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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-17 08:54 am
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Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo



A doctor is drawn into the search for her missing mentor.

Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo
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andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2026-03-17 11:27 am
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Grumpy about overly-simplistic polling

I do wish that polls wouldn't ask if people thought that the PM was handling something "Well" or "Badly". Because two people answering "Badly" might mean completely different things by it.

Also, me saying "Immigration is important to me" means the opposite of what a Reform voter would mean by it.

This because of reporting of how many people think that Starmer is handling the Iran situation well or badly. When I can guarantee that some of the "badly" think we should be bombing Iran right now, and some think that we shouldn't be involved even slightly.

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ffutures ([personal profile] ffutures) wrote2026-03-16 06:53 pm

Another Horror Bundle - Trail of Cthulhu Megabundle

An extra big bundle of matrial for Trail of Cthulhu (first edition), the GUMSHOE system game of Cthulhu Mythos investigations from Pelgrane Press.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/TrailMega


 

There's a lot of material here, but most of it has been in previous bundles - Fearful Symmetries, The Book of the New Jerusalem, and Cthulhu Apocalypse (combined retail value $62) are new. I think that as usual with these bundles it may be worth checking how much you already own, and how much you actually want, and possibly just buy one or two that you really want rather than the whole lot.

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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-16 01:58 pm
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Bundle of Holding: Trail of Cthulhu MEGA



A monstrously large horde of rulebooks, supplements, and sourcebooks for Trail of Cthulhu, the tabletop roleplaying game of eldritch Cthulhu Mythos investigations using the GUMSHOE System from Pelgrane Press.

Bundle of Holding: Trail of Cthulhu MEGA
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-16 09:18 am
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Smile, Smile, Smile



Five benefits to a thermonuclear war.

Smile, Smile, Smile
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-15 11:53 pm
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-15 10:31 pm

Paul R. Ehrlich is dead

Finally.

Interestingly, although he died a couple of days ago, I couldn't find a news article to which I felt comfortable linking.

andrewducker: (vulture vomit)
andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2026-03-15 06:54 pm

What books did Terry Pratchett find inspirational?

This is from a post made here on Facebook. I'm copying it here, with the permission of the original author, so that people off Facebook can see it.

I had the pleasure of Terry’s company on a week-long Writer’s Retreat twice, in 1990, as part of a company of eight interesting people in Diss, Suffolk.

Terry later came to my wedding and gave me a proof copy of ‘Lords and Ladies’ as a wedding gift! I had never read his books before I met him, so I began with ‘Wyrd Sisters’ - and have carried on reading them ever since.

When he learned I was meeting up with Terry again, my local Librarian shouted ‘Oook!’ and collected up every book by Terry which he had in the Library, and asked him to sign them. This amused Terry - and shocked other participants! "You shouldn't write in Library Books" etc...

Terry and I were both reading Henry Mayhew’s ‘London labour and the London poor’ at the time.

I asked Terry to make a list of other books which he found inspirational. Here they are:

  • ‘The Evolution Man’ by Roy Lewis.

  • ‘The Specialist’ by Charles Sale.

  • ‘The Canterbury Tales’ by Chaucer.

  • ‘Fairy Tales’ by Charles Perrault.

  • Jacqueline Simpson’s folklore books.

  • Everything by J R R Tolkien and C S Lewis.

  • ‘The Wind From the Sun’ by Arthur C. Clarke.

  • ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ by Stella Gibbons (my favourite book).

  • ‘Mistress Masham’s Repose’ and the Arthurian Trilogy by T H White.

  • I also add the new series of novels set in St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor, of whom I am a keen fan, and strongly recommend. Terry told Jodi how much he liked her writings. Start with ‘Just One Da*ned Thing After Another’ and carry on enjoying!

  • Edit - I forgot 'The Moomins' series!

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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-15 09:38 am
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-15 08:50 am

Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore



Hodge would like nothing better than to study American history. Be careful what you wish for.

Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
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andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2026-03-15 08:50 am

Life with two children: Gideon updates

Following yesterday's illness, I was vaguely hoping that he would stay asleep through the night. Alas:

12:05
"I need a wee"
Took him to the toilet.
"Daddy, my tummy hurts"
Gave him some medicine
"Do you want to be in pyjamas or just straight back to bed?"
"Back to bed"
And then he closed his eyes.

12:20
Thundering footsteps "Daddy, I feel sick"
Told him to go to the toilet. Kept him company, got him a bucket.
He wasn't sick.
Persuaded him to take the bucket to bed.
Sat on the floor next to his bed until he closed his eyes.

12:35
More thundering steps
"Daddy, my arm and leg hurt"
By the time I'd found him medicine he was asleep again.
But woke up again and let me give him some Calpol.

03:30
"I'm hungry" (not surprising as he didn't eat yesterday)
We agreed on cream cheese crackers.
He ate ⅘ of the cracker and drank some juice and passed out again.

06:30
"I checked the light coming under the curtain and it's morning time"
I told him to go play games on the Switch downstairs.
Fifteen minutes later I could still hear him wandering about and I hadn't heard any game noises.
Went to check on him and he told him that he'd found various points around the house where the floor isn't flat.
Got him settled with the Switch, and then went back to bed and stared vacantly at my phone for an hour, before getting up to face the day.
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Mark Smith ([staff profile] mark) wrote in [site community profile] dw_maintenance2026-03-14 01:04 pm

Performing some traffic maintenance today

Happy Saturday!

I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!

If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.

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andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2026-03-14 12:33 pm
Entry tags:

Photo cross-post


The first time Gideon fell asleep in front of the toilet we moved him to a comfy chair. From where he woke up still feeling sick and Jane found him lying on the floor with a bucket he'd found and relocated him back to the toilet, where he then fell asleep again.

I missed all of this because I had passed out in bed feeling rubbish. I did wake up to various noises, but each time I did I tried to open my eyelids, failed, and fell back to sleep again. Thankfully Jane isn't feeling as bad as me, and Sophia was off having a play date at the other end of the street.

So far nobody has actually thrown up. Fingers crossed that continues.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-14 12:21 pm
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Books Received, March 7 — March 13



Seven books new to me: four fantasies, one science fantasy, one science fiction, and I am not sure how to categorize the Shepard. At least three are series books.

Books Received, March 7 — March 13


Poll #34364 Books Received, March 7 — March 13
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 42


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

The Lion and the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent (July 2026)
5 (11.9%)

Teach Me to Prey by Jenni Howell (December 2026)
0 (0.0%)

Heart of Thieves by Jessica S. Olson (September 2026)
0 (0.0%)

The Dagger in Vichy by Alastair Reynolds (October 2025)
17 (40.5%)

Crows and Silences by Lucius Shepard (December 2024)
16 (38.1%)

Engines of Reason by Adrian Tchaikovsky (September 2026)
23 (54.8%)

The Heart of the Reproach by Adrian Tchaikovsky (July 2025)
17 (40.5%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.4%)

Cats!
26 (61.9%)

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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-14 09:22 am

A Christopher Brookmyre checklist

I know my site is down. Giving it an hour before I pester the host.

Meanwhile Read more... )
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-03-13 10:06 am
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One More Reason the Aliens Might Be Avoiding Us



Is the current location of our Solar System the reason no one's coming to visit?

One More Reason the Aliens Might Be Avoiding Us