You'd think that Peter Jackson would have seen Jurassic Park...
Jul. 15th, 2025 12:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brithistorianColossal Biosciences is planning to bring back the giant moa, a 3m (10 foot) tall flightless bird that went extinct around 600 years ago, shortly after humans arrived in New Zealand. Peter Jackson is one of the major investors. Considering the difficulties the Australians had when dealing with emus, which are only 2/3 the size of the great moa, they really need to consider that there was probably very good reason that the early New Zealanders wiped them out.
Saved by the niblings climbing around in my sister's car
Jul. 15th, 2025 12:56 pmoriolegirlI didn't make it to the PokemonGO meetup on Saturday. I finished cardio and strength training and thought, I'll just go to the first hour. But as the time was approaching to leave, I thought, well maybe I'll just go for the last hour and then head in to meet S for dinner. And then I just thought, nevermind. I did have dinner with S, though. I was telling her how I just couldn't last week and she was sympathetic and was all, that's how it goes sometimes and you just have to ride out the dips.
I have 4 weekly pillboxes that I fill once every 4 weeks. And it was time to do that on Saturday night. I got to my depression meds and remembered that last month my psych and I decided to try lower the dose. Not a whole lot, just a little bit. And I went, huh, I wonder if that's why I had the week of just couldn't. So I put the old dosage into the pill boxes. I'm not so just couldn't so far. We'll see.
Yesterday I saw the nutritionist again, who was quite pleased with me. Since I sold the car, I have to book a ZipCar to get to the weight management center. ( Adventures with ZipCar )
I have 4 weekly pillboxes that I fill once every 4 weeks. And it was time to do that on Saturday night. I got to my depression meds and remembered that last month my psych and I decided to try lower the dose. Not a whole lot, just a little bit. And I went, huh, I wonder if that's why I had the week of just couldn't. So I put the old dosage into the pill boxes. I'm not so just couldn't so far. We'll see.
Yesterday I saw the nutritionist again, who was quite pleased with me. Since I sold the car, I have to book a ZipCar to get to the weight management center. ( Adventures with ZipCar )
A Maze of Stars by John Brunner
Jul. 15th, 2025 09:07 amjames_davis_nicoll
An intelligent ship crisscrosses space-time to track the progress of the colonies it established
A Maze of Stars by John Brunner
Computers, do computer things better!
Jul. 14th, 2025 09:00 pmbrithistorianI love YouTube Music — it's a great streaming system and gives me access to music that I could only have dreamed of when I was younger. But there's one thing about it — a small thing really, but still big enough that it bothers me: When you have a playlist, it should be a trivial thing for the software to add up the running times of all the songs in the playlist and give you a runtime for the playlist, and this works for shorter playlists, but once a playlist reaches 5 hours or more in length, the program gets lazy and anything over 5 hours is either "5+ hours" or "5 hours [XX] minutes," where [XX] isn't the actual number of minutes past 5 hours, instead the point after 5 hours where the software got lazy and decided to stop adding. Not a deal killer, not even that big of a deal, really, but it's annoying.
Today's five second mini-rant:
Jul. 16th, 2025 02:35 pmconulyNonstandard and informal are not synonyms. Dialectal and informal are not synonyms. Regional and informal are not synonyms. You can speak formally even if you're speaking a nonstandard regional dialect.
Everybody needs to stop saying that dialect words are, ipso facto, informal.
Edit: On a different note, omfg this dude.
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Everybody needs to stop saying that dialect words are, ipso facto, informal.
Edit: On a different note, omfg this dude.
( Read more... )
Why Do I Love Charts? Let Me Count the Ways.
Jul. 14th, 2025 02:14 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Charts hold back chaos, and we should sing their praises!
Why Do I Love Charts? Let Me Count the Ways.
Bundle of Holding: Hearts of Wulin
Jul. 14th, 2025 02:08 pmjames_davis_nicoll
This new Hearts of Wulin Bundle presents Hearts of Wulin, the tabletop roleplaying game of Chinese wuxia action melodrama from Age of Ravens Games.
Bundle of Holding: Hearts of Wulin
(no subject)
Jul. 14th, 2025 01:55 pmwaterswordIt turns out that North & South (2004) is not soothing to watch whilst stitching; I am not interested in the 1850's generally, I am in no fit state to be entertained by the Industrial Revolution and labor unrest, and the cinematography is bleak. Richard Armitage's jawline does not make up for these flaws.
