June 30th, 2025
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)
* SAVE OFTEN, especially in the early game when you may be very fragile and the game's auto-save is infrequent.

BUT -- don't reload from a save unless you actually die or otherwise hit a "game over."

This game is about failing, and it rewards you for playing forwards through failure. Some of the best moments in the game come from failed checks. There are always alternative routes and ways forwards. If you tried to savescum it, you would miss most of the game and all of the point. Embrace failure.

Okay there are those two specific checks where failing is so emotionally devastating I would not judge anyone for savescumming. But apart from those.

* You can just pick one of the Archetypes for a starter build, and leave messing around with custom character creation until you've seen the stats in action and understand how the system works. Don't stress about it. Or, if you want, you can throw yourself into custom character creation despite not having a clue how it works, and you will also have a fun time. Your initial build and your later choices about what you put points into will radically change your experience of the game, but you can't do it "wrong"; there are no optimal builds which are "better".

* Press tab to highlight objects you can interact with, or activate "detective mode" in the settings to do it automatically. Yes I know this is the sort of thing that is probably obvious to people who have played video games before.

* If your Health or Morale (displayed on the lower left of the screen) fall to zero, you have about 5 seconds to apply a healing item (if you have one) by clicking the cross above that stat.

This is the one timed element in the game, and also the one mechanic that some of us initially have trouble grasping.

With all the other mechanics in the game, you can not only learn them by flinging yourself in and floundering about, this is IMHO the best and most enjoyable way to learn them. No idea what the Thought Cabinet is or what Internalizing A Thought means? Try it and find out!

* Perhaps the most important tip of all:

If you feel you are flailing around and failing on most of the checks you try and you've just been informed you have acquired a Thought you can internalize in your Thought Cabinet and you have no clue what that means or maybe you just had a heart attack and died before you even got out of your hotel room or you had a nervous breakdown because a child insulted you and you have no idea what you're doing and it's been three days and you still haven't got the body down from the tree --

THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME "BADLY". THIS IS IN FACT THE UNIVERSAL DISCO ELYSIUM EXPERIENCE AND MEANS YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME CORRECTLY. WELL DONE.
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
I didn’t have to be to mom’s until 9am this morning, so I was able to get some chores done before I left: I dried and folded yesterday’s load of laundry, washed another load and got it in the dryer, did some hand-washing of dishes, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, paid some bills online, swept the hallway, laundry area and kitchen, returned another book to the library, and scooped kitty litter.

I had scheduled it so I would be relieved at ~3pm so I could actually make supper, so when I got home I did more dishes, emptied the dishwasher, made supper, did even more dishes, shaved, tossed a load of bath towels into the washer and remembered to also put them in the dryer.

I finished Fugitive Telemetry and started the next Duncan Kincaid book, and watched the current ep of Resident Alien.

Temps started out at 61.5(F) and reached 78.2 (that I saw at 3:30pm), but 85 according to Pip. It was cool in the morning, but sunny with a nice breeze in the afternoon.


Mom Update:

Mom was tired today. more back here )
June 29th, 2025
james: (Default)
chicating: I have a new dragon (Default)
posted by [personal profile] chicating at 12:45pm on 29/06/2025
angry and cheated, like, always.(THere is plenty of reason, but I did always hope to get more from life, before it was all over.)
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)

PSA

posted by [personal profile] rydra_wong at 01:54pm on 29/06/2025 under
Disco Elysium is currently 90% off in the Steam summer sale, making it a mere £3.49.

Play Disco Elysium, everybody. Yes, even if you don't play video games.

(It was the first video game I ever played -- apart from having once(?) played Pac Man as a child, many many decades ago -- and it was a perfect choice.)

If you understand the principle of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, have a vague sense that "stats" and "levelling up" are things, and can grasp "click to go to a place/interact with an object," you are sufficiently equipped.

ETA: Okay, I will add in [personal profile] astrogirl's excellent content warning:

It's definitely not for everybody. I mean, for one thing, it gets pretty much all the trigger warnings for everything. Alcoholism and substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, discussions of sexual assault, gore (not visual, but some of the descriptions are very vivid), you name it. A number of characters are giant racists. (Towards fictional races/ethnicities, mind you, but it's still ugly.) Evil children will hurl homophobic slurs at you. That sort of thing. And whatever your politics, the game will try very hard to make you feel uncomfortable about them.
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
Another long day. Hopefully the final one. Today was Ian’s graduation party. Thankfully I did not have to be to mom’s as early as I feared so sister A could leave to get set up for the party. She said I could get there between 9 – 10am, so I split the difference and got there at 9:30am. Then I took mom to the party. Sister S relieved me at 7:30pm.

