![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
Another RPG Bundle - DIE RPG
22 December 2025 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ffuturesThis is a "meta-fantasy RPG by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans of real-world people trapped inside a magical game." In other words, a bundle of material for an RPG based on a comic about people trapped in a computer RPG and forced to play through various archetypal situations.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/DIEtheRPG
I'm probably not the audience this is aimed at - it feels a bit too metaphorical for me, and I'm not a huge fan of games that pit characters against each other to this extent (with the exception of Paranoia, which makes it work by being extremely silly.) On the other hand it's fairly cheap and nicely presented, and might be just what some of you are looking for.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/DIEtheRPG
I'm probably not the audience this is aimed at - it feels a bit too metaphorical for me, and I'm not a huge fan of games that pit characters against each other to this extent (with the exception of Paranoia, which makes it work by being extremely silly.) On the other hand it's fairly cheap and nicely presented, and might be just what some of you are looking for.
I'm about ready to say something to the commenters to this fic
22 December 2025 10:17 amconulySo, I'm reading something about an abusive relationship. So toxic, in every tiny respect. But the commenters! You've got a handful of them happily chirping things like "Oh, Abuser is trying so hard! He's really just controlling because he's worried, but look, he's trying to make Abusee happy!" and we've got another handful saying things like "I don't get why Abusee doesn't just leave. I mean, he's in public, is he scared of getting hit? In public? Like, geez."
Like... do you people know what sort of story you're even reading? Or, in the latter case, do you know anything about humans!?
Some people should not be allowed to comment on anything. WTF.
(Though, that having been said, the very first rule of running away and changing your name is never pick a fake name that has any connection to your real life. And because of this, our protagonist got kidnapped back by his abuser and his goon squad. Again. Well, the plot had to happen somehow, I guess, but still.)
***********************
( Read more... )
Like... do you people know what sort of story you're even reading? Or, in the latter case, do you know anything about humans!?
Some people should not be allowed to comment on anything. WTF.
(Though, that having been said, the very first rule of running away and changing your name is never pick a fake name that has any connection to your real life. And because of this, our protagonist got kidnapped back by his abuser and his goon squad. Again. Well, the plot had to happen somehow, I guess, but still.)
( Read more... )
I’m a nit
22 December 2025 03:52 pmlexinI had a Tesco delivery last Friday. No problem.
I forgot that I’d booked one for yesterday by mistake and then forgot to cancel it. So we got a load more food. I’m sureaunty_marion and I will manage to eat most of it. At least, we can hope.
Cat news
Geraint is beginning to settle in, he hasn’t yet bitten Marion. And we’re managing to train him to be a bit less hit-and-miss with his litter tray. He’s also beginning to get on with Opal. So, progress.
Edited to add: we have discovered that Geraint is deaf.
I forgot that I’d booked one for yesterday by mistake and then forgot to cancel it. So we got a load more food. I’m sure
aunty_marion and I will manage to eat most of it. At least, we can hope.Cat news
Geraint is beginning to settle in, he hasn’t yet bitten Marion. And we’re managing to train him to be a bit less hit-and-miss with his litter tray. He’s also beginning to get on with Opal. So, progress.
Edited to add: we have discovered that Geraint is deaf.
Finally got around to watching Kpop Demon Hunters with E
21 December 2025 05:51 pmconulyThe music is great, but the plot + worldbuilding raises some issues that they don't bother to even attempt to address properly.
( Read more... )
*******************************************
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Solstice
21 December 2025 08:19 amranunculusSolstice greetings to those who celebrate this turning point.
I am so glad that the days will be getting longer, no matter how small the increment at first.
I am so glad that the days will be getting longer, no matter how small the increment at first.
Today's weird thought
21 December 2025 03:12 pmffuturesDid the idea of zombies eating brains originate with The Wizard of Oz, and the Scarecrow's desire for a brain?
Bird pic
21 December 2025 08:01 amvivdunstanAnother of my occasional posts here of photos from Martin's walks. This photo was taken yesterday, on his usual weekend walk in the wooded river valley and old railway viaduct area near our home. It is a gem on so many levels.
Update
20 December 2025 08:22 pmranunculusI just ate a lovely pickled okra. So yummy. Must grow more okra next year...
Yesterday before our work on the Red Barn, Donald and I worked on the road. It was pelting down rain which is ideal for showing just exactly where to use the shovel. I got involved with some blackberry vines down by the neighbor's pond and have several nasty scratches which are still making a nuisance of themselves. We got wet enough that we had to turn around and get dry clothes before going to the barn. Fortunately it isn't cold.
