lydamorehouse | Reading

I just gave myself a headache by cracking my neck too hard, and then helped moderate a Virtual Accessible Pride event YouTube livestream for the first time. It was A Lot but I am still here. We only had one troll, too, so that part was cool.

The You Are Not So Smart Podcast did an episode a while back about cultures of genius vs cultures of growth that I listened to this week, and it is rearranging some stuff in my head in helpful ways, explaining why people do the frustrating thing where they compete to tear each other down because in a lot of cultures I was raised in, only the Single Most Correct person got any respect. And I was raised to do this, and managed to train myself out of it once I understood how nonsensical it was, but I didn't understand why it was that way or how we got there. So I will be having thinky thoughts.

Shadow work: ( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

125,000-year-old ‘fat factory’ run by Neanderthals discovered in Germany

Stone Age humans living by a lake in what’s now Germany systematically processed animal carcasses for fatty nutrients — essentially running what scientists describe as a “fat factory” to boil bones on a vast scale, according to new research.

Note that another thing you can make with animal fat is pemmican: a stable, high-energy trail food made with fat, powdered meat, and a carbohydrate such as berries. Since it's not something you'd make in a hot climate like Africa (where humans evolved) but rather in a cold climate (such as northern Europe), I'm suddenly wondering if it is in fact a Neanderthal or Denisovan recipe.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly sunny and hot.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus some brown birds that might be female blackbirds.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I refilled the thistle feeder.

I picked up the concrete paver that we used for fireworks last night, along with scraps of paper and cardboard left behind.

Volunteer sunflowers are blooming under the fly-through feeder.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem was written for the Sunshine Revival Challenge 2: Tunnel of Love. It also fills the "buffalo" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo Fest.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Sunshine Revival Challenge 2: Tunnel of Love

Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.

Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like
See "Poem: Legs of Grass, Feet of Flowers."

Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

mtbc

It has been some days since I made an entry here. While R. works on making some ube (purple yam) cake, I can write up and share various tidbits. R. is pleased to have found salted duck eggs at a good price earlier today in what passes as the closest area Glasgow might have to a Chinatown.

( I watched some science fiction. )

I found myself in an odd mood for more mellow electronica lately, Alexa managed to play me things like Synergy's Ancestors and Jean-Michel Jarre's Computer Weekend without getting songs mixed up.

eBay irritated me. I bought two of an item, then found ( it difficult to request a refund for one, then the other. )

At work it's interesting to see how I have a pattern of afternoon meetings at the moment, given that I work closely with US-based colleagues, though we do also have engineers in Pune. Back at Zilliqa my meetings tended to be in the mornings, as I worked with people in the Middle East and Asia.

( I found that I have various money, and I read some science fiction. )

( I am still experimenting with commuting for days that I work on-site. )

neonvincent

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: worried
Current Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Current Music: Star Wars: The Old Republic

brithistorian

A. and I have recently started watching Lie to Me. We're up to s2e7 and I've got a couple of questions. After my recent experience with Person of Interest, I'm coming to you hoping that one of you will either know the answers or else care little enough about Lie to Me spoilers that you'll be willing to try to find the answers:

What's up with the way Lightman walks? He just sort of flops around as he walks, and he tends to stand with his head tilted. I've come up with three possible explanations, but of course it might be none of them:
1. Something in Lightman's past (which we'll learn about later in the series) explains it.
2. It's an effort to try to make Tim Roth look shorter. (A. and I were both very surprised when I looked it up and he's 5'8"—we had both thought he was shorter than that.)
3. It's just How Tim Roth Walks™.
Is the science in the show at all accurate? If so, to what degree is it accurate and to what degree is it handwavium?

profiterole_reads

The Old Guard 2 was awesome, but Netflix'd better greenlight a third movie right freaking now. I'm reading the comics, but that doesn't help with the cliffhanger because the plot of the movies is different.

The first film was already full of hot people, and they went and added Henry Golding and Uma Thurman to the cast. ^^

There's major m/m, as well as subtext f/f (canon f/f in the comics).

conuly

Holy fuck that’s awful :(

james_davis_nicoll

This is much easier for Martin's New Voices series....

( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

Four works new to me. One is SF, two fantasy, and the magazine (which I have not yet looked inside) likely both. Two of the novels are series novels, one does not seem to me.

Books Received, June 28 — July 4

Poll #33326 Books Received, June 28 — July 4

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

FIYAH No. 35: Black Isekai published by FIYAH Literary Magazine (July 2025)
14 (50.0%)

Aces Full edited by George R. R. Martin (November 2025)
1 (3.6%)

Only Spell Deep by Ava Morgyn (March 2026)
4 (14.3%)

The Damned by Harper L. Woods (October 2025)
1 (3.6%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
23 (82.1%)

lsanderson

Owning dog or cat could preserve some brain functions as we age, study says
Fish or bird ownership showed no significant link to slower cognitive decline in study with implications for ageing societies
Amelia Hill
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/05/dog-cat-ownership-could-preserve-specific-brain-functions-as-we-age-cognitive-decline

Trump is waging war against the media – and winning
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/jul/05/trump-attack-us-media

‘The vehicle suddenly accelerated with our baby in it’: the terrifying truth about why Tesla’s cars keep crashing
Elon Musk is obsessive about the design of his supercars, right down to the disappearing door handles. But a series of shocking incidents – from drivers trapped in burning vehicles to dramatic stops on the highway – have led to questions about the safety of the brand. Why won’t Tesla give any answers?
Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/05/the-vehicle-suddenly-accelerated-with-our-baby-in-it-the-terrifying-truth-about-why-teslas-cars-keep-crashing

US debt is now $37trn – should we be worried?
Simon Jack
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lj8rmyn5eo

brithistorian

I practically never remember my dreams, but I remember part of last night's dream. Not enough to reconstruct any sort of plot summary, but enough to remember that it contained the following elements:

Heavy metal music (centered around a band named "Jihaad" — spelled that way to try to convey that the last syllable should rhyme with "bad," not with "sod")
Low-quality animatronic dinosaurs (they couldn't consistently count on the stegosaurus to walk, so they had four wheeled platforms that they'd put on its feet to move it out from backstage, then they'd let it take 2 or 3 steps in front of the audience, and pray that it didn't break down during that time)
Luchador wrestling (the wrestlers, the dinosaurs, and the band were on tour together in sort of a Mad Max type environment)
Male menstrual cramps (which I suppose implies the existence of male menstruation, but only the cramps came up in the dream)
Asshole bosses
The importance of proper punctuation

conuly

( Though, upon reflection, it's surprising that this hasn't happened before in 30+ years of menstruation )

I'd say that was the worst thing to happen this weekend, but then I glanced at the news, and how do things keep getting worse? I thought we might at least get a reprieve over the holiday weekend, Congress would all go on vacation and not pass any terrible bills in the interim, but I guess not.

I'm not linking to it, not today. I know how to take a break, even if they don't. Take this article on amenorrhea instead.

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What should the role of a government be, what boundaries and limitations should it have?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

totient

Part of an occasional series on superpowers. My superpowers are all Mystery Men level superpowers, but they're real.

I have what I'm told is called in motorcycling an Iron Butt.

Partly that's literally being able to sit for a long time with no side effects. I bicycled 3700 miles across the United States, averaging 8 hours a day in the saddle for a month and a half, and did not get any saddle sores.

But also with only a little bit of adjustment to my hydration and caffeination routine I can go 8 hours without a bathroom. This means when I drive the limiting factor on how far I go between stops is almost always the range of the vehicle I am driving. I rented a particularly fuel efficient car one time and drove it 450 miles without taking it out of gear. It hated this and kept trying to get me to take a coffee break. In less fuel-efficient cars sometimes I will refuel at a full service gas station and go two tankfuls between getting out of the car at all.

Being able to drive anywhere in my general region that much more quickly is a big factor in how I choose to make medium-distance trips. Beyond the question of how long the travel takes compared to a train or airplane, I'm sure I'd also find driving less enjoyable if I needed more stops.

I have actually rather a lot of superpowers, some inborn and some developed (or perhaps, I am told, earned). This one I suppose is some of each.

ysabetwordsmith

Tonight we did our home fireworks show. :D These are the things we bought from JT Fireworks Sales in Charleston...

( Read more... )

Current Mood: happy

ysabetwordsmith

In honor of the Fourth of July, here are a few tidbits to enjoy.

Today's Adventures 6/28/25 -- We bought fireworks for our home show, and we watched the show in Tolono.

Fireworks 7/4/25 -- Read about our home show tonight.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and hot.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I checked the south lot and put topsoil in a few low spots, prior to our fireworks show tonight.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked up a trough pot that fell off the old picnic table, restored the curry plant and purple basil as best I could, then watered them and a few other things in the house yard.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I sowed 6 pots with mulberry seeds. Half are from a particularly pleasing mulberry sapling near the west end of the old fishpond, the other half from a mulberry that was left on the porch step as if a gift.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and a few seedlings in the savanna.

My partner Doug mowed the ritual meadow and prairie paths.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked a handful of herbs to make a skillet scramble for supper.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked a handful of blackberries in the prairie garden. There are plenty left; I ran out of heat tolerance long before I ran out of berries. :D

Cicadas are singing.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked a handful of blackberries in the prairie garden. Still more left, but I'll have to hunt those another day, because it is still hot and the sun is about to set.

.

Current Mood: busy

Profile

lydamorehouse

www.lydamorehouse.com

July 2025

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Page Summary

flamingsword - (no subject)
ysabetwordsmith - Early Humans
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding
ysabetwordsmith - Poem: "Legs of Grass, Feet of Flowers"
ysabetwordsmith - Sunshine Revival Challenge 2: Tunnel of Love
mtbc - Miscellany
neonvincent - It's a Jungle Out There
brithistorian - AKICIDW: Questions about Lie to Me (hoping for answers without spoilers)
profiterole_reads - The Old Guard 2
conuly - When I made my previous post I hadn’t heard about the flooding
james_davis_nicoll - Wild Cards checklist
james_davis_nicoll - Books Received, June 28 — July 4
lsanderson - 2025.07.05
brithistorian - Strange dreams
conuly - Well, that was unexpected and unpleasant
ysabetwordsmith - Philosophical Questions: Government
totient - iron butt
ysabetwordsmith - Fireworks
ysabetwordsmith - Writing About Fireworks
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding

Style Credit

Style: Adjustable Stripes for Bannering by branchandroot

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jul. 6th, 2025 12:24 am

Day in the Life of an Idiot

Journal of Lyda Morehouse

Reading

(no subject)

Early Humans

Birdfeeding

Poem: "Legs of Grass, Feet of Flowers"

Sunshine Revival Challenge 2: Tunnel of Love

Miscellany

It's a Jungle Out There

AKICIDW: Questions about Lie to Me (hoping for answers without spoilers)

The Old Guard 2

When I made my previous post I hadn’t heard about the flooding

Wild Cards checklist

Books Received, June 28 — July 4

2025.07.05

Strange dreams

Well, that was unexpected and unpleasant

Philosophical Questions: Government

iron butt

Fireworks

Writing About Fireworks

Birdfeeding

Profile

July 2025

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags