Time was a single noder not noding for a while wouldn't make a ripple, but with so few of us here now...

I used to think Nate's Word Galaxy Generator was an amusing toy. I realise now it was a reassurance: things are working as expected. The nodegel is safe and will return shortly.

We could do with some reassurance. I'm never sure from one day to the next if the site will be here.

I have been not writing but lurking.

When I last noded, I had spent a few years at home, "not working". In my mind, failing. In reality, being a full time parent, working several part time training jobs, being treasurer for a couple of volunteer organisations, winning prizes for my crochet, writing a couple of novels, and treating and managing a couple of fairly serious chronic autoimmune conditions.

Just as everyone went into lockdown, I went back to work. If you're going to return to full time work after a

Games are a tool to help us understand reality more deeply.

Some games have a mechanic called the Time Loop. Examples include Outer Wilds and Minit. The game resets after a fixed amount of realtime, and the player finds themself back at the beginning, with everything in the gameworld back to how it was. The only difference is that they now have more experience of what can happen in the game. The game progresses through exploration and experimentation, with the player's

So I'm at the harbor, right, and as I'm walking along the main drag I see this shop called "Wizards Of The Coast".

And I'm like, hot dang, I bet I can get good stuff in here! So I waltz in, the bell above the door goes dingy dingy ding -- and I'm looking at this whole place, and it's filled with cards. Packs of cards, stacks of cards, displays of cards, nothing but cards.

Bu