Oh my god that looks good
Author of the Arcadia Project trilogy etc. Terminal cancer, incurable optimist. Currently 21% Novelist 56% Vidyagamer 2% Polyglot 21% Dungeon Master Enjoy life. Be someone you would love. Make things better.
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Oh my god that looks good
Very very good Black journalism, please toss them a $ or two; everyone benefits when all voices are heard.
Things were better when computer was in room. Now everywhere is computer. This is bad. Computer should never have escaped room.
I feel your pain.
I hardly ever write a newsletter for my readers. I always worry that whatever I want to write about is uninteresting or intrusive or both. Intellectually I know that's not true, but still. I'm going to try to get a bit better at this, so if you'd like, here's the signup:
This was like a drink of water but for my brain.
If you're not totally aware of how bots try to sway minds, here's a good example.
I am *trying* to hear it now, and ... nope. Sorcery.
Hahahaha just found @marajunot.bsky.social on here and "Voiceover shapeshifter" is right. I pride myself on recognizing voices, and I've been hopping back and forth between Outer Worlds and Avowed for weeks without realizing Nyoka and Giatta were the same person. WHATTTTTTTTTTTTT
Probably gonna get started next week once I'm feeling well enough from chemo. Very excited!
That's exactly the one I was gonna go for! Glad my research was done correctly :D
And if the author is Canadian, they get paid when their book is checked out of a Canadian library!!
Yes, I'm in the process of getting Matt to clear out his files from an old computer so I can put Linux on there and learn stuff!
Yep, you heard me right - no Goodreads, no Audible, no Twitch, WhatsApp, Insta, none of it. No one can completely withdraw from Everyone Bad. But it's good to find a corner you can peel away from and find more satisfying people to support.
Companies I've completely weaned myself off of: - Amazon & subsidiaries - Facebook or whatever they're calling themselves & subs Next project is to minimize my reliance on Microsoft, particularly Windows. I was fine with them choosing everything for me when they chose well. They've lost the plot.
If you don't have the money to pay full price for one of my books, I would a thousand times rather you check it out from your local library than get it on sale at Amazon.
With everything Amazon has done to con people into thinking that a book is an interchangeable widget worth no more than 99 cents, the very *atmosphere* of a library - a place where the written word is treated with respect and enthusiasm - is a benefit for everyone who wants to make a living writing.
I have never in my life met an author who feels sad about not getting royalties from you checking their book out of a library. People who write tend to be Big Picture people, and we understand that libraries are crucial to presenting books and literacy as having value in the first place.
Go fash, lose cash
Disney has lost nearly $4 Billion in three days from combined stock price collapse and cancelled subscriptions.
Just spent some time hanging out with one of my groups of ESO buddies: a guy who is great at patiently running through dungeons, and his mom and sister. Just delightful and relaxing and fun. I wish I knew more gamers that were tolerant of less than optimal specs and a chill exploratory pace. ❤️
Hi! I figured you did! My small sample sizes when it comes to offline acquaintances means I miss out on a lot of categories. 😂
Hm, I think you would be maybe... a bell pepper. I'm getting bell pepper vibes.
If you're not sure what someone meant, it's good to ask, I was reminded today. Preferably BEFORE freaking out, but you know, baby steps, Mishell.
I checked with him: confirmed joke I did not perceive 😂
That look is A+++ all around from outfit to hair to expression, brightened my morning
Avowed tips: 1) If it's stuttering/freezing on PC, give it 10-15m. I dunno why, but it stops eventually. 2) Slowly explore literally everything. Crouch through holes, go underwater. Take your time. 3) Read all the things, talk to people, click literally everyone. 4) Yes, you CAN jump that far.
After a few moments' thought (and some caffeine) this was clearer to me. If I hadn't met you "in person" I'd have had an even harder time seeing it - this is why online communication is so fraught ❤️
heheheh JBF
I will likely play Avowed multiple times, but nothing will ever match the feeling of discovery and mystery of this first unspoiled playthrough. So glad the people at @obsidian.net are still making games that give me this feeling.
If you ever feel the urge to nerd out to anyone about all your little guys and their drama, feel free to send that my way, I literally never get tired of hearing about people playing my faves ❤️ My favorite was when someone died at a birthday party and the grim reaper hung out and partied with us
Okay, my back hurts a little. I'm going to count that as a flu type ache and reassure myself that the double whammy vax I got yesterday is working. It's not that I WANT to feel worse on my last days before another chemo round, but.
Sleep is MAGIC
That's literally it. Just... a guilt free place to open my word hole.
This has caused me to really ask myself, what is the point of social media for me, and I realized it boils down to... I like to talk about my thinkythoughtts, but I don't like forcing people to listen or respond. This way there is no reason for me to shut up or feel guilty because it's opt-in.
