#flexi spaces

[frogshunnedshadows]

Apollo 11 moon landing issue of National Geographic, published in December of 1969, with bound-in 'flexi-disc' record of space race related sound clips.

[strangelittlestories]

Here in the end times, it feels like everyone got a little weird.

That'll happen, you know? In a city of bondage rooftop pirates, predatory psychic business suits, and tacticool kindness cults; in a world where the sun's gone all high contrast, low brightness; in a time where isolation is a synonym for safety ... let's just say the 'Overton Window of Normality' has shifted.

Yep, when the light broke, we all got a bit strange.

All except for Simon, that is.

Simon is perfectly normal. Simon is swell. Simon still stops by Nero's for a coffee in the mornings and the Coffee Mafia *serve him* (I think just out of confusion).

Simon goes into his co-working space three days a week. Sometimes he works on his screenplay. Other times he goes through long-dead databases and de-duplicates records. If you ask him why, he'll just say that he gets tired of working from home all the time and needs a change of scenery.

Simon keeps a spreadsheet to track the good places for salvage in London-in-Darkness. He has different tabs for foodstuffs, fuel, clothes, makeshift weaponry, and a dozen other useful categories. He sorts them according to quality, abundance, known predators, level of contrast corruption, and convenience for his commute. Ask him to show you his v-lookups sometime.

If you haunt the high buildings like I do, then you'll see him sometimes, scuttling about in his scruffy converse, jeans and hoodie. If he sees you see him, he'll wave.

It's not that the various predators, gangs and high-contrast memetic hazards avoid him, exactly. They continue their usual routes; their patterns of search, destroy and throw-a-wobbly. But somehow they just ... miss him. He'll be overlooked or have a miraculous lucky escape. Occasionally, he'll get captured for a few days and spend the time working on his yoga routine, before the next localised burst of spectrum distortion gives him a chance to scarper.

You might be tempted, if you run across him, to join Simon.

You might hear him say things like: "Why don't we pool our resources" or "Let's catch up sometime" or "I've set up a mini golf course in the Tate Modern, if you fancy it" or "Do you want to listen to some Bruno Mars? I think I have one of the last unscratched CDs."

I urge you: do not listen to him.

He means you no ill will. Simon is *normal* and *nice*.

But nice is not kind. Normal is not benevolent. And sometimes, people overlook that the world will hurt those less lucky than them without really thinking about it. And it is *normal* to protect yourself in that way. It is *nice* to gloss over difficult things.

Simon lives a live that is orthogonal to the rest of us. His plane of existence is ever so slightly out of sync.

Yours isn't.

He is a last unchanging remnant of a world that was.

You aren't.

If you meet him, you will want to follow him. His is a world of order and predictability, of self-care days and flexi-time, of secret film screenings and hidden menus in bougie coffee shops. You will be enchanted by the way he talks about getting plenty of natural light, the way he complains about his commute, and how he still tips twelve percent.

But I beg you: do not heed his Simon song. For it is the song of Bruno Mars and you will be dashed on the funk rocks.

Don't go with him, the world that keeps him safe does not exist anymore.

And when I see Simon scuttling through the streets with a new friend, I am sometimes glad that it is gone.

[fizzyrodeo]

miscellaneous helluva boss redesign headcanons i'm not gonna use because i'm too lazy to do a full rewrite;

robofizz IS fizzarolli. instead of the robofizzes being robotic replicas, fizzarolli was so damaged by the fire that he is now 90% cyborgs. as his arms and legs are interchangeable, he has a series of work-related sets (the typical black flexi-metal) but also a series of casual sets that he reserves for asmodeus' company (the same metal but engraved with hearts or cute phrases).

blitzø has wings (half succubus, hell yeah) but can't fly because he was never taught and maybe because of his trauma he's incapable of learning. barbie wire also has wings and can fly, having been taught by verosika in rehab. both barbie and blitzø prefer to use their succubus charms over their wings, but again barbie is better at it than blitzø because she had a guide.

millie is the second tallest member of i.m.p (loona's tallest), equalling sallie may's height. she's also significantly buffer than the others because she actually works out and proteinmaxxes or whatever the hell people do to get buff. i don't work out but i do know millie is buff as hell.

moxxie looks a little more like his mother because why the hell not.

loona has some kind of visible injury that was gained during a fostering prior to blitzø's. i feel like the show leads us to believe loona had never been adopted prior to blitzø, but to me it makes more sense that she was and it didn't turn out so well... because otherwise she really has no conceivable reason to be treating blitzø the way she did for majority of the series. anyway, loona has long hair, so i think she'd have some kind of ugly eye scar that she covers with it. maybe multiple scars?

i also imagine loona as chubby with her weight going to her hips/thighs (me projecting hehe) due to blitzø absolutely spoiling her with fattening treats for like the first year of adopting her (until he learned how unhealthy they were) PLUS the fact that loona does seem to lean into gluttony quite often.

chaz is also buffer because i feel like it's easier to trick people into thinking you have something to offer if you don't look like a scrawny mf. he also has an eyepatch that used to be for show but eventually becomes necessary after he betrays the wrong mobster...

STRIKER!!!! striker should have more snake features rather than the invisible rattle. if he has to keep the imp tail just so he's recognizable as a hybrid, at least give him a rounder face and fangs. maybe some kind of ugly tinted scales under his receding hairline <3

similar to beelzebub, stolas has some king of glowy cosmic effect incorporated into his design. maybe his eyes? or it's emanating from his head, like a ponytail. i think giving stolas long hair would make his design so much better.

since octavia seems somewhat studious and is also incredibly introverted, i imagine her really leaning into the "moody astrologist teen" aesthetic rather than the "moody headphone teen" aesthetic. in my revision i imagine to distract herself from her family issues she throws herself into her studies of space and magic (struggling with practical performances due to her stress) which in turn leads her to adopt a not-so-stylish fashion... stained cloak, messy hair, you know?

stella gains some "negative" effects from her pregnancy with octavia. things that would make her hate herself, like additional weight (not even anything significant, just some pesky stomach chub she can't get rid of bc you know she'd throw a fit about it) or... idk, insert something else. i don't know anything about pregnancy 😭 i also headcanon her to look more swan-like, or at least with a pointier head so that she doesn't look like stolas' cousin.

[hulknussen]

the 2025 development cycle, a williams front wing, and a prancing horse with broken legs: how sauber achieved a fifth position in barcelona

it is--to my surprise too--that time of the season again. after the review I wrote of the australian gp I was waiting for something substantial enough to be worth looking into in-depth, and barcelona delivered. this weekend was marked by discussions about the technical directive regarding flexible front wings, but everyone's eyes were on mclaren.

in reality, a lot of teams had moved away from the flexible front wings before barcelona, if they even brought them to this season at all. ferrari and aston martin have been moving towards the new regulations all season and only brought the final update to conform to the new regulations at barcelona. mercedes, alpine and mclaren brought no changes at all either to the entire car or to the front wing; they finished adjusting to the new regulations before they went into effect. red bull racing, haas, vcarb and williams were the only teams to bring significant updates to the front wing in response to the new regulations, which is reflected in the finishing order of this grand prix. out of the eight drivers of those teams, only three finished within the points, in 7th for vcarb's hadjar, 8th for alpine's gasly, and 10th for rbr's verstappen. (I don't have one singular source to link to for the upgrades and what I'll be summarizing about them below, but you can go through the season's upgrades for each grand prix if you want to check for yourself. it's the "car presentation submission" document of each weekend on the fia's official decision document site.)

sauber never had a flexible front wing (to the degree that it would be non conformative with the new TD), thus, the technical directive did not affect them; there were no changes to the development cycle, no phasing out, no final hits to take at barcelona. the focus could comfortably lie on improving the car's deficits without needing to make adjustments because of regulations.

in comparison, it seems that williams did not take a phasing out approach, and instead chose to change the front wing at once when required. it wasn't completely clear to me what haas have been doing, but if they have been phasing the flexi wings out, it was done very minimally, with most of the hit still being taken at spain. the cars in the red bull family also seem to have all gone without significant front wing changes throughout the season in order to make the transition to the new directive easier.

as the sauber is (supposed to be) a midfield car, its direct competition lies in in the haas, the alpines, the vcarbs, the astons and the williams. in previous races it was williams dominating the midfield, likely in part due to their very strong front wing set-up. mclaren's dominance at the end of the 2024 season has been ascribed to their flexible front wings; similarly, I think william's dominance at the start of the 2025 season may be the result of the same. but I am not as familiar with the williams car, and this is speculative from my end, so take it with a grain of salt.

because of the teams respective approaches to the new regulations, haas, vcarb and williams were taken almost completely out of the equation. aston martin only fielded one car, further opening the midfield. all of this leaves space for cars that are not in the points as regularly to get up there.

apart from that, there are two key things that allowed car 27 to finish as high up as it did: the upgrade package, and the tyre(/strategy) advantage.

it was previously revealed that the sauber car was unable to overtake) (and by extension unable to defend). that is to say it would lose significant amount of downforce when getting too close to another car on track. it was a race car not built to race. sauber's upgrade package for barcelona brought a completely new floor, from scratch, changes to the sidepods, and small changes to the front wing to work with this new floor. all of these were with the aim of allowing the car to overtake, which worked. this is why we could see nico make up five places in the opening lap, for example--because he did not lose so much speed he was basically dead weight simply for being within the opening lap crowd. gabi also managed to hold on to his 12th qualified spot and not drop down the order.

barcelona is a track that wears tyres quickly while still not favouring the c1 hard compound tyres due to not producing enough grip for the higher speed corners of the track, and even one lap can make a significant difference in tyre performance. like many nico was on a soft-medium-soft strategy, but nico had three new sets of softs available for the race by nature of not making it out of q1. in comparison, gabi only had one set, and lewis hamilton had none at all. this, together with pitting later than hamilton, gave nico the tyre advantage for his overtake, and at the time of the overtake during the penultimate lap, nico was lapping 1.6s faster than car 44.

clearly the sauber was in a good position for barcelona, both upgrade wise and by the nature of the track favouring drivers that did not need to use up all of their designated tyre sets for qualifying. but is it enough for p5?

well, probably not. all of this has left out max verstappen's penalty which gave nico a one spot promotion; the safety car that allowed nico to catch lewis in time for the race end in the first place; and the promotion given by the safety car being caused by someone running in front of nico (kimi antonelli) instead of behind h im. this is +3 positions that weren't guaranteed, and nico admitted in an interview with sky germany that he expected to be finishing p8 or p9 at the highest.

additionally, we saw gabi finish 12th. he was handicapped by wearing more tyres for q2, and in my (and jonathan wheatley's, as he said in the same interview with sky germany) opinion pitted too late -- that said, he drove a clean race to finish where he qualified, has shown to be up to nico's pace in previous sessions, and is at the end of the day very much a rookie. it'd be stupid to expect him to fully match nico, who has fifteen years of experience of driving cars exactly like the sauber: with lots of flaws and little opportunities. I think we will continue to see gabi learn and improve, and that points aren't far away for him, either.

fortunately for both us and the drivers, sauber's development cycle is far from done. iñaki rueda (sauber's head of sporting and strategy, who was with ferrari until last year - his wikipedia article here for those curious) said in an interview to german media that a second big upgrade package is planned for after the summer break, though they might try to bring it earlier if possible. this package and the whole 2025 car is fully developed, so all resources are going towards the 2026 (audi) car for the rest of the year. the reason they aren't bringing them earlier is because of production itself, not development being unfinished. there is some danger in finishing the development cycle before the season is over; however, it is much better than I feared, which is that sauber would be abandoning this year completely in favour of 2026. the restructuring that has been happening in the team is seemingly offering them enough resources to both target the 2025 and 2026 cars simultaneously.

the saubers were fortunate this race to both improve on their own and have competitors fall back. but thus is the nature of the sport--it doesn't really diminish or take away from the impressive result it was. the summer break isn't that far away, either, so it'll be interesting what else comes of it, and how the teams that did not seem to respond well to the new front wing regulations will deal with it the following races.

[orangedogsquad]

Whyyy do people have their dogs on flexi leads in a vet. It’s unnecessary 😭

Waiting for Henry’s appointment this evening and two terriers came barrelling out of the consult room on flexis, very much not controlled by the owners, and swarmed Henry and me in the waiting room. Poor boy was spooked and couldn’t get away since he was backed into the corner. I asked them to give us space because he doesn’t like other dogs in his face and one of the owners commented ‘Awh, sorry, didn’t see you there’ while they did nothing to pull their dogs away??

Thankfully Henry recovered alright and was happy taking treats from me/ignoring the terrier Staring and crying at him, but my god why are people so clueless. They finally pulled that one back, but while the other owner was paying, their one ran straight back up to us :))

Henry did really well though and felt brave enough to go up to it and sniff it before they got it away again. But then the first one started saying ‘oh do you want to say hi too??’ to their dog. Like, my guy, I told you he’s shy/doesn’t like dogs in his face. Do Not push it. I got Henry doing ‘paws up’ on the bench, and they finally gave up.

Note to self, Henry goes up on the bench to start with next time…

[fruitless-vain]

lil lady was actually enjoying running today!

Trying out the new harness to run with, hoping it can be a good option for hotter days where I won’t want to cover up more of her body with the flagline harness. Also switched to the flexi for running since the hands free was giving me a very hard time- her size means that loose leash slack is a major tripping hazard for me. Every time she would sniff check me I’d end up either stepping on the line, stomping rapidly away to avoid it or having to suddenly stop which was not only annoying for me but also obviously causing her discomfort. Every time she came near I was getting frustrated and so she started being a bit mopey and running behind me which is obviously not what we want!