Yesterday night I got a text that there were cows out in the horse pastures. Cody said he'd come in the morning.
Today the Fence Charger project began with running a new ground wire from the outlet on the southeast side of the barn through the 4 tackroom light fixtures and then through the new conduit to the new outlet on the northeast corner. The outlet works properly, the fence charger got moved to its new location. We cleaned up and headed home. I had just sat down in my easy chair when the sense that "something wasn't right" turned into "I know what I forgot!" While I -had- grounded the outlet to the regular barn grounding system, I had NOT run the 8 feet of wire needed to hook the fence charger to the special fence charger ground. This is bad because fence chargers burn up if they don't have a ground. Donald and I jumped in the car and ran back down. It didn't take long to run that last cable (and for Donald to find the missing hammer). Once again we cleaned up noting that tack room #1 needed a new light fixture (simple pull chain light).
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Cody was continuing to be puzzled by the actions of the cows. They have been bunched up pushing on the fences, trying to get out, ever since he put them in Jungle pasture. These include old cows that have been coming to that pasture for 10+ years and have never caused problems. Yesterday they were all in. Today most of them had leaked through the fences into the pastures to the south. I want to put up a trail cam and see if we can figure out what was scaring them. The older cows have years of living with mountain lions and bears. They aren't especially afraid of them as neither a black bear or a mountain lion will usually attack a 1,200 # cow. Calves yes, but there are only two, fairly big calves with the herd and they are fine. Coyotes aren't a threat. Dogs will run cows but usually they will leave marks on the cows, shredded ears, bitten off tails or bites on the legs. None of that is apparent on these cows. For now we have let the herd into the House pasture where they are much more content.
Because the cows moved into the House pasture we closed the gates around the house itself and turned on the electric fence. Mostly this is to keep the cows out of the area directly in front of the house. When Donald and I returned for the second time I wanted to double check that the fence was on. It was, but Donald noticed that the fence was "snapping" near one gate post. Snapping indicates a short to ground which is bad. I know this particular problem, it has been an issue in the past. I think the wire that runs under the road was done with the same batch of wire that failed at the Red Barn. After a rather lame attempt to patch it, we pulled a new wire through the pipe that runs under the driveway. Really didn't take long, but it was getting dark and the third flashlight of the day had dying batteries. It was sprinkling on and off. We turned on the power and then had to replace the last 8 feet of electric fence tape which clearly had broken some of it's tiny wires and was also shorting. The final test of the fence showed it to be good. By then it was full dark and definitely time to go in.
Yesterday before our work on the Red Barn, Donald and I worked on the road. It was pelting down rain which is ideal for showing just exactly where to use the shovel. I got involved with some blackberry vines down by the neighbor's pond and have several nasty scratches which are still making a nuisance of themselves. We got wet enough that we had to turn around and get dry clothes before going to the barn. Fortunately it isn't cold.
Yesterday night I got a text that there were cows out in the horse pastures. Cody said he'd come in the morning.
Today the Fence Charger project began with running a new ground wire from the outlet on the southeast side of the barn through the 4 tackroom light fixtures and then through the new conduit to the new outlet on the northeast corner. The outlet works properly, the fence charger got moved to its new location. We cleaned up and headed home. I had just sat down in my easy chair when the sense that "something wasn't right" turned into "I know what I forgot!" While I -had- grounded the outlet to the regular barn grounding system, I had NOT run the 8 feet of wire needed to hook the fence charger to the special fence charger ground. This is bad because fence chargers burn up if they don't have a ground. Donald and I jumped in the car and ran back down. It didn't take long to run that last cable (and for Donald to find the missing hammer). Once again we cleaned up noting that tack room #1 needed a new light fixture (simple pull chain light).
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Cody was continuing to be puzzled by the actions of the cows. They have been bunched up pushing on the fences, trying to get out, ever since he put them in Jungle pasture. These include old cows that have been coming to that pasture for 10+ years and have never caused problems. Yesterday they were all in. Today most of them had leaked through the fences into the pastures to the south. I want to put up a trail cam and see if we can figure out what was scaring them. The older cows have years of living with mountain lions and bears. They aren't especially afraid of them as neither a black bear or a mountain lion will usually attack a 1,200 # cow. Calves yes, but there are only two, fairly big calves with the herd and they are fine. Coyotes aren't a threat. Dogs will run cows but usually they will leave marks on the cows, shredded ears, bitten off tails or bites on the legs. None of that is apparent on these cows. For now we have let the herd into the House pasture where they are much more content.
