this, it was still coming down. Despite this, our travel plans had not changed. The thought was that once we got out of Philly and start heading west, conditions would improve. I ate breakfast and waited patiently for the charter buses like everyone else. Went down to the lobby at the scheduled time...and the buses had cancelled on us!!
The minute I heard this, I went straight back to my room and got online. There is a Budget rental office just a few blocks from our hotel (it's where I rented my car for the masterclass last week.) I called to make sure that they were open and had cars to rent, then walked over. On the walk I observed that the roads and sidewalks were well cleared. So WHY had the buses cancelled?? A mystery...
I got a one-way rental car for $140. One-ways are always more expensive than if you return the car to the same location, plus I wasn't returning it to an airport which jacked up the cost even more. But I didn't care. This is not my first rodeo, and I could see in my mind's eye what would likely happen next. There would be no buses available to charter today. The company would probably be able to get buses tomorrow, but the drivers would still be required to make at least one stop. Meaning a 6-7 hour trip, meaning even if they left early in the morning they wouldn't get to the hotel until past noon. And that meant arriving in Pittsburgh only an hour or two before sound check and the show. I have experienced this same scenario on other tours.
Not only is this not my first rodeo, I am also inherently selfish, an individualist, and driven by logic and survivalism. There are times when staying with the herd will protect you and save you money...then there are times like now when you yell, "Every man for himself!" and reach into your own pocket to save your own butt :p
This was one of those times. Took my newly-obtained rental car back to the hotel, retrieved my bags, threw them in the back, and off I went. The roads were extremely well cleared and I had no problem or delays. It was a lovely drive. Pennsylvania can be pretty scenic. Here are some pictures:
The snow fell only on one side of this mountain, I thought it looked beautiful!
Around the time I stopped for gas and a break, an email went out with the new travel plan. Which...not to be a snooty booty, but it was exactly as I'd thought. An early morning bus ride but with two required stops, meaning the Pittsburgh ETA was 3pm. And that's with the assumption of no additional travel delays. Sound check is typically at 5pm for a 7:30pm show. I felt bad that the majority of us would be feeling rushed tomorrow...but also, everyone else had the power to make the same choice that I made today, if they wanted.
I pulled up at the hotel a little after 3pm. Check in was easy and my room was great. Dropped the luggage and took the rental car to Whole Paycheck for groceries. Returned the rental car, got back to the hotel, put everything away, unpacked, ate dinner, and was in pajamas typing this post up by 6pm.
Worth it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
It was squalling when I woke up. Good morning, Pittsburgh.
I visited the hotel's free breakfast, which is "just ok" again but I got some peanut butter and bagels. Back at the room, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds. I got an email that I'm confirmed to do a masterclass at my alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, on Thursday. Yay! I ran through the presentation and did all right time-wise (48 minutes) considering I've had several days away.
Walked to Target for paper towels and a few household items, popped into Burlington just for funsies. Back at the hotel my Amazon order of a PPT clicker and a backup black fleece jacket had arrived. Unpacked those, ate lunch and packed myself a dinner and snacks for the theater. The rest of the afternoon was spent tweaking my K-12 presentation because that one's coming up too, and reserving a rental car for Thursday.
A little after 3pm I walked to the theater. It's the Benedum and I was here before with My Fair Lady in 2024 (part 1, part 2). I did a lot over that visit including shopping on The Strip; eating at Bae Bae's Kitchen, Gaucho, The Speckled Egg, and Mancini's; and visiting Phipps Conservatory.
The ceiling has a unique octagonal design (photo from my visit in 2024.)
As I was exploring, filling my water bottle, setting up, etc., I saw cast members and management hurriedly setting up their stations. Some of them had brought their luggage with them to the theater (not a good sign!) I found DAR setting up his dressing room and asked when the bus had finally arrived. "Twenty minutes ago!" he exclaimed. Sheesh! I moved on to digging through my trunk until it was time for sound check.