I did manage to get stuff done before I left the house: two loads of laundry (one dried and folded), hand-washed some dishes and did a load in the dishwasher, scooped kitty litter, took the dogs for a short-ish walk, and dropped a book in the library return box on my way to mom’s. I did more hand-washing of dishes when I got home and tossed some laundry into the dryer.

I watched the current ep of Murderbot, finished my book and started another (Fugitive Telemetry, finally). And, of course, attended Ian’s graduation party.

Temps started out at 64.4(F) and reached 87 (according to Pip). He couldn’t have been far off because it got HOT. (It was still 79.2 when I got home after 7:30pm.) My sister had moved Ian’s party from a tent at her house to the local fire house because we were supposed to have scattered thunderstorms all day, but we didn’t get any.


Mom Update:

Mom did well yesterday. more back here )
June 28th, 2025
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
This was another long day. I had to be at mom’s by 7:30am so my sister S could go to work. My sister A had to decorate for Ian’s graduation party tomorrow, and S attended the graduation of her step-grandson. (Not as long a day as yesterday, though – sister A showed up at 5:30pm to relieve me.) As I’ve said, I don’t mind BEING there, because I can be on my computer or read, but it gives me anxiety to not be home where I can get chores done, or go shopping. Thankfully, I did get some stuff done before I left the house today.

I stopped at Stewart’s for milk after dropping Grant off at the garage. I threw a load of laundry into the washer, hand-washed dishes, cooked hot dogs for Pip to heat up for supper, stirred together two cabbage salads for Ian’s graduation party (one with pineapple and one without to put on pulled pork sandwich if they want to do so) and scooped kitty litter. (I also had to cut up chicken for the dogs’ supper and pack my ‘lunch bag’.) (As you might imagine, it felt like I was running a race to get all of this done before I left to relieve my sister.) When I got home I tossed the wet clothes into the dryer, did up more dishes, and took a shower before I sat on the bed with a towel wrapped around my hair to decompress a bit.

I finished the current Amelia Peabody and started a new book, and took a short nap (which was just enough to reinvigorate me, rather than leave me lethargic).

Temps started out at 58.8(F) and reached an unknown high; it was 66.4 at 6pm when I got home. It was overcast all day, but I felt lucky we hadn’t had the forecasted rain, which then came in late afternoon. Thankfully it had finished before I needed to carry all my bags out to the car.


Mom Update:

Mom seemed tired when I arrived. I think yesterday’s activity took a lot out of her. more back here )
June 27th, 2025
twistedchick: watercolor painting of coffee cup on wood table (Default)
rivkat: Rivka as Wonder Woman (Default)
posted by [personal profile] rivkat at 02:02pm on 27/06/2025

no good, very bad thing: for the first time ever, I carefully concealed my Star of David scrunchie to do an interview in case it became a distraction. I try hard not to self-censor, but ...


spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
I had to be at mom’s by 7am so my sister A could get to work. I was not looking forward to today because it was going to be a long one. (As will the next two days.) Ian’s graduation was tonight. I didn’t originally plan to attend because I thought families would be limited due to space in the auditorium. Also, my sister never mentioned it, which backed-up my thought. Apparently there are no limits, so since both of my other sisters are working, I stayed with mom all day and drove her there that evening. By the time I got home ~8:30pm I had “put in” over twelve hours today.

I filled my gas tank after dropping Grant off at the garage; hand-washed some dishes and scooped kitty litter before heading to mom’s. (I also cut up chicken for the dogs’ meals and packed my own ‘lunch bag’.) After I got home I threw in a load of laundry to wash while I did up the dishes in the sink and then got ready for bed. After ‘decompressing’ for a while with some games on my phone I got to bed just before 10pm, which is late for me. I slept like a rock, though.

I read more fanfic and more Amelia Peabody.

