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This has to have been an EARLY scifi novel. 80s- to early 00s at the latest.
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She's fine, no worries - well, not fine fine, she's at the hospital, but it's nothing to worry about.
Taking the bus back from the hospital always gets me thinking about Hurricane Sandy. They named a corner after those two boys. They'd be in high school now, or even entering college. It's easy to judge their mother - and don't get me wrong, I do judge her, because she made every possible mistake from before the storm even hit, starting with not evacuating - but people do dumb stuff all the time and it usually works out just fine. People don't usually die because they did something stupid, they don't usually lose their kids over it.
It's been rainy too. It's really just a maudlin way to start a week.
But I still think, every time I take that bus from the hospital, that those kids should've gotten to grow up, and instead they didn't even get to go trick-or-treating that year.
The moral of this post, inasmuch as there even is one, is that if your area is under an evacuation order, or ought to be, fucking evacuate. Or if you've decided to shelter in place, shelter in place. Don't try to evacuate after the storm is already upon you. That's how it all goes wrong.
Taking the bus back from the hospital always gets me thinking about Hurricane Sandy. They named a corner after those two boys. They'd be in high school now, or even entering college. It's easy to judge their mother - and don't get me wrong, I do judge her, because she made every possible mistake from before the storm even hit, starting with not evacuating - but people do dumb stuff all the time and it usually works out just fine. People don't usually die because they did something stupid, they don't usually lose their kids over it.
It's been rainy too. It's really just a maudlin way to start a week.
But I still think, every time I take that bus from the hospital, that those kids should've gotten to grow up, and instead they didn't even get to go trick-or-treating that year.
The moral of this post, inasmuch as there even is one, is that if your area is under an evacuation order, or ought to be, fucking evacuate. Or if you've decided to shelter in place, shelter in place. Don't try to evacuate after the storm is already upon you. That's how it all goes wrong.
Raining, raining, raining...
Jul. 7th, 2026 09:53 pmbut at least it's cooled down!
(I always picture all this rain after a heat wave like somebody reaching up and literally wringing out the damp air.)
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(I always picture all this rain after a heat wave like somebody reaching up and literally wringing out the damp air.)
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but they really need to.
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( All of these links have been sitting around for ages, so they may be a bit old )
( All of these links have been sitting around for ages, so they may be a bit old )
The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus
Jul. 4th, 2026 09:10 pmNot like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
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Happy 4th of July
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Happy 4th of July
and only came up to my (attic) bedroom to get my clothes after the sun had gone down. And to use my computer once the room cooled a bit.
Anybody want to guess how hot it was up here before I turned on the a/c?
( Drumroll please...! )
Please, everybody, stay cool.
Anybody want to guess how hot it was up here before I turned on the a/c?
( Drumroll please...! )
Please, everybody, stay cool.
Weather's gonna be crazy this week
Jul. 1st, 2026 11:13 pmBut at least it's July, so it won't be unseasonable. It'll be very seasonable, and the seasoning is hot.
Stay cool out there!
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Stay cool out there!
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(no subject)
Jun. 30th, 2026 10:33 pmI fell into bed after a double at 9am, knowing I had another overnight tonight.
At 1ish, different manager calls and asks if I can do the afternoon shift. Because I’m not awake, I say yes - and awaken at 3pm wondering what the hell I signed up for and why. But you can’t call out at 3 and say “lol, nope, I wasn’t awake”. I mean, you can, but nobody will be happy about it, so I came in, and promptly stubbed my pinky toe.
The pain was excruciating and not getting better, and I was starting to think I’d have to call out of the second shift on the grounds of incompetence… but then I went to take my sock off so I could look at it and I guess that I had wedged my sock onto my toenail in some way when I stubbed my toe and now it doesn’t hurt anymore.
Also, they finally brought out everybody’s summer clothes, and if this seems late to you, that’s because it is late. I set aside some of the winter stuff to stay out just in case….
At 1ish, different manager calls and asks if I can do the afternoon shift. Because I’m not awake, I say yes - and awaken at 3pm wondering what the hell I signed up for and why. But you can’t call out at 3 and say “lol, nope, I wasn’t awake”. I mean, you can, but nobody will be happy about it, so I came in, and promptly stubbed my pinky toe.
