_Citizen Gyges has a chat with his city’s foremost scholars. He has a small request. A tiny one, really._ A quintessentially K. J. Parker novella. Wanting a far too clever for his own good narrator, who is a bit shifty but deep-down basically decent? Check. In need of a complicated scheme involving many moving parts? Parker has got your back. If you generally enjoy Parker’s books, you’ll like this. I was vaguely disappointed by the denouement, but all in all, found it a delight. ★★★☆☆

Didn't have time for more today, so weird-looking skull it is.

_Tova Lir — captain, courier, mentor — has a few mysteries to solve, and she needs to figure out the answers before an assassin can strike._ I found this very light and frothy, and with a much too cutesy vibe for my tastes. It also has no misdirections or explorations of any kind, it’s a simple story told in a straightforward manner. This is not a bad thing, but I like curlicues, details, miscellanea, and complex characters in my fiction. Not bad, but not for me. ★★★☆☆

* A Day in the Life of an Internet Censor1 — Interesting peek behind the curtain of the Great Firewall. * Selfish and Stupid1 — Musings on free soloing, _akrasia_ , and fairness, or lack thereof. Accurately titled. * ITV Retro Playlists — Playlist of playlists of various classic TV shows from ITV, including gold like _The Prisoner_ , but also “newer” fare like _Press Gang_. * On fediverse content warnings and filters — Blog post on how to tailor custom content warnings on Mastodon which are visible only to oneself. * Setting up an IRC server — Nifty guide to setting up an IRC server. * FreeCAD Draft Workbench Intermediate Course — How to create a 2D architectural floor plan in FreeCAD using the Draft workbench. * How to Make Stickers With Procreate — Short tutorial that covers a lot of ground. * Maple Mono — Cute coding font2 * How to Color Your Illustrations Faster and More Efficiently? — Have to give this a try once I allow myself to use to colour again. 1. via The Browser↩ 2. via Matt Fantinel↩

Sometimes even I can see Improvement. Though I'm nowhere near where I want to be, I'm getting closer!

One of those days where _nothing_ comes out right. Ugh.

* Caroline Hampton's Rubber Gloves1 — How the sensitive skin of a surgical nurse’s hands improved hygiene. * Why the Do Nothing Challenge Doesn’t Do Much for You1 — Interview with a boredom researcher who vindicates my belief (at least somewhat) that **no** , boredom does _not_ make people more creative. Hah. * Nicky Case's site — A cool blog, with lots of neat stuff. * Breathe — A ghost story. A book best read on a mobile device. * LR2052 Storage Boxes System — a 3D printable storage system that is _not_ Gridfinity-based. * Elf ears! Horns! Cute bags! — Super cute cosplay accessories. I might have to buy myself some ear tips 😍 * DM ScreenScreen — Very nifty 3D printable DM’s screen with a built-in player-facing LCD screen! * How to do the RSS — Nice explainer about RSS for people who’ve never used it. If you aren’t already using RSS you probably _should_ give it a try. However, please do read past the Short Version part of the linked article. It’s **not** necessary to sign up for or pay anything to use RSS. If you are on Mac or iOS, please check out NetNewsWire * All About RSS — A very long list of stuff about RSS. 1. via The Browser↩

_Maya is a “camera” who broadcasts, not only what she sees, but also what she feels, to billions worldwide. And she just found something worth sharing._ After really enjoying Reed’s short story _The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For_ , I was looking forward to reading this novel, originally published in the 90s. The edition I read included a laudatory foreword by Jo Walton, an author whose opinion I respect, and in retrospect probably raised my expectations a little _too_ high. Though full of fascinating ideas, and doesn’t read like an old-fashioned relic, it isn’t really my type of sci-fi. Still an interesting book, and Reed wrote some shockingly prescient things. Sadly, not the good kind. Also, I either prefer Reed’s shorter fiction, or perhaps her newer work. For me, it just didn’t rise to the level of _The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For_ , in either writing or world-building. That said, I’m looking forward to the novel she’s publishing this year. ★★★☆☆

<p><img src="https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/73pctgeek/768.webp" alt="Quick digital graphite sketch of a hand shown palm-down, fingers loosely curled. Watermarked: 73pctGeek 2026. " title="Day 768" /></p> <p>One of those days where I couldn't draw <em>anything</em>, so a kinda crappy hand it is.</p>

<p><img src="https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/73pctgeek/763.webp" alt="Digital graphite portrait of an older woman’s face and upper neck. Watermarked: 73pctGeek 2026." title="Day 763" /> This was <em>supposed</em> to be a value study 😬</p>

<p><img src="https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/73pctgeek/761.webp" alt="Digital graphite portrait of a woman. She has long, straight hair worn loose. She’s looking slightly upwards to the left, and her mouth is slightly pulled up on one side in a faint lopsided smile. Watermarked: 73pctGeek 2026" title="Day 761" /></p> <p>Spent way too much time on this. Got it 90% of the way in the first 60 minutes, and then spent probably twice that, effing it up.</p>

