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This journal is mostly locked, but I am not at all picky about granting access.
Leave me a comment if you want me to know you're here, though I tend to follow new subscribers anyway, just to see who you are and what you like to write about. 😄
2023 ETA: If you're participating in the snowflake challenge, feel free to subscribe and I'll take it as a cue to grant you access.
the digital trash heap / archive
Jan. 2nd, 2023 12:38 amI have spent the evening on an archeological dig of old posts and GitHub repos looking for a way to mass delete LJ posts.
I think I finally found a decade old python script simple enough for me to edit and make work. I've managed to google-fu my way to a basic understanding of pyenv and running python 2 just in a local terminal session so I can run this fucker. Having been written pre-python-3, I had to trial and syntax-error my way to that knowledge. 😆 It's like "The Great War" vs. "WWI", sorta. They didn't know that poor newb me, 10 years on, would need the way-finding guidance.
Still, I hate software engineers who don't write READMEs and assume everyone looking at their code is also a software engineer. The gatekeeping is annoying! The assumed knowledge immense! The provided context nigh non-existent! Still a bit fun to figure out, though.
While I was at it, I overhauled my DW layout. My kingdom for a simple, responsive layout with a max entry width of 80-90 characters (The command line has it right on readability, IMO). I think I got there, with some light CSS tweaks. Context clues, baby!
I think I finally found a decade old python script simple enough for me to edit and make work. I've managed to google-fu my way to a basic understanding of pyenv and running python 2 just in a local terminal session so I can run this fucker. Having been written pre-python-3, I had to trial and syntax-error my way to that knowledge. 😆 It's like "The Great War" vs. "WWI", sorta. They didn't know that poor newb me, 10 years on, would need the way-finding guidance.
Still, I hate software engineers who don't write READMEs and assume everyone looking at their code is also a software engineer. The gatekeeping is annoying! The assumed knowledge immense! The provided context nigh non-existent! Still a bit fun to figure out, though.
While I was at it, I overhauled my DW layout. My kingdom for a simple, responsive layout with a max entry width of 80-90 characters (The command line has it right on readability, IMO). I think I got there, with some light CSS tweaks. Context clues, baby!
Recent Reads
Dec. 15th, 2021 04:28 pmBartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville. I can't believe I hadn't read this! "I prefer not to" is as prescient as ever in the face of late stage (one hopes) capitalism and work. Loved the POV; Melville's language perfectly captures the lawyer vibes. 5/5
Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi. Young design student in New York deals with bulima, sister's health issues, shitty and less-shitty men, being the child of Korean immigrants, and housing in New York. Took me a few chapters to get into this one, but it stole my heart pretty quickly despite not being my typical genre at all. Big CW for disordered eating, but as someone who flirted with same as a young teen I found it affecting. I was also charmed by the balance of romance, family, solo reflection. It reinforced, as all good NYC books do, that I never want to live in NYC. 4/5
Stray City by Chelsey Johnson. Ugh. I can't decide if I hated this or not. Midwest Lesbian moves to Portland, drops out of Reed, joins the Lesbian Mafia scene. (NB: As a Reed-graduated bisexual, this annoyed me rather than charmed me) Fucks a dude, plot ensues. I hated all the name drop 90s Portland references. I hated the bi-phobia. I hated the white cis girl of it all. Still, I read to the end. I almost wonder if the first two parts are grating on purpose to make the last part more charming, but honestly I don't think this author is that sophisticated. It's an Iowa Writer's Workshop circle jerk. 2/5
Everywhere You Don't Belong by Gabriel Bump. Average kid from South Shore Chicago grows up and goes to college. This book is written in an almost spoken-word staccato. Sparse prose, but an excellent sense of timing, both comedic and poignant. Subverts suffering-porn expectations generated by my one sentence synopsis. The ending went off the rails a little for me; I think the writing shined brightest when it was focused on characters over events. 4/5
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. Picked this one up because Katherine is a fellow autistic and I liked her previous book. The theme resonates. Slowing down, wintering, changing pace and rhythms throughout life. I liked it. The interviews and portraits of folks in other cultures read a bit flat for me. Too brief and journalistic, not reflective enough. Still, there were nice moments and food for thought. 3.5/5
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. What can I say? It's begun. We'll see how far I get. The writing is passable at best and I find Rand to be a total bore. Par for the course re: young man protagonists in fantasy. The world building is compelling, from the politics to the magic. I'm watching the TV show alongside and find it good. I'm not one to care overmuch about to-the-letter faithful adaptations. They call them adaptations for a reason. 3.5/5
Lord, is there anything more tiring than Tumblr discourse? they're all so young and militaristic and lack all subtlety and nuance. There's a reason I've avoided fandom on Tumblr, I realize. There's a reason I stick with old ladies, artists, and meatspace friends. Phew. Dipped my toe in the pond and pulled it right back out.
Comic Update
Nov. 2nd, 2013 03:56 pmWhy didn't I listen to everyone who was going on and on about how good Saga was?
It totally hits that sorta-subversive sci-fi spot, in the vein of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop and 12 Monkeys. The world building is fantastic! And the writer, who I refer to in my head as "Cyclops Hemingway" is such a good guest character!
Most importantly: the writing is good!
On the other side of the comics spectrum, I've been suffering through World's Finest, trying to catch up, but I just can't make myself give a shit. Too much action, too little character development, and just clunkily written and not great art. I'm trying to stick with the ladies of DC, but mostly I'm just burnt out on new 52.
What DC should I stick with and or check out? I'm still pretty pleased with Wonder Woman, and love Kate Kane, though Batwoman's been on a bit of a decline, in my opinion. Animal Man and Swamp Thing are solid, but the rest is just kind of blah.
Rec me things! (please?)
It totally hits that sorta-subversive sci-fi spot, in the vein of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop and 12 Monkeys. The world building is fantastic! And the writer, who I refer to in my head as "Cyclops Hemingway" is such a good guest character!
Most importantly: the writing is good!
On the other side of the comics spectrum, I've been suffering through World's Finest, trying to catch up, but I just can't make myself give a shit. Too much action, too little character development, and just clunkily written and not great art. I'm trying to stick with the ladies of DC, but mostly I'm just burnt out on new 52.
What DC should I stick with and or check out? I'm still pretty pleased with Wonder Woman, and love Kate Kane, though Batwoman's been on a bit of a decline, in my opinion. Animal Man and Swamp Thing are solid, but the rest is just kind of blah.
Rec me things! (please?)
