Reading

Entry tags:

🔗 planner pages, river circus, portland punk

Happy Friday! I recently found out the homeowners’ sink does sparkling water using the nubbin on the other side of the faucet from the regular water handle. I coulda been having fizzy water this whole time!

On Dreamwidth

dolorosa_12 shares a warning about AI scambots from AO3 infiltrating Dreamwidth.

beepbird has written a book about plurality/multiplicty titled “For the Many,” and it’s available for free download (EPUB/PDF) at the post, or on their website here.

Summary:

Plurality is the experience of having more than one self in the same body. There are few guides written for those who don’t fit into “one person per body”, and it can be hard to figure out how to live a life where you’re never alone, especially if you struggle with internal conflicts or trust issues. For the Many offers over 100 pages of guides on self-discovery, communication, and developing an internal community.

(via ysabetwordsmith)

matsushima at longreads posted a selection of interesting articles and podcasts, including quite a few grouped under “AI is Bullshit.”

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Current Mood: happy

Entry tags:

Back from Sopron

We returned from Sopron last night. It was nice. The hotel wasn't quite as amazing as my colleague made it out to be, but we still had a good time there. There was only one problem and that was that our room had an extremely loud hum that we couldn't find out where it came from and never stopped for the whole time we were there. What you have to know is that I'm extremely sensitive to noises when I'm trying to sleep. It's really inconvenient but nothing that I managed to battle successfully. Ever since I've been a young child I've needed absolute quiet when I sleep. Even now I sleep with earplugs every night. So as you can imagine, that hum wasn't good for me at all. I was ready to panic (as I was sure I wouldn't sleep a minute both nights we were away), especially when we talked to the lady at the front desk who couldn't help us (she also wasn't really interested in trying, but whatever). Luckily, I had brought the pair of ear protection that I own, these things that they're wearing on construction sites to protect their hearing. They're very uncomfortable to sleep with, but at least they helped me fall asleep. I slept okay-ish, but at least I did sleep at all.

The food was another issue because Hungarian food is even more meat-heavy than Austrian cuisine. I try to eat very little to no meat (I want to be vegetarian but currently eat meat approx. once every two weeks because of my anaemia), but it was impossible to not eat any in Sopron. It wasn't a big problem, I actually do like meat, I just don't want to eat of for animal welfare concerns, but after eating so much meat the past days I'm going to skip it for at least a month now.

The rest of the holiday was nice though. Sopron is a pretty little town and the hotel spa was nice too. I had the best back massage ever, so that alone made the trip worth it. ;)

Now we're back in Vienna and I'm mourning having to go back to work next Tuesday. So I want to make most of my last remaining days off. Today I did so by wasting tons of fragile resin in the Gilded Dreams domain because I realised my Alhaitham has the worst artifacts ever. I've improved him a little now, but his crit dmg is still only 160%, which is rather bad for a main dps. :/ I'll continue working on it, but there's actually so many characters that would need better artifacts. And that's not even talking about how I now have to level Sucrose for Flins.
6.0 is truly going to ruin me. I want Flins, preferably get him to C1, but also Cyno's weapon from the Chronicled banner. Actually, if I had the primogems, I'd love Alhaitham's weapon too. Aaah, I need to win the lottery. ;)

In BG3, I finally got to the camp celebration scene today and unlocked the romance with Astarion! :D I'm thrilled, especially since I was worried I had somehow jinxed it despite having really high approval with him. But I've since learned that when playing as Gale you can't unlock Astarion's romance any earlier.

I obviously took some screenshots, this one is my favourite:

The scene was nice, but I do think it's an oversight by Larian that Gale can let Astarion bite him in that scene, when it's been established earlier in Act 1 that Gale tastes horrible to him due to the Netherese magic in his body. But oh well, I can easily ignore that, I'm just happy that the two have finally got together. :3

As for my two Viennese boys, they still have a long way to go before they get there, but I definitely want to write a bit tonight. :D

Current Mood: thoughtful

Entry tags:

fandom: critical role

Critical Role

Watch on YouTube

Critical Role has released more information about their upcoming fourth campaign, and I'm very curious to see just how things end up going with it.

( More details from the video and article under the cut. )

Current Mood: blank

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Long Weekend

Welp. I've been posting about this under lock, but let's make a public one too. My younger brother and his wife were supposed to be visiting me this week (with them arriving today), but those plans were cancelled at the last minute due to a combination of several reasons.

I'd already asked off work for the rest of the week, and I'm not taking it back. I'm just going to take a five day weekend and call it a day. Which, you know, I could use the break from work, so it's not a bad thing. And, hey, this way I won't have to worry about a lack of spoons when I have to go back to work like I did when I was off for the Fourth of July and playing D&D all weekend.

Sadly, I don't have much in the way of extra money right now, so I can't do anything fun while I'm off work. I'm fairly stocked on groceries at least, so I won't have to worry about that. I'll take what I can get on that front.

Right now, my plans are to basically switch between playing video games, reading fanfiction, and writing fanfiction (specifically for Black Emporium and the Dragon Age Reverse Bang) for the next five days. We'll see if that changes, but that's what I'm aiming for right now at least.

Entry tags:

media: movies

📺 watched: who done it: the clue documentary (2022)

🎬 Who Done It: The Clue Documentary: Directed by Jeff C. Smith. With Colleen Camp, Tim Curry, Syd Dutton, Jane Jenkins. Clue (1985) has become a cult classic film and is loved by multiple generations. Yet there has never been a documentary created to tell the behind the scenes stories…until now. 🔗

A cute fan documentary about the making of Clue (1985), with interviews from some cast and crew members, including the writer/director, and otherwise clips from conventions, TV interviews, and so on.

Audio levels are a bit off on the older recorded bits (the director started in 2017) but overall still watchable. Very interesting learning about the history of the movie’s development, and how they got the cast together.

I thought it was funny that Clue is so popular on social media (especially Tumblr) but the director of the documentary didn’t know any other fans IRL and even the cast/crew didn’t know people loved it. Hopefully they do now, of course!

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Current Mood: cheerful

Entry tags:

Off to Sopron

We're going to Sopron, Hungary for the next few days. The city is known as the "dentist city" for people from the western part of Austria because of their great service (the majority of dentists get their degree in Austria) to affordable prices. I've been there a few times before (not just to see the dentist), but the husband hasn't. It's a nice little town that seems to have received quite a lot of EU funds to renovate the city centre. I haven't been back in years, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everything's turned out.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to our hotel. It's a spa hotel and my colleague who recommended it to me sung its high praises. I can't wait to relax and hopefully get a massage too. :D I do feel bad about leaving Millicent alone again already though, especially since we had to take her to the vet yesterday for a vaccine booster. I told the husband that I won't go anywhere for a while now. Truth be told, I just don't like travelling in general. I HATE being a tourist. I don't want to be lumped together with the other tourists, many of whom only want to take staged IG selfies and don't actually care about the place they're visiting. As such, travelling always makes me anxious, especially if I don't speak the language. And sadly, I don't speak Hungarian. Because of its proximity to Austria (it was actually once part of Austria) and its industry being focused on Austrian visitors, German is widely spoken, but still. I just don't want to come across as an ignorant tourist. QQ

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a hopefully relaxing two days. :D

No writing in the evenings until Thursday, but I did work hard the past three days. I'm still slow and haven't even finished the first chapter of my story, but that's okay. Lentement mais sûrement. I'll definitely see this through! :)

And who knows, maybe I'll find some inspiration while I'm away.

Entry tags:

traditional linen weaving, permacomputing, sloppers

Happy Monday! I forgot I had this drafted for a week or so…whoops…

Crafts & Hobbies

Marshall Dry Goods was recommended as a potential replacement to JOANN for a fabric source.

I don’t know how this got into my tabs but it’s an English transcription (with screenshots) of a German documentary about traditional linen weaving in the town of Dickenshied in 1978/1979.

Axxuy shared some typewriter resources for people interested in getting one and/or joining the typewriter-user community.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

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weeknotes (august 10-16, 2025)

Life Updates

I’ve been so enjoying my time in Ann Arbor– or at least in this part of A² in particular.

Every morning I wake up around 6, make a cup of coffee and go out to sit in the garden for an hour or two. Then, after feeding the cats, I go walk around the neighborhood for as long as I want, usually 40 minutes, come back and shower and then get to work! I sit at a high desk and watch the garden out the window, and I see all sorts of animals: groundhogs, rabbits, squirrels (three kinds), chipmunks, stray cats, and once even a deer!

The week has fairly raced by! I did make it into town once this week, to check out the farmer’s market and a few shops. I stopped at a used bookstore called Digger’s, where you literally dig around for media (books, DVDs, games, CDs), and managed to find four books for $0.75/each. Now I’m REALLY in trouble, between those and the ones I got from the Little Free Libraries earlier– and did I mention I found an UNLICENSED LFL on a walk the other day? Of course I got a book from there, so now I’m up to (I think) 10 books still waiting to be read.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

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📸 photo: oak tree

Looking upwards from the ground into the branches of a very large tree. The branches spread across the screen in a curve and are filled with leaves. The sun is shining through the leaves and highlighting those while the rest are a darker green in shadow.

