life going on
Whoops, it’s been a little while since I’ve posted here. Well, okay, here’s some of the stuff that’s going on.
Comments were broken again, oops
There are so many papercuts with keeping isso running and I really ought to get around to writing something better. Working on software is the last thing I want to do right now though.
On the plus side, not a single person mentioned the broken comments to me, so I’m guessing nobody actually cares about them anymore. I only noticed things were broken when I was looking at one of my particular articles and was like, wait, where did all the comments go?!
Slate: Another EV to look at
If you’re at all tuned into the EV space, you’ve probably heard of the Slate truck, for example from this Ars Technica article.
I am super into the concept. I probably wouldn’t buy one, because it doesn’t actually fit any of my needs as described (also IMO it’s kind of fugly), but I really hope that they expand their offerings a bit. In particular, I’d love to see a four-door model happen (I don’t drive other people often but when I do they usually have accessibility concerns!), and the addition of power windows would be really nice as well.
I do have my doubts about whether it can actually launch for the anticipated price, but they’re at least getting a lot of hype right now, and I love the idea of a barebones modular vehice where you only add the stuff you actually care about.
If I were to get one I’d definitely want to add a CarPlay display and audio amplifier. Fortunately there are already plenty of things on the market that could be used for this purpose, and I’m sure those will be among the first things to be adapted for the Slate if/when the vehicle comes to market.
I also hope that the hype around this causes other manufacturers to realize that there’s a market for lower-spec EVs. I’d absolutely love to see a low-spec version of a Telo, for example.
bye gumroad
I’ve been using Gumroad as a digital asset store for years now, as well as for some of my physical goods. But I’ve been wanting to extricate myself from it for a while now, and recent developments have finally pushed me all the way there, and the timing was good given I’ve gotten a Dealer’s Den booth at Furality Somna.
My digital assets are now primarily on itch.io, and physical goods are now just on Etsy for now, although I’m not a huge fan of Etsy either, and my physical books aren’t currently available anywhere (not that they ever sell to begin with). I guess I should look at my ko-fi shop as an alternative for that stuff.
Anyway. I’ve already sent (manually-generated) itch.io claim keys to everyone who paid for my VRChat assets, and for folks who bought my books on Gumroad they can request a download key as well if they want to be able to redownload it from itch.io for some reason.
Now to figure out if I can sell my shares in the company…
Choir fundraiser show
Just a reminder that my choir, STANCE, is having our annual fundraiser show in a few short weeks (on May 3), consisting of both a talent showcase and a silent auction. This organization is super important to me since it helps us to celebrate trans joy and self-expression. The show can be attended in-person or online, and tickets are available for purchase either way.
These funds will go directly towards supporting our upcoming Pride concert on June 20 and 21.
I will be performing one of my own songs, and in an ensemble for another song.
Survival is an act of defiance
Back in 2016, when Trump was first elected, so many people around me were despondent and telling me that they should just kill themselves before the rest of the world did it for them. Why should they bother going on, in a world that just wanted them dead anyway?
This is why I wrote Strategies to Live, especially the final verse:
In the long run everything will be fine
It will just be a matter of time, in
Twelve billion years this will all be goneIn the meantime, please1 try to survive
The world is better with you alive
Outliving him is a reason to go on
It took me unti 2021 to finally release it on an album, and I perhaps didn’t do as good a job of it as I could have since I felt like it was no longer relevant. Now that it’s relevant again I end every set that I can with it.
Vertigo updates, and VR driving
I’ve been going to physical therapy for vestibular rehabilitation for a few weeks, and right now I have good days and I have bad days when it comes to vertigo. Today was a bad day.
On the plus side, even on my bad days I seem to be able to drive, at least within town, without having a vertigo-induced panic attack. Maybe I’ll be able to start driving to choir again soon. And also finally go to Costco in person instead of paying for delivery for everything.
Bathroom re-re-renovation done
Okay so here’s what was being replaced:
The wall tile was way too thick (and was poorly-installed at that), there was no bullnose around the edges, it didn’t line up with the edges of the tub, and it led to a perfect little storm of condensation trickling down and saturating the drywall in that weird little gap between the tile and the tub.
A $5000 mistake
Wellp, the latest bathroom situation is something that could have been a lot less expensive, if I’d been a bit more willing to get some proper diagnosing this time around. I still think it’s a good thing that this work is getting done, but gosh, things didn’t have to go this way.
Cellphone dependency
This video about cutting down on phone dependency has been making the rounds:
I have some thoughts about it.