#justalurkr

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mage-pie on this post about business writing: 

Make him give you a raise for this!

evil-is-relative  on this post about business writing:

Demand a raise.

justalurkr  on this post about business writing:

It'll be fine. But, yeah; with extra responsibility should come extra compensation.

Sadly, they absolutely did give me a raise and now I’m stuck with it :D It’ll be fine, it’s not a chore per se, at least not any more than work ever is, it’s just funny to be trying to talk to people I’ve been watching from afar for a decade. 

twelfth-doctor  on this post about business writing:

grant writing is a tricky thing. You just gotta do your best and try not to think about the ramifications

Yeah, I figure the worst case is we annoy them, but it’s not like they’re likely to remember we annoyed them if we try again in a year or two :D

larathia on this post about business writing:

Any resources you'd recommend for other people to learn business writing?

Honestly, the way I learned was mostly by reading a lot of it and doing a lot of it. In my last job occasionally I’d be asked to compose an email to a much-higher-up, then it’d be edited before being sent, and I got to see the edits, which helped. Otherwise the best advice I have is to read about negative text bias and practice writing “around” it -- basically we have an inherent bias where we will generally read text in a negative tone if it’s possible to do so, and a lot of my business writing work is channeled into counteracting that negative bias, making sure I use language that’s on the positive end of the spectrum rather than neutral, while still remaining professional. That’s a huge chunk of effective business communication.  

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justalurkr

I have safety concerns around sealing an instant pot over a wire, Sam.

turretangel

Yeah, I wouldn't be putting something in that pressure cooker seal. That's dangerous!

Oh god, no, I doubt it would even seal, it would never hit pressure, but that’s definitely not what I’m doing! My instant pot has a slow-cooker function and I have a slow-cooker lid for it (it fits only over the bowl, not the bowl and unit like the pressure lid, and it doesn’t seal -- it’s just a normal glass lid with handle). 

The probe thermometer is designed to go in ovens and slow cookers, with the wire snaking out so you can monitor the temp, but I would never put it in a pressure cooker. 

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badromancenovelquotes on this post: 

Car accident 10 years ago. Wasn’t even that bad. And my impact was with the airbags. I still lose words sometimes.

I’ve been super lucky in that most of my post-concussion symptoms have been physical: nausea, vertigo, balance issues. A little brain fog but not recently, which makes me optimistic. As long as I walk slowly and don’t eat much when it happens, I do okay. I usually end up sleeping a bunch. 

sempernap on this post: 

Ok, but I'm going to need more info on the slippers. Maybe a link

I feel weirdly like I need to caveat that while I did pay more than $50 I did get these on sale: Haflinger AS Charcoal. (Also of note: it says that they stretch a little and they do -- the sizes are European but I basically bought a slightly smaller size than normal, maybe a quarter to a half size down from my usual, and after two weeks they fit fine.)

Also I had very specific desires when I bought them, so those might not be for everyone: I wanted something with a hard sole, easy to step in and out of, and super thick and warm. I used to have a pair of foot duvets and they were great for like the first 10 minutes, then my feet would get sweaty and I would feel gross wearing them because I felt like the insides never got to air out. But I’m someone who can’t bear to wear socks indoors -- I love socks, I just don’t want to wear them in the house -- so half-shoes worked better for me. 

memprime on this post: 

Were the flights booked at the beginning of the year and then canceled, or were they booked and then canceled throughout the year as the pandemic landscape kept changing?

Little of column A, little of column B. I had a number of flights already booked when the lockdown hit, and as those would come up I’d look at the pandemic numbers and make the call to cancel, cancel the flights and take the credit (I fly almost exclusively on Southwest), then see a good sale and book a new flight on the off-chance. Just roundtrips to Texas alone, on the odds I might see my parents AT ALL this year, I rebooked eight flights. At the moment I’ve got a booking for March to see them, but I’m not optimistic. Even if they have the vaccine by then, I almost certainly won’t, and Chicago’s spike isn’t falling THAT quickly. 

banesidhe on this post: 

I mean. What did Polk do to deserve it is the question?

