rokosourobouros

So today has been. Bad. Mentally.

No reason I can see, unless I perhaps need to go outside more? But I'm eating a vaguely balanced diet, and sleeping enough even if at weird hours, and - oh. Right. I do keep forgetting to take my meds/taking them late/etc. That might be the problem.

Anyway today I mostly failed any and all will saves over just going the fuck to sleep. The fact that Sushi has been extremely cuddly hasn't helped, of course, but the first will save was when he woke me up at fuckoff o'clock (like 7:30 or something) and I kicked him out into the back of the house because hahaha noooo. And then didn't get out of bed again until mid-afternoon. Sooooo. Yeah. Not great.

Despite that, I did get some chore-like things done - took out the rubbish, cleaned the chook feeder (it generally doesn't need cleaning, since the inside is protected from dust, but the mechanism's stuck a couple of times recently so I figured it needed dusting. There was uh. A lot of dust), that kinda thing.

And I DID do some painting? Still only like two thirds of the way through the first edge though. :/ Kinda thinking it might be more efficient to just... do some very temporary tape and paint it quickly, rather than have to be so! fucking! precise!! Which is uh not my strong point.

Didn't do any sanding, though, which is. Less good. :/

Anyway, now is time for bed again and hopefully tomorrow will be better!!! >:

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Birthplace

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and mild. :D

The stump grinder guy has come and gone. He did an excellent job. The stump in front of the garden shed is gone and the hole mostly filled, though I'll add some top soil to smooth it out more. The east path is nearly smooth, might need a bit of raking. I'm particularly impressed that a ring of daffodils around the plump stump is still there! I had expected to lose those, so the precision is noteworthy. The parking lot is also nearly smooth. He got right up to the edge of the sidewalk and rock wall, although he advised there are some buried rocks and concrete that we didn't know about. I may need to rake some areas, and certainly need to see about removing the last stubs from the sidewalk to recreate that defensive zone. My partner Doug plans to drive over the parking lot to press it down some before ordering a load of fresh gravel to top it. Progress!

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. Cardinals are singing.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I put about half a bag of topsoil into the hole in front of the garden shed to smooth it out. That may need more later after it settles, but it'll do for now.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I filled a flat of 12 pots with potting soil and in each pot I planted 5 seeds of short landrace marigolds. These are similar to Shithouse Marigolds but shorter. If I can get them growing well, I can save money buying nursery marigolds. I covered them with a plastic tub to serve as a greenhouse. I still need to label them though.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I labeled the marigolds.

I checked the east path. It doesn't really need anything but grass seed. We'll need to buy a big bag of that. Recommended time for spring sowing is late March to mid-April.

I checked the parking lot. I picked up a few pieces of junk that were churned up, but it's also pretty good. I do need to work on clearing more of the sidewalk, but a lot of that will just be brushing dirt off it.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I started working on the sidewalk again. Much of what covers it is just loose dirt that needs to be scraped off. Some is still packed dirt and roots.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I watered the seeds under tubs.

It's 71°F now. Over the next few days, it's supposed to reach 80°F. 0_o

.

Current Mood: busy

otpcutie posting in

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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 "Tutorials" on

getting_started.

* Posted "Gaming" on

girlgamers.

* Posted "Ostara" on

goddessfolk.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" on

birdfeeding.

Current Mood: busy

siderea

Just hit play.

(All about the sound, but visuals also nice.)

2026 Mar 18: Benn Jordan [BennJordan YT]: "I'm here to disrupt the finance synthesizer scene."

Watch on YouTube

siderea

Screenshot of two comments on X. One says, "Reading Dune. Frank Herbert was cooking." and shows a section of a photo of a book page reading, "'Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.' '"Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man's mind,"' Paul quoted." Below that someone replied, paging Grok, X's resident AI, "please explain this post and the quote in in, what should I understand about it?"

Debate is raging on BSky if this is deliberate wit or accidental idiocy.

(h/t user mlyp.bsky.social)

dewline

If anyone's trying to reach me via Facebook these days, I'm having issues navigating the site these days. At least until 10 PM most nights. The pages load up slower than I'm used to these days...

Current Mood: annoyed

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ysabetwordsmith

Earth's changing climate is harming crop diversity exactly where the security of global food production needs it most

A new study warns that if global warming surpasses 1.5°C, vast regions could lose critical crop diversity, heightening the risk to worldwide food security.

