Went to the office, did some work, ate a chicken tikka masala burrito, reviewed some Kubernetes troubleshooting.
Read (graphic novel): Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend (Alys Arden, Jacqueline de Leon): An origin story for Zatanna as the daughter of a stage magician at Coney Island, not apparently related to the Galaxy books and also unnecessarily heterosexual.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 141.
When they get all hopped up on those tiny brine shrimp, there’s no telling what they’ll do!
Went to the office now that I have my brain pills, somehow walked all the way up the stairs without taking a break, attending a work meeting, spaced on a remote doctor meeting, ate some coconut chicken noodles, finished learning about kustomize, started practicing troubleshooting Kubernetes.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 147.
They’re good at crawling into small ducts!
Did some work, learned a little kubernetes, did not actually die.
Read (comic collection): Trees vol 3 (Warren Ellis, Jason Howard: Set in the ass-end of nowhere, Russia. Very Russian in that almost everybody dies. Maybe a hint about what the Trees are, but ghosts are notoriously bad at explaining.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 227.
Also Father’s Day, so good news for druid dads, I guess?
Played (Hero 6E): Kaiju Academy. Labyrinth shenanigans result in the cohort ending up on an English airship headed for a commando strike to steal the new French dreadnought, the Emperor Napoleon. There’s some initial nervousness about the giant spider and women on an airship, but soon the girls are all in on assaulting the dastardly and inflammatory French in exchange for a lift back to the flying mist-form labyrinth. Surely nothing bad can come of May feeding an anti-air Frenchman through the port engine, right?
Watched (anime): Kill la Kill 15-16: Finally, the dreadful secret behind the Life Fiber!
Read (manga): Dandadan vol 19 (Yukinobu Tatsu): That thing where parts of the world just disappear is getting kind of serious. I wonder if this means we’re getting near the end. Will Denji die some more? Will he achieve ultimate power? Will these be distinguishable?
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 306, although both today’s and yesterday’s numbers are bogus because I accidentally deleted something and had to restore it. Also, even though it’s Tall Girl Appreciation Day, I was mean to my MC. (It’s some time in November for her anyway.)
They’re refugees because their asteroid is drying up and they can’t surf, so they need Arcturian Brandy.
I woke up at some point in the morning before I meant to, but although I could have gone back to sleep, I found some scraps of executive function under the dust bunnies and made the slog up to Mountain View to get my fluids medically extracted. Then it was time to provide the cats with gooshy brunch, and I was up and moving so I went shopping and read Maidens of the Fall and ordered a bunch more comics.
No anime, it’s Shakespeare in the Park night! This year’s production is Two Gentlemen of Verona in the 80s, which was silly, and hopelessly patriarchal/heteronormative, but the bicycle bandits wanted their two dollars, which makes up for a lot. Also, bizarrely, I won the raffle so now I have two tickets to the Winchester Mystery House. Not sure what to do with them.
Read (graphic novel): Bad Dream (Nicole Maines, Rye Hickman): Is an alien living on Earth and passing as human while she run away from home a metaphor for transness if she’s actually trans? Part of the same subcontinuity as the Galaxy books, full of queerness and superhero battles and alien family drama. Interfamily drama, even.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 466. MC definitely needed more to stress over.
Also Film Your Pets Sauntering Day.
Watched (live-action TV): The Librarians 1.6: Not a new concept at all, but reasonably well-done. I’m glad Cassandra got to keep the [SPOILER] and [SPOILER] and hopefully she still has the [SPOILER] as well.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 236.
Logged in to work early to attend the meeting about using AI in our company. I managed to hold on by muting and yelling at the screen for a while, but then someone started going on about “when Claude is an AGI” and I had to drop. Holy shit, why are people so dumb? (People, of course, are going “holy shit, why is Trip so dumb?”)
Watched (live-action TV): The Librarians 1.5: For a brief moment, it looked like Ezekial and Jenkins were going to get along, or that Flynn was going to return, or that Cassandra was going to go full supervillain, but no. Still pretty good, and further confirmation about Dulaque.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 283. Do I need the astronomy knowledge now? Maybe I can put it off longer.
Apples are fruit, which is healthy, right?
I was much too slimy to even try to go into the office today.
