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Mar. 21st, 2026 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
olivermossIf you have a friend or family member is a fan of a hockey team in the Pacific Division, please check on them.
olivermoss
Torrent Watch Party!
Mar. 21st, 2026 06:54 pmolivermossToday has not been a good day for Seattle sports, but the watch party was fun. I wasn't the only one who got there early for the merch pop up. Most of the shirts and hoodies were only in the less-popular sizes, lotta XXLs. They did have a t shirt in my size, and it was 100% a return. I paid the full price of [redacted] for a t shirt that has definitely been worn and also washed by someone else before. But, they had it so I got it.
I'm also glad I went early because the patio the event was on did run out of seating. People were standing next to the TV to the left of this shot:
The pop up had a Jackson jersey and I was good and did not buy my first hockey jersey. I am not buying a Jackson jersey unless they get a start or Seattle resigns them, in which was I'll be sad that I didn't get an inaugural jersey.
(CJ Jackson is openly NB, and a 3rd goalie for Seattle. I really want a jersey of Seattle's NB goalie, but no, not unless they stay in Seattle next year)
There was a girl there who said she was 'very new to hockey', but her clothes were in all Torrent colors, her handmade jewelry was in Torrent colors, she has a Torrent itabag and she'd made 'trinkets' to hand out, glass pendants she'd made in Torrent colors.
Pendant and also event swag:
Torrent have a lot of momentum. They sell out areas nearly 3x the size of the Boston Fleet's home arena. I really hope the team do just a little better to not lose some of that support.
I'm also glad I went early because the patio the event was on did run out of seating. People were standing next to the TV to the left of this shot:
The pop up had a Jackson jersey and I was good and did not buy my first hockey jersey. I am not buying a Jackson jersey unless they get a start or Seattle resigns them, in which was I'll be sad that I didn't get an inaugural jersey.
(CJ Jackson is openly NB, and a 3rd goalie for Seattle. I really want a jersey of Seattle's NB goalie, but no, not unless they stay in Seattle next year)
There was a girl there who said she was 'very new to hockey', but her clothes were in all Torrent colors, her handmade jewelry was in Torrent colors, she has a Torrent itabag and she'd made 'trinkets' to hand out, glass pendants she'd made in Torrent colors.
Pendant and also event swag:
Torrent have a lot of momentum. They sell out areas nearly 3x the size of the Boston Fleet's home arena. I really hope the team do just a little better to not lose some of that support.
New Charlotte Stant HR fic out - run, don't walk!
Mar. 22nd, 2026 01:40 pmmificOMG Charlotte Stant's fic is SO FUCKING GOOD! Heaven is a Bedroom - Shane's a mormon missionary door-knocking with his fellow-elder Hayden and Ilya and Marley are roommates living in a house on their route. It's funny, incredibly hot, poignant and the most incredible complete AU, just wonderful writing. I want to have this fic's babies.
Post of links and music
Mar. 21st, 2026 05:52 pmdolorosa_12Rather than share each item individually, I'm just going to link to goodbyebird's mostly good news links roundup. There's some fantastic environmental and sociopolitical news there.
I'll add to all this with the news that you can now walk around the entire coastline of England. It's worth reading the article in full, because this undertaking is extremely impressive and future-focused.
Another good news story, via 2022 Ukrainian Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk: the tropical plants in the greenhouse of Kyiv's Hryshko Botanical Garden survived Russia's winter bombardment of energy facilities, thanks to the concerted efforts of staff and ordinary Kyivan citizens.
I've basically been immersively living in these two songs for the past week:
goodbyebird's mostly good news links roundup. There's some fantastic environmental and sociopolitical news there.I'll add to all this with the news that you can now walk around the entire coastline of England. It's worth reading the article in full, because this undertaking is extremely impressive and future-focused.
Another good news story, via 2022 Ukrainian Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk: the tropical plants in the greenhouse of Kyiv's Hryshko Botanical Garden survived Russia's winter bombardment of energy facilities, thanks to the concerted efforts of staff and ordinary Kyivan citizens.
I've basically been immersively living in these two songs for the past week:
Also, fuck cancer
Mar. 20th, 2026 07:59 pmjulianI've got a friend, a MUSH person, badfaun here, who lives over in Seattle, and who I have known for uh, 20 years now?, who's in the late stages of metastatic breast cancer, that spread to her brain, and is now in the cerebro spinal fluid, which is impressive in its inventiveness and staying power if nothing else.
