I've been talking a lot lately about sex and cancer, about the overwhelming aspects of chemo, the impact of cancer on my circle of intimates, friends and family. But it has had other, less obviously dramatic impacts on my life, some of which are still very strong.

One of the most basic changes is not particularly TMI, which is that my sleep metabolism shifted substantially after the colonic resectioning of May, 2008. When I emerged from the immediate post-operative recovery period (during which one sleeps twelve or fourteen hours a day, or more), I found myself sleeping six hours per night instead of my classic seven and half or eight. This was a welcome surprise, and I immediately leveraged it to expand and firm up my exercise regimen.

So one of the frustrations of this round of surgery has been the intense oversleeping during recovery. I'm down now to six or seven hours per night, which tells me I'm at the tail end of the substantial recovery. Which is to say, I still have healing wounds, internal pain, range of motion issues, etc., but I'm a lot more myself. One of my chemo fears is that the sleep will spiral back up. Fatigue and lassitude are classic, and basic, side effects of chemotherapy.

Becuase I use those waking hours. That's how I sustain a Day Jobbe, parenting, a writing career, a love life, a social life, and still get laundry done. I'm not superhuman, I'm just awake and energetic more than most people. The eighteen hours a day I've been used to was a gift of the first Excellent Cancer Adventure. This round of New Adventures in Cancer threatens to take it away. Not pleased, me. Not pleased.

Under cut for digestive health TMI. )


 
 
27 December 2009 @ 05:19 am
Your Sunday moment of zen.

IMG_3533.JPG

Wildlife in rural Montana. © 2006, 2009 Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

Creative Commons License

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
 
 
[info]manmela with a mixed reaction to Mainspring Powell's | Amazon thb | Barnes & Noble | Borders | Audible ]

Ta-Nehisi Coates shows Herman Melville some literary love

Vintage Soviet era holiday carsAnd more of them!. Stastliva nova godina, y'all.

12 'sexy' ads that will give you nightmares — Decidedly NSFW link. Brain bleach may be required. You have been warned. (Thanks, I think, to [info]wllyumtx.)

Get your mass handed to you — Higgs boson for sale on eBay.uk, via Bad Astronomy. I love geek humor.

And speaking of geek humor, Science Tattoo Emporium — Now that be some awesome ink. (Via Language Log.)

Applied Materials moves solar expertise to China — Along with their CTO. A major American high tech manufacturer has shifted their innovation center of gravity to China. A powerfully symbolic move that is part of a process that has been going on for years, but what does that say about this country's role in shaping the future?

?otD: What did you give for Boxing Day?



12/27/2009
Body movement: n/a (60 minute urban walk forthcoming)
Hours slept: 6.75
This morning's weigh-in: 225.5
Currently reading: Living With Ghosts by Kari Sperring

 
 
27 December 2009 @ 07:55 am
We had a snow flurry while coming back from the restaurant* last night, special just for us (it stopped shortly after we got home.)  Nothing much overnight or now, but fairly impressive green globs of rain on the weather radar to the west of us.  Air temperature 38 F, so it should stay wet rather than white.

*I splurged and had a grilled steak of apex predator.  Totally irresponsible of me, but at least it wasn't bluefin.  Our culture does not find great social prestige in eating the last member of an endangered species . . .
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 07:42 am
Well, the T.S.A. has reacted in their typical PanicPanicPanic mode of reaction.

pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php

Not mentioned in that article, but seen elsewhere:

The T.S.A. planned to add more security resources as needed on a daily basis, a person with knowledge of the agency’s plans said. The person said travelers would not experience the same thing at every airport, and that the system would be unpredictable by design.

Which is a good way to drive lab rats crazy . . .

Also reports on NPR this morning that some airlines/airports/flights are banning carry-on luggage totally. This represents an unconfirmed rumor that I am tossing into the mix for the hell of it.  Because I am an irresponsible sort of person.
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 12:53 pm
rock  
various streaming offers http://www.wdr.de/tv/rockpalast/videos/uebersicht.jsp needs flash ,
current list of availiable videos  )
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 11:45 am
US Domestic Airfares: Travel thru 11/8/10 330 day travel period No min. stay
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 10:56 am
Irregular Webcomic! #2527

That sound you don't hear is the sound of Terry quailing in horror.

"Quailing" is a good verb. People should use it more often.

 
 
27 December 2009 @ 10:50 am
US Domestic Airfares: Nonstop flights No min. stay
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 10:10 am

Episode 354: It Got Better

No GMing style is universally bad. There's always a player who appreciates a particular gaming style.

