archersangel | Network

Woke up this morning and took my temperature. It was almost normal (98.8). But I was still freezing. Why am I still shivering?

Oh yeah. I turned the heat off that one day when it was hot recently.

Had to turn the heat back on, because the house was down to 63 degrees and I'd like to not shiver all day while it's cold and rainy outside.

(We're already at today's high, 48 degrees. Wheee!)

thornsilver

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kareila

I didn't really need to buy Connor a new iPhone for his graduation, but I made him the offer since that was what I gave Will when he graduated, and he took me up on it. Connor had been using the iPhone SE that I had bought as an extra family phone 4 years ago, and although it's still in good condition, it's definitely dated. He picked out a basic iPhone 16 in teal green, but only after I demonstrated that he could disable the so-called Apple Intelligence features.

I also didn't really need a new Kindle, either, but Amazon was having a sale recently, and I got an additional discount from trading in the kids' Echo Dot devices, which were at least six years old and had barely been used in all that time. In fact, when we moved house last year, I had boxed them back up in their original packaging, so they might have fetched even more on the resale market than what I got for trading them in. At any rate, my new Kindle is more responsive than the old one, has a slightly better screen, and charges via standard USB-C. The only downside I've found so far is that Calibre on my laptop can't sync with it directly; I have to use Amazon's USB File Manager app.

I guess I will deregister my old Kindle and offer it to Robby to use. In the past, whenever he has wanted to read an ebook, he's used the Kindle iOS app on one of my old iPads. If he doesn't want the Kindle, maybe I'll load the Discworld books onto it for Connor, since he never did get around to reading them before they disappeared into moving boxes. (Although he has plenty of other books that aren't packed away... he's currently working his way through One Hundred Years of Solitude.)

Current Mood: tired

cofax7

Y'all, things are shitty and going to get worse. I'm so sorry for, well, everyone.

But I heard a story today that was just fucking amazing, and I cannot repeat it, but! ( Read more... )

And that's all I can say about that.

Anyway I watched the finale of Andor and the first two eps of Murderbot, and lo! they are enjoyable. I have my issues with how Gilroy handled one specific character, but in general, he landed the show really well.

Murderbot is fun and it's nice to see they are hinting at the backstory already. And the casting is excellent.

merriamwebster_feed

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/voluble-2025-05-22

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2025 is:

voluble • \VAHL-yuh-bul\ • adjective

Someone may be described as voluble if they are talking a lot in a rapid, energetic way.

// Bri knew something was bothering her normally voluble friend when he was reluctant to talk about his day.

See the entry >

Examples:

“The movie is built around an interview with the legendary 91-year-old actor, still vigorous and voluble, with a seize-the-day cornball glow to him. In ‘You Can Call Me Bill,’ Shatner sits under the hot lights, with the camera close to his face, talking, talking, and talking—about life, death, acting, fame, love, desolation, and trees.” — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 Mar. 2023

Did you know?

In a chapter titled “Conversation,” from her 1922 book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, Emily Post offers her trademark good advice for the loquacious among us: “There is a simple rule, by which if one is a voluble chatterer ... one can at least refrain from being a pest or a bore. And the rule is merely, to stop and think.” Voluble, as is clear in this context, describes someone or something (as in “voluble personality/prose/presence”) characterized by ready or rapid speech. Voluble traces back to the Latin verb volvere, meaning “to set in a circular course” or “to cause to roll.” Another volvere descendant, volume, can also be a help in remembering voluble’s meaning, not because someone described as voluble speaks at a loud volume, per se, but because they have volumes to say.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/voluble-2025-05-22

unrelaxing posting in

recs

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longficmod posting in

fandom5k

Updated pinch hits here! Thanks very much to everyone who has claimed one. If you can claim one of these, please comment with your AO3 name and the number of the pinch hit you want. All comments are screened.

Like main assignments, these pinch hits are due on 28 June, and they require a check-in during the week of 7-14 June.

You may ask to exchange your assignment for an open pinch hit. If you are given that pinch hit and fulfill it, this won't count as a default. Please tell me in your comment requesting a pinch hit if you are asking to swap.