This is (I think) a burr oak tree! Which is the “arbor” part of Ann Arbor (the other being the names of the two founders’ wives, who were both called Ann).

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Current Mood: tired

Entry tags:

d&d: pyra cantha

Pyra Cantha D&D: Summary for 8/15 Game

In tonight's game, ( the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.

Entry tags:

📸 photo: ornamental onion (and bee!)

Close-up of several purple puffball looking flowers, with a bee hunting for pollen in the middle

Wikipedia: Mouse Garlic (the variety of allium Pl@ntNet thinks this looks closest to)

Allium angulosum is a perennial herb up to 50 cm tall. Bulbs are narrow and elongated, about 5 mm in diameter. The plant produces a hemispherical umbel of small pink flowers on long pedicels.

Adding two new words to my dictionary, one sec…

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Entry tags:

media: books: nonfiction

reading log: i married a logger by julie anderson

Book Info

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/1911762/t/I-Married-a-Logger-Life-in-Michigans-Tall-Timber

Acquired from: Digger’s, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Started reading: August 14, 2025

Finished reading: August 17, 2025

Review (written Aug 17)

Overall a good read– author has a good amount of humor and can write funny scenes well. It’s interesting to read about how the logging industry worked before it became industrialized in the late 1940s. The author has some typical 1950s attitudes about thinness and unions which are questionable in modern times, but overall not too bad. It’s an upbeat memoir about a particular time in Michigan that I enjoyed reading.

(Crossposted to LibraryThing)

I’m not going to keep this particular copy because the glue binding is totally falling apart, but if and when I happen to build a library for myself in the future I would enjoy having a copy of this on the shelf.

Reading Updates (Aug 14-17)

Page 0: I picked this book up because a) it’s a memoir set in Michigan (where I’m currently catsitting) and b) the author did her own illustrations and they’re pretty good! Published originally in 1951 and this is a reprint by a local Michigan publisher in the 80s.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Entry tags:

media: books: nonfiction

📖 reading log: climate resilience by kylie flanagan

Book Info

Topics: Nonfiction, Feminism, Environmental Activism, Climate Change

LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/book/291465827

Acquired from: Little Free Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA [see visit log]

Started reading: August 9, 2025

Finished reading: August 13, 2025 (DNF’d)

Reading Updates

Page 0: Picked this book to read next because it’s the heaviest— I don’t want to have to worry about trying to pack it and take it with me!

It’s a relatively new book (published 2023) and is basically a collection of interviews with climate activists.

Came with a bookmark from the Ann Arbor District Library (Seed Sampler, which promotes their seed library!). It’s a really nice bookmark and I’m probably gonna keep it for my collection.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

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lfl visit log (2)

Went on a re-visiting circuit of Little Free Libraries from the first log, and found a new library! Plus some more good books.

Was a really nice walk, too, though I was sweating by the end because it was like 80F by 8am yeesh.

On another day, I went into the main downtown part of Ann Arbor and visited two LFLs that’re near the Farmer’s Market, though I didn’t find any books to take with me.

New LFL visited:

LFL #167052 – Jones Community Garden Library – Ann Arbor, MI
LFL #189363 – Ann Arbor, MI (not listed on the map somehow)
LFL #198908 – Detroit Street Filling Station – Ann Arbor, MI

Dropped off Moby-Duck, Seasons of the Wild and Climate Resilience!

Obtained Into the Wild, Granta issue 138, The Forest Unseen, Sweet Days of Discipline

( Photos under here! )

🌟 All LFL Visited / All LFL Visit Logs

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Current Mood: hopeful

Entry tags:

Video Games

Hey, it's a semi-fannish post! I don't make those very much lately. Let's hope this is the beginning of me getting back to that. 🤞🏻

As was probably obvious from my post last night, I'm trying to get back into the habit of playing video games again. It's one of those things where I honestly feel happier and more mentally stable when I'm making the time to play for a bit daily or at least every few days, but it's really hard to find the time and energy sometimes. Especially the last, uh, year or two. What with everyone going on IRL in various ways.

So, you know, I'm actively working on improving that.

( Rambling under the cut about my current daily schedule and how I'm trying to fit video games into it more regularly. )

That said, I am going to attempt to make posts here and there where I ramble about what's going on in whatever game and playthrough I'm focusing on at that time. I have no idea if I'll manage it, but I'm going to try. I really miss being properly fannish about things, and I want to at least try to get back to it.

