u/ExtremeExtension7406

One unexpected benefit of my Libra Color has been calming entertainment during the prolonged power outages during the freak summer storms my area has been having recently. We have a portable generator for the fridge, and sump pump, so nothing's at risk, but my mind would go to some pretty dark places during prolonged outages.

Now? No worries. I just grab the kitty, make my way to the couch, and have a peaceful reading session. No wifi or external lighting source needed. I have an entire library's worth of books, and a light source with a very long battery life. It's become an essential part of my emergency kit.

Also, no worries about flooding destroying some of my books, which has happened in the past. Lesson learned, never store anything valuable on the ground level, even if it's a living area that's fully carpeted.

It doesn't have to be something for school or productivity. Just something you would have loved and would have brought you happiness.

For me, it would be an e-reader with backlight along with robust digital book selections. I'm a book worm and avid reader. I was college aged when the first kindle was released. High school me would have LOVED to have an e-reader, especially a tiny one I could stealth read in boring classes. No one would be able to make fun of me for reading manga because they wouldn't be able to see the cover. I'd be able to stay up late at night reading without bothering my sibling I shared a room with if an e-reader with backlight , and not argue with my book hoarding sister about whose book was whose.

What's your item that teenage you would be dying to have and make their life better?

When I got my Kobo Libra Color, I got a case for it and vowed that would be it. I wanted to keep things simple. Then came the metapen stylus, then a remote (not the official kobo one).

For those of you who said you wouldn't buy accessories, did you end up buying some? Which ones made the biggest improvement to your reading experience?

Personally, the remote made a big difference for me. I read more at night in bed with the remote. It's so much easier to prop open my KLC in it's case on my nightstand and turn the pages with the remote while tucked in than hold it in bed. I was afraid I'd fall asleep with it in my hands, roll over, and damage it.

I don't use the stylus nearly as much as I thought I would, and usually end up highlighting with my finger.

Does anyone know which website Cook County lists temporary jobs related to the election? Not election judges or polling place technicians, but warehouse workers responsible for assembling and loading the machinery and election judge training instructors.

For those who have a regular size reader and got a tiny reader (xteInk, OBOOK5, ect) or a reader in cellphone form, (BOOX Palma, Bigme Hibreak, Viwoods, etc), do you find you read more with them after the hype wore off? I'm talking 3+ months after ownership. Are you still reaching for it over your phone or other e-readers?

Have any of you tried an ultra portable reader only to go back a small screen, but regular sized reader like a kindle basic or kobo clara?

Are there people who got a 5-6 inch standard format e-reader as a portable reader and found that increased your reading?

I have an e-reader with a 7 inch screen that I use at home, and a kindle touch from 2011 as a portable reader. Unfortunately my touch has started to get glitchy with page turns recently, and I am thinking it might be time to update. Tiny e-readers seem to have taken the world by storm, but I'm wondering how much of this is just social media hype. I like the idea of picking up an e-reader instead of my phone and reading instead of scrolling, and can see how the muscle memory of holding a cellphone sized reader would make it easier. I am wondering if the form factor of ultraportable readers hold up to longer reading sessions and for the long haul. I am willing to spend more money on a cellphone shaped reader if it's a good portable solution. I am not interested in "collecting" e-readers, and want to have two only - my larger 7 inch reader for home, and my portable reader I keep in my bag and take out of the house with me.

We see Mizu bribing the guards, paying for Ringo's brothel stay, and buy passages on ships. Even though she's thrifty and doesn't spend unless absolutely necessary, she has to have gotten the money from somewhere. What do you think her source of income was?

Personally, I think she might have sold Mikio's horses, and taken any money at the residence after the events of episode 5.

You know he overshared every detail.

(Reposting from OKBuddyPeaches because pictures in replies are not enabled.)

Please suggest a book about a woman​ whose depressed and unhappy who takes the steps to rebuild her life so it makes her happy, but her happiness is not male or romance centered.

I'd love something lighthearted and uplifting. I'm thinking Eat Pray Love without the love, Under the Tuscan Sun, and the beginning of My Big Fat Greek Wedding before she meets Ian - where Toula goes to school, has a mini glow up for herself, makes some friends, and gets the new job at the travel agency (not her dream job, but a big upgrade from waitressing.)

You know he overshared every detail.

They are the show's old gay power couple. They've been intimate. The subtext is there. Which one initiated, and how did they do it? What was their first "date" like? Whose the bottom?

I have two Taurus placements in my big 3, and I consider myself a minimalist. I do see my Taurus placements shine through with my possessions though. While I don't have many possessions, everything I have is high quality, and I won't buy something until I can get exactly what I want, which is usually expensive. I'm more focused on building wealth and saving money than having a lot of possessions. I get as much satisfaction looking at my growing investment portfolio as a Gemini would getting a new little trinket.

Are there any other minimalist Taurus' here?

As we wait for season 2, we've probably done a bit of research on 17th century London, ship voyages, and the like.

Has the show led you down any interesting internet rabbit holes? Personally, I was interested in researching meditation and Samurai codes of honor, which led to me researching katanas, which led to metal forging. I now love watching forging videos.

Another rabbit hole I've went down was researching ship voyages, which led me to the YouTube rabbit hole of watching CGI recreations of famous ship sinkings, and also train wrecks, which branched off to YouTube videos about undertaking and the funeral industry.

What are some internet rabbit holes Blue Eye Samurai has led you down?

It's my birthday today and I'm just not feeling it this year. I'm middle aged, so birthdays aren't a big celebration and more quiet and reserved self care with a little treat and going out to dinner.

I'm just not feeling it this year. Not angry, not, sad, just...empty and depleted. Normally I get a small boost of energy and a good mood and I didn't even get that this year. I just want to go back to bed.

Are any other June Cancer's not feeling the birthday vibes this year?

Happy Cancer season everyone!

I'm first decan Cancer who is a minimalist, and generally the less I have, the better I function. I come from a family with lots of Pisces and Aries placements, and the Pisces were all hoarders, along with one of the Aries.

I know we have the reputation of being the family historians, sentimental, and keeping things as reminders of the past, and are categorized as the "hoarders of the zodiac" but I'm curious if this is the experience of people here, and also curious if it has anything to do with the decans.

Do you consider yourself a minimalist, collector, or hoarder, and what decan is your Cancer placement? Has this changed throughout your life?

We know Fowler is built like a tank, and this absolute unit of a man is capable of breaking Mizu's bones in an embrace when he's a borderline senior citizen whose been locked in a castle for twenty years. Those muscles need some maintenance in the form of exercise, and I want to hear how you think he stays fit.

My guesses:

Bench presses Heiji Shindo: 3 sets of 20, 3x a week (He loves how uncomfortable it makes Shindo and how much he hates it.)

Wall climbing the chapel by noosing a chain around the statue of Jesus: 5 reps, 2x a week

Boxing matches with prisoners to keep his reflexes strong: 5 reps(prisoners) 3x a week

Farmer carry sake casks: 3 sets of 300ft, 2x a week

Cow tipping his 2 heifers from Ireland that produce his long soured curds: 1x a week

Based on him being out of breathe after punching Mizu and Taigen in episode 6, I'm guessing he's more of a weightlifter and not big on cardio or calisthenics, but I imagine he does some cardio, even if begrudgingly.

Cardio:

Swimming in the pool of water below the castle, with assistance from the pollen of his flowers, both to build a tolerance to the pollen should someone try to use it against him, and to make the workout more interesting: 30 minutes, 2x a month

I've been enjoying the meme posts about all the characters being related to each other, but pair of theories have been on my mind for a while:

Theory One: Seki is Mizu's father who had sex with a white woman. Filled with love and compassion for his new family, he killed the men who were going to kill his daughter, and used his pay from his position as Daichi's family guard to keep her safe with "mother" from season one.

Theory Two: Seki is not Mizu's father, but was the one who saved Mizu as an infant and set her up with her "mother" in season one, at the request of her true birth mother, Lady Itoh. She knew he could handle the job discreetly. Akemi's marriage to the Shogun's son was orchestrated by Seki, who accomplished this by calling in a favor to Lady Itoh for saving her daughter years ago.

Seki was a soldier, apt at defending himself and whomever he was serving. He must have been a high ranking one or a very skilled one to be appointed as Daichi's family guard. Even so, he admits himself that he wasn't a very good soldier, and preferred being a surrogate parent to Akemi. What if he took on the role of Daichi's family guard after having rescuing Mizu as an infant? Maybe he had to get out of dodge for disobeying orders by saving Mizu. Perhaps he had regrets about not being able to save his own daughter Mizu, teach her the ways of the world, and protect her, but he could do that with Akemi.

Seki also seemed to have insider knowledge about what was going on around him, and could that to keep track of Mizu. I'm sure he could connect the dots when tales of a blue eyed demon around her age looking for white men started circulating. Having Samurai informants would also mean Seki knew Master Eji had a new apprentice with blue eyes right around Mizu's age. In episode 8, he didn't seem shocked at all to see Mizu in the castle and even gently asked Akemi who her friend was, expressing genuine interest in Mizu.

It would also make sense for Seki's name. In Go, a seki is a stalemate, but can also be referred to as "mutual life." What if the mutual lives Seki enabled were Akemi's by raising her and teaching her to survive in upper class society, and Mizu's by sparing her from death as an infant?

(Another interpretation of a seki in Go is that which transcends simple life and death. Personally, I think Seki might be one of the people we thought dead but survived somehow, but that's a theory for another time.)

I read in some articles that the Annecy Blue Eye Samurai updates will be livestreamed on Netflix for subscribers. Is there an official Annecy livestream website or channel people can watch, or any way to catch the full presentation outside of a Netflix subscription, even if it is uploaded a day or two after the live announcement?

I know any new footage or trailers will likely be uploaded to other websites to create hype, but I am interested in viewing the full presentation.