The Three Sisters plot has begun giving me peas! It is surprisingly difficult to distinguish between "immature snap pea" and "mature snow pea". I should probably give up this plot next year, as the fee is almost twice as much as the one near my apartment, and getting there & back is annoying, and the plot is weed central ....but the raspberry patch! I got sour and sweet cherries at the farmer's market, which of course means that I made cherry-pit whipped cream to go with the cherry galette; it is now corn and zucchini season, which is one of my favorite seasons; I miss having a grill so much. It is absolutely perfect grilling weather.
Somehow I have three community events at the same time tonight: a embroidery meetup, a constituent outreach meeting with my city councilor, and a meeting of the neighborhood association board. ::facepalm::
Another Games Bundle - Hearts of Wulin
Jul. 14th, 2025 06:32 pmffuturesThis is an offer of Hearts of Wulin, featuring "the Apocalypse Engine game of Chinese wuxia melodrama."
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HeartsOfWulin
The main game material was in a previous bundle, this bundle adds three new supplements, including one for running detective mysteries in the style of Judge Dee etc. The whole lot is very cheap, and for once I don't think it's going to be worth cherry-picking if you're even slightly interested. I should probably add that I know very little about wuxia as a genre - there may be other games out there that handle it better.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HeartsOfWulin
The main game material was in a previous bundle, this bundle adds three new supplements, including one for running detective mysteries in the style of Judge Dee etc. The whole lot is very cheap, and for once I don't think it's going to be worth cherry-picking if you're even slightly interested. I should probably add that I know very little about wuxia as a genre - there may be other games out there that handle it better.
Clarke Award Finalists 2005
Jul. 14th, 2025 10:27 amjames_davis_nicoll2005: The Ulster Volunteer Force struggles to grasp the meaning of the term “ceasefire”, Britain is astonished by the unlikely coincidence that every known WWI veteran is over 100 years of age, and in what some experts hope is a sign Britain has begun to emerge from chaos after the retreat of the Roman Empire, Dr Who is revived.
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2005 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Iron Council by China Miéville
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Market Forces by Richard Morgan
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Poll #33355 Clarke Award Finalists 2005
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 38
Which 2005 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
Iron Council by China Miéville
13 (34.2%)
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
12 (31.6%)
Market Forces by Richard Morgan
6 (15.8%)
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
10 (26.3%)
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
15 (39.5%)
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
12 (31.6%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2005 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Iron Council by China Miéville
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Market Forces by Richard Morgan
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Albany Folk'n'Shanty festival
Jul. 14th, 2025 08:08 pmfred_mouseArtisanat and I have made a short visit to Albany, coinciding with the annual Folk'n'Shanty Festival. I gather that this year was more heavily shanty and lighter on folk than previous; I was certainly exposed to more shanty singing than I'd see in an average decade.
Friday we left relatively early, took the short route (Albany Highway), with a stop in Williams to charge the car and find a light lunch (cafe off the highway, recommended alternative to the Woolshed), stop in Mount Barker (Plantagenet Wines, acquisition of two bottles, plus more lunch), and arrival in Albany with enough time to check in to hotel, charge the car, quick shop at the IGA, and make it to a venue (Wesley church) for the first act.
Hm. I thought we got a big bag of cat food
Jul. 15th, 2025 04:45 pmconulybut it turned out to be a big bag of dog food.
This is... not so great, really.
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This is... not so great, really.
( Read more... )
The Friday Five on a Sunday
Jul. 13th, 2025 09:08 pmnanila- What was the most sick that you've ever been?
I came down with flu when Keiki was about 4 months old. That is the most ill I've been in my adult life. I could hardly get out of bed and my temperature was over 40 C for several days. Runner up would be the ear infection I had when I was 11, which was so bad my teacher found me lying on the concrete floor of the playground because my ear was too hot. It was the middle of winter. - What disease are you afraid of getting?
All of them, but mostly: Dementia. - Are you a big baby when it comes to taking medicine/shots for your illnesses?
No. I am a big fan of medical intervention for illness and pain. - Is going to the doctor really THAT bad?
Not at all, it's just time-consuming, which is why I tend to put it off. - Would you have the flu twice a month if you were paid $1,000 for having it?
Assuming “the flu” really does mean influenza and not a bad cold, absolutely not. Genuine flu is completely debilitating. It took me two weeks to recover from the bout I had in Answer 1. This scenario would mean being continuously sick. No thank you.
Bucky Benny and Dwight
Jul. 13th, 2025 07:54 pmcosmolinguistMy parents showed me a picture of their new garden gnomes. They found one playing the drums first and got it, and then my mom found these others to make the rest of the gnome band.
My dad pointed to each one and told me, "Bucky the drummer, and the singer is his brother Benny, and then there's their friend Dwight." He's so funny, such a quiet guy but he comes up with these goofy things sometimes. Mom was mocking him for this. He just went along, telling me the names of "all my gnomes in the backyard, Paul and Tessa together. And I can't remember what the other two names are..."
I didn't know they had any gnomes, and it turns out they have a whole crowd now! With names!
'murica
Jul. 13th, 2025 07:17 pmelisiCan't remember where I came across this, but thought I'd share:
Who Goes MAGA?
And this popped up in my suggested on youtube:
Also, this is fascinating:
Trump’s mass deportation is backfiring
Money quote:
And all told, Trump’s second term has actually led to the most sympathy for migrants on record in the 21st century, per Gallup. Fully 79% of Americans now say immigration is a “good thing,” compared with 64% last year.
Who Goes MAGA?
And this popped up in my suggested on youtube:
Also, this is fascinating:
Trump’s mass deportation is backfiring
Money quote:
And all told, Trump’s second term has actually led to the most sympathy for migrants on record in the 21st century, per Gallup. Fully 79% of Americans now say immigration is a “good thing,” compared with 64% last year.
In which there are 52 times Our Heroine improves her habitat, week 28
Jul. 13th, 2025 05:13 pmspiralsheep- "Terrorism": having difficulty comprehending that I live in a time when Labour leader Keir Starmer and his starmtroopers have decided to crimialise peaceful protest as "terrorism", including 100 or so people from across the UK arrested and facing 14 years in prison each as "terrorists" because they held up marker-pen-on-cardboard signs reading "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
- Decided to celebrate something I love everyday.
9: The clouds I saw from a peak hour traffic jam were fabulously fluffy cumulus sky-sheep.
10: Wizo the Fleming. His name. And his son Walter fitzWizo. Both C12th. That is all. P.S. Pembrokeshire Council have wisely decreed the creation of a Wizo Trail for cyclists.
11: 7.30am tuneful recorder playing in an otherwise silent neighbourhood (no cars). I'm imagining an enchanting Good Neighbour of the faerie folk, but around here it was probably a bearded old hippie, lol.
11: a female Large (Cabbage) White butterfly, Pieris brassicae, flew across in front of my face then perched on the hedge next to my head so I could observe it about a hand length away, and note its wing patterns and antennae colours in detail.
11 bonus: my front lawn was suddenly full of happy, laughing, shrieking, playing people (mostly young). Get ON my lawn! Curtains were closed so I didn't twitch them to find out if anyone was in dress-up but there are usually one or two.
12: brief visitation in my home by a large patterned brown moth that was one of those "why aren't day-flying moths called butterflies?" beauties.
13: just laying in bed very early this morning, half-awake, and knowing I didn't have to get up. Mmm.
- Birb log: whenever I see the new taxonomy for Jackdaws I think about that redditor who people mocked for years for saying Jackdaws weren't crows / Corvus or whatever it was they said.
( Birb log )
- Decided to celebrate something I love everyday.
9: The clouds I saw from a peak hour traffic jam were fabulously fluffy cumulus sky-sheep.
10: Wizo the Fleming. His name. And his son Walter fitzWizo. Both C12th. That is all. P.S. Pembrokeshire Council have wisely decreed the creation of a Wizo Trail for cyclists.
11: 7.30am tuneful recorder playing in an otherwise silent neighbourhood (no cars). I'm imagining an enchanting Good Neighbour of the faerie folk, but around here it was probably a bearded old hippie, lol.
11: a female Large (Cabbage) White butterfly, Pieris brassicae, flew across in front of my face then perched on the hedge next to my head so I could observe it about a hand length away, and note its wing patterns and antennae colours in detail.
11 bonus: my front lawn was suddenly full of happy, laughing, shrieking, playing people (mostly young). Get ON my lawn! Curtains were closed so I didn't twitch them to find out if anyone was in dress-up but there are usually one or two.
12: brief visitation in my home by a large patterned brown moth that was one of those "why aren't day-flying moths called butterflies?" beauties.
13: just laying in bed very early this morning, half-awake, and knowing I didn't have to get up. Mmm.
- Birb log: whenever I see the new taxonomy for Jackdaws I think about that redditor who people mocked for years for saying Jackdaws weren't crows / Corvus or whatever it was they said.
( Birb log )
New Voices: The Campbell Award Nominees (New Voices, volume 1) edited by George R R Martin
Jul. 13th, 2025 08:50 amjames_davis_nicoll
The first in a series of anthologies that assemble stories by Campbell Award (now the Astounding) finalists.
New Voices: The Campbell Award Nominees (New Voices, volume 1) edited by George R R Martin