Notices by Derek Caelin is writing a book (derek@social.coop)

@jonyoder It's super satisfying. I played a ton of FFVII and haven't played IX, so all the refinements to the formula feel really satisfying. Plus, airships!

My son and I started playing #FinalFantasy9. Loving all the #airships (only some of which are blowing up!) and it feels like a great refinement of the systems from #FinalFantasy7, which is the one from this era I've played the most.

Most games I play nowadays fit easily into my "dad" life. They have gameplay loops of about 20-30 minutes and generous saving systems. So far, Final Fantasy IX's checkpoints are 40-60 minutes apart, which make perfect sense for game in isolation but are a little stressful for me; my life is just shaped a little differently than what the game expects.

Playing this on my modded #PS2, by the way! Ripped my discs and converted them to .vcd, uploaded them with #PSBBN, uploaded to a harddrive embeded in the console. Great that new mod tools are still being made! https://github.com/CosmicScale/PSBBN-Definitive-Project

The rising cost of fertilizer and fuel prices is pushing some farmers to the brink
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/25/nx-s1-5795674/farmers-tariffs-iran-trump-mississippi

I baked bread!

My spinning wheel hasn't been turning well. After a few YouTube videos, I realized my treadle was tied way too tightly to the postman. I left an inch gap and now it *absolutely flies.*

#spinningwheel

I baked bread!

@leahstokes.bsky.social From what I've heard about Tom Steyer, he's a real anachronism: he appears to have the most progressive agenda, and he is able to self-fund as a billionaire who made his money investing in coal and private prisons. It means a lot that you find his positions to be sincere and deeply thought out.

CT ‘Golden Girls’ bill one step close to becoming law | Connecticut Public
https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2026-04-17/ct-golden-girls-bill-one-step-close-to-becoming-law

Solar expansion in East Windsor highlights tension between climate goals and local concerns | Connecticut Public
https://www.ctpublic.org/news/environment/2026-04-17/solar-expansion-in-east-windsor-highlights-tension-between-climate-goals-and-local-concerns

Won the last round of #LoTR trivia! I told @mara that these are all the proceeds she can expect from the research that went into the book.

@tamarasellman good book!

It's dandelion season!

#Repair win! Our EGO electric mower started up but didn't have self propel this week. After following a few guides on YouTube I ultimately ended up taking it apart and finding a broken wire. An ugly #solder job later it's back in action.

Very satisfying to be able to fix this myself.

Rain, dirty streets, an infinite city that doesn't sleep. The best part about #NobodyWantsToDie is the world you see when you look out of your apartment. The setting reminds me of that #Asimov book, "The Caves of Steel", a city where generations of people never live to see the sky.

Constant growth can't happen forever.

"Populations are shrinking and altering the global economy"
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/27/nx-s1-5576355/population-babies-capitalism

There I was playing "Nobody Wants to Die", a nice hammy future #filmNoir, and an #airship shows up. "That's nice," I said to myself. "Bonus airship."

Not 2 minutes later... explosion.

Why can't I have a nice, not explode-y airship experience?

Rep. John Larson files articles of impeachment against Trump
https://ctmirror.org/2026/04/07/rep-john-larson-files-articles-of-impeachment-against-trump/

Loss of tax credits led to a drop-off in EV sales. Will they rebound?
https://ctmirror.org/2026/04/03/loss-of-tax-credits-led-to-a-drop-off-in-ev-sales-will-they-rebound/

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@terraso/116342624403989515

The slow metamorphosis of Terraso into a storytelling tool from a landscapes platform has been wonderful to see. We showcased the new functionality in this webinar... next, we get to apply the paint!

We all know someone who'd be an ideal recruit for the Department of Opposition.

From Dresden Codak's Dark Science: https://dresdencodak.com/archives/

#comics