Birdfeeding

Aug. 9th, 2025 02:07 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and hot.

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

EDIT 8/9/25 -- I put out water for the birds.














.
 

Diary: Hair Shirts

Aug. 9th, 2025 10:43 am
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[personal profile] degringolade

I suppose that it had to happen sometime.  

For years now I have been wearing a hair shirt in protest about the way the internet/computer manufacturer consortium have “ruined the internet”.  The hair shirt consisted of used laptops from the local computer recycling organization and buzzed along just fine, but lately the poor old things have been breaking down.  My 2012 rebuilt MacBook Air and a 2014 Lenovo are both crippled by hardware issues so I had to go out looking for something new.

When I went to the shop to look for a “quality used car” what I saw was that prices for the newer Macs (they do seem to make good hardware) were not that great.  Since my 11 and 13 year old computers were gassing out (I have had them 4+ years) so buying another cheap computer (working 10 year olds run in the $80.00 to $120.00 range)  I didn’t want to mess around with hair shirts anymore.  I am too old and my decades long protest went unnoticed.  

So I went to the least evil of the big retail places (wally world) and they were selling new M1 MacBook Airs for $600.00.  Now I suppose that this is Apples gesture to poor folk since a new M4 is more expensive by quite a bit.  So I put a crowbar on my wallet and I am pecking away at it now.

I had to make a choice about the “ecosystem” that I wanted to work in.  Apple or Google or Microsoft.  Essentially, my opinion ended up being Apple as the least scummy of these three.  Microsoft is now and has always been “la creme de la scum”.  I despise everything that they are.  Google is way above MS on the scumometer, but their Chromebook system really isn’t all that useful and is pretty closed and marginal.  That left Apple.

It isn’t a super great choice but I suppose that it is something that I can live with.  They are a manufacturer of pretty and well built hardware that is on the spendy side but seems to last forever.  Their software is pretty much the same as what I have been using except for the annoying decision to keep the window control buttons on the right side rather than the left side, but truthfully, that isn’t that big a deal.

What I am hoping is that this is my last computer.  I am hoping that it outlasts me.  Apple will try to sell me shit I am not interested in buying, and I think that their intrusive overwatch to get ideas concerning my spending habits will lead them to the logical conclusion that I am not really a part of their market.

So all of this verbiage is my admission that I have been hanging on to a dead idea that the internet isn’t primarily controlled by corporate interests.  It is time to look at it as a utility that I spend money on.  It has replaced my television for news, it has replaced the post office for mail, it has replaced my newspaper and magazine subscriptions, the connection provided by the funny looking black cube is part of my telephone service.

Nope, this is another aspect of things that I am not particularly thrilled about.  The world has changed from my salad days when my opinions and worldview were installed in the meat puppet that carries me around.  Most of the promises that were made in the days back then when my e-mail was a PDP-11 on the DARPAnet and I hooked in from home on a 1200 baud modem didn’t pan out.  As usual, the world that was promised wasn’t available for delivery.

So my excessive expenditure is the best compromise that I can come up with.  It ain’t perfect, the choice limits some choices, but the choice is the best that I can come up with taking into consideration lifespans of both the hardware and the user.

I still don’t like it much.   But there is much that I don’t like.

Philosophical Questions: Thinking

Aug. 9th, 2025 04:07 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

If everyone said what they were actually thinking, what would happen to society?

KERPLOWIE

Eighth of the Eighth.

Aug. 8th, 2025 10:10 pm
hannah: (On the pier - fooish_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
Walking down the stairs to the subway platform, a group of what I assume are tourists are standing right at the bottom, talking and not moving. The train's pulling in and I don't have time to think: I tap my knuckles against the back of the one right in front of me like I'm knocking on a door.

Amazingly, it works perfectly.

What also worked perfectly was twice tonight, getting into the station and to the platform within a minute of the train pulling in, where I walked down or walked up and it's arriving just as I am. It's now something where I have to stop saying it never happens and go to saying it almost never happens. Because it's now happened at least once.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
[personal profile] dialecticdreamer
Begging a Favor
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1464
[End of March 179-]


:: Laszlo has overtaxed himself on marketing day, so while most of the village is socializing, he is packing the wagon and reveling in the solitude. Then Kalman arrives in haste. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::


:: Pay Special Attention: Depersonalized discussion of a newborn in some distress. Apparent indifference to the situation. HOWEVER, I write earned happy endings, so this is less tension than a glimpse into the speaker’s home life. ::



The vardo was warmer than outside, even with the two small windows open. Laszlo wanted to thoroughly air the space, and might not be able to sleep with the windows closed. It was better to find that out now, a dozen paces from Gregory’s front door in the afternoon sunlight. His provisions fit into the cabinet that Vladimir had placed a slate atop, then girded with strips of wood nailed to the cabinet to keep the slate from shifting as the wagon moved, with plenty of room to spare. He’d aired the mattress on the roof of the vardo, and was halfway through remaking the bed when frantic calls pulled him out of his murky, circling thoughts and into the weak sunlight of the early afternoon.
Read more... )

Apostol’s name is Romanian:
https://www.behindthename.com/name/apostol

Safety

Aug. 8th, 2025 08:27 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Helsinki just went a full year without traffic fatalities — here's their secret

In the United States, traffic incidents are a leading cause of death, with an average of 120 people dying every day due to motor vehicle collisions.

On a global scale, a person dies from a road-related accident every 24 seconds.

But Finland’s capital city of Helsinki has pulled off something astonishing — the last recorded traffic-related death was over a year ago, in July 2024
.

Read more... )

Canada has come back to haunt me

Aug. 9th, 2025 01:20 pm
china_shop: Hugh grabbing Callum by the shoulder and saying defiantly to the camera, 'I'm taking him.' (CKR/HD I'm taking him)
[personal profile] china_shop
Last night, Andrew and I and our tv-watching-with friend started The Sympathizer, a drama set just after the Vietnam war, about a Vietnamese double agent. It's structurally really interesting, and it has RDJ in multiple kind-of-gross roles, lol. Darkly funny, but deals with some really serious subjects.

Created by Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, who are also showrunners. Yes, that Don McKellar.

It also, features Sandra Oh. I did not expect either of their names in the credits! :D

Moment of Silence: Jim Lovell

Aug. 8th, 2025 06:17 pm
ysabetwordsmith: (moment of silence)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Astronaut Jim Lovell has passed away. He flew four missions, including the famous Apollo 13 in which the crew narrowly averted disaster.

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill
.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson

Read more... )

Sidewise Award Announcement

Aug. 8th, 2025 06:21 pm
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll
The Sidewise Award for Alternate History is looking for new judges to join the award committee.

This is the first time in the 30 year history of the award that they've made an open call for awards judges.

Apply here.
rachelmanija: (Books: old)
[personal profile] rachelmanija


A middle-grade graphic novel about a boba shop with a secret.

Aria comes to stay with her grandmother in San Francisco for the summer to escape a bad social situation. Her grandmother owns a boba shop that doesn't seem too popular, and Aria throws herself into making it more so - most successfully when Grandma's cat Bao has eight kittens, and Aria advertises it as a kitten cafe. But why is Grandma so adamant about never letting Aria set foot in the kitchen, and kicking out the customers at 6:00 on the dot? Why do the prairie dogs in the backyard seem so smart?

This graphic novel has absolutely adorable illustrations. The story isn't as strong. The first half is mostly a realistic, gentle, cozy slice of life. The second half is a fantasy adventure with light horror aspects. Even though the latter is throughly foreshadowed in the former, it still feels kind of like two books jammed together.

My larger issue was with tone and content that also felt jammed together. The book is somewhat didactic - which is fine, especially in a middle-grade book - but I feel like if the book is teaching lessons, it should teach them consistently and appropriately. The lessons in this book were a bit off or inconsistent, creating an uncanny valley feeling.

Spoilers! Read more... )

Fantastic art, kind of odd story.

New Books and ARCs, 8/8/255

Aug. 8th, 2025 07:39 pm
[syndicated profile] scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

Here we are, well into August, and here is a stack of new books and ARCs to consider for the dog days ahead. What here looks good to you? Share in the comments?

— JS

I'm in Montreal

Aug. 8th, 2025 03:36 pm
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
[personal profile] redbird
I'm visiting [personal profile] rysmiel for a few days. The trip up was borin, which is good: anything exciting would probably be bad news, or at least make you late for dinner.

It is going to be hot over the weekend, so we went out for a relatively early brunch today, so we could sit almost-outdoors at Juliette et Chocolat and eat crepes. We then walked around Jean Talon market, where I bought plums, blackberries, and a cucumber.

I have np real plans for the next few days, which is fine.

A Friday Snack Haul

Aug. 8th, 2025 07:00 pm
[syndicated profile] scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

Today, I got the urge to get some snacks from the local Asian grocery store, and so I did and I thought I’d share what I got! It’s not much, as I tried not to go overboard, but it’s a good assortment of snackies.

Here’s the small haul:

Grocery items laid out on a table. From left to right, top to bottom, it's a container of white miso paste, a chicken bun, some banana shaped snack cakes, a coconut bun, a bag of MSG, two onigiri, a package of daifuku mochi with red bean paste filling, a royal milk tea, and rice crackers.