<p>Just finished playing <a href='https://www.inklestudios.com/tr-49/'>TR-49</a>, a narrative deduction game from inkle, involving a WW2 era machine built by a couple of Bletchley Park engineers. The game dumps you straight into the action and you have to figure it all out with a minimum of handholding. It's fun!</p> <p>This is a slow, thoughtful game akin to <em>The Roottrees Are Dead</em><sup class="footnote-ref" id="fnref-1"><a href="#fn-1">1</a></sup>, and is all about inferring and connecting various clues. Just what I wanted this week, and I spent a lovely 5 hours completing it.</p> <p>I played it via <a href='https://store.steampowered.com/app/3838370/TR49/'>Steam</a>, but I see it's also available for <a href='https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tr-49/id6754027574'>iPad</a> and suspect that would be a terrific interface.</p> <section class="footnotes"> <ol> <li id="fn-1"><p>The Roottrees Are Dead is available as a <a href='https://store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/The_Roottrees_are_Dead/'>polished, expanded version on Steam</a> or as the <a href='https://jjohnstongames.itch.io/the-roottrees-are-dead'>original, free version on itch.io</a>. I've played both, and I'd strongly recommend going for the Steam version. It's a brilliant game either way!<a href="#fnref-1" class="footnote">&#8617;</a></p></li> </ol> </section>

<p><img src="https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/73pctgeek/759.webp" alt="&quot;Digital graphite sketch of a Black woman’s face and upper neck. She is depicted facing forward, and is wearing a head wrap. Watermarked: 73pctGeek 2026.&quot;" title="Day 759" /></p> <div class="prev-next-post"> <a class="previous-post" href="/758" title="758">Previous</a> | <a class="next-post" href="/tr-49" title="TR-49">Next</a> </div>

Something I painted in 2024, merely to test my EchoFeed setup. Sorry to anyone who is seeing this via RSS.

_Why did a hotspot of horrific, and oddly specific crimes spill across part of the US, during certain decades?_ Though _Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers_ is well-written and interesting, I’m not sure I’d have made it through the chapters where Fraser lays out the crimes against humanity and nature wrought by industry. While informative, had I been unaware of the lead theory, I would have found it strangely off-topic, and possibly moved on to a different book. I’m still not sure there wasn’t more going on than just poison warping a generation of men, but I certainly don’t know enough to opine. This book really _does_ read like a True Crime novel, but though the author deftly manages to keep tension constantly mounting throughout, there is no final revelation to release it. And while the catalogue of horrors inflicted throughout the decades is unflinchingly, and graphically recorded, Fraser is never lurid, and always shows empathy towards the victims. As a history of serial killers, this is an astounding book. As a history of the poisoning of the Pacific Northwest, this is an interesting book. For me, the weakest part was the interweaving of the author’s own life. It felt superfluous, and I found it distracting. Taken as a whole? A cracking read. ★★★☆☆

_A collection of letters about sex from various people of note._ While I really enjoy the _Letters of Note_ blog, I obviously don’t find all letters equally appealing or interesting. This is also true for _Letters of Note: Sex_. While I found some interesting, some well-written and interesting, the bulk of them weren’t particularly compelling and the book as a whole paled in comparison to the average _Letters of Note_ newsletter. The letters run the gamut of sweet to quite explicit, and though all were about sex, none were, themselves, sexy. Particularly not the more explicit ones. The language and imagery used in the letters (presumably) intended to entice were hopefully received as alluring or erotic by the recipient, but I found it awkward, risible, and sometimes repellent. I actually found myself enjoying the introductions to the letters most. They were informative, succinct, and well-written. ★★★☆☆

* Ratfactor's Illustrated Guide to Folding Fitted Sheets — Does what it says on the tin. Have I managed yet? No. Have I even tried? Also, no. * Historical Tech Tree — Absolutely fascinating visualisation of tech history, from the stone to MRNA vaccines. * Supercharge — A smol Sindre Sorhus app that does a lot of smol things to make using your Mac more pleasant. I really, really like it, and he keeps adding stuff to it. * How to use an 8BitDo Zero 2 controller with Clip Studio Paint on iPad — Guess what? An 8BitDo Zero 2 works with Procreate too! * I DON'T HAVE SPOTIFY — Paste a link from one of the various music streaming sites, and it automagically finds you links to the same song on the OTHER various music streaming sites. * PolarSys B612 font family — Apparently, the B612 font 3D prints very well.

_Anja drinks poison. A lot._ Healer Anja, the usual competent Kingfisher protagonist, is hired to uncover the mystery of how someone is being poisoned. Cats, bodyguards, some really creepy bits, and a satisfyingly true to life resolution of the final, niggling “plot hole” make this an enjoyable twist on a certain fairytale.

_Princess Marra needs to figure out how to rescue not only herself, but her siblings too._ Another enjoyable fantasy from T. Kingfisher. This one feels a little darker in tone than Kingfisher’s non-horror fare, and is very fairytalesque, with godmothers, and princesses, and kings. As usual, Marra the protagonist is satisfyingly down-to-earth, and works with the tools at her disposal to attain her goals. A nice, quick read about comeuppances and chickens. ★★★☆☆

* Wikipedia needs more women — I keep meaning to get back to editing Wikipedia, but always come away intimidated. Here’s hoping I get over myself in 2026. * Thread-drawing modules for OpenSCAD — This year will be the year I finally get good at FreeCAD, and also learn to use OpenSCAD properly. Really! * Pinery — An interesting-looking Markdown based self-publishing tool alternative to software like Scrivener, Vellum, and Atticus. * Unboxing Guide for H2D AMS Combo and Laser Full Combo — Useful for when we couldn’t find the included power cable, as the paper quick-start guide assumed a non-AMS combo. * Lidify — Self-hosted audio streaming software I need to have a closer look at. * yt-dlp's --download-archive flag — TIL about the `--download-archive` flag! * Better Offline Ed Zitron and friends coverage of CES is absolutely delightful.