I did the garden harvesting rounds today and found that the remainder of the grapes had been appreciated greatly by the birds. But the tomatoes are still coming thick and fast and I may have to make a batch of marinara to for the freezer to catch up. Must remember to update my garden spreadsheet with these details.

Progress on the wrist mobility continues. I refer to my physical therapy as "Purgatory" because unlike Hell I will eventually be free of it. I've been hooked up with a company that will supply a mechanical flexion device but I need to consult with my physical therapist on Wednesday to confirm that she does want me to use it and whether I'm getting one device or two. (They do different movements.) Last week she told me that she needed to put in the order for the device in order for me to know what my copayment would be, but the representative from the company that supplies it assumed that it was a solid order. So we had a bit of discussion about those details. And I don't quite know how it's going to work if they get the devices to me before my Florida trip the first week in August, because they appear to be fairly bulky and I'm not sure I want them cluttering up my luggage when traveling. When I discussed timing with my physical therapist, she thought that I'd be starting to use them later, possibly even after my Worldcon travel at the end of August. So who knows?

james_davis_nicoll

The revived March 2016 HackMaster Bundle featuring HackMaster, the tabletop fantasy roleplaying game from Kenzer and Company.

Bundle of Holding: HackMaster (from 2016)

ffutures

Starting at seven, a third-time repeat offer of Hackmaster from Kenzer and Company, an RPG that began as a parody in the Knights of the Dinner Table comic but eventually became a real game:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HackMaster2026

The first time this was on offer I said "I'll be honest, I wouldn't want to touch this with a 10 foot pole, it just isn't a genre that interests me any more, but if you like this sort of thing you're getting a lot of material for the money. But as usual I should stress that I could have all this as freebies if I wanted it - in this case I don't, but it has to bias my perception of the offer." I still don't have any reason to change that.

oracne

I've been busy and neglected to post about the July Smashwords sale.

The following books of mine are half-price through July 31, 2026:

Dissenter Rebellion: The Rattri Extraction, sale price $1.99. Extracting fourteen rebels on Rattri from under the noses of the occupying Federateds is the biggest mission Talia's ever had. Sure, she can fight, but can she maneuver the subtle currents of an undercover mission, while still struggling with her loss of telepathy? Can she truly trust her new compatriots without being able to feel their emotions and intentions? 20,000 words.

The Bedtime Story Treats Collections are priced by length. The two lesbian collections, about 20K each, are sale price $2.49 each; "Steamy Couple Treats," the cishet one, about 40K, is sale price $3.49.

If you buy, I really, really welcome reviews, however brief, good or bad. Reviews help with visibility algorithms, and a little extra cash never goes amiss.

galadhir

Off to Kimbolton Country Fair today (They call it a 'fayre' but I refuse to type any such nonsense with my own keys.)

This is a combination country show and old car show, and there is often a fly-past of Spitfires, (one year there was a Lancaster bomber!) on their way to a proper air-show somewhere else in the country.

But we are going with Coton Morris, and taking Son, Daughter, Son-in-law, and DH's 94 year old mother with us. She is so sprightly that she came down from Liverpool to see us, traveling alone on the train and walking across London from King's Cross to Euston train stations to make the connection into Cambridgeshire.

She doesn't like to be helped or catered to or to have her infirmities thought of at all, but she also does like a nap in the afternoon, and sometimes she looks as though any walking she's doing is very hard work. That generation were all so proud and so intolerant of human frailty, but still, she's doing amazingly. Both of my parents were dead by her age.

The weather forecast had said it would be 19°c today, so when I couldn't find my hat I thought 'oh, I won't need it!' But - spoilers - it was hot and I did need it. I ended up buying myself a white panama hat with a black band to go with Coton's kit, which is white shirt and trousers and a black waistcoat. Musicians can wear whatever they like so long as there are no colours or patterns involved.

Our monochrome is inspired by the Fens in deep winter - white snowy land, white overcast sky, bare black trees. Colour is for places where people don't die of exposure in the winter.

