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World Book Day
Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe official theme for World Book Day 2025 is:
"Read Your Way: Diverse Books for Every Mind"
This theme emphasizes the importance of inclusion and diversity in reading. It encourages readers to explore different voices, perspectives, and cultures through literature, promoting empathy and global understanding.
( Read more... )
"Read Your Way: Diverse Books for Every Mind"
This theme emphasizes the importance of inclusion and diversity in reading. It encourages readers to explore different voices, perspectives, and cultures through literature, promoting empathy and global understanding.
( Read more... )
Good News
Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:09 amysabetwordsmithGood news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.
What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
Insect Apocalypse
Apr. 22nd, 2025 10:29 pmysabetwordsmithInsects are disappearing due to agriculture -- and many other drivers, new research reveals
New paper highlights 500+ interconnected drivers behind global insect decline.
Insects are disappearing at an alarming rate worldwide, but why? Agricultural intensification tops the list of proposed reasons, but there are many other, interconnected drivers that have an impact, according to new research.
( Read more... )
New paper highlights 500+ interconnected drivers behind global insect decline.
Insects are disappearing at an alarming rate worldwide, but why? Agricultural intensification tops the list of proposed reasons, but there are many other, interconnected drivers that have an impact, according to new research.
( Read more... )
Car stuff sorted...
Apr. 22nd, 2025 09:16 pmmistressofmusesI mentioned that last night the truck very suddenly started sputtering and running extremely rough, and the check engine light came on.
We took the truck over to a local auto parts store to get a read on the code for the check engine light. They said the most likely culprit was an ignition coil, causing misfires in one of the cylinders. That was one of the potential things I'd seen on the list of possible causes for the rough idle. Pretty firmly on the lower end of the middle of "how fucked are we," so that was a relief. (So glad it wasn't "fuel pump" money.)
So we took it to the usual shop we use. They said they wouldn't be able to get to it tomorrow, and they would have to do their own diagnostic rather than relying on the code, which was fine. They'd give me a call tomorrow morning to let me know the results of their diagnostic and talk costs and recommendations and such.
Mom loaned us her second car, since Taylor doesn't typically go in to the office anymore, so we could get around until then.
-
Turned out Jaspurr was at the vet (same vet that we were at yesterday) for surgery. :( Poor boy had a lump on his abdomen, so they were removing and biopsying it.
Got the excellent news that it was just a fatty lump, and did not need to be biopsied!
-
I was just about to take a nap, when the auto place called. They were able to get it in today (initially I was told it was the main tech's day off, so couldn't get it looked at until tomorrow; apparently someone else was available today!)
They did not think it was the ignition coil, they thought it was the spark plugs. They wanted to replace the spark plugs plus do an injector system service. I misheard the initial quote and thought it was super high, like four figures; it was not, haha. It was within the general range I'd been expecting. (Which I wasn't *delighted* to pay, but when I balked at my misheard price, he offered a discount to bring it down slightly, ha.)
They got the work done by the end of the afternoon, but when he called back he said the spark plugs hadn't fixed the issue... because it turned out it was the ignition coil. *Facepalm* (They say that the coil was fine when they tested it earlier, because they swapped a good coil for the potentially bad one, and the problem persisted, which was why they'd ruled it out; maybe the coil and a spark plug both failed?)
They replaced the spark plugs and the ignition coil. He gave us the coil at-cost (which was cheaper than we could have gotten it if we'd bought it ourselves; we priced them at the auto parts place when we got the code read) and didn't charge any extra labor for it. He also completely comped the system service that they did, so the total wound up only being $14 over the original estimate. In exchange for the discount, he just asked that we leave a nice review, which I did.
The truck is now running fine! It might be even smoother than it was prior to the problem starting last night; it hadn't been having issues that made me want to take it in, but occasionally a little roughness that I wasn't noticing this evening. So perhaps that coil had been on the way out for a while.
Not the best timing in the world, and I spent a good part of last night and this morning fighting through the chest pain and horrible nausea and prickling scalp of massive fucking anxiety, but I'm glad it's sorted out, that it didn't happen at a *worse* time.
We took the truck over to a local auto parts store to get a read on the code for the check engine light. They said the most likely culprit was an ignition coil, causing misfires in one of the cylinders. That was one of the potential things I'd seen on the list of possible causes for the rough idle. Pretty firmly on the lower end of the middle of "how fucked are we," so that was a relief. (So glad it wasn't "fuel pump" money.)
So we took it to the usual shop we use. They said they wouldn't be able to get to it tomorrow, and they would have to do their own diagnostic rather than relying on the code, which was fine. They'd give me a call tomorrow morning to let me know the results of their diagnostic and talk costs and recommendations and such.
Mom loaned us her second car, since Taylor doesn't typically go in to the office anymore, so we could get around until then.
-
Turned out Jaspurr was at the vet (same vet that we were at yesterday) for surgery. :( Poor boy had a lump on his abdomen, so they were removing and biopsying it.
Got the excellent news that it was just a fatty lump, and did not need to be biopsied!
-
I was just about to take a nap, when the auto place called. They were able to get it in today (initially I was told it was the main tech's day off, so couldn't get it looked at until tomorrow; apparently someone else was available today!)
They did not think it was the ignition coil, they thought it was the spark plugs. They wanted to replace the spark plugs plus do an injector system service. I misheard the initial quote and thought it was super high, like four figures; it was not, haha. It was within the general range I'd been expecting. (Which I wasn't *delighted* to pay, but when I balked at my misheard price, he offered a discount to bring it down slightly, ha.)
They got the work done by the end of the afternoon, but when he called back he said the spark plugs hadn't fixed the issue... because it turned out it was the ignition coil. *Facepalm* (They say that the coil was fine when they tested it earlier, because they swapped a good coil for the potentially bad one, and the problem persisted, which was why they'd ruled it out; maybe the coil and a spark plug both failed?)
They replaced the spark plugs and the ignition coil. He gave us the coil at-cost (which was cheaper than we could have gotten it if we'd bought it ourselves; we priced them at the auto parts place when we got the code read) and didn't charge any extra labor for it. He also completely comped the system service that they did, so the total wound up only being $14 over the original estimate. In exchange for the discount, he just asked that we leave a nice review, which I did.
The truck is now running fine! It might be even smoother than it was prior to the problem starting last night; it hadn't been having issues that made me want to take it in, but occasionally a little roughness that I wasn't noticing this evening. So perhaps that coil had been on the way out for a while.
Not the best timing in the world, and I spent a good part of last night and this morning fighting through the chest pain and horrible nausea and prickling scalp of massive fucking anxiety, but I'm glad it's sorted out, that it didn't happen at a *worse* time.
Zines and Identity
Apr. 22nd, 2025 10:13 pmgrayestofghostsSo I was starting to make a minizine and it's about making websites and I'm realizing that I should probably have like, my own website, blog, email address on here and it's just making me think... if I put that shit in print... that will mean that I am making a commitment to these usernames, identities, etc? And that just feels... real scary! It's honestly making me wonder if I should change some stuff around. I don't know. I am no good at names, and I don't know what to call myself for this one.
Then again for a little minizine I probably shouldn't be having an existential crisis about it, and because I will have the master copies I should just be able to change the addresses if I really need to update it, right? Ugh.
I may know who I am, but what to call myself is an entirely different question. That one, I don't know. Ugh.
Then again for a little minizine I probably shouldn't be having an existential crisis about it, and because I will have the master copies I should just be able to change the addresses if I really need to update it, right? Ugh.
I may know who I am, but what to call myself is an entirely different question. That one, I don't know. Ugh.
Urgent and Unexpected (part 1 of 1, complete)
Apr. 22nd, 2025 10:18 pmdialecticdreamerUrgent and Unexpected
By Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1683
[Landing #5, day 2, then Landing #6, day 1]
:: Schrodinger's Heroes and the Asher family confront the problem of accessing medical care for Anita, in the Heroes’ ineffable style. Part of the Sidestep Travelers universe. This story crosses with a version of the Schrodinger’s Heroes universe. ::
:: Author’s note: I am posting the WHOLE story in one piece, instead of trying to break it into parts. Some weird mistake ate a good chunk of the original draft, so this has moved in a different direction. ::
“We’ve got at least a partial coordinate match for your universe already,” Pat assured her, as Anita paced along longer side of the empty room once labeled for storage and currently empty of even the previous coating of dust. One solitary cobweb clung to the intersection of two walls, about a foot lower than the ceiling, but it was barely the size of the first joint of Anita’s thumb, so she ignored it.
( Read more... )
By Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1683
[Landing #5, day 2, then Landing #6, day 1]
:: Schrodinger's Heroes and the Asher family confront the problem of accessing medical care for Anita, in the Heroes’ ineffable style. Part of the Sidestep Travelers universe. This story crosses with a version of the Schrodinger’s Heroes universe. ::
:: Author’s note: I am posting the WHOLE story in one piece, instead of trying to break it into parts. Some weird mistake ate a good chunk of the original draft, so this has moved in a different direction. ::
“We’ve got at least a partial coordinate match for your universe already,” Pat assured her, as Anita paced along longer side of the empty room once labeled for storage and currently empty of even the previous coating of dust. One solitary cobweb clung to the intersection of two walls, about a foot lower than the ceiling, but it was barely the size of the first joint of Anita’s thumb, so she ignored it.
( Read more... )
Not likely to be online much for the next few days
Apr. 22nd, 2025 08:13 pmindependence1776The schedule for Andor (to the tune of three episodes every Tuesday late evening for the next four weeks) means that I am in fact not staying up to midnight watching it all. This week especially I'll manage to watch an episode an evening, so I'm 100% staying off Tumblr until Thursday evening at the earliest. Dreamwidth I'm assuming will be more or less spoiler-free, possibly Discord as well. The Star Wars Discord I'm a member of is very good about spoilers and all of us are: "But we're working adults? How do they expect us to watch this?"
us civics, frick museum, wiscon
Apr. 22nd, 2025 03:08 pmtozkaGood afternoon, happy Tuesday! I finally spotted the morning doves again-- well, actually, one of the landed on the back porch and made eye contact with me through the sliding glass door, and then another dove dive-bombed the first one and they both flew off. Fun!
Got some links for y'all here! I'm experimenting with formatting this time. Is this easier to read, or worse?
siderea did an informal poll about some of the differences in educational systems in the US, with regards specifically to when civics was taught.
I did most of my schooling in Maryland and I took a civics class in 9th or 10th grade, but I'm pretty sure we went over some stuff before then in elementary school/middle school. We had mock presidential elections, for instance, so I'm sure we at least went over the stuff about voting.
I also remember seeing the Schoolhouse Rock video about how bills are passed, but I honestly can't remember where along my educational timeline it happened. I AM fairly certain a teacher showed it to us, though!
( More links under here )
Need more stuff to read? I've compiled all previous linkspam posts here on my website or of course you can explore the linkspam tag below.
Got some links for y'all here! I'm experimenting with formatting this time. Is this easier to read, or worse?
siderea did an informal poll about some of the differences in educational systems in the US, with regards specifically to when civics was taught. I did most of my schooling in Maryland and I took a civics class in 9th or 10th grade, but I'm pretty sure we went over some stuff before then in elementary school/middle school. We had mock presidential elections, for instance, so I'm sure we at least went over the stuff about voting.
I also remember seeing the Schoolhouse Rock video about how bills are passed, but I honestly can't remember where along my educational timeline it happened. I AM fairly certain a teacher showed it to us, though!
( More links under here )
Need more stuff to read? I've compiled all previous linkspam posts here on my website or of course you can explore the linkspam tag below.
Birdfeeding
Apr. 22nd, 2025 02:17 pmysabetwordsmithToday is mostly sunny and warm with a light breeze, a beautiful spring day. :D
I fed the birds. I've seen several sparrows and house finches, two brown-headed cowbirds, a mourning dove, and two fox squirrels.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/22/25 -- We went out shopping. I picked out roughly 5 flats of plants at DeBuhr's. We found a garden hose, nozzle, and reel plus a gas can at Home Depot. Also at Home Depot I spotted a modular garage storage system that looks very promising. It has mounting rails for shelves and a wide variety of hooks. That ought to combine well with a pegboard.
EDIT 4/22/25 -- I planted a 'Sugar Snack' cherry tomato and a 'Yellow Pear' tomato in the large pots by the septic garden, each with 4 marigolds around it.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen several sparrows and house finches, two brown-headed cowbirds, a mourning dove, and two fox squirrels.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/22/25 -- We went out shopping. I picked out roughly 5 flats of plants at DeBuhr's. We found a garden hose, nozzle, and reel plus a gas can at Home Depot. Also at Home Depot I spotted a modular garage storage system that looks very promising. It has mounting rails for shelves and a wide variety of hooks. That ought to combine well with a pegboard.
EDIT 4/22/25 -- I planted a 'Sugar Snack' cherry tomato and a 'Yellow Pear' tomato in the large pots by the septic garden, each with 4 marigolds around it.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
I'll actually be pretty sad when tumblr dies
Apr. 22nd, 2025 07:17 pmmilo_rI know we're all joking about the curse finally lifting but it's the only "modern" social media site I get genuine enjoyment out of. And for all that I prasie dreamwidth and mastodon to every fandom person I meet, there's a kind of visual fandom experience that only tumlblr is- I can't even say "optimized for," as tumblr is not optimized for anything. Mostly gif gazing. TikTok is for videos and Instagram is for carousels. Fanartists will migrate to even more inhospitable lands but I have survived that before. But where will I go to have narrative parallels highlighted via gifset juxtaposition? Where will I be graced with the sight of my blorbo covered in blood like I am graced by a freshly bloomed flower on my morning walk? Are you telling me I'll have to rewatch my shows??? Unthinkable.
(Not that I think tumblr doesn't have the addictive and enshittified social media features. I've looked up by an hour-long tumblr session with the same kind of malaise tiktok scrolling gives me, but overall the good has always outweighed the bad.)
My Life is Murder (Season 4)
Apr. 22nd, 2025 11:30 pmmeteordustSeason 1 thoughts
Season 2 thoughts
Season 3 thoughts
Still enjoying this cosy murder mystery show! Surprising fun and upbeat, despite all the murder. I like how the show is leaning into the friendships between the main quartet, and Alexa grudgingly opening up her guarded heart. (When Madison was making noises about looking for her own place to live, Alexa finally admitted she didn't want her to move out! Aww.)
It occurs to me that each episode starts with Alexa meeting Harry for a briefing on the case, instead of the common trope of a cold open where the victim gets killed. Which I guess is useful for not revealing key details of what actually happened. But I also appreciate that it feels less cheap and sensational.
I particularly liked the two part season finale, "The Widows' Club".
( Spoilers )
It's been renewed for a Season 5!
Season 2 thoughts
Season 3 thoughts
Still enjoying this cosy murder mystery show! Surprising fun and upbeat, despite all the murder. I like how the show is leaning into the friendships between the main quartet, and Alexa grudgingly opening up her guarded heart. (When Madison was making noises about looking for her own place to live, Alexa finally admitted she didn't want her to move out! Aww.)
It occurs to me that each episode starts with Alexa meeting Harry for a briefing on the case, instead of the common trope of a cold open where the victim gets killed. Which I guess is useful for not revealing key details of what actually happened. But I also appreciate that it feels less cheap and sensational.
I particularly liked the two part season finale, "The Widows' Club".
( Spoilers )
It's been renewed for a Season 5!
Tails Noir
Apr. 22nd, 2025 12:01 pmcatnessTails Noir is a point&click adventure game by EggNut. It starts as a noir detective story set in a city of anthropomorphic animals. Howard Lotor, a raccoon PI, is (true to genre) cynical, drinks too much and struggles to make ends meet. With a new case, things start to look promising, but then everything goes completely off the rails.
Good:
* Beautiful, incredibly detailed pixel art graphics, capturing the ambience of a dystopian urban environment.
* Tough, cynical, and suffering PIs are my favourite in games, even though in books I usually prefer geeky puzzle-solvers whose main, and often only, weapon is their intellect.
* All the characters are furries <3
* The first couple of chapters are exciting, with a real sense of urgency. Conversations aren't repetitive and replayable - if you say the wrong thing, that's it. But it's nice to discover that you can still solve every puzzle in alternative ways. I didn't need a walkthrough.
* There's a button that lets you switch between 2 languages instantly! Without going to the settings, changing the language and restarting the game. I didn't use it much, but it's super neat. I might replay the game someday for language immersion, at least the first half.
Bad:
* The game begins as a solid detective mystery, but changes the direction midway and evolves into some weird philosophical existential parable. I'm fine with deep philosophical themes, but here the shift is too abrupt, and the two halves don't really fit together.
* The 2nd half is tedious, almost no puzzles, just a lot of click-to-continue dialogue, visual novel-like. Some conversations seem to go on forever. The ending is vague and unsatisfying.
* Howard develops a condition that makes it very uncomfortable to keep looking at him on screen.
Overall:
3/5. Ironically, it could be 5/5 if it was unfinished... But the 2nd half just spoils the impression too much.
Good:
* Beautiful, incredibly detailed pixel art graphics, capturing the ambience of a dystopian urban environment.
* Tough, cynical, and suffering PIs are my favourite in games, even though in books I usually prefer geeky puzzle-solvers whose main, and often only, weapon is their intellect.
* All the characters are furries <3
* The first couple of chapters are exciting, with a real sense of urgency. Conversations aren't repetitive and replayable - if you say the wrong thing, that's it. But it's nice to discover that you can still solve every puzzle in alternative ways. I didn't need a walkthrough.
* There's a button that lets you switch between 2 languages instantly! Without going to the settings, changing the language and restarting the game. I didn't use it much, but it's super neat. I might replay the game someday for language immersion, at least the first half.
Bad:
* The game begins as a solid detective mystery, but changes the direction midway and evolves into some weird philosophical existential parable. I'm fine with deep philosophical themes, but here the shift is too abrupt, and the two halves don't really fit together.
* The 2nd half is tedious, almost no puzzles, just a lot of click-to-continue dialogue, visual novel-like. Some conversations seem to go on forever. The ending is vague and unsatisfying.
* Howard develops a condition that makes it very uncomfortable to keep looking at him on screen.
Overall:
3/5. Ironically, it could be 5/5 if it was unfinished... But the 2nd half just spoils the impression too much.
Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List
Apr. 22nd, 2025 12:49 amysabetwordsmithThe following is a growing reading list for the ReadPalestinianSpecFic challenge. This is a work in progress to create a list of all available Palestinian speculative fiction.
Annual vet visit!
Apr. 21st, 2025 09:35 pmmistressofmuses
(Cy and Bella, sleeping.)
Today was annual vet visit day for both dogs. (It's a little hard to believe it's been more than a year since Cy's emergency vet health scare.)
They each got their physical exams and their leptospirosis shots.
Cy is only down about a half pound from last year, and while I'd *like* him to gain a pound or two, that's pretty good. Bella has dropped a couple pounds, which is odd, because she doesn't look like she's lost weight. But we'll try to get a couple more pounds on her. (She's close to the weight she was when we first brought her home, and she looked *terrible* then; she looks pretty good now.)
Both of them were very good for their exams. Cy of course always is, but even Bella handled it well. She is NOT a fan of getting her temperature taken, and jumped pretty hard when she got her lepto shot, but she did great. Cy was just happy to be getting so much attention and didn't react at all to his shot.
Cy appears to have a lingering mild ear infection. He had one a while back (started right before the handful of days I'd stayed at my mom's) but we thought it had cleared up. There wasn't any visible gunk and he'd stopped the head-shaking. It's not serious, but still there. The vet gave him a topical antibiotic (a nice tube of goop squirted into the ear). She also showed me how to clean out his ears and gave me an easy recipe to mix up to help with it. (I hadn't been going quite deep enough when I was cleaning them, turns out.) Can't clean it out for two weeks, as the antibiotic is supposed to stay in there, so he's gross and slimy with antibiotic ointment until then, haha.
He also had a little gum inflammation around his bad teeth, though not nearly as bad as it has been in the past. He's too old to want to do a full tooth-cleaning under anesthesia, but she did as much tartar removal as she could. He also got a short course of antibiotics for the gums + the ear.
We'll get the results of his bloodwork in a few days. He has a refill of his Rimadyl, but the results of the bloodwork will determine whether we can keep him on it. (I hope so - it seems to help him quite a bit.)
The tech said he was just so good for his blood draw and his teeth cleaning, ha. (I believe it for the blood draw; I am more skeptical that he was good about his teeth.)
-
Bella also then got to go on a long walk around a local lake (after Cy got dropped off at home), so she had a Very Big Day.
-
Of course, the very day that I had to drop several hundred dollars at the vet, the truck very suddenly started sputtering and running EXTREMELY rough and the check engine light came on. Fuuuuuuuck.
So we will have to take it in tomorrow and find out what the problem is. It could be anything from "replace the fuel filter" or "replace a spark plug" to "your fuel injector is fucked" or "your catalytic converter is fucked". So I'm really hoping it's on the simple end instead of the "we're fucked" end, but I am very afraid to find out which it is.