phantomas | Reading

1) i think chrome has converted me from firefox. Many fewer image rendering issues and omg umpteen times faster. Safari has also made inroads thanks to easy syncing of fanfic to my phone and ipad.

2) Anyplace with >60% humidity needs a/c to pull said humidity out of air and not make 80 degree temps sweltering. Just not quite enough breeze off the lake in Lugano to do the trick. Not looking forward to slogging around in business wear tomorrow and friday in this.

3) a/c especially important in said circumstances to aid with headache treatment. Climbing stairs in a hot muggy unairconditioned hotel is enough to make one think you're having an aneurysm instead of very unhappy sinus migraine thanks to 9 hours of plane flight that included about 3 barometric pressure changes.

4) wow is this congress set up weird. The poster session and exhibitor area is in party tents. Tents!! Unairconditioned tents.

5) new work computer is oh so light, and oh so fast even if it has puny harddrive compared to my old one (which wasn't really old, but had developed annoying habit every few months of having a quirk of shutting itself off spontaneously for no reason.).

6) Very glad I have the work cell phone. I've already managed to have > 100 dollars of data charges.

ETA:
7) Can someone please explain to me why Europe hates shower curtains? Or at least the hotels do? It seems like it would be cheaper to deal with than the mold.

8) in the same vein, wash cloths. I've gotten to the point that I always pack one, but still. I'm not limber enough to wash my back without one, thank you very much.

9) I was convinced I'd overpacked on food. I'm beginning to think I didn't. Then again, I'm also paranoid that the heat and humidity means my hamburger buns will start molding by Friday. Sigh. I really miss being an uncomplicated person

derryderrydown

Guess who managed to break their ankle while walking along a nice, straight, paved street?

Yeah, I'm awesome.

However, it's just a tiny fracture in a tiny bone and I don't even have to bother with a cast. Yay!

metanewsmods posting in

metanews

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mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Hi all,

As part of our new hardware project, I'm going to be failing us over to our new load balancers. This will involve a brief downtime for the site while everything fails over, but it should be less than 60 seconds.

Thanks for your patience, and sorry for the interruption!

ravurian

1. People get on my fucking nerves. Sometimes I just don't like my friends, you know?

2. Anansi dropped by this evening for his bi-monthly 3 minute visit. 'Yeah, yeah, strugglin' on, strugglin' on boy, yeah, yeah, we'll go out for dinner one day next week, yeah? Yeah.' May as well have said I have nothing else to do this evening and nowhere else to be but I'll die if I stop moving long enough to have a conversation. Always nice to see you, dad.

3. I enjoyed this tremendously:

franzi1981

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Crossposts: http://franzi1981.livejournal.com/1055432.html

beren_writes

Title: Warm Bodies
Rating: 12A
Cast:
Nicholas Hoult ... R
Teresa Palmer ... Julie
Analeigh Tipton ... Nora
Rob Corddry ... M
Dave Franco ... Perry
John Malkovich ... Grigio

Summary: After R (a highly unusual zombie) saves Julie from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

This is a brilliant film and anyone who says any different is fibbing :). I missed this when it was at the cinema because it came out at the same time as a whole bunch of other films I wanted to see, so as soon as it came out on blu-ray I snapped it up. I am so glad I did. Now I can watch the funny, thought provoking and touching film over and over again.

( Click here to read the rest of the review )

Crossposts: http://beren-writes.livejournal.com/877415.html

derryderrydown

Sure, I could finish off one of my existing WIPs. Or I could write something completely different.

Teenage Kicks (1625 words) by derryderrydown
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hockey RPF
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sidney Crosby/Maxime Talbot
Characters: Sidney Crosby, Maxime Talbot
Additional Tags: Established Relationship
Summary:

Max was in Sid's childhood bedroom, and there was no way this could turn out anything less than incredibly embarrassing.

