(no subject)
Oct. 29th, 2026 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stardust_riflei am now just realizing that honeydew probably isn’t supposed to make your lips itch and your chest get tight
stardust_rifle
Poet's Corner: from "Crow's Account of St. George" by Ted Hughes
Oct. 29th, 2026 06:45 amstonepicnicking_okapiDay 29: Crows!
I might be posting a few of the last Halloween bits and bobs today and tomorrow. And probably nothing (or not much) on the 31st itself (and then we're into November, my, how the year has flown).
Minisculus and I watched "The Crow" on Saturday night. A bit violent for an 11-year-old, but it had more of a morale/message than I remembered and we both enjoyed it. Poor Brandon Lee. Rest in power, sir.
Ted Hughes was no picnic :) Have a pair of demons.
I might be posting a few of the last Halloween bits and bobs today and tomorrow. And probably nothing (or not much) on the 31st itself (and then we're into November, my, how the year has flown).
Minisculus and I watched "The Crow" on Saturday night. A bit violent for an 11-year-old, but it had more of a morale/message than I remembered and we both enjoyed it. Poor Brandon Lee. Rest in power, sir.
Ted Hughes was no picnic :) Have a pair of demons.
Artificial Intelligence
Oct. 29th, 2026 01:26 amysabetwordsmithMacmillan Staff Say the Publisher Threw a Party for a Workplace AI Assistant That Was Later Killed
Workers tell WIRED that NOA—or “No Ordinary Assistant”—was unhelpful. Bestselling authors also say AI is ruining their relationships with Big Five publishers.
If publishers can't be arsed to do their jobs, and editors are fobbing off their work on AI, then why should an author bother with them at all? Well, historically, a main selling point of conventional publishing was the marketing reach.
Now however, that may backfire. If I see a book with a shitty AI cover and shitty AI cover text, I tend to think that the contents are also shitty and nobody cared to do a decent job with it. I'm not going to pick it up. I'm pretty sure other readers feel the same way.
So if the major publishers are embracing AI, that makes it hard for them to protest authors using AI to generate slop stories. In the end, it creates a business opportunity for any publisher who wants to advertise "all human writing, editing, art, and publishing."
Workers tell WIRED that NOA—or “No Ordinary Assistant”—was unhelpful. Bestselling authors also say AI is ruining their relationships with Big Five publishers.
If publishers can't be arsed to do their jobs, and editors are fobbing off their work on AI, then why should an author bother with them at all? Well, historically, a main selling point of conventional publishing was the marketing reach.
Now however, that may backfire. If I see a book with a shitty AI cover and shitty AI cover text, I tend to think that the contents are also shitty and nobody cared to do a decent job with it. I'm not going to pick it up. I'm pretty sure other readers feel the same way.
So if the major publishers are embracing AI, that makes it hard for them to protest authors using AI to generate slop stories. In the end, it creates a business opportunity for any publisher who wants to advertise "all human writing, editing, art, and publishing."
Community Thursdays
Oct. 29th, 2026 12:03 amysabetwordsmithThis 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...
* Commented on TV TUESDAY: MINE, ALL MINE in![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tv_talk.
* Commented on Just one thing: 28 October 2026 inawesomeers.
* Commented on Pink-flowering gum incommon_nature.
* Commented on Solo TTRPG Recommendations Master List insolottrpgs.
* Commented on TV TUESDAY: MINE, ALL MINE in
tv_talk.* Commented on Just one thing: 28 October 2026 in
awesomeers.* Commented on Pink-flowering gum in
common_nature.* Commented on Solo TTRPG Recommendations Master List in
solottrpgs.Conservation
Oct. 28th, 2026 10:04 pmysabetwordsmithPeople worry more about extinction than biodiversity loss
Scientists found that people respond more strongly to warnings about plant and animal extinction than to scientific terms like biodiversity loss.
It's not necessarily scientific vs. everyday language. Those two terms aren't the same at all.
( Read more... )
Scientists found that people respond more strongly to warnings about plant and animal extinction than to scientific terms like biodiversity loss.
It's not necessarily scientific vs. everyday language. Those two terms aren't the same at all.
( Read more... )
Art
Oct. 28th, 2026 07:56 pmysabetwordsmithVan Gogh’s famous The Starry Night was not a dream but a real morning sky in late July 1889
Astronomers matched Van Gogh's Starry Night to the dawn sky of July 22, 1889, when a crescent moon, Venus and the Hyades rose together.
Astronomers matched Van Gogh's Starry Night to the dawn sky of July 22, 1889, when a crescent moon, Venus and the Hyades rose together.
Getting caught up
Oct. 28th, 2026 03:42 pmhalfshellvenusSo, IT finally got my new PC fully usable yesterday afternoon. I've spent the time since then installing and configuring my old apps and trying to get them to work. Still struggling with the various settings/coPilot hoops on VSCode...
My old PC nuked itself on my birthday, so I've been out of the loop for a while. Finally caught up with DW and LJ posts over the last week and a half, though I haven't commented on everything. I really wish I'd known this was going to take so long-- there's a lot of stuff I could have gotten done around the house!
What with rain last week and waiting around for IT every day, I haven't biked outside since the 18th. My conditioning is just in the toilet these days, though that's mainly from the GLP1.
That means I've been watching a lot of Netflix TV out in the garage, which has been a mixed bag. I started Derry Girls (my sister and BIL love it), and it's a fun show. I watched S2 of Is It Cake: Halloween (not as diverting as the Great British Bake-off). I'm watching S3 of Night Agent, which had lots of action and intrigue in its first season, but is more of a drama in S2 and S3 and a little too slow for biking. I need something faster-paced. And indoors, I'm in S2 of Surfaces (AppleTV) and have finally succumbed and am watching Ted Lasso. I now understand the Lasso hype! Also, the family as a whole watched S5 and S6 of Slow Horses. I need another season!
I also finished reading Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars. It was... okay? Much of the characterization/writing just didn't ring true for me. Now I'm caught up in Time Travel For Beginners, which is very hard to put down. \o/
Other news: HalfshellHusband unexpectedly developed a tooth infection yesterday, which will apparently need a root canal. But he's already had one on that tooth! It's an upper middle tooth, too, so that makes me nervous. And he has a call into the orthopedic surgeon about whether that will mean having to postpone his foot-rebuilding surgery next Tuesday. I sure hope not. We're dialed in for the misery on that, and would rather get it over with.
Oh wait, this is awesome: my Linux machine (where I write all my code) is now having issues too! Please, make it stop!
<br.
My old PC nuked itself on my birthday, so I've been out of the loop for a while. Finally caught up with DW and LJ posts over the last week and a half, though I haven't commented on everything. I really wish I'd known this was going to take so long-- there's a lot of stuff I could have gotten done around the house!
What with rain last week and waiting around for IT every day, I haven't biked outside since the 18th. My conditioning is just in the toilet these days, though that's mainly from the GLP1.
That means I've been watching a lot of Netflix TV out in the garage, which has been a mixed bag. I started Derry Girls (my sister and BIL love it), and it's a fun show. I watched S2 of Is It Cake: Halloween (not as diverting as the Great British Bake-off). I'm watching S3 of Night Agent, which had lots of action and intrigue in its first season, but is more of a drama in S2 and S3 and a little too slow for biking. I need something faster-paced. And indoors, I'm in S2 of Surfaces (AppleTV) and have finally succumbed and am watching Ted Lasso. I now understand the Lasso hype! Also, the family as a whole watched S5 and S6 of Slow Horses. I need another season!
I also finished reading Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars. It was... okay? Much of the characterization/writing just didn't ring true for me. Now I'm caught up in Time Travel For Beginners, which is very hard to put down. \o/
Other news: HalfshellHusband unexpectedly developed a tooth infection yesterday, which will apparently need a root canal. But he's already had one on that tooth! It's an upper middle tooth, too, so that makes me nervous. And he has a call into the orthopedic surgeon about whether that will mean having to postpone his foot-rebuilding surgery next Tuesday. I sure hope not. We're dialed in for the misery on that, and would rather get it over with.
Oh wait, this is awesome: my Linux machine (where I write all my code) is now having issues too! Please, make it stop!
<br.
(no subject)
Oct. 28th, 2026 10:24 pmshadowhiveSo I'd hoped my next post would be more upbeat, and it likely would've been until I came home today. (From seeing Wildwood and getting Halloween food and stuff but that's another story)
So I get home, I settle myself down and plug the pad back in, since it decided to die while out, but its just... not charging.'
which isn't ideal obviously since it has all my wips, app games and passwords and such on there.
I'm hoping it's just the lead, so I've ordered new ones just to be sure but I fear it's something that needs a repair (it's felt like the battery's been draining quicker lately). But to be safe I did send a message to the local repair place to see about prices. hopefully it wont come to that cause the timing is terrible. (Both due to in game events and money wise, and here I was getting things today too and then boom as soon as I get back home there's issues)
Hopefully the lead will come early and it'll solve things and there's no issues but if not... ugh its a walk to see about a repair and it'll probably take days.
And here I was thinking today was a good day too
So I get home, I settle myself down and plug the pad back in, since it decided to die while out, but its just... not charging.'
which isn't ideal obviously since it has all my wips, app games and passwords and such on there.
I'm hoping it's just the lead, so I've ordered new ones just to be sure but I fear it's something that needs a repair (it's felt like the battery's been draining quicker lately). But to be safe I did send a message to the local repair place to see about prices. hopefully it wont come to that cause the timing is terrible. (Both due to in game events and money wise, and here I was getting things today too and then boom as soon as I get back home there's issues)
Hopefully the lead will come early and it'll solve things and there's no issues but if not... ugh its a walk to see about a repair and it'll probably take days.
And here I was thinking today was a good day too
(no subject)
Oct. 28th, 2026 02:41 pmstardust_riflei decided to check out r-shitei's two big hits (seishun wa wristcut and i am menhera) to see if my hasty judgement based on their more recent stuff and my BEC towards mamo has clouded my judgement
and nope, they're still boring as fuck. i should not be mousing over the tab going "holy fuck is this song still going on" when the song is three minutes long.
and nope, they're still boring as fuck. i should not be mousing over the tab going "holy fuck is this song still going on" when the song is three minutes long.
Birdfeeding
Oct. 28th, 2026 11:54 amysabetwordsmithToday is sunny and mild.
I haven't fed the birds yet. I heard a bluejay screaming so loudly that I could hear it inside the house, so I got up to look. Fairy window, no bluejay. Kitchen window, no bluejay, but closer. Door, I finally spotted it high in the forest garden. Then it flew downward. I checked the kitchen window again. The bluejay landed on the metal birdbath, took a drink, then flew away into the yard. :D At least I know they're still around and using the amenities!
EDIT 10/28/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 10/28/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
I haven't fed the birds yet. I heard a bluejay screaming so loudly that I could hear it inside the house, so I got up to look. Fairy window, no bluejay. Kitchen window, no bluejay, but closer. Door, I finally spotted it high in the forest garden. Then it flew downward. I checked the kitchen window again. The bluejay landed on the metal birdbath, took a drink, then flew away into the yard. :D At least I know they're still around and using the amenities!
EDIT 10/28/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 10/28/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
Halloween Day 28: Yráth
Oct. 28th, 2026 07:03 amstonepicnicking_okapiThe final entry from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows:
Yráth
the hunger for mystery in a time of easy answers
Maybe that is what Halloween is all about for me?
Yráth
the hunger for mystery in a time of easy answers
Maybe that is what Halloween is all about for me?
Art
Oct. 28th, 2026 12:04 amysabetwordsmithForgotten sea creature is found hiding in centuries-old paintings
For centuries, a strange spiny mollusk was hiding in some of the most famous kitchens of Italian Baroque art. It was painted with exquisite accuracy, served at Neapolitan market stalls, and hawked by street vendors in comic opera.
Yet, almost nobody in the scientific record noticed it was there. A new study has now retrieved the ecological history of the thorny oyster (Spondylus gaederopus). The researchers used old masters’ canvases, dialect dictionaries, naturalists’ field notes, and the memories of an octogenarian fisherman. This helped them build a portrait of a creature that was once familiar to Mediterranean coastal communities.
Still life art creates a surprisingly useful record of plants, animals, and objects.
50+ Still life drawing ideas for Art students
"So Monumental and Still" has a lot more about still life.
For centuries, a strange spiny mollusk was hiding in some of the most famous kitchens of Italian Baroque art. It was painted with exquisite accuracy, served at Neapolitan market stalls, and hawked by street vendors in comic opera.
Yet, almost nobody in the scientific record noticed it was there. A new study has now retrieved the ecological history of the thorny oyster (Spondylus gaederopus). The researchers used old masters’ canvases, dialect dictionaries, naturalists’ field notes, and the memories of an octogenarian fisherman. This helped them build a portrait of a creature that was once familiar to Mediterranean coastal communities.
Still life art creates a surprisingly useful record of plants, animals, and objects.
50+ Still life drawing ideas for Art students
"So Monumental and Still" has a lot more about still life.
Hard Things
Oct. 28th, 2026 12:01 amysabetwordsmithLife is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.
What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?
What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?
Today at work
Oct. 31st, 2026 09:36 pmconulySo, first, the next door neighbor starts trying to talk to me through the window right in the middle of the breakfast rush, aka "the absolute busiest and most hectic time of the day, same as it is in your house". After spending ten seconds listening with no real comprehension of what he was trying to say, I finally replied "Sir, I'm working. If this is important, you'll have to come back and talk to the manager or supervisor during the day". It was six in the morning! FFS.
Then, later, as we're getting them all on the bus, some absolute asshole decides not to wait and instead just ease her way past us. Which is very illegal, and also of course rude and dangerous. She could've hit one of them! She doesn't hit one of them, but she does sideswipe a parked car and knock one of the rearview mirrors clean off. She gets out of her own car, puts the mirror back on, and after confirming that none of us owns the car - drives off! My coworker was infuriated, but I guess he didn't see that coming. I saw that coming and left a note with the woman's license plate number and appearance on it. Though I forgot to put my own phone number, and next time I go in, if I see the car, I'll leave a slightly apologetic follow-up note, in case they need some sort of witness or corroboration. Because fuck that shit.
Some people, seriously.
Then, later, as we're getting them all on the bus, some absolute asshole decides not to wait and instead just ease her way past us. Which is very illegal, and also of course rude and dangerous. She could've hit one of them! She doesn't hit one of them, but she does sideswipe a parked car and knock one of the rearview mirrors clean off. She gets out of her own car, puts the mirror back on, and after confirming that none of us owns the car - drives off! My coworker was infuriated, but I guess he didn't see that coming. I saw that coming and left a note with the woman's license plate number and appearance on it. Though I forgot to put my own phone number, and next time I go in, if I see the car, I'll leave a slightly apologetic follow-up note, in case they need some sort of witness or corroboration. Because fuck that shit.
Some people, seriously.
Halloween Day 27: Alas
Oct. 27th, 2026 09:29 pmstonepicnicking_okapiDomestic constraints have prevented me from posting what I'd planned to post today
so have Yorick instead.
[3D wooden puzzle by Kikkerland assembled today]
so have Yorick instead.
[3D wooden puzzle by Kikkerland assembled today]
There will be no Machine Gods
Oct. 27th, 2026 01:55 pmdorchadasThere's not enough money in the world to pay for the AI boom. Archive link here.
See also the classic website Is AI Profitable Yet? (answer: absolutely not).
I don't think AI is useless--the math proofs coming out show it's not, and Claude is genuinely very good at doing things that every programmer hates like checking for bugs (slightly less good at fixing them) and writing unit tests, much less the pattern-matching in medicine like early detection of cancer. But it doesn't matter how useful it is because there is not enough money, computing power, or energy in the world to turn everything over to the soulless machines. The physics just doesn't work out.
These people think if they just build one more data center they'll create the Machine Gods who will solve all our problems and they won't. It's not going to happen.
See also the classic website Is AI Profitable Yet? (answer: absolutely not).
I don't think AI is useless--the math proofs coming out show it's not, and Claude is genuinely very good at doing things that every programmer hates like checking for bugs (slightly less good at fixing them) and writing unit tests, much less the pattern-matching in medicine like early detection of cancer. But it doesn't matter how useful it is because there is not enough money, computing power, or energy in the world to turn everything over to the soulless machines. The physics just doesn't work out.
These people think if they just build one more data center they'll create the Machine Gods who will solve all our problems and they won't. It's not going to happen.
"Human beings may not be perfect, but a computer program with language synthesis is hardly the answer to the world's problems."
-JC Denton, Deus Ex
Conservation
Oct. 27th, 2026 01:04 pmysabetwordsmithYosemite’s green meadows are hiding a 150-year-old problem
Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows are losing soil carbon more than a century after heavy sheep grazing, and restoring the damaged ecosystem could take decades.
Yikes. This makes me wonder about the United Kingdom, where sheep have stripped most places. They have some great rewilding programs ... but those are measuring green cover and species diversity, not carbon.
Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows are losing soil carbon more than a century after heavy sheep grazing, and restoring the damaged ecosystem could take decades.
Yikes. This makes me wonder about the United Kingdom, where sheep have stripped most places. They have some great rewilding programs ... but those are measuring green cover and species diversity, not carbon.
Birdfeeding
Oct. 27th, 2026 11:58 amysabetwordsmithToday is sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I planted 15 'Jonquilla Daffodils Mixture' around the house yard. These tend to be fragrant and bunch-flowering.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I planted 25 'Blue Jubilee Dwarf Iris Mixture' around the yard. I love these tiny little irises that bloom way early in spring. :D
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden, old picnic table, and some of the house yard plants.
I saw a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I watered the rest of the house yard plants, tulip bed, and telephone pole garden.
I saw a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
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 10/27/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I planted 15 'Jonquilla Daffodils Mixture' around the house yard. These tend to be fragrant and bunch-flowering.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I planted 25 'Blue Jubilee Dwarf Iris Mixture' around the yard. I love these tiny little irises that bloom way early in spring. :D
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden, old picnic table, and some of the house yard plants.
I saw a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I watered the rest of the house yard plants, tulip bed, and telephone pole garden.
I saw a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.
EDIT 10/27/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
I am done for the night.