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leasticoulddo_feed May. 5th, 2026 04:00 am)
leasticoulddo_feed May. 5th, 2026 04:00 am)The post Everyone is Kang the Conqueror appeared first on Least I Could Do.
(scalziwhatever_feed May. 4th, 2026 11:48 pm)
scalziwhatever_feed May. 4th, 2026 11:48 pm)
What’s the deal with airline food? Jokes aside, airport food is known by and large to be rather pricey while also being not so fantastic of quality. If you fly a lot, you know your options are limited to packaged snack foods, dubious egg salad sandwiches, or the world’s coldest bowl of soup from the A gate Chili’s. A fun-size candy bar isn’t so fun when it’s $5, is it?
Why is airport food so bad? Surely there has to be another way, right? Can’t we have decent meals at decent prices, or is it truly impossible because of the fact you’re in an airport?
Well, I’m happy to report there is an airport that has the solution to our problems. The Denver International Airport.
I have flown through Denver more than a few times, but never had time during my connections to explore. Maybe a quick coffee, sure, but definitely not enough time to wait an hour on a waitlist for a speakeasy hidden behind a bookstore facade. Until now.
For a myriad of reasons, I found myself at the Denver Airport at about 11am and my flight wasn’t until 5pm. The only other time I’ve had quite that much time at an airport was a layover at Heathrow, and since I was with my father we went to the Centurion Lounge for the entirety of the five hours and I ate tons of food and binged The Bear.
Also, quick shout out to the transportation company that took me to the airport. Groome Transportation picked me up at their Monument Park-n-Ride location and I had a very pleasant shared shuttle ride. The driver was very friendly and safe on the road, and helped me with my bags. It was fifty dollars and a little over an hour to the airport. I have had much shorter drives for considerably more money when using Lyft, so if you don’t mind sharing a big ol’ shuttle with a friendly driver, Groome may be of interest to you! They have a ton of different locations and airports they go to.
Back to the actual airport, I was worried about TSA lines (despite the large amount of time I had to kill), but because I was Sky Priority with Delta and have CLEAR, I actually got through security very quickly and smoothly. Having money is a hell of a convenience.
I wanted a sit down restaurant to have lunch at, so I asked the Delta check-in agent for recommendations (there was no one in line behind me). He told me to check out Root Down in the C gates, so off I went.
Root Down is actually a restaurant in Denver, so this airport version, called Root Down DIA, is their second location. They are two of five restaurants under the Edible Beats family. Edible Beats is a 100% employee-owned business, and are committed to offering seasonal veggie-forward dishes through sustainable practices, like being 100% wind-powered and having 50% of their ingredients sourced right from Colorado.
When I got to the restaurant, there was a line to be seated, and I ended up waiting about fifteen minutes for a table for one. There’s also a grab-and-go kiosk of some of their menu items if you don’t have time to wait. I was sat at a two top table and brought water and menus.
I was offered both the brunch/lunch menu and the all-day menu because there was about fifteen minutes left on their brunch offerings. So I really had my pick of the litter.
For a beverage, I wanted something fun but wasn’t feeling alcohol (yet), so I got their Coconut Gin Fizz cocktail. It is listed as available as N/A, so it ended up being coconut milk, lime, ginger, and soda water. I thought I got a picture of it, but I guess I didn’t! It was in a short glass with ice and a pineapple frond as a garnish. The drink was creamy and nicely sweetened while still being refreshing and just a little fizzy, with enough ginger to give it flavor but not enough to overwhelm it. Very nice beverage!
For my food, I had a really hard time deciding, but I ended up going with their Green Chili Cornbread Bites, followed by their Beet & Goat Cheese Salad.
The cornbread bites came with goat cheese, jalapeno jam, and a whipped honey butter. I asked for the jalapeno jam on the side just in case it was too spicy for me:
These three pieces cost $9.60, and they were so bomb. I love cornbread, and this warm, soft cornbread really hit the spot. The jalapeno jam proved too hot for my weak self, so the cornbread was thoroughly enjoyed without it.