The pain was excruciating and not getting better, and I was starting to think I’d have to call out of the second shift on the grounds of incompetence… but then I went to take my sock off so I could look at it and I guess that I had wedged my sock onto my toenail in some way when I stubbed my toe and now it doesn’t hurt anymore.
Also, they finally brought out everybody’s summer clothes, and if this seems late to you, that’s because it is late. I set aside some of the winter stuff to stay out just in case….
Crafting With Cat Hair
Jun. 29th, 2026 10:50 pmGuys. This is the perfect gift for a friend with cats.
ALL my friends have cats! I need to put this on my gift list and buy, like, a dozen copies right away!
ALL my friends have cats! I need to put this on my gift list and buy, like, a dozen copies right away!
(no subject)
Jun. 27th, 2026 03:45 amSigh
I had one question when reading the first book, which was “are we gonna have to wait until the third for our boys to get over their issues and make out” and the answer, now that I’ve read the second, is “apparently”.
Also, how exactly do Romeo and Juliet pivot to violent revolution and why wasn’t this play firmly banned? It’s like the grim dark setting is set design, guys.
I had one question when reading the first book, which was “are we gonna have to wait until the third for our boys to get over their issues and make out” and the answer, now that I’ve read the second, is “apparently”.
Also, how exactly do Romeo and Juliet pivot to violent revolution and why wasn’t this play firmly banned? It’s like the grim dark setting is set design, guys.
(And also supremely distracting irritation at certain coworkers who were late and/or had left the kitchen an enormous disaster for me) I managed to forget to clock out of work on Wednesday and forget to clock in Saturday midnight. And then not realize either until it occurred to me Saturday while sleeping at home that I hadn't clocked out....
I put in some requests and I think it's all fixed but omg I feel dumb.
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I put in some requests and I think it's all fixed but omg I feel dumb.
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All Hail Chaos and just a little bit in
Jun. 25th, 2026 05:17 pmwe are told the emperor has a “lambent” gaze.
To be fair, that’s just the word the fictional author would pick, but…. (At least it’s just his gaze and not his orbs.)
To be fair, that’s just the word the fictional author would pick, but…. (At least it’s just his gaze and not his orbs.)
Meditatio by Ezra Pound
Jun. 24th, 2026 07:58 pmWhen I carefully consider the curious habits of dogs
I am compelled to conclude
That man is the superior animal.
When I consider the curious habits of man
I confess, my friend, I am puzzled.
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Link
I am compelled to conclude
That man is the superior animal.
When I consider the curious habits of man
I confess, my friend, I am puzzled.
Link
Somehow, you can always tell when they're in Texas. It's little things, like the fact that Texans are congenitally incapable of surviving in a space that is not wall-to-ceiling covered in Texas flags and Texas outlines and Lone Stars and - if they're daring - prints of bluebells and/or longhorns.
Just in case they get amnesia and forget where they are or, in the case of expats like my dad, where they're from.
Texas, y'all.
I wonder, sometimes, if Texans who have never been out of state realize just how weird this all is. Like, if I had even a single NYS flag or NYS outline, people would think I was psychotic. It was strange enough to have our subway map shower curtain, and that was actually helpful.
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Just in case they get amnesia and forget where they are or, in the case of expats like my dad, where they're from.
Texas, y'all.
I wonder, sometimes, if Texans who have never been out of state realize just how weird this all is. Like, if I had even a single NYS flag or NYS outline, people would think I was psychotic. It was strange enough to have our subway map shower curtain, and that was actually helpful.
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Cedar Waxwings Unmasked by Jane Yolen
Jun. 21st, 2026 01:16 amWho are these masked birds?
Not Robin Hoods,
for they live in
the open woods.
They only deal
in stolen goods
like berry futures,
cedar cones,
and sweet, sweet, fruit
(but leave the stones).
Insects they catch
on the fly
when swarms of them
go buzzing by.
No need to worry,
moan. or fret.
Your valuables
they will
not
get.
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Link to the poem
The bird itself
Not Robin Hoods,
for they live in
the open woods.
They only deal
in stolen goods
like berry futures,
cedar cones,
and sweet, sweet, fruit
(but leave the stones).
Insects they catch
on the fly
when swarms of them
go buzzing by.
