Someone Hertz, volume 1 by Ei Yamano (Translated by David Evely)
Jan. 28th, 2026 08:56![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
What dark motive leads a successful teen comedian who has vowed never to date anyone less funny than her to help an unfunny but otherwise personable young man work on his comedic skills?
Someone Hertz, volume 1 by Ei Yamano (Translated by David Evely)
So, in my Outgunned
Jan. 27th, 2026 22:26james_davis_nicollI think the schtick is the crew gets sent out to investigate potentially revolutionary tech and it's always legitimately amazing but also not what they're expecting. Case in point, they were looking into a supposed teleporter and now everyone is ant-sized.
Among my other ideas
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Among my other ideas
( Read more... )
Daily Happiness
Jan. 27th, 2026 19:01torachan1. I felt much better today when I woke up! Still not sure what set off that bout of stomach issues but I'm glad that level is not constant for me anymore the way it was several years ago when this first started.
2. I worked from home today, partly because I was expecting a large package, but partly because I didn't really have any need to go into the office. I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow.
3. The package I was expecting today was a new CD rack for the garage. Carla has a nice stereo system out there (including a turntable, though she hasn't gotten hardcore into collecting vinyl and is still mostly into CDs) and she's been building up her CD collection again after we sold off a lot of them years ago. Sometime last year I bought a new CD rack in the same style as the one we'd had in the house (which we also moved out to the garage), but when I went to order a third one now, they're completely discontinued! D: I really would have preferred to have everything matching, but we settled on one that's at least somewhat similar (light wood). I was expecting to have to put it together but it came completely assembled, so all I had to do was get it out of the box and set it upright. Nice!
4. I love when they sleep with all their limbs together like that. So cozy!
2. I worked from home today, partly because I was expecting a large package, but partly because I didn't really have any need to go into the office. I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow.
3. The package I was expecting today was a new CD rack for the garage. Carla has a nice stereo system out there (including a turntable, though she hasn't gotten hardcore into collecting vinyl and is still mostly into CDs) and she's been building up her CD collection again after we sold off a lot of them years ago. Sometime last year I bought a new CD rack in the same style as the one we'd had in the house (which we also moved out to the garage), but when I went to order a third one now, they're completely discontinued! D: I really would have preferred to have everything matching, but we settled on one that's at least somewhat similar (light wood). I was expecting to have to put it together but it came completely assembled, so all I had to do was get it out of the box and set it upright. Nice!
4. I love when they sleep with all their limbs together like that. So cozy!
Navlinks Issue With Custom Override
Jan. 27th, 2026 12:45wishfulfilled in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
style_systemSo I'm trying to add the Previous/Next links to my Navlinks Module using a code that was previously posted here, but I'm having issues with the Previous link showing up regardless of whether or not there's previous entries (I'm testing on this journal with public entries for reference).
The code I'm using in my theme layer is this:
The code I'm using in my theme layer is this:
City on Fire (Metropolitan, volume 2) by Walter Jon Williams
Jan. 27th, 2026 08:45james_davis_nicoll
Having successfully fled her home city with the proceeds of a spectacular heist, Aiah must now build a new life on that foundation.
City on Fire (Metropolitan, volume 2) by Walter Jon Williams
Flareup update
Jan. 26th, 2026 23:21ysobelThe FOP "fun" continues... the prednisone helped a little but there's still lump and swelling and I can still only open my mouth so far.
Meet with a FOP specialist today via telemedicine (yay) and he suggested a second, longer course (though much of the "longer" is taper) because submandibular flares can be stubborn (and risky given the potential to affect breathing and swallowing). So ... more prednisone it is, sigh.
Meet with a FOP specialist today via telemedicine (yay) and he suggested a second, longer course (though much of the "longer" is taper) because submandibular flares can be stubborn (and risky given the potential to affect breathing and swallowing). So ... more prednisone it is, sigh.
Daily Happiness
Jan. 26th, 2026 20:23torachan1. I did have a few brief periods of intense itchiness on my tattoo today but overall it has been less itchy than the past couple days so hopefully it's getting past the itching stage.
2. I don't know if it was one particular thing I ate yesterday or just a build-up of stuff that doesn't agree with me, but starting yesterday evening I've had some of the most painful bloating I've had in a while. I considered not going in to work this morning because of it, but ended up going in for the morning and then coming home after lunch because I just wasn't feeling any better. I'm finally starting to feel better now, still bloated but just normal uncomfortable bloating, not painful. I'm going to stay home tomorrow anyway (was already planning to because I'm expecting a large package to be delivered) but hopefully will be feeling better when I wake up.
