Pointless

Feb. 26th, 2026 07:54 am
poliphilo: (Default)
[personal profile] poliphilo
 Suppose the world doesn't make sense.

And that's really the point of it.

Pointlessness is the point.

Pointlessness is the point is pointless.....

And so on.....

One could develop this in two ways. Either go, "Oh, what a bloody waste of time...."

Or take a deep breath and go, "Phew, well that's a relief....." 

(no subject)

Feb. 25th, 2026 05:36 pm
flemmings: (Default)
[personal profile] flemmings
I am so over this winter. Was antsy about getting anywhere today with the snow falling all last night, which might have been why I had a nuit blanche and only got to sleep eventually by refusing to do anything but lie in the dark. After which I woke at 9:30 and reluctantly decided to forego sleeping in till noon. However the bobcats came by at some point and the sidewalks were clear when I headed out-- in a snow shower, yes-- at 2:30. But bobcats somehow manage to throw up an amazing number of pebbles, do not ask me how. No wonder I got one caught in the wheel back a bit. Only surprised it hasn't happened more often.

Came home to the wedding invite from nephew and fiancée, fastened with sealing wax and a seal with their initials. This takes me right back to the mid-60s when I used sealing wax that I can smell even yet. Still not sure if I can go to theirwedding: it's out in Oakville, which requires cars, and the reception is at a country club ditto, and there's an hotel they've booked for people who need to stay over. I believe my bro drove me to my younger brother's wedding nearly 40 years  ago, but he wasn't married then and I was able-bodied. There's an option on the invite for 'will toast from afar', which I may have to do.

As for reading: at some point finished Jurgen and started on Figures of Earth, and am questioning if I really need to reread these pale-printed volumes. Finished also Christie's The Clocks, and Joan Coggins' The Mystery at Orchard House, which stars not!the Dowager Duchess of Denver in a young incarnation.  Fun, but I do not find scatterbrained Lupin (!) as charming as her author does. Read a Dr. Priestley,  Dr. Goodwood's Locum, pleasantly twisty, even though I wonder if the murderer would be as adept at an English accent of the appropriate class as he seems to be, given that spoiler spoiler spoiler. Currently on the go have Closed Coffin, a Poirot continuation, which is... not quite what I want right now. Am at a loose end which may get sorted once I stop angsting about the weather.
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Headache from hell seems to be lessening and I slept slightly better last night. Still wary of doing any floor or bed exercises even if I'm feeling less congested today than I did the last several days. (Note Aleve works better than Tynenol for this sort of thing.) So, I'll go back to work tomorrow. And from the emails, it's probably piled up. We'll see how much of it I get through, since my head still to some degree feels full of cotton.

Making tea now. I'd intended on doing laundry on Monday during the storm, but alas, was waylaid by the nauseous headache from hell. Haven't up to doing much of anything - outside of doing an urgent care appointment, getting my meds/groceries, and trying to sleep. Did do a few knee exercises.

The snow appears to be melting - from the view outside my windows. So it's not frozen solid like last time.

End of February Memage

22. What is your favourite writing implement – a fountain pen, ballpoint pen, pencil or something else?

Fountain Pen

23. Do you own many mirrors?

Yes, one - and it's turned to the wall in my bedroom and the back is broken off of it. The mirror itself is fine, it's just the siding and back covering that are coming off. I use it occasionally to see what to wear. Also a small bathroom mirror. I'm not a fan of mirrors - they tend to irritate me. I think it has something to do with how my brain processes information and flips things around, don't know.

24. What are you watching this month that you are enjoying?

I'm enjoying the soap opera (General Hospital) this month, more than most, Angel S5 rewatch, and The Pitt.

25. When was the last time the windows in your home were washed?

I don't have a house, and while I've washed the inside occasionally, I can't access the outside of the windows - so no clue.

***

Angel S5 Why We Fight and Smile Time - are kind of both about the same thing thematically speaking, just that Smile handles it better.
When Smile Time aired - way back in 2004, I was friends with a writer and her puppeteer husband, who were in turn close friends with the puppeteers on Smile Time. Read more... )

The episode "Smile Time" is among the best of the series. It basically encapsulates all the themes of the season and series with just a few images. Angel is too busy fighting himself to really get anywhere. And,
when he was starting to get somewhere with Doyle and Cordy, then Wes and Cordy - WRH found a way to manipulate him, Cordy and Wes. The noir theme in a nutshell - the hero always falls into the abyss - and more often than not it is of his own making.

Read more... )

Why We Fight is rather clunky in comparison. Read more... )

online shopping

Feb. 25th, 2026 01:31 pm
mellowtigger: (take my money)
[personal profile] mellowtigger

Have you been able to order anything at all from the CVS.com or Walgreens.com websites recently?

