Monday Update 11-17-25
17/11/25 00:26![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithCyberspace Theory
Poem: "Better Than a Million Dollars"
Food
Birdfeeding
Wildlife
Creative Jam
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Censorship
Politics
Communities
Education
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 11-14-25: Kink
Food
Birdfeeding
Vocabulary: Carcinization
New Crowdfunding Project: "Monsterotica"
Read "An Old Diversion"
Cyberspace Theory
Conservation
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party
Shopping has 28 comments. Trauma has 42 comments. Affordable Housing has 61 comments. Robotics has 98 comments.
"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv and needs $191 to be complete. Maiara and Arthur discuss taking notes.
The weather has been variable here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, a young fox squirrel, and an adult fox squirrel. Most of the flowers have died off. I brought in the ceramic pots. Harvest is pretty much done, except a few random fields that may not get done.
Cyberspace Theory
16/11/25 23:46ysabetwordsmithWhy are we letting algorithms rewrite the rules of art, work, and life?
( Read more... )
Poem: "Better Than a Million Dollars"
16/11/25 23:18ysabetwordsmith![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from gs_silva. It also fills the "Once Upon a Time" square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo fest. This poem is based on graphic art by gs_silva. ( Read more... )
Safe Return (part 1 of 1, complete)
16/11/25 23:03dialecticdreamerBy Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1301
[last days of November/first days of December of 2016]
Herb sighed as the plastic bottle crinkled, draining the last bit of water from it. He heard a truck and patted Elisabeth on the shoulder. “Abe’s back. Probably alone, since he’s edging over the speed limit.”
Elisabeth turned to watch the truck approaching in the rear view mirror. “He’s determined to be a good example for his grandson?”
“That’s a good deduction,” Herb laughed. “It’s wrong, and funny to anyone who knows him, but a good deduction. He’s got a lead foot, and used to race out at the salt flats.”
( Read more... )
conulyBut this one may have topped it!
"The story is about a black girl, somewhere between 8 and 16 years old, from a black family."
...I'm dying to ask why they think they need to specify that this girl is the same race as everybody else in her family, when that's usually how this works. There's no indication in the rest of the post that we might have reason to think she's not.
Wierd products
16/11/25 13:38kengrAnyway
fayanora and I were joking around and I remembered a fake ad video from years back, It was essentially a Bedazzler for your crotch. I thought the names "Clitter" and on a whim, I googled it.Much to my surprise an actual product came up.
https://www.fizzinbathbombs.com/products/adults-clittercapsules
warning, while not explictly adult, probably NSFW in many places.
Basically capsules of shimmery "glitter" lube to be inserted before sex. Definitely a WTF moment.
Frankly the best use I could think of was as a special effect for an R-rated horror movie involving some sort of alien VD...
"Yup son, you got the Rigellian crotch rot. Looks like we'll have to amputate"
Food
16/11/25 15:13ysabetwordsmithFlooding is emerging as a silent but powerful destroyer of global rice supplies—and the danger is accelerating.
Scientists discovered that a week of full submergence is enough to kill most rice plants, making flooding a far greater threat than previously understood. Intensifying extreme rainfall events may amplify these losses unless vulnerable regions adopt more resilient rice varieties.
( Read more... )
Grey Cup Day 2025
16/11/25 14:57dewlineYeah, I'm looking forward to the Grey Cup Game tonight.
May the players all remain concussion-free, and may Rider Nation prevail. In that order of priority.
Birdfeeding
16/11/25 13:36ysabetwordsmithI fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 11/16/25 -- We cut down a majority of the brush left in front of the garage. We'll need to pick up inorganic debris from the ground and do some weedwhacking, and there's a section of brush left to clear. Two larger stumps are beyond the capacity of the loppers. But we made a lot of progress, more than I expected. \o/
EDIT 11/16/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 11/16/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 11/16/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
I pulled weeds from around the birdgift apple tree, filled a trolley, and dumped that in the firepit.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
Done This Week
16/11/25 10:20scrubjayspeaksSpeaking of work, it has been Overtime Extravaganza this week. One of the Problem Projects has been--you guessed it--causing problems. I ended up fielding calls Friday afternoon and ultimately returning to work that night to support. I was on-call Saturday as well, because Problem Project is getting treated to full-shift Saturday overtime as well, and we weren’t sure if I would have to go in to keep them running then as well. But rejoice, there are no reports of problems!
