Sidetracks - May 22, 2025
May. 22nd, 2025 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ladybusinessSidetracks is a collaborative project featuring various essays, videos, reviews, or other Internet content that we want to share with each other. All past and current links for the Sidetracks project can be found in our Sidetracks tag. You can also support Sidetracks and our other work on Patreon.
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Medical Update (+Bonus Bunny)
May. 22nd, 2025 06:28 pmkevin_standleeKayla will have a lot more to say about it, but she short version of our trip to my PCP today is that may A1c level is down to 7.5, which is excellent, and things are moving in the right direction.
So since I don't have much else to say, have a picture of the rabbit that was sitting near the minvan this morning when we went out to go to breakfast.
( Bonus Bunny )
So since I don't have much else to say, have a picture of the rabbit that was sitting near the minvan this morning when we went out to go to breakfast.
( Bonus Bunny )
Westercon Bid Update
May. 21st, 2025 04:03 pmkevin_standleeI updated the Santa Clara in 2027 Westercon Bid announcement post to include links to the filing documents from SPSF's bid.
This is the first time since 2019 (when there were two bids on the ballot at the Layton Westercon/NASFiC) that there have been any bids listed on the ballot. There was a double postponement, followed by a cancellation, Tonopah, another cancellation (both of which meant that year's Westercon happened at Loscon), then a couple of years with Direct Awards by the Business Meeting, then at Salt Lake City we had a filed write-in bid. This year finally breaks that string, even though it did take Kayla realizing that she and the SPSF folks were talking past each other and got things straightened out.
This is the first time since 2019 (when there were two bids on the ballot at the Layton Westercon/NASFiC) that there have been any bids listed on the ballot. There was a double postponement, followed by a cancellation, Tonopah, another cancellation (both of which meant that year's Westercon happened at Loscon), then a couple of years with Direct Awards by the Business Meeting, then at Salt Lake City we had a filed write-in bid. This year finally breaks that string, even though it did take Kayla realizing that she and the SPSF folks were talking past each other and got things straightened out.
Another RPG Bundle - Awfully Cheerful Engine
May. 21st, 2025 06:23 pmffuturesThis is an offer of the Awfully Cheerful Engine RPG from EN Publishing, described as a cinematic pop-culture action-comedy RPG.
https://bundleofholding.com/p
This one is interesting - the rules system is deliberately kept simple and easy to understand, using mechanics seen previously in games like the Ghostbusters RPG, and the book contains eight fairly detailed settings with adventures. Inspiration for the settings/adventures includes big city ghost-chasing, archeological adventuring, a "high school with weird science" setting, teenage mutant thingies, and so forth. It's fun and cheap, and definitely well worth a look if you like its freewheeling style of play, and it should be easy to adapt the adventures to any RPG that isn't too rules-heavy, or import adventures for other system-light games to this one. Recommended!
https://bundleofholding.com/p
This one is interesting - the rules system is deliberately kept simple and easy to understand, using mechanics seen previously in games like the Ghostbusters RPG, and the book contains eight fairly detailed settings with adventures. Inspiration for the settings/adventures includes big city ghost-chasing, archeological adventuring, a "high school with weird science" setting, teenage mutant thingies, and so forth. It's fun and cheap, and definitely well worth a look if you like its freewheeling style of play, and it should be easy to adapt the adventures to any RPG that isn't too rules-heavy, or import adventures for other system-light games to this one. Recommended!
Westercon News
May. 20th, 2025 12:01 pmkevin_standleeHey, look: Kayla made a public entry, in her role as Westercon 77 (2027) Site Selection Administrator. I'm still the lead maintainer of Westercon.org, so I posted the announcement after she worked out the wording with her deputy and got sign-off from the Santa Clara in 2027 bid. I guess eventually I should have her sign up for an account on the website so I can hand that job over to her as well.
Another Old School bundle - OSE Treasures 2
May. 20th, 2025 07:26 pmffuturesThis is another offer for the Old School Essentials RPG which was offered yesterday - a collection of third party adventures from other publishers, also compatible with Basic / Expert D&D.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/OSETreasures2
Lots of stuff here for old-school dungeon bashing, and if that's your style of play it may be worth a look.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/OSETreasures2
Lots of stuff here for old-school dungeon bashing, and if that's your style of play it may be worth a look.
Time to switch to my summer wardrobe...
May. 20th, 2025 02:07 pmpoltr1The month of May is the time I typically switch my wardrobe for the summer season. Depending on when the temperature first hits 80 degrees (Fahrenheit), I'll make the switch early in the month, or late.
The main switch is that I swap my jeans to shorts. I still like wearing my polo shirts in the summer months.
In the past few years, I picked up some cargo shorts made of nylon and polyester. The main advantage they have over cotton Is that they dry quicker, in case I get splashed or get caught in a rainstorm. The cargo shorts offer more pockets.
I also have some shirts and socks made of this material. In the winter months, I use these as liner layers underneath cotton clothing (or wool socks), to stay warm.
I also switch out the leather belt and wallet, and go with a web belt and a nylon wallet. (Carhartt makes a nice one.) Leather gets wrecked in water.
I'll wear these until October, when it starts to get cold.
The main switch is that I swap my jeans to shorts. I still like wearing my polo shirts in the summer months.
In the past few years, I picked up some cargo shorts made of nylon and polyester. The main advantage they have over cotton Is that they dry quicker, in case I get splashed or get caught in a rainstorm. The cargo shorts offer more pockets.
I also have some shirts and socks made of this material. In the winter months, I use these as liner layers underneath cotton clothing (or wool socks), to stay warm.
I also switch out the leather belt and wallet, and go with a web belt and a nylon wallet. (Carhartt makes a nice one.) Leather gets wrecked in water.
I'll wear these until October, when it starts to get cold.
Computer update
May. 20th, 2025 10:50 amffuturesAfter a fair amount of faffing around I've bought a refurbished HP Z2 Workstation PC on eBay for a little over £300, should get it by the end of the week. Specifications are
Intel Core i7 8700 processor 3.2GHz (MaxTurbo 4.6GHz)
32 GB RAM
Storage - 1TB SSD + 2TB HD
Form factor - micro tower
Windows 11 Professional
It doesn't have a graphics card additional to the motherboard, I don't expect that to be a problem for my purposes but I can put one in if necessary.
Since my experience of Windows 11 is limited, I'd be grateful for suggestions on anything I need to do to keep it under control - for example, when I switched to Window 10 I had to install a third party user interface program to make it work more like earlier versions.
Intel Core i7 8700 processor 3.2GHz (MaxTurbo 4.6GHz)
32 GB RAM
Storage - 1TB SSD + 2TB HD
Form factor - micro tower
Windows 11 Professional
It doesn't have a graphics card additional to the motherboard, I don't expect that to be a problem for my purposes but I can put one in if necessary.
Since my experience of Windows 11 is limited, I'd be grateful for suggestions on anything I need to do to keep it under control - for example, when I switched to Window 10 I had to install a third party user interface program to make it work more like earlier versions.
2025: The Year of the Laser: Treatment 5 of 9
May. 19th, 2025 07:48 pmkevin_standleeFor reasons that will be clear if you are subscribed to her DW account, I'm turning over further reporting about the laser hair removal to kayla_allen. And really, this is not a bad thing.
If you're not following Kayla, you will need a DreamWidth account, because her posts are friends only, for reasons that I hope are obvious.
kayla_allen. And really, this is not a bad thing.If you're not following Kayla, you will need a DreamWidth account, because her posts are friends only, for reasons that I hope are obvious.
Fitness Fellowship Check-in Twenty
May. 19th, 2025 03:03 pmsylvanwitchGreetings, Friends!
How has the week treated you? Do you have successes to share or challenges with which you'd like us to commiserate? Please let us know in the comments how your fitness journey has gone/is going. Of course, you are welcome to modify your goal(s) at any time, too.
( My Week in Review )
May the week ahead give you what you most need to feel good about yourself!
How has the week treated you? Do you have successes to share or challenges with which you'd like us to commiserate? Please let us know in the comments how your fitness journey has gone/is going. Of course, you are welcome to modify your goal(s) at any time, too.
( My Week in Review )
May the week ahead give you what you most need to feel good about yourself!
Another Fantasy Bundle - Old School Essentials
May. 19th, 2025 07:09 pmffuturesThis is a bundle of Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy, the complete and definitive version of the Old-School Essentials tabletop roleplaying rules set from Necrotic Gnome. Essentially, an updated and streamlined Basic D&D variant adding spells from AD&D.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/AdvancedOSE
As I seem to be saying a lot lately, this really isn't my sort of thing at all, but if it is it might be worth a look.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/AdvancedOSE
As I seem to be saying a lot lately, this really isn't my sort of thing at all, but if it is it might be worth a look.
Festival Aftermath
May. 18th, 2025 05:05 pmkevin_standleeThe final act of the night on the main stage at the M3 Festival took to the stage about 9:30 PM, and was still pounding away at 10:15. I think they may have wound up around 10:30 PM, but I'm not sure because I managed to get to sleep.
This morning, nearly everything was gone except the smaller stage and the painted trash cans from one of the contests, and also one pickup truck still parked in the railroad yard across the street. It was a pretty impressive clean-up, considering that they did it overnight.
( Trashcans and Earrings )
Later this week, Lisa and I will clean up the temporary barriers, but I think we'll leave the No Trespassing signs up.
I spent most of the rest of the day working on fannish activity, having two separate Zoom calls: one dealing with the WSFS Mark Protection Committee, and another with the Montreal Worldcon bid. Things are getting done, albeit probably not as fast as we might have liked. But there should be news about Westercon tomorrow, if things go the way Kayla has planned.
This morning, nearly everything was gone except the smaller stage and the painted trash cans from one of the contests, and also one pickup truck still parked in the railroad yard across the street. It was a pretty impressive clean-up, considering that they did it overnight.
( Trashcans and Earrings )
Later this week, Lisa and I will clean up the temporary barriers, but I think we'll leave the No Trespassing signs up.
I spent most of the rest of the day working on fannish activity, having two separate Zoom calls: one dealing with the WSFS Mark Protection Committee, and another with the Montreal Worldcon bid. Things are getting done, albeit probably not as fast as we might have liked. But there should be news about Westercon tomorrow, if things go the way Kayla has planned.
Damp Squib
May. 17th, 2025 05:40 pmkevin_standleeThis morning I went to the Wigwam at opening time, well before the Music, Murals and Margaritas festival main events were scheduled. I walked back home via the site of the main event and took some pictures. The weather was overcast (which I liked) but the forecast was for rain later in the day.
( Partial Washout )
We could continue to hear various performances coming from the stages, although actually the prevalent sound was the various generators from the food trucks. As I write this, the event is not over (performances are scheduled into the late evening/early night). Whether the forecast additional rain ends up discouraging the rest of the evening remains to be seen. I do actually feel bad for the vendors and organizers, though. A storm like this is unusual. The weather being uncomfortably warm, not cold and windy with dust storms, was much more likely. If we didn't live right next door to the event, we certainly would not have gone to it.
( Partial Washout )
We could continue to hear various performances coming from the stages, although actually the prevalent sound was the various generators from the food trucks. As I write this, the event is not over (performances are scheduled into the late evening/early night). Whether the forecast additional rain ends up discouraging the rest of the evening remains to be seen. I do actually feel bad for the vendors and organizers, though. A storm like this is unusual. The weather being uncomfortably warm, not cold and windy with dust storms, was much more likely. If we didn't live right next door to the event, we certainly would not have gone to it.
Preparing for the M3 Festival
May. 16th, 2025 07:13 pmkevin_standleeTomorrow is the climax of the 2025 Music, Murals and Margaritas Festival in Fernley. As in past years, the big event, including performances, food trucks, etc. takes place on Center Street, which is the east boundary of the East Lot adjacent to Fernley House. That meant that Lisa and I had work to do today.
( Preparing for M3 )
We're not trying to be killjoys, but we also don't want to be sued by someone tripping and falling while walking to or from a festival where there will be plenty of alcohol flowing. It's not obvious that this lot is not just abandoned "free" land, and if we didn't do this, I'm certain that tomorrow morning we'd wake up and find it covered with cars parking close in to the festival. Now they'll end up parking in the Union Pacific rail yard across the street, and I'll let UP figure out how to deal with that.
We'll be more or less trapped in the house all day tomorrow, or at least only be able to venture out on foot, but it's okay. We didn't have any plans to go anywhere anyway.
( Preparing for M3 )
We're not trying to be killjoys, but we also don't want to be sued by someone tripping and falling while walking to or from a festival where there will be plenty of alcohol flowing. It's not obvious that this lot is not just abandoned "free" land, and if we didn't do this, I'm certain that tomorrow morning we'd wake up and find it covered with cars parking close in to the festival. Now they'll end up parking in the Union Pacific rail yard across the street, and I'll let UP figure out how to deal with that.
We'll be more or less trapped in the house all day tomorrow, or at least only be able to venture out on foot, but it's okay. We didn't have any plans to go anywhere anyway.
Sidetracks - May 16, 2025
May. 16th, 2025 07:08 pmhelloladies posting in ladybusinessSidetracks is a collaborative project featuring various essays, videos, reviews, or other Internet content that we want to share with each other. All past and current links for the Sidetracks project can be found in our Sidetracks tag. You can also support Sidetracks and our other work on Patreon.
( Read more... )