ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
My air plants arrived today. :D So I gathered materials to start assembling the lantern terrarium. (Start with Photos: Fairy Garden Lantern Deconstruction. Continue with Photos: Lantern Terrarium Assembly Part 2 Testing the Fit.)

Walk with me ... )
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
Warnings and Weirdness
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2
Word count (story only): 1390
[Sunday, May 10, 2020, afternoon]


:: The Teagues return to the plant nursery, intending to surprise Shandiin with a new herb garden. The visit is very different than they expected. Part of the Edison’s Mirror universe. ::


Back to Bonding Time
To the Edison's Mirror Index
On to




“It’s Vic, isn’t i? Welcome back,” the dark-haired man at the nursery door declared, nodding to the teen as he crossed into the shop. “Who’s with you today?”

“This is Aidan, and my brother Ed.” Vic stepped forward. “Aidan wanted to put in some herbs for a friend, but I don’t know enough about gardening to be trusted with a list of plants to buy.”

Garegin ran his fingers along his jet black beard and chuckled. “So, come introduce me.”
Read more... )

Native American

Nov. 3rd, 2025 05:51 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
22 Ways To Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month, when we all come together to honor and celebrate the culture, traditions, history, and contributions of American Indian and Alaskan Natives.


They left out the Real Rent / Voluntary Land Tax movement, where people of non-indigenous heritage send money to the nearest extant tribe or sometimes a formerly-local tribe that was ousted to live elsewhere. If you don't have that option, you can also chuck it into any current fundraiser to obtain land for a tribe or fight legal battles over land. Closely related, if you own land -- especially big enough for some of it to be wild or nearly so -- consider programs to share access with tribal people. Some folks have negotiated deals where the tribe will help manage the territory in return for sharing use of it, which can grant you access to much better techniques.

Science Fiction

Nov. 3rd, 2025 12:51 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Five Ways Science Fiction Can Expand Beyond Homo sapiens

* The Past
* Cryptic Populations
* Sideways in Time
* The Future
* Science!

It left out crossbreeding with other species (like Spock in Star Trek) as well as backbreeding where remnant genes become more prevalent due to environmental pressures until speciation occurs. Regarding the latter, Sherpas are already a borderline species because they can survive at higher altitudes than other Homo sapiens due to their Denisovan heritage.  They are at least a definable subspecies based on habitat adaptations, more realistically a remnant population of Denisovans with heavy Homo sapiens introgression.  But when you start talking about biological differences among humans, then humans immediately start doing stupid things, so most scientists won't do it.  Anyhow, if the Sherpas became isolated from other humans and stayed in the Himalayas, environmental pressure would push them toward more Denisovan-like traits.

Birdfeeding

Nov. 3rd, 2025 12:43 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is mostly sunny and mild.   

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

My air plants arrived!  :D  So today I need to assemble the lantern terrarium.

EDIT 11/3/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard and started laying out pieces for the lantern terrarium.

EDIT 11/3/25 -- I've been working on the lantern terrarium, trimming the branch that will go inside and testing a few air plants to fit it.  Currently I have it soaking in a tray of water to rehydrate the lichens.

EDIT 11/3/25 -- I've done more work on the lantern terrarium.  I have the main branch soaked, and I picked up some more twigs and chips in hopes of creating more spaces to lodge the air plants.  I've glued the first piece in place, the chip I cut off the bottom end.

While I was outside, I saw the great horned owl and heard it hooting.  Then I heard a shriek.  A baby owl!  :D 3q3q3q!!!  I am 99% certain that the conversation translates to this:

Baby: "I'm hungry!"

Mama: "Shh.  Go to sleep.  Shh."

Baby: "FEED ME!"

Mama: "It is the middle of the DAY.   Now GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP."

EDIT 11/3/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/3/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 11/3/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Monday Update 11-3-25

Nov. 3rd, 2025 12:05 am[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Artwork of the wordsmith typing. (typing)
These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Today's Cooking
Gaming
Birdfeeding
Worldbuilding
Art
Birdfeeding
Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo Card 11-1-25
Philosophical Questions: Accuracy
Moment of Silence: Patricia Crowther
Birdfeeding
Holiday
Books
Wildlife
Garden of Repose
New Year's Resolutions Check In
Follow Friday 10-31-25: Kpop
Bingo
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Sustainability
Birdfeeding
Good News

Trauma has 34 comments. Affordable Housing has 57 comments. Robotics has 95 comments.