The pit is pretty large, especially with the drums remoted (the drum booth will be in the trap room this city, if I get a chance I'll take a pic so you can see.) Sound check was just fine, and the show was just fine. Audience was really great, and during intermission we had a lot of visitors like we've gotten in some of the Texas cities. Lots of kids asking questions, parents exclaiming over the instruments...it's nice! :)
I dragged all of my trunk stuff to the hotel while other people dragged their luggage. At least everyone got here safely, management was able to pivot in a very difficult situation and get everyone here on time. No one likes to cut it that close, but they couldn't have predicted our buses would be cancelled. Which by the way I discovered had something to do with an ordinance/city government requirement that there be no buses on the street during the blizzard? I don't know the details but on reflection I didn't see any buses when I was leaving, so that must have been it.
Anyway it's over now and we're here! Yay!!
I should also mention that on Monday night, our own Belle (Kyra Belle Johnson) performed at EPCOT in Florida for a special Disney on Broadway concert series event!
They had not only Kyra (the current Belle,) but also Susan Egan (original Broadway Belle) and Ashley Brown (another longstanding Broadway Belle) present, and they sang a specially arranged version of "Home" together!
(both photos from WDWNewsToday)
I can't embed video from Instagram, but please click HERE to hear part of *our* Belle's rendition of "Home." Her voice is AMAZING.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: One evening show. I'll get up early to do laundry and will do my usual computer work, but otherwise no plans.
Thursday: Driving to IUP to give a masterclass! Then one evening show.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
It had been snowing when we went to sleep...
And it was snowing when we woke up.
That's the Broad St. view. Here's City Hall from my hotel room, and a close-up of one of the statues that I liked:
I know it doesn't look like it from the photos, but as of 8:45am this morning they'd gotten 13 inches (33.02 cm) of snow! And at time of typing this, it was still coming down. Despite this, our travel plans had not changed. The thought was that once we got out of Philly and start heading west, conditions would improve. I ate breakfast and waited patiently for the charter buses like everyone else. Went down to the lobby at the scheduled time...and the buses had cancelled on us!!
The minute I heard this, I went straight back to my room and got online. There is a Budget rental office just a few blocks from our hotel (it's where I rented my car for the masterclass last week.) I called to make sure that they were open and had cars to rent, then walked over. On the walk I observed that the roads and sidewalks were well cleared. So WHY had the buses cancelled?? A mystery...
I got a one-way rental car for $140. One-ways are always more expensive than if you return the car to the same location, plus I wasn't returning it to an airport which jacked up the cost even more. But I didn't care. This is not my first rodeo, and I could see in my mind's eye what would likely happen next. There would be no buses available to charter today. The company would probably be able to get buses tomorrow, but the drivers would still be required to make at least one stop. Meaning a 6-7 hour trip, meaning even if they left early in the morning they wouldn't get to the hotel until past noon. And that meant arriving in Pittsburgh only an hour or two before sound check and the show. I have experienced this same scenario on other tours.
Not only is this not my first rodeo, I am also inherently selfish, an individualist, and driven by logic and survivalism. There are times when staying with the herd will protect you and save you money...then there are times like now when you yell, "Every man for himself!" and reach into your own pocket to save your own butt :p
This was one of those times. Took my newly-obtained rental car back to the hotel, retrieved my bags, threw them in the back, and off I went. The roads were extremely well cleared and I had no problem or delays. It was a lovely drive. Pennsylvania can be pretty scenic. Here are some pictures:
The snow fell only on one side of this mountain, I thought it looked beautiful!
Around the time I stopped for gas and a break, an email went out with the new travel plan. Which...not to be a snooty booty, but it was exactly as I'd thought. An early morning bus ride but with two required stops, meaning the Pittsburgh ETA was 3pm. And that's with the assumption of no additional travel delays. Sound check is typically at 5pm for a 7:30pm show. I felt bad that the majority of us would be feeling rushed tomorrow...but also, everyone else had the power to make the same choice that I made today, if they wanted.