If you are seeking a new GM and gaming group to play with, and someone says that a particular GM is really good, make sure you know what that person's preferred playing style is before you accept the review at face value and take the plunge.

 
 
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 02:02 am
This is the list of the pulp magazines I currently have. I've tried to notate any significant damage (other than age and wear) and if the issue has a name I recognize in it. If anyone has questions, I'll look at the issues more carefully for any other authors of note.

Most of these are bagged but there are a few that aren't.

The All-Story Magazine - Nov 1906; May, Jun 1907; Jan, Feb, Aug, Sep 1908; Jul, Aug 1909; Mar 14 1914; Jun 26, Oct 16 1915; Aug 26, Sep 9, Nov 11, Nov 25 (photo copy covers, pt 2 of Tarzan & The Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs) 1916; Jan 13, Aug 18 1917; Jan 19, Jun 29 1918; Apr 26, May 31 1919; May 8 1920
All-Story Cavalier Weekly - Jun20, Aug 8, Aug 15 1914; Jan 9 1915
The Cavalier - Jan 31, Feb 7, Mar 7 (2 copies), Mar 14, Mar 28 1914
Famous Fantastic Mysteries - Sep/Oct (1st issue), Nov 1939 ; Aug 1940; Aug, Oct, Dec 1941; Feb 1942; Dec 1943; Mar, Sep (2 copies), Dec 1944; Mar (2 copies), Jun , Dec (3 copies)1945; Feb (2 copies), Apr (2 copies), Jun (2 copies) 1946; Feb, Jun 1947; Feb, Apr, Aug (2 copies), Dec (2 copies) 1948; Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec 1949; Oct (2 copies) 1951; Apr 1952
Cosmopolitan - Apr 1892; Jun 1909; Aug 1912; May 1916; Dec 1917 (large magazine size)
Argosy All-Story Weekly - Nov 20 1920; Mar 19, Apr 2 1921; Jun 17 1922 (2 copies); Jul 8 1922; Jul 5 1924; Jul 24 1926; Nov 12 1927; Feb 4 1928
The Outing Magazine - Feb 1906; Apr 1906; Mar 1911 (missing cover)
Liberty - Aug 4 1934
Blue Book - Apr 1932; Jan 1952
Fantastic Adventures - May 1939 (first issue)(large magazine size); Jan 1940 (large magazine size); Apr 1944 (standard pulp size); Winter 1950 (quarterly reissue)(Robert Bloch story)
Golden Fleece: Historical Adventure - Nov (missing cover), Dec 1938 (note on back says $165)
The Wide World: The True Adventure Magazine For Men - Jul 1960
Adventure - Aug 30 1922 (missing back cover)
Fantastic Novels - July 1940; Nov 1948; Mar, May, Jul, Sep 1949
The Red Book Magazine - Sep 1914 (note on back says $58)
Captain Zero: Master of Midnight - Nov 1949 (note on back says 'paid $132)
The Scrap Book - Nov 1906; Jul 1909 (price tag says $15)
New Worlds - Vol 1 number 3 (could not find publish date) (front cover badly damaged)
Startling Stories - May 1941; Summer 1946; Sep 1949; Oct 1952; Fall 1954
Astounding Stories - Oct 1934; Sep 1935; Sep, Dec 1936; Jun, Oct 1937; Jun, Dec 1938; Jan, Nov (4 copies), Dec 1941
Planet Stories - Summer 1945; Sep (Poul Anderson story), Nov 1952; Jan 1953 (2 copies); Spring (Poul Anderson story), Summer (Poul Anderson story) 1955
Thrilling Wonder Stories - Apr 1949 (Ray Bradbury story); Dec 1951; Jun, Dec 1952
Future Fiction - Nov 1940; Apr 1941; Aug (2 copies), Oct 1942; May/Jun 1950 (2 copies); May 1951 (Poul Anderson story); Jul 1952; Mar 1953 (Poul Anderson story)
Wonder Stories - May 1930 (large magazine size); Mar 1931 , Dec 1931 (large magazine size); Oct 1932 (large magazine size); Nov 1934 (2 copies); Mar 1935, Feb 1936
Out Of This World Adventures - Dec 1950
Comet - Dec 1940 (2 copies); Mar 1941
Marvel Science Stories - Aug 1938; Feb, Dec 1939; Nov 1950
Astounding Science Fiction - Mar, Sep, Nov 1942; Mar 1943
 
 
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: cold
Currently Boogieing to: Dead Can Dance: The Wind That Shakes The Barley
 
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 08:45 pm

Would it be unusual to have dual pronouns such as "the two of us" if your conlang typically only has a single or plural number?   


 
 
27 December 2009 @ 01:30 am
Someone on Twitter asked for the annotated Batman DVD guide I wrote up for a friend, so I'll Just Leave This Here. It's very subjective, though; some episodes I didn't care for, someone else might.

Guide behind the cut. )
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 06:23 am
December 27, 2009: The Year that Was in Thaumatology  


In 2008, our big GURPS hardcover release was GURPS Thaumatology, which expanded the possibilities and options of the GURPS magic system.</p>

Of course, it always takes time for new options to be fully assimilated by our authors (and the fans!). So it's not surprising that a surge of supplements building off of GURPS Thaumatology arrived during 2009.</p>

Here, then, are the four expansions from e23 that tie into GURPS Thaumatology:</p>
  • GURPS Thaumatology: Magical Styles -- Sean Punch's take on designing methods of magic used by guilds, schools, secret societies, etc. Discover Magic Perks available only to wizards!
  • GURPS Thaumatology: Alchemical Baroque -- Phil Masters' setting that combines an age of exploration with fantastic fairy-tale trappings.
  • GURPS Thaumatology: Urban Magics -- Bill Stoddard's exploration of the use and abuse of magic in cities. Discover mana-powered transport, urban divination, sacred architecture, and magical utilities!
  • Pyramid #3/13: Thaumatology -- Containing a full treatment of fairy-tale magic, an alternate form of magical healing, the all-too-creepy rituals of Red Diabolism, and much more.


And because it was released back in 2008, we're not going to mention the pulp-magic superhero setting, GURPS Thaumatology: Age of Gold. (Whoops . . .)</p>

-- Steven Marsh</p>
 
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 05:14 am

I’ve been playing around with Google Chrome the last few days, sometimes using it instead of my usual Firefox to compare the two (as a matter of fact, I’m typing this using Chrome right now), and it’s actually a pretty good browser.

I don’t know if I’ll replace Firefox with Chrome for good, frankly, it doesn’t seem like anything particularly special to me one way or the other. but just the fact that it’s newer than Firefox (and, thereby, perhaps less of a target than the other browser for hackers) makes it somewhat attractive.

Does anyone reading this use Chrome?  What’s your opinion?

 
 
26 December 2009 @ 10:09 pm
Oh, you guys, I have so much to tell you about -- reviews on Lego Rock Band and Sherlock Holmes, Baz's dental repairs, loot given and received, all that stuff. But first let me tell you about Christmas Eve dinner.
with pictures )
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 08:09 pm
1. Take care of myself and get better.

Finally being treated for my neurological asshattery feels damn good. I'm keeping this up, no kidding. This is good stuff, actually functioning like a human being is supposed to. In January, when Beloved heads off to the next chapter in her life, I'm going to begin a therapy program wherein I finally acknowledge the trauma, the emotional raw sewage I've been lugging around, and start working through it. I need to build healthier behaviors and learn how to emotionally and mentally care for myself. I'm going to begin Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to better handle my anxiety issues and Dissociative disorder.

I'm also going back to martial arts and dancing. The Irish dancing probably won't happen, thanks to me being older and having calcium deposits in my shins, and hip joint problems. High impact dancing is probably not a good idea. But ballet is definitely on my list of "hell, yes I can." I'm also going to begin kaju-kenpo as a martial art. I studied Kenpo, Shaolin, Tae Kwon Do, and Hapkido throughout my life, and my Warrior is itching to go back to the dojo.

2. Continue my online and "real life" activism for social justice.

I never expected activism to define my life, but it really, truly does. I attempt to breathe it every waking moment. There are the big things I'm doing, such as spearheading the Campaign for Military Partners as an arm of Servicemembers United, or testifying in front of the State House and Senate in support of Civil Unions, and liveblogging the whole experience to tell the truth to the world. There are the little things that we can all do every day to bring social justice up to actual consciousness in others. For instance, today I was simply standing in line at Best Buy, waiting to pay for a new Macbook mouse, and struck up a conversation in which I used the term "my wife." Doing big things can help a movement leap forward, but the movement only continues forward when a lot of people do little things consistently. Teaspoons and the ocean, an' all that. Little moments of activism normalize human differences, and they take social justice another baby step further towards 24/7 reality.

3. Apply to graduate school

No more stalling. I finally know what I want to be when I grow up, and it goes back to #2. I'm not sure if I'm going to attend law school, or a public policy/public administration program, but attend one I shall. Packages have to be in to schools by April 1st for fall admission, and in October for spring admission. The only thing standing in my way of doing this is me, and I won't stand in my own way anymore.
Tags:
 
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 11:55 pm
I heard bad things about AVATAR. Mind you- I only heard them weeks ago- Im not one of that group of people that had been following its progress for years. I hadn't even heard of it until a month ago.

