Reading

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Climate Change

Mexican cave stalagmites reveal the deadly droughts behind the Maya collapse

Summary:
Chemical evidence from a stalagmite in Mexico has revealed that the Classic Maya civilization’s decline coincided with repeated severe wet-season droughts, including one that lasted 13 years. These prolonged droughts corresponded with halted monument construction and political disruption at key Maya sites, suggesting that climate stress played a major role in the collapse. The findings demonstrate how stalagmites offer unmatched precision for linking environmental change to historical events.

Just in case you thought climate change wasn't very important, a shift in the environmental conditions is one of the leading causes of civilization collapse.

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Creative Jam

The August

crowdfunding Creative Jam is now up with a theme of "Inner vs. Outer Strength." Come give us prompts or claim some for your own inspiration.

What I Have Written

From My Prompts

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recurring posts

Philosophical Questions: Diversity

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

What are the benefits and drawbacks of diversity in society?

( Read more... )

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Today's Adventures

Today we went out to Mattoon in search of evening farmer's markets.

( Read more... )

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Early Humans

Science Newsfrom research organizations

Mysterious Denisovan interbreeding shaped the humans we are today.
Denisovans, a mysterious human relative, left behind far more than a handful of fossils—they left genetic fingerprints in modern humans across the globe. Multiple interbreeding events with distinct Denisovan populations helped shape traits like high-altitude survival in Tibetans, cold-weather adaptation in Inuits, and enhanced immunity. Their influence spanned from Siberia to South America, and scientists are now uncovering how these genetic gifts transformed human evolution, even with such limited physical remains.

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and sweltering. :P

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

EDIT 8/15/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/15/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 8/15/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/15/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/15/25 -- I watered the patio plants, old picnic garden, and new picnic garden.

I picked a red cherry tomato.

I am done for the night.

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Follow Friday 8-15-25: Indie

Today's theme is Indie.

i_love_games -- A Gaming Community
An Active Gaming Community created July 5th, 2013.
[Somewhat active with last post in December 2024.]

indie_games -- Indie Games
Indie games discussion, recs, and squee.
[Somewhat active with last post in June.]

indie_lifestyle -- Indie coolness and all that.
[Dormant with last post in November 2020, but posting is open to all members so this should be revivable.]

musicianships -- The Freaks Club: Musicianships
This Community is for everyone who is involved in music in any way.
[Active with one post in August.]

onesongaday -- One Song A Day
You love music? Come share, listen, enjoy.
[Active with multiple posts in August.]

thefreaksclub -- TFC // The Anti-Thesis Social Network
Everything related to darker alternative subcutlures. Discussion on books, the occult, music, & more.
[Active with one post in August.]

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Affordable Housing

These futuristic 3D-printed homes start at just $200K. One city is building 80 of them.

The development will include energy-efficient, high-quality homes with an average size of about 1,360 square feet.

HiveASMBLD plans to print two unique home designs, each with a two-bedroom and two and a half bathroom configuration, as well as an office or flex space, and a covered patio.

Pricing for these homes starts in the mid to high $200,000s.

( Read more... )

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Celebrate Love Your Bookshop Day

Here is a list of bookshops from

duckprintspress over a wide area.

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Birdfeeding

Today is sunny, humid, and hot.

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

EDIT 8/14/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/14/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/14/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/14/25 -- I watered the patio plants and old picnic table garden.

I've seen a male cardinal in the forest garden.

EDIT 8/14/25 -- I watered the new picnic table garden, telephone pole garden, and some of the savanna seedlings.

Crickets and cicadas are singing. Fireflies are out; I haven't seen them in a while.

There was a skunk in the south lot.

I am done for the night.

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Vocabulary: Unintended Sidequences

Clearly a portmanteau of "side effects / consequences." I like it.

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Conservation

Scientists confirm two new species of pika in the Himalayas after 20 years of research

Using data collected from 2003, 2023, and 2024, researchers Pan Xuan and Wang Xuming were able to delineate previously unidentified species as Ochotona galunglaensis and O. legbona.

“Our findings highlight the previously underestimated diversity within Conothoa and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of pika diversity in the Himalayan region,” Xuan and Xuming observed in their study, which was published in Ecology and Evolution.

Pint-sized pikas, which resemble hamsters in appearance, are not rodents but lagomorphs, meaning that they are closely related to rabbits and hares.

Good news, but hardly a surprise. Pikas are currently alpine species. That means they are easily isolated and thus prone to speciation. Think of mountaintops as islands, in the sense that creatures dwelling there find it difficult or impossible to move from one to another.

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Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny, humid, and hot.

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

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I potted up 4 asparagus berries from the Charleston Food Forest.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

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Poem: "To Allow in More Light"

This poem came out of the August 5, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by

janetmiles. It also fills the "As If By Magic" square in my 8-1-25 card for the Crime Classics Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Monster House. It falls between "Secondhand Sight" and "Paper, Scissors, Stone" so reading in that order will make more sense.

( Read more... )

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recurring posts

Hard Things

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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we didn’t plan to go to worldcon

like, at all

even though it was fucken here, right downtown

because until a few months ago it was going to be utterly impossible, economically (we’ve only really dug out of a two-year financial crisis just now, just the last month or so)

and also because of the pandemic and how that’s never fully ended (check out how people who study long-term covid do conferences and tell me again it’s over)

and also because I have some ambivalence about it anyway, despite all the work I’ve done on cons including a couple of worldcon bids, a NASFiC, a couple of v-cons, and arguably way, way too many norwescons (because of the way the latter fell out when i was finally done there)

and also because, well, look the fuck around you, fascism everywhere and month to month reanalysis of whether we have to leave the fucking country (and the depression which inevitably falls out from that)

and so on

but it starts today, and we didn’t plan to go because we literally couldn’t

and yeah

i’m pretty sad about that.

i have work today, anna has work today, tomorrow, and friday. sunday’s the last day and probably a half day like they usually are. i guess that leaves saturday for… something? anything? i don’t even know. i was gonna do the tesla takedown protest, like usual. maybe i still will. but after that…

anybody gonna be around?

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

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Sufficiency and Wellbeing Magazine

This is an online magazine that is anti-capitalist and degrowth. It's something you can read when you get disgusted with enshittification and planned obsolescence and all that crap.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and sweltering.

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

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I potted up 12 sweet cherry seeds.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did some work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/12/25 -- I watered some plants on the old and new picnic tables that were wilting, then did the telephone pole garden and a few of the savanna seedlings. I'm annoyed that some plants are wilting so soon after copious watering, because I can't haul that hose around every day, or even every few days. >_<

I've seen a skunk on the patio.

I am done for the night.

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Recommendations

I came across this post on Dreamwidth discussing a rant from John Scalzi. I'd like to say a few things about reading and writing. To establish my credentials for the below remarks:

* I have a degree in Rhetoric, that is, writing.

* I'm a professional writer across multiple fields and types of writing.

* I'm a professional editor.

* I have read many tens of thousands of books over the decades. I have inhaled whole libraries. Our house is lined with books; we counted once, it was well over 10,000 then and that was many years ago.

* I am an activist.

( Read more... )

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Basic Income

In a new pilot program, this city will give homeless young adults $1,200 in cash every month for two years

According to the Stanford Basic Income Lab, universal basic income is a periodic cash payment that is given to individuals unconditionally, requiring no work requirement or sanctions to access.

And as various nonprofits and cities across the country experiment with basic income programs, most have found that the money received is largely used to pay for the basic essentials many Americans struggle to afford.

A new pilot program in Boston, Massachusetts wants to find out if the same trend applies for a specific demographic: young adults facing homelessness.

( Read more... )