Because the cows moved into the House pasture we closed the gates around the house itself and turned on the electric fence. Mostly this is to keep the cows out of the area directly in front of the house. When Donald and I returned for the second time I wanted to double check that the fence was on. It was, but Donald noticed that the fence was "snapping" near one gate post. Snapping indicates a short to ground which is bad. I know this particular problem, it has been an issue in the past. I think the wire that runs under the road was done with the same batch of wire that failed at the Red Barn. After a rather lame attempt to patch it, we pulled a new wire through the pipe that runs under the driveway. Really didn't take long, but it was getting dark and the third flashlight of the day had dying batteries. It was sprinkling on and off. We turned on the power and then had to replace the last 8 feet of electric fence tape which clearly had broken some of it's tiny wires and was also shorting. The final test of the fence showed it to be good. By then it was full dark and definitely time to go in.
One day to go
20 December 2025 09:25 amcathrowanSunrise today at 8:48 MST; sunset at 16:16. I am looking forward to the solstice tomorrow, when the sun starts to come back around.
Red Barn
19 December 2025 08:29 pmranunculusFifteen years ago the Red Barn was an elderly, falling apart mess. I swapped board for work on it. In general Tom did a great job, but he wasn't an electrician. That is why, when he moved the electrical panel from the north aisle onto the west wall of the barn he made a mistake. I had laboriously pounded in a ground stake on the west wall for the fence charger. Tom appropriated it and turned it into the ground for the whole electrical system. This issue has produced weird reading and unreliable electric fence, but it was never -quite- bad enough for me to fix. This week it came up on the to-do list, mostly because last week Lily noticed a snapping noise of the system making the sheet metal on the barn live. Oops. I turned the system off. If I had to fix the darn thing I might as well move it too.
My plan has been to move it 50 feet back to the rear of the barn. There is an existing electric outlet I could plug into at the back there but it is in quite an exposed place in the southeast corner. That bothered me. It never dawned on me that I could move it to the northeast corner which is quite protected. Finally a couple of days ago the idea finally surfaced. Duh.
Yesterday Donald and I removed the wire that had been causing the problem and replaced it with a much better insulated one. To be fair, the problem with the first wire was a manufacturers defect, but. The new wire will now take signal from the back of the barn and bring it to a junction that services the front pastures instead of taking signal from the front of the barn and feeding the pastures in the rear and to the north.
Today I drilled some holes, pushed conduit through and tapped into a light in tack room #4. Tomorrow I need to finish running conduit down to a new outlet box. Cody has already come and used his motorized pounder to install a 8 ft rod. The ground there is terribly rocky. We got the stake 6 1/2 feet into the ground and hit a BIG rock. 6 1/2 feet will have to do as a ground stake for the fence charger. The manuals say that ground stakes have to be about 25 or 30 feet apart to be counted as separate. This is 70 feet, so it should work.
Next is 2 more short pieces of pipe, an outlet box and connecting the wires. It will be really good to get this project done.
My plan has been to move it 50 feet back to the rear of the barn. There is an existing electric outlet I could plug into at the back there but it is in quite an exposed place in the southeast corner. That bothered me. It never dawned on me that I could move it to the northeast corner which is quite protected. Finally a couple of days ago the idea finally surfaced. Duh.
Yesterday Donald and I removed the wire that had been causing the problem and replaced it with a much better insulated one. To be fair, the problem with the first wire was a manufacturers defect, but. The new wire will now take signal from the back of the barn and bring it to a junction that services the front pastures instead of taking signal from the front of the barn and feeding the pastures in the rear and to the north.
Today I drilled some holes, pushed conduit through and tapped into a light in tack room #4. Tomorrow I need to finish running conduit down to a new outlet box. Cody has already come and used his motorized pounder to install a 8 ft rod. The ground there is terribly rocky. We got the stake 6 1/2 feet into the ground and hit a BIG rock. 6 1/2 feet will have to do as a ground stake for the fence charger. The manuals say that ground stakes have to be about 25 or 30 feet apart to be counted as separate. This is 70 feet, so it should work.
Next is 2 more short pieces of pipe, an outlet box and connecting the wires. It will be really good to get this project done.
Radio Times
19 December 2025 10:32 amvivdunstanTackling the bumper Christmas issue Radio Times (long running UK TV and radio listings magazine), highlighter pens in hand, ready to note programmes of interest over the festive period. Yup, I’m one of those folk still doing this. Though Christmas is now the only time of year we buy the Radio Times.
Now pondering if I should use more than one highlighter pen colour. And amused by the Wallace & Gromit cover of the festive issue.
