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james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-26 09:08 am
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dw_maintenance2025-10-25 08:42 amDatabase maintenance
Good morning, afternoon, and evening!
We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)
I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.
Ta for now!
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-25 09:20 amBooks Received, October 18 — October 24
Eight works new to me. Three fantasies, two horror, two SF, and one hard-to-classify RPG. One of the SF books is pretty horrory, so maybe that should be three fantasies, three horror, one SF, and one hard-to-classify RPG.
Books Received, October 18 — October 24
Which of these look interesting?
Abyss by Nicholas Binge (May 2026)
5 (10.9%)
Testimony of Mute Things by Lois McMaster Bujold (October 2025)
26 (56.5%)
Morsel by Carter Keane (April 2026)
3 (6.5%)
The Cove by Claire Rose (May 2026)
5 (10.9%)
Outgunned by Riccardo “Rico” Sirignano & Simone Formicola, with art by Daniela Giubellini (December 2024)
4 (8.7%)
And Side by Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer (May 2026)
16 (34.8%)
Lightning Runes by Harry Turtledove (March 2026)
8 (17.4%)
A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo (May 2026)
23 (50.0%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
35 (76.1%)
yhlee) wrote2025-10-25 08:12 amemotional support spinning
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prototypediablerie)
Three-ply yarns where each single is a different wool variety since I was going through and spinning up some samples. Next up will be an experiment in dyeing.
Also, the next owner of this spinning wheel is going to have to live with the aftermarket addition of Warhammer 40,000 base magnets to hold the hecking orifice hook because I keep losing them (and having to DIY new ones out of paper clips - this works quite well and is easy but also, I'm running embarrassingly low on paper clips).
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-24 08:51 pmExit Sigil
We have made the difficult decision to end development on Sigil. T
fanf) wrote2025-10-24 10:42 pmhow to draw a tetrapod
https://dotat.at/@/2025-10-24-tetrapod.html
Concrete tetrapods are used to dissipate wave energy in coastal defences.
There's a bit of a craze for making tetrapod-shaped things: recently I've seen people making a plush tetrapod and a tetrapod lamp. So I thought it might be fun to model one.
I found a nice way to describe tetrapods that relies on very few arbitrary aesthetic choices.
Click here to play with an animated tetrapod which I made using three.js. (You can see its source code too.)
( Read more... )
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-24 08:57 amDeath in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala
High school student and semi-professional tarot card reader Danika Dizon assists her PI mother to look for a missing person... a teen who vanished after Danika gave her a tarot card reading.
Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala
arcanetrivia) wrote in dw_community_promo2025-10-23 11:10 amHoly Monkey Bladders! It's Monkey Island™.
monkeyisland is a community for the beloved classic game series Monkey Island, featuring the comedic swashbuckling adventures of the improbably-named Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™. Anything about Monkey Island is fair game: your own fanworks (art, fic, videos, games, music, cosplay, memes/silliness, whatever), recs of others' fanworks, livestreams/let's-plays, discussions, news and articles, tips for messing about in the game resources or scripting, requests for hints, screenshots, all that good stuff. If Monkey Island is your 
sweh) wrote2025-10-23 01:09 pmNew blog post
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-23 11:41 amBundle of Holding: Nightmares Underneath (from 2023)
The August 2023 Nightmares Underneath Bundle featuring The Nightmares Underneath, the old-school horror-fantasy tabletop roleplaying game from Chthonstone Games.
Bundle of Holding: Nightmares Underneath (from 2023)
yhlee) wrote2025-10-23 09:07 amshort story rec: Chris Willrich's "A Random Walk through the Goblin Library"
yhlee) wrote2025-10-23 08:51 amtherapy spinning, helpy catten edition
This one's headed for
helen_keeble. :3(Sorry, I need to source some purple spinning fiber! I'm running low on inherited detash wools and most of what I have is blues or neutrals.)
Cloud was VERY HELPY.
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-23 08:51 amGirl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
Faraday, Oregon, seems to have a missing persons problem. Its problem is much worse.
Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
ffutures) wrote2025-10-22 06:20 pmAnother Repeat Horror/Fantasy Bundle - Nightmares Underneath
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/25Nightmares 
Last time I went on to say "I'm REALLY not the target audience for this one, I think. I've pretty much given up on straight fantasy RPGs. Other games have done the dream thing before, and in my opinion have done it better. But as usual your opinion may differ." I really don't see any reason to change that.
rmc28) wrote2025-10-22 05:40 pmBack in blue
I am very happy to say that I'll be playing for the Cambridge University Huskies this season.
Fixture list (clashes with Kodiaks 2 games in italics)
- 1 Nov 2025 21:00, Cambridge Ice Rink, Oxford Women's Blues
- 15 Nov 2025 23:15, Oxford Ice Rink, Oxford Vikings B
- 22 Nov 2025 20:30, Planet Ice Gosport, Southampton Spitfires B
- 29 Nov 2025 21:00, Cambridge Ice Rink, Birmingham Lions B
- 6 Dec 2025 21:00, Cambridge Ice Rink, Kent Knights
- 24 Jan 2026 21:00, Cambridge Ice Rink, Oxford Vikings B
- 7 Feb 2026 21:15, Planet Ice Solihull, Birmingham Lions B
- 14 Feb 2026 21:15, Oxford Ice Rink, Oxford Womens Blues
- 21 Feb 2026 20:15, Streatham Ice and Leisure, Kent Knights
- 28 Feb 2026 21:00, Cambridge Ice Rink, Southampton Spitfires B
- TBD: Varsity game against Oxford Vikings B
No guarantee I'll be on the squad for any particular game, and Kodiaks 2 will have my priority when there's a clash. But yay, getting to represent my university again.
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-22 08:53 amA Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-Ran
A robot muses contentedly on the events that led it to its rapidly approaching doom.
A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-Ran
rmc28) wrote2025-10-22 10:00 amWrong kind of leaves
Latest in a series of silly non-ice-hockey injuries: I came off my bike yesterday evening on the cycle path through the woods between Madingley Road and Storey's Way. I braked suddenly to avoid an oncoming cyclist, the wheels went sideways on the damp leaf mulch, and I ended up on the ground. The other cyclist was able to stop safely, and made sure to check I was ok.
Nothing is broken on me or the bike, but some impressive scrapes to the elbow and knee I landed on. I went home via the co-op and a supply of comfort food, cleaned everything up, and ate the food.
It's all a bit tender this morning, and rather puts the random ice hockey bruises in the shade.
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-21 08:55 amThe Eye of Argon by Jim Theis
The story that began the grand tradition of picking on a teenager's work.
The Eye of Argon by Jim Theis
ffutures) wrote2025-10-21 12:08 pmFinally got a new(er) phone
So far I'm pretty happy - it's a bit bigger than I like to carry, but does have the advantage that I can read the screen clearly. Data transfer turned out to be remarkably easy - I've never had two phones or devices that were compatible with Apple's settings transfer thing before, and it really does seem to have gone perfectly without supervision. Not sure yet what I'll do with the old phone - trade-in value is pretty small so I'll probably keep it as a backup for the time being.
And yes, this is yet another lurch into rampant consumerism - I've had to replace my ipad, PC and phone this year and my old Macbook Pro last year - but it's probably keeping someone in work somewhere...