( PH 2 - Blue Lock (Manga), 終わりのセラフ | Owari no Seraph | Seraph of the End (Anime & Manga), Fairy Tail )

( PH 5 - Temeraire - Naomi Novik, The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman )

( PH 7 - Dial M for Murder (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), Dial M for Murder - Hatcher )

( PH 8 - Path of Night (Podcast), Vampire: The Masquerade - Various Authors (Choice of Games), Vampire: The Masquerade Port Saga (Podcast) )

( PH 9 - 終わりのセラフ | Owari no Seraph | Seraph of the End (Anime & Manga), Blue Lock (Manga), Fairy Tail )

( PH 10 - Doctor Who (1963), Dragon Age (Video Games), This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone )

( PH 13 - The Elementalists (Visual Novel), Heart of Battle - Fay Ikin, Royal Affairs - Harris-Powell-Smith )

( PH 15 - Code Vein (Video Game), 神さまのいない日曜日 | Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi | Sunday Without God (Anime & Manga), Octopath Traveler II (Video Game), 刀使ノ巫女 | Toji no Miko | Katana Maidens (Anime), よるのないくに | Yoru no Nai Kuni | Nights of Azure (Video Games), Xenoblade Chronicles (Video Game) )

( PH 17 - Breaking Bad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), The Godfather (1972 1974 1990) )

( PH 18 - Ancient History RPF, Solstice (MoaCube Visual Novel), Crossover Fandom )

( PH 19 - Ace Combat (Video Games), Dishonored (Video Games), Warhammer 40k (Novels) - Various Authors )

( PH 20 - ATEEZ (Band), Blink-182 (Band), Men's Basketball RPF )

( CLAIMED - PH 21 - Ranma 1/2, Lost Girl (TV), Star Trek: Lower Decks (Cartoon), Marvel (Comics), 超時空要塞マクロス | Super Dimension Fortress Macross )

( PH 22 - Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV), Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV), Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (Video Game), Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (Video Game), The Angel of the Crows - Katherine Addison, The Angel of the Crows - Katherine Addison, Battlestar Galactica (2003), Battlestar Galactica (2003), Babylon 5 (TV 1993), Babylon 5 (TV 1993) )

( CLAIMED - PH 23 - Original Work, Crossover Fandom, BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games), The Wheel of Time (TV), Tenet (2020) )

senmut

*\o/*	Word Count	Step Count	Headache?
Daily	0	7,811	yes
Monthly	12,133	194,216	7 days

senmut

*\o/*	Word Count	Step Count	Headache?
Daily	470	8,833	no
Monthly	12,133	186,405	6 days

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3092/

https://xkcd.com/3092/

brickhousewench

Still running a fever today. But since it stayed below 100 F (37.77C) all day, I worked an eight hour day. Don't want to get too behind on work stuff since I somehow managed to keep up on Slack and email while we were in Madrid.

I also:
* Fed myself three meals (two of them hot!)
* Brought in the mail (which I'd been forgetting to collect)
* Found my missing parking tags (so I can stop worrying about my new car getting towed)
* Tried to make plans for tea with Betsy this weekend, but the two places I've tried so far are booked. I'mma try a third place tomorrow.

Baby steps. I'm still gonna dose myself with Nyquil before bed tonight. (LOL, Mom asked me again what it was I had taken when I was sick when I was visiting and I told her Nyquil. The stuff has been around since 1966, you'd think she'd have seen plenty of commercials for it! "The nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine" )

oriolegirl

I have made it without incident to the parents. The flight landed early and then bus arrived early. My father picked me up after dropping my mother off for her cardio rehab, so we managed a quick grocery store run before we had to go pick her up. My father is now taking a walk, which sounded good to me - so much sitting today! - but I'm just too fucking tired. I'm afraid to lie down as it's not quite 5pm here. I got about 2 hours of sleep last night and I dozed for maybe an hour on the plane. Early to bed tonight!

brickhousewench

Mom called yesterday (Tuesday) and we yakked for about an hour. She had called a week ago when I was on my way to the airport and I missed the call. I could have been in the parking garage or a bathroom or anywhere else with concrete walls, I have no idea. I never heard the phone ring, I just saw that I’d missed her call. I messaged Dad and told him that I was going to be out of the country, so she wouldn't keep trying to call, and that I’d call when I got back from Madrid.

And I did. I called Saturday, but Mom was napping, so I talked to Dad for about 15 minutes. And found out he’d been in the hospital for a day or two. Apparently he’d been out running errands and his legs just felt weak and didn’t want to move. He was really leaning on the shopping cart to keep going. When he got home he thought that a hot bath might help him loosen up, but then he couldn’t get out of the tub, even with mom trying to help. She finally said she was going to have to call 911 and get some burly EMTs to help get him out. So they showed up, and Dad was buck naked and soaking wet, and they got him up out of the tub. He got some shorts on and they took him to the hospital to check him out. Dad sounded quite pleased with the broad spectrum of tests that they ran. When it came down to it, he’s been diagnosed with a hernia. They had him on IV antibiotics when he was in the hospital and sent him home with more antibiotics, and he’s going to have to schedule surgery to repair the hernia.

Of course, Dad did NOT remember to tell Mom that I’d called. 🙄 Because of course he didn’t.

And it’s just as well that I’d missed Mom’s call, because she was calling to hear about my trip and I hadn’t taken it yet. LOL. Mom was surprised that Dad had told me about his little hospital visit. Mom said that after she called 911, she sat on a stool out in the driveway and when the EMTs showed up she basically asked them NOT to allow Dad to talk them out of taking him to the hospital, because she wanted him checked out. I don’t know if it was hearing it from a medical professional and not mom, or if he was scared enough of how his body was failing him, but he went along with taking an ambulance ride to the hospital. And mom said she was glad she didn’t drive him in, because apparently the ER waiting room was packed.

I think he might have been there 24 hours? Just long enough to move out of the hallway in the ER and into a cubicle or room it sounds like. They checked him for Covid, then ran a whole battery of blood work, and he had an MRI and a CAT scan. I’m glad that they checked for a stroke, since he was having more trouble lifting his right leg and that was one of the things that I was worried about.

Mom wasn’t exactly sure what a hernia was, so I had to tell her. And now I’m curious as to what exact flavor of hernia Dad has. Since it was affecting his right leg, I’m going to guess it might be an inguinal hernia? I’ll have to ask him.

Mom and I spent some time talking about politics, because they’re in a Red state, so I don’t think she has anyone besides Dad to talk to about * waves hands *. She asked if I was stockpiling anything because of the tariffs? And I said really just toilet paper (because we get so much wood pulp from Canada) and light bulbs (because every freaking one of my IKEA lamps takes a different size and shape bulb). But other than that, I just have a little bit extra of a few things that won’t go bad (trash bags, aluminum foil).

The condo is still on the market. At least their realtor is better this time. She’s got exact data about who is looking at the listing, and where they’re from (Chicago, NY City). It’s a nice condo and in a good location, I hope it sells soon.

And I told mom about my trip to Madrid. But there wasn’t really much to tell because I spent the vast majority of my time in the hotel doing work stuff. When we had a couple of hours free, I spent it napping instead of exploring the city. I just wasn’t feeling touristy this time. I think the late dinners really threw me off, because they meant I had to stay up later every night than I wanted to.

And I told her that I’m traveling on business again to an offsite in Berlin in September. I’m excited for that, finally going to Germany for the first time since I left as a baby (I was born in West Germany).

sabotabby

The finale was...good, actually? Again, grading on a curve. It is still a bad show. But it's one of those bad shows where you get the sense that there is someone in the writers' room doing their best and sneaking all kinds of fun content in (see also: Archie singing IWW songs in Riverdale).

I had to check Reddit to see which case this was based on—it takes most of the episode to get to it. A seemingly unremarkable middle-aged travel agent drops dead in his driveway while his wife is out for a jog. It looks like a heart attack, but a cop in 44 Division suggests to Holness that she might want to get "her best" on it. Unfortunately the best that Toronto Police Services—sorry, TPD on the show for some reason—have are Graff and Bateman.

( spoilers )

And that's a wrap. I guess I'll have to find some good show to watch now.

kaberett

... have I done the "oh no, why has my pen stopped working, did I break it :(" dance only to realise that in fact, no, THE PEN IS EMPTY. (Once because my first attempt at filling it was apparently fairly inept unless I have massively misjudged how much ink it lays down, which given that it's a Pelikan is not totally implausible, but would still be... surprising.)