I finally picked out a new eye doctor and got my yearly exam. Much as I liked the one I saw in my hometown, he’s been cutting his hours as he moves toward retirement. So I was driving all the way back to my hometown just to not actually see the doctor I was trying to stick with. This new one is at the place where I’ve been getting my actual glasses made. He and the staff seemed perfectly acceptable. And in a surprising turn of events, I really do have separate insurance pools for safety glasses for work and regular prescription lenses/frames, so I was finally able to get a new set of regular glasses.
It thought about raining but mostly didn’t. Then it got uncomfortably warm for the middle of the week. And now it has been raining continuously for over 24 hours. There’s supposed to be a break this afternoon, in which I will be frantically trying to clean the horse corrals after skipping all of yesterday. (┬┬﹏┬┬) It’s all going to be so wet and heavy...
Lewisia: 3 new pieces written
Day job: 45.5 hours
Cleaning: more work on the piano, sorted through the seed stockpile, collected up books to put in storage, started clearing top of craft bench, finished back patch
Gardening: succulent club meeting
Reading: The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth (recommended on the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct, I found it difficult to follow at times, possibly a pacing issue, but it was a pretty good paranormal mystery with a cool historical thread)
Listening: Meanwhile by aivi and surasshu (chiptunes and piano, very pretty and spacious)
Clock Mouse: 1167 words, and I passed the one-year mark of working on this one daily
Done Since 2025-11-09
16/11/25 17:10mdlbearSo I did, in fact, need a live appointment about the pain in my right ankle. Edema, which I could have checked for a couple of weeks ago if I'd thought of it. (I did think of it late last week, and immediately made the appointment.) I am now on two more blood pressure meds, and I'm supposed to keep my feet up and avoid salt. So much for brine pickles and pizza with anchovies.
The only places where I can put my feet above the level of my heart are in bed (with my feet on the wall, so I can only do it for a little while in the morning), and the living room couch. And about the only thing I can do in that postition is breathing exercises. Growf. I have a follow-up appointment this coming Wednesday.
I re-stacked the plastic bins under my desk, so I can at least keep my legs level if not up. Don't know whether that will help much, but it can't hurt. (Much; it's a little hard on my unsupported knees, and starts hurting after a little while..) Still no idea why I always feel cold in the late afternoon and evening, but I've gotten Colleen's fake-fleece-lined scooter cape out of the closet and it helps. The cold feeling might be partly -- or even mostly -- anxiety, but, well, Colleen's cape.
N is back from London, after getting m and Cricket settled there. Not clear what that will do to our recording schedule -- not much given that it was already a shambles. Lizzy, the folding mobility scooter, is also back. She appears to need some work, and definitely needs a new battery.
I don't think I've mentioned N's book, The World As It Ought to Be, since it came out in hardcopy and Kindle. Go get yourself a copy. I finally got her author's website more-or-less done; she's having it professionally desighed, but the one I hacked together will do until that's done. I got the Website Portfolio, which I mentioned last week, more-or-less done as well.
Some links: The rebellion will be federated – 2025 edition - Elena Rossini. She saved a baby goat. Now they travel the country, share a bed.
HTML tags: PRE, KBD, and DETAILS
16/11/25 09:02mellowtiggerFor easier searching later, I decided to make a brief post today just about some HTML tags that I use.
For pre-formatted text, I discovered in yesterday's post that long lines of powershell code were not wrapping to new lines. I eventually got it working as intended by formatting the HTML tags like this:
<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Text goes here. blah blah blah.</pre>
I wonder, though, if I should switch to monospace font for computer code? In the past, there was the TT (teletype) tag, but apparently that's another technology that has been deprecated. Here's an example of the new KBD (keyboard) code instead. I don't know. It looks exactly the same to me, except for the change in vertical spacing. I'll stick with PRE instead, I guess. I could use KBD inline within a paragraph if needed.
