conuly | Reading

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maju

I woke up with my ear hurting sometime around 2:30 am and it's still painful now, 10 hours later. I spent much of the morning lying down hoping it would pass, but no such luck. I wish I had some idea why this happens, but it's completely random and unpredictable.

We had a very thin layer of snow overnight, but now the temperature is above freezing and the very slow thaw is continuing.

Eden and I between us assembled five Lego flowers yesterday, and right now she is working on another one.

Now I'm going to lie down again.

runpunkrun posting in

fancake

Photograph of two kingfishers perched on a branch. One is surrounded by a cloud of pink love hearts and the other has a single question mark over its head. Text: Inept in Love, at Fancake.

gentlyepigrams

Current Music: Silence is golden.

‘It’s not very French to change stuff’: how Claire Tabouret’s stained-glass windows cast Notre Dame in new light. I want to see these when they're installed.
‘Sinners’ Exhibit Featuring Props, Costumes and Set Pieces Is Now Part of Warner Bros. Studio Tour (EXCLUSIVE). Putting this on the list if I ever go to LA.
“Terribly frustrating”: After USPS changes, more newspapers aren’t reaching subscribers on time. Unsurprisingly, the current administration's efforts to strangle the (constitutionally mandated) postal service are working.
A Brief Inquiry Into “Choosin’ Texas”. I'm not really into modern country-pop but this is a well-done song.
Behind the Misguided Bipartisan Push to Muzzle Free Speech Online . Section 230 in the crosshairs and the fact that it's bipartisan, just as the original passage of 230 was, tells you that the fix is in. By a deputy legal director of the EFF.
'Unsubscribe' and 'opt out': A new Big Tech boycott to protest ICE has begun. I'd have to use more of these to boycott them, but sure.
Five Tiers of RPG Publishing. Hasbro/WOTC, Paizo, Steve Jackson, Evil Hat, and everybody else. And of the big four, three are resting in part on decades of good will and legacy. (Evil Hat is only resting on one or two decades.) There's not a lot of money in the TTRPG space, but you knew that.
TikTok is tracking you, even if you don't use the app. Here's how to stop it. Get off Chrome and lock your browser down. Also, don't use TikTok.
There’s Never Been A Worse Time For Hasbro To License Harry Potter. Any time is a bad time for Harry Potter because JKR is a horrible bigot and it shows in her books.
Web Apps, Web Sites, Are they all the Same? From 2022 but still an applicable question. The big deal is whether or not web apps are inherently going to be limited to one browser. (I get a lot of this since I turn off a lot of options/block a lot of trackers for safety.)
How Discord Is Building Safer Experiences for Teens. Honest, we won't require most of you to give up your ID or your face to a company that already has security and safety breaches!
Related: Discord Alternatives, Ranked. Honestly if Discord goes tits-up I'm moving everything back to the OOC list for my email game.
Friend or Foe? Turlough Joins the 6th Doctor and Peri. This might be enough to get me to listen to Big Finish.
Half of People Killed by Police Have a Disability: Report. Unsurprising but upsetting.
Harlequin Is Ending Its Historical Romance Line After Nearly 40 Years.
How Many Times Do You Fart a Day? ‘Smart Underwear’ Says It’s Way More Than You Think. The average was 32.
How the Woman Who Shot Sinners Could Make History at the Oscars. She could be the first woman who wins in the cinematography category.
Kura Sushi Hangs On to Diners Despite Price Increases. I had noticed the price of conveyor belt sushi had gone up recently. We're definitely eating there a little less.
Foundational Texts: Jenny Holzer's Truisms. I have never encountered her works in person other than the one at the Modern in Fort Worth, but I really want to.

missizzy

The old computer was unchanged this morning. I've gotten almost everything off it now. I forgot one file I wanted to grab, and two of them refused to go onto the flash drives, even zipped, claiming they're too big, and my initial attempts to transfer them by other means have failed; that's probably going to be a next weekend problem.
At least I have now completed one years-long endeavour: by far the longest podfic I have ever recorded. Editing it has been an education in itself. Though even now I'm now much better at getting rid of clicks and such, to remove all the sound glitches from this one remained impossible. I'll actually be testing out my new microphone by recording something a little shorter on it, and if it fixes that problem, it'll be worth it for that even if the whole streaming thing doesn't work out.

Title: In the Closet of Our Discretion
Author: firefright
Original Fic: here (Only viewable by registered AO3 users)
Fandom: Critical Role
Characters: Caleb/Essek, the Mighty Nein
Music: "Made You Look" by Peak & Pitch
Disclaimer: Characters from show. Original fic by firefright. Music isn't mine either.
Warning: Some reference to both these characters' issues. Also some very mild sexual content, enough to get the original fic an M rating.

badly_knitted posting in

ficlet_zone

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

This month's challenge is:

Song Titles: Asleep At The Wheel

Click on the challenge, pick any song title, or more than one, as inspiration, and start writing!

Reminder of Rules

Entries can be any length you like. You can post as many entries to each challenge as you're inspired to write.
If posting direct to the community, please place the body of your entry behind a cut.
Tag with the appropriate Category, Challenge, Fandom, Type, and Ratings tags. If a tag for your fandom doesn't exist, leave a request on the Tag Request post and I'll create the tags you need. You can request as many fandom tags as you want.
You don't need to use the challenge word or phrase in your fic, though you can if you like. Please include the song or episode title you use in your header.
Suggestions for future challenges are welcome on the Questions & Suggestions post.
There is no deadline for entries.

Have fun!

brumeier posting in

small_fandoms

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shipperslist

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alicevangeline

I used to try to be Vague about my location but I'm just kinda tired of everything.

Here is a Story about the Governor and the ICE.

----

december: Governor: "There are no plans to build an ice facility in NH."
(whisper whisper - 'there are plans.')

january: Governor: "Ok, I didn't know about any plans to build an ice facility. The people who did know and didn't tell me have been sacked."

local officials to newspapers: "the facility is not news to us, we know, the gov's office knew"

Senator MH to Ice Director convo in early Feb:
"are there plans to build an ice faciilty in NH?"
"yeah, we've been working with the gov's office, I don't know what to tell ya"

mid February: governor:
"ok i'll release the plans about the facility"

the plans: "merrimack NH ice facility will be big and beautiful. OKLAHOMA's economy stands to benefit x dollars from the investment."

YES. They forgot to find/replace 'oklahoma' in their template proposal.
https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026-02-13/new-documents-ice-facility-merrimack-ayotte-claims-dhs-lacked-communication

larryhammer

For Poetry Monday:

Tired, Langston Hughes

I am so tired of waiting.
Aren’t you,
For the world to become good
And beautiful and kind?
Let us take a knife
And cut the world in two—
And see what worms are eating
At the rind.

---L.

Subject quote from Vuelvo al Sur, Astor Piazzolla & Fernando Solanas, though I confess I prefer the Gotan Project cover.

prettygoodword

Theme week! I have some fun polysyllabic ones near each other on my list, so I've grouped them together for some sesquipedalian fun.

cucurbitologist (kyoo-kur-bi-TOL-oh-jist) - n., someone who studies or cultivates Cucurbitaceae.

That is to say, members of the family that includes gourds, melons, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Ye pumpkin farmer is a cucurbitologist. Coined from Latin cucurbita, gourd -- which is not a complete stretch, as cucurbit meaning gourd (and the gourd-shaped portion of an alembic) dates back to Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French.

The word came to my attention from someone describing Linus from Peanuts as a cryptocucurbitologist.

---L.

princessofgeeks

Current Mood: busy

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rebeccmeister

After a failure like not even managing to get to the event at all, just making it to the starting line of an event starts to feel like a victory.

( blah blah blah bazillions of rowing details )

scifirenegade posting in

small_fandoms

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kenjari

Current Mood: hot

Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World
by Billy Bragg

This book covers the rise and fall of skiffle, a pre-rock British genre that flourished during the 1950s. It was based on traditional jazz, American roots music, and British folk. It was also very DIY, developing alongside mid-century youth culture. It was made almost entirely by amateurs, and was often rough and unpolished but very energetic. Bragg does a great job of looking at the music that gave rise to skiffle and following the people who developed skiffle. He tells a compelling story about interesting music. I especially liked the way Bragg connects this almost forgotten music to the seminal British rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as to punk (another raucous DIY music).

lhune posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) Went into town while the weather was dry

2) I’ve gotten some things organised

3) Clean bedlinen for tonight

minoanmiss posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Care and Feeding, ( Read more... )

alicevangeline

after a pretty mellow weekend (with the exception of teenager meltdowns), and LOTS of thinking and daydreaming and obsessing, this is the progress I've made:

- That house made it into my night-time dreams and daytime dreams, and it's really cool and pretty, and Dan is trying to be realistic about the costs of maintaining a century barn (in addition to century home, even if both in good shape). It is a great deal.
- All of that said, we really liked it, and could see ourselves there, BUT

- the small town that it's on main street of is 'nice' but no coffee etc yet. It's not perfect.
- It's still 50 min from my current job.
- If i were to get the hybrid job i'm interviewing for, it would be 1.25 hr each way to get there.
- there are other people in about the same mental-state as us, thinking about it.
- I. don't have an actual plan for the layout of the house.

---
None of that is a NO, but it does mean 'I feel like waiting a little longer, both to finish our house repairs and to make progress with jobs, is a good idea.

I think I can summarize wanting to move with a few reasons at this point.

- School option for Megaliz: she's been struggling so much, and potential forecasts for our current high school over the next few years indicate continued turbulence.
- Being Mad at my state for being alabama of new england
- Agency/Grief/Desire for change that is my choice and not things that Happen To Me, amidst all this chaos
- Value: we have 'more home than we need' and our taxes are likely to soar further.

Ok. Each of those reasons are good reasons, but they all have some 'maybe not' room within them.

School: Megaliz has started the new meds. Between weekend meltdowns, I see some improvement. We have a meeting today with school (their request!) to see about helping her more. AND, while I'm worried about her & crowds/noise/anxiety at the high school, if her meds can calibrate that a little better so she can cope, the school will definitely work with us to Make It Work. I do believe they'll do the best they can. There will be turbulence and uncertainty though. AND the one teacher I was like 'liz will love this class' was going to retire asap but now she might not, so I'm still in benefit of the doubt territory here. So this is not a 'we HAVE to go now' situation, but we are correct to consider the option.
Being Mad at NH: Also valid thing, because the statehouse republicans were literally quoted as trying to dishearten and drive out liberals. Ooof. Immediate response is split between 'okay have fun reaping what you've sown' and 'fk you i do what i want.' The structural instability of the school funding, for example, is a disaster waiting to happen. HOWEVER, I went to a democrats event the other night, and my conclusion was... good lord, they need more people who know what they're doing. They have some, but they also have some messy benches who aren't helping. So one potential future does include me TRYING to be a part of the solution. What I need to figure out is if I WANT to be part of that, or if I feel obligated/a duty to try (and if I do, ok fine, but what would it be like if I released the need to try to fix or help or caretake for a bit?)

That said, regardless of my participation, there are many movements to Improve Things in my state. So it might get better than it is now. I don't *HAVE* to give up on it.
Agency: It doesn't mean rushing into something.
Value: I need to figure the actual dollar amounts of taxes because even tho I panicked about it, we'll be able to absorb the increase. Probably. We just don't want to. AND, there are probably more things we can do with our current house that would refresh it and feel 'fresh start' about it.

--
That House Specifically:
Since we haven't made the improvements Just Yet, we are not as ready as we'd like to even put ours on the market. And, Liz should finish out the school year where she is - so we'd want to stay put till at least June.
Reasonable things to wait for: job-interview next week (and consequences of that if any). school-improvement-504 meeting.

And since it's like, not 100% our dream house (see above nitpicks), we can afford to wait to be readier.

We also tried to envision what we really want: more of a cozy log cabin vibe? beautiful victorian in town? Now we know these exist and can happen within our price range. We can keep looking.

If we can hang in there with school and NH being dumb, we could even try to wait a few years for actual downsizey time (figure out what the kids are doing with themselves for chapter 2, make more improvements to our place, see how my gardens play out).

---

So I guess, my conclusion isn't exactly one, but now I know things like, "I want to feel excited like that house made us feel." "I want to be sure there's a room to collapse on a big ugly sectional."

And re: job stuff:
Hunters are patient and wait for the right opportunity. I did like in olympic biathlon, watching how very still and steady these women were, even during exhaustion.
(After I do my next interview I'm going to chat with my coach).
I am ALSO pondering what sorts of contracting work I can cobble together to make an income, but that will take time to build and figure out.

friendof_dorothy posting in

small_fandoms

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calzephyr

Just plunking this here for anyone who might find it useful--

https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php

chickenfeet

https://operaramblings.blog/2026/02/16/luca-pisaroni-in-the-rba/

smallhobbit posting in

small_fandoms

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beccaelizabeth

Today there are people doing power tool things in the hallway and I am Not Enjoying It.

But necessary Monday tasks got done so all I have to so is stay i the corner furthest from the Noise until they go home.
*xfingers*

I watched a few Legends of Tomorrow episodes this morning but today it was feeling sort of well chewed. I don't usually feel that way about rewatching things but I am kind of feeling that way about Several things at the moment. Think I need a new project, and maybe to watch some of the things off the stack I've never seen yet.

... also to actually go where there are people and interact with humans again at some point. Trickier than rewatching stuff at three in the morning.

Maybe if I start writing and see where it goes...

marcicat

I've written before about how I love the wildly random pull quotes for book reviews (one of the reasons I remain subscribed to multiple daily emails with book reviews!). But I ALSO love the comparison game!

Things like:

*'a can't-miss read for anyone who enjoyed The Hobbit and The Devil Wears Prada'

*'if you loved the movies Snowpiercer and How to Train Your Dragon, you'll love this book!'

Because: what?????????

Is this how The Algorithm works? Because that would explain a lot. I cannot remember a single time when I've seen a statement like that where I thought the two things were similar enough (in ANY way) to warrant being used to recommend a third thing. It's like that guessing game -- what did the reviewer think was the common thread between these three things???

osprey_archer

Recently,

littlerhymes sent me the Guardian’s poll for Australia’s Best Picture Books. As I am nothing if not suggestible, at least where picture books are concerned, of course I couldn’t help reading a few.

Magic Beach, written and illustrated by Alison Lester, which alternates scenes of children playing at the beach with their corresponding imaginary adventures: they build a sandcastle, then imagine charging across the moat to defeat a fiery dragon, etc. The style of the illustrations doesn’t particularly appeal to me, but the conceit is charming, and I did like the kid who has a hat brim that looks like the inside of a watermelon. I’d love to have that hat too.

Possum Magic, by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas. Possibly THE most Australian experience of my life, up to and including the time I actually visited Australia. A magic possum and her granddaughter tour the major cities of Australia, eating classic Australian foods like Vegemite sandwiches and lamingtons along the way.

Where the Forest Meets the Sea, written and illustrated by Jeannie Baker. A story about a boy and his father boating over for a picnic on the beach of the Daintree rainforest in Queensland, with absolutely gorgeous collage illustrations. Thrilling to look at and also thrilling to try to figure out what materials Baker used to construct the images.

Edward the Emu, by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement. I picked this one because of the cover, which features a grumpy emu lying flat on the ground. Who among us has not felt like that some days? Edward the emu is tired of being an emu, so he pops over to visit the seals, the lions, the snakes, etc., until he overhears someone saying that the emu is their favorite exhibit in the zoo. Well well WELL. That puts being an emu in a new light!

Who Sank the Boat?, written and illustrated by Pamela Allen. Recommended by

littlerhymes as a childhood favorite, and I could absolutely see a child requesting this story over and over and over and over and over and squealing with glee at the ending every time. (A most unexpected character sinks the boat.) Might lend this one to my mother to read to my niece.

A delightful exploration! I wish to continue my meander through classic Australian children’s books. Any recommendations?

shewhomust

Flickr wants me to verify my age. They explain that this is a result of the Online Safety Act.

It's irritating, but not impossible. The first time I encountered it, it tool me by surprise, so I just backed off, and did something else. When I had

durham_rambler ready to advise, and some pieces of ID handy, I logged in to Flickr only to be admitted straight off, and couldn't find any way to call up the relevant screen. Eventually, no doubt, the stars will align and I will persuade Flickr that I am over 18.

But while I was there, I checked my profile: I opened my Flickr account in February 2006. Which os surely evidence that I am over 18.

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

cimorene

I find it trying when it's 17° indoors (63), but manageable (with sweaters and wool socks etc) for the most part. But right now it's 14° (57) in the warmest room in the house.

It's too cold to knit, or sit writing or using a keyboard for very long, because all those things require my hands being outside the blankets. The only things it's not too cold to do are being inside a cocoon of blankets, or moving around so briskly that it warms me up temporarily. That's tough, though, because I hate the part before you warm up.

3sfmod posting in

threesentenceficathon

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darkoshi

Biotin (AKA vitamin B7 and Vitamin H) is often included in supplements marketed for thinning hair and brittle nails. But it can interfere with various medical tests, causing inaccurate low, normal, or high results. It is recommended to stop taking the supplements 3 to 7 days before any such test.

Biotin (Wikipedia)

Biotin and the risk of false lab test results

Biotin: Interference with Laboratory Assays

badly_knitted posting in

small_fandoms

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

Title: Justified Rage
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Summary: Although Varian’s rage is justified, Fred finds it scarily out of character.

( Justified Rage... )

catness

Current Mood: contemplative

A challenge by Dreamersdare.

Challenge 3:
Make a Top Ten list for your favourite music picks and share what you love about them. This can be in any format - songs, artists, albums, music videos, soundtracks, scores, something else not mentioned here. If it's vaguely related to music, it ticks the box, so go with whatever you like!

Here is a link with more details, and to post the link to your answers.

For this challenge, I picked video game soundtracks. I usually include old Sierra and Lucasarts classics in such lists, but it's time to give the ancient ones a break.

It's hard to figure out what makes a soundtrack appealing. For the Portal song, it's definitely the lyrics, the irony, and the robotic presentation. But for the others? Haunting melody, rich harmony, not too monotonous... Some of them are also with lyrics, but I don't include them here for lyrics. Funny that when listening to regular songs, I prefer a very different kind of music - fast, loud and high energy (rock / heavy metal). My main use of soundtracks is background music while working, so they should be unobtrusive (but still not background noise!)

(One more factor is nostalgic memories of the games where the soundtracks came from :)

I'm sure there are many more wonderful soundtracks around, but I mostly play point&click adventures and puzzle platformers. I know I miss a lot. Open for recs!

( YouTube spam )

stonepicnicking_okapi posting in

1word1day

ergotism [ur-guh-tiz-uhm]

noun

a condition caused by eating rye or some other grain that is infected with ergot fungus or by taking an overdose of a medicine containing ergot, characterized by cramps, spasms, and a form of gangrene. Also called: Saint Anthony's fire.

examples

1. Looking at depictions of St. Anthony in the paintings of Renaissance masters, the influence of the disease of ergotism on the history of art starts to become clear. "How Renaissance Painting Smoldered with a Little Known Hallucinogen." Forrest Muelrath. 15 Sept 2017

2. Experts now know that those symptoms are common among people with convulsive ergotism, or ergot poisoning, which is caused by a fungus that can grow on wheat, rye, and other similar grains. Sarah Klein, Health.com, 2 Oct 2017

origins
borrowed from French ergotisme, from ergot ergot + -isme -ism

ergot comes from "spur on a rooster, a similar growth on another bird or mammal, fungal sclerotium resembling a rooster's spur," earlier also argot, going back to Old French argoz (subject case) "spur of a bird or animal," derivative from a Gallo-Romance base *arg- "spine, spiny or thorny plant," probably from a pre-Latin substratal language

Jan Mandijn, “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (circa 1550)
The Temptation of St. Anthony

lucy_roman posting in

small_fandoms

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sushiflop

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madfilkentist posting in

girlgenius_lair

A dreaded name is mentioned again.

rionaleonhart

The 2026 Three-Sentence Ficathon is now at an end! Still open to fills, but there are no new prompts being posted. Here's an eighth and (probably) final roundup of my fills; once again, all of these are for The Goes Wrong Show.

( Assorted ficlets for the Goes Wrong Show, 1,400 words total. )

And that's the end of this Three-Sentence Ficathon! It's my favourite fandom event of the year, and this year in particular I've had an incredible time with it. I ended up writing fifty-six fills, totalling just over ten thousand words; fifty-two of those fills were for The Goes Wrong Show, because I have a problem.

Thank you to everyone for your prompts and comments and fills! Thank you in particular to anyone who read my Goes Wrong Show fics without being familiar with the series; a couple of people even checked the show out because of my fills, which absolutely delighted me. My main goals were to have a good time and spread Goes Wrong propaganda, and I think I've succeeded in both.

beanside

Good news, my face hurts less today. Unfortunately I'm still swollen as shit. It definitely is an abscessed tooth. I've only taken two of the Augmentin, so I'm going to do that another day or two and see how it goes. I am seriously tempted to take one of my lancets and poke this swelling to see if I can get some of the ick out, but that's just me wanting to speed the healing.

I did nothing yesterday. Most of the day, my mouth was huring like a son of a bitch, so I laid in bed and took pain meds (and weed) and contemplated the ceiling. I wouldn't want to do it often, but it was kind of nice to slow down and take it easy. I had a poached egg for breakfast, and wonton soup for dinner. It was excellent and gentled on my poor little mouth.

I did go out briefly, pre weed, to go get the Augmentin, which will hopefully do the trick. And then I went right back to my bed and napped some more.

I'm not looking forward to work today, as it's going to be uncomfortable at best and painful at worst, but I'll get the job done.

I'm hoping it's cleared up by this Friday, because I have a work dinner, and if my upper lip still looks like a chimp, I'm not going. I also am supposed to have my mid-year review on Thursday.

I'm sure it'll be fine, I'm not really worried about it. I just hate them. I had to do my own write up on myself and I hate it. It's much easier for me to say what I'm doing wrong as opposed to what I'm doing right.

Maybe also this week I'll hear more about the job. Right now, I know it'll involve working with the Cardiac slots like I already do, and possibly onboarding, but that doesn't make up a 40hr week. So we'll see. I wonder if it'll also be continuing to work on the STAT list. I enjoy the competitive thrill of getting sick patients in against all odds. When I get to call them and say "Hey, we did some shuffling, and we can work you in on ____." Usually, they're very grateful. I've actually had one cry about how awesome we were and that it's proof that Hopkins cares. (For the record, the people behind Hopkins definitely care. The company probably cares that it's a slot that won't go wasted.)

And how much money are they going to pay me to do this? Inquiring minds want to know! I figure that I've been doing the cardiacs now for at least 7 months. During that time, I've filled an average of 2 MRIs and 4 CTAs a week. I know the MRI is good for at least a couple of thousand from insurance. The CTAs slightly less, we'll say about a thousand. So I've saved them over $150k from being lost due to last minute cancellations. They can afford to give me $30/hr.

I appreciate that several of the sites have recognized me on the Applause site. It's just a certificate, but it makes me happy, and is something to show with how well we work together as a team, us and the sites, which there are occassional gripes about. (TBF, most of those are gripes from us, but still.)

Today will probably be busy as hell, so that should be fun. I'm just going to take it easy and go as slow as I need to in the hopes that as the day goes on, the swelling starts coming down, c'mon Augmentin.

Tomorrow, I defintelly need to consider cooking, I can't keep ordering in. We'll see how I feel as to what I do tonight. Definitely something soft and easy to eat. I may just have my leftover crab benedict. Or I might have that for breakfast with some wontons. They sent two bowls of wontons which is awesome, since they were very tasty and easy to eat.

Okay, on that note, time to hop off and have some delicious coffee. Everyone have an astoundingly good Monday!

our_world_in_datarss_feed

Posted by Hannah Ritchie

https://ourworldindata.org/four-minutes-of-air-conditioning

Billions of people have access to far less electricity per day than is required to run an air conditioner for just one hour.

https://ourworldindata.org/four-minutes-of-air-conditioning

theguardian_longread_feed

Posted by Written by Rebecca Solnit and read by Laurel Lefkow. Produced by Nicola Alexandrou. The executive producer was Ellie Bury

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2026/feb/16/what-technology-takes-from-us-and-how-to-take-it-back-podcast

Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out – but it’s going to take collective effort

By Rebecca Solnit. Read by Laurel Lefkow

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2026/feb/16/what-technology-takes-from-us-and-how-to-take-it-back-podcast

luzula

Still not reading much, but I did read some books during the past two months!

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (2025)
Listened to the audiobook for my book club. This is the first book in a while that grabbed me in a page-turney way, and I enjoyed it a lot! I'm sure it can be picked at, and we did so during book club, but for me it was mostly notable in being a book I was immersed in while reading, which for me these days is rare.

The Sleeping Soldier by Aster Glenn Gray (2023)
When I first started reading this, my feeling was that "yeah, I read a lot of posts on the author's DW about this book, and I guess the book is exactly what I was expecting it to be". Like, in a way I felt as though I didn't even have to read the book. But this feeling passed when I got into the particulars of the characters and their relationships so that they felt real to me, so that it wasn't just about the Idea of the book any longer, and then I thoroughly enjoyed it. (The Idea of the book being, if you haven't heard of the book before, the contrast between what was allowable in male friendships in 1860 and 1960.)

I also listened to about half of The West Passage by Jared Pechaček (2024), also for book club. I feel like the book had a lot of Gormenghast DNA, and I enjoyed the weird worldbuiling, but I didn't end up finishing it.

phys_environment_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cemeteries-class-students-drones-city.html

If you told me a decade ago that I'd become an expert in mapping cemeteries, I would've laughed and been very confused about the dramatic turn my professional life must've taken at some point.

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cemeteries-class-students-drones-city.html

phys_environment_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-sixth-year-drought-texas-oklahoma.html

Cattle auctions aren't often all-night affairs. But in Texas Lake Country in June 2022, ranchers facing dwindling water supplies and dried out pastures amid a worsening drought sold off more than 4,000 animals in an auction that lasted nearly 24 hours—about 200 cows an hour.

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-sixth-year-drought-texas-oklahoma.html

medievalists_rss_feed

Posted by Medievalists.net

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/02/online-course-medieval-gender-sexuality/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108032

The six-week course with Eleanor Janega begins February 18th with live sessions on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm EST.

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/02/online-course-medieval-gender-sexuality/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108032

mxcatmoon posting in

vocab_drabbles

This week's word is

Stoic

[ˈstōik]

noun
A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.

A member of the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism.

adjective
Another term for stoical.
"A look of stoic resignation."

poliphilo

Most of the time the night sky over Eastbourne gets blanded out by light pollution but yesterday, around ten o'clock, I happened to look out the south-west facing window and there, floating over Beach Head, for the first time this winter, I saw Orion with his entourage- and they were all so sharp and clear that even the Pleiades were visible.

Hey, I've suddenly- just this instant- had a flash of inspiration or knowing. The Long Man of Wilmington, our ancient hill figure: might he not be a representation of Orion? They're the same sort of shape....

OK, I've just checked and it's not a new idea- how could it be?- but it's new to me.....

Because if Orion floats over Beachy Head there must be times, if you're standing in the right place, you'll see him floating over Windoor Hill- further along in the chain of the Downs- with the Long Man right below him- the one shining in the sky the other, outlined in chalk, shining ghostly out of the grass.....

I think the Long Man is a portal, a gateway to the stars....

Go sit at his feet. Ingest some mushrooms. See what comes next.....

The Long Man by Eric Ravilious

wordsmithdaily_feed

https://wordsmith.org/words/invaginate.html

verb tr.: 1. To enclose or to put into a sheath. 2. To fold inward so an outer surface becomes an inner surface, forming a cavity or pouch.

https://wordsmith.org/words/invaginate.html

dine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

offcntr

Every year, for romantic holidays--Valentine's, our anniversary--Denise and I celebrate by doing an art project. This year, since she's been taking a fabric book class at Maude Kerns Art Center, I'd dug out all my remaining fabric scraps, what didn't get used in my pandemic quilt project (still unfinished, I'm afraid). Which gave me an idea.

I've been following an artist named Ann Smith on Instagram almost since I started my account there, I think she was one of the first suggested posts that popped up in my feed. She does fabric art as persimmonstudioart, hand-stitched patchwork pictures of birds. She gets some amazing effects with layering different patterns of fabric, even suggesting iridescence on grackles and starlings. It's gorgeous work.

So we decided to do a bit of birding ourselves. I pre-sewed background panels on my machine, six by nine inches, found and printed some reference photos--Denise picked a robin, I, a goldfinch. Then we chose and ironed our fabric scraps, transferred patterns for different color sections to scrap paper with carbon paper. (I'm amazed at the stuff Denise has stashed away; there are advantages to being in a borderline hoarding relationship.)

Cut out pieces, aligned them on the reference photo. Many of them were too small to pin, so we scotch-taped them together to transfer to the backgrounds, roughly stitched them down with some of the many different colors of thread Denise has for bookbinding.