#pointless personal stuff

[katieskarlette]

Oh eew, the Tumblr UI update just hit me.

*hisses like a cat and backs up under a piece of furniture*

Change! Booooo!

(I'm sure I'll get used to it.)

[arvandus]

Got my first head cold since the start of COVID and I feel like my long streak of good health up until now has made me a little bitch with this cold. 😂  Anyone ever try to entertain a 3 yr old while your head is filled with cotton and your sinus’s burn?  That’s how my day is going...

Can’t wait for sleep tonight. I’m gonna go put my kid to bed and be the one who ends up falling asleep.

[gofancyninjaworld]

mildly embarrassing confession:

I generally forget to get the names of singers, meaning that I’ve just realised that a disturbing proportion of songs I love were sung by Girls Aloud.

Could be worse... I’d be hiding under a rock if it was the Spice Girls.

[scarlet-riot]

[medication cw]

went to the doctor’s this morning to get an inhaler for my cough, then while i was there also got anxiety meds (both everyday ones and ones specifically for terribly anxiety-inducing situations like public speaking) and prescriptions for psychotherapy and physiotherapy, neato. i feel kinda weird about starting medication though, idk. not in the sense that i think it’s bad for ppl to take meds or anything ofc, just like. am i ~mentally ill enough~ for it to actually be worth taking them? like my anxiety sure hecks with my life (in fact just this morning i had a breakdown bc apparently my family doctor doesn’t work at that clinic anymore so i had to fill out some super-easy paperwork to switch to a new doctor) but maybe i am exaggerating am i right. also even though anxiety is super-duper uncomfortable it’s also what i’m used to and haha man i hate change. anyway. now i’ve gotta find a place for the therapy stuff sigh.

[katieskarlette]

Tech-minded folks, I need to pick your brains.

My new computer occasionally (like every 20 minutes, maybe) does a thing where:

Both my monitors go black for a second.

Secondary monitor stays black while main monitor shows the screen image, but shrunk so there's about a one-inch black border around it.

Both go back to normal.

The whole process takes like four seconds, but it's very disconcerting. I've checked to make sure everything is plugged in, but as far as software fixes go I don't know where to even start.

It's a brand-new PC running Windows 11.

Any ideas?

ETA: The screen freezes for a split second before it does this, too.

[katieskarlette]

Apparently AO3 is now blocked by the library where I work with the reasons listed as “adult, adult themes, tasteless.”

Now, there are plenty of stories on there (including my own) that are not explicit, but many are, so I can kind of understand that reasoning, even if I don’t like it.

But “tasteless”? EXCUSE ME?!?!?!?

I’m offended.

That’s a value judgment.

And it has no place in this context.

I wholeheartedly agree with not having porn visible in public (although plain text is arguably okay since you’d have to be pretty close to read it, as opposed to visual or audio material, so I personally don’t think AO3 is worth banning on a library, but that’s beside the point.)

But “tasteless” is relative. Do I think a joke about barbecuing an endangered species is tasteless? Sure. Do I think a caricature of the current POTUS making him look even worse than in reality is tasteless? No. But that’s me. I don’t think either example should be banned.

Granted, this is the public wifi in one public library. No one is outlawing anything or making it impossible to view on your own home network. But it’s aggravating, and as a freaking library I would think we would be a little more tolerant of free speech. Again, I’m not advocating for people to watch porn on our computers. That’s an easy way to get a lifetime ban—especially if you’re touching yourself. But I know for a fact there are books in this building that are just as explicit as some fanfiction, and books that I personally find tasteless. And there should be! That’s why the library exists! Free access to a wide variety of information!

But I’m sitting in the break room all by myself. I should be able to check the kudos/hits on my latest story without the network telling me I was naughty and tasteless for looking at the world’s largest archive of fanfiction. 🙄

[katieskarlette]

New computer update:

FedEx can live, I guess. They rang the doorbell this time, and I answered within five seconds.

Guy, a bit sheepishly: "Yeah, uh, sorry about yesterday. I could have sworn I rang the doorbell."

Me, flatly: "Well, it's here now. Thanks." ("it"=the package)

Unfortunately I worked yesterday and I'm headed to work again now, so I haven't had time to unpack it and set it up. I have tomorrow off, though, so I'll tackle it then.

I'm not looking forward to reinstalling, redownloading, relogging in, reorganizing, exorcising as much AI as I can, etc. I'm sure it will be lovely when it's all set up and working, but I'm honestly dreading the part before then.

It's one thing if I decide it's time for a new computer on my own, but being forced into it suddenly takes a lot of the fun out of it. Plus it's just another big loss/change, and I've had so, so many of those in the last year or so.

Anyway, at least I'll be able to play WoW again soon.

(I also found out that I work the day Midnight is released, and the next day. So that sucks. I have the two days after that off, though, so I'll dive in, then.)

[katieskarlette]

Off-topic rant

It takes a lot to make me actually angry, but today FedEx earned my ire.

I got the text this morning saying my computer was out for delivery. Fast forward a few hours, and as I was leaving for work I saw not one but two "attempted delivery" stickers on the door.

I was home the entire time. I was keeping an ear out for them. FFS, I even accepted a delivery from a different source that coincidentally happened during the same time frame!

They must have tip-toed to the door, barely knocked with the strength of an anemic mouse, and then run back to their truck. They did NOT ring the doorbell. They did not knock loudly enough for me to hear them--and I was listening! I suspect they didn't knock more than once, either.

I cannot fathom trying to make a delivery and only doing one quiet knock. I would knock much harder a second time, and I sure as hell would use the freaking doorbell. I imagine their drivers are kept to a strict schedule and get scolded if they're too slow with deliveries, but driving all the way back to my house multiple times has to be way, way less efficient in time and gas mileage than taking an extra thirty seconds to knock louder and/or USE THE MOTHEREFFING DOORBELL!

So now I have to wait until Tuesday/tomorrow to get my new computer. I put a big, bold sign in the narrow window along the side of the door with a red arrow pointing to the doorbell. It reads: "FedEx -- YES, we are home! We were home yesterday, too, but couldn't hear your knocks. Please please please just USE THE DOORBELL! Thanks."

I consider it a great victory of self control that I didn't put profanity between "THE" and "DOORBELL."

I also wanted to add... You know, the doorbell? It's a cutting-edge technology that's only been in use since, let's see... Oh. 1831. Well, that's a mere 195 years. Not long at all! So it's not an invention I would expect a global delivery company to be familiar with. I mean, if your job is to deliver a package to someone, why would you want to do something that might actually get their attention? That's crazy talk!

I know that YouTube video on honing your psychic powers was fascinating, but I'm afraid you're not quite skilled enough yet to telepathically let me know you're at the door.

See that nice, round button there, in the middle of a shiny rectangle? Don't get distracted by the shiny object and use your index finger to press on that button. It's not hard. You don't even have to use your index finger. I don't frankly care if you use your toe, nose, elbow, or chin, as long as you press the fucking button, you absolute wad of wet cardboard.

...

Obviously I didn't write all that on the note. But I wanted to.

It's all so unbelievably stupid.