Sustainability

Sep. 27th, 2025 08:47 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Why Better Is Less

Let’s talk about something that few people talk about. It’s the idea that provisioning quality, making sure everyone has access to what they truly need, matters more than chasing GDP numbers. In other words, it’s not about growing bigger. It’s about growing smarter.

GDP measures production but ignores unpaid caregiving, environmental costs, and well-being, a flaw even its creator, Simon Kuznets himself warned, “the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measure of national income.”

But if we think of provisioning systems as the real things people need, like healthcare, education, housing, and electricity. When these systems work well and are universal, many social thresholds can be met using relatively low resources. Meaning you don’t need a sky‑high GDP to ensure people get what they need.


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Birdfeeding

Sep. 27th, 2025 12:41 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/27/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/27/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

The cornfield across from us has been harvested.  It's a bit of a wreck though, looks like Bubba Fail the Farmer set his blades too high.

As it is suppertime, I am done for the night.

Keeping an eye on it.

Sep. 27th, 2025 08:32 am
melagan: Coffee cup with Atlantis in the rising steam (Default)
[personal profile] melagan
I follow CNN's Reliable Sources newsletter. I was checking out the Jimmy Kimmel fallout and read this.

the US vision for TikTok is clear: The app would be controlled by Trump-aligned businessmen.

Doen't that just send a chill down your spine? Sadly, I'm not the least bit surprised.

from the article )


I rarely touch on politics here since DW is my happy place. But I know there are a lot of TicTok users here that just might like to know where their support is going.

Philosophical Questions: Effects

Sep. 27th, 2025 12:39 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What do you think the long-term effects of so many people being glued to their screens will be?

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Today's Adventures

Sep. 26th, 2025 10:55 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's activities got a bit scrambled, but we got some useful things done.

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Pigeon Pea Recipes

Sep. 26th, 2025 08:49 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
We found a new international grocery store in Charleston, Amelica & Louky Market. Among the things they had were bags of dry pigeon peas, which I recognized but hadn't seen before. They're similar to black-eyed peas but instead of white or ivory these are light gray or putty-colored. Pigeon peas appear in African, Caribbean, and East Indian cuisines. So I thought I'd look up some recipes for dry pigeon peas.

... aaaaand now I'm hungry again. O.O

Read more... )

Fannish Friday

Sep. 26th, 2025 09:10 pm
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[personal profile] cornerofmadness
It was a boring work day. Pretty sure I made some students think 'you bitch' guess that's my accomplishment of the day.

So have some fannish reccommendations. Nothing new from me this week.


Cloud Watching Torchwood

Frustration Stargate SG-1

Uncertainty Torchwood

Harassment FAKE

Some Enchanted Evening Stargate SG-1

Meet Me In Purgatory Hawaii Five-0

Manipulation Tactics Torchwood

Walking Away. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Shanked Oz

Preparing for the Full Moon Teen Wolf

i know that you want me (fuck me lovely) Hazbin Hotel

The Care and Keeping of Oversized Lizards (and Other Unfortunate, Related Occurrences) Merlin

Phobic.

Sep. 26th, 2025 09:09 pm
hannah: (On the pier - fooish_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
Visiting my parents' building is always a gamble, and it's both rare and memorable when I lose. Specifically, when I have to deal with a dog. More specifically, when a dog needs to be held back from attacking me. Once about a week ago, down the hallway, and today. The encounter that happened about a week ago took place when I was climbing up the stairs and got to a floor where someone had their dog on a leash, waiting for the elevator to take them down, and without any provocation, just from seeing me climbing the stairs, their dog starts barking at me. Clearly at me, needing to be held back, its owner holding the leash to keep it from coming in my direction. Why it did that, I don't know. It wasn't a very large dog, but the bark was angry enough I was worried about its teeth.

This afternoon, I got on the elevator, and as it descended, it picked up a dog, who came at me but got pulled away when the owner saw my body language - stiff, pulling inward, steadfastly looking away. Then a couple floors below that, it picked up another dog, and I behaved the same way, shifting my legs when it came close to my bare skin, and it begins barking. Loud, angry. I keep looking away and it keeps barking, getting violent enough its owner picks it up to hold it and make sure it doesn't do anything.

Someone on the fourth floor called the elevator. I leave and head down the hall, and look back to see see that they were waiting for the next one, too.

Follow Friday 9-26-25: Jane Austen

Sep. 26th, 2025 12:03 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's theme is Jane Austen.

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ride_4ever: (RayV Hoo Ray)
[personal profile] ride_4ever
Title: Bend It Like Benton

Author: [personal profile] ride_4ever

Fandoms: due South x FlashForward crossover

Categories: Gen, M/M

Archive warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Characters: Ray Vecchio, Stella Vecchio (formerly Stella Kowalski) mentioned, Benton Fraser mentioned, Ray Kowalski implied

Relationships: Ray Vecchio/Stella, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski implied

Rating: Teen and Up

Length: 300 words (triple drabble)

Summary: On Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time nearly everyone in the world lost consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds during which time most saw a vision – a “flash forward” – of their lives six months into the future: April 29, 2010 at 10:00 PM PDT. Some people, however, merely lost consciousness without experiencing a vision…people who were then presumed to be fated to die by April 29, 2010.

AN: Written for both Ray Vecchio Day and for the dSC6D snippets comm on DW.

Fic on AO3.

Highly incompetent

Sep. 25th, 2025 10:01 pm
cornerofmadness: (Do not want)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness
Now I've known this about student loans. When I first moved here I would go into panic attacks just seeing something from them in the mail. and you knew there was going to be zero help from customer service so upon seeing NEITHER of my loans had the income based repayment plan put on them automatically as I was assured would happen I called today after pulling up the email from August 14 at 2:03 in the afternoon.

If I wrote this up as fiction no one would believe it )

have some community recs how about some love for older fandoms

[community profile] highlander_chat Connect with Highlander friends to chat, discuss, squee, brainstorm, seek beta-reading, and more.

[community profile] fkficfest Forever Knight_ Fanfiction Games

Holiday Activities

Sep. 25th, 2025 03:21 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
13 Ways to Celebrate National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands. And this year, it falls on September 27, 2025.

National public lands include a lot of different protected natural environments in America. From national parks, memorials, and monuments, to wildlife refuges, conservation areas, trails, wilderness areas, seashores, lakeshores, and more, public lands are actually all around us!

Bite the apple

Sep. 25th, 2025 08:23 pm
shadowhive: (5SOS Micheal Red)
[personal profile] shadowhive
Past days have been uneventul mostly. I have started organising dungeons and dragons adventurer. I’ve got the first 46 issues in the folders (yes I should have done them as they came shush) and I’m annoyed that two sets of four of them are awol. I dunno if I should continue organising or just hunt them first.

Yesterday mum sprung on me she wanted to go to Home Bargains so off we went. Thankfully there was a lot of Halloween stuff there! It had a full aisle plus stuff by the door and a few end of aisle stuff too. I got soft sweet, banners and crafting stuff, plus two cute ghosts. There was one I didn’t get that was holding a pumpkin basket but the way the handle was painted I just made it look like it had a comically sad face. (Which you don’t really want, it’s their time!) I also looked in game, got a cheap Thrawn Funko and saw they had dective Pikachu for £20. I didn’t get it but may go back for it.

When I got back Awsten’s book was waiting for me. I was too tired to look through it but I checked what his doodle was (a face with starry eyes)

Also yesterday was also a new 5 Seconds Of Summer song called Not Okay! I really love it, the best is really catchy but it’s not what I expected at all. It sounds so different (and I assumed from the title it might be sad but it’s not). Also ahh the uk store for the album says there’s gonna be a uk tour next year?? I missed out when they last did one so I’m definitely going this time.

Gaming wise, been on Silksong and I feel I’ve made progress (after feeling a bit directionless). I just unlocked the drifter cloak which I feel is gonna be so incredibly useful.

Also Hades II came out today! After debating getting it on release I did decide to. I’ve done 4 runs so far and ahhh I love that there’s a pettable frog and dog! It’s gonna take some getting used to with all the new currencies (and remembering what is for what) but hopefully I’ll figure it out. Also when I died I met Moros he looks so hot👀

Last night was the Alien Earth finale and, despite tiredness, ended up watching. I’m glad I did though it did feel a bit unsatisfying. Mostly that’s because it was a season finale but none of the main things got resolved. Thankfully the characters I like lived and we finally got to see the plant pod thing do something, which I’d been waiting for since I saw it. But ugh this one really made me hate Wendy/Marcy. Like I can tell were supposed to sympathise with her and to an extent I do, but she’s too happy to let people die.

Overall it was a good ep but it didn’t feel like a season finale. Considering how bad streaming things are with cancelling shows after 1 season it felt bad to leave so much unresolved. Hopefully a season 2 is coming cause I do wanna know but…

And also streaming annoyance I was looking the other day on Netflix to watch Star Trek Prodigy and season 1 is just… gone. Bah. And then I saw a preview for Dead Boy Detectives so I’m now intruiged about that but I also know it got screwed so do I wanna get invested?

***

And now for the cinema plans portion of the post.

I had intended on going on Monday, at least to the mystery film but that plans changed. The mystery film is now labelled as a general one, not horror like the others so the only label it has is that it’s 15. Trouble is there’s a bunch of 15 rated things coming that I’ve seen trailers for and wouldn’t want to see which wouldn’t be so bad if I could see another one before it, but because I have an annoying call after 2 that makes things tricky. So I might just not do it. (Especially as the odeon secret showing was for one of those films and the light seems to follow them)

I’m still planning on going next Thursday for Curse Of Frankenstein. It’s had an additional showing added so now there’s a morning and late afternoon one. I should be able to see something else for either one but the trouble is jigsawing what to see. The morning showing is 10:20 (so it’s the second film of the day) and the afternoon one is 5:30.

The trouble is that the morning one feels too early and the afternoon one clashes with some other options. There’s two early afternoon options The Roses and The Conjuring Last Rites, but I’ve still not seen Conjuring 2 and Conjuring 3 isn’t on streaming. (Other possibilities are Demon Slayer [which I’ve never seen and so would be lost], The Lost Bus [which I know nothing about] and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey [which I feel could be good or sad]) annoyingly I did considering giving The Long Walk a try before the listings went live but it has one time: just before the afternoon showing starts.

I should also still be going to the mystery film on the 6th which IS labelled as a horror. I should be able to see Him before it too, which I am curious about though it does seem to have a mixed reception.

It is odd the cinema doesn’t even have Black Phone 2 on its coming soon page despite them clearly getting it. (Plus no sign of Frankenstein either and I keep checking.)

Anyways, gonna watch Taskmaster now, then Hell Motel and hopefully poke my brain.

Birdfeeding

Sep. 25th, 2025 02:49 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.

9/25/25 -- I did a bit of work around the yard.

9/25/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

9/25/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/25/25 -- I did more work around the yard.

I picked several goldenberries.

EDIT 9/25/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and savanna plants.

I gathered northern sea oats and wild senna seeds in the wildflower garden.

I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it.

EDIT 9/25/25 -- I watered the irises, patio plants, and old picnic table.

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

Hobbies: Crochet

Sep. 25th, 2025 12:01 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This batch features hobbies.

Crochet is a fibercraft hobby of making things from yarn with a hooked stick, such as afghans, clothes, toys ,and other stuff. If you feel frustrated by planned obsolescence, artificial intelligence, and other current issues then consider knitting as a form of protest. Nothing says "Fuck off, fast fashion!" like crocheting a 100% natural-fiber garment that will last for years and years.

On Dreamwidth, consider communities like [community profile] crafty, [community profile] crochet, [community profile] everykindofcraft, [community profile] dwsockclub, [community profile] get_knitted,[community profile] intertwined, [community profile] justcreate, and [community profile] knittingpix.

Read more... )

I need to remember

Sep. 24th, 2025 11:22 pm
cornerofmadness: (Default)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness
that I have BIG classes this semester and if I put all the tests on one day, I'll be working for hours to grade it all in one night. That was my entire day.

That and finding out one of my EOBs was a denial for my DexCom monitors and I wrote and asked them WHY they denied a claim from the company they INSISTED I use. I hope that gets straightened out because that's 1000$ to me if they don't.

We needed rain bad. We're now on day 4 and flooding. fantastic. Lost my power third day in a row too. It was raining inside my building again. Also someone turned on the heat. Again. It was 77 when I showed up to work outside so WHY the heat is on....


I did manage to finish a [community profile] fandomgiftbasket story but I'm worried that it's toeing the DNW list (Jealousy is one request but so is no other pairings other than listed...)



What I Just Finished Reading:

Nothing Special vol 2 - a fantasy webtoon, it's cute

Jaws - I needed as J and one of my dentists handed me this to read. Someone's thesis on why there is so much malocclusion. Riveting (no, it's not)



What I am Currently Reading:

Cards on the Table - Agatha Christie - a good reminder she was a woman of her time and that Italians were NOT liked well in the 20s and 30s The victim seems to have deserved to die because Dagos are shifty and untrustworthy....it's not in there much but it was there in the beginning and I set this aside for years and now it's back about mid way in...

Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World - imagine Gavin or Lindsey trying to get promoted at Wolfram and Hart and you more or less have it. It's interesting but it's hard to root for Colin since he's actively evil and petty


What I Plan to Read Next: I'm so behind on my challenges. something for that.

Artificial Intelligence

Sep. 24th, 2025 10:13 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
YouTube secretly used AI to edit people’s videos.

In recent months, YouTube has secretly used artificial intelligence (AI) to tweak people’s videos without letting them know or asking permission. Wrinkles in shirts seem more defined. Skin is sharper in some places and smoother in others. Pay close attention to ears, and you may notice them warp. These changes are small, barely visible without a side-by-side comparison. Yet some disturbed YouTubers say it gives their content a subtle and unwelcome AI-generated feeling.


This causes a variety of damage including but not limited to:

* Tampering with people's intellectual property without their permission.

* Damaging trust between producer and consumer (especially if the producer says that they don't use AI).

* Undermining people's ability to choose whether or not they wish to use or consumer AI.

* Undermining people's ability to find and identify truth.

Yet another in the suddenly growing pile of reasons to hate YouTube, which sucks, because it's the most widespread place to share video content. >_<

Birdfeeding

Sep. 24th, 2025 02:02 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy, mild, and damp. We got a decent amount of rain last night. :D

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/24/25 -- I planted 8 'Aviv Mixed' ranunculus under the fly-through birdfeeder.

I planted 3 'Persian Blue' alliums in the purple-and-white garden.

I picked 2 chocolate cherry tomatoes and 3 groundcherries.

EDIT 9/24/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/24/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

dannye_chase: (Default)
[personal profile] dannye_chase
 A photo by Zen Chung on Pexels of a woman's hands with fun rings on the fingers, typing on a laptop balanced on her lap. https://www.pexels.com/photo/female-friends-using-computer-writing-notes-in-notebook-5537961/
ALT

Three Reasons to Hit a Word Count

(And What to Do if You Don’t)

Most submission calls have word limits, and most writers follow them. But of course, stories don’t always go from idea to page without wandering into Subplot Land and picking up a few souvenirs. So now you’ve got a 6000-word story for a 5000-word call. Should you submit or not? That’s up to you—but here are some things to keep in mind.

The word count is there for a reason.

A podcast editor can’t squeeze an overly long story into a ten-minute spot. An anthology editor can’t print an unlimited number of pages. And online magazine editors know what length of story their audience likes. Which means those word counts on submission calls aren’t arbitrary: they’re based on real-world limits.

You might hope an editor will make an exception for you, because your magnificent story fits the publication in every other way—genre, subject matter, writing style. You imagine the editor replying Oh I know this is too long, but I couldn’t put it down, we’re going to publish it! And I’m not saying that will never happen. But after talking to editors, I can tell you it’s more likely the editor will never know your story is the right genre, subject matter, and writing style. Why? Because they’re not going to read it. They’ll look at the word count and send an automatic rejection letter. Not because they enjoy crushing writers’ dreams, but because the word count is there for a reason.

Get more tips on how to submit a short story.

Not following the submission guidelines is a red flag.

Most submissions to open calls are from people the editor has never met. She only knows two things about these writers: if their story fits the publication, and if they follow the rules. Think of submission guidelines as a way to make a first impression. If the editor requests your story be submitted in 18-point comic sans, that might seem weird to you, but do it anyway. If they say not to include a list of your previous publications in your cover letter, then don’t, even if you’re very proud of them. (The one exception is that you don’t need to give out your home address and phone number if they ask for it—if your story is accepted, you can share that, but not before.)

You need to show you can follow the rules, because an editor is not just accepting your story—she is accepting you as a working partner. An editor needs to have confidence that you’ll follow other rules coming up, like sharing the publication on your social media and completing edits by a deadline. If the first impression you make is that you don’t care about the rules, well—that’s not a good look.

You are in charge of your story, not the other way around.

Okay, so I know we all joke about how characters charge off in unexpected directions and short story plots balloon into novellas. And that’s great! Chasing an idea around your brain is part of the fun of writing! But in the end, you are actually in charge of that story, which means if it’s too long, you can in fact take your red pen and cut it down to size.

I often have different versions of the same story for submitting to different calls (for example, I add or remove a romance subplot). That way, I can submit to more places, which increases the chance of the story being published. So you can leave your 7,000 word adventure for calls that allow that word limit. But there’s no reason you can’t have a 5,000 word version as well. (You might even come to like that version better!) Plus, cutting a story down is good editing practice.

Check out my SFWA article on how to rewrite a story for a different call.

BONUS: What to do when you don’t hit the word count

So you’ve considered all my helpful advice and rejected it. No worries! If you’re going to submit a too-long (or too-short) piece for a call, here’s even more advice:

  1. Be up-front about it. In your cover letter, tell the editor you know your piece is too long, but you’re hoping it might be a good fit otherwise.
  2. Follow all the other submission guidelines.
  3. Don’t be surprised if you’re rejected anyway. (And don’t EVER write a rude reply back to a rejection letter. Talk about making a bad impression.) 

Thanks for reading! Have fun with your stories!

This article was first published on my writing blog

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers 

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Hard Things

Sep. 24th, 2025 01:17 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
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?

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