Open gathering and chat post!

[capri0mni]

(Consider this journal entry properly bedecked).

This "Christmas season" is hard on everyone -- even those who enjoy & celebrate it can find it exhausting. And for those of us who don't -- or can't -- celebrate it (for whatever reason) it can be especially isolating -- particularly for those of us whose primary social connections happen through these here Interwebs.

So:

I'm posting this entry as an open discussion/chat thread, so that we have a place to chat and commune through the comment threads.

Come sip a warm (or cool, depending on your season) spiced beverage of your choosing, and grab a plate full of virtual goodies.

I'll be checking back in frequently over the next 72 hours or so.

Welcome! Welcome!

Edited to add:

I also can't forget (or, rather, I can, but should not) that today is also the first day of Hanukkah. So have a video that ysabetwordsmith posted a couple of years ago:

Watch on YouTube

Because I also know many are over saturated with Christmas songs, by now...

Comments

[randomling]

Hello hello!

It is Christmas Eve. I was woken up Very Early by dad and brother-in-law talking right outside my room. I then spent the next six hours zombie-ing in bed.

Now I'm up, I've managed to eat and do my daily dose of language studying, and I'm watching a Gilmore Girls and trying to make Minecraft not be crashy anymore.

How are you doing? ♥

[capri0mni]

Oh, pretty good... I took a shower this morning while my hard drive defragmented (day before yesterday, my sound driver decided not to work any more, so I had to do a system restore back to October 1 -- since then, my computer's clock has been insisting that Greenwich Mean Time is an hour earlier than it actually is, so I had to reset my clock to one timezone further east, and my C: drive was 4% fragmented -- but all the fragments were right at the beginning of the drive, so moving my mouse from one side of the screen to the other was causing a low memory fault).

But everything seems to be working again. :-)

Watcha building in Minecraft?

[randomling]

I'm so glad that things are working again!

So far, I'm reinstalling Java in the attempt to make Minecraft work. If it does start working again, I'm gonna find a Great Big Space and build a Great Big Castle, I think. I haven't played Minecraft seriously for ages, I hear there are Many New Things to play with!

[capri0mni]

I haven't played Minecraft ever, actually. But I know enough of the memes to know what it is (probably).

Have fun!

[alatefeline]

Fun! I hope you can make some great big awesome.

Sorry about the tech issues you and capriuni both seem to be having.

New gamestuffs, yay!

[randomling]

And now I even have an evening to listen to podcasts and mine for things. :D

Hooray!

[capri0mni]

Podcast mining!

"Hi-Ho! Hi-Ho! It's off to work we go!"

Re: Hooray!

[randomling]

Sadly minecraft still crashes after like five minutes.

Sysadmin work is the most frustrating! I played a different game for a while (sadly less good with podcasts) and now I'm reconsidering the plan again.

Re: Hooray!

[capri0mni]

Sadly minecraft still crashes after like five minutes.

Bah! (said the sheep) Humbug! (said the bee)

Seriously, though: do you have favorite podcasts to listen to? I'm always interested in recommendations...

Re: Hooray!

[randomling]

I'm actually not that good at podcasts! I get distracted very easily, which is why I was so desperate to get Minecraft running. (It's the perfect occupation for my eyes and hands.)

So I'm currently working my way through the audios from this program I signed up for called The Finisher's Circle and trying to get through some French and Italian-teaching audios. Maybe I should try to catch up on Night Vale too at some point.

I'd love to hear some recs if you have them actually! I finally got Minecraft working so I can maybe try some now. :D

Re: Hooray!

[capri0mni]

It's actually getting nearish my bedtime (within the hour), so I don't want to fall down a link gathering rabbit hole, but it'll be my first project of tomorrow...

Re: Hooray!

[randomling]

Thank you!

Hope you sleep well. ♥

Re: Hooray!

[capri0mni]

Okay, to be honest, most of my favorite podcasts that I listen to regularly are simply streaming versions of NPR programs I like.

These are a couple of my favorites: The Splendid Table: a "Cooking" show that focuses on the cultural heritage and implications (ancient and modern) that surround various food customs.

Also: 99% Invisible a show about engineering and design.

Enjoy!

Re: Hooray!

[randomling]

Ooh, thank you, I'll give those a try!

Re: Hooray!

[capri0mni]

I missed the Splendid Table this week, over the airwaves... might go listen to it myself, right now. :-)