The flexi helped a LOT immediate demeanour change for both of us, she was really happy being able to slow down or speed up with a bit more space to choose from as well as zig zag and choose to run off the cement as needed. No slack for me to trip on and plenty of leash feedback for me to know where she was without having to run with my head down watching for my tiny trip hazard of a dog

She was wanting to run more than I was this time, super glad I swapped gear around!

Also a chaotic amount of dogs out today of which nearly all bolted right for her. As a result today we learned that Yoshi can do her Switch cue while at a running pace. Very helpful.

[supurman-a]

would clark let his friends take krypto on walks. can they give him treats. i need krypto headcanons.

krypto ! superman's devoted protector and companion since birth. you better steer clear of a body guard that meant to protect the man of steel himself. here are some answers and head canons for you !

would clark let his friends take krypto on walks ?

yes, absolutely ! but ONLY to trusted individuals who have the confidence to handle him and additionally know he is a super dog. this pooch is super, and above that he is a trained protection dog. so they should know what to expect. he has been trained to discern scenarios and if he sees fit, he will bite once certain boundaries are stepped over by belligerent strangers. but he is not a vicious dog, just a protector. if a friend knows the dog's behavior, he is safe in anyone's hands to go on a walk. oh, and of course clark will give the fair warnings of walking krypto... if he seems like he is going to chase something by god let go of that darn leash. he will drag you like santa's sleigh. but, by all means he is a well trained walker as long as you don't throw a frisbee for him to catch...

can they give him treats ?

of course ! krypto is a dog at heart. he loves treats. he is a big fan of peanut butter flavor or pumpkin biscuits, or freeze dried meat treats. he will sit straight up vertically on his rear hoping for a treat. if he smells anything he likes in your pocket he will do ANYTHING to please. coming from an excellent working dog line krypto has a high food drive and will do whatever it takes for a treat.

wild card headcanons & facts !

krypto is actually more intelligent than your average dog. he seems to understand human sentences to a degree and commands that have a higher sentence structure than your average one worded command dogs are trained for. he is able to understand if you want him to do specific kinds from lasers from his eyes. on top of understanding complex commands, krypto also seems to understand how to adapt to scenarios and work out who is the bad guy by his own problem solving skills. or the fact that krypto knows to keep a secret identity as well. without the cape he is simply a white dog. with the cape he is krypto the super dog.

krypto is one of the pets that founded, yes founded, the league of superpets. true to form of his superman companion he fights crime with an honorable group consisting of many other superhero pets ! team mates include: titus ( batman's and damien's great dane ), bat cow ( batman's cow) , flexi the plastic bird and more...

krypto can howl so loud the entire world could hear if it puts that much power into it.

this pooch is massive. similar to clark being very large due to krypton’s evolution being ahead of humans + the different in geography and gravity of krypton he is a big boy. hes about the size of grey wolf. but next to clark he seems like the size of an large dog.

he is about 50 years old give or take. older than clark actually.

like most dogs he enjoys a good pet, laying in your lap despite his large size, and snoozing in YOUR bed.

you wont believe it but just like superman's fortress of solitude, krypto has a dog house of solitude. which is a dog on an asteroid in space. thats it. he just goes there to chill and thats about it.

the alien canine wasn't always this intuitive and well trained. at one point krypto needed a whole new rigorous bootcamp of training. back on krypton he was well trained in his job to be a meaningful and stable protection dog. but on earth krypto was liable for all sorts of damage with powers he didnt know how or when to use. on top of that, at one point krypto did become quite aggressive becoming quite hair trigger bitey dog with his new life on earth. for a while the dog lived in the fortress of solitude before clark trained his dog a new set of skills.

after fending off the powerful villain atlas allowing superman to get back on his feet krypto was dubbed the dog of tomorrow !

[eternalparadiseinwonderland]

How Can Choosing the Perfect Cat Bed

Creating a cozy and comfortable environment for your feline friend is essential for their well-being. Cat beds play a crucial role in providing a dedicated space for your pet to rest and relax. This comprehensive guide click here to learn more delves into the importance of cat beds, the various types available, and how to select the best one to ensure your cat's comfort and happiness.

Understanding the Importance of Cat Beds

Cats are creatures of comfort and require a safe and warm place to retreat. A cat bed is not just a luxury; it's a necessity for your pet's health and contentment. A proper bed offers a sense of security, supports better sleep, and can even help with behavioral issues by giving your cat a personal space.

