Interesting Links for 22-11-2025
22 Nov 2025 12:00![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewducker- 1. Where nobody knows your name... - Tracing the anonymous faces at the start of Cheers.
- (tags:TV history faces photos pubs )
- 2. The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed 600,000 people, most of them children
- (tags:USA aid death children )
- 3. Pope Leo XIV Gives His Apostolic Blessing to the Bedlam of Noise and Nightclub Worship Styles
- (tags:religion music catholicism video )
- 4. The Batman effect (putting someone in a Batman costume on a train makes people twice as likely to give up their seat for a pregnant woman)
- (tags:batman psychology )
- 5. Andy Burnham: "Here's how I would fix Britain"
- (tags:politics labour uk housing )
mirror mirror on the ball
21 Nov 2025 16:17darkoshiIt's the time of the year and time of the day when sunlight hits the small mirror ball hanging by the window in one room. It throws glints of light across the walls and across me. I give the ball a slight twist, and the bits of light dance around the room. It is beautiful to watch.
I've previously taken videos, wanting to show how neat it looks. But I lack time to upload and post them; there are other things that need to be done.
...Ahh well. I decided to go ahead post one of those videos. I didn't think it would take 5.5 hours* to accomplish, but there you have it. That's why I rarely do.
Video title: Sunshine & Mirrorball
*Sure, I also took a walk down memory lane, browsing through and renaming 150 photos and other videos. And I washed sheets and ate dinner and hung up on a phone call, and updated the video editor software.
I've previously taken videos, wanting to show how neat it looks. But I lack time to upload and post them; there are other things that need to be done.
...Ahh well. I decided to go ahead post one of those videos. I didn't think it would take 5.5 hours* to accomplish, but there you have it. That's why I rarely do.
Video title: Sunshine & Mirrorball
*Sure, I also took a walk down memory lane, browsing through and renaming 150 photos and other videos. And I washed sheets and ate dinner and hung up on a phone call, and updated the video editor software.
Life with two kids: Limited Musical Choices
21 Nov 2025 21:58andrewduckerWe have a Spotify family account, so I thought I'd add Sophia to it.
Turns out that because she's under 13 she's incredibly limited in the music she can have access to, and has to be in the special kids app.
So, YouTube for music it is!
(Seriously, they didn't even have the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack. Utterly useless.)
Turns out that because she's under 13 she's incredibly limited in the music she can have access to, and has to be in the special kids app.
So, YouTube for music it is!
(Seriously, they didn't even have the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack. Utterly useless.)
That was very pleasant
21 Nov 2025 19:54oursinMeet-up with visiting person from US institution of renown which I have visited in the past, and BBL (who I realise I have known for getting on for 40 years as we first met when I gave the first paper on my PhD research), whom I have not seen in person for yonks though we have talked on the phone.
While the reason for this was rather sad as it involves scholar we both knew and liked a lot who died unexpectedly last year, and left various projects unfinished but in a fairly advanced state, it was also a very lively and stimulating and enjoyable meeting with lots of mutual appreciation.
Also it looks like there may be a very interesting project coming out of this to finish off one of the projects which is bang in my wheelhouse/ballpark/whatever.
However, though not surprised or shocked, saddened to hear that things are, indeed, and fairly predictably, not well with the institution in question.
All switched
21 Nov 2025 07:46susandennisI learned yesterday, quite by accident, of yet another misstep by Timber Ridge marketing. They told me a fair number of things as truths that turned out not to be. Mostly small things, but some big ones, too. Ex. They told me the pool was salt water. It was not and never has been. They told me not to worry about choosing a carpet to mask pet stains as housekeeping would treat for all stains. They do not and this carpet, which was very expensive, has stains all over it. Lots of examples.
But, yesterday, I learned that they did NOT tell me there was a free, secured, internet available to me.
Turns out there are two wifi networks for residents. 1 is open and requires not password. It's the one I've been using for 2 years. But, because my printer and my web cams need a secured network, I've had to do work arounds which have been problematic. My latest one - a $40 a month Xfinity account which requires a modem and a router - has been failing regularly and I've been looking for alternatives. I was almost to the point of giving up my printer and web cams.
