Cesy: the chocolate girl

Vidders hosting

Sun, 10 May 2026 13:08:45 GMT

Vidders.net has been a fannish vid hosting site for a long time, offering a safe place when others kick legally protected vids off randomly at the request of copyright holders. It currently runs on less than $100 a month. They need a few more people to join their Patreon as regular donors to keep it sustainable.

Their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vidding
Their site: https://vidders.net

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Vid rec: Around the Bend by danegen

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 20:15:45 GMT

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Around_the_Bend

I love this vid, I remember it well, I saved it and rewatched it when I needed a mood boost, I even saved the song after hearing it for the first time from this vid.

And I'm posting here to have the memory published and quotable for Fanlore. Did any of you see it when it first came out?

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I <3 fandom

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:45:02 GMT

I really appreciate when authors of longer fics occasionally put a note in the author's notes at the end of a chapter saying it's a good break point if you're binge-reading. Because yes, sometimes I do find it hard to stop, and it helps to have the author say that the next few chapters are intense and flow closely and you might prefer to pause before them rather than in the middle of them.

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Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:43:31 GMT

Happy news of the day: Whoopi Goldberg wants people to watch more women's sports. So if you sign up for a free account on Pluto.TV and search for AWSN (All Women's Sports Network) you can watch a selection of women's sports matches and news and documentaries for free. Huzzah!

Thanks to The Happy Newspaper for the tip.

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Murderbot first two eps, no spoilers

Fri, 16 May 2025 17:07:32 GMT

Just seen first two episodes of Murderbot. It is not a perfect representation of the books in my head, but it seems reasonable within the constraints of a TV adaptation. I love it and will now go and re-read the book.

princessofgeeks has a more detailed post with spoilers.

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Quick rec

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 13:22:53 GMT

I’ve just done basic CPR training in 15 minutes with British Heart Foundation’s free digital tool RevivR. All you need is a smartphone or tablet and a cushion. It's boosted my confidence in first aid, and reminded me of stuff I learned on previous first aid courses.

https://revivr.bhf.org.uk/?shar=1

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Mon, 03 Feb 2025 17:35:25 GMT

https://alexwlchan.net/2025/ao3-epub-covers/ My friend made this for me and it's great if you read lots of fanfic ebooks.

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Break reminders

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 17:15:06 GMT

I have WorkRave on my main work laptop, and RSIGuard on the client laptop, both of which have configurable in-my-face reminders for micro-breaks and macro-breaks, which are useful for me. Apparently Stretchly is another similar option which also supports Windows/Mac/Linux.

I've been trying to find something similar for mobile devices, and struggling - many apps will claim to remind you to take exercise breaks or water breaks or whatever, but most of them work with the type of notifications that are easy to miss or ignore when I'm absorbed in something, and most of them work on a schedule rather than actually noticing your activity. I want something that will notice how long I've been active on the device rather than just deciding I should have a break at a certain time every day, and I want something that I can configure to forcibly interrupt my reading/gaming if I've gone too deep into focus. I already use the OS screen time limits for certain apps, but that's a daily limit and scheduled downtime rather than limiting uninterrupted time.

On iOS I've found Breakly, and on Android I've found EyeRelax, but neither is ideal - neither starts reliably if you restart your device e.g. due to an upgrade. Breakly has an annoying lag between when it thinks it's going to trigger and when it actually does, which means every break is about 5 seconds longer than configured, but that's manageable as you can just adjust the configured length accordingly. EyeRelax has a permanent notification when it's active that you can't disable, which is mildly aesthetically displeasing, and there's no way to see how long it's been since your last break, which I've found useful on the laptop, but isn't vital. They both have a few glitches with how they handle things like a break being needed when you're in the middle of a call or a video, but I'm gradually figuring out how to work with them and configure them. The computer equivalents are pretty good at letting you keep audio going while you stretch, or pausing video if needed, but that may be because I've had years of experience with them and have them tweaked exactly how I want.

Do any of you have similar use cases and any recommendations or tips?

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Thu, 21 Nov 2024 09:50:31 GMT

https://www.biodiful.org/#/plantiful_en is a great fun survey about plants - just pick which of the pair you prefer, and help research! Similar to the bunny survey from a while back.