For their beet salad, it came with goat cheese, arugula, radish, hazelnuts, beet-sunflower pesto, and basil vinaigrette:
Okay, first off, this salad was HUGE. Secondly, oh my gosh it was so good. I have had many a beet and goat cheese salad in my day, but this one really takes the cake. Like, holy cannoli, it was seriously fantastic. The mix of regular beets and golden beets was a really nice touch, the hazelnuts provided some excellent crunch to contrast the soft goat cheese (which they did not skimp on), and the flavors were so fresh it felt like I was eating right out of a summer garden.
This salad cost $20, but honestly for the size and quality it’s a small price to pay. I am still thinking about this damn salad.
Of course, I had to get some dessert. I chose their Avocado Key Lime Pie that comes with a chocolate crust and passionfruit coulis:
Holy cow that’s a lot of pie! Now, it was $12 for the slice, so it makes sense it’s a big ol’ piece. I actually ordered the pie out of curiosity more than anything, because I was wondering if an avocado pie would taste good. This pie was definitely very interesting. If you do not like avocado at all, do not get this pie. While the flavor of avocado was more subtle and not as grassy as it usually is, it was definitely still very present, just toned down and sweeter. The chocolate crust was my least favorite part of this pie, but the passionfruit coulis was the star of the show with its bright, punchy, tropical flavor that helped cut through some of the extra sweet indulgent fluff. Glad I tried it, but would probably opt for their butterscotch pudding next time.
Root Down had so many vegan and gluten-free options, I highly recommend checking this place out if you have dietary restrictions, or if you just want to have a really fresh tasty meal while traveling without breaking the bank! My total was fifty bucks before tip.
After my delicious and filling lunch, I decided to treat myself to a massage, and got a 20-minute chair massage from Colorado Oasis, also in the C gates. It was so relaxing I started to drift off towards the end. I usually prefer to get massages in between flights so I’m not so stiff from the first leg of the journey, but I was plenty happy to get one before my flight.
Finally, I made my way to the A gates, where my flight was leaving from. I wasn’t sure what to do with all my time, since I had left my new book at my friend’s apartment on accident. Just then, I ended up walking past what might have been the smallest airport bookstore I had ever seen. Just a few bookshelves in an alcove. I walked past at first, but then stopped and doubled back when I realized I saw something strange at this bookshop. A host stand.
When I went back, there were two people at the host stand, talking to the hostess about wait times. Wait times for what?! I had to know. Turns out, the bookstore was a front for a speakeasy called Williams & Graham. Wouldn’t you know it, they also have an actual Denver location only a block away from Root Down. How funny!
Obviously, I had to put my name on the waitlist. She estimated a 45 minute wait for me. Well, I certainly had the time to kill, so I sat and waited excitedly. It ended up taking closer to an hour, but I finally got escorted in and seated at the bar. It was an intimate atmosphere, with low lighting and warm woods. Once I was sat, the bartenders welcomed me by name and introduced themselves, as well. That was a pleasant surprise in formality.
I was handed this soft, leather-bound menu:
Here’s a look at the food offered at this fine establishment:
A moment of admiration for this frog legs description:
I’m willing to forgo the classiness and old-world feel of a swanky speakeasy if it means reading the words “3 thicc frog booties.”
And of course, bevvies:
Can’t go wrong with the classics, but don’t miss out on their house cocktails, either:
That being said, I did end up ordering a Caipirinha for my first drink:
(This photo was after I had my first drink of it, so that’s why it’s not completely full.)
Y’all already know I love a refreshing Caipirinha. I never get tired of that tart, acidic limes and sweet demerara sugar combo. This drink was so light and fresh and they gave me hella limes in my glass. I watched them make it right in front of me and was mesmerized by the muddling to release all that delish flavor. Great drink, no notes.
As tempted as I was to order the frog legs, I ended up trying out the deviled eggs instead:
There is no description on the menu for what comes on these, so I’ll tell you myself. Candied bacon, feta, and serrano peppers. Notice something missing? That’s right, once again my weak palette has made me opt out of the spicy ingredients in a dish! I asked for them sans serrano. I’m sorry, okay!
I did not think I could eat five deviled eggs in a row, but I definitely did and they were amazing. The filling was smooth and flavorful, and the candied bacon was the perfect mix of smoky and sweet. The microgreens added a fresh component that brightened up the heavier components, and it’s safe to say I’d gladly eat another plateful of these right now.