I heard good, I heard bad, but even the bad reviews mentioned how great it was visually- so off I went- one last Christmas present to myself. Read more... )
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 12:12 am
Movie review time!

So, James Cameron's been poking away at his magnum opus for about ten years now. It's finally in theatres -- and just in time, since when he started, 3-D as a mainstream concept was laughable. Now, it's commonplace and accepted. Good for him. But does the movie work? Not "Does it live up to the hype", does it WORK?

Let's say it works despite itself.

I'll get the negative out of the way right now. The story is predictable and utterly tedious. Everything happens that you expect to happen -- a single sentence can summarize up the whole thing, "It's one of those movies where greedy white guys wanna displace the natives, except one of them goes native and leads a resistance." Done. You now know the entire plot of Avatar. The story unfolds exactly as you'd expect, a straight as an arrow path with no ambiguity and no nuance whatsoever. That makes the whole affair completely tedious... there are times when you just want them to get on with it, because you already know how it's going to go. For a movie so alive with color, it's totally black and white, and doesn't even bother trying to reach for anything beyond the basics.

So, if you aren't watching for the story, why watch? Three things: Characters, Spectacle, and Experience.

The characters are pretty nicely designed. They have distinctive voices and personalities, and the interplay of them as they move through the scenarios presented is interesting. Our hero is a bit generic, true, but everybody around him in Pink and Blue works well. None of them really surprise us or have any grey area to them, but they're enjoyable to watch and even the CG characters are so well animated that the ACTING comes through nicely. I can watch these guys and care about them, and that's the key to knowing if they work or not.

The spectacle is off the freaking map. Not just the 3-D, which is terrific (if a bit difficult to get into, since the image feels a bit too 'processed' at times) but the large-scale battles, the amazing environments, soaring through the sky... even walking around on ground level is amazing. This is a treat for the eyes and you always want to see more of it, with the movie only too happy to dish up new things to enjoy as you go.

That's where the experience comes into play; beyond Michael Bay-esque explosions and huge-scale objects to stare at, soaking in the WORLD that's been designed and coordinated by the artists is a delight. Even the more subtle visuals are quite a sight to behold, and they all blend together seamlessly into a living, breathing world... one that's easy to suspend your disbelief and revel in.

Overall... you can enjoy this movie, provided you go into it with the right frame of mind. It's a summer blockbuster, a popcorn movie. The writing is not nearly on par with Cameron's other work. But that's fine, if you go so you can watch blue people fight space marines and explore an MMORPG-esque fantasy world. And now is the time to go, while you can still catch it in 3-D... on home theatre systems it'll still be impressive, but it's not going to be 'what the doctor ordered'. So, if you've got an afternoon to kill and want something that'll entertain the hell out of you even if it doesn't fire up your neurons, it'll play nicely.
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 05:48 pm
Mmmmm, giftmas. I have had a new and unexpected pleasure this year, which is reading the fan fiction of certain friends' works in the annual Yuletide awesomeganza, and cackling, "JOSSED! JOSSED! SUPER SUPER JOSSED!" because I know how things turn out.

It's like being a showrunner, without any of the anxiety or insane working hours!

Anyhow, speaking of holiday-related writing, this year I wrote a short story for people who signed up for my Christmas Card list instead of sending them Christmas cards, and duly sent it out. At midnight New Zealand time, because that patience thing has never been one of my strong suits.

However, since December 25th is now well and truly over, everyone may now read my story. For lo, I am as generous as a post-nightmare Scrooge! It is a pleasant wee thing about fairies and food and there is a recipe at the end.

Queen of the Kitchen.

Enjoy!

The new Minuit album, by the by, is called Find Me Before I Die A Lonely Death.Com. I think this is almost certainly the best album title in the history of ever.
 