I just checked my order history at Walgreens, and I haven't been able to order for 2 years. Generic error message, telling me to try again later. But later never works either.

I can't even login at CVS. Several weeks ago, I could login successfully, but their site was giving me exactly the same error as Walgreens.

Normally, capitalism has the "give us money" phase worked out smoothly. Is anyone else having trouble with those 2 companies?

oursin: Photograph of small impressionistic metal figurine seated reading a book (Reader)
[personal profile] oursin

What I read

Finished Eleven Hours to Murder and went on to Death by the Dozen, which combine the cozy antics of Cat Caliban and her posse with mysteries tending to be rooted in past historical events in and around Cincinnatti. And Cat is after all pursuing a career as a PI, rather than taking up some quirky midlife career and just stumbling over bodies. And her partner is a retired cop who used to work in Juvie, not homicide. So counter to a lot of the recurrent tropes....

Then I realised, oops, that next meeting of in-person book group appears to be next Sunday - though I have not received any further notification since exchange of emails after the last meeting - so I have been reading Anna Funder, Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life (2023), which is blurbed as 'genre-bending', meaning it does things I am not that on board with, i.e. the writer's personal stuff/odyssey and b) fictionalising bits as narrative. Though I am marking it up somewhat for her realisation that her Great Hero G Orwell was A Horror. I daresay a lot of his trouble with being basically incapable in managing matters and practicalities was down to class and educational background but you'd have thought he might have cottoned on to some of that? rather than blithely eating up the whole of their butter ration? (fairly minor in the overall marital picture).

On the go

Read a bit more in I Am a Woman but still feeling a bit bogged down, even if Laura has finally had a night of sapphic passion.

Elizabeth George, A Slowly Dying Cause (Inspector Lynley Book 22) (2025). Fortunately this was a Kobo deal. Phoning it in. Also getting rather bogged down. 20% in and only just getting a sight of Lynley, let alone Havers. Includes great chunks of autobiographical reminiscence from the corpse.

Have also made some progress on volume for review.

Up next

Have apparently manifested, in place where I would never have thought to look for it, GB Stern, The Woman in the Hall (1939), which I had been fruitlessly looking for elsewhere, with a notion of maybe recommending for book group, as has recently been reissued for the first time since 1939 by British Library Women Writers.

Blocked by Biggie and the Sun

Feb. 25th, 2026 09:40 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
My swim was luxurious this morning until the last 5 minutes when the sun came out and blinded me. I had thought about lowering the shades before I got in but it was so cloudy. Lesson learned. I just quit 5 minutes early. Then I got back here and Biggie would not let me at the computer. But now he's otherwise occupied and here I are.

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday organizing my now totally dirt simple finances. It was mostly moving inactive accounts out of sight and setting up some targets for the others. I do not track every penny, but I do want to be able to look at a glance and see where my money is going. Mostly I want to ensure I know where the truly discretionary hot spots are in case I need to trim back for some reason.

Yo, Biggie, so far you are not discretionary but keep up that annoying behavior like this morning and that could change!

I've got nothing on the agenda for today and I'm not feeling very people-y. I have the second half of yesterday's lunch for today and enough for dinner so I might not even leave here again today. Oh wait, I need to take the trash out.

I did watch the new Dick Wolfe show CIA last night. I'm giving it one more episode. It sucked but maybe that was just the groundlaying. His stuff is usually so painless and easy to watch while knitting.

And that's it. That's my action packed, fun filled, crazy old lady life. It may not suit everyone but it's really nice for me.

(no subject)

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:54 pm
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
[personal profile] maju
We thought the girls would be back at school today but no, there was some heavy snow this morning so school is cancelled yet again. (So much for shovelling out my car yesterday…) I can hardly believe this whole area has been blanketed in snow for more than a month. Today FB showed me a memory from 9 years ago - a photo of trees in full spring blossom on this date in 2017 (in Maryland). I believe spring was early that year, but from this vantage point in this state it feels impossible that spring could arrive so early.

I slept well last night but I've had a bad headache all day. I wanted to tough it out but I ended up taking some paracetamol which is just barely holding it at bay.

I have no idea why I haven't received any tax documents from Social Security. I've just sent H&R Block the final 1099 from Schwab, so now SS is the only thing holding up my taxes. I've worked out how much they paid me last year so I've asked the tax agent if that would be sufficient for completing my taxes rather than waiting for the official document from SS. I'm very reluctant to call SS because of possible long hold times.
andrewducker: (bubble)
[personal profile] andrewducker
A critical question came up at lunch today, for which I do not have a satisfactory answer. So, throwing it open to the floor:

Are there *any* movies which would not be improved by the addition of Godzilla?

