Reading Wednesday
Feb. 18th, 2026 06:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbySimple Sabotage Field Manual by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services. This is a nice little handbook from 1944 about what to do if you are just a regular guy and your country gets taken over by a fascist government. Nowadays I think the recommendation is "vote Democrat harder" but back then they knew that fascism was bad and so the advice was more "fuck their shit up so it's harder for them to do a fascism." Obviously a lot of the specific advice isn't really relevant now because the technology has massively changed, but the principle is worthwhile: wherever you can introduce friction, do so, and every small action helps. If I hadn't read The Threads That Bind Us, this would be the most heartwarming read of the past week.
One other thing I found interesting was the section on meetings. The recommended strategies for sabotaging meetings look a lot like our union meetings, and well. You gotta wonder. Anyway, it's free and it's a quick read.
The High Desert by James Spooner. I had this on my iPad for apparently quite a while so I must have bought it at some point but I don't remember when. It's a graphic novel memoir by the guy who did the Afro Punk documentary about growing up Black, punk, and in a crappy little town. Both the writing and the art are top notch and it's a joy watching him go from angry kid to activist.
Currently reading: A Drop Of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett. Finally getting around to the sequel to The Tainted Cup. Din and Ana travel to a remote canton that is currently not part of their empire, but will be soon, to investigate the death of a treasury officer who disappeared from his room and was later found mostly eaten by hungry turtles. (It turns out that the turtles are usually very hungry, but this time they were only slightly hungry, otherwise he would have been fully eaten.) This is really fun so far.
Interesting Links for 18-02-2026
Feb. 18th, 2026 12:00 pmandrewducker- 1. U.K. government covered up dramatic spike in trans youth suicides
- (tags:transgender suicide UK OhForFucksSake LGBT )
- 2. WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out
- (tags:manufacturing harddrive Technology doom )
- 3. Ancient bacteria found frozen in cave resistant to 10 types of antibiotics
- (tags:antibiotics bacteria doom )
- 4. Fake law: Barrister suing Dan Neidle relied on cases from ChatGPT
- (tags:ai law fail UK )
- 5. The association between academic pressure and adolescent depressive symptoms and self-harm
- (tags:mentalhealth academia UK psychology )
- 6. Using Origami to Imagine Emergency Shelters That Are Sturdy, Cost-Efficient and Easy to Deploy
- (tags:origami materials design architecture )
- 7. Amazon are cracking down on erotica
- (tags:erotica publishing Amazon OhForFucksSake )
- 8. How "Remote Assistance" works with Waymo's autonomous taxis.
- (tags:taxi driving automation )
- 9. Inside Horden, the County Durham town failed by politics (if you were wondering why people are turning to Reform)
- (tags:politics poverty uk )
- 10. New Silent Hill game inspired by tiny fishing village in Fife
- (tags:horror games scotland )
- academia,
- ai,
- amazon,
- antibiotics,
- architecture,
- automation,
- bacteria,
- design,
- doom,
- driving,
- erotica,
- fail,
- games,
- harddrive,
- horror,
- law,
- lgbt,
- links,
- manufacturing,
- materials,
- mentalhealth,
- ohforfuckssake,
- origami,
- politics,
- poverty,
- psychology,
- publishing,
- scotland,
- suicide,
- taxi,
- technology,
- transgender,
- uk
Rescued in the Nick of Time, This Wee Pair
Feb. 18th, 2026 11:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
daily_otter_feed
Via South Essex Wildlife Hospital, which writes:
Well... this wasn't the start to orphan season that we were expecting! 😱
We were prepared for birds, fox cubs... even maybe a badger cub but no... we start 2026 with two otter cubs! 🫠
Found alone after heavy rain caused a river in Suffolk to flood, these siblings (a male and a female) were quickly rushed into our care. Thin, dehydrated and hypothermic, the poor cubs had clearly been suffering and our vet team quickly set to work trying to get them on the mend 🤞
Now recovering on one of our intensive care wards, early signs are good and both have already started chewing their way through fresh fish. Young otters take a LOT of work and need a regular supply of (very expensive!) fresh fish, so this is where we need your help! ❤
We are going to do everything we can for these beautiful youngsters, but we can only do so with your support. Please, if you are able to to spare even the price of a cup of coffee we would be forever grateful! You can donate to our work at [this link] 🥰
The fish:
Deadloch S2 Trailer
Feb. 18th, 2026 12:41 pmfeurioo posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tv_talkRelease: March 20
Summary
Detectives Dulcie Collins and Eddie Redcliffe are in Darwin to investigate the death of Eddie’s former policing partner Bushy. However, their plans are soon diverted when a body part is discovered in a remote town called Barra Creek. With the Northern Territory police force focused on a large-scale search for two missing backpackers, Dulcie and a very reluctant Eddie are tasked with identifying the John Doe.Sticky, sweaty and juggling comprehensive thrush infections, the detectives find themselves embroiled in a world of crocodile-fuelled tourism, overstretched Indigenous rangers, cagey locals, and seven-metre prehistoric predators – all of whom call Barra Creek’s stretch of land, and water, their home. As the humidity builds, and Eddie and Dulcie dig deeper, more questions arise for our duo – not only about the case, but the many secrets that lie beneath the surface of this small town.
