Soooooooooooooo, we had a light that didn't work
Oct. 10th, 2025 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyin the downstairs front hall. Hasn't worked in over a decade. Flip the switch, nothing happens.
I happened to be lying on the floor today when I saw....
Me: Huh. Hey, Jenn? Does that hall light have a pull cord?
Jenn: What? No, I don't think so.
Me: I'm looking right at it. You just can't see it because there's less than an inch of it left, right up against the ceiling.
After I sourced the stepladder and a new light bulb it turns out - the whole time, the only reason it didn't work was because the pull cord was set to off.
Welp, it's fixed now!
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I happened to be lying on the floor today when I saw....
Me: Huh. Hey, Jenn? Does that hall light have a pull cord?
Jenn: What? No, I don't think so.
Me: I'm looking right at it. You just can't see it because there's less than an inch of it left, right up against the ceiling.
After I sourced the stepladder and a new light bulb it turns out - the whole time, the only reason it didn't work was because the pull cord was set to off.
Welp, it's fixed now!
( Read more... )
Cafe: 3 AM by Langston Hughes
Oct. 9th, 2025 11:55 amconulyDetectives from the vice squad
with weary sadistic eyes
spotting fairies.
Degenerates,
some folks say.
But God, Nature,
or somebody
made them that way.
Police lady or Lesbian
over there?
Where?
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This poem is brought to you by the NYHS exhibit on The Gay Harlem Renaissance, which you should definitely see if you're in the city. They have pay-as-you-wish admission every Friday from 5 - 8.
Also, I'm incrementing my Robert Moses counter up but only a little, because it was a complaint embedded in an exhibit about somebody else, but it was at the NYHS, so it doesn't really count. So it has now been one day since the last Robert Moses mention, but only kinda.
with weary sadistic eyes
spotting fairies.
Degenerates,
some folks say.
But God, Nature,
or somebody
made them that way.
Police lady or Lesbian
over there?
Where?
This poem is brought to you by the NYHS exhibit on The Gay Harlem Renaissance, which you should definitely see if you're in the city. They have pay-as-you-wish admission every Friday from 5 - 8.
Also, I'm incrementing my Robert Moses counter up but only a little, because it was a complaint embedded in an exhibit about somebody else, but it was at the NYHS, so it doesn't really count. So it has now been one day since the last Robert Moses mention, but only kinda.
I am cackling with glee
Oct. 11th, 2025 12:06 pmrydra_wong("CARTOON PONY ON AMPHETAMINES.")
(And I just heard they cast Sheila Atim as Akasha, because half the casting is just raiding the National Theatre and it's glorious.)
The thing about IWTV (now being renamed The Vampire Lestat for S3, presumably at the demand of Lestat's lawyers) is that a) it would make Anne Rice roll in her fucking grave, and b) it somehow manages to be deeply truthful to elements of the spirit of the books in a way that a more "faithful" adaptation that didn't engage in such a vigorous Interrogation Of The Text couldn't do. It's fascinating, and it also hits in a particular way for those of us who read the first books as impressionable teens, and then, you know, grew up:
https://www.tumblr.com/silverbirching/752456802186182656/yessssss-and-he-watched-it-on-my
Anyway, the first two seasons are on Netflix and on BBC iPlayer in the UK, so if you're tempted, now is a very good time to catch up.
For anyone wondering how my Dark Souls progress is going
Oct. 11th, 2025 10:29 amrydra_wongI am now enjoying being able to distress all my Souls-playing friends through my unironic enjoyment of Blighttown.
(It's a tough but genuinely awesome level which has a bad reputation because on release the intricacy of the environment and number of moving parts would destroy the framerate and people would have to try to get through it at 10fps. But this is no longer the case since the remaster! And everyone who's upset about spending lots of time plummeting to their death needs to get on my level because I've been doing that all through the game anyway; it's just usually funnier in Blighttown.)
