Jackie's Fridge

This is a solid list with descriptions so you can figure out if the theme and game play is appealing to you: https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/single-player-board-games/

Wingspan is on the list, and while it’s pricy, it’s a lovely engine-building game that can get very involving. A couple of my friends were obsessed with this one for a few years.

I’d also add Sagrada, another pretty game where you work within set parameters to match dice colours & pips to “build” stained glass windows. It can be challenging and requires strategy and a little luck, but again, very involving and satisfying.

There’s also a single-person dungeon crawler from an indie developer that you can take anywhere: https://gladdendesign.com/products/paper-apps-dungeon

And if you don’t mind screen time, there are a surprising number of board games on Steam, with online play options so you can play with others.

I really enjoy tinkering with stuff and repairing it if I can. Doesn’t matter what. It’s satisfying keeping stuff out of the landfill.

Probably not ‘barrels’ of fun, but at least a couple of buckets’ worth.

I try to create - drawing, making music, sewing, repairing appliances, learning how to do new things. Single-player games (video or board) are a nice way to unwind and distract your mind while still keeping it challenged. I am lucky enough to have a couple chill days who like to snuggle, and that snuggling helps way more than I ever thought.

Literally ask someone which switch it is. Then ask them what idiot wired them up that way

If you have an M8 you don’t need the Polyends. Simplify, simplify

Absolutely! I’ve had luck with the iFixIt step by step tutorials, but for this specific TV there was a YouTube video where the person walks you through troubleshooting and teardown. I kinda lucked out finding that!

I highly recommend learning how to solder as well as the basic techniques of using a voltmeter to test power and continuity. There are YouTube videos for these and other skills that help demystify troubleshooting and repair.

It also helps to have the mindset of “It’s already broken, so what’s the harm in trying to fix it?”

A couple years ago I grabbed a 55" LG tv from a curb dump. Owner said the screen would flash briefly, then turn off. Found out that’s typical when one of the backlight LEDs dies (resistance is screwed up). Got all new LED backlight strips for the price of a decent dinner and spent an afternoon switching them out. It’s been our primary TV since and I’m stupid proud about keeping it from the landfill. 100% recommend repairing stuff like this.

Our cats are tree-obsessed. This year we are doing an experiment. I spent about $15 at Goodwill on a fake 4’ lit tree, a pressboard “live laugh love” framed thing and a little tin bucket.

Spread the branches to either side, flattening the tree on one half, paint over the vapid sayings on the board, and wire the tree to the front, hiding the light plugs & extension cord in the little bucket.

So far so good.

TIL dogs speak rhyming slang

Krudler is coming at it like music is a zero sum game, which is silly. I love the Ramones. I also love more innovative, complex music, as well as plenty of vapid garbage. I’m happy jumping from Art Pepper to Guatafán. None of it is a waste of time if it’s what I’m in the mood for.

The Ramones were a fresh slap in the face back in the day, and without them punk & new wave wouldn’t be what they are. In the meantime, other artists have built on the Ramones’ foundation. Similarly, Jimi Hendrix revolutionised how people used the electeic guitar as an instrument, but other artists ran with it to the point that his stuff is archaic (I can’t listen to Hendrix for the same reason K dismissed the Ramones, but to each their own).

I guess what I’m saying is that even if you personally don’t like an influential band, you have to acknowledge that they might be exactly what resonates with someone else. That’s why we have so much music in the world. To the original topic though, Ramones music does all sound the same. Why mess with perfection?

I use Photoshop for work, and I keep GIMP installed as a conversion tool because for some reason Photoshop is an absolute wimp when it comes to opening downloaded PNG or WEBP images. About 1/4 of the time I get “Not a PNG” or “Can’t open image due to a programme error.” Clicking the Help option in the error dialogue takes me to Adobe’s help page about saving images, not opening them.

GIMP has effortlessly opened every single image I’ve thrown at it. After exporting from GIMP, suddenly Photoshop works. Bad look for the industry standard image editing programme.

I do like InDesign tho

Also “Just don’t use” iOS, Android, any Microsoft anything, any Apple anything, all social media, television, print, and most other media, Adobe software, Google products, even freaking DuckDuckGo…

How about these companies just learn what consent is and let me disable it forever without asking again every time I open something? “Yes” and “Maybe later” is not a choice.

(Yes I am aware of FOSS alts, that is not the discussion.)

Gary’s hats don’t always have a connection to what he brings you, but they are always on point.

https://maddox.xmission.com/

I was going to advocate machines, specifically the vintage Singer machines (the black, all-metal dudes). They are very simple, there’s tonnes of information online for repairing & maintaining them, and you can usually find people just trying to get rid of them. Find one that isn’t rusty and moves freely and you’ll probably just need to oil it and mess with the tension.

If space is a concern, you don’t need to keep it in the sewing table (though it’s more comfortable). Those vintage machines are simple and tough to kill.

If you can’t play music but want to play WITH music, I’d recommend getting a groovebox like the Novation Circuit (original or Circuit Tracks). It gives you 2 synthesizers and 4 drum parts in one small, battery-powered box, with a sensible note/pattern sequencer. It’s limited, but there are a lot of resources online for using it, and it’s cheap if you buy used. Great fun to sit on the couch and make tunes.

There are also groovebox apps for iOS (like Grooverider GR-16) that do the same and sound great for less money.

What I’m saying is: music creation is more accessible than ever these days, so never tell yourself you can’t do it.

Username checks out

I also have to use it for work. I don’t know if it’s Adobe, or Windows 11, or a toxic combination of both, but not a single day goes by where I can just create without things randomly breaking. Illustrator stops letting me drag with the direct selection tool. Premiere switches to hotkeys as I’m typing text. InDesign…actually InDesign has been behaving.

But literally all the other Adobe apps will break AS I’M USING THEM - like, an action I’ve literally just done suddenly doesn’t work or glitches out. A couple weeks ago Premiere and Photoshop would literally crash on open. The day before they were both fine.

I have Gimp, Inkscape, and KdenLive installed just in case.

The Bound Gods series by Rachel Dunne is pretty brutal and bleak. Not a lot of sex but there’s baby killing, eye gouging, and enslavement. Zero characters make it unscathed and most simply don’t make it. It’s quite a ride.

I use a Kaweco Sport as my daily driver.

Bonus: Nobody ever “borrows” it at work because it confuses and terrifies them.