Birdfeeding

Sep. 21st, 2025 02:12 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is partly sunny and hot.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 9/21/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

Cyberspace Theory

Sep. 20th, 2025 11:27 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Protect your peace: How to avoid disturbing content on social media

Social media platforms are designed to maximize engagement, not protect your peace of mind. The major platforms have also reduced their content moderation efforts over the past year or so. That means upsetting content can reach you even when you never chose to watch it.

You do not have to watch every piece of content that crosses your screen, however. Protecting your own mental state is not avoidance or denial.


Read more... )

Creative Jam

Sep. 20th, 2025 11:24 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
The September [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam is open with a theme of "Journalism." Come give us prompts, or choose some for your own inspiration. 


What I Have Written



From My Prompts



Neurodiversity

Sep. 20th, 2025 09:26 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
The Science Finally Catches Up: New Research Confirms ADHD as an Evolutionary Advantage, Not a Disease

For over three decades, I’ve been saying what the medical establishment didn’t want to hear: ADHD isn’t a disease, disorder, or defect. It’s an inherited trait that served our hunter-gatherer ancestors well for hundreds of thousands of years—and continues to benefit many people today. Now, groundbreaking research is finally proving what I’ve long called the “hunters in a farmer’s world” theory.

The latest study, published in the prestigious Proceedings of the Royal Society B just a few months ago, provides compelling experimental evidence that people with ADHD traits are superior foragers. Using an ingenious online berry-picking game, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that participants who scored high for ADHD characteristics consistently outperformed their neurotypical counterparts at gathering resources—exactly what we’d expect from evolved hunters suddenly dropped into sedentary, agricultural societies.


Read more... )

Books

Sep. 20th, 2025 07:28 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Author outfits old pickup truck to be traveling banned bookstore: 'A rolling rebellion in the Deep South'

The work she’s doing now? Converting a rusty 1940 Ford pickup truck into a traveling banned bookstore. She calls it “The Banned Wagon.”

“I was originally thinking of opening a regular bookstore, but after the fight over banning books in Fairhope, I was inspired to go this route instead,” Fugett shared with the Alabama Political Reporter.

Her goal with The Banned Wagon is to put banned and challenged books “back into the hands of the people who need them the most.” That includes LGBTQ+ youth, and other marginalized communities. But Fugett also knows that everyone needs access to books that challenge their worldview.



This is a replicable tactic for dealing with censorship.

Another option is to stash diverse titles in Little Free Libraries, in BookCrossing, in any swap shelf you see, and so on. Poke a bigot in the eye, share banned books!  Here are some ideas.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
Interference
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 2 of 4, complete
Word count (story only): 1818
[May 5, 2020, midday]


:: The trio’s plans to be invisible are shattered when a deputy in uniform knocks on the door. Chaos ensues. Part of the Edison’s Mirror arc. ::


:: Pay Special Attention: Ed has a severe panic attack, and Vic basically uses magic to sedate him. Heavily. It doesn’t help enough. The deputy calls in a doctor, but travel takes time. ::


Back to Interference, part one
To the Edison's Mirror Index
On to Interference, part three




Aidan cleared his throat. “Excuse me, madam, but did our presence bring you here, or something else?”

“You mean, am I here to arrest you for trespassing?” Win sighed, her eyes on Ed’s limp form. “I’m not sure yet. Actually, I was checking all of the empty homes in the area because there was a break-in last night. If it was you three, it was the complete opposite of what’s going on here, and left a terrible mess.”

She raised a brow. “What were you doing last night?”

Aidan gestured toward the kitchen. “The doors on the cabinet under the sink were misaligned. I took them off the hinges, filled in the holes with a mix of glue and wood shavings, and reseated the doors.”

Her expression flattened to complete blankness. “What?”
Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Sep. 20th, 2025 02:43 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is partly cloudy and mild.  It rained a little yesterday, enough to leave small puddles in the road, but the ground is still bone-dry here.  Further predictions for rain continue to fluctuate wildly, but hopefully we'll get some more eventually.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I watered the old picnic table, patio plants, irises, and a few others around the house yard.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I watered the new picnic table, septic garden, telephone pole garden, and a few savanna seedlings.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
 
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Has social media been a net positive or a net negative for our society? Why?

Read more... )

Books

Sep. 19th, 2025 11:52 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
10 Queer Pirate Books for Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy, mateys! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we be celebratin’ with a heapin’ pile of queer piratey books we fished up outta Davy Jones’ locker. Aar, I be shuttin’ up now, so as not to be subjectin’ ye’ll to more of me aaaatrocious pirate talk. The contributors to this here list be: Nina Waters, Dei Walker, Terra P. Waters, theirprofoundbond, Rascal Hartley, Linnea Peterson, Neo Scarlett, and Sebastian Marie.