Almost definitely something. In order to spice up their evenings, Polk has taken to bopping Dearborn in the face with a paw, inciting a play-wrestle, and then backing away and hissing as if Dearborn is a terrible bully and she just wants to be left alone. That’s usually the point at which I break it up, but Polk knows she’s not the injured party here :D 

justalurkr on this post:

I forgot to ask: how did Polk take that?

Well, fortunately it was an ate-too-much-dry-food kind of a deal, so it mostly rolled off her, but there was some furious cleaning involved. 

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Hi, Sam! I was cruising my bookmarks and realized you haven't written in the Marvel fandom since 2018. Have you officially moved on and I missed it?

I mean, I don’t know that I ever “officially” move on from a fandom -- certainly I’m not like, blocking or boycotting it, I just kind of ran out of steam, especially after the sincere disappointment that was Endgame. I’ve written bits and bobs here and there, just nothing that’s in condition to be published. I’ve been writing less in general, I think, since changing jobs, and more of it has been focused on original work. 

So yeah -- I’m not like, out for good, but I couldn’t tell you if I’m going to write more in it or not. Art’s finicky that way :) 

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zorilleerrant replied to your post “Plague Tapestry”

Not sure on the imagery, but the little scenes looking pastoral at first but having a grimmer meaning may be inspired by memorial quilts and memorial murals, which you've probably seen a lot of - each artist quilts or paints a section, often clearly delineated but thematically connected. The imagery itself reminds me of some fake children's book but I can't think of what, Bosch inspired probably

I don’t think I’ve seen a ton of memorial quilts, other than the AIDS quilt which I was exposed to quite a lot growing up in San Francisco -- memorial murals I probably have but can’t think of any off the top of my head. But there has been a lot of pastoral embroidery on my dash lately...

sourassin replied to your post “Plague Tapestry”

Okay, either I have seen something like this recently, or you just set off an intense moment of deja vu. Not the tapestry element, but the grim reaper and the slogan ��

I mean, it’s pretty much the ironic spirit of the age :D But if it is out there somewhere I’d like to see it. 

justalurkr replied to your post “Plague Tapestry”

Sounds fascinating. Sir Pterry would approve, I think.

Ahahaha, now I’m reminded of the shirt i owned as a teen which was Death captioned I COULD JUST MURDER A CURRY. 

spyderqueen replied to your post “Plague Tapestry”

Okay that's eerie but also I would love to see it it sounds super fascinating. Dream art is so delightfully bizarre.

Honestly if I had the ability or skill I would try drawing it. I might give the cat-death image a try anyway.

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justalurkr replied to your post “The sole benefit of people who fundamentally and on occasion...”

Is that how you know you've been blocked? You can't reblog things?

It’s the main way most people find out, yes. When you block someone, they can’t reblog from you and can’t Follow you or send you messages/asks unless they’re on anon. If they were already following you, your name drops off their Following list and your posts stop appearing on their dash. I’m iffy on whether they can reblog a post you made from someone else, but I believe not. 

wandererriha replied to your post “The sole benefit of people who fundamentally and on occasion...”

Unrelated: in FF7R you can get an item called “Enfeeblement Ring”. I thought of you.

HAHAHA HOW DO I TAKE MINE OFF. 

cactusspatz replied to your post “Were you a part of the Cassandra Clare charity wank thing back in the...”

Aww, I didn't know that's how RFM got started! That's lovely <3

Yep! It took some trial and error before it got off the ground in the form it’s known today, but that was the inciting incident. 

It’s so funny to me because I mentioned to a couple of people yesterday about the wank being dredged up, and they were like “So how were you involved” and I had to be like “Well, this is really several wanks in one, a sort of firestorm of wank as it were” and explain how the whole thing began in Harry Potter fandom before I was even a part of it. 

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celticjade13 replied to your link “The Secret History of the Lost Champagne Cellars Under the Brooklyn...”

Oooh, I liked The Billionaire's Vinegar when I read it. Did you enjoy it? I bought it at a gift shop at a winery in Napa Valley, which I thought was kind of weird. Aren't you, like, promoting the fraud in your industry when you do that? If you found The Billionaire's Vinegar interesting, the documentary Sour Grapes on Netflix is about fine wine fraud as well, although a different fraud than the Thomas Jefferson bottles.