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Canary - helping Dreamwidth

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 14:40:48 GMT

If you haven't checked out the beta features page in a while, you can help the site by doing so - particularly by opting into the new create entries page, the new inbox, and site-wide canary, and then reporting any issues you spot. Note, don't do the temporarily revert one, that's an opt out rather than an opt in. And 2FA doesn't do much yet.

The canary one is done by a cookie that's device/browser-specific, whereas the others affect your account across all your devices. You can tell if it's working on any device by the little blue canary banner in the bottom right. You'll need to opt back out and in again on each device you want to try it on, which is a glitch I've just reported.

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Family history

Sat, 22 Jun 2024 09:56:30 GMT

I just heard a lovely story from my parents. When I was born, my grandparents gave them a new washing machine. It finally gave up when I was about 15. When my sister was born, my grandparents gave them a new fridge. It’s still going strong now she’s in her 30s. I really like the practicality of those presents for your first grandchildren.

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Another book rec

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 19:14:54 GMT

My brain is definitely improving.

Some By Virtue Fall by Alexandra Rowland has more theatre actresses bantering and fewer bodyguards swearing fealty compared to A Taste of Gold and Iron, also more gods and less human magic, but is also delightful.

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Gladiators

Sat, 17 Feb 2024 20:20:45 GMT

This evening's show included the information that Phantom's secret skill is tap dancing. I need video.

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Today's life lesson

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 20:56:40 GMT

If, some day, you are ever faced with a slow-draining kitchen sink, and have the bright idea to advance your DIY skills and try out using a plunger to unblock it...

Remember that as well as the overflow outlet (well done for remembering and blocking that) you might also want to consider the other part of the sink, that you normally use for rinsing, that is right next to you and also connects to those same pipes and is also draining slowly...

Ideally remember this in time to treat it like the overflow outlet beforehand, rather than after it's sprayed gross dirty water in your face and all over the kitchen.

I think it's draining faster now? My kitchen has at least been thoroughly cleaned and is thus cleaner than it was before.

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iOS games

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 20:23:45 GMT

I have discovered several new games on my iPad, thanks to a free trial of Apple Arcade coming with a purchase from Curry's.

Patterned is a soothing jigsaw-like puzzle with pretty pictures and a tessellation theme.
Stitch is a soothing logic/sudoku-like puzzle with pretty pictures and an embroidery/cross-stitch theme.
Kingdom is a soothing merge puzzle with a cute story involving a spoiled prince learning about labour and considering the feelings of other people and gradually growing up while rebuilding the castle and village.

Thanks to the magic of Apple Arcade, none of them have any ads, and I think Kingdom may be a copy of one that normally has annoying limits on money and timing and ads that have been removed to make it more fun. I know Netflix has a similar thing where a couple of their games are ones that are normally ad-ware and are much more fun with the ads removed and all the paid features given to you for free. I'm enjoying it, though probably not enough to keep paying after the free trial is over.

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Mon, 28 Aug 2023 19:21:57 GMT

This space elevator simulator is great fun: https://neal.fun/space-elevator/

Proper entry coming tomorrow when I've recovered a bit more.

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Fri, 18 Aug 2023 08:46:07 GMT

If you previously enjoyed "Cooking is Terrible" or other books about dealing with food when chronically ill, you may also like The Sad Bastard Cookbook about how to feed yourself when depressed. It is funny and also encouraging.

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Sat, 15 Jul 2023 20:44:02 GMT

In the UK or willing to travel there? Interested in possibly attending (or even helping to organise) an in person Fandom Weekend in 2024?

If yes, we'd like to here from you!

Follow the banner to a community to learn more!

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Sat, 08 Jul 2023 17:39:01 GMT

flamebyrd just introduced me to the game Arcanum and I'm loving it. It's like the Kittens game but with magic.

Basically you are a wizard's apprentice and you click stuff to learn magic and earn money and build your workshop, and some tasks in the later stages take time so you leave it running on idle, and it's cute and low stress.

https://flamebyrd.dreamwidth.org/217999.html has a bit more info and the link.

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Sun, 25 Jun 2023 07:08:15 GMT

I have a cat sitting on me and she's the best, though it's way too hot and her body heat is not appreciated by me right now. But the trust in the way she lays her little head down on my stomach to go to sleep is great.

Last night she did not appreciate me playing the flute. She came to sit on my lap, get between me and the music, attack the flute and attack my hands. She got shut out of the living room in the end, and I'll have to remember to do that in advance next time I want to play. It happened last time and I thought it was a fluke, but she definitely thinks something and is not just content to sit nearby and watch the way she does when I'm on the computer.