3. One nice thing about coming home early is that I was finally able to get to the doctor's office for the blood draw I've been meaning to do all month. It's checking my hormone levels, so I have to do it halfway through the week from my injection, which means Monday. But the last couple Mondays I've had something else I needed to do and was unable to get over there. I had resigned myself to skipping today, too, because I had an early-ish meeting, but decided to go on my way home. So now that's out of the way at least.
4. Chloe's showing off her whiskers.
2. I don't know if it was one particular thing I ate yesterday or just a build-up of stuff that doesn't agree with me, but starting yesterday evening I've had some of the most painful bloating I've had in a while. I considered not going in to work this morning because of it, but ended up going in for the morning and then coming home after lunch because I just wasn't feeling any better. I'm finally starting to feel better now, still bloated but just normal uncomfortable bloating, not painful. I'm going to stay home tomorrow anyway (was already planning to because I'm expecting a large package to be delivered) but hopefully will be feeling better when I wake up.
3. One nice thing about coming home early is that I was finally able to get to the doctor's office for the blood draw I've been meaning to do all month. It's checking my hormone levels, so I have to do it halfway through the week from my injection, which means Monday. But the last couple Mondays I've had something else I needed to do and was unable to get over there. I had resigned myself to skipping today, too, because I had an early-ish meeting, but decided to go on my way home. So now that's out of the way at least.
4. Chloe's showing off her whiskers.
meanwhile...
Jan. 26th, 2026 17:33redbirdWe got a lot of snow in the Boston area, but people seem to be coping fairly well. The building management company have sent people over here to shovel the walks, several times, so I was able to take out the trash and recycling. The forecast for the next several days is for cold, very cold once you count the wind chill. It turns out that I can wear Adrian's old snow pants, which will do a lot to protect my legs from cold and wind. The remaining problem is boots: even with the 3/4 insoles Adrian lent me, they're too loose, including at the front, so I may try putting in a pair of full-length insoles and see if that helps. The other possibility is to go out looking for a pair of snow sneakers, or at least waterproof hiking shoes/boots (though the forecast is for the kind of weather where waiting for two trolleys, and walking from home to trolley to store, is daunting.
I've been looking at Bluesky again, in large part for news and commentary about what ICE is doing in Minnesota and elsewhere. When I've had enough for a while, I click on the "astronomy" feed I subscribed to months ago, so the first things I see are an astronomical pictures.
I did a lot of PT yesterday, and a few exercises today. It feels like I haven't gotten a lot done today, which I think is because I'd been hoping to make some phone calls (not all of them political), and assumed I wouldn't be able to take the trash out today. (The alternative to that walk along the side of the building is a spiral staircase, indoors, but spiral staircases aren't good for me, and this one is tight enough that my joints really don't like it. Cattitude can deal with it when necessary, but he's already going up and down that stair regularly to do the laundry.)
I've been looking at Bluesky again, in large part for news and commentary about what ICE is doing in Minnesota and elsewhere. When I've had enough for a while, I click on the "astronomy" feed I subscribed to months ago, so the first things I see are an astronomical pictures.
I did a lot of PT yesterday, and a few exercises today. It feels like I haven't gotten a lot done today, which I think is because I'd been hoping to make some phone calls (not all of them political), and assumed I wouldn't be able to take the trash out today. (The alternative to that walk along the side of the building is a spiral staircase, indoors, but spiral staircases aren't good for me, and this one is tight enough that my joints really don't like it. Cattitude can deal with it when necessary, but he's already going up and down that stair regularly to do the laundry.)
Bundle of Holding: Shadowdark Compatible
Jan. 26th, 2026 14:30james_davis_nicoll
Third-party tabletop fantasy roleplaying sourcebooks and adventures for The Arcane Library's old-school FRPG, Shadowdark.
Bundle of Holding: Shadowdark Compatible
Birthday gluttony report: Dim Sum Palace, Hungry Bowl
Jan. 26th, 2026 11:54leiacatBeforeTimes I used to have a tradition of going out for dim sum the weekend before (or of) my birthday. This seemed like the time to revive the tradition.
A new dim sum place opened on 40 in Ellicott City (or Catonsville? Over by Iron Age), so I led an expedition. Everything was of excellent quality. Language barriers weren't bad - they even mostly understood me! A few things were odd, like having to explicitly ask for water, and refills on it being by request rather than offered. (I did try a couple things I don't think I'd had before - a shrimp and truffle dumpling and a shrimp on top of a block of tofu thing). The total was higher than we're used to Mai Dragon being, and the place is further away for most people I'd want to go with, so despite an excellent meal, next year I will seek points further South.
For my Birthday Actual I took my theater kids to Hungry Bowl in Bowie. It's an all you can eat Mongolian grill / sushi place (with some Korean elements), and they have a birthday deal of a free meal with a purchase of 3. The Mongolian was buffet-style. Appetizers and sushi were ordered via tablet and brought by a human. The grill quality was good, though I was disappointed that the choices lacked some basics, like sesame oil or sesame seeds. (Could be those aren't standard for Mongolian, but their sauce selections certainly didn't stick to types native to that style). The sushi selection was a bit curtailed at lunch, but there were still plentiful options, and it was good to have four people to share the rolls between so that we could sample more variety. But, it's a 40 minute per direction drive, so it would really take someone else deciding to include us in their outing to try it again. Or being in Bowie already with folks so inclined.
In the evening I splurged on a feast for my friends, and treated them to a catered Georgian meal. I have been in correspondence with Supra in DC for a good month prior, making them help me figure out how much of what to get. They thought they deliver to Greenbelt, and Gracious Host graciously allowed me the use of his place for a party, since my own place is both too far to be practical and too small to host an effective party of a size I hoped for. (It did come out to a size I could have handled after all the attrition, but would have required an hour per direction drive to pick up the food, which likely would not have survived the trip.) Once the order was placed we were informed that they were wrong, and we're 2 miles beyond their delivery range; once I offered to throw money at the problem they were willing to get one of their own to drive it. Most of my friends had never had the cuisine before, and it felt wonderful to introduce them to a thing I love. (I definitely overbought on wine, so now I have a good case and a half of leftovers. I need to host more parties and/or drink faster than I actually do. For better or worse, my packrat tendencies manifest most strongly in the consumables department.)
So, now I'm 50, and I'm in tech week for my show! Which is complicated slightly by the snow storm hitting on our tech-in Sunday - which we expected, and we have contingencies to make it work, but they will certainly require some exhausting overtime on the part of my crew.
A new dim sum place opened on 40 in Ellicott City (or Catonsville? Over by Iron Age), so I led an expedition. Everything was of excellent quality. Language barriers weren't bad - they even mostly understood me! A few things were odd, like having to explicitly ask for water, and refills on it being by request rather than offered. (I did try a couple things I don't think I'd had before - a shrimp and truffle dumpling and a shrimp on top of a block of tofu thing). The total was higher than we're used to Mai Dragon being, and the place is further away for most people I'd want to go with, so despite an excellent meal, next year I will seek points further South.
For my Birthday Actual I took my theater kids to Hungry Bowl in Bowie. It's an all you can eat Mongolian grill / sushi place (with some Korean elements), and they have a birthday deal of a free meal with a purchase of 3. The Mongolian was buffet-style. Appetizers and sushi were ordered via tablet and brought by a human. The grill quality was good, though I was disappointed that the choices lacked some basics, like sesame oil or sesame seeds. (Could be those aren't standard for Mongolian, but their sauce selections certainly didn't stick to types native to that style). The sushi selection was a bit curtailed at lunch, but there were still plentiful options, and it was good to have four people to share the rolls between so that we could sample more variety. But, it's a 40 minute per direction drive, so it would really take someone else deciding to include us in their outing to try it again. Or being in Bowie already with folks so inclined.
In the evening I splurged on a feast for my friends, and treated them to a catered Georgian meal. I have been in correspondence with Supra in DC for a good month prior, making them help me figure out how much of what to get. They thought they deliver to Greenbelt, and Gracious Host graciously allowed me the use of his place for a party, since my own place is both too far to be practical and too small to host an effective party of a size I hoped for. (It did come out to a size I could have handled after all the attrition, but would have required an hour per direction drive to pick up the food, which likely would not have survived the trip.) Once the order was placed we were informed that they were wrong, and we're 2 miles beyond their delivery range; once I offered to throw money at the problem they were willing to get one of their own to drive it. Most of my friends had never had the cuisine before, and it felt wonderful to introduce them to a thing I love. (I definitely overbought on wine, so now I have a good case and a half of leftovers. I need to host more parties and/or drink faster than I actually do. For better or worse, my packrat tendencies manifest most strongly in the consumables department.)
So, now I'm 50, and I'm in tech week for my show! Which is complicated slightly by the snow storm hitting on our tech-in Sunday - which we expected, and we have contingencies to make it work, but they will certainly require some exhausting overtime on the part of my crew.