Follow Friday 10-10-25: Jazz

Oct. 10th, 2025 12:32 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's theme is Jazz.  Amusingly this includes both music and a character in Transformers.

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Today's Adventures

Oct. 9th, 2025 10:16 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we went to the Charleston Food Forest and Coles County Community Garden, along with other errands.

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Sustainability

Oct. 9th, 2025 09:46 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This new 'bamboo bioplastic' that outperforms traditional plastic breaks down in just 50 days

Researchers at China’s Northeast Forestry University and Shenyang University of Chemical Technology think they may have cracked the case on bamboo plastic.

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Poem: "The Disappointing Daughter"

Oct. 9th, 2025 07:34 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem came out of the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] rhodielady_47 and sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It also fills the "talking dog" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia series. It follows "The Unretired Witch" so read that first for best results.

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Poem: "The Unretired Witch"

Oct. 9th, 2025 07:27 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem came out of the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It also fills the "witches" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia series. Its sequel is "The Disappointing Daughter."

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Poetry Fishbowl Update

Oct. 9th, 2025 07:21 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] janetmiles has sponsored "The Unretired Witch" and "The Disappointing Daughter." I'll get these posted as soon as I can.

Birdfeeding

Oct. 9th, 2025 01:51 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and mild.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/9/25 -- I spent a total of 1 1/2 to 2 hours gathering seeds at the Charleston Food Forest and Coles County Community Garden.  I am sooo tired, but I got a great haul. \o/

EDIT 10/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

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

(no subject)

Oct. 9th, 2025 10:59 am
pshaw_raven: (Kitty Loaf)
[personal profile] pshaw_raven
Actually owning a bread box makes me appreciate how useful it is as a size metric. Is it bigger than a bread box? Smaller? Now I know.
pshaw_raven: (Wild Things Bird)
[personal profile] pshaw_raven
(I'm currently writing another short fiction piece for St. Felix and a drawing I've been working on. I may pair it with another WFLX broadcast.)

"All Creatures Care Clinic, can you hold, please?"
"Uh yeah." Arthur sighed as he was immediately switched to hold. He focused on the scratchy sounds until he understood what he was hearing - WFLX AM broadcasting. Someone was playing Jackson Browne and he wondered what Kat was doing on the air at this time of the morning.

You never knew
What I loved in you


Suddenly the song was gone and a woman said, "Thank you for holding, how can I help you?"
"I need to bring my cat in for a checkup."
"Name?"
"Arthur Seaver."
There was silence for a moment and the woman said, "Is that Jonesy you're bringing in?" He noticed her tone had softened. She sounded friendly now.
"Yeah, Jonesy. He's due for a yearly exam."
"All right, good. Anything going on with him that Dr. Gutierrez should know about?"
Arthur paused, trying not to fill the void with uhhh or babbling.
"Well, he can talk now."

Fandom Events

Oct. 8th, 2025 07:51 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] svgurl  has a list of fandom events, mostly holiday exchanges. 

Early Humans

Oct. 8th, 2025 04:39 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The hidden Denisovan gene that helped humans conquer a new world

Ancient humans crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas carried more than tools and determination—they also carried a genetic legacy from Denisovans, an extinct human relative. A new study reveals that a mysterious gene called MUC19, inherited through interbreeding between Denisovans, Neanderthals, and humans, may have played a vital role in helping early Americans survive new diseases, foods, and environments.


Diversity is strength.

Birdfeeding

Oct. 8th, 2025 02:07 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.  I heard a bluejay screaming but didn't see it.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/8/25 -- I did some work around the patio.

I saw a male cardinal in the forest garden.

EDIT 10/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/8/25 -- I gathered sunflower seeds and wild senna seeds from the gardens.

EDIT 10/8/25 -- I watered the irises, telephone pole garden and savanna seedlings, new picnic table, and old picnic table.

As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.

Books

Oct. 8th, 2025 12:47 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Mysteries with Queer Characters to Read During Mystery Series Week!

It’s Mystery Series Week, but we love queer mysteries so much that we didn’t restrict ourselves to just series. Join us for this list of 27 (!!) queer mysteries (more if you count the ones that ARE series!) our rec list contributors suggested for all your mystery reading needs!




Good News

Oct. 8th, 2025 01:03 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?

Poem: "The Road to Transformation"

Oct. 7th, 2025 10:23 pm
ysabetwordsmith: (Fly Free)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This is today's second freebie, thanks to new prompter [personal profile] andromedaprime. It also fills the "transformation" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. It is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

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Poem: "Maybe She's Just Singing"

Oct. 7th, 2025 05:47 pm
ysabetwordsmith: (Fly Free)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This is today's freebie. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] rix_scaedu and [personal profile] mama_kestrel. It also fills the "magic" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Practical Magics series.

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Green Burial

Oct. 7th, 2025 04:16 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Traditional burials are bad for the planet. So this woman created her own 'cocoon coffin' made of seaweed instead

Ultimately, she made her own — a fully compostable, translucent “bioplastic” material made out of seaweed. Creating this material even led Kostur to use it in fashion accessories and wedding floral displays, which is now how she spends most of her time professionally.


This is one of the very few modern funeral displays that meets or exceeds the splendor of some historic ones.  Plus the symbolism is extremely helpful.

Birdfeeding

Oct. 7th, 2025 02:09 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
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 10/7/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/7/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/7/25 -- I picked up some flowerpots that got knocked over.

EDIT 10/7/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

Oct. 7th, 2025 01:06 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your time and attention. Please keep an eye on this page as I am still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Witches and Wizards." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

I'll be soliciting ideas for witches, wizards, other magic users, mentors, elders, teachers, students, adventurers, explorers, damsels/gentlemen in distress, historians, partners, leaders, dark lords, the Chosen One(s), superheroes, supervillains, teammates, fantasy species, ethicists, activists, queerfolk, other unusual fantasy folk, studying magic, doing magic, enchanting artifacts, breaking curses, breaking rules, exploring new territory, meeting new species, upsetting predictions, twisting tropes, flipping stereotypes, expecting the unexpected, researching, revising theories, parenting, teaching, adventuring, leaving your comfort zone, discovering things, conducting experiments, observation changing experiments, experiments changing paradigms, adapting, improvising, troubleshooting, cleaning up messes, cooperating, taking over in an emergency, saving the day, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, coming out, running away from home, going off the rails, subverting fate, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, preparing for the worst, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, other fantastic activities, witch's huts, wizard's towers, magical schools, castles, ruins, stone circles, dungeons, dragon lairs, Underhill, the forest primeval, underwater, underground, liminal zones, kitchens, campfires, libraries, laboratories, apothecary shops, supervillain lairs, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, farmer's markets, magical lands, foreign dimensions, other phantasmagoric settings, unusual magical systems, pointy hats, robes, wands or staves, cauldrons, herbs, crystals, potions, magical artifacts, quests, time periods other than medieval, governments other than monarchy, dragons, unicorns, enchantments, reversals, contradictions, conundrums, puzzling discoveries, sudden surprises, inventions that change everything, time travel, travel mishaps, the buck stops here, trial and error, polarity, weird food, secret ingredients, supplements that turn out to be metagenic, intercultural entanglements, asking for help and getting it, enemies to friends/lovers, interdimensional travel, lab conditions are not field conditions, superpower manifestation, the end of where your framework actually applies, ethics, innovation, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.


Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:

Fall Festival Bingo Card 10-1-25


Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia is about live happy lesbians in a quirky fantasy world.

Clay of Life is Jewish fantasy about a blacksmith and a golem.

A Conflagration of Dragons has unforseen disasters and cultural upheavals.

Gloryroad Crossing is the weird village where adventurers go to restock.

Kande's Quest is sword & soul with caucasian-inspired demons.

Monster House is suburban fantasy with a diverse household, where the line between truth and fantasy isn't always clear.

Not Quite Kansas has a helpful demon.

The Ocracies features all the political systems other than monarchy.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis follows Shaeth as he works on becoming the God of Drunks.

Path of the Paladins is low fantasy about paladins trying to restore a world gone to ruins.

P.I.E. is urban fantasy about paranormal investigations.

Polychrome Heroics has primarily superpowers, but magic is described as "sorcery" there. Antimatter & Stalwart Stan are a cross-cape couple, and Antimatter essentially does science-based magic. Aubrey the Alabaster is another sorcerer. Eric the Elven King has interdimensional refugees.

Practical Magics is low fantasy with a prosaic focus.

Quixotic Ideas is contemporary fantasy where magic integrates with modern life in positive ways.

The Ursulan Cycle is genderbent King Arthur.

Yellow Unicorns is a quirky fantasy setting where the only yellow things people can see are the unicorns.

Or you can ask for something new.

Boost the signal to reveal a verse in any open linkback poem.

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Artificial Intelligence

Oct. 7th, 2025 01:13 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
More LLM fun! Miserable fail at running a vending machine business simulation

This is quite interesting. Researchers set up multiple LLMs and configured them to run a vending machine simulator, described as "Agents must balance inventories, place orders, set prices, and handle daily fees – tasks that are each simple but collectively, over long horizons." Basic business process.
[---8<---]
Basically it was a demonstration of how such large-language models are terrible for long-term runs and shows their ability to hallucinate and make poor decisions.



It is obviously a bad idea to replace intelligent human employees with sloppy programs.

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