![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
Rabbit rabbit rabbit!
Feb. 1st, 2026 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdlbearWelcome to February, 2026!
Because I am at a con, the weekly "done since" post will be put off to Monday. Also see yesterday's s4s post for today's remembered disaster.
mdlbearIcons — Misc
Jan. 31st, 2026 11:48 pmsheliakLast minute icons January 2026 edition, plus one from... last year? year before? not sure. Book covers, ancient coins, hypothetical fish, etc.
( Variety Pack )
( Variety Pack )
torment matrix, part 23942
Jan. 31st, 2026 11:07 pmsolarbirdHonest to shit the rate at which writing written as warning is turning into writing-as-instruction manual is really starting to fuck with my head right here:
I literally read this short story in… I think it was Asimov’s? Could’ve been Analog but I think it was Asimov’s. Circa 1992 or something. Don’t remember much of anything about it other than they were training an AI by shredding and destroying library after library and it was a huge deal.
That was it, though. That was the entire plot.
Kinda wish these fuckers would, idk, watch The Black Hole and ride a giant spaceship into an event horizon right about now, don’t you?
i mean
that’d be good
Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.
It has been a couple of weeks - Late January 02026
Jan. 31st, 2026 08:59 pmsilveradeptLet's begin with What Massachusetts schoolchildren came up with as names for their snowplows, which have some very delightful puns in them. (I also wonder if some of them were submitting "Abolish ICE" as something, and it might have been rejected for being too political.)
If you are looking for a single spot to find good organizations to support the resistance against the occupation of the State of Minnesota, Stand with Minnesota will help you find places that can use your spare resources. Their testimonies tell you about what life in Minnesota is currently like during this occupation, and they have news outlets and spaces to keep yourself informed of the real situation happening, rather than parroted lies and talking points dreamed up by an administration that desperately needs control of a narrative if they want to convince us that Minnesota has once again gone rogue in some way.
They're linked in Naomi Kritzer's guide about how to help Minnesota and prepare your own communities for your turn at the invasion. Additionally, the guide for helping from inside the cities.
Understand that abolition is not "better training," it is not "reduced funding," it is not "the system is working, but these actors have decided not to follow the system." Abolition is the need to completely get rid of a thing, because it is toxic to the population, and the situation we are currently in is because we have not yet managed abolition of state structures, or state-supported structures, the encourage violence against not-white people.
( A lot about Minnesota, in its ways and nuances, but also about other things in the United States and abroad )
Last out, A community legend in FromSoft's Elden Ring: A player with a request to solo a difficult boss, asking to be summoned in, who wears nothing but a pot on their head and wielding two katanas.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have decided the Oscars, including all of the pre-show coverage, will be exclusively streamed on YouTube starting in 2029.
A single rubber dick from a box of discount sex toys 1, the extremely fragile masculinity that resulted in violence and attacks on those who distributed the single rubber dick in their direction, 0.
And, at the very end, a letter signed by more than 400 millionaires and billionaires asking the governments of the world to tax them appropriately so they can provide revenue for the rest of the world to have a good standard of living.
(Materials viaadrian_turtle, azurelunatic, boxofdelights, cmcmck, conuly, cosmolinguist, elf, finch, firecat, jadelennox, jenett, jjhunter, kaberett, lilysea, oursin, rydra_wong, snowynight, sonia, the_future_modernes, thewayne, umadoshi, vass, the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meta_warehouse community, little_details, and anyone else I've neglected to mention or who I suspect would rather not be on the list. If you want to know where I get the neat stuff, my reading list has most of it.)
If you are looking for a single spot to find good organizations to support the resistance against the occupation of the State of Minnesota, Stand with Minnesota will help you find places that can use your spare resources. Their testimonies tell you about what life in Minnesota is currently like during this occupation, and they have news outlets and spaces to keep yourself informed of the real situation happening, rather than parroted lies and talking points dreamed up by an administration that desperately needs control of a narrative if they want to convince us that Minnesota has once again gone rogue in some way.
They're linked in Naomi Kritzer's guide about how to help Minnesota and prepare your own communities for your turn at the invasion. Additionally, the guide for helping from inside the cities.