No need to worry,
moan. or fret.
Your valuables
they will
not
get.
Link to the poem
The bird itself
Mislaid my cat comb
Jun. 20th, 2026 12:45 amI've had to comb Callie with my own comb. My god, that girl can shed!
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Seriously, what have I done to deserve that?
I have no idea what happened first
Jun. 18th, 2026 10:34 pmbut as I was at the corner store somebody poked his head in the store and said "So, I still can't get nothing?" and then, as the cashier picked up the phone "C'mon, you're calling the cops on me again? You already called them on me!"
Well, okay, if he already called them (20 minutes ago, as the phone conversation made clear) then there is no need to ask if you are welcome in the store, because almost anybody could tell you that the answer is no. Whether he was right to call or wrong to call, he's still not going to let you buy anything at this time.
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Well, okay, if he already called them (20 minutes ago, as the phone conversation made clear) then there is no need to ask if you are welcome in the store, because almost anybody could tell you that the answer is no. Whether he was right to call or wrong to call, he's still not going to let you buy anything at this time.
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Peach by D. H. Lawrence
Jun. 17th, 2026 10:19 pmWould you like to throw a stone at me?
Here, take all that’s left of my peach.
Blood-red, deep:
Heaven knows how it came to pass.
Somebody’s pound of flesh rendered up.
Wrinkled with secrets
And hard with the intention to keep them.
Why, from silvery peach-bloom,
From that shallow-silvery wine-glass on a short stem
This rolling, dropping, heavy globule?
I am thinking, of course, of the peach before I ate it.
Why so velvety, why so voluptuous heavy?
Why hanging with such inordinate weight?
Why so indented?
Why the groove?
Why the lovely, bivalve roundnesses?
Why the ripple down the sphere?
Why the suggestion of incision?
Why was not my peach round and finished like a billiard ball?
It would have been if man had made it.
Though I’ve eaten it now.
But it wasn’t round and finished like a billiard ball;
And because I say so, you would like to throw something at me.
Here, you can have my peach stone.
- San Gervasio
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Link
Here, take all that’s left of my peach.
Blood-red, deep:
Heaven knows how it came to pass.
Somebody’s pound of flesh rendered up.
Wrinkled with secrets
And hard with the intention to keep them.
Why, from silvery peach-bloom,
From that shallow-silvery wine-glass on a short stem
This rolling, dropping, heavy globule?
I am thinking, of course, of the peach before I ate it.
Why so velvety, why so voluptuous heavy?
Why hanging with such inordinate weight?
Why so indented?
Why the groove?
Why the lovely, bivalve roundnesses?
Why the ripple down the sphere?
Why the suggestion of incision?
Why was not my peach round and finished like a billiard ball?
It would have been if man had made it.
Though I’ve eaten it now.
But it wasn’t round and finished like a billiard ball;
And because I say so, you would like to throw something at me.
Here, you can have my peach stone.
- San Gervasio
Link
but I am certain that the lieutenant’s eyes are not lambent.
Somebody needs to remove that word from the word a day calendars, I swear. Replace it with uxoricide or inchoate.
Somebody needs to remove that word from the word a day calendars, I swear. Replace it with uxoricide or inchoate.
Welp, I'm convinced. Let's get that hard-working horse some cake!
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and she said we still have them "because what if the dryer breaks" and I thought to myself "oh, yeah, that's gonna come back to haunt us" but I didn't say anything for fear of making it worse and today - the dryer broke!
*headdesk*
This is Jenn's fault. I will stand by that.
The first repair appointment I could make is next week, but that's okay, we won't have enough money until next week anyway.
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*headdesk*
This is Jenn's fault. I will stand by that.
The first repair appointment I could make is next week, but that's okay, we won't have enough money until next week anyway.
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The Harbingers season finale was great
Jun. 10th, 2026 11:13 amand you all should catch up on the entire season so you can listen to it when it comes out for real. There are transcripts.
Also, they gave out stickers, so now I have something to slap over the Nazi sticker that just appeared by the train station.
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Also, they gave out stickers, so now I have something to slap over the Nazi sticker that just appeared by the train station.
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My thoughts reading this fic:
Jun. 9th, 2026 04:42 pm1. This author is clearly pretty young. Still, they won't be half-bad once they get a little more experience.
