Still resting LIKE A POTATO but with small bits of work in between, and ASKING YOUR FAVOR
Nov. 29th, 2025 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elisem I test negative for COVID these days, and feel a lot better. As directed by many people who learned some of it the hard way, I continue to rest LIKE A POTATO. And no, the giggle-inducing power of that phrase has not worn off. Juan has a way of intoning it at various sleeptimes that brings even more amusement due to the solemnity. And these things are good.
HOWEVER, what is not so good is that I'm considerably behind on getting things into the Etsy store.
Also what is not so good is that a new computer is needed. (Shopping will be done, the passive voice will be employed, and so forth.) Also, since other debts are also had, the means to pay them must be acquired.
YOUR KINDNESS is hereby requested in the form of sending people to my shop (or going yourself, yes please!) so that I may exchange the fruits of my labors for money that I can then give the computer-making people and the other-stuff-I-have-to-pay-people. If it works out right, we're all happy. (Also it will help me not freak out about money, which turns out to make resting LIKE A POTATO a little harder.)
The shop is: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LionessElise
Also also, being at the workbench is the most calming thing I know, so I'm doing a tiny bit of that, but I need to put things into the shop for people to be able to see them. Commerce does not work so well otherwise. (I am reminded of Patricia C. Wrede, who upon receiving a sheepish negative answer when she asked me if I had sent a certain story in yet, declaimed in ringing tones, "PUBLISHERS DO NOT CONDUCT HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCHES FOR PUBLISHABLE MANUSCRIPTS! SEND IT IN! YOU HAVE TO SEND IT IN!")
Anyhow, yeah, I very much need to make some moneys happen, and the most direct route for me is making shinies happen for people that want shinies, so if you can help them find my work that would be awesomely helpful.
You have my deep gratitude, and if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know.
HOWEVER, what is not so good is that I'm considerably behind on getting things into the Etsy store.
Also what is not so good is that a new computer is needed. (Shopping will be done, the passive voice will be employed, and so forth.) Also, since other debts are also had, the means to pay them must be acquired.
YOUR KINDNESS is hereby requested in the form of sending people to my shop (or going yourself, yes please!) so that I may exchange the fruits of my labors for money that I can then give the computer-making people and the other-stuff-I-have-to-pay-people. If it works out right, we're all happy. (Also it will help me not freak out about money, which turns out to make resting LIKE A POTATO a little harder.)
The shop is: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LionessElise
Also also, being at the workbench is the most calming thing I know, so I'm doing a tiny bit of that, but I need to put things into the shop for people to be able to see them. Commerce does not work so well otherwise. (I am reminded of Patricia C. Wrede, who upon receiving a sheepish negative answer when she asked me if I had sent a certain story in yet, declaimed in ringing tones, "PUBLISHERS DO NOT CONDUCT HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCHES FOR PUBLISHABLE MANUSCRIPTS! SEND IT IN! YOU HAVE TO SEND IT IN!")
Anyhow, yeah, I very much need to make some moneys happen, and the most direct route for me is making shinies happen for people that want shinies, so if you can help them find my work that would be awesomely helpful.
You have my deep gratitude, and if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know.
Book #94 of 2025: The Kill Factor | 1 DNF
Nov. 30th, 2025 02:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
thistlelj_feed
The Kill Factor by Ben Oliver.
Quick synopsis: Hunger Games + Squid Games - any realism at all - any believable characters - any realistic worldbuilding = this book.
Brief opinion: I feel like reading this book made me lose IQ points.
Plot: This book doesn't even deserve the time it would take me to summarize the plot. A cartoonish, over the top evil villain (the author had the subtlety of sledgehammer) makes 50 children fight to the death in a televised game show.
Writing/editing: Ugh. I suppose the technical writing was fine (the author did write in complete sentences with proper grammar).
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like: Some of the many, many things I disliked:
- The characters had such stupid names (Sadio Sarr, Goodwin Goodhew, Steele Sawyer).