<kbd>this is a test. blah blah blah.</kbd>
Far more frequently, however, I use the HTML tag to display a little sideways-arrow which users need to click to "open up" a section of text. Using this tag liberally helps keep long posts from flooding other peoples' blog feeds. Readers can choose whether or not to read the long diatribes (or see the large pictures) in the main part of the blog post. Here is the code I use to accomplish that feat:
<details> <summary>Click the arrow to read the blah blah blah...</summary> All of the usual blog content goes here. </details>
There. Now I can find these tag details again when I click the HTML tag on my blog. Bread crumbs to help a failing memory.
Wildlife
16/11/25 00:16ysabetwordsmithResearchers decoded 40,000-year-old mammoth RNA, unlocking real-time biological secrets frozen since the Ice Age.
Researchers have sequenced the oldest RNA ever recovered, taken from a woolly mammoth frozen for nearly 40,000 years. The RNA reveals which genes were active in its tissues, offering a rare glimpse into its biology and final moments. Surprisingly, the team also identified ancient microRNAs and rare mutations that confirm their mammoth origin. The finding shows that RNA can endure millennia—reshaping how scientists study extinct species.
Creative Jam
15/11/25 23:51ysabetwordsmithcrowdfunding Creative Jam is up with a theme of "Love and Sacrifice." Come leave us prompts, or claim some for your own inspiration!This is the 149th Creative Jam! There is none in December, so January will be the 150th. \o/
What I Have Written
"Better Than a Million Dollars" is this session's freebie.
From My Prompts
Creative Jam
15/11/25 23:41ysabetwordsmith posting in crowdfundingCrowdfunding Creative Jam
Everyone is eligible to post prompts, which may be words or phrases, titles, images, etc. Prompters may request a specific creator, but everyone else may still use that prompt if they wish. Prompts may specify a particular character/world/etc. but creators may use the prompt for something else anyway and post the results. Prompters are still encouraged to post mostly prompts that anyone could use anywhere, as this maximizes the chance of having creators make something based on your prompt. Please title your comment "Prompt" or "Prompts" when providing inspiration so these are easy to find.
Prompt responses may also be treated as prompts and used for further inspiration. For example, a prompt may lead to a sketch which leads to a story, and so on. This kind of cascading inspiration is one of the most fun things about a collective jam session.
Everyone is eligible to use prompts, and everyone who wants to use a given prompt may do so, for maximum flexibility of creator choice in inspiration. You do not have to post a "Claim" reply when you decide to use a prompt, but this does help indicate what is going on so that other prompters can spread out their choice of prompts if they wish.
Creators are encouraged, but not required, to post at least one item free. Likewise, sharing a private copy of material with the prompter is encouraged but not required. Creative material resulting from prompts should be indicated in a reply to the prompt, with a link to the full content elsewhere on the creator's site (if desired); a brief excerpt and/or description of the material may be included in the reply (if desired). It helps to title your comment "Prompt Filled" or something like that so these are easy to identify. There is no time limit on responding to prompts. However, creators are encouraged to post replies sooner rather than later, as the attention of prompters will be highest during and shortly after the session.
Some items created from prompts may become available for sponsorship. Some creators may offer perks for donations, linkbacks, or other activity relating to this project. Check creator comments and links for their respective offerings.
Prompters, creators, and bystanders are expected to behave in a responsible and civil manner. If the moderators have to drag someone out of the sandbox for improper behavior, we will not be amused. Please respect other people's territory and intellectual property rights, and only play with someone else's characters/setting/etc. if you have permission. (Fanfic/fanart freebies are okay.) If you want to invite folks to play with something of yours, title the comment something like "Open Playground" so it's easy to spot. This can be a good way to attract new people to a shared world or open-source project, or just have some good non-canon fun.
Boost the signal! The more people who participate, the more fun this will be. Hopefully we'll see activity from a lot of folks who regularly mention their projects in this community, but new people are always welcome. You can link to this session post or to individual items created from prompts, whatever you think is awesome enough to recommend to your friends.
soc_puppetWorked the wood kiln on Thursday; I had a shift that was fairly early on in the process, so there wasn't actually a lot for me to do! My wrist is still a little sore from splitting some wood, though.
I made myself a new icon, though I'm putting off uploading it, because I think it'll be the perfect opportunity to make an icon-uploading tutorial 😂
I've got some new SVSSS thoughts I should probably copy over at some point, but I also don't have quite enough time for that, as it is nearing Bed Time Routine O'Clock.
So yeah! That's me for now. More hopefully soon.
