Posts by katyswain@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #B1PwueLW4kvevoNilc by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-19T07:27:50Z
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What?! Say it ain't so!https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/melvyn-bragg-decides-to-step-down-from-presenting-in-our-time/
(DIR) Post #B1PwukRlORUVqvLnKy by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-19T07:34:14Z
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Don't tell me: It's because the BBC told him he was being too controversial by suggesting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Origin of Species, and the Magna Carta were basically good things, wasn't it?
(DIR) Post #B1PwukSTLo3ft7gMRU by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-19T11:38:00Z
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I was horrified when my mother revealed that she always had a certain kind of fondness for Melvyn Bragg.Yes, well you're not alone there Mum, but I really didn't need to know that.Back in the day, though. Phwoar!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFQd6ZHcKwM#oversharing
(DIR) Post #B1UT3GjpSavlx8VBh2 by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-21T23:34:59Z
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Replacement laptop power supply still not arrived in the post, which means I can't work from the library. So to try to improve my focus, I've resorted to eliminating my main source of distraction thus:sudo chmod o-x /usr/games/sol#DesperateMeasure #GNOME
(DIR) Post #B1UTSLIHevqpK0Ze9A by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-22T00:54:38Z
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@tregeagle That would be worse! I'd start building with them.
(DIR) Post #B1VCoLTm99CICkob4a by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-22T07:06:05Z
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@tregeagle Ooh. I had that on my list to look into a while ago.I've said it before, but 2025 was definitely the wrong year to catch up on popular culture by binging the Handmaid's Tale.I'm admiring Pluribus, but finding it disturbing for reasons I can't quite identify.
(DIR) Post #B1aKzmcjKqZT06lgVk by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-24T09:51:24Z
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Most weeks I go through the supermarket duopoly's catalogues, because when you're skint, you actually have to behave like homo economicus and gather all relevant market information (not hard when the market is two firms).After two months of Christmas promotion, I cracked and bought a half leg of ham, having found an exposition of how best to freeze ham which I hope was not written by AI. Haven't had proper ham in nearly a decade.Had some tonight. Meh. It was okay. Feel a bit queasy now.
(DIR) Post #B1bTx334u9Ihoop4KG by katyswain@mastodon.social
2025-12-25T03:55:29Z
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@tregeagle I think my mistake is thinking I'll still find things I enjoyed in my youth just as satisfying. Proper ham not from a tin or a compressed loaf used to seem the most decadent indulgence. Now it's just ham.When I went to Canberra a couple of months ago I didn't have time to make breakfast, so at Spencer St. I got a bacon double cheeseburger and fries, which was a frequent self-bribe to get up and on the train to work when I was 20.The most disgusting salty fatty muck! Never again.
(DIR) Post #B1tcY3BPfFD3Qe9fCy by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-03T02:09:30Z
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Dear #lazyweb can anybody recommend a reputable source of second-hand bikes in inner #Melbourne? I need to exercise more. The occasional leisurely stroll is not holding my weight down or keeping my strength up.
(DIR) Post #B204g1Qe29vtyAd1v6 by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-05T09:01:50Z
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I wrote a thing about what I did to ring in the New Year:https://katyswain.me/about/journal/nyd-2026
(DIR) Post #B28bniTRv91uIuDEMS by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-10T04:19:42Z
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Got a new old bike. $150. Isn't she… inexpensive? Approximately 5 in-hub gears which are only slightly iffy. Rode it home from Northcote in 27℃ heat. Only got slightly lost once. Dedicated bike/pedestrian trail or at least painted lane the whole way. (Yay Melbourne!)Started making a funny noise about a third of the way home (the bike and myself). Can live with that.A couple of days after recovering from the last lot, I got horribly sunburned again!
(DIR) Post #B28bnnrNta990aRurY by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-10T04:30:32Z
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Exhausted now after all that healthy exertion. Discovered why professional athletes don't typically wear makeup to work.Not inclined to do anything more today. Think it's time for a glass or three of wine and an early dinner.
(DIR) Post #B2AqRlWplpGv2Fhrpw by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-11T10:31:42Z
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Sometimes, when the world is going insane, I love the Fediverse because people keep on defiantly living.At the exact same times, when the world is going insane, I can't understand why some Fediverse people are losing their minds arguing over their preferred free software desktop environment.Is it a coping mechanism? I don't understand.
(DIR) Post #B2GzssgTL76Pa9ykBk by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-14T07:05:43Z
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The big difference I see between OG Fediverse and Mastodon-dominated, post-Twitter Fediverse is that now people complain when you favourite one of their posts.Because favourites don't bring them reach and engagement, and as your opinion is worth nothing to them, why didn't you boost?If I favourite something it often means I laughed at it. I don't generally want other people to know what I laugh at, as I'm a disturbingly weird person. (I think I've done a good job of hiding it so far.)
(DIR) Post #B2OkNw7OZpSJCz2Om0 by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-17T02:51:41Z
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I am in a bad mood, and it's nothing to do with me turning 55 tomorrow. Probably.I'm going for a couple of pints at the Dickens. I'll be the old, useless, unlovable hag at the end of the bar by the kitchen door where nobody will see me.
(DIR) Post #B2OkO1t57xZT6KO3IO by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-17T03:24:21Z
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That's better. Musak playing in the Dickens as I entered was George Harrison, and the barman said "Hey, nice to see you." I don't think I've been in for at least a year.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y5olEjNjAw
(DIR) Post #B2eptd3e1gC6iHfai0 by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-01-25T11:54:04Z
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Feeling particularly lonely today. Haven't had a good week. Feel like I just got a lesson in how to do being trans properly and I failed.Tomorrow there's another police-escorted white nationalist parade though the city, as if that's a normal thing now. I'll go into town to express my displeasure and clear out my sinuses with a touch of tear gas.A week later I go to the Shire to check up on my Mum and invite the ghosts of the past to haunt me. Probably wise to ignore me till March.
(DIR) Post #B2vJgFqV7eSi70Q4Zc by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T21:20:33Z
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Going to the Shire to visit Mum.Terrible place. Feel like I'm being taken to the vet. Why do I do this to myself?Limited Internet till I get back Friday. Stay lovely, Fedifriends; I will need you when I get back.
(DIR) Post #B2zGhmTrkX00O2hxom by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-02-04T02:56:13Z
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Spending the afternoon touring round all the places in the Sydney CBD that no longer exist. Very nice having the time for a bit of flaneuring.
(DIR) Post #B2zGhnZZgn9xm2O2M4 by katyswain@mastodon.social
2026-02-04T12:30:46Z
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Spent the evening talking to/at an old friend of 35 years standing who I've not seen for the last five of them.Picked up where we left off without missing a beat. I'm so lucky, friend-wise. Also a bit tipsy.Been a long time since I've been on platform 4 at Town Hall at 11pm, a bit tipsy. That also hasn't changed.