Birdfeeding
Oct. 3rd, 2026 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
birdfeedingToday is partly sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/3/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
At least half the fields are harvested.
I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/3/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
At least half the fields are harvested.
I am done for the night.
Birdfeeding
Oct. 3rd, 2026 06:18 pmysabetwordsmithToday is partly sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/3/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
At least half the fields are harvested.
I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/3/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
At least half the fields are harvested.
I am done for the night.
Preview of upcoming content
Oct. 3rd, 2026 05:03 pmprimeidealI mentioned some health issues a few months ago, these last couple weeks I've been dealing with the (scheduled, non-emergency) follow-up. I'm still taking it easy for a while, and am not back to work yet, but overall I've had a smooth trajectory and am very fortunate that I have family who can come visit and take care of me. :)
Current reading material is probably too dark and edgy for me but I will stick with it anyway because sunk cost fallacy. The surprise is that the author is someone I overlapped with at college. Don't think we ever crossed paths, I don't recognize their name from my time there. Anyway, something else that can make me feel underwhelmed at what I've accomplished in the same timeframe, for comparison :P
Current reading material is probably too dark and edgy for me but I will stick with it anyway because sunk cost fallacy. The surprise is that the author is someone I overlapped with at college. Don't think we ever crossed paths, I don't recognize their name from my time there. Anyway, something else that can make me feel underwhelmed at what I've accomplished in the same timeframe, for comparison :P
The Friday Five for 2 October 2026
Oct. 3rd, 2026 09:07 pmkitarella_imaginesA late entry for this, but the questions are so apt that I couldn't resist filling them in!
1. What areas of your life are causing you stress?
Anyone on my Access List knows it has been power cuts, radiator replacements, family in car crash, serious illness of my mother, death of father in law. Argh.
2. What areas of your life are bringing you joy?
My fanfiction, and fics in general. MotoGP. The new radiators. The new motorway junction which they've been working on for 2 years and is finally finished! Which will make travelling MUCH easier. Gardening dates with my husband - we are cutting back the hedge to make it manageable, week by week.
3. What is your earliest childhood memory?
Age 2 or 3, on holiday with my parents in France. I was in an orchard with them and someone gave me a tiny apple to look at. But on the other hand, I can remember being pushed in my pram and what my baby food tasted like, so that too.
4. What is the one thing you would tell your teenage self if you could?
Focus on making true, reliable friends and a support network. Build a community around yourself. Nothing else matters.
5. What has been the greatest accomplishment of your life so far?
I've never really achieved anything that modern society would approve of, such as in a career or sport. So I'll say growing and giving birth to a live human being, my daughter, who has despite my ineptitude survived to adulthood. It took every bit of my physical and emotional stamina and strength, it's an amazing achievement that is too overlooked by humanity because it's just 'part of being a woman.' Doesn't mean it's easy or trivial though.
1. What areas of your life are causing you stress?
Anyone on my Access List knows it has been power cuts, radiator replacements, family in car crash, serious illness of my mother, death of father in law. Argh.
2. What areas of your life are bringing you joy?
My fanfiction, and fics in general. MotoGP. The new radiators. The new motorway junction which they've been working on for 2 years and is finally finished! Which will make travelling MUCH easier. Gardening dates with my husband - we are cutting back the hedge to make it manageable, week by week.
3. What is your earliest childhood memory?
Age 2 or 3, on holiday with my parents in France. I was in an orchard with them and someone gave me a tiny apple to look at. But on the other hand, I can remember being pushed in my pram and what my baby food tasted like, so that too.
4. What is the one thing you would tell your teenage self if you could?
Focus on making true, reliable friends and a support network. Build a community around yourself. Nothing else matters.
5. What has been the greatest accomplishment of your life so far?
I've never really achieved anything that modern society would approve of, such as in a career or sport. So I'll say growing and giving birth to a live human being, my daughter, who has despite my ineptitude survived to adulthood. It took every bit of my physical and emotional stamina and strength, it's an amazing achievement that is too overlooked by humanity because it's just 'part of being a woman.' Doesn't mean it's easy or trivial though.
Code pushed -- FYI
Oct. 3rd, 2026 10:20 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
mark posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceHi all,
I had to push some code live today to fix something, and that brought with it a couple of new things like if you have two-factor authentication (2FA/MFA) enabled, you got automatically logged out and it is now required to log in. If you don't, you can set it up if you want (you don't have to.)
This also means that if you have 2FA enabled, you will not be able to use 3P clients using your username and password anymore. You should be able to use API keys in most cases, but there's some nuance to that (and tbh, I just am not precisely sure what clients anybody even uses.)
Please do comment if you're seeing anything weird, as per usual, and we'll work on it. Thank you!
Honkai Star Rail: Fanfiction: Wisdom's Susurrus
Oct. 3rd, 2026 09:32 amscytale posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Wisdom's Susurrus
Fandom: Honkai Star Rail
Rating: G
Length: 150
Content notes: n/a
Summary: The king of a lost city performed a service for Cerces and asked for one of their branches as a reward.
( Story )
Fandom: Honkai Star Rail
Rating: G
Length: 150
Content notes: n/a
Summary: The king of a lost city performed a service for Cerces and asked for one of their branches as a reward.
( Story )
A visit to see a garden suburb...
Oct. 3rd, 2026 04:51 pmkazzy_ceeToday Mr Cee and I travelled to Golders Green Station to join a guided walk around Hampstead Garden Suburb. The walk around the area was two and half hours long and during that time we learned of the history of the area and how (and why) it was designed and built.
Hampstead Garden Suburb was the idea of a local resident Henrietta Barnett. She and her husband owned a weekend house in the area which bordered heathland and farmland part owned by Eton College. When Golders Green Station opened in 1900 she was concerned the whole area might disappear under housing, and wanted to retain the public open spaces and build housing 'for people of all incomes and classes'. The idea being that the larger and more expensive housing would subsidise smaller houses for poorer people.
Having managed to raise the funds to buy the land she employed Raymond Unwin to design the area, and was determined to have housing that protected mature trees, had boundary hedging and kept green spaces for people to enjoy. She employed Edward Lutyens (considered the greatest architect of the 20th century) to design two churches, and incorporated a school as well as tennis courts and woodland areas in the design.
Under the cut for photos of some of the rather lovely features of the area including the flats built especially for 'Bachelor girls' and the interior of one of the churches with spectacular paintings by Walter Starmer across the ceilings and walls.
( Read more... )
It was a fascinating walk around an area neither of us knows well. We heard about the local celebrities who live in the area including chatshow host and broadcaster, Jonathan Ross; the TV presenter and IVF pioneer Dr Robert Winston and broadcasting husband and wife Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan. By the end it was 1.30pm and so we headed off to have a snack and a coffee before heading home.
Hampstead Garden Suburb was the idea of a local resident Henrietta Barnett. She and her husband owned a weekend house in the area which bordered heathland and farmland part owned by Eton College. When Golders Green Station opened in 1900 she was concerned the whole area might disappear under housing, and wanted to retain the public open spaces and build housing 'for people of all incomes and classes'. The idea being that the larger and more expensive housing would subsidise smaller houses for poorer people.
Having managed to raise the funds to buy the land she employed Raymond Unwin to design the area, and was determined to have housing that protected mature trees, had boundary hedging and kept green spaces for people to enjoy. She employed Edward Lutyens (considered the greatest architect of the 20th century) to design two churches, and incorporated a school as well as tennis courts and woodland areas in the design.
Under the cut for photos of some of the rather lovely features of the area including the flats built especially for 'Bachelor girls' and the interior of one of the churches with spectacular paintings by Walter Starmer across the ceilings and walls.
( Read more... )
It was a fascinating walk around an area neither of us knows well. We heard about the local celebrities who live in the area including chatshow host and broadcaster, Jonathan Ross; the TV presenter and IVF pioneer Dr Robert Winston and broadcasting husband and wife Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan. By the end it was 1.30pm and so we headed off to have a snack and a coffee before heading home.
caturday, crafturday
Oct. 3rd, 2026 08:27 ammarcicatI'm trying to crochet a hat for the first time! It's very exciting!
This is a purely 'no pattern, just vibes' creation. I decided that if I can crochet a basket, I can crochet a hat. Basically the same shape, right? Same-ish? Start with a circle, do some increase rows, do some non-increase rows, repeat, hat!
The extra challenge is that I have a winter hat I really like because it is extra long in the back and keeps my ears warm (this Trailheads hat). The whole brim thing is a bit beyond my current crochet plans, but I want to try doing the extra part in the back. It seems doable? It's just back and forth in rows that gradually get shorter, right? Sure! LET'S TRY IT!
This is a purely 'no pattern, just vibes' creation. I decided that if I can crochet a basket, I can crochet a hat. Basically the same shape, right? Same-ish? Start with a circle, do some increase rows, do some non-increase rows, repeat, hat!
The extra challenge is that I have a winter hat I really like because it is extra long in the back and keeps my ears warm (this Trailheads hat). The whole brim thing is a bit beyond my current crochet plans, but I want to try doing the extra part in the back. It seems doable? It's just back and forth in rows that gradually get shorter, right? Sure! LET'S TRY IT!
...but I get up again.
Oct. 3rd, 2026 11:44 amhindsightseeingVery little to say for this month's writing update, but I promised myself I'd check in, so dammit we're checking in.
September felt like a creative black hole. No focus, very little motivation, everything was hard and exhausting, and I think I pretty much doubled the total word count of my 'deleted crap' document for the DoomWIP without actually adding more than a couple of chapters to the actual fic itself. Definitely more 'doom' than 'WIP' for this month, ugh.
Took a break to write another little one-shot, which I hoped would pull me out but ultimately was just as difficult, frustrating, and unrewarding. But hey, I got it done, and I didn't use any of the actually decent ideas I was originally supposed to use for that particular tag, so I can comfort myself in knowing I didn't waste them. Plus, now my total works on my new AO3 account is a round 10, which is a nice number.
IDK, I think I just hit burnout for a while. Which is understandable, given the size of the DoomWIP, but it's also not something I'm used to dealing with while actively writing. I suspect it has to do with (almost) hitting the 230k mark and realising there is still so much to go. I don't think I've ever poured this many words into a WIP without the end being in sight. So, y'know... not unexpected, but definitely a bummer.
Feeling more proactive now, though, so hopefully it'll pick back up going forward.
That said, October's one of my most dreaded months, so, honestly, who can say?
September felt like a creative black hole. No focus, very little motivation, everything was hard and exhausting, and I think I pretty much doubled the total word count of my 'deleted crap' document for the DoomWIP without actually adding more than a couple of chapters to the actual fic itself. Definitely more 'doom' than 'WIP' for this month, ugh.
Took a break to write another little one-shot, which I hoped would pull me out but ultimately was just as difficult, frustrating, and unrewarding. But hey, I got it done, and I didn't use any of the actually decent ideas I was originally supposed to use for that particular tag, so I can comfort myself in knowing I didn't waste them. Plus, now my total works on my new AO3 account is a round 10, which is a nice number.
IDK, I think I just hit burnout for a while. Which is understandable, given the size of the DoomWIP, but it's also not something I'm used to dealing with while actively writing. I suspect it has to do with (almost) hitting the 230k mark and realising there is still so much to go. I don't think I've ever poured this many words into a WIP without the end being in sight. So, y'know... not unexpected, but definitely a bummer.
Feeling more proactive now, though, so hopefully it'll pick back up going forward.
That said, October's one of my most dreaded months, so, honestly, who can say?
Weekly chat reminder
Oct. 2nd, 2026 10:52 pmsnycock posting in ts_bluejunglePlease join us for the TS chat on Saturday, October 3rd, at 7 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)/19:00 UTC. That could be as early as 12 noon if you’re on the west coast of North America, or 3 pm if you’re on the east coast, or 7 pm in the UK, or Sunday morning in Australia or New Zealand. If you’ve recently started or ended Daylight Savings Time, then chat may be an hour later or earlier than you’re used to. Confused? Just remember chat is ALWAYS at 7 pm GMT/19:00 UTC, and use a time zone converter to figure out what time that is where you are.
We’re in the usual place: http://us25.chatzy.com/81935648447483. There’s nothing to download or install, just choose a name and a color and click on “join chat.”
Do you love The Sentinel? Jim and Blair? Christmas? Then the TS Advent Calendar is looking for you! Peruse the list of prompts and pick one or more, and create a fanwork – fic, art, vid, whatever – based on that prompt. Creations will be revealed each day in December. All the rules and timeline can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TSAdvent2026/profile Sign up now!
This week we’re watching Secret – Jim gets a chance to confront the person who was responsible for his helicopter crashing in Peru and the loss of his team.
And coming up in the next few weeks…
On 10/17 we’ll be doing another concrit session – get your pieces ready (1000 words or less) and we’ll have info about where to upload them next week. If you need a prompt: pumpkin.
On 10/24 we’ll be discussing Harbor of My Heart by Romslinger, which you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/795417
See you there!
Quote...
Oct. 3rd, 2026 12:43 amfairyniamhQuote:
"Be open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out."
"[He] may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you: he really is an idiot."
"My brother thinks he's a chicken-We don't talk him out of it because we need the eggs"
~ Groucho Marx
"Be open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out."
"[He] may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you: he really is an idiot."
"My brother thinks he's a chicken-We don't talk him out of it because we need the eggs"
~ Groucho Marx
fr 2
Oct. 3rd, 2026 01:42 amtoddslifeandmoreFr Oct 2 today being Friday no lunch in mornings Fridays it's in the afternoon so just relaxed social media also went out for a walk to get some fresh air later on some more DVD movies and also listened to the Hamilton tiger-cat game won the game tonight not doing good this year enjoy your weekend
Philosophical Questions: Technology
Oct. 3rd, 2026 12:19 amysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
Will we keep leaping to even greater technological and scientific breakthroughs that radically change society, or will the rate of progress slow and humanity’s progress be limited to incremental improvements?
Technology tends to come in waves. Right now it's rising. At some point it will crest, and progress will turn incremental for a while. Then someone else will make a big breakthrough and everything will change fast again. Think about things like electricity and computers, inventions that changed everything.
Of course, civilizations also fall and their tech level with them. That's also a very real possibility.
Will we keep leaping to even greater technological and scientific breakthroughs that radically change society, or will the rate of progress slow and humanity’s progress be limited to incremental improvements?
Technology tends to come in waves. Right now it's rising. At some point it will crest, and progress will turn incremental for a while. Then someone else will make a big breakthrough and everything will change fast again. Think about things like electricity and computers, inventions that changed everything.
Of course, civilizations also fall and their tech level with them. That's also a very real possibility.