Daylight Savings is such a waste of time
Mar. 8th, 2026 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyAnd there's an increase in mortality with every change of the clocks.
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conuly
Just one thing: 09 March 2026
Mar. 8th, 2026 09:49 pmjazzyjj posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment 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!
Comment 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!
Done Since 2026-03-01
Mar. 8th, 2026 05:08 pmmdlbearHello, welcome to Women's History Month, which started last Sunday, and International Women's Day, which is today. See also, EFF: Admiring Our Heroes for International Women’s Day: Five Women In Tech That EFF Admires
Not a great week, but on the whole not too bad. Next week will either be pretty good, or a disaster, depending. See below.
There was also the little matter of my monthly pension deposit not arriving, because the address confirmation mail they sent was busy chasing me across two continents. Blarg, but sorted out now. Good thing I'm on a new blood pressure prescription. Which has not been delivered, but fortunately I have enough to get me through the week.
I have spent the entire week worrying about my impending trip to Seattle on Tuesday (coming back a week from yesterday). In addition to worrying about the possibility of getting sick in a country without good health insurance, and other problems it might be best not to mention in public right now, there's the fact that my nice new Travelpro suitcase is 5cm too wide to fit Delta's carry-on requirements. So I'll have to check it. Fortunately my meds all fit in my (old) CPAP case, under the (new) CPAP.
I'll be taking the new Framework 12 laptop. First time traveling with it, so we'll see. There's a lot of state on my Thinkpad, including way too many open tabs in Firefox. Things may be a trifle inconvenient for a while.
We're getting a new scooter tomorrow; Lizzy goes into the shop on Wednesday, and apparently Scarlett is still being worked on.
Linkies: Guide to U.S. Expat Taxes in the Netherlands | H&R Block; HoS qul (The Fire is Strong) | Klingon Warpgrass (Lyric Video) - YouTube, Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis': Milestone in science fiction film,
Sunday Sweets: A Dr. Seuss Celebration!
Mar. 8th, 2026 01:00 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
cakewrecks_feedI think it’s time for more of my favorite Seussian Sweets! (WOOT!)
Most Seuss cakes tend to feature a certain cat in a certain hat, but after The Lorax hit theaters we got to see some fun new designs:
By Gabrielle of GoBoulay cakes
And check out the perfect Truffula Tree cupcakes Gabrielle made to go with it!
Look at the perfect twisty trunk! And that icing texture for the tree top? Brilliant.
And this Lorax is begging to come live with me, I just know it:
Sub'd by Noemi R., made by Inticing Creations
Cute story: Noemi and her friends first brought out a decoy wreck to prank the birthday girl. Ha! So, Amy ended up with a wreck AND a Sweet? Dude, that's MY kind of prank!
It's not often that I praise the use of an airbrush on cake, you guys, so brace yourselves:
By Cut the Cake
Now THAT is some awesome airbrushing. There, I said it. It didn't even hurt! (Much.) And I love how the parents' names are listed as the authors! (Did I mention this is a baby shower cake? No? Oops. Um...This is a baby shower cake.)
What's that? You want a jaw-dropping mini diorama of perfectly iced cookies to go with that cake?
Well, gee, you don't ask for much, do you? [<--SARCASM]
Luckily I happen to have a little something here that fits the bill:
By Jen Whitlock of Posh Pastries
My jaw, it has dropped. The balloons! The elephant! The marshmallow packing peanuts!! What a clever twist on the cookie bouquet!
Well, I think it's high time for a certain cat's hat to make an appearance:
I just noticed the cupcake is balancing on the fish's tail! Ha! Love it.
And now, two of everyone's favorite Things:
Via Twinkies630 and made by The Dessert Cart
Wow, these guys break EVERYTHING - including the laws of gravity. [bah-dum-CHA!]
Let's take a closer look:
D'awwww, so sweet! And I'll never get tired of that Seussian line shading, like on the ladder and bow. It just makes the leap from 2D to 3D so beautifully.
Ever wonder what flavor of cake you'd use for green eggs and ham?
I have. I'm thinking pear cake with cinnamon buttercream - but only because Noemi up there mentioned that's what her Lorax cake was, and now I reeeeally want to try it. I'd also like to take a huge chomp out of that fork handle, because it looks like a giant Tootsie Roll. And maybe I'm a little hungry. (WHAT.)
Hang on, we haven't actually seen The Cat in the Hat yet, have we?
No problem-o, I can fix that:
By Ashley Gay
More perfect cookies! Lemme tell you guys, I could stare at cookies like this all day. The pillowy poofiness of that icing is just sooo cool - and I kind of want to pet it. Is that weird? Yes? Then I mean, uh, I want to LICK it. There. All better.
I was about to confess that I haven't seen or read The Lorax, but I think I can bluff my way through this next one Ok. Here goes...
WOW THIS IS AN AWESOME LORAX CAKE.
My favorite parts are the little pulley and those shingles. They look kind of like caramels, right? MMMM.
I think we need some more colorful counting fish in here:
By Cakebox Special Occasion Cakes
This is such a great theme for a baby shower! And get this: those "ribbons" wrapping the cake are actually hand-crafted fondant and icing. WOW.
Oooh, and here come the Sneetches!
