Miles O'Brien

I had exactly 0 intention of ever buying anything from Adobe.

Inkscape gave me an alternative to the high seas. And it happens to do everything I need it to, although it’s way more powerful than the simple vector graphics conversions I use it for.

10/10, Adobe never lost money from me getting Inkscape. They lost the game before they knew I was a player.

Can alumni class-action their university for devaluing their degree?

I give it 6 years tops.

The bell riots have been pushed back a bit, but it’s only a matter of time.

Begun, the Eugenics Wars have…

They get to send strongly worded letters to formally request that other nations possibly consider the contents of.

Or possibly maybe at some point in the future face slight financial consequences.

They’re protesters with guns that refuse to use the guns to actually help people unless it’s inside the extremely narrow scope of their rules.

When you’re dealing with a person that refuses to listen to anyone around them, holding an intervention is useless. Discussing the problems don’t help unless the person doing something wrong is willing to listen to the people they hate.

I know a woman who doesn’t stutter, but has some pretty severe social anxiety. Among other problems.

She began playing a game much like D&D but uses cards for various actions (my parents knew the game creators so we always played that with their game groups instead of D&D)

Super shy and quiet when she started coming to the games, and she didn’t know anyone there. She just saw the sign for the group and decided to stop in (the sign basically says “welcome in, ask questions, stay for a game or two” ) and stuck around. We figure she mostly stayed for the free food.

Once we started playing this not-D&D game, she decided to join during session 2 after observing sessions 0/coordinating/creating and session 1. Had a full character with cards ready to go, even though she hadn’t approached any of us about how to make a character or play, she was not only spot on from the start, she (in a good way) absolutely would not shut up while playing.

Her character is (I think) everything she wants to be. She’s popular, she’s outgoing, as quick with her dagger as she is with her tongue. Basically a rogue/bard wombo combo of charisma and extroversion.

At first nothing changed. The moment the game ends, she shuts down and goes back in her shell.

Then slowly as we wrapped up game sessions, she would begin chatting with her seat neighbors.

Then she started showing up early to sessions when it’s just a bunch of socializing.

Then after awhile, she basically just stayed in character after the games, showed up to sessions already in-character.

After about 6 months she stopped us as we were breaking things down, and had an entire prepared speech where she thanked the group for giving her something to live for.

Apparently she was not only homeless when she first came in, she was suicidal. She just wanted a place to sit and not be judged. Then she noticed we had food. Of course everyone always greets people when they come in and offer any snacks they want. She came back for the snacks. Then she came back for the vibes. Then the game.

She could barely speak to people before she started playing. Panic attacks when she tried. Her character is confident, and when playing with us she feels like she’s confident too.

Now she pretends like she’s her character in her daily life. She got a job at the library we played in every few weeks. She got an apartment, got a bicycle to get around quicker. Made friends outside of work and the games group.

I can’t remember her name, this was almost 20 years ago now, but I will ask my parents about her, I’m curious how her life turned out. I was a teenager and barely cared about some so story that wasn’t my own (cue emo music and it’s not a phase mom) but I’m sure they remember her.

I continued to see her every so often around town when she stopped coming to the games after moving, but she didn’t go back to the library any of the times I was there.

You never know how small a gesture might completely change someone’s life, whether it’s a huge lifestyle change or just someone being a bit more outgoing in certain situations.

No, surely they must mean set on fire.

It’s one banana, what could it cost, 10 dollars?

I actually used a similar process to make the paper for my wife’s leatherbound journal.

Except I used a regular blender (you’re right about the pain to clean)

Then grabbed a large rectangular plastic container and filled it with about a gallon of unsweetened, extra strong tea, and poured out the goopy almost-paper.

After sloshing things around to thin out the paper, I used a mesh screen secured to a rectangular frame, a4 size… Ish… To pull out a thin layer of pulp that’s now a browner tint thanks to the tea.

Once this drains of water for about 30 seconds, enough to keep together, I flip it onto some cotton fabric, and cover it with another sheet of cotton.

Layer about 5 or 6 of these, then I use two boards with a 6mm threaded rod in each corner to sandwich the cotton/pulp stack.

Tighten the bolts on the rod and squeeze the ever-loving shit out of the whole thing, which gets rid of almost all the water.

Then I peel everything layer by layer, and let the foldable-but-weak proto-paper dry out on a wooden board overnight.

The result is fairly smooth, but textured with whatever it was pressed with, paper that looks like it belongs in a medieval fantasy rpg.

I’ve also press dried flowers, made a super thin layer of pulp, tossed a couple petals in, and finished the pulp layer to make embedded flower pedals. Those can be hard to keep nice the way I do it but the result is an invitation or event card that you don’t want to give away. I haven’t used it for any journal projects because it doesn’t stand up to flexing very well.

If anyone is interested I can take a couple pics of the journal when I get home. I have no pics of the process, unfortunately. I’ll have to make more this summer.

im guessing some people have political reasons to dislike russia

If you consider trying to genocide a neighboring country “political reasons” I guess.

“FTC personnel want bribes and to give the government time to kill the rule so they don’t have to do anything difficult right now”

New headline.

Honestly there’s no legitimate reason to delay this unless you’re stalling for something.

Good thing it wasn’t a Tesla, then “the man” would be doxxed by mainstream media outlets, he’d be tried as a terrorist, and the cops would have been deep into investigations before the sun came up.

I’ve meditated a lot.

I’ve done a few drugs.

I liek drugz

… Again. Whether his EOs have the authority to do something HAS NOT MATTERED for the most part.

Can’t wait for the executive order reinstating this shit bag.

Please, do tell me that an executive order can’t do that.

And do that for all the other executive orders that aren’t in any way binding or legal yet the people who LITERALLY have the power to say NO are treating as perfectly acceptable.

Gotta justify their abuse somehow

Well yeah, child predators tend to support each other.

Let’s block the entire parade from proceeding.

Tank Man style.

water soluble powder

Oh god I’m having flashbacks… That shit is nasty.