Read (graphic novel): Sunflowers and Lavender (Maisy Valais): A lesbian meet-cute gone horribly wrong leads into extensively cute shenanigans. Set in a New Zealand in which apparently everyone is queer and adorable.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 561.
Tried to get get up to go to the office, but was too useless. Worked stupidly from home.
Read (graphic novel): To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Jenny Han, Akimaro, Li Lu, Barbara Perez Marquez): As best I can remember, a fairly close adaptation of the book. The art is appropriately cute.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 180.
I managed to order meds to be delivered in the mail (which I should have done ages ago), and also put laundry through the exclusion machines. And did work, of course, although I’m not primary on-call this week.
Read (manga): Sanda vol 3 (Paru Itagaki): I’m as opposed to trying children as adults for any crime as the next sane person, but this seems like a little much. Nicely strikes at Sanda’s disads, though.
Read (novel): The Fall is All There Is (CM Caplan): Bisexual autistic prince trying to deal with his horrible family in a gross biomagic world that’s had at least two apocalypses already. The family infighting makes me think of Amber, but a lot of noble infighting in fantasy does. Very gritty, the main character’s expensive and painful augmentation does not give him superpowers and really barely compensates for his disadvantages. Nothing can make up for his family.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 108.
I think the bourbon means it has to be National (US).
Slept in a lot, did one shopping expedition, that’s about it for today. Did not manage to rally against fascism.
Watched (anime): Kill la Kill 12-14: I’d say that’s it for the school fighting drama arc, but really the national conquest arc is pretty similar.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 282.
Usual shopping and Maidens of the Fall (back from hiatus!) despite the 90° heat, returned home with a pile of comics. A pocket frond live-slacked an extremely alarming yet eventually okay saga that she dealt with much better than I would have in the same circumstance, I’m sure. Ken gave me sausage bean cabbage when we went over for anime, which was quite nice.
Watched (anime): Witch Hat Atelier 1.11: Start of the escort quest test, whether Richeh likes it or not! Also, introduction of the world’s shittiest teacher.
Watched (anime): Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 1.12-13: The hero’s sword stuck in the rock is introduced. Will that be important later? Who can say? But finally Frieren’s party has a cleric, and is up to four members which is the standard for heroic adventures. Double mages instead of double warriors like her last party, though.
Read (manga): Sanda vol 2 (Paru Itagaki): This world is even weirder about youth than it originally seemed, probably because it’s not just cracktastic, it’s also social commentary.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 109.
Still hot.
Watched (movie): Project Hail Mary: That was surprisingly awesome for hard SF in movie form, and also a pretty good adaptation of the book. (I had read the book, Marith had not.) Several xenonite appendages up!
Read (manga): Chainsaw Man vol 21 (Tatsuki Fujimoto): The devils are still killing everyone, Denji is still being led around by his dick, and every page is that much closer to the end of the world.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 117.
Tried to work, did some work but it was too hot for thinking.
Read (graphic novel): Belle of the Ball (Mari Costa): The wallflower inside the mascot costume has a crush on the head cheerleader who is dating the star soccer player who… High school senior lesbian love triangle! The art is extremely pink and cute.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 206. Not that dirty or beautiful, alas.
Can’t improve on that one.
I did go to bed almost on time last night, but failed to go to the office today because I could not persuade myself it was necessary (what with it being optional for weeks I’m on call and everything). Did less work than yesterday, but still some work.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 306.
I do not actually know the date on which Earl was awarded his doctorate. I have a vague recollection that it was actually off-cycle, not at the end of the school year, like that even matters for grad students.
I had the best of intentions about going in to the office today, but the early morning hours included operatic solos, gladiatorial combat, and going right back to sleep after the alarm. Apparently I should just give up on being employed and go live in a cardboard box behind the bus station. Actually, I think the bus station may be full.
I did do a bunch of work for the customer with the problem while I was at home, at least. I don’t think Sage was pleased about being dislodged from her position so I could type madly.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 146.
The dosage depends on how good of a friend they are in absolute terms.
Did some work, I guess. Tried to go to bed early but got stuck watching YouTube crafting videos.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 186.
That’s giving the ice cream to the children, not trading away your offspring for tasty tasty frozen desserts.