( The Gogs take the opposite approach )

Anyway, it was a very nice time. DH was dancing, I was playing whistle, Son, Daughter and Son-in-law (Sil) were keeping Gran company. She consented to sit in a camping chair with them all disposed on the ground around her like a Faerie Queen with her court.

In the breaks between sets of dancing we had lunch (a very underwhelming cheese toastie for me - the vegetarian options were close to zilch), then went round the stalls.

There was a fly-past by a solitary Hurricane whom everyone waved to as he passed. Then at the end of the last dance we all gathered in the shade of an old oak and ate ice-cream while we watched the classic cars driving by on their way home.

Altogether one of the nicest Kimboltons we've been to for years. We (DH and I) usually go alone, but it is much more pleasant when we have our favourite people in the world there with us.

oglaf_comic_feed

https://www.oglaf.com/disengagement/

james_davis_nicoll

Showed up early, turned on the laptop, and discovered the battery was at 5%. Well, this is why I show up early. It turned out the laptop would not charge. Charger issue, apparently. Well, this is why before I set out for work, I open Momentus on my home laptop and photograph the show notes [1].

I don't always spot grim harbingers of doom.
( Read more... )

heleninwales

29/52 for the group 2026 Weekly Alphabet Challenge

Last week, looking ahead at the next theme I thought it would be impossible. We have had what seem like weeks of cloudless skies. Then this morning as I walked up to the Quaker meeting at my elderly friend's house, it began to cloud over. By the time I was walking home, the clouds were looking quite threatening. But did it rain? No it didn't and all the clouds have now gone again so the drought will continue. ( More clouds here... )

On the way back down to the car, there were lots of dark clouds.

But as I'm posting this, all the clouds have gone, apart from a few stray wisps. We desperately need rain. The fire is still burning on the nearby mountain and I could just smell a hint of smoke as I walked up the hill. One friend wasn't at the Quaker meeting because her water supply has dried up. (She has a private supply.) She has gone to stay with her daughters in Harrow. She won't be able to return until everywhere has had a good soaking and her stream is running again.

james_davis_nicoll

Having tired of the king of Eshgorin’s management style, blacksmith Limper tendered his resignation. Alas, the king’s management style includes a disinclination to accept resignations. Thus, the bounty on Limper's head.

The Sword Smith by Eleanor Arnason

tinnean

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Dr. Pol

found_objects_feed

Posted by irina

https://valdyas.org/irina/fo3/books/reading-notes-week-29-7/

https://valdyas.org/irina/fo3/?p=16252

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones. Background reading for something but I read the whole thing because I couldn’t stop.

4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie. For my periodic Lucy Eyelesbarrow fix. And the boys are excellent. I wish the author didn’t leave us guessing at the end, though. It’s very clear who the murderer was, and why they did it; it’s just the tacked-on love story that wants the reader to guess. Anyway, I don’t want Lucy to marry either Bryan or Cedric —if one of those, then Bryan—, if she marries at all she should marry Inspector Craddock.

Interstitial Moments by Celia Lake. Geoffrey and Alexander stories, probably not understandable for anyone who hasn’t read Best Foot Forward.

Rekenen voor je leven by Edward van de Vendel and Ionica Smeets. Very strong MATH IS FUN book. I recommend it for anyone over 8 or so. Full of touching little things, like the class party at the end where the SOs of the teachers (one man, one woman) turn out to be a pair of identical twins.

Pastiche by Celia Lake. This is so much richer than when I first read it in 2023! Perhaps because I know more about Albion now. I do love Alysoun. (And also Richard. But Alysoun more.)

Index of reading notes is here.

https://valdyas.org/irina/fo3/books/reading-notes-week-29-7/

https://valdyas.org/irina/fo3/?p=16252

james_davis_nicoll

I have had almost a month since the last new book on Edelweiss. Not sure what's up.

jacey

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters.