Current Mood: amused

Entry tags:

fandom: baldur's gate

Baldur's Gate 3

I freely admit that I cackled a little when I saw this conversation happening in one of my D&D Discords. Especially since I was literally in the middle of playing Baldur's Gate 3 at that very moment. I feel like I'm being judged, but I can't really blame them when it's, you know, true.

Speaking of which, my gnome sorcerer/bard was very busy doing important things tonight:

In related news, I love the poly mod. Also? It works surprisingly well when combining these two romances specifically. Karlach and Wyll's relationship makes it very much come across as two Vs working towards a triad.

Current Location: Ann Arbor, MI, USA

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📸 photo: katydid

A large grasshopper-like insect clinging to a window screen. Its legs are stretched out and it has a long wing trailing behind it. The photo is taken from inside the house and the insect is outside (thank goodness).

Much larger IRL than I expected… [Wikipedia]

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Current Mood: accomplished

Entry tags:

d&d: titansfall

Titansfall D&D: Summary for 8/10 Game

In tonight's game, ( the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.

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weeknotes (august 3-9)

Life Updates

I can’t believe another week has gone by already! I’ve been enjoying myself immensely here, sitting in the garden and harvesting handfuls of cherry tomatoes. I haven’t even made it into town proper yet and I’m coming up on my third week in this housesit. Whoops!

🐈‍⬛ Cats are doing well, and the shyest one even let me pet him (once) when he saw his siblings in the same room with me. They’ve also started coming to wake me (at 6am) which I’m taking as a sign that they like me.

Media Consumption

🎧 Too Many Tabs podcast has started their Quack Month, where they focus on quacks in August. It’s one of my favorite months for their podcast, partly because Mrs. P is the one researching and explaining everything, and she’s great. (Mr. P is also good but his shtick is shouting enthusiastically about everything which can be tiring. Also if you’re looking at the thumbnails– only Mr. P is onscreen because Mrs. P doesn’t want internet fame.)

The first episode was about Liver King, who I’ve only seen on the periphery on TikTok from people talking about how horrible he is.

📺 I watched The Producers (1967) which I think I’ve seen before– but I don’t remember the entire last half of the film, so basically it was like watching it for the first time. I enjoyed seeing where they changed things for the musical (which I love) and what things they kept. I much prefer the characters in the musical, as they have a bit more depth.

I also watched The Wiz (1978)! I loved the actors/singing/music, but the empty urban pseudo-NYC streets freaked me out (maybe it was supposed to do that?) and some of the musical numbers went on way too long (the intro to Oz scene where they change colors over and over). I’m planning on watching the Live production of the musical whenever I can track it down, as apparently the stage version is much better.

📖 Finished reading Moby-Duck (reading log + review), which I overall enjoyed but I do think it needed a bit more tightening up.

Also finished Seasons of the Wild (reading log + review), which was underwhelming.

Currently reading Climate Resilience (reading log), which is a good topic and has some great tips for getting more involve with climate activism, but some of the language feels…idk…over-the-top? I’m not sure how to describe it. Like, instead of just saying “I met this person and it was great,” it’s written more like “I had the honor of being in the same room as this amazing activist who has done 50 million things and is a mother, daughter, sister, aunt and earth goddess.” :/ Also they’re edited/compiled essays from interviews and everyone ends up sounding the same because of that, which is a shame.

I think I may temporarily swap over to my Kindle and read a fantasy/romance book as a palette cleanser.

Food & Dining

I harvested enough cherry tomatoes to finally be able to make a soup, which I did. (I used this recipe.) Of course as soon as I made it, I didn’t want to eat it, so it’s in the fridge for later.

The next batch of tomatoes are going to be made into a pasta sauce. I have some non-cherry ones ripening in a paper bag, and they’re nearly ready to use. I just need to track down some jars so I have somewhere to store it all!

Web Updates

New on the site:

Added a new note to my Commonplace Notebook on the Notes about AI page

Posted on the blog:

I also did a lot of theme customization, which I outlined here on this page.

Looking Forward

My usual goal to write here and on my site. I’m nearly done with a guide to customizing the look of your Calibre library, I just need to finish the formatting.

I’d also like to get in the habit of leaving comments on other people’s blogs (or emailing them), especially if I link them in a linkspam post. Right now I do it sporadically and I think if I make it more of a habit then it’ll stick better.

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

Current Mood: tired

Entry tags:

pets: garrus

=^.^=

Look at this sweet, innocent child who definitely wouldn't do something like piss all over my bed at 1am.

Oh, Garrus. It's a good thing he's cute. And that I know it was because of lingering issues from what led to the vet trip on Thursday rather than anything else.