Or: While filming their Reebok commercial, Max sets out to defile Sid's childhood bedroom.

msmoat

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morgandawn

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Crossposts: http://morgandawn.livejournal.com/1273705.html

ravurian

1. I have apparently acquired a nickname at work. Not from the people I work directly with, but from some of the catering and support staff. Today I introduced myself to Michelle in the Coffee Shop - because, you know, manners; also, I like getting to know the people I see every day - and she said: oh good; we couldn't keep calling you 'The Kindly Man' forever. Dude. The Kindly Man. Doesn't that sound like something out of a Stephen King or John Le Carré novel? (Apparently this came about because I have manners, and because I notice things and chat, and because I paid for that lady's lunch the other day. I'm sad that any of these things are so uncommon as to have made me stand out). And I'm not even kind at all. I'm not even all that nice most of the time.

2. I read something on tumblr the other day that really struck home for me, so I thought I'd share it here, too:

“We praise people for being “naturally” smart, too, “naturally” athletic, and etc. But studies continue to show, as they have for some time now, that it is generally healthier to praise schoolchildren for being hardworking, than for being naturally gifted. We know now that to emphasize a child’s inherent ability places pressure on that child to continue to be accidentally talented, which is something that is hard for anyone to control. When the children who are applauded for their natural skills fail, they are shown to take the failure very personally. After all, the process of their success has always seemed mysterious and basic and inseparable from the rest of their identity, so it must be they who are failing as whole people. When students are instead complimented and rewarded for their effort and improvement, they tend to not be so hard on themselves. When they fail, they reason, “Well, I’ll work harder next time.” They learn that they are capable of success, rather than constantly automatically deserving of it, and they learn simultaneously that they are bigger and more complex than their individual successes or failures.”
— Kate of Eat the Damn Cake, The Stupidity of “Natural” Beauty

3. I'm a little amazed at how many of you are still silently out there. Aside from the two people who commented on DW, no one said anything at all on the music post the other day. Which, yes, I don't mind, but it would be nice if you said something, even if it was just 'hi, I'm still here'. Y'know. You, or one of the 34 other people who downloaded the files. Or! Actually, yeah, you could rec something back. Anyone up for that?

morgandawn

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Crossposts: http://morgandawn.livejournal.com/1273363.html

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

The payment system is back online. It was my fault; I was moving it to our new hardware, but I didn't realize there is a code change that I have to make. (For the details curious, the underlying SSL module we use was upgraded, and it now requires you to add some more options when you use it.)

I have cleared out the pending queue of payments, so that we shouldn't have charged for anything in the past 24 hours, and that should mean there are no doubled (or more) payments. Please, of course, let us know if that's the case though, and we'll take care of it!

Sorry for the trouble!

denise posting in

dw_maintenance

The backend system that runs payments is temporarily unavailable, and will be fixed as soon as possible. If you've tried to make a payment at any time between last night & now and gotten an endless wait, your payment is almost certainly in the queue to be processed as soon as the backend is back up & running -- you don't need to submit it again.

If you wind up getting multiple charges when it comes back up (for instance, if you re-submitted the form, thinking that your internet connection was to blame) you can open a support request (in the Account Payments category) after the payment is processed and I'll issue a refund to your card for the extra charges.

We're really sorry about the downtime!

beren_writes

This is my own recipe, based off a standard chilli con carne recipe. I came up with it because I wanted something substantial, that was low fat so I could have it on my fast days for the 5:2 diet. This can be made so it is vegetarian, although I use Worcestershire Sauce so my version isn't.

Low Fat Chilli
Ingredients (serves 2 ~225 kCal per person)

200g Quorn Mince (210 kCal)
1/2 can Red Kidney Beans (200g) (112 kCal)
1/2 can chopped tomatoes (200g) (32 kCal)
1 small onion (chopped) (~28 kCal)
1 carrot (grated) (~25 kCal)
~1/2 punnet of mushrooms (sliced) (~20 kCal)
200 ml veg stock (you can use beef stock if you prefer) (~20 kCal)
1 tspn mild chilli powder (you can add hot chilli powder or chilli flakes if you like it hotter)
a dash of Worcestershire Sauce (for vegetarian version use something like Soy sauce)
spritze of oil (~5 kCal)

Instructions

Spray the bottom of a sauce pan with a spritze of oil.
Add the chopped onion and cook on low with the lid on until it has softened.
Add the mushrooms and cook until they are also going soft.
Take out just over half the mushrooms and set aside for later.
Add the tomatoes, stock, chilli powder and Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil.
Take off the heat and blitz to a smooth sauce with a hand blender (you can miss out this step if you like it chunky, but I find it makes for a much thicker chilli this way).
Return to the heat, add the reserved mushroom, kidney beans, Quorn and carrot. Cook for about 20 mins.

For the light option serve with a green vegetable like kale or broccoli, or a green salad.

If you're not worried about the calories you can serve it with rice or bread and a handful of grated cheese :).

Crossposts: http://beren-writes.livejournal.com/876895.html

derryderrydown

Wow. Firing up Google Drive again, I've found so many abandoned stories!

There's a High Life one!

( Read more... )

And a bit of Secret Garden!

( Read more... )

And some Southland!

( Read more... )

And even a crossover between Southland and Sea Patrol! (I suspect the Aussie with a speaking role is Buffer.)

( Read more... )

Ooh, and a Torchwood/Life on Mars crossover!

( Read more... )

I really need to start actually finishing a story occasionally.

derryderrydown

I've been using my ebook reader as a flash drive to keep my writing all in one place.

I AM NOT DOING THIS ANY MORE.

I spent a long time going through hockey Directed-verse, and neatening it, and tying it together, and giving it more coherent character arcs, AND THE CHANGES DID NOT STICK. And, right now, I really cannot be arsed doing it all again.

It also lost the extra bits I'd written, post what I've already whacked on DW, but I wasn't entirely happy with those, so I'm not too traumatised. I actually really want to re-write them, having spent the bus journey thinking about them, but I'm at work and apparently I'm not supposed to write porn here. Spoilsports.

End result: I'm going back to GDocs. Or Drive or whatever the fuck it's called now.

I'd use an actual flash drive, but I can't keep hold of one for more than a week. They all run away from me.

morgandawn

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Crossposts: http://morgandawn.livejournal.com/1273104.html

ravurian

Late again, nearly, but I've 14 minutes to make a post on the actual day itself. That's not too bad.

1. Lazy day, of cooking and reading and watching TV. I am three episodes into The Fall, and finding it interesting and uncomfortable and compelling. It has things to say, I think, but I'm not entirely certain yet of what I want to say in response. The writing is strong, and the performances very detailed. The camera loves its subjects. I wonder what someone from Belfast would make of the Belfast it shows.

rheanna? Are you still out there?

2. Ah, crap. I have no more to say today.

jjpor posting in

fandom_on_dw

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phantomas

May 2013

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jebbypal - random things
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metanewsmods in metanews - Meta Links (13/06/13 - 19/06/13)
mark in dw_maintenance - Planned load balancer failover shortly
ravurian - (no subject)
franzi1981 - Calling all geeks/nerds/gamers
beren_writes - Review: Warm Bodies - A great feel good zombie romance.
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msmoat - New Pros Story!
morgandawn - "I defy you, dear reader, to find a loving portrait of a Nook"
ravurian - (no subject)
morgandawn - RPS History
mark in dw_maintenance - Payments are back
denise in dw_maintenance - Payment processing temporarily down
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morgandawn - Fanlore Trivia Contest #1
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jjpor in fandom_on_dw - 50th Anniversary Fanwork-a-thon-a-thon, Round Seven: Five / "Minor" Characters

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Phantomas Studio

Reading

random things

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Meta Links (13/06/13 - 19/06/13)

Planned load balancer failover shortly

(no subject)

Calling all geeks/nerds/gamers

Review: Warm Bodies - A great feel good zombie romance.

(no subject)

New Pros Story!

"I defy you, dear reader, to find a loving portrait of a Nook"

(no subject)

RPS History

Payments are back

Payment processing temporarily down

Recipe: Low Fat Chilli

(no subject)

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Fanlore Trivia Contest #1

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50th Anniversary Fanwork-a-thon-a-thon, Round Seven: Five / "Minor" Characters

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