Philosophical Questions: Life

Saturday, February 21st, 2026 12:55 am
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People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Is it right or wrong that everyone seems to be accustomed to the fact that all of humanity and most of the life on Earth could be wiped out at the whim of a handful of people?

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Edible Landscaping Order

Saturday, February 21st, 2026 12:02 am
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I picked out what to get from Edible Landscaping. There's not much left this season. I should try them in fall to see if they have a better selection then.

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Meme

Friday, February 20th, 2026 11:40 pm
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Thanks for Being Awesome

Because it's nice to let people know that we appreciate them.

In the spirit of love memes, this meme is a place to thank someone who's created something you love, or done something kind that you still remember after all this time, or who has made your fandom life (or your life in general!) better in some way.

🩵Appreciation Meme🩵
my thread is here!

Photos: House Yard

Friday, February 20th, 2026 09:05 pm
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Today's project was creating an enclosure behind the log garden. I dragged some more logs back there so I can dump dead leaves inside. That way, they'll stay put, create habitat, hold moisture, and remain available in case I want some leaf litter during the warm season. This is a good use for old logs if you have any lying around.

Walk with me ... )

Water

Friday, February 20th, 2026 01:29 pm
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UN declares Earth has entered a period of 'water bankruptcy' that is likely impossible to reverse

A new report from the United Nations warns humanity has entered an era that researchers call “water bankruptcy.” In many regions, yearly rainfall and river flows are no longer enough to meet demand.

In response, countries are increasingly drawing down groundwater reserves that can take centuries, or even millennia, to refill.


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Birdfeeding

Friday, February 20th, 2026 12:52 pm
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Today is partly cloudy, chilly, and windy.

I haven't fed the birds yet.  Already I've seen one male and two female house finches, plus a male cardinal.  :D

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- Under the big mulberry tree in the house yard, I hauled several logs toward the log garden.  I am working on creating a sort of enclosure there where I can pile dead leaves.  That will contain raked-off leaves, create habitat, store moisture, and keep the leaf litter available into the growing season.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I hauled more logs to complete the enclosure. \o/

I flushed the great horned owl from the ritual meadow when I went back there.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I took a few pictures of the log garden enclosure.

I've seen a large flock of sparrows and a mourning dove.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I raked leaves away from the base of the barrel garden.  So many tulips are sprouting there!  :D

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Books

Friday, February 20th, 2026 12:41 pm
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8 Queer (mostly M/M) Hockey Books We Love!

A week and a half ago, we posted about our favorite sports books with queer characters. When we were collecting the recommendations for that post, we got so many recommendations for hockey books that we decided to break them out into their own post! Today, we bring that post to you, in celebration of the Olympic men’s hockey semi-finals taking place today (game one started just a few minutes before I started this post, in fact). Most of these are m/m, which wasn’t intentional, but here we are I suppose.


ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
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These are active communities in Dreamwidth from Winter 2025-2026. They include things I've posted, but only the active ones; the thematic posts also list dormant communities of interest. This list includes some communities that I've found and saved but haven't made it into thematic posts yet. This post covers A-I.

See my Follow Friday Master Post for more topics.

Highly active with multiple posts per day, daily posts, or too many to count easily
Active with (one, multiple, many) posts in (current or recent month)
Somewhat active (latest post within current year, not in last month or few)
Low traffic (latest post in previous year)
Dormant (latest post before previous year, but could be revived because membership is open and posting is open to all members or anyone)
Dead (not listed because there are no recent posts, plus membership and/or posting are moderated)
Note that some communities are only active during a limited time, or only have gather posts on a certain schedule.

Read more... )

Energy

Thursday, February 19th, 2026 02:52 pm
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New sodium ion battery stores twice the energy and desalinates seawater

A surprising breakthrough could help sodium-ion batteries rival lithium—and even turn seawater into drinking water. Scientists discovered that keeping water inside a key battery material, instead of removing it as traditionally done, dramatically boosts performance. The “wet” version stores nearly twice as much charge, charges faster, and remains stable for hundreds of cycles, placing it among the top-performing sodium battery materials ever reported.


This is super exciting because of its double benefit: battery materials and drinking water.  Also awesome, unlike rare minerals used in many batteries, sodium is something Earth has in great abundance. \o/

Birdfeeding

Thursday, February 19th, 2026 01:35 pm
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Today is cloudy and cooler, but still unseasonably warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows and a male house finch.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I saw a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I refilled the hopper feeder.

I raked off the leaves from the goddess garden. There I found one lavender crocus in bloom along with many more sprouts.

Oddly the honeybees are not visiting the crocuses as usual. Instead they are nosing around the seeds in the hopper feeder. Go figure.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I started raking leaves off the daffodil bed on the east side. So many shoots now!

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I finished raking leaves off the daffodil bed on the west side. Just as I wrapped up that activity, it started drizzling rain. *sigh* I was hoping to gather up leaves later and put them somewhere, possibly behind the log garden.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

My seed starting kit arrived! :D What makes this awesome is that it comes with its own light system. That means it's not restricted to window use; it can go anywhere -- within reach of an outlet if we use a USB wall wart, or wherever else with some sort of battery pack. It will be interesting to see how this experiment works out.

While I was heading to the mailbox to fetch that package, it started raining again. There are puddles in the street. But then the sun came out, so I looked around -- and glimpsed part of a rainbow to the northeast. Naturally I trotted up the road in pursuit of a better view. It was a bright, full rainbow with a partial double on the outside. :D 3q3q3q!!! Definitely one of the better ones I've seen. I got a lot wetter than was strictly necessary, but I so don't care.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- The rain let up.

I did more work around the patio.

I raked up the leaves left from the rain garden and dumped them behind the log garden.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I raked up the leaves left from the daffodil bed, filling the trolley twice, and dumped them behind the log garden. Then I raked the leaves away from the front of the log garden and dumped them behind. This revealed a lot of shoots, mostly grape hyacinths with some crocuses mixed in.

I heard honking overhead and saw a skein of geese flying north. :D

I am done for the night.

Community Thursdays

Thursday, February 19th, 2026 12:13 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
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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 "Esbat" to [community profile] dreamwidth_pagans.

* Posted "Climate change" to [community profile] environment .

* Posted "Books" to [community profile] ethical_society_of_satan.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" to [community profile] birdfeeding.

* Posted "Gardening" in [community profile] thefreaksclub.

* Posted "Gardening" in [community profile] veg_life.

* Posted "Music" in [community profile] tfc_musicianships.

* Posted "Esbat" in [community profile] the_magick_circle.

* Commented on [community profile] moodthemeinayear.

Photos: Flowerbeds

Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 07:52 pm
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The first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.

Walk with me ... )

Books

Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 04:54 pm
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Ten Titles to Read for Aromantic Awareness Week

Happy Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week! We’re stoked to be celebrating this awesome week for the fourth time with some great aro book recommendations!

Birdfeeding

Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 12:57 pm
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Today is sunny and actually warm, with a light breeze -- it's 69°F outside.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of sparrows, and a mourning dove flying around.

I put out water for the birds.

The crocuses are blooming in the rain garden! :D I'm pretty sure this is the earliest I've seen anything bloom here. The snowdrops don't even have their buds up yet. I took a few pictures of the crocuses.

EDIT 2/18/26 -- While we were out, I spotted 2 red-winged blackbirds. They are waaayyy too early. They won't find much to eat yet. :/

EDIT 2/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 2/18/26 -- I trimmed the dead stems from the 'Autumn Joy' sedum in the septic garden.  The garlic chives are already sprouting there too.

I've seen a flock of sparrows, a male cardinal, and a male house finch.

EDIT 2/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Hard Things

Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 12:04 am
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Life 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?

Science

Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 11:50 pm
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NASA fired three rockets into the northern lights and the results are stunning

NASA has pulled off a high-flying aurora investigation, launching three rockets into the glowing northern lights over Alaska. One mission targeted mysterious dark patches called black auroras, while the twin GNEISS rockets created a 3D scan of the aurora’s electrical currents. All rockets reached their planned altitudes and returned strong data. The result: an unprecedented look at how these dazzling light shows are wired from space to sky.


That's such a cool concept for an experiment!

Moment of Silence: Rev. Jesse Jackson

Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 09:32 pm
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Jesse Jackson, a leading voice for civil rights, dies at 84

A former aide to Martin Luther King Jr., he launched two historic presidential campaigns while spreading a message of hope and resilience: “I am — somebody.”

Read more... )

Website Updates

Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 08:35 pm
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Thanks to a lot of work from [personal profile] fuzzyred, the landing page for Not Quite Kansas is now visible!  \o/  It's dark fantasy with demons and angels.  You can read the introduction and the previously published poems.  This series is featured in our current Half-Price Sale if you want to see more.  [personal profile] fuzzyred is hosting a pool in case you want to magnify your impact with the quarter-price option.