conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
I don't quite relish the idea of going out in it, and god knows where our shovel went, but gosh, I love looking at the snow!

****************************


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mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)
[personal profile] mdlbear

Not a great week. Started out well, with cat cuddles and walks Sunday and Monday mornings. Then came my GP appointment.

CW: medical, whingeing. Since April or therabouts, my "GP" is a clinic with a handful of doctors and a bunch of assistants. It took me a while (months) to finally figure this out. Anyway, Carmen -- the assistant I saw on Monday -- couldn't find my lab results from 20 November. Fortunately I'd asked for a printout at my previous appointment, so I scanned that and sent it by email. I got my BP meds changed somewhat. Then labs on Wednesday.

Of course, I was supposed to be fasting, so that was a bust. And I picked up my re-filled prescriptions (the pharmacy is across the street), but there was one missing. So I went in again for labs on Thursday, and they couldn't find a vein. WTF? They advised me to try at the hospital. Labs at HagaZiekenhuis require an appointment, but fortunately I already had an appointment, following up on my anemia. So that was Friday. Skipped breakfast, went in, handed them both lab forms, one stick and done. And their website works, so I got to see the results ahead of the appointment next week.

Oh yeah, I also had a psych appointment Thursday afternoon, to discuss antidepressants, which actually went well. I really don't have any idea how to make use of therapy, but I like talking about myself, my problems, and my family. Follow-up in two weeks.

Then yesterday I tried attending Festival of the Living Rooms, the quarterly online filk con that started almost by accident during Covid. But instead of using the Zoom app, which just works, they insisted on going through the web app embedded on their shiny new website. Calling it beta quality is being generous. FotLR may have jumped the shark this time.

Naturally I didn't get much done otherwise, although I did go back and look at the scratch tracks I'd recorded for my next album, Amethyst Rose. Um... They were recorded between 2004 and 2010! WTF? I'll have to see whether anything can be rescued from that debacle.

Enough griping. Links! How about Grooming a Giant Rescue Maine Coon Cat? And Monday's APOD, Flying Over the Earth at Night, a time-lapse from the ISS. Particularly noteworthy for the footage of the Aurora Australis starting at 1:20

If you have lots of free time, take a look at WikiFlix. CONTENT WARNING: very deep rabbit hole full of old movies.

And finally, because of the season and because it's incredibly cool, here's The Ukrainian Origin of “Carol of the Bells” | The Story of Shchedryk (Щедрик). Turns out the tune was taken from an old New Year's Day chant, from back when New Years Day was celebrated on Beltane. Better, here's the Original Ukrainian Version, sung first in a pretty littleral English translation (with Ukranian subtitles!), then in Ukranian. And best of all, here's a Remix by the B&B project for bandura and button accordion.

Notes & links, as usual )

Safety

13/12/25 23:08
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
One Critical Factor Predicts Longevity Better Than Diet or Exercise, Study Says

They then factored in other variables that can affect life expectancy, including physical inactivity, employment status, and educational level. The association between insufficient sleep and lower life expectancy still held. Only smoking had a stronger link.


Good, adequate sleep is a survival need. Modern society often sabotages it.

However, this study suggests that banking sleep on weekends can mitigate the effects of lost sleep during the week.  I used to do that in school, and people said it didn't work, but it certainly helped my energy level.  It may be a trick that some but not all bodies can do.




Today's Cooking

13/12/25 23:03
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's plan to visit a holiday market got wiped out by copious snow. Again. :( So I'm drowning our sorrows in a batch of Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread.
Tags:
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
[personal profile] dialecticdreamer
Skiing Lesson
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1375


:: Farrah is visiting friends in Colorado when they interrupt their original plans to give her a birthday surprise. General fiction, written for the December of 2025 prompt call, from a suggestion made by [personal profile] callibr8. My deepest thanks to her! ::




Farrah walked as quickly as her snow pants allowed, and reached the front desk at the hotel before the clerk could page her a third time. “Call for Miss Anders? I’m here,” Farrah declared, crossing her arms. “You do realize that it’s before eight in the morning?”

“Yes, Miss Anders.” The clerk shrugged almost imperceptibly. “We tried calling your room, and when there was no answer, switched to making a general announcement. You had a call, but they asked that you be told to be ready to depart at a quarter of nine. I’m doing my best to make sure that you’re ready.”
Read more... )
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conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
The goal is to herd all the "What do you call this?" posts into the comments there. It never ever works. However, they do occasionally get comments like "Here are the answers to the questions you asked rhetorically as an example" and "Why do you keep posting this and asking the same questions" and "There is no such thing as a pork burger".

Yes, Virginia, there is a pork burger. This is why I have a picture of pork burger patties on my phone, so I can post it every time somebody says that those don't exist, or that they "really" mean a breakfast sandwich or a pulled pork sandwich or a ham sandwich or a BLT.

