Lake Lewisia #1297
29/8/25 16:34![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scrubjayspeaks“I’m telling you, this is how it works,” the little creature yowled at its companion, slapping their paws away from the mound of leaves beside it. The two had already been in a brawl over the subject, and it had bruises and bite marks on its own paws as it laid out another row of bright green leaves on a flat stretch of stone. “The humans love the green stuff, but they love the gold stuff even better, so come autumn, we can buy all the bottle caps and coffee grounds we want.”
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LL#1297
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LL#1297
The Meeting (part 1 of 1, complete)
29/8/25 19:32dialecticdreamerThe Meeting
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1797
[End of March 179-]
:: The detour ends with an unexpected obstacle, but Lazlo faces an even bigger surprise. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::
:: Pay Special Attention: Laszlo expresses some internalized ableism. It’s clearly things that he’s heard from strangers or remote acquaintances, not part of his family upbringing. I hope to show decisions that supported his needs to balance that out. ::
Back to part twenty-four
To the Lost Son Index
On to part twenty-six
The road carried them high in the hills, on a wide ridge still blurred with tall trees and undergrowth. They traveled southeast, until Trokhym patted Laszlo’s arm. “That crossroads goes back to Cluj-Napoca, but makes its way through the poorest edge of the city, near the rag- and bone-pickers and the handful of tanneries. Most people avoid the road for that reason, and take the better-tended, better-traveled route that you were on.
Laszlo nodded absently. “People warned me, especially when there was a storm building overhead. “Why pause here, though?”
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1797
[End of March 179-]
:: The detour ends with an unexpected obstacle, but Lazlo faces an even bigger surprise. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::
:: Pay Special Attention: Laszlo expresses some internalized ableism. It’s clearly things that he’s heard from strangers or remote acquaintances, not part of his family upbringing. I hope to show decisions that supported his needs to balance that out. ::
Back to part twenty-four
To the Lost Son Index
On to part twenty-six
The road carried them high in the hills, on a wide ridge still blurred with tall trees and undergrowth. They traveled southeast, until Trokhym patted Laszlo’s arm. “That crossroads goes back to Cluj-Napoca, but makes its way through the poorest edge of the city, near the rag- and bone-pickers and the handful of tanneries. Most people avoid the road for that reason, and take the better-tended, better-traveled route that you were on.
Laszlo nodded absently. “People warned me, especially when there was a storm building overhead. “Why pause here, though?”
( Read more... )
Tags:
Indigenous Type
29/8/25 18:56dewlineI got wind of this via the League of Movable Type newsletter this morning, so it seems a good idea to share this with all of you reading this account. Because Indigenous type resources are part of the Comeback process as outlined by - among others - John Ralston Saul...
https://www.typotheque.com/blog/cherokee-osage-and-the-indigenous-north-american-type-collection
https://www.typotheque.com/blog/cherokee-osage-and-the-indigenous-north-american-type-collection
Tags:
Climate Change
29/8/25 17:06ysabetwordsmithNew tech makes it easier to cool communities sweltering in urban heat islands
Take two streets in Boston at 4:30 p.m. on a recent day, as an example. Standing in the sun on Lewis Place, the temperature was 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.6 degrees Celsius). On Dudley Common, it was 103 F (39.2 C).
Both streets were hot, but the temperature on one was much more dangerous for people’s health and well-being.
The kicker is that those two streets are only a few blocks apart. The difference epitomizes the urban heat island effect, created as pavement and buildings absorb and trap heat, making some parts of the city hotter.
( Read more... )
Take two streets in Boston at 4:30 p.m. on a recent day, as an example. Standing in the sun on Lewis Place, the temperature was 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.6 degrees Celsius). On Dudley Common, it was 103 F (39.2 C).
Both streets were hot, but the temperature on one was much more dangerous for people’s health and well-being.
The kicker is that those two streets are only a few blocks apart. The difference epitomizes the urban heat island effect, created as pavement and buildings absorb and trap heat, making some parts of the city hotter.