Vegan Tourtière
Feb. 18th, 2026 04:29 amnverland posting in recipecommunity
Vegan Tourtière
Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes Chill Time 30 minutes Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings8
Equipment
1 9-inch pie plate
Ingredients
Metric
288 g dried brown lentils
1 large russet potato (16 to 18 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
32 g vegan butter, divided
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
54.5 g chopped pecans
1 g dried thyme
2 g smoked paprika
0.05 g rubbed sage
1 g ground cinnamon
1 g ground ginger
1 g black pepper
0.5 g ground cloves
0.5 g allspice
0.5 g ground nutmeg
29.57 ml soy sauce
1 ml red wine vinegar
6 g salt, or to taste
1 batch vegan pie dough (enough for a double crust), or 2 store-bought crusts
29.57 ml unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
US Customary
1 ½ cups dried brown lentils
1 large russet potato (16 to 18 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon rubbed sage
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 batch vegan pie dough (enough for a double crust), or 2 store-bought crusts
2 tablespoons unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
( Read more... )
otw_news_feedAre you a developer who has submitted pull requests to the otwarchive GitHub repository? Want to help shape the future of the OTW in a flexible, collaborative role? Are you interested in following checklists to administer personnel related tasks? Would you like to wrangle AO3 tags? Can you read and translate from Portuguese to English? Can you read and translate from Chinese to English? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!
We’re excited to announce the opening of applications for:
- Communications Social Media Moderator – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 60 applications
- Organizational Culture Roadmap Volunteer – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 60 applications
- Accessibility, Design, & Technology Software Developer – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC
- Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteer – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 30 applications
- Tag Wrangling Volunteer – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 125 applications
- Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Portuguese) – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 30 applications
- Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Chinese) – closing 25 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 45 applications
We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don’t see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.
All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.
If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.
Communications Social Media Moderator
Are you familiar with Instagram or Facebook? Do you want to help connect the public with the OTW?
The Communications committee is recruiting for Social Media Moderators to help us manage our Facebook and Instagram. Social Media Moderators will help the OTW maintain an active presence on their platform, creating or reblogging a range of posts of relevance and interest to the OTW’s userbase, and doing outreach to fan groups and individuals on the site. Moderators are also responsible for handling user questions and managing responses to the OTW’s news content. You will be working as part of a team, and you must be able to dedicate at least 3-4 hours each week to the OTW.
For this position, we are seeking people who are familiar with the conventions of one of these platforms and who ideally have experience moderating a social media page. We are also interested in hearing from those with customer service experience, especially in an online environment. We expect you to have an interest in fandom at large and an understanding of the concerns and activities of the OTW (although we will, of course, provide you with training once you start).
You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. If you’re a frequent Facebook or Instagram user who enjoys helping others, have wide-ranging interests across the fandom space, and are curious and willing to learn, we’d love to hear from you!
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 60 applications
Apply for Communications Social Media Moderator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Organizational Culture Roadmap Volunteer
Want to help shape the future of the OTW in a flexible, collaborative role? Organizational Culture Roadmap (OCR) Volunteers support the implementation of OTW Organizational Culture Roadmap goals by assisting with planning, documentation, and team coordination. Whether you prefer jumping into projects, offering behind-the-scenes support, or helping teams stay on track, there’s space to contribute in a way that works for you.
