On the writing front #
This week, I was blocked while writing Le Cabinet des Mauvais Souvenirs. My blockage has a name: Astérie Forestier. I need to tackle a scene featuring this deliberately unlikable teenager, but I don’t feel close enough to her to draw inspiration. I’m struggling to define the key interactions that should change her perspective on certain things.
To break through, I took a “Big Five” personality test on her behalf. By outlining the broad strokes of the results, I was able to flesh out her personality and the origins of her fears enough to hopefully find the missing pieces for the story.
On the web front #
Here are my two latest contributions to the Embroider repository, both related to the template-tag-codemod package:
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https://github.com/embroider-build/embroider/pull/2716: You can now disable the modification of
.git-blame-ignore-revswhen using the “merge history” feature, which helps Git recognize that your new GJS file is historically the same as your old JS and HBS files. This feature relies on several automated commits, including one that only involves code formatting with no significant changes..git-blame-ignore-revsallows you to ignore this commit ingit blame, but you might want to disable this change under certain specific conditions. -
https://github.com/embroider-build/embroider/pull/2717: When a route’s template becomes a GJS file, the controller is now referenced as
@controllerinstead ofthis. The codemod is supposed to replace all occurrences, but one case was missing: when a component is imported into the controller and invoked in the template via a getter (<this.myComponent>). The codemod finds occurrences to replace based on the language’s grammar, but the case of an invocation is slightly different from those previously handled.
In the garden #
I’m unlucky with my salads this year. They’re being devoured by slugs and snails despite the tall grasses, open compost, and even a sacrificial flower bed. (The flower mat I tried to set up isn’t actually covered in flowers but mostly in lettuces and thistles, with a few beautiful phacelias.) I’ve also lost my larkspurs, my pickles, and the two pea plants my market gardener gave me. Aphids aren’t far behind and are attacking other plants. My garden doesn’t lack food for small invertebrates, but that’s not always enough to save the vegetable patch.
Fortunately, some vegetables are still growing well: a few lettuces, red-stemmed chards, cherry tomatoes, and two zucchini plants. Not enough for food self-sufficiency, but we should still get to enjoy some homegrown harvests.
On the culture front #
I finished Monster Hunter Stories 3. I’ve got all 100 Poogies! I’ve completed all the side quests, and to truly finish it 100%, I’d only need to complete all the weapons, collect all the badges, and finally defeat all the invasive monsters sleeping in the endangered species’ dens. While the lack of post-game content is a bit noticeable, (Like in many other games, you’re unfortunately sent back to the beginning after the final battle, which is a pattern I’’’m not fond of.) I have to say I’m impressed by how skillfully the main story and side quests are woven together throughout the adventure. It’s structured in such a way that you can be very close to 100% completion by the time you unlock the final main quest, having savored every moment. I think the game has a good length, I might have started feeling the repetition if there had been even one more area. I really think it’s great job.