in case you needed a reason to volunteer at your local public library: today the librarians let me pick a theme for and then curate one of the featured displays.
time to get this town reading more space operas!
reshared this
reshared this
Penfount • Pen Community reshared this.
My replacement TWSBI cap finally arrived today. Went to finally ink the pen up only to discover that the thread that connects the nib assembly is broken.
I know I can order a replacement nib assembly relatively inexpensively, but I don't know if the thread in the pen body is intact either.
It looks like when I lost the cap I didn't clean the pen out properly before putting it in storage and there was still some ink sitting in it for a few years. I don't know if that was what caused the damage.
My local pen shop apparently has an AL in stock, and I happen to have gotten a gift card for them for Christmas that would cover the difference between the Diamond 580 and the AL. Perhaps it's time to upgrade?
Penfount • Pen Community reshared this.
HeliosPi reshared this.
Despite her best efforts, there are still some aspects of #ADHD that my partner struggles to comprehend. She's been trying to learn more where she can. As a result, a lot of ADHD stuff has been cropping up in her YouTube recommendations.
Anyhow, today we watched a video where a comedian was talking about his wife having ADHD. While we didn't expect it to necessarily be educational, we were up for a good laugh. All I can say is that I wonder if this man's wife watches his stand-up routine. If so, how the hell is he still married?
His whole bit was just the guy ragging on his wife and spewing every possible harmful stereotype about ADHD imaginable. I literally wanted to punch the guy in the mouth two minutes in. One of his punchlines was literally "I'd want to cut myself too".
Is this seriously what passes for comedy?
like this
My cat just taught me that I have a button on my keyboard to lock my screen (I had manually mapped Super+L to do this).
I'd always just ignored the applicaiton launcher buttons on that corner of the keyboard.
like this
Penfount • Pen Community reshared this.
Against my expectations, I ended up having to make a trip to the mall today. It's a stat holiday in Canada. I didn't even expect them to be open.
Anxiety levels were maxed out for an extended period. At least I'll be getting my money's worth at my next therapy appointment.
like this
Was talked into eating the tiniest piece of sugar pie today.* I haven't had any in years. Probably not the wisest decision for a diabetic, but what the hell, sometimes it's about quality of life over quantity.**
* The slice was so thin it literally curled up when I tried to plate it.
** I know this is a terrible justification. Don't @ me.
Fun side story:
My family's sugar pie recipe is a closely guarded secret, kept by a closely guarded sect of closely guarded monks. My aunts refused to disclose it to my mother because she wasn't a blood relative, but my father loves the stuff.
She spent years reverse engineering the recipe. Throughout these attempts, we were subjected to several sugar hockey pucks and sugar soups. Finally, she was able to not only duplicate, but improve upon the recipe.
She now refuses to share it with them.
like this
reshared this
@Darth Festivus π It's a French Canadian thing. It's kind of like a giant butter tart, but the texture is a little different.
It's really, stupidly delicious. This is why my resolve cracked.
Am not big on underdog stories but i like yours because her victory is sweet.
Jonathan Lamothe likes this.
Letβs also remember on Christmas that it would take 1.4% of the US Federal Budget to feed and house everyone who needs it in the United States.
The military is 20% of the budget.
Merry Christmas - letβs commit to living our values.
reshared this
like this
Are you new to fountain pens, or trying to decide if fountain pens are for you? Reply here with your questions and our helpful members will do their best to answer!
#FPNewbie #FountainPens
Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.
like this
reshared this
Had my first therapy appointment last week and paid out of pocket.
I submitted the receipt to insurance and they denied it because it was "not covered". My therapist is listed by name on their site as being covered.
Fuckers.
Shannon Prickett reshared this.
dang! i knew i was taking a gamble with that statement.
the corporation's most malignant forms spread n grow...
@Digit Insurance companies are crooked worldwide. I'm lucky to live in a country that has as good a healthcare system as it does, but it's not without its faults.
As it turns out, I submitted the receipt from the payment processor. A few days later the therapy office sent me a more complete receipt. I'm appealing, and re-submitting the new receipt.
Fingers crossed. π€
reshared this
Another fun aspect of #ADHD life:
I made myself a small meal specifically because I had a medication that needed to be taken with food. An hour after eating, I realize I forgot to actually take the medication.
I wish I could say this was a one off, but let's be real, it's not.
Yay! Today we had 4 more seconds of daylight than yesterday and tomorrow we'll get 8 more seconds of daylight than today!
And I want you all to know that I appreciate every one of those seconds!
Jonathan Lamothe likes this.
reshared this
We should really have a giant feast around winter solstice, with lots of tiny lights to compensate for the darkness, and like a get-together with the whole family with some good food, and maybe some gifts.
Makes you wonder why no such feast exists.
Bob Jonkman reshared this.
Okay, so this is going to be amusing to maybe like five people on the planet but...
I've been studying teeline, a shorthand system most typically employed by UK journalists (though apparently becoming less common). In this writing system there are various phrases that have commonly used abbreviations. In today's lesson, the instructor mentioned that the phrase "grievous bodily harm" can be written as GBH.
As an #ExMormon, this abbreviation amuses me.
ππππππ π³οΈβ§οΈπ¦ likes this.
Penfount • Pen Community reshared this.
So, I've had this recent medical condition that we're trying to get a handle on. Of course, my doctor is pointing to the #ADHD meds I've been on for years without issue as the culprit. I saw that coming from a mile away.
He was unable to suggest an alternative.
Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.
@TiiaAurora π I spent 12 Years in a high-demand religion. If I've learned anything from the experience, it's that toxic perfectionism takes a toll on you.
I'm trying to do the best I can, and correcting mistakes as I become aware of them. That's all anyone can really do.
like this
The thing about perfectionism is, that there is not such a thing as the perfect way anyway.
Jonathan Lamothe likes this.
So, I think I figured out why my glucose levels (which had been improving) are spiking again. I got these protein bars to snack on that say they have 3g of sugar. Looking more closely at the label, they actually have a bunch of other stuff that breaks down into sugar as well.
That's unfortunate. They were tasty.
Okay, I'll bite.
What's with all the ../ memes for the past few weeks or so? I get that not sanitizing input for this is a serious security vulnerability, but it's such an elementary exploit that I don't understand why it suddenly seems to be all the rage. What's next? SQL injections? Buffer overflows?
I assume some big company made this mistake recently and I just wasn't paying attention?
#FountainPens
Penfount • Pen Community reshared this.
A great conversation in the supporter Discord/Matrix reminded me that it's about time to share this fantastic item by @heydon.
Anyway, yes HTML is a programming language and folks who argue with this statement in my comments will be muted, blocked, defederated, or all three.
reshared this
Because I have a habit of misplacing things, I have a rule where my glasses are concerned: on my face or in the case.*
This rule does not help me so much when I misplace the case itself.
* This also serves to prevent me from leaving my glasses somewhere that they might be damaged.
#ADHD
like this
Jonathan Lamothe likes this.
like this
reshared this
My son has a much loved audiobook that he listens to every night. But. One of the line reads in it scared him sometimes, and he sometimes fears to listen because he's worried about it.
We talked, and we're experimenting with a version of the story where the line is said in my voice, I opened the file, cut out the scary line, said it instead in my voice, and left the rest of the audiobook intact.
Talk to me again about DRM.
like this
Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.
like this
@Mister Spinalzo yeah! I 100% paid for the book for my son to enjoy! The line reading was great! But sometimes the line read of "a dragon surprises the main character" is too scarey for an anxious 5yo!
Thanks for writting books it's important work!
reshared this
like this
Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.
like this
Molly White
in reply to Molly White • • •* All Systems Red, Martha Wells
* Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
* Empire of Silence, Christopher Ruocchio
* Leviathan Wakes, James A. Corey
* Saga (graphic novel), Brian K. Vaughan
* Shards of Earth, Adrian Tchaikovsky
* The Three Body Problem, Liu Cixin
I am Jack's Lost 404 reshared this.
Molly White
in reply to Molly White • • •Also:
* Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi
* Foundation, Isaac Asimov
* Olympios, Dan Simmons
* The Stars are Legion, Kameron Hurley
Was working with a somewhat limited selection, or else Iβd have tucked in some others
I am Jack's Lost 404 reshared this.
Martin Seeger
in reply to Molly White • • •Wombatadon
in reply to Molly White • • •Nick Johnson
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Molly White • • •Here's the full list in one post for bookmarking:
mollywhite.net/micro/entry/202β¦
#SpaceOpera #BookSuggestions
Molly White
Molly Whitereshared this
Digital Mark λ βοΈ πΉ π, Urban Hermit, I am Jack's Lost 404 and Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Michael
in reply to Molly White • • •what an incredible list. Plus it looks like I have a few to add to my to-read pile. Thanks!
I really want to start volunteering at my library at some point. Hopefully I'll have a little more free time in the future
Jo H βοΈ
in reply to Molly White • • •DopeGhoti
in reply to Molly White • • •Simon MacDonald
in reply to Molly White • • •Luke
in reply to Molly White • • •That is a good list of books!
A few others in the more military space opera side if people are interested in more recs:
Trading in Danger - Elizabeth Moon
The Praxis - Walter Jon Williams
The Risen Empire - Scott Westerfield
With the Lightnings - David Drake
A Call to Duty - David Weber & Timothy Zhan
If you want a bunch of romances between humans and aristocratic space elves (with a fae sense of honour):
Agent of Change - Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Lady Errant
in reply to Molly White • • •2019 novel by Arkady Martine
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Pax Ahimsa Gethen
in reply to Molly White • • •I read the entire Three Body Problem trilogy last year after watching the Netflix series; excellent. (Though now I'm spoiled for any future seasons π )
Also loved The Dispossesed and all other Le Guin SF & fantasy books. (I took my last name from the planet Gethen in her book The Left Hand of Darkness.)
Kurt Zettel
in reply to Molly White • • •Thad
in reply to Molly White • • •Thanks for volunteering and for sharing. It's a great list.
One suggestion: please don't give sole credit for a comic to the writer. Saga is by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples.
Brandon Webster
in reply to Molly White • • •this is an excellent list! Very cool you got to do this. Hopefully the library is able to pick up some of those books on your additional list, there are some great ones there.
Based on what you have listed, I think you might also really enjoy A Memory Called Empire (and itβs sequel) by Arkady Martine and The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Jessamyn
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Jessamyn • • •Romain - γγγ
in reply to Molly White • • •Ken Smoker
in reply to Molly White • • •vaempyr
in reply to Molly White • • •Pierre-Luc GagnΓ©
in reply to Molly White • • •Digital Mark Ξ» βοΈ πΉ π
in reply to Molly White • • •Bobulous
in reply to Molly White • • •If you prefer your space operas to involve talking dolphin crew members (seriously) then I recommend David Brin's six books from his Uplift series:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplift_Uβ¦
The first in the series, Sundiver, is a little leisurely in pace, but it picks up nicely after that.
novel series by David Brin
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Brian Beach
in reply to Molly White • • •Thanks for the recommendations!
I just finished The Three Body Problem, and was trying to decide what book to read on a long flight tomorrow. Gonna try an new-to-me author and go with Shards of Honor.
Iβve read and liked many of the books on your list.
John A :picardfacepalm:
in reply to Molly White • • •Tom π¨π¦
in reply to Molly White • • •Arianity
in reply to Molly White • • •floppybiscuits
in reply to Molly White • • •Dwenius
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Dwenius • • •/βοΈ
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Molly White • • •update: the library director was in today and showed me his secret space opera hoard. new additions to the list:
* August Kitko and the Mechas from Space, Alex White
* You Sexy Thing, Cat Rambo
(havenβt read yet, but he highly recommends)
he also had two of the books iβd been wanting to include in the display!
* The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers
* Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee
Pterry
in reply to Molly White • • •KevinH
in reply to Molly White • • •Different Than
in reply to Molly White • • •ooh, new space opera for me!
Because someone said the words, I'll recommend my favorite space opera: The Hellflower trilogy by Eluki Bes Shahar (or Bes'Shahar or Bes-Shahar; I've seen it spelled all those ways).
Elevator pitch: Han Solo as a world-weary, nonwhite middle-aged woman eking out a living after escaping oppression. She ends up entwined (not like that) with a young, naive, confused (because events) super-assasin-type guy from a super-assassin-type genetically engineered lineage. She tries to keep his culture of honor and temper from getting him (and her) killed. Also she is carrying around a piece of "pain-of-death-illegal" tech from the Before Times.
Bes-Shahar created an entire slang/dialect for her main character, and everything is in first person, so there's a little learning curve. It's worth it!
The slang/dialect feels a lot like 1930s gangster-speak sometimes, but you gotta believe me it works.
Molly White
in reply to Different Than • • •Jessamyn
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Molly White • • •Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Chris L
in reply to Molly White • • •Glitzersachen
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Glitzersachen • • •GLC
in reply to Molly White • • •That's very nice.
I'd have liked Ninefox Gambit in the first list, but at the same time, apart from a couple I haven't read, I don't have a clear choice for what I'd demote in its place.
(Foundation, if judged solely on its merits, rather than its significance. But that would be perverse.)
Coding Physicist
in reply to Molly White • • •David
in reply to Molly White • • •Melting Voices
in reply to David • • •Molly White
in reply to Melting Voices • • •David
in reply to Molly White • • •Jo
in reply to Molly White • • •This is so cool. I've read some of that list but some ones I haven't looked at yet.
I think I might try to hammer through some of these in 2025.
vicash
in reply to Molly White • • •D'Arcy Norman
in reply to Molly White • • •Nick Johnson
in reply to Molly White • • •Derek Price
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Derek Price • • •Derek Price
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Derek Price • • •AlsoPaisleyCat
in reply to Molly White • • •Since you seem to be welcoming reactions - as a long term science fiction and space opera fan, I am finding the older titles overly male in representation. Particularly in the 1980s, there was a significant backlash as women authors began to take shelfspace and awards in the genre.
Here are a couple of women that I was very surprised not to see in the list, and ones usually well represented in public library collections:
- C.J. Cherryh - named a Grand Master of science fiction by the SFWA in 2015. βDownbelow Stationβ, 1982 Hugo winner, is a huge novel that laid the foundations of her Alliance-Union Universe. βCyteenβ also won the Hugo best novel. She had an earlier 1977 Hugo for a short story.
(As an aside, I feel that leaving out Cherryh is particularly egregious because so much of the worldbuilding for The Expanse seems directly lifted from her Complany Wars sequence. One of the omnibus compilations is titled βDevil to the Belt - Belter tatoos, dialect, etc. are all there.)
- Lois McMaster Bujold - her Vorkosigan Saga books have won 3 Hugo best novel awards as well as a Hugo best series award. A related book won a Nebula.(She also has Hugos for her fantasy works.)
Molly White
in reply to AlsoPaisleyCat • • •James Baker π
in reply to Molly White • • •Glitter is Punk, Actually: Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente - Every Book a Doorway
Sia (Every Book a Doorway)Molly White
in reply to James Baker π • • •James Baker π
in reply to Molly White • • •JohnB
in reply to Molly White • • •Sandbender
in reply to Molly White • • •Bartosz
in reply to Molly White • • •Sean M. Collins
in reply to Molly White • • •/βοΈ
in reply to Molly White • • •I think I'll do another, not on that list, before I pick something new from it. The Left Hand of Darkness is next.
b-loved dreamer
in reply to Molly White • • •Tom π¨π¦
in reply to Molly White • • •Fantastic list!
Random comments...
Martha Wells is so good!
Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon might fit here too
For sheer space-operatude, I'd pick Excession out of Banks's oeuvre
LDRF
in reply to Molly White • • •1972 novel by Isaac Asimov
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Craig Morgan
in reply to Molly White • • •Lazy Nezumi
in reply to Molly White • • •Kevin Gamin
in reply to Molly White • • •Benny
in reply to Molly White • • •And after watching the Peripheral series and hearing about it's cancellation I'm thinking about adding the currently available books of the Jackpot trilogy (Peripheral, Agency) to my collection.
Molly White
in reply to Benny • • •Dennis Moser
in reply to Molly White • • •sdbbp
in reply to Molly White • • •The Flight Attendant
in reply to Molly White • • •Dag Γ gren βοΈβοΈβοΈ
in reply to Molly White • • •FeralRobots
in reply to Molly White • • •Galvanizedneuron
in reply to Molly White • • •Christin White
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Christin White • • •Christin White
in reply to Molly White • • •yep, thatβs why Iβm always looking for the rare sci-fi/fantasy books she can read, most of my favorites are too much for her. The Martian is one of her favorites but Iβm not sure if sheβs read Hitchhikers, Iβll have to see. Thanks, I know a challenging question!
Also, I was just reading over your site and Iβm really enjoying your writing! Web3 is going just great is particularly delightful π
bogosity
in reply to Molly White • • •Perrin42
in reply to Molly White • • •georgebmillion.com
in reply to Molly White • • •Mike
in reply to Molly White • • •jan AKO (alasa kili olin) π±
in reply to Molly White • • •irizoris@hcommons.social
in reply to Molly White • • •NYC Glue
in reply to Molly White • • •Xenophon
in reply to Molly White • • •Brad Grzesiak π¦
in reply to Molly White • • •MathiasTCK
in reply to Molly White • • •ooh do they have the 1965 edition by Jack Vance?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Opβ¦
"The use here is literal, however, about an opera company touring in outer space."
novel by Jack Vance
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Ricardo Carvalho
in reply to Molly White • • •Book List: Molly White's curated list of space operas - BookWyrm
bookwyrm.socialSherri
in reply to Molly White • • •Molly White
in reply to Sherri • • •Molly White
Unknown parent • • •