So that worked on me

Jan. 22nd, 2026 09:11 pm
fayanora: disguised as an adult (disguised as an adult)
[personal profile] fayanora
The other day I got some coupons in the mail for New Seasons Market, even though I almost never buy anything there because it's overpriced bougie bullshit. I do occasionally get things there that I can't find anywhere else, like ginger simple syrup or ginger juice or other products by The Ginger People. Also sometimes I get the bamboo toilet paper there, but that's been less frequent because even Grocery Outlet carries at least some brand of bamboo TP even if it isn't the first brand that did it, Caboo.

Anyway, very often these coupons are not at all interesting to me. But a few of these were actually something I would get. There's one for some free cheese with a $10 purchase, though that one is dated to start on the fourth of February. There's also a February coupon for a free pound of 81% lean ground beef with a $10 purchase. And a January one for a free pint of blueberries with $10 purchase. But I don't really care about blueberries. They're okay, but I never buy them unless they're in like a fruit salad or if they're an ingredient.

The last interesting coupon was for free store brand olive oil (extra virgin) with $10 purchase. I had ten bucks, and needed an excuse to get out of the house that would override my hatred for the cold, so I went and got some things. I got two zucchinis, a bag of tortilla chips, and a ginger beer by Fever Tree. It was just over $11, but hey, that's fine. The olive oil in question is over $13 without the coupon, which is ridiculous, especially as it's the store brand. I certainly would never spend more than maybe $6 on olive oil ordinarily. Not that I get olive oil very often, as I tend to cook with butter or sesame seed oil, but I didn't get any sesame seed oil this month, and thought some olive oil would be good, especially if it's technically free. Sure, you gotta spend $10, but I needed zukes anyway, and the other two things are fun treats.

Also, I found two full plastic bags of returnables on the way, just sitting there with nobody else in sight. Clear plastic bags, and not huge bags, but I estimate there's probably about ten to twelve returnables in there. Hold on, I'm gonna go count em.

Holy SHIT I hit the jackpot! There's 33 of the buggers! I now have two full green bags of returnables (had 1.5 before). So I guess tomorrow I'm gonna go back to New Seasons Market to drop off those two bags there.

EDIT: Actually it's 35 returnables, not counting the deposit on the ginger beer.

Poem: "The Bones of Chihuly"

Jan. 22nd, 2026 01:45 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the March 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] librarygeek. It has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. This poem belongs to the Big One and Shiv threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning: This poem contains intense topics that may distress some readers, especially glass artists and fans of glass art. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes upset friends, crying man, emotional first aid, Shiv's awkward but effective crisis response, Chihuly Garden and Glass destroyed by earthquake, salvage operations, insufficient organization causing emotional upset, reference to clumsiness, sorting broken glass that used to be art, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your taste and headspace before deciding if this is something you want to read.

Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Jan. 22nd, 2026 01:32 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and chilly.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I filled the trolley twice with large branches that I hauled to the ritual meadow.  Now all that's left of the brushpile by the driveway is one big forked branch that I can't break down myself, and the leftover twigs that will need to be raked up. \o/

I've seen a large flock of sparrows, a male and a female cardinal separately, and a starling.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a pair of cardinals.

I am done for the night.
 

Community Thursdays

Jan. 22nd, 2026 12:15 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...


* Posted "How to Restart When You've Fallen Off Your Goals" in [community profile] goals_on_dw.

* Continued checking and responding to Wishlist posts in [community profile] snowflake_challenge.  See my Granting Wishes post.

* Made my 3 nominations for the Rose and Bay Awards: Other Project in [community profile] crowdfunding. Nominations are still open through January, so if you haven't made yours yet, we could sure use more! Boost your favorite crowdfunded projects and patrons from 2025.

Superpowers

Jan. 21st, 2026 10:49 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
In this case, gizmology and super-intellect.  I went to high school with guys like this.

Poem: "A Scarf of Stars"

Jan. 21st, 2026 10:29 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills "The Milky Way" square in my 1-1-25 card for the Public Domain Day Bingo fest. It has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred.


"A Scarf of Stars"


In winter,
on a moonless night,

the Milky Way shimmers
like a scarf of stars

wound around
night's black neck.

Small Updates

Jan. 21st, 2026 10:02 pm
gillman: (Default)
[personal profile] gillman
 All of the grad school has been handled for the most part. I have to make sure my writing samples are all correct, but once that's done I'll finally be able to submit them. Thank god. 

I've also fixed my schedule for my final semester. Anthro classes are in low demand, yet there are never enough to go around. One I needed to graduate got cancelled, so I had to sub it. Dropped out of Film Theory, but I didn't like that professor anyway. She talked to me like I was stupid, yet expected me to know everything about film theory despite the class having 0 prereqs and half of us never taking a film theory class to begin with. I subbed it for Poetry Theory, which I am much better at. Anyway, got an Anthro class in that spot that I'm really helping fills that last gap in my reqs. 

I also am getting introduced to a technical writer in DC! Which is going to be very cool. I'm lucky that my professors are so willing to help me make connections. It makes me feel so much better about my future. 

And then there is my curation job. I can't start until I get on the payroll, but that will be happening tomorrow and Friday. And then the big ice storm hits. My girlfriend and I are preparing as well as we can. Our apartment complex likely has a backup generator, but I've brough in one of my massive chargers just in case. Usually I keep it in my car to help jump start my battery, but she's safe at home in my room until the bad weather passes. 

My litmag has been taking the back seat a lot. Which I really hate, but thats why I have a great team and co-editor-in-chief. I'll be able to dive back in once these more pressing matters are handled.

Being forced to start fixing things with grad school was a good bit of momentum, thank god. I've waited too long to do most of these things. They should have been done in December. But I guess we all have our flaws. 

Watched Alien with my girlfriend tonight and drank Aperol spritz. I needed it. We went to wallyworld to pick up some last things before the storm and the traffic was so bad I cried trying to get out of it! But I've calmed down a lot. 

I love xenomorphs. They're a funlink of mine for a reason. Such a delight to see them and watch them and I think being one would feel so good....... all that power in your body........ 

Art

Jan. 21st, 2026 09:53 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] pattrose made fanart for Love Is For Children as part of the [community profile] snowflake_challenge.  :D

Read more... )

Snow

Jan. 21st, 2026 08:11 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] moonhare posted a lovely picture of snow, and a very amusing still life of "Snow Predicted."  It got me thinking that occasions would make a great theme for still life in general.

Opera Outfits Over 40

Jan. 21st, 2026 06:16 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
A friend asked about shopping for clothes over 40, with an eye toward age-appropriate and fashionable wear, given an opera subscription. That's different from my typical needs, but I'm familiar enough with wrangling clothes to have plenty of ideas ...

Read more... )

Cherons

Jan. 21st, 2026 03:16 pm
fayanora: qrcode (Default)
[personal profile] fayanora
In the new Star Trek series taking place in the future Disco era, the Cherons -- the "black on one half, white on the other" species -- are back, and people are asking how that can be, if there were only two of them left alive in the TOS episode about them -- both men, and both dead by the end of the original episode.

My thoughts:
1. We know they were space-faring, otherwise the episode would never have happened. So maybe the ones from their world who weren't racist left together to find another world to colonize, and it was just the ones still on the homeworld that killed each other off.
2. Maybe someone thought "hey, let's give their species a second chance" and cloned members of their species from DNA samples left on the surface.
3. Both of the above.

Personally, I prefer the idea that the non-racists got together and were like "fuck these racist assholes, let's go start a colony together, my mirror-image friends."

Though I do have an additional idea along with the "non-racist Cherons started a colony together." What if two other colonies were also made? Members of one race that were just racist enough to not want to be around the other race, but not so racist that they wanted to hunt down the other race, what if they went off and made a second colony? And then the same kind of middle-ground racists from the other race made a third colony for the same reasons?

Yeah, I like that. And maybe have all three colonies be in the Beta Quadrant. The Beta Quadrant doesn't get as much love and attention as the other quadrants in Star Trek.

Brooke and I also speculated a bit about if the two races could interbreed, and what their mixed-race children would look like. At first I was like "Well let's break out the punett squares and figure it out like it was eye color." Then to be funny, I said "checkerboard pattern!" Brooke said "all black or all white" next. Then we settled on "one or the other must be a dominant trait, or else the conflict would never have started." Or at least would never have been that extreme.

Some metaphors

Jan. 21st, 2026 02:58 pm
fayanora: cognitive hazard (cognitive hazard)
[personal profile] fayanora
Using Internet Explorer or Edge to download Chrome is like using a Chevy Nova to bring home an elephant that eats all your food, wrecks all your shit, and sends regular reports about you to the NSA. (Because Chrome is bloatware and spyware combined.)

Using IE or Edge to download Firefox, on the other hand, is like using a Chevy Nova to bring home a complete home entertainment system from Best Buy. One of the non-smart kinds, with Dolby Surround Sound and Bose speakers.

Using IE or Edge to download Brave is like using a Chevy Nova to bring home several Nazi SS officers or ICE agents.

Food

Jan. 21st, 2026 02:55 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The hidden microbes that decide how sourdough tastes

The microbes living in sourdough starters don’t just appear by chance—they’re shaped by what bakers feed them. New research shows that while the same hardy yeast tends to dominate sourdough starters regardless of flour type, the bacteria tell a more complex story. Different flours—like whole wheat or bread flour—encourage different bacterial communities, which can subtly influence flavor, texture, and fermentation.

Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:55 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny, breezy, and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows and at least one starling.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/21/26 -- We installed the first of the new latches.

EDIT 1/21/26 -- We installed the second of the new latches.

EDIT 1/21/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/21/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/21/26 -- I put out a peanut suet cake.

EDIT 1/21/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night. 

(no subject)

Jan. 21st, 2026 01:29 pm
hera: chel holdin' apple (Default)
[personal profile] hera
My dyslexic ass does not belong in medical school, and I would not be keen to go if I could. But I am belligerently forcing myself to read up on things and study so that I can at least fucking try to understand what is going on with my heath.

There's always the moderate frustration of wanting to be fair to medical providers and the general institution of medicine. Everyone is trying their best! No one is out to get you. When insurance companies are consistently pushing for short appointment times and less testing, it is not on the individual practictioners that issues are not resolved - it falls onto the patient to advocate, and to put in the effort to try new things and seek solutions on their own as well.

But I do get very tired of trying to be fair, when I end up laid out because I took too much Tylenol, and subsequently, my liver and my pancreas are irate at me.  But I'm just mildly foaming from pain right now. I've got heat packs, I've got a heavy weight, I've got water and  I'm compressed. It is a waiting game to feel better, but that feels very intolerable when I am at the "actually tearful" stage of pain.

Also slightly intolerable right now:

"How are you?

"Not great!"

"I'm sorry to hear that!"

"It's fine, just annoying -"

"It's not fine!! :(((("

I love My People(tm) very, very, very dearly, but if I have that particular conversation one more time, I think I will actually just cry on someone. Ridic!!
 

ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Snowflake Challenge 11: Granting Wishes

This challenge is a follow up to Challenge #5. You've made your own wishlist, now it's time to grant someone else's wish from theirs! This can be as simple as answering a question to creating something from scratch, one wish or many wishes. Let your inspiration run wild!

In your own space, grant someone's wish from Challenge #5. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your own post with the wishes you granted if you feel comfortable doing so.

Be sure to check out other people's creations, whether they're granting your wish or someone else's. If you post any granted wishes elsewhere, we'd love it if you link them to this post
.


A gold snowflake ornament is nestled amidst pine boughs

Read more... )

Science

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:13 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Stanford scientists found a way to regrow cartilage and stop arthritis

Scientists have found a way to regrow aging cartilage, raising hopes for arthritis treatments that could make joint replacements obsolete.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured joints, dramatically improving movement and joint function. Human cartilage samples from knee replacement surgeries also began regenerating when exposed to the treatment
.


Well, that would be super useful ... if it's not blocked by megacorps making the current arthritis treatments. Then again, most politicians are old and would probably like to have this option, so maybe they'll tell the megacorps to fuck off for once.

Good News

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:11 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: "A Hurricane of Butterflies"

Jan. 20th, 2026 08:27 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls, inspired by a discussion with [personal profile] a_natural_beauty. It also fills the "WILD CARD: Denial" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. It has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred.

Read more... )

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