(This is ileah/Francisco/Heart, for any GarouMUSH people around.)
She's pretty stubborn and pretty great, but the spread to the CSF is Just Not A Good Thing, and she's now going to be going to hospice.
Love to her, and her husbandaerynvale, who's been a rock in all this.
badfaun here, who lives over in Seattle, and who I have known for uh, 20 years now?, who's in the late stages of metastatic breast cancer, that spread to her brain, and is now in the cerebro spinal fluid, which is impressive in its inventiveness and staying power if nothing else.(This is ileah/Francisco/Heart, for any GarouMUSH people around.)
She's pretty stubborn and pretty great, but the spread to the CSF is Just Not A Good Thing, and she's now going to be going to hospice.
Love to her, and her husband
aerynvale, who's been a rock in all this.I don't have a blood clot! However, my car is likely dead.
Mar. 20th, 2026 06:01 pmjulianI woke up this morning with a really puffy arm, from elbow down to hand, and it felt like I had exercised a lot, but I Had Not, so Calluna and I bundled ourselves off to Urgent Care, and Urgent Care looked at it, said, "Hm, likely not, but Just In Case..." and bundled us off to Emerson Hospital to get an ultrasound, which made me almost fall asleep, which was nice.
And I don't have a blood clot, but I do have sucky blood pressure. Which I knew. So I don't *think* it's an allergic reaction, but I do think it's vein related somehow, so, mystery.
For most of the morning it was gorgeous and sunny and in the 50s, and very springlike, which fits since it's the equinox and the first day of spring, so, happy spring!
Then we got lunch and coffee and started down Route 2 to Arlington to retrieve my wallet, WHICH the Arlington Police in fact found a day or so ago, after I had ordered new everything, (But I can at least get my driver's license for ID purposes. And the wallet, which I like.) *But then*, sitting at a traffic light, we got slammed into on what I thought was my rear end but was actually my passenger side. Passenger side airbag deployed, lots of broken glass also deployed, some of it onto Calluna and a little tiny bit on me. All told, about 6-7 cars were involved, plus Route 2 was closed for like an hour.
I'm very much lacking information about who hit whom and how, but it *seems* as if the person who set the chain reaction going is the one who ended up in front, and rolled over. No one would let me stick around or figure out other people's information, which makes sense because there was like, gas leaking and stuff. Not-very-informative news article.
This time I let them impound it because Calluna needed to get checked a the hospital (same one we just came from!), and I went along for the ride/also to get checked out. (I'm fine; she may have a slight concussion and her neck's hurting.) 'm pretty convinced it's totaled, but unlike when I got run into in Coventry, RI, Concord's only 45 mins or so from me, so I can go retrieve all my Stuff from it Sunday when I also go get my durn wallet.
Happily, my s-i-l loaned me their ancient and venerable Prius so I have wheelz currently.
And I don't have a blood clot, but I do have sucky blood pressure. Which I knew. So I don't *think* it's an allergic reaction, but I do think it's vein related somehow, so, mystery.
For most of the morning it was gorgeous and sunny and in the 50s, and very springlike, which fits since it's the equinox and the first day of spring, so, happy spring!
Then we got lunch and coffee and started down Route 2 to Arlington to retrieve my wallet, WHICH the Arlington Police in fact found a day or so ago, after I had ordered new everything, (But I can at least get my driver's license for ID purposes. And the wallet, which I like.) *But then*, sitting at a traffic light, we got slammed into on what I thought was my rear end but was actually my passenger side. Passenger side airbag deployed, lots of broken glass also deployed, some of it onto Calluna and a little tiny bit on me. All told, about 6-7 cars were involved, plus Route 2 was closed for like an hour.
I'm very much lacking information about who hit whom and how, but it *seems* as if the person who set the chain reaction going is the one who ended up in front, and rolled over. No one would let me stick around or figure out other people's information, which makes sense because there was like, gas leaking and stuff. Not-very-informative news article.
This time I let them impound it because Calluna needed to get checked a the hospital (same one we just came from!), and I went along for the ride/also to get checked out. (I'm fine; she may have a slight concussion and her neck's hurting.) 'm pretty convinced it's totaled, but unlike when I got run into in Coventry, RI, Concord's only 45 mins or so from me, so I can go retrieve all my Stuff from it Sunday when I also go get my durn wallet.
Happily, my s-i-l loaned me their ancient and venerable Prius so I have wheelz currently.