( Read more... )
Tags:
1,452 ppm
29/8/25 16:02mellowtiggerI'm a member of an organization in Minnesota called MN350. It takes its name from the carbon dioxide parts-per-million that we wish we had. We passed 350 ppm long ago. We should aspire to having numbers that low again in our future. This year, I can't remember if I've seen any measurement in my house (even with windows open) below 500. The longer that humans burn fossil fuels, the higher that number will go.
I mention it now, because a few minutes ago I took additional measurements on 2 floors of my house. I was so tired again today, and I spent about 2 hours trying and failing to get some needed sleep just now. I thought maybe the sleep apnea was a lot worse (which might also be true), but I used the app on my smartphone to check the readings on the AirThings device (mentioned last year too), and the CO2 level was not great. I grabbed the even more portable Aranet and placed it next to the bed. It immediately switched over to the "red zone" alert level. That's not good.
- ground floor: 1,250ppm CO2
- upstairs bedroom: 1,452ppm CO2
Okay. So... I need to stop talking about how tired I always am and actually do something about the air quality indoors. I need to finally schedule that sleep test, so I can also get a new sleep apnea solution, since I didn't use the old machine when it gave my face a rash everywhere that it touched my face.
I'm tired of being tired. The potential causes are measurable. I just need to overcome inertia and rationally do something about these issues.
Birdfeeding
29/8/25 14:10ysabetwordsmithToday is mostly sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I cut brush under the maple tree.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I planted 2 Red Masterpiece irises under the maple tree and 2 Twist of Sheree purple-and-white irises in the purple-and-white garden.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I watered the irises.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I watered the old picnic table, patio plants, and house yard plants.
I picked 6 groundcherries and 1 yellow pear tomato.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
I watered the new picnic table, septic garden, telephone pole garden, and a few savanna seedlings.
Cicadas and crickets are singing.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I cut brush under the maple tree.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I planted 2 Red Masterpiece irises under the maple tree and 2 Twist of Sheree purple-and-white irises in the purple-and-white garden.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I watered the irises.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I watered the old picnic table, patio plants, and house yard plants.
I picked 6 groundcherries and 1 yellow pear tomato.
EDIT 8/29/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
I watered the new picnic table, septic garden, telephone pole garden, and a few savanna seedlings.
Cicadas and crickets are singing.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
Some Encouraging Signs
29/8/25 13:50yourlibrarian1) Too long ago now, I shared some DS9 related meta posts at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meta_warehouse and found that I was interested in the suggestions about older Trek being more character oriented than newer Trek shows. Although the post involved DS9 and Discovery, if we look at Star Trek Enterprise versus Discovery, "bad writing" doesn't cover it all. ( Read more... )
2) In Germany, news readers asked to identify AI created news often couldn't, and were more likely to stay subscribed. (You can test yourself on some of the samples at the link)
3) Watched another season of Silent Witness and came to a realization about why I took to Clarissa so quickly. ( Read more... )
4) I have yet to get back to Boston Legal, interrupted as I was by new subscriptions, shows returning, etc. But I had left myself some notes about something I still think is worth mentioning even if I don't develop this out into a longer essay.
I was struck by the way political issues were engaged with in shows taking place in the 1990s vs 2000s. ( Read more... )
5) Encouraging news about the Briet startup which aims to make digital books ownable by libraries instead of the hamstringing rental agreements they now have to contend with. I hope it succeeds and grows.
meta_warehouse and found that I was interested in the suggestions about older Trek being more character oriented than newer Trek shows. Although the post involved DS9 and Discovery, if we look at Star Trek Enterprise versus Discovery, "bad writing" doesn't cover it all. ( Read more... )2) In Germany, news readers asked to identify AI created news often couldn't, and were more likely to stay subscribed. (You can test yourself on some of the samples at the link)
3) Watched another season of Silent Witness and came to a realization about why I took to Clarissa so quickly. ( Read more... )
4) I have yet to get back to Boston Legal, interrupted as I was by new subscriptions, shows returning, etc. But I had left myself some notes about something I still think is worth mentioning even if I don't develop this out into a longer essay.
I was struck by the way political issues were engaged with in shows taking place in the 1990s vs 2000s. ( Read more... )
5) Encouraging news about the Briet startup which aims to make digital books ownable by libraries instead of the hamstringing rental agreements they now have to contend with. I hope it succeeds and grows.