This role is great for those with clear communication skills who enjoy collaborative work. Time commitment is 1-5 hours per week. As an OCR Volunteer, you’ll play a key role in ensuring smooth operations by:
- Writing and editing OCR project plans, goal documentation, statements, surveys, replies to public questions, policies, minutes, and reports
- Assisting in the research, development, management, and delivery of internal projects
- Working as part of a team to support specific goals to reaching completion
We’re looking for volunteers who are proactive, driven, and committed to the OTW’s long-term success.
You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. In addition to the initial application, you will be required to complete an assessment to help us understand how well you understand and can complete the committee’s tasks. This will be emailed to you after you complete the application form.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 60 applications
Apply for Organizational Culture Roadmap Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Accessibility, Design, & Technology Software Developer
The Accessibility, Design, & Technology (AD&T) committee coordinates design and development of the software that powers the Archive of Our Own. It is currently seeking Ruby on Rails developers to enhance features, fix bugs, review code, and test new changes in line with the priorities established by AD&T committee chairs and senior developers.
Please note: applicants must have submitted a minimum of two pull requests – at least one for an issue with medium or higher difficulty – to the otwarchive GitHub repository that have been deployed to production prior to applying for the software developer position.
If you don’t have the time to commit to formally volunteering for the OTW, we gratefully accept bug fixes from anyone on GitHub! Please check out our contributing guidelines before submitting a pull request.
Applications are due 25 February 2026
Apply for Accessibility, Design, & Technology Software Developer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteer
Are you great at admin and enjoy the satisfaction of completing short tasks and ticking them off to-do lists? Or do you have experience in CRM or database software, data privacy, managing software access, or other related areas? Volunteers & Recruiting is looking for additional volunteers to help our busy team!
Volunteers & Recruiting supports the Organization for Transformative Works as a volunteer-driven organization by ensuring that volunteers are in the right roles, at the right time, with the right tools.
We recruit and manage incoming volunteers, handle exiting volunteers, and handle all committee setup as well as chair and board turnover. We help answer volunteers’ questions about the OTW or the tools we use, or direct volunteers to the right places. We set up tools for committees and subcommittees, mentor volunteers in their work, and track the service of each and every volunteer throughout their time with the organization. We ensure that every volunteer in the organization has the resources they need to complete their work efficiently and effectively.
This recruitment round we’d especially love hearing from applicants who are interested in regularly helping with our day-to-day work! This includes following checklists to answer tickets related to personnel changes, software access, recruitment setup, and general queries. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a live text-based chat interview.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 30 applications
Apply for Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Tag Wrangling Volunteer
The Tag Wranglers are responsible for helping to connect and sort the tags on AO3! Wranglers follow internal guidelines to choose the tags that appear in the filters and auto-complete, which link related works together. This makes it easier to browse and search on the archive.
If you’re an experienced AO3 user who likes organizing, working in teams, or having excuses to fact-check your favorite fandoms, you might enjoy tag wrangling! To join us, click through to the job description and fill in our application form. There will also be a short questionnaire that will help us assess whether you have the skills and attributes that will lead to your success in this role.
Please note: you must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. For this role, we’re currently looking for wranglers for specific fandoms only, which will change each recruitment round. Please see the application for which fandoms are in need.
Wranglers need to be fluent in English, but we welcome applicants who are also fluent in other languages, especially Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian), Čeština (Czech), Español (Spanish), isiZulu (Zulu), Italiano (Italian), Polski (Polish), Suomi (Finnish), Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), Türkçe (Turkish), Українська (Ukrainian), ไทย (Thai), Русский (Russian), беларуская (Belarusian) and 한국어 (Korean) — but help with other languages would be much appreciated!
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 125 applications
Apply for Tag Wrangling Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Portuguese)
The Tag Wranglers are responsible for helping to connect and sort the tags on AO3! Wranglers follow internal guidelines to choose the tags that appear in the filters and auto-complete, which link related works together. This makes it easier to browse and search on the archive.
If you’re an experienced AO3 user who likes organizing, working in teams, or having excuses to fact-check your favorite fandoms, you might enjoy Tag Wrangling! To join us, click through to the job description and fill in our application form. There will also be a short questionnaire that will help us assess whether you have the skills and attributes that will lead to your success in this role.
Please note: you must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. For this role we’re currently looking for applicants who are fluent in both English and Portuguese. We welcome all Portuguese dialects! The work will involve both regular Tag Wrangling work and translating tags from Portuguese into English.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 30 applications
Apply for Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Portuguese) at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Chinese)
The Tag Wranglers are responsible for helping to connect and sort the tags on AO3! Wranglers follow internal guidelines to choose the tags that appear in the filters and auto-complete, which link related works together. This makes it easier to browse and search on the archive.
If you’re an experienced AO3 user who likes organizing, working in teams, or having excuses to fact-check your favorite fandoms, you might enjoy Tag Wrangling! To join us, click through to the job description and fill in our application form. There will also be a short questionnaire that will help us assess whether you have the skills and attributes that will lead to your success in this role.
Please note: you must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. For this role we’re currently looking for applicants who are fluent in both English and Chinese. We welcome all Chinese dialects! The work will involve both regular Tag Wrangling work and translating tags from Chinese into English.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 45 applications
Apply for Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Chinese) at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Wednesday 18/02/2026
Feb. 18th, 2026 11:51 amlhune posting in 3_good_things_a_day2) Lunch on my cold but sunny balcony, just to make the most of the sunshine
3) Visit to an art shop in the afternoon
memory
Feb. 18th, 2026 09:31 pmtielanApparently this is to be expected at my age and stage of life?
But honestly, it's a pain.
--
Have not received work contract renewal yet.
I have received a notice of a job opening in my line of work, permanent, in-house support/development. Hybrid, 3 days in the office, 2 days remote. The package is about 2/3 of what I'm getting now, but that's to be expected. And I don't mind an in-house department (in theory; if you get good people to work with, it's fine. If you get awful managers, etc...)
I put my resume in, we'll see if anything comes of it.
Stalked in the forest, too close to hide. I'll be upon you by the moonlight side.
Feb. 18th, 2026 04:42 ambeansideI'm not looking forward to today, because I am having a fair amount of discomfort this morning, and I'd really prefer not to talk nonstop. (But that's what I'm going to do.)
We're 89 days from the trip. It feels a little unreal at the moment. I'm looking at the numbers and watching them shrink and I'm not feeling the increasing urgency. It's still an abstract until the day arrives, I suppose. It'll probably feel real when we start packing, but that's still a ways off. I probably won't pack my checked luggage until about 5 days before, when the weather forecast firms up. We have a lot of opportunity for...varied weather. Anywhere from the 60's-30's. So once we know better for that, we'll pack how we need to.
The brother in law is so fucking excited about the trip. He's really excited about seeing Seattle, and I'm really excited about Vancouver and the ship. I'm looking forward to looking down as we cross the Rocky Mountains. We have some mountains in Maryland, including the Allegheny and Appalachian Mountains, but those are comparatively small. (They did not feel small when we were driving up them to get to Pittsburgh.) I want to see the Pacific Ocean. I've never seem that side of the country. I want to see Vancouver. It looks gorgeous. We were going to go there long ago, using some friends expiring miles. But it turned out that the miles had to be booked by a certain date, but that date could be 1 year out. So we gave them back and let them take their first real honeymoon.
But this time, I get to see the seawall, and walk through Granville Market. See the steam-powered clock. And so much more.
Question, would it be weird to go to the movies the night before we get on the cruise? The new Mortal Kombat movie comes out and I love me some Karl Urban. There's some not far from the port, an easy uber ride away. I know it'll likely be a crappy movie, but I love me some crappy movies. I love an opening weekend crowd, and I'd hate to come back and see if 3 weeks later after I've been spoiled (Ha! As though there's a plot to spoil!) We'll see how we feel, I guess. Shame it's not a Cinemark theater. I have 5 points with them because I haven't been motivated to see anything. Mm, things to ponder...
This weekend, we meet with the potential dog sitter. Hopefully Yoda does well. I'm expecting a ton of barking, but hopefully he settles down.
I know my sister has to go to NY in a couple of weeks (maybe). It got postponed from next week due to corporate incompetence, so maybe Jess and I could go stay at a hotel for a couple of days over the weekend and have the sitter come in. That way Yoda would get some experience in.
Still no word on the new job. All the jobs are in pending, so supposedly the application is being reviewed. I just wish one would move. Especially the radiology one. Though, the one that progressed yesterday is also tempting. It's a Medical Concierge patient support line, senior support. That payband goes up to $36.44. Which is enough to top out at $75,000. I know in the grand scheme of things, that's not a ton of money. But it's mre than I've ever made. So if they make an offer, I'll have to weigh it.
