i-see-7-cats

[i-see-7-cats]

The other night I reorganized the folder on my computer where I keep all the weird New York Herald personal ads I post.

Over the years I've been clipping these I've come across a handful of personals that were just straight up written in code.

As I was going through the folder I noticed that almost all the coded ads were printed within a year or two of each other (specifically between 1850 and 1852). Looking a bit more closely I also began to realize that the same coded words and phrases were appearing across multiple personals - suggesting they were all written in the same code (which appeared to be a basic substitution cipher), likely by the same person/people.

Possessing multiple samples of the code, struck by the type of confidence that only hits at 11:30 at night, and having the little know-how remaining from a special interest in cryptology in middle school, I thought... I bet I can crack that.

So I took the longest coded personal I had at the time (the image directly above - I've since found a much longer one), cracked open a notebook and got cryptoquip-ing.

I had a few little hitches due to words being mispelled in the original ad and a few unclear letters due to poor quality newsprint, but I soon found myself with a mostly decoded message...

"This morning at elevn[sic] precisely be at Carter's bookstore two eighty five Broadway. As a prete?h ask for their directory. Don't fail."

I made myself a key (V and W are Q and Z, but as neither letter is ever used in an ad there's no way to tell which is which.)...

...and got to decoding the other personal ads and putting them chronological order.

Let's see what was worth encoding 175 years ago...

July 16, 1850 -

"You have arrived by this time I suppose my own dearest Josie. I shall wait ivpatiently[sic] for the Asia** hoping to hear from you. I went to vespers Sunday and sat in your pew. You are never out of my thoughts. I have written down all that has occurred which I thought would interest you. We will read it together on our first drive after your return. I kiss this on which your eyes will rest. Do not forget your own fond devoted Jerry."

** There was a Cunard Line transatlantic paddle steamer called "the Asia" launched in 1850, but I checked the dates it was in New York that year and neither voyage fits what's said in the messages.

---

September 12, 1850 -

"Welcome my dearest Josie; when can k[sic] see you."

---

September 17, 1850 -

"Not one word from you dearest while away or since you returndd[sic]. Have your feelings then changed, See last Thursdays Herald. I dare not see you for the first time at home."

---

October 10, 1850 -

"I’m sick with anxiety about you, love. Will you not see me."

---

The ads then skip almost two years (I'm planning to go through the intervening microfilm by hand at some point to make sure there aren't any sneaky ones I missed)...

June 3, 1852 -

"Dearest - I was very ill whne[sic] you wrote."

---

July 4, 1852 -

"Deareft[sic] - Just return[sic] from Albany write again to me box in post office."

---

July 7, 1852 -

"Today three oclock Jersey City ferry house."

---

July 8, 1852 -

"This morning at eleven south ferry New York side."

Street cars and omnibuses wait outside the South Ferry terminal in New York City, circa 1865.

---

July 13, 1852 (the original message I decoded) -

"This morning at elevn[sic] precisely be at Carters Bookstore two eighty five Broadway. As a pretexh[sic] ask for their directory. Don’t fail."

Carter's Bookstore (indicated by janky arrow) as seen in a panoramic view published in Gleason's Pictorial, March 18, 1854.

---

Another time skip, this time 5 months.

December 14, 1852 -

"Give me a da y[sic] dear."

---

And the final message (that I've found as of writing this)...

December 25, 1852 -

"Mnray[sic] at elevn[sic] Catharine Ferry New York."

It may not be the most thrilling of Victorian espionage, but it still feels pretty cool to read something no one else has read in 175 years.

I've gone through about 3 months worth of microfilm by hand and found two more coded ads that weren't picked up by the text recognition due to blurry newsprint, but it's a slog so it's going to take a while.

So what are our theories? Did these two crazy kids make it? What was keeping them apart? Why the two year gap? What were all the meetings for?

[i-see-7-cats]

Das TAZ Interview mit Habeck ist sehr lesenswert.

[i-see-7-cats]

Weiß nicht was an Markus Söder so spektakulär sein soll. Oder warum die ihn erst jetzt entdeckt haben.