Understand that abolition is not "better training," it is not "reduced funding," it is not "the system is working, but these actors have decided not to follow the system." Abolition is the need to completely get rid of a thing, because it is toxic to the population, and the situation we are currently in is because we have not yet managed abolition of state structures, or state-supported structures, the encourage violence against not-white people.
( A lot about Minnesota, in its ways and nuances, but also about other things in the United States and abroad )
Last out, A community legend in FromSoft's Elden Ring: A player with a request to solo a difficult boss, asking to be summoned in, who wears nothing but a pot on their head and wielding two katanas.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have decided the Oscars, including all of the pre-show coverage, will be exclusively streamed on YouTube starting in 2029.
A single rubber dick from a box of discount sex toys 1, the extremely fragile masculinity that resulted in violence and attacks on those who distributed the single rubber dick in their direction, 0.
And, at the very end, a letter signed by more than 400 millionaires and billionaires asking the governments of the world to tax them appropriately so they can provide revenue for the rest of the world to have a good standard of living.
(Materials via
adrian_turtle, azurelunatic, boxofdelights, cmcmck, conuly, cosmolinguist, elf, finch, firecat, jadelennox, jenett, jjhunter, kaberett, lilysea, oursin, rydra_wong, snowynight, sonia, the_future_modernes, thewayne, umadoshi, vass, the meta_warehouse community, little_details, and anyone else I've neglected to mention or who I suspect would rather not be on the list. If you want to know where I get the neat stuff, my reading list has most of it.)YMI -- ODB: 31 January 2026
Jan. 31st, 2026 08:07 pmsparoweODB: Focused on God
January 31, 2026
READ: Isaiah 26:1-5
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3
My coworker made a quick call to discuss an issue. She asked how I was doing, and I admitted that I had a really painful sinus infection, and the medicine wasn’t working. My coworker simply asked, “May I pray for you?” After I agreed, she offered a thirty-second prayer to God for my healing. I admitted, “Sometimes I forget to pray. I was so focused on the pain I didn’t turn to God.”.
My confession made me think about where I place my focus—on my struggles and problems or on God. On this day, my thoughts centered on the pain because of its intensity. But Isaiah 26:3 reminds us that when we keep our minds focused on God, our healer and sustainer, we can find peace: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” While the pain may not go away instantly, or perhaps ever in this life, the prophet reminds us to place our “trust in” the one who is faithful and able to provide what we need (v. 4).
This passage from Isaiah pointed the Israelites to God’s promises during and after their exile. They would sing songs of praise to Him again as they clung to their faith and hope in what He would provide (vv. 1-2). And the prophet’s words also remind us that whatever pain we may endure, we too can find comfort as we focus on trusting in God and calling out to Him.
— Katara Patton
Where are your thoughts focused? How can you turn your concerns into praise and prayers to God?
Dear God, please remind me to keep my mind focused on You, regardless of what situations I face.
Source: Our Daily Bread
Records and CDs and casettes and videos
Jan. 31st, 2026 11:24 pmjonwThis store…Fascinating Rhythm I think…just goes on and on and on. You could get lost in here for hours.
January reading is not going so well
Jan. 31st, 2026 06:12 pmsilverflight8Ratings out of 5
Too Like the Lightning - Ada Palmer - 0.5 stars
Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross - 1.5 stars
Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr Crippen - Hallie Rubenhold - DNF ugh
On Basilisk Station - David Weber - 2.25 stars
I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith - 4 stars (phew)
My Inconvenient Duke - Loretta Chase - 2.25 stars
Tooth and Claw - Jo Walton - 3.25 stars (recovering)
Too Like the Lightning - Ada Palmer - 0.5 stars
Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross - 1.5 stars
Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr Crippen - Hallie Rubenhold - DNF ugh
On Basilisk Station - David Weber - 2.25 stars
I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith - 4 stars (phew)
My Inconvenient Duke - Loretta Chase - 2.25 stars
Tooth and Claw - Jo Walton - 3.25 stars (recovering)
The family
Jan. 31st, 2026 08:34 pmjonwIt’s not even cold but if you put a heated blanket down and leave it unattended, this is what happens in our house!
