on my hands and knees!

Jan. 19th, 2026 11:46 am
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[personal profile] gillman
I very much have a freeze response to stress, and it's so frustrating! Fish brain fully believes that if I don't move, then whatever is after me won't hurt me. 

I'm sure this works great in nature, where I blend in with the algae and mud and duckweed, but it is borderline useless when it comes to applying for graduate schools! Finishing my applications now is fine, most of these close in May - August, so it's not a massive deal that I do this in January as opposed to November. But I now realize that one of them closes on February 1st! Uh oh! 

I finally get things done when the stress messes me up so bad I upset my stomach, and that's what's been happening today. I hate that I have to have such a long time to finally get the courage to do things that are pretty mundane and easy. I feel sick right now, as I distract myself from all the applications and wait for pages to load, even though all of this is pretty easy. Even my letters of recommendation are easy- all my professors pulled me aside personally to tell me they'd be happy to write a letter for me. I have no idea what it is that is freaking me out so much! 

But, I'm doing it. And I'm glad about it. And hopefully all five will be done today. 

I love technical writing and copy editing and working on the more "mundane" aspects of publication and communication. I really do, and I'm hoping that AI wont take over this job too quickly.... 

Still, if technical writing doesn't work, I have my anthropology degree and field experience that I can hopefully use to get me going in some other direction. 

I have no real reason for making this post, I am just a bit anxious about it and dreamwidth is the nice quiet website I come to when I need to calm down. 

That being said: Texas Tech, why is your website so slow! Why can I not jump around on my application!! Texas Tech, I want to go to you!! Please make this a bit easier on me, ha! 

Communities

Jan. 18th, 2026 09:48 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Radical Neighbouring: The Farm Where Nothing is for Sale

This video asks a compelling question: What does a human look like who isn't a consumer?

Read more... )

OPN Seed Order

Jan. 18th, 2026 05:38 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we ordered seeds from OPN Seed. This completes my goal of making at least 2 catalog orders by the end of February. I still have more catalogs to go through, but I got two of the most important done. \o/

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Art

Jan. 18th, 2026 04:24 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] xt1me  posted samples of Avatar: The Last Airbender playing cards, very well designed.

Website Updates

Jan. 18th, 2026 03:11 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Artists of Destruction, Coracle Shores, Crystal Wood, Strike of the Thunderbirds, and The Wandering are all up on the Serial Poetry page. These are all small series with just a few poems, but they can grow if readers like them enough to prompt for more. Big thanks to [personal profile] fuzzyred for posting these.

Climate Change

Jan. 18th, 2026 02:48 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Study explains longstanding mystery of why trees don't grow faster when CO2 levels are high

The authors are clear that their framework is a foundation, not a finish line. It explains a big, stubborn piece of the puzzle – the coupling of CO2 gain to water loss – and does so at the leaf-to-tree scale where decisions are made.

The next challenge is scaling those decisions up into regional and global climate models without smoothing away the very dynamics that matter.


Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Jan. 18th, 2026 01:53 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and cold.

I fed the birds.  A few sparrows approached as soon as I put seed in the fly-through feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I put out a fresh peanut suet cake.

I've seen a flock of sparrows and two male cardinals.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.
 

Poem: The Flavors of Our Days

Jan. 17th, 2026 11:54 pm
ysabetwordsmith: (Fly Free)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This is the freebie for today's [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] fuzzyred. It also fills the "body and soul" square in my 1-1-26 card for the Public Domain Day Bingo fest.

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Poetry Fishbowl Themes for Early 2026

Jan. 17th, 2026 11:28 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Based on an audience poll, these are the Poetry Fishbowl themes for early 2026:

February 3 -- Books and Literacy
March 3 -- World Cuisine
April 7 -- I am SO done with this!
May 5 -- Older Series and Forgotten Characters
June 2 -- Fun with Language

Wow!

Jan. 17th, 2026 08:52 pm
fayanora: brilliant (brilliant)
[personal profile] fayanora
I usually just cook chicken in butter like I do with most things, when I'm not slow-cooking it (which I've stopped, because chicken gets stringy and weird when slow-cooked), and then put BBQ sauce or something else on it. But yesterday I saw a video where someone put chicken pieces in a plastic bag, added a bunch of spices to the bag, and shook it up. I had somehow forgotten this was a thing, despite growing up at the tail end of "Shake N Bake."

So, I tried it today with some de-boned thighs that had been on markdown in the freezer section of Grocery Outlet. Once defrosted, I cut them into pieces, put two thighs worth of pieces into a separate bag, and dumped in garlic salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Then I closed the bag, shook it up, and dumped the result into the skillet.

Result: far better than I had even thought, for more than one reason. Sure, yeah, it's seasoned pretty well. But more importantly, the texture is AMAZING! I'm used to chicken breasts, and their texture is pretty firm even when cooked. This, though... I've had thigh meat before plenty of times but usually in fried or baked chicken. These were small pieces, basically the size of chopped tomatoes from a can. (I cut them that size to make cooking easier.) They are very soft and moist and succulent, while still having acceptable firmness. Is this just what thigh meat is like? I usually avoid it when buying raw meat because I don't like dealing with bones. But as mentioned, these were de-boned, so it was an easy decision. If this is what thigh meat is usually like, I think I'll be looking for de-boned thigh meat more often!

Creative Jam

Jan. 17th, 2026 10:37 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam is now open with a theme of "Memories." Come give us prompts, or claim some for your own inspiration! This is our 150th session, so I hope to see lots of excitement.


What I Have Written:

"The Flavors of Our Days" is today's freebie.

"Memories Like a Blanket"
Summary: Memories keep us warm inside.
22 lines, Buy It Now = $10


From My Prompts:



.

Today's Adventures

Jan. 17th, 2026 05:27 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we went to the Otto Center in Arthur. Normally the third Saturday of each month is their craft show, and that's how it was marked earlier. It turned out to be a small farm and homestead show, with different vendors and a few folks we recognized. So that was interesting.

Read more... )

Humor

Jan. 17th, 2026 04:06 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
So very true. Do not view with mouth full.

Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Jan. 17th, 2026 12:09 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and cold. Yesterday we saw several skeins of geese, but they were mostly flying east or west rather than north; go figure.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows and a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/17/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/17/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/17/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

Snowflake Challenge 9: Tropes

Jan. 17th, 2026 10:49 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Snowflake Challenge 9: Tropes

Let's talk TROPES! Our ninth challenge is about discussing your favorite tropes, which can include requesting recommendations or making recommendations for a particular trope. Follow your heart! (Also a trope.)

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)



An old-fashioned ornament of two young girls bundled up in coats and walking side by side is nestled amidst pine boughs.

Read more... )

Philosophical Questions: Democracy

Jan. 17th, 2026 01:00 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Considering that the technology exists to enable a real democracy, would a true democracy (every single person can vote on every single legislation) be advantageous or detrimental?

Read more... )

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