Amazing HR stories (massive rec for OpalApparition)
Mar. 21st, 2026 11:31 ammificApogee by OpalApparition - where Commander Shane Hollander and Flight Engineer Ilya Rozanov are stranded on the International Space Station and have to survive a solar storm. It's an amazing mix of hard science, detailed knowledge of the ISS, space program history, intense action/adventure, gripping drama, an incredibly repressed Shane, pining, jealous Ilya, incendiary sex in microgravity, and romance. The writing is extremely good - gripping, fluent, with great descriptive detail. It's the best complete AU in the fandom I've read so far. (50,348 words)
I'm very into everything by OpalApparition, especially Wolfbird - a regularly updating WIP featuring professional dom Ilya and extremely uptight hockey star Shane. Although the way they meet is a BDSM club, in fact the fic's largely not about that (although there are several extremely hot scenes). It's more about the two characters, as despite his in-control dom role at the club, Ilya's actually a complex mess, an illegal overstayer with a ruined knee after a disaster very early in his NHL career, and Shane is the profoundly repressed hockey-robot star he'd be if he'd never met Ilya as a teen. It's addictive, and, as above, beautifully written. (currently 170,925 words)
I'm very into everything by OpalApparition, especially Wolfbird - a regularly updating WIP featuring professional dom Ilya and extremely uptight hockey star Shane. Although the way they meet is a BDSM club, in fact the fic's largely not about that (although there are several extremely hot scenes). It's more about the two characters, as despite his in-control dom role at the club, Ilya's actually a complex mess, an illegal overstayer with a ruined knee after a disaster very early in his NHL career, and Shane is the profoundly repressed hockey-robot star he'd be if he'd never met Ilya as a teen. It's addictive, and, as above, beautifully written. (currently 170,925 words)
Color perception tests
Mar. 20th, 2026 04:30 pmlibrarygeekI've known for years, that even artists don't agree with me on the blue to green color line. What is turquoise or teal to me, seems different than what others say.
So here's a couple of tests:
ismy.blue
xrite.com/hue-test
After a few more people post their own results, I'll add mine.
So here's a couple of tests:
ismy.blue
xrite.com/hue-test
After a few more people post their own results, I'll add mine.
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Mixed Media
Mar. 20th, 2026 12:58 pmyourlibrarian posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
common_nature
My partner was out for a walk given the unusually warm weather we've been having. He texted me excitedly that he thought the swan might be back. (Some of you may remember we got a weeklong visit from one last year).
Then as he came closer he realized the swan seemed unmoving and stiff...
( Read more... )
Friday open thread: mass-produced vs hand-made
Mar. 20th, 2026 05:04 pmdolorosa_12The birds are singing, the evening light is beautiful, and my salad greens, herb, and cucumber seeds are sprouting in the growhouse. It's a lovely start to the weekend.
Today's Friday open thread prompt is courtesy of a suggestion fromlirazel: what are some types of food that only taste good when handmade/made on a small scale (as opposed to the industrial scale supermarket version)?
My immediate response was 'what type of food doesn't taste vastly better when made on a small scale by hand?' but then I thought a bit more, and realised there were quite a lot of foodstuffs where the difference is non-existent (homemade chips where you chop up a potato and roast it in the oven or deep fry it are no more delicious than the fast-food equivalent), or where the effort involved to make it by hand far exceeds any reward in better flavour (condiments in particular: I'm not going to make my own soy sauce, harissa, dijon mustard, etc, you know?).
However, I'd say that beyond the 'too much effort required' category, in my experience most other types of food are better if they're made on a smaller scale. The biggest one for me is baked goods. There is no bread, cake, pie, biscuit, or pastry on Earth in which the mass-produced supermarket (or otherwise industrial-scale) version tastes better than, or even remotely equally good as, the homemade or expensive artisanal bakery version. (I admit to some significant bias here. I worked part-time from the age of 15-23 — the first years of my working life — in artisanal bakeries/patisseries, the first thing I look up in every place I visit is the most highly recommended bakeries/patisseries, and I'm just in general a massive baked goods snob, which is somewhat hilarious in that I'm a very good cook, and comically, catastrophically bad at baking.)
What are your equivalent foodstuffs, if any?
Today's Friday open thread prompt is courtesy of a suggestion from
lirazel: what are some types of food that only taste good when handmade/made on a small scale (as opposed to the industrial scale supermarket version)? My immediate response was 'what type of food doesn't taste vastly better when made on a small scale by hand?' but then I thought a bit more, and realised there were quite a lot of foodstuffs where the difference is non-existent (homemade chips where you chop up a potato and roast it in the oven or deep fry it are no more delicious than the fast-food equivalent), or where the effort involved to make it by hand far exceeds any reward in better flavour (condiments in particular: I'm not going to make my own soy sauce, harissa, dijon mustard, etc, you know?).
However, I'd say that beyond the 'too much effort required' category, in my experience most other types of food are better if they're made on a smaller scale. The biggest one for me is baked goods. There is no bread, cake, pie, biscuit, or pastry on Earth in which the mass-produced supermarket (or otherwise industrial-scale) version tastes better than, or even remotely equally good as, the homemade or expensive artisanal bakery version. (I admit to some significant bias here. I worked part-time from the age of 15-23 — the first years of my working life — in artisanal bakeries/patisseries, the first thing I look up in every place I visit is the most highly recommended bakeries/patisseries, and I'm just in general a massive baked goods snob, which is somewhat hilarious in that I'm a very good cook, and comically, catastrophically bad at baking.)
What are your equivalent foodstuffs, if any?
podcast friday
Mar. 20th, 2026 09:46 amsabotabby I mean I have to recommend Wizards & Spaceships' "Amazing Stories 100th Anniversary ft. Steve Davidson, Kermit Woodall and Lloyd Penney." It's in my contract. :) If you're into classic SF, you'll dig this one a lot.
Questions: Dyslexia
Mar. 20th, 2026 09:00 amasakiyumeIf you have dyslexia, what strategies helped you master writing? Was there anything that helped when you were of school age? If you weren't able to deal with it during school, how have you dealt with it since then?
If you have kids with dyslexia, how have you helped them with the task of writing?
If you have kids with dyslexia, how have you helped them with the task of writing?
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Mar. 20th, 2026 04:22 amconuly posting in agonyauntDear Carolyn: My friends think I’m stupid. I’m a high school junior, and I go to a highly academically competitive school, where it is expected by my peers that you are supposed to take at least three AP classes. My closest friends are taking five. They are constantly stressed, overworked and burned out. My peers believe the only way to get into a “good” college (whatever that means) is to take as many AP classes as possible and to get the highest SAT score as possible. This, I know, is ridiculous on so many levels, but I stay out of it.
Lately, however, my friends have been shaming me for only taking one AP class, and for taking one standardized test vs. the other. I am going to college for musical theater, and admissions for those programs rely primarily on auditions, not grades. So why on earth would I put myself through so much stress if it won’t affect my college admissions? I’ve tried to explain this to my friends, but they think they know better than I. Additionally, they equate my taking only one AP class with being stupid. In the AP class I do take, my friend consistently shuts down and mocks my ideas with her other friends.
I’ve tried to mention the reasons I don’t take too many hard classes, but it’s like talking to a wall. I’ve also explained that since I was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago, I am now more aware of what I can handle. When all else failed, I even mentioned once that I have an IQ of 135 (tested when I was diagnosed with ADHD). I am actually quite smart. My friends stared at me and said, “Yeah… I think they lied to you.”
This hurts my feelings and happens so often that I’ve even started to believe I am stupid, despite all evidence to the contrary. Now I’ve started subconsciously playing into the “token dumb friend” stereotype because that is all I’m surrounded with. Should I not respond and ignore it?
— Stupidly Smart
( Read more... )
Lately, however, my friends have been shaming me for only taking one AP class, and for taking one standardized test vs. the other. I am going to college for musical theater, and admissions for those programs rely primarily on auditions, not grades. So why on earth would I put myself through so much stress if it won’t affect my college admissions? I’ve tried to explain this to my friends, but they think they know better than I. Additionally, they equate my taking only one AP class with being stupid. In the AP class I do take, my friend consistently shuts down and mocks my ideas with her other friends.
I’ve tried to mention the reasons I don’t take too many hard classes, but it’s like talking to a wall. I’ve also explained that since I was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago, I am now more aware of what I can handle. When all else failed, I even mentioned once that I have an IQ of 135 (tested when I was diagnosed with ADHD). I am actually quite smart. My friends stared at me and said, “Yeah… I think they lied to you.”
