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The thing about buying new glasses, right, is that I've been feeling avoidant about it in part because I think I was slightly migrainey the day I had the most recent test done and I was already pretty sure that my vision goes... wrong... when migrainey -- most noticeable when moving, but always... there.

Slightly more specifically: it's neither scintillating scotoma nor loss-of-whole-field-of-vision nor any of the other very classic visual auras; instead it's a sense that I'm not managing to track movement properly along the lower edge and especially the lower corners of my field of vision.

... which matches up really well, actually, with the peripheral vision deficiencies that, er, showed up during my last eye test.

I've been noticing the Weirdness on-and-off for quite some time now, and was dithering back and forth about whether it was just confirmation bias in that I was only noticing it when otherwise migrainey -- but then on Monday, while on my way to my GP surgery to pick up some paperwork, it resulted in the railings I was going past (and that I go past regularly!) causing an extremely pronounced and unmistakeable strobing effect. I am very confident that that is not something I would somehow manage to confirmation bias myself out of noticing most of the time, so, hurrah, Definitely A Migraine Symptom (for lo, on Monday I was migrainey) it is.

The thing that is mildly baffling me is that I can't actually find (admittedly on a fairly cursory search) any description of specifically peripheral vision fuckery as a migraine thing! Lots of mentions of tunnel vision, lots of mentions of classic aura, and one case study in which "peripheral vision" is used metaphorically. So, you know, let the record show, &c.

ysabetwordsmith

In this all-women tiny home neighborhood, rent starts at $450. Residents want it to be a nationwide blueprint

Robyn Yerian, 70, used to live in a two-bedroom tiny home that cost just $57,000.

In 2022, she was yearning for more connection — as well as some “passive income.”

So she took some money from her retirement savings, bought a 5-acre plot of land in Cumby, Texas, and is now the landlord and community leader of The Bird’s Nest, an all-women tiny home neighborhood home to 11 women ages 60 to 80.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy and cooler. :D

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I watered spaces to put the irises.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I planted a Dangerous Mood Bearded Iris (lavender standards with near-black falls) in the purple-and-white garden. I planted a Montmartre Bearded Iris (purple with yellow edges) and a Ziggy Reblooming Bearded Iris (yellow standards with burgundy-and-yellow streaked falls) under the maple tree.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I watered the newly planted irises.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I watered the old picnic table and the patio plants.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I watered the new picnic table and septic garden.

EDIT 8/20/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and some of the savanna plants.

Cicadas and crickets are singing. Fireflies are out.

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

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This is a lovely romantic fable about a widow who falls in love with a cloud-herder.

Current Mood: busy

oursin

What I read

Finished Dragon Harvest.

Read the latest Literary Review.

Read Angela Thirkell, What Did It Mean? (The Barsetshire Novels Book 23) (1954), which, I depose, is the one where Ange, sighing and groaning, realised that she was going to have to write The One About The Coronation, like what everybody else was doing. (The title alludes to a cryptic prophecy by one of the local peasantry.) So there is a fair amount of phoning it in, but on the other hand, some Better Stuff than one might expect for that period of her output.

On the go

And it's back to Lanny: Upton Sinclair, A World to Win (Lanny Budd #7) (1946), in which WW2 is raging but so far, USA is not in it and Our Hero can still pootle about Europe under the guise of being an art expert while mingling in very elevated company indeed.

Up next

Once that is done, I should probably turn my attention to the very different WW2 experience of Nick Jenkins in the next one up for the Dance to the Music of Time book group, The Soldier's Art.

malurette

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

ysabetwordsmith

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

Current Mood: busy

oursin

Happy birthday,

gmh and

ravurian!

haunted_cherries

Guess who just found out that ALL the Final Destination movies (including the new one) are on streaming services and can FINALLY have their movie marathon this Saturday??

So now despite the incredibly terrifying passage of time, I am EXCITED for this weekend!! I was also gonna try to go see the sing-a-long version of Kpop Demon Hunters since it comes to theaters this weekend, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the spoons or not, so I’ll see how this week pans out and make a decision from there! Saturday for sure is DEFINITELY Final Destination day!! >:D

My mom would’ve been so GEEKED that there was another FD movie, so I hope her spirit can live through me when I watch it. ; u; That and Final Destination is one of my top favorite old school horror movies, so I’m OVER THE MOON about this!! 🥰

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!! Been in one of those “fuck it, WE BALL” kinda moods when it comes to writing, so look forward to some writing here this week!! ^ o^)/

Current Mood: sleepy

tablesaw

Sometimes I think about "Earl Grey, hot."

When TNG was airing, I wasn't drinking or ordering tea yet. Now that I do, I find myself having to make clarifications about tea that I wouldn't usually expect, like clarifying that I want a chai latte in the morning to be hot, even if it's summer. But I mostly think about it, because when I make tea for Psyche, she does not want it hot, just warm.

The electric kettle heats the water to a good steeping point, just below boiling, and after a few minutes that's where I expect it too be. It's probably too hot for my own good, but I still take a few sips, quickly, to get the first taste. Then as I work, and periodically forget it, it cools more and more, and my sips get larger and larger. If I get absorbed too much, and it reaches near room temperature, I usually just shotgun the remainder so I can make another cup.

Psyche will wait for the tea to cool down to warm before she starts drinking. And that can take a while. I've taken to steeping her tea a little short of ideal, then dropping some ice after removing the leaves, so that she can get a head start.

In Star Trek's future, I imagine that tea is replicated the way Psyche likes it. Imagine it brewed hot, but then already cooled down to a pleasant warmth, for easy drinking. By default, then Starfleet officers are picking up their cups of tea brewed several minutes before it was even desired.

Picard doesn't brew his own tea (where we regularly see him onscreen), but he clearly already has a history with tea that starts too hot to drink. Why else would anyone think to order their tea hotter than drinkable, in a time where pizza never burns the roof of your mouth either? It suggests some of the family history, that in his past, at least, he was party to the manual steeping of tea and still moves to its rhythms.

Current Music: "Language Is a Virus," Laurie Anderson

writerkit

Smart Bitches Trashy Books has a timeline (sexual assault; NSFW) of what happened at Sinners & Stardust, which is a convention I was not familiar with until this news hit FFA.

This is, incidentally, where radical-feminism-type thinking leads us: when you believe that all sexual harm comes from The Penis, you wind up in a position where you don't believe it's assault when women do it to men, and... it absolutely can be, and from the descriptions this isn't even questionable. It is absolutely assault. And given that bit with the AirTag, some techno-stalking as well. (Imagine if he didn't have an iPhone; he might never have known about that part, and that part could have been incredibly dangerous.)

Current Mood: angry
Current Location: My Room
Current Music: "Highwomen" by the Highwomen

ysabetwordsmith

WARNING: Do not watch with mouth full.

Robots race, play football, crash and collapse at China's 'robot Olympics'

BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - China kicked off the three-day long World Humanoid Robot Games on Friday, looking to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence and robotics with 280 teams from 16 countries.
Robots competed in sports such as track and field, and table tennis, as well as tackled robot-specific challenges from sorting medicines and handling materials to cleaning services

Watching the evolution of robotics on a primitive planet is hilarious.

Current Mood: amused

artemisdart

I contributed some nominations to the Rare Pair Exchange that's coming up, and I signed up for more than a few things. The deadline to sign up is tomorrow, so I should be getting my assignment in just a few days.

There are some reaaaaally obscure ships in this tagset! I was surprised to see characters from "The Big Country," a cowboy movie from 1958 -- surprisingly good, so I decided to include it in my offers -- as well as a ton of other, similarly obscure ships.

I was also surprised to see Dr. Gurathin/Murderbot, because to me, that's not very rare! Murderathin fics have been exploding in the wake of the Murderbot season finale. I just checked and there are 238 complete, English language fics for this ship. So it qualifies -- barely!! (There need to be fewer than 250 such fics in order for a ship to qualify as rare.)

For the first time, I'm requesting and offering very different sets of ships. There were lots of things I'd like to see, but don't particularly want to write or feel qualified to write, hence my decisions.

We'll see what the fandom gods have in store for me! 😁

Current Mood: artistic

ysabetwordsmith

Build an Emergency Food Supply List

There are several ways to build an emergency food supply to stock a survival kit and a “bug out bag”. While you can purchase specialized food products or a self-contained emergency preparedness kit, these can be costly and wasteful.

Instead, you can simply assemble shelf-stable foods that you already buy or preserve at home. Many canned, dried, and pickled foods are quite suitable for use in an emergency kit.

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

In particular, watch for sales. Anytime you see a shelf-stable food that you use, consider buying extra if feasible.

Current Mood: busy

kaberett

Ordered, at least, to pick up next week.

Indulgence is a writing slope off eBay with a lucky dip of writing utensils, one of which I am very cheerful about...

ysabetwordsmith

My fall order from American Meadows has arrived. :D Now I just need the weather to break so I can actually get out to plant things. If you're still shopping, this nursery has some stock of fall bulbs left and some of those are on sale.

Dangerous Mood Bearded Iris (lavender standards with near-black falls)

Montmartre Bearded Iris (purple with yellow edges)

Ziggy Reblooming Bearded Iris (yellow standards with burgundy-and-yellow streaked falls)

Current Mood: excited

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly cloudy and sweltering. It rained a little last night.

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

EDIT 8/19/25 -- I put out water for the birds. I've seen a male cardinal.

EDIT 8/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/19/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/19/25 -- I watered the barrel garden and the old picnic table garden.

EDIT 8/19/25 -- I watered the new picnic table and the septic garden.

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

Current Mood: busy

liv

This weekend one of my oldest friends got married, and my partners celebrated their 20^th anniversary with a Jewish blessing and wedding canopy. So I had a lovely lovely time, and also I'm very much reminded that there's a crowd of (mostly somewhat connected) people I've been friends with for most of 30 years and I should make more active effort to actually spend time with them because they are awesome.

( wedding squee )

I sort of want to see if I can make it to my brother's charity's ceilidh next week. But Friday evening events in Brighton when I have a bar mitzvah in Cambridge on Saturday are a bit unworkable. And although I enjoyed the dancing, what I want more of isn't mainly dancing, it's spending time with people. And waiting for my friends to have reunions in the form of weddings isn't very efficient! I'm amazed that there were even two weddings this year, with most of my circle being in our 40s.

jack has planned a bank holiday picnic next Monday; it will be fully outdoors, which is good for infection risk but possibly bad for enduring summer weather. But if you happen to be in Cambridge you're most welcome.

Current Mood: joyful
Current Location: Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, UK
Current Music: Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore him

linky

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

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Golden

svgurl

rarepairexchange, an exchange focused on rare ships (less than 250 works, completed, written in English, and filtered using the otp:true option on ao3), is still open for sign-ups until August 20th, 11:59PM EDT.

Jump Scare is a multifandom flash exchange focused on spooky, spoopy, and horror. Nominations and sign-ups are open concurrently and close on August 21st, 8:59PM EDT.

crossworks, a fic/art crossover fandom exchange, is open for sign-ups until August 21st, 11:59PM EDT.

fffx, a multifandom gift exchange for 40-panel comics and 10,000+ word stories, is accepting nominations until August 27th, 11:59PM EDT.

sexpollenplus, a multi-fandom exchange focused on sex pollen and other fuck compulsion tropes, has opened sign-ups until August 31st, 7PM GMT.

ficinabox is open for sign-ups until August 31st, 9:59PM EDT. Late nomination are also being accepted until August 30th, 10PM EDT.

Stuffed with Love is a multifandom fic/art incest centric exchange. Sign-ups are open until August 31st, 11:5PM Eastern.

firstandlastalexchange, an omegaverse themed exchange, is open for nominations until October 24th, 11:55PM CDT. More info, including links and how to nominate, can be found HERE.

no_true_pair, a mad-libs-style challenge where you make a list of characters, a set of prompts is posted that uses all the characters in different combinations, and you create works using those characters, is opened Eight-Character Challenge sign-ups.

bbtp_challenge is running their 19th edition of Bring Back the Porn, where you post something porny to your journal or favorite archive (fic, art, recs, icons, etc) on September 1st.

fancake's theme of the month for August is: marriage of convenience. Click on the banner below to learn more!

Graphic in the style of a wedding invitation with flowing script: You are cordially invited to a... Marriage of Convenience (at) fancake.dreamwidth.org, August 2025. The color palette is white with dusty rose and muted pinks, and there are flowers—what looks like dogwood and lenten rose—in the upper right and lower left corner.

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Getting Started with Dreamwidth

Member Posts

[migraine] peripheral vision nonsense

Affordable Housing

Birdfeeding

Read "The Bottle Wall" by Smokingboot

Wednesday has been asked by SRS academic press to read a manuscript

[film] The trial

Cuddle Party

(no subject)

Final Destination Movie Extravaganza!

The Usual

Sinners & Stardust Assaults

Robotics

Rare Pair tagset

Food

victory of the day is GLASSES

American Meadows Order

Birdfeeding

Weddings

Kpop Demon Hunters Ruled

current fandom events

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August 2025

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