Ooooh, love this take
The "I think" in the last sentence made me chortle
All this blathering I do and she nails it in one sentence
OH MY GOD YES I WAS JUST PLAYING SIMS 3 YESTERDAY chill with the caps Mishell, settle down but yes
Sometimes I just really assume people are being sincere when they are being ironic Which ironically is the opposite of what folks often do to me 🤣
I've talked to this guy in person! Well, on video, but same dif. He's delightful and considerate and... he has to have been joking
Someone call the necromancer
Hopefully he was just joking. I haven't had caffeine yet. He was probably joking. I'm not good at irony sometimes.
I.. have thoughts and I like to talk to more than just the same three people about them? I like to know more about the people who are listening to me and listen to them in return? That's just... socialization, guys, there is no... I'm not... Christ, if I have to explain, there's no explaining it.
Someone just referred to asking followers friendly questions as "engagement farming" and I am genuinely shaken. Is that... is that what people think *I'm* doing when I ask you stuff? To what end? Seriously. I'm genuinely wondering what cynics think my endgame is here.
Well, I woke at 6 am still feeling normal. It has occurred to me... maybe I just always feel like I've had a double whammy COVID and flu shot? Maybe I don't remember what normal feels like after having cancer for three years? 🤣 Or maybe it didn't affect me. Hope it works though!
Wait... asking people questions is... "engagement farming"? What hellscape are we living in
Huh! Maybe I'm off the hook this year! We'll know in the morning...
I feel a little sleepy, but that's it. I could also just be sleepy. I'm thinking maybe it'll hit me in the morning hangover-style. Stay tuned for more riveting updates on this compelling situation.
I'm guessing it'll hit me in the morning, like a hangover.
7 hours in, I still feel normal. ...Maybe I just always feel crummy? 🤣
So far I feel perfectly normal. Arm barely even hurts. I imagine it'll be worse in the morning after I've slept on it all night 😂 I would kind of like to feel at least a *little* bit bad later, just so I know they didn't shoot me with blanks.
Chugging root beer as we speak. Does that count? 😂
Just got the double-whammy COVID and flu shot. Let's see how my system handles it.
As someone who's been in that situation, I try to help others in what few ways I can - one of those ways is running my mouth online. Glad it's helpful at least a little sometimes. :)
The police are not that, for sure.
Suicide is not always preventable, but when it is, it's because the person feels cared about, like they have options, and that there might be something in the future worth sticking around for. Not like they're dangerously crazy, and criminal for reaching that point.
And if no one knows and cares about the person, any wise, caring, calm stranger who can keep things confidential will do.
Someone who knows and cares about the person.
Today's gaming mood has shifted wildly again: it's Sims 2 time.
I mean, I'm a compulsively lawful white lady. Cops' favorite flavor. And yet my experiences with cops have still led me to fear them more than I fear most of the stuff people call cops about. Exactly what suicidal person needs that introduced into their situation?
Where people got the idea that the best thing to do for someone at the absolute end of their rope is to make them feel like a criminal, I have no idea.
Also, police are the least helpful POSSIBLE people to call on someone who is thinking of ending their own life. Ask me how I know.
Landscaping I love #AlamedaRidge
There's a difference between debate and stunt argument. If the "debaters" in question have no expertise or power the resolution of the debate is neither community enlightenment or change. It's just a fight.
😂
But the most important way I try to transmit my values is by living them, demonstrating them, demonstrating the peace and wisdom they bring me. Children don't listen to what you say, or even watch what you do, so much as they see the kind of life you make for yourself, and whether they want it. 3/3
Assuming we're not talking about harming any other humans, I say, "This is important to me. I feel strongly about this. I'd rather you didn't do that. But I respect the research you've done and ultimately you have to do what feels right to you." 2/?
When my kids and I have value clashes, I don't try to slam my values harder into their skulls. Past the age of about 5 or 6, you can't just force kids to copy you. 1/?
(Also, for anyone who is concerned about the big sad eyes etc. and assuming I must be the most oppressive, dissent-squashing mom ever... a) it was halfway a ruse, melodramatic playacting is her love language and b) they flat out tell me when they have illegal plans and stuff)
(I told her, she's an artist, she gets to like whatever colors she wants. She can make colors do her bidding. She can DO things with colors I could never dream of.)
My 13yo and I were just talking about how much we both hate the color orange, and my 15yo looked at me with big sad eyes and said, "I like orange? I can stop liking orange if you want..." WHAT TEENAGER CARES THIS MUCH ABOUT WHAT HER MOM THINKS?
You think I haven't had that song stuck in my head all morning??? 🤣
(There is probably a metaphor in there, but you figure it out, cause I gotta go eat some Count Chocula.)
(I do not actually wish to strike oil in my backyard, because my backyard is full of beautiful flowers and I want to leave them there.)
Last night I dreamed I befriended a wildcat and struck oil in my backyard, so apparently this streak of productivity has driven me mad with confidence and optimism.
I am in the exact same wondrous inexplicable place right now! Uh, not the coffee shop. Or Copenhagen. You know what I mean.
