mapsedge | Network

Though I started by once again sleeping til 12:00. But then I got up and had breakfast and coffee.

Then I did what I am very proud of. I got the printer working again. Before I went to Arisia I tried printing out my to do list and discovered the computer wasn't recognizing the (wireless) printer. I had no time then to play with it so I let it be, and I hadn't done anything about it since.

But today I fiddled with it and discovered that somehow something called the MP driver had gotten uninstalled or something. Then I had to find the MP driver (not the printer driver, mind you!) and install it. Allow me to say the Canon website was only marginally helpful. Yes the drivers were there to download... but difficult to locate that MP driver. I did though and got the printer working.

Then I added water to the turtle tank. And then I cleaned the cat pan.

Then I tossed on some clothes (sweat pants and my thermal shirt) and took the dirty kitty litter and the two Valentines for Middle Brother and the Kid, and ventured out into the cold. It's actually warmed up a bit but still was below freezing.

Anyway, I took the litter to the garbage, and walked around the block, and to the mailbox and mailed the Valentines. So they should arrive before Saturday I hope.

Then I had something to eat. And I went to the bedroom and lay down for awhile and played solitaire on my phone.

Meanwhile my limited edition Stephen Colbert Funko Pop has not yet been delivered, although the tracking said it was out for delivery yesterday. So I looked up how to contact Funko and I sent them a message.

Then I Teamed the FWiB. We were going along fine, over an hour, when the Teams crashed and kicked me out. We got back on, but it was annoying. Don't know if it was Teams, or my wretched computer.

The Funko people answered! They said it was normal to have a delivery delay and I should wait a few days before panicking. So I will wait.

Then I had dinner, a Lean Cuisine frozen pizza for World Pizza Day. Tasty. Then I went to the bedroom again, and played on the phone til pet feeding time.

And so I got some stuff done today.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Got the printer working without too much trouble.

3. Got the Valentines out.

4. Heard back from Funko.

5. Have Samsung Health working on my phone now to count steps.

6. Pizza.

Current Mood: accomplished

dreadlordmrson posting in

little_details

Would hospital care after minor dog attack injuries expose a first trimester pregnancy?

Details:
I have a story I'm currently working on set in a modern type world, and a plot point where one of the two main characters is attacked by a pack of street dogs and gets some minor scratch and bite injuries. I'm thinking just a few stitches at most. I can guess they'll need "just in case" antibiotics and rabies shots because of the bites, but would common care involve any tests that would expose an early pregnancy?

Goals:
I'm trying to keep the pregnancy a surprise for the other main character later in the story, so a "some hospitals would do these tests but some wouldn't" could be ruled that this time it wasn't done. But if it's very common to do certain blood or other tests that would easily reveal a pregnancy, that's a problem. And having the other main character who's acting as their savior/caregiver in this scenario decide not to get them treatment wouldn't be in character or suit his arc in the story, even with minor wounds that in theory could be treated at home.

Do I need to change details of the attack, or depict this medical team as negligent? Or is the stealth of this pregnancy safe?

stonepicnicking_okapi posting in

1word1day

heddle [hed-l]

noun

one of the sets of parallel cords or wires that with their mounting compose the harness used to guide warp threads in a loom

examples
1. Dr. H. G. Harrison by no means overstates the case when he says that the development of the heddle is the most important step in the evolution of the loom (Harniman Museum Handbooks, No. 10, pp. 47-49). Ancient Egyptian and Greek Looms, 1890

2. Holding a heddle rod to separate the warp threads, she draws the continuous horizontal weft thread in and out of one or more warp threads. 1 Oct 2022. Scientific American. "Viking Textiles Show Women Had Tremendous Power."

origin
probably alteration of Middle English helde, from Old English hefeld; akin to Old Norse hafald heddle, Old English hebban to lift

heddle

merrileemakes posting in

everykindofcraft

**Cross posted from my journal, some weaving and knitting patter.**

So it's been over a month since I posted any thing crafty. I've certainly been crafting, I just haven't had any big finishes. I often think of my crafting approach as "kicking the can down the road." Lots of little steps, sometimes without significant progress.
( So here's the cans I've been kicking. )

glowingfish

Okay, I have been here for a year, so maybe I should have checked this out before.

I am not asking this for purely prurient reasons!
I was talking with a friend, who I was on Livejournal with over 20 years ago...and we were talking about the early, wild west days of the internet, before there was much social media, and when there were only a handful of blogging platforms, most of which were not really commercialized or monetized.

So anyway, about sexual content: it wasn't that I was naive to it, but I was naive to how it might fit in with normal life...because, as a teenager in the 90s, what I knew about other people (specifically women's) experience of sex came from obviously fake pornography (Dear Penthouse Forum, I never thought this would happen to me...) or from advice columns in women's magazines, which were slightly less fake. So there I was, 23 years old in 2002, and I go on Livejournal and read about women's real sexual experiences, and thoughts, and desires, and it was very revelatory.