Harry Dresden is the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book, so the cases that come his way are weird and often extremely dangerous. In Death Masks an ancient vampire is out to kill him on the pretext that it will end the ongoing war between the Wizards’ White Council and the vampiric Red Court. Harry’s former lover, Susan, now half-vampire herself shows up after a period of silence, and to complicate matters Harry takes on a case to locate and return the stolen Turin Shroud. His ally from the Chicago police, Murphy, is off the case thanks to an asshole of a boss, but Harry has some help from Michael and a bunch of knights on the side of God. Harry’s landed in a whole world of hurt this time, both physical and emotional. Fast-paced and engaging this is beautifully read by James Marsters (Spike from Buffy). He gets Harry’s voice just right, sharp-tongued with a touch of world-weariness. Highly recommended.

jacey

In the anthology Shadowed Souls

Set in the world of Harry Dresden, and featuring Molly, Michael’s daughter, now a Queen of Faerie. Mab, Queen of the Winter Court of the Fey directs her to collect the missing tribute from the Miksani in the town of Unalaska, Alaska. There’s a problem, however (there always is). When Molly crosses local thug Clint in a bar, she’s ‘rescued’ by wizard Carlos Ramirez (even though she probably didn’t need rescuing.) Clint and his cronies are not as human as they seem. Some of the town’s children are missing and Molly (with Ramirez) has to retrieve them before she can collect the tribute. There’s an unexpected twist at the end.

heleninwales

The temperature is now much more pleasant and should drop gradually over the next week. However, there still no rain forecast and we badly need it. There's a wildfire on a mountain not very far away, caused by a "wild camper" who knocked their little gas stove over. He (probably it was a "he") wasn't supposed to be there because it's private land and you need permission from the landowner to camp anywhere other than a proper campsite. The local firefighters are doing their best to contain it, but no helicopters are available because they're busy elsewhere.

In other news...

It's the Sesiwn Fawr, our local music festival this weekend. I had thought I might wander into town and through the square, like I did last year, but the Boots (pharmacist) order arrived a day early and I collected it yesterday. As I have no actual reason to go out out in the heat, I'm having a quiet day at home.

The order was for some sachets of electrolyte powder. When I was in Cardiff, our daughter recommended them and I realised that while I'm sweating and drinking a lot in the heat, my potassium level might get low again, like it did a couple of years ago. You mix the powder with water to make a drink. They'll good to have, even once things cool down because walking rapidly uphills makes me sweat, so I can use the electrolyte drink during exercise too.

Re the dry weather, the big fern just outside one of our windows was looking a bit sad. The ends of some of the fronds were turning brown. As there's no sign of rain for at least a week, we gave it some water and we'll water it each day until the weather returns to normal. I've also put a couple of small bowls of water down at the bottom of the garden. I don't know whether we have hedgehogs, but I know there are voles and, of course the rabbits and birds.

oliveoctupusink_feed

https://oliveoctopus.ink/tenpens.htm

Ten Fountain Pens

July 17th, 2026

An empty, lined pen tray with ten slots.

A challenge going around the circles of those who love and talk about pens is "If you could only keep ten pens...." I value how these prompts challenge my comfort zone and give me a new and often valuable perspective, but to get through this one I needed to narrow the scope—for this exercise I'm setting aside all individual or small maker pens. Many of these makers have become friends, those pens are almost exclusively ones I've hand-picked in person, and you can pry every last one of them out of my cold, dead fingers. From the rest of my collection, I have chosen pens to fill a hypothetical 10 pen case with a representative range of my top-tier pens covering a wide spectrum in price point, design, and writing experience.

Another complication with making this list is that a year and a half ago I responded to another prompt to pick one pen to keep from each brand, and while my collection has certainly grown since, most of the pens I've picked were also on that list. At least I'm consistent? To avoid repeating myself too much I'll keep the commentary about each pen brief, you can read more about the pens that have remained long-time favorites in that post.

My Ten Pens List

In no particular order, these are my choices.

Ten fountain pens in a lined drawer.

