aibohphobia

The laptop I bought in 2019 is slowly dying and it's time to get a new PC. My current laptop is mostly stationary in its home on my desk so I'm considering switching things up and getting a desktop computer for the first time since the 90s. I mostly use my laptop for bills and video games, so why not? It's a thought.

If anyone has some desktop PC advice then please share! So far I'm leaning towards a Lenovo gaming desktop but I'm still researching options.

The tablet I bought in 2018 is also getting close to retirement, but that can wait a while. I mostly use it for reading fic, checking my email, and keeping up with the few corners of social media that I have a presence in.

This is my second snow day in one week. I think this warrants pancakes.

[edit] - The pancakes were delicious!

My Steam account says I played FF7 for six hours back in 2014. I have no memory of this but it might be why the beginning in Midgar felt so familiar.

This is going to be a painfully slow playthrough, mostly because I have no energy after work so this is more of a weekend thing.

( From Junon to Gold Saucer, with a few bits of transcribed dialogue )

I still remember my online friends from years ago fondly. They've gone their separate ways, but in theory I could contact them if I chose to, assuming that their old email accounts still exist.

Google is deleting old abandoned accounts next month.

I sent a message to an abandoned Dreamwidth account to say thank you to the account holder for something they did for me years ago. I don't know if they still check their fandom email account or if their email account is from Google, but at least I got to say thanks. I should have done that ages ago.

I woke up this morning thinking about how I don't own a fire extinguisher. I've never owned a fire extinguisher. I've been meaning to purchase one for years and never got around to it despite knowing how dangerous fires are.

This morning, I finally purchased a rechargeable one with good reviews.

Yay for finally doing the responsible thing! I should have done this years ago.

I've been thinking of moving out of Iowa on and off since 2019, and I think I've finally reached the point where I'm ready to start planning for real. Governor Reynolds and the legislature have been pushing for right wing culture war nonsense for years, and at this point it looks like Iowa is competing with Missouri for the Who Can Be The Next Kansas award. I'm tired, and I want out.

Seriously, Iowa has enough trouble keeping up with infrastructure alone. The change to a flat 3.9% income tax rate is going to severely undermine attempts to maintain what already exists here. That alone would be reason enough to leave.

Then there's Governor Reynold's request to the Iowa Supreme Court to reinstate that fetal heartbeat law from 2018 that was blocked by the Polk County District Court and never enforced.

Then there's SF 342 that was passed in 2021 as a response to the 2020 BLM protests that strengthened protections for police, increased legal penalties for protesters, and gave legal protection to drivers who hit protesters with their vehicles.

Then there's the current anti-LGBTQ culture war stuff. This year, SF 538 and SF 482 were passed. They ban gender affirming care to minors and prevent trans students from using the correct bathroom at school, respectively. The house and senate have passed SF 496 which bans LGBTQ topics in K-6 classrooms. And finally, eight house legislators introduced a bill to amend the Iowa state constitution to ban gay marriage while the house introduced HF 508 which would end any requirement of Iowa residents to recognize gay marriages.

I'm queer. Iowa is not safe for me.

I have a small nest egg to get me through a few months as I settle myself in another state, and my lease ends in September. Minnesota is just a few hours to the north and isn't out to hurt LGBTQ people. I'm strongly leaning towards starting over (again) in Minneapolis. The cost of living is a bit higher than what I currently pay, but it's nearby which means I can get my parents to help with the move. Not having to hire movers to transport my property across state lines would be a massive help on the "can I afford this?" scale.

Now I need to research housing options and do some job hunting. Wish me luck!

So Canada just experienced a derecho yesterday in Ontario and Quebec. I remember the damage we had here in Iowa in August 2020 when we had our derecho. It was terrifying. I wish the best for my neighbors to the north and I hope that they have a quick recovery.

These "rare" storms sure are happening fairly frequently nowadays, aren't they?

I recently found out that my brother had a thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer at some point this year, just like I did six years ago. I say "at some point this year" since apparently all the family discussion about it was on Facebook, and I don't have a Facebook account. My mother casually mentioned it one day as a "Did you know about your brother?" kind of thing.

He's fine! The surgery went well, and he's just living his life.

Now, my brother and I have different fathers but we have the same mother. On top of that, there are multiple instances of thyroid disorders and cancers on her side of the family. It's clear that our mother is probably where we inherited our thyroid problems. That's why I'm incredibly frustrated that she refuses to go get her thyroid checked and by her belief that she has no relevant symptoms.

I'm hoping my stepdad will convince her since he's very nervous about cancer because of a friend of his who passed away. He doesn't usually push hard for visits to a doctor, but he has very definite opinions on the issue of cancer.

Mom, get thee to an endocrinologist!

I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday. My only reaction was a bit of itchiness where the injection was, and honestly that could have just been due to dry skin. Also, my job paid me to go get vaccinated. All in all, it was a positive experience, even if I did have to go to the airport to get the vaccine.

I'm knitting Norma in fingering weight yarn because I was in need of something to do while sitting around at home, and it was a wonderful project until I discovered an error in the eyelets. No, not just an error. An error that happened multiple times throughout the project because I failed to keep track of what I was doing while I watched TV last night. Today's big project is to slowly, meticulously take apart at least one day worth of knitting to fix these errors that no one else would ever be able to see due to how busy the pattern is because I'd know they were there. I really don't know how I managed to goof up the simple four row repeat part of the pattern, but I did.

At least the blanket is still small enough that I can finish two and half rounds in an hour.

The pattern itself is fun and surprisingly easy to follow. The design is complex enough to be interesting all the way through while also simple enough that I don't need to constantly check the pattern. It just isn't for TV knitting when I'm watching something new.

In other news, my taste buds are working properly again. Toothpaste no longer tastes like salty Robitussin! I cannot express how much of a relief this is.