Of course, now, I would probably yawn at a lot of that stuff. But half my lifetime ago, it was wild!

dark_kana posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) nice colleagues at work, lovely chats

2) going for a walk during lunch break

3) visiting Lhune after dinner for another dr who related episode :D

glowingfish

So, related to the last post about alcohol:
One thing I do like is getting a "flow state" started. And it is hard to define what a "flow state" is, but it's obvious when you have one! And so I guess my point with drinking is that sometimes it can tip me over to the point where my ideas and thoughts just start flowing.

Is the theory.

Of course, there are a lot of other things that can do that. One thing that is ironic for me is that I have the internet here, where anyone and everyone can converse about anything and everything---and that seems like it would be a perfect way to uncork that desired flow state. But in reality...it seems to be more poking around the same 5 or 10 pieces of content, and frittering away time feeling bored.

dray posting in

rainbowfic

Name: Dray
Story:

everwood
Colors: True Blue 21) The death of a friend is equivalent to the loss of a limb. Ignition Yellow 9) I'll find somebody who will stitch me up, though I've never been better than when falling apart Blue Caravan 3) Something keeps you faithful when all else in you turns and runs
Supplies and Styles: Not this one!
Word Count: 3,570
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Notes: Tragedy strikes Brandili's family home and she intends to fix things before they get worse. (This happens quite a few years after the previous post!)

( Urdasvale was still sullenly smoking, a day after the initial attack. )

glowingfish

I don't usually drink alcohol. I don't have a particular problem with alcohol, but I also don't find it that interesting. Like once people pass a certain amount of times drinking alcohol to the point of drunkenness, there isn't a lot to be learned from the experience. Besides that mediocre 80s music is actually totally awesome!

But anyway, sometimes I do drink alcohol to decruft. Basically, every couple weeks or so, my brain gets too full of chores and things I need to take care of, and I can't do any of them. So sometimes drinking helps me kind of hit "reset"...is the theory. And a lot of times it does work!

So this Friday, I bought a bottle of wine and drank it. And by the time I had finished it, I was like at the phase where I was really curious what was around the bend, so to speak...so I took a half-liter bottle of wine I had in a cupboard and drank that in one go.

So I got sick, blacked out, and woke up later...without much of a headache, actually, but feeling *exhausted*, but couldn't sleep. And, later, I realized that I didn't get much out of it. So I think I will lay off drinking for a while.

silver_chipmunk

That's what I now call the Superbowl...

Anyway, I woke up at 10:00, and today made the deliberate decision to go back to sleep til 12:00. Then I got up and ha breakfast and coffee, and at 1:30 went to the Starsky and Hutch Creative Work session and chat.

We had a really nice time chatting til somewhat after 6:00, and I got a good bit of writing done for a change.

Then at 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB and we talked til almost 9:00. We were interrupted twice, once when I went to answer the door when someone buzzed, because I am expecting the delivery of my limited edition Stephen Colbert Funko Pop, which hasn't come yet. And once at 8:30 to call Middle Brother.

Middle Brother is fine, he went to a movie yesterday, he doesn't know what it wasm but he enjoyed it and the large popcorn and Pepsi he had.

After we got off I had dinner, and then went to the bedroom where I called

mashfanficchick. We talked for awhile, ze is still at zer friend's place catsitting, nothing much going on.

As to the the Superbowl, I am somewhat glad to see that the Seahawks seem to be trouncing the Patriots, because the owner of the Patriots is a Trump supporter and gave large amounts of money to him, so f him. But aside from that, I don't really care.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.

3. Getting a story close to finishing.

4. Middle Brother is having a good time and well.

5. Warm apartment.

6. My pets.

Current Mood: cheerful

yourlibrarian posting in

everykindofcraft

These pendants were designed for an earring set, but I liked the way the colors looked different depending on how they were turned.

( Read more... )

dray posting in

rainbowfic

Name: Dray
Story:

everwood
Colors: True Blue 2) Blood siblings, Ignition Yellow 14) There's a fire in sky, some snow on the ground, not quite enough cigarettes to calm me down, Blue Caravan 1) My true love is a man who never existed at all
Supplies and Styles: Acrylics ("And was it worth it? All that effort?"), wood (I've had this sitting in wait in my docs since around this time last year!), Canvas and Frame (the italicized bit is from before the bulk of Everwood, and the rest is from after Boyce's main arc, which is the focus of most of the story), Diptych (I think; these two portions of the story frame the way that Brandili acts for a good chunk of the main plot!)
Word Count: 986
Rating: PG
Warnings: CW for political marriage, rape and unwanted pregnancy, and revenge
Notes: Brandili makes a pact with a very reluctant magister to right a wrong done years ago

( Pale fingers play through Brandili's waves of black hair )

violateraindrop posting in

icons

[3] The Diplomat
[6] Heated Rivalry
[5] KPop Demon Hunters

Here at

iwillnotdance

silvercat17 posting in

justcreate

What are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?

Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype? I've been neglecting Dreamwidth - tell me what I'm missing!

What do you just want to talk about?

What have you been watching or reading?

Chores and other not-fun things count!

Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky.

marycatelli posting in

books

Bones rules; or, Skeleton of English grammar by John B. Tabb

Turn-of-the-last-century grammar lessons. Basic, sound grammar, with some additional interest in his choices of sentences to analyze. Many from poems, and with some interesting placing of the parts of a sentence.

He does note that any word can be used as a verb, even then.

marycatelli posting in

book_love

puddleshark

Another grey day, though the rain held off for a few hours this morning, and another walk across the high ground, this time following the chalk track along St Aldhelm's Head.

Even the high ground is wet.

( Black & white photos, and grey photos )

lhune posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) More lovely sunshine ♥

2) Which gave me the energy to give my kitchen a quick but more decent cleaning, floors included, with the balcony door open.

3) Dinner at my parents’s place which means wood burner or or swinging bench in the garden, depending on the weather

pilottttt posting in

common_nature

Current Location: Istanbul, Turkey

sallymn posting in

1word1day

hebetude [heb-i-tood, -tyood]

noun:
listlessness, lethargy, or laziness of the mind

Examples:

Though the pandemic-induced hebetude still prevails in day-to-day affairs, the high-octane election campaign and heated political arguments have oozed a degree of anxiety and buzz into the mundane lives of the lesser mortals (Shan A S, LDF sitting pretty; UDF, NDA hope to upset its applecart in Vamanapuram, The New Indian Express, March 2021)

From that solitude, full of despair and terror, he was torn out brutally, with kicks and blows, passive, sunk in hebetude. (Joseph Conrad, Nostromo)

So you think you are saving yourselves from madness, but you are falling into mediocrity, into hebetude. (Italo Calvino, Difficult Loves)

This hebetude of all faculty was the merciful, protecting method that Nature took with her, dimming the lamp of consciousness until the wounded creature could gain sufficient resiliency to bear a full realization of life. (Robert Herrick, Clark's Field)

Benumbed, exhausted, sunk in hebetude, she waited until she could wait no more, until intolerable suspense drove her blindly. (John Russell, Where the Pavement Ends)

Origin:
1620s, from Latin hebetudo, noun of quality from hebes 'blunt, dull', figuratively 'sluggish; stupid', a word of unknown origin. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Hebetude usually suggests mental dullness, often marked by laziness or torpor. As such, it was a good word for one Queenslander correspondent, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the Weekend Australian of 'an epidemic of hebetude among young people who … are placing too great a reliance on electronic devices to do their thinking and remembering.' Hebetude comes from Late Latin hebetudo, which means pretty much the same thing as our word. It is also closely related to the Latin word for 'dull,' hebes, which has extended meanings such as 'obtuse,' 'doltish,' and 'stupid.' (Merriam-Webster)

silver_chipmunk

I got up this morning at 9:00 and had breakfast and coffee. Then I showered and dressed, in one of my thermal shirts with my warm sweater, instead of my usual tee shirt with sweater. Because it is cold out! Very, very cold.

So I headed toward my meeting, and got lucky that a bus was there almost immediately so I didn't have to wait in the chill.

The meeting was very good, and afterward we went to the diner as usual. I got a ride from S as usual.

Going home, again I got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a bus. I got off at Northern Blvd to transfer to the 12, an noticed that there's a CVS where the Party City used to be, across the street. So I went over and bought Valentines for the Kid, and Middle Brother. There was such a small section of Valentines that I was startled. I'm used to huge sections of Valentines, with cards for every member of your family. But there were precious few daughter cards, and none for brother, so I had to make do with a generic one. At least I found a reasonable one for the Kid.

Anyway, I paid and went to the bus top, just missed a 12, but one came in about 8 minutes after so I was OK.

Got off at Parsons and had to walk from there as usual, it was unpleasant. Very windy. Very, very cold.

Got home safely, and put in a Shipt order from my phone while logging in to the computer to go to the Starsky and Hutch chat. The chat was, as always, lots of fun. The Shipt order this time was complete.

We talked until a little after 7:00. Then I Teamed the FWiB. Fun as always.

*sigh* I learned today about Leon Botstein's involvement with Epstein. it was a horrible shock to me, I felt heart sick. As the president of my alma mater, he was an integral part of my college years, which were, arguably the best years of my life. I could go on for pages about what Bard meant to me, but I won't. Suffice it to say, I feel like I've been poisoned. And worried about the future of Bard now this has come out. Leon couldn't go on being president too much longer anyway, it's been 50 years, and he's old now, but what will happen to Bard when he's gone?