Preppy Wa Modern Maki-e Kachimushi (03 Fine)
Among the entry-level fountain pens the Preppy remains my go-to, especially the fun Wa series designs. This one with a dark blue-black body and silver and gold dragonflies is my favorite, and the cap seal on the Preppy is so good that even when there are gaps in my use it works right away. The nib is so smooth and pleasant, especially for a sub $20 pen.
Lamy Safari Song Dynasty White Jade (Lamy Cursive Nib)
This special edition from Ink House Hong Kong, which I ordered from a shop in Europe, is just an excellent colorway with the off white matte body, light wood color clip, and dusty green finial and accent ring. I will swap between a gold nib and the cursive nib in this pen, for this list I'll pick the expressive cursive nib.
Opus 88 Koloro Beige Teal (Medium)
I'm a big fan of the Opus 88 Japanese Eyedropper pens. This pen can be a workhorse holding a large volume of ink, and the medium nib felt well-tuned right out of the box. The mid-size Koloro and Halo models are my favorite size and shape, and this colorway pairs really well with one of my favorite inks, Taccia Ainezu.
Kilk Luna (Broad)
I love the sterling silver hardware on Kilk pens, and this special edition featuring the moon is just beautiful. The warmth of the gray sparkle swirled through the material matches with the aged silver moon accents and clip. With this pen I enjoy the aesthetic pleasure of pausing to admire the pen itself and the broad lines of ink it leaves on the paper, maybe with some shimmer.
Montegrappa Elmo 02 Nirvana (Medium Katana)
This pen had a large MSRP but when I found a really good price I couldn't resist getting this material. It looks like layers of oil paint that blend to my signature shade of olive drab green. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the medium nib initially but after getting Kirk Speer to take a look he did his Katana grind (my favorite from him) and now it's an excellent writer.
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SFM)
When I was just beginning to venture into the world of gold nib pens, I tried the demos of all 15 nib options available for the 912 multiple days in a row at a pen show before making a decision. The Soft Fine-Medium (SFM) nib rose to the top as my favorite. While I do love the size and shape of this pen, I wish there were color options—but the nib alone is enough for this to be top-tier among my pens. For the time-being it's always filled with a top-tier favorite ink, Teranishi Emotional Olive.
Pilot Custom 74 Blue Stone (Fine)
This is a more recent acquisition. After the 912, this is the shape of Pilot pen I like best (for some reason the very popular 823 doesn't appeal), and as much as I love the SFM nib I wanted to have a standard Pilot gold nib too. I debated between medium and fine (the advantage of having a local pen shop is I could go look at the different nibs in person). I chose the fine nib for this pen because I intended it to be more practical writer than just-for-fun pen, a finer line that would dry quickly for planning and note-taking. I love the colors Pilot has for the 74s, this smokey blue gray is gorgeous. I've now also got the Forest Green with a Medium nib, but for this list the Fine nib fills a role.
TWSBI Eco Serpentine with Bronze (Broad Kodachi)
My journey started with TWSBI and I love picking up every color of Eco that appeals to me (and a few Diamond 580s). The Serpentine might be the closest "me" color pen TWSBI will make so I got two, not to have a backup to sit in a drawer but to have two active pens with distinctly different nib experiences. This one has a broad nib that was ground to a Kodachi by Matthew Chen earlier this year, and when TGS got a re-stock recently I got a 1.1 stub. I'm very happy with what I got with the "blind-box" lottery for colors and swirl pattern. I look forward to seeing what other combos TWSBI will release, but this one is going to be very tough to beat for me.
Sailor Pro Gear Slim Manyo "Nuts" (MF)
Speaking of my signature olive drab and gold nibs, this was one of the first more expensive pens that I purchased (and it turns out a posted Sailor Pro Gear Slim is one of my favorite writing experiences so it has become one of many PGS pens in my collection). The Sailor Manyo ink Shirakashi was one of the inks in my first fountain pen order, and (especially when I tried painting with it) was the ink that made me truly fall in love with fountain pen inks. So, this pen inspired by Shirkashi (and another favorite, Yamabuki) ink was a no-brainer and will be the last PGS I'd hold on to.
Kaweco Classic Sport Black Crystal (Medium)
This pen doesn't look like much, but serves a very particular use and I'm incredibly fond of it. This (originally crystal clear) Kaweco Sport is always eyedroppered with a non-black Kala pigmented ink for drawing (or if I need to write with water resistance like an address on a postcard). It's stained, but has never leaked and only rarely "burped" ink into the cap, even when I carry it around. It has earned a spot in the list.

Ten uncapped fountain pens in a lined drawer with the caps sitting nearby.

Bonus: Ten Standard Pens

Since I don't have a lot new to say about my fountain pen choices, and I use a wide range of writing instruments, I also quickly assembled a bonus list of ten non-fountain pens that have been in heavy rotation. I feel like I use too many things frequently to keep up with a true "Analog Defaults" page, but this list could be considered a snapshot in time of some default standard pens.

Ten different types of ballpoint, rollerball, gel, fineliner, and multi pens displayed on an olive green mat.

I've included links to these pens—no affiliate links but most were purchased at the dangerously convenient and well-curated local shop The Gentleman Stationer where I'm a long-time customer and part-time employee.

Pilot Wood 4+1 Multi-Pen
I got the "Meadow Green" version of this pen in Joe's second curated box offering so it's not something I picked out for myself but ended up using a great deal, especially once I learned you could swap out some of the Acroball ballpoint refills for Uni Style Fit gel refills in more colors. I have now added a second pen ("Orchard Pink") with one ballpoint and three gel refills, plus the pencil, that I always carry with me at the shop. I just recently added a section of transparent washi tape with a pretty flower vase design to the barrels of these pens to make them a little more mine, we'll see how it holds up.
Pilot Coleto 1000 Multi-Pen
I've had various Coleto multi-pens for many years now, and while discovering the nearly infinite range of shades it's possible to write in with fountain pens has reduced how much I reach for colorful gel pens, this particular Coleto fits a very specific niche with three opaque refills that work on darker paper: white, gold, and silver.
Pilot Juice+ 0.4mm Nemophila
I really like the "synergy tip" found on several Pilot pens including the Juice+ and Juice Up lines. This particular pen is an interesting, uncommon shade of blue (and the ink works pretty well on packing slips). For something even more unique, I'll grab one of the glossy Juice Up colors for an added bit of sparkle.
Uniball Signo RT-1 0.5mm Blue-Black
Several years ago I picked out a bunch of Japanese gel pens to test and figure out my own preferences and this was a favorite. I like the click and the blue black is a good color, and now I can get them locally!
Writech Sprinkles Gel Pen 0.5mm Pickle
While I've tried a few different types of Writech pens and been pleasantly surprised with their performance—my decision to purchase and use this pen is almost entirely because the color is "pickle," chase your joy.
Ohto CR02 Ceramic Rollerball Wine Red
This is a pen I fell for because it was available to test in the shop, even in a body color I wouldn't typically choose. I picked one up for my birthday this year and when the occasion calls for writing with a smooth, dark black ink this is a pleasure to use.
Uniball Zento Canary Yellow 0.5mm
No, it's not a Signature, but I'm good with this soft yellow standard click pen body. I got both the Zento and One pens to try out, and this is the one I keep reaching for. If I do get a fancier Zento body it will be the Zento Flow Birch.
Anterique Mach Ball 0.5mm Ballpoint Clear Amber/Mustard Yellow
Sometimes you just need a classic ballpoint, and there's something satisfying about the style of these Anterique pens—the sort of pen you'd tuck into your checkbook. With dozens of colors to choose from, this mix of smokey dark taupe and earthy mustard yellow is *chef's kiss*.
Lamy Safari Ballpoint Scarlet
I'm team matte finish Safari, and when the Scarlet color joined the lineup I saw it would be a great complement to my Petrol and Savannah Green fountain pens but with the introduction of the M17F 0.7mm Jetstream Refill I pivoted and got the safari ballpoint instead. The standard M16 ballpoint refill is ok, but the darker, smooth line from the M17 is very nice. The style of this pen makes writing with boring black more enjoyable.
Pentel Tradio
The Tradio is a strange pen with a triangle fiber tip, but I enjoy the feel of writing with it. What I didn't love as much was being limited to standard black, blue, or red—so I might have done something about that. ;)