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Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:27:47 GMT

Following from https://github.com/Growstuff/growstuff/issues/3315
and https://cesy.dreamwidth.org/1661398.html

Then
sudo chmod 777 /usr/local/rvm -R
rvm alias create default 3.1.3
helped with one part. Brute force ugly, but stopped it complaining at me.

And

According to bundler documentation, a $BUNDLE_PATH or $GEM_HOME env variable can be set to make it the default writeable place.
export BUNDLE_PATH=~/.gems
bundle install
It is pretty handy if you {do not have/do not want to use} root access.

From second comment on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17959435/bundle-install-failed-due-to-permission-denied
Seemed promising but still hasn't solved it, bundle install still fails with same permissions issue.

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Silly ruby question time

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 14:16:47 GMT

What am I missing? It wants 3.1.3, I've given it 3.1.3, but it's still complaining it's got 3.1.4.

@cesy ➜ /workspaces/growstuff (codespaces-more) $ bundle exec rails s
Your Ruby version is 3.1.4, but your Gemfile specified 3.1.3
@cesy ➜ /workspaces/growstuff (codespaces-more) $ ruby --version
ruby 3.1.3p185 (2022-11-24 revision 1a6b16756e) [x86_64-linux]
@cesy ➜ /workspaces/growstuff (codespaces-more) $ bundle exec ruby --version
ruby 3.1.3p185 (2022-11-24 revision 1a6b16756e) [x86_64-linux]
@cesy ➜ /workspaces/growstuff (codespaces-more) $ bundle exec rvm list
   ruby-3.1.3 [ x86_64 ]

# Default ruby not set. Try 'rvm alias create default <ruby>'.

# => - current
# =* - current && default
#  * - default

@cesy ➜ /workspaces/growstuff (codespaces-more) $ bundle exec rbenv versions
  system
* 3.1.3 (set by /workspaces/growstuff/.ruby-version)

Where is it getting 3.1.4 from?

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Sat, 22 Apr 2023 21:29:13 GMT

I just finished book 4 of juliet's Marek series and it was great.

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International things

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 10:44:11 GMT

I recently discovered that in many countries, the standard dose of ibuprofen is 600mg, rather than the 400mg maximum the NHS has in the UK. This can be risky, particularly for people who are on certain SSRIs and don't know about the increased risk of stomach ulcers and the value of omeprazole, but most people get away with it.

I've previously discovered that many countries have naproxen available off the shelf without a prescription, even riskier on the stomach but can be useful if you know what you're doing, and that in France you can't get cocodamol or anything involving codeine without a prescription, whereas in the UK you can get it from over the pharmacy counter. And in Northern Ireland the alcohol purchase laws were interesting - inconvenient for some people, but a possibly useful lessening in the risk of alcohol-fueled violence.

I've also recently heard that just as US employment law offers slightly less protection in cases of mass redundancy than the UK, with less requirement for consultation processes and employee representatives, so India has even less protection, with some people not getting any redundancy pay or notice at all. That must be terrifying.

And in Austria and France there are much better protections for renters than in the UK, with no S21.

It can be helpful to realise when one country is an outlier, or another country has done it a lot better, in the hope that we can learn from each other on the good stuff, not just evil people learning from more efficient dictators. Dreamwidth and fandom's international community has been great for me learning about that.

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Spotify annoyances

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:30:23 GMT

I have two issues with Spotify on Google Home.

One is that when I ask it to play one of my personal playlists, it often mishears me and plays a random track with a similar name instead of the playlist I asked it for.

The other is when I ask it to resume playing and it jumps back to the beginning of the playlist instead of starting from where it left off. It did that for a while last year, and then magically fixed itself and resumed properly for a few months, and now for the past few days it's broken again and restarts every time.

I'm not the only person who's had issues with this, and it seems it randomly breaks and randomly fixes itself, e.g. https://community.spotify.com/t5/Other-Podcasts-Partners-etc/Can-t-resume-music-from-the-last-played-position-while-using/td-p/5328909
and from many years ago https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/7hvalb/spotifys_ok_google_resume_does_not_work_correctly/

At least writing it out and searching is a first step. There doesn't seem to be a reliable fix for it.

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