Normally I wouldn’t buy a big tub of miso, but I decided to make Half Baked Harvest’s Miso Chicken Thighs and Coconut Rice for dinner tonight, so I had a reason to buy it. Had to get some MSG, of course, that stuff rocks (can’t believe I used to think it was bad for you!). Picked out a chicken curry bun and two onigiri, one salmon and one salted plum. Definitely had to pick up some daifuku mochi with red bean paste, y’all know I love red bean filled mochi. I’ve never seen the banana shaped snack before, but I thought it was cute and figured it was worth trying. Thankfully, they had my most favorite milk tea so I bought a can of that, and also opted for their creamy coconut bun. They also had a giant package of rice crackers for cheap, so I snagged that, too. I just love how insanely crunchy and umami flavored they are.

So, yeah! Some nice snacks to start my weekend off right. I’m so excited to use the miso in my cooking tonight, I think it’ll really add some great flavor.

Like I said, I really wanted to buy more, but now I just have reasons to go back. What looks good to you? Do you like red bean paste? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

Birdfeeding

Aug. 8th, 2025 01:45 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is sunny, humid, and hot.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/8/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/8/25 -- I watered the patio plants and the new picnic table garden.

I picked a red cherry tomato.

EDIT 8/8/25 -- I watered the savanna seedlings.

EDIT 8/8/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and the septic garden.

I found a baby preying mantis on the burn barrel and moved it to the barrel garden.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.  I've seen a few fireflies.
 
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Diary: Chillaxing (Also mail to M)

Aug. 8th, 2025 06:39 pm
degringolade: (Default)
[personal profile] degringolade

I've been remarkably passive of late. I just can't seem to work up any angst or curiosity about much of anything. I suppose that I will be accused of "being depressed" because I am not out there "chasing my dream". Truthfully though, It is not depression, it is the simple idea that the world really doesn't give a shit one about how I think things should be run. The world is probably right about this. When I look back at my life and decisions made, there really isn't anything that stands out as being outstanding.

I'm taking a break from thinking about how I think. I'll probably take it up again when the weather gets bad in the fall. My current thinking (in place of the thinking about thinking) is about how everyone seems to love the idea of an apocalypse and gets bent out of shape when you point out that the more likely scenario is that everyone will just have to tighten their belts.

I am definitely not doing any in depth study of the current world events. The first reason is that the organizations reporting are parochial in the extreme. I would say that "both sides" are the problem, but truthfully there aren't just two sides. It is an out of control scrum with no referees and rules that I don't in any way understand. Most importantly, I have no way to register my necessarily uninformed opinion and even if I were to do so, the recipient would not care one little bit.

Walked over to the football field and watched the high school football team begin practices. Whew, they are itty-bitty little guys. Thank god that they are in a small district of small schools. It would be awful if they had to play a big regional school of farmboys. Listening to them talk though, it would seem that a call from the NFL will be coming any day now. I really don't remember being all that cocky. Maybe I was, but I certainly don't remember it.

Not much will be happening this weekend. Medical advice was to put a television camera into an orifice that usually goes the other way to see if repairs need to be made. I get to experience laxatives and clear fluids to prepare for such. Forgive me if I am not thrilled.

james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Not every gamer finds joy in wildly complicated, esoteric, hard-to-learn rules...

Five User-Friendly Rulesets for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Righteous characters pursue great justice in this wuxia TTRPG.


Hearts of Wulin by Joyce Ch'ng & Lowell Francis
sovay: (Rotwang)
[personal profile] sovay
It feels like such a cheaply sentimental connection that I must not have allowed myself to see it for years, but the first film of any lasting meaning that I saw after the dislocating and disposessing move from New Haven which marked the end of my academic career and with it the whole pattern of my life to date was A Canterbury Tale (1944), that touchstone of continuity and exile. I got up in the morning to watch it off TCM. It gave me déjà vu as if I remembered some of its strongest, strangest images, even though it seemed after the fact impossible that I should have had any previous chance to see it. It was my introduction to Powell and Pressburger and I immediately set about tracking down as many of their films as were available in my country as I had never done with any filmmakers before—I could explain it as finding something to study after suddenly having for the first time in twenty-odd years nothing assigned, but then I could have dedicated myself to just about anything encountered in those three-ish weeks including for God's sake M*A*S*H. I had just written the most Christian poem of my Jewish life and so was perhaps more than ordinarily primed to accept Emeric's cathedral. I had forgotten that the only time in my life I was in Canterbury, I had written about its layers of time, Roman roads, the scars of the Blitz, I had linked it with the archaeological eternity of DWJ's Time City. I could have imprinted on any of the characters with their griefs and doubts of lovers and livelihoods and I went straight for Colpeper, the sticky-fingered magus in his panic of losing the past, his head so far up his home ground that he has not yet learned the lesson of diaspora, how to carry the tradition wherever you go, including into the future. I had heard it myself since childhood and never had to put it so much to the test. I loved the film at once and desperately and it still took me years to see how like time itself nothing can really be lost in it, the lifeline I called it without recognizing what it held out. I keep coming back to it, still excavating that bend in the road. It had what I needed to find in it unexpectedly, the coins from the field returned in a stranger's hand.

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