Temps started out at 66.6(F) (which is weird since the high is only supposed to be 68) and reached an unknown high, as I was never home to check. It was much cooler than the previous 80s/90s days. Yes, I can complain when it’s too hot AND when it’s too cool! I want a nice median temperature. It’s already summer and we never got spring!


Mom Update:

Mom was feeling a malaise this morning when I arrived. more back here )
china_shop: Close-up of Zhao Yunlan grinning (Default)
posted by [personal profile] china_shop at 03:50pm on 27/06/2025 under
I wrote most of this on Tuesday, and now it's Friday, so some unrepaired time dilation might slip through.

Pandemic life
Protocol slippage. )

Previous poll review
In the Impending doom of the natural variety poll, the most common natural disaster threatening respondents is drought/heat (55.6%), followed by flood (44.4%), then blizzard (40.7%). Twelve of us (including me) are at risk of earthquakes.

In ticky-boxes, hugs won by a landslide with 70.4%, followed by "ticky-box made of Möbius strips and Escher staircases" with 48.1%. Thank you for your votes!

Reading
A little more Neurotribes, but the focus on kids and parenting is not holding my interest. Nothing wrong with it; I'm just not the right audience. A chapter of Guardian. A smidgen more of The Book of Three, and the first few hours of Incandescent by Emily Tesh, read by Zara Ramm (very heavy on introductions and the nitty-gritty of school administration so far, but I like the POV character - no spoilers, please).

TV & movies
Four episodes of The Expanse season 6 with a friend; we're watching the other two tonight. Murderbot (really enjoyed the last episode). Poker Face (haven't seen the latest). Andor S02E06 (maybe we're watching this too slowly? so far this season isn't clicking for me).

Episode 2 of Stick, which... I enjoyed watching Lydio Ko play on TV, one time, but I just don't know how much golf I can engage with, especially in fiction. Swings all look the same to me, so after the first three or four, there's none of the physical competence porn you get in more overtly active sports. And I don't find Owen Wilson inherently charming or interesting. I think the biggest appeal of the show is actually that so much of it is set outside with trees around, and that's still a very manicured, artificial setting. /fussy /tl;dr, We're in the market for a new show.

Our Unwritten Seoul (Kdrama on Netflix). I'm enjoying this so much! Two episodes and several revelations yet to go.

Materialists at the movies. We went to this because a friend and I have a running conversation about the death of the romcom, and this nominally was one. But it turned out to not really be rom or com, and the title should have clued me in that Andrew wouldn't like it (he disliked the main character and wasn't at all invested in the outcome). It's interestingly structured, and the cast is good, but it's mostly about entitled people approaching dating in terms of checkboxes (age, height, income, etc).
Spoilery things about the structure.The main character, Lucy, is a professional matchmaker in NYC, and the film is in three parts: the first third is a wealth-porn romance between her and Pedro Pascale; he pursues her after they meet at the wedding of his brother, her former client. They go to a lot of expensive restaurants, have sex on satin sheets in his $12m penthouse, and talk a lot of numbers at each other. He wants to take her to Iceland on holiday. The middle third (or possibly third act of four? I wasn't timing it) starts when one of Lucy's clients is sexually assaulted on a date Lucy set up. This all happens off-screen, and I don't think we even see the assaulter. The victim is the nicest, warmest of Lucy's clients, but the film is mostly concerned with Lucy's crisis, as the assault brings home that the checkboxes don't matter. The final third or act is a second-time-around romance with her struggling-actor/cater-waiter ex-boyfriend, Chris Evans. Lucy broke up with him over money, and now at the culmination of her character arc, she decides she loves him enough to make it work after all. Conveniently, he is still extremely hung up on her.

I don't think I've ever seen a relationship movie that starts out focused on one pairing getting together (they feel pretty well-matched, and Pedro Pascale's character is smart, open, attentive and kind), then transitions to another pairing. Huh.


The Wild Robot on Netflix. Okay, this was really cute and funny. I especially enjoyed the possum babies. (I kept missing quips, though -- poor sound mixing, or is my hearing going?) As an aside, I was amused that the corporation was called Universal Dynamics, given Global Dynamics in Eureka (2006) and Massive Dynamics in Fringe (2008). What comes after "universal"?

October Sky on Netflix. Fictionalised biopic about a kid in a coal-mining company town in 1957 who is inspired by Sputnik to create a rocket, learn trigonometry, and get a college scholarship. Stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, and Laura Linney. It was fine, but wow, I wanted the story to be about overthrowing the company.

