sarakingdom

21 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Maybe I should just open the door...

DO IT. RELEASE THE HUNTER.

On 4/4/2024 at 4:03 PM, sarakingdom said:

And I made my infamous cilantro garlic sauce and had some for lunch, and now I'm dying of how incredible it is. I have missed that in my life. I would drink this stuff if it were at all reasonable.

Apparently I did drink it, cuz I'm now virtually out of cilantro garlic sauce. WTF, I had 27 ounces of this stuff on Thursday...

Bah. I need more cilantro.

32 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

😂🤣😂 I like the way you think.

15 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Uh oh.  Sleep regressing again?

2 hours ago, Everstorm said:

At this point, it would just be par for the course with the deer eating my roses, lilies, and tulips, the rabbits eating my asters, and now the squirrels digging up the sunflower sprouts to eat the seeds 😑 What's a few cats in the mix?

I'll tell you what they are: a deterrent to squirrels and rabbits, and, if they're aggressive enough, deer. Put the catnip by the asters, put it by the sunflowers, put it everywhere. Then go out and hire the cats.

7 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

I hear all the time in the US news about the "special relationship" between Russia and China, but I suspect that the two countries may not be as buddy-buddy as the US news makes it out be. 

I don't watch nightly news, so I don't know how they're reporting it, but what I've been gathering indicates that the "special relationship" largely consists of "still willing to trade rather than sanctioning, and making Russia pay through the nose for the privilege". Which is to say, it's not the action of a friend or ally, it's a business arrangement with the only loan shark that'll still do business with Russia. (At best; I'd speculate that a weakened Russia with debts to be called in would be a pretty desirable outcome for a country that wanted to be the new local superpower, so it may be more calculated towards winning a future showdown with Russia than opportunistic short term advantage.) But not sanctioning them is a pretty special relationship these days.

Either way, amicable special relationship or a more predatory kind, I suspect China is having a lot of issues with high rates of Russian men running from conscription. Men have been fleeing Russia to avoid the army almost since this started, and taking refuge in any country that'll take them. The number of countries that will admit Russians as tourists has been narrowing, and China is probably a top destination. And the thing about fleeing conscription is, you're going to work very hard not to leave the country that lets you in and you're going to run out of money at some point. Screening for Russians entering as tourists has probably been very strict for a while. It's not so much the relationship with Russia per se, as the strong likelihood that most Russian citizens who arrive are planning to overstay their visas and find under the table jobs.

2 hours ago, Everstorm said:

I thought bowling and batting were somehow involved?  Or am I thinking of some other equally baffling sport?

The batting stage doesn't start until 36 hours into the game. (Some modern players can get it down to 28-32, but it's not really considered in keeping with the ethos of the sport.)

He really might toss me out at this rate.

I have done the first steps of making paneer, which I will finish tonight when it cools off. And I made my infamous cilantro garlic sauce and had some for lunch, and now I'm dying of how incredible it is. I have missed that in my life. I would drink this stuff if it were at all reasonable.

4 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Maybe you are thinking of Dutch iris, which is very commonly blue-purple or yellow, but bearded or German iris comes in every possible color and pattern known to flower kind.

I think I mostly know Siberian iris, which is generally purple or white.

32 minutes ago, Ranger Hal said:

it do like that some places are supporting authors for the library books that patrons are reading for "free."

Same, it's great for the authors I want to support.

Other options are buying used. (That may be great for the author I suspect you have in mind, Jarric, as I'd bet there's a minor divestment movement going on right now.) Not a penny goes back to their pocket. Arguably it keeps the visibility up and authors tend to support the used book market on principle, but ultimately you can't pay rent with exposure, so your conscience can be pretty clean on the issue of financially supporting their life choices. (Buy from the right charity shop, and you can even do some net good.)

8 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Now that I have a bujo habit, I can also note my crashes in the bujo and have a readily available record of how often and how long they are. This is the first time I've really done anything like this.

This is delightfully useful data, and I am pleased for you.

8 minutes ago, Harriet said:

I don't like this, either.  

Yeah, your houseguest is a dick. God knows, I'm pretty laid back about guests, but this is abnormally bad.

36 minutes ago, Ranger Hal said:

What about libraries? If you wait until a bit after after a book is published and there are copies just sitting on the shelves (so there aren't long lists of people who are waiting for the book) the library is unlikely to purchase extra copies. They'll just keep using the ones they already bought for everyone who had to read it when it was brand new.