This hurts my feelings and happens so often that I’ve even started to believe I am stupid, despite all evidence to the contrary. Now I’ve started subconsciously playing into the “token dumb friend” stereotype because that is all I’m surrounded with. Should I not respond and ignore it?
— Stupidly Smart
( Read more... )
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Mar. 19th, 2026 08:37 pmolivermossLike Real People Do by E L Massey - I finished the book, sort of. I knew there was a sequel, but I didn't realize that it's part of a four book series and the first two books are basically part 1 and part 2 of the same story. Like Real People Do picks a stopping point rather than having a solid ending, but that's fine with how the book is structured.
It's about a college kid who is a serious figure skater trying to navigate a seizure disorder. He winds up dating a closeted NHL hockey prodigy. I enjoyed it, but might take the rest of the series a book at a time.
It's very medium stakes. Nothing is high drama, but there are serious issues in both of the MC's lives that grounds the romantic fantasy elements. It's really well written, just not exactly my cup of tea. But, definitely the palate cleanser I needed after Goaltender Interference.
I don't typically like YA, anything involving teens, or meant for teens. One of the characters struggles to deal with his emotions in a way that feels real for his age without milking it for drama or making him feel unsafe to be around. I also liked how the characters are trying to handle a difficult situation and be mature about it, but every once in a while the far-more-mature character is just done with trying to be an adult and decides to just make out or lets himself sound a bit whiny. Basically, he goes easy on himself sometimes and gives himself permission to not try to be perfect, and that lets both Main Characters relax and keeps stress from building in the relationship. A lot of things are just really well handled.
Hockey score - I am going to give all hockey romances a hockey score from now on. It's decent! Doesn't really get much into hockey culture or crunchy things about hockey, but does get into the realism of things like minor injuries. There is no Major Injury plot point or drama, but the Hockey Player Main Character being banged up, run down and also on medication after a bad hit messing up his life a bit was a nice bit of realism. Massey definitely gets a point there. The Hockey Player Main Character being a captain at nineteen without someone wearing the 'A' to either support him or help mentor him into the role feels very unlikely, especially since he's a mess. He's not a mature young man, he's got underage DUIs. Making part of a leadership core and giving him the C symbolically would make more sense. But, it's part of the set up the author was going for so I'm not bothered. The unlikely-but-not-impossible bits are there for a reason.
Also, I really liked that the author understood the difference between hockey skating and figure skating, like that certain figure skate moves don't work in hockey skates. One reason I was very reluctant about trying this book was other authors ignoring all that, sometimes aggressively ignoring skating physics for cute moments.
It's about a college kid who is a serious figure skater trying to navigate a seizure disorder. He winds up dating a closeted NHL hockey prodigy. I enjoyed it, but might take the rest of the series a book at a time.
It's very medium stakes. Nothing is high drama, but there are serious issues in both of the MC's lives that grounds the romantic fantasy elements. It's really well written, just not exactly my cup of tea. But, definitely the palate cleanser I needed after Goaltender Interference.
I don't typically like YA, anything involving teens, or meant for teens. One of the characters struggles to deal with his emotions in a way that feels real for his age without milking it for drama or making him feel unsafe to be around. I also liked how the characters are trying to handle a difficult situation and be mature about it, but every once in a while the far-more-mature character is just done with trying to be an adult and decides to just make out or lets himself sound a bit whiny. Basically, he goes easy on himself sometimes and gives himself permission to not try to be perfect, and that lets both Main Characters relax and keeps stress from building in the relationship. A lot of things are just really well handled.
Hockey score - I am going to give all hockey romances a hockey score from now on. It's decent! Doesn't really get much into hockey culture or crunchy things about hockey, but does get into the realism of things like minor injuries. There is no Major Injury plot point or drama, but the Hockey Player Main Character being banged up, run down and also on medication after a bad hit messing up his life a bit was a nice bit of realism. Massey definitely gets a point there. The Hockey Player Main Character being a captain at nineteen without someone wearing the 'A' to either support him or help mentor him into the role feels very unlikely, especially since he's a mess. He's not a mature young man, he's got underage DUIs. Making part of a leadership core and giving him the C symbolically would make more sense. But, it's part of the set up the author was going for so I'm not bothered. The unlikely-but-not-impossible bits are there for a reason.
Also, I really liked that the author understood the difference between hockey skating and figure skating, like that certain figure skate moves don't work in hockey skates. One reason I was very reluctant about trying this book was other authors ignoring all that, sometimes aggressively ignoring skating physics for cute moments.