 
Currently Boogieing to: Yeah Yeah - Minuit
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 12:02 am
  • 01:56 AGH. My life-draining pistol in Torchlight? I accidentally disenchanted it. There goes most of my strategy. Time to scrounge... #
  • 02:07 ...and ten minutes later I find a unique pistol that'll replace my old one. Excellent. #
  • 12:10 You gotta be kidding me. Torchlight's on sale for $5. Keiko, sooo sorry I pleaded to get it early. Coulda saved you money. ;_; ! #
  • 15:28 Hurrah! After some firewall wrangling, we've got iTunes talking to each other across the home network. I can listen to Jen's tracks, etc. #
  • 00:01 Just finished writing up an episode list / quality guide for Batman:TAS for a friend. Rated them by awesomeness / continuity. #
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 06:58 pm
When bigoted people accuse you (collective) of being "intolerant of my views," or complain about how oppressed they are, what they really mean is that their sense of entitlement to feeling superior to you for whatever reason is slipping out of reach, and this upsets them. They feel insecure and small. By not being able to feel automatically superior to someone who will just lie down and take their bigoted, worthless, stupid horseshit as valid, a little voice of doubt creeps in to undermine all the bullshit messages of "how special you are!" with which they've been showered their entire failed and useless lives. This usually results in the Kübler-Ross five stages of grief. Losing one's sense of superiority and speshul-snowflake status is, after all, a loss, and there's no real reason to assume that anyone who undergoes that loss won't respond to it. Sadly, most of these idiots never make it past "denial," and those who miraculously do seem to be stuck at "anger." At that point, all you (collective) can do is wait for them to either die and take their failed hateful ideology/idiocy with them, or to finish going through the model all the way through to "acceptance," at which point they will hopefully stop being such hateful douchebags.
Tags:
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 08:47 pm

I'm cleaning off my desk and found a handwritten list of stuff to look into. I'm putting a copy here so I can toss out the paper and because others might be interested.

Funny thing about those l33t hackers in the last item: the domains I had written down for all three are expired, one googles to an empty forum, one group no longer seems to exist, and one's website is currently infected with javascript evals pulling in more javascript from Russia, China, and Thailand.

 
 
Current Mood: chipper
Currently Boogieing to: 4forty4 - Fire
 
 
So we did some Boxing Bay shopping, looking for deals. We stopped in at the Best Buy on Fairway. Parking there is always a bear and today we should just parked in Fairview and walked over. Unfortunately thos only became clear once it was impossible to change our minds.

Part of getting into the lot involves driving down a somewhat narrow road. To one side there is a hill, which had been turned into a sea of mud by people using it as parking. As we were driving, someone in a truck crested the top of the hill, clearly convinced a truck can drive anywhere, hit the mud and then slid sideways towards the two lanes of traffic in the lane. He hit the bottom and the edge of the paved lane, teetered for a bit and then settled on all four tires before proceeding on his way.

Then the second truck appeared. Rinse, lather and repeat, again narrowly missing a collision with traffic because the hard edge of the lane stopped the wheels abruptly.

This was pretty nerve-wracking from my side of the road so I can't imagine what it was for the people on the other side, the people who were in cars inadvertently serving as shields for my side.

Once we were in we had no trouble finding parking around the side, in a legal, marked spot.

I made a point of mentioning the problem and was directed to someone I assume was in authority. He told me that they did not have the man-power to deal with the problem. As far as I know, nothing was done. This was about 3 PM.
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 10:04 pm
Will keeps referring to LGMs (little green men) as 3ams.
Tags: ,
 
 
Current Mood: exhausted
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 02:42 pm
Still raining. If it hasn't been raining, it's been drizzling, and when it's not drizzling it's showering. The average December rainfall is 43mm; twice that has fallen since Christmas day. And yet there is still no run-off into the river. This is a soaking rain and it soaks right in as soon as it hits. It's the sort of rain we have needed for the last 3 years and never saw.

I blame [info]steve3. He and Sheena came out from England to get away from the cold, damp Christmas weather to enjoy our hot, dry Christmas.

I love the sound of rain on a tin roof. It's the sound I grew up with on the farm.
 
 
Current Mood: happy
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 07:40 pm
[info]calendula_witch explains today better than I can. Easy travel (relatively), quiet day, family stuff. All quiet here in the Witchnest, with [info]the_child watching anime on her laptop and me about to sink back into Living With Ghosts, a very fine book by [info]la_marquise_de_.

Most importantly, I'm back with [info]calendula_witch. Yay!

 
 
26 December 2009 @ 10:27 pm
The two options being discussed for dinner are

Blue Smoke

or

Somewhere on Arthur Avenue, in the Bronx

What're your thoughts? Arthur ave is less centrally located for most NYers, but the food is awesome. Of course, Blue Smoke is likewise awesome. Despite being a BBQ place, vegetarians can make a great meal out of veg sides at Blue Smoke, and the deserts are killer. OTOH, Arthur ave means Italian deserts, which are similarly homicidal. OTOOH, Blue Smoke has a bourbon flight. Yum. OTOOOH Arthur ave will have grappa, Sambuca and Limoncello. Also Yum.

Decisions decisions!

Oh, and because I should mention it, no one is under any obligation to get me anything. That said, if you *want* to get me a thing, I think [info]rosefox is organizing something.
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 08:49 pm
Okay, here's a holiday update, with an egg-on-my-face story that amused me perhaps more than it should have.