[i-see-7-cats]

Jetzt ma Butter bei die Fische:

Was ist dein persönlicher Lieblingsort in Hamburg? (Deine Couch zählt nich, sollte schon was sein, was man den Kollegen empfehlen kann, die mal Hamburg erleben wollen 😉)

Das wird jetzt eine eher ernüchternde Antwort, weil der Ort so nicht mehr existiert:

Die Hafencity, bevor sie fertig war. Es war einfach so schön surreal. Du läufst vom Zentrum durch die Speicherstadt und plötzlich bist du umgeben von platten Fundamenten und Baustellen. Und es ist einfach ALLES leer. Auf einmal triffst du keine Menschenseele mehr an (außer vielleicht die ein oder andere Person, die sich mit dem Hund hierher verirrt hat). Eine Ecke war aber schon fertig und das war so ein Teletubby-mäßiger Spielplatz, eines von diesen komischen Outdoor-Gyms und ein Hügel mit zwei zierlichen Bäumchen oben drauf. Und man hatte die ganze Gegend einfach für sich. Konnte oben auf dem Hügel sitzen und stundenlang chillen. Immaculate vibes.

Nach Corona bin ich dann noch mal hin und war erstmal komplett desorientiert, weil auf einmal überall Gebäude waren und die Menschen haben leider auch irgendwie hingefunden. Ist also leider einfach nicht mehr dasselbe.

Mein zweiter Lieblingsort war das Katzencafe, aber das hat aus ominösen Gründen im Januar ganz plötzlich zugemacht (vermeintlich sind immer mal wieder Gelder verschwunden? Die Katzen bekennen mir ihre Unschuld). Es gibt noch ein Katzencafe beim Schlump, aber da war ich bisher leider nur ein Mal. Die haben ganz nicen Kaffee (die Katzen hatten an dem Tag keinen Bock auf mich).

Ansonsten hier noch eine Auswahl von meinen liebsten Hamburg-Impressionen:

- trotzdem der Gang vom Zentrum durch die Speicherstadt bis in die Hafencity. Das ist alles super nah beieinander und der clash der verschiedenen Gebäudestile fühlt sich an, als würde man innerhalb von 15 Minuten durch 3 verschiedene Städte spazieren

- Der Hafen bei Nacht (idealerweise an nem Wochentag, weil dann ist leerer)

- Die Innenstadt bei dichtem Nebel

- Große Bleichen zur Weihnachtszeit (reiche Leute können sich die schönste Beleuchtung leisten)

- Der Raum mit dem großen Becken im Tropenaquarium (kurz nach Eröffnung hat man das ganze Ding für sich allein. Evil Lair vibes. Ich glaube, man kann da auch Dinner mieten.)

- und old but gold: Der Ausblick von der U3 zwischen Landungsbrücken und Baumwall an einem sonnigen Tag. Leude ich muss jedes Mal alles stehen und liegen lassen, wenn ich an der Aussicht vorbei fahre. Hamburg meine Perle ♡

[i-see-7-cats]

actually since i seem to have attracted more fans of both cr and gw2 with that last post than i usually do and it's reminded me - gw2 as an mmo really loves referencing other properties, but are people aware of the skeleton of matt mercer in the basement?

[i-see-7-cats]

A little zine about how I (still) have trouble saying the word aromantic.

I've never made a zine before! I was inspired to try it because @queerliblib mentioned a zine making night in an email. That hasn't happened yet - its on June 26th - but once I had the idea, I couldn't wait, lol. It was nice to put something down on paper and have the finished product to hold onto.

Image descriptions under the cut:

Page 1: Three tiny speech bubbles say: "Do you have a bf? Do you like anyone? What's your type?" A big speech bubble says, "Oh, I don't date." The big speech bubble comes from a heart colored like the aromantic flag. 

Page 2 says: I could say: "Actually, I'm... ...aromantic." ...aro." ...aromantic asexual." ...aroace."

Page 3 says: But there are a few problems:

aromantic: Has been misheard as "A Romantic".

aro: Opaque if you don't already know the term.

aromantic asexual: A mouthful! And sounds...scientific?

aroace: shares The Big Problem: it may require a vocabulary lesson!

Page 4 says: It doesn't actually come up too often! Which is fine. My coworkers, my neighbors, and strangers don't need to know I'm aroace. I just wish I could say it sincerely when I do want someone to know. 

Page 5 says: I always have to smile - laugh - hedge. "Oh, well, actually, I'm kind of like, aromantic? Basically just not interested."

It's been more than 8 years since the first time I said it out loud!  I'm certain of it, but I still can't say it like I mean it!

