Zombiepirate

I believe this is a lithograph, but I can't find anything definitive.

I spent some time setting up a Pentium II with Windows 98 and a Voodoo 3 on PCem this weekend.

It's really cool software, and a fun little project.

I spent a little time playing some Rainbow 6 (crazy how much the genre has changed over time) and Castle of the Winds 2.

Black and White runs well, but has some pretty bad audio stutter that I'll have to figure out a solution for.

Do you have a favorite game from the period that I should try? I'm particularly interested in ones that are hard to run on modern versions of Windows.

I found a neat Wikipedia page with a lot of old C64 box art, so I figured I'd post my favorites over here. I tried to find a variety of different styles. Sorry for the low resolution, I'm not sure where to find better versions.

If there's interest I'll post more, and from other systems.

Beans are a staple at my house. They're cheap, healthy, and my kids love them.

I think my favorite way to eat them is in chili. Soak small red or black beans (or ideally half a pound of each) for a few hours.

Trim 1.5 pounds stew beef, add black pepper and salt. Brown in pan. Add in onion and fresh peppers (bell, poblano, jalapeno, serrano) and cook until onions are clear.

Pour a beer in there, Modelo works great. Add the beans. Add a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Don't bother chopping, they'll break down. Add a jar of salsa. Add water to cover the beans. Add chili powder, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and more salt & pepper to taste.

Simmer until the beans are fully cooked, probably around a couple hours. Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread.

And before anyone says "beans don't belong in chili," they absolutely do.

I'm always on the lookout for more ways to cook beans. What's your favorite?

The U.S. started to become less diplomatic to Haiti under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson recognized that the revolution had the potential to cause an upheaval against slavery in the US not only by slaves, but by white abolitionists as well. Southern slaveholders feared the revolt might spread from the island of Hispaniola to their own plantations. Against this background and with the declared primary goal of maintaining social order in Haiti, the US, refused acknowledgement of Haitian independence until 1862.

The US also embargoed trade with the nascent state. American merchants had conducted a substantial trade with the plantations on Hispaniola throughout the 18th century, the French-ruled territory providing nearly all of its sugar and coffee. However, once the Haitian slave population emancipated itself, the US was reluctant to continue trade for fear of upsetting the evicted French on one hand and its Southern slaveholders on the other.

From the sidebar:

While we appreciate Al generated art, there are more appropriate communities to post that type of art to. Please keep posts to non-Al generated art only. This rule includes Al art that was then manually manipulated (e.g. drawing on top of something generated by Al).

I like to bike when I can, but I'm still nervous to leave it even with a U-lock around the frame. I've also had a seat stolen before (not even a good one), but I'm not sure if there's anything reasonable to do about that.

What do you do to lock up your bike for commuting?

From The Grapes of Wrath:

One man, one family driven from the land; this rusty car creaking along the highway to the west. I lost my land, a single tractor took my land. I am alone and I am bewildered. And in the night one family camps in a ditch and another family pulls in and the tents come out. The two men squat on their hams and the women and children listen. Here is the node, you who hate change and fear revolution. Keep these two squatting men apart; make them hate, fear, suspect each other. Here is the anlage of the thing you fear. This is the zygote. For here “I lost my land” is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing you hate—” We lost our land.” The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one. And from this first “we” there grows a still more dangerous thing: “I have a little food” plus “I have none.” If from this problem the sum is “We have a little food,” the thing is on its way, the movement has direction. Only a little multiplication now, and this land, this tractor are ours. The two men squatting in a ditch, the little fire, the side- meat stewing in a single pot, the silent, stone- eyed women; behind, the children listening with their souls to words their minds do not understand. The night draws down. The baby has a cold. Here, take this blanket. It’s wool. It was my mother’s blanket— take it for the baby. This is the thing to bomb. This is the beginning— from “I” to “we.”

If you who own the things people must have could understand this, you might preserve yourself. If you could separate causes from results, if you could know that Paine, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin, were results, not causes, you might survive. But that you cannot know. For the quality of owning freezes you forever into “I,” and cuts you off forever from the “we.”

I watched a couple this past month for spooky season, and I think the 80s is probably my favorite decade for horror.

A couple weeks ago I watchedThe Fly, which was just an incredible film. The practical effects still largely hold up, but the acting is what really carried the story. The only thing that kind of bugged (🪰) me about it was that

I also just saw Hellraiser, which I'd always been curious about since I saw the VHS cover as a kid: the guy with the nails in his face looked terrifying! This is another one where the practical effects hold up, but is really held together by the characters and their relationships. I liked when

My favorite 80s horror though is The Thing. I swear I'm not that into body horror, it's just that all the best 80s horror movies were pushing the boundaries, and that's where the line was for a lot of people. Again, this one has amazing practical effects, but the actors and writing carried the movie.

So, what's your favorite 80s horror?

Here's a short article on the Texas Tribune about the propositions on the ballot. If you take notes on how you want to vote, you can do it in just a few minutes.

Here's where you can find your polling place.

Please help us to keep funding our schools!

Here's a short article on the Texas Tribune about the propositions on the ballot. If you take notes on how you want to vote, you can do it in just a few minutes.

Here's where you can find your polling place.

Please help us to keep funding our schools!