- The author apparently has zero idea how sign language works (you would not sign "I've thought about this hard, and I've looked at it from all angles. There are three reasons why you should go on this show. The first is...", signing is a few words that get across the idea).
- The writing was the most unsubtle writing I may have ever read in my life. The mustache-twirling cartoon-level-evil bad guy of the book was described as:
"The evil in the Producer's eyes was accentuated by the glittering reflection of the half-set sub that turned them red"
"...as his face turned devil red under the glow of the fireworks..."
"The sun was a deep shade of red, and the shadows thrown across the Producer's face made his normally straight white teeth look like sharp, pointed fangs" (WTF even?)
"The Producer looked at Gamble with such demonic fury..."
"The Producer arrived, walking towards them through a heat haze, like a bleak vision of evil."
"The Producer tuned his hellion eyes..."
There was not one single realistic, believable character in the whole book. Nothing about the show or the world as a whole was believable.
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved: A "⭐️ - Hated" rating would be too high for this god awful book, but unfortunately I have no lower rating.
----
DNF #78: Journeys in the Darkness by E.J. Nixon. Anyone who reads a lot could tell you that you can actually tell a book by the cover. Look at the cover of this one. Horrible graphic, poor quality text, it looked like someone slapped it together in about five minutes in Photoshop.
Also interesting that this book has four five-star ratings on Goodreads, yet the four people who rated this book never rated or reviewed another book. HMMMM.
Anyway, on the story itself. The writing was really dull and unpolished, and the story was super unoriginal.
Qualcom's already changing Arduino's TOS and causing concern
Nov. 29th, 2025 07:34 pmthewayneI posted recently about Qualcom buying Arduino, and sure enough, changes are happening and they are not being well received. Specifically, the terms of service agreement has a stipulation that you cannot reverse engineer certain parts of code supplied by Arduino/Qualcom.
The issue being that formerly, before the Qualcom acquisition, Arduino was open source. All of the code was free and open: you could read it, change it, fix errors and upload the fixes to the world. Well, now parts of the code are locked behind Qualcom's corporate doors, never to be seen. Which is the antithesis of open source. And not in the least bit surprising.
Basically Qualcom may make changes to the core OS that may break user code and libraries, and it may become impossible to debug. But I'm sure there will be a paid support tier that will route your tickets to "top experts".
Another change noted that the new "current terms say that users grant Arduino the:
non-exclusive, royalty free, transferable, sub-licensable, perpetual, irrevocable, to the maximum extent allowed by applicable law … right to use the Content published and/or updated on the Platform as well as to distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, publish and make publicly visible all material, including software, libraries, text contents, images, videos, comments, text, audio, software, libraries, or other data (collectively, “Content”) that User publishes, uploads, or otherwise makes available to Arduino throughout the world using any means and for any purpose, including the use of any username or nickname specified in relation to the Content." So any code that you write and upload to Ardcom, or should it be Quadrino, can be taken by them and monitized with nothing going back to you - pure profit for Qualcom.
I can see the OS getting forked really soon, and as long as the forked OS works on the Arduino hardware, people ignoring the Qualcom version of the software. And if Qualcom does something like putting certificates into the hardware and forcing people into their OS, people will be dropping it at a phenomenal rate.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/arduinos-new-terms-of-service-worries-hobbyists-ahead-of-qualcomm-acquisition/
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/2144256/arduinos-new-terms-of-service-worries-hobbyists-ahead-of-qualcomm-acquisition
The issue being that formerly, before the Qualcom acquisition, Arduino was open source. All of the code was free and open: you could read it, change it, fix errors and upload the fixes to the world. Well, now parts of the code are locked behind Qualcom's corporate doors, never to be seen. Which is the antithesis of open source. And not in the least bit surprising.
Basically Qualcom may make changes to the core OS that may break user code and libraries, and it may become impossible to debug. But I'm sure there will be a paid support tier that will route your tickets to "top experts".
