it's braver sometimes just to run
Last night when I got home, my cable was out completely, including internet, and the CSR was little help. He seemed convinced the splitter was the problem, but when I finally was able to unhook the connection from outside from the splitter and hook it directly to the modem, there was still no service, so. The cable guy is coming tomorrow night between 7pm - 8pm. I guess I have to vacuum the area thoroughly despite the proliferation of cords. Sigh.
Why did we give cable companies power over the internet too? They are terrible at everything and only getting worse while simultaneously charging ever more ridiculous prices for their shitty service.
Oho, I just got a robo call from them (or "Spectrum" as they're now calling themselves) and they're like, "there was an interruption in your area! Please check to see if your service is restored and if so, you may cancel your appointment!" Even though last night the dude was like, "We show no outage in your area." Of course, I am not at home, so I just did nothing and left the appointment intact, but if I have service when I get home, I will cancel it. Ugh. I hate them so much.
Anyway, that meant that I couldn't download my new comic this morning, so I had to use the 'secret' work wifi to do so. On the occasions when we've had visiting board members or other people who need to use the internet, the IT guys would never give me the password or any of the information. There was a lot of horrified gasping and metaphorical pearl-clutching about it. But a couple of months ago, it came up in conversation with the CIO and he was like, "but you should be able to use the wifi if you really need to," and I was like, "Um, no, the guys told me no." And he was like, "!!! Here are the directions and the password."
So I used it this morning for great... well. for personal reading material, anyway.
What I've just finished
Goldenhand by Garth Nix. I thought the pacing was weird, and again, I'm wondering how much of that is reading via ebook, because I feel like I say that a lot more now than I did when I was reading paper books. But the pacing was weird. I guess I wasn't expecting Ferin to spend so much time getting to Lirael and so little time with her? I mean, I enjoyed it a lot! But the ending felt rushed to me. I was like, "How is he going to wrap this up when I'm 92% done?" etc.
In the Labyrinth of Drakes (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #4) by Marie Brennan, which I also enjoyed (I was glad her relationship with her brother got more page time here) but possibly I wanted more archeology and less dragons? Idek. I think I liked the third book best in this series. I mean, I recommend them if you enjoy Amelia Peabody, but I never feel quite emotionally engaged in these the way I did with the Amelias. (At least until Falcon at the Portal, which damaged my emotional investment so greatly that I still get angry when I think about it. Ahem.)
Ahsoka by EK Johnston. ♥AHSOKA♥ As I said in my goodreads review, if you love Ahsoka already, I think you will love this as much as I did? I was very pleased at this look at her growing up and growing into her new self, away from the Jedi and having to choose her own path, and how she comes to join the Rebellion and the choices that lead her there. Her encounters with Bail are SO GREAT. ALSO ARTOO. ♥♥♥ Plus, of course, the memories of her mentors guiding her (CUE IRONY) and that moment where the kids talk about family being blood or found and Ahsoka realizing that she did/does have family after all. Sigh.
If you don't love her, it's still a pretty solid Star Wars tie-in, though it starts a little slow, or rather, it does a lot of examining how Ahsoka feels on the first anniversary of the Empire, which I liked but as I said, if you're not there for character exploration, it might feel slow. It also incorporates the stuff Filoni et al. revealed about her last encounter with Anakin and Obi-Wan (and Maul) on Mandalore, so I guess that is canon now, though I would still like to see her riding a fucking huge wolf into battle.
I have a couple of minor quibbles: I didn't think the Obi-Wan section added anything at all (I guess it's supposed to explain why they never connect? But it just makes me annoyed), I would have liked to have seen Rex in the narrative present of the book, and gosh, would it have been too much to ask to have had a post-rescue victory kiss between Ahsoka and Kaeden? especially since Kaeden actually said it? JUST LET THE GIRLS KISS ALREADY. COME ON.
Also, in terms of canon fucking up my wsip, did they really have to destroy Ilum? I needed that for fic! Now I have to decide if I 1. just ignore this bit of canon, 2. pretend that by the TFA-era it's viable for crystals again, or 3. come up with something else that isn't Lothal, since Lothal is playing a different role in the story. Arrgh. Stupid Empire ruining everything.
But overall, definitely recommended.
What I'm reading now
Nothing, as I finished the Lady Trent book on the train this morning.
What I'm reading next
Well, as mentioned above, I used the secret work wifi to download Darth Vader 25 to read at lunch, so probably that, and then who knows what I'll choose to start on my commute home? It is a mystery!
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/878417.html.
people have commented there.
Why did we give cable companies power over the internet too? They are terrible at everything and only getting worse while simultaneously charging ever more ridiculous prices for their shitty service.
Oho, I just got a robo call from them (or "Spectrum" as they're now calling themselves) and they're like, "there was an interruption in your area! Please check to see if your service is restored and if so, you may cancel your appointment!" Even though last night the dude was like, "We show no outage in your area." Of course, I am not at home, so I just did nothing and left the appointment intact, but if I have service when I get home, I will cancel it. Ugh. I hate them so much.
Anyway, that meant that I couldn't download my new comic this morning, so I had to use the 'secret' work wifi to do so. On the occasions when we've had visiting board members or other people who need to use the internet, the IT guys would never give me the password or any of the information. There was a lot of horrified gasping and metaphorical pearl-clutching about it. But a couple of months ago, it came up in conversation with the CIO and he was like, "but you should be able to use the wifi if you really need to," and I was like, "Um, no, the guys told me no." And he was like, "!!! Here are the directions and the password."
So I used it this morning for great... well. for personal reading material, anyway.
What I've just finished
Goldenhand by Garth Nix. I thought the pacing was weird, and again, I'm wondering how much of that is reading via ebook, because I feel like I say that a lot more now than I did when I was reading paper books. But the pacing was weird. I guess I wasn't expecting Ferin to spend so much time getting to Lirael and so little time with her? I mean, I enjoyed it a lot! But the ending felt rushed to me. I was like, "How is he going to wrap this up when I'm 92% done?" etc.
In the Labyrinth of Drakes (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #4) by Marie Brennan, which I also enjoyed (I was glad her relationship with her brother got more page time here) but possibly I wanted more archeology and less dragons? Idek. I think I liked the third book best in this series. I mean, I recommend them if you enjoy Amelia Peabody, but I never feel quite emotionally engaged in these the way I did with the Amelias. (At least until Falcon at the Portal, which damaged my emotional investment so greatly that I still get angry when I think about it. Ahem.)
Ahsoka by EK Johnston. ♥AHSOKA♥ As I said in my goodreads review, if you love Ahsoka already, I think you will love this as much as I did? I was very pleased at this look at her growing up and growing into her new self, away from the Jedi and having to choose her own path, and how she comes to join the Rebellion and the choices that lead her there. Her encounters with Bail are SO GREAT. ALSO ARTOO. ♥♥♥ Plus, of course, the memories of her mentors guiding her (CUE IRONY) and that moment where the kids talk about family being blood or found and Ahsoka realizing that she did/does have family after all. Sigh.
If you don't love her, it's still a pretty solid Star Wars tie-in, though it starts a little slow, or rather, it does a lot of examining how Ahsoka feels on the first anniversary of the Empire, which I liked but as I said, if you're not there for character exploration, it might feel slow. It also incorporates the stuff Filoni et al. revealed about her last encounter with Anakin and Obi-Wan (and Maul) on Mandalore, so I guess that is canon now, though I would still like to see her riding a fucking huge wolf into battle.
I have a couple of minor quibbles: I didn't think the Obi-Wan section added anything at all (I guess it's supposed to explain why they never connect? But it just makes me annoyed), I would have liked to have seen Rex in the narrative present of the book, and gosh, would it have been too much to ask to have had a post-rescue victory kiss between Ahsoka and Kaeden? especially since Kaeden actually said it? JUST LET THE GIRLS KISS ALREADY. COME ON.
Also, in terms of canon fucking up my wsip, did they really have to destroy Ilum? I needed that for fic! Now I have to decide if I 1. just ignore this bit of canon, 2. pretend that by the TFA-era it's viable for crystals again, or 3. come up with something else that isn't Lothal, since Lothal is playing a different role in the story. Arrgh. Stupid Empire ruining everything.
But overall, definitely recommended.
What I'm reading now
Nothing, as I finished the Lady Trent book on the train this morning.
What I'm reading next
Well, as mentioned above, I used the secret work wifi to download Darth Vader 25 to read at lunch, so probably that, and then who knows what I'll choose to start on my commute home? It is a mystery!
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/878417.html.
people have commented there.