The Need for Shelter and Warmth

Despite their fur, cats are susceptible to cold weather and can suffer from hypothermia and frostbite. A study by the National Research Council emphasizes the importance of shelter for cats, especially in severe climates. Providing a warm and insulated bed is crucial for their survival and well-being.

Exploring Different Types of Cat Beds

When it comes to cat beds, there are several options to consider, each with its own benefits. Here are some popular types:

Styrofoam Cooler Shelter

A simple and cost-effective option, Styrofoam coolers can be repurposed into shelters. They are readily available at grocery stores and can be a quick solution for outdoor cats needing temporary refuge.

Plastic Bin Shelter

For a more durable option, a plastic bin shelter can be created using two Rubbermaid bins, one larger than the other, along with straw for bedding and Styrofoam insulation. This type of shelter offers better protection against harsh weather.

Temporary Shelter

In a pinch, a sturdy plastic container or a heavy-duty shipping crate can serve as a makeshift shelter for stray or feral cats. These materials are often weather-resistant and can provide immediate relief.

Insulation and Bedding: Key Considerations

Proper insulation and bedding are vital for keeping your cat warm. Straw is an excellent insulating material, as it doesn't retain moisture like towels, blankets, or newspapers, which can draw heat away from your cat's body. For added warmth, Mylar blankets can be used to line the shelter, reflecting the cat's body heat. Pet stores also sell specialized products like the Flexi-Mat Purr Pad, designed to keep cats cozy.

Purchasing Pre-Made Cat Shelters

For those who prefer a ready-made solution, pet stores now offer high-quality wooden insulated cat shelters. These can be a convenient option for busy cat owners. Prices and styles can be checked online or at local pet stores.

Cats' Remarkable Adaptability

Cats are incredibly adaptable and can make themselves at home in various environments, from apartments to houseboats. However, they still require basic amenities like a litter box and a warm place to sleep. By providing these essentials indoors, cat owners can ensure their pets' comfort and safety.

[birdhouseblog25]

I can 100% guarantee on a half off sale that Wesley has sleep deprivation and 11 cups of coffee each day for the amount of time lines corrupted or mismanaged due to a ranger team.

Wes is living off of a prayer and a flexi tape begging on his knees to morphin masters that another singularity isn't falling apart because some Ranger team decided to travel back in time on a world ending crisis or misused their powers to CAUSE said world crisis; heavens forbid it was due to an enemy with beef big enough to fracture the time-space continuum.

Like let's be for real, he probably had an aneurysm and a possible stroke for what the Dino Charge Rangers were doing when Sledge destroyed Earth and they had to use the wibbly wobbly timy whiny mechanics to save their world which resulted in the dinosaurs to coexist with the present timeline.

I bet when he was speaking with Brody (Ninja Steel Red) he probably gave him a firm handshake gripping with the power of caffeine and the adrenaline of a mad lad to warn him that if him or his team ever screw up the timeline or try to disrupt the time space continuum hopping through different dimensions because they got quirky one day, or if an enemy has unfinished business that they couldn't take them down for it; he would personally knock down their door with nothing but his blaster, his TWELVETH cup of coffee and the fear of God.

8.5 * out of 10 Wes is done with everybody's b******* right about now.

[inspector-fox]

I think adults should be given playgrounds, with a track for runners, and drinking fountains and monkey bars that can support a tall adult person. I'm so serious because we talk about how there is a crisis of health in America, that, to an extent, could be mitigated through exercise, but access to space is difficult for some folks to find and I think we put too much pressure on the "go to the gym" version of exercise over the "Please just move your body sometimes like in any way that feels good!! Just get up and move and play for like 20 minutes!" Version of health- which arguably is more accessible and less overwhelming to consider (that "stay flexy" guy, Movement by David, is big on just improving mobility and I think he and creators like him are changing the zeitgeist of how we talk about and view exercise.) And, like, adult playgrounds in this form do already exist- they've got pull up bars and weird metal benches, they're designed for anyone to pull up and use for working out (my town has them at least.)- but I'm talking about PLAYgrounds a place to solely encourage play (and give access to other equipment) that would just be a space for adults to like, have fun and remember what it was like to just be given time and space to run around.

[beautifulhigh]

The update for @oldfarmwitch if no one else...

Last time on "Jen's grand plans"...

Clean kitchen, all going well. Happy Jen. (This will not last.)

Order the new tap I want for my kitchen sink because the current one is leaking at every joint and I think in places where there isn't one...

Discover we can't move the fridge on the wheels due to them being offset so the wheel braces are sitting like / \. In the process of discovering this both me AND my dad received injuries

Couldn't find the water stopcock. Took apart cupboards, moved the washing machine (more on that in a bit), found it behind a fucking panel

Discovered that one of the cupboards is rotting away due to ill fitting pipes

Struggled to move the washing machine, only for Jen to later realise that they forgot to unplug the fucking thing which was why it was a chore. Therefore the plug had been ripped out of the socket, but not before the socket had been ripped out of the back of the cupboard it was (barely) attached to.

Failed to have any food in the evening because I was just Done™ with the whole thing and went to bed.

This morning on "Jen's LOLZ life":

Woke up, ankle still hurts. Just great. I don't want to move so I stay in bed as long as possible

Get up just in time for Dad coming over. He has brought EVERY tool he has and most of his plumbing kit.

His plan: sort out the cupboard and then tackle the sink and its pipes.

Cupboard panel comes apart in Dad's hands. Whoops. We manage to get the new feet in place and get it level. It was a great time to discover it's also holding up the end of the unit so that will need resealing on the tiles.

Washing machine goes back into its hole.

Look to the pipework. Dad has the wrong sized... things. They're elbow shaped so I shall call them Elbow Things. Anyway, the Elbow Things are 10mm, we need 15mm. Look online but can't get anything this side of the holiday weekend.

Go off to this little plumbing shop Dad knows. They don't have any either. Go to B&Q to have a look at what they have (we'd checked their site but Dad wanted to check out what I shall call Flexi Pipes). While there we talk about the tap that's coming and I find a picture online where a reviewer took a photo of what came in the box.

I suddenly love unboxing videos because thank you.

Dad realises that we can get away without the Elbow Things because the tap is coming with its own Flexi Pipes and so we can use Straight Things instead. He knows he has one, so we pick up another in B&Q.

At checkout, Dad realises his wallet is in the car. (No, really.). That's fine, I'm a modern girl, I have a pay app on my phone. Which doesn't want to connect to the machine. Takes three attempts to pay for the £2.50 Straight Thing.

Get home, Dad is now under the sink. Plan: heat up the pipes to break the seal, put in the Straight Things, wait for the tap to be delievered.

Universe: LOLZ

The water is turned off, all pipes are drained.

Washing machine comes out, that's drained too.

The sink pipework is VERY tight and crammed in together so we have to take the washing machine back out so he can get that pipework out of the way.

One pipe is fine, the other one has Separation Anxiety and will not let go.

Washing maching goes back in to give more working space in the kitchen as when it's out it cuts off access to the other side of the room (think galley style kitchen, long and somewhat narrow).

I realise I haven't eaten all day. I've had a caffeine drink and I've had two lots of paracetamol (because ankle). Just Eat is now becoming my most-used app. Sorry to my bank account and to my trainer.

Dad is swearing up a storm. He used to be a sailor. People forget that. The second pipe will not move and he's burned the back of the cupboard and he almost melted the U bend thingy that comes down from the sink. He takes the U bend thingy off, takes off the drawers and facias of the cover, and gets in there with some Proper Tools. The pipe is cut - no conscious uncoupling here.

Nice man arrives with my lunch.

Dad imparts instructions for how to get the sink out of the unit. The waching machine comes back out again because we need to get at the clips under the sink.

Dad leaves because it's his brother-in-law's birthday. I sit down and INHALE my Greggs sandwich. I also bought treats. Again, sorry to my trainer. Sent @wtfuckevenknows a few voice notes with a short summary of what has happened before this point.

The water is back on but my kitchen sink is no longer plumbed in. Neither is the washing machine. I use the bath tap to get a bucket of hot water and put soap in so I can finish cleaning the oven and the racks which have been marinading in the cleaning stuff overnight.

The rack bag has leaked and some of the fluid soaked into and stained the wooden shelf I put it on.

I manage to mostly dismantle the over door to properly clean it, but the latches for the door to come off will not move. I do the best I can.

I have to go back upstairs to refill the bucket and I'm doing the cleaning outside on my wooden decking which gets slippery when wet.

My ankle still hurts and yells at me when I slip a little. This is also the ankle I have broken twice, although I didn't know I'd broken it twice until I broke it for what I thought was the first time and then ortho then showed me on the X-Ray where the old break was and how the new break was actually just me re-breaking it although not as badly. That was an interesting moment a decade ago.

Anway. Ankle is not broken but it's not happy.

Oven is now cleaned although I have the bowl of the goop that I scraped out of the bottom of the oven to dispose of. It needs to be diluted with a lot of soapy water and that's another trip up the stairs.

