Reading List | Adventures with Kake

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Economics
Birdfeeding
Artificial Intelligence
Poem: "How Great You Really Are"
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding
Books
Climate Change
Books
Philosophical Questions: World
Poem: "Restoring Them to Their Former Glory"
Buffalo
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 5-8-26: Muse
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Moment of Silence: Ted Turner
Low Tech
Community Thursdays
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding

Poem: "Walnut Park" has 46 comments. Early Humans has 22 comments. Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy has 80 comments. Safety has 83 comments.

Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I am still writing.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth is running April 25-May 15. People aim to make a new post each day, or participate in various activities to celebrate the platform.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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

"The Worst Thing in Life" opened and closed within a few days. Quain tries calling his friends to talk about recent accomplishments, but the only person willing to talk with him is someone he hasn't contacted in a couple of years.

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

The weather has been variable here. We got some rain the other day. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of cardinals, a male and a female rose-breasted grosbeak separately, a male Baltimore oriole, a brown thrasher, a blue jay, a gray catbird, and a fox squirrel. Currently blooming: pansies, violas, sweet alyssum, alliums, marigolds, honeysuckle, snapdragons, lantana, million bells, blue lobelia, petunias, portulaca, nemesia, wild chives, wood hyacinths, columbine, peonies, irises, mock orange. Green fruit: mulberries, raspberries.

Current Mood: busy

discworldmud_devblog_feed

http://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc/blog/blog.c?action=filter&blog=recent%20developments&id=1080

The "describe" command now has a new syntax that allows you to control the order that zone descriptions will appear when someone looks at you. If, for example, you want your eyes description to appear first, then your hair, then your legs, you can use "describe zone order eyes, hair, legs".
In addition, the MUD will try to be a bit smarter about how many spaces it inserts between zone descriptions, so things should look a bit better.

http://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc/blog/blog.c?action=filter&blog=recent%20developments&id=1080

kaberett

Reading. I am so close to being Fully Up To Date with She's A Beast!!! I have just hit Feb 2026!!! Maybe my brain will let me read literally anything else???

... having said which, I totally managed to take a break from SAB to inhale Platform Decay (Martha Wells), the new Murderbot. Very little of it has stuck with me and also it was a very pleasant way to switch off brain for a few hours.

And I got close enough to the autoreturn on the library loan of another memoir about embodiment -- Run Toward The Danger, Sarah Polley -- that I am actually trying to blitz through it; so far it is not doing a great deal for me but all this really means is that I am not the target audience for everyone!

Watching. In celebration of David Attenborough's 100^th birthday, we have now watched The Year Earth Changed. I had an lot of feelings.

Playing. ... yeah so I completed The Game About Shelving Books, in that I now have all of the Steam achievements including the speedrun achievement (I never normally get speedrun achievements; I never normally even bother trying to get them), and am now Taking Breaks from other things by loading the game back up and wandering around reorganising subject shelving bays according to what makes me happiest (by and large: pick one of "colour" and "thematic grouping"; I am not here for trying to work out how to impose Dewey). At this point, though, that is feeling like a small soothing achievable task that can be A Smol Treet, rather than having the driving urgency of hyperfocus, so that's an extremely welcome development.

Eating. Strawberriessssssss. So many strawberries. I Am Luxuriating. Also: British asparagus! Fancy goats' cheese! The supermarket, having Taken Away the raspberry and passionfruit cheesecake Apparently Forever, has reintroduced it as a seasonal food!

Exploring. We went for one of our normal walks! Adam spotted a deer! We pursuit predated it for a little off amongst trees we had not previously poked around in, and discovered a series of neat rectangular brick walls, all of uniform roofless height, now full of mature trees that had clearly been there for Some Time! We have no idea, OpenStreetMap has nothing to say on the topic, and there is something that has merrily dug setts or dens into and around the foundations...

Making & mending. Bike... works again? Bike works again. Still need to unfuck the rear brake some more but maybe I will manage to take it to see the nice bike shop halfway down the hill tomorrow morning on my way Elsewhere.

Growing. Potted up the lemongrass! Have not potted up the aubergine. Ancho flowering merrily. Maybe I will make it to the plot this week and get some of the things I'm intending to put in the ground into the ground?

Observing. A deer! (Probably muntjac.) The bat! Several excellent front gardens!

oursin

This week's bread: a Standen loaf, 4:1 strong brown/buckwheat flour, honey, Rayner's barleymalt extract, turned out nicely.

Saturday breakfast rolls: the ones more or less after James Beard's mother's raisin bread, more or less 50/50% Marriages Light Spelt Flour (end of bag) and Golden Wholegrain Flour, turned out quite well.

Today's lunch: as there were potatoes left from last week, made a gratin provencale sorta, served with slowcooked purple sprouting broccoli (this really needed even longer slow-cooking, was still fairly al dente) and padron peppers.

ysabetwordsmith

When School Taught Me Basic Finance, Badly

The other day I wrote about the question Who should be teaching kids basic finance? Some point to schools and say schools should be teaching it; others point to parents and say it's their job. I noted that one difficulty with asking schools to do it is that they're already overloaded trying to cover basic academics. (And really the reason they're so overloaded on that is public school teachers end up spending, like, 90% of their time trying to manage behavior problems.) I also noted that schools seems ill equipped to teach it because, at least the one time a school I attended did try to teach basic finance, the whole lesson was basically a fail.

I would say that it's useful to teach basic finance BOTH at home and at school. That way if one skips or does a bad job, the other has a chance to pick up the slack.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, a blue jay, and a fox squirrel. :D Blue jays are fun.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I planted the pussy willow at the north edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I picked up sticks in the south lot, but only got as far as the birdgift tree. There were a LOT of sticks and they filled the trolley, which I dumped in the firepit. My partner Doug is out mowing a path around the prairie garden.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I trimmed grass around the small garden beside the maple tree. The burgundy iris is open and smells musky-sweet. :D

We walked around the newly mowed parts of the prairie garden path. Much raking to do before anything can be sown there, but the sowing needs to wait for a rain forecast anyhow.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a gray catbird at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I dug a hole for planting in the west hedge of the savanna.

I've seen a male rose-breasted grosbeak in the forest garden.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I planted the sandbar willow in the west hedge.

My partner Doug re-mowed the south lot.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I watered the recently planted things in the savanna.

I trimmed around the goddess garden. I still need to do a lot of work on that one: installing the goddess statue for the summer, digging out weeds, getting moss rose and thyme to plant.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- We burned off the firepit. \o/

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Generative AI vegetarianism

Hello, it’s me: I’m a generative AI vegetarian.

The tech industry is convinced this is the future; every app on my phone and most of the apps on my computer want me to use their new AI features.

I don’t want any of them. I want to write my own emails. I want to write my own (mediocre) software code. I want to learn and think and ponder with other humans, not with a text-prediction system built by consuming all the text on the internet.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

cesy

Vidders.net has been a fannish vid hosting site for a long time, offering a safe place when others kick legally protected vids off randomly at the request of copyright holders. It currently runs on less than $100 a month. They need a few more people to join their Patreon as regular donors to keep it sustainable.

Their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vidding
Their site: https://vidders.net

spiralsheep

I can't decide which Caroline Bonaparte Murat is more of a mood:
her self-portrait as grieving Greek nymph widow with tits out for the lads;
or her mourning portrait as camorra crime-boss signing off a hit on her enemies... presumably by having them thrown into Mount Vesuvius.

And, yes, if it wasn't for his politics then one might suspect her (late) husband Joachim Murat was actually well-known physicist and Queen guitarist Brian May after having invested his fortune in constructing a time machine and travelling back to support Napoleon and become King of Naples.

Random Caroline Bonaparte fact, because three things make a post: she chose to employ a Welshwoman, Catherine Davies, (and her companion Mrs Pulsford) as third (under) governess for her children. Davies later published her memoir Eleven Years' Residence in the Family of Murat, King of Naples with a foreword by Achille Murat who was one of her previous governees.

oursin

Happy birthday,

lisajulie and

luzula!

ysabetwordsmith

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills, Part 15: Archaeology.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 16: Biology

Biology is the science of studying life. Its two main subfields are botany (studying plants) and zoology (studying animals) but there are other branches such as evolutionary biology, genetics, mycology (studying fungi), paleozoology (studying extinct animals), and so forth. Aspects include history, famous people, and regions. Different cultures have very different approaches to biology too. Here on Dreamwidth, check out

birdfeeding,

common_nature,

environment,

gardening,

naturaldyes,

petchat,

science, and

scienceworld.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the notes for "How Great You Really Are."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the May 5, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from my partner Doug,

lone_cat, and

see_also_friend. It also fills the "Family" square in my 5-1-26 card for the Greek Myth Fest. This poem has been posted in memory of Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Antimatter and Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

jesse_the_k

It’s been three weeks since Shadow’s freedom day, after eight weeks of crate rest to ensure no stray heartworms clogged up his blood supply.

I’d hoped that on 15 April he’d spurt out the back door and explore every blade of grass and clump of dirt in our back yard. Instead, he’s deliberately lowering his DEFCON level in response to gentle encouragement and constant treats.

Recent achievements:

Leaving his crate and curling up in his own bed at the foot of ours. (He loves his crate; we only close the door when we leave him in the house)
Responding to my Shadow, come! by moving to me and sitting within easy reach of my treat-filled fingers.
Walking on our nearby bike path, which offers humans of all ages, other dogs, bicycles, ebikes, emotos, skateboards, power scooters — in general a hell of a lot of stimulation.
Walking briskly without stopping to sniff, attached to my powerchair (MyGuy transfers the connection from his lead to mine after we’ve left the house, because the ramp exit is super narrow.)
Permitting me to scratch his butt while MyGuy fondles his ears.
Meeting two of the gentler neighborhod dogs — just nose to nose; hasn’t done the full tip-to-tail sniff
Very politely greeting visitors, sniffing their fingers and returning to his crate.

Slow but steady, in the correct direction.

kaberett

Today I discovered, at approximately 6 p.m., that The Gym is only open until 5 p.m. on Saturdays. We had had a fairly lazy day at home and I had been putting off My Own Gym until after I had talked A through their (second!) Liftoff Phase One workout; I spent the approach going "... this car park is suspiciously empty, I don't think it can possibly be just that the school isn't on today..." and, yep, closed already.

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Surprise! Tiny world with an atmosphere in outer solar system

Astronomers in Japan have just discovered that the tiny world 2002 XV93, orbiting in the icy reaches beyond Neptune, does have a thin atmosphere. That’s despite the fact that this space rock is just some 310 miles (500 km) in diameter. That’s about 7 times smaller than our moon.

The researchers said on May 5, 2026, that they detected the atmosphere when the tiny world passed in front of a star. Using multiple telescopes, they saw that the light from the star gradually faded instead of just suddenly winking. That’s evidence for a thin atmosphere around 2002 XV93.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and mild. It rained most of yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- We went out to run errands, which included a stop at Rural King for more bagged goods and a few flowers. Sadly they're moving away from the small sizes that I prefer; much of it was big pots and I'm not going spend $15-20 on something I could get elsewhere for $3-4, especially when most of my plantings are mixed. I only bought one big potted thing this season, and that was a pot with 4 different violas (purple-lavender, purple-white, purple-yellow, purple-orange) in it.

We also finished reading Super Smoothies.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted 4 celosia (3 pinkish-red and 1 yellow), a purple wave petunia, and a Bidens flower in the barrel garden. I hadn't seen the Bidens before but it is a yellow-and-orange flower similar to a marigold or coreopsis, so it fits well in the barrel garden. That's almost full -- I've got room to squeeze in a firecracker and maybe some marigolds but that's about it.

A petunia is blooming pale rosepetal pink under the maple tree, and an iris looks to be opening up sort of a chocolate color there too. I'm pleased that the peony has a strong scent; the dark pink one under the apricot tree is nearly scentless.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted 8 yellow marigolds in pots around the new picnic table.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I dug a whole for an oak seedling at the edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted a pin oak seedling at the edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Bad Ass on a Budget is for Indie Filmmakers

Veteran stuntman and action filmmaker Eric Jacobus (God of War, Man Who Feels No Pain) delivers a tech-agnostic, philosophically grounded roadmap for zero-budget filmmakers to achieve high-impact action by mastering the “human universals” of physiology, psychology, and human relationships.

Badass on a Budget is a masterclass for the “Zero-Budget Action Filmmaker” (ZBAF) by veteran action designer Eric Jacobus, who draws on decades of experience from viral hits (Rope-A-Dope and Blindsided) to indie feature film production (Contour and Death Grip) to global franchises (God of War and Mortal Kombat). Rejecting gear-centric trends, Jacobus focuses on tech-agnostic “human universals”—physiology, psychology, and relationships—to provide a holistic framework for a high-impact “Action Ecosystem” where performance, choreography, camera, and editing work in perfect synergy.

Given the "human universals" I suspect this would work well for writers, artists, etc. who wish to choreograph effective fight scenes. Plus of course, a fun read for anyone who enjoys action flix and is fed up with the overuse of tech. I also like the creative, DIY angle; it reminds me of the book Hang the Cat from Terramagne, which I wish existed in local-Earth.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Climate change is forcing plants to move, but many have nowhere left to go

Plants survive within specific conditions. They depend on temperature, rainfall, and soil.

As climate changes, these conditions shift across geography. Suitable zones move toward the poles or climb to higher elevations.

Plants respond in three ways. They move, adapt, or disappear.

Movement sounds simple, but it is not. Seeds must travel. Landscapes must allow passage. New habitats must exist and support growth.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

oursin

Though I suspect it's more just 'did not bother to do any research'.

Two pieces in today's Guardian Saturday.

The one about blokes being (IMHO) totally scammed over testosterone doesn't appear to be online yet, but I, who have done my time in the noisome pits of sex-related quackery, was going: this is the latest round of what used to be rejuvenation operations of various kinds (HAI! WB Yeats!), the Blakoe energiser, electrical belts, devices to prevent the leakage of the precious manly fluids, pills to restore Lost Manhood, and I wouldn't be surprised if radium tonics had featured at some point.

The placebo reaction is a powerful thing.

And then we get The rise of the literary nepo baby? The children of famous novelists on following in their parents’ footsteps.

Well, maybe in these parlous times it does help getting an agent and one's foot in the door at a publisher? But it is hardly a new phenomenon that there is More Than One Writer In The Family.

Will concede that perhaps I am thinking of those literary families of an earlier era which were perhaps more into churning out more or less hackwork as a cottage industry (e.g. the Allinghams).

Then I bethought me that Angela Thirkell's son Colin MacInnes was also a writer, albeit, as one may see from that Wikipedia entry, a very different article from Mama, wot. (I seem to recall from the bios of her that I read that they were estranged and he was a hostile witness.)

There's also a bit of a reverse pattern in the Drabble family, whereby John Drabble took to novel-writing after his daughters. (Famous Sibling Literary Feuds....)

Kake's Reading List

Monday Update 5-11-26

My Eyes Are Up Here

vital functions

Culinary

Economics

Birdfeeding

Artificial Intelligence

Vidders hosting

In which our heroine has trivial thoughts about Bonaparte (no, not that Bonaparte)

(no subject)

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Biology

Notes for "How Great You Really Are"

Poem: "How Great You Really Are"

Day 75: Shadow Brightens

Recent achievements:

[movement] dumbbells are SUCH HARD WORK good GRIEF

Space Exploration

Birdfeeding

Books

Climate Change

Are their minds wiped every night?

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December 2012

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