And then yesterday, I found out that there is another free wifi network that is secure. Each apartment has their own password. I was supposed to have been given the password by marketing when I moved in. Once I found out about the network, it took 2 mins to get my password. Those marketing fuckers.
So much of yesterday was spent moving everything to this new (to me) network which turned out to be non-trivial. The printer was the most problematic. But, I finally got it done. Then I had 18 other things to move to the network one by one. Interestingly, the hub that runs the shades was the easiest and it took the shades with it. The Echo products were very annoying. But, finally, I got everything moved. And unplugged the modem and the router.
I am in the middle of a call to cancel Xfinity (again) now. Their website does not have a phone number but fortunately Google does. Their website wants you to schedule a call back and the first available they offered was next wednesday at 5 am and then the page errored out. I called the Google number and now I have a person who, I hope, is going to do the job. There is now annoying music so Yeah but when she goes off to do her thing, there is the deadest air. She now says the job is done and she'll send me an email today. I'm not convinced. But, I'm willing to wait and see.
Oh. Ok, their website seems to reflect the change to done. And now I owe them -$32.00. Ok, so nice. They do have the slowest website on the planet.
It is actually lovely and luxurious to just have all the internet I need available without any hardware (and its eccentricities). Even better than electricity, really. I don't even need outlets. Just wifi everywhere. And my printer is WAY happier than it was. I can now print from any device and actually from anywhere in this complex!
I'm glad I got it all moved over yesterday.
Today, I think I'm going to skip swimming this morning. No good reason. I just feel like it. Bonny wants to go to Costco, so steps. I don't really need any Costco but heck that may change when I get there. Plus I can check on my ham and cheese croissants which I'm pretty sure they have discontinued but maybe...
I do need to trot downstairs to pick up the menus for next week. Oh, I may actually get to be on the Food and Beverage Committee next year. I was asked this week if I was still interested and I said YES, Please.
Biggie and Julio are snuggled up together on the couch. Biggie appears to be asleep but Julio is clearly awake and just enjoying the cuddle and happy that Biggie hasn't kicked him off. So cute.
But, yesterday, I learned that they did NOT tell me there was a free, secured, internet available to me.
Turns out there are two wifi networks for residents. 1 is open and requires not password. It's the one I've been using for 2 years. But, because my printer and my web cams need a secured network, I've had to do work arounds which have been problematic. My latest one - a $40 a month Xfinity account which requires a modem and a router - has been failing regularly and I've been looking for alternatives. I was almost to the point of giving up my printer and web cams.
And then yesterday, I found out that there is another free wifi network that is secure. Each apartment has their own password. I was supposed to have been given the password by marketing when I moved in. Once I found out about the network, it took 2 mins to get my password. Those marketing fuckers.
So much of yesterday was spent moving everything to this new (to me) network which turned out to be non-trivial. The printer was the most problematic. But, I finally got it done. Then I had 18 other things to move to the network one by one. Interestingly, the hub that runs the shades was the easiest and it took the shades with it. The Echo products were very annoying. But, finally, I got everything moved. And unplugged the modem and the router.
I am in the middle of a call to cancel Xfinity (again) now. Their website does not have a phone number but fortunately Google does. Their website wants you to schedule a call back and the first available they offered was next wednesday at 5 am and then the page errored out. I called the Google number and now I have a person who, I hope, is going to do the job. There is now annoying music so Yeah but when she goes off to do her thing, there is the deadest air. She now says the job is done and she'll send me an email today. I'm not convinced. But, I'm willing to wait and see.
Oh. Ok, their website seems to reflect the change to done. And now I owe them -$32.00. Ok, so nice. They do have the slowest website on the planet.
It is actually lovely and luxurious to just have all the internet I need available without any hardware (and its eccentricities). Even better than electricity, really. I don't even need outlets. Just wifi everywhere. And my printer is WAY happier than it was. I can now print from any device and actually from anywhere in this complex!
I'm glad I got it all moved over yesterday.
Today, I think I'm going to skip swimming this morning. No good reason. I just feel like it. Bonny wants to go to Costco, so steps. I don't really need any Costco but heck that may change when I get there. Plus I can check on my ham and cheese croissants which I'm pretty sure they have discontinued but maybe...
I do need to trot downstairs to pick up the menus for next week. Oh, I may actually get to be on the Food and Beverage Committee next year. I was asked this week if I was still interested and I said YES, Please.
Biggie and Julio are snuggled up together on the couch. Biggie appears to be asleep but Julio is clearly awake and just enjoying the cuddle and happy that Biggie hasn't kicked him off. So cute.
(no subject)
21 Nov 2025 11:27majuWell, I survived the wait for the blood draw and was very happy to sit down to my belated breakfast afterwards. Of course things didn't go completely smoothly getting there; I knew exactly where the entrance to the carpark was, but it was blocked off as they are resurfacing the area so I had to go past and find the next entrance, but since I'm not familiar with getting to that lab I overshot the next driveway and had to go quite a bit further along to find a place where I could turn around and go back. Then, inside the lab, there was no receptionist, just a couple of machines where you were supposed to check in. I couldn't find my appointment number but I could use my phone number and date of birth so that was ok, except that the machine was extremely slow and at times just seemed to freeze up. The final step was to scan your driver's licence and I wasn't sure that mine had been scanned because it's a photocopy and didn't fit exactly into the space. However, eventually I got myself checked in. There was another woman next to me having exactly the same problems and muttering "I hate these things!" but she eventually got through the process as well.
When I came out of the lab and approached my car, I saw that there was an identical car parked a couple of spaces further along (with no cars in between), so I was checking the other car to see if it really was identical. Then when I went to get into "my" car I saw an unfamiliar drink bottle in the holder and realised that the "other" car was the one which was mine. I don't often see cars exactly the same as mine; there are plenty of the same model Honda Accord but not many in burgundy like mine.
A bit later, just after I'd finished my breakfast, I had a call from the lab to say I'd dropped a copy of my driver's licence so I went back to get it, and once again, overshot the necessary driveway and had to find a place to turn around.
I think the rest of the day should be uneventful.
When I came out of the lab and approached my car, I saw that there was an identical car parked a couple of spaces further along (with no cars in between), so I was checking the other car to see if it really was identical. Then when I went to get into "my" car I saw an unfamiliar drink bottle in the holder and realised that the "other" car was the one which was mine. I don't often see cars exactly the same as mine; there are plenty of the same model Honda Accord but not many in burgundy like mine.
A bit later, just after I'd finished my breakfast, I had a call from the lab to say I'd dropped a copy of my driver's licence so I went back to get it, and once again, overshot the necessary driveway and had to find a place to turn around.
I think the rest of the day should be uneventful.
365 Questions 2025
21 Nov 2025 08:23maju14. How many hours a week do you spend online? Let's just say a lot and leave it at that.
15. What do you love to do? Spend time online. Walk, run, read, knit, crochet, spend time with my granddaughters.
16. What specific character trait do you want to be known for? Integrity.
17. Are you more like your mom or your dad? In what way? I'm a lot like my mother in ways I don't particularly like, such as being very nit picky. I'm like my father in having a good sense of direction and being good with my hands.
18. What is the number one quality that makes someone a good leader? Knowing how to motivate people.
19. What bad habits do you want to break? I can't think of any.
20. What is your favorite place on Earth? I have more than one place where I love to be, and I can't narrow it down to just one.
21. What do you love to practice? Learning new things.
15. What do you love to do? Spend time online. Walk, run, read, knit, crochet, spend time with my granddaughters.
16. What specific character trait do you want to be known for? Integrity.
17. Are you more like your mom or your dad? In what way? I'm a lot like my mother in ways I don't particularly like, such as being very nit picky. I'm like my father in having a good sense of direction and being good with my hands.
18. What is the number one quality that makes someone a good leader? Knowing how to motivate people.
19. What bad habits do you want to break? I can't think of any.
20. What is your favorite place on Earth? I have more than one place where I love to be, and I can't narrow it down to just one.
21. What do you love to practice? Learning new things.
(no subject)
21 Nov 2025 08:08majuI'm starving! My fasting blood draw this morning isn't until 9:40 am, and I can hardly wait to get home again and have something to eat. I didn't think I'd mind missing breakfast, but turns out it's harder than I expected.
Interesting Links for 21-11-2025
21 Nov 2025 12:00andrewducker- 1. 2% of people are just bastards
- (tags:oxytocin psychology morality sharing business )
- 2. Preserving code that shaped generations: Zork I, II, and III go Open Source
- (tags:games history Microsoft opensource )
- 3. Women Keep Ruining the Workplace!!
- (tags:women work society satire funny USA )
- 4. "We Didn't Start The Fire" The Silmarillion Edition
- (tags:lotr viaNancyLebov video music )
Anime Tracker Autumn 2025
20 Nov 2025 19:23lovelyangel This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Episode 2 |
With the library remodel going on, I’m not getting to watch much anime. I started out with good intentions, but I don’t have the time. I’m watching way fewer episodes than usual. I’ve had to prioritize. Here’s a quick summary of the shows I sampled – and which ones are getting attention.
( All the Shows, Below This Cut )
Short fiction
21 Nov 2025 11:19fred_mouseThis covers August through beginning of November
At least one of the links was from coth; most I have no idea - some of them have been in my 'read later' for a very long time. There were also stories from All of Tor.com’s Original Short Fiction Published in 2022, which I'm guessing I've started working through before, but didn't remember what I'd read previously (18 short stories, 13 novelettes, 1 translation) (and didn't finish this time either)
Loved it!
- Smoke and Sweetness by Zhui Ning Chang, from Jan 2025 - gentle, sweet, slice of life with touches of whimsy and sadness, set in a floristry
- Fruiting Bodies - Kemi Ashing-Giwa, from Jan 2022 - very much body horror, in a far future on a different planet. Not quite zombies.
- The Chronologist by Ian R MacLeod, from Feb 2022 - atmosphere and character and kind of an apocalypse
- The Last Truth by Anamaria Curtis, from Feb 2022 - bittersweet, about how how losing oneself a memory at a time leaves nothing behind.
Not bad
- Bone by Karl Gallagher, from May 2025 - heavy on the science, clunky on the rest.
- If a Digitized Tree Falls by Ken Liu and Caroline M. Yoachim, from Sept 2025 (novelette) - snatches through time, as the ways in which the world is modelled by digital tech changes, and AI assistants evolved. I found myself distracted and unmotivated to finish, although it is beautifully written
- Model Collapse by Matthew Kressel, from Oct 2025 - very clever body horror about the AI takeover.
Not for me
- Saving the Gleeful Horse - K J Bishop, from March 2010. - creepy. But I managed to get distracted part way through, and then had to come back to finish it.
- Synthetic Perennial by Vivianni Glass, from Feb 2022 - normally I like myself some surreal / magic realism details, but I just found this one disorienting. Not for those with medical trauma.
- Hush by Mary Anne Mohanraj, from March 2022 - I get what this one is saying, but it is just a tad too real w.r.t fascism and racist supremacy. Unreliable narrator who thinks they are one of the good guys didn't help.
- The Long View by Susan Palwick, from April 2022 - this went too close to farce for me. Seemed to be both attempting to be Meaningful and Funny.
DNF
- Victory Citrus Is Sweet by Thoriay Dyer, from Sept 2022 - couldn't deal with the narrative voice
- Quandary Aminu vs The Butterfly Man by Rich Larson - sometimes I'm in the mood for gritty noir cyberpunk, and today is not it.
- The Sisters of Saint Nicola of The Almost Perpetual Motion vs the Lurch by Garth Nix, from July 2022 - DNF - While I like Nix's novels, I often bounce from their short fiction, and this was no exception
Kinokuniya On the Way Out
20 Nov 2025 16:53lovelyangel |
Last week Kinokuniya has another 20% everything sale for members. I was ignoring the sale until Saturday night when I checked my Anime / Manga Tracker and saw that Skip Beat! Vol. 51 had been released earlier this month. Actually, there were several gaps in my collected series that I could plug with the 20% discount.
 |
Sunday was the last day of the sale, so Sunday after church I drove into Portland. I located street parking a block from Kinokuniya Portland. In downtown Portland, metered parking doesn’t start until 1 pm on Sunday, and it was just before noon.
In Kinokuniya Portland, I struck out – 0 for 3 on series. Not only did they not have the new release – they hardly carried the series at all – maybe one random volume. It was extremely disappointing.
I drove back to Beaverton and decided I might as well swing by the much smaller Kinokuniya in Beaverton. I was pleased to find a single copy of Skip Beat! vol. 51 alongside two other Skip Beat! volumes – and none of the other series.
My Kinokuniya membership expired at the end of August. I didn’t renew right away. Once a Kinokuniya cashier gave me the tip to wait until I actually needed a new membership. That could save me a few months – and it does. I didn’t have to pay for September or October. The new clock starts in November and will expire on November 30 next year.
The thing is, I’m trying to keep my book purchases under control, and I’ll cut back on art book purchases. And since Kinokuniya seems to stock maybe half of the series I’m collecting, maybe I don’t need to buy a membership anymore. You have to spend $250/year to break even – easy to do if you’re buying art books – but not so easy on just manga volumes. And I have to buy half the manga volumes online anyway. Perhaps this is the last membership I buy; could be the end of an era.
Video: From the Ottawa Intl. Animation Festival Signal Film Archives
20 Nov 2025 16:51dewlineOh this is mischievous as all get out. And it took me two years to find out that it exists?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqWcZF2Syc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqWcZF2Syc
Go Forth and Make Hyperlinks!
20 Nov 2025 13:48lovelyangelThe Subversive Hyperlink (via MetaFilter: Subvert the status quo. Own a website. Make and share links.
Truly, I’m really happy to be on Dreamwidth! 😇
Truly, I’m really happy to be on Dreamwidth! 😇
TDoR 2025
20 Nov 2025 13:29lovelyangelToday is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we remember and honor the many transgender people who lost their lives in acts of anti-trans hate and violence. A thoughtful summary of history and insights is at the Trans Remembrance Project. (via dolari – thank you, Jenn!)
Violence and bigotry are on the upswing in this country; these are extremely difficult times. I have no good advice for my trans siblings. I myself am grateful for the good fortune of living in an urban area on the left coast, where there is some amount of grace and acceptance.
May you all be safe – and loved.
dolari – thank you, Jenn!)Violence and bigotry are on the upswing in this country; these are extremely difficult times. I have no good advice for my trans siblings. I myself am grateful for the good fortune of living in an urban area on the left coast, where there is some amount of grace and acceptance.
May you all be safe – and loved.
Miscellany
20 Nov 2025 19:27oursinA couple of nature-related things:
Beavers provide a boost for declining pollinators, study reveals: 'beaver-created wetlands are home to greater numbers of hoverflies and butterflies than human-created equivalents.' Go beavers!
Given that there is reputed to be A Very Large Cat already around those parts, do you really want to start re-introducing the European wildcat to Devon, huh?
Felis silvestris has been absent from mid-Devon for more than a century, but the area has been judged to have the right kind of habitat to support a population of the wildcat. The area has the woodland important for providing cover and den sites while its low intensity grasslands and scrubland create good hunting terrain. According to the study, the wildcats would not be harmful to humans or to farm livestock and pets.
However, the issue arises that like the wildcat population in Scotland, they are interfertile with the existing domestic and feral moggie population:
For a reintroduction project in the south-west to succeed, the study says there would have to be cooperation with local communities and cat welfare organisations to support a neutering programme for feral and domestic cats.
***
I was fascinated by the concept of this project: Supernatural Law: Regulating the Paranormal :
We invite chapters that explore how law responds to, regulates, or resists belief and
behaviour in matters that cannot be proven. What role has law played historically in shaping
society’s understanding of the paranormal? With what intentions has it intervened and
which values and ideologies has it sought to uphold? What can we learn from law’s
engagement with the paranormal?
Call is for papers for edited volume, I think it should be a conference with suitable activities arranged - visit to local haunted house, seance with a medium, etc etc.
***
This is rather lovely: 'Happiness and tears' as Sikhs see rare outing of ancient holy book; though one does rather have questions seeing that it appears to have been loot from the Anglo-Sikh Wars:
The scripture was formerly in the possession of the Maharaja Kharak Singh, ruler of the Punjab, and taken from the fort at Dullewalla in India during its capture in 1848. It was presented to the university by Sir John Spencer Login, who also brought the Koh-I-Noor to Queen Victoria, through the Rev W H Meiklejohn of Calcutta.
But I liked this:
Trishna Kaur-Singh, Edinburgh University's honorary Sikh chaplain and director of Sikh Sanjog who was at the event, said she wanted the book to remain in Scotland.
She said: "I know people talk about repatriation and that's fine and it's needed in many instances but you have to take into context the fact that the people are here because of that colonial past and have lived their whole lives here.
"They have been parted from their history and their links and it was found here so it should be here for our communities for generations.
***
Full scan of Bill Brandt's 1938 photo-essay A Night in London (very few surviving copies).
Photo cross-post
20 Nov 2025 18:02andrewducker
I do like how Edinburgh looks at this time of year.
(Sorry about the reflections, I'm on a bus)
Original
is here on Pixelfed.scot.
The day after
20 Nov 2025 09:06susandennisYesterday was busy all damn day. I did not even sit on my couch until I got back from picking up dinner at 4:30.
But I did get a lot done so all was good.
Last year after our massive power outage, I bought a massive power bank. Yeah, I know, barn door/cows. BUT still. this sucker stores a lot of power and has a wide variety of plugs, include A/C. I charged it up and set it on the shelf. This week, we had a high wind warning so I thought, hmmmm, I should charge that baby and get him ready for duty. I pulled it out and plugged it in and the readout said it still had 99% of the charge left!! From last year!!! Holy moly, that's a keeper. Now I'm pretty confident we will never lose power again.
I put in a work order saying my sink was dripping earlier in the week. Yesterday, when I got back from the Food and Beverage meeting, there was a dude in my bathroom putting the finishing touches on my new, pretty, faucet! They just replaced the whole thing. Fine by me!!
Also yesterday, I got a new thermostat which is nicer than the old one and easier to operate. And it's in a different (more handy) spot so yeah. But, now I have walls that need to be patched. I'm sure it will happen but I'm also sure Joan will be bitching about it until it does and then a couple of weeks after.
The vet reminded me that it's time for Biggie's annual urine test. I made it for mid-December.
I just realized that the annual primary care physician appointment I made last January is for 8:30 on the morning that my brother flies in for a visit. Right now, his plane is scheduled to land at 10:30. Should all work out. I could move the doctor's appointment but I think I'll leave it. Also it's all on a Tuesday. Volleyball. I have most days with nothing happening and then I pick one day and make everything happen then. My calendar integrity is slipping.
Today I must make a UPS visit. I have a bag full of Amazon returns and I want to get them gone. But, really, that's the only plan du jour.
But I did get a lot done so all was good.
Last year after our massive power outage, I bought a massive power bank. Yeah, I know, barn door/cows. BUT still. this sucker stores a lot of power and has a wide variety of plugs, include A/C. I charged it up and set it on the shelf. This week, we had a high wind warning so I thought, hmmmm, I should charge that baby and get him ready for duty. I pulled it out and plugged it in and the readout said it still had 99% of the charge left!! From last year!!! Holy moly, that's a keeper. Now I'm pretty confident we will never lose power again.
I put in a work order saying my sink was dripping earlier in the week. Yesterday, when I got back from the Food and Beverage meeting, there was a dude in my bathroom putting the finishing touches on my new, pretty, faucet! They just replaced the whole thing. Fine by me!!
Also yesterday, I got a new thermostat which is nicer than the old one and easier to operate. And it's in a different (more handy) spot so yeah. But, now I have walls that need to be patched. I'm sure it will happen but I'm also sure Joan will be bitching about it until it does and then a couple of weeks after.
The vet reminded me that it's time for Biggie's annual urine test. I made it for mid-December.
I just realized that the annual primary care physician appointment I made last January is for 8:30 on the morning that my brother flies in for a visit. Right now, his plane is scheduled to land at 10:30. Should all work out. I could move the doctor's appointment but I think I'll leave it. Also it's all on a Tuesday. Volleyball. I have most days with nothing happening and then I pick one day and make everything happen then. My calendar integrity is slipping.
Today I must make a UPS visit. I have a bag full of Amazon returns and I want to get them gone. But, really, that's the only plan du jour.