I'll take the rain over the snow any day
Jan. 31st, 2026 08:29 pmjonwIf you've read my intro, you know that I have lived for long periods in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta. All of those provinces have hellish winters. Not because of anything to do with them, specifically. But because they are not on Vancouver Island. The mountains on the west coast of BC create a barrier for the island so we get the warm Pacific air and water streams and consequently snow is pretty rare out here. It does happen, but nowhere near the 20-50cms that routinely get dumped on the rest of Canada.
It has been raining for days now, and the temperature rarely goes below zero. On one hand, it is easy to get stuck in the doldrums and think this place is miserable. But then I realize it is the end of January. I have seen no snow, I am usually in my backyard with a hoodie at max, but typically just a shirt if I'm not going anywhere. So, in fact, it is great and not doldrummy at all. My dogs are also happy to not have to contend with ice packed backyards as well, although I doubt that they understand this is winter and is different than they are used to.
My eastern friends and family like to tell me I am "bragging" about the weather, to which I say two things: I am not in control of the weather, and I am allowed to brag because the move here wasn't some fluke. I did not win the lottery. I did not get some job that moved me out here. I spent a ton of money and time to move my entire life here. I have, in a sense, earned this, so suck it.
I am going for a walk downtown now because I can 😀
Intro
Jan. 30th, 2026 10:52 amjonwHello,
This is a sticky post, more current stuff follows.
I live on beautiful Vancouver Island - the warmest place in Canada. I have now, and have always had, dogs. I am a Linux systems guy that has been working in cybersecurity for about 10 years. I am a GenXer and in late career that has worked remotely from my house, wherever that has been, for over a decade. I have lived for significant amounts of time in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and now I intend to live the rest of my days out on the island.
Important bits:
- comments welcome
- anonymous comments screened but happy to unscreen sane ones
- protected posts are mostly work related, complaining, or just stuff I don't really want to be readily searchable.
Much more stuff below:
( Read more... )
This is a sticky post, more current stuff follows.
I live on beautiful Vancouver Island - the warmest place in Canada. I have now, and have always had, dogs. I am a Linux systems guy that has been working in cybersecurity for about 10 years. I am a GenXer and in late career that has worked remotely from my house, wherever that has been, for over a decade. I have lived for significant amounts of time in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and now I intend to live the rest of my days out on the island.
Important bits:
- comments welcome
- anonymous comments screened but happy to unscreen sane ones
- protected posts are mostly work related, complaining, or just stuff I don't really want to be readily searchable.
Much more stuff below:
( Read more... )
из жж поналезли
Jan. 31st, 2026 08:46 amjuan_gandhiКакие-то черти, какие-то силы ада прямо. Понял, что ни в какие дискуссии с ними, с благородными взвешенными мыслителями с той стороны забора, вступать не надо, а надо просто забанить и забыть этих конкретных. В целом-то не надо забывать об их существовании. Тем более сейчас.
(no subject)
Jan. 31st, 2026 08:24 pmtropicsbear🦵🏽 Thursday was leg day at the gym and lord I'm still feeling it. My inner thighs scream in protest any time I try to move my legs.
🎨 Finished doing some more tweaks to my layout! Made sure the rainbow gradient's applied to all links (except tags and the entry interaction stuff), applied a hover effect where the link text goes white and there's a black background (because the zone in Sk8!), tweaked some fonts on my icon and tag pages, changed the main body font, and some other fiddly stuff I can't recall.
🀄 Played some mahjong with Mom and the sisters after lunch per Mom's request. Won 2/5 games \o/
🏃🏽♀️ Sister G is attempting to get me to go jogging with her and Dad tomorrow morning. I know I need to incorporate more cardio into my life but also am I capable of dragging myself out of bed to be ready to leave by 5:30 AM? Who knows.
Interesting Links for 31-01-2026
Jan. 31st, 2026 12:00 pmandrewducker- 1. Council of Europe Assembly backs ban on conversion practices
- (tags:LGBT Europe rights GoodNews )
- 2. New forensic technique could be 'game changer' for solving sex crime cases (it can tell which body part DNA came from)
- (tags:dna assault forensics )
- 3. Putting solar panels on land used for biofuels would produce enough electricity for all cars and trucks to go electric
- (tags:solarpower transport cars )
the snow is coming down on our new england town
Jan. 31st, 2026 12:56 amursamajorOur choir director, giving us pronunciation notes in rehearsal this week: "We don't want to say 'NIEW-born child,' it's too nasal for our character. NOO-born child. Like, 'ooh, a baby!'"