I always want to ask these people who, I guess, don't get out much why they're so sure that anything they haven't personally heard of before must not exist. It's a big old world, but apparently, not so much for them.

(I suppose I can be forgiven for being a bit snippy this time around, I mean, given everything.)

***********************


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Science

13/12/25 14:00
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Human brains light up for chimp voices in a way no one expected

Humans may carry ancient neural traces that let us recognize the voices of our primate cousins.

Humans don’t just recognize each other’s voices—our brains also light up for the calls of chimpanzees, hinting at ancient communication roots shared with our closest primate relatives. Researchers found a specialized region in the auditory cortex that reacts distinctly to chimp vocalizations, but not to those of bonobos or macaques, revealing an unexpected mix of evolutionary and acoustic influences.

Birdfeeding

13/12/25 13:51
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and cold with copious snow.  This has wiped out our plans to visit a holiday market.  :(

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, at least one female and four male cardinals, a mourning dove, and a tiny wren clinging to the bathroom window as it probed the edges for hibernating insects.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/13/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/13/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/13/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

Pandemic Garden Club

13/12/25 11:32
scrubjayspeaks: macro photograph of ladybug climbing a blade of grass (garden)
[personal profile] scrubjayspeaks
Welcome to the December edition of Pandemic Garden Club! Growing good things in strange times!

Anyone is welcome to comment with what they're growing right now, things they would like to try, problems they're encountering, and questions they have. Share resources, answer questions, shout encouragement.

As for myself...

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conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
And one email and voicemail later, my pay didn't come in and nobody has responded yet. (I did wake up pretty late, but seriously.)

I'll call again in the morning, I don't care if it is a weekend, but....

*headdesk*

I don't know what I'll do for groceries if this isn't resolved by Monday, but I'll wait until Monday to worry about it.

Economics

13/12/25 00:15
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Ground Zero: Los Angeles and the Endgame of the Growth Ponzi Scheme

Los Angeles didn’t mismanage its way into crisis. It built its way here.


I disagree. If a city does not track all of its liabilities, such as the maintenance costs of roads and utilities, that is mismanagement. You can't run a budget when you don't know where your money is going. That ought to be obvious.

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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.

Is the human tendency to create groups an overall positive or a negative trait in terms of general human flourishing?

Necessary. Insofar as we know, Homo like most primates is a troop animal, evolved to live in groups rather than alone. Individuals may choose to live alone, but it is much more difficult. Of course, humans can choose to create groups that are themselves positive or negative in structure and behavior, but that's a personal choice.


Lake Lewisia #1342

12/12/25 20:28
scrubjayspeaks: Town sign for (fictional) Lake Lewisia, showing icons of mountains and a lake with the letter L (Lake Lewisia)
[personal profile] scrubjayspeaks
The frat house, for good or ill, was not inhabited by the sort of brownie who helps with household chores or takes offense at squalor. Instead, the unnamed branch of the Gentry who lived there entertained themselves with drinking the dregs of red Solo cups and impressed one another with feats of strength by hoisting near-empty kegs over their wee heads. If these occasionally got dropped on the head of a passed-out pledge, they were usually too still-drunk to believe anything they saw or notice any additional headache.

---

LL#1342

Water

12/12/25 16:20
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Scientists find hidden rainfall pattern that could reshape farming

Where rain comes from may decide the future stability of global food production.

New research shows that crops are far more vulnerable when too much rainfall originates from land rather than the ocean. Land-sourced moisture leads to weaker, less reliable rainfall, heightening drought risk. The U.S. Midwest and East Africa are particularly exposed due to soil drying and deforestation. Protecting forests and improving land management could help stabilize rainfall and crop yields.



Allow me to point out that the Midwest used to have copious fencerows of trees and bushes, more pocket forests, and more farmhouse yards. People cut down most of those to clear a few more acres of farmland. The results have been poor across multiple areas including wildlife losses, soil erosion, worsening winds with less interruption, and of course the aforementioned droughts.

Birdfeeding

12/12/25 15:18
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly cloudy and chilly. Yesterday it snowed.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
[personal profile] dialecticdreamer
Holiday Extras
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 2 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1375
[Mid-December 2016, flexible timing]


:: Genna is spending most of the month of December touching base with her students via crafting. Edison arrives with Zipper, and both get a surprise. Part of the Strange Family and the Finn Family story arcs in the Polychrome Heroics universe. Posted for the December 2025 Giftmas, with my deepest thanks. ::


Back to part one
:: Thanks for reading! ::




Genna motioned toward the row of imperfect, awkward-looking snowflakes made of curls of wood, then touched Edison’s shoulder gently. “Those look good. Wabi-sabi means beauty in imperfections. They aren’t ugly or lumpy or… what was the other word that you said?”

“Bruscar,” Edison murmured, the syllables heavy with disappointment. “It means trash.”

“They’re not trash,” Genna assured the boy.
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