2025-08-31
post/793423884089229312
About a year ago, AK and I were chosen by a cat to be their new humans. You can read more about Shinjuku in her three month review (there’s also some follow-up FAQs), but she continues to become more and more comfortable with us over time.
About four weeks ago, Shinjuku changed her explorations in my study (if that’s the right word for a work-from-home desk plus a ludicrous amount of Lego) from jumping on boxes and the top of shelves to instead trying my desk and the laptop, and chose the latter as her new favourite daytime nap spot. That’s now become so much of a preference that I’m sitting here, with her in front of me, on a long weekend Sunday, typing away.
The main issue with a cat on a laptop is, of course, unwanted inputs.
Since I just had to go through a couple of steps to help to be able to use my personal machine despite it being a cat bed, I thought it was worth writing them down. This assumes, by the way, that you have an external keyboard and mouse (or trackpad). If you don’t, you probably can’t get anything done anyway. Try putting the laptop to sleep before your cat (or dog, or hamster; that’s up to you) climbs on it, maybe?
The easiest device is to ignore is the trackpad. Apple loves to hide input (and output) settings under System Settings’ Accessibility pane, and this is another. Switch on “Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present” and your cat can happily sit on the trackpad and click away to their hearts content.
The keyboard, sadly, has no such built in preference (or at least, I’m not aware of it if it does). Luckily, there’s a free, public domain tool called Karabiner-Elements that can take care of that for you. Installation is fairly straightforward, but it does require some system settings modification to grant it permissions.
Once installed, open Elements, then Devices, and you’ll see a number (probably four) of input methods. Choose the external keyboard, and toggle “Disable the built-in keyboard while this device is connected”.
I’ve noticed a couple of drawbacks to these settings. One is that, when using Touch ID to log in, I can’t use the built in keyboard to hit “return” - I have to use the external keyboard. The other is that, if I take my laptop elsewhere, I have to remember to switch off or disconnect the external input. Finally, be aware that, even with the settings above, Touch ID or a power button will be active - if your cat goes right up to the corner, prepare for a forced reboot.
Still. it’s now easier for your cat to happily curl up and sleep in the warm spot that is a churning processor, while you can get some work done - or at least read some internet. That is, assuming you have an external monitor, or only want to look at the top half of your screen.
2025-07-31
post/790603233277116416
Sainsbury’s American Lard packaging, 1960s. From the Sainsbury Archive.
2025-06-12
post/786159823968419840
2025-06-11
post/786114562508406784
post/786113157737349120
2025-06-05
post/785531446521675776
Lucite paint advert. According to this eBay listing, it’s from 1971.
2025-05-12
post/783394845478764544
British Rail safety posters, from the Science Museum Group collection at Artstor:
Untidiness can cause accidents - see that you’re not to blame!
In smooth-riding diesel and electric locos you may be travelling faster than you think.
Check your speedometer to see that you stay inside the limit set for your train and the road.
2025-05-09
post/783111851673255936
I think that most dystopias you see in literature are gray and dark and usually very conformist. The United States, and I think in most industrial countries, we don’t recognize ourselves as dystopias because we’re colorful, we’re marketed to, things are bright and shiny. Our dystopia looks more like a Taco Bell than a concentration camp.
Mark Russell, quoted in an interview on his run of The Flintstones, indirectly via flavor country.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the way films set around the Second World War, particularly in Europe, are graded - desaturated, usually, and / or dark, even during the daytime. Obviously the terminal point of this is Schindler’s List going full black and white - almost - but many other films follow the trope.
However, as you see in the Tomorrow Belongs to Me section in Cabaret, German fascism existed just as happily on a sunny holiday as during a stormy November night. I’ll be remembering that this summer.
2025-04-29
post/782184681883009024
Mild Andor s2 e1-3 spoilers below the fold.
2025-03-28
post/779305914314391552
Dorothea Lange, Japanese family heads and persons living alone form a line outside Civil Control station located in the Japanese American Citizens League Auditorium at 2031 Bush Street, to appear for processing in response to Civilian Exclusion Order No. 20., April 24, 1942 [Photograph has “impounded” indicating it was deposited in the national archives, not seen until 2006]
[Google Street View, 2031 Bush Street, San Francisco, December, 2016]There are 854 Dorothea Lange photographs in the University of California archive collection of 6,867 War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement.
(Source: oac.cdlib.org)