No gaming, only Zuul.
Watched (anime): Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy 4-5: Still no redeeming social value
Read (comic collection): Unnatural vol 3 (Mirka Andolfo): Okay, they did get the line about some animals being more equal than others in there. More creepy fascist conspiracy, past life possession, final confrontation, The End.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 162.
It’s always sad when being on call means getting called. I couldn’t even draw a black bear to eat the customers, because I can’t draw worth beans. Fortunately I eventually stopped being on call and could go over to watch anime. Ayse is Abroad, for Tourism, so we did not get distracted, and also Marith’s laundry took a long time, so we had plenty of anime.
Watched (anime): Witch Hat Atelier 1.10: Turns out that able-bodied people being ableist doesn’t make disabled people any less competent.
Watched (anime): Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 1.9-11: The issue with the demon diplomats is resolved, thanks to Frieren’s special technique, which is presented in such a way as to be legitimately kind of terrifying. Turns out you can get really good at something if you practice it constantly for a thousand years.
Read (novel): Ladies in Hating (Alexandra Vasti): Rival gothic novelists in C19 England, sapphic longing, a mysterious and decrepit manor in the countryside, some light haunting, more sapphic longing. Apparently part of a larger series but the other books seem to be about men or something, so whatever.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): Finally wrote an email about astronomy resources.
But what if there are no atheists in donut holes?
Played (Changeling the Lost): Berkeley 94. Meetings with stupid vampires, tracking stupid vampires to their lair, discovery of magical defenses, plotting and scheming. Apparently the stupid vampire is also involved in the viral quest for the Grail, but nobody thinks that should get him any sympathy. Siddy casts “summon punk guitarist” by making dinner.
Read (art book): The Art of RamonN90 (RamonN90): I like his stuff on Artstation, so I threw him a few bucks for his artbook.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 143. Still putting off trying to get astronomy resource advice.
Check! Also National Cheese Day, but cheese isn’t really good for cats.
Watched (live-action TV): The Librarians 1.4: That’s one way to handle the plethora of Yule spirits, I guess. Also to oppress Baird, but blondes deserve more oppression, right? Also, I don’t think I caught before that the master villain is Dulaque.
Read (novel): Catch and Kill (Craig Schaefer): Cyberpunk plus magic, apparently the future of the “Harmony Black” series or a possible future of an alternate timeline of it. A tightly-knit team of a mage who was never understood at university, a hacker who’s turning herself into a catgirl, an ex-soldier, and an ex-military killer robot (sexy lady subclass) get mixed up in horrible skullduggery with corporate psychopaths and rival wizards. Much better than book Shadowrun, made me think of Carl Shadowrun.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 159.
All must be powered by legs, of course.
Did not go to the office because someone scheduled a meeting during commute time. Getting up at a weird time made me very sleepy, so after work I took a small nap and it made me even more sleepier. I think I’m napping wrong.
Read (novel): Wizard with a Greatsword vol 1 (Amelia Crawford): Non-isekai litRPG, a young girl who wishes she was an adventurer trips over a magic power and ends up on the other side of the world, making friends and killing monsters and leveling up. She does get a big honkin’ sword, because she’s not actually a wizard in any traditional sense. She has one power, and it’s movement with a little chrome, not offense or defense. It’s a cool power, though.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 130. I found an astronomy resource that’s the opposite of what I want. Fortunately I don’t actually need what I want yet.
Okay, I probably shouldn’t make jokes about International Sex Workers Day. National Leave the Office Early Day is fair game, though.
Went to the office, did some work, ate some chicken nuggets, learned to do some Helm to a Kubernetes, left slightly early, dropped off my ballot. Seriously, Democrats, this is the best you come up with for top two in a jungle primary?
Read (comic collection): Hawkgirl: Once Upon a Galaxy (Jadzia Axelrod, Amancay Nahuelpan, Adriano Lucas): Yes, the same Galaxy as in The Prettiest Star, although not on her like that. Apparently I don’t know anything about Hawkgirl. I thought she was an alien, but in this continuity, at least, she seems to be some kind of interdimensional reincarnator. She has a creepy nemesis.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 250 exactly. But soon, I am going to have to pick a date and then try to do astronomy.
We have not yet begun to roar!
The laundry machines have finally been upgraded. On the one hand, they aren’t thirty years old, and may actually work, but on the other, they are smartphone-app-only and like 50% more expensive. Sucks to be someone with an old phone, weak English, or no online payment.
Spent approximately one million hours reading tumblr instead of doing anything useful.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 111.
Safer and tastier than Tesla cybertaxis, anyway.
Read (graphic novel): The Night Eaters vol 2 (Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda): Oh look, the creepy dolls aren’t done with the twins yet. In fact, nobody is done with anything, the supernatural conspiracy is just spinning up faster and faster and their parents still aren’t telling them anything useful. Trying to investigate things on their own is only partially successful, although lying to people works more often than you’d think, as does telling them the truth. It doesn’t work at keeping random bystanders from being cursed, though.
Read (novel): The Aching God (Mike Shel): Not litRPG but basically D&D: fake medieval Europe but polytheist, healing clerics, creepy magic-users, ruins and dungeons of the depraved long-lost elder people all over the uninhabited wasteland, an organization of warrior archaeologists/tomb-raiders with royal charter, intrigue, SAN loss, ghosts, etc. Not 5e, though, one of the earlier editions where minor mistakes in the dungeon could be fatal.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 313.
Also National Creativity Day. I am doing better at one of those than the other.
Didn’t sleep in quite as much as most Saturdays, so I guess that’s good. Did some shopping.
Watched (anime): Witch Hat Atelier 1.9: Just because you’re 11 doesn’t mean you can stay up forever, Coco! Also, Tartah, don’t ask those questions, it won’t make anybody happy if you get answers.
Watched (anime): Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 1.7-8: And now we find out what demons really are and why they are that way, and how some humans still fall for it.
Read (manga): Love Bullet vol 1 (inee): Cute girls saved by the goddess of love from actual death become cupids but it’s the 21st century so they have guns with heart-shaped muzzles, and also they’re kind of fighty, probably because they can’t fall in love even with each other.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 210. Rewrote what I wrote yesterday to make it more consistent, which arguably is not something I should be doing now, but it was All Wrong.
Did I do anything whatsoever today? I don’t think I did. I mean, I probably logged on to work and fixed some customers, but that’s about it. I didn’t even build a tumbrel.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 214.
Did some work, was vermiciously lazed upon by Sage, did some other work.
Read (novel): Fyre Fly (Kia Leep): Sequel to Friendly Fyre, our trans harpy lady and the community of outcasts she rescued emerges into the wider world and she has to become a leader, which is much against her natural inclinations, although at least she has a spider-lady co-ruler to remind her not to be so soft-hearted. The metaplot of the larger series is coming to cause them trouble, and I’m not sure I care that much about it, though.
Read (from the shelf): FAIL
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 231.
Went to the office, did a fair bit of work, ate some falafel and hummus and rice, finally succeeded at the kubernetes thing. When they said, “we’re going to do X” I thought they meant, like, on that first page of the test. But no, they only wanted the very first steps done on the first page. Instructions and prep scripts for all the rest of what I was trying to do were on the later pages.
Read (comic collection): Supergirl: Being Super (Mariko Tamaki, Joëlle Jones): An origin story for Supergirl, in the small-town Midwest. I have no idea how it fits with any other canon, since it’s modern (smartphones) but Superman appears to be also pretty recent. Whatever, a foolish continuity is the Green Goblin of small minds, as they say. At least acknowledges the existence of the question of where Kryptonians get all that energy.
Read (novel): The Calamity Queen Saga vol 1 (Calder Finnix): An extremely OP MC headbutts her way out of the Abyss and is promptly declared a world boss by the System of the comparatively fragile world she finds herself in. Overwritten angst, friend adoption, supervillainy, database crashes, and widespread destruction ensue.
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 156.
Went to the office, did some work, ate some chickeny stuff in a box, failed at kubernetes again. Do I know what I did wrong? Maybe!
Read (manga): Yotsuba&! vol 16 (Kiyohiko Azuma): Augh Yotsuba is going to be in first grade soon! Also, cameo that suggests terrible things about book 17!
Written (Geometry for Mutants): 206.