There Is No Antimemetics Division by Qntm
Jun. 18th, 2026 08:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
How can one defeat an enemy when being aware of that enemy means you have already lost?
There Is No Antimemetics Division by Qntm
Paperwork
Jun. 17th, 2026 10:10 pmbillroperI have more paperwork that I need to finish. I think that I have finally collected all of the bits and pieces of data that I need to fill out the paperwork, but touching pen to paper hasn't happened.
I *have*, on the other hand, figured out a large number of related facts. For instance, RMDs for Gretchen's and my IRAs don't begin until 2029. I mean, that's *years* from now.
Ok, not *that* many years from now...
I *have*, on the other hand, figured out a large number of related facts. For instance, RMDs for Gretchen's and my IRAs don't begin until 2029. I mean, that's *years* from now.
Ok, not *that* many years from now...
Bundle of Holding: Rider
Jun. 17th, 2026 02:08 pmjames_davis_nicoll
This all-new Rider Bundle presents Rider, the Old West tabletop roleplaying game from Independence Games (Clement Sector) that adapts the Cepheus Engine rules to cinematic gunslinging adventures in the Wild West.
Bundle of Holding: Rider
Blurry, I know
Jun. 17th, 2026 09:29 amjames_davis_nicoll
It's hard to tell but this is a pack of young skunks, eagerly exploring UW campus. It's blurred because I was backing up towards the door through which I had just exited.
The Nito Exorcists, volume 1 by Hiromi Ichikawa
Jun. 17th, 2026 09:17 amjames_davis_nicoll
A dour swordsman and a snarky bunny-costume-wearing hostess fight evil in modern Japan.
The Nito Exorcists, volume 1 by Hiromi Ichikawa
Cubs Lose
Jun. 16th, 2026 11:45 pmbillroperThe Cubs lost to the Rockies tonight, 5-2. I left after the sixth inning and didn't miss any of the scoring. The friend I came with biked in and left after five so that he could be riding when there was some light left.
Meanwhile, the Cubs new remote parking garage elevators continue to be broken in June, after having been broken in May, and also broken in April, and I *presume* (because I didn't use the garage for Opening Day) also broken in March. I don't know how the garage operator can get away with this, especially given that the garage is attached to a hospital.
Meanwhile, the Cubs new remote parking garage elevators continue to be broken in June, after having been broken in May, and also broken in April, and I *presume* (because I didn't use the garage for Opening Day) also broken in March. I don't know how the garage operator can get away with this, especially given that the garage is attached to a hospital.
Five Very Different Science Fictional Takes on Space Habitats
Jun. 16th, 2026 10:32 amjames_davis_nicoll
Imagining life among the stars, from space stations in crisis to a planet-sized shopping mall...
Five Very Different Science Fictional Takes on Space Habitats
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
Jun. 16th, 2026 08:55 amjames_davis_nicoll
A pair of time-travelling researchers investigating Jane Austen explore the consequences of two cardinal sins: getting personally involved with their research subject and getting personally involved with each other.
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
Comics and Pizza
Jun. 15th, 2026 10:39 pmbillroperI discovered that the bottom shelves of the bookcases in the library were largely empty due to reasons of inaccessibility -- that is, I didn't want to have to bend over that far to find a book -- so I carried the comics into the library and K put them on those low shelves. The dining room table is still a mess, but it is no longer a mess that I hold primary responsibility for. I am going to take this as a victory and move on.
Last week, I saw a Facebook ad for Tortorice's Pizza which included a picture of their deep dish pizza. I looked at that and determined that it looked pretty good. We've been looking for an alternative to Malnati's simply because there is only so much of one kind of pizza that you can eat before you get tired of it. Gretchen prefers pan to stuffed, so Giordano's (which has been slipping lately) was off the list. We tried Rosati's last month and it was, well, ok.
On Saturday, we decided to give Tortorice's a try. It's at Busse and Central, so only a bit farther from home than the Papa John's that I've been going to when we want *cheap* pizza. We got the deep dish pizza with sausage and black olives and it was excellent. It had a solid crust, plenty of mozzarella cheese, and a slightly sweet chunky pizza sauce on top. It was substantially less sweet than D'Agostino's, which Gretchen had proclaimed to be *too* sweet.
Half of the 14 inch pizza was plenty for the two of us (and slightly too much for Gretchen). The other half reheated nicely as tonight's dinner.
We will call this a success. :)
Last week, I saw a Facebook ad for Tortorice's Pizza which included a picture of their deep dish pizza. I looked at that and determined that it looked pretty good. We've been looking for an alternative to Malnati's simply because there is only so much of one kind of pizza that you can eat before you get tired of it. Gretchen prefers pan to stuffed, so Giordano's (which has been slipping lately) was off the list. We tried Rosati's last month and it was, well, ok.
On Saturday, we decided to give Tortorice's a try. It's at Busse and Central, so only a bit farther from home than the Papa John's that I've been going to when we want *cheap* pizza. We got the deep dish pizza with sausage and black olives and it was excellent. It had a solid crust, plenty of mozzarella cheese, and a slightly sweet chunky pizza sauce on top. It was substantially less sweet than D'Agostino's, which Gretchen had proclaimed to be *too* sweet.
Half of the 14 inch pizza was plenty for the two of us (and slightly too much for Gretchen). The other half reheated nicely as tonight's dinner.
We will call this a success. :)
Ah!
Jun. 15th, 2026 06:44 pmjames_davis_nicollThe two "Talking to the Sun" books were published in the 2020s. That's the common theme.
Now I have a catch all of books I read as a teen, books from the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2020s.
Now I have a catch all of books I read as a teen, books from the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2020s.
Bundle of Holding: Chivalry and Rising Sun (from 2024) & C&S New Lands
Jun. 15th, 2026 02:01 pmjames_davis_nicoll
A Chivalry and Rising Sun Bundle featuring the 5th edition Chivalry and Sorcery TTRPG along with the 2021 version of the Land of the Rising Sun campaign setting.
Bundle of Holding: Chivalry and Rising Sun (from 2024)
Recent historical sourcebooks, fantasy gazeteers, and full-length campaign adventures for 5th Edition Chivalry and Sorcery (Not to be confused with other TTRPGs currently in their 5th edition).
Bundle of Holding: C&S New Lands
Next thing
Jun. 15th, 2026 07:59 amjohnridleyThe choir concert for June is over. Just a few performances over the summer (pride fests, etc) to go.
My main thing now is to prepare for the Isle Royale trip in July - this means hopefully getting over this cold and NOT catching another one, and giving my arm time to heal more. I probably did a bit of damage on the concerts, I loaded up on pain killers, which made me feel great for the concerts but I probably overdid the choreo, because the arm was NOT happy the day after. But it's back to much better now. I think now I need to start pushing range of motion on it - the bruising was very deep, probably crushed a bunch of the one muscle that is bothering me, and I need to push the motion now to help flush out all the bruising remnants in there.
I also need to catch up on the stuff I didn't really get done over the last few weeks of concert prep and lying about trying to heal up. We theoretically have a new driveway going in, though we have not heard from the scheduler on that. We did tell them that we don't really have a pressing need so they are probably waiting for another job to crop up close-by that they can piggyback us on top of. It could be in a week or two, it could be in September. I have a little prep to do for that which I had planned to do when Jenn was out of town last week, but events and illness prevented that.
My main thing now is to prepare for the Isle Royale trip in July - this means hopefully getting over this cold and NOT catching another one, and giving my arm time to heal more. I probably did a bit of damage on the concerts, I loaded up on pain killers, which made me feel great for the concerts but I probably overdid the choreo, because the arm was NOT happy the day after. But it's back to much better now. I think now I need to start pushing range of motion on it - the bruising was very deep, probably crushed a bunch of the one muscle that is bothering me, and I need to push the motion now to help flush out all the bruising remnants in there.
I also need to catch up on the stuff I didn't really get done over the last few weeks of concert prep and lying about trying to heal up. We theoretically have a new driveway going in, though we have not heard from the scheduler on that. We did tell them that we don't really have a pressing need so they are probably waiting for another job to crop up close-by that they can piggyback us on top of. It could be in a week or two, it could be in September. I have a little prep to do for that which I had planned to do when Jenn was out of town last week, but events and illness prevented that.
Catching Up on My Reading
Jun. 14th, 2026 09:49 pmbillroperK has asked kindly that I get the comic books off of the dining room table, which *is* a mission that I wholeheartedly agree with. I have been trying to convert the dining room back into a dining room for about three years now, but when the stack of comics in the hall got too high because I was buying them and not having enough time to read them, I ended up stacking them on the already overstacked dining room table for the sake of expedience.
Now I am laid off and have fewer excuses for letting the books pile up. There were some stacks that had been sorted into runs of eight or so issues, so I figured I would start with those. I ended up reading about an eight inch stack of books this afternoon. Sadly, this has barely made a dent in the problem.
