Network [crazyscot]

I spent the weekend recording Simon & Garfunkel’s "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and I finally realized why that track hits so hard. It’s all in the dynamic range.

Watching my peak meters was a trip. The song starts at a near-whisper—a floor of -33dB where you can hear every delicate piano hammer. By the finale, as the emotion and orchestration swell, it ramps all the way up to -11dB.

That 22dB gap is exactly what we lost during the "loudness wars." Modern tracks are often squashed into a flat line, but this recording lets the music breathe. Seeing that massive transition is a masterclass in engineering. It’s a reminder that the power of a climax only works if you aren’t afraid to start quiet.

There are 2 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Posted by John Kovalic

https://www.dorktower.com/2026/03/23/letter/

https://dorktower.kovalic.com/?p=19969

Most DORK TOWER strips are now available as signed, high-quality prints, from just $25! CLICK HERE to find out more!

HEY! Want to help keep DORK TOWER going? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)

https://www.dorktower.com/2026/03/23/letter/

https://dorktower.kovalic.com/?p=19969

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Well it was for a few days. But it is the nature of spring to be fickle, so I shall endure the appearance of equinoctial gales and hope that the cherries don't blossom until later in the week or it will disappear in the closest thing to a blizzard of this winter. I have been failing to write a post because I should be writing about seeing Peter Grimes (brilliant, very dramatic), or more Olympics, or visiting my parents, or reading A Month in the Country (rich and lovely) and it has not happened. Admittedly having a cold has not helped. And I certainly don't want to try to think of something to say about geopolitics.

So when I was reminded of the existence of this song/vid, I thought, I should post that. It is very relatable, literally and metaphorically. Who has never been the penguin who doesn't want to get out of his futon?

Watch on YouTube

There are 3 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

The kids are watching an episode of SpongeBob where he's failing to write an essay. It is, frankly, stressing me the fuck out.

There are 3 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.

This Week's Question: Where do you do most of your crafting?

If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

location: my desk

Mood::

tired

There are 33 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Dear Pay Dirt,
My husband and I are fortunate enough to be homeowners with pretty good credit. We get credit card and loan offers in the mail all the time. I’ve been trying to declutter our house, and junk mail is a big issue. Everything goes on the entry way table and its always overflowing. I set up a recycle bin in the entry way for just such physical spam, but my husband won’t use it because he says we have to SHRED all those offers, and our shredder is not big enough to deal with all the constant clutter! Also, the shredder is in his office, and he only gets to it every other month or so, so the workflow doesn’t keep up.

I know that’s the best, most secure way to deal with junk. But really, our recycle bin is kept in the garage until the night before the garbage is collected., then we roll it out to the curb. We always put other recycling on top of the mail.

Is it really that dangerous to just toss those mailers as is? Maybe tear them up by hand first? Please help!
—Drowning in Junk Mail

( Read more... )

There are 9 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

My poem "ἀγκυλοθάλασσος" has been accepted by Strange Horizons. I am indebted to

radiantfracture for his Twine prompt generator designed to produce scientific-sounding compound adjectives and nouns, in this case the irresistible "ankylothalassic" from ἀγκύλος "crooked, bent" and θάλασσα "the sea." I rendered it back into classical Greek and José Esteban Muñoz and Twelfth Night got in there along the way. It was written on New Year's Eve.

While I was out of ambit of the internet for almost all of yesterday, Reckoning: It Was Paradise hit the digital shelves. It is the special issue of the journal of environmental justice on war and conflict and contains a poem of mine which will go live on the internet in a month, or you could pick it up now with the rest of the shatteringly topical e-book if you don't feel like preordering it in print. I wrote it last summer after the—first—U.S. strikes on Iran. I taught myself a small amount of Elamite cuneiform for it. It should not have come around to such relevance again.

The designer of the Paleontological Research Institute's long-running pre-saurian Paleozoic Pals has just branched out into Pleistocene mammals with a Kickstarter for Cenozoic Snuggles. I have put in for a Glyptodon.

I may have slept nine hours. I just heard Rabbitology's "The Bog Bodies" (2026).

Music:: Charlotte Sands, "Satellite"

There are 14 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Dear How to Do It,
I’m an 18-year-old guy, and I’ve recently had to move in with my older sister and her husband. My brother-in-law, “Kenneth,” is honestly the most amazing guy I’ve ever met. He’s kind, funny, and built like a Greek god. He’s also super traditional and religious, which is part of why I’m so confused.
Lately, I feel like there’s this insane sexual tension between us. He walks around the house in just sweatpants with no underwear, and the bulge is so obvious. I feel like he has to know what he’s doing. Today, he was working out shirtless, and I asked if I could just sit and watch. He said yes, no questions asked, and worked out for a full hour. He was lifting weights and flexing right in front of me.

To me, this is a clear sign. A straight guy wouldn’t let another guy just watch him work out, would he? He has to be into it. But he’s also my sister’s husband, and he’s super religious, so it’s all so complicated. I’m starting to think about ways to make a move, to show him I’m interested. I’m convinced he wants it too. My question is: Am I right? Is he giving me signals, or am I imagining this?
—Confused and Craving

( Read more... )

There are 12 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Posted by mhoye

https://exple.tive.org/blarg/2026/03/24/tr-49/

https://exple.tive.org/blarg/?p=6856

In 2019 inkle’s narrative director Jon Ingold gave a great talk about “designing a lost language”. It’s a good watch, going over all the prototyping they tried, what worked and what didn’t, with this real love of the shape and play of language and the joy of discovery-as-play throughout.

The game that came out of that effort was called Heaven’s Vault; it’s a slow, contemplative game with a pleasant aesthetic and a compelling story that unfolds across it that ties it all together. Not quite part of the “cozy” genre, I think – you’re digging up some sinister history at times – and the art styles are nothing alike, but if Lara Croft had been born at Cyan, it might feel something like this.

Heaven’s Vault feels like it would have been perfectly at home at Annapurna before their implosion; low key and tasteful, reflective and patient with its narrative and convincing if not satisfying in its conclusion. Certainly from the perspective of somebody who loves all of language, space opera and archaeology, the three together were catnip and Inkle’s next game was going to be a day one purchase. Imagine my annoyance when I didn’t even realize it had come out almost a month late!

Even more so, seeing this sit in my drafts folder forgotten for this long.

In our current contingency, with all right-minded people strugging to cast off the oppressor’s markov chains, it may not be not surprising to find a game whose victory conditions are effectively “find a way to rm -rf bullseye the root node”, but reducing TR-49 to that is an immense disservice. Inkle wrapped a cold-war insurgency in Lovecraftian mechanized-omniscience horror and distilled them both down to some viscous oil heated by the oldest machines in a lost library’s basement. It’s a radio play in a one-room cathedral that smells like stale ozone and old metal; it’s on you to save the world from a fate of the same flavor by unwinding a curse permuted into existence decades ago by this electrophorescent microfiche grimoire.

If that doesn’t sell you on it, I’m not sure what will.

https://exple.tive.org/blarg/2026/03/24/tr-49/

https://exple.tive.org/blarg/?p=6856

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Chapter 9, and Lucy and Max are trying to rescue the dolphin. ( Read more... )

Chapter 10 takes them both to the Castello to dry off and warm up. ( Read more... )

In chapter 11 it's finally time for Lucy to find out what Max has been up to. ( Read more... )

Well, that was quite a night! Discuss in comments once you've got your breath back. Chapters 12-14 for next time.

There are 3 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Okay, it was lovely to see the heron again on my walk today. I wonder if it had decided that the eco-pond, with its shoals of Invasive Predatory Goldfish which people have dumped in it to the detriment of other life (frogs, newts, dragonflies) is a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet.

Assuming it is the same heron and that the first did not just tell a friend.

***

In more annoying news, today partner had a go at fixing my printer, which has been giving 'Paper Jam in Tray 1' error messages -

- and after doing pretty much the equivalent of open heart surgery on the thing, lo and behold, there was, entirely concealed from view, a page jammed in the works.

I depose that having to eviscerate a printer to discover this is something of a design fault?

Unfortunately, once the printer was put back together, it decided that the gate was open and it was not going to print anything.

Partner is going to have another go at it tomorrow, but I suspect that New Printer is in the future.

***

Meanwhile, I copied my paper for tomorrow to a memory-stick and took it to partner's computer so that I could print it out there.

This was accomplished successfully.

There is 1 comment on this entry. (Reply.)

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/a-little-rough-around-the-edges-2026

If there's one thing I've learned from Cake Wrecks over the past decade, it's that Epcot is a thing not to be trifled with.

If there's another thing I've learned from Cake Wrecks, it's that you can't make a rounded cupcake cake (ptoieee!). As in, ever. The laws of physics preclude even the merest hint of possibility.

Not that this stops our brave wreckerators from trying, of course. They seem convinced that slathering potentially life-threatening amounts of icing onto anything will put a skeptical customer into a pre-purchase sugar haze.

So let's look at how the seemingly simple circle becomes a disaster destined for diabolically dastardly...um...proportions. (No, wait. Dimensions! Dang it. Broke my stride.)

This...[dramatic pause]...is a base "ball."

And this...is Spider-Man:

Or what's left of him, anyway.

This...is...SPARTA!!!

Actually, no. I think this is supposed to be a hamburger.

"Eh wude lak to baa zebargare kek."
Baker: "I'm sorry, what?"
"Zederbergerer kek."
Baker: "Okay, I'm really not sure what you're..."
*sobbing* "DERBERGER!"

Well just remember, Wreckerators, you can always resort to that old standby: Piping, The Fix For Everything.™

Perfect.

Nina M., Amanda Y., Tyler M., & Ruth U., here's hoping the CCC will be circling the drain sometime soon. Think there's a petition we can all sign?

*****

P.S. Right, so cupcake burgers are a no, but SOCK burgers?

Burger Socks Box

SO MUCH YES.

I like how the patterns are subtle enough to be everyday socks.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/a-little-rough-around-the-edges-2026

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Laptop-TV combo with DVDs on top and smartphone on the desk

In an interview, Seth MacFarlane said that he created The Orville because “the dishes that we are serving up are so dystopian and so pessimistic.”

Do we need hopeful television? Can dystopian television be hopeful? Which shows are hopeful to you?

There are 15 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Posted by Zach Weinersmith

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/phi

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
There should be demotivational youtube math videos. Just to be different.

Today's News:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/phi

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

Telling the truth can make you unpopular... or put you into real peril.

Five Stories About the Dangerous Business of Truth-Telling

There are 2 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

For All Mankind's fifth season starts on Friday, March 27. Just announced is that the show has been renewed for a 6th and final season. This will allow it to catch up to its version of the present day.

Info from Reactor Magazine

Note -- the article says the 5th season lands on March 29. That is incorrect -- it's the 27th.

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

A special delivery finally made it to my doorstep today: my new Gaborone Sailing Club burgee! It's been on quite a journey to get here, but seeing that tagline- "Sailing, Canoeing, Rowing, and the best view in town!"-makes it worth the wait.

A friend of mine grabbed this for me after stopping by the club for lunch. After browsing their website and seeing photos of the resident flamingos wading by the shore, I can see why he spoke so highly of it. It looks like a stunning, peaceful spot to spend an afternoon on the water.

This arrival has me feeling the vibe so much that I definitely need to add Toto's "Africa" to my next mixtape. Even though the burgee took the long route to reach me, I'm thrilled to have a piece of such a unique club.

There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)

A brief guide to creating plausible planets.

How to Build a Planet by Poul Anderson & Stephen L. Gillett

There are 5 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

There are 3 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

crazyscot

Soul in the silence.

Letters Pray – DORK TOWER 23.03.26

Spring! Spring! And a penguin

Scarpetta

Life with two kids: School Days Revisited

Check-In Post - March 24th 2026

(no subject)

I'm yours in the day and the dead of night

My Sister’s Husband Is Agreeing to Things No Straight Man Would. It’s a Sign.

TR-49

This Rough Magic: chapters 9-11

Not sure the nature was exactly healing to the troubled spirit....

A Little Rough Around The Edges

This...is...SPARTA!!!

TV Tuesday: Dystopian Hope

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Phi

Five Stories About the Dangerous Business of Truth-Telling

For All Mankind renewed for 6th and final season

🌍

How to Build a Planet by Poul Anderson & Stephen L. Gillett

Just one thing: 24 March 2026

November

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3 1	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30