On the upside I think I might have worked out why a different pen seems particularly prone to evaporation and drying out. I am not sure how fixable it is, but I do at least have a workaround! (I think the inner cap is a bit reluctant to settle into place; it shouldn't be, but wiggling the pen a bit once capped seems to be helping...)

(This is such a ridiculous hobby.)

madgastronomer

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isis

What I recently finished watching:

S3 of Dark Winds, which GRRM (who is an executive producer of the show) makes a cameo in, hee. Also Jenna Elfman guest stars as an FBI investigator in from DC. This one goes hard on the "dark" part of the title, with some fairly gruesome crimes going on, as well as the emotional darkness from the fallout of the events of the previous season.

As usual I really enjoyed seeing my local landscapes, and the general Indian-country vibe of the show. (As I've mentioned before, I live not far from Navajo, though the local tribe is actually the Southern Ute; also, the college down the road is free for enrolled tribal members of any US tribe.) I was less a fan of how the season really consisted of very separate storylines, Bernie in the Border Patrol and Joe and Jim on the rez, however, the Navajo police investigation was well integrated with Joe's personal story, which made it all that more interesting. (Also here I have to admit that although I like Jim Chee as a character, I don't find him very attractive - a combination of Kiowa Gordon's chubby face and his truly dreadful 1970's costuming - so the romantic storyline was a little flat for me.)

However, damn do I love Bernie! However, her storyline confused me a bit, because it started out being about human trafficking but ended up being about drugs? But there was also a frightened Mexican family involved? Not sure what was going on there. I did figure out before the reveal who the bad guys and the complicit guys were (and heh, I bet the Republicans are none too pleased at the show painting the Border Patrol as a den of corruption) and wow, the ending of that bit was very kickass.

What I'm watching now:

S2 of Andor, which I only remember certain points from S1 so I was pretty confused during the first episode. Hopefully it will become clear(er) after the second episode, tonight.

hunningham

Much campaigning for 1 May election
Father-in-law came to stay a week
Day off to go see my sister
Day off to visit with old school friend
More in-laws came to stay
Civil partnership
Went to stay with my mother for a week
Went camping
Bathroom was renovated and no one could have a shower for 2 weeks
And my work carried on in the background

Nothing major, life-threatening, or horrible, but it has felt like a lot. All my cherished little routines have been disrupted, and I have been tired and cranky.

The cat has also tired & cranky - his water-bowl has been moved, his main person (myself) has been missing, the workmen were loud and the floors covered in plastic sheeting.

But nowish that we're both getting ourselves back together. Here is a journal post, Friday I will restart crossfit. The cat's waterbowl is back in the bathroom, and he is once again sitting on the bookshelf while I work.

I do need routines.

lydamorehouse

Shawn and I have arrived in Connecticut for our son's graduation FROM COLLEGE (I know. I also don't know where the time went.) I will detail the entire trip, but per usual and since it is Wednesday, I will first bore you with my reading.

This week was slower than last, but I finished up what is currently available of Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle: Mammoths at the Gates and The Brides of High Hill. Of the two, I think I enjoyed Brides a little bit more because it flips the classic horror story of the imperiled bride and adds fox spirits. Plus, while Brides has all the magical Chinese-influenced characters and mythos, it has a slightly more Western storyline? The plot is plotty in the ways that Western readers, like myself, are familiar with. I loved all of these novellas, to be clear, but I think the people for whom When The Tiger Came Down the Mountain has been a favorite, this one should also work for them in a similar way.

Then, because I was unable to download one of the murderbot books I hadn't read yet (Exit Strategy) right away, I started on an audio book from 2016 which kind of fits the vibe of the current crop of Hugo nominees,

davidlevine 's Arabella of Mars. It's a Regency SF book in the same way that A Scorceress Comes to Call is a Regency fantasy. It's a shame, in a way. I think that David was ahead of his time. This book (which I'm only 34% of the way into) is to science fiction what romantacy is to fantasy. It's kind of high personal drama, low stakes and I'm super into it.

Okay, so the rest of my life....