I use the bucket I have to dispose of the fluid in the cleaning bag and go to pour it in the outside drain, only to find out that's blocked when it all overspills.

I don't want to do this again with the stuff from the oven.

I also bought more treats from Greggs (very, very sorry, trainer) and I inhale two caramel shortbreads while I load up Tumblr and see that @oldfarmwitch is wondering how my day is going.

I sit down with my laptop and I type what is absolutely going to be tagged with "long post" because I can't even see the top of THIS bullet point list.

So I now need to put the over back together, then I need to get the sink out of the unit. That involves:

Cutting the current sealant

Removing the remaining clips

Lifting it out of the hole

Cleaning down the sink and the worksurface with remover which then has its own, bespoke clean up process which will allow further sealant to be applied. If I do not clean this up properly then no future sealant will, well, seal.

Removing the tap from the sink and waiting for the new one to arrive. Which, given the family's Easter plans, will be Monday morning when Dad has a "bit of spare time".

I still need to prime and paint the walls. The masking tape I put up yesterday isn't sticking properly to some of the window facias and is falling away already so that will be fun

There is more of my kitchen in the living room and more to come yet. Because I figured the Universe owed me a break I put £10 on the EuroMillions last night.

I won £6.20.

So that's where I'm at. New tag for these posts because yeah.

[quiveringdeer]

new plant setup, moved the hutch on the porch, it never quite came together into the plant cabinet I was trynna convert it to. So gonna try to jigsaw it and turn it into wall shelves sometime this month.

think it helped open up the living room a bit. scooted the bulky thing I built to hold the litterbox and storage over to the wall to open up walkway and put bookshelf on other side.

Think imma move the brown shelf on my right somewhere else cause it's really heavy visually. maybe try to find a coffee table that can double as storage? or maybe simply cleaning it of clutter will make it less heavy?

and gonna get my tall flexy lamp from the bedroom to put in space behind chair for when I ever get around to embroidering in the front room again

[exploding-salmon-heart]

WHO is that long necked green bitch I LOVE him I’m OVSESSED. What is its species can I pet it and keep it in my house?

Assuming you mean this fool

THATS GANGA!! He’s a Swamp Dog alien!

Typically they don’t like being touched but if you asked there is approximately a 67% chance Ganga would let you pet him. He would feel like a smooth frog.

You could probably find one to have as a roommate.

Other various Swamp Dog info as I have been given the opportunity to rant about them:

Swamp Dogs are semi-aquatic mammal/reptile-like sophonts who are about three feet tall at the shoulder. They were the third aliens to reach space and they are arguably the best suited for it due to their aquatic nature.

They are hexapedal. Their front four legs are used for walking and object manipulation, while the back two are mainly used for swimming and are held up off the ground alongside the tail. When holding something in both of the front legs, the back two tail legs can be used to help with balancing, as many Swamp Dogs are not fond to bipedal motion.

They are EXTREMELY flexible. Part of the reason they’re good in space. Their extra flexi muscles and tissues and such don’t have as much strain compared to Swamp Dogs who live purely on land.

Their ears and nose are both set on the neck right below the skull. The nose is the opening below the ear. Ganga’s nostrils are smaller than his ears, but the opening are usually the same size for most.

Their teeth are similar to leopard seals, their eyes are bright blue, and their skin can be any color from blue to green to brownish grey.

[fallowhearth]

I'm enjoying Nebuchadnezzar but there are some significant mechanical changes from Pharaoh. For one, we no longer have walkers who will randomly roam all accessible paths, but player-defined routes. This hugely changes the building layouts you need. (And sadly makes the blocks I've had memorised since the early 2000s less than useful.)

Just as some context, this is my beloved Flexi-Block in all its original forum glory. I found this via a more recent Reddit post, and I'm so glad I did, because it's the page I referenced at the time. I also had a small notebook where I'd copied down relevant details (ie total number of path squares a particular kind of walker could walk before returning home, that sort of thing) from various fansites that I could reference while playing.

Unfortunately some of the images have died in the meantime. It's so lucky the forum used its own system for showing building layouts, as these were modular and based on a shared library of images.

The basic layout with paths and entertainment venues displayed. This could be laid out according to available space as long as the area squared within the path was preserved. The block would be stoppered with a roadblock, preventing radiant walkers from leaving the set loop.

