Pandemic, The; August 5th (probably)

The world is a crazy place.

I could probably just end the update there, but... oh well.

I've been poking around Usenet of late, to distract myself from the state of
the world. Exploring and discovering all these neat places and communities that
used to exist, back in Better Days(TM). Some were strange and peculiar
(alt.nosebeeping, for example) and others were vaguely tilde-esque in nature.

Two related newsgroups I find fascinating are alt.callahans - a virtual bar,
inspired by a place that appears in some novels by Spider Robinson, where folks
chatted and roleplayed (and still do, albeit in much smaller numbers than in
the past), and a fantasy-themed spinoff, alt.dragons-inn.

I posted a little bit about these elsewhere in the tildeverse, so forgive me if
this is a bit repetitious. What I find fascinating about alt.dragons-inn is
how, in addition to being a social community in a newsgroup, the users there
also wrote elaborate collaborative fiction set in a highly detailed shared
world.

They weren't the only ones to do this kind of thing back then, though they did
so on a grander scale than most other groups. They are also interesting for
having used, and created, an open, shared, world of their own. The other
similar communities I can think of either used an already-existing world (Pern,
Darkover, etc) or a quote-unquote "shared" world crafted by one or two people
who had ultimate authority over everything.

The other thing that I find weirdly fascinating is how I'd never heard of them
before last week. I know that sounds kind of dumb, but I've long been
fascinated by and interested in virtual communities online, particularly in the
early years of the 'net. I've known about alt.callahans for probably twenty
years now, but had never heard of its fantasy-themed cousin.

Some archives of alt.dragons-inn stories and information still exist on the
web, if you want to go check this stuff out. It's a much more pleasant way to
spend a couple hours than checking up on the news, at least.

I've been working, mostly, and trying not to go outside. This has been hard,
because it's been unseasonably cool the last week, great bicycling weather. Ah,
well.

I've also been browsing fabric stores online, looking for material to sew
heavier masks from, because it's becoming clear that the US is still going to
be dealing with the pandemic this winter, and if we wind up going out in winter
we might want heavier, warmer, masks. Unfortunately finding heavier-weight
fabric that you can actually breathe through is... easier said than done. I
think denim and lightweight flannel are going to be the materials of choice,
rather than cotton shirting.

That's all for today. Be well, do good, stay safe.