________ ________ ________ 2025-08-17 / \/ \/ / \ / __/ /_ _/ every effort I make to write something / _/ / / ends in frustration and distraction \_______/_\___/____/\___/____/_ hahaha. once again I'm trying christina's / \/ \/ / \ questions[1] in the hopes of motivating / _/ /_ _/ myself to find the time to write more. let's /- / _/ / just say there's a few files in the works \________/\________/\___/____/ that are shit to write about but that are shit to write about but that are preventing me from writing some stuff that's more interesting, because they provide a lot of context for it. not so much writer's block as writer's constipation. it's frustrating. add to that the general alienation I feel in the underground Interenet community at the moment (it's not you, it's me) it makes it really hard when I do find the time to then find the effort. woe is me, yeah, yeah. anyway! the questions let's goooooo. the first! what trinket, knick-knack, collectible, etc. in your home would you miss the most if it were gone? this is a hard one, I surround myself with stuff that has sentimental or psychological value. little widgets and figureines, cards and paper ephemera. it's a constant churn of weird shit that means nothing to anyone but me, it'd be fun to do a time-lapse of how it changes over time. there's other odds and ends I'd miss far more but I wouldn't consider them trinkets. IDK I'm very connected to stuff at random but also conscious of when I disconnect from it, I'm not a hoarder. for answer's sake let's say today it's that thing over there, just to my left. you know. the one on top. yeah, that one. the second! whom do you consider a national treasure in your country? this is a tricky one, I don't buy into celebrity much and, especially lately, putting someon on a pedastal often ends up with an unintended glimpse into their baggage which puts a tarnish on the whole thing. when I was young Rolf Harris was considered a national treasure, he came to our school once, and we've since seen the skeletons buried under that particular yew tree. one name does come to mind though; Deane Hutton. Deane Hutton is a scientist, futurist and television presenter. in my youth he presented a children's show called The Curiosity Show[2] which I loved to death, it presented science and technology for children but in a very matter of fact, easy to understand way. I don't think Curiosity Show ever left our shores but if you're familiar with Dr. Fad then you kinda get the concept, just a little less flamboyant and more Australian. Deane is also a very charismatic, soft spoken and a tremendous good sport, that's something I find really endearing about him, he frequently would appear on adult variety shows to do science tricks[3] and roll with the comedic punches. his Curiosity Show co-host Rob Morrison is wonderful too but Deane was always the host I gravitated towards. both are South Australian too, if I remember correctly, which is great. the third! What footwear do you prefer in summer: sandals, or sneakers/trainers/runners/running shoes? I wear skate shoes or weird loafers whatever the weather. hahaha. the fourth! if the answer is tomatoes, what is the question? what should I plant in the garden? Spring is here so I need to get on that. alternatively, come at me and ask my opinion on any hot button US political or Web social topic and watch me hurl tomatoes at you in response. does that count as an answer? the last! what tips do you have for making friends in a new place? be fearless and open and honest. it's hard to do and it doesn't always work but when it does the friends you get are the ones you keep; no fair-weather-friends, no hangers-on, no orbiters, no patrons, no followers. thassit, I'm done. a little footnote on the state of me and baud.baby, I did a big purge and refresh of the machine it's on because I half arsed my packet filter and it was bothering me but now everything is back up and running so it's got me in the mindset to add a few more of the bits and pieces I was dragging my heels on. keep an eye out for new stuff on the main page. I also think I'm going back to my ANSI art bannner because this one was fun for a minute but kinda just shits me now. hahaha my main haunt at the moment is XMPP & Fedi, you can find me as cat@jabber.sdf.org and @cat@mastodon.sdf.org respectively. my XMPP handle might change soon as I'm trying to spin up my own vanity server. I'm liking it a lot, I don't talk to many people on there but the few that I do are close friends and are present when they're present and not when they're not. I had to dip out of IRC because it was feeling too much like an albatross, I'd just check it to clear buffers and alerts, no one was participating and it was really depressing. I feel a little bad for just wandering off but not too much, I really did sink a lot of emotional energy into #comfy to try and bring it back to active but it just never took. it's no one's fault, we're all just busy, touched-out and victims of some pretty shitty circumstances. such is life. you can also find me pretty regularly on aBSiNTHE BBS[4], it's cool and cozy and the sysop is super engaged with his board and its community, I like it there a lot. speaking with solderpunk has me wanting to take another run at a regular social hangout of sorts but I'm not sure what that's going to look like yet and it's a while off. life for me is still very up in the air, I'm still struggling to undo the damage that I took in the States, but all that shit is for another file. slater. [1] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/~christina/2025-08-5Q.txt [2] https://youtube.com/watch?v=wmtAfChqy1M [3] https://youtube.com/watch?v=_QwLLVTFesE [4] http://absinthebbs.net/ EOF