got arrested for inciting a peaceful riot
Jul. 7th, 2025 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhanI am so tired of working on this house.
Upper half the back yard is approximately - well it's definitely not level, but it's not a hill any more so I'm calling it good enough. The Big Pit of Rocks is functioning perfectly in that the yard no longer floods whenever we get a rainstorm. At some point I will clean it up and make it look pretty, but that day is not today. Probably won't be tomorrow either.
This past weekend we picked one of the basement rooms as our starting point and spent about an hour clearing out the contractor trash and then scrubbing the shit out of the walls and floors. We also went to the hardware store and picked up paint and supplies and that was enough for my foot to say fuck you, you are done for the day. It's been hard to get a lot of work done just because it is so hot and humid, even in the basement.
***
Foot is still a problem. I hate this so much. I am spending a fortune on cabs and delivery because walking hurts. It's been a month, c'mon man, chop-chop, ándale, let's get healthy already. For fuck sake. Although I guess it could be argued that hauling around heavy buckets full of clay, rocks, and now paint probably isn't helping matters much.
I also have gotten a bunch of reminders this week that all my other doctors want to have a crack at me because I guess it's been a year since the last round. Sorry folks, cat takes priority. Once he has his checkup out of the way I'll find time for the rest of you.
The problem is that I can't take time off work for any of this stuff right now, because there are THREE, yes THREE major projects going on right now. At the height of vacation season so half the people who need to do things are off work. Who the fuck makes these decisions?
***
A couple of days ago I opened the back door and startled a wild rabbit. It took off into the treeline. This morning I looked out the back window and the biggest coyote I have ever seen was sniffing around the yard.
These incidents may be related.
Guess I'll see how well the vegetable plot survives the attentions of the locals. Daughter brought over all her seeds and just slapped them all into the ground and I have no idea what's even down there. Here's to Salad Surprise in a month or two.
Upper half the back yard is approximately - well it's definitely not level, but it's not a hill any more so I'm calling it good enough. The Big Pit of Rocks is functioning perfectly in that the yard no longer floods whenever we get a rainstorm. At some point I will clean it up and make it look pretty, but that day is not today. Probably won't be tomorrow either.
This past weekend we picked one of the basement rooms as our starting point and spent about an hour clearing out the contractor trash and then scrubbing the shit out of the walls and floors. We also went to the hardware store and picked up paint and supplies and that was enough for my foot to say fuck you, you are done for the day. It's been hard to get a lot of work done just because it is so hot and humid, even in the basement.
***
Foot is still a problem. I hate this so much. I am spending a fortune on cabs and delivery because walking hurts. It's been a month, c'mon man, chop-chop, ándale, let's get healthy already. For fuck sake. Although I guess it could be argued that hauling around heavy buckets full of clay, rocks, and now paint probably isn't helping matters much.
I also have gotten a bunch of reminders this week that all my other doctors want to have a crack at me because I guess it's been a year since the last round. Sorry folks, cat takes priority. Once he has his checkup out of the way I'll find time for the rest of you.
The problem is that I can't take time off work for any of this stuff right now, because there are THREE, yes THREE major projects going on right now. At the height of vacation season so half the people who need to do things are off work. Who the fuck makes these decisions?
***
A couple of days ago I opened the back door and startled a wild rabbit. It took off into the treeline. This morning I looked out the back window and the biggest coyote I have ever seen was sniffing around the yard.
These incidents may be related.
Guess I'll see how well the vegetable plot survives the attentions of the locals. Daughter brought over all her seeds and just slapped them all into the ground and I have no idea what's even down there. Here's to Salad Surprise in a month or two.
Wimsey Quote Database
Jul. 2nd, 2025 08:22 pmbeatrice_otterThe hardest thing about writing Peter Wimsey fanfic is the quotes. Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane have an encyclopedic knowledge of the literature of their era (and the literature that was considered classic/important in that era), and quote it often.
Today I posted on the Gaud Squad Discord that it would be awesome if we had a searchable database of the literature and poetry that they knew or could reasonably be expected to know, searchable by keyword and theme, so that one could look things up easily. And that I would be willing to do the data entry, but had not the technical skills to set it up.
supertailz responded by setting up a Notion instance and is noodling around with the technical aspects of it, so it looks like this is happening!
The easy part is getting the literature that Peter and Harriet quote added--all I have to do is read through the books (no hardship there!) and source the quotations. Although I know there are some annotated versions floating around, and if anyone has a copy of the annotations, that would be lovely.
The hard part is getting the right mix of things that Peter and Harriet would have known. Because what is considered "classic literature" changes over time. Some things rise in acclaim, some things fall out of favor. What would be really handy is a curriculum for Eton ca. 1900 and for Oxford ca. 1910, but so far I haven't found anything. Does anybody know how to search "what literary works were considered classics in 1920"? Or have a good list of where to start?
Today I posted on the Gaud Squad Discord that it would be awesome if we had a searchable database of the literature and poetry that they knew or could reasonably be expected to know, searchable by keyword and theme, so that one could look things up easily. And that I would be willing to do the data entry, but had not the technical skills to set it up.
supertailz responded by setting up a Notion instance and is noodling around with the technical aspects of it, so it looks like this is happening!
The easy part is getting the literature that Peter and Harriet quote added--all I have to do is read through the books (no hardship there!) and source the quotations. Although I know there are some annotated versions floating around, and if anyone has a copy of the annotations, that would be lovely.
The hard part is getting the right mix of things that Peter and Harriet would have known. Because what is considered "classic literature" changes over time. Some things rise in acclaim, some things fall out of favor. What would be really handy is a curriculum for Eton ca. 1900 and for Oxford ca. 1910, but so far I haven't found anything. Does anybody know how to search "what literary works were considered classics in 1920"? Or have a good list of where to start?
Life in the Mid-Century US: a primer for writers of MASH fic
Jun. 29th, 2025 09:37 ambeatrice_otterI read a lot of MASH fic recently, and while most of it was very good, there were also a ton of inaccuracies about what mid-century America was like. I'm not an expert, but at the same time, I did listen to my parents and grandparents when they talked about what life was like when they were younger. And also, I know what's changed within my lifetime (born in 1982), and quite a lot of things people today take for granted are actually new within my lifetime, and thus not around prior to the 1980s. Now, this is fanfic, and if you don't care about historical accuracy in your fic, that is a fine and valid choice and I salute you. If, however, you do want to at least try to avoid major gaffes, here are things I've noticed that people get wrong a lot:
( Women's rights: Ms. )
( Travel )
( Money and Credit )( Alcohol )
( Childcare )
( Phone Calls )
( Progressive Ideas )
( The Ad Council )
( Entertainment )
( Police )
These are just a few of the things that have changed in the last fifty years. And, of course, I'm only one person and might have got things wrong. Let me know if you see things I missed