Monday Update 9-29-25

Sep. 29th, 2025 03:46 am
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These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Today's Cooking
Philosophical Questions: Peace
Poem
Sustainability
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Sustainability
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Effects
Today's Adventures
Pigeon Pea Recipes
Follow Friday 9-26-25: Jane Austen
Holiday Activities
Birdfeeding
Hobbies: Crochet
Artificial Intelligence
Birdfeeding
Hard Things

Let's Boycott Mississippi has 60 comments. Affordable Housing has 50 comments. Robotics has 72 comments.


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv and needs $200 to be complete. Shiv attends the first session of his Worldbuilding class.


The weather is sweltering again. >_< Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches and a fox squirrel. I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it. Currently blooming: dandelions, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, firewheel, cypress vine, sunchokes, sedum. Tomatoes, ball carrots, cucumbers, and groundcherries are ripe. Fields are about half harvested.

Time Travel

Sep. 29th, 2025 02:52 am
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I found this amusing.

When People Travel to the Past

Read more... )

Today's Cooking

Sep. 28th, 2025 11:51 pm
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We made two things today!

My partner Doug riffed on a recipe using the sourdough bread we had that wasn't optimum for grilled cheese sandwiches.  So he blended up eggs, cheese, and stuff to pour over slices of bread and broil.  It was amazingly good.  :D

I cobbled up a fruit crisp in muffin tins because I had a cooking apple, some leftover strawberries, and for the crumble topping I added a broken-up gingersnap to the usual ingredients.  It turned out quite tasty.  \o/

I like that we know enough about cooking to throw together something from what we have available, and it works. 

Philosophical Questions: Peace

Sep. 28th, 2025 11:30 pm
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This is an extra question I stumbled across and thought would fit with this project:

What is your contribution to peace?

What is your contribution to peace?

Read more... )

Poem

Sep. 28th, 2025 08:19 pm
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I finished one of my unfinished poems from a previous fishbowl.

"New and Innovative Approaches"
Story Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Summary: Frank the Crank attends a council meeting about earthquake recovery.
411 lines, Buy It Now = $206

Sustainability

Sep. 28th, 2025 02:25 pm
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22 Best Ethical, Sustainable Amazon Alternatives For Home, Cleaning & Personal Care Products

Amazon: It’s Jeff Bezos’s 2-day shipping giant that seems almost impossible to avoid.

But the company’s impact on both the environment and the lives of its workers has catalyzed conscious consumers to switch to alternative companies that are more ethical, environmentally friendly, and aligned with their personal values.

The good news? There are plenty of options online to meet a variety of needs. (Not to mention all of the in-person, small business, and secondhand shopping you can do, too!)



Birdfeeding

Sep. 28th, 2025 02:23 pm
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Today is mostly sunny and hot.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/28/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/28/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/28/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is suppertime, I am done for the night.

Today's Adventures

Sep. 27th, 2025 09:12 pm
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Today we went out eventing again.

Read more... )

Sustainability

Sep. 27th, 2025 08:47 pm
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Why Better Is Less

Let’s talk about something that few people talk about. It’s the idea that provisioning quality, making sure everyone has access to what they truly need, matters more than chasing GDP numbers. In other words, it’s not about growing bigger. It’s about growing smarter.

GDP measures production but ignores unpaid caregiving, environmental costs, and well-being, a flaw even its creator, Simon Kuznets himself warned, “the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measure of national income.”

But if we think of provisioning systems as the real things people need, like healthcare, education, housing, and electricity. When these systems work well and are universal, many social thresholds can be met using relatively low resources. Meaning you don’t need a sky‑high GDP to ensure people get what they need.


Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Sep. 27th, 2025 12:41 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/27/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/27/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

The cornfield across from us has been harvested.  It's a bit of a wreck though, looks like Bubba Fail the Farmer set his blades too high.

As it is suppertime, I am done for the night.

Philosophical Questions: Effects

Sep. 27th, 2025 12:39 am
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People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What do you think the long-term effects of so many people being glued to their screens will be?

Read more... )

Today's Adventures

Sep. 26th, 2025 10:55 pm
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Today's activities got a bit scrambled, but we got some useful things done.

Read more... )

Pigeon Pea Recipes

Sep. 26th, 2025 08:49 pm
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We found a new international grocery store in Charleston, Amelica & Louky Market. Among the things they had were bags of dry pigeon peas, which I recognized but hadn't seen before. They're similar to black-eyed peas but instead of white or ivory these are light gray or putty-colored. Pigeon peas appear in African, Caribbean, and East Indian cuisines. So I thought I'd look up some recipes for dry pigeon peas.

... aaaaand now I'm hungry again. O.O

Read more... )

Follow Friday 9-26-25: Jane Austen

Sep. 26th, 2025 12:03 am
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Today's theme is Jane Austen.

Read more... )

Holiday Activities

Sep. 25th, 2025 03:21 pm
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13 Ways to Celebrate National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands. And this year, it falls on September 27, 2025.

National public lands include a lot of different protected natural environments in America. From national parks, memorials, and monuments, to wildlife refuges, conservation areas, trails, wilderness areas, seashores, lakeshores, and more, public lands are actually all around us!

Birdfeeding

Sep. 25th, 2025 02:49 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.

9/25/25 -- I did a bit of work around the yard.

9/25/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

9/25/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/25/25 -- I did more work around the yard.

I picked several goldenberries.

EDIT 9/25/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and savanna plants.

I gathered northern sea oats and wild senna seeds in the wildflower garden.

I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it.

EDIT 9/25/25 -- I watered the irises, patio plants, and old picnic table.

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

Hobbies: Crochet

Sep. 25th, 2025 12:01 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This batch features hobbies.

Crochet is a fibercraft hobby of making things from yarn with a hooked stick, such as afghans, clothes, toys ,and other stuff. If you feel frustrated by planned obsolescence, artificial intelligence, and other current issues then consider knitting as a form of protest. Nothing says "Fuck off, fast fashion!" like crocheting a 100% natural-fiber garment that will last for years and years.

On Dreamwidth, consider communities like [community profile] crafty, [community profile] crochet, [community profile] everykindofcraft, [community profile] dwsockclub, [community profile] get_knitted,[community profile] intertwined, [community profile] justcreate, and [community profile] knittingpix.

Read more... )

Artificial Intelligence

Sep. 24th, 2025 10:13 pm
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YouTube secretly used AI to edit people’s videos.

In recent months, YouTube has secretly used artificial intelligence (AI) to tweak people’s videos without letting them know or asking permission. Wrinkles in shirts seem more defined. Skin is sharper in some places and smoother in others. Pay close attention to ears, and you may notice them warp. These changes are small, barely visible without a side-by-side comparison. Yet some disturbed YouTubers say it gives their content a subtle and unwelcome AI-generated feeling.


This causes a variety of damage including but not limited to:

* Tampering with people's intellectual property without their permission.

* Damaging trust between producer and consumer (especially if the producer says that they don't use AI).

* Undermining people's ability to choose whether or not they wish to use or consumer AI.

* Undermining people's ability to find and identify truth.

Yet another in the suddenly growing pile of reasons to hate YouTube, which sucks, because it's the most widespread place to share video content. >_<

Birdfeeding

Sep. 24th, 2025 02:02 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy, mild, and damp. We got a decent amount of rain last night. :D

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/24/25 -- I planted 8 'Aviv Mixed' ranunculus under the fly-through birdfeeder.

I planted 3 'Persian Blue' alliums in the purple-and-white garden.

I picked 2 chocolate cherry tomatoes and 3 groundcherries.

EDIT 9/24/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/24/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

Hard Things

Sep. 24th, 2025 01:17 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?

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