Poll #33549 Kudos Footer-537
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
Want to leave a Kudos?
Ink to Film Podcast Recording at WorldCon
29/8/25 13:29marthawellsIf you missed the live recording of the Murderbot interview episode at WorldCon, you can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-JRHSABM24
This includes the special message to me that the show's cast sent, which was awesome.
***
I'm still sick, but getting better bit by bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-JRHSABM24
This includes the special message to me that the show's cast sent, which was awesome.
***
I'm still sick, but getting better bit by bit.
Tags:
Writing
29/8/25 13:00ysabetwordsmithHow I, a non-developer, read the tutorial you, a developer, wrote for me, a beginner
“Hello! I am a developer. Here is my relevant experience: I code in Hoobijag and sometimes jabbernocks and of course ABCDE++++ (but never ABCDE+/^+ are you kidding? ha!) and I like working with Shoobababoo and occasionally kleptomitrons. I’ve gotten to work for Company1 doing Shoobaboo-ing code things and that’s what led me to the Snarfus. So, let’s dive in!
( Read more... )
“Hello! I am a developer. Here is my relevant experience: I code in Hoobijag and sometimes jabbernocks and of course ABCDE++++ (but never ABCDE+/^+ are you kidding? ha!) and I like working with Shoobababoo and occasionally kleptomitrons. I’ve gotten to work for Company1 doing Shoobaboo-ing code things and that’s what led me to the Snarfus. So, let’s dive in!
( Read more... )
Tags:
… so I’m playing Dark Souls
29/8/25 17:53rydra_wongThat is a thing that is happening.
My standard joke here is that any game involving reflexes and coordination is going to be an excruciating experience of innumerable repeated failures for me, so I might as well play one where that's the point. This is only partly a joke.
Necessary context for anyone who has not met me IRL: I am dyspraxic as fuck. I was in my late twenties at least, possibly thirties, before I could catch an object being gently thrown to me across a short distance. My coordination, reflexes and ability to react to multiple inputs in real-time are so bad that I can't drive (or cycle on the road) because it would be OBVIOUSLY WILDLY DANGEROUS for me to even try (people would die). I have to buy special shatterproof crockery because otherwise my plate turnover is so high.
It was only with climbing that I learned that I can actually acquire motor skills, some of them, slowly, if I have unlimited time to practice them on my own terms.
Further necessary context: I'd been looking wistfully at the Soulsbornes for ages -- having seen videos such as Jonny Sims's Bloodborne streams -- as something that I'd probably love if I only had any coordination or ability at all to cope with having to react to multiple rapid inputs in real-time.
One of my climber friends has argued that Soulslike games are basically the same as working on a hard boulder project: you fail and fail and fail and fail and that's the process, each time you try to learn a bit more or try something new, and gradually you make progress, and eventually, hopefully, you don't fail.
And that's a process that I fucking love, and that works very well for my brain. Perverse stubbornness is my jam.
But when I look at something like Bloodborne -- the combat exchange is over before I can even track who's where and what's happened.
So I was thinking grumpily/wistfully and in secret about how what I really wanted was not an "easy mode," but a Soulsborne game that I could adjust the speed on (maybe set it all to 20-30% slower!), just so I could get my foot in the door, just so I could begin to maybe try.
And I watched more videos of other games, and somewhere along the way I watched people figuring out and/or being coached on how to get through the fight with the Asylum Demon at the end of the tutorial* in Dark Souls 1.
(I also read that Dark Souls 1 has the slowest and, in some people's eyes, "clunkiest" combat of the Souls games — not necessarily the easiest, but more tactical, less fast-twitch.)
And I thought, "... huh, I wonder, if I really worked at it, maybe I could beat the Asylum Demon? That would be kind of cool."
To be clear: I bought the game with the goal of seeing if I could beat the tutorial.
( Cut for length )
My standard joke here is that any game involving reflexes and coordination is going to be an excruciating experience of innumerable repeated failures for me, so I might as well play one where that's the point. This is only partly a joke.