I wasn’t sure what to order for a second drink, but I started talking to the bartender and we bonded over our intense love for espresso martinis. About two minutes later, he just so happened to have an extra espresso martini lying around that needed drank:
Okay what a gorg martini! That foam design is amazing, I’ve never had any bar do that before. I loved this espresso martini, the sweet cream on top perfectly balanced the rich, Italian espresso liqueur and cold brew. I said I was happy to pay for the drink because I was planning on ordering it anyways as my second drink, but the bartender insisted it would’ve gone to waste otherwise and really I was doing him a favor by drinking it. I graciously accepted.
Since I had passed up on the unique experience of trying frog legs, I decided to instead try bone marrow for the first time. For their bone marrow, it was a roasted beef bone topped with bacon jam and microgreens, with ciabatta toast on the side:
Y’all, the presentation is absolutely serving. Like it’s giving class, it’s giving sophistication, okay. You can’t tell me that doesn’t look like the most amazing bone marrow you’ve ever seen. Granted, my experience is limited but I was so ready to dive into this.
Rarely has such incredible flavor graced my tastebuds. This bone marrow had the most luxurious, buttery texture. It was like liquid, fatty gold. The bacon jam was rich and chewy, and all of these textures went perfectly on the crusty ciabatta toast. I was soaking that shit UP. No crumb went un-ate here. I was scraping those bones clean. I cannot believe this was only $23 and it’s actually only $20 at their main location. (Similarly, the main location has the deviled eggs for $10 instead of $11.)
If you have not had bone marrow, or have been too scared to try it, I’m telling you right now you will not regret giving it a shot. I have been dreaming about this dish, and honestly I’m hoping to find another restaurant soon that has it on the menu. I need more marrow in my life. I never imagined it would be that good.
My bill ended up being just over $50 since I got a drink on the house (again, incredibly generous, thank you to my bartender <3). Any time I get something on the house, I like to tip as if I had had that item on the bill. Of course, in the instance of one drink that means just a couple bucks extra on the tip, but I figure that’s a decent guideline to go by.
Not only did I have incredible service, drinks, and food at Williams & Graham, but I also sat next to a girl at the bar who was also by herself. We started chatting and it turned out we had so much in common, and she was so sweet and fun to talk to! When we both paid and left, she asked if we could get a photo on her little film camera for her travel scrapbook. I said of course, and also gave her a Colorado sticker I had bought at a gift shop so she could use it in her scrapbook. I was so grateful to have such a nice dining companion!
If you have the time to spare, I cannot recommend these places enough. It’s amazing to see that you can have high quality, from scratch kitchens that are dedicated to good food, good drinks, and good service in an airport. No longer shall we settle for McDonald’s and Dunkin’ when we can have craft kitchens and talented bartenders.
Who knew getting to the airport early could be so amazing? (Do NOT get to the Dayton or Cincinnati airports that early, you will be disappointed and bored.)
Would you try bone marrow (or if you have, do you like it?) Do you prefer your eggs deviled or undeviled? Does Root Down’s veggie-forward fare interest you? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
(scalziwhatever_feed May. 4th, 2026 08:42 pm)
scalziwhatever_feed May. 4th, 2026 08:42 pm)
In his new novel Ashland, author Matt Harry posits a world that is a little bit… gooey. If you don’t know what that might mean, or what it would mean for anyone who has to live in that world, never fear, Harry is here to get you up to speed. Here, put on this protective clothing before we go any further.
MATT HARRY:
Science fiction is riddled with tropes. The mad scientist, the killer robot, the first contact with aliens. My personal favorite has always been the concept of gray goo – an end-of-the-world scenario envisioned by K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. Basically, it centers on the creation of a self-replicating technology that grows and grows until it devours all the biomass on Earth.
It’s a pretty depressing concept, but one that never seemed particularly feasible to me. How could a single organism affect the entire globe at once? Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Everything shut down and everyone shut themselves inside. As I walked through the empty streets, I found myself pondering a simple question: How could this be worse? That was immediately answered by a follow-up question:
What if we never went outside again?
Such a dystopian idea, I realized, could be due to my own version of gray goo. I considered a lot of options: nanotechnology, viruses, alien organisms. I reached out to an infectious disease doctor and a robotics expert for inspiration. Eventually, I came across an invention that blends multiple fields – organic microbots. These tiny organisms are created in a lab and programmed to perform simple tasks, such as drug delivery, pest control, or anticancer treatments.
But what would happen if these microbots went rogue? That question led me to create the Ash. This self-replicating swarm of organic microbots is developed to destroy cancer cells, but a programming error leads it to target muscle proteins instead. Of course, the Ash gets out, and twenty percent of humanity is killed in the first month. To survive, people are forced to seal themselves inside plastic-coated buildings. If they have to go outside, they need to wear hazmat suits or use remote-operated drones.
Now that I had the what and the why for my dystopian world, I needed the where. Since I’ve lived in Los Angeles longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, I decided to make my hometown the main setting for Ash Land. LA is a sprawling, sunny, outdoors-oriented city, so it felt particularly brutal to trap everyone inside.
Finally, I needed a who. What sort of character could I toss into this dystopian nightmare? A romantic seeking connection? An action hero? Eventually, I decided that a detective would be a fun choice. Trying to solve a mystery while the protagonist is unable to collect evidence or interrogate suspects in a normal manner immediately gave me lots of ideas. To make things a bit easier, I imagined someone pretty similar to myself: middle-aged, father of two boys, loves pop culture and solving a good puzzle. Unlike me, I decided to make him a divorced ex-cop and a pain in the ass. (For confirmation on that last part, you’ll have to talk to my family.)
Every day during the pandemic, I would drive around my then-five-year-old son, trying to get him to fall asleep so I could write for a couple hours. I would park somewhere scenic, and look out over the empty City of Angels while imagining a scenario much worse than my current one. It was oddly therapeutic. The concept of Ash Land led me to develop all kinds of near-future trappings: air locks on every entrance door, transport pods nicknamed coffins, a dangerous gang of scavengers known as Scrappers, and a system of sealed walkway tubes that leads to Griffith Observatory.
Ultimately, I tried to create a gray goo scenario that is plausible, unique, and will hopefully remind readers of humanity’s resilience. After all, if our world can weather Covid-19, I believe we can find a way to fix our other problems, too. Ideally it won’t take a swarm of flesh-eating microbots to make us do so.
Ashland: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powell’s
(sidequested_feed May. 4th, 2026 09:00 pm)
sidequested_feed May. 4th, 2026 09:00 pm)
The post Book2-129 appeared first on Side Quested Webcomic.
(scalziwhatever_feed May. 4th, 2026 12:40 pm)
scalziwhatever_feed May. 4th, 2026 12:40 pm)
Turns out… it’s nothing.
I sent in a Freedom of Information Act request in April, after the unpleasantness regarding the Correspondent’s Dinner attacker, because I was curious if it or indeed anything else had gone down on my permanent record. Nope! If you believe the FBI — admittedly more difficult in these latter days than it was before — I have no record in their files. Apparently despite my three decades of writing in the public eye and two decades of being reasonably well-known author, nothing I have done (or that others have said about me) is cause for the FBI to say to itself “maybe we should keep track of him.”
Which, I guess, good? I had assumed there might be something, even if it was tangential and/or primarily related to other people with bigger and more substantial files. People have had FBI files for even less suspicious activity than I have ever offered to the world. But no, there’s nothing of note. At least now I don’t have to pay the extra that would have been required if the search had needed more than a couple of hours to dig out everything the bureau had on me. My search was quick! And cheap!
I suppose the FBI could be lying about having a file on me, but in all sincerity I doubt it. I know my own past and it is both law-abiding and, from the perspective of law enforcement, boring; I’ve never been cited for anything worse than speeding, and even that was more than a decade ago. And no matter how much certain right-wing bile-spewers on the Internet want to paint me as a flaming socialist threat to decent society for writing books they don’t like (also something that peaked more than a decade ago), in reality there’s nothing in my political beliefs or actions that paints me as terribly subversive. The most “subversive” thing I’ve done is donate money to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and even that doesn’t rate, not even now when the current administration is (laughably) trying to go after them. We all have to live with the reality that I am, in fact and officially, a step below “mostly harmless.”