Radiation treatment notes

Feb. 25th, 2026 09:21 pm
fred_mouse: bright red 'love' heart with stethoscope (health)
[personal profile] fred_mouse

Today was my second radiation treatment, and it was better than the first. ... I guess I should talk about the sensory hell that the first treatment was, and the way that it completely derailed my day (the second didn't completely derail the day, but some of my choices made it less than optimal)

this got long, and I do not have the oomph to trim/edit )

2 down, 13 to go.

Icons Of Power

Feb. 25th, 2026 10:01 am
poliphilo: (Default)
[personal profile] poliphilo
 We were at a golf club the other day- one with Royal in its title (not the sort of joint we normally frequent) And halfway up the stairs was a copy of this portrait (though not with gettyimages printed accross it

Charles2008.webp

It's Charles Mountbatten-Windsor in all his glory, but  relaxed and at ease with his authority. Look how many medals he's won, and yet how approachable he is. This is exactly how the Mountbatten-Windsor dynasty wants us to see them.

Here's a more informal picture, but one that still conveys the desired message.

GettyImages-477232104-fc938d153df14025844aecaa810b4360.jpeg

Oh, but who's that chap in the identical get-up with whom the monarch is on such good terms?

Could it be this fella?

0_Jam_Press_JMP824981.jpg.jpg

Power curates its image very carefully and pictures like the above

Or like this....

https---d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net-production-3f68a153-30b2-40d0-9e79-0ada23ecca18.jpeg

Undo all the good work.....

(no subject)

Feb. 25th, 2026 09:43 am
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] brigid, [personal profile] choirwoman, [personal profile] tigerflower and [personal profile] toft!

Photo cross-post

Feb. 25th, 2026 01:51 am
andrewducker: (Default)
[personal profile] andrewducker


Sophia spent a chunk of Monday evening writing up her half term week without having to. Her handwriting is already better than mine.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

dewline: Text: Trekkish Chatter Underway (TrekChatter)
[personal profile] dewline
Sharing a note with you all. The book that inspired the first of my in-progress star-mapping projects has had its first volume remastered properly, also accounting for revelations found in assorted episodes of Strange New Worlds.

Details here.

If your Trek fandom leads you in the direction of trying to understand the Federation as a nation...this is a fanfic for you.

Sinus headaches, Angel Rewatch...

Feb. 24th, 2026 05:11 pm
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Did Virtual Urgent Care - who proscribed antibiotics for the sinus infection that I appear to have - congestion that won't go away, made worse by the storm - resulting in the sick sinus headache from hell (which has a sort of vertigo as a symptom). I got a doctor's note for returning to work by Thursday, 2/26/26.

Ventured out around 4pm to pick up antibiotics from the pharmacy - wasn't bad considering the pharmacy is about six short blocks from my apartment.
They've plowed the roads, and cleared for the most part the sidewalks. There's puddles in places, and some areas are narrower than others - depends on whether it was a professional building maintenance person, or a home owner. Home owners suck at shoveling city sidewalks for the most part.
Although they did a better job with this storm than the last one - most likely because the city threatened them with sizable fines if they didn't do it.

I wanted to go back to work today - but I only slept three hours last night, even though I went to bed early. Was up all night with the nauseous headache, which made the room spin and came in waves. I went to lie down - it started. I couldn't even sleep sitting up. Standing I was fine. Or sitting on the edge of the bed. Finally, after a sneezing fit, lots of nose blowing, two more mezcline, and decogestants - it cleared a bit for sleep. But I felt horrible the next morning and gave up. Was going to use vacation time - decided sick time made more sense - I'm sick. And I've got more sick time than vacation time.

***

I finished watching All Creatures Great and Small S6 on PBS Passport, and might start up on Miss Scarlet or Maigret again. It didn't require much focus. I couldn't concentrate on anything until now - due to the headache. Last night, if I thought about anything at all - I got nauseous. It was frustrating and weird. It's a cozy series - All Creatures Great and Small - reminds me a little of Call the Midwife. I think the original might have been slightly better and more realistic, but I don't really remember the original that well? I read the books in the third and fourth grades.

Also working my way through Angel S5 - the Spike and Wes episodes so far are the better ones. Read more... )

Damage and Soul Purpose are the better episodes in this grouping. Read more... )

Off to get something to eat.

(no subject)

Feb. 24th, 2026 03:56 pm
flemmings: (Default)
[personal profile] flemmings
I have physio tomorrow so I figured there was no need to go up to Loblaws today. I could go out to lunch or something in the last day of sun before the snow starts tonight. But my insides took exception to the lentil mush I've been eating, or to something, so no, not going out for sushi any time soon. Might as well get my prescription. And a good thing too, because as it turns out an amazing number of people didn't touch Sunday's snow and it's all glare ice now. Walking over that when it's covered with the 2-4 cm/ 1.5 inches forecast between now and Wednesday afternoon would not be fun. So shall take the Christie route if I go out at all,  or just eat the cancellation fee. This winter, dear god, this winter.

