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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2023

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  • I could have but for the other two reasons I wrote about. Namely, I wasn’t mature enough to DNF, and the Fae stories are really good.

    I suppose in the end it did one better by causing me to grow as a person. Sure, books have taught me a bunch of stuff but not many I can describe as being “the” reason I “grew”.

    Today I wouldn’t have read enough of JS&MrN to even hear about Stephen, let alone grow to care about him.

    I’m sure I’m missing out on a great number of good books, great books even, possibly even formative books, by how willing I am to DNF. But, there’s so many good books out there that my calendar always seems to be full anyway.


  • Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell. After that book I gave myself permission to DNF though, so it was a maturing experience for me. I mostly wanted to know what happened to Stephen and that’s what drove me, along with the “No mere book shall defeat me” attitude.

    I really enjoyed all of the Fae short stories actually. I’m not really a horror fan, but I found Fae, and mortals interaction with it, particularly gripping and memorable. I never put the book down when I was in Fae, trapping me along with the victims, perhaps that’s why I wanted Stephen to just be ok.

    It was just everything else in the book I couldn’t enjoy. The titular characters I found uninteresting. The setting, fae excluded, I was apathetic about. The structure, the footnotes, dear god the footnotes.

    But the Fae stuff? I’ll take 10 more of them in an anthology please.



  • Not op but have used an IP to cook pasta. I could absolutely see the appeal.

    Ultimately I use the stove top but that’s for 2 main reasons:

    1 Being UK based, I have electric kettles and enough power in the sockets to drive them. Combined with a gas stove that means quick meals are quicker.

    2 The IP will fully cook the pasta and easily overcook it, I prefer pasta underdone if anything.

    Stove top just grants more flexibility for doneness for various thicknesses of pasta at the cost of another pan.

    So if 1&2 don’t apply to you give it a shot.


  • That’s a shame. Their pressure cooker and air frier are pretty good £/performance. I’m usually using one or the other to make a main/side. I even ferment doughs and yogurts in the IP.

    I’ve not found a glass jug comparable to the .5L Pyrex measuring jug. Maybe its a psychological thing, but I’m happy to abuse pyrex in a way I won’t other glass products. The shallow-wide 1L jugs seem to have pouring issues no matter who makes them.


  • In the twilight years I mostly just used Reddit as an information aggregate.

    I’m primarily wanting a place where I can read information for both niche and general topics, as well as read the dissent to that information in the same space.

    Maybe I become more engaged in the community. But going from:

    Private forums > old reddit > new reddit

    Each step felt like I knew and was known by fewer people. All while knowing less about the people I did recognise. I spent a lot of time in “off topic” sections of the private forums, commented and generated a fair amount on old Reddit, and mostly lurked on new Reddit.

    I think the whole situation has me cynical about the idea of “internet community”, and maybe that’s something I need to work on.