This is a lovely edit, using scenes from both seasons of Andor and also Rogue One. Fair warning, it reveals tons of spoilers about the show and the characters' futures, so if you've not seen it yet, DO, and then watch this. If you have seen it, carry on.
I've gotta live until December, because Paralives is looking like a hybrid between my favorite stuff in the Sims and Stardew Valley at this point.
Thank you! My other bugbear is 'alumni' - singular is alumnUS or alumnA (I've been watching Wednesday on telly, corrected them out loud several times... yes, I am that sort of language pedant) 😂
I hit repost on this and then did a double take at your username *SF nerd high five*
"In the span of three days, Disney won five Emmys for Andor (a show about resisting fascism) and then suspended Jimmy Kimmel (for resisting fascism)." – @case.murphy
My follower number went up again and most of you don't even seem to be bots. If you're here because of something I said while cranky, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm mostly just a big ol' ball of geeky sunshine. Also I really like video games.
Contact lists and member lists != signup sheets for a specific protest. I never had to sign up for any protest I've ever gone to, even ones organized by people who have my email address.
Organizing is not the same as protesting. People protest for many reasons including against their own party. Freedom of assembly is a right. It does not demand you sign anything.
Wow, I thought I was the only roleplayer who does not like dressing my characters or decorating their houses. I didn't have a single thing hanging on the walls of the house I actually live in for about ten years. Just beige paint. Finally my husband put some stuff up a couple years ago.
alright i'm doing it. i'm watching doctor who in river song's chron order this weekend. it's maybe the fifth time i've done it, but it's a great way to kill a weekend when you're a tad under the weather. If you've never done it, I highly recommend it! Here's the order.
![List of Doctor Who episodes in chron order according to River Song's timeline 1. A Good Man Goes to War S06E07 (Melody Pond is born) 2. Day of the Moon S06E02 (Melody regenerates into Mels--Very last scence) 3. Let’s Kill Hitler S06E08 (Mels regenerates into River) 4. Closing Time S06E12 5. The Wedding of River Song S06E13 6. The Impossible Astronaut S06E01 7. A Good Man Goes to War S07E07 8. The Impossible Astronaut S06E01 [repeat] 9. Day of the Moon S06E02 [repeat] 10. The Pandorica Opens S05E12 11. The Big Bang S05E13 12. Time of the Angels S05E04 13. Flesh and Stone S05E05 14. Wedding of River Song S06E13 [repeat] 15. The Angels Take Manhattan S07E05 16. The Husbands of River Song S09E13 17. Silence in the Library S04E08 18. Forest of the Dead S04E09 19. The Name of the Doctor S07E13](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fvzkql2aqtbk7qmqjkoo2lv2/bafkreicxhw5v4rcgfq27mtgr4zfapftazk26de5wjau4tknyztykucda5m@jpeg "Click to view full size")
Facts > feuds. Truth* > feels. Always. *By this I mean ideas and statements that are impossible to disprove via hard data/empirical evidence, not "truth" as it exists in 2025, a.k.a. "my faction's opinion"
If you want to be a truly intellectually functional person, you have to be the kind of person who, if you were obliviously about to step off a cliff and Donald Trump himself said, "YOU MORON, STEP OFF THAT CLIFF AND YOU'RE FIRED" would have ZERO temptation to just go ahead and step off to spite him.
But people will dig in and die on the dumbest hills sometimes just because they don't like the person who pointed out that they're wrong. It's all about defeating/proving superiority to *people* and not at all about understanding concepts. It's exhausting.
The only reason I can see why people would be defending the signup thing with this intensity is just having ZERO tolerance for being told a thing they already well-meaningly did was not only unnecessary but kinda a bad idea. It's okay to just be like, "Whoops" and move on.
I have to wonder about the people losing their minds over being told not to RSVP for protests. It's as easy as: do not do signup sheets. Just let people come to the thing. An organization can even keep a general mailing list without making a time/place map of individuals' activities.
My family is in a MUCH better position than the vast majority of Americans when it comes to what businesses we can patronize and the amount of choice we have as shoppers. And even for us, we ran into multiple situations where there was just... No. Good. Choice.
Exactly. It’s hard enough to pick and choose brands when everything is owned by just a few megacorps. We can do our best to make decisions that align with our morals, and you can even inform people respectfully, but shaming others stems from a “holier than thou” mindset we need to collectively shed.
But uh, if they like, showed up at my house wearing an Amazon hat I might ask them to take it off. >.>
Which is awesome. And yeah, I NEVER judge anyone by their employer. That's so stupid. I hate Amazon in particular with every fiber of my being, and if someone told me they were employed there I would have zero comments, none. My beef is not with them.
Where will be we if everyone with principles starves to death?
This post brought to you by some dude shaming a publication for even *featuring* a game by EVIL MICROSOFT as though "Microsoft" didn't buy 100 different companies full of varying individuals who exist at various points on the good/evil scale and have to work SOMEWHERE in an industry owned by 3 ppl