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Last weekend I was in Sheffield with Cambridge Huskies, playing in the BUIHA Non-Checking Tier 1 Nationals. Spoiler: we won. It was a lovely weekend, full of hockey and team and hard work and silliness. Also full of small reunions with hockey friends in other teams. I am so glad I got to go. I am so glad we won, especially for the people who are leaving soon. I love this team very much.

Friday:

picked up 9-seater van mid-afternoon, packed it full of kit and passengers at the rink, drove to Sheffield and our airbnb
went out in Sheffield, joined the BUIHA social involving white tshirts and sharpies
skipped the clubbing, sat up late chatting and watching teammates playing pool in the airbnb instead

Saturday:

team brunch, kit van to the rink, shopping at Puckstop
three group-stage games at roughly 3pm, 6pm and midnight. We won one, lost one, went out to dinner and strategised, redid the lines, went back and won the third
post-game maccies and then more pool back at the house

Sunday:

packing up and getting out of the house by 11
IKEA brunch for some of us
two more group-stage games at roughly 2pm and 7pm (I had the most amazing nap in between thanks to a teammate with a room in the hotel next to the rink) - we won them both
gold semi final at ~10pm and final at ~midnight
celebrations on the ice and in the changing room, and then eventually the mundanity of packing kit and people back into the van and the assorted cars

Monday:

drove back to Cambridge in the small hours, dropped people off as near as I could get to their colleges, got home about 04:30
woke up at 7 as usual to do the morning school run, moved the van to my friend's street without residents parking restrictions (easier than trying to get it into my off-road parking space), went back to sleep for a few hours
took the van back to the rink, met captain to unload all the remaining kit into the club storage, returned the van to the hire place, went back home and let the post-event drop hit me

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Happy Wednesday!

I'm taking search offline sometime today to upgrade the server to a new instance type. It should be down for a day or so -- sorry for the inconvenience. If you're curious, the existing search machine is over 10 years old and was starting to accumulate a decade of cruft...!

Also, apparently these older machines cost more than twice what the newer ones cost, on top of being slower. Trying to save a bit of maintenance and cost, and hopefully a Wednesday is okay!

Edited: The other cool thing is that this also means that the search index will be effectively realtime afterwards... no more waiting a few minutes for the indexer to catch new content.

siderea

(h/t

conuly)

This longform article is framed as being a "ha ha isn't it wacky NASA hired a lingerie company for the Apollo missions". Ignore that. It turns out to be about an organizational culture clash around documentation and specification requirements that will speak to all the therapists and software developers in the room. Also of interest to fans of the US space program, the history of women in NASA and in tech, and clothing construction.

2023 April 14: Nautilus: "The Bra-and-Girdle Maker That Fashioned the Impossible for NASA" by Nicholas de Monchaux, Head of Architecture, MIT. Adapted from his book, Spacesuit. Recommended.

kaberett

Reading. She's A Beast: up to November 2024. (Does it count as book research? Maybe, possibly: I'm having a lot of thoughts about the extent to which exercise reduces versus increases risk of injuries.)

Writing. I've... added another section or, perhaps, done another rearrangement? I continue to make notes on the current special interest that is movement? I am... not managing focussed writing time.

Listening. Hidden Almanac! I had The Realisation that it would be a good thing to play while we were laminating infinite potions! We have Emerged from the Accursed Hole! The paper wasps do architecture!

Cooking. O V E N. Still v excited about this. More Kaiserschmarrn, and I am about to bake some bread, and additionally and furthermore I successfully added protein to noodles.

Eating. A celebratory burger for reaching a nice round number on a lift. I have subsequently achieved said nice round number on a second lift, but that one is being banked for The Future.

More fancy bakery treats. :)

Exploring. On Wednesday A gave me a lift into town, and then rather than getting the bus the rest of the way to the gym I decided I would wander. Thus I encountered the former Enfield Electrical Works, a delightful building, and also had a brief adventure through a park I had not previously met.

Making & mending. Have I woven in the ends on A's glove? HAHAHAHAHA.

Growing. I have managed several short trips to the plot! And the free agapanthus I acquired from a garden post in Salisbury is looking happy with its new living arrangements. There are many things I wish to sow and none that I have got around to.

Observing. MANY BIRDS: a goldfinch on a trip down to the bakery! Ducklings! Multiple families of baby coots! The Egyptian goslings are all now happy to Paddle Industriously!

Plantwise: there is a fascinating tulip in a garden near coots the first that I do not understand at all; it's lily-flowered, with very pointed petals, and it started out all white except for some tiny blotches of red on the very very tips. The surprising (to me) part is that as it has unfurled further the red has gradually spread down the petal edges, and it's now got this bright red rim feathering ever-so-slightly into the still-white main body of the petal. (I do have photos and might even manage to post them, but not tonight.) The wisteria are firmly on their way out; my cherry tree has finally finally flowered; the redcurrant and gooseberry are flowering, and the josta is setting fruit. It's warm. I'm enjoying it so much.

wildeabandon

This semester has been a bit of a challenge in terms of workload. I keep almost getting to the point of being "on track" according to my plan, and then falling behind again. I'm currently just under four hours behind, so I'm cautiously hopeful that I will actually get caught up this week.

I always plan not to do any work on Sundays, though I don't always stick to that plan, and was sort of tempted to get that four hours done today. In the end I decided that would actually be unwise, and instead I went for a walk through the Forêt de Soignes, which was really lovely. I did, admittedly, listen to an audiobook about biblical studies whilst I was walking, but it wasn't a book related to any of my courses, so that still counts as time off :)

I've shaved my head! I've been getting increasingly self-conscious about my receding hairline, especially when I'm overdue a haircut, and I'm really bad at getting round to getting it cut, so that's a fair chunk of the time. I'm definitely still getting used to it, and may end up changing my mind and growing it back, but I think I like it. It does make me feel like I need more piercings though.

kaberett

Around the beginning of March (before I started lifting! it's okay, I promise I am monitoring all of this responsibly <3) I had a couple of weeks where I didn't manage to do as much stretching of my hips as usual. Whereupon. my left leg. pitched a tantrum. So I have been grumbling along with sciatic-nerve pain for the last month and a half, and getting on with life around it because, you know, pain, watcha gonna do.

... this morning, on the way to Acquire Breakfast, it blessedly, unpleasantly, emphatically twanged -- and there ensued several whole hours wherein it didn't hurt.

Tragically I then resumed sitting on the sofa in order to poke at computer some more, and despite position shifting......... yep, it retwanged itself.

I Am Doing My Stretches. :|

Some good things nonetheless:

brief respite from The Grumpy Nerve
we arrived at coot nest #1 when it was still in shade, and hung around long enough for the sun to hit it; whereupon the grown-ups Stood Up and the BABIES went on ADVENTURES. at one point a mallard with went by with her four tiny fluffy ducklings! and then subsequently More Coots! and all the Egyptian goslings are happily pootling about in the water, now, and several of them have discovered that they can go ZOOM under said water :)
there is on the way to the coots a very dramatic tulip, which I have been watching with interest: it's lily-flowered, with very pointed petals, and started out almost entirely white with just a tiny splotch of red at the tips of the petals. it's now got red feathering along all the edges of all of the petals and it's delightful.
bakery treats: v pleasant savoury pastry thing, Bred Puddin, cardamom bun. also enjoyed nibbling some of A's ridiculous raspberry brownie cruffin Situation.
we made a trip to the Household Waste Recycling Centre! I did not acquire a weights bench! ... A did acquire a scooter. for scooting. with The Child. therefore: we successfully got multiple things Out of the house, and the thing that has come in is Not My Fault. (and will make the Child very happy!)
... turns out that doing lots of stapling hurts less when I actually activate muscles all the way down my back than if I just sort of mash my joints...

kaberett

( exercise; numbers )

kaberett

( Read more... )

rmc28

Post-game interview on Facebook for the game against Invicta on Sunday (we lost 10-1). Favourite comment from a friend: "you both pulled such funny faces when the other one was speaking".

My feedback on the Hull camp shared (with permission) on their Facebook page: "I've enjoyed all the camps so far and I think they're good value for money. I think they're helping me improve as a player, and I've definitely seen other players level up in skill and confidence after attending. I'm very much looking forward to three whole days in July. I also really value the friendships I've been building with players from other teams, who I met because of these camps, and the mutual support we've been able to give each other over this past season."

Upcoming: BUIHA will live stream Nationals this weekend on YouTube, my games that will definitely be on it are:

Sat 15:15 Cambridge Huskies v Leeds Gryphons B
Sat 18:18 Cambridge Huskies v Nottingham Mavericks C
Sun 14:20 Birmingham Lions B v Cambridge Huskies
Sun 19:25 Oxford Women's Blues v Cambridge Huskies

(There's one more group-stage game that will be played on the other ice pad and not streamed, and then depending on how we do in group, we'll be assigned to the semi finals for either Bronze, Silver or Gold finals so we'll have up to two more games on Sunday.)

kaberett

( Read more... )

kaberett

This has become a bit of a staple of our rotation for when the veg box is made of brassica, and also brassica, and finally some brassica (I do frequently actively opt in to this, to be clear, but also... brassica). However! As you might have noticed, I have just developed a special interest in picking things up and putting things down again, and this in turn means I am going hmm about eating more protein.

When previously mentioning this recipe I have noted that As Usual my household thinks it wants about twice as much veg as written for the quantity of noodle. To this the protein variation essentially adds: some tofu that you've tossed with soy sauce and five-spice or other flavouring of your choice and then baked; and some edamame beans.

Base recipe can be found at Ocado or the Graun, and a fuller write-up will appear under a cut at Some Point in the Hopefully Near future (if only so the instructions are in the order that I want them to be in!).

lnr

Apart from the health things, and the usual collection of computer games, Lego and painting/crocheting, here are some other things what have been happening:

Matthew had a birthday at the end of March:

A birthday cake with candles reading "13" and a large indoor firework shooting sparks

There was easter, and we had chocolate eggs, and decorated boiled eggs for rolling down a hill

Matthew has an easter egg is as big as his head!

4 decorated eggs, ready to roll down a hill

We went on a bike ride, 38 km from Audley End to home, via a nice pub

A selfie in the sunshine of three of us on bikes

And we finished off the Easter hols with a bluebell walk from Elsenham to Newport

Beech trees and bluebells with an inviting path in the sunshine

rmc28

Tony and I saw Project Hail Mary approx 18 hours after watching Artemis II launch( space fiction and space mission )

Then on Saturday I went with Cambridge Women's Blues to play in BUIHA Womens Tier 1 Nationals 25-26: ( Read more... )

Nationals was followed by two days of work and also staying up late last Tuesday night/Wednesday morning after hockey practice to watch Integrity go out of contact behind the moon and then reappear. (There was actual video of the Earth appearing from behind the Moon, sent from an actual spaceship, in real time, it was amazing!)

Wednesday night I drove with two passengers to Hull, after Kodiaks practice, so we could all attend the women's ice hockey camp Thursday and Friday.( more ice hockey )

That was six days in a row of playing ice hockey and unsurprisingly I have been tired today. This week is "just" Tuesday practice and BUIHA Non-Checking Tier 1 Nationals with Cambridge Huskies this weekend.

lnr

Frozen shoulder:

After a three week wait I got a phone call from the GP, who agreed it was probably a frozen shoulder after all and a steroid injection would be appropriate but should be done as soon as possible. so I came in that afternoon. Injection duly done I noted that one of the listed possible side effects was "doesn't work" which was dryly amusing. I asked about the possibility of hydro-distension (injecting the joint with sterile water to manually free up the stuck bits) if that was the case, and was sent a URL where I could try self-referral for that (though warned of a long wait). Initial response to the injection was promising, very increased movement the next day, though without much decrease in pain. It's now been a couple of weeks, and the range of movement is still quite limited, but I think overall I'm able to do things for longer before being in pain. Still very achy yesterday after a day of walking (bluebells!) and computer gaming. I investigated the self-referral webpage today, and it seems to be *physio* referral, but I filled in the form anyway. Depending on how long the wait for that is it's probably worth it compared to paying £60 for 40 minutes with the private physio, and perhaps they'll be able to arrange the hydro-distension too. Now we wait

HRT/coil:

The first GP I "saw" about the shoulder also started me on combined oestrogen/progesterone patches for HRT, with a referral to get my Mirena coil changed early, so it would provide the progesterone component once changed. I got a text message a week or two later with a link to book a coil clinic place, but the first one was the following lunchtime (too short notice) and the next ones were while we're away in May. I checked back again today in case more dates had become available, and there's one slot in a clinic at their Linton practice on 16th May. Linton is too far away to practicably cycle home from after having a coil inserted, so I've contacted them via practice's admin webform to ask if there are likely to be any other dates available in the near future in Shelford or Sawston, or should I just book the Linton one and get a taxi. I fear by the time I hear back that won't be an option any more anyway at this rate! Now we wait :) Edit: SMS from GP receptionist "Please keep checking back for new appointments". I may try calling the local sexual health clinic - but I don't know if they do coils for over 50s!

Other: I was due to go give blood today (being long enough after the steroid injection and not currently awaiting any investigations) but I've got a bit of a cold, so I've postponed until next week. Always feel bad about cancelling on the day, but better than donating with germs! Once the blood donation is done I need to book in the second Shingles vaccine dose too. More things for awkward arms :) Matthew had his HPV vaccine recently though with no ill effects, and I'm so glad that's available now. That reminds me, I need to fill in the paperwork with his phone number - now he's 13 he's allowed to be responsible for his own healthcare decisions to some extent and they want to be able to contact him directly. Also looking at sorting out his email access now he's old enough to have his own account properly (rather than me running one for him). That's a bit off-topic though :)

kaberett

Reading. Still, uh, not quite exclusively She's A Beast archives. ("Not quite" because I am reading some of the things the links letters link to...)

Writing. Over 11k words. Progress is very very slow but it IS progress. (I'd feel worse about She's A Beast eating my entire brain apart from the fact that a whole bunch of it is extremely relevant, and yet more of it is sparking decidedly useful contemplation...)

Cooking. NEW OVEN NEW OVEN NEW OVEN today used for Kaiserschmarrn (worked just fine) and a new cake recipe from Blackberry Cottage (used settings suggested in oven manual and... it took over twice as long as it ought've to cook). Cannot yet report on what I think of it because have not yet eaten any. Elsewise: ... lots of the smitten kitchen braised chickpea thing?

Other NEW THING: brand new microplane zester. my goodness that was a Life Changing Experience (even if I do think I could probably reasonably have got More zest off that just the very topmost single-pass layer...)

Eating. Of particular note: blood oranges!!! and Decadent Spanish Raspberries, acquired on our way out of the Big Supermarket post-vaccination.

Making & mending. ... ADAM NOW HAS TWO GLOVES. I just (...) need to Weave In The Damn Ends. (Does anyone have a favourite weaving-in-ends guide? Because twenty-five years into this hobby I still pretty much hate every end I have ever woven in as Lumpy and Unsightly.)

Growing. Aubergines hatching! Whole buncha weeding including sorting out the raspberry thicket! When last I made it to the allotment the cherry tree had two bundles of blossom out, and was clearly on the point of Bursting Forth en masse...

Observing. SO MANY baby waterfowl, and, also, A Goldfinch. A friend's tiny cherry tree In Flower! Holly getting Extremely enthusiastic about flowering also.

denise posting in

dw_maintenance

I keep forgetting to post about this: we've been troubleshooting the "missing notifications" problem for the past few days. (Well, I say "we", really I mean Mark and Robby; I'm just the amanuensis.) It's been one of those annoying loops of "find a logical explanation for what could be causing the problem, fix that thing, observe that the problem gets better for some people but doesn't go away completely, go back to step one and start again", sigh.

Mark is hauling out the heavy debugging ordinance to try to find the root cause. Once he's done building all the extra logging tools he needs, he'll comment to this entry. After he does, if you find a comment that should have gone to your inbox and sent an email notification but didn't, leave him a link to the comment that should have sent the notification, as long as the comment itself was made after Mark says he's collecting them. (I'd wait and post this after he gets the debug code in but I need to go to sleep and he's not sure how long it will take!)

We're sorry about the hassle! Irregular/sporadic issues like this are really hard to troubleshoot because it's impossible to know if they're fixed or if they're just not happening while you're looking. With luck, this will give us enough information to figure out the root cause for real this time.

Col

National champion

Search maintenance

The Artisans and the Engineers [hist, eng, text, anthro]

vital functions

Snippets

sciatic nerves were a mistake

[movement] and another milestone

[ankle] no surgery for meeeeee!!!!

(social) media appearances

[movement] in which I am surprised

[food] Meera Sodha's udon noodles with red cabbage and cauliflower... and some protein

Life update

Events of note

Health things

vital functions

The case of the missing notifications

Profile

September 2024

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