Enough of that. I just finished dinner, made out the Valentines, addressed and stamped them, and fed the pets. I called

mashfanficchick to see if ze was doing anything for the Superbowl tomorrow, ze's not. And after I finish here I shall go to bed.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Stayed warm most of the day.

3. Four years at Bard.

4. My meetings and the people there.

5. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.

6. Valentines Day stuff.

Current Mood: pensive

imhilien posting in

endings

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

queervanilla posting in

art

Wanting to draw some fanart for one of my favortie ot3s

Can also be found on: Bsky

stonepicnicking_okapi posting in

endings

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

puddleshark

Still raining. Will it ever stop? Probably. And even if it doesn't, the willows and the alder won't mind, and I suppose Spring will find a way, eventually. The daffodils in my garden are sulking. Not one flowering early. Even the little 'Tête-à-tête' daffs are saying "Nothing doing".

Paid a reduced price out-of-season visit to the Blue Pool, for old time's sake, but it was pretty grim. I should have stuck to my resolution never to visit again.

( Read more... )

lhune posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) Woke up with sunshine streaming in through the window ^_^

2) Long hot shower

3) Visit to the library ~~before I pick up my bike, (will be for next week)~~

BONUS: Lunch on a sunny terrace of a bar nearby

silver_chipmunk

Cause it's late.

Got up at 10:00, shortly after that L from my Saturday Al-anon meeting called as planned and we had a nice talk.

Then I got up and had breakfast and coffee. And spent much of the day fighting with the computer. I sent an email to John, Denise, Laurie and the Kid about the Smartmeter National Grid is installing on the cottage. And, not having heard from him, I texted Cliff about the memorial service for Oldest Brother. If he still doesn't get back to me, I'll have to call him.

I went and lay down at around 4:00 I think and played solitaire and scrolled Facebook on my phone. Then at 5:00 I got up and got ready to go to my meeting.

The first 25 bus that I could have made I missed by seconds. The next one to come along didn't stop for me. Went right on by. I was quite pissed. Then I got one about 10 minutes later, and I got a 50 quickly so that was OK.

I got my pizza for dinner as usual for Friday, then to kill time I went to Dunkin' Donuts and got hot chocolate and a donut and sat there and ate the donut. The woman also gave me a handful of munchkins.

The meeting was very small but good,, we got a newcomer. I hope he comes back.

Then L (not the same L who called this morning) drove me to the bus stop. And... the bus didn't come for over 45 minutes. And there was snow coming down. I decided that if the bus wasn't there by 10:05 I was calling an Uber. But it got there about 9:50 I think. I got to 31st and Linden ot get the 25 and my app told me it wouldn't be there for 14 minutes. So I said screw it and called an Uber.

I got home and fed the pets, then tried to Team the FWiB. The technology did not cooperate. To make a very long story short, we ended up using my phone rather than the computer to Team. Very, very frustrating.

So we talked for about an hour, and then it was after midnight so I did the solitaire daily challenge, and then totally restarted the computer and started here.

And that was the day.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My meetings and the people there.

3. The bus finally came and I didn't have to Uber from the Bronx.

4. The computer seems to be working as I type this.

5. Uber.

6. Bed soon.

Current Mood: rushed

queervanilla posting in

drawesome

Title: Lovecore MJV

Artist:

queervanilla

Rating: G

Fandom: Arcane

Character(s): Mel Medarda, Jayce Talis, Viktor

Content Notes: CSP

paradoxcase posting in

rainbowfic

Name: A New Substance
Story: The Fulcrum
Colors: Light Black #30: Stop
Styles and Supplies: Stain ("If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going." - Professor Irwin Corey)
Word Count: 489
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Characters: Setsiana, Qhoroali
In-Universe Date: 1912.5.2.1
Summary: Qhoroali makes a new discovery.

( A New Substance )

fox_in_me

📝 Оригинальный текст записи

Сегодня напишу несколько слов о том, что происходит сейчас.
И об одном очень сильном событии этих дней.

Я уже писал, что ситуация с электроэнергией и теплом сложная. Даже больше — город во льду. Не хватает средств, не хватает человеческих рук, чтобы бороться со стихией, не говоря уже о последствиях войны. Это то, чего не могут понять те, кто не находится здесь.

Несколько дней назад группу электриков, приехавших устранять последствия обстрела, забрали в армию прямо с места ремонта. Городские дороги — почти без света и во льду. Пешеходы часто падают прямо на проезжей части. Та же проблема и в больницах: не хватает санитаров, не хватает мужчин. Я уже не говорю о врачах. Те, кто есть, — молодые, без достаточных знаний: последние годы из-за ковида и всего остального обучение было фактически регрессивным.

Я заехал выпить кофе и пообщаться со знакомым. Пока ждал его в магазине, где мы обычно берём кофе, в очереди стояла пожилая женщина и выбирала колбасу. Она спросила, какая вкуснее. Ей показали и назвали цену — она сразу выбрала ту, что дешевле. Но и на неё у неё не хватило денег. Так же было и с остальными покупками: печенье, хлеб, самые необходимые вещи.

Я видел, как она еле держится на ногах, с тростью — недавно упала на льду. Возраст. Я знаю продавщицу, я частый гость в этом месте, и просто попросил оплатить всё за неё. И корм для её котов тоже. У меня внутри всё рвалось. Какой бы период я сейчас ни переживал в своей жизни, я знаю, насколько сложно ей. И ещё сотням тысяч таких же.

Я могу хотя бы оставить свои эмоции здесь. А многим и поговорить не с кем. Просто поговорить. Я очень хорошо знаю это чувство.

Когда я вышел из магазина со своим кофе, ко мне подошёл другой пенсионер. Нет, он не просил денег. Я видел его уже несколько раз. Он просто хотел поговорить — о том, что у него наболело. Об обстрелах. О выживании. О том, что сейчас он никому не нужен.

После этих двух контактов мне стало невыносимо. Хотелось сделать больше, но я даже не понимал — что именно, где и как. И ещё сильнее я понял, как мне хочется быть вне этого театра абсурда.

Почему весь мир молчит, когда мы кричим?

К чему все мои интервью и эти события — словно мы на арене цирка? Мы платим жизнями. Платим выкупами за мужчин, вырванных из рук людоловов. А мир не реагирует. Я просто смотрю на свой город с разбитым сердцем.

Я хорошо понимаю того пенсионера. Сейчас, получив травму, мне тяжело даже с домашними делами. И вот странная деталь: в ту первую ночь после травмы, когда я пришёл домой, в темноте упал — рядом были мои коты. Темнота. И мне хотелось плакать. Не тихо — громко. Не из-за того, что происходит в моей жизни, а из-за осознания того, что я не могу это изменить.

Красиво звучит фраза: измени своё отношение к тому, на что не можешь повлиять.
Но правда в том, что я очень хочу изменить именно свою жизнь.
А сейчас — не могу.

И, наверное, единственное, что остаётся — не ожесточиться.
Не пройти мимо.
И продолжать говорить — даже если кажется, что нас не слышат.

Note translated in assistance with AI.

Today I want to write a few words about what is happening right now.
And about one very strong moment of these days.

I have already written that the situation with electricity and heating is difficult. More than that — the city is covered in ice. There is a lack of resources, a lack of human hands to fight the elements, not to mention the consequences of the war. This is something people who are not here simply cannot understand.

A few days ago, a group of electricians who had come to repair damage after shelling were taken into the army прямо from the repair site. The city roads are almost without light and covered in ice. Pedestrians often fall прямо on the roadway. The same problem exists in hospitals — there is a lack of orderlies, a lack of men. I am not even talking about doctors. Those who are there are young and inexperienced: the last few years, because of COVID and everything else, education has been largely regressive.

I stopped to get a coffee and talk with an acquaintance. While I was waiting for him in the shop where we usually buy coffee, an elderly woman was standing in line, choosing sausage. She asked which one tasted better. They showed her and named the price — she immediately chose the cheaper one. But even for that, she didn’t have enough money. The same happened with other basic things: cookies, bread, the simplest necessities.

I could see she was barely standing, leaning on a cane — she had recently fallen on the ice. Age. I know the shop assistant, I am a regular there, so I simply asked to pay for everything for her. And for food for her cats as well. Inside, everything was tearing apart. No matter what period of life I am going through right now, I know how hard it is for her. And for hundreds of thousands of others like her.

I can at least leave my emotions here.
But many people have no one to talk to.
Just to talk.
I know this feeling very well.

When I left the shop with my coffee, another pensioner approached me. No, he didn’t want money. I had already seen him several times before. He just wanted to talk — about what hurt him. About shelling. About survival. About the feeling that he is no longer needed by anyone.

After these two encounters, it became unbearable. I wanted to do more, but I didn’t even know what exactly, where or how. And even more clearly, I understood how much I want to be outside this theatre of the absurd.

Why does the whole world stay silent when we are screaming?

What are all my interviews for, and all these events — as if we are on a circus arena? We pay with our lives. We pay with ransoms to pull men out of the hands of human hunters. And the world does not react. I just look at my city with a broken heart.

I understand that pensioner very well. Now, after my injury, even everyday household things are not easy for me. And here is a strange detail: on the very first night after the injury, when I came home and fell in the darkness, my cats were nearby. Darkness. And I wanted to cry. Not quietly — loudly. Not because of what is happening in my life, but because of the realization that I cannot change this.

It sounds beautiful to say: change your attitude to the things you cannot influence.
But the truth is, I really want to change my life itself.
And right now — I can’t.

And maybe the only thing that remains
is not to harden.
Not to look away.
And to keep speaking —
even when it feels like no one hears us.

Watch on YouTube

bookscorpion posting in

common_nature

I took a bunch of really nice photos of the crow army today - with the light reflecting from the snow, the details of their feathers come out so beautifully. Look at how blue/purple the big feathers are, edged by black, compared to the dark black of the smaller head feathers.

This is the boldest of them. He stayed juuuust out of arm's reach but didn't mind me kneeling down and stretching my arm out at him. He miiiight be Mr Roadside Pair but I don't think so, I think he is smaller.,,,

dark_kana posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) library visit

2) watching dr who episode with Lhune and delicious lunch

3) going out for dinner with friends

pilottttt posting in

common_nature

And here are some Mediterranean seagulls from Istanbul for you - big, loud and cheeky ;)

( Read more... )

Current Location: Istanbul, Turkey

mekare posting in

drawesome

Title: Sophie at the Ball
Artist:

mekare
Rating: G
Fandom: Bridgerton (TV)
Character: Sophie Baek
Content Notes: blue paper, white gel pen, Sakura Pigma 0.2

Clicky preview:

a masked young woman in a ballroom dress gasping in surprise

mekare posting in

unclutter

I really need to do this, so why not make it an event where people can join in?

February here is all about carneval, Valentine's Day and unending winter weather. So, let's look at a couple of new areas (pick and choose):

STUFF TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK DIFFERENT: old make-up, hair accessories, brushes, combs, hairclips, dried out nail polish etc.

BATH PRODUCTS: out of date creams, lotions, oils, bathing salts, old tooth brushes etc.

CLOTH: that towel with the holes (repair or put it to some other use), washcloths, reusable make-up pads, cleaning cloths (the ones that almost fall apart),...

PERFUMES: that gift someone got you, but really you never wear it, or maybe it's so old the scent changed

Let's free up some space in the space where we get clean! Or alternatively, let's clean those brushes and combs, replace that mangy toothbrush with a new one and throw away make-up we never use anyway.

Optional: if you have plants in your bathroom (I do), let's give them some love.

I'm open to more suggestions! Let me know what immediately came to your mind when you read the challenge.

ysabetwordsmith posting in

followfriday

Got any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).

Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".

Current Mood: busy

vamp_ress posting in

booknook

Duras, Marguerite: Abahn Sabana David. Open Letter Books. 2016.
I've bought this years ago in a bundle with several Duras-books and I must say, I've no idea what I read here. I think the word one uses for something like this nowadays is: word salad. At least it was short.

Riddle, John: Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Harvard University Press. 1992.
This was delightful. I actually bought this for fic research, but I thoroughly enjoyed it even apart from the excellent info it provided. The author's thesis is that - contrary to popular belief - people in antiquity and well beyond had very detailed knowledge about contraception (and abortion). Later, this knowledge was lost. The assumption is that this loss was caused by Christian religion and its rigid moral standard. Fascinating!

Steinbeck, John: The Grapes of Wrath. Penguin. 2006.
I read "Of Mice and Men" as a teenager and was absolutely blown away. I always meant to give Steinbeck another go and find a few more favourites. I went with "The Grapes of Wrath" because this is argueably his magnus opus. And boy, did I hate it. Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but this book didn't age well. The most interesting thing about it is the fact that it's widely popular and acclaimed in the U.S. despite its openly communist agenda. (Mind you, not that there's anything wrong with a communist agenda, per se - but my understanding is that the U.S. and communist ideas don't mix well.)

Donaldson, David Santos: Greenland. Amistad. 2022.
This was such a missed chance. The blurb says this is a novel within a novel about E.M. Forster's love affair with an Egyptian tram conductor, but I learnt basically zero about that. Everything about Forster and his affair read like an author self-insert (or maybe a protagonist self-insert, since the protagonist is also the author of the book within a book). I took basically nothing away from the read expect maybe the info that black gay men in New York are obnoxious and annoying. (Sorry to all N.Y. gay men ...)

Moore, Kate: The Radium Girls. Simon & Schuster. 2016.
God, this was painful (pun intended). This is such an important book with such a strong sujet, but the execution wasn't even mid it was infuriatingly bad. The writing had the level of a romance book you buy at a whim at a train station. It was that bad. Moore clearly wanted to write a kitschy novel - every character here (and there are way too many) was introduced by bodily features. Women have dazzling smiles and men have strong arm muscles. Paired with the subject matter of the book this approach made me gag. The book needed to be written, but Kate Moore was the wrong woman for the job, sorry.

Johnson, Denis: Train Dreams. Picador. 2012.
I had never read anything by Denis Johnson but right after finishing this I bought another of his works. This was so good! It deals with the life of a man in the Idaho Panhandle throughout the 20th century. It starts in 1917 and ends in the 1960s with his death. In the nostalgia this evokes it reminded me a little of Harrison's "Legends of the Fall" which is equally panoramic in its approach and shows a time not too long ago but ultimately lost and absolutely alien to us now. Fantastic read!

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

These questions were suggested by

that_one_girl.

1. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

2. What is your proudest accomplishment so far?

3. What is your dream job?

4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

5. What does it take to make you happy?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

**Remember that we rely on you, our members, to help keep the community going. Also, please remember to play nice. We are all here to answer the questions and have fun each week. We repost the questions exactly as the original posters submitted them and request that all questions be checked for spelling and grammatical errors before they're submitted. Comments re: the spelling and grammatical nature of the questions are not necessary. Honestly, any hostile, rude, petty, or unnecessary comments need not be posted, either.**

glowingfish

So today is Thursday. I thought I was going to have a long day. Which for me means, I started work at noon and ended at 5. I had three students scheduled, and also had my own French class. So it was going to be work 12-1, my own class from 1-2, break from 2-3, then two more hours of work.

The thing about teaching is it requires almost constant attention and mental focus, and also talking, so by the end of it, I can be quite tired.

Butttttt, right after my own French class ended (which was also a lot of work), I got a late cancellation for my 3 PM class. And shortly afterwards, an email message to cancel my 4 PM class. Both of these were late, so I still got paid, for the activity of...walking along the beach.

So sometimes my life actually makes sense.

silver_chipmunk

I got a marketing phone call at just before my alarm went off, but then went back to dozing until around 11:00, then finally left bed at 12:00.

Then I had breakfast and coffee as usual, and then I did very little physically, though I kept busy. I answered, at long last, the email I got from Croesos back before Arisia. And then I wrote another email to Isis, she didn't answer the last one I sent but I figured I'd try again.

Then I wrote to John and Denise, to let them know the date of the memorial up at the cottage for Oldest Brother.

Then, since I dodn't have an email address for him, I Facebook messaged Cliff about the memorial.

And then just because I was in a writing mood, I Facebook messaged Herschel. Just because.

I played solitaire on my phone. I puttered online. I phoned L, the person who's name I picked on Saturday at my meeting and left a message.

Finally at 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB. We had a few technical difficulties but finally got going. The connection wasn't great though. L texted and said she'll call tomorrow around 10:00. I assume she means AM.

At 8:30 I got off to call Middle Brother. He is fine, went out to dinner on Monday. He's looking forward to the Superbowl and Valentine's Day.

Then I had to charge my phone while I made dinner. Herschel Facebook messaged me back which was nice.
I had dinner, then went to the bedroom and called

mashfanficchick but se couldn't talk then.

I charged my phone til pet feeding time and here i am.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. The other correspondents in my life.

3. My meetings.

4. My family.

5. Made the phone call t L.

6. Middle Brother is safe and happy.

Current Mood: cheerful

yourlibrarian posting in

common_nature

Some weeks back I saw one of the most fiery color sunsets I've yet seen. It's usually the case that sunsets look even more colorful to the camera, but in this case it was already a strong red, and was widespread.

( Read more... )

calzephyr posting in

1word1day

Heckle

So, you think you know certain words? Their meaning is so obvious, right? Today, I present heckle, a word that's just more than a word!

Meet the heckle, also called a hackle or hatchel. It's a comb used to straighten flax or hemp fibres. Heckling is the final step in preparing these fibres before spinning, performed by hecklers, sometimes in a heckling factory or shop. The work was tough and performed by men and women--female hecklers were called hekelsteres.

Heckle in English dates to 1300 when it was a flax comb and was spelled hechel. It either came from hecel in Old English or from a Germanic source. Middle High German had hechel and Middle Dutch had hekel, both of which come from a root word for a hook or tooth.

Now, how do we get from a pointy comb to the kind of heckler we think of at protests, comedy clubs, sports matches, and speeches?

Well, although heckler originated in the mid-14th century , it escaped the realms of textile production by the 1880s when it was first used to describe "persons who harass"--that is, hecklers from Dundee, Scotland, developed a reputation for their vocal interruptions and spirited discussions. One heckler often read newspapers aloud during the work day, and the shops and factories became centres for labour activism.

Now you know!

dark_kana posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) delicious tea and ice tea ^^

2) watching another episode of Downton Abbey during lunch break

3) Going swimming this evening

silver_chipmunk

I got up at 10:00 and had breakfast and coffee. Then I puttered online til the mail got here at1:00ish I think. And the new Jonathan Kellerman Alex Delaware book, Jigsaw, had arrived.

So I took it into the bedroom and lay down and read it. All of it. Straight through, though I went to the bathroom twice, and got a snack.

And finished it. It was just as good as the rest of the series. I loved it.

Then I called

mashfanficchick to let zer know that I finished and ze can borrow it whenever I can get it to zer. Don't know if we'll be seeing each other for the next week as ze is catsitting zer friend's cats til the 11th. But we'll see.

Then I puttered on the computer til 7:00 when I Teamed the FWiB. We talked til 8:00, then I got off to go to my gaming. The GM of the Monster of the Week game we had been playing didn't feel up to running the game tonight so we played D&D, the old Caves of Chaos campaign. I had trouble with the Discord at first and had to exit out and restart it so I missed a bit but then it worked ok.

As usual we played til 10. Killed an ogre and some orcs. And some goblins. It was fun.

Then I fed the pets and had dinner and started here. And that was the day. Oh, I heard from Shipt, they are refunding the money for the item that didn't get to me yesterday. So that's good.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Got the book.

3. Got the refund from Shipt.

4. My gaming group.

5. Friends.

6. The Discord mostly worked.

Current Mood: cheerful

militarypenguin posting in

icons

See the rest here at

kommsussertod

merrileemakes posting in

common_nature

common_nature,

stonpicnicking_okapi shared their love of this comm as part of February Love Fest and inspired me to join. :)

I have been experiencing nature up close and personal thanks to some frogs. At the end of November, following a rain storm, my Partner and I could hear a frog in our tiny, ornamental garden pond/water feature. We're always so thrilled when this happens!

The next morning when I walked past the pond I saw a pile of bubbles and thought that was cool. The male frog has been making a bubble nest, like a betta fish, pining for a female to come join him (spoiler: I don't know much about frogs).

The next day I went to clean the pond (a bi-weekly feat during summer) and noticed that only only had the bubbles persisted, but some of them had developed little black dots. Oh my god, they're not bubbles they're eggs!
( Life, uh, finds a way )

silversea posting in

booknook

It's Wednesday! Are you reading anything?

dark_kana posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) Delicious homemade ice tea

2) No training this evening, can't say I mind much today

3) A friend from jiujitsu coming over for dinner

simplyn2deep posting in

1word1day

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

CAPTCHA (noun)
CAPTCHA Or captcha [kap-chuh]

noun, Digital Technology.
1. an online test designed so that humans but not computers are able to pass it, used as a security measure and usually involving a visual-perception task: Site visitors must solve the “distorted text” CAPTCHA before posting comments.

2. a computer program that generates such tests.

Origin: First recorded in 2000–05; C(ompletely) A(utomated) P(ublic) T(uring) (Test to Tell) C(omputers and) H(umans) A(part); inspired by capture ( def. )

Example Sentences
OpenAI’s safety tests for ChatGPT-4 revealed that AI has already developed the ability to scam human users into helping them pass Captcha tests.
From MarketWatch

That’s great, and I want that, but sometimes I want entertainment, style and originality too, and all of those things exist in this exciting, economical tale of a woman who can’t get past a CAPTCHA.
From Salon

In the short term, Tools for Humanity plans to generate revenue by offering its iris-based system as an alternative to security technologies like CAPTCHA, the photographic test that is used to sort humans from spam accounts.
From New York Times

The testers found that the system could potentially hire a human to defeat an online Captcha test, lying that it was a person with a visual impairment.
From New York Times

Researchers recently showed that one system was able to hire a human online to defeat a Captcha test.
From New York Times

silver_chipmunk

Last night after I posted here I kept looking for that knob for my ceiling light. And finally I gave up, turned aroun while sitting on the living room floor, and saw it! In the exact opposite direction from where I was looking and where it logically should have been. I figure that it must have bounced and landed on the bottom step of the step ladder, and when I put the ladder away, I moved it first before I folded it up, and when I folded it up the knob must have fallen off and rolled. So anyway, I found it.

So this morning I woke up with my alarm at 10:00, and once again rolled over and went back to sleept til 12:00. But then I got up, had breakfast and coffee, and then got the step ladder out again and fixed the ceiling light. Thank goodness.

Then I put in a Shipt order and waited for it. When It got here one of the items hadn't arrived, so I notified Shipt and they said I'd get an email but I haven't. Maybe because it was after 5:00 by then. So if I don't get that email tomorrow, I'll contact them again.

I puttered online til 7:00 when I Teamed the FWiB. We talked til I ha to go to my meeting, but then I had terrible technical difficulties getting Zoom to work. Finally did, and we had a small, but good meeting. Both M and S were there.

The Kid finally called, when I was Teaming the FWiB. We discussed the timing of the memorial service for Oldest Brother at the cottage this July. It looks like it will have to be the 18th which I'm not happy about, but we'll do the best we can. I have to let people know... tomorrow.

After my meeting I had dinner, and then went to the bedroom, and lay down an watched a video on my phone that the FWiB sent, the 25 best space movies. I don't know if I agree with the guy who did the list on everything, but it was fun watching.

And then it was pet feeding time so I fed the pets and started here.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Found the knob!!!

3. And was able to get the light back together without a problem.

4. My meetings and the people there.

5. The Kid finally called and we have a date.

6. Found out from

mashfanficchick that The Lincoln Lawyer starts now.

Current Mood: relieved

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