Reading

Well, my pay didn't come in

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.

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Economics

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.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

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recurring posts

Philosophical Questions: Humans

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.

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Lake Lewisia #1342

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

Current Mood: accomplished

VICTORY

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Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Water

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.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

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.

Current Mood: cold

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Holiday Extras (part 2 of 2, complete)

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.
( Read more... )

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picspam:prehistoric monument

Random Neolithic Stones on a Friday

The toes of two booted feet resting against a ledge insdie the carved out interior of a stone. The entrance can be seen to the right.

The Dwarfie Stane, Orkney

Life genuinely sucks, and I have a quandary

I blitzed back to Phoenix Tuesday to get my brother, 66, to the hospital. Turned out I couldn't move him and it required paramedics and an ambulance.

He's now sedated and on a ventilator in intensive care, in critical condition. He has improved a bit since admission, but still critical. At least they haven't called me in the middle of the night for permission to do stuff. He's got like ten different meds being pumped into him. If I'd been delayed a day or two he wouldn't be in the hospital, he probably wouldn't be at all.

Fortunately the library closes from the 24th through the first Monday in January, so I'm not losing much work. But I'm not going to leave town until he's at least out of ICU and breathing on his own. If he lives and gets out of the hospital, he'll have to go into a critical care facility to recover from some wounds (not assault-type wounds), and he'll probably will have to go into assisted living after that.

When I was here in November, he did a holographic will (hand-written) in which he explicitly gave me everything, which isn't much. And after this hospital stay, it may be pretty much nothing. He absolutely hates our sister and the will is phrased to specifically exclude anyone but me, i.e. her and her kids. And the hatred is returned: she hates him, and I know the kids don't like him either.

I'm 95% comfortable with not telling my sister and her kids that he's in such shape. I don't think they'd come to see him. But there's that tiny, niggling bit that if he were to die and I didn't tell them, there'd be problems. At the same time, I never hear from them. And if he does recover and finds out I did tell them, there's also the chance of blowback. Quite the Catch-22.

Thus the quandary.

Anyway, I need to get dressed and off to the hospital.

Pity I couldn't have transported him, he would have been a mile away. Instead, it's half an hour with good traffic.

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Update [me, health, Patreon]

So, I, uh, got my RSI/ergonomics debugged!* I then promptly lost two days to bad sleep due to another new mechanical failure of the balky meat mecha and also a medical appointment in re two previous malfunctions. But I seem back in business now. The new keyboard is great.

Patrons, I've got three Siderea Posts out so far this month and it's only the 12th. I have two more Posts I am hoping to get out in the next three days. Also about health insurance. We'll see if it actually happens, but it's not impossible. I have written a lot of words. (I really like my new keyboard.)

Anyways, if you weren't planning on sponsoring five posts (or – who knows? – even more) this month, adjust your pledge limits accordingly.

* It was my bra strap. It was doing something funky to how my shoulder blade moved or something. It is both surprising to me that so little pressure made so much ergonomic difference, and not surprising because previously an even lighter pressure on my kneecap from wearing long underwear made my knee malfunction spectacularly. Apparently this is how my body mechanics just are.

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Choosing Health Insurance: HSAs: FYI re bronze, catastrophic plans [healthcare, US, Patreon]

Canonical link: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/1890494.html

0.

Hey Americans (and other people stuck in the American healthcare system)! Shopping for a health plan on your state marketplace? Boy, do I have some information for you that you should have and probably don't. There's been an important legal change affecting your choices that has gotten almost no press.

Effective with plan year 2026 all bronze level and catastrophic plans are statutorily now HDHPs and thus HSA compatible. You may get and self-fund an HSA if you have any bronze or catastrophic plan, as well as any plan of any level designated a HDHP.

2025 Dec 9: IRS.gov: "Treasury, IRS provide guidance on new tax benefits for health savings account participants under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill"

Bronze and Catastrophic Plans Treated as HDHPs: As of Jan. 1, 2026, bronze and catastrophic plans available through an Exchange are considered HSA-compatible, regardless of whether the plans satisfy the general definition of an HDHP. This expands the ability of people enrolled in these plans to contribute to HSAs, which they generally have not been able to do in the past. Notice 2026-05 clarifies that bronze and catastrophic plans do not have to be purchased through an Exchange to qualify for the new relief.

If you are shopping plans right now (or thought you were done), you should probably be aware of this. Especially if you are planning on getting a bronze plan, a catastrophic plan, or any plan with the acronym "HSA" in the name or otherwise designated "HSA compatible".

The Trump administration doing this is tacit admission that all bronze plans have become such bad deals that they're the economic equivalent of what used to be considered a HDHP back when that concept was invented, and so should come with legal permission to protect yourself from them with an HSA.

Effective immediately, you should consider a bronze plan half an insurance plan.

( Read more [3,340 words] )

This post brought to you by the 221 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.

Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Early Humans

'It is the most exciting discovery in my 40-year career': Archaeologists uncover evidence that Neanderthals made fire 400,000 years ago in England

Neanderthals were the world's first innovators of fire technology, tiny specks of evidence in England suggest. Flecks of pyrite found at a more than 400,000-year-old archaeological site in Suffolk, in eastern England, push back archaeologists' evidence for controlled fire-making and suggest that key human brain developments began far earlier than previously thought.

It's exciting to see such concrete evidence.

Current Mood: busy

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Follow Friday 12-12-25: Labyrinth

Today's theme is Labyrinth.

comicsfanfiction -- Comics Fanfiction
The community for posting any fanfiction, ANY RATING IS ALLOWED, based on COMICS including webcomics or graphic novels. One main place to find all those stories that we all want. Comic fandoms that were originally from another medium (show, book, movie, etc) - for example Gargoyles, Star Wars or Star Trek - and has a comic series line (miniseries or not) are allowed here, but only if you focus on the comics-based information.
[Active with multiple posts in December.]

crossovers -- Crossover fiction from across the universe!
Crossover fan fiction.
[Active with multiple posts in November.]

fandom_fanvids -- A Collection of Fanvids from different Fandoms
[Active with one post in November.]

labyfic -- In Search of New Dreams: A Labyrinth Fan Community
Labyrinth movie community: fanfiction, fan art, & discussion.
[Active with multiple posts in December.]

Current Mood: busy

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Today's Adventures

Today we went up to Danville.

( Read more... )

A quick thought on leadership

A keystone can only work if all of the other stones in the arch hold it up.

Current Mood: working

Entry tags:

battles with executive dysfunction

Battles with Executive Dysfunction

The metaphorical devil on my shoulder: "You know, you don't have to do that final paper for Intro to Human Services. You've got enough extra credit to cover 30% of it, and that'll probably be enough to keep your grade in the low 'A's. And even if it's not, would a 'B' really be so bad?"

Me: "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, I did not go through two semesters doing every piece of homework assigned to fail at the final stretch, I am doing this shit, even if I only manage the bare minimum!"

Metaphorical devil on my shoulder: "Okay, jeez, lighten up! It was just a suggestion!"

Me: *already ignoring the devil and refocusing on the paper*

I refuse to let this paper win 😤

Edit: Paper completed and submitted! With this, I have officially done all graded homework for my back-to-school career. I am very proud of myself.

Entry tags:

daily life,
health

tired and sore

Today was the first day of my "weekend", but it really didn't feel like it. I had only 2 goals today: pick up my blood pressure medication at the pharmacy, and post a package for delivery to Texas for the holidays. Goals achieved, but at a price.

I got up with sunrise (which is late for me, thanks to "weekend") and checked when the post office would open for business. I was going to ride the micro transit bus there to buy a box suitable for the gift and card. But the app would NOT show me any micro transit bus options. Strange. Not the usual message to try again if there were no available drivers. Instead, the app would sort of hang with an icon suggesting network communications... until it gave up and showed me regular bus routes instead. Okay, so it'll be that kind of inconvenient day.

Click to read the various trip details...

Trip #1 and 2: Ok, so no help from the micro bus, so I walked there, sometimes through unshoveled snow about half a foot deep. I got the cardbox box that I needed, then I walked back through the snow again. That's a decent walk for an old guy with arthritis, but it was successful.

Trip #3: I went to the regular bus stop to get a less-convenient ride to the grocery/pharmacy. I waited... and waited... and waited. I checked this route, which I thought was a bus every 20 minutes. No. There are only 2 buses each hour: one 20 minutes after another. Afterwards, there's a 40-minute lull without service. ARGH! I spent a very long time in the freezing weather, noticing my face and lips starting to feel weird. Eventually, the bus arrived. I climbed a snow bank on the roadway to get inside to warmth.

Trip #4: I got groceries and medication without incident, then I went to get another regular-bus ride back. I saw the route "14" bus again heading the right direction, so I climbed aboard. Later, it detoured slightly. I was confused. When it became clear it wasn't returning along the same route as earlier, I got off as near as I could to my destination. Then I walked an extra 3 long blocks through a lot of unshoveled snow to get back to the bus stop intersection where I started. Not walking sometimes, so much as plodding through unshoveled snow. The arthritis complaining.

Trip #5 and #6: Back home, I got the gift wrapped and addressed, then it was time for yet another walk in the cold. I was much slower this time, feeling the arthritis in both my back and feet. Post office achieved. Gift sent. Walk back home, again even slower, this time with my hips aching too with a kind of muscle (not arthritis) ache, complaining at too many heavy steps in the snow.

At home, finally done with chores for the day, I tried to play a computer game for a while but started nodding off, so I crawled into bed. My body ached at getting into bed, even turning from side to side in bed. But at least I slept a while. Now up again. Feet are feeling better, but back and hips are still complaining. The walk upstairs to the bedroom isn't fun.

Now, it's dark outside already. The day is gone. More computer gaming, if I'm able. More sleeping, otherwise.

Current Mood: amused

Entry tags:

Holiday Extras (part 1 of 2, complete)

Holiday Extras
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1059
[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. ::

On to part two

Edison giggled as Zipper swept him high into the air, then turned the boy from a “flying” pose to standing. The small yellow sneakers touched the grass gently. “Here you are. Want me to ring the --” Zipper began.

A tall, bulky man with curly brown hair opened the door. “Hey, kiddo, Genna’s in the schoolroom, but it’s basically a craft room for the holidays. Go on in.”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: exhausted

The Jesus Footballs

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