Topsy-turvy cakes were just MADE for Seuss themes. Also, "Fondant Flinger" is the name of my Cake cover band. (BWAHAHAAHA!!)(That was only funny to me, wasn't it?)
Well, let's wrap up this delightful romp with a Sweet combination of all of Dr. Seuss' most popular creations:
Submitted by Kel D., made by Delicious Desserts
I even spy the Grinch in there!
Happy Sunday!
*****
P.S. If you work with kids or kids at heart, these make great prizes or party favors:
Dr. Seuss Mini Memo Pads, 48 pk
The 48-pack has 6 different designs, comes in this cute display, and costs under $18. This would be especially cute for teachers!
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
Continued academic adventures
Mar. 8th, 2026 12:23 pmwildeabandonI mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was hoping to swap one of my compulsory courses for an optional one in reading and interpreting Hebrew Midrash. The other day I got the news that my request was rejected, so obviously I could do the sensible thing and postponing the Midrash course until the next time it runs in a couple of years, as part of my masters.
Wait, did someone say sensible thing? How about instead I take that course (along with another one in Patristic Greek) as a standalone module - that's only 39 credits (compared to a standard of 30) this semester. What could possibly go wrong? My plan had been to start all the modules until a decision was made, and then drop at least one of the optional ones if I wasn't allowed to switch with the compulsory one. The fatal flaw in that plan is that I am now having Way Too Much Fun to do that. I will keep the option of dropping one or the other in reserve if I feel like I'm burning out. The workload is a lot, and I am slightly behind compared to where my timetable says I should be, but if life holds off on curveballs then I think I should be able to get caught up in the next week.
The Midrash course in particular is really really good. We had a couple of introductory lectures on generally background, one from an academic and theoretical perspective, and one in which we looked at what what midrash says about itself. After that we got stuck in to actually doing the reading and interpreting. We're studying the Petikot (a series of introductory comments) of Lam Rabbah, an exegesis of Lamentations. It's a completely different approach to that taken in traditional Christian Biblical Studies, somehow both more open to individual and non-literal interpretations and also more demanding of a rigorous justification based on the precise details of the words of scripture.
It's quite a small group - four students, and two professors - Rabbi Dr David Meyer, who is leading us, and Pierre van Hecke, my erstwhile teacher of Ugaritic and Hebrew, who is engaging more like a fifth student. It's really delightful, having spent a fair amount of time over the last 18 months learning to read Hebrew, to be actually putting that learning into practice. My command of the language is probably the weakest in the group, but I'm just about managing to keep up, and at least some of my hermeneutical suggestions in class have been meeting with positive responses, which is encouraging.
Wait, did someone say sensible thing? How about instead I take that course (along with another one in Patristic Greek) as a standalone module - that's only 39 credits (compared to a standard of 30) this semester. What could possibly go wrong? My plan had been to start all the modules until a decision was made, and then drop at least one of the optional ones if I wasn't allowed to switch with the compulsory one. The fatal flaw in that plan is that I am now having Way Too Much Fun to do that. I will keep the option of dropping one or the other in reserve if I feel like I'm burning out. The workload is a lot, and I am slightly behind compared to where my timetable says I should be, but if life holds off on curveballs then I think I should be able to get caught up in the next week.
The Midrash course in particular is really really good. We had a couple of introductory lectures on generally background, one from an academic and theoretical perspective, and one in which we looked at what what midrash says about itself. After that we got stuck in to actually doing the reading and interpreting. We're studying the Petikot (a series of introductory comments) of Lam Rabbah, an exegesis of Lamentations. It's a completely different approach to that taken in traditional Christian Biblical Studies, somehow both more open to individual and non-literal interpretations and also more demanding of a rigorous justification based on the precise details of the words of scripture.
It's quite a small group - four students, and two professors - Rabbi Dr David Meyer, who is leading us, and Pierre van Hecke, my erstwhile teacher of Ugaritic and Hebrew, who is engaging more like a fifth student. It's really delightful, having spent a fair amount of time over the last 18 months learning to read Hebrew, to be actually putting that learning into practice. My command of the language is probably the weakest in the group, but I'm just about managing to keep up, and at least some of my hermeneutical suggestions in class have been meeting with positive responses, which is encouraging.
Just one thing: 08 March 2026
Mar. 7th, 2026 10:13 pmjazzyjj posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment 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!
Comment 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 closed ⌛
Mar. 7th, 2026 07:29 amluminousdaze posting in iconthatChallenge 201 is now closed. ⏰ I will post the voting today or by tomorrow and a new round in the future. Thank you, entrants, for your patience.
Just One Thing (07 March 2026)
Mar. 7th, 2026 09:39 amnanila posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment 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!
Comment 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!
As one of life's petty problems goes
Mar. 6th, 2026 09:15 pmconulyI'm worried I lost my kindle when I misplaced my red bag in which everything is. Well, not everything, but perhaps my kindle. Or maybe not. My kindle might be under my bed. If it's not under my bed, I'll have to replace it sooner or later. I'm a bit wary of looking and finding out one way or another.
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Music Friday
Mar. 6th, 2026 02:49 pmmuccamukkI guess the joint tour is going well. This is the most wholesome fucking shit I've ever seen.