YPP Weekend Blockades, February 17-18: take it to parley already jeez
Sat 2018-02-17 14:15:55 (single post)
The Oceanmasters are unusually involved in this weekend's blockade shenanigans. Well, I say "involved," but that may be overstating things. Vilya holds Frond Island on the Cerulean Ocean, and they do not appear to be defending it against a small attacking fleet belonging to Admiral Finius. If your flag wants this prime unit of real estate, you know what to do.
On the Obsidian Ocean (Dark Seas), the OMs are facilitating an exciting Event Blockade scheduled to take place on Night Harbour on February 27th. It's Fresh and Bold's Bumper Boat Bonanza! No sinking, no canons, just bump-bump-bump yer sloops not-so-gently round the battle board. The first round is for fun and the second will be for keepsies. Visit the linked thread for scoring details, a list of prizes, and a list of the generous donors of the prizes.
But no need to wait until then for Event Blockade Fun. Blame Brenda is hosting a Mustering at Magpie where you can win a war frig and war brigs! The announcement thread with all the details is here, same as last week but now with bonus argue-drama mostly from some dude complaining that they're Doin Kades Rong and also something whiny something off-topic shipyards take it to parley already, jeez.
(SPOILER: They didn't.)
Emerald and Meridian are not without activity too; scroll down for the full schedule. Have fun everyone!
Standard reminders: Schedule is given in Pirate Time, or U.S. Pacific. Player flags link to Yoweb information pages; Brigand King Flags link to Yppedia Brigand King pages. BK amassed power given in parenthetical numbers, like so: (14). For more info about jobbing contacts, jobber pay, and Event Blockade battle board configuration, check the Blockade tab of your ocean's Notice Board. To get hired, apply under the Voyages tab.
Doubloon Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, February 17 ***
12:00 p.m. - Ventress Island, Emerald Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Illuminatti
Attacker: The Enlightened (3)
4:00 p.m. - Magpie Island, Obsidian Ocean
Event: 5 rounds, nonsinking
Hosted by: Blame Brenda
4:29 p.m. - Hadrian Island, Meridian Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Chthonic Horde (1)
Attacker: Meridian's Most Wanted
6:42 p.m. - Jubilee Island, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Velt's Boiyz
Attacker: Smoke and Mirrors
9:54 p.m. - Marlowe Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Minions
Attacker: Pirateology
Subscription Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, February 17 ***
12:00 p.m. - Frond Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Vilya
Attacker: Fleet of his Imperial Scaled Highness (1)
8:30 p.m. - Corona Reef, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Jinx (1)
Attacker: Because I Can
*** Sunday, February 18 ***
12:00 p.m. - Tinga Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Fleet of his Imperial Scaled Highness (2)
Attacker: Because I Can
does everything from posole to queso blanco
Wed 2018-02-14 22:13:48 (single post)
I was going to blog about cooking yesterday, but I was obliged to sacrifice yesterday on the altar of Overdue Household Administration Tasks. So you get the cooking blog post a day late. Here it is.
A few weeks ago, I woke up from a dream about cooking posole. It seemed like such a good idea that I resolved to do it for real. And I did! But also I made a mess of the kitchen. I used dried hominy instead of canned, since that happened to be what I was able to lay hands on soonest. And I thought, well, it'll plump up as it reconstitutes, but it'll soak up a bunch of broth as it does, so it's OK that there's not a lot of head room in the pot, right? WRONG. My poor old 4-quart slow-cooker overflowed all over the kitchen counter.
On the plus side, it was full of posole, which is amazing right after a three-hour roller derby practice. That almost made up for having to clean up a lake of ancho chili broth and pork fat right after a three-hour roller derby practice.
Not for the first time, I was reminded it was probably time to upgrade to a 6-quart slow-cooker. And I was reminded again when I found myself shopping at McGuckin a couple days later. They have a nice selection of slow-cookers in various sizes and brands. But I did not bring home a slow-cooker after all. I brought home a multi-cooker. (We pause now for the audience to go "ooh" and "aah" appreciatively.) I admit it: I am weak and easily tempted and also susceptible to the fear of regrets. As in, "Yes, the multi-cooker has a bunch of functions I probably don't need, and it costs about a hundred dollars more than the crock-pot I'd planned to buy. But if I do just buy the crock pot, will I come to regret not having bought the multi-cooker instead? I mean, define false economy. Besides, it's got pressure-cooker functions. Haven't I always kind of sort of wanted a pressure cooker? NOW'S MY CHANCE."
That very night, I used its WHITE RICE function to make rice. Badly. (I've gotten better since.) The next day I used its SAUTÉE, BROWN, and SLOW COOK functions to make the tea-braised chuck roast recipe at the end of this article.
But what I've used it for most frequently is cheese.
The multi-cooker does not boast of a cheese-making function. It boasts instead of a yogurt-making function, which is apparently for cooking the yogurt-to-be after you've mixed in the live culture. I didn't actually use that function. (Also I don't like yogurt.) But the yogurt-making instructions start off by having you heat your milk using the SLOW COOK function, which is also the first step in making paneer. So.
I never manage to drink a whole bottle of milk before its expiration date. "That's OK," I tell myself, pretty much every time. "I'll just make paneer with whatever's left." And then, pretty much every time, I put it off. And I put it off. And then next thing I know, it's too late. The milk has not only begun to self-curdle, which by itself mightn't be so bad, but it has also started turning surgical-appliance pink, and I'm not touching any pink milk that didn't come labeled STRAWBERRY, thanks.
But since acquiring this multi-cooker, I've made cheese multiple times. No putting it off at all. Partially, that's because I'm still all excited about using a brand-new kitchen appliance. But, more to the point, the multi-cooker makes the process simpler. I mean, not the entire process. The whole routine of getting out the cheesecloth and setting up for draining the curds and pressing them into a mold and draining them some more, that doesn't go away. But the multi-cooker does obviate the anxious half hour of running into the kitchen every five minutes to make sure the milk isn't boiling over. It also heats the milk up more slowly and with less potential for scorching.
I probably could have done this in my old 4-quart crock pot. But the idea just never occurred to me until I read the hype on the box the multi-cooker came in. "Does everything from rice to yogurt!" It is possible that a creamed corn experiment gone wrong had left me irrationally averse to heating milk or cream in a slow-cooker. The yogurt instructions reassured me. (I might actually try the slow cooker creamed corn thing again this summer, come to think of it.)
So I've made paneer in the multi-cooker. I have also fried paneer in the multi-cooker (using the BROWN function) preparatory to a sort of random-greens version of saag. Additionally, I have made queso blanco, which is what happens when I leave the curds draining too long so that the finished cheese is a crumbly mess that's fantastic on tamales. I've even experimented with pouring the whey back into the cooker, changing the function from HIGH temp to LOW, adding a tiny bit more acid, and then waiting to see whether this would produce ricotta/ricottone. IT DID. I got like a whole tablespoon of ricotta.
What the heck does one do with a tablespoon of ricotta? Bake a very tiny lasagna? Fill the world's smallest calzone? Stir it into the next batch of macaroni and cheese? Or something else?
TO BE CONTINUED! ...or not, depending.
belated fictionette announcements made in the dust of the wagon i'm running to catch up with
Mon 2018-02-12 23:56:09 (single post)
- 933 words (if poetry, lines) long
- 959 words (if poetry, lines) long
- 898 words (if poetry, lines) long
Hi! Pretend it's Friday. Pretend the Friday Fictionette for February 9 just went up. (It isn't, and it didn't, and it actually went up on Saturday just before our roller derby double header got underway--thank goodness there's public wifi at the Boulder County Fairgrounds now!) This is the blog post that ought to have gone up right about then, announcing the latest release.
We good? Good. So...
The Friday Fictionette for Friday, February 9 is "Electing a Chair" (ebook and audiobook for Patrons, teaser excerpt for all) and exemplifies the GIGO principal at work in the perfect obedience of enchanted household objects.
While we're at it, the Fictionette for Friday, February 2 was "Lights Out" (ebook, audiobook, excerpt), and for the Fictionette Freebie for January 2018 I chose "The Proof is in the Post."
OK. So. The post about cooking is coming tomorrow, if I don't totally fall off the wagon again. 'Til then!
YPP Weekend Blockades, February 10-11: Blame Brenda for the birds
Sat 2018-02-10 12:18:47 (single post)
Not a lot going on in the blockade game this weekend--just one each on Emerald and Meridian. If you have other things to do with your Saturday evening (like, for instance, heading over to the Boulder County Fairgrounds to watch friendly rivals BCB and FoCo duke it out over the course of a roller derby double-header), you needn't fear your FOMO syndrome acting up, 'cause you won't be missing out on much. (Meridian's Most Wanted may beg to differ, but the Brigand King they're attacking is at minimum strength, so we're talking barely one or two rounds until sunk, y'know? And the timing is such that you could probably just sneak off and job for them during the afterparty, which will be at Pumphouse Brewery/Red Zone in Longmont this time around.)
(And now I have done my bit of PR for bout weekend. You're welcome!)
In other YPP news,
- On the Ice (Testing) Ocean, there were no entrants in the semi-annual Fort Royal Shipyard Shoppe contest. Therefore, OM Demeter has taken the shoppe over herself and will enable it to provide those ships which are too large for mere stalls to handle.
- On the Obsidian (Dark Seas) Ocean, Blame Brenda continue to develop their plans for Magpie Island, and you can keep up to date with those plans over here. They've made good on their intent to introduce a new naming theme. It's for the birds! To be more precise, "A (collective noun for particular bird) of (something to do with the stall)." Example given: A Gaggle of Gold (bank). Meanwhile...
- ...they've scheduled a small-ship event blockade for next weekend (Sat. Feb. 17) with FRIGS AN' BRIGS FOR PRIZES as long as everyone plays nice and sticks to the designated pay cap of 3k/segment. Blame Brenda intends to continue hosting events of this nature for as long as they hold Magpie Island.
That's about all the news folks have seen fit to post to the Puzzle Pirates Forums, so I guess I'm done here. See you online, or see you at the Fairgrounds!
Standard reminders: Schedule is given in Pirate Time, or U.S. Pacific. Player flags link to Yoweb information pages; Brigand King Flags link to Yppedia Brigand King pages. BK amassed power given in parenthetical numbers, like so: (14). For more info about jobbing contacts, jobber pay, and Event Blockade battle board configuration, check the Blockade tab of your ocean's Notice Board. To get hired, apply under the Voyages tab.
Doubloon Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, February 10 ***
1:44 p.m. - Saiph Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Illusion
Attacker: Out of Control
8:06 p.m. - Stormy Fell, Meridian Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Chthonic Horde (1)
Attacker: Meridian's Most Wanted
stomach churning heart palpitating ARGH but otherwise just great
Thu 2018-02-08 00:21:14 (single post)
Hi. Wow. So, I haven't blogged under the auspices of the Actually Writing Blog for like two weeks now, maybe more. I won't bother making excuses. For the most part I don't really have a good explanation. Or rather, I do, but, as explanations go, they are well-trod subjects that would be boring to rehash. Failure to adequately absorb the impact of roller derby practice on the rest of the week, I guess, plus a large helping of avoidance. Recursive avoidance. That's where you avoid doing the thing that's no big deal, because the thing you're really avoiding comes right after. Then you start avoiding the thing before the no-big-deal thing. And so it goes, like a row of dominoes, until you don't want to get out of bed at all because starting your day will start the one-thing-after-another chain of things inevitably leading up to the thing you're dreading. The thing I'm dreading, of course, because that's who we're talking about here. Anyway, it took me several days of dread and exhaustion to finally just say, fuck the chain of things, let's just skip to the dreaded thing and rip the gods-damned band-aid off.
Also there were multiple dreaded things. Most of them are now done, and aside from the "anxiety! is this what a panic attack feels like? How interesting" aftermath, I'm feeling a lot better now.