I pulled up at the hotel a little after 3pm. Check in was easy and my room was great. Dropped the luggage and took the rental car to Whole Paycheck for groceries. Returned the rental car, got back to the hotel, put everything away, unpacked, ate dinner, and was in pajamas typing this post up by 6pm.
Worth it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
It was squalling when I woke up. Good morning, Pittsburgh.
I visited the hotel's free breakfast, which is "just ok" again but I got some peanut butter and bagels. Back at the room, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds. I got an email that I'm confirmed to do a masterclass at my alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, on Thursday. Yay! I ran through the presentation and did all right time-wise (48 minutes) considering I've had several days away.
Walked to Target for paper towels and a few household items, popped into Burlington just for funsies. Back at the hotel my Amazon order of a PPT clicker and a backup black fleece jacket had arrived. Unpacked those, ate lunch and packed myself a dinner and snacks for the theater. The rest of the afternoon was spent tweaking my K-12 presentation because that one's coming up too, and reserving a rental car for Thursday.
A little after 3pm I walked to the theater. It's the Benedum and I was here before with My Fair Lady in 2024 (part 1, part 2). I did a lot over that visit including shopping on The Strip; eating at Bae Bae's Kitchen, Gaucho, The Speckled Egg, and Mancini's; and visiting Phipps Conservatory.
The ceiling has a unique octagonal design (photo from my visit in 2024.)
As I was exploring, filling my water bottle, setting up, etc., I saw cast members and management hurriedly setting up their stations. Some of them had brought their luggage with them to the theater (not a good sign!) I found DAR setting up his dressing room and asked when the bus had finally arrived. "Twenty minutes ago!" he exclaimed. Sheesh! I moved on to digging through my trunk until it was time for sound check.
The pit is pretty large, especially with the drums remoted (the drum booth will be in the trap room this city, if I get a chance I'll take a pic so you can see.) Sound check was just fine, and the show was just fine. Audience was really great, and during intermission we had a lot of visitors like we've gotten in some of the Texas cities. Lots of kids asking questions, parents exclaiming over the instruments...it's nice! :)
I dragged all of my trunk stuff to the hotel while other people dragged their luggage. At least everyone got here safely, management was able to pivot in a very difficult situation and get everyone here on time. No one likes to cut it that close, but they couldn't have predicted our buses would be cancelled. Which by the way I discovered had something to do with an ordinance/city government requirement that there be no buses on the street during the blizzard? I don't know the details but on reflection I didn't see any buses when I was leaving, so that must have been it.
Anyway it's over now and we're here! Yay!!
I should also mention that on Monday night, our own Belle (Kyra Belle Johnson) performed at EPCOT in Florida for a special Disney on Broadway concert series event!
They had not only Kyra (the current Belle,) but also Susan Egan (original Broadway Belle) and Ashley Brown (another longstanding Broadway Belle) present, and they sang a specially arranged version of "Home" together!
(both photos from WDWNewsToday)
I can't embed video from Instagram, but please click HERE to hear part of *our* Belle's rendition of "Home." Her voice is AMAZING.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: One evening show. I'll get up early to do laundry and will do my usual computer work, but otherwise no plans.
Thursday: Driving to IUP to give a masterclass! Then one evening show.
Thank you for your input
Feb. 24th, 2026 11:21 pmcornerofmadnessThumbs Up to everyone who stopped by to let me know what you thought of my story (and if you want to read it, go back to yesterday). It's helpful. It helps the story form. It's a big week for me writing wise. I have two major open calls that open Saturday and I am set. I'm also trying to make a better record of all my unplaced stories along with word count/genre so I don't forget something.
It's also a very big week in terms of emotions. Friday is 5 years since I nearly lost my leg. That seems amazing.
Cancer is coming for another family member (which luckily is usually curable with surgery but still, fuck you cancer). Speaking of which I'm in the last days of my American Cancer Society read-a-thon charity drive. You can see more about it here.