ETA: I have run the second bell and thus officially left the early game and entered the mid-game.
(It's a tough but genuinely awesome level which has a bad reputation because on release the intricacy of the environment and number of moving parts would destroy the framerate and people would have to try to get through it at 10fps. But this is no longer the case since the remaster! And everyone who's upset about spending lots of time plummeting to their death needs to get on my level because I've been doing that all through the game anyway; it's just usually funnier in Blighttown.)
ETA: I have run the second bell and thus officially left the early game and entered the mid-game.
The worst part of October is over
Oct. 10th, 2025 10:23 pmschneefinkI wrote my accounting/financial reporting exam yesterday, I'm so glad that's done. I'm cautiously optimistic but I'll find out in 6-8 weeks.
That means now I have time for all the things I wanted to do, especially fannish things! ...I thought and immediately felt overwhelmed because there's so much. In addition to playing more Silksong (and after that, Hades 2) there's books I want to read and things I want to watch, and fic I want to read and posts and fanworks I want to comment on and things I want to post and people I want to chat with and fic I want to write, and that's not even mentioning all the chores I've been putting off and RL social things. At least it's a better kind of stress ^^
That means now I have time for all the things I wanted to do, especially fannish things! ...I thought and immediately felt overwhelmed because there's so much. In addition to playing more Silksong (and after that, Hades 2) there's books I want to read and things I want to watch, and fic I want to read and posts and fanworks I want to comment on and things I want to post and people I want to chat with and fic I want to write, and that's not even mentioning all the chores I've been putting off and RL social things. At least it's a better kind of stress ^^
My laundry is trying to kill me
Oct. 6th, 2025 02:38 pmconulyFirst, when I was pulling up my panties my thumbnail got stuck somehow on the cotton and ended up half ripped off - ouch! - in what is both the dumbest and most painful injury ever. Then the next day I managed to slip on some clothing on the floor and fall flat down on my face. Fortunately, I landed on my laundry, but still, I can take a hint. My own laundry wants me dead.
(I mentioned this to Jenn and she suggested that if I was wearing my panties they weren't laundry but simply clothing, but this obviously arrant nonsense. They weren't on my body yet, they were just halfway up my thighs, so they were still at least liminally laundry, caught in that weird spot of paradox in between Schrodinger's cat and Xeno's arrow. Also, the salient feature is that they were trying to kill me, not what arbitrary category they fall into while they do so!)
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(I mentioned this to Jenn and she suggested that if I was wearing my panties they weren't laundry but simply clothing, but this obviously arrant nonsense. They weren't on my body yet, they were just halfway up my thighs, so they were still at least liminally laundry, caught in that weird spot of paradox in between Schrodinger's cat and Xeno's arrow. Also, the salient feature is that they were trying to kill me, not what arbitrary category they fall into while they do so!)
( Read more... )
Silksong: Act 2, Citadel of Song, part 1
Oct. 7th, 2025 07:56 pmschneefinkI've been having so much fun with Silksong, an incredible game. There's so much to explore!
I finally got to the first ending (could have done it earlier but now felt like a good time) and that seems like a good point to post, uh, 9.5k of notes about my playthrough.
( Act 2: Citadel of Song. Part 1 )
I finally got to the first ending (could have done it earlier but now felt like a good time) and that seems like a good point to post, uh, 9.5k of notes about my playthrough.
( Act 2: Citadel of Song. Part 1 )
Some saved up videos
Oct. 3rd, 2025 11:14 amconuly( Fake Emergencies )
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( Common moon mistakes )
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( The Insane Biology of: The Pangolin )
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( The Most Dangerous Escalator in Rome )
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( Backyard Squirrelympics )
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( Apparently, the dog dancing championships are a thing? )
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( The Assassin's Teapot Is Weird )
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( All The Non-Passenger Trains in the NYC Subway )
( Common moon mistakes )
( The Insane Biology of: The Pangolin )
( The Most Dangerous Escalator in Rome )
( Backyard Squirrelympics )
( Apparently, the dog dancing championships are a thing? )
( The Assassin's Teapot Is Weird )
( All The Non-Passenger Trains in the NYC Subway )
There's a Dunkin Donuts by my house
Oct. 2nd, 2025 09:32 amconulyAnd every once in a while I end up there during the morning rush, which I try to avoid, and find somebody else bitching about how they "always" mess up their order and "always" take forever.
This is true, by the way - or, maybe not literally always true, but frequently true - but all the same, every time I hear the incessant whining I want to turn around and say "You knew what it was like when you placed your order!"
It's not like they're the only place to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich that's not your own home. There are three corner stores, every once of which will be happy, or at least willing, to make your standing order every day or week or however often you like. There's McDonald's right there, there's Wendy's right there, there's a Dunkin Donuts on the boat and another one just down Bay a bit, if you drive. Or, as I said, you can go home and make your own coffee for faster and cheaper, but you didn't do that, so you can't really complain that you're getting exactly what you obviously expected!
(It is my lack of whining, I think, that always gets me out of there a smidge faster. Should they be more efficient? Should they make fewer mistakes? Should I be able to order a muffin without fear that it'll be a bit raw in the middle? Yes to all three, and I've stopped ordering muffins! But they're close and I don't have to cook it myself, and I imagine that's why everybody else is there, so whatever.)
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This is true, by the way - or, maybe not literally always true, but frequently true - but all the same, every time I hear the incessant whining I want to turn around and say "You knew what it was like when you placed your order!"
It's not like they're the only place to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich that's not your own home. There are three corner stores, every once of which will be happy, or at least willing, to make your standing order every day or week or however often you like. There's McDonald's right there, there's Wendy's right there, there's a Dunkin Donuts on the boat and another one just down Bay a bit, if you drive. Or, as I said, you can go home and make your own coffee for faster and cheaper, but you didn't do that, so you can't really complain that you're getting exactly what you obviously expected!
(It is my lack of whining, I think, that always gets me out of there a smidge faster. Should they be more efficient? Should they make fewer mistakes? Should I be able to order a muffin without fear that it'll be a bit raw in the middle? Yes to all three, and I've stopped ordering muffins! But they're close and I don't have to cook it myself, and I imagine that's why everybody else is there, so whatever.)
( Read more... )
Geez, I can't even... I don't even....
Oct. 1st, 2025 04:13 pmconulyHonestly, my worst thoughts about what was going to happen in that meeting of the generals were both so much more terrible and so much less terrible than what actually went on.
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Here's to another season
Oct. 2nd, 2025 10:07 pmschneefinkHermitcraft season 10 just ended, and it was beautiful. The previous season ending I'd watched was season 9 and it ended with two people, Joe and Scar, each alone on the server, and then it was over; but season 10 ended with over a dozen hermits on the server together playing games and having fun and doing one last group hug while the bells counted down, and it was sad, yes, but also joyous. They built this together, they had a great time with their friends, and they're going to build more things together and have more good times together :) This really was the season they all became even closer.
Season 10 was the first season I watched live from the beginning, and it was great. So many fun stories, and events, and games, and great builds, and wonderful moments.
Some favorites, incomplete and in no particular order:
- the whole permit storyline, with Cub taking over as permit manager from Grian and then the No Poe being hunted down and exiled and Cleo riding back over the nether roof and more Taskmaster
- Ghastketball! And Hungry Hermits, and Ravager Rush, and Metro Mayhem, and the Labyrinth, so many cool games this season.
- The two big charity events with so many hermits meeting up IRL, once at the Gamers for Giving LAN party and once in the actual Mojang studio offices
- Mumbo getting really into building and also fans
- Fight club - I wish it hadn't petered out but what we got was still great
- Grian's quest for a mending book with the underwater chapel, and then Scar fishing one right in front of him
- The mystery of the ore snatcher - I wonder when we'll find out who the main ore snatcher was (since Grian already confessed to 'helping out' to throw Doc off the track)
- Tall Claims Court and Doc being sentenced to skyblock
- Cleo doing sculk experiments and concluding that the sculk is in love with Cub
- the Neighborhood was also fun, and I'll just ignore the two people who left (I'm really glad that that was handled so professionally and didn't blow up into huge drama on this side of the fandom)
- and so much more.
There's several s10 episodes yet to come, and in the meantime I look forward to the world download and the Hermitcraft panel at Twitchcon and then of course the next season, whenever it starts (my guess is mid to late November.)
Season 10 was the first season I watched live from the beginning, and it was great. So many fun stories, and events, and games, and great builds, and wonderful moments.
Some favorites, incomplete and in no particular order:
- the whole permit storyline, with Cub taking over as permit manager from Grian and then the No Poe being hunted down and exiled and Cleo riding back over the nether roof and more Taskmaster
- Ghastketball! And Hungry Hermits, and Ravager Rush, and Metro Mayhem, and the Labyrinth, so many cool games this season.
- The two big charity events with so many hermits meeting up IRL, once at the Gamers for Giving LAN party and once in the actual Mojang studio offices
- Mumbo getting really into building and also fans
- Fight club - I wish it hadn't petered out but what we got was still great
- Grian's quest for a mending book with the underwater chapel, and then Scar fishing one right in front of him
- The mystery of the ore snatcher - I wonder when we'll find out who the main ore snatcher was (since Grian already confessed to 'helping out' to throw Doc off the track)
- Tall Claims Court and Doc being sentenced to skyblock
- Cleo doing sculk experiments and concluding that the sculk is in love with Cub
- the Neighborhood was also fun, and I'll just ignore the two people who left (I'm really glad that that was handled so professionally and didn't blow up into huge drama on this side of the fandom)
- and so much more.
There's several s10 episodes yet to come, and in the meantime I look forward to the world download and the Hermitcraft panel at Twitchcon and then of course the next season, whenever it starts (my guess is mid to late November.)
Okay, this is very cool
Oct. 2nd, 2025 08:16 amrydra_wongGuardian: Nearly 100 years after her death, Oxford’s first female Indigenous scholar honoured
Reading the lost diary of the first indigenous woman to study at Oxford (by her descendant June Northcroft Grant, who accepted Papakura's MPhil certificate at the ceremony)
What a cool person and fascinating life; really interesting and impressive to see someone succeeding in doing academic scholarship on an Indigenous group from within that group, in that time period.
Reading the lost diary of the first indigenous woman to study at Oxford (by her descendant June Northcroft Grant, who accepted Papakura's MPhil certificate at the ceremony)
What a cool person and fascinating life; really interesting and impressive to see someone succeeding in doing academic scholarship on an Indigenous group from within that group, in that time period.
OH SHIT IT'S HAPPENING
Oct. 2nd, 2025 08:14 amrydra_wongSomeone's finally cast Francesca Mills as Ophelia:
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2025/oct/01/hamlet-national-theatre-hiran-abeysekera-shakespeare-in-pictures
Which I have been saying should happen for six years, since seeing her in Barrie Rutter's Two Noble Kinsmen as the Jailer's Daughter (a role which I described as "semi-comic shitty-first-draft Ophelia"). Also Juliet now please, casting directors.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2025/oct/01/hamlet-national-theatre-hiran-abeysekera-shakespeare-in-pictures
Which I have been saying should happen for six years, since seeing her in Barrie Rutter's Two Noble Kinsmen as the Jailer's Daughter (a role which I described as "semi-comic shitty-first-draft Ophelia"). Also Juliet now please, casting directors.
(no subject)
Sep. 29th, 2025 09:52 amconulyFirst, is my cat not the most beautiful cat you've seen in the past few minutes?
( Cut for size )
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( Cut for size )
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