Me, filters obliterated: "Well, of course, you don't say 'ew, a baby!'"
A: *overhears me, cracks up, can't stop laughing for like the next three minutes*
*
H, upon arrival in Albuquerque: "... why is there snow in New Mexico?!"
Me: "It's a mile above sea level! It's like Denver!"
H: "I thought it was going to be like the Bay Area, or Phoenix."
Me: "I did tell you to bring a jacket."
H: "Isn't like how you always tell me to bring a jacket and I'm usually fine without?"
Me: "Do you wanna build a snowman?"
H: "NO."
*
Weather reports out of Boston are crowing over the second major snowstorm incoming this week, bombogenesis over the Atlantic, and many of my friends there are freaking out about how this is happening on such a similar schedule to Snowpocalypse 2015. Though the current bet is that it'll probably remain out at sea and miss the New England coast for anything but a few more sprinkles.
While I am actually a bit envious of all of the pictures of the deep, freshly-fallen snow people have been posting, I'm also really, really glad that I don't have to shovel snow anymore. That I don't have to penguin-walk everywhere trying not to slip on black ice. That when I bike home at night, my fingers may complain (I was wearing gloves!), but 25 years in New England taught me to layer a wool sweater and a puffer vest. That I'm plucking lemons off the tree from our front porch - in January - and incorporating them into lemon chicken for dinner and wild rice pancakes for breakfast. (Said wild rice pancakes: I took Molly Yeh's recipe and accidentally doubled the wild rice, added cardamom and lemon zest, and grabbed a jar of cloudberry compote for ease of portability/topping; brought them to a breakfast picnic with bike friends this morning instead of our usual coffee because of the general strike.)
In related news, boston dot com posted a list of Boston's top 11 biggest snowstorms by accumulation since they started keeping track, and I was there for most of them, ahahaha.
1. February 17-18, 2003 - 27.6". This was right after Andrew and I had broken up, and I was absolutely blaming the giant snowstorm on him, hahaha. 😁 I lived in an apartment in the Fenway at this point, so thankfully I didn't have to shovel, and aside from having to go to work, mostly got to sit in my apartment and mope dreamily out the window, like the heroine in a romance novel at the nadir.
4. March 31-April 1, 1997 - 25.4". I'd gone to Boston for the weekend with college friends and escaped back to the Pioneer Valley just as the snow started falling. College dorm living sitch, so I didn't have to shovel, but whatever they used to keep the paths vaguely clear smelled like rotting bananas and soy sauce, and this was the kind of thing I got to learn about in my first New England winter, hahaha.
5. Blizzard of 2005 - January 22-24 - 25.4". I'd moved to an apartment in Porter, didn't have to shovel, but we had prime views out our window of people stumbling to the White Hen. I would, however, move into a place with a private patio later that year, which would require me to begin shoveling myself out in order to take the trash out. At least I also began dating a guy who had to shovel himself out, and we could commiserate together!
6. February 8-9, 2013 - 24.9" . Our final winter in Roxbury, where most of our shoveling was stairs, but a loooot of them.
https://www.instagram.com/p/VkNcd8iRrS/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/p/VkMsdvCRqB/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/p/VhsUnoCRlF/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
7. January 26-28, 2015 - 24.6".
9. February 7-9, 2015 - 23.1". These last two were part of Snowpocalypse 2015, and if you used one particular entrance to the Minuteman Trail to get to Alewife that winter, THANK ME ANDhyounpark FOR SHOVELING, because the snowplow drivers kept dumping all the neighborhood snow in the culdesac at the foot of our street and blocking path access! (As is, we couldn't get our car out of the driveway until like May.) And no, we did not have a snowblower, no place to store one. I had buff-ass biceps that winter. :P
And now the word "shoveling" sounds like technobabble since I've used it so much this post.
Me, filters obliterated: "Well, of course, you don't say 'ew, a baby!'"
A: *overhears me, cracks up, can't stop laughing for like the next three minutes*
*
H, upon arrival in Albuquerque: "... why is there snow in New Mexico?!"
Me: "It's a mile above sea level! It's like Denver!"
H: "I thought it was going to be like the Bay Area, or Phoenix."
Me: "I did tell you to bring a jacket."
H: "Isn't like how you always tell me to bring a jacket and I'm usually fine without?"
Me: "Do you wanna build a snowman?"
H: "NO."
*
Weather reports out of Boston are crowing over the second major snowstorm incoming this week, bombogenesis over the Atlantic, and many of my friends there are freaking out about how this is happening on such a similar schedule to Snowpocalypse 2015. Though the current bet is that it'll probably remain out at sea and miss the New England coast for anything but a few more sprinkles.
While I am actually a bit envious of all of the pictures of the deep, freshly-fallen snow people have been posting, I'm also really, really glad that I don't have to shovel snow anymore. That I don't have to penguin-walk everywhere trying not to slip on black ice. That when I bike home at night, my fingers may complain (I was wearing gloves!), but 25 years in New England taught me to layer a wool sweater and a puffer vest. That I'm plucking lemons off the tree from our front porch - in January - and incorporating them into lemon chicken for dinner and wild rice pancakes for breakfast. (Said wild rice pancakes: I took Molly Yeh's recipe and accidentally doubled the wild rice, added cardamom and lemon zest, and grabbed a jar of cloudberry compote for ease of portability/topping; brought them to a breakfast picnic with bike friends this morning instead of our usual coffee because of the general strike.)
In related news, boston dot com posted a list of Boston's top 11 biggest snowstorms by accumulation since they started keeping track, and I was there for most of them, ahahaha.
1. February 17-18, 2003 - 27.6". This was right after Andrew and I had broken up, and I was absolutely blaming the giant snowstorm on him, hahaha. 😁 I lived in an apartment in the Fenway at this point, so thankfully I didn't have to shovel, and aside from having to go to work, mostly got to sit in my apartment and mope dreamily out the window, like the heroine in a romance novel at the nadir.
4. March 31-April 1, 1997 - 25.4". I'd gone to Boston for the weekend with college friends and escaped back to the Pioneer Valley just as the snow started falling. College dorm living sitch, so I didn't have to shovel, but whatever they used to keep the paths vaguely clear smelled like rotting bananas and soy sauce, and this was the kind of thing I got to learn about in my first New England winter, hahaha.
5. Blizzard of 2005 - January 22-24 - 25.4". I'd moved to an apartment in Porter, didn't have to shovel, but we had prime views out our window of people stumbling to the White Hen. I would, however, move into a place with a private patio later that year, which would require me to begin shoveling myself out in order to take the trash out. At least I also began dating a guy who had to shovel himself out, and we could commiserate together!
6. February 8-9, 2013 - 24.9" . Our final winter in Roxbury, where most of our shoveling was stairs, but a loooot of them.
https://www.instagram.com/p/VkNcd8iRrS/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/p/VkMsdvCRqB/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.instagram.com/p/VhsUnoCRlF/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
7. January 26-28, 2015 - 24.6".
9. February 7-9, 2015 - 23.1". These last two were part of Snowpocalypse 2015, and if you used one particular entrance to the Minuteman Trail to get to Alewife that winter, THANK ME AND
hyounpark FOR SHOVELING, because the snowplow drivers kept dumping all the neighborhood snow in the culdesac at the foot of our street and blocking path access! (As is, we couldn't get our car out of the driveway until like May.) And no, we did not have a snowblower, no place to store one. I had buff-ass biceps that winter. :PAnd now the word "shoveling" sounds like technobabble since I've used it so much this post.
Songs for Saturday: Disaster season
Jan. 31st, 2026 07:30 ammdlbearMusic: see post
Picture: freas
Location:
Mood: distressed
Late January through early February is not a good time of year. My mother-in-law died January 20, 1999. My father died a little over two weeks later, on February 5th. In between, we had Challenger, 40 years ago on the 28th (last Wednesday), and Columbia, 23 years ago tomorrow. Meanwhile people are being killed in the US by the Mad King's gang of thugs. So, in order:
- The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of -- written for my father, but applies equally well to my late mother-in-law, Shirley Hentzell. I sang it for him a couple of months before he died.
- Keep the Dream Alive Written a couple of days after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. That was the second Challenger song I wrote; the first was Thrill-Seeker's Waltz. Sorry about that.
- Rainbow's Edge written specifically for my father. tl;dr: Dad was highly influential in the field of infrared spectroscopy. See the notes at the end of the lyrics page for more details.
- Rocket Rider's Prayer was written in 1986. The line in the fifth verse, beginning "better pray to Hell's own Pluto..." was not intended to be prophetic of what happened to Columbia.
- Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
Recordings on Bandcamp hopefully in about a week.
YMI -- ODB: 30 January 2026
Jan. 30th, 2026 10:55 pmsparoweODB: In God’s Presence
January 30, 2026
READ: Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! Proverbs 6:6
In 1692, Brother Lawrence’s work The Practice of the Presence of God was first published. In it, he described how he invited God into his mundane daily activities. Brother Lawrence’s words still challenge us to prayerfully seek God in everything we do, like mowing the yard, getting groceries, or walking the dog.
Each day, I take our dog, Winston, for a walk. My goal for him is to exercise. Winston’s goal? Sniffing everything. Calling this time “a walk” is a generous fiction. More often, we’re going for a . . . stop. Lately, instead of getting frustrated by a lack of forward progress, I’ve been asking God to help me see these moments as a reminder that life is a lot like walking a dog. We experience God’s presence as we faithfully obey Him in life’s everyday activities, including their unexpected interruptions.
In Proverbs 6, Solomon offers a similar lesson, using the everyday, humble example of the ant to call us to work faithfully: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise” (v. 6). Solomon used ants as an example of everyday, patient labor (vv. 7-8).
Our relationship with God needn’t be compartmentalized into designated “spiritual” times alone, like church or a quiet time. Instead, as we faithfully obey Him, God invites us to see His divine fingerprints throughout each day.
— Adam Holz
When has God used something mundane to help you see Him better? In what everyday task is He calling you to be faithful?
Dear Father, thank You for reminders everywhere that You’re a part of every moment.
For further study, read Relationship or Religion? What It Means to Follow Jesus.
Thoughts on the "Route for the third Edinburgh tram line"
Jan. 30th, 2026 10:26 pmandrewduckerThere's been a bit of a fuss today about the unveiling of a third Edinburgh tram line route. And my thoughts about it aren't simple enough to stick into a link title, so I thought I'd ramble a little.
Firstly, it seems to me that this is not a council announcement of anything. The map is plastered with the repeated word "concept". It contains both Picardy Place and York Place (Picardy Place was created when York Place was removed, when the tram extension was carried out in 2023). I've seen discussions that it's based on an old version of the existing routes taken from Wikipedia.
The source is a Scotsman article, rather than a council publication. And even then the coverage is mostly taken from a speech given at the Rail in Scotland conference - where the council's transport convener said he "was excited at taking a closer look" - but it's not the main priority. Certainly there's nothing on the council's news page mentioning it.
So I'm not convinced that this is more than a "Here's an interesting possibility"
Secondly, I'm not convinced it's viable financially. Which isn't to say that trams, in general, can't be worthwhile. If Edinburgh hadn't badly botched the construction of the first tram line then it would be well in profit now. But that tram line runs from one of the most densely populated parts of the city (Leith Walk) to one of the business hubs (Gyle and Gogar), through some of the most touristy stretches (Princes Street).
Much though I love the idea of a tram that literally stops in my road and goes to both the airport and Portobello, nearly the whole route is low-density. The bus route that is closest to it is the 38, which is so low-use outside of rush hour that it's a single-decker that has to be subsidised.
Admittedly, it's cheaper to build than a new tram line, as it's mostly a question of re-using the old train line. But I'd like to see a concrete business case for it, that checked that the number of potential users would support running tram-trains along that route.
Firstly, it seems to me that this is not a council announcement of anything. The map is plastered with the repeated word "concept". It contains both Picardy Place and York Place (Picardy Place was created when York Place was removed, when the tram extension was carried out in 2023). I've seen discussions that it's based on an old version of the existing routes taken from Wikipedia.
The source is a Scotsman article, rather than a council publication. And even then the coverage is mostly taken from a speech given at the Rail in Scotland conference - where the council's transport convener said he "was excited at taking a closer look" - but it's not the main priority. Certainly there's nothing on the council's news page mentioning it.
So I'm not convinced that this is more than a "Here's an interesting possibility"
Secondly, I'm not convinced it's viable financially. Which isn't to say that trams, in general, can't be worthwhile. If Edinburgh hadn't badly botched the construction of the first tram line then it would be well in profit now. But that tram line runs from one of the most densely populated parts of the city (Leith Walk) to one of the business hubs (Gyle and Gogar), through some of the most touristy stretches (Princes Street).
Much though I love the idea of a tram that literally stops in my road and goes to both the airport and Portobello, nearly the whole route is low-density. The bus route that is closest to it is the 38, which is so low-use outside of rush hour that it's a single-decker that has to be subsidised.
Admittedly, it's cheaper to build than a new tram line, as it's mostly a question of re-using the old train line. But I'd like to see a concrete business case for it, that checked that the number of potential users would support running tram-trains along that route.
but this weekend i will do some of my to-do list, i swear
Jan. 30th, 2026 04:40 pmwychwoodI was on campus yesterday for an in-person meeting, so worked from home today, and am now entirely discombobulated and have no idea what day it even is. Although the nice thing is that when I check, it turns out to be Friday, which is the best possible option!
Our bin collection day has moved from Wednesday to Thursday so I had to put the bag out on Wednesday night when I got back from choir (I mean, obviously I should have put it out before choir, but I forgot because I'm not used to it yet!). For once I'd actually had to put a bag in my outside bin - having been away at Mum's put me all out of sync, and I had to admit last weekend that I couldn't keep piling things up and needed to start a new bag. So I went out to fetch it to add to the gigantic rubbish pile outside the other block, only to find that it had vanished??!?
I have to assume that one of my neighbours put it out for me, which is obviously very kind of them but also extremely weird, because are they just checking my bin every week or something?? I haven't put anything in there for several months, not since we switched to piling the bags up for collection.
Still, this is much nicer than the disgusting bin neighbours.
This week has been terribly unproductive, although I have listened to an entire audiobook and one and a half radio dramas. Hopefully next week will be better, but I still haven't worked out what to do for my birthday - Mum isn't feeling up to even a short expedition, but I could still go over and/or have lunch with Dad... I'm having dinner with my choir buddy S (also to mark our 22nd anniversary of joining the chorus and making friends!) and then choir, with the second new conductor candidate, so that'll be interesting.
Also have various other social things suggested or partly arranged to follow up on; I need to pull myself together and get them sorted, ideally spaced out so I don't end up with everything happening all at once as usual. I did have lunch with two friends yesterday, so that was good! Socialising with nice people: fun actually, who knew.
Our bin collection day has moved from Wednesday to Thursday so I had to put the bag out on Wednesday night when I got back from choir (I mean, obviously I should have put it out before choir, but I forgot because I'm not used to it yet!). For once I'd actually had to put a bag in my outside bin - having been away at Mum's put me all out of sync, and I had to admit last weekend that I couldn't keep piling things up and needed to start a new bag. So I went out to fetch it to add to the gigantic rubbish pile outside the other block, only to find that it had vanished??!?
I have to assume that one of my neighbours put it out for me, which is obviously very kind of them but also extremely weird, because are they just checking my bin every week or something?? I haven't put anything in there for several months, not since we switched to piling the bags up for collection.
Still, this is much nicer than the disgusting bin neighbours.
This week has been terribly unproductive, although I have listened to an entire audiobook and one and a half radio dramas. Hopefully next week will be better, but I still haven't worked out what to do for my birthday - Mum isn't feeling up to even a short expedition, but I could still go over and/or have lunch with Dad... I'm having dinner with my choir buddy S (also to mark our 22nd anniversary of joining the chorus and making friends!) and then choir, with the second new conductor candidate, so that'll be interesting.
Also have various other social things suggested or partly arranged to follow up on; I need to pull myself together and get them sorted, ideally spaced out so I don't end up with everything happening all at once as usual. I did have lunch with two friends yesterday, so that was good! Socialising with nice people: fun actually, who knew.