As for Fannish 50 Tuesday it's THIS bullshit AGAIN. Creators being attacked, threatened, bullied. This past week, in a nutshell, Gooseworx, creator of The Amazing Digital Circus was in one of the livestream/video game plays this cast/creator loves to do and she mentions that Jax and Pomni are the main characters and people lost their fucking shit. They dragged her so hard over this, for daring to say who is the main character in this thing that they created but it didn't match their headcanons. She deleted the reddit account she used to interact with fans. A couple days later she apologized for not being professional in doing that.
I'm like maybe but I wouldn't say that. Why should you give fans access if they're going to be like this? And it's not just her. Vivzie who does Hazbin gets it like this all the time, Dana Terrace (the Owl House, Knights of Guinevere) does as well. Even Matt Braly (Amphibia) got slapped hard this past week. It culminated in Goose saying she doesn't want to touch her creation again once the last two episodes drop (something Dana Terrace did until this year, almost 4 years later with hers) and Glitch, the production company stepping in try to calm these people down.
If you're curious you can see Matt's thread here on twitter. What Glitch had to say is here.
and here are a few YT commentors who tend to have decent insights into things
and two from Ayy
Who would have thought I'd miss the toxicity of the Buffy days. At least it wasn't batshit crazy like this. And I truly miss the Prodigal Son fandom which was mostly (but of course not always) civil.
It's also a very big week in terms of emotions. Friday is 5 years since I nearly lost my leg. That seems amazing.
Cancer is coming for another family member (which luckily is usually curable with surgery but still, fuck you cancer). Speaking of which I'm in the last days of my American Cancer Society read-a-thon charity drive. You can see more about it here.
As for Fannish 50 Tuesday it's THIS bullshit AGAIN. Creators being attacked, threatened, bullied. This past week, in a nutshell, Gooseworx, creator of The Amazing Digital Circus was in one of the livestream/video game plays this cast/creator loves to do and she mentions that Jax and Pomni are the main characters and people lost their fucking shit. They dragged her so hard over this, for daring to say who is the main character in this thing that they created but it didn't match their headcanons. She deleted the reddit account she used to interact with fans. A couple days later she apologized for not being professional in doing that.
I'm like maybe but I wouldn't say that. Why should you give fans access if they're going to be like this? And it's not just her. Vivzie who does Hazbin gets it like this all the time, Dana Terrace (the Owl House, Knights of Guinevere) does as well. Even Matt Braly (Amphibia) got slapped hard this past week. It culminated in Goose saying she doesn't want to touch her creation again once the last two episodes drop (something Dana Terrace did until this year, almost 4 years later with hers) and Glitch, the production company stepping in try to calm these people down.
If you're curious you can see Matt's thread here on twitter. What Glitch had to say is here.
and here are a few YT commentors who tend to have decent insights into things
and two from Ayy
Who would have thought I'd miss the toxicity of the Buffy days. At least it wasn't batshit crazy like this. And I truly miss the Prodigal Son fandom which was mostly (but of course not always) civil.
Ignoring the State of the Union Address
Feb. 24th, 2026 10:43 pmsilver_chipmunkI actually got up with the alarm today at 10:00, and made it out of bed pretty quickly. I had breakfast and coffee, and started to write again.
The story is going pretty well. It's now 2,850 words, and has more to go. I'll work on it tomorrow too.
Once again, that's pretty much all I did today.mashfanficchick called me to tell me ze has zer plane tickets for zer next Ohio trip, and we talked a bit, that's all.
Oh one thing I did was get a bag of laundry together to take down tomorrow.
Anyway, at 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB, the Team worked well so I had hopes for my Al-anon meeting Zoom working. But it was only semi-working, it kept blanking out audio. Fortunately there was only me and M there.
After the meeting I had dinner, and went to the bedroom to lay down.