I'm typing this from my mother's house in Idaho; we're here for twelve days to sort of make up for not visiting last year :>
Read more... )
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 08:13 pm


Now go listen to The Christmas Rose at the site of a wonderful performer I know named Candace Corrigan.

PS She also has a blog where you can hear another song which she wrote and performed called "The Night I Trimmed the Christmas Tree". Dale & I had the privilege of working with Candace on a historical celebration done at the County Courthouse here in Murfreesboro. She often records with Dale or one of the students at MTSU.
Tags:
 
 
Current Location: home
Current Mood: happy
Currently Boogieing to: Kit Kat clock
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 06:08 pm

new mac table/workstation
Originally uploaded by halobrien
Back in August, when Sarah was operated on, I ended up losing my office. Not literally, but it was down in the basement, and Sarah wasn't able to make it down the staircase.

At least Sarah was happy to be with me when she was able to make it down the stairs. Kaylee, on the other hand, is too afraid of them to try negotiating them. So I've lost my office again, on a day-to-day basis. It was tough to leave Sarah alone upstairs because she'd chew on her bandages. Kaylee, unsupervised, will chew on... Any random thing strikes her fancy.

So.

So this week we found an inexpensive computer table ($20) for me on Craigslist, and I've moved my Mac upstairs to a snug place in the kitchen between the corner dining table and the refrigerator. In addition to being on the main floor, it's also by a window. My basement office has no windows at all. (The quick comparison is here.)

At least for now, I have to wear my Filson hat to keep the sun out of my eyes at the brightest.
 
 
27 December 2009 @ 02:04 am


Cthulhu Dice</p>

Our site was down for a bit over 24 hours. The problem proved to be a single port on a server switch, but it was a very important little port . . . and Jimmie was out of town, and attempts to troubleshoot remotely were not successful . . . We are, in theory, back now, and return you to the regularly scheduled Daily Illuminator, complete with picture of shiny dice.</p>

Cthulhu Dice</p>

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm not even going to attempt to do this image justice. Just click on the little thumbnail, and take a look at these beautiful dice in larger-than-life detail.</p>

You're looking at printer samples of Cthulhu Dice, which is scheduled to ship early next year. Each game will include one of these four colors. Don't worry, the colors will not be random -- each case will have the same number of each and the packaging will NOT be blind. You think we're going to make something this beautiful and not have it show in the package?</p>

-- Paul Chapman</p>
 
 
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 07:54 pm
I bit my lip very hard shortly before my mom showed up. It's basically been painful ever since (though ibuprofen seems to help a little), with this mandlebrot-looking (if I recall the term) ulcer on the inside of my lip. It rubs against my teeth. It hurts. Often it hurts to talk. O:(

I slipped on the stairs and landed hard on my left hip/buttock. It's bruised and stiff. (Overall, the OW there was worse than the injury; it always is on my hips and upper leg.)

And spouse has horrible cold which makes it very hard for him to sleep, 'cause it interferes with his CPAP machine.

All in all, minor stuff, but I felt like whining a bit (it's the headache). I hope everyone else is doing better.

On a plus-side, I rewrote a chunk of chapter for LA book 2 (formerly book 3), so it's about 2-3K shorter. Go me.

e23 is not responding. It is back on-line! Go buy stuff. O:>

INwatch: Core Rules: 444, Lilith: 379, Eli: 359, Liber Umbrarum: 224 (yay!), Litheroy: 217, Asmodeus: 191, Infernal Player's Guide: 123, GURPS In Nomine: 82, Zadkiel: 71 (yaaay!), Liber Canticorum: 29, Game Master's Guide: 20 (yay!).
Adventures: City On Fire: 116, Strange Bedfellows: 93, Feast of Blades: 92, The Rats' Revenge: 86.
Free Adventures: A Very Nybbas Christmas: 4132, The Sorcerer's Impediments: 2692.
Not IN: Sahudese Fire Drill: 77, GURPS IOU: 62, GURPS Classic All-Star Jam 2004: 61 (fell off the bottom). Not IN or mine: Vorkosigan Saga Sourcebook and RPG: 227.

Adopt one today!
Dragons under fold )
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 04:54 pm
Job 1 today was actually to replace the plastic sheeting that covers the scaffolding that shelters the trailer. A portion of it blew off several weeks ago. Aside from the cold, we really couldn't ask for better weather for unfolding a large sheet of plastic and draping it over the frame: not a breath of wind. It was cold, though, and the plastic was slightly reluctant to drape properly. Lisa got up on the roof of the trailer and laid out the plastic while I grabbed it at the ends under her direction. She then came down and stapled it to the boards that run along each side, and then cut off the loose bits.

