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Auspol is my favourite sport this year. Election results so savage the conservatives have appointed a woman leader for the first time because they're literally running out of seated men, and then straight-up had an internal collapse that would make it impossible to form government at any other election either if it were to be maintained. (It will not be maintained, for that exact reason, but I can hyena laugh for now.)

And it all happened after the leadership stint of probably my second least favourite Aussie politician ever. It's like Christmas.

ysabetwordsmith

Thanks to a donation from

lone_cat, you can now read the beginning of "In the Heart of the Hidden Garden." Lawrence and Stan look for their classrooms at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

New 7-mile-long underwater sculpture park invites snorkelers to save coral reefs

With construction starting this year, the Great Florida Reef will soon feature a 7-mile public art installation: The Reefline.

Both a sculpture park and a snorkeling trail, the development will also serve as an artificial reef to offer shelter to fish, which will, in turn, help corals thrive.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

alisx

Raven sitting on a tree branch, looking down at the viewer.

Leave a comment.⁺

thewayne

My heart is always lighter and my smile brighter when something like this happens.

Pardoned by El Presidente four months ago, he was arrested after being confronted by the home owner while breaking into someone's house. He fled, but was caught by police a short distance away, and is now being held pending charges, bail hearing, court appearances, all that good stuff.

He was one of the most violent J6 rioters and had an extensive criminal record prior to that event, including "...past arrests for residential burglary, grand larceny, assault, disorderly conduct, and vandalism". He was sentenced to eight years prison to be followed by 36 months supervised release. He was convicted of eight felonies and three misdemeanors.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/capitol-rioter-zachary-alam-arrested-burglary_n_682c7b6ae4b0dc52ee2c8505

ysabetwordsmith

fuzzyred is hosting a pool for the half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics. Comment on the pool post there if you wish to join the fun. You can name your own targets if you wish, but the pool targets are starting with these Shiv poems:

If I have enough interest, I would like to purchase one of the three giant Shiv epics, or open one for microfunding if there is a good start but not enough to buy it outright. If there is not enough interest, I have two other Shiv poems in mind instead.

Giant Epics
"The Release of Human Potentialities" $568 (q.p. $284) OR
"Shopping for College" $639.50 (q.p. $319.75) OR
"The Bones of Chihuly" $618 (q.p. $309)

Cheaper Options
"The First Swath Cut by the Scythe" $106.50 (q.p. $53.25)
"So Monumental and Still" $162 (q.p. $81)

Current Mood: busy

thewayne

*sigh*

Care to guess how it happened? The suggestions included "Tidewater Dreams" by Isabel Allende and "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir". The independent who put the list together used an AI and didn't check what it generated.

The Sun-Times went through some massive lay-offs recently as its finances are in not very good shape, and lost 20% of its readership. I'm sure this little reading list snafu will encourage people to reup their subscriptions. Or not.

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/chicago-sun-times-prints-summer-reading-list-full-of-fake-books/

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, warm, and damp with a light breeze. It rained last night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches plus a catbird. We seem to have a lot of catbirds this year.

I put out water for the birds.

I set out the flats of pots and watered them.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I did a bit more work outside.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I trimmed grass beside the new picnic table, filled one of the new taupe pots, then planted it with a 'Pink Berkeley' tomato and Charleston Food Forest marigold seeds.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I sowed cypress vine seeds around the support wire of the telephone pole. Asiatic lilies have buds.

I planted 'Purple Ruffles' basil and curry plant in a trough on the old picnic table.

The new variegated iris is blooming pale lavender with a strong cotton candy smell. :D

I've seen a brown thrasher, a blue jay, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I planted a Shasta daisy in the white garden. There's another one blooming there from earlier. \o/

I started pulling grass from the septic garden. I sowed cypress vine there.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I brought in the flats of pots.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I sowed borage and summer savory seeds in the trough pot with the basil and curry.

EDIT 5/20/25 -- I sowed 'Lovely Lettuce Mesclun Blend' in 3 pots on the top shelf of the metal planter.

I've seen the black-sided skunk.

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

Current Mood: busy

scifirenegade

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

Current Mood: nervous

alisx

The title BAD MEME in a bold, brush font, white with a black outline, in front of a roughly painted symbol that looks like an W on top of a vertical line, with two diagonal lines crossing it at roughly the middle. The background is an abstract grunge effect, mostly orange, but with some green and purple at the edges.

Eleven

Sigmund stared at the phone in his hand for a long, long time, listening to the dull sounds of his small-talk from downstairs, mind reeling from the . . . whatever that had just been with Lain.

(what’s he gotten himself into this time?)

It’d been almost impossible to tell what had been going on. One moment they’d been chatting, the next Lain had . . . been jumped in his hotel room? By people he couldn’t see? Something about it didn’t sit right, and not just the violence. Lain got into violence in the same way other people got into comic books or sports teams. But Lain had headed down to Melbourne to find a particular kind of violence, and getting mugged in his hotel room didn’t seem to be a part of it.

The people, a man and a woman, had been talking. What had they called Lain? A “crypto”? Somehow, Sigmund didn’t think they were referring to currency.

Keep reading »

Leave a comment.⁺

ysabetwordsmith

Wild orangutans show communication complexity thought to be uniquely human

Researchers have found that wild orangutans vocalize with a layered complexity previously thought to be unique to human communication, suggesting a much older evolutionary origin.

All the great apes have more sophisticated linguistic capacity compared to other primates. I wonder how long it'll take scientists to figure out the rest.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics is now open on LiveJournal. Donors, start your engines! :D

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is posted as a birthday present for Anthony Barrette.

"A Walking Song"

I walk in the morning, the sun at its rise.
I walk up the hill, and I there feast my eyes
On gardens and fields, and the grass growing green:
The loveliest sight that I ever have seen.

I walk in the midday, the sun at its peak.
I walk through the valley to find all I seek.
I pick the sweet berries, I taste the green leaves,
I gather the nuts underneath forest eaves.

I walk after lunchtime, the sun heading west.
I walk by the river, where fishing is best.
I catch a few catfish to hang on my string
And forage some cattails where young blackbirds sing.

I walk in the evening, the sun sinking low.
My baskets are full, and my heart is aglow.
The fireflies flicker, the fox and deer roam;
I walk down the hill toward the lights of my home.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poetry Fishbowl Report for May 6, 2025
Unsold Poems for the May 6, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl
Poem: "A Lens of Ice"
Artificial Intelligence
Birdfeeding
Summer of the 69
Today's Adventures
Creative Jam
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Distance
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 5-16-25: Heroes
Space Exploration
Hobbies: Jewelry Making
Photos: Cookie Jar Terrarium Part 2: Planting
Corruption
Gengineering
Birdfeeding
Economics
Fossils
Photos: Savanna and Prairie Garden
Photos: House Yard and South Lot
Poem: "The Delicate Balance of Mentoring"
How to Do Anything in 6 Steps
Birdfeeding
Photos: Sunset
How to Secure Trough Pots to a Bench
Good News

"Not a Destination, But a Process" has 133 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 85 comments.

There will be a half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics from Monday, May 19-Sunday May 25.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth ran April 25-May 15. During this time, people post content only visible on Dreamwidth (although it can be reposted elsewhere after the event ends). There's usually a flurry of activity as bloggers share anchor posts, new fiction, icons, banners, questionnaires, friending fests, memes, and other goodies. Community hosts often hold special activities in their communities too. (See the introductory posts from 2022, 2023, 2024.)

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I wrote about goal-setting frameworks for

newcomers.

Goal-Setting Frameworks
* Part 1: Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks
* Part 2: The 1-3-5 Rule
* Part 3: The 12-week Year
* Part 4: ABCS (Achievable, Believable, Committed, Specific)
* Part 5: Backward Goal
* Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
* Part 7: BSQ (Think Big, Act Small, Move Quick)
* Part 8: CLEAR (Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable)
* Part 9: Goal Pyramid
* Part 10: Golden Circle
* Part 11: GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward)
* Part 12: HARD (Heartfelt, Animated, Required, Difficult)
* Part 13: KPI (Key Performance Indicators
* Part 14: MASTER (Measurable, Achievable, Specific, Transforming, Evolving, Relevant)
* Part 15: NCT (Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks)
* Part 16: OKR (Objectives, Key Results)
* Part 17: PACT (Purposeful, Aligned, Continuous, Tracked)
* Part 18: Tiered Goals
* Part 19: Theme Word
* Part 20: WISE (Written, Integrated, Synergistic, Expansive)
* Part 21: WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan)
* Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Wrapup

"Babes in the Pineywoods is now complete! Bo-Art and Creamjeans say goodbye to the Pineyspooks.

The weather has been variable here. It was hot, then rainy, then milder. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several starlings, several catbirds, several blackbirds, several mourning doves, a pair of cardinals, two brown thrashers, a female goldfinch, a grackle, a blue jay, an adult fox squirrel, two young fox squirrels, and a skunk. Daffodils are done blooming. Columbine and lilies of the valley are winding down. Currently blooming: violets, dandelions, honeysuckle, alliums, Solomon's seal, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, wood hyacinths, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, pink peony, poppies, white peony, blackberries, irises, tomatoes. Mulberries and raspberries have green fruit.

Current Mood: busy

thewayne

If a mailer is trying to send more than 5,000 emails a day to Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, or Live.com email addresses, and the server is not configured to standards, Microsoft is going to block the emails from going through their networks with an error message. Yahoo and Gmail have been doing this for some time.

Specifically, "... (the) SPF record must clearly identify which IPs can send on your domain’s behalf. DKIM must sign the message with a valid key. And DMARC needs to be published, with alignment to either SPF or DKIM. Preferably both. Without all three in place, Microsoft will silence you."

This will make it harder for fly-by-night spammers to get messages through as they often do not have top-shelf IT people supporting them. It will also cause problems for legitimate mass mailers who use third-party email providers who also do not have top-shelf IT people who may be a little soft on their mail server configuration.

But this is the price paid because scammers are determined to make sure that we cannot have nice things.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefenderforoffice365blog/strengthening-email-ecosystem-outlook%e2%80%99s-new-requirements-for-high%e2%80%90volume-senders/4399730

https://betanews.com/2025/05/05/microsoft-email-blocks-start-may-2025/

https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/05/05/1817247/microsoft-cracks-down-on-bulk-email-with-strict-new-outlook-rules

alisx

The stuff I used as "blood" on my shoes yesterday turns out to be both hard to remove and dries in a kind of gloss varnish, and basically what I’m getting at it my fingernails look like Lady Macbeth’s.

Leave a comment.⁺

linky

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Biri Biri Be-lie-ving

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a catbird, a starling, and a young fox squirrel. I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it.

I put out water for the birds.

I put out the flats of pots and watered them.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- We went shopping. I have 2 new water pans for the giant pots, 4 new large-ish pots, and 2 bags of composed manure. I still need to get more of the Evergreen potting soil, though.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I took a few pictures of flowers.

I've seen two young fox squirrels chasing each other.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I trimmed grass where I will put one of the giant pots.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I filled the giant pot with half composted manure and half potting soil, then planted a pot of 2 zucchini plants.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I trimmed grass where I will put the second giant pot.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I filled the giant pot with half composted manure and half potting soil, then planted a pot of 2 straightneck yellow squash plants.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I watered the giant pots and the picnic table garden.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/19/25 -- I sowed Shithouse Marigold seeds in the new giant pots and several others that didn't already have marigolds.

I watered the marigold seeds and some other plants.

I saw the first bat of the season! :D

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

Current Mood: busy

alisx

🎵 From Ashes to New, “Panic“

Leave a comment.⁺

vriddy

I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but I moved all of my on-going fanfic projects to Scrivener as well. I already started using it for my original projects, but for fanfics I used to find it too intimidating. This may well happen again, but for now I'm cherishing the organisational flexibility it allows. It's Just Great (tm) XD

I'll go back to 4thewords if I get too stuck in my own head again (defeating monsters and completing quests just works so well to kick me out of the 'Thou must write something Good or you will waste your time, nay, the entire world's time!' kind of block.) The recent weird bug that resulted in some data loss in many files has been such a pain to manage, even if I believed I recovered everything I needed. Between the hurt/comfort series, fics I drafted last November and still need to edit, and some other things I have going on, it's just been kind of messy to try to find all my files again and making sure they're whole. Scrivener is refreshing in that sense (easy to find things!), but may not help with the "getting stuck in own head" issue... I suppose there's always changing the font to Comic Sans and bright yellow font on neon green background or something to test, etc, if/when that happens again 😆

Note: even with the helpful AO3 Scrivener template that was shared with me, copy-pasting directly into AO3's Rich Text Editor doesn't work and I lose italics and other formatting. However, this Tumblr tutorial from zaharya (and the follow-up tutorial) appear to have resolved the problem for me, so I'm happy with the current status. I only posted a couple of things with it so far though, so tbc!

I'm enjoying working offline more. The only thing I'm missing at the moment is a good thesaurus program that would work offline, too. The one integrated with Scrivener doesn't cut it for my needs.

I want to talk about some stuff going on in my writing again, but because I didn't really share much especially around the orig novellas in January, my brain seems jammed about new thoughts and related posts until I get that stuff out first. I guess I'll attempt to summarise soon, so I can share the fresh stuff again XD

Any of you also using Scrivener for fic? How do you find it? Any tips? I'm still not 100% how I will organise projects over time especially with the many one-shots, but I'm looking forward to testing out various ways!

Current Mood: content

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Page Summary

sideways - more auspol because otherwise i will blog about work
ysabetwordsmith - "In the Heart of the Hidden Garden" is now open for microfunding!
ysabetwordsmith - Coral Reefs
alisx - Wednesday @ 10:09 am
thewayne - J6 rioter, pardoned by His Orangeness, arrested again for home burglary
ysabetwordsmith - Pool Open!
thewayne - Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times summer reading list? 10 of 15 books DO NOT EXIST
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding
scifirenegade - Double Feature, Black and White
alisx - BAD MEME, chapter 11.
ysabetwordsmith - Orangutans
ysabetwordsmith - Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics
ysabetwordsmith - Poem: "A Walking Song"
ysabetwordsmith - Monday Update 5-19-25
thewayne - Microsoft starts blocking improperly configured bulk mailers
alisx - Tuesday @ 9:05 am
linky - Jetman Thoughts, Eps 31-32
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding
alisx - Music Monday
vriddy - Moving to Scrivener for fanfic, too

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Indie Games

Member Posts

more auspol because otherwise i will blog about work

Coral Reefs

Wednesday @ 10:09 am

J6 rioter, pardoned by His Orangeness, arrested again for home burglary

Pool Open!

Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times summer reading list? 10 of 15 books DO NOT EXIST

Birdfeeding

Double Feature, Black and White

BAD MEME, chapter 11.

Eleven

Orangutans

Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics

Poem: "A Walking Song"

Monday Update 5-19-25

Microsoft starts blocking improperly configured bulk mailers

Tuesday @ 9:05 am

Jetman Thoughts, Eps 31-32

Birdfeeding

Music Monday

Moving to Scrivener for fanfic, too

Profile

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April 2025

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