I need to explain how thermostats work

2026-May-22, Friday 01:20
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Your furnace has one setting: off/on.

Your air conditioner has one setting as well.

The thermostat is just a way of automating the offs and the ons.

Turning the heat to 80 doesn’t heat the house faster. Turning the a/c to 60 doesn’t cool the house faster.

Keeping the heat on 80 so your employees are forced to run the a/cs constantly in order to keep the house merely “sweltering” is deeply wasteful, and I have spent considerable time trying to discreetly open the case to the thermostat. Alas, I cannot pick the lock.

Trying to draft a text to the manager about this that doesn’t involve the words “I don’t want to tell you how to do your job”. Calling attention to what I’m doing is unlikely to help.

Wildlife

2026-May-18, Monday 23:35
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
An 8-year-old boy's backyard discovery literally changed science forever

One summer day, 8-year-old Hugo Deans spotted a cluster of tiny, BB-sized spheres near an ant nest under a fallen log in his backyard. He assumed they were some kind of seed, because that’s what they look like.

But his father, Andrew Deans – a Penn State entomology professor – recognized them instantly as oak galls, unusual plant growths caused by insects.

What he didn’t realize at first was that those little galls were clues to a surprisingly complex relationship between ants, wasps, and oak trees.

Primary Crap

2026-May-18, Monday 21:43
theradicalchild: (Elephant Suffragette)
[personal profile] theradicalchild
I went on my usual morning walk but my bladder has been getting sensitive again to the point where I had to use the bathroom at Grace Methodist, which is usually halfway on my route, and I think it could have been because I had been drinking coffee again, but I can live without it.

I early voted in the runoff primary election (Republican), and voted for Ken Paxton and Mayes Middleton to be the candidates for U.S. Senator and Texas Attorney General, since their opponents are basically GOP Judases (especially Chip Roy, the other guy in the runoff for AG, whom Trump openly doesn't like). There were county commissioner favorites among the local TACOS group that emerged after the school bonds passed last November but they didn't seem to be on the ballot, I don't know if it was because I wasn't in their respective precincts? The president never followed through on his word on picking a fave for a U.S. Senate candidate after the initial primary two months ago, which is another reason I don't read his Truth Social page anymore since there are way too many dangling political plot threads more so today than anything else.

I don't really like reading any kind of news anymore, left, right, or center, since it's all pretty much rage bait and reminds me of all the shit my family and people online put me through, especially since I was subjected to all that political crap at my old home and every online community I was part of like the furry fandom. Social media distorts reality, but the legacy media definitely does as well. But even when I do my best to avoid that my mind's still wrecked by the neurological damage inflicted by 18 years of psych meds and I can't stop thinking about any of it. I definitely do know there is a hell of a lot at stake in the midterms and I want a new Nuremberg Trial for Big Pharma more than anything else and ideally a dissolution of psychiatry, which I feel is bullshit pseudoscience.

And of course stopping the mutilation of children by transgender lunatics and satanic doctors, and I consider that to be just as much pseudoscience as to me it's essentially lying about being the opposite sex. I have socialist views--and things like that weren't issues in Karl Marx's time, and I think he would consider transgenderism to be bourgeoisie as it's a luxury view and really costly to transition your sex--but I'm not gonna ever vote for idiots who support that evil shit and can't tell what the fuck a woman is.

Basically, this is what I think is the big problem with modern political discourse.

Image-4

And both sides are pretty much echo chambers now. When still on sites like X I actually blocked people on both sides as they're equally toxic and really rigid and arrogant in their dogma (likewise on Facebook), but the biggest difference is that with Democrats it's pretty much always exclusively everything anti-Trump and rarely anything pro-Democrat. Even when Biden was president.

Again, they need a National Primary Day, preferably in summer before what would be convention season in presidential election days and with ranked voting to avoid the need for runoffs (ranked voting in general elections as well so people can vote for third-party candidates without fear of getting someone they hate elected), since it just protracts the election cycle and political campaigns are really fucking expensive and we can't have stricter campaign finance laws due to money being considered speech, which I definitely disagree with, as there are pragmatic limits to speech. Campaign reform if not campaign finance reform.

I then drove around city park looking for "Camp Live Oak," which was the alleged home of one of the local cub scout packs, but couldn't find it, and went to the parks and rec office to ask about it and they said they hadn't hosted scouts in years. I called the churches in towns that sponsored the two other packs and didn't get a response--and their Facebook pages weren't updated in years. I called the Longhorn Council and they said they were long defunct, and I called the number on the pack search page on the main scouting website for the one hosted on Ft. Hood and found that the host was leaving, and they told me to ask on their Facebook page, which I did, but I saw it hasn't been updated since summer last year as well. I sent an email as well, but you know the whole getting ghosted thing.

Then I stopped by H-E-B to search for stuff on my list, but they hadn't restocked so I didn't buy anything.

I got back into contact with the lady at CCHR Texas about meeting me for coffee in town and she invited me to a psychiatry museum down in Austin in June, which I'll try to go to since I'm free, and I'll be sure to bring my flyers since I am highly critical of psychiatry and do my cute anti-psychiatry memes.

That clinic in Killeen I contacted got back to me saying they weren't accepting any more patients with my insurance clusterfuck, so I got with another place Grok suggested that's virtual, and they accepted my current setup, and I have an appointment next week on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes.


Image


(image is link)

I read this due to Malcolm X's forthcoming heavenly birthday since he hated the latter group. Not just about both but essays about other things like the complete history of slavery (all races practiced it even among themselves), Jews, Germans, and blacks in education. Thomas Sowell is really wise, like the Morgan Freeman of economists.
brightknightie: Nick looking up. (Nick)
[personal profile] brightknightie
I've released the gameplay post for [community profile] fkficfest 2026, the annual Forever Knight (1992-1996) fanfiction event. Promotional posts to the usual DW communities will follow, one every few days, until all are notified. As you like, please do promote the celebration in your own journal(s) and anywhere off DW.

Today, May 18, 2026, happens to be the 30th anniversary of the first airing of "Last Knight," FK's notorious finale (give or take local syndication schedules). I don't feel precisely the same about the show or the fandom as I did all those years ago, of course; I wouldn't expect anyone to. But I do still treasure both. ♥

Birdfeeding

2026-May-18, Monday 13:49
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy, mild, and wet. It has varied between light rain, pouring rain, and "the air is water" outside. We need the rain, though.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any.

EDIT 5/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder, and a few small birds.

EDIT 5/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

It's still drizzling on and off.

I am done for the night.

Poem: "A Spark in the Dark"

2026-May-18, Monday 13:33
ysabetwordsmith: Jump gate showing diamond ring of light (blueshift)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem came out of the May 2026 [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] siliconshaman. It also fills the "wait" square in my 5-1-26 card for the Greek Myth Fest bingo. This poem belongs to the Blueshift Troupers series.

Read more... )

crafts

2026-May-18, Monday 14:42
unicornduke: (Default)
[personal profile] unicornduke
Hey all, if you'd like to join the crafting hangout, it is tonight from 6-8pm ET!
 
Video encouraged but not required!
 
Topic: Crafting Hangout
Time: Mondays 6:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
 
Join Zoom Meeting
 
Meeting ID: 973 2674 2763

Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics

2026-May-18, Monday 11:49
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This week, the poetry of Polychrome Heroics is on sale for half price from Monday, May 18 through Sunday, May 24. This series is superhero fantasy. It features themes of heroism, coming of age, diversity, identity kink, family of choice, friendship, and cultural engineering. Sale prices range from $5 to $319, so hopefully there will be something for everyone.

Prices on open epics are locked at the time of opening; however, if anyone wants to donate to open epics and buy poetry, spending $100 will get you the quarter-price rate on the new poems, regardless of the rate on the open epic(s) you support. There are no open epics at present, so you may open one if you wish.

We are repeating the special discount for purchases of $100 or more, in which you get poetry at 25% of its original price instead of 50%. (Note that this increases the amount of poetry you get, rather than reducing the amount of money spent; the point is to get this stuff off of my desk. Yes, I can afford it.) That size of donation also makes you a k-fan which comes with some other perks, like a year-end collection of a poetic series. If several folks want to bundle their orders to make the $100 threshold and have one person send it all, that's okay; you'll get the discount and I'll list all your names as donors, but you'll have to decide amongst you who gets the k-fan credit. If you host a pool, please close it the day before the sale closes, so you have time to collect funds and turn them in on time.

Some of the poems are in sequence of related action, so in places there are prerequisites before a poem can be published. They can be sponsored at any time, just might have to wait for publication until something else gets posted first. Those are marked accordingly. I have also made lists of poems which unlock sequels, and poems which have prerequisites.

Linkback perk: The following poems have verses left to reveal. Boost the signal for this half-price sale and tell me which poem you want to extend.
"A Sense of Weather Changes"
"The Loving Embrace of Night"
"Generations of Cooks Past"
"Homefree and Clear "
"One Bite at a Time"
"Mishpocha"
"Changing Your Nature"
"Besa"





About characters and storylines: The storylines feature multiple characters, so if you want poems about ONE specific character, look closely. The thumbnail descriptions here give some indication who features in each poem. The storyline pages are adding precise, complete information about which characters appear in each poem. If you need more than what's already visible, you can ask me.

About timing: If you want maximum choice, shop early. We usually send a batch of things to my father near the end of a sale, and those poems will be posted as I have time.

About pools: Yes, you can combine your funds with other prompters to get the quarter-price rate. Yes, you can combine your funds with other prompters to buy a bigger poem. Yes, you can offer to match donations by other people. However, the wordsmith is not also a math whiz! After several attempts to find a way that I can work with pools and matches, I have concluded that this is over my head. (I did figure out how to avoid generating fractional pennies, though: all initial prices are now whole dollars, which means they cut evenly into halves and quarters.) So if you want to host a pool or a match, make a post for that in your blog or other venue, then comment here with what you're doing and include a link to wherever the discussion will be. You figure out the poems, you collect the funds, and when stuff is fully funded, you send me the money and the list of what it's for. Then I'll post the goodies. Please close the pool in time to collect donations by the end of the sale, so I can start posting pool poems no later than the day after the sale.

Before placing your order, please check this sale page to see what is still unsold! I will try to update the page as things sell, and it's likely to be the case that some poems will be marked SOLD before appearing in posts. People often buy things in batches, which means that selling gets ahead of posting. Also sometimes people ask for the same thing at the same time, so that not all overlaps are preventable. If you have alternate instructions in case you request something that has just sold, please include that in your message; otherwise I'll email you back and ask what you want to do.


Poems that unlock sequels: "Your Emotional Abilities"

Poems that have prerequisites: "A Beautiful Paradox"





FOR SALE
18 poems, $3,322 ÷ 2 = $1,661
prices from $5 to $319



BROKEN ANGELS (2 poems, was $323, sale price $161.50

"A Proper Community Is a Commonwealth"
Story Date: Mid-February, 2016
Summary: Boss Blaster watches Pressnall Pocket Neighborhood go from a site plan to a community with new residents.
329 lines, was $165, sale price $82.50

"Play Off the Energy of the Crowd"
Story Date: Saturday, June 18, 2016
Summary: Shiv takes up Boss Blaster's offer to treat him at the food trucks.
316 lines, was $158, sale price $79


KRAKEN (3 poems, was $154, sale price $77)

"The Frequent Passage from Hand to Hand"
Story Date: April 2002
Summary: Kraken appreciates BookCrossing.
56 lines, was $20, sale price $10

"Filled with Things You Don't Know"
Story Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Summary: Marjane works on library decor and gets a new assistant.
98 lines, was $49, sale price $24.50

"Lágrimas da Floresta Tropical"
Story Date: Monday, November 17, 2014
Summary: Pinion and Camberhawk team up with Kayapó forest guardians to stop a logging incursion.
170 lines, was $85, sale price $42.50


RUTLEDGE (5 poems, was $867, sale price $433.50)

"Nothing Like Looking"
Story Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Summary: Aria visits Rutledge as part of Many Paths Up the Mountain.
466 lines, was $233, sale price $116.50

"Your Emotional Abilities"
Story Date: Saturday, May 30, 2015
Summary: Amethyst gives Johan some ideas about accommodations that might help cope with his current challenges.
366 lines, was $183, sale price $91.50

"Shag Carpet Cuddles"
Story Date: June 2015
Summary: The Vermont Shag Carpet Cats love snuggling with people.
19 lines, was $10, sale price $5

"A Beautiful Paradox"
Story Date: Friday, June 5, 2015
Summary: Johan loses his temper
259 lines, was $130, sale price $65
Available for posting after "Your Emotional Abilities" has been sponsored and published.

"Learning New Skills"
Story Date: Sunday, June 12, 2016
Summary: Wrenley Immen teaches her new neighbor about gardening.
311 lines, was $311, sale price $155.50
Double price for research.


OTHER POLYCHROME POEMS (8 poems, was $1978, sale price $989)

"The Four Marks of True Repentance"
Story Date: Monday, August 13, 2013
Summary: Three former child soldiers move to America.
953 lines, was $477, sale price $238.50

"When Everyone Around You Has Theirs Bowed"
Story Date: Sunday, April 6, 2014
Summary: Therapy for men's genital injury tends to focus on loss, but Marvis Willing knows the proud history of eunuchs.
304 lines, was $152, sale price $76

"Let's Go on This Journey Together"
Story Date: Monday, September 29, 2014
Summary: After breaking his arm, Linus gets a lot of support from his friends.
638 lines, was $638, sale price $319
Double price for research.

"Hear a Thousand Stars Singing"
Story Date: Night of Sunday, October 25, 2015
Summary: Fascinated by the idea of becoming a robonaut, Quain takes up stargazing.
28 lines, was $15, sale price $7.50

"Far Stronger Links"
Story Date: Friday, September 4, 2015
Summary: A coworker's loss inspires support at work.
515 lines, was $258, sale price $129

"Aim a Little Above It"
Nagi deals with a young man who tries to rob her.
260 lines, was $130, sale price $65

"Formidable Tasks of Adaptation"
Story Date: Sunday, March 20, 2016
Summary: Denim has had enough of her parents' shit.
359 lines, was $180, sale price $90

"Upholding It, Wherever Found"
Story Date: Thursday, November 3, 2016
Summary: Gail Somerville works for Interpol, but feels increasingly uncomfortable with it.
256 lines, was $128, sale price $64

Good week

2026-May-18, Monday 11:17
unicornduke: (Default)
[personal profile] unicornduke
It's so satisfying to check most things off my work to do list in the time I thought they would take.

Last week's to do list
Read more... )
It's a scorcher today and tomorrow, 89F both days, so I'm off today and will work early hours tomorrow then go and dunk myself in the creek for a bit to cool off. It worked fantastic last year. Then it will cool right off which is great.

Today has been a day of weird things and it isn't even noon. I laid around in bed for a while which was nice. My mom decided to go and replant strawberries this morning for some baffling reason, they could have waited until wed. She offered her help and I accepted since that's a task that requires thinking about what varieties go where and employees are not so good at that and I've been busy irrigating things. I went and grabbed groceries and picked up food for the cookout friday night. Biggest struggle was finding the graham crackers and hot dog buns which were in the forbidden aisle I never go to since everything has gluten in it. Sent out all the text invites to everyone local for the cookout we are hosting this friday over at the church pavilion. My idea. I was planning for saturday since Jade is away and not able to game but the weather looks gross so I said friday. Should be nice. Realized I was out of cash, so couldn't hit the local place for cheesy kielbasa sticks but I can get those another day. Headed home.

Five minutes from home, I get a frantic series of texts from my mom that the back door won't open and she can't get into the house to cool off. But she figured out there was a whole other house and went and cooled off over there. I came home and had thankfully left the front door unlocked when I moved my plants outside. But it doesn't have a knob on the outside and it is original to the house, so I had to get a pair of pliers to open the door. This door is so old it still uses a skeleton key. Once I was inside, I fiddled with the back door and determined it was broken broken, something in the mechanism wouldn't let the jam move inwards. So I got the picks we use for equipment seal replacements, moved one thing in the mechanism so I could turn the handle and then jammed a second pick into the door jam and forced it to retract enough to open the door.

Then I replaced the doorknob with one from the basement. And then realized how hot it was getting inside already and fetched the rolling AC unit from my mom's shed and set that up. and then my dad texted that he had forgotten to remove one woodchuck trap from the woods line, so I ran down there and picked that up so we wouldn't leave an animal to suffer all week. Made yogurt in the middle of all that and remembered I had bought a new kitchen thermometer so I got that setup.

I think I might take a nap. Jeez.

I'm trying some chocolate milk today to see if all chocolate milk now makes me sick or if it was just that one bottle that was bad. I love chocolate milk. I had vague plans to bake or make pastry cream but honestly, no. I'm done doing stuff for the day. I might do one sidejob plan, but otherwise probably spinning the rest of the day.

My little daily/weekly task list has been excellent, I set a reminder for 7pm because the daily tasks take in total around 30 mins and it's easy to get some stretching in right before bedtime.

ETA: I forgot I had a 1:45pm dentist appointment, so just got that done too. hooray for phone reminders.

Monday Update 5-18-26

2026-May-18, Monday 00:57
ysabetwordsmith: Artwork of the wordsmith typing. (typing)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Economics
Birdfeeding
Geography
Affordable Housing
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Peace
Artificial Intelligence
Poem: "Never Turn Your Back"
Family Skills
Dreamwidth Points
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 5-15-26: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Spring 2026 A-I
Fossils
Birdfeeding
Books
Community Thursdays
Indigenous People
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Hard Things

Poem: "Walnut Park" has 46 comments. Early Humans has 22 comments. Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy has 83 comments. Safety has 83 comments.


There will be a half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics from Monday, May 18-Sunday May 24.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth ran April 25-May 15. I have completed my posts for this year.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction to Becoming an Expert
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Architecture
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Dance
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Music
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Painting
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Poetry
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Sculpture
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Conflict Resolution
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Cooking
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Coping Skills
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Gardening
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Relationship Skills
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Repairing
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Survival Skills
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Anthropology
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Biology
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Chemistry
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Linguistics
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Meteorology
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Physics
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Psychology


"No Faster or Firmer Friendships" has 50 new verses. It belongs to Polychrome Heroics and needs $35 to be complete. Josué reads a funny poem to Maria-Vera.


The weather has been variable here. We got some rain the other day. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, a brown thrasher, a robin, a mourning dove, a gray catbird, and a fox squirrel. I saw a bobwhite quail in the savanna. :D I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird poking around the irises. I've heard the great horned owl but didn't see it. Currently blooming: pansies, violas, sweet alyssum, alliums, marigolds, honeysuckle, snapdragons, lantana, million bells, blue lobelia, petunias, portulaca, nemesia, wild chives, wood hyacinths, columbine, peonies, irises, mock orange, bergamot, Washington hawthorn, blackberries. Green fruit: raspberries. Pink fruit: mulberries.

Spring Swim

2026-May-17, Sunday 20:57
theradicalchild: (Otter Underwater)
[personal profile] theradicalchild
I woke up way too fucking early this morning, and I don't know if it's because I used that leg cushion, and I had to get up and pee. Nocturia is still a bitch and I hope that the sleep test on June 1 reveals shit.

My church had its first adult formation in a while and we talked about how the new Archbishop of Canterbury (Sarah Mullally) evoked controversy for referring to the Holy Spirit as feminine, although the leader gave some historical background on that. At least she didn't refer to the Holy Spirit with all those weird-ass alien pronouns like e/em, fae/faer, ze/hir, xe/xim, and so forth. I actually semi-joked about that during the session. I was assigned to read the psalm and second scripture during the readings.

I also decided to try contacting the two other Cub Scout Packs in town, through Facebook, although their pages didn't seem to be updated in ages, and I saw a phone number and email for one that I contacted at both (for the former via text message as well). I'll try to go to their meetings at their respective places in town this week to see if they have applications and positions available, and one seems to have the regular meeting spot at the city park's campground, which I'll need to find.

I went to Santosha's party in Killeen this afternoon, and they had burgers, chicken, and brats filled with cheese that were decent. I went swimming as well in one of the pools, but left my purple folder with flyers, but I'm not gonna stress about getting it since there was nothing important, and I printed out another one of my Youth Protection Training certificates, and I have other purple folder. I texted her about that and she was fine with it.

Longtime Friends

2026-May-17, Sunday 15:47
lovelyangel: (Yukinon Happy)
[personal profile] lovelyangel
Last Monday and Tuesday I had visitors – my friends Jan and Ann from New Hampshire. I haven’t seen them in 20 years, plus or minus... They seem to have hardly changed, so they have done well for themselves. Their idea of retirement is way too busy/active as far as I’m concerned. They seem to have unpaid jobs – which they’ve chosen to do and like very much. I, on the other hand, am greedy with my time and energy. After 17 years of school and 47 years of working, I just want to do my own thing.

But they seem happy in all their activity. They are out West visiting friends and places in Oregon and Washington. I reserved Monday and Tuesday to chat with them – and have some fun activities and good food.

Two Days, Below This Cut )

Economics

2026-May-17, Sunday 14:07
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The Great GASB!

There are major flaws in the accounting standards that shape municipal finance in American cities. But there’s an opportunity too: a chance to comment on — and perhaps change — those standards going forward.

Using standards that only look at roads as “assets” and not as “liabilities" hides their true cost. We cannot sell this road asset to the next town over (consider this 2014 Strong Towns post). The standards merely ask for documentation of the infrastructure, but don’t account for the obligated burden of future replacement. We are watching the consequences of that decision unfold in plain sight. Let me be clear: these are standards not laws. Yet our municipalities are marching themselves off the fiscal cliff because the standards made them do it.


Read more... )

Birdfeeding

2026-May-17, Sunday 12:59
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly sunny, breezy, and humid. It's warm now and supposed to reach the mid-80sF later.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I dug a hole in the pawpaw patch.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I planted the pawpaw.

I startled a bobwhite quail in the savanna, which scuttled into the deep shade of the Midwinter grove. :D 3q3q3q!!! The bright white markings make me suspect this was a male. It is not normal for them to live alone, so I don't know where the rest of the covey is but it's probably around somewhere. This is the first one I've ever seen in the yard, how exciting! But it turns out we've had them all along. I've heard the clear "bob-white" whistle frequently, I just thought it must be some other bird because quail seemed unlikely. I'm delighted to have them around.

I've also seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus a starling, at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I trimmed grass in the savanna around where I want to plant a serviceberry seedling.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I dug a hole in the savanna.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I planted a serviceberry in the savanna.

I've seen a male cardinal, a robin, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I trimmed grass in the savanna around where I want to plant the second serviceberry seedling.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I dug a hole in the savanna.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I planted the second serviceberry in the savanna.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/17/26 -- I sowed the four big pots around the septic garden with Green Striped Cushaw, Tiny Butternut, Landrace Zucchini, and Lofthouse Landrace Muskmelon.

I did more work around the patio.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night. *goflopnow*

It really is all laundry all the time

2026-May-17, Sunday 10:28
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Person A: You know you're supposed to finish the laundry if you start it during your shift!

Me, silently: Don't think of it as my three loads of laundry that I didn't finish during my shift, think of it as your three loads of laundry that I got started for you. Though really, if Person B had done her laundry during her shift like she should have then neither of us would be having this conversation today.

(There was no reason for all four of the women to have their hampers literally overflowing with clothes. Somebody, or more like several somebodies, clearly has been falling down on the job here.)

[community profile] whatif_au Bingo Card

2026-May-17, Sunday 09:07
prixmium: ms paint style mouse drawn text that says "i image of a read heart fictional boys" (Default)
[personal profile] prixmium
Saw this on my reading page and thought it looked cute and basic enough. No idea if I will just forget about it, but we'll try our best.

Bingo Card for [community profile] whatif_au



High/Low Fantasy Reversals Espionage
Natural Disaster WILD CARD Fairy Tale
Dystopia Movie/TV Fusions Time Travel


"Deadline": July 31, 2026
prixmium: taylor wist wearing her eras tour black and red reputation jumpsuit with her left arm raised (taylor reputation black)
[personal profile] prixmium
This is kind of fun, so I decided to share here:

1:A song you like with a color in the title
2:A song you like with a number in the title
3:A song that reminds you of summertime
4:A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about
5:A song that needs to be played LOUD
6:A song that makes you want to dance
7:A song to drive to
8:A song about drugs or alcohol
9:A song that makes you happy
10:A song that makes you sad
11:A song that you never get tired of
12:A song from your preteen years
13:One of your favorite 80’s songs
14:A song that you would love played at your wedding
15:A song that is a cover by another artist
16:One of your favorite classical songs
17:A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke
18:A song from the year that you were born
19:A song that makes you think about life
20:A song that has many meanings to you
21:A favorite song with a person’s name in the title
22:A song that moves you forward
23:A song that you think everybody should listen to
24:A song by a band you wish were still together
25:A song by an artist no longer living
26:A song that makes you want to fall in love
27:A song that breaks your heart
28:A song by an artist with a voice that you love
29:A song that you remember from your childhood
30:A song that reminds you of yourself


Feel free to steal or ask me more.

Here are my answers so far:

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Geography

2026-May-17, Sunday 02:34
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
30 Weird Geography Facts About Illinois

In this video, we uncover 30 weird and surprising geography facts about Illinois that most people have never heard of. From unusual land formations and hidden natural features to strange borders and unexpected records, Illinois is far more fascinating than it seems on the surface.

I may have fixed the dishwasher at work!

2026-May-21, Thursday 01:21
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
The trick is that the top arm needs to be firmly clipped to the drawer - not jammed to the back wall. Time will tell if my fix lasts.

Edit: No, X*, not thank god, thank me. I'm the one who fixed it! God had nothing to do with any of it!

* Not the real initial.

Affordable Housing

2026-May-16, Saturday 17:54
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
“Are We Trying To Do Nothing?”

Marblehead is like many Massachusetts towns struggling to balance state-level housing mandates with local implementation. That balancing act has resulted in the town finding a way to technically comply with the MBTA Communities Act while functionally avoiding the construction of any new housing. The town’s creative response meets the requirements of the state mandate by placing most of the zoning capacity on a golf course, where housing is unlikely to ever be built.

Standing at the microphone, hoodie sleeves pushed up, David Modica saw through all the technical “creativity,” recognized what was really happening, and posed this question:

“Are we trying to do nothing?”


Read more... )

Thread by Essex Hemphill

2026-May-20, Wednesday 18:36
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Trying not to think of you
yet your face colors
every contour
of my mind.
And every way I turn
inside of a minute
I collide
with your laughter.
I am wind,
and you
are chimes.


******


Link

Birdfeeding

2026-May-16, Saturday 09:54
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy, mild, and damp.  It seems to have drizzled earlier.

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen much activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I sowed sunflower seeds gathered 10-8-25 along the south edge of the east-west strip in the prairie garden. That's the end of that envelope of seeds, and also all the sunflower planting in the prairie garden.  \o/

The sun has come out somewhat, but the air is warm and humid. :P

I've seen more sparrows and house finches at the hopper feeder, along with a grackle.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I planted the water jug of partial shade flowers in the forest garden.  I planted the water jug of 20th Anniversary wildflowers in the middle north-south strip of the prairie garden.  Of the various jug experiments (fruit trees, native grasses, native wildflowers, and mixes) the mixes were by far the most successful as something out of the batch always grew.  I do have two surviving tree seedlings and a couple of milkweed seedlings.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I trimmed grass around the support wire for the telephone pole, added fresh topsoil around it, then sowed cypress vine seeds.

It's been drizzling off and on today, so I haven't gotten a lot done, but I managed some things.

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

Resident Evil Posting

2026-May-16, Saturday 08:50
prixmium: leon s kennedy with his hair in his eyes from re4 remake; i think he's on the phone (leon s kennedy perfect hair)
[personal profile] prixmium
When I was off for Golden Week, I was pretty bored and lonely. I have been trying to keep up with or catch up with my various interests that I share with my best friend(s), but it seems like every time I have significant time off that my friends are often really busy. Best friend was out of town for work and occupied during daytime hours without any phone breaks, so I had most of both my days and nights in sort of lonely peace and quiet. Other closest friend has also been really busy, because he recently moved within the same apartment building but to a two-bedroom unit in order to live with his friend and now-roommate who required a disability-accessible apartment. I think just the chaos of reorganizing his apartment and life plus adjusting to living with a roommate has made it so he doesn't have as much freedom or energy to talk as much. Time he would've spent socializing remotely with us is now spent socializing with his friend who's there in person.

I keep thinking about how society is built for in-person partnerships or families and how it just presumes heterosexual marriage for anyone to function in a way that isn't completely isolated. I have done what I can to combat this, but I also wish I could at least live with a friend someday. Don't know if that will ever happen, though, as I'm mostly at the mercy of various immigration laws.

Anyway, while I was off I made this post on a whim about how I am pretty new to being interested in Resident Evil after stepping so far out onto the thin ice of Leon Kennedy thirst memes that I got interested in at least consuming the media he was a part of...

I met someone through the shot in the dark RP ad, and for once, it seems to be going well. I haven't met an RP partner that lasted since my best friend, which was sixteenish years ago...

I also spent like $11 to buy this weird little miniseries that should've been a movie called "Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness". It's campy and done in an animation style very similar to the remake games with the new VAs for Leon and Claire in their roles.

When I started being invested just for Leon's sake, I really didn't know who to ship Leon with. I still feel like I can multiship, but I have accidentally fallen down the rabbit hole of shipping Claire and Leon.

Wow, a wild m/f pairing appears!

I am not entirely sure why I am so into it, but it has something to do with the fact that they are so connected on this very baseline human level that is primal but not (at the moment or inherently) sexual.

I feel like Leon keeps hitting on random people he meets because he's lonely and lost after getting black-bagged by the government, but then each and every time Leon and Claire see each other, they have this reaction like "Oh, it's you!" and it's so sweet.

The miniseries gave me a fan-service moment of Leon helping rescue Claire from acid and breaking metal and what-not where they grabbed hands, he pulled her back, and she fell on top of him. They make eye contact, he asks if she's okay, and then immediately gets distracted by the stuff going on in the room. And it's satisfying but in a way that actually frustrates my heart.

I took some quick and dirty screengrabs that I can do better than later:











My babies. Why am I like this?

But yeah, I dunno. Just something about the fact that they see each other as just people and that that in itself is a good thing because during the events of Resident Evil 2 that mattered so much.

And just passing ships in the night until it finally works.

At the end of the little series, Claire was angry with Leon because he refused to help her whiste-blow about some stuff for #reasons. And it stings, but I am also entranced.

The writing of this silly RE show was at least as good as, like, network attempts at prestige TV. Which is fucking weird. Like why?

I love it.

Philosophical Questions: Peace

2026-May-16, Saturday 01:44
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.

Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully? How?

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Profile

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dorchadas

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