This is frequently a good option, but these days it's not guaranteed that it doesn't generate small amounts of profit for the writers. A lot of places have a scheme that makes micropayments based on how often the book circulates. It looks like the UK is one of those places, and the author makes a few pence for every checkout. (Not a lot, but honestly that's in the ballpark of what they'd make off a sold paperback copy.)

(I may have mathed it wrong, it may take closer to five checkouts. Still very close to being equal to buying another copy when you checkout.)

On 3/29/2024 at 4:55 PM, Mad Hatter said:

I did look it up, but police drama is not really my thing. 🙂 Which I think also added to a bit of disappointment in the book, I expected a bit more wizard and bit less police.

I typed out a reply to this conversation and lost it, and have not recovered the brain power to redo it, but last night I saw a recent interview that hit on this a bit. I was originally gonna say, yes, these are more crime books with magic than magic books with crime, so it may not be satisfying to you.

What he said in this interview about that, which types into the pacing discussion @Jarric and I were having, is that he said explicitly is that he structures then like crime books and that he considers the official police resolution to be the resolution of the book - the police would consider their job done and walk away when they have a judicial disposal and it goes to court. So do these guys, who, at the end of the day, are professionals doing a job, and he deliberately has that leave loose ends in the service of realism, because closing cases does leave loose ends.

Spoilers for book 2:

(And I think in that same interview, he admits some of that is also just on him.)

But yeah, in general, the realism of the policing side is something he's very proud of. Even when he personally finds it a bit problematic.

23 minutes ago, kcaleece said:

knowing the education department here, I wouldn't be surprised if "uses multiple colors in a work of art" is a state standard for elementary school. It definitely sounds like one

Yeah, that's absolutely phrased like an official educational objective the teachers have to deliver.

3 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Speaking of, my mystery iris has a bud!  We'll see if it's what I thought I was buying or another surprise.  I bought 3 pink irises last year: one died, one never bloomed, and the last bloomed, but blue lol.

I have never even heard of a pink iris!

46 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Oh no Sara what have you done? 😄

I think he's kidding. It can be hard to tell sometimes, but he must be kidding.

(Molly will have me on cold tea and overcooked food for a month if she overhears him, though.)

46 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

I understand that video is a parody but I literally can’t tell the difference.

Ah! I can tell you the difference. In real cricket, there's a small Stonehenge-style monument made of wood erected on the green, and they use the hoop to try and knock down the lintel stones between the chess moves.

I've been doing more floor sitting recently. It's a bit annoying, but good for me.

It seems to be slowly working out a knee issue I've had for a while. When it started, it was either a pulled muscle or something torqued out of alignment slightly, such that most of the time it was fine, but at certain angles, the knee twinged or just buckled. Then I found it was just really stiff, and that knee wouldn't fully straighten when stretched out flat. Not by much, but a noticeable couple of inches. It's now about as flat to the floor as the other, but it is definitely a more painful stretch. I'm pacing myself.

Today's rule: just do the minimum quantity. Five minutes. Heck, one minute. One sentence. One thing.

2 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Do cherry trees actually give edible cherries?

They sell both ornamental and edible cherry trees, so it depends what you buy. Most of the ornamentals are unpleasant to eat, but not all.

This site mentions two ornamental cherries that are also edible. The Morello is a sour (but edible) cherry that's considered a cooking cherry, and usually preserved in syrup or used in pies and things. Its benefit is that you only need one to get fruit. The Regina is a sweet cherry that was developed in Germany, so should work in your climate, but you need two to get cherries. Both are considered white flowers. The Morello may have just enough pink to be considered a compromise by Mr H.

There are likely others out there that do both. My feeling is, if you're going to be cleaning up the fruit that falls every year, may as well be edible. Less likely to fall and stain your walkway if you're eating it.

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

SOLD

The radio edit episodes are duplicates, you can ignore those.

(Relevant to @Laghail 's interests, Sindhu Vee is in a few episodes, as are some other potential Slayers.)

45 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

I'm looking for good historical podcasts that are not fixated on modern history or medieval europe.

You're Dead to Me

28 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

I am firmly convinced the soundtrack contributed to the lack of fame and glory for this movie. 

This one needs to be released with a conductor's cut. (Only a better conductor.)