mindstalk | Reading

It's always fun to try out the Vulcan Name Generator. This time I got some doozies.
The first two: T'Kok and Suk.

While I think that a very ... interesting fic could be written about T'Kok and Suk, I do not think I would be the person to write that fic.

Discotek and AnimEigo both announced new licenses at this year's Otakon!

From Discotek we have...

Megaman (USA series)
Shin-chan (English dubbed version)
Urotsukidoji: Sequels of the Overfiend
Goldenboy
Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro redubbed
Sgt Frog: The Movies
Zegapain
Digimon Movies 406
Monster: The Complete Series
Higurashi: When They Cry Kai
Higurashi: When They Cry Rei
Project ARMS
Zone of the Enders: Complete Collection
New Aim for the Ace

...and toku series like Kamen Rider Amazon and Kikaider 01

From AnimEigo we have...

Hotori: Simply Wishing For Hope
Alien Nine

...and updates on their release of Looking for the Full Moon, a magical girl series that's intrigued me for a while now.

but it *is* pretty sweet!

*********************

( Read more... )

A book I'm thinking of having play an important role in the campaign is Heinrich and Moritz Tod's Morally Uplifting Tales for the Edification of Recalcitrant Children, the Tods being the Old World analog of the Brothers Grimm. Uplifting Tales is an important cultural artifact and also the sort of book you'd read to kids at bed time if you wanted them to cry themselves to sleep.

It really seems like the deaths are piling up lately.

I had an interesting chat with a pensions guy. He pointed out that the historic performance of even relatively conservative pension funds exceeds the APR on my mortgage. So, given that my paid mortgage interest is tax-deductible on my US taxes, and that I have the tax efficiency of being a higher-rate taxpayer who can pay pre-tax salary into their pension, indeed it probably makes sense to direct any spare money (e.g., annual bonus) into pension instead of mortgage. I have other debt too that I shall prioritize but it is nice to have that bigger picture.

Frankly, I think that I should take some risk in pursuit of faster growth. My pension savings are inadequate at the moment. My suspicion is that gentle, conservative pension investing would leave me still without much of a pension. I would like to think that I have another good couple of decades' of full-time work in me; perhaps that duration, plus not soon rebalancing toward blue-chip bonds and suchlike, might mean that I actually receive a reasonable pension in the end, we'll see.

The Sidewise Award for Alternate History is looking for new judges to join the award committee.

This is the first time in the 30 year history of the award that they've made an open call for awards judges.

Apply here.

I'm visiting

rysmiel for a few days. The trip up was borin, which is good: anything exciting would probably be bad news, or at least make you late for dinner.

It is going to be hot over the weekend, so we went out for a relatively early brunch today, so we could sit almost-outdoors at Juliette et Chocolat and eat crepes. We then walked around Jean Talon market, where I bought plums, blackberries, and a cucumber.

I have np real plans for the next few days, which is fine.

Something other than a bumblebee for once!

Image: Another upside down bee, this time one that isn't a bumblebee!

Weird thing I am noticing. Bumblees give no craps if a phone camera is hovering over them. They're also slow moving, generally? I even had one curious bumblebee just latch on to my finger and inspect the camera for itself. Honey and other bees? Camera shy! It's much harder to get a picture of them!! So, here is, shockingly, a bee that is not a bumblebee.

Let's see, what's new with me?

Jas and Mason are continuing their whirlwind exploration of the Twin Cities. Yesterday was the "must see" of Minnehaha Falls, with the requiste lunch at Sea Salt. Mason apparently tried fried oysters for the first time, thanks to Jas. The two of them also did the whole walk all the way to the Mississippi River, since I mean, you're nearly there, so why not? Over dinner at Bole (an Ethiopian place here in St. Paul), Jas said that they had never actually seen sandstone in the wild before, as it were, and found it deeply fascinating. This is the sort of thing that I love hearing about because, having grown up surrounded by sandstone bluffs, I forget how uncommon sandstone might be to someone from another biome.

We took Jas to Bole because, while they have heard of Ethiopia restaurants, they have not been because berbere spices are a migraine trigger fro their mother. So, we were able to provide a guilt-free experience, which I think they quite enjoyed. We ended up sitting outside in the patio, despite the mugginess and threat of rain. It's always so much fun to show off the cool stuff in the city, you know? Our food (and our immigrants, damn it!) is always some of the very best parts of it all.

Since I believe I reported about this earlier, I thought I'd also give an update on Rhubarb's inappropriate urination issues? If you don't want to read about cat pee problems (and who would blame you!?), I will put it under the cut.

( Cat bathroom issues, solutions, and theories.... )

tl:dr we're still working on it? I have faith we'll get her fixed without having to restort to drugs.

That's all the news that's fit to print, plus some that had to appear under the cut.

Not every gamer finds joy in wildly complicated, esoteric, hard-to-learn rules...

Five User-Friendly Rulesets for Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Watch on YouTube

Hosted by Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Liz May Anderson.

Sunday August 10 at 5 PM: Livestream broadcast of the 2025 Aurora Awards, Canada’s annual English-language Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards.

Righteous characters pursue great justice in this wuxia TTRPG.

Hearts of Wulin by Joyce Ch'ng & Lowell Francis

IT WILL BE EPIC

More details later but it seems the group is essentially Don Quixote in the form of a Brettonian knight's bastard who has completely bought into chivalric ideals despite the fact no true knight considers him worthy to have such ideals, and an assortment of hangers-on who see him as a meal ticket.

Which is to say, the group is centred on someone who will seek out adventure.

Based on the photometry and orbital properties, the planet candidate could have a temperature of 225 K, a radius of 1-1.1 and a mass between 90-150 , consistent with RV limits.

After the EU passed the General Data Protection Regulation, many smaller US organizations took the simple option of blocking the EU from their websites. It's for that reason I have a US-based web proxy in my back pocket for checking US news from local sources.

Now, the UK's passed the Online Safety Act which seems to be at least as onerous. I was chatting with a creative British person today. There is some website (I didn't ask which) that hosts their writing and art, and it's become inaccessible to them. So, like so many other British people in recent days, they've now subscribed to a VPN service.

The OSA seems to be a deleteriously blunt instrument. Children now seem to be barred (by easily bypassed means) from seeing all kinds of information that, frankly, it's good if they can see.

I am curious to know how this got so far without being stopped. It certainly says something poor about the powers that be, that pressure to do something resulted in pushing through legislation that had been widely warned about by many. It's not at all unique, we even had the Clinton administration trying to push the Clipper chip, but this example seems to be turning out unusually badly.

The Labour government had already burned up its honeymoon period but they still make unforced errors that the Conservatives make hay from. Amid all this, we also get to watch the Chancellor square the circle they've painted themselves into (with the Conservatives' help). An outbreak of political competence would make a welcome change.

Update: Very shortly after posting this, I read of moves in the EU to resurrect efforts to prevent communications from being wholly private.

hermionesviolin posted: Massachusetts Universal Voting Restoration

For anyone registered to vote in Massachusetts -- you can sign up to get reminded when it's time to officially sign papers to put on the Massachusetts ballot a measure to repeal the Massachusetts constitutional amendment that took the right to vote away from people serving felony sentences.

From an email from Progressive Mass:
Unlock Democracy in Massachusetts

In 2000, Massachusetts passed a constitutional amendment that took away voting rights from people incarcerated for a felony conviction. This stripping of rights was in response to political organizing happening in prison. The Empowering Descendant Communities to Unlock Democracy project and allies aim to get voting rights restoration on the statewide ballot. If you are a registered voter in Massachusetts, please take a minute to fill out our pledge form now: https://tinyurl.com/uvrpledge. Once the Attorney General approves the language, organizers will reach out to those who filled out the pledge with dates/locations for nearby signature collection efforts.

The EDC to Unlock Democracy is is committed to ensuring that democracy does not stop at prisons and jails in Massachusetts. It is a collaborative project between the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, the African American Coalition Committee at MCI-Norfolk, Healing our Land, Inc., and more. To get in touch email EDCtoUnlockDemocracyMA@gmail.com.

Today's bee, captured in flight.

16;9, y'all. It's just landscape instead of portrait. MAN, I feel dumb. But, I don't feel as though any of my previous bee photos are wasted. I can also submit photos to the New York Times Spelling Bee that are square. So, I should be able to do some editing and send them again! (They are gonna love me, there. OTHO, I'm sure they get a lot of dummies like me!)

I found a resource rich (as in chock full of bees) area that is part of my daily routine. The Minnesota Historical Society! They have a huge pollenator garden on their hillside and yesterday it was literally buzzing with activity.

Meanwhile, Jas has proved themselves to be an excellent house guest. Their family recently had to trip to Japan (and Taiwan, where Jas has a grandmother,) and they brought us lots of absolutely PERFECT gifts. Shawn loves konpeitou--the Japanese hard candy that looks like little sandburs. Not only did Jas bring a package of the actual sweets for her, but ALSO earrings that are in the shape of konpeitou! This is especially wonderful because Shawn (who has otherwise very little interest in all of my Japanese stuff) likes the idea of saying "Ganbetta" (do your best!) but can never remember it, so often tells me, "Konpeitou!" when she means to wish me good luck. So konpeitou has been our silly way of wishing each other good luck.

For me, Jas brought some fun washi tape and post-it notes. Again, perfect for me, if you know my love of letter writing, etc.

Then, apparently, their mother also just sent along a whole bunch of odds and ends as gifts, too. We're going to have to step up our game? I have not participated in this competative gift giving thing before. Is it a Southern thing? (Jas's folks live in Oklahoma.) I ask because Mason's other friend Gray, also has parents who send Mason home with odd gifts (they're in Missouri.) Thoughts, any Southern State living friends of mine?

Today, I am planning on letting them have the car to do with as they like. Mason loves Saint Paul (and Minneapolis) and delights in showing off all the cool features found therein. I know they are planning on seeing Minnehaha Falls because that is a tourist MUST (and also Mason loves eating at Sea Salt.) Yesterday, they walked to the Creamery formerly known as Izzy's now... somthing else, which I have forgotten. So, Jas is getting the full tour!

I shall end with a slightly different bug. If anyone on my list of friends is bug-averse, please let me know and I will put these photos under the cut!

grasshopper on lily

Image: grasshopper on bright red lily (in Grantsville, WI. We stopped at an old-fashioned rootbeer stand type place that had these amazing flowers and I spotted this little fellow.)

If anyone wants to call RFK Jr. to complain about him not funding vaccines, and specifically about mRNA vaccines, his office phone number is 202-690-7000. I called during office hours (8:30-5 Eastern time) and got voicemail. The message asked for a phone number, and claimed someone would call me back.

If anyone wants a script, my message was:

My name is Vicki Rosenzweig. I’m calling from Boston, to demand that the secretary restore funding for MRNA vaccines. He must make the fall covid and flu boosters available to everyone. I’m immune-compromised, and my safety depends on my family being vaccinated and not giving me a virus. My phone number is [your number here]

I got the idea and phone number from a comment by

threemeninaboat on

sonia's journal. (I also posted a version of this to

thisfinecrew)

Climate change provides a tribal leader a pretext to dispatch his least favourite tribe members on an ill-fated expedition from which none will return.

The Integral Trees (Integral Trees, volume 1) by Larry Niven

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Page Summary

beatrice_otter - (no subject)
stepnix in anime_manga - Otakon licensing announcements
conuly - Pink pineapple looks oddly like salmon
james_davis_nicoll - I don't think any of my Old World players frequent DW
conuly - Astronaut Jim Lovell, famed Apollo 13 commander, dies at 97
mtbc - Investing in a pension
james_davis_nicoll - Sidewise Award Announcement
redbird - I'm in Montreal
lydamorehouse - Bee Happy?
james_davis_nicoll - Five User-Friendly Rulesets for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
james_davis_nicoll - Aurora Award Livestream
james_davis_nicoll - Hearts of Wulin by Joyce Ch'ng & Lowell Francis
marycatelli in girlgenius_lair - Friday's Comic
james_davis_nicoll - The Old World Character Generation
james_davis_nicoll - ! Seen in email
mtbc - The UK's Online Safety Act: content creators and governmental missteps
beatrice_otter - Signal Boost: Massachusetts Universal Voting Restoration
lydamorehouse - Bees, More Bees (Also, D'uh)
redbird - I called RFK Jr about vaccine access
james_davis_nicoll - The Integral Trees (Integral Trees, volume 1) by Larry Niven

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