So! Actually writing. Since the start of the year, I've written five new flash-length stories! I made the deadline for each week of the 2018 Codex "Weekend Warrior" contest, and I'm looking forward to submitting every single of them for publication in the near future. A couple are almost perfect just as they are, and need only a little tweaking before being publication-ready. (Just my opinion, of course; the editors I submit them to will have the final say.) The rest could use some real revision and probably expansion--not everything needs to be 750 words or shorter--and will probably get submitted a little later in the spring.
I did not make the deadline for the "4x4 contest" on 4thewords. I came very close, but in the last 24 hours of the contest I proceeded as though I had 48 hours remaining, which is because when the good folks behind 4thewords say "January 31 deadline" they don't mean through the 31st, as I would have expected, but rather until. But hell with it. The point of revising the novel isn't to enter its first 4,000 words into a contest. It's to have a fully revised and finished novel which may be entered in the contest that really matters, which is to say, publication. So I plan to come back to it in, I dunno, March I guess? March is the traditional month of NaNoEdMo, so that seems appropriate. Also that gives me the rest of February to decide what to do with my five fresh new flash tales.
So... that's the latest in writing. Tomorrow there will probably be stuff about cooking. (I've been cooking.)
YPP Weekend Blockades, February 3-4: git yer PVP on
Sat 2018-02-03 13:24:54 (single post)
Hullo! This is your weekly Puzzle Pirates report. If you are waiting on the weekly Friday Fictionette release announcement, that'll be showing up later on today because I kind of sucked at life yesterday. It is almost finished, it will be out in a few hours, everything will be fine. Meanwhile, we got blockades.
I also sucked at Seals, unfortunately--not a single one of my pirates achieved the January 2018 trophy. Better luck this month! The trophy trigger for February 2018 is completing 2 different expeditions (Imperial Outpost, Viking Defense, Buried Treasure Atoll, or Lost Shipwreck). Dunno about you, but I'm halfway done already, for one of my pirates anyway. Woot!
What else is new? Well, there's the January 29 client update. Looks like a lot of stuff related to faction bounties on Obsidian/Dark Seas, and some bug-fixes and seasonal content for all oceans. Click through for the full details.
And of course there are blockades! Full schedule below. Enjoy, have fun, pew-pew, etc.
Standard reminders: Schedule is given in Pirate Time, or U.S. Pacific. Player flags link to Yoweb information pages; Brigand King Flags link to Yppedia Brigand King pages. BK amassed power given in parenthetical numbers, like so: (14). For more info about jobbing contacts, jobber pay, and Event Blockade battle board configuration, check the Blockade tab of your ocean's Notice Board. To get hired, apply under the Voyages tab.
Doubloon Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, February 3 ***
12:00 p.m. - Anegada Island, Emerald Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Jinx (3)
Attacker: Pew Pew
Attacker: Lit
Undeclared: Black Flag
12:37 p.m. - Ashkelon Arch, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pew Pew
Attacker: Spoon Republic
12:38 p.m. - Ambush Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pew Pew
Attacker: Spoon Republic
12:39 p.m. - Tumult Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pew Pew
Attacker: Spoon Republic
12:40 p.m. - Kakraphoon Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pew Pew
Attacker: Spoon Republic
12:40 p.m. - Pukru Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pew Pew
Attacker: Spoon Republic
Attacker: Lit
Undeclared: Invicta
12:52 p.m. - Isla Ventress, Jade Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Sortilegio (1)
Attacker: T unit
3:04 p.m. - Jubilee Island, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Velt's Boiyz
Attacker: Who Gives A Sheet
6:21 p.m. - Polaris Point, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Velt's Boiyz
Attacker: Who Gives A Sheet
*** Sunday, February 4 ***
11:00 a.m. - Viridis Island, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Vanguard
Attacker: Dragon Lords
11:24 a.m. - Olive Island, Meridian Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Chthonic Horde (1)
Attacker: Dragon Lords
Subscription Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, February 3 ***
12:01 p.m. - Diastrophe Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Jinx (1)
Attacker: Pandamonium
12:09 p.m. - Terra Island, Cerulean Ocean
Defender: Secrets of the Deep
Attacker: Tyranny
12:10 p.m. - Conglin Island, Cerulean Ocean
Defender: Secrets of the Deep
Attacker: Tyranny
8:37 p.m. - Jorvik Island, Cerulean Ocean
Defender: Tyranny
Attacker: Secrets of the Deep
8:48 p.m. - Garden Cradle, Cerulean Ocean
Defender: Secrets of the Deep
Attacker: Tyranny
YPP Weekend Blockades, January 27-28: "Think game mechanics."
