Realm of the InterNutter

Thoughts, stories and ideas.

Almost Holidays

There's today and tomorrow until two weeks' worth of slacking off, so of course both my little darlings are trying various tactics to get that time off early.

Mayhem is trying the "oh I'm sick, I'm dying, I need to stay home five-ever" routine. Quickly kiboshed with the household thermometer. Chaos was a little bit more clever and insisted I missed a day. Going to the extreme of pointing out a missing day in the communications book. This missing day was (a) in Week Seven, and (b) a day in which she was sick. I showed her the actual date on my watch, and said that if she insisted that it was still Week Seven, she could go to school for three more weeks.

We have enough of last night's Bodge Meal to see us through tonight, so that's one less thing for me to worry about. After that, it's one packet of mince and three steaks to split amongst four people. And then we have to buy meat again.

Which is going to take a definite honk out of my weekly budget.

We still have soup bones... maybe I can do a stoo.

At least there's one butcher in my roaming area that sells pasture-raised beefs. Shy of raising our own chooks - which I can't because asthma - there's no real way to be sure that free range chicken I get at Aldi's is pasture raised or no.

I freaking love the fact that Keto encourages ethical omnivorism.

For those not in the know: being an Ethical Omnivore means that you recognise that all life feeds on the death of another life. Therefore, you attempt to use all the animal/vegetable/mineral that becomes a part of your sustenance. And, wherever possible, make sure that any animals at least had time to enjoy something of a life before their slaughter.

Ethical omnivores are against fattening pens, cage farms, barn farms, and generally locking animals indoors and pumping them with drugs before they're slaughtered. We're also in favour of sustainable fishing habits.

Ketogenics is also in vast favour of pasture-raised animal products, because micronutrients are important.

We're still gassing about that aquaponics farm, which would mean that I would be able to enjoy fish that I know were ethically farmed. But Beloved has taken to wanting a forge of all things... potentially melting down all the aluminium cans their office goes through. I can't see a goal to that, but whatever. It's something cool that we could plausibly do.

I really want that aquaponics though. That could be so awesome.

Challenge #01715-D254: Beautiful Downtown Babel

It was gridlocked regularly, so they added another lane. Then more cars and trucks came. -- Knitnan

Once, there was a city. It was by a natural port, so it grew with the aim of trade in mind. The lanes and byways were made by horses and the places where people thought it would be convenient to have a building. Cars came, and things changed. Narrow little lanes that could afford a horse became places to build. Wide lanes became wider. Traffic

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Blurgh... murgh

Today is going to be a FML day. I know this because Beloved came home to bed at one in the morning and I spent most of my time since then attempting to snatch a fragment of sleep or three.

The only plus side is that I remember a dream I had that was "sort of" about Steam Powered Giraffe.

It was a procedural drama in which the cops in question were looking into the SteamPunk community and... some very familiar faces

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Challenge #01714-D253: Discrete Service

The Exclusive Tailors and Modistes, who outfit Super Heroes. And you can send up Mr Humphries of "Are you being served?" here if you like. -- Knitnan

The Client had been aiming for a Look. That much was established. They kept asking for the special offers, and turning down the items available to the public. Finally, after fifteen different ensembles, they said, "Maybe... something from the basement?"

Ah. That was why they were taking their time and being so indecisive. "Of course,

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Cheevs?

Sometime last week, I actually contributed to a fanfic. And that means that my $5 Patrons would be treated to a new WIP. If I had any $5 Patrons.

But I'm still putting it up because having stuff for my Patrons is important.

I've begun work on Shot #8 for SESP, and I might just have time to animate some of it all, this weekend. Powers know I've been more than a little slack about that. I have features and shots to

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Challenge #01713-D252: A Lesson For All

"Bellringer Sale! 80% off". Then the bell began to ring. -- Anon Guest

The luckless staffmember ringing the bell was on a stone plinth that served most of its time as a display area that could also be sat upon if a shopper was desperate enough. The shoppers were not desperate for a seat, right now. What they were desperate for was a bargain.

A rolling sea of humanity, flooding the area. A surge made of pure greed.