Now pondering if I should use more than one highlighter pen colour. And amused by the Wallace & Gromit cover of the festive issue.
Preparing for the August Eclipse
19 December 2025 03:20 amffuturesFound an affordable and OK-looking hotel in Santander, where there will be a minute or so of totality, and booked a room arriving on Monday 10th August and leaving on the 13th, the day after the eclipse.
Now trying to find a good flight, but as usual completely confused by the booking sites. Basically I want to leave the UK in the morning and arrive in Spain in daylight to make getting to the hotel easier. Coming back I'm not so bothered about timing. Which site would people recommend for booking the flight?
Update Sunday - thanks totimill I am probably going to take the ferry route from Plymouth to Santander and back - possibly cheaper than flying, likely to be more interesting, and a good deal more comfortable since I don't actually like flying. Adds overnight travel either side of my stay in Santander so extends the trip from 4 days to 6, but I think I can live with that. I'll try to book this tomorrow when I can talk to someone human and ask a few questions.
I also looked at rail but that appears to be horribly complicated - six changes of train in 15 hours, and at some point I'd probably doze off and miss the right stop or the next connection. No thanks...
Now trying to find a good flight, but as usual completely confused by the booking sites. Basically I want to leave the UK in the morning and arrive in Spain in daylight to make getting to the hotel easier. Coming back I'm not so bothered about timing. Which site would people recommend for booking the flight?
Update Sunday - thanks to
timill I am probably going to take the ferry route from Plymouth to Santander and back - possibly cheaper than flying, likely to be more interesting, and a good deal more comfortable since I don't actually like flying. Adds overnight travel either side of my stay in Santander so extends the trip from 4 days to 6, but I think I can live with that. I'll try to book this tomorrow when I can talk to someone human and ask a few questions.I also looked at rail but that appears to be horribly complicated - six changes of train in 15 hours, and at some point I'd probably doze off and miss the right stop or the next connection. No thanks...
Gosh, don't you just hate it
19 December 2025 01:35 pmconulywhen your boyfriend, who turned out to be a fabulously wealthy member of the magical nobility, insists on buying you an expensive ring, and not just to get at his awful family who all hate you?
Last time that happened to me, I told him, "The ring is nice, but seriously, get your shit together and stand up to your folks, or the wedding's off." And this is why I'm not married today. Fabulous wealth is all well and good, but there are limits, and realistically speaking, you probably can't murder all your inlaws.
Alas, our protagonist is going to take the next book and a half to put her foot down. I can just tell. Unlike any sensible heroine, she's going to spend all her time trying to placate those assholes instead. Honey, it's a wasted effort! If you insist on standing by your man, stand by him by booking a couples spa date - no parents allowed.
(The ring isn't even magical. It's just expensive. I mean, honestly, I would not put up with those people for a nonmagical ring, and here she is insisting that it's all too much, it's too valuable, is he sure he wants to spend what, to him, amounts to pocket change on little old her? Please.)
*****************
( Read more... )
Last time that happened to me, I told him, "The ring is nice, but seriously, get your shit together and stand up to your folks, or the wedding's off." And this is why I'm not married today. Fabulous wealth is all well and good, but there are limits, and realistically speaking, you probably can't murder all your inlaws.
Alas, our protagonist is going to take the next book and a half to put her foot down. I can just tell. Unlike any sensible heroine, she's going to spend all her time trying to placate those assholes instead. Honey, it's a wasted effort! If you insist on standing by your man, stand by him by booking a couples spa date - no parents allowed.
(The ring isn't even magical. It's just expensive. I mean, honestly, I would not put up with those people for a nonmagical ring, and here she is insisting that it's all too much, it's too valuable, is he sure he wants to spend what, to him, amounts to pocket change on little old her? Please.)
( Read more... )
Coding 1992 style
18 December 2025 11:54 amvivdunstanThought about reusing some old LPC MUD code - dated 1992! - in a puzzle in my latest interactive fiction game that I'm writing. Then looked at the LPC code and thought "Way too complicated for what I need here!" So I'm going simpler. But it is nice to revisit.
I was a wizard in the St Andrews University MUD back then, as was Martin. I also played through to wizard level on a Glasgow MUD at the same time. Many happy memories.
I was a wizard in the St Andrews University MUD back then, as was Martin. I also played through to wizard level on a Glasgow MUD at the same time. Many happy memories.
I finished a project!
17 December 2025 08:15 pmwatersword
I have finished the daisy which covers the tea stain on this t-shirt! I am very proud of myself.
Satin stitch, French knots, stem stitch, and fishbone stitch.
