ten good things

[kaberett]

1. NEW HORN CASE NEW HORN CASE NEW HORN CASE. I have been meaning to get one for Literally Years -- basically since I got this horn, in fact -- because my horn... doesn't actually fit... in the case that was supplied with it... such that I had to remove a slide every time I put it away, and this massively raised the barrier to doing practice at home. More recently, the zips have been gradually giving up. SO. On Saturday A accompanied me on an exciting adventure to Paxman, whose step-free entrance is hilariously locked up at weekends so Everybody Learned Something, and I now own a case that (a) my horn fits in, (b) has working zips, (c) fits on my lap much better for wheelchairing, and (c) is BLUE. Detachable-bell, space for a mute, I totally failed to spot it on the website, props to Paxman for pointing it out to me (it was actually slightly cheaper than the thing I'd gone in expecting to buy).
   
2. Because Borough Market is right there if you've visited Paxman, we had excellent fresh pasta for lunch (I had the pumpkin and ricotta tortelloni; they were brilliant). Further inspiration for the Surprise Charity-Shop Pasta Machine, etc. I just looked up how to make tortelloni.
   
3. On Sunday I finally got around to adjusting Lightweight Wheelchair: I'd extremely belatedly spotted that the pushrims were on the wider of their two settings, and if I moved them on to the narrower the chair would probably need slightly less finessing to get through the front door. However, changing the setting involved removing the tyres and inners and both layers of rim tape, so I didn't get around to it until Sunday afternoon (sat on the picnic bench on the decking in the sunshine, with the patio doors open). I only holed one of the inners, promptly remembered that set of tyre levers always does that, and added them to the charity-shop pile! The chair fits through the door comfortably! My wrists are still somewhat sore (my hand strength isn't great and these are Schwalbe Marathon Plus on 1" rims, okay), but I am pretty pleased with myself, and with finally living somewhere that all my chairs are actually trivially usable. Give or take getting another cushion so I don't gotta swap them around as much.
   
4. I absolutely adore The Ruin of Angels (the latest in Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence, the first five books are available as an ebook omnibus for under a tenner, highly recommended) to the point that I'm researching what the blue mineral most likely to be local to Kavekana is so I can Have A Relevant Theological Necklace. (I'm gravitating toward sodalite, but have tweeted the author to ask...) (... and he hasn't responded but I did on Etsy find an Exactly Correct pendant bead so, er, whoops? Whoops.)
   
5. I am having Feelings about the latest Check, Please! and partnership and mutual support and interaction. (Cup I - Playoffs, future Alex.)
   
6. When my baby brother got into the van at Bristol Parkway on our way down to Cornwall the other weekend, he handed me a milk chocolate trilobite that he'd picked up at a museum because it was a trilobite and obviously. Naturally I have not yet been able to bring myself to eat it, so I keep finding it when I'm shuffling things around in the kitchen and grinning again.
   
7. PASTA PASTA PROOF-OF-CONCEPT PASTA. Ricotta tortellini with sage butter; and then we ran out of ricotta, so tagliatelle with Italian Hard Cheese, pepper and Parsley From The Tub On The Patio (which is looking very cheerfully established, HURRAH). Turns out tortellini are actually easier than tagliatelle at least at the proof-of-concept who-cares-if-they're-all-the-same-size stage; I have learned Many Thing and am looking forward to trying again, and am genuinely impressed with how well the dough worked given that I arrived at it by eyeballing a Graun How To Make The Perfect... column and then fiddling with ratios to achieve a quantity I thought we could actually eat.
   
8. Having seen Night At The Museum 2 doing the rounds on Tumblr (specifically the scene with the Tuskegee Airmen and Amelia Earheart), when I stumbled upon Night At The Museum in a charity shop for £1.10 last week I jumped upon it, having got the two confused. Happily, today I discovered the sequel for £1 in a charity shop, so next time I am feeling Sad and want to Curl Up On The Sofa Watching Something I have that lined up. I will cry.
   
9. I continue Greatly Enjoying Pokemon, and am particularly smug because today I took part in a raid and ended up with a Suicune with shit IVs, so I... caught it on my second Pinap berry, for 12 candy, because double-candy event. (I will explain this in more detail if anyone is actually interested & doesn't understand!) (Also I really need to write up my Fascinating Sociological Study in Pokemon Go at some point, but for now suffice it to say that the person I've most made friends with is currently ill? And I ran into her mum outside the sorting office yesterday morning, and we had a brief chat about the world, because obviously.)
   
10. I am about to embark on a His Dark Materials reread, not least because A has acquired us tickets to An Evening Of Conversation in the relatively near future, with ticket price including a copy of The Book of Dust -- so given how hideously behind I am on new releases, I think I'm just going to do the reread and then read the new one once I have it. But AAAAAAAAH. :D

Comments

[alexseanchai]

:)

[jesse_the_k]

!!!!!!!

[angelofthenorth]

That sounds awesome

[batrachian]

I wish to know ALL THE THING about Go; while I know the battle system inside and out for the main line games, have not done sufficient research to know how it all transfers.

(Plus, I just recently got back into the thing after having realized that something got patched such that every gym isn't jammed full of 3k+ Dragonite, which is what made me walk away from game before.)

(Of course new house is in the ass end of nowhere, as regards to stops, and I've run out of balls. Go figure.)

[kaberett]

OKAY SO Pokemon have their level, right, which is big and obvious, and also their CP and HP which are big and obvious? But precisely what those numbers ARE is determined by Individual Values for attack/defence/stamina, which are the numbers (slightly disguised) that the appraisal system gives you.

Living in a relatively active area and having joined a WhatsApp, I get to go group raiding fairly regularly -- gyms now get raid bosses descending on them for an hour, it's how legendaries are being rolled out, etc. Suicune is who's around for me at the moment; I've got some with middling-good IVs, but this one was about as bad as it's possible for them to get, so I was definintely only catching it (having defeated it) for the candy -- but raid bosses are Hard To Catch, so normally you want to use Golden Razz berries on them to maximise your chances of actually catching them. In this instance I gave myself no catch bonus via berries at all, instead opting for the chance of More Candy, and got lucky. :D

Please ask me if any of that is unclear!

♥

[batrachian]

Okay, so only three IVs and not six. That makes things slightly more manageable, especially since GO doesn't have the breeding mechanics for IV manipulation that mainline does. Hadn't actually noticed the appraisal system, let's see what my Main Three have for IVs.

Rhydon (CP1647): 66-80% total, Attack of 15.
Vaporeon (CP1353): 0-50% total, HP of 8-12.
Magmar (CP1095): ...100% total, all three 15. o.o


The group thing for raids makes sense.

Golden berries? I've got a decent selection of berries, especially Razz, but haven't seen a Golden one (assume they are just across-the-board Better than the regular versions).

And i saw a Clefable in passing when checking stats, but it ran away after the first ball (which it broke out of), even with a Razz. I am le sad.

[kaberett]

Hee perfect :D Golden Razzes are a bonus item you receive for completing raids; some raids (1 & 2-head monsters) are doable solo, 3-head monsters if you've optimised HARDCORE and maxed things out, anything bigger needs groups. I am quite enjoying it!

Hmph Clefable. <3

[batrachian]

The Magmar originally came from an egg, whether or not that matters. It's got a workable moveset, too, now if only Fire wasn't a (comparatively) weak type. Also I'm out of Magmar candies. <.<

Very nearly took out a 2-star Muk solo over the weekend (i was on uni campus for Reasons and had some free time), but couldn't quite manage in the two minutes or whatever (I've got enough revives and potions stocked that i *could* have done by attrition, but obviously that is not terribly sustainable. groups is better. also getting MORE POWAH).

This is the third Clef* I've seen, all of which have done this thing. Eventually I shall get lucky. Maybe.

[davidgillon]

NEW HORN CASE NEW HORN CASE NEW HORN CASE

I must admit my first thought was: Horn Case? Which writer has a detective called Horn?

whose step-free entrance is hilariously locked up at weekends

*Headdesk* *Grrr!!!*

I'd extremely belatedly spotted that the pushrims were on the wider of their two settings,.

Definitely worthwhile, my chair is so much easier to use around the house given it's narrower than the old folder. (Which is also much easier on the walls and doors!). Though it sounds like your pushrims have a more complicated fit than mine.

the first five books are available as an ebook omnibus for under a tenner, highly recommended

Absolutely agree, I'm about half-way through the compilation, and kicking myself for not picking up the Craft Sequence earlier.

[kaberett]

Like, it's the kind of "hilariously locked up" that is still navigable, it's just that the precise arcane combination of key fobs and lift buttons is non-intuitive, and you have to actually go get someone from Paxman itself to walk round to the inside of the door, because for all there's a "step-free access via the main entrance -->" sign you don't get let in there at weekends without knowing a specific password. And even if you DID you then wouldn't be able to operate the lift!

It is a bit ridiculous but it's all been sorted and I'm unlikely to be back anytime in the next few years, so. :D


These pushrims (coated RGK ones I think) have two holes drilled in the tabs, so you can have them closer to or further away from the wheel rims depending on your preferences. This is Some Faff but very useful in general. :-)

[sporky_rat]

ALAS I wish I had known about the omnibus before I had bought myself all the books separately. I may keep this one on my Kobo wish list for later anyway. Nook purchases may eventually go away. I doubt Kobo will.

:D

[kaberett]

Haaaaa. I'm just buying them all as they come out. <3

[cesy]

So many good things!

[sfred]

I think I want to try making pasta. My mum did it when we were young and it wasn't great, but it's since been established that Mum didn't have the patience for making foodstuffs that require it, so it might not be impossible to do well.

I have still not decided whether to reread His Dark Materials or just jump straight in with the new one, but I need to decide within the next six hours or so, because I've finished my previous book.

[kaberett]

I was surprised by how much I liked the results of the first attempt, to be honest! I'd be very happy to spend a few hours Making Pasta with you at some point but it seems unlikely to be convenient... <3

[sfred]

Yes, I am not often in London at weekends any more. <3

[vass]

YAY NEW HORN CASE.

*moves Ruin of Angels up tbr list*

Sodalite is so pretty.

[kaberett]

<3!