There were no staff

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My plate overfloweth

Which is a fancy way of saying I have a lot on my plate. I haven't even sat down to my email, yet, and it's gone ten AM.

Tonight's dinner is spagbol with zoodles instead of spaghetti. Stage one of which is making the tomato sauce. Which meant getting buttloads of tomatoes [2kg] and slow cooking them in vinegar with sweeteners and herbs. Once they break down, I'll blitz them and add the mince.

I've already got the cleaning 90% done.

Further

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Challenge #01712-D251: The One That Got Away

The sign said "Wet Paint". -- Anon Guest

It said it in English, and it said it whilst affixed to a filthy-looking wall. There was something incredibly suspicious about all of this. Especially since this was apparently a derelict in the middle of nowhere with no alarms, diverse or otherwise.

Some part of Jen was screaming, Honey trap! But it was in stiff competition with the part of her that was so very tempted to see if the sign was telling the

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Techie Day

I'm flying off across Brisbane to visit MeMum and hit all her tech with a hammer.

I also have to do Self-Shill Sunday [since Saturday was spent solely on cooking] and the daily Instant and queueing up tomorrow's Blasts From my Past.

And of course my compy likes to freeze at random times during all of this noise, delaying everything.

The good news is that the new batch of "muffins" seems to be a success. If burned a little.

To this bread

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Challenge #01711-D250: The Best of Luck

Lucker, who's "Gift" is to bring Luck to others - and makes a good living out of it. -- Knitnan

I don't take chances. In my case, it's a 100% chance that I'd fail. I know this is an absolute truth because I've been tested. Hi, I'm a Lucker. Your good luck is my fault. You're welcome. On the downside, I'm banned from every gambling establishment in Galactic Society.

Not for winning, oh no. I never win. I mentioned that. No. I

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Interesting times...

Beloved has some free time, and we're going to spend it cooking. Tomorrow, I'm off to the outer reaches of Logan to sort out MeMum's tech troubles.

Beloved has PLNs for muffins. Chaos wants to have more Crack Slaw in her lunchbox. We're going to need smaller freezer boxes for that part of the party.

It's going to be a lot of shopping and I am glad that my Beloved is footing the bill TBH.

Adding to the Interesting Times is an

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Challenge #01710-D249: The Independence Initiative

Gadgets sold on Marketing T.V. turn up on Amalgam. -- Anon Guest

Honesty in advertising has changed a great many things. No longer are items sold as the best in the market. Or a fabulous new invention for the lazy. Instead of being marketed to everyone, they are marketed to their target audience first.

The smiling cogniscent on the screen was aesthetically appealing to a majority of Galactic Society. Since her discipline was Entertainment, she wore something sparkly. "Here at the

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Getting Sorted

I have my Hallows' Read story finished and in Beta. I don't have to clean, today. So some part of today will be spent on 'shopping up a cover for that sordid and horrific tale.

I'm montaging references for the cover of Beauties and the Beastly, tracing what I can and deciding where I'm going to use pattern brushes1. But I'm going to take a break from the cover, today so I can devote my time and energy to some more

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Challenge #01709-D248: Sticky Situation

"Crazy glue one hundred and one uses. Also known as Super Glue." -- Anon Guest

People were urgently patching holes after the micrometeor impacts. Smaller, slow-leaking holes were already patched with the humans' ever-present gum, albeit temporarily. For larger holes, they were grabbing whatever could fit and welding, bolting, and fastening as fast as they could.

Only the ships' human was using a tiny little tube before just... adding things.

Captain Farz had to admit the human was working quickly, but... what

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Challenge #01708-D247: Everything You Need

Swiss Army knife, multi tool, or the ever useful paperclip. -- Anon Guest

Every nerd who ever entered the sciences has a First Microscope. Some even kept their First Computer. More than a few kept their First Telescope.

Firsts are important. And for JOATs, it's their First Multitool. Preserved and maintained. Usually kept on display, because a great Majority of JOATs go a little wild and choose the option with the most apparent versatility. And, co-incidentally, the most weight.

Almost all of

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