Facebook reminds me that today would have been Aunt Helen's 97th birthday. I miss her, a lot.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. The writing is going well.
3. My meetings and the people there.
4. Memories of Aunt Helen.
5.mashfanficchick
6. The Teams worked well and the Zoom was at least usable.
The story is going pretty well. It's now 2,850 words, and has more to go. I'll work on it tomorrow too.
Once again, that's pretty much all I did today.
mashfanficchick called me to tell me ze has zer plane tickets for zer next Ohio trip, and we talked a bit, that's all.Oh one thing I did was get a bag of laundry together to take down tomorrow.
Anyway, at 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB, the Team worked well so I had hopes for my Al-anon meeting Zoom working. But it was only semi-working, it kept blanking out audio. Fortunately there was only me and M there.
After the meeting I had dinner, and went to the bedroom to lay down.
Facebook reminds me that today would have been Aunt Helen's 97th birthday. I miss her, a lot.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. The writing is going well.
3. My meetings and the people there.
4. Memories of Aunt Helen.
5.
mashfanficchick6. The Teams worked well and the Zoom was at least usable.
Party time.
Feb. 24th, 2026 10:24 pmhannahBetween the train being a while and the train being delayed, I arrived just in time to be fashionably late: I walked into the party just as the guest of honor was being introduced. The woman of the hour, a newly published author, a friend of the people whose library I was hired to organize who decided to invite me to the book party as a parting gift. I was the last person to arrive and comfortably below the average age of the guests, and even recognized a handful of people from overlapping social Jewish circles. I felt nervous about being there until the man who was introducing the author talked about how her memoir was both nostalgic and sad, not a combination that comes up - and I waved my hand to get his attention, because I knew exactly what to say.
I quoted Anya Von Bremzen to say the phrase she used for that sensation was poisoned Madeline.
When I say the host, author, and room were suitably pleased and impressed at the phrase, that also says a lot about the rest of the guests at the party.
What's even better is that my interjection wasn't my high point of the party. As much fun as it was to be invited to that kind of thing, as deeply as I enjoyed putting some goat cheese inside dates for an amazing snack, I mostly attended to network. I knew my clients, I knew who their friends would be, and I worked that as much as I could. I introduced myself and said, "I'm the librarian." I explained how I'd come to be at the party. I hobbed, I nobbed, I was suitably impressive. I said, "My card," and handed over a business card. I commented to one of the hosts that if all that came out of it was being able to say I'd said "My card" it was worth the evening. It was an amazing feeling to do that. So very grown up.
I wore one of my nicer dresses, and it definitely helped me feel like I belonged there. After a while, the feeling simply settled in. I chatted about fiction, about the philosophy of library science and the psychology of letting go of books, about cakes and baking, about public transportation. I said cabs were the luxury of the people and that they were union. I joked about wanting to show off my party trick but since the party was over, too bad. I nibbled and had some wine, and took some grapes home at the hosts' insistence, though they didn't have to try very hard. I took a bike back instead of using the subway or walking, and it was the best way to come down from the elevated state. Not all the way down, though - it'll be with me for a while longer, and I'm doing what I can to savor it for as long as it lasts.
I quoted Anya Von Bremzen to say the phrase she used for that sensation was poisoned Madeline.
When I say the host, author, and room were suitably pleased and impressed at the phrase, that also says a lot about the rest of the guests at the party.
What's even better is that my interjection wasn't my high point of the party. As much fun as it was to be invited to that kind of thing, as deeply as I enjoyed putting some goat cheese inside dates for an amazing snack, I mostly attended to network. I knew my clients, I knew who their friends would be, and I worked that as much as I could. I introduced myself and said, "I'm the librarian." I explained how I'd come to be at the party. I hobbed, I nobbed, I was suitably impressive. I said, "My card," and handed over a business card. I commented to one of the hosts that if all that came out of it was being able to say I'd said "My card" it was worth the evening. It was an amazing feeling to do that. So very grown up.
I wore one of my nicer dresses, and it definitely helped me feel like I belonged there. After a while, the feeling simply settled in. I chatted about fiction, about the philosophy of library science and the psychology of letting go of books, about cakes and baking, about public transportation. I said cabs were the luxury of the people and that they were union. I joked about wanting to show off my party trick but since the party was over, too bad. I nibbled and had some wine, and took some grapes home at the hosts' insistence, though they didn't have to try very hard. I took a bike back instead of using the subway or walking, and it was the best way to come down from the elevated state. Not all the way down, though - it'll be with me for a while longer, and I'm doing what I can to savor it for as long as it lasts.
Why Wuthering Heights Matters (to Me)
Feb. 24th, 2026 07:55 pmlabingiDreamwidth, I have been cheating on you with Substack. I love you much more, Dreamwidth. My relationship with Substack is purely a matter of convenience. However, the following post is also on my Substack, which may explain its reading as a bit more formal than I usually hold forth here.
Content warning: This is a dark book with lots of abuse, and I discuss some of it.
The discourse over Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights movie has prompted a resurgence of conversation about Emily Brontë’s novel and reminded me just how controversial the book remains almost 180 years after its publication. Wuthering Heights recounts the obsessive attachment of Catherine and Heathcliff, two young people growing up on Yorkshire moors at the end of the 18th century, and the harm done to them and by them. Many love it; many hate it. I am in the “love” camp, and I want to explain why Wuthering Heights is an important book, both to me and in our world to this day.
Spoilers for the novel follow.( Read more... )
Content warning: This is a dark book with lots of abuse, and I discuss some of it.
The discourse over Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights movie has prompted a resurgence of conversation about Emily Brontë’s novel and reminded me just how controversial the book remains almost 180 years after its publication. Wuthering Heights recounts the obsessive attachment of Catherine and Heathcliff, two young people growing up on Yorkshire moors at the end of the 18th century, and the harm done to them and by them. Many love it; many hate it. I am in the “love” camp, and I want to explain why Wuthering Heights is an important book, both to me and in our world to this day.
Spoilers for the novel follow.( Read more... )
inside of a dog it's too dark to read
Feb. 24th, 2026 07:44 pmrunpunkrunThe lightbulb in my lamp just burnt out, but the cat is lying on me, so I'm literally sitting in the dark right now because those are the rules.
Daily Happiness
Feb. 24th, 2026 07:35 pmtorachan1. We had burritos for dinner, along with a pineapple tamale we had gotten from the farmers market on Saturday but hadn't eaten yet, and the tamale was so good! It didn't have chunks of pineapple in it, but rather was solid masa that was flavored with pineapple. Definitely would get that again. (The burritos were very good, too, but I got the one I always get from there, so I already knew I would like it.)
2. They've released the menu for the Food and Wine Festival at DCA, which is starting next Friday. There's a lot of tasty looking stuff and we'll miss out on about two weeks of it because we'll be in Japan, so I'm glad we'll have plenty of opportunities to go in March and then once we're back from Japan can pick up any must-tries that we didn't get to yet.
3. Last nigh Chloe was all snuggled up on my bed when I wanted to go to sleep, and sadly not in any way that I could get in bed with her, so I just scooped her up, blankie and all, and set her down on my desk chair. She protested when I moved her, but seemed satisfied with the results. She stayed snuggled up on the chair for a couple hours anyway!
2. They've released the menu for the Food and Wine Festival at DCA, which is starting next Friday. There's a lot of tasty looking stuff and we'll miss out on about two weeks of it because we'll be in Japan, so I'm glad we'll have plenty of opportunities to go in March and then once we're back from Japan can pick up any must-tries that we didn't get to yet.
3. Last nigh Chloe was all snuggled up on my bed when I wanted to go to sleep, and sadly not in any way that I could get in bed with her, so I just scooped her up, blankie and all, and set her down on my desk chair. She protested when I moved her, but seemed satisfied with the results. She stayed snuggled up on the chair for a couple hours anyway!
Gaming Update
Feb. 25th, 2026 02:58 pmcyphomandraI finished Burning Shores! I loved the LA archipelago and the new machines and I like Seyka a lot. I didn’t find Londra, the antagonist in this, as effective or as intriguing as Tilda, and gosh I really miss Sylens (isis - thanks for the pointer to the in-game shrine to him! It’s lovely). I may at some point go back and do a hard mode play through of HFW, because I do like the gameplay, but I think I’ll give it a break for now.
I went looking for new puzzle games and ended up playing through Is This Seat Taken?, a cheerful indie game in which you have to put anthropomorphic shapes in the exact places that satisfy their increasingly finicky requests (no noise, in direct sunlight, standing on the left but not adjacent to anyone who hasn’t showered, able to steal popcorn from a neighbour etc) in a series of city-based challenges. I like the aesthetic and I like the gameplay. The (thin) storyline, in which Nate the rhombus wants to be a movie star, could have been better, and I would have also liked more female major characters, but it was fun.
Then I started The Room 3 - the latest in a horror puzzle game series with intricate mechanics and foreboding settings, and I’ve previously played the first two. But those were on my iPad and although I’m enjoying it, my phone screen really is too small, so I am now dithering between pressing on regardless or replaying a good 2/3rds of the game on an iPad. Hmm. So instead I started TR-49, where you are searching through a WWII-era machine containing pieces of various writings, in search of an ultimate secret for as yet unspecified reasons; it’s intriguing and I need more time with it.
However. On the PS5 I have returned to FFVII Rebirth, and finally completed chapter 12 on hard mode after being stuck there for months. Fighting Corneo’s assorted brawlers was fine, and Rude & Elena weren’t too bad once I got used to their attacks, but then you go straight into a solo Cloud battle with Rufus, who is ridiculously fast, and also I was only at half health from all the preceding battles and could not face going back and doing them all over. Lots of dodging, lots of very precise timing required to hit back at all, and lots of staring contemplatively at the Game Over screen, but eventually I did it. I went on to chapter 13 but very rapidly this hits a no turn back point, so before that I have been attempting to complete all of FFVII Rebirth’s many, many mini games, in order to get the Johnnie’s Treasure Trove achievement. This requires 88 (!) mini-achievements. I have now won all the chocobo races at the Gold Saucer, done all the Fort Condor and Gears & Gambits hard mode tower defence games, shot targets in Costa Del Sol, sent Yuffie & Aerith out to clean up cactuars in Corel, etc, etc, etc, and currently I have managed to claw my way to 74.
It is definitely a journey. I prefer the mini games where they’re thematic (sure, the Glide de Chocobo rank III award was a navigational nightmare that nearly gave me tendonitis but you’re riding a chocobo!) or the gameplay ties back to the main game - getting Aerith through Cactuar Crush hard mode required me to upskill dramatically in using her Tempest attack, something I’d previously overlooked. In contrast, I dislike tower defence even when the polygons are cute and shooting targets is not my thing at all, but I am a) stubborn and b) capable of watching a YouTube video and managing to follow at least some of it after multiple attempts.
I have got one more mini game to get through that’s not at the Gold Saucer - it’s the hard mode frog challenge in Junon, in which your party is transformed into frogs (a common occurrence in FF games) and you have to stay on a series of moving platforms for as long as possible - and then I will be back at the Saucer, which has more Queen's Blood challenges, another terrible shooting game I suck at, and the sole remaining side quest, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, which requires me to beat the Shinra Middle Manager and all my own previous high scores on six minigames. Yay. And even if I get through all of those, plus Chadley’s Legendary Challenges, I still have to manage to play piano on the PS5 controller well enough to get an A grade on Two Legs D:
(FFVII Remake is now out on the Switch 2, and Rebirth will be out June. Released with these are patch updates that enable God Mode, which would make it much easier to get any of the fighting trophies - I’m not sure if they will affect the mini games. I don’t have a problem with this mode being available but I would like, if possible, to get the platinum before that).