Sat 2018-01-27 13:34:59 (single post)
So it's blockade time again, but I'm gonna be immersing myself in the pillaging game instead because I still want to earn the January Seal o' Piracy at least on some of my pirates. (Complete 10 each brigand and barbarian sea battles.) But you may have different priorities. Thus, the blockade schedule.
There are, at the current time, two islands that may be blockaded on the Dark Seas (Obsidian Ocean), and, by golly, they are being blockaded. Magpie Island, won last weekend by Consider It Sunk, is being attacked by Blame Brenda. The defense intent post proposes that you job for Consider It Sunk so that they may continue their island development plan, which includes fostering a monopoly on the frig market to prevent extraneous blockade attempts and the elitification of Obsidian. The blockade (attack) intent post simply promises to add island attractions and "rename all buildings to a less stupid theme."
Meanwhile, Loggerhead Island is coming under attack by Friendly Fire:
If we win, we will be dusting the shipyard for a bungalow (because the poor pirates need a place to live too). All other buildings will be replaced with weaveries so everyone can enjoy the best puzzle in the game.
Defenders are Amateur Hour.
Over on the Cerulean Ocean, the flag Tyranny has "scuttled" for BKs to attack a bunch of outpost islands. This is part of their strategy to protect large islands from BK attack--thus keeping blockades strictly PVP--by allowing BKs to own enough outpost islands that they don't spawn flotillas. I expect this means Tyranny won't be defending their outposts this weekend. Babylon isn't too pleased, accusing them of "self-serving interests" and of being "bullies and thieves," and have announced intent to blockade any Tyranny-owned islands next Sunday, February 4. So far popular opinion seems to be with Tyranny on this one, but we'll have to wait until next weekend to find out who gets more jobbers.
Scroll down for the rest of the schedule. Good luck, have fun, shoot cannonballs, earn PoE!
Standard reminders: Schedule is given in Pirate Time, or U.S. Pacific. Player flags link to Yoweb information pages; Brigand King Flags link to Yppedia Brigand King pages. BK amassed power given in parenthetical numbers, like so: (14). For more info about jobbing contacts, jobber pay, and Event Blockade battle board configuration, check the Blockade tab of your ocean's Notice Board. To get hired, apply under the Voyages tab.
Doubloon Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, January 27 ***
3:58 p.m. - Prolix Purlieu, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Velt's Boiyz
Attacker: Who Gives A Sheet
4:17 p.m. - Loggerhead Island, Obsidian Ocean
Defender: Amateur Hour
Attacker: Friendly Fire
4:24 p.m. - Magpie Island, Obsidian Ocean
Defender: Consider it Sunk
Attacker: Blame Brenda
*** Sunday, January 28 ***
12:00 p.m. - Anegada Island, Emerald Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Spoon Republic
Attacker: Jinx (3)
Subscription Ocean Blockades
*** Saturday, January 27 ***
12:17 p.m. - Chaparral Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Fleet of his Imperial Scaled Highness (1)
Attacker: Because I Can
4:02 p.m. - Iris Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Fleet of his Imperial Scaled Highness (1)
Attacker: Because I Can
7:00 p.m. - Frond Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Tyranny
Attacker: Jinx (1)
11:00 p.m. - Orca Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Tyranny
Attacker: Jinx (1)
*** Sunday, January 28 ***
11:15 a.m. - Park Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: The All-Consuming Flame (2)
Attacker: Because I Can
12:00 p.m. - Spectre Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Tyranny
Attacker: Black Veil (1)