But I do feel better for the walk and the sunshine. Had a cold brew coffee-- I can only drink coffee safely if it's cold, health benefits or not-- and watched my fellow golden agers trundle about, and read a Dr Priestley on the phone. Turned out to be a short story, not a novel, chiz chiz, but for a .99 purchase one mustn't complain. Somehow must get to the Art Gallery before next week when the show I want to see closes. But yanno, snow and the Spadina LRT not running till late Friday-- buses laid on but no thanks-- and rush hours. Maybe Saturday when temps soar to a sunny 5C if I can get up early enough.

nsnotifyd-2.4 released

Feb. 24th, 2026 08:16 pm
fanf: (Default)
[personal profile] fanf

https://dotat.at/@/2026-02-24-nsnotifyd-2-4-released.html

The nsnotifyd daemon monitors a set of DNS zones and runs a command when any of them change. It listens for DNS NOTIFY messages so it can respond to changes promptly. It also uses each zone's SOA refresh and retry parameters to poll for updates if nsnotifyd does not receive NOTIFY messages more frequently. It comes with a client program nsnotify for sending notify messages.

This nsnotifyd-2.4 release includes a new feature and some bug fixes:

  • The new -S option tells nsnotifyd to send all SOA queries to a specific server.

    Previously, in response to a NOTIFY message, it would send a SOA query back to the source of the NOTIFY, as specified by RFC 1996.

    (Typically, a NOTIFY will only be accepted from a known authoritative server for the zone. The target of the NOTIFY responds with a SOA refresh query and zone transfer. But it should avoid trying to refresh from one of the other authoritative servers which might not have received the latest version of the zone.)

    Mark Felder encountered a situation where it would have been more convenient to fix the address that nsnotifyd sends SOA queries to, because the source of the NOTIFY messages wasn't responding on that address.

    Since nsnotifyd is intended to work as glue between disparate parts of a system, it makes sense for it to work around awkward interoperability problems.

  • The nsnotify client program was broken and unable to create NOTIFY messages. D'oh!

  • I have adjusted the release process so that it works better with git archive and web front-ends that offer tarball downloads.

brithistorian: (Default)
[personal profile] brithistorian

I don't expect much from Goodreads, but I was still surprised to learn that Goodreads members have named The Hunger Games as the "best book ever"!

(no subject)

Feb. 24th, 2026 01:57 pm
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
[personal profile] maju
I'm getting really tired (literally and figuratively) from not sleeping well, or more accurately, not being able to sleep enough. I usually sleep well while I'm sleeping, but then I wake up too early or have trouble falling asleep in the first place. It seems to have been happening a lot more in the last few weeks and I have no idea why, since I'm not particularly stressed about anything and have almost zero responsibilities. This morning I woke up not much after 2 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I went to sleep last night a bit after 9 pm so I did get about 5 hours sleep, but it doesn't feel like enough. I've told myself that if I feel like it during the day I'll try to nap, but I hardly ever feel that tired during the day. Plus the girls are off school again so my chances of being woken up if I do fall asleep are good.

=========

A little while after I wrote the previous paragraph (but still before breakfast) I did almost fall asleep for a few seconds. Even that brief nap revived me, strangely, and I haven't felt tired for the rest of the day (so far).

After lunch I shovelled my car out; son in law had shovelled the rest of the drive and their two cars and I think he would have done mine eventually, but I feel bad leaving it to him so I got it done myself. I could tell that it had been windy because there was quite a lot of snow actually under the car.

I always write these LJ/DW entries in my Google Drive account before posting. Violet has been borrowing my computer to write things in my Drive account because she doesn't have one of her own, so now I have documents with intriguing names like "DESERT RUNNING", and "LAMMA PAGAMA MYSTETRYS" (her spelling isn't great yet), and "MYTHICAL CREATURES: nessie". (All titles verbatim.) The only one I've read is the one about Nessie, because she told me not to read the others, but I'm tempted. This morning Eden decided she wanted to write something, so now there's a document with her name on it, but I know there's nothing written in it yet because she sat there for ages waiting for inspiration to strike - and it didn't.

The girls have another snow day today, so their father took them to the mall for a while after lunch while their mother was having a meeting.

Profile

mtbc: photograph of me (Default)
Mark T. B. Carroll

February 2026

S M T W T F S
123456 7
8 9 1011121314
15 161718 192021
22 232425262728

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Feb. 26th, 2026 10:29 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios