Try this too: Discworld & Pratchett Wiki!

January 27

More Portal

So, if the problem with the original Portal was that there wasn’t enough of it, the solution is probably Rexaura, a new mod for Portal 1 (Which it requires). It’s a new set of test chambers in the original universe, based around extended mechanics for energy balls, including one-shot redirects, balls that explode if you stop holding the button and energy gate switches they have to pass though.

Rexaura does a very good job of introducing you to its new concepts, all of which seem logically thought through (Caveat: I’ve not played though the entire set yet) and while the writing falls short of the original, it’s better than most games. If there’s a complaint, it’s that it tends slightly further towards the timing-based shoot-portals-quickly mechanics that Valve themselves steered away from for the sequel, but it’s still an entertaining series of new and original Portal levels, and well worth the nothing you’re paying for it.

(Please leave comments on the original article rather than any syndications thereof) 0c89b0a701d3cda4ecf6e3837c2783c2)

Something Positive About Facebook

I’ve not had a great day.

I’ve got a rotten cold that’s filled my brain with cotton wool, my computer rejected a software update hard enough to require a system restore (Advice: Avoid Catalyst 12.1), I had to throw out dinner when it became obvious the chicken was out of date (which was after I’d spent the time making it), and I’m generally feeling like the universe was waiting for today in order to subdue any optimism I have.

But over the course of the day, starting yesterday afternoon as my Australian friends started the day, I’ve had a steady stream of trills from my phone as people from every part of my life and lives have wished me happy birthday, from family to people I haven’t seen or spoken to since I walked out of the office I worked with them in, though to people from Usenet, IRC, computer games and larp systems. A stream of people who give enough of a care to write two to five words into a text box on Facebook, which is nice.

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January 26

Oppose ACTA, the global SOPA that's even worse.

Originally posted by [info]jaded_jamie at CALLING ALL PEOPLE IN THE UK - SIGN THE PETITION AND SAVE OUR FREEDOMS

Calling All UK Subjects/Citizens


Jaded Jamie Images Inc

BUT PEOPLE FROM EVERY NATION
NEED TO LEARN ABOUT ACTA TOO
BECAUSE IT WILL BE A GLOBAL LAW




There is a petition you should sign if you disagree with ACTA [legislation they are trying to bring in that is a disgusting attack on personal freedoms] you can learn all about ACTA in brief HERE

This is a British Government petition, meaning that if they get more then ten thousand signatures it will be debated in the House of Commons. So it is a valid and legal petition and I beg all those from the UK to sign it *and* spread this petition through your Facebook/LiveJournal/*Any* other social networking sites you belong to.

We cannot allow them to do this to the internet, it kills the whole point of why it was created. The only unlegislated freedom that we have is about to be strangled away from us. Don't let them do it.


Please sign it and please spread the word.

! SAY NO TO ACTA HERE !











If you're from the UK and you believe in freedom of speech and an uncensored internet, you really need to sign this petition. There are others floating about, but that particular one is the best way to ensure that your voice gets heard. It's hosted on the directgov website and addresses parliament directly. If it gets more than 100,000 signatures, it becomes eligible for discussion in the House of Commons.

Everyone's been getting so worked up over SOPA -- and rightly so -- that ACTA seems to have slipped under the radar. This is hugely problematic, because ACTA is a similar bill, but it has the potential to be far more damaging than SOPA ever could be.

Some people seem to have this misconception that ACTA is the 'European SOPA', but that simply isn't true. It's a global treaty, and it's already been signed by eight countries, including the US, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. Europe votes on Thursday. If they vote 'no', the bill will have to be taken back to the drawing board and reformulated, which should buy us some time at the very least.

If you think this doesn't affect you, you're wrong. If ACTA passes, it could well signal the end of the internet as we know it, and that isn't an exaggeration. It's not just about watching movies and television online. If ACTA passes, sites like YouTube, Livejournal, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and even Google and Wikipedia could become impossible to maintain. ACTA would allow ISPs to monitor your net activity and cut off internet access for your entire household if one person is suspected of breaching copyright. Think Big Brother is Watching. I don't think I need to emphasise just how damaging it can be to be without internet access in this day and age, when we rely so heavily on technology.

It's not only bloggers and fandom that would be affected, either. Small businesses, independent film-makers and unsigned musicians who have previously found their niche online would also suffer hugely, and would be at risk of being bullied into submission by Hollywood and multinational corporations under accusations of copyright infringement. All those artists who found fame by uploading covers of songs to YouTube would never have had the opportunity to do so under ACTA, as those cover versions would be prohibited.

I know the internet has its problems, but to my mind it's the single greatest invention to come out of modern times, and it would be an absolute travesty if we were to lose that now. From a personal point of view, I can't even put into words how important this is to me. I've met some of my closest friends through the internet and online fandom, people whom I would likely never have met without it, and it's given me this amazing social support system. I don't want that to end here, and I want to preserve it for future generations so that they can have the same experience and opportunities I've been given through my online interactions.

I know that opinions on the seriousness of copyright infringement and online piracy vary wildly, but that isn't really the point. Internet giants such as Google are opposed to this bill, and it's pretty safe to say that they're not in favour of copyright infringment, as anyone who's ever had a fanvid taken down from YouTube will be painfully aware. Whatever your stance on copyright, this isn't the way to go about dealing with it. This is dangerous legislation that impeaches on some of our most basic human rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of speech.

So if you're from the UK, please, please sign the petition. If you hail from elsewhere in the world, there may well be similar movements in your own country, but I think the most effective thing anybody can do right now is to keep talking about this. Talk about it on Livejournal, on Twitter, on Tumblr, on Facebook, and anywhere else you can think of. Make sure this issue is never far from people's minds. The internet is an amazingly powerful tool: let's utilise it while we still have the chance.

Please repost and spread the word :)


SAY NO TO ACTA!


Please consider reposting this, especially if you have a large proportion of UK flisties. And please consider spreading the word via other platforms: Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, your own personal network.


31

> Sleep

You sleep. Time passes. Thorin sits and sings about gold.

You have levelled up! You are now level 31. You have one ability point to spend on a feat of your choice.

> Select ‘Gainful Employment’

Processing….

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January 24

To UK Flisties

Originally posted by [info]obstinatrix at To UK FlistiesOriginally posted by [info]de_nugis at To UK Flisties(Taken most recently from [info]zoeiona, slightly adapted.)

If you're from the UK and you believe in freedom of speech and an uncensored interenet, you really need to sign this petition. There are others floating about, but that particular one is the best way to ensure that your voice gets heard. It's hosted on the directgov website and addresses parliament directly. If it gets more than 100,000 signatures, it becomes eligible for discussion in the House of Commons.

Everyone's been getting so worked up over SOPA -- and rightly so -- that ACTA seems to have slipped under the radar. This is hugely problematic, because ACTA is a similar bill, but it has the potential to be far more damaging than SOPA ever could be.

Some people seem to have this misconception that ACTA is the 'European SOPA', but that simply isn't true. It's a global treaty, and it's already been signed by eight countries, including the US, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. Europe votes on Thursday. If they vote 'no', the bill will have to be taken back to the drawing board and reformulated, which should buy us some time at the very least.

If you think this doesn't affect you, you're wrong. If ACTA passes, it could well signal the end of the internet as we know it, and that isn't an exaggeration. It's not just about watching movies and television online. If ACTA passes, sites like YouTube, Livejournal, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and even Google and Wikipedia could become impossible to maintain. ACTA would allow ISPs to monitor your net activity and cut off internet access for your entire household if one person is suspected of breaching copyright. Think Big Brother is Watching. I don't think I need to emphasise just how damaging it can be to be without internet access in this day and age, when we rely so heavily on technology.

It's not only bloggers and fandom that would be affected, either. Small businesses, independent film-makers and unsigned musicians who have previously found their niche online would also suffer hugely, and would be at risk of being bullied into submission by Hollywood and multinational corporations under accusations of copyright infringement. All those artists who found fame by uploading covers of songs to YouTube would never have had the opportunity to do so under ACTA, as those cover versions would be prohibited.

I know the internet has its problems, but to my mind it's the single greatest invention to come out of modern times, and it would be an absolute travesty if we were to lose that now. From a personal point of view, I can't even put into words how important this is to me. I've met some of my closest friends through the internet and online fandom, people whom I would likely never have met without it, and it's given me this amazing social support system. I don't want that to end here, and I want to preserve it for future generations so that they can have the same experience and opportunities I've been given through my online interactions.

I know that opinions on the seriousness of copyright infringement and online piracy vary wildly, but that isn't really the point. Internet giants such as Google are opposed to this bill, and it's pretty safe to say that they're not in favour of copyright infringment, as anyone who's ever had a fanvid taken down from YouTube will be painfully aware. Whatever your stance on copyright, this isn't the way to go about dealing with it. This is dangerous legislation that impeaches on some of our most basic human rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of speech.

So if you're from the UK, please, please sign the petition. If you hail from elsewhere in the world, there may well be similar movements in your own country, but I think the most effective thing anybody can do right now is to keep talking about this. Talk about it on Livejournal, on Twitter, on Tumblr, on Facebook, and anywhere else you can think of. Make sure this issue is never far from people's minds. The internet is an amazingly powerful tool: let's utilise it while we still have the chance.

Please repost and spread the word :)

SAY NO TO ACTA!

Please consider reposting this, especially if you have a large proportion of UK flisties. And please consider spreading the word via other platforms: Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, your own personal network.

January 23

Edinburgh Fringe 2012

King Cobra Theatre is go!

Spread the word! I have taken the first steps to producing a show at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. Hopefully, MTG will be acting as Associate Producers and providing us with logistical support and rehearsal space, but even if they don't the show (currently with a working title of "The Fifth Duck") is going to go ahead.

Eastercon -- it's Friday

When we looked at what was practical to fit in around possible other commitments, and what the train fares were on Thursday evening compared with Friday morning, the choice became obvious.... So we're getting there early on Friday, and leaving late on Monday. Looking forward to seeing people. :-)

Mirror of http://julesjones.dreamwidth.org/172654.html, where it has received comment count unavailable comments.

January 22

Eastercon -- arrival day

[info]kalypso_v and I failed to co-ordinate our hotel booking when buying our Eastercon memberships, which means we now have to decide whether to retain the Thursday night booking or not. One of the main reasons for my putting down Thursday was the habit so many Redemptioners have gotten into of arriving on Thursday evening for a con. So it would be useful to know which day folk intend to arrive this year. :-)

Rather than simply ask that question, I shall play with the poll creator on DW and LJ, and get some use out of my paid account features....

Ah. It appears that the standard cross-poster gives me a linkie on the LJ mirror back to the poll on DW, which I don't think is what happened when I tried it back in beta mode. It's set so that anyone can answer, but only my DW access list can see the results.

View poll: #9194

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and tax return done

The UK tax return, that is. The US one still awaits me...

Since the filing cabinet's getting a bit full, I thought I'd do a bit of a weed on the older files in there. That includes ancient market guidelines from ten years ago, when I was amusing myself with the erotica short story markets. And yes, I do mean actual porn here in some cases, although some of the niche fetish markets tended to be oddly sweet in their way. I always meant to try some of those as a writing exercise, but of course once I found a market for the novellas and short novels that are my natural length, that's what I focused on.

Just looked up one of those niche fetish markets. It's long gone, which is a shame, because I'm pretty sure that's one where even though it's not my kink (or even gender orientation), I still enjoyed the art and stories as art. The site url is still there, but now it's your bog-standard porn cumshot site, and if the original site content was ever archived I can't find it. Of course, the markets newsletter where I found it in the first place has also gone the same way, although at least there the archive still exists. Such is the way of the web.

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Highlights of the Christmas season

This post covers events that occured between December 10 (the night of the 2011 lunar eclipse) and January 14 (when I installed Skype on my brand new desktop computer). There’s enough material here to appeal to a variety of interests, but mostly it’s about Christmas.

* *** ***** *** *

It was overcast here on the night of the total lunar eclipse, but there were occasional gaps in the clouds, and it was a very pleasant night to be out. I walked over to Shepherd’s Hill Recreation Park to wait for a photo opportunity from the top of the hill.

Here is the blurry result. I don’t have proper equipment for night-time photography, so this is the best I could do.

* *** ***** *** *

Near the beginning of 2011, I signed up as a volunteer for Austalk, a nation-wide study of how Australians speak. In December, I finally heard that recordings were about to take place.

At first I was told I couldn’t take part because the rules require one’s entire education to have taken place in Australia (I had six months in Scotland in 1983). But a day or two after telling me this, they contacted me again to inform me that a more thorough examination of their own rules permits me to participate after all.

We agreed that my first of three recording sessions would be on Tuesday 20th December. But the person making a record of this accidentally wrote me down for Monday instead, as I discovered from an answering message that evening after work. We re-scheduled for Thursday 22nd, which worked out fine, but here’s the kicker: I was originally planning to go home to my parents’ place on Wednesday 21, but this had been re-scheduled for Thursday because on Wednesday my parents had a funeral to attend. So it’s only because of the funeral that I was able to get the Austalk session done!

One is assigned a code name so that one can access data about one’s own recordings (not yet available). My code name is kind of cool, but I probably shouldn’t mention it in public.

As I write this, my 2nd session was only yesterday (Friday 20th January) and my 3rd is provisionally scheduled for February 2nd.

* *** ***** *** *

The Adelaide Fringe Festival is coming up in March, I’ve already booked tickets for some events, and have others on a shortlist.

The ones I’ve already booked are those for which I’ve persuaded a friend to come with me: Faraday’s Candle by Re-Science and Eidolon by Nervous Doll Dancing.

I’d like to go to a couple of magic shows, including Time Travelling Magicians by Morgan and West (whom I’ve seen on TV), and Seven Stories (because magic performed to a narrative is a classic form, but all too rare these days). I’m also intrigued by some stage performances including The Origin of Species (comedy about Charles Darwin), A Donkey and a Parrot (based on one family’s historical escape from France to England), Fleeto (about knife gangs in Glasgow), and The Monkey King (Chinese puppet play).

The Art, Pattern and Complexity display has the advantage of being free, so I might go and have a look at that sometime, too.

I can’t go to all of the above. Negotiations are ongoing. Tell me in the comments, if you like, which ones you would go to and why.

* *** ***** *** *

For the first time since 1983, Mum and Dad got themselves a Christmas tree without either me or my sister helping to choose it. I believe some local children helped.

I decorated it, though, and here is a photo from Christmas lunch, with my sister and her husband in the foreground.

As part of a Christmas present from Mum, I got tickets to some upcoming events. So I’ll be going to this (which should be great) and this (which should be great) and this (not as exciting, but still a free night out). I also got a novelty electric fly swat (which wasn’t very good) and quite a lot of chocolate.

* *** ***** *** *

I had a red, inflamed eye for a few days around Christmas. Antibiotic eyedrops from the chemist did the trick, though.

Absolutely hated the TV adaptation of Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, which screened in Australia recently. The phrase “character assassination” summarises most of my complaints. I also thought the scene where Moist forces Adora to dance was socially irresponsible.

* *** ***** *** *

I blogged separately the photos from our Christmas Day beach walk, as well as our Boxing Day adventures at St Kilda.

At St Kilda we gave out mini Christmas puddings we’d made, according to the following recipe (which we’ve used before). We didn’t eat any of them ourselves this year; we gave them all away to relatives.

I’ve published one of the photos from the St Kilda mangrove walk as a Zazzle jigsaw puzzle, which you’re welcome to buy.

* *** ***** *** *

Going for a casual walk one day, I found this bird’s skull (probably magpie) lying on the ground. I’ve still got it.

* *** ***** *** *

Near the end of December we went for another beach walk at Tippara Rocks. Photos:

* *** ***** *** *

For a few days in the new year, my cousin Robert and his family (wife Katrina, three children) came over. It was great to see them, and especially to see how the kids are growing up.

It was the first time I’ve seen Joshua, the youngest at three years, since he’s started talking. I played hide-and-seek with him one day. January 2 was the middle child, Leah’s, eighth birthday. She’d already had a proper party another time, but she got a smaller one with us, in Dad’s office at morning tea time, organised by Katrina. As for the oldest, Kate, it was something of a shock to realise that in my earliest memories of my cousin’s sister, she was the same age as Kate is now (she’s eleven).

Here’s a photo of the three kids eating New Year’s Day lunch by the inflatable pool we set up for them. (The pool has an attached ramp not shown in the picture.)

* *** ***** *** *

The very worst news from my Christmas break is that several cows died of dehydration on my parents’ farm.

A few years ago, my family struck a deal with the local council so that in return for letting them use some of our land for the new town dam, we got free access to the town’s water supply, which is pumped through underground pipes for the benefit of the animals. However, this January the system failed and the water stopped flowing. Such a problem has never occurred before, but once they realised what was going on my parents did everything they could. Altogether we lost about five, I believe.

(In the old days we got enough water in our own dams, but then the local roads were resurfaced and the runoff no longer flowed in the right direction.)

* *** ***** *** *

I wrote separately about our plans to visit Canberra, and have updates to add to that post when I get around to it.

Here I will add that I bought the tickets online, which is the first time I’ve ever personally bought aeroplane tickets. Also, the reason Dad isn’t coming with us is that he’s signed up for an ambulance-driving course, as a new way of contributing to the community as he nears semi-retirement (where “semi-retirement” means cutting down to a mere fifty hours of work a week).

* *** ***** *** *

We did a couple of jigsaw puzzles between Christmas and the time I went back to Adelaide on January 10.

The first was a 3D puzzle: an antique-style globe of the world. And when that was finished, we started on a puzzle that I’d bought my parents three years previously (when we visited my cousin Rosemary in Warrnambool), but which they’d shelved as being too hard and never attempted until now.

Here is a picture of the train jigsaw in progress, followed by one of both jigsaws completed.

* *** ***** *** *

I had some lovely discussions with friends on Skype.

I’ve had a Skype account on my laptop since before we went to Europe last year, but can only make use of it when I have access to a wireless network. I don’t have wireless at home, but there’s one in Dad’s office which I made use of while I was there.

The last thing I did in my holidays was to upgrade my desktop computer, from a decade-old machine running XP, to a brand new Windows 7 computer. I’ve gone for a nice emerald green colour scheme. Here’s a screenshot showing my current desktop icons, start menu contents, and system information.

I’ve Skype installed on my desktop too, now (but no video capability, and no microphone other than the expensive one I keep in the cupboard, so, text chats only). My username is flesheatingdragon, should you be interested in keeping in touch that way.

* *** ***** *** *

Mum’s mulberry-and-apricot fruit slab is very nice. I took some home but haven’t finished it yet.

That’s all for now; I’ll save more recent stuff for another post. Please comment on anything that strikes you.


January 21

ebay annoyances

Bought a cross-stitch kit from someone's stash clear-out advertised as new and unopened, complete with all you need including chart. It arrived this morning -- sans chart, and clearly having been opened at some time in the past.

I don't think this was a deliberate con, as it has all the hallmarks of the previous owner having opened it when *they* bought it just to check it had all the bits, and accidentally leaving the chart out of the packet when putting it away again. And even if there's a refusal to deal with it, I'm only out two quid. But damn it, I bought it because I liked the pattern and I was looking forward to doing it this weekend. :-(

ETA: and I already have a refund and apology for not checking. :-) I don't blame her for the problem, as it wasn't at all obvious until I got the bits out that the chart was missing.

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