I am going to see if I can find a place to stow the books until I get a chance to catch up on my reading. This may be around 2027 -- the catching up part, that is!
Now I am laid off and have fewer excuses for letting the books pile up. There were some stacks that had been sorted into runs of eight or so issues, so I figured I would start with those. I ended up reading about an eight inch stack of books this afternoon. Sadly, this has barely made a dent in the problem.
I am going to see if I can find a place to stow the books until I get a chance to catch up on my reading. This may be around 2027 -- the catching up part, that is!
Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
Jun. 14th, 2026 09:03 amjames_davis_nicoll
France 1940: an elderly British man struggles to transport an ever-growing number of children--and a kitten!--out of the war-zone and far from the tender mercies of the Luftwaffe, the Heer, and the Gestapo.
Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
Progress
Jun. 13th, 2026 10:00 pmbillroperToday, I managed to knock a couple of small projects off my list with help from K. The hand towel bar in the upstairs bathroom had been falling off the wall, so I took it down earlier this week and filled the holes with the heavy-duty spackle. By today it was dry enough to work on, so I asked K to fetch the huge level from the basement. Then she held things up while I positioned the towel bar using the level, made a couple of pencil marks, and took things back down so that I could screw the mounting hardware in. It seems to be holding nicely, the towel bar is reinstalled, and we'll see how it goes.
Meanwhile, I had noticed that the "they don't work" chains on the ceiling fan in K's room did not seem to be due to a failing switch, which is a pain to replace. Instead, they were just routed very badly. I got K to help me take things down, rerouted the chains correctly (transferring a missing grommet from a spare piece of hardware that I'd saved), and now everything is working properly.
K now complains that all of her friends are going to ask her to fix things. Knowledge is its own reward or something like that.
In other news, when I was at Sam's Club yesterday picking up a couple of items, I decided to wander through the electronics department for my entertainment and discovered that you can now buy Starlink dishes at Sam's Club.
Clearly I am living in the future. :)
Meanwhile, I had noticed that the "they don't work" chains on the ceiling fan in K's room did not seem to be due to a failing switch, which is a pain to replace. Instead, they were just routed very badly. I got K to help me take things down, rerouted the chains correctly (transferring a missing grommet from a spare piece of hardware that I'd saved), and now everything is working properly.
K now complains that all of her friends are going to ask her to fix things. Knowledge is its own reward or something like that.
In other news, when I was at Sam's Club yesterday picking up a couple of items, I decided to wander through the electronics department for my entertainment and discovered that you can now buy Starlink dishes at Sam's Club.
Clearly I am living in the future. :)
Books Received, June 6 — June 12
Jun. 13th, 2026 08:28 amjames_davis_nicoll
Ten books new to me. Eight fantasy (of which three are rpgs), one science fiction, and one non-fiction. At least three are series.
Books Received, June 6 — June 12
Poll #34725 Books Received, June 6 — June 12
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 42
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
When Life Gives You Corpses by Lene D. Buttner (March 2027)
14 (33.3%)
A Storm of Dragons and Sorcery by Jeaniene Frost (March 2027)
4 (9.5%)
Tribes in the Dark by Wil Hutton, Logan Rollins, et al with art by Ghislain Barbe and Juan Ochoa (June 2026)
4 (9.5%)
The Seventh Banisher by A. K. Larkwood (March 2027)
12 (28.6%)
Anji in Shadow by Evan Leikam (January 2027)
7 (16.7%)
The Playful Lem by Stanislaw Lem (July 2026)
21 (50.0%)
Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Gamemaster’s Guide by Dominic McDowall and Pádraig Murphy et al (June 2026)
3 (7.1%)
Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Player’s Guide by Dominic McDowall and Pádraig Murphy et al (June 2026)
3 (7.1%)
A Song of Sugar Sparrows by Seanan McGuire (January 2027)
19 (45.2%)
The Thinking Animal: What Other Minds Reveal About Our Own by Nichola Raihani (February 2027)
22 (52.4%)
Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.4%)
Cats!
30 (71.4%)
I Used To Know Things
Jun. 12th, 2026 12:16 pmbillroperOh, good. Retirement doesn't mean that I've gone into a cycle of being blocked on songwriting because of having been laid off. :)
In this case, I managed to find a song prompt in a long discussion that Bill Sutton and I were having.
I hope you like it!
( Lyrics inside... )
In this case, I managed to find a song prompt in a long discussion that Bill Sutton and I were having.
I hope you like it!
( Lyrics inside... )