isis - thanks for the pointer to the in-game shrine to him! It’s lovely). I may at some point go back and do a hard mode play through of HFW, because I do like the gameplay, but I think I’ll give it a break for now.I went looking for new puzzle games and ended up playing through Is This Seat Taken?, a cheerful indie game in which you have to put anthropomorphic shapes in the exact places that satisfy their increasingly finicky requests (no noise, in direct sunlight, standing on the left but not adjacent to anyone who hasn’t showered, able to steal popcorn from a neighbour etc) in a series of city-based challenges. I like the aesthetic and I like the gameplay. The (thin) storyline, in which Nate the rhombus wants to be a movie star, could have been better, and I would have also liked more female major characters, but it was fun.
Then I started The Room 3 - the latest in a horror puzzle game series with intricate mechanics and foreboding settings, and I’ve previously played the first two. But those were on my iPad and although I’m enjoying it, my phone screen really is too small, so I am now dithering between pressing on regardless or replaying a good 2/3rds of the game on an iPad. Hmm. So instead I started TR-49, where you are searching through a WWII-era machine containing pieces of various writings, in search of an ultimate secret for as yet unspecified reasons; it’s intriguing and I need more time with it.
However. On the PS5 I have returned to FFVII Rebirth, and finally completed chapter 12 on hard mode after being stuck there for months. Fighting Corneo’s assorted brawlers was fine, and Rude & Elena weren’t too bad once I got used to their attacks, but then you go straight into a solo Cloud battle with Rufus, who is ridiculously fast, and also I was only at half health from all the preceding battles and could not face going back and doing them all over. Lots of dodging, lots of very precise timing required to hit back at all, and lots of staring contemplatively at the Game Over screen, but eventually I did it. I went on to chapter 13 but very rapidly this hits a no turn back point, so before that I have been attempting to complete all of FFVII Rebirth’s many, many mini games, in order to get the Johnnie’s Treasure Trove achievement. This requires 88 (!) mini-achievements. I have now won all the chocobo races at the Gold Saucer, done all the Fort Condor and Gears & Gambits hard mode tower defence games, shot targets in Costa Del Sol, sent Yuffie & Aerith out to clean up cactuars in Corel, etc, etc, etc, and currently I have managed to claw my way to 74.
It is definitely a journey. I prefer the mini games where they’re thematic (sure, the Glide de Chocobo rank III award was a navigational nightmare that nearly gave me tendonitis but you’re riding a chocobo!) or the gameplay ties back to the main game - getting Aerith through Cactuar Crush hard mode required me to upskill dramatically in using her Tempest attack, something I’d previously overlooked. In contrast, I dislike tower defence even when the polygons are cute and shooting targets is not my thing at all, but I am a) stubborn and b) capable of watching a YouTube video and managing to follow at least some of it after multiple attempts.
I have got one more mini game to get through that’s not at the Gold Saucer - it’s the hard mode frog challenge in Junon, in which your party is transformed into frogs (a common occurrence in FF games) and you have to stay on a series of moving platforms for as long as possible - and then I will be back at the Saucer, which has more Queen's Blood challenges, another terrible shooting game I suck at, and the sole remaining side quest, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, which requires me to beat the Shinra Middle Manager and all my own previous high scores on six minigames. Yay. And even if I get through all of those, plus Chadley’s Legendary Challenges, I still have to manage to play piano on the PS5 controller well enough to get an A grade on Two Legs D:
(FFVII Remake is now out on the Switch 2, and Rebirth will be out June. Released with these are patch updates that enable God Mode, which would make it much easier to get any of the fighting trophies - I’m not sure if they will affect the mini games. I don’t have a problem with this mode being available but I would like, if possible, to get the platinum before that).