Audio entertainment
I spent four or five hours over the weekend listening to Melanie Nelson of Coherent podcast interviewing politicians, academics and a disability activist about the "Let's Make Everything Libertarian" Bill for which submissions closed lunchtime Monday. (Locals, it's not too late to weigh in! Talk to your MP!) Since then, Writing Excuses and a bunch of Midnight Burger. (I bounced off Midnight Burger when I first tried it a year or two ago, but now I'm really enjoying the physics and other science aspects, and the characters are growing on me. Ava is my fav. I'm most of the way through episode 11.)

Online life
Catching up on comments. Still have a billion unread emails, and let's not even talk about my tabs.

Writing/making things
I spent the weekend juggling multiple urgent things. Now I have some breathing space, of course, when I sit down to write (aiming for a combination [community profile] fan_flashworks entry and Guardian Bingo), I can't make sentences.
Whining.A contributing factor is that I'm having another "argh, my prose sucks" crisis of confidence. This happens periodically. You can't be on a roll indefinitely without hitting a bump, I guess. For me, usually it means it's time to read a particular type of literary novel, preferably in paper format. The one I remember being most successful is Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible; the very close, very voice-y rotating POVs, the playful intricate language use, and the thoughtful exploration of context help me to sink into whatever POV I'm writing, rather than skating over the surface and Lego-ing together tired phrases. I wrote some really good fic after re-reading it a few years ago. Whereas re-reading Byatt's Possession just meant I produced endless run-on sentences, heh. Anyway, I guess I should get on that soon...


Finished and posted an old outsider POV writing exercise for [community profile] fan_flashworks's Yield challenge.

Life/health/mental state things
I got my political submission in (thanks to [personal profile] cyphomandra for beta) and wrote an outraged email to the Prime Minister about the Deputy Prime Minister's engaging in stochastic harrassment.

In general, I've been feeling needlessly stressed and vaguely sick, but today my alarm didn't go off and I slept an extra hour and a half. So much better.

Good things
Un-punctured bike tyre. Kdrama. New intermediate glasses making it easier to do crosswords and to read while I exercise. New bathroom sink taps. [community profile] sid_guardian commentpalooza. I'll probably get back on my writing feet again soon. Andrew and Halle and books and fandom.

Poll #33295 Routine
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 59


Night-time getting-ready-for-bed routine

View Answers

I brush my teeth
49 (83.1%)

I lock up and switch things off around the house
29 (49.2%)

I tend to pets
20 (33.9%)

there are a few skincare- and/or haircare-type steps
19 (32.2%)

kind of a lot of steps, of various kinds
10 (16.9%)

it takes me more than half an hour
14 (23.7%)

sometimes it takes me an hour or more
4 (6.8%)

what routine? I'm always ready for bed
9 (15.3%)

other
9 (15.3%)

ticky-box of it's normal to have strong opinions about taps (AKA faucets)
25 (42.4%)

ticky-box of how stressful it is to ask tradespeople to change things they've done
34 (57.6%)

ticky-box of wondering if today is the day you'll unexpectedly step through a portal into another time or world
23 (39.0%)

ticky-box full of sitting on a mountain ledge in the moonlight, listening to owls
33 (55.9%)

ticky-box full of hugs
44 (74.6%)

June 26th, 2025
spikedluv: created by tarlan (misc: tv talk by tarlan)
posted by [personal profile] spikedluv at 09:17am on 26/06/2025 under , ,
Getting this in just in time!


Murderbot: Good ep. spoilers )


Resident Alien: Good ep. spoilers )
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
I had a chiropractic appointment this morning. It was my annual exam in addition to an adjustment. I don’t recall if I mentioned it, but my lower back, left side, has been hurting me for a couple of weeks. I figured it was spending more time in the car driving to the hospital, sitting in those uncomfortable chairs in mom’s room, etc. Today when he did one of the scans, bright red lines appeared indicating trouble on the left side low back region. I was like, I knew something not-good was happening there! One of the comments the chiropractor has made in the past is that he needs to adjust something different on me every time; I never come in with quite the same issue. One week, sacrum, another week, mid-back. I keep him hopping.

I hit Walmart, Price Chopper and the Pharmacy while I was downtown and got in a longer walk around the park. Before I left the house I heated up a ham steak on the stove and frozen peas in the microwave for Pip to heat up for supper tonight. I also did the usual amount of hand-washing dishes and scooped kitty litter.

I read some fanfic and more Amelia Peabody.

Temps started out at 75.6(F) and reached at least 88.0. That was the temp when I left the house for mom’s just before 11am, but Pip said it got to 92. Less stifling than yesterday and there was a breeze that had a coolness to it. I still wouldn’t have wanted to be out there all day. Just walking to the mailbox was uncomfortable.


Mom Update:

Mom is doing okay; no major ups or downs today. more back here )
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/25/trans-westminster-lobby-ehrc/

The organizers are estimating circa 900 people showed up, putting it on a par with the biggest LGBTQ+ lobbies ever (against Section 28).

Outstanding work from the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, who also organized the legal briefing for MPs in May:

https://www.attitude.co.uk/news/trans-legal-experts-warn-supreme-court-ruling-could-be-breaching-human-rights-in-parliamentary-briefing-483801/

You can support them and get the "Maybe I'm trans?" badges or just support them without badges:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/maybe-im-trans
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/solidarity-projects-campaigns-fund
twistedchick: watercolor painting of coffee cup on wood table (Default)
posted by [personal profile] twistedchick at 01:30am on 26/06/2025
I have been watching 'Elementary' the past week or so, especially during the heat dome of the last few days, and throughout the first three seasons Holmes' father is mentioned a few times but never shows up.

He finally does show up early in season 4, and from the first moment I saw him I kept thinking, 'where do I know this actor from'? His face, older and lined, was like many other actors, but that voice was singular.

So I looked him up.

He played Denethor in LOTR, the bad father who tried to burn his younger son to death and immolate himself on the fire as well -- the worst of the fathers in LOTR.

Tone down the madness, make him a high-level businessman with a finger in every government, and you have Sherlock's father. Pretty good casting.
June 25th, 2025
james: (Default)
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: Water Like a Stone (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie and To Darkness and to Death (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) by Julia Spencer-Fleming.


What I am Currently Reading: The Ape Who Guards the Balance (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters.


What I Plan to Read Next: Still a variety of library books out, so one of those.




Book 46 of 2025: Water Like a Stone (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)

Good book! spoilers )

I enjoyed this book and have already requested the next. I'm giving this one five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥




Book 47 of 2025: To Darkness and to Death (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) (Julia Spencer-Fleming)

I enjoyed this book, but even as I was reading it I was thinking it was a very weird mystery. With so many bad choices. It felt like a comedy of errors. spoilers )

Still enjoy the main characters and plan on reading more, but only giving this book three hearts.

♥♥♥
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
I didn’t have to be to mom’s until 10am, so I got some chores done before I left the house. I did two loads of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, emptied the dishwasher, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, and changed kitty litter.

I read fanfic and more Amelia Peabody, and finally watched the current ep of Resident Alien. Pip suggested I stop at Dairyland on the way home from mom’s so I picked up soft vanilla ice cream in a dish for him and a milkshake for myself.

Temps started out at 77.9(F) and reached 94.7 (that I’m aware of). I made a couple trips outside (to check mom’s mail and other errands) and it was stifling. There was a breeze, but it was a hot breeze and didn’t help much. The temps are supposed to drop a tiny bit today and be 69 on Thursday, which made both mom and me go o_O.


Mom Update:

Mom is showing more improvement physically; she stayed awake almost all morning and we chit chatted a bit. more back here )
June 24th, 2025
twistedchick: watercolor painting of coffee cup on wood table (Default)
cupcake_goth: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] cupcake_goth at 11:39am on 24/06/2025
 [personal profile] danabren left a comment on my post about Catholic aesthetics/music/Gregorian chants that unlocked a core 90s scene memory for many of us: constantly hearing Enigma at every damn kink or kink-adjacent play party. 

This led me to see what songs turn up on "Enigma Radio" on Spotify. Guess what the first song was? Go on, guess. 






Ah, good 'ol "Caribbean Moon Blue".

There are days when I think about trying to explain to Kids Today what sort of music was played for the first 30-60 minutes at Ye Olde Spooky Clubs because I'm pretty sure they'd never believe me. 

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