Tackling Chores While the Sun Shines )

The sun sets early, of course, and just before sunset, we called it a day for the outside work. We got a lot done today, although not being able to get anything done on the old house is a bit disappointing to say the least.
Tags: ,
 
 
Current Location: Mehama, Oregon
Current Mood: accomplished
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 07:18 pm
What our house looks like from the outside, thanks to Crash:



Yesterday, our cute little guy was all mellow and unhappy - sick from eating too much Christmas faux bone. He made up for that inactivity today, hunting his natural prey: the wild toilet rolls of the Serengeti. Here's how today went:

Frank (working at computer, notices Crash behind him on futon, chewing up a roll of toilet paper): Ahhhhh!!!! Crash!!!!!

Crash (dropping toilet paper, looking innocently): What's up?

Frank: AhhhhhhhHH!!!!!!

Frank picks up debris after Crash has t.p.'d the inside of our apartment.

Frank puts toilet paper in cabinet.

Five minutes later:

Frank: Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

Crash has opened cabinet, retrieved toilet paper, closed cabinet and dragged t.p. debris up and down the hallway.

Frank cleans up t.p. debris, puts a hairband to secure the door of cabinet.

Five minutes later:

Frank: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Crash has chewed through hairband, retrieved t.p. from cabinet, closed cabinet to hide the crime, and recovered the floor with t.p. debris.

Frank picks up t.p. debris, puts t.p. rolls on top of table in kitchen. Vacuums up entire apartment.

Five minutes later:

Brianna (who was listening to loud dance music and didn't hear vacuum cleaner): I thought I asked you to vacuum.

Frank: I did vac---- AHHHHHHHH!!!!

Crash has jumped on table, grabbed toilet paper and ripped it to shreds and coated floor with t.p. debris. In minutes.

Frank: I'm going to lock up Crash in his cage.

Brianna: No, that's not necessary. We can just put up the babygate and lock him in the kitchen. He won't get out.

Frank: Uh, yeah...

Five minutes later:

Crash (strolling into living room with t.p. in his mouth): What's up?

Frank: Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 06:01 pm

  • 15:09 Turns out trying to go the mall for a movie the day after Chrismas is Madness. MADNESS, I tell you! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 11:40 pm
a British christmas card ( we Germans di not have that kind of humor )
with 3 wise women arriving on camels carrying gift of Pampers and babyfood .. and the caption " Don't be silly, wise men only happen in fairytales"

Wish I had a copy of that now could use it for a project.
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 02:07 pm
XPOST:  booksarelove, book_worm, books, readplease, bookish

Title:
Mama Fish
Author: Rio Youers
Genre: Dark Fiction (horror/speculative)
URL: Amazon
Price: $7.99 (note that this is a novella length work at 92 pages)

Summary (from the publisher): At Harlequin High School In 1986, Kelvin Fish was the oddball, the weird kid that no one would talk to, except for Patrick Beauchamp who was determined to learn more. When Patrick's curiosity about Kelvin leads him into a bizarre and tragic series of events, Patrick gets much more than he bargained for.


My Review: Damn, Rio Youers can write.

Mama Fish is an interesting little novella and one that is hard to categorize. Part coming-of-age, part befriended misfits, part urban horror, and part speculative, this novella is most certainly a page-turner, keeping me engrossed the whole way.

Read more... )
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 10:03 pm
The day after the 25th is always soporific after all the good food etc, don't think anyone would have energy for any sports, never mind boxing..you may all groan Though I did manage a walkies to the end of the road now the snow and ice have melted enough to not be a slippy-slidy hobbits - my balance is poor enough some days as it is without any "assistance" from wintriness.

Yesterday was good, if tiring - I do love a nice turkey dinner but always forget till I'm just about to start cooking exactly how much is involved, though I got plenty of help as usual, with mum laying out ingredients and pots and pans and dad doing the spuds and keeping an eye on the turkey while it roasted, I just had to prepare and cook the rest. With our bird we had roast potatoes, roasted parsnips, cabbage, asparagus, sage and onion stuffing, bread sauce and gravy, plus I stole a couple of [info]forest's sausages, even though I shouldn't really: usually he does them in red wine, this year thanks to the large bottle of 12 year old malt whiskey (Glenfiddich, the one with the stag, no comments on horny drinkers, thanks... :) ) they were done in wine *and* whisky. Oh, and garlic infused olive oil. Oh my, tastiest things ever!