I really liked Sour Grapes, but I should say that when I say I “finished reading” Billionaire’s Vinegar, it’s because I stopped reading it. 

I did enjoy aspects of it, but I feel like it was a wine book written for wine fans, when what I wanted was a wine book written for true crime fans. I was more interested in the fraud aspect of it, and if that’s what you’re looking for in that book, there’s a lot of extraneous information about wine, Thomas Jefferson, etc (I also think it was...more neutral than it needed to be on the subject of Jefferson’s slave ownership). 

I don’t think it’s a bad book by any stretch, but I’m not the target market, and it was taking way too long to get to any kind of denoument. I got about 2/3 of the way through it and was like, you know, I think this is the most I’m going to enjoy this, and returned it to the library. 

eviltwinjen replied to your link “Hallmark Is "Truly Sorry" For Pulling A Wedding Ad Featuring Two...”

I love Dave and Jeb Aren’t Mean! I find them so soothing for some reason.

Well, Dave has such a good radio voice, and it’s a podcast about movies “made for the gentlest of people” so there’s not a lot of upsetting content. I mean, even with the relatively competitive “movie in 60 seconds” Dave always makes sure to let guests know that if they win they get an attaboy and if they lose there are literally no consequences. :D 

justalurkr replied to your link “Hallmark Is "Truly Sorry" For Pulling A Wedding Ad Featuring Two...”

THERE'S A PODCAST ABOUT HALLMARK MOVIES O.O

Specifically the Christmas ones! And it’s GREAT. Do recommend. 

myjennieblr replied to your link “Hallmark Is "Truly Sorry" For Pulling A Wedding Ad Featuring Two...”

I'm going to breathe deeply and enjoy this, since it stops me having to have a serious family conversation about whether to allow my son to continue pursuing roles in them. Now I don't have to have that conversation with his agent, which, considering HOW MANY Hallmark movies are in this area, could have had a significant impact on his work-schedule.

I mean, and I have an essay I’m perhaps forever going to be working on about this, but I do not believe Hallmark Christmas movies are, politically speaking, any worse than what Hollywood generally does. They’re female-centric and female-targeted, most of the plots are about a woman rejecting the role she’s been placed in by society in order to find self-fulfillment, and while some of the male heroes are written creepy, they’re generally less creepy than your average romcom and sometimes they’re downright good role models -- supportive, kind, emotionally open, and self-sufficient. 

There are a lot of criticisms to level at Hallmark movies -- super white, super heteronormative, some are very religious, all of them are formulaic and most aren’t very well written. But like....see, again, the entire entertainment industry. 

In some ways it’s a real lesser-of-two-evils argument, but if your kid wants to act in socially conscious films, his pickings outside of Hallmark aren’t going to be much better than what he’s doing inside, in my opinion. :D

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trinityhaus replied to your post “ameliahcrowley replied to your link “Give Every Thanksgiving Guest...”

Look into the whole black garlic thing. I have not tried it yet, but looking forward to it. Latest how to says to put whole garlic in an over bag and put in rice cooker on warm for 2 weeks (over simplification). So next on my list.. How do you keep black garlic??? lol

Ehh, I had some when it first came on the scene and wasn’t impressed; it basically just tasted like garlic, and cost like 3x as much. That said, if you’re making it yourself it’s no more costly, I suppose, and it does lend a fun goth look to garlic bread! 

justalurkr replied to your photo “Punk isn't dead, it's just really tired. [Description: Polk is curled...”

Trail a ribbon in front of punk's nose and see how fast it wakes up

PUNK LOVES A LASER POINTER. 

superqueerpasta replied to your photo “Punk isn't dead, it's just really tired. [Description: Polk is curled...”

Punk can be soft!!

This is true, I stand corrected. She is the Softest Punk! 

themiscyra1983 replied to your post “justgot1 replied to your post “Working for a nonprofit services...”

Alas, for Polk I would only take a punch. No offense intended but Dearborn is Big Eye and Soffffft. I’m assuming. She looks soft.

She is the softest thing I have ever touched, no lie. Although this time of year that’s not always a good thing -- her fur is so fine she throws sparks if I pet her too vigorously.