Other than that, I've just been working and sleeping. Today I need to go to the dispensary and presumably whatever antibiotic the doctor calls in. I've burned through a fair number of pain gummies and relaxing peppermints while in pain.
If I can convince the doctor to give me a different antibiotic, hopefully it works quickly. I really want to go to this dinner on Friday at Ms. Toya's Creole House. It's our holiday party. Even if it's still slightly swollen, I could probably go. They don't see me every day, they don't know that I'm normally not slighty puffy.
I haven't really had a huge appetite while the infection is going on. I had half an omlette and a half a pancake for breakfast, nothing for lunch, and then pasta for dinner. I had two meatballs and a little bit of the pasta, but the meatballs were pretty good. I also had some pasta e fagioli soup, with plenty of beans.
Today I'll have the other half of the omlette, and see from there. Maybe I'll eat the soup for lunch. We'll see.
Nothing planned at work today. Tomorrow is my mid fiscal year review. Next week is a Staff Meeting, always exciting. We're getting a new phone system at work next month, so that should be stressful. I'm sure it'll be fine, and basically the same as the one we have, but I know that's tying up the managers in meetings, which is probably delaying the job.
I really want my friend to get the job. She'd be good, though she'll have to learn the medical stuff. And, of course I want my $1000 bonus in 6 months, though I'll give her half.
(Edited to add:) With Jess working on a novel, we decided that it might be good for them to start going to conventions to network. So we're going to try Romantasy in the Valley, which has the benefit of being close to our home. The book falls loosely into Romantasy, so we'll give it a go.
And now, I suppose I'll contemplate the possibilty of waking up the rest of the way, and getting myself ready for work. Everyone have an amazing Wednesday!
In the mail
Feb. 18th, 2026 01:18 amsine_nomineLo and behold: a notice dated 1/15 that the insurance company required more information from the surgeon before authorizing my hip replacement surgery. Note: said surgery was scheduled for the 23rd.
Also a note - the date of which I didn't notice - that declined the authorization for the replacement saying it wasn't medically necessary because it didn't meet several of the 9 or 10 criteria - ALL of which must be met to make it medically necessary - that were listed. And also that the hospital stay wasn't authorized because it could be done as outpatient or with a 23 hour stay as there were no comorbidities provided that would lead to the authorization of the stay.
Interestingly, there was *also* a note from the insurance company authorizing my stay at the rehab hospital for my non-medically necessary hip replacement.
Now first off: I *did* ask, repeatedly, if we'd gotten the pre-auth for the surgery and was assured we did not require one. Sounded very odd to me so I asked if we'd gotten the pre-auth for the hospital stay. Was told that's up to the nurse navigators (the ones I was not put in touch with until way too little time before the surgery). So I asked them if we'd gotten the pre-authorization for surgery and hospital stay.... which got the administrative nurse saying it was a good thing I asked because my surgery had been scheduled incorrectly and they were in the process of fixing it.
Secondly, I very specifically had expressed concern that the x-rays they took did not have a detailed report about the level of osteoarthritis, etc., as well as that my ADLs were radically affected by my hip issues (the notes said they were not affected, I wrote to them after the pre-op consult and said, "There's an error. Please fix." and they said, "There's no error."). Guess what two of the reasons for the declined authorization were?
Thirdly, if he proceeded with the surgery without getting the necessary pre-authorization AFTER I REPEATEDLY asked if the date had to move again because of a possible pre-auth issue (and after I reminded them that I DON'T LIVE HERE so, if it had to get delayed again, my stay here would be longer and cost lots of money) and I get a bill from the hospital? I'm sending it to his office SO fast and saying, "This one is on you; I raised a stack of flags ahead of time."
All that said, recovery seems to be going well. My rollator is too tall so I ordered one that has handles that can be set lower - but the one that arrived has a seat that doesn't lock down so it's unusable. Likely buying a new one before this one goes back. Which is unfortunate as I got it direct from the manufacture's "at home" site and it was priced way more affordably than from third party vendors... but I want it in hand so I can practice prior to the PT eval. Which was postponed because it was pouring and powerchair plus rain is no bueno. Thankfully, "tomorrow" (it's after midnight; it's technically today but I have not yet been to sleep and awakened again) it's going to be clear so I can get the sutures out and Friday it's going to be clear so I can get new labwork and see Dr. Hematology. Thank the Universe.
The next challenge is going to be getting PT to understand there is so much more to rehab than my hip, to figure out what physiatrist to see so I can get VERY long-overdue thoracic images taken, and then figure out what's next. Because, right now, research shows that it might take as long to recondition everything that has failed on my body (hip is probably 25 percent of the issues; no, Rehab people, it was NOT my hip that caused me to have issues with stairs!) as it did to decondition. Which means 7 or so years. Hip replacement is not the magic wand everyone said it would be. I knew that, even as I hoped otherwise. But unless my stamina comes back way faster than I think it will, and my ability to manage a rollator and so on over distance increases super significantly, powerchairs are not leaving my life any time soon. So yeah, that's another insurance hurdle.
To say nothing of the current reimbursement hurdles and so on. Fun times ahead. Onwards.
(no subject)
Feb. 18th, 2026 08:19 amhunninghamWe have started watching films with father-in-law.
Certain criteria: they can't be too long (he has very firm opinions about films which are over two hours), must be brightly light so he has a chance of seeing something on the screen, cannot be subtitled for obvious reasons, and have to be dialogue-heavy.
Father-in-law is a good person to watch films with, bit of a film bugg with eclectic & wide-ranging tastes. In the past he's been my go-to person for arthouse films, and we may try that again, but not just yet.
Films at home work because we can pause when something needs the extra explainy. Father-in-law has tried audio-descriptions previously and disliked them intensely ("they explain the bits I don't need explained") so we'll not do that again.
Films we've seen so far:
- Clueless (we were talking about Jane Austen adaptions and this is the best one)
- Galaxy Quest (it's the best Star Trek film, and Bryan has never seen it)
- Legally Blonde I (one of H's favourite films. Bryan enjoyed it, but now wants a rest from college / high-school films)
- Wake Up Dead Man (I hadn't seen it. This worked well - lots of talking, and Daniel Craig having fun)
- Gun Crazy (1950s 'Bonnie & Clyde' noir. Bryan suggested this one when we were talking about romantic Valentine movies)
I'd love to show him The Menu because he'd really enjoy the comedy horror piss-take of celebrity restaurant scene, but a lot of the action takes place in the dark as a murderous chef chases people around a tiny island so I think that's out.
On my list for future watching:
- Conclave
- Bringing Up Baby
- Gosford Park
- Spirited Away (he saw My Neighbor Totoro with me last year & loved it)
Suggestions welcome.
Fossil
Feb. 18th, 2026 08:21 ampoliphilo
Not an important fossil, not a spectacular one- but still the trace of something that was alive and growing millions and millions of years ago.....
New Wind Breaker fic: Acting on instinct (Sakura/Nirei/Suou/Kiryuu/Tsugeura)
Feb. 18th, 2026 08:03 amvriddyOn the plus side of going back to this story then dropping it again, the first chapters are decently edited already 😆
Acting on instinct | Wind Breaker | Sakura/Nirei/Suou/Kiryuu/Tsugeura | 800~ words (WIP, 1/5) | rated T
Summary: Something shifted for them all in that moment at Kiryuu's house. They all felt it. But Kiryuu was missing for it, so they can't do anything about it.
Not yet.
Read it on Dreamwidth or on AO3.
Just One Thing (18 February 2026)
Feb. 18th, 2026 08:02 amnanila posting in awesomeersComment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
[Challenge #427: Lifetime] Doctor Who: 'Undue Attention'
Feb. 17th, 2026 10:15 pmbut_can_i_be_trusted posting in anythingdrabbleFandom: Doctor Who
Characters: The Doctor, unspecified companion
Word Count: 100
Rating: G
Notes: Crossposted to
100words, drabble_zone, and vocab_drabblesSummary: "They're taking stoicism to a new level."
( Undue Attention )
[Challenge #183: Stoic] Doctor Who: 'Undue Attention'
Feb. 17th, 2026 10:12 pmbut_can_i_be_trusted posting in vocab_drabblesFandom: Doctor Who
Author:
but_can_i_be_trustedRating: G
Word Count: 100
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor, unspecified companion
Warnings: None
Notes: Crossposted to
anythingdrabble, 100words, and drabble_zoneSummary: "Why is everything so drab here," I asked.
( Undue Attention )