We set off on the road on Sunday. Sunday was our big push across country to Valparasio, Indiana. Shawn still has some remaining relatives in Indiana, namely her stepsiter Karen and her husband Don. I was not looking forward to dinner with them because we had been assaulted by dozens of pro-Trump signs as we drove across country and Don is... at BEST a libertairan of the sort who listens to Rush Limbaugh. But, he was mostly on good behavior, I think due to being exhausted from an extended bout of pneumonia. But, we still managed to have one interaction that was typical of him. Don is from the Chicago area originally and Catholic, so thinking this had to be a safe subject, I asked him what he thought of the new pope. He said, "Fine, except he's a Communist." I gave him my best "??" face and then said, "Uh, isn't that the point of Catholicism? What with the feeding of the poor and sharing of loaves and fishes?" Which, did, at least, give him pause.

Monday we drove from Valparaiso to Youngstown, OH. On this trip we did a bit of sightseeing as is our wont. Shawn picked up a brochure that suggested that there were some things to be seeing in Amish country, spectifically Middlebury and Shipshewana, IN. We never actually made it to Shipshewana, as it happened, because we found a lot to explore in Middlebury, specifically this lovely little park called the Krinder Gardens

travellers

Image: Me (left) and Shawn (right) all smiles in the gardens

This little garden was genuinely charming, and I always love getting off road to see something new and/or interesting.

cool bird sculpture in garden

Image: Lovely, weird bird sculpture in the garden

This being spring, we also got a chance to see a ton of lovely flowers in bloom.

Image: these one flowers I love (which I also grow in my own garden), but whose name I have blanked on.

So, that was fun. We saw a lot of horse drawn buggies, of course. My favorite thing about those was watching the horses very expertly knowing which stalls belonged to them in various parking lots. We even saw one buggie go into a... gas station??? (Shawn noted that the driver got out to fill a gas can, so probably fueling a generator or something. Not, as I'd hoped, gassing up the horse.)

We ate a rather boring meal at a place that advertised itself as Amish-inspired. Alas, it was only SLIGHTLY inspired. But, still, it was nice to have a sitdown meal before heading out for more hours of driving.

Yesterday, we drove from Youngstown, OH to Milford, PA. The very Milford where Daimon Knight used to hold his famous worskhop, where we spent the night in an actual MOTEL. The lady behind the counter there was a little bit... "Are you sure you don't want an extra bed?" but I refrained from pointing out that we'd hardly be sinning in that bed since we're quite legally married. But, the motel was actually very charming and I think attracts a lot of queer folks? There were some men on motorcycles who were extra friendly to us in a very 'family' way, if you know what I mean. I'm sure that lady behind the counter has a lot of disapproving to do.

Then, this morning we did the rather short hop between Milford and Middletown, CT, where we will be for the next several days as we pack up Mason's dorm and watch him get his diploma. I shall try to post pictures and such BEFORE next Wednesday, but I guess we'll see how well I manage that.

What about you all? Do anything fun this week? Read anything new, exciting, or good?

lightreads

A Drop of Corruption

4/5. Sequel in this fantasy biopunk Holmes & Watson universe.

One of the more successful sequels I’ve read in a long time, in the sense that this accomplishes the task of really blowing up and blowing out the world. I continue to be only middling interested in these characters (and also continue to be puzzled about why this series is first person, aside from the obvious stylistic nod). But the construction of this empire, whose people’s bodies and minds are modified in ways beyond our understanding by methods beyond their understanding, all while the leviathans come ever closer to breaking down the sea walls, is incredibly interesting to me.

I think this book is not as successful in its project of talking about kings and power structures by blood in general. It does that, but our protagonist is not really clocking the implications for his own life as an imperial subject, so it doesn’t quite come together the way intended. The first person gets in the way there, specifically, given our protagonist is not, shall we say, a political or philosophical thinker.

Still, I am way more interested in this now than I was after the first book.

Content notes: Body modification and body horror, threats of infection/contamination.

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I’m great in bed

I can sleep for days

Network

temps

Too early in the morning for this.

retail therapy?

(no subject)

voluble

Attack on Titan, X-Men: First Class, The Untamed/MDZS

Pinch Hits (3 new)

Daily Check In

Daily Check In (Tuesday, belated)

Baker's Units

Post Madrid cold - Day Four

It's warmer and sunnier here than at home

Mom Called

L&O season 2: Episode 10

[stationery] ... twice so far this week...

Sleep

wednesday media

Things I have been doing in the past month & a half

Wednesday Greetings from Connecticut!

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

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May 2025

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