Reading

Current Mood: busy

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Earthquakes

Myanmar’s massive quake hints at bigger earthquakes to come

The massive 2025 Myanmar earthquake revealed that strike slip faults can behave in surprising ways. Using satellite data, Caltech researchers found the Sagaing Fault ruptured more dramatically than expected, suggesting faults like the San Andreas could unleash even larger quakes than history shows.

Never assume that the worst thing you know about is the worst thing that can happen.

Current Mood: energetic

Entry tags:

*self,
blaugust

how do YOU pronounce zines? out of curiosity

I have to work today... I need to motivate myself... But I still want to try writing about the second first place subject in the poll: zines!!! I've been getting into zines more and more lately (as a hobby/interest, I mean, not like I've been getting invited or accepted into zines more lol) so I'm really excited to get to talk about it..!!!

( Warning for a very long post with pictures! )

In other, unrelated (or is it) news... My TFL application was accepted!!! So now I have 4 weeks to finish my PRFR fanlisting, which should be plenty of time. :D

ficinabox sign-ups just opened, and late noms too, so now I have to decide whether I'm going to be requesting new stuff or not. I'm giving myself today and tomorrow to think about it...

I pronounce it zeens BTW, although I sometimes slip up because my brain is like "NO WRONG THIS IS FRENCH, FOOL"

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny and sweltering.

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

EDIT 8/18/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/18/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a hummingbird in the forest garden. I couldn't tell more detail than that, but presumably it is a rubythroat as that is the only kind typically found in Illinois. It may have been attracted to the water, or the robust colony of red salvia blooming in the barrel garden.

EDIT 8/18/25 -- I did a more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/18/25 -- I potted up 24 sweet cherry seeds.

EDIT 8/18/25 -- I watered the old picnic table and the patio plants.

EDIT 8/18/25 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.

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

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

blogging,
personal

Monday Update 8-18-25

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Writing
Read "For the Many" by Beepbird
How to not build the Torment Nexus
Affordable Housing
Moment of Silence: Terence Stamp
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Robotics
Genetics
Birdfeeding
Crafts
Climate Change
Creative Jam
Philosophical Questions: Diversity
Today's Adventures
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 8-15-25: Indie
Affordable Housing
Celebrate Love Your Bookshop Day
Birdfeeding
Vocabulary: Unintended Sidequences
Conservation
Birdfeeding
Poem: "To Allow in More Light"
Hard Things

Affordable Housing has 26 comments. Robotics has 46 comments. Food has 34 comments. "Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 49 comments. "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness" has 75 comments.

summerofthe69 is open! You can see the calendar here and the current themes are Kinky 69 and Tropefest 69.

There are no open epics at present.

The weather is still sweltering here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, a male cardinal, a fox squirrel, a skunk, and a bat. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, gladioli, firewheel, orange butterfly weed. Tomatillo and pepper have green fruit. Tomatoes, cucumbers, ball carrots, and groundcherries are ripe.

Entry tags:

starving

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Current Mood: busy

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Writing

china_shop has posted "Writing meta: What Middles Are For." It's an excellent essay about story structure.

Current Mood: impressed

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Read "For the Many" by Beepbird

beepbird has written "For the Many," a book about plurality / multiplicity. It is available at this post with links to download PDF or EPUB formats.

I know I have a bunch of plural people in my audience, and I write about some plural characters such as Damask in Polychrome Heroics or Bruce-and-Hulk in Love Is For Children (The Avengers), so I'm always watching for good resources on this topic. Go read the book. It is very clearly written and includes many practical descriptions of how to achieve healthy multiplicity. Many of the suggestions are good people skills for living in other communal contexts too. It's good to read if you have plural friends, so you don't hurt them, because society affords them little or no protection. If you want to know how to do something, listen to someone who's been doing it a while -- not an "expert" who has never done it.

Current Mood: busy

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How to not build the Torment Nexus

How to not build the Torment Nexus

This week’s question comes to us from Will Hopkins:
When your job and healthcare depends on building the Torment Nexus, but you actually learned the lesson from the popular book Don't Build the Torment Nexus, how do you keep your soul intact and try to put less torment into the world?

I would add: when your survival requires a job, and most jobs involve building some form of Torment Nexus, be aware that your society is in the toilet, circling the drain. And it's not an accident for people to feel outright trapped in truly heinous jobs. That's what homeless people are for: so the boss can say, "Quit dragging your feet and build the goddamn Torment Nexus! Or do you want to be homeless?"

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

community,
news

Affordable Housing

Small Changes With Big Impacts in Dallas

On April 23, the Dallas City Council did something worth paying attention to.
They voted unanimously to approve a change to the city’s building code that allows up to eight dwelling units in three-story buildings under a modified version of the International Residential Code (IRC).

Multiplexes and small apartment buildings belong to the "missing middle" of affordable housing. They mix well with freestanding homes, particularly if you put them on the larger corner lots of a block. Imagine a block of mostly 2-3 bedroom houses with the corners holding a couple of small apartment buildings or multiplexes and a couple of bigger 4+ bedroom houses that could be for large families, sharehouses, boarding houses, etc. And some of those single-family homes could also have a garage apartment or a home business on the porch or garage. Such blocks exist in many of the towns near me, and they are awesome.

Current Mood: pensive

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Moment of Silence: Terence Stamp

Famous actor Terence Stamp has passed away. He was best known for his role in two Superman movies ("Kneel before Zod!") but performed in many other roles as well.

Carry on the Work:

Acting -- how to articles from wikiHow

The Creative Writer's Ultimate Guide to Science Fantasy

How to Study Voice Acting: A Step-by-Step Guide

Current Mood: busy

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Climate Change

Unprecedented climate shocks are changing the Great Lakes forever

Heat waves and cold spells are now more common on the Great Lakes, according to U-M research, with implications for the region's weather, economy and ecology.
Extreme heat waves and cold spells on the Great Lakes have more than doubled since the late 1990s, coinciding with a major El Niño event. Using advanced ocean-style modeling adapted for the lakes, researchers traced temperature trends back to 1940, revealing alarming potential impacts on billion-dollar fishing industries, fragile ecosystems, and drinking water quality.

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(no subject)

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Current Mood: good
Current Music: なにやってもうまくいかない - meiyo

Entry tags:

*self,
blaugust

an incomplete exchange autobiography

The poll results are in!!! Two of the options got the most votes so I'm going to do one today and one tomorrow, I guess. You can look at the previous post to see it, but I'll summarize the results in a top 4 anyway:

Talk about zines and talk about exchanges got the most votes!

Talk about kinks came out second place.

Then my Internet anecdotes came out third place by virtue of getting one extra vote.

Fourth place is taken up by sunshine_revival and Fannish 50.

I realized I forgot to explain what my unfinished Fannish 50 post was LOL, but basically it was a post of 10 fics that had a big (positive, because I don't wanna dwell on negativity) impact on me. My main issue was that I couldn't find 10 fics... I think I was at 7... ish. I suppose 7 is a good enough number though.

So, right now, the plan is: exchanges today, zines tomorrow, kinks the day after, and then maybe I'll at least tell the copycat story since it was the one people seemed most intrigued by. o7

( I don't know how long this will be, kinda scared ngl. I also don't know if it's going to be interesting!!! ETA: The answer is: pretty long, and kinda negative... You've been warned, I guess! )

Closing words, whether you read my rambling or not..! I was working on some little pixel art today... I'd like to make Neopets-style adoptable for Lysandre Labs. This is a very rough WIP but I thought it might be fun to do a Litleo in different "Paintbrush" colors... We'll see how that goes...

As always, I hope whoever is reading this is having a good day, and if not, that it'll get better soon! I'd really like to get out of the house more next week, especially now that I know how to go to the nice park nearby. Maybe I'll even work on my SOD assignment there... It'll depend on the weather, though..! 🌻

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and sweltering.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/17/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/17/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/17/25 -- I watered the patio plants and the old picnic table garden.

I picked 4 goldenberries.

I've seen a male cardinal.

EDIT 8/17/25 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.

I picked 2 red cherry tomatoes.

EDIT 8/17/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and a few of the savanna seedlings.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Robotics

China firm plans world’s first pregnancy humanoid robot using artificial womb

The innovation uses artificial amniotic fluid and nutrient delivery via hose, replicating natural gestation, now to be integrated into humanoid robots.

( Read more... )

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Music Monday

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Current Mood: busy

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Genetics

Great white sharks have a DNA mystery science still can’t explain

Once on the brink during the last ice age, great white sharks made a remarkable recovery globally, but their DNA reveals a baffling story. Classic migration explanations fail, leaving scientists with a mystery that defies reproductive and evolutionary logic.

The most important part of science is being willing and able to say, "I don't know."

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and sweltering.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and a mourning dove.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/16/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/16/25 -- I did a more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/16/25 -- I watered the patio plants and old picnic table garden.

EDIT 8/16/25 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.

I picked 5 ground cherries and a red cherry tomato. The ground cherries are related to tomatillos, with a sweet fruit inside a husk. They are about the size of a chickpea with a faint pineapple flavor. :D

EDIT 8/16/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and a few of the savanna seedlngs.

Cicacas and crickets are singing. Fireflies are out. I saw a bat.

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

Current Music: La Salsa Vive – Tito Nieves

Entry tags:

8/16/2025: The birth of my comicking setup.

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Current Mood: busy

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Crafts

DIY Vader and Leia Coke Can Lights

These turned out so well. :D