It’s never too late to get an FBI file, I hear some of you saying. You are not wrong, and also, I’m not sure how I would be going about doing that. I am not, as it turns out, getting more conservative with age, which is a thing people used to say would generally happen. My rather unremarkable principles turn out to be more radical as I go along, if only because the political center in the US has shifted so wildly right while I have mostly stayed in the same place. But clearly that’s not enough to rate interest in itself. My own revolutionary action, such as it is, is less about taking it to the streets (Bradford, OH is not a hotbed of protest marches) and more about openly donating money, both individually and through our family foundation. The IRS has a file on me, for certain. I’ve seen that.
So: No FBI file after all. Which, fine and good. I don’t suppose if the FBI or any other “alphabet” organization in our government really wants to find out more about me, that they would lack public information to do so. They could start here, the official repository of my thoughts for the last 28 years. Hello, FBI and everyone else! There’s a search function here! Have fun!
— JS
(leasticoulddo_feed May. 4th, 2026 04:00 am)
leasticoulddo_feed May. 4th, 2026 04:00 am)The post Ani, are you okay? appeared first on Least I Could Do.
(girlgenius_main_feed May. 4th, 2026 04:00 am)
girlgenius_main_feed May. 4th, 2026 04:00 am)The Girl Genius comic for Monday, May 04, 2026 has been posted.
(dumbingofage_feed May. 4th, 2026 04:01 am)
dumbingofage_feed May. 4th, 2026 04:01 am)
The Dumbing of Age Book 15 Kickstarter is in that fun meanderingly slow crawl between $45K and $50K, so, hey, remember last week when we unlocked the DAPPER DINA magnet? Fun times!
(lois_mcmaster_bujold_feed May. 3rd, 2026 01:50 pm)
lois_mcmaster_bujold_feed May. 3rd, 2026 01:50 pm)Penric's Intrigues, the 4th Pen & Des collection on paper from Baen Books, should be reaching stores this week, or maybe a bit earlier -- Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore and Dreamhaven Books & Comics here in Minneapolis have theirs already, signed.
I don't know how widely distributed this one is going to be, but in any case your favorite local bricks 'n mortar bookstore should be able to order it via their usual channels on request, if it hasn't popped up on its own.
The online booksellers will start shipping it Tuesday, which means you can hit that order button most any time now.
It contains the novel-length The Assassins of Thasalon, and the novella "Knot of Shadows".
All three of the prior volumes remain available in hardcover, and can be ordered. (Some of the paperbacks are sold out.) To recap:
Penric's Progress, containing "Penric's Demon", "Penric and the Shaman", and "Penric's Fox".
Penric's Travels, containing "Penric's Mission", "Mira's Last Dance", and "The Prisoner of Limnos".
Penric's Labors, containing "Masquerade in Lodi", "The Orphans of Raspay", and "The Physicians of Vilnoc".
A week or so ago I recorded an hour-long interview for the Baen Free Radio Hour podcast in support of the new release; I'll link it here when it goes live.
Ta, L.
posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on May, 03
I don't know how widely distributed this one is going to be, but in any case your favorite local bricks 'n mortar bookstore should be able to order it via their usual channels on request, if it hasn't popped up on its own.
The online booksellers will start shipping it Tuesday, which means you can hit that order button most any time now.
It contains the novel-length The Assassins of Thasalon, and the novella "Knot of Shadows".
All three of the prior volumes remain available in hardcover, and can be ordered. (Some of the paperbacks are sold out.) To recap:
Penric's Progress, containing "Penric's Demon", "Penric and the Shaman", and "Penric's Fox".
Penric's Travels, containing "Penric's Mission", "Mira's Last Dance", and "The Prisoner of Limnos".
Penric's Labors, containing "Masquerade in Lodi", "The Orphans of Raspay", and "The Physicians of Vilnoc".
A week or so ago I recorded an hour-long interview for the Baen Free Radio Hour podcast in support of the new release; I'll link it here when it goes live.
Ta, L.
posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on May, 03
I got my van back last Wednesday, finally, yay! My kind neighbor gave me a ride up to pick it up, so that worked out very well.
Now I'm getting the van ready for my next trip, which will be May 7. With exactly one week to get the van dewinterized, cleaned up, systems checked out, and supplies loaded, I knew time would be tight, but I figured as long as there were no issues that came up, I'd be able to get ready in time. And fortunately, everything has been going smoothly. I dewinterized and sanitized the fresh water system on Thursday, Friday I checked out all the systems to make sure everything was working, cleaned inside the cupboards, drawers and surfaces, and loaded up all the supplies that usually stay in the van, like tools and kitchen ware and bedding. Yesterday I started stocking the kitchen with food and making a shopping list for tomorrow.
Today, I'm mostly resting. Might take out a few more kitchen items and go through my backpack/briefcase to make sure I've got all the power cords and trip info and notebooks and so on that I'll need. Maybe do a load of laundry.
Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll make a run into town for groceries and money and whatever else I might need. Wednesday, load up clothes and toiletries and such. Then Thursday, off I go! I'll join up with J&J in Pennsylvania on the last two stops of their winter travels.
I've also been thinking a lot about my plans to see BTS in August. That will be the complete opposite of my camping trip and I keep getting things confused in my head. ("Need to remember to fill the cat's water fountain before I go... No, I'm taking Davey with me, that's for BTS when I'm only gone overnight...")
I'm hearing horror stories about hotel/travel/crowd issues with the BTS concerts that have happened in the US so far -- people getting scammed on tickets, hotels cancelling confirmed reservations at the last minute to resell the rooms at higher rates, people standing in line for hours and still not getting into the stadiums on time, merch selling out in a few hours. I'm getting a bit nervous for my plans. I reserved a hotel and parking at the stadium when I got my sad little single ticket in the 300s in the presale, and thought I was all set, but I hear people saying "If you want merch, be ready to line up at 8 AM!" and "Get in line by 4 PM to get into the stadium!" and "Hand out your freebies before you line up, they might not let you into the stadium with extra bags!" and... I remember how my plans for Jin's concert went awry, and that was only an arena show. I thought I'd corrected for that with my current plans but I don't know.
Maps tells me it's a 2-1/2 hour drive to MetLife from here. Which is a laugh. I'm thinking four hours, if past experience with traffic to that area holds. My hotel has a 3 PM check-in. I was thinking if I leave at 10 AM I should get to the hotel by 2 PM. Possibly earlier, possibly later, but around 2 PM. If my room isn't ready yet, I can hang out and get something to eat and maybe meet some other ARMYs. Check in at 3 PM or sooner, then head over to the stadium. Hand out freebies for an hour, try to buy some merch, find my gate and get in line around 4 PM. Hand out more freebies and hang out with ARMYs in line. Once inside, depending on whether there's time and whether or not I managed to buy anything outside, check out the merch. Then find my seat and turn on my ARMY bomb and get ready to go!
As far as merch goes, there's one thing I really really really really want: the brick-red city jersey that is only available on site (can't be preordered for pickup at the venue). I also really want the charcoal-gray member jersey (SUGA version), also only available on site. There will be merch booths outside and inside the stadium, so I can try both places but if the merch lines are hours long outside, I will have to wait to try inside, and just hope there's time and they don't sell out before I get a chance.
I have thought about trying to go down the night before, so I can just spend the whole day at the stadium on concert day, but hotels are already sold out, so that's not likely to be possible. Or just getting up at, like, 6 AM and heading down early on the day. Would that work? What time will the stadium parking lot be open? Would I be able to go straight to the stadium and go back to check into my hotel later? Can I check into the hotel online or at, like, midnight when I finally get out after the concert? Should I try to park at the Secaucus station and take the train to the stadium? Ack!
I keep reminding myself that the concert is not until August and there's plenty of time to work all this out. Right now, I just need to concern myself with my camping trip which is in FOUR DAYS. But my brain cannot help working overtime on both plans, and getting them all muddled.
Now I'm getting the van ready for my next trip, which will be May 7. With exactly one week to get the van dewinterized, cleaned up, systems checked out, and supplies loaded, I knew time would be tight, but I figured as long as there were no issues that came up, I'd be able to get ready in time. And fortunately, everything has been going smoothly. I dewinterized and sanitized the fresh water system on Thursday, Friday I checked out all the systems to make sure everything was working, cleaned inside the cupboards, drawers and surfaces, and loaded up all the supplies that usually stay in the van, like tools and kitchen ware and bedding. Yesterday I started stocking the kitchen with food and making a shopping list for tomorrow.
Today, I'm mostly resting. Might take out a few more kitchen items and go through my backpack/briefcase to make sure I've got all the power cords and trip info and notebooks and so on that I'll need. Maybe do a load of laundry.
Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll make a run into town for groceries and money and whatever else I might need. Wednesday, load up clothes and toiletries and such. Then Thursday, off I go! I'll join up with J&J in Pennsylvania on the last two stops of their winter travels.
I've also been thinking a lot about my plans to see BTS in August. That will be the complete opposite of my camping trip and I keep getting things confused in my head. ("Need to remember to fill the cat's water fountain before I go... No, I'm taking Davey with me, that's for BTS when I'm only gone overnight...")
I'm hearing horror stories about hotel/travel/crowd issues with the BTS concerts that have happened in the US so far -- people getting scammed on tickets, hotels cancelling confirmed reservations at the last minute to resell the rooms at higher rates, people standing in line for hours and still not getting into the stadiums on time, merch selling out in a few hours. I'm getting a bit nervous for my plans. I reserved a hotel and parking at the stadium when I got my sad little single ticket in the 300s in the presale, and thought I was all set, but I hear people saying "If you want merch, be ready to line up at 8 AM!" and "Get in line by 4 PM to get into the stadium!" and "Hand out your freebies before you line up, they might not let you into the stadium with extra bags!" and... I remember how my plans for Jin's concert went awry, and that was only an arena show. I thought I'd corrected for that with my current plans but I don't know.
Maps tells me it's a 2-1/2 hour drive to MetLife from here. Which is a laugh. I'm thinking four hours, if past experience with traffic to that area holds. My hotel has a 3 PM check-in. I was thinking if I leave at 10 AM I should get to the hotel by 2 PM. Possibly earlier, possibly later, but around 2 PM. If my room isn't ready yet, I can hang out and get something to eat and maybe meet some other ARMYs. Check in at 3 PM or sooner, then head over to the stadium. Hand out freebies for an hour, try to buy some merch, find my gate and get in line around 4 PM. Hand out more freebies and hang out with ARMYs in line. Once inside, depending on whether there's time and whether or not I managed to buy anything outside, check out the merch. Then find my seat and turn on my ARMY bomb and get ready to go!
As far as merch goes, there's one thing I really really really really want: the brick-red city jersey that is only available on site (can't be preordered for pickup at the venue). I also really want the charcoal-gray member jersey (SUGA version), also only available on site. There will be merch booths outside and inside the stadium, so I can try both places but if the merch lines are hours long outside, I will have to wait to try inside, and just hope there's time and they don't sell out before I get a chance.
I have thought about trying to go down the night before, so I can just spend the whole day at the stadium on concert day, but hotels are already sold out, so that's not likely to be possible. Or just getting up at, like, 6 AM and heading down early on the day. Would that work? What time will the stadium parking lot be open? Would I be able to go straight to the stadium and go back to check into my hotel later? Can I check into the hotel online or at, like, midnight when I finally get out after the concert? Should I try to park at the Secaucus station and take the train to the stadium? Ack!
I keep reminding myself that the concert is not until August and there's plenty of time to work all this out. Right now, I just need to concern myself with my camping trip which is in FOUR DAYS. But my brain cannot help working overtime on both plans, and getting them all muddled.
(leasticoulddo_feed May. 3rd, 2026 04:00 am)
leasticoulddo_feed May. 3rd, 2026 04:00 am)The post Beginnings appeared first on Least I Could Do.
(scalziwhatever_feed May. 2nd, 2026 08:37 pm)
scalziwhatever_feed May. 2nd, 2026 08:37 pm)
I’m staying north of the river, which is unusual for me. Also, the parking lot you see in the photo isn’t for my hotel. But it is a parking lot! Forms were obeyed.
I’m on town because tomorrow I’m in conversation with Joe Abercrombie about his latest book The Devils, and if you’re curious to see us I believe tickets may still be available. If you’re not curious to see us, fine, I guess, we’ll just sit there staring awkwardly at each other for an hour or so, I mean, whatever, it’s fine. It’s fine.
Ironically, this weekend is the 35th reunion for the University of Chicago Class of 1991, of which I am a part, and I am missing those festivities for this, and I feel a bit of a heel about it. Sorry, Class of ’91. You know you’re awesome.
— JS
(leasticoulddo_feed May. 2nd, 2026 04:00 am)
leasticoulddo_feed May. 2nd, 2026 04:00 am)The post Boys Being Boys appeared first on Least I Could Do.
(scalziwhatever_feed May. 1st, 2026 11:08 pm)
scalziwhatever_feed May. 1st, 2026 11:08 pm)
For reasons that are not important now, I have found myself in the possession of a lightly used but still somewhat recent Asus Chomebook, of the sort that one can pick up for less than $200, with 4GB RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, a less than spectacular screen resolution, and a keyboard without backlighting, which means on this dark gray version that once the lights dim, its usefulness will compromised for all but the most talented of touch-typers. It’s been a while since I’ve used something this basic (I’m writing this piece on it now), and inasmuch as my daily driver laptop is a reasonably specced-out M4 MacBook Air, I was curious how I would feel about it stepping down from that.
Answer: I… don’t hate it? I don’t love it, to be clear, and it’s not something I would likely ever choose over using my Air. And there are some things about it which are pretty egregious, that are clearly the result of this thing clocking in at under $200, most notably a screen that would have to work to be called “washed out,” and a track pad that feels genuinely terrible to use, especially coming from a MacBook, which have what are acknowledged to be the best trackpads in the world. It is as plastic as the day is long, and given the paucity of its RAM and the inevitable end of ChromeOS, this computer is so close to the line between “useful” and “e-waste” that one might as well give it a balancing beam.
On the other hand, the keyboard doesn’t suck to type on; it’s a basic chiclet board but it’s nicely spaced and the keys don’t feel overly mushy. The onboard i/o puts the Air to shame: Both the Air and the Asus have two USB-C ports and a headphone jack, but the ASUS throws in a USB-A and Mini-SD card as well (I don’t suspect that the USB-C ports on the Asus are Thunderbolt, but they can port out to an external display, which ain’t chicken feed). Plus the ASUS webcam has a manual privacy shutter, which, frankly, is a thing every laptop with a camera should have regardless. It’s not the absolute worst! You could spend $200 on much more questionable things!
Every now and again I do the check-in with myself on what might be the bare minimum I would need, in terms of personal possessions, if less than wonderful things came to pass I had to live in deeply reduced circumstances. And without going into great detail about the thinking process about this, one of the things I’ve decided is that if I had an acceptable laptop, that would go a fair way toward my needs in terms of audiovisual entertainment, and personal creativity. A decent laptop is a television, a radio, a window to the world and an instrument of expression.
This Asus is… not up to the task of being my acceptable laptop in this circumstance. Too limited by tech and by software, basically. I’ve been a long time enjoyer of Chromebooks, and loved my Pixelbook from back in the day. But Chrome ultimately never won the argument that a thin client to the Internet was all you would ever need, and now that ChromeOS is going to be folded into Android at some nearish point, it never will. Chromebooks will go into the west as forever the “second laptop,” the one you used when you didn’t have actual work to do.
(What laptop do I think it probably the closest to my Lowest Acceptable Spec? I think at this point it’s obvious: a MacBook Neo, which has all the advantages of a Chromebook, including price point for some mid-spec Chromebooks, and also can run more complex software that one would need for creative work, and not be totally reliant on an online connection to do it. It’s tempting to say the Neo is overhyped at this point, except I don’t think it actually is; at $600, it basically takes a knife to the Chromebook value proposition for everything but barebones educational use. It’s not the laptop I would want — that’s my Air — but it would certainly do.)
Considering that I do have a MacBook Air, and an iPad Pro with a “Magic Keyboard,” which essentially takes care of all my laptop-ish needs, what might I use this little Chromebook for? Basically, as a guest laptop, if someone visiting needs to do something that requires a full-size keyboard or a screen larger than the one on their phone, but didn’t happen to bring their own laptop with them. And… that’s pretty much it? As I said, I don’t want to entirely discount this laptop; it’s better than I expected for less than $200, and it fulfills its own admittedly modest brief perfectly well. It’s just that I don’t know how much longer this particular brief is going to need to be fulfilled.
— JS
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