This is what it looked like with fully upgraded housing. The houses around the edges are palatial, so no longer workers, and I would ring the regular houses with a statue-garden-statue-garden pattern of decor so that I could strategically remove a statue to allow a house to expand into a palatial estate if I wanted to decrease unemployment (houses would expand over gardens but not statues). If you ran the block with regular houses, you'd put a feeder road around the outside of the block leading to an industrial area, kept far enough away to avoid desirability impact, but close enough that the industry's radiant walkers would encounter the houses and therefore be able to hire workers.

I would sometimes remove the entertainment venues from the block if it was experiencing instability (randomly happened due to Pharaoh's pathing engine) and put them on their own external path around the back of the houses.

This, btw, is what the game actually looked like while playing, courtesy of Wikipedia. Though this person's city looks like a dog's breakfast (to be fair it seems to be a tutorial). I did play it on a larger, rectangular screen eventually, and it was still a great looking game years after release. I'm disappointed the 2023 remake has changed the artstyle to a more cutesy, cartoony direction, since in my mind the original was perfect.

I will have to talk about building block strategies for Nebuchadnezzar in a part 2 since I apparently wanted to talk about Pharaoh more than I expected.

[hiremaid-verifiedhelpers]

Toilet: A luxury For Some

That Toilet is a basic need is something we do not realize since all our homes have not one, but many toilets. But, the importance of toilets was brought home to me when I started Helper4U. When we rented out our first office space, we were on a shoestring budget, and thus had a space constraint. To tide over this, we encouraged girls among our staff to work from home if possible. But, we were amazed to find that they all preferred working from the office rather than from home, even if it meant they could earn more and could also work flexi-time. This was quite surprising because as working women most of us would jump at the opportunity to work flexi-time, not travel, spend more time at home, and still earn more.

Having a Toilet: A luxury for some

On doing some simple research it turned out that the simple reason for this was the absence of a toilet at their homes. All these girls were from slums nearby. They had to use a communal toilet, which was always very dirty, and had no water supply most of the time. Even if all else was well, they had to wait in a queue to use it. That was the first time we realized the impact a toilet can have on people’s lives. Hence we say: Toilet Ek Jaroorat (Toilet is a basic need)

For millions of women, therefore, having a toilet means becoming free: A toilet can be Freedom For Her from so many things. Even for men from slums, it is a luxury. Many drivers come early to work so that they can use the cleaner, and more accessible toilets in the buildings of their employers. This is in stark contrast to the dirty ones in their slums. We, the more blessed ones (with at least one toilet at home) cannot even imagine how not having a toilet can impact the whole life of people, right from what they eat, when they eat, and how they ”go”.

This is not the situation in India alone. Globally, millions still suffer the fear and indignity of relieving themselves in the open or in unsafe or unhygienic conditions — a situation that is most dangerous for girls and women. For more than 1.1 billion women and girls globally, a lack of toilets results in an increased risk of poor health, limited education, harassment, and even attack. WaterAid’s third annual report reveals that women and girls bear the brunt of the Global Sanitation Crisis. Not having access to a toilet puts girls at risk of harassment and attack when finding somewhere to relieve themselves or manage menstruation. Lack of a decent toilet at schools is also a reason for many girls to miss or drop out of school.

How important toilets are for girls can be also gauged from the happy faces of these females posing next to a toilet. Would any of us ever think of posing next to a toilet, leave alone smiling away too?

Some interesting facts about toilets

India tops the list for the longest line for the toilet. While there has been immense progress in improving access to sanitation through the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, there are still more than 355 million women and girls in India waiting for access to basic sanitation. If they would make a line, it would stretch around the earth more than four times.

Around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhea related diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That’s almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.

Between 2000 and 2015, people defecating in the open dropped from 1.2 billion globally. (20% of the global population) to 892 million (12%). Still enough waste is produced in the open to fill seven bathtubs every second.

This World Toilet Day, on November 19, governments are pledging to do their bit. But, how can we homeowners support this basic human right?

One simple suggestion for all homeowners

Allow your domestic Helpers to use your toilets if they need to go. Rather than send them to the road or bushes nearby, allow them to use your toilets. After all, once flushed, the waste goes through the same process, irrespective of who generated it. Similarly, if someone defecates in the open. And in many of our homes, they are the ones cleaning it. And who knows, they may already be using it in your absence. So, allow them to use it, and feel the joy of giving.

We are all prone to diseases, again, irrespective of who generated it, and where. So prevent it the most you can. A simple gesture at your end will help keep the surroundings in our cities clean.

Allow Helpers to Use Your Toilet. Discourage the use of open spaces that are open defecation.

Remember: Having a toilet is a human rights issue. Everyone has a right to health and dignity. Let us pledge to contribute to it the best we can.