Researchers predict that about one-third of global food production may be in jeopardy due to higher temperatures, underscoring how climate change is expected to reshape agriculture, especially in vulnerable low-latitude countries.

You know what? I think they're barking up the wrong tree here. Humans have done FAR more damage to the foodstream than climate change has so far. I'm sure climate change will get around to that, but it's late to the party. Humans have already discarded many traditional crops because they don't lend themselves to commercial growing, drastically limiting the typical diet.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

extrapenguin posting in

space_swap

One repost and one new!

Due at the same time as the regular assignments: Sun 5 Apr 17:00 CEST (in your timezone | countdown). To claim, comment on this post with your AO3 username and the pinch hit you want to claim.

#2: ( Phantasy Star, Star Ocean, Live a Live, Mugen Kouro, LotGH )

#3: ( SWOT, ST:AOs, DCU )

cupcake_goth

(Thank you FOB/Pete Wentz for always providing entertaining song lyrics.)

Everything is ugh. My back is having one of its stretches of hurting and feeling fragile, so my life involves lidocaine patches and dipping into the stash of muscle relaxers and heavy-duty pain meds. I've been having an upswing in different types of migraines, and I suspect the main culprits are weather and stress. All I want to do is sleep, and my mood can generally be described by that Charles Darwin quote of "I am very poorly today & very stupid & I hate everybody & everything". With a large side of "meh". I really want a doctor to prescribe the historical treatment of going to the seaside for a week (with the appropriate servants to take care of me and bring me dainty treats while I sit with my feet in the ocean).

Today is particularly ugh, as we lost three writers yesterday and I need to cover their work while we hire new writers for those positions. (Yeah, read between the lines there and you can probably guess what happened.) Thankfully, I talked to my boss and asked how this would work with my current projects, and she told me that my number one priority right now is to focus on the writing/being a writer, and once those positions are backfilled, I'll go back to my Program Manager work. So at least I don't have to worry that I'm being held to two sets of different standards. But still, stressful.

Meh.

---

One thing that's been entertaining me is going through my Tumblr archives - prompted by a post going around asking people how long they've been on Tumblr oh my god 2010 really?! - and finding a lot of fun content and a lot of pink & black eye candy. But I realized (a bit too late) that I shouldn't read my text posts from 2011, because that was the worst year of my life. Dear Powers That Be, that isn't an invitation to go "hold my beer!" and try to overshoot that. I don't need that.

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny, less cold, with a light breeze. This is a huge improvement. :D

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did a bit of work outdoors.

The mower has been picked up for its spring tuneup.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I picked up more junk from the parking lot.

I've seen a lot more sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I started trying to unearth the edge of the sidewalk bordering the parking lot on the south side. It is exhausting, and must be done before the stump-grinder guy arrives early tomorrow. D:

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I hacked away at the east end of the sidewalk. There are still several feet of the middle buried.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I continued hacking at the sidewalk edge.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did more hacking at the sidewalk edge. I think it's about as good as I can get it. There's a big patch in the middle that I couldn't clear due to roots and brush, but at least the edge is more-or-less visible at both ends.

I've seen a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

tyger

Ugh, back in sanding hell. This time it's hell because I checked on the undercoat, and it says if you wanna put it on oil based paints you need to sand it back far enough all the shiny's gone. That is. That is a lot.

Particularly since I can't use the electric sander for most of it - the bookshelves are too short to get it in there orz orz orz. Can do the backs, and the sides, but yeaaaaaah. Tops and bottoms gotta be hand sanded. I THINK I got one at least mostly done, but I'll have to check tomorrow. I was wiping the dust off as I went with a damp cloth, so hard to say for sure if the shiny's all gone when it's still damp. :/

Also started repainting the bits of the roof that need it, and. Ugh. It's gonna take FOREVER, I can tell already. Combination of 'have to use a tiny brush because of the precision required' and 'need to concentrate REALLY REALLY HARD', alas, so there's no real way of speeding it up. Just need to keep doing it until the brain gets tired! And then sanding because that doesn't need brain, that just needs muscles. And then when muscles are protesting too much, time for a break. Yes. Something like that, anyway.

Thinking I might need to hit some bits with the paint stripper, too. Curved bit at the top, bits at the sides where even the hand sander can't get in easily, that kind of thing. Bleeeeeeeh, it's gonna be a pain I can tell already. But OH WELL at least!!! This is the last thing that needs this sort of treatment! Probably!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Birthplace

ysabetwordsmith

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This is today's freebie, inspired by a prompt from LJ user My_partner_doug.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy and cold. At least the howling wind stopped.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

Many of the plants that were sprouting have died from the hard freeze. :/ Some still look fine though. At least some of the sprouts in my jug and tub greenhouses have survived.

EDIT 3/17/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/17/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

EDIT 3/17/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your time and attention. Please keep an eye on this page as I am still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "anything goes." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

Stuck for ideas? You can find prompts by ...
* browsing planned poems for Aquariana and the Maldives, The Big One, Broken Angels, Calliope and Vagary, Officer Pink and Turq, Pips and Joshua, or Shiv. (Some of these I've already done, so they're not all up to date, but others I haven't done yet.)
* browsing my Serial Poetry page for favorite threads or characters.
* browsing series with recently created landing pages: Artists of Destruction, Coracle Shores, Crystal Wood, Strike of the Thunderbirds, The Wandering (on the Serial Poetry page), Iron Horses, Peculiar Obligations, Not Quite Kansas.
* browsing my QUILTBAG list, Romantic Orientations in My Characters, Sexual Orientations in My Characters, Gender Identities in My Characters, or My Characters with Disabilities for favorites.
* naming a poetic form you'd like to see written.
* picking a prompt from my current bingo cards: National Crafting Month Bingo 3-1-26
* picking some from the Bingo Generator prompt lists.
* looking up fun tropes on Fanlore.
* choosing an unusual word.
* plugging a favorite topic into your search engine and choosing a picture that looks interesting.
* anything short. I could especially use short poems today as other prompts are likely to run long.
* standalone ideas, if you're a fan of that rather than series.

What Is a Poetry Fishbowl?

Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.

In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is "anything goes." I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things of any type. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

Current Mood: busy

tyger

Not sure what happened, but. Jiiiiii. Anvil of tired maybe? IDK.

Anyway, got the rest of the tape off today! It took WAY longer than something that simple ought to, tbh, but at the same time I DID do a lot of coats so it's not surprising that the tape was uh kinda stuck down in places. Also it's just a pain in the ass to get it out from behind the picture rail, if it rips. (And it ripped A Lot, siiiiigh.)

Tomorrow, cleaning up the room - I have a LOT of stuff stored on the bookshelves, twenty bajillion different kinds of sandpaper, random tools, etc. - and then scrubbing down the main part of the shelves, I think. Sanding if there's enough time to start with the electric sander during the daylight hours, otherwise scrubbing down the top and filling in bits of wood that need it, I think. Current idea is to do the main part of the shelves first, since I won't need to tape anything for that - I'm hoping if I leave it a few days before I tape stuff up again it's more likely to uh. You know. Not come away with the paint underneath when I take the tape back down again. Hopefully it won't do that anyway, but just in case, you know?? Pain in the ass, so avoid if possible.

A didn't end up coming over, alas, but also not a surprise; she's going to visit her mum for a week tomorrow, so busy busy.

Anyway now is time for sleeping for me yes. Ugh, have the fan on and it's super cold, but I need it on because I have washing drying... luckily, sleeping in a different room, hahaha!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Birthplace

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Elliott Dunstan

April 2020

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Elliott Dunstan

Reading

Fuck my fucking brain, ugh

Birdfeeding

Aromantic Bucky Barnes presents: Aromantic Bucky Barnes Fest (2026)

Community Thursdays

Benn Jordan plays the stock market [econ, tech, dataviz, music]

Grok, explain Butlerian Jihad [ai]

About Facebook These Days?

[MULTIFANDOM] vampiremedia's April Drabblethon!

Science

Pinch Hits #2-3

I'm like a diamond on the inside / just add the pressure

Birdfeeding

Saaaanding

Cuddle Party

Poem: "Who Once Knew Better Words"

Birdfeeding

Haikyuu: Miyacest Spring Break Week

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

Jiiiiiiiii

Multifandom: Seasons of Fandom S02 - Sign ups open!

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April 2020

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