Monday, May 19th, 2025 05:04 pm
With or without feet.

There's a few people in that thread adamantly going up and down asserting that, duh, how could the rest of us be so dumb as to not know that certain types of toilets are specifically designed to be flushed with the foot. None of them have provided any sort of evidence for this claim, which makes me think that their evidence boils down to "Mommy told me when I was a kid" or "Well, I flush with a foot so I just sort of assumed", and - man, I hate when people do that. Fucking back up your claims, or at least qualify them. "I was told by my preschool teacher, but I've never verified it" would be a lot more honest and less annoying.

Anyway, I have emailed the manufacturer most often mentioned in the comments to ask for their opinion. Mostly because that is how things ought to be done, but also because if these flushers are designed to be flushed with the foot, great, but if not then we have to ask if the other contingent, which is equally vociferously asserting that foot flushing increases wear and tear on the mechanism and causes breakdowns, needs to be taken seriously. Because what's really not okay is breaking the toilet for everybody who comes after you - and sure, you'll say that you are not the sole person responsible for breaking the toilet that much faster, but c'mon, everybody says that.

So let's see what we see, and in the meantime, let's also all wash our hands. With soap and water, thanks.
Monday, May 19th, 2025 01:58 pm


Rulebooks, Adventure Anthologies, + 4 adventures for the Old-School Essentials tabletop roleplaying rules set from Necrotic Gnome.

Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Bundle
Monday, May 19th, 2025 06:40 pm
It's been a while since I posted anything of substance, so have a pizza.


Vegan cheese and pastrami topped pizza with a pepper, garlic and a pesto sauce
Monday, May 19th, 2025 10:15 am
1997: The UK wins Eurovision, the BBC foolishly embraces that passing fad known as the internet, and Tony Blair wins a razor-thin 179 seat majority.


Poll #33137 Clarke Award Finalists 1997
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 34


Which 1997 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh
3 (8.8%)

Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
19 (55.9%)

Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper
11 (32.4%)

Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
4 (11.8%)

The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
13 (38.2%)

Voyage by Stephen Baxter
5 (14.7%)



Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.

Which 1997 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper
Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
Voyage by Stephen Baxter
Monday, May 19th, 2025 09:36 am
I made a positive contribution to work by proposing a sign for the perennially-blocked door 10 that warning people that door is an emergency door and not to be blocked. Door 10 is in a short corridor next to a change room and people keep commandeering it to store stuff. Specifically clients. I think I may have annoyed the client last Friday by informing them I wasn't going to open the theatre until that exit was cleared.

Of course, nobody will read the sign but at least it will be there.

Not as annoying as the time the Hack the North kids decided the best place for a pile of duffle bags was against the outside of door 8, one of the two main balcony entrances.

The legion of house managers got a long form of things that we're expected to do, each section of which we had to initial before returning it. I was not the only one who read it looking for sections that might have been inspired by something I did or did not do.
Friday, May 23rd, 2025 01:01 am
but we've got a new semi-feral slipping into our house, one of last year's kittens. So, uh, I'm still not allowed to fix that basement window I guess?

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Read more... )
Sunday, May 18th, 2025 07:37 pm
in a pot, not in the dirt, but still.

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Read more... )
Sunday, May 18th, 2025 08:48 am


Guy Montag and his wife Millie live comfortable, conventional, middle-class lives. Millie finds purpose in an endless stream of television entertainment. Guy burns books.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Saturday, May 17th, 2025 09:03 am


16 works new to me. 8 fantasies, 1 horror, one mainstream, one mystery, one non-fiction (about SF), and four science fiction... although it wasn't always clear into which category works fell. Only 11 works are clearly identified as series, 11 do not appear to be part of series, and there are 3 for which that question does not apply.

Books Received, May 3 — May 16


Poll #33131 Books Received, May 3 — May 16
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 54


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad (January 2026)
11 (20.4%)

Cathedral of the Drowned by Nathan Ballingrud (October 2025)
5 (9.3%)

Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories by Terry Bisson (October 2025)
20 (37.0%)

A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody & C. L. Herman (November 2025)
2 (3.7%)

The Last Vampire by Romina Garber (December 2025)
5 (9.3%)

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibanez (January 2026)
5 (9.3%)

Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff (November 2025)
1 (1.9%)

The Monster and the Last Blood Match by K. A. Linde (June 2025)
3 (5.6%)

Westward Women by Alice Martin (March 2026)
10 (18.5%)

Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph (January 2026)
0 (0.0%)

The Unwritten Rules of Magic by Harper Ross (January 2026)
7 (13.0%)

The Bone Queen by Will Shindler (February 2026)
4 (7.4%)

This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne (November 2025)
9 (16.7%)

A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo (October 2025)
21 (38.9%)

Trace Elements by Jo Walton & Ada Palmer (March 2026)
37 (68.5%)

Good Intentions by Marisa Walz (February 2026)
2 (3.7%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
35 (64.8%)

Friday, May 16th, 2025 10:34 pm
Seriously, friend!

I hope better days are coming and that today was kind to you!
Friday, May 16th, 2025 01:40 pm
Something changed in the settings on my MacBook Pro, and I can no longer drag images from a website to the desktop, not even ones I own. I can drag them around on the desktop, but I can't put them there.

Anyone? Walk me through what to look for in System settings? I have tried myself and gotten nowhere.

Thanks!
Friday, May 16th, 2025 10:35 am
Alarmed by the frequency of magic-related calamities, five anonymous benefactors funded the Walman Hanton School of Mana Research. Its mandate: to seek out and deal with "burners", magical trouble-makers, and to document and where possible neutralize the sorcerous version of superfund sites.

The first Walman Hanton vigiles team was selected on the basis of their superlative magical skills. Their replacements were chosen for their demonstrated talent for surviving magical calamities.

Read more... )
Friday, May 16th, 2025 09:04 am


Calderhill Academy is one of Pittsburgh's most prestigious schools. Why then is there a murdered woman down in the basement?

A Quiet Teacher (Quiet Teacher, volume 1) by Adam Oyebanji
Friday, May 16th, 2025 07:14 am
In an earlier post I documented fixing the fobs for my car with a little glue and aluminum foil. Because the aluminum pieces are bigger than the original contacts activating the circuit the fob can be quite sensitive. Several times since the repair my trunk has opened up when I put the fob in my pocket or when starting the car. I'm both amused and annoyed. At least my 2011 Chevy is smart enough to tell me the trunk[s open.
Tags:
Thursday, May 15th, 2025 12:38 pm
For the job I would like the least, but any job is a job, right? So wish me luck. (Edit: No, nevermind. Dude called me before I left for the interview and kept me on the phone for an hour all to tell me he was certain the commute would not work out. This did not require an hourlong phone call, or, indeed, a phone call of any length at all.)

Also, today is A's birthday, so happy birthday! They will never see this.

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Thursday, May 15th, 2025 10:09 am


What's the fun of time travel without a regulatory body to enforce the rules?

Five Stories About Time Travel and Bureaucracy