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facts of the day, courtesy of current book

Koalas have fingerprints; hairy-nose wombats do not.

Skin on fingers and toes wrinkle in water not because cells get saturated but as an autonomic nervous system function, which we have apparently known since at least 1935. An initial 2013 study found that people with wrinkled fingertips could pick up and move more wet marbles in a set time frame than people with dry skin; a 2014 study failed to replicate this, but there's more at the BBC including a 2020 replication. (The 2013 reference at least is buried in the BBC article.)

Holding a hot drink inclines us to view people as "emotionally warmer"; a heavier clipboard inclines us to believe the person whose CV it's displaying takes their work more seriously. Many other related fun facts over here.

(Book of the moment: Touch, David J. Linden.)

Current Mood: determined

If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium

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

Excel Progress

I'm working through the 102 course now. The 101 course was really easy. It was mostly all stuff I knew (that said, I did not know that Excel is so much 'smarter' than it used to be and was doing things manually that I do not need to be doing manually anymore.)

The 102 course has lots of new knowledge for me, but so far nothing is hard - pretty easy monkey-see, monkey-do. The Pivot Table review is the fourth session in, so if I do one session in the morning and one session at night, I will have done the Pivot Table review this weekend which would be nice. I should have done this course before the data analysis course, I would have easily made the accelerated course. Then I could have had Project Management and Data Analysis completed.

Then by the end of next weekend I'll hopefully have finished the course and can move on to other common softwares and try to find capstone projects with public data to show off my skills. I'm thinking dogs or the rented sector.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and mild.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/23/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

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

Current Mood: busy

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Email Aliases

arlie mentioned in a post that Protonmail allows you to create email aliases to avoid spam. This also seems extremely useful for cases where someone extorts your email from you before giving you something you need, but you don't really want to hear from them afterwards.

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memes,
writing

totally procrastinating, so here's a questionnaire

Someone - I forget who, sorry! - linked to this list of 15 questions for fanfic writers, put together by

maevedarcy. I do so love questionnaires and writing memes, even if I'm not that big of a writer (yet!).

( questions and answers under cut to spare your reading pages the length )

Current Mood: content

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Reading not-Wednesday 23/8

One advantage of my unexpected free month was that I started reading books again. Not a lot but 6 complete novels and a longfic in 6 weeks, which is more than I have for years. Let me catch up with some brief reviews:

Since term properly, properly finished on 6 July, I have read:

Circe by Madeline Miller 2018, Pub 2018 Bloomsbury, ISBN 9781526612519
Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla (c) Nikesh Shukla 2010, Pub 2010 Quartet, ISBN 978-0-7043-7204-7
Will Super Villains be on the final? by Naomi Novik, illustrated by Yishan Li (c) Temeraire LLC 2011, Pub 2011 Del Rey, ISBN 978-0-345-51656-5
Some desperate glory by Emily Tesh (c) Emily Tesh 2023, Pub 2023 Orbit, ISBN 978-0-356-51718-6
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (c) Ann Leckie 2015, Pub 2015 Orbit, ISBN 978-0-356-50242-7
A free man of color by Barbara Hambly (c) Barbara Hambly 1997, Pub 1998 Bantam, ISBN 0-553-57526-0
I transmigrated into Cordelia Naismith! by Lanna Michaels, 2025

( Circe )

( Coconut Unlimited )

( Will Super Villains be on the final? )

( Some desperate glory )

( Ancillary Mercy )

( A Free Man of Color )

( I transmigrated into Cordelia Naismith! )

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Rather dubiously following the call of the wiiiiiild

I was very taken with this article (from 2008) about a genre of nature writing, and how, really, it's very dubious to invoke wild and untamed NAYCHUR in our green and pleasant land.

Wild and not-wild is a false distinction, in this ancient, contested country. The contests are far from over. When the wild is protected by management, or re-created by the removal of traces of human history, you have to ask, who are these managers? Why do conservationists favour this species over that? Whose traces are considered worth saving, whose fit only to be bulldozed? If the landscape is apparently empty, was it ever thus?

I mean, we are all about nature, but here I am in London Zone 2 and we have wildflower plots at the edge of the local playing field and an eco-pond, and little copses of woodland and apparently an RSPB sparrow meadow in the local park, rus in urbe, hmmm. In fact London is one of the world's greenest cities, a development which might have surprised dear old Mad William when he was trudging along the chartered streets.

It's also wonderfully codslappy about a certain type of (male) writer going alone into the Wild Places (and not meeting the existential horror that attacked poor Moley in the Wild Wood before he found Badger's house).

It seems to me to resonate with this other thing I came across lately about Rights of Way. Which is of particular interest to me since I am pretty sure that the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 owed rather a lot to my dear fubsy interwar progressives rambling and occasionally organising mass trespasses because the countryside was for The People and they had a Right to Roam. And was much more about collective enjoyment.

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

natlyn and

quinfirefrorefiddle!

Current Mood: busy

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recurring posts

Philosophical Questions: Money

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Could societies exist without a way to transfer value (i.e. without money or a barter system)?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

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Heat

The Truth About Caffeine, Dehydration, and Extreme Heat

As dangerous heat waves sweep the U.S., the CDC cautions against consuming caffeine. But not every expert is convinced the advice needs to be one-size-fits-all.
[---8<---]
"Don’t drink liquids that contain caffeine, alcohol, or large amounts of sugar — these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also, avoid very cold drinks because they can cause stomach cramps," the CDC wrote in its Extreme Heat guidance. It doubles down on this warning on its Heat and Your Health page, though with softer language, stating, "Consider limiting beverages high in sugars and sodium, caffeine, and alcohol, if possible."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

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Early Humans

Ancient fossil discovery in Ethiopia rewrites human origins

The fossils found in northeastern Ethiopia date between 2.6 to 2.8 million years ago and shed new light on human evolution.
In the deserts of Ethiopia, scientists uncovered fossils showing that early members of our genus Homo lived side by side with a newly identified species of Australopithecus nearly three million years ago. These finds challenge the old idea of a straight evolutionary ladder, revealing instead a tangled web of ancient relatives.

I'm surprised to find such far-flung relatives coexisting like that, but it's a happier image than today's lonely Homo.

Current Mood: busy

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Books

23 Must-Read Books About Hope That Inspire Change & Action

John Parsi, executive director of the Hope Center, says that while optimistic people see the glass as half full, hopeful people ask how they can fill the glass full.

“Hope requires a person to take responsibility for their wants and desires and take action in working towards them,” Parsi says.

So whether you’re looking to start, sustain, or complete something, we hope the books included in this list inspire you to take action and work towards whatever goals you have in front of you.

I am particularly charmed to see “The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear” edited by Paul Rogat Loeb because I've got a poem in that one, "Origami Emotion," from a couple decades ago.

Current Mood: indescribable
Current Music: this is the straw, final straw

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the moon sometimes looks like a C, but you can't eat that!

I did not end up making a dessert for choir this week that magically used any portion of our eleven cups of plum jam in the fridge. I made chocolate chip cookies, and they disappeared like magic (the only empty container on the snack table when I went to clean up after break!) and I got multiple compliments on them *preens*.

It was my usual recipe, doubled because I used the oversized 20 oz Ghirardelli bag of semisweet chips, and then I went through my spice cabinet and pulled out baharat and rosewater. Though I've made a couple of adjustments over the years, and didn't actually write them down online, so here, have my ( go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. )

Ugh, I need a new chocolate icon, FJKR.

That being said, I went by Market Hall this morning since the internet said they were my local carrier for the See's Candy x McConnell's Ice Cream collab - they didn't have all the flavors, but they did have Coffee + Molasses Chips, so that got promptly plopped into my bike basket.

But while I was there, I also perused the other things they had available, and the regular old standard size 12 oz bag of Guittard semisweet chocolate chips was SIXTEEN GODDAMNED DOLLARS I HATE THIS TIMELINE.

Even checking online right now - Berkeley Bowl is claiming $12.39/bag, Guittard direct says $11.99/bag, and I am wondering how many bags of the semisweet I can order via my farmshare at $7.49/bag before they cut me off. Ghirardelli is still available at Berkeley Bowl for $8.79/bag, but I'm wondering for how much longer - before this summer, both of these were pretty close price matches, maybe 50c/bag difference and not always consistently in the same direction depending on what supermarket I was at? This feels like when vanilla prices exponentially spiked a few years ago and my $50 of vanilla backstock was suddenly worth $300.

... the farmshare website dropdown goes to 20 items. I'm not sure I want to be talked out of this. (I will probably buy at least 4, I am literally down to my last bag of chocolate chips and I usually have half a dozen bags on hand at any given time.)

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Location: Cafe Leblanc
Current Music: DEJA VU - Michi Mochievee & K9 Kuro

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Yapping at Your Chamber Door—Only This and Nothing More

(YES the title was an Edgar Allen Poe reference for funsies, NO I am not accepting criticism at this time xD)

No Fannish 50 this week since this work week had me BEAT, but it'll be back again next Friday! For now you get a YAPPING POST before I initiate my Friday After Work Nap™!! ^ o^)/

But AHHHHHHHHHH I WAS BRAVE AND DID A THING

So thanks to

rionaleonhart writing Death Note fic (here if you wanna read it b/c HELL YEAH THESE WERE SO GOOD), I stumbled on the

1character comm and their "50 Sentence Fic" challenge!! I was crazy enough to not only try it for Nagisa (P5X), but I'm also gonna try it for my Twisted Wonderland OC Tristan, too!! Nagisa for obvious reasons, and Tristan b/c in my break from writing OC stuff, I've REALLY missed him a lot!! ; u; When I saw some of the prompts, I thought it would be a chance to not only expand on Tristan's past, but to talk about his future, as well!

Nervous but EXCITED, at least!! (Because Trishelle is never going to miss an opportunity to feed the GAPING MAW of the WIP Drafts beast. xD These'll be MUCH smaller prompts in comparison to just writing a whole ass fic, so it should be pretty low stress! Fingers crossed!! 🤞❤️)

Speaking of the Drafts Beast, I'm gonna try to take a bit of Sunday to REALLY buckle down and clear out some of my WIPs b/c OOF the brain has been willing to write but the body fights it at every turn! (Also trying to ride the "fuck it, we ball" wave b/c no one's gonna read this (affectionate) so I need to stop worrying and just WRITE xD) Saturday is reserved for my Final Destination Extravaganza, so that'll be my break day along with today.

AND NOW SLEEPS! 🥱😴 Have a good weekend, everyone!! WE MADE IT!! ^ o^)/

Current Mood: busy

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Music

My Noise has a bunch of new soundscapes that you can play with.

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Location: The Dining Table

Messing with about:config

I am always excessively pleased with myself when I successfully go beyond the instructions while messing with computers. It's just something about the fact that I figured a thing out by myself, even if it's a small thing. I messed with my settings and it worked! (This is how I justify my use of Linux. I don't do a lot of messing around with its scripts--but I have the option, when something annoys me enough.)

In this case, the problem was actually my browser, not my operating system. I updated Firefox and disabling the AI chatbot was no longer sufficient; I had to disable a new integrated AI summary pop-up. (A profoundly annoying one. I am very disappointed in you, Firefox.)

Now, the thing I originally set to false was browser.ml.chat.enabled. This disabled the AI chatbot.

New update added the AI summary pop-up every time I clicked on a link. The internet suggested that the thing I needed to disable to deactivate the entire integrated AI was browser.ml.enable, so I set that to false.

This did not get rid of the AI summary pop-up.

Rather than go hunting for more precise instructions, I went "hey, browser.ml seems to be common thread here; I wonder what else is under browser.ml?" As it turns out, a lot of things, some of which are bolded and all of which are named descriptively enough that you can tell what their deal is. One of these things is browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled, which seemed like it might be thing I was trying to get rid of. So I set that to false and went back to click on some links.

No pop-up.

I am cautiously optimistic that this has fixed the problem.

(Yes, this is extremely basic problem-solving. But it's unusual for me to actively problem-solve my computer rather than go find a ready-made solution on Reddit.)

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is mostly cloudy and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/22/26 -- I did some work around the patio.

EDIT 8/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

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[food] misc veg salad

The nature of veg box is that Vegetables for which I have no Plan... accumulate. Today's dinner took a bunch of said accumulated veg and made them salad-shaped, and it worked out well enough that I want a record as a reminder for future self that one can just Do This.

( Read more... )

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2025 52 Card Project: Week 33: Camel Ride

I went to Open Streets Minneapolis at Cedar Avenue this past Sunday.

When I was at the Powderhorn Art Fair several weeks ago, I saw a booth selling Haitian oil drum metal artwork. I knew I wanted to buy one of their Trees of Life, but they didn't have one that was quite right that day. The people at the booth told me that they would also be at the next Open Streets event, and so I decided to stop by to see if they would have another Tree at that event that I would like.

I had picked out the one that I wanted online, but alas, they didn't have one that I wanted in stock. Still, I was glad that I had come. It was fun to wander down the street, looking at the art cars and examining the items for sale at the various booths.

As I walked past the Somali mall, I saw another item being offered: free camel rides. A saddled camel stood in the weedy lot beside the mall, standing next to a mounting block and calmly chewing its cud. A line of eager children had lined up waiting to take their turn.

I walked by, not really thinking about it. And after I got home later that afternoon, I thought, belatedly, of that missed opportunity.

Why on earth didn't I take a camel ride? Why?

This is supposed to be my Year of Adventure, and I have done some fun things. But I realized that night that moments of adventure can be missed if you aren't paying attention.

Next time, I will take the camel ride. I promise.

I have ordered the Tree of Life online, and it should be arriving Monday. I'm really looking forward to mounting it on the wall.

Image description: Foreground: three art cars. Behind: A cut metal tree of life painted in hues of blue and green with yellow tips. A saddled camel overlays the tree. Top: "Open Streets Minneapolis: Cedar Riverside."

Camel Ride

33 Camel Ride

Click on the links to see the 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 52 Card Project galleries.