2. Wow, this author's note is unhinged
3. and long
4. and not apparently connected to anything omg
5. Oh, wait, she's in the 7th grade!? Well, now I definitely won't leave any sort of comment about whatever the hell that was!
6. Still, she's definitely a better writer than I thought if she's producing this at the age of 12. (The fic, not the author's note.)
2. Wow, this author's note is unhinged
3. and long
4. and not apparently connected to anything omg
5. Oh, wait, she's in the 7th grade!? Well, now I definitely won't leave any sort of comment about whatever the hell that was!
6. Still, she's definitely a better writer than I thought if she's producing this at the age of 12. (The fic, not the author's note.)
Firmament of Glass by Vievee Francis
Jun. 8th, 2026 11:11 pmMorning, the glistening
grass draws me into the day,
as if new meant separate
from the day before—
and I, having that human part
that can be transfixed by bauble or blade,
limp out again, a believer,
into memory’s emerald glint.
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Link
grass draws me into the day,
as if new meant separate
from the day before—
and I, having that human part
that can be transfixed by bauble or blade,
limp out again, a believer,
into memory’s emerald glint.
Link
is that it was too big for the planter, and now it's broken the pot and we may not be able to save the plant :(
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Up to date on The Harbingers
Jun. 3rd, 2026 12:01 pmWhich I can sum up for you as "They went on one date a decade and a half ago and have been obsessed with each other ever since. Also, something terrible happened to Boston and everybody therein."
(It got sent to the moon. I'm just going to assume everybody died almost before they had time to realize.)
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(It got sent to the moon. I'm just going to assume everybody died almost before they had time to realize.)
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Recuerdo by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Jun. 1st, 2026 07:02 pmWe were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable—
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.
We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.
We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, “Good morrow, mother!” to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, “God bless you!” for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.
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Link
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable—
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.
We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.
We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, “Good morrow, mother!” to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, “God bless you!” for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.
Link
And I slept all day, too. I'm gonna start this post, but I'll finish it when I get back from this shift, so by that time I will either be awake or even more sleepy.
Edit: I was awake! But I hung out with E all day, so.
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Edit: I was awake! But I hung out with E all day, so.
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Paralinguistic knee bend
May. 30th, 2026 11:54 amSometimes when people are talking in real life, or you can see this on TV shows and in movies, they do a very quick knee bend. Why do we do this? Sufficient googling answered the question of "Why do we click our tongues" (it's a discourse marker, thanks) but I haven't narrowed this one down yet and I can't figure it out by reasoning and observation of my own and others' behavior.
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but judging by the stubby little tail and the scoop claws, this poor little dead animal on my sidewalk was a mole, not a mouse as I first guessed.
Not a mark on it, either - you'd think it just crawled up out of its nest and died right there in front of my house.
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Not a mark on it, either - you'd think it just crawled up out of its nest and died right there in front of my house.
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The washing machine at work is broken for real again :(
I got the towels done last night, but this involved hand-wringing them because the spin cycle wasn't really spinning. And then three times around in the dryer, yay!
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I got the towels done last night, but this involved hand-wringing them because the spin cycle wasn't really spinning. And then three times around in the dryer, yay!
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Owl small be enough
The child for all his feathers was a cold.
Oh wow the owl.
The poem the vowels
The owl, look its vowels
That branch for you
Owl, are you an armature vector
And a large step for mankind?
Owl astronaut burgeoning owl is a gift
You give to me give to you
Terrible other things happen.
We stay on our branch.
A hundred eyes
Two will do
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Link
The child for all his feathers was a cold.
Oh wow the owl.
The poem the vowels
The owl, look its vowels
That branch for you
Owl, are you an armature vector
And a large step for mankind?
Owl astronaut burgeoning owl is a gift
You give to me give to you
Terrible other things happen.
We stay on our branch.
A hundred eyes
Two will do
Link
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There is a funny side, but seriously?
May. 25th, 2026 10:48 amFriday, I get a text from the staffing agency asking if I can work at X place on any of five or six different shifts. I take a realistic look at those shifts and the five I'm currently working and text back that I can do Monday, 4 - 12 - before my 12 - 8 shift at the same place.