Another change noted that the new "current terms say that users grant Arduino the:
non-exclusive, royalty free, transferable, sub-licensable, perpetual, irrevocable, to the maximum extent allowed by applicable law … right to use the Content published and/or updated on the Platform as well as to distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, publish and make publicly visible all material, including software, libraries, text contents, images, videos, comments, text, audio, software, libraries, or other data (collectively, “Content”) that User publishes, uploads, or otherwise makes available to Arduino throughout the world using any means and for any purpose, including the use of any username or nickname specified in relation to the Content." So any code that you write and upload to Ardcom, or should it be Quadrino, can be taken by them and monitized with nothing going back to you - pure profit for Qualcom.
I can see the OS getting forked really soon, and as long as the forked OS works on the Arduino hardware, people ignoring the Qualcom version of the software. And if Qualcom does something like putting certificates into the hardware and forcing people into their OS, people will be dropping it at a phenomenal rate.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/arduinos-new-terms-of-service-worries-hobbyists-ahead-of-qualcomm-acquisition/
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/2144256/arduinos-new-terms-of-service-worries-hobbyists-ahead-of-qualcomm-acquisition
Meetings.
Nov. 29th, 2025 09:15 pmhannahI ended up going to the family gathering today. Sleeping for close to ten hours last night helped sway my decision considerably this morning. It went okay, and leaving when I was ready to leave - peeling off from the group and taking the subway back - was something that didn't get any pushback I could pick up on.
I'm not so much glad I went as I'm relieved I did. There were still the usual frustrations with conversation, and I'm slowly coming around to accepting that I'm probably always going to have to deal with them.
I'm not so much glad I went as I'm relieved I did. There were still the usual frustrations with conversation, and I'm slowly coming around to accepting that I'm probably always going to have to deal with them.
It's Dark Outside Cards - 2025
Nov. 29th, 2025 08:46 pmpetraAlso open to people for whom it is Not Dark Outside in the Southern Hemisphere.
Let me know if you'd like a holiday card, with or without short verse or prose, or a short piece of fiction in your inbox.
Even if you know I have your address, if you want a physical card, I would appreciate your leaving it in a comment on this post -- all comments are screened -- so I don't have to hunt for it. I'm in the US and have a pile of domestic and international stamps just waiting to come see you.
Please format your request like so:
I would like [a physical card/just a physical card, no fiction/just a piece of fiction or verse sent digitally], please.
If you want a physical card:
Envelope Name
Address formatted the way your country likes them done
Card Name (if different from envelope name):
If you want some words:
Please write me a [drabble or poem], [silly or serious or smutty or author's choice], for [one or more of these fandoms (the fandoms I know)] on the theme of [my favorite trope(s)]. Please avoid mentioning [winter holidays I don't celebrate].
Optional if you want to reciprocate:
I'm planning on sending holiday cards and don't have your address. Please provide it [at this link or in a reply comment].
Let me know if you'd like a holiday card, with or without short verse or prose, or a short piece of fiction in your inbox.
Even if you know I have your address, if you want a physical card, I would appreciate your leaving it in a comment on this post -- all comments are screened -- so I don't have to hunt for it. I'm in the US and have a pile of domestic and international stamps just waiting to come see you.
Please format your request like so:
I would like [a physical card/just a physical card, no fiction/just a piece of fiction or verse sent digitally], please.
If you want a physical card:
Envelope Name
Address formatted the way your country likes them done
Card Name (if different from envelope name):
If you want some words:
Please write me a [drabble or poem], [silly or serious or smutty or author's choice], for [one or more of these fandoms (the fandoms I know)] on the theme of [my favorite trope(s)]. Please avoid mentioning [winter holidays I don't celebrate].
Optional if you want to reciprocate:
I'm planning on sending holiday cards and don't have your address. Please provide it [at this link or in a reply comment].
