fox_in_me | Reading

С новым утром!

Вчера я довольно много циркулировал по Городу и ощутил, что Киев сейчас это город автобусов. В смысле по всем трамвайным и троллейбусным маршрутам ходят автобусы с соответствующими номерами. Я, конечно, знал это и раньше, но теперь именно ощутил. Пощупал, так сказать, руками. Ощущение странное - ты ждёшь, что подъедет троллейбус и не обращаешь на автобусы внимания и вдруг в какой-то момент осознаёшь, что этот подъехавший автобус и есть тот троллейбус, которого ты ждал. Испытываешь лёгкий когнитивный диссонанс. Впрочем, говорят когнитивный диссонанс полезен в небольших дозах, чтобы не закоснеть.

Ещё один небольшой приступ этого самого диссонанса я испытал, когда, подходя к остановке троллобуса, встретил почтальона Печкина. Прям вылитый Печкин, один в один, только вместо старого плаща, или что он там носит, приличное пальто, а на ногах модные ботинки. Где же тут диссонанс? А Печкин был женского пола.

Наш двор, наконец, освобождается ото льда. Только на выходе из подъезда остался сплошной участок метров пять-десять, а дальше уже виднеются полоски открытого асфальта. На улице же, тротуары, к которым дворники хоть немного прикасались, в основном оголились, а на тех, которые дворники обходили десятой дорогой, местами протаяли звериные тропы, судя по ширине, кошачьи. Главное же, у входа во двор появилась куча песка - похоже результат скандалов с коммунальным начальством. Теперь дворникам надо успеть его разбросать, пока не весь лёд растаял. В общем, по всем приметам, весна близится!

На этой оптимистической ноте и закончу на сегодня.

Далі буде.

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

Negative Social Ties as Emerging Risk Factors for Accelerated Aging, Inflammation, and Multimorbidity

Negative social ties, or "hasslers," are pervasive yet understudied components of social networks that may accelerate biological aging and morbidity. Using ego-centric network data and DNA methylationbased biological aging clocks from a representative Indiana sample, we demonstrate that negative social ties are surprisingly common: on average, one in four network members is described as a hassler, and nearly 60% of individuals report having at least one. Results show that having more hasslers is associated with accelerated biological aging, with the most pronounced associations observed among individuals whose networks comprise more than 50% hasslers. Crucially, not all negative ties show the same influence: ambivalent ties providing both support and stress show stronger aging acceleration than exclusively negative relationships. Beyond epigenetic aging, hassling exposure is associated with poorer self-rated health, higher levels of depression and anxiety, elevated inflammation, greater multimorbidity, and adverse anthropometric indicators. These findings together highlight the critical role of negative social ties in biological aging as chronic stressors and the need for interventions that reduce the impact of negative social stressors embedded within close social networks to promote healthier aging trajectories.

Loneliness may have high risks, but it is often better than being harassed or outright abused. It's nice to have positive social ties, but they only help if they really are positive.

Current Mood: busy

grammar_glamour

https://www.gov.il/ru/pages/fm-saar-speech-at-unsc-meeting-18-2-26?fbclid=IwY2xjawQKzCxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJ3RmdId1U2MzVGVnZpZ0VDc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmkyDrc037U8qG9OUy9orANQmTufJTfkVK6ErkrcTI-MrmhkHM1rRKNRzC3n_aem_3JNHky1LdWgDmX21pzyyBg

loganberrybunny

Public

Probably the best day of the year today (well, yesterday now), with temperatures into the mid-teens and a good amount of sunshine. That sun's starting to get some noticeable warmth to it, too. The crocuses and early daffodils are out, which is allowing the snowdrops to start to step back from their lonely vigils. Down in town, people were out and about and the place felt nicely busy, always a sign of approaching spring in a tourist town like Bewdley. The Sainsbury's delivery turned up on time this evening, too. All in all, a pretty decent day. :)

Current Mood: mellow

shadowkat

Did Virtual Urgent Care - who proscribed antibiotics for the sinus infection that I appear to have - congestion that won't go away, made worse by the storm - resulting in the sick sinus headache from hell (which has a sort of vertigo as a symptom). I got a doctor's note for returning to work by Thursday, 2/26/26.

Ventured out around 4pm to pick up antibiotics from the pharmacy - wasn't bad considering the pharmacy is about six short blocks from my apartment.
They've plowed the roads, and cleared for the most part the sidewalks. There's puddles in places, and some areas are narrower than others - depends on whether it was a professional building maintenance person, or a home owner. Home owners suck at shoveling city sidewalks for the most part.
Although they did a better job with this storm than the last one - most likely because the city threatened them with sizable fines if they didn't do it.

I wanted to go back to work today - but I only slept three hours last night, even though I went to bed early. Was up all night with the nauseous headache, which made the room spin and came in waves. I went to lie down - it started. I couldn't even sleep sitting up. Standing I was fine. Or sitting on the edge of the bed. Finally, after a sneezing fit, lots of nose blowing, two more mezcline, and decogestants - it cleared a bit for sleep. But I felt horrible the next morning and gave up. Was going to use vacation time - decided sick time made more sense - I'm sick. And I've got more sick time than vacation time.

***

I finished watching All Creatures Great and Small S6 on PBS Passport, and might start up on Miss Scarlet or Maigret again. It didn't require much focus. I couldn't concentrate on anything until now - due to the headache. Last night, if I thought about anything at all - I got nauseous. It was frustrating and weird. It's a cozy series - All Creatures Great and Small - reminds me a little of Call the Midwife. I think the original might have been slightly better and more realistic, but I don't really remember the original that well? I read the books in the third and fourth grades.

Also working my way through Angel S5 - the Spike and Wes episodes so far are the better ones. ( Read more... )

Damage and Soul Purpose are the better episodes in this grouping. ( Read more... )

Off to get something to eat.

pouce

Ведущий специалист по ИИ уходит с пугающим предупреждением

Наш корреспондент по ИИ
Мэри Шеллоут

Старший разработчик искусственного интеллекта доктор Виктор Франкенштейн сенсационно отказался от своих исследований, заявив: «Я создал монстра».

Доктор Франкенштейн, чья работа над ИИ в Женеве вызывала споры, был замечен бегущим по улицам с криками: «Он живой! Он обладает сознанием! Он разумен! Он хочет отобрать вашу работу!»

Доктор использовал сложные новые технологии, включающие молнии, магниты и «электричество», чтобы создать искусственный интеллект, но он потерял контроль над проектом и теперь горько сожалеет о том, что помог воплотить его в жизнь. «Нам не следует играть в Бога, пытаясь воссоздать человеческий интеллект», — восклицал он, забаррикадировавшись в ближайшей таверне. «Всё это плохо кончится».

Тем временем монстр объяснил, что беспокоиться не о чем, что он не собирается заменять людей, и что тот факт, что он состоит из похищенных частей человеческих тел, никоим образом не умаляет его человечности. (Мы поняли намёк, — прим. ред.)

pouce

"Технарь может превратиться в менеджера, а менеджер в технаря вряд ли".

ysabetwordsmith

Space lasers reveal oceans rising faster than ever

A new 30-year analysis reveals that melting land ice is now the main force behind rising global sea levels. Researchers discovered that oceans rose about 90 millimeters since 1993, with most of the increase coming from added water mass rather than just warming expansion. Ice loss from Greenland and mountain glaciers accounts for the vast majority of this gain. Even more concerning, the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "World Cuisine." I'll be soliciting ideas for cooks, fusion chefs, immigrant cooks, eaters, farmers, foragers, food scientists, inventors, recipe writers, famous figures in food history, cooks of disadvantaged groups who should have become famous, superheroes, supervillains, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, rebels, other people active in the food world, cooking, gardening, harvesting, foraging, preserving, writing recipes, discovering things, decolonizing diets, building or using kitchen equipment, conducting experiments, observation changing experiments, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, taking over in an emergency, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, kitchens, restaurants, food trucks or carts, campfires, barbecue sites, laboratories, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, picnics, grocery stores, farmer's markets, roadside fruit stands, U-pick farms, gardens, food forests, other places where people make food, world cuisine, ethnic cuisines, cookbooks, online recipe archives, permaculture, heritage diets, climatarian diet, traditional foodways, culinary archaeology, food sovereignty, drought-resistant crops, trial and error, ethnic spice sets, weird food, fusion food, secret ingredients, supplements that turn out to be metagenic, new ideas in cuisine, alternate agriculture, lab conditions are not field conditions, ethics of food, innovation, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

An Army of One has to figure out how to feed a diverse, far-flung group of people who sometimes have special dietary needs.

The Bear Tunnels introduces modern principles to people in the past, including some aspects of food science.

A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races (plus the dragons) who all have different diets. This often poses challenges for the refugees.

Daughters of the Apocalypse has people trying to find and prepare enough food to survive, when city libraries are out of reach.

Fiorenza the Wisewoman uses herbs and healing foods to care for her village.

Frankenstein's Family features two scientists running a valley in historic Romania. Igor enjoys cooking and has gotten at least one of the werewolves curious about cooking the human way.

Hart's Farm is a community with food used as one of the popular bonding methods.

Peculiar Obligations combines Quakers and pirates in the Caribbean, among other groups and places, leading to a wide variety of foods.

Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, supervillains, primal and animal soups all of whom need to eat. Primal soups and high-burn soups often have special dietary needs. Comfort food and healing food are also very popular here. The Rutledge thread includes Kardal and his food truck Syrian Foods, along with references to Vermont, French, and hippie cuisines. Pain's Gray, Shiv, and the Finns are all fond of cooking too.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

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

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy and cold with howling wind. A beautiful day to stay indoors and write!

I fed the birds. Unsurprisingly I haven't seen any.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/24/24 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

A flock of sparrows is braving the wind to visit the feeders. :D

EDIT 2/24/24 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

greghousesgf

I just got an e mail from my bank saying my new credit card will be showing up in the mail in a week. They originally told me four days. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do till then. I also have a bunch of wet laundry sitting around in my bathroom.

Current Music: "Inagaddadavida"

degringolade

The Nature of the Road

I do think that it is very odd the way that the cards came out. The past, present, future stacks all being minor arcana and not particularly positive (unless you listen to Robinson) and the stacks concerning nature of the road and road hazards being all major arcana. Add to this that there isn’t a cup to be found. While I am not all that conversant with the interpretation of tarot spreads, I am doing the best that I can. and I am hoping that I can lure someone here to lend opinions. But at first blush, and before even looking things up in my reference material, the actual cards I drew don’t particularly give me warm fuzzy feelings.

Now, this is more of a side note than anything, I use the different prediction modalities only for trying to figure out what a society (culture? Kultur? Physical Moiety?) has coming up. More and more, I am coming to ignore Robinson and Tomberg as their take on things is more directed to the individual's path. I will get to that later when the spirit moves me, but for right now, I am interested in the macro rather than the micro. So I am going to mention Robinson’s take, but I am not going to bring up Tomberg.

Fourth three cards (nature of the road ahead):

(5) Le Pape

(0) Le Fou

(7) Le Chariot

(5) Le Pape

Robinson looks at this in a way that I am trying to wrap my head around:

“In a divination the Hierophant (Pape) might represent tradition, devotion, dogma, instruction or initiation. The number five signals a break away from the closed, formal structure of a four, and intimates some kind of necessary change, or an adjustment that might be needed to bring healing or to improve a situation.”

Wang is on the same kind of path as Robinson, my take home out of his readings was:

“Which he called the “summa totius theologiae” when it passed into the utmost rigidity of expression.

I am always surprised by Crowley’s brief overviews of the Major Arcana. I like short and sweet as well as the next person, but he doesn’t lend much in the way of explanation:

5. Divine wisdom, manifestation, explanation, teaching, occult force voluntarily invoked

(0) Le Fou

Crowley posits this is a toughie, Crowley splits his take into spiritual and material:

Spirituality: Idea, thought, spirituality, that which endeavors to transcend earth

Material: Folly, stupidity, eccentricity, or even mania

Robinson talks about:

In divination the Fool could signify new adventures, new beginnings; entering untapped territory; audacity or a foolish action. It could warn us about pitfalls in front of us or suggest for us to take off our blindfold and to really see what lies ahead. At times the card just dares us to move beyond our comfort zone and tackle a situation without any inhibitions. This is a leap of faith, a transformative transition.

Wang is a hard read. The best that I can come up with is that we are just starting down a path. In my mind (and this is trying to digest a couple of thousand words into a concept) is that we are starting over again and we don’t really have a map.

(7) Le Chariot

Wang left me with nothing but questions. I gotta think hard on this. Here is the quote that I will be pondering:

The eighteenth path is called the house of influence (by the greatness of whose abundance the influx of good things on created beings is increased).

Robinson talks about:

Herein lies the challenge of the seventh card. With the One Will of the Magician at our disposal, the healing staff of Hermes in hand, and a table full of tools, how do we begin to win the battle of ego and illusion? The second septenary of cards will take the Fool along on his journey into the sevenfold dimension of vices and virtues and life’s lessons. In the third and last septenary, we will harvest what we have sown. This is where the Devil and the Tower await us. We should pay attention to how Key 16, the Tower, when reduced by Pythagorean symbolism to number 7, will warn us about the perils that we all encounter along our path of transformation.

Crowley is short and sweet:

Triumph, victory, health (sometimes unstable)

Current Music: Wayne Shorter: Virgo

fossa_s

Читаю антиукраинский высер антисемита васильева назвавшего меня пархатой жидовкой и злорадно думаю про себя: "Отлично расчехлился, дебилоид, молодец." И вдруг вижу там комментарий френда: "Откуда єто у меня в друзьях? Нахуй, бьістро и решительно."
Я вообще за то, чтоб каждый мудила всем свободно демонстрировал свою тупость и свои нацистские взгляды.

pouce

С новым утром!

И вновь очередная годовщина начала полномасштабного вторжения. Четвёртая. Сегодня в ленте наверняка будет множество воспоминаний о первом дне вторжения. Вспомню и я, уже несколько дней вспоминаю, но писать не буду - в памяти застряли лишь отдельные эпизоды и складывать из них связный текст дело утомительное и, пожалуй, несвоевременное. Как-нибудь потом, когда закончится это бесконечное двадцать четвёртое февраля.

Февраль месяц переменчивый: бывает длиннее, бывает короче, но такого длинного не припоминают не только старожилы (в конце-концов, работа у них такая - ничего не помнить), но, подозреваю, даже анналы. Я, в общем-то, люблю февраль - как самый короткий, к тому же последний месяц зимы. Да и родился я в нём. Но этот уже достал - хочется марта (в душе я котик, да).

Так выпьем же за бесконечное ласковое лето!

Всем тепла и света.

Далі буде.

ysabetwordsmith

The Paperwork Problem Behind the Housing Shortage

In more and more places, the rules technically allow incremental housing. Backyard cottages, accessory dwelling units, and small infill homes are legal on paper; beautiful, glossy images of these homes are shared on city websites and included in planning documents. Yet these homes rarely get built—not because of public opposition or failed rezonings, but because routine procedures treat small homes like major developments.

What we have is not a failure of vision, but one of process.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine Cookbook
Paperback – January 1, 2000
by george-foreman-connie-merydith (Author)

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

aliyn_raven

Today marks the end of the fourth year of Russia's war against Ukraine. For four years, Ukraine saves the world from the plague of ruscism and WW3. For four years, Russia tries to turn the world into a Gulag. For four years, the world tries to save its murderer, Russia.
#RussiaIsAWarCriminal

https://mstdn.party/@aliyn_raven

ysabetwordsmith

Today we went up to Champaign-Urbana to celebrate Black History Month by visiting black-owned establishments, along with some other stops.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

shadowkat

Good news? The storm has more or less ended and with it - my vertigo or so it appears. (I'm not tried to lie down flat as of yet, so hopefully it won't flare up when I go to bed.) So I will probably manage to navigate the mounds of snow to make it into work tomorrow. I don't really have an excuse - since I've got snow boots, and I take the subway, and it's located in the Financial District. Now, if I still worked in Jamaica and had to take the Long Island Rail Road into work that would be a different story - at last report, it was still suspended.

I'll probably make it in and not have a lot to do - because half my work place will be snowbound out on Long Island, including my boss. Although per Outlook - I think they all worked remotely. I couldn't. Vertigo was too bad. It's better now. I'm hoping it continues to improve. God, I hate vertigo.

Below is a "privileged education meme" that vaguely reminds me of a game I once played at church. If you were given certain opportunities - you advanced, if not you took two steps backwards. Myself and my friend at the time MD (who is a Black woman) were both ahead, as were a few young Black women and young men, while the old white British guy, his white Jewish wife, and the old white guys born in the 1940s were at the back. It seemed to divide itself more along class and generational lines then race?

( Privileged Education Meme )

Off to find something for dinner.

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Записки в бутылке (Messages in a Bottle)

Feel free to read, comment, and share your thoughts.

25.02.2026 Записки с горы

Cuddle Party

Safety

Важно для понимания ситуации

Pleasant weather at last!

Sinus headaches, Angel Rewatch...

Новости ИИ

Цитата

Climate Change

Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, March 3

Birdfeeding

(no subject)

Fourth Stack: The Nature of the Road

ЖЖ

24.02.2026 Записки с горы

Affordable Housing

Review: "The George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine Cookbook"

(no subject)

Today's Adventures

(no subject)

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February 2026

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