There will be a Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, November 4 with a theme of "Fairies and Fey." I hope to see you then!


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv and needs $191 to be complete. Maiara and Arthur discuss taking notes.


The weather is cool and fall-like now. It rained a couple of days. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two goldfinches, and a male cardinal. A great horned owl has been hoo-hooing outside. :D Currently blooming: dandelions, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, sweet alyssum, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, firecracker plant, tomatoes, violas. Tomatoes, ball carrots, and groundcherries are ripe. Fields are almost all harvested.

Today's Cooking

Nov. 2nd, 2025 08:58 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today I am making Tomato-Basil Bread from Hello! 365 Tomato Recipes: Best Tomato Cookbook Ever For Beginners, the yeast version from page 32.  (This is basically the same recipe.)  We're out of parmesan cheese, so I substituted Manchego which is dry enough to grate and has a similarly sharp taste.  Already the dough is a very pretty salmon-pink, currently rising in a bowl set inside a bowl of warm water to help maintain temperature.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- Bread punched down and set for second rise.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- Bread in oven.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- It's done!  :D  This is better than the earlier quickbread I tried.  When baked, it is a bright, true salmon color thanks to the tomato sauce.  The outside is crusty, the inside is springy and chewy, with a mild tomato flavor and herbal hints.  If I make it again, I want to try the Little Italy Pizza Seasoning instead of plain crushed red pepper.  The loaf is small and round, yielding oval slices.  That's too small for grilled cheese sandwiches but would probably work for Bulgarian breakfast bread.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
Feline Negotiations
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1840


:: Torrin meets Griffin’s grandmother, Judy, and they discuss ways to make the telepathic cats more comfortable in their new home. This story is actually the precursor to [personal profile] chanter1944’s actual prompt, so I’m posting it now to make the later store clearer. Technically, written for the October of 2025 Feathering the Nest prompt call, with my thanks! ::




“I’m not sure about how to do this,” the elderly lady began, then smiled at the young man who put a mug of spearmint tea at her elbow. “Thank you.”

Loudmouth shrugged. “I’m a very straightforward person, ma’am. You wanted to meet Torrin, and talk business. I wanted to be here because I want to offer a hint or two about what constitutes a good deal on both sides, not take over.” She gestured as Torrin entered, carrying a lemon yellow kitten in his cupped hand, with a tiny bottle in the other. “Ah, I didn’t realize that it was still feeding time.”
Read more... )

Gaming

Nov. 2nd, 2025 07:25 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
New study: Dungeons & Dragons provides real benefits to people with disabilities and the elderly

“Serious leisure” refers to an activity that demands skill, commitment, and personal fulfillment, Messina defined. With the intricate world-building, score-keeping, and character development required of D&D, she said, it’s a blueprint for serious leisure.
[---8<---]
“Players were comfortable being themselves by engaging in the game pursuit,” she added, “but at the same time were building personas in line with, or in contrast to, their normal personality. They described it as a way to take charge, or lead an effort in ways that their normal personality would allow for, but they wouldn’t be inclined to do.”


Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Nov. 2nd, 2025 12:45 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is sunny and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I trimmed weeds from the tulip bed. It's about 2/3 done now.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I trimmed weeds from rest of the tulip bed. \o/

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a cardinal.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I spread the first bag of compost and manure on the tulip bed.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I spread the second bag of compost and manure on the tulip bed.

EDIT 11/2/25 -- I spread the third bag of compost and manure on the tulip bed. It is mostly covered but still needs another bag.