Today's Adventures

Sep. 19th, 2025 09:42 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today we went to the Autumn Fest in Marshall. It was an evening event, and the day had cooled off considerably, so it was quite pleasant. We were lucky to miss the rain there -- it rained a bit at home and we drove through several showers. This event continues on Saturday and Sunday if you want to catch it, and it is well worth attending if you're in Illinois this weekend looking for something to do.

Read more... )
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
Interference
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 4, complete
Word count (story only): 1560
[May 5, 2020, midday]


:: The trio’s plans to be invisible are shattered when a deputy in uniform knocks on the door. Chaos ensues. Part of the Edison’s Mirror arc. ::


:: Pay Special Attention: Ed has a severe panic attack, and Vic basically uses magic to sedate him. Heavily. It doesn’t help enough. The deputy calls in a doctor, but travel takes time. ::


Back to Determined Exploration
To the Edison's Mirror Index
On to Interference, part two




Aidan sat tailor-style, his ankles crossed close to his hips and his knees nearly touching the floor. In his lap, Edison sat quietly, gripping his knees with white knuckles, while the older man ran a dry washcloth over the strawberry blond’s scalp. “Does that help?” Aidan asked slowly.

“A little.” Ed sniffed. “I just miss… I miss so much. People. Routines. Flavors. Even the air smells funny here.”

Victor crouched, putting a cup of vegetable broth beside the boy’s knee. He put a second cup on Aidan’s right side. “You need to drink more, Aidan. The local water isn’t yet safe for you to drink. I’m working on ways to boost your immune system.”

“My… what?” Aidan’s brow furrowed.
Read more... )
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
The Edison’s Mirror Index

This arc began as an AU, an answer to a prompt idea from a reader. Three years later, I am shaping a novel-length arc to show the readers the characters' hard-earned happy ending.
Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Sep. 19th, 2025 02:01 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is partly cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the yard.

I picked half a dozen groundcherries.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I watered the irises.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The sky has clouded over, air is cooling a little, and I heard thunder.  I'm not sure it'll amount to anything, though.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
Today's theme is J-pop.

Read more... )

Corncob Broth

Sep. 18th, 2025 11:40 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
I finished making the corncob broth.  \o/  It tastes delicious -- delicate, slightly sweet, summery, sunny, with notes of corn and grass.  This is sooo much better than regular vegetable broth!  If you dislike vegetable broth, this is well worth a try.  I now regret every corncob that I tossed straight onto the compost pile.  Also I'm annoyed that I only discovered this at the end of the season.

I started with this recipe for inspiration.  This time I used the 6 corncobs that I had, some dried onion chips, about 1/4 teaspoon white peppercorns, and three large sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.

Anyhow, I filled a tray of large ice cubes because I want to try this in stir-fry sauce to add volume.  I got three cartons that are about 1 1/2 cup each, plus a big one that is probably about 4 cups and suited for crockpot use.  I expect it will work anywhere I would normally use regular vegetable broth, possibly also chicken broth.

Next time I make this, and there will be  a next time, I will make it in a large crockpot as usual.  I'll use a quartered onion, and I might throw in something else.  I suspect that lemongrass would work great, and celery or celery leaves might.  Broths are flexible; you can toss in whatever you have or like.  With a large crockpot I can get a great deal of broth with minimal effort.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
I made this tonight. It's a summer favorite, so I wanted to write up our version.

Read more... )

Today's Cooking

Sep. 18th, 2025 07:46 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today I made Three Sisters Succotash.  I want to write up my version because it's a bit different than the Iroquois-inspired one that I started with.

Then it occurred to me that I had half a dozen fresh corncobs, so I am making corncob broth to see if that's any good. 
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
Determined Explorations
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1931
[May 5, 2020, early morning]


:: In the morning, Aidan is determined to learn the lay of the land, and hopefully, find work. Part of the Edison’s Mirror arc. ::


Back to Settling Down
To the Edison's Mirror Index
On to Interference, part one




Shortly after dawn, Aidan strode silently to the front door, leaving Vic curled up with Ed, though the teen was reading a book he’d found in his previous day’s walkabout. “We’ve got food for the day,” Vic whispered. “See if you can find a good spot for tonight though, because Ed’s not going to be any less panicky, possibly for months. Small would be good, maybe just a shed or something, so he knows that we’re right there with him. After so much time in an underground space, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is a bit afraid of open places and avoids looking at the sky, though that could go on for years.”

“I’m looking for work just as much,” Aidan insisted.
Read more... )
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
An argument that large language models should be called goLLuMs

There is so much potential for satire and mockery here.  :D

Birdfeeding

Sep. 18th, 2025 02:20 pm[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is mostly sunny and hot.

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

EDIT 9/18/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/18/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/18/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/18/25 -- I watered the patio plants.








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