22 Cute Pictures of Cats Crunching, Chomping, and Cherishing Caturday Snacks
Nov. 29th, 2025 04:00 pmicanhascheezburger_feedCaturday has a way of turning every cat into a hopeful little snacker. They seem to know it's a slower, softer day, and they take full advantage of it. By mid-morning, the quiet patter of paws heading toward the kitchen becomes the unofficial start of their weekly snacking campaign. One polite meow, a gentle head bump, or a patient sit-and-stare is usually all it takes to remind their humans: it's Caturday, and snacks are very much on the menu.
Some cats nibble their treats with careful precision, savoring every tiny crunch. Others dive in with full enthusiasm, chewing loudly, whiskers twitching, as if they've been waiting all week for this very moment. And once the treats are gone, there's always that adorable moment of licking stray crumbs off their lips, followed by a satisfied flop into their favorite cozy spot.
What makes Caturday snacking so sweet is the simple happiness it brings.. a soft purr, a bright-eyed look of gratitude, a warm body curled up beside you afterward. It turns an ordinary Saturday into a tiny celebration of comfort, companionship, and shared joy. A few treats and a happy cat can make the whole day feel better.
22 Hissterical Memes of Cat Convos Where Hoomans Think They’re Fluent in Meow
Nov. 29th, 2025 03:00 pmicanhascheezburger_feedAnyone who lives with a cat knows that conversations don't just happen. They're required. You can't walk into a room without offering at least a quick "Hi, buddy." You can't open a treat bag without saying, "Okay, just one." And you definitely can't leave the house without explaining where you're going, how long you'll be gone, and promising that you'll return like you're speaking to your tiny furry supervisor.
Cats always respond, too, just not in English. There's the impatient meow that clearly translates to "Hurry up." The soft chirp that means "Hello, peasant, carry on." The dramatic yowl that says "You forgot to feed me even though I ate ten minutes ago." And of course, the silent stare, which mostly feels like judgment, but might also be affection… maybe.
These conversations continue throughout the day, whether you're asking them why they're in the sink, discussing life while they nap on your laptop, or apologizing as you step over them like an obstacle in your own home. And even though they rarely give straight answers, talking to cats somehow feels natural. After all, they always listen… unless they're busy ignoring you on purpose.
In the rain
Nov. 30th, 2025 01:12 amloganberrybunnyPublic
302/365: Empty fairground rides
Click for a larger, sharper image
I had to miss a meetup with friends today owing to an earlier commitment, so I consoled myself with a trip into town in the afternoon. Today was the switch-on date for Bewdley's Christmas lights, so naturally it rained half the time! I didn't feel like staying for the actual big moment, but I did wander around the stalls earlier and had a pistachio... well, it was basically a Berliner, but called by a Polish name I can't remember. Very nice, though. Have a photo of the rides in the car park before they'd actually opened. :P
302/365: Empty fairground rides
Click for a larger, sharper image
I had to miss a meetup with friends today owing to an earlier commitment, so I consoled myself with a trip into town in the afternoon. Today was the switch-on date for Bewdley's Christmas lights, so naturally it rained half the time! I didn't feel like staying for the actual big moment, but I did wander around the stalls earlier and had a pistachio... well, it was basically a Berliner, but called by a Polish name I can't remember. Very nice, though. Have a photo of the rides in the car park before they'd actually opened. :P
Various Links 11/23 - 11/29
Nov. 29th, 2025 07:17 pmsenmutCharlie Hunnam Photo set
Miss Universe Costumes photos - LOTS of read more cuts
NSFW Art of Iron Bull and Dorian Pavus, Dragon Age
Victor Victoria Caricature Art
Kenobi opens negotiations with Dooku on the Invisible Hand, fic
Han Solo winds up in worse debt earlier and has to "be" Anakin Skywalker, fic sketch
Yoda and Obi-Wan prank the others, fic excerpt
Miss Universe Costumes photos - LOTS of read more cuts
NSFW Art of Iron Bull and Dorian Pavus, Dragon Age
Victor Victoria Caricature Art
Kenobi opens negotiations with Dooku on the Invisible Hand, fic
Han Solo winds up in worse debt earlier and has to "be" Anakin Skywalker, fic sketch
Yoda and Obi-Wan prank the others, fic excerpt
I just gotta be me
Nov. 29th, 2025 08:00 pmpetraThere is currently a meme going around Tumblr of looking at the AO3 to see which of one's fanworks has the fewest hits. Mine is currently a drabble of Shakespeare/Marlowe titled from Stephen Sondheim.
As Jack points out, said fanwork could only be more on-brand for me if it involved mentor/student or one person/everyone else.
BRB, contemplating Kit/everybody and/or Will/everybody.
Oh thank goodness, I have the right icon for this post!
As Jack points out, said fanwork could only be more on-brand for me if it involved mentor/student or one person/everyone else.
BRB, contemplating Kit/everybody and/or Will/everybody.
Unshelved strip originally published on Mon, 17 Aug 2015
Nov. 30th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Mon, 17 Aug 2015.
(no subject)
Nov. 29th, 2025 07:24 pmwaterswordFinally committed to buying myself some solid gold flatback earrings that I can keep in, and got the Maison Miru pavé lightning bar pair, which are almost identical to the Mateo bypass studs, except not diamonds, and about 20% of the price. (Christ, when I bookmarked those earrings, they were almost a hundred dollars cheaper.) I have managed to get them into my ears all by myself (look, I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 30, and push pin flat backs are even harder), and I am pleased to report that they are delicate and sparkly and I look forward to wearing them for the foreseeable future.
It's a shame that Saturday is my long cardio session at the gym, because damn does my hair look great on Sundays, when it is clean but the curl has fallen out juuuuust enough that the ringlets don't look fake. (My natural curl texture in the front is, genuinely, Shirley Temple curls. It is absurd.)
I have made cranberry-apricot cake and poppyseed cake and am restraining myself from making a miso-maple cake. The cod with artichokes and saffron broth did defeat the bag of artichokes that had been in the freezer since the dawn of time, but I actually think the broth isn't great — oddly bitter? — and won't be making it again. (I have leftovers and will eat them, but I won't be happy about it. Thank goodness I didn't waste the second cod fillet on this.) The pesto + white beans, on the other hand, were delicious and will become a new staple.
Sir Tom Stoppard's death is extremely upsetting and I am watching "Shakespeare in Love," "Enigma," and "Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead" and reading Arcadia, The Invention of Love, and The Coast of Utopia about it. And re-reading the cricket bat speech from The Real Thing.
Tom Stoppard is like unto Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Nov. 29th, 2025 07:16 pmpetraIt is definitely time for the ceremonial Watching of the Comfort Movie.
RIP, Tom Stoppard. And may you not have to do it all over again and again and again, because life is neither a rehearsal nor a play.
RIP, Tom Stoppard. And may you not have to do it all over again and again and again, because life is neither a rehearsal nor a play.
(no subject)
Nov. 29th, 2025 06:50 pmflemmingsSo after Thursday's wet, Friday was cold and blustery, so I stayed in again. Today was just iron cold grey November so I went out for a library hold and sort of dinner ie 3 p.m. because I slept in until 11:30. Had hoped for Sushi on Bloor but it was as crowded as the old days (2007 or so) so went to Pauper's. Post-brunch time it was reasonably empty and I lucked into the special, the Guinness beef stew. That was a prepandemic dish they served occasionally in the winter, and I haven't seen it since. Memory says it used to have carrots and potatoes, but this was beef and mash. Still pretty yummy. Some day I'll try their wagyu beef potstickers, which I doubt are wagyu beef but whatever, and are also fried which I think is a sacrilege, rather like fried pierogies. (Futures has all you can eat pierogy Wednesdays, but unlike every other day, the pierogies are fried, which I think proves my point. If it was all you can eat boiled pierogies, they'd lose money.)
Sleeping in till 11:30, or rather, going back to sleep for two hours at 9:15, gets me dreams of the nonexistent walkways and restaurants back of the Collonnade, here transposed across the street to outside the Museum. I was on my bike and in gel sandals, threading my way through construction? or homeless housing? when I suddenly realized I'd lost both my bike and my shoes and was walking in melted snow. 'This doesn't happen,' I thought. 'Could I be dreaming?' which is as close to lucid dreaming as I'm likely to come. And then I was back across the street in those nonexistent buildings that purport to ge restaurants or hotels and talking to a long-ago parent from the daycare and his kids, but son was still a pre-schooler while his younger sister had grown into a decided nine-year-old.
Sleeping in till 11:30, or rather, going back to sleep for two hours at 9:15, gets me dreams of the nonexistent walkways and restaurants back of the Collonnade, here transposed across the street to outside the Museum. I was on my bike and in gel sandals, threading my way through construction? or homeless housing? when I suddenly realized I'd lost both my bike and my shoes and was walking in melted snow. 'This doesn't happen,' I thought. 'Could I be dreaming?' which is as close to lucid dreaming as I'm likely to come. And then I was back across the street in those nonexistent buildings that purport to ge restaurants or hotels and talking to a long-ago parent from the daycare and his kids, but son was still a pre-schooler while his younger sister had grown into a decided nine-year-old.
Planning Ahead
Nov. 29th, 2025 05:52 pmysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
allbingoThe 2026 Community Calendar is now up. You can start claiming months if you want to host a fest. Do you have a new fandom? An old favorite? Which months are less busy for you? Leave a comment under the new calendar with your fest proposals.
Our highest need is for someone to take on January:
[recurring theme, but all new prompts each year] Public Domain Day Bingo
Many new works are entering the public domain. Use them with great enthusiasm!
Posting will be January 1-31.
Here is one list of released works to get you started.
Other months early in the year would also be helpful. If you have any questions, just ask.
Our highest need is for someone to take on January:
[recurring theme, but all new prompts each year] Public Domain Day Bingo
Many new works are entering the public domain. Use them with great enthusiasm!
Posting will be January 1-31.
Here is one list of released works to get you started.
Other months early in the year would also be helpful. If you have any questions, just ask.
Community Calendar 2026
Nov. 29th, 2025 05:35 pmysabetwordsmith posting in allbingoThis community calendar provides a place to organize events in allbingo. Ideally, there will be periodic fests and challenges on different themes, organized by different people. If you would like to run an event here, please speak up! See the calendars from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 for ideas.
( Read more... )
allbingo. Ideally, there will be periodic fests and challenges on different themes, organized by different people. If you would like to run an event here, please speak up! See the calendars from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 for ideas.( Read more... )
Furry Feline Funnies of Precious Pawdorable Cats Purrfect For Winter Evening Scrolls
Nov. 29th, 2025 02:00 pmicanhascheezburger_feedIt's getting colder each night, and darker earlier, all the time. Some people adore the winter months, and others detest them. Whether you're into the cold and bleak of winter or you're just eager for spring to come, a healthy scroll through pawdorable cat memes will certainly make you feel better, and warm you up from the inside. The cold nipping at your nose, the hot drink warming your hands, and the soft glow of a screen waiting to transport you into a world of cozy chaos. These precious, pawdorable cats are here to turn your chilly evening into a meowvelous, laughter-filled cuddle fest—without even leaving your bed.
Scrolling hissterical cat memes feels like a warm hug on a winter's night, a hand held tight, and a cup of hot cocoa to accompany your cheesy winter Christmas movie. We all have our guilty pleasure, but here's something you don't need to feel guilty about. Cats are the perfect thing for winter. They're cuddly, cozy, cute, and covered in fur. Before you say you've seen it all before, take a look at the classic cat memes that will have you hungry for more. Some of the classics include cats attempting yoga (or maybe just inventing their own wobbly poses), heroic loaf cats dominating the windowsill, or mischievous felines. Enjoy!