I picked a handful of basil leaves so I can make tomato-basil bread tonight.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
An Offer and an Explanation
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (Story only): 1800


:: Jackie and the clowder of kids and cats meet Doctor G and make a new friend. The offer of a place to stay is precious. Written for the October 2025 Feathering the Nest prompt call, the idea was suggested by [personal profile] mama_kestrel, with my thanks. I’m posting it today because a kitchen accident demands that I not type for at least twelve hours. ::




Jackie swallowed as she parked the car. The small building had once been a fast food restaurant, but it, and the entire ell of the strip mall were part of something called Soup to Nuts, while the former gas station with a single mechanic’s bay now held a zoomwagon company. The kids eyed the buxom, dark-skinned woman curiously as she sneaked behind the dark-haired man soaping the grill of the vehicle. The woman held up a bucket, noticed the children watching, then pressed a finger to her lips. The bucket swept forward, but instead of dumping water on the man washing the zoomwagon, a sweep of glittering flakes, like shavings from a bar of soap, struck the man, the zoomwagon, and the tarmac. They fuzzed and fizzed, evaporating before anyone could draw a breath to shout.

The man turned, laughing. He sighed rapidly, making comical faces all the while.
Read more... )

Worldbuilding

Nov. 1st, 2025 07:56 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
The Most Powerful Type of Worldbuilding by Curious Archive

I rarely link YouTube videos anymore, but this one had some good observations about "moldy worldbuilding" and how it shows the passage of time. So I'll throw out some ideas based on that.

Read more... )

Art

Nov. 1st, 2025 04:24 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
New study: Viewing art in galleries 'immediately' reduces cortisol levels, boosts health

“Our unique and original study provides compelling evidence that viewing art in a gallery is ‘good for you’ and helps to further our understanding of its fundamental benefits,” Dr. Tony Woods, the study’s senior author, said.

“In essence, art doesn’t just move us emotionally — it calms the body too.”

More specifically, cortisol levels — a key stress hormone in the human body — fell by an average of 22% in the gallery group, compared to just 8% in the control group
.

Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Nov. 1st, 2025 02:09 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I trimmed weeds from the daffodil bed.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I spread the first bag of composted manure on the daffodil bed.  It covered the far side and half the center.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I spread the second bag of composted manure on the daffodil bed.  So that's done, aside from raking up a pile of leaves to create the mulch cover for it.  This concludes today's yardwork target. \o/

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I started trimming weeds from the tulip bed.

I am done for the night.

ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Here is my card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo over in [community profile] allbingo. The fest runs from November 1-30. (See all my 2025 bingo cards.)

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out. I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far. This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I may still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.

Underlined prompts have been filled.


FAIRY TALES BINGO CARD

PixieThe NightingaleThe deeds of ordinary folks keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.VisionCastle
GloryHeroElvesJourneyEnchanted
MusicVery little worth knowing is taught by fear.WILD CARDGolden HairFairies
Fairy RingSolitudeShadowThe Dark TowerTwilight
GolemTricksterOnce Upon a TimeI didn't want power. All I wanted was control. Over my life.Magical Power
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

How would the world change if there was an accurate measure of aptitude?

Little if any. Some types of aptitude can be tested pretty well. People often choose not to act on them. In fact, people often prefer the less accurate ones.





azurelunatic: A glittery black pin badge with a blue holographic star in the middle. (blue star)
23 trick-or-treaters this year, likely due to rain and construction. The last four were after we had started picking up and bringing things inside, and in fact after we'd sorted the candy into Keep and Share. (The Share candy stays outside overnight for the late crew, then goes with Belovedest to work. We don't have particularly much trouble with raccoons.) In the last party, the one with the umbrella hat and some sort of Studio Ghibli makeup (white face, red eye triangles) was enchanted with the glow sticks and picked one of the very few blue ones.

This year's innovation was doing the Wizard of Oz + Dark Side of the Moon thing with (much less cleverly timed) Chaos Emergency Doof Broadcast (Which is 4 hours of very silly DJ work), some of the Halloween episodes, with Addams Family Values on mute (several times through). We got the inflammable tango to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and a few other silly confluences. I think this is one of the ones where precise timing doesn't help all that much, but it's great when it happens. By the time the show had run out of explicitly spooky songs, it got a little less entertaining.

Belovedest was Jigglypuff. I was a very tired Dulcie (wearing my own nightgown and some exhaustion makeup). I ordered the wrong crust on 2 out of 3 pizzas, and the 3rd one was gluten free.
silveradept: Domo-kun, wearing glass and a blue suit with a white shirt and red tie, sitting at a table. (Domokun Anchor)
Let's begin with the understanding that many more people are using computing and the Internet than those who have able bodies. (And they're also trying to use public infrastructure as well.) So let's talk about what people think screen readers do, and what they actually do, and re-commit yourselves to building things that are accessible from the ground up, so that everyone can use a website, a document, or enjoy a picture that you have taken or created, even if they are not a sighted user.

Furthermore, Consumer Reports offers the easiest way to turn off LLM and other supposed "intelligence" features on your computers and devices, which we offer with the additional understanding that every time you update your device, you may have to repeat these steps, as many of the companies that have poured all this money into supposed intelligence are very put out when people turn them off, and will silently turn them back on every time you update.

As the population ages, the lack of information for people going through menopause means there's people to be exploited, according to plenty of companies that intend to do the exploiting. Because, after all, there's still a prevalent assumption that a woman loses all her value once she stops being able to breed the next generation. And an equally prevalent idea that you can just slap a purple color or the word menopause on anything, including a personal massager, and roll in the dough.

A plot of land purchased by the Cards Against Humanity game owners to stymie construction of a border wall was also used to obtain a settlement against SpaceX for trespassing and using the land without permission for their operations. For their troubles, those who contributed to the land purchase will receive a pack of CAH specifically about Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX and general blight upon humanity.

Thieves made off with several pieces of jewelry held by the Louvre museum, having used a truck-mounted ladder to climb the outside and then break into both windows and high-security cases to take the jewels.

A bunch of techbros put together a SlutCon, with the nominal idea of making sure that these bros would have practice at flirting and behaving acceptably toward women in potentially sexual or romantic situations. There were women there as "flirt girls" for the attendees to practice on. There were, of course, several tiers of VIP membership to get as well, which suggests, along with the article, that this may not have been so much about learning how to flirt and to treat women as people, but instead about treating romance and sex as a min-maxing experience and giving them more tools on how to do this. Which would make it more an enabling experience instead of an enlightening one.

Proving their willingness to commit to the bit, no matter how many obvious mistakes are being made nor how much harm it causes, A cisgender boy with a mistake on his birth certificate declaring him female is being barred from participating in boys' sports, boys' gym classes, and using the boys restroom, because the way the statute and policy have been written, they only count the original birth certificate as valid, even if the certificate has been amended since, or was issued in error, and the school says that genetic testing might help make the boy eligible for boys' sports, but it wouldn't be a guarantee. (And it would also be an expensive prospect for such things.) From the way the article is written, it sounds like the school is treating the boy like he's a trans boy and that they want him to be comfortable being the girl that his birth certificate says he is. So, in Arizona, the TERFs' greatest nightmare is coming to pass - there's a biological male allowed to play sports with females, share locker room facilities, and the school is actively facilitating it. Remarkable commitment to the bit over using any kind of common-sense measure, because they're so worried that someone else might use those same common-sense measures to make sure a child is playing in the correct sport for their gender.

The concept of the border as a religious object, because of the way that borders can exist in multiple spaces and frames at once, their liminality, and their way to delineate spaces.

And now a lot of politics bits. At least you can be assured you'r3e a terrorist now. )

Last out for tonight, Gary Larsen, of The Far Side, has apparently taken up making some new things, with digital drawing tools. Including one for the recently departed Dr. Goodall, showing her as having a reserved seat at a chimpanzee club.

The argument for allowing children to go play in the streets and on the sidewalks in addition to the parks and playgrounds, because the streets are often closer to home, and because the presence of play in those places is a pushback against the idea that streets and sidewalks are only meant for those going from one place to another.

(Materials via [personal profile] adrian_turtle, [personal profile] azurelunatic, [personal profile] boxofdelights, [personal profile] cmcmck, [personal profile] conuly, [personal profile] cosmolinguist, [personal profile] elf, [personal profile] finch, [personal profile] firecat, [personal profile] jadelennox, [personal profile] jenett, [personal profile] jjhunter, [personal profile] kaberett, [personal profile] lilysea, [personal profile] oursin, [personal profile] rydra_wong, [personal profile] snowynight, [personal profile] sonia, [personal profile] the_future_modernes, [personal profile] thewayne, [personal profile] umadoshi, [personal profile] vass, the [community profile] meta_warehouse community, [community profile] little_details, and anyone else I've neglected to mention or who I suspect would rather not be on the list. If you want to know where I get the neat stuff, my reading list has most of it.)

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