Sunday I work 12 - 8. I get home around 9, I chat with my family, I hang out, and at around 3pm I head to bed. At 5:30, Manager at X place calls and says "This isn't like you, where are you?"
....
I did go in for that Sunday shift, but I also forwarded her a screenshot of what I actually agreed to. Because geez. And you can believe I did not kill myself cleaning on the overnight.
Sunday I work 12 - 8. I get home around 9, I chat with my family, I hang out, and at around 3pm I head to bed. At 5:30, Manager at X place calls and says "This isn't like you, where are you?"
....
I did go in for that Sunday shift, but I also forwarded her a screenshot of what I actually agreed to. Because geez. And you can believe I did not kill myself cleaning on the overnight.
I need some music recs
May. 24th, 2026 09:17 pmModern (by which I mean within my lifetime, + about ten years?), popular or popular-adjacent, good beat to allow dancing, no profanity or slurs, or at least, clean versions available.
Please and thankies!
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Please and thankies!
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Maybe it's just me
May. 24th, 2026 09:05 ambut you shouldn't ignore somebody who's outside at 11:30pm, sobbing on the ground in the rain.
And indeed I did not ignore her, but everybody else was studiously looking the other way. (She declared that she was fine and did not need me to call anybody. I don't know if I believe that she was fine, but she got up and walked to the bus stop and didn't stagger as she did so, so okay. Also, I saw as she stood that her phone was clearly working, so she really didn't need me to call anybody.)
And indeed I did not ignore her, but everybody else was studiously looking the other way. (She declared that she was fine and did not need me to call anybody. I don't know if I believe that she was fine, but she got up and walked to the bus stop and didn't stagger as she did so, so okay. Also, I saw as she stood that her phone was clearly working, so she really didn't need me to call anybody.)
I need to explain how thermostats work
May. 22nd, 2026 01:20 amYour furnace has one setting: off/on.
Your air conditioner has one setting as well.
The thermostat is just a way of automating the offs and the ons.
Turning the heat to 80 doesn’t heat the house faster. Turning the a/c to 60 doesn’t cool the house faster.
Keeping the heat on 80 so your employees are forced to run the a/cs constantly in order to keep the house merely “sweltering” is deeply wasteful, and I have spent considerable time trying to discreetly open the case to the thermostat. Alas, I cannot pick the lock.
Trying to draft a text to the manager about this that doesn’t involve the words “I don’t want to tell you how to do your job”. Calling attention to what I’m doing is unlikely to help.
Your air conditioner has one setting as well.
The thermostat is just a way of automating the offs and the ons.
Turning the heat to 80 doesn’t heat the house faster. Turning the a/c to 60 doesn’t cool the house faster.
Keeping the heat on 80 so your employees are forced to run the a/cs constantly in order to keep the house merely “sweltering” is deeply wasteful, and I have spent considerable time trying to discreetly open the case to the thermostat. Alas, I cannot pick the lock.
Trying to draft a text to the manager about this that doesn’t involve the words “I don’t want to tell you how to do your job”. Calling attention to what I’m doing is unlikely to help.
I may have fixed the dishwasher at work!
May. 21st, 2026 01:21 amThe trick is that the top arm needs to be firmly clipped to the drawer - not jammed to the back wall. Time will tell if my fix lasts.
Edit: No, X*, not thank god, thank me. I'm the one who fixed it! God had nothing to do with any of it!
* Not the real initial.
Edit: No, X*, not thank god, thank me. I'm the one who fixed it! God had nothing to do with any of it!
* Not the real initial.
Honestly have never heard of this person before, but what an apropos sentiment!
Ah. It seems he was "the real Doctor Strangelove", "the father of the hydrogen bomb". Well, there you have it!
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Ah. It seems he was "the real Doctor Strangelove", "the father of the hydrogen bomb". Well, there you have it!
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Going on week two of random mid-sleep wakeups wherein I am convinced I have badly overslept and missed my entire shift.
What even is causing this? (Don't say stress, I'm sure it's stress! But what is causing the stress!? Is it lack of sleep? Because the lack of sleep sure ain't helping, gotta say.)
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What even is causing this? (Don't say stress, I'm sure it's stress! But what is causing the stress!? Is it lack of sleep? Because the lack of sleep sure ain't helping, gotta say.)
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