Gift-giving occured after lunch, quite low-key this year, dad got books and cds as usual, lots of poetry thanks to him being so inspired by his evening classes, he got the complete works of Ted Hughes and also Auden (my selected works not being enough Auden, clearly..), plus I got him some Billy Collins having heard a few of his being read out on the radio a few months back, and [info]forest raided Amazon's poetry section also.

Amazon did good, to some extent, leastways I was delighted to open a parcel with an Eva Ibbotsen I've not read, and a book of Jung, and also the dvd of Inglourius Basterds, wheeeee! *squishes the Forest person for doing a good wishlist raid* The book I'd picked for my beloved however did not turn up, so he ended up with a print-out of the relevant page (wrapped in shiny paper at least). *sigh*

Checking the website, amazon say it was put on the Citylink van for delivery on December 22nd.

In Glasgow.

I am.. perplexed, to say the least. Luckily I'd also got some ginger chocolate and a wee wire gecko so he had something in his paws.

Oh and speaking of wee wire things, [info]diddler is a star, as she made me the lovely beaded spider I was going on about on here a couple of months ago. Its so cute, all black and beady and spidery, very skillful work and as I'd completely forgotten about it, an extra surprise. A bag of my fave Whittards coffee will also go down a treat, yay thoughtful people.

I also gots chocolate and some bookses - the complete Hamish Macbeth series, plus Marco Polo's Travels - and a cd from [info]tanngrisnir which I will listen to over dinner tonight, methinks. Ooh and a wee bottle of white wine, about a fifth of which went down very nicely last night while nodding off to Xmas television. At least I watched Dr Who earlier on, as it was seriously weird, maybe wine would have helped? :7

And now we have rain and I need to sort something to eat... *ambles off*

Edit: forgot to mention my other pressie, a ballet outfit for my doll. Which doesn't quite fit, as the clothes for said doll aren't availble yet so I had to guess that Corolle outfits might fit, and, er, sort of. Dolly has her tights on and the leotard, but it only goes to the waist, and the tutu is held on with a clip right now, and her cardi is doing dual duty as a wrap. Still looks cute and made me smile though, which is all that matters. Oh yes, and her feets are too big so the slippers are round her neck as though she's in mid-change... ::giggle::
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 01:28 pm
I installed Beyond the Sword this morning. Followed all the instructions, the computer seems happy, but when I start CivIV I'm not getting the BtS content.

Anyone care to tell me what I need to tweak?
 
 
Current Location: San Jose, Ca, 95118
Current Mood: confused
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 04:01 pm
 
 
 
26 December 2009 @ 08:08 pm

I bought a new vacuum today.  Our old one didn’t make the trip in very good condition (my fault, I packed it oddly and a bookcase shifted onto it … it still worked, but never as well as it once did) and it was time.

So when Dian, still slightly under the weather, asked me to go out for a couple of sodas, I decided to buy a new vacuum while I was at it.  Off into the wilds of post-holiday shopping went I, a man on a mission to … huh.

Odd thing, actually.  When looking for most things, say a new sofa, you want to find one that fits your lifestyle, one that’ll look good and perform well; in short, one that doesn’t suck.  You want stuff that doesn’t suck as badly as the other stuff; you want stuff that sucks less than any of the other choices; you are looking for the item that sucks the least.

Then there’s shopping for a vacuum, where you want to choose one that sucks more than any of the rest.  You want the most suck for you buck that you can get, so you deliberately shop for something that really, really, seriously, sucks.  It’d be nice if it looks nice and fits into your decor, but the most important thing about is that it has to suck in a major way.

(I have a cousin who believed the same criteria applied for choosing one’s future wife, but that’s a different story and one that ended in several divorces.)

Anyway, out into the world of suck I headed, determined to return with something that sucked worse than being a professed Democrat in Texas, traveling through the crowds of bargain hunters and present returners in search of that most mythical of critters: A Good Deal.  After checking out the various department and discount stores (and getting pretty fed up with all the rude crowds packed into them), I finally bit the bullet and drove the couple of hours needed to reach the big Air Force Base in Colorado.

For the price of a smallish suck-broom at a civilian store, I was able to buy a serious suck machine.  Not quite the top of the line, but way more than we need to keep our place neat and clean (if we had more than one cat, I would have popped for a Dyson, but why buy an elephant gun if you’re only hunting rabbits).

I returned home with my trophy around four hours after I’d left … to buy a couple of sodas.  I remembered to pick up the sodas on the way home,  but Dian’s expression when I explained that I’d gotten a little carried away with finding a new vacuum suggested a new definition for suck was on the horizon.

 
 
26 December 2009 @ 11:47 am

 
 
Current Location: Vancouver, Canada
Current Mood: chipper
Currently Boogieing to: I'm Beginning To See The Light (The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald)