![[sticky post]](https://www.livejournal.com/img/icon_sticky.png?v=11043 "[sticky post]"){kind=icon}
Master Fic List
Doctor Who
Single Chapter Stories
Third Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Fourth Doctor
Cooking with Gallifreyans (LJ)
Ninth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Tenth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Eleventh Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Twelfth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Thirteenth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Sarah Jane Adventures
A Light in the Dark (LJ)
Carbon, Earth and Stardust (LJ)
Torchwood
Triptych (LJ)
Going Out With the Tide (LJ)
Multi-Chapter Stories
Walk Out With Me to the Unknown Region
Sapphire and Steel
( Read more...Collapse )
The Goblin Emperor
( Read more...Collapse )
Vorkosiverse
( Read more...Collapse )
Miscellaneous
( Read more...Collapse )
Meta
( Read more...Collapse )
External Links: Ao3; Teaspoon
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/374709.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
Doctor Who
Single Chapter Stories
Third Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Fourth Doctor
Cooking with Gallifreyans (LJ)
Ninth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Tenth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Eleventh Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Twelfth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Thirteenth Doctor
( Read more...Collapse )
Sarah Jane Adventures
A Light in the Dark (LJ)
Carbon, Earth and Stardust (LJ)
Torchwood
Triptych (LJ)
Going Out With the Tide (LJ)
Multi-Chapter Stories
Walk Out With Me to the Unknown Region
Sapphire and Steel
( Read more...Collapse )
The Goblin Emperor
( Read more...Collapse )
Vorkosiverse
( Read more...Collapse )
Miscellaneous
( Read more...Collapse )
Meta
( Read more...Collapse )
External Links: Ao3; Teaspoon
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/374709.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
Multi- Chapter Stories
Most links to my multi-chapter stories will be to their Dreamwidth posts; links to stories prior to 2012 may go both to LJ and DW. Each multi-chapter Whoniverse story is also available at my Teaspoon and AO3 accounts.
Doctor Who
Walk Out With Me to the Unknown Region
Hearts and Moons Recall the Truth
( Read more...Collapse )
Most links to my multi-chapter stories will be to their Dreamwidth posts; links to stories prior to 2012 may go both to LJ and DW. Each multi-chapter Whoniverse story is also available at my Teaspoon and AO3 accounts.
Doctor Who
Walk Out With Me to the Unknown Region
Hearts and Moons Recall the Truth
( Read more...Collapse )
How to Use Google Drive as a 3rd Party Image Hosting Platform
So back when the horrid surprise of Photobucket’s greedapalooza was still fresh, a lot of people were looking for third party hosting alternatives. Someone out there had a really helpful list of potentials, but for various reasons, none of them suited me. I wondered whether I could make use of Google Photos as a third party platform.
As it happened, I couldn’t. Google had very recently ended its image hosting capabilities — unfortunate timing, that — but I did some poking about and found that there’s a work-around that lets you still use Google Drive as a third party platform. At least one person (hi,![[personal profile]](https://imgprx.livejournal.net/f410ce75c91ac0ef92d233e1a207749f92a4ee0a/XTgeevwFtz-GJybgXdOXZtKn24AMyLBsEF3GtqPJIhdIhQYeSfGMREQqJhY6G3y8y0GcHICP0ynTkO4JICErA2IGsXivRHIE7kpcaUaxcSo)
azriona !) was interested, so this is my attempt to tell people how to use this process.
I’m including a link to the YouTube video that taught me how to do this, which you might prefer to following my step-by-step. Here 'tis: https://youtu.be/zhwYRPImH9E.
( PreliminariesCollapse )
So you have your Google account and you’re ready to start.
( After the fact stuffCollapse )
So there you have my extremely wordy how-to. I hope it might be of help to someone.
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/692860.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
So back when the horrid surprise of Photobucket’s greedapalooza was still fresh, a lot of people were looking for third party hosting alternatives. Someone out there had a really helpful list of potentials, but for various reasons, none of them suited me. I wondered whether I could make use of Google Photos as a third party platform.
As it happened, I couldn’t. Google had very recently ended its image hosting capabilities — unfortunate timing, that — but I did some poking about and found that there’s a work-around that lets you still use Google Drive as a third party platform. At least one person (hi,
I’m including a link to the YouTube video that taught me how to do this, which you might prefer to following my step-by-step. Here 'tis: https://youtu.be/zhwYRPImH9E.
( PreliminariesCollapse )
So you have your Google account and you’re ready to start.
- Choose an image to upload, possibly from your own newly-created “Fuck Photobucket” file on your hard drive. Upload it to Google Drive. If you’re using Chrome, you’ll do it thusly (and if you’re using Firefox, Safari, or whatever, it will probably be fairly similar.) Click on Google Drive. Once you’re in drive, click on New, which is near the top left. You should get a drop down menu that includes “File Upload.” Hit it, and pretty soon your picture will appear in your drive. I put all my uploaded pics in one Drive folder for ease of access, along with my Permalinks record, so everything’s in the same place.
- Now you want to adjust the picture’s “share” settings, so that it’s “Public on the Web.” How to do that? Your trusty right click button. Don’t open the picture; just right click on the thumbnail/description in the Drive list. When you do, you’ll see a bunch of options.
- Open the “Share” option. A window should open up. Pay attention only to “Advanced.” Click “Advanced.”
- You’ll get a different window. Look for “Who Has Access.” It will probably be set at “Private — Only You Can Access.” You’ll want to change that, so hit “Change.”
- You’ll get three options. The one you want is “On — Public on the Web.” Make sure that button is the one you hit, then hit “Save.”
- You’ll then have a “Link to Share.” Copy that sucker, and head on over to gdurl.com.
- The very first thing you’ll see once you go to that site is a spot that says “Paste a Public Google Drive URL etc.” Put your URL there, and hit “Create Permalink.” Go down a little farther on the page, and there, under “Standard URL” you will have your shiny new permalink. Copy that permalink, along with a description of what the pic/image is, to whatever document you’ll be using to keep the information.
- Voila! You now have the code you need to embed your photo wherever you want to embed it! (If we’re talking LJ or Dreamwidth, you’ll have be able to insert it via the "insert/edit image" or "insert photo" icons. I do it in the rich text format.) And, because you’ve saved the permalink and a description in a file somewhere, you can use the same code again and again!
- EDIT as of 22 April, 2019: It appears as if gdurl.com no longer provides the http://gdurl.com/ section of the code when it creates your permalink. Don't despair. Take the admittedly confusing very short piece of code you get when you hit "create permalink" - it'll be something like RbKx - and simply put in the http://gdurl.com/ in front. I'm not sure why gdurl is only providing the latter half of the URL,, nor can I guess whether this change will disappear and things will go back to what they were, but this is how to deal with it
( After the fact stuffCollapse )
So there you have my extremely wordy how-to. I hope it might be of help to someone.
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/692860.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the living room.
- Current Mood:
nervous
To My UK Friends
I've been watching a livestream of Parliamentary activities today.
I come out of it with a few thoughts.
A) John Bercow makes for mesmerizing viewing; can anyone else make the word "Order" so hypnotically elongated? And he knows what he's talking about. I love people like that.
B) In my relatively long life, I've learned to hear the difference between people who speak because they have something to say (even if they bloviate just the slightest) and those whose only real reason for speaking is that they are in love with the sound of their own voice, and are certain, despite much information to the contrary, that everyone else loves it as well. And I know into which category your Prime Minister falls.
C) Black Rod. Kewl. That is all.
D) I'm so sorry that the rats (and I apologize to rats,because they are actually quite reasonable and intelligent creatures) nibbling little by little at the hem of your democracy have so successfully chewed much of it to bloody ribbons. May you recover soon.
Meanwhile, Over Here (And Speaking of Rats) ...
... I bring up, for your consideration, this 47-or-45-year-old (published in 1972 or 74, not sure) National Lampoon cartoon by the gifted MK Brown as a commentary, both horrible and terrible, on matters in the U.S. As I said to BB over dinner, "We're living in the time of the Candidate and the Rat, aren't we?" He sadly nodded his head.
( Under cut and viewable - thanks, BB!Collapse )
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/739256.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
I've been watching a livestream of Parliamentary activities today.
I come out of it with a few thoughts.
A) John Bercow makes for mesmerizing viewing; can anyone else make the word "Order" so hypnotically elongated? And he knows what he's talking about. I love people like that.
B) In my relatively long life, I've learned to hear the difference between people who speak because they have something to say (even if they bloviate just the slightest) and those whose only real reason for speaking is that they are in love with the sound of their own voice, and are certain, despite much information to the contrary, that everyone else loves it as well. And I know into which category your Prime Minister falls.
C) Black Rod. Kewl. That is all.
D) I'm so sorry that the rats (and I apologize to rats,because they are actually quite reasonable and intelligent creatures) nibbling little by little at the hem of your democracy have so successfully chewed much of it to bloody ribbons. May you recover soon.
Meanwhile, Over Here (And Speaking of Rats) ...
... I bring up, for your consideration, this 47-or-45-year-old (published in 1972 or 74, not sure) National Lampoon cartoon by the gifted MK Brown as a commentary, both horrible and terrible, on matters in the U.S. As I said to BB over dinner, "We're living in the time of the Candidate and the Rat, aren't we?" He sadly nodded his head.
( Under cut and viewable - thanks, BB!Collapse )
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/739256.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:
depressed
A Green Gem on Chicago's North Side
One of my last posts mentioned that Bob and I planned to go to the West Ridge Natural Area, which fronts of Chicago's Western Avenue on the (relatively) far North Side. I even mentioned taking pictures and perhaps putting a few of them up.
It took some time, but I finally got around to offloading pictures from my phone, and I'll share a few of them here.
Not a ton, however. During our time there, both Bob and I deliberately put our phones away for a majority of our walk. I agreed with Bob when he wondered about people who seemed to be walking around spending more time looking at their phones than at their beautiful surroundings. (I say that knowing that some folks I know take equally beautiful pictures as a way of chronicling events and places in their lives. That's something quite apart from experiencing an event solely through a lens.)
The natural area is still very young; it's been developed slowly since about 2011, and I know that recreating the various mini-ecosystems that once were native to the Illinois area takes time. You could tell that some of the prairie areas were really new because their blooming plants were all varieties with golden flowers. I have an acquaintance who's a specialist on native plantings in this area, someone I met while doing a story on another prairie garden in a nearby suburb, and she told me that she'd be happy once the prairie garden she was more or less in charge of began showing purple and blue flowers in summer. That's when she'd feel as if the plantings had a chance at becoming more secure and mature, she said.
I didn't mind the relative youth of the area; all the golden flowerings made an intermittently cloudy day very sunny.
It was an odd feeling to wander through this fairly large area (it was so large that we didn't get a chance to see the oak savannah area, but we'll get to it another time) and feel at some times like we were in a near-wilderness, then t urn a corner and look out on the cemetery that bordered one side of the natural area, or see Western Avenue buildings on the other side. And we never completely lost the sounds of the city. Still, it really was a relief to walk through. I'm always reminded of something my Aunt Peggy used to say - that coming to the country could give her eyes a rest, They could look out at vistas, instead of visually running up against city walls, she'd say. I understand that.
Anyhow, enough talk. Here are some of the pictures I took, under a cut.( Some are way too large ....Collapse )
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/739052.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
One of my last posts mentioned that Bob and I planned to go to the West Ridge Natural Area, which fronts of Chicago's Western Avenue on the (relatively) far North Side. I even mentioned taking pictures and perhaps putting a few of them up.
It took some time, but I finally got around to offloading pictures from my phone, and I'll share a few of them here.
Not a ton, however. During our time there, both Bob and I deliberately put our phones away for a majority of our walk. I agreed with Bob when he wondered about people who seemed to be walking around spending more time looking at their phones than at their beautiful surroundings. (I say that knowing that some folks I know take equally beautiful pictures as a way of chronicling events and places in their lives. That's something quite apart from experiencing an event solely through a lens.)
The natural area is still very young; it's been developed slowly since about 2011, and I know that recreating the various mini-ecosystems that once were native to the Illinois area takes time. You could tell that some of the prairie areas were really new because their blooming plants were all varieties with golden flowers. I have an acquaintance who's a specialist on native plantings in this area, someone I met while doing a story on another prairie garden in a nearby suburb, and she told me that she'd be happy once the prairie garden she was more or less in charge of began showing purple and blue flowers in summer. That's when she'd feel as if the plantings had a chance at becoming more secure and mature, she said.
I didn't mind the relative youth of the area; all the golden flowerings made an intermittently cloudy day very sunny.
It was an odd feeling to wander through this fairly large area (it was so large that we didn't get a chance to see the oak savannah area, but we'll get to it another time) and feel at some times like we were in a near-wilderness, then t urn a corner and look out on the cemetery that bordered one side of the natural area, or see Western Avenue buildings on the other side. And we never completely lost the sounds of the city. Still, it really was a relief to walk through. I'm always reminded of something my Aunt Peggy used to say - that coming to the country could give her eyes a rest, They could look out at vistas, instead of visually running up against city walls, she'd say. I understand that.
Anyhow, enough talk. Here are some of the pictures I took, under a cut.( Some are way too large ....Collapse )
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/739052.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:
contemplative
Why Newsrooms Are Unionizing
As the headline says ... this story from Nieman Reports on why newsrooms are unionizing is a good one. It seems very apropos to the Labor Day weekend, and to my interests in the business I love, the business I believe is crucial to the maintenance of democracy.
(On another note entirely, BB and I did get to the West Ridge Natural Area today. It was a lovely day, and we really enjoyed the experience. We want to go back, because we couldn't get to one area where they've reclaimed some oak savannah. We took some pictures, but those will have to wait until tomorrow. We're quite happily exhausted.) This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/738610.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
As the headline says ... this story from Nieman Reports on why newsrooms are unionizing is a good one. It seems very apropos to the Labor Day weekend, and to my interests in the business I love, the business I believe is crucial to the maintenance of democracy.
(On another note entirely, BB and I did get to the West Ridge Natural Area today. It was a lovely day, and we really enjoyed the experience. We want to go back, because we couldn't get to one area where they've reclaimed some oak savannah. We took some pictures, but those will have to wait until tomorrow. We're quite happily exhausted.) This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/738610.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:
tired - Current Music:anime-related music
Labor Day Weekend
My Dreamwidth/Live Journal output for August was better than for July, although that's not saying much. I still find it positive that I haven't given up chatting with people here, or using the space to talk about things I find interesting, bothersome, or worthy of delight.
Today we had an actually cool day, with temperatures in the high 60s Fahrenheit, so I've decided that I could call today the first day of true fall. I've asked Bob to go with me tomorrow to the West Ridge Natural Area. It's a 21.23 acre nature preserve created from a corner of Chicago's historic Rosehill cemetery.
Because both the cemetery - the final resting place for Chicago firefighters, Civil War Union dead, members of Chicago's Chinese community and more - and the eventual nature preserve front on Western Avenue, we've had years to watch and wonder about the overgrown area that became the preserve. (We've also loved going to Rosehill to wander its paths, first with Andy when he was a little boy, and occasionally without him.)
When I saw the north-western corner being redeveloped, I made up my mind that I wanted eventually to go in. And today I decided that tomorrow was the day. If Bob and I actually do make it, I'll try to take some pictures with my phone.
I'm still on my calorie quest to lose weight, and sticking to it fairly well, although last night was a foreseen complete failure. I had supper with my three former Pioneer colleagues, something that happens 2-3 times a year, and we went to an Indian restaurant. I knew that the food, which was very good, was also soaked in oil and butter, but since this was a social engagement, I was prepared for going well over my caloric limit. I was surprised when I only went over it by 1,500 calories. Heh. The compay was well worth the extravagance.
I am enjoying the long weekend, which amuses me, because if I'd had any thought about Labor Day Weekend 2019 prior to now, it probably was the thought that, as a retiree, I didn't have to labor any more. And now my work with my favorite labor union has rendered that thought incorrect. Ah, yes, I amuse myself.
To all my UK friends; I hope there's any chance at all to fight Johnson's prorogation of parliament. I wish Corbyn had done more to fight against Tory chaos, or to take better advantage of it than he did, but I am looking at it from the outside, and you all have been caught in the midst of it all. What a terrible situation. You have my sympathy.
I think that's all for now. But tomorrow, some nature awaits
Oh, I did forget; I wanted to link to this story, which once again showed me how amazing and confusing and wonderful this world is. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/738336.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
My Dreamwidth/Live Journal output for August was better than for July, although that's not saying much. I still find it positive that I haven't given up chatting with people here, or using the space to talk about things I find interesting, bothersome, or worthy of delight.
Today we had an actually cool day, with temperatures in the high 60s Fahrenheit, so I've decided that I could call today the first day of true fall. I've asked Bob to go with me tomorrow to the West Ridge Natural Area. It's a 21.23 acre nature preserve created from a corner of Chicago's historic Rosehill cemetery.
Because both the cemetery - the final resting place for Chicago firefighters, Civil War Union dead, members of Chicago's Chinese community and more - and the eventual nature preserve front on Western Avenue, we've had years to watch and wonder about the overgrown area that became the preserve. (We've also loved going to Rosehill to wander its paths, first with Andy when he was a little boy, and occasionally without him.)
When I saw the north-western corner being redeveloped, I made up my mind that I wanted eventually to go in. And today I decided that tomorrow was the day. If Bob and I actually do make it, I'll try to take some pictures with my phone.
I'm still on my calorie quest to lose weight, and sticking to it fairly well, although last night was a foreseen complete failure. I had supper with my three former Pioneer colleagues, something that happens 2-3 times a year, and we went to an Indian restaurant. I knew that the food, which was very good, was also soaked in oil and butter, but since this was a social engagement, I was prepared for going well over my caloric limit. I was surprised when I only went over it by 1,500 calories. Heh. The compay was well worth the extravagance.
I am enjoying the long weekend, which amuses me, because if I'd had any thought about Labor Day Weekend 2019 prior to now, it probably was the thought that, as a retiree, I didn't have to labor any more. And now my work with my favorite labor union has rendered that thought incorrect. Ah, yes, I amuse myself.
To all my UK friends; I hope there's any chance at all to fight Johnson's prorogation of parliament. I wish Corbyn had done more to fight against Tory chaos, or to take better advantage of it than he did, but I am looking at it from the outside, and you all have been caught in the midst of it all. What a terrible situation. You have my sympathy.
I think that's all for now. But tomorrow, some nature awaits
Oh, I did forget; I wanted to link to this story, which once again showed me how amazing and confusing and wonderful this world is. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/738336.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:
peaceful
Hurrah! Tuesday Was Not A Loss!
I really don't have that much more to say, but after yesterday's rather flip post, I thought I should follow up to let people know I didn't have to slip into the Slough of Despond after Monday. Go, me!
Part of it was because I managed to make some excellent stuffed poblano peppers for supper. Both BB and I agreed they were excellent (and, surprisingly, not too calor- or carbonific.
Of course those are words. Ahem.
I'm going to go and cuddle with BB now; he deserves all the TLC. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/738254.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
I really don't have that much more to say, but after yesterday's rather flip post, I thought I should follow up to let people know I didn't have to slip into the Slough of Despond after Monday. Go, me!
Part of it was because I managed to make some excellent stuffed poblano peppers for supper. Both BB and I agreed they were excellent (and, surprisingly, not too calor- or carbonific.
Of course those are words. Ahem.
I'm going to go and cuddle with BB now; he deserves all the TLC. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/738254.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: happy
The Dangers of Feeling Good About Monday
Well, at least the dangers of feeling good about a reasonably productive Monday, that being the risk of falling into despair when Tuesday is nothing but online solitaire or something of that sort. I suppose that having a productive Tuesday is the best route to take but oh, how that can be difficult.
I'm getting to know my new computer, whose name I've altered slightly to Le Nouveau Lad, since a) a DC fan made gentle remonstrance (or at least wondered if the original sobriquet might portend a character with too much interest in surveillance) and b) I think it's probably better to gift my new kid with a name free of commercial hindrances.
Maybe I should just call him Larry. Or Leonard. Or Louis. Things to ponder ....
Also, I need new icons. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737889.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
Well, at least the dangers of feeling good about a reasonably productive Monday, that being the risk of falling into despair when Tuesday is nothing but online solitaire or something of that sort. I suppose that having a productive Tuesday is the best route to take but oh, how that can be difficult.
I'm getting to know my new computer, whose name I've altered slightly to Le Nouveau Lad, since a) a DC fan made gentle remonstrance (or at least wondered if the original sobriquet might portend a character with too much interest in surveillance) and b) I think it's probably better to gift my new kid with a name free of commercial hindrances.
Maybe I should just call him Larry. Or Leonard. Or Louis. Things to ponder ....
Also, I need new icons. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737889.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
Say Hello to Lenovo Lad
It's not a very original name, and it sounds rather like one of those DC Legion of Superheroes types, but it's nicely alliterative, and until I can think of something better, that's what this new laptop's handle will be. Updates as necessary, of course. The keyboard is somewhat larger than I'm used to, and the power cord is not as sturdy as my old HP's. However, you can tell this is a young and healthy machine; my old one was getting so slow (and not because there was too much on the hard drive, just because it was getting old and tired)
On the 7th day of watching my calories. I managed to stay under my calories today, in part because I did 20 rather painful minutes of moderate walking to and from the grocery store; 10 minutes to and 10 minutes from. I'm truly out of condition when such a walk makes my legs feel as if they're burning up. Still, my reward was being able to have two hot dogs on brioche buns, with a dill pickle and two tablespoons of saurkraut.
WHAT??!?
Tomorrow I leap into work again, but it's been nice to only have spent only one hour of work time during the weekend.
I'm also feeling rather pleased at having written a five page letter and mailed it off to a friend. Not only that, but the letter was handwritten, not erely typed and printed out. One of the lost arts, I know; and I admit that my writing hand cramped up really badly by the end of the third page. I think that it's because of the RA, and because I've always had a bad habit of gripping pens really really tightly. Still, it got done and, by god, I plan to continue doing that.
I also read two relatively long articles in a back issue of The Nation - the hard copy, no less - without getting up and doing something else in the middle of the operation. I'll consider that another win in my campaign to better my attention span.
I got a little more done on my latest story; not much, but enough to make me feel good about where the story's going. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737710.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
It's not a very original name, and it sounds rather like one of those DC Legion of Superheroes types, but it's nicely alliterative, and until I can think of something better, that's what this new laptop's handle will be. Updates as necessary, of course. The keyboard is somewhat larger than I'm used to, and the power cord is not as sturdy as my old HP's. However, you can tell this is a young and healthy machine; my old one was getting so slow (and not because there was too much on the hard drive, just because it was getting old and tired)
On the 7th day of watching my calories. I managed to stay under my calories today, in part because I did 20 rather painful minutes of moderate walking to and from the grocery store; 10 minutes to and 10 minutes from. I'm truly out of condition when such a walk makes my legs feel as if they're burning up. Still, my reward was being able to have two hot dogs on brioche buns, with a dill pickle and two tablespoons of saurkraut.
WHAT??!?
Tomorrow I leap into work again, but it's been nice to only have spent only one hour of work time during the weekend.
I'm also feeling rather pleased at having written a five page letter and mailed it off to a friend. Not only that, but the letter was handwritten, not erely typed and printed out. One of the lost arts, I know; and I admit that my writing hand cramped up really badly by the end of the third page. I think that it's because of the RA, and because I've always had a bad habit of gripping pens really really tightly. Still, it got done and, by god, I plan to continue doing that.
I also read two relatively long articles in a back issue of The Nation - the hard copy, no less - without getting up and doing something else in the middle of the operation. I'll consider that another win in my campaign to better my attention span.
I got a little more done on my latest story; not much, but enough to make me feel good about where the story's going. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737710.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: satisfied
- Current Music:Paul Desmond "I've Got You Under My Skin"
Day Five of Trying to Eat Better. Also, Missing Passport is Still Missing
I'm learning that it's hard to avoid sodium, fat, and carbs, but easier to avoid sugar than I expected. I'm also learning that I've become very aware of when I'm hungry now that I'm eating less but that, oddly, I'm not constantly craving or thinking about food. It's vastly different from a situation in which I found myself previously, where I was constantly thinking of food and wanting something even when I didn't need it. It's all pretty interesting.
I do need to start weighing myself at least somewhat regularly, or I won't know if what I'm doing is working. I figure twice a week, with no expectations of seeing any changes at all for two or three weeks should help me avoid the pitfall of constantly weighing myself, or expecting miracles to happen quickly.
I also need to change the type of exercising I'm doing, something I think I reluctantly acknowledged in a previous post. Cardio exercises are daunting, but I've at least started with brisk walking. Having the car parked in a garage 2 blocks away gives me an opportunity to do that.
We still haven't found the passport. I told Bob that we should give ourselves until the end of the weekend to find it. After that, it's time to apply for a new one. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737322.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
I'm learning that it's hard to avoid sodium, fat, and carbs, but easier to avoid sugar than I expected. I'm also learning that I've become very aware of when I'm hungry now that I'm eating less but that, oddly, I'm not constantly craving or thinking about food. It's vastly different from a situation in which I found myself previously, where I was constantly thinking of food and wanting something even when I didn't need it. It's all pretty interesting.
I do need to start weighing myself at least somewhat regularly, or I won't know if what I'm doing is working. I figure twice a week, with no expectations of seeing any changes at all for two or three weeks should help me avoid the pitfall of constantly weighing myself, or expecting miracles to happen quickly.
I also need to change the type of exercising I'm doing, something I think I reluctantly acknowledged in a previous post. Cardio exercises are daunting, but I've at least started with brisk walking. Having the car parked in a garage 2 blocks away gives me an opportunity to do that.
We still haven't found the passport. I told Bob that we should give ourselves until the end of the weekend to find it. After that, it's time to apply for a new one. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737322.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:busy
... Gang Aft Agley. Boy Howdy, Do They.
Tonight, BB and I should have been at a hotel in Windsor, Ont., catching up on sleep before a 10:30 a.m. appointment at a Royal Bank of Canada branch. There, we planned to make my Canadian RBC account joint, with his name on it. It was to be a quick but necessary trip, since Canadian banking rules require that such a change be done with everyone involved physically on the scene.
So this morning, as we were packing, I said, "Let's make sure we get our passports out, so we don't forget them."
( Hilarity ensuesCollapse ) This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737205.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
Tonight, BB and I should have been at a hotel in Windsor, Ont., catching up on sleep before a 10:30 a.m. appointment at a Royal Bank of Canada branch. There, we planned to make my Canadian RBC account joint, with his name on it. It was to be a quick but necessary trip, since Canadian banking rules require that such a change be done with everyone involved physically on the scene.
So this morning, as we were packing, I said, "Let's make sure we get our passports out, so we don't forget them."
( Hilarity ensuesCollapse ) This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/737205.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:
aggravated
Thinkful Connections, Etc.
Excuse the completely ungrammatical title. I don't have a lot to say about myself right now, but I thought I'd link to a couple of interesting articles, which might make reading this post more worthwhile.
( News to Make One Weep or ScreamCollapse )
( Fic progressCollapse )
( Eating, weight talk, if you want to skip.Collapse )
Huh. For having little to say, I've done so at length. Have a good week! This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/736848.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
Excuse the completely ungrammatical title. I don't have a lot to say about myself right now, but I thought I'd link to a couple of interesting articles, which might make reading this post more worthwhile.
( News to Make One Weep or ScreamCollapse )
( Fic progressCollapse )
( Eating, weight talk, if you want to skip.Collapse )
Huh. For having little to say, I've done so at length. Have a good week! This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/736848.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the livingroom
- Current Mood:awake
- Current Music:ambient soundtrack of classical piano
Fear Me ...
... I have acquired tabi socks.
Also, environmentally responsible toilet paper, making me a guardian of Canada's boreal forest.
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/735523.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
... I have acquired tabi socks.
Also, environmentally responsible toilet paper, making me a guardian of Canada's boreal forest.
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/735523.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the livingroom
- Current Music:The AC, since summer is here with a vengeance
A Very Pleasant Realization
Last night, as I drifted off to sleep, Bob and I were talking, and I said that in the past few years, especially the last year, I would see the end of the weekend, and look at the coming week very differently than I do now. I looked at each coming day differently now, I said, not just the weekend. Before, I might think about what the next day would bring, but most times, I would think of the coming day as a formless time period that was almost always at least somewhat negative. The times I did think about specific things I had to do, it was even more negative.
Now, I told Bob, when I thought about what I needed to do the next day, I was doing it with ... excitement at some times, happiness at some times, and always with a positive feeling underlying even the challenging days I looked at.
I'm doing something I believe in. People believe in me (oh god). I'm being paid a decent wage. I'm helping people, or at least I'm trying to help them.
It makes all the difference in the world. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/735207.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
Last night, as I drifted off to sleep, Bob and I were talking, and I said that in the past few years, especially the last year, I would see the end of the weekend, and look at the coming week very differently than I do now. I looked at each coming day differently now, I said, not just the weekend. Before, I might think about what the next day would bring, but most times, I would think of the coming day as a formless time period that was almost always at least somewhat negative. The times I did think about specific things I had to do, it was even more negative.
Now, I told Bob, when I thought about what I needed to do the next day, I was doing it with ... excitement at some times, happiness at some times, and always with a positive feeling underlying even the challenging days I looked at.
I'm doing something I believe in. People believe in me (oh god). I'm being paid a decent wage. I'm helping people, or at least I'm trying to help them.
It makes all the difference in the world. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/735207.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: sore
The Last Time This Happened, I Was In Janesville, Wisconsin
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This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734847.html?mode=reply, where there are currently 
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
There are times when life seems dreary, hopeless, full of darkness and lacking necessary purses.
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: relieved
An Old-fashioned Delight
When BB and I are together, in the evening, or on weekends, one of the things I enjoy, and he says he enjoys, is reading news stories or other articles to him. I like keeping my speaking skills up, I like making stories interesting to a listener,. and it allows us to share news, opinion, or what-have-you pieces at the same time. We've been doing this for years, but I only recently thought of how old-fashioned it is. It's not watching images, it's not scrolling through Twitter or Facebook feeds and even when the stories are being read on a screen and not from a hard-copy newspaper or magazine, it's still very much like what families did decades and longer ago; sitting in the livingroom after dinner (or in the old days, after church on the weekends, I suppose.) It's wonderful communication and recreation at the same time. I like it. Do any of you do this sort of thing with loved ones or others? This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734693.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
When BB and I are together, in the evening, or on weekends, one of the things I enjoy, and he says he enjoys, is reading news stories or other articles to him. I like keeping my speaking skills up, I like making stories interesting to a listener,. and it allows us to share news, opinion, or what-have-you pieces at the same time. We've been doing this for years, but I only recently thought of how old-fashioned it is. It's not watching images, it's not scrolling through Twitter or Facebook feeds and even when the stories are being read on a screen and not from a hard-copy newspaper or magazine, it's still very much like what families did decades and longer ago; sitting in the livingroom after dinner (or in the old days, after church on the weekends, I suppose.) It's wonderful communication and recreation at the same time. I like it. Do any of you do this sort of thing with loved ones or others? This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734693.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the livingroom
- Current Mood: thoughtful
First Line Meme Time
Taken from a few folks on my f'list. "List the first lines of your last 10 published stories. See if there are any patterns yourself, or have other people say what they notice.
I doubt I'll find much in the way of patterns. No, wait; I do have a tendency to start with a direct quote. I want to go to other folks' posts to see if I can spot some. (Also, I used more lines for any story that had an opening or line fewer than 3 words.)
1) “I’d say ‘We meet again!’ but I’m not that cheesy. Or a villain. Villains say that sort of thing, I’m reliably informed.” But he smiled as he said it. ("Favor For A Friend" Doctor Who.)
2) “Miss Romanova?”
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734239.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
Taken from a few folks on my f'list. "List the first lines of your last 10 published stories. See if there are any patterns yourself, or have other people say what they notice.
I doubt I'll find much in the way of patterns. No, wait; I do have a tendency to start with a direct quote. I want to go to other folks' posts to see if I can spot some. (Also, I used more lines for any story that had an opening or line fewer than 3 words.)
1) “I’d say ‘We meet again!’ but I’m not that cheesy. Or a villain. Villains say that sort of thing, I’m reliably informed.” But he smiled as he said it. ("Favor For A Friend" Doctor Who.)
2) “Miss Romanova?”
“Romanov,” Natasha corrected automatically. “I don’t use traditional Russian nomenclature. And it’s Ms, not Miss. But thank you for your attention to detail, Mr. Rawhide. What can I do for you?” ("So What. Big Deal." Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover with The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.)
3) “Well, this is a proper mess, isn’t it?” The Doctor’s grin was just a tad wobbly. ("Cesium and Desist" Doctor Who)
4) They were there because Yaz asked to see the Pillars of Creation. ("The Pillars of Creation" Doctor Who)
5) “There is no way — no way whatsoever — that I can pull you back out of there,” Rory said, raising his voice above the grinding of the thing’s fleshy gears. “I’m sorry, Doctor.” ("Floral Makeup and Other Follies" Doctor Who)
6) “Serenity.”
3) “Well, this is a proper mess, isn’t it?” The Doctor’s grin was just a tad wobbly. ("Cesium and Desist" Doctor Who)
4) They were there because Yaz asked to see the Pillars of Creation. ("The Pillars of Creation" Doctor Who)
5) “There is no way — no way whatsoever — that I can pull you back out of there,” Rory said, raising his voice above the grinding of the thing’s fleshy gears. “I’m sorry, Doctor.” ("Floral Makeup and Other Follies" Doctor Who)
6) “Serenity.”
Csevet’s face, normally ivory, was white as paper. Maia put aside the report he had been reading, alarmed. “What is it?’ ("Ulishenathaän" The Goblin Emperor)
7) When the soldiers took him from the King’s tent, he still had on the paper crown. One of the soldiers eyed it, and Lambert thought he’d be cuffed. Instead, the man just sighed, and chivvied him further into the fire-lit darkness. ("A Falcon at Stoke Field" The Shadow of the Crown)
8) Tony Pond-Williams looked nothing at all like either of his parents, of course. ("Moving Pictures" Doctor Who)
9) “I’m alright. You get some sleep.” ("Cycles" Doctor Who)
10) Jack loved Alonso, and he knew that Alonso loved him. The boy — he had been a boy, when the Doctor first pushed him onto Jack, much to Jack’s somewhat annoyed gratitude — had grown into a fine man in the years they’d been together. ("The Future in Dreams" Doctor Who/Torchwood)
7) When the soldiers took him from the King’s tent, he still had on the paper crown. One of the soldiers eyed it, and Lambert thought he’d be cuffed. Instead, the man just sighed, and chivvied him further into the fire-lit darkness. ("A Falcon at Stoke Field" The Shadow of the Crown)
8) Tony Pond-Williams looked nothing at all like either of his parents, of course. ("Moving Pictures" Doctor Who)
9) “I’m alright. You get some sleep.” ("Cycles" Doctor Who)
10) Jack loved Alonso, and he knew that Alonso loved him. The boy — he had been a boy, when the Doctor first pushed him onto Jack, much to Jack’s somewhat annoyed gratitude — had grown into a fine man in the years they’d been together. ("The Future in Dreams" Doctor Who/Torchwood)
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734239.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
Birthdays at the Year's Halfway Point
It's June! It's the middle of June! Here in Chicago, warm weather can't gain any purchase (today is cloudy, windy, and hovering only in the low 50s Fahrenheit). To keep myself warm and to celebrate people I know and like, here are some birthdays and birthday wishes. I never seem to be on time, but the wishes are sincere.
acciochocolate , she of costuming know-how, icon creation, and perfumery love, celebrated on June 8. She's thoughtful, fannish, a Whovian who shares my love of that Whoniverse, and I am glad I met her on these here intarwebz. Many delayed happy returns of the day!
earlgreytea68 also celebrated on June 8. She's an author of both original fiction and excellent fanfic; an attorney with insights into how law can intersect with music, with fandom, and more, a teacher, and an adventurer who has been unafraid to pull up stakes and travel to new surroundings. Happy birthday!
livii , who is no longer around these parts as far as I know, had a June 9 birthday. When I first fell into Who fandom, especially the fanfic part of it, she was someone whose work I aspired to emulate in quality, and whose comments and critiques I was glad to receive. She comes from My Home and Native Land, is a dedicated mother, a thoughtful progressive, and I hope someday to interact with her again.
time_converges had a birthday on June 11. She, like too many people, isn't around much these days, but she is someone of whom I am fond; we share fannish affection for the Whoniverse (especially Donna Noble), for BSG, for fic writing and reading, and much more. Felicitations on your natal anniversary - I hope it was a good one!
And finally, today - this very day -eaweek celebrated. Happy Birthday! She loves fandom, from the Whoniverse in general to specific things like costuming (which is very cool), she's a figure-skating aficionado, she is organized, doesn't suffer fools gladly, and in general is a wonderful person to know. Once again - Happy Birthday!!
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734201.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
It's June! It's the middle of June! Here in Chicago, warm weather can't gain any purchase (today is cloudy, windy, and hovering only in the low 50s Fahrenheit). To keep myself warm and to celebrate people I know and like, here are some birthdays and birthday wishes. I never seem to be on time, but the wishes are sincere.
And finally, today - this very day -
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/734201.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: pensive
The Father I Love
( Read more...Collapse ) This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733873.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
( Read more...Collapse ) This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733873.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: thoughtful
Working, Eating, Watching Anime, Sleeping ....
I've been adulting the fuck out of my life the last couple of weeks, being responsible, doing reports., talking to people to whom I'm introduced as "an expert on mobilizing" which has the expected result of triggering imposter syndrome like whoah. And I've learned that yes indeed, I will be expected to take on organizing efforts in Indiana, so there's that.
It's making me tired, wired, and ... well ... I'm kind of liking it.
The only problem is that I can't get enough energy up at the end of a day to post here, or to write any fiction. And there's part of me that's screaming to write some fic. Gah!
Still - I'm here, I'm determined not to disappear., and I hope I can share some of my adventures in the Union Adult Zone. Stay tuned. But don't hold your breath. That might be fatal. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733612.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
I've been adulting the fuck out of my life the last couple of weeks, being responsible, doing reports., talking to people to whom I'm introduced as "an expert on mobilizing" which has the expected result of triggering imposter syndrome like whoah. And I've learned that yes indeed, I will be expected to take on organizing efforts in Indiana, so there's that.
It's making me tired, wired, and ... well ... I'm kind of liking it.
The only problem is that I can't get enough energy up at the end of a day to post here, or to write any fiction. And there's part of me that's screaming to write some fic. Gah!
Still - I'm here, I'm determined not to disappear., and I hope I can share some of my adventures in the Union Adult Zone. Stay tuned. But don't hold your breath. That might be fatal. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733612.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:indescribable
- Current Music:Cab Calloway
Death and Honor
It's been raining most of the day here in Chicago, and it's affected my mood a bit. I wanted to acknowledge Memorial Day, to remind myself and others that it's more than the unofficial beginning of summer, or the launch of grilling season, but I found it hard to do.
I have relatives, living and dead, who were in various branches of the Canadian military. None of them died while serving, so I don't have that experience from which to draw. And as I've gotten older, it has seemed to me a better thing to focus on Veterans' Day - Remembrance Day for me - on Nov. 11, because it focuses on all members of the military, especially the living ones.
It's those living soldiers, sailors, air force members,marines and coast guard members who should be respected, paid well, cared for properly at VA hospitals - and not sent out to die in, or be horribly, painfully injured in, or be traumatized because of, or hardened by killing others or doing worse things during, any of our needless, useless, bloody wars. (I don't know what wars are necessary these days, but I suspect that, with the exception of The Second World War, very few were, are, or will be.)
The dead I grieve for and, in many cases, honor. The living I fear for, and hope that they aren't added to the roster of the dead by next Memorial Day.
At dinner tonight, BB reminded me that Memorial Day has become for many people a day to remember all of their dead loved ones, a time when families go out to cemeteries to care for the graves of those loved ones, and to commune with them in some sense. I can definitely sign on to that, but I don't want to forget those who should have been so much more than cannon fodder..
To those among my f'list who have lost friends, family members and other loved ones because they served in the military, I offer my thoughts, and my respect for the danger and ultimate sacrifice their loved ones took on. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733273.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
It's been raining most of the day here in Chicago, and it's affected my mood a bit. I wanted to acknowledge Memorial Day, to remind myself and others that it's more than the unofficial beginning of summer, or the launch of grilling season, but I found it hard to do.
I have relatives, living and dead, who were in various branches of the Canadian military. None of them died while serving, so I don't have that experience from which to draw. And as I've gotten older, it has seemed to me a better thing to focus on Veterans' Day - Remembrance Day for me - on Nov. 11, because it focuses on all members of the military, especially the living ones.
It's those living soldiers, sailors, air force members,marines and coast guard members who should be respected, paid well, cared for properly at VA hospitals - and not sent out to die in, or be horribly, painfully injured in, or be traumatized because of, or hardened by killing others or doing worse things during, any of our needless, useless, bloody wars. (I don't know what wars are necessary these days, but I suspect that, with the exception of The Second World War, very few were, are, or will be.)
The dead I grieve for and, in many cases, honor. The living I fear for, and hope that they aren't added to the roster of the dead by next Memorial Day.
At dinner tonight, BB reminded me that Memorial Day has become for many people a day to remember all of their dead loved ones, a time when families go out to cemeteries to care for the graves of those loved ones, and to commune with them in some sense. I can definitely sign on to that, but I don't want to forget those who should have been so much more than cannon fodder..
To those among my f'list who have lost friends, family members and other loved ones because they served in the military, I offer my thoughts, and my respect for the danger and ultimate sacrifice their loved ones took on. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733273.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: sad
As June Approaches
... I've been familiarizing myself with my new job, learning that there's another segment of the job I hadn't expected to take on, struggling to remain organized as I try to become a mobilizer, and in general adulting the fuck out of life. It's been a challenge, but one that seems, at least at this point, to agree with me.
I'm back on my back exercise kick. After my right hip and leg started giving me non-stop pain, I brought it up with my rheumatologist and she was blunt; exercise was really the only answer. And she's right, of course. I just hate exercise. Still, after only a couple of night's worth of minimal exercise, I'm not having nearly as much pain when I'm in bed, trying to sleep, and I'm pretty certain that it's not some sort of exercise placebo effect, so exercise I will, as long as my admittedly fragile self discipline holds out.
I've been thinking, off and on, about the end of Game of Thrones.
( Game of Thrones geekliness. Spoilers, y'all.Collapse )
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733130.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
... I've been familiarizing myself with my new job, learning that there's another segment of the job I hadn't expected to take on, struggling to remain organized as I try to become a mobilizer, and in general adulting the fuck out of life. It's been a challenge, but one that seems, at least at this point, to agree with me.
I'm back on my back exercise kick. After my right hip and leg started giving me non-stop pain, I brought it up with my rheumatologist and she was blunt; exercise was really the only answer. And she's right, of course. I just hate exercise. Still, after only a couple of night's worth of minimal exercise, I'm not having nearly as much pain when I'm in bed, trying to sleep, and I'm pretty certain that it's not some sort of exercise placebo effect, so exercise I will, as long as my admittedly fragile self discipline holds out.
I've been thinking, off and on, about the end of Game of Thrones.
( Game of Thrones geekliness. Spoilers, y'all.Collapse )
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/733130.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:geeky
Of Course.
He pardoned Conrad Black.
Of course he did. Black wrote a deliberately fawning book about him. He and Black had business dealings in the past, which probably didn't hurt, but it was undoubtedly the book that did it.
Black looted the Chicago Sun-Times and its associated properties while he owned them. That's the correct term for it. Looted.. Robbed. Eviscerated. Because of his thievery - which, by the way, he did all while publicly disdaining the journalists he was robbing, and the journalism he dishonored - the company fell into a bankruptcy.
That bankruptcy ended when a buyer forced Sun-Times employees to take a "temporary" 15 percent pay cut before his group would buy the company.
We never recovered from that temporary pay cut. Neither did the Sun-Times or its associated properties. The Sun-Times eventually sold much of itself to the Tribune, after another rich man with no integrity bought the company and wrecked it further.
Still, some of us took at least a little comfort in knowing that Black, against all expectations of wealth protecting him, went to prison. It wasn't for long, certainly not nearly as long as he deserved, but he was a convicted felon.
Neil Steinberg, in his column, says he has nothing against Black. He also suggests that Black and the man who pardoned him are much the same.
I disagree with the latter assumption. I imagine that Black would disagree, polysyllabically. He knew how to flatter the subject of his book, but Black's self-aggrandizing snobbery is such that I suspect he thinks very little of him, considering him no more than a particularly notable member of the hoi polloi.
This may be why I think Robert Feder's column says it better.
As for me, I hold much against Black. It rises in my throat like bile, the rage I feel about him, the hatred I hold for him.
I know we are counseled against hate, that we are told it is corrosive to ourselves more than to those we hate. And I know that's true.
But I hate this man. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/732900.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
He pardoned Conrad Black.
Of course he did. Black wrote a deliberately fawning book about him. He and Black had business dealings in the past, which probably didn't hurt, but it was undoubtedly the book that did it.
Black looted the Chicago Sun-Times and its associated properties while he owned them. That's the correct term for it. Looted.. Robbed. Eviscerated. Because of his thievery - which, by the way, he did all while publicly disdaining the journalists he was robbing, and the journalism he dishonored - the company fell into a bankruptcy.
That bankruptcy ended when a buyer forced Sun-Times employees to take a "temporary" 15 percent pay cut before his group would buy the company.
We never recovered from that temporary pay cut. Neither did the Sun-Times or its associated properties. The Sun-Times eventually sold much of itself to the Tribune, after another rich man with no integrity bought the company and wrecked it further.
Still, some of us took at least a little comfort in knowing that Black, against all expectations of wealth protecting him, went to prison. It wasn't for long, certainly not nearly as long as he deserved, but he was a convicted felon.
Neil Steinberg, in his column, says he has nothing against Black. He also suggests that Black and the man who pardoned him are much the same.
I disagree with the latter assumption. I imagine that Black would disagree, polysyllabically. He knew how to flatter the subject of his book, but Black's self-aggrandizing snobbery is such that I suspect he thinks very little of him, considering him no more than a particularly notable member of the hoi polloi.
This may be why I think Robert Feder's column says it better.
As for me, I hold much against Black. It rises in my throat like bile, the rage I feel about him, the hatred I hold for him.
I know we are counseled against hate, that we are told it is corrosive to ourselves more than to those we hate. And I know that's true.
But I hate this man. This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/732900.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood: enraged
Happy, (Delayed) Happy, Joy (Really Delayed) Joy
I appear to have come down with a rich, bubbling cold - go, me - but that shouldn't stop me from delivering some much-delayed (as the headline says) birthday wishes.
On May 3,sunnytyler001 had a birthday. I hope she sees this; I know she has had a pretty tough couple of years, and she deserves a much better year now. All the best wishes to you, and hopes for good days to come.
On May 5, that erudite Liverpudlianjjpor celebrated. He's a treasure for Who fandom, not only for his excellent fiction, but for his cheerful efforts on behalf of the fandom's online communities. I am so pleased that I've gotten to know him online. I hope your birthday was an excellent one, and that your year has continued in that fashion.
Happy May 9 birthday tocalapine , who likes Twelve, Eleven, Four and Romana II, Moffat and Missy, all of which I heartily endorse. Also, she likes Sapphire & Steel and Battlestar Galactica and many other things of which I approve. I hope the day in question was excellent for her.
It's been some time sincedeathpixie posted, but I hope her birthday, on May 9, was good. I don't know if she's still in My Home and Native Land, or if she's returned to her Antipodean home; wherever she is, I hope she is doing well.
Two days ago, on May 14, the inestimablethisbluespirit celebrated a birthday. I can't adequately say how much her humor, gentle and wry, has made me smile over the years, or how much her fiction, sophisticated and memorable, has enriched my reading life, although she has probably had the same effect on many other folks. (Oh, and hey - S&S!) May your summer be manageable, may your genealogical and historic. explorations be surprising and fun. and may you continue to brighten the electronic page for some time to come!
And this very day,akirlu celebrated. She doesn't come around much, so I wished her a happy birthday on another platform, and I hope she had one. She is well worth knowing, and although it's been some time since we communicated, I appreciate her.
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/732664.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
I appear to have come down with a rich, bubbling cold - go, me - but that shouldn't stop me from delivering some much-delayed (as the headline says) birthday wishes.
On May 3,
On May 5, that erudite Liverpudlian
Happy May 9 birthday to
It's been some time since
Two days ago, on May 14, the inestimable
And this very day,
This entry was originally posted at https://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/732664.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
- Current Location:the home office
- Current Mood:
sick - Current Music:Piano versions of Hayao Miyazaki Ghibli themes.