Necessary context for anyone who has not met me IRL: I am dyspraxic as fuck. I was in my late twenties at least, possibly thirties, before I could catch an object being gently thrown to me across a short distance. My coordination, reflexes and ability to react to multiple inputs in real-time are so bad that I can't drive (or cycle on the road) because it would be OBVIOUSLY WILDLY DANGEROUS for me to even try (people would die). I have to buy special shatterproof crockery because otherwise my plate turnover is so high.
It was only with climbing that I learned that I can actually acquire motor skills, some of them, slowly, if I have unlimited time to practice them on my own terms.
Further necessary context: I'd been looking wistfully at the Soulsbornes for ages -- having seen videos such as Jonny Sims's Bloodborne streams -- as something that I'd probably love if I only had any coordination or ability at all to cope with having to react to multiple rapid inputs in real-time.
One of my climber friends has argued that Soulslike games are basically the same as working on a hard boulder project: you fail and fail and fail and fail and that's the process, each time you try to learn a bit more or try something new, and gradually you make progress, and eventually, hopefully, you don't fail.
And that's a process that I fucking love, and that works very well for my brain. Perverse stubbornness is my jam.
But when I look at something like Bloodborne -- the combat exchange is over before I can even track who's where and what's happened.
So I was thinking grumpily/wistfully and in secret about how what I really wanted was not an "easy mode," but a Soulsborne game that I could adjust the speed on (maybe set it all to 20-30% slower!), just so I could get my foot in the door, just so I could begin to maybe try.
And I watched more videos of other games, and somewhere along the way I watched people figuring out and/or being coached on how to get through the fight with the Asylum Demon at the end of the tutorial* in Dark Souls 1.
(I also read that Dark Souls 1 has the slowest and, in some people's eyes, "clunkiest" combat of the Souls games — not necessarily the easiest, but more tactical, less fast-twitch.)
And I thought, "... huh, I wonder, if I really worked at it, maybe I could beat the Asylum Demon? That would be kind of cool."
To be clear: I bought the game with the goal of seeing if I could beat the tutorial.
( Cut for length )
Tags:
Migration glitches
29/8/25 10:04madfilkentistIf you follow my blog by email or RSS, the migration broke it. Sorry.
You can resubscribe by email in the left sidebar of my blog. If you use RSS to see new posts, you'll have to change the feed to the new URL.
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
mcgathblog_feed is similarly broken. I've submitted a support request, which is the recommended way of fixing Dreamwidth feeds.
On the upside, the ActivityPub plugin now works. You should be able to follow blog@garymcgath.com from Mastodon or other sites that use the ActivityPub protocol.
You can resubscribe by email in the left sidebar of my blog. If you use RSS to see new posts, you'll have to change the feed to the new URL.
mcgathblog_feed is similarly broken. I've submitted a support request, which is the recommended way of fixing Dreamwidth feeds.On the upside, the ActivityPub plugin now works. You should be able to follow blog@garymcgath.com from Mastodon or other sites that use the ActivityPub protocol.
Tags:
ysabetwordsmithThese are active communities in Dreamwidth from Summer 2025 . They include things I've posted, but only the active ones; the thematic posts also list dormant communities of interest. This list includes some communities that I've found and saved but haven't made it into thematic posts yet. This post covers J-Z.
See my Follow Friday Master Post for more topics.
( Read more... )
See my Follow Friday Master Post for more topics.
( Read more... )
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Thankful... well, it was Thursday when I wrote it...
29/8/25 06:24mdlbearToday I am thankful for...
- My convoluted method of syncing passwords using GPG and git. Also that it actually worked the first time I tried it. (If it hadn't worked I would NOT be thankful.)
- Catching our trains.
- The new Framework 12 laptop, Lilac, working well enough to get stuff done.
- The bright orange Eagle Creek backpack/briefcase/shoulder-bag, which is turning out to be unexpectedly usable. Would be nice if it had bottle pockets, but since it can be used in several different orientations it's probably for the best that it doesn't.
- Being able to do a lot of work without an internet connection.
- Having a debit card that Bunq would accept for a top-up. It varies. Also, having had the sense to save CCVs in the info file.
- Many good practice sessions with my bandmates and travel companions N and m.
