Member Posts

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recurring posts

Philosophical Questions:

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

What would happen to a society in which no one had to work, and everyone was provided enough food/water/shelter/healthcare for free?

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Content notes for "The Community Couch"

Here are the content notes for "The Community Couch."

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Location notes for "The Community Couch"

These are the location notes for "The Community Couch."

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Character notes for "The Community Couch"

Here are the character notes for "The Community Couch."

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Poem: "The Community Couch"

This poem came out of the April 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

siliconshaman,

wyld_dandelyon, and

mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Bookstore Girl" square in my 4-1-25 card for the Aesthetics Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with

fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Arts and Crafts America.

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Climate Change

A stunning new forecast shows when thousands of glaciers will vanish

New research reveals when glaciers around the world will vanish and why every fraction of a degree of warming could decide their fate.

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Poetry Fishbowl Report for December 2, 2025

Our theme this month was "Sentient and Self-Aware Machines." I wrote from 1 PM to 3:45 AM, so about 14 hours 45 minutes, accounting for breaks. I wrote 3 poems on Tuesday plus 2 later in the week.

Participation was down slightly, with 7 comments on LiveJournal and another 36 on Dreamwidth. A total of 9 people sent prompts. You have new donor

gs_silva to thank for the second freebie.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Never -- Ever -- Quit"
"Protect the Inner Core"
"User Interfaces"

"Mamalokshen" (1-9-23, outside fishbowl)

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from December 2. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include:

janetmiles,

gs_silva, and

fuzzyred. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 2 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

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Poem: "Mamalokshen"

This is the freebie for the December Poetry Fishbowl reaching its $150 goal. It was inspired by a prompt from

jadelennox. It also fills the "Ancestors" square in my 10-1-22 card for the Fall Festival Bingo.

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Unsold Poems for the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl

The following poems from the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "Delight in Another," "A Sense of Weather Changes," "Ouroboros Insects," "The Loving Embrace of Night," "Generations of Cooks Past," "Homefree and Clear, " "One Bite at a Time," "Stars and Diamonds," "Mishpocha," "Changing Your Nature," and "Besa."

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Crafts

Today I remade the holiday potpourri bowl. It needs to be redone every other year or so, because the potpourri and lights wear out. This year I couldn't find any damn potpourri so I wound up deconstructing a cinnamon-scented pinecone.

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Pool Update

fuzzyred has closed the pool. ~~I don't have the full list of sponsored poems yet, just the early ones are already marked~~. Yes, there are still some poems left!

The Holiday Poetry Sale itself is still open through the end of Friday. ~~Far as I know, Coracle Shores and Crystal Wood are still available as they weren't on any target lists~~. If more folks buy stuff and there are overlaps, we'll figure it out as we go along.

EDIT 12/19/25 -- Below is the list of poems sponsored by the pool. I will post them as I have time. Links will appear in the sale page.
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Safety

The western U.S. Tried to stop wildfires and it backfired

After a century of stopping fires, much of the West is now dangerously overdue for them.

Much of the western U.S. is overdue for wildfire, with decades of suppression allowing fuel to build up across millions of hectares. Researchers estimate that 74% of the region is in a fire deficit, meaning far more land needs to burn to restore healthy forest conditions. Catching up would require an unprecedented amount of controlled and managed fire.

I told you so.

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food,
recipe

Today's Cooking

Today I made crockpot shrimp boil with potatoes, onion, baby corncobs, and shrimp. It was okay but not exciting. The Old Bay seasoning was more heat than flavor, so I used a little of that then added a bay leaf, oregano, and thyme. An interesting experiment but not worth repeating.

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advent 2025

Advent Day 19

Had some bad news to start the day. My mom was exposed to Covid yesterday, so she can no longer host Christmas or even be with us at Christmas. My first reaction was to be relieved I wasn't going to have to go out that day, but my sister said she'd host. Almost got out of social engagement for the day! I love my family, but family dinners are a LOT for me to handle.

In any case, let's get on with it!

1. Gaming Dice: I was wrong about being done with the elf dice. Today was a clear 12-sided die with an elf inside.

2. Diamine Inkvent: A Standard gray-blue ink called Overcast

3. Cult Pens: No link today as I couldn't find the exact one on the site. It's washi tape with some animals on it. 15mm X 7m. Cost: $3.80 (This was the cost of washi of similar size). Total Cost: $107.48

4. Cacao & Cardamom: A peppermint patty in the shape of a christmas sweater. It was creamy and really good. I'd like to have a few more of those!

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Wildlife

Ancient oceans were ruled by super predators unlike anything today

Long before whales and sharks, enormous marine reptiles dominated the oceans with unmatched power. Scientists have reconstructed a 130-million-year-old marine ecosystem from Colombia and found predators operating at a food-chain level higher than any seen today. The ancient seas were bursting with life, from giant reptiles to rich invertebrate communities. This extreme complexity reveals how intense competition helped drive the evolution of modern marine ecosystems. Interestingly, a warm climate with high, shallow seas is exactly where Earth is headed via climate change. After the Anthropocene extinction, many niches will lie open, waiting for new species to claim them.

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Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny and chilly. It rained off and on all yesterday but has stopped now.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/19/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/19/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I carried 4 logs from the driveway pile to the patio rack.

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

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Follow Friday 12-19-25: Languages and Linguistics

Today's theme is Languages and Linguistics. There are many posts on Dreamwidth in different languages, but it doesn't have a sort function for them, and communities rarely list it in their Interests. If you know any more communities or bloggers relevant to this topic, please share them in a comment.

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Poetry Fishbowl Update

fuzzyred will be closing the pool around midday Friday. The sale itself lasts until the end of Friday. If you're still shopping the Holiday Poetry Sale, now's the time to make your choices!

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advent 2025

Advent Day 18

Today was a pretty good day!

1. Gaming Dice: A very dark green and orange swirl 20-sided die

2. Diamine Inkvent: An extreme sheen called Laurel. The base color is green and the sheen is metallic magenta

3. Cult Pens: Pentel Tadio Fountain Pen. It's a light turquoise and came in a black velvet pen cover. Cost: $17.82. Total Cost: $103.68

4. Cacao & Cardamom: Three chocolate discs with candied citrus and nuts. Pretty good!

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Dinosaurs

Italy makes a surprising discovery ahead of the Winter Olympics: dinosaur tracks

On Tuesday, Italian officials announced the discovery of thousands of dinosaur tracks on "nearly vertical dolomite walls" in Stelvio National Park, a protected area in the central Alps of northern Italy.
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"The tracks, preserved in excellent condition despite the altitude, show traces of toes and claws imprinted on the walls when they were tidal flats at the end of the Triassic," the Natural History Museum says. That period spanned 252 to 201 million years ago.

Della Ferrara notified authorities of his findings, setting paleontological research into motion. Preliminary analyses suggest most of the tracks came from "herbivorous prosauropod dinosaurs" — the long-necked creatures that predate enormous sauropods like the ones depicted in the "Jurassic Park" franchise.

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