Page 6 says: The most memorable time I said "I don't date" the guy I was talking to asked "Oh are you asexual?" and I said "Yeah, actually. And aromantic." And we moved on.

That was nice. 

Page 7 says:

The times I've lead with "I'm aromantic" -- well, there's only one I really remember:

"I didn't use to think that was a real thing." 

Other than that time -- even if I use the word, I always explain what it means first! 

Page 8 says: I just hope that one day I'll feel like I can say, simply, confidently: "I'm aromantic" and "I'm aroace."

The words "I'm aromantic" are big and dark green, the color of the top stripe of the aromantic flag. The words "I'm aroace" are big and bright orange, the color of the top stripe of the aroace flag. Three hearts below the words are colored to look like the aromantic, aroace, and asexual flags. 

[i-see-7-cats]

(ein kleines Wort in eigener Sache)

Für ein Projekt an der Uni haben wir eine Umfrage erstellt. Wär super, wenn ihr euch ein paar Minuten Zeit nehmen könntet, die auszufüllen.

Es geht um die Genus-Zuweisung (grammatisches Geschlecht) von Anglizismen in deutschen Sätzen, also so etwas wie der, die oder das Link. Im besonderen betrachten wir sehr "neue" Anglizismen, zu denen sich eventuell noch gar kein festes Genus etabliert hat.

Bitte auch rebloggen, damit es viele erreicht :) Wir schauen uns vor allem deutsche Muttersprachler verschiedener Altersgruppen an. Wenn ihr also noch ältere oder jüngere Verwandtschaft habt, die sich auch ein paar Minuten nehmen würden, schickt den Link gerne weiter!

Um die Unvoreingenommenheit der Studie zu erhalten, bitte keine offensichtlichen Spoiler des Inhaltes in den Tags :)

[i-see-7-cats]

tumblrs ui design is so ass like its so incredibly easy to just misclick and unfollow a beloved long time mutual or follow some cunt instead of blocking them or send someone a random post on accident . and theyre still just like "yeep the only possible improvement our ui could ever use is Make Everything Circles i think. and maybe add a few more buttons nobody uses"

[i-see-7-cats]

hey goblin emperor fans can i introduce u to the sagrada família in barcelona.

yeah. thought u'd like it.

[i-see-7-cats]

i love being in bed like yeah everything is terrible but at least i’m in bed

[i-see-7-cats]

reblog if women with swords

[i-see-7-cats]

i fucking love reactions in texting apps like discord. theyve revolutionized how i communicate. i can put a bug on your message

[i-see-7-cats]

I sent you omens and all kinds of signs please respond

[i-see-7-cats]

another iceland fact

tourists are posting pictures from several different places in the country and tagging them with the name "gjaldskylda". they seem to be under the impression that it's the toponym of the beautiful waterfall/lava field/mountain/etc. they're visiting.

gjaldskylda means "you have to pay to park here" and it's on an unreasonable amount of signs

[i-see-7-cats]

Stand heute Nacht voller Begeisterung auf dem viel zu kleinem Balkon meiner Wohung und habe fasziniert zugehört wie irgendwo im Grünstreifen vorm Haus zwei Nachtigallen singen. Mitten in der Stadt!!!

Diese idyllische Szenen wurde dann aber kurz vom verzweifelten Ruf eines anderen Stadttieres unterbrochen: "Jonas! Jonas! Ich find mein Bier nicht!!"

[i-see-7-cats]

It was mentioned that the Soldier/Seeker/Schemers table aren't going to remain static and players will move around, so I wonder if the initial objective of those tables will remain the same (a soldier PC encountering something mystical and moving to the seekers table to better understand it, schemers moving to soldiers as a cold war becomes an open conflict etc.) or if the tables themes will shift according to stories arc and new objectives.

[i-see-7-cats]

a thing i think puts my interest in campaign 1s big fights is that theyre all in and near populated areas, like the briarwoods arc is all in whitestone and the final ziggurat is right under the sun tree, the middle of town. Fighting the herd and the pit fiend are in cities full of people, enemies or civilians who might be affected by their fights. vm fights thordak in the heart of emon, surrounded by warring armies. vecna is fought on top of the titan with a foot in vasselheim, and they can hear the fighting across the city. in contrast, the big final boss fights in m9 and bh are in an already dead city in the middle of space and deep deep in a cave miles away from any civilization that once the heroes succeed, feel no effect of the fight. I really missed the feeling of scale of the older fights.