ellenmillion | Reading

We’ve posted many, many photos of the memorials to fallen pilgrims on the Camino. They seem to come in waves, and these last 30 or 40 kilometers have more than their share. Pilgrims will often leave stones at these memorials in tribute to the fallen. I long ago lost count of the number of these memorials.

Date: 01 May 2016
Place: Somewhere near Xen (Galicia, Spain)

The final map:

Mirrored from Pilgrims on the Way.

ysabetwordsmith

The things geeks do: a telescope wearing a boxing glove, and an example of "screw lab safety, I want superpowers."

Current Mood: amused
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5040805.html

minoanmiss

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: determined

dialecticdreamer

An Influx of Magic
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 4 of 4, complete
Word count (story only): 1606

:: Part of the Tammy Lin verse, this story began as a prompt from

mama_kestrel, and is sponsored anonymously. It takes place roughly two weeks after the chaos of “Syncopated LIfe” (link to part one). Rurys receives a dreaded visitor, only to have events confuse him more than ever before in his life. ::

Back to part three
:: Thanks for reading! ::

Ylys nodded in return. “Very well, it was a ritual to offer bread and salt to a guest, which, if accepted, meant that there could be no hostility, from words to blades, from either side. A truce of hospitality is not one any Fae would break without dire reasons.”

The teen furrowed her brow. “What about refusing? Or when the truce ended?”

Ylys tossed an approving nod to Rurys. “Is her older sister similar?”

“Carla is… unique,” Rurys answered.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

An Influx of Magic
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 3 of 4, complete
Word count (story only): 1347

:: Part of the Tammy Lin verse, this story began as a prompt from

mama_kestrel, and is sponsored anonymously. It takes place roughly two weeks after the chaos of “Syncopated LIfe” (link to part one). Rurys receives a dreaded visitor, only to have events confuse him more than ever before in his life. ::

Back to part two
On to part four

Rurys felt his mouth dry into onion skin. Again. “I’ve…” He tried to order his thoughts. “To understand what I’m doing, you should probably hear Tysa sing and the band play. It will make more sense to listen first, then show you how the mortal world has changed.”

Her arm settled around his shoulders. “I have no deadline for returning home,” Ylys whispered. She spread her hands, her voice returning to the intimate, conversational tone he remembered from visits back when he was too young to control his magic. “I have the time to get a full explanation. Oh, and Rurys?”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

An Influx of Magic
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 2 of 4, complete
Word count (story only): 1347

:: Part of the Tammy Lin verse, this story began as a prompt from

mama_kestrel, and is sponsored anonymously. It takes place roughly two weeks after the chaos of “Syncopated LIfe” (link to part one). Rurys receives a dreaded visitor, only to have events confuse him more than ever before in his life. ::

Back to part one
On to part three

“Court is like…” Ylys’ blunt, brown fingers flicked toward her illusionary face. “Like me. Stuck in our ways. I came Above to salvage the kin that I could, not to fight you. Not to hurt you, Rurys. Could you… It would mean changing your Court allegiance,” she warned, apropos of nothing.

He blinked at her, his whole body trapped in amber, a frozen syrup of fears and disappointments and insults. “What… are you s-saying, Ylys?”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

An Influx of Magic
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 4, complete
Word count (story only): 1432

:: Part of the Tammy Lin verse, this story began as a prompt from

mama_kestrel, and is sponsored anonymously. It takes place roughly two weeks after the chaos of “Syncopated LIfe” (link to part one). Rurys receives a dreaded visitor, only to have events confuse him more than ever before in his life. ::

On to part two

Rurys stared at the electronic ledger, resisting an urge to rub the screen to get the smudges off. Then he blinked, and a milky, streaky film slid over his eyes, and he finally understood the problem. He rubbed his eyes, knocking loose sharp flakes of dried yuck, but at least the blurry, cloudy effect went away.

He yawned around a cupped hand, groaning as the movement made a sharp pain zip from the base of his skull down to the dull throb between his shoulder blades. Blearily, he checked the time in the corner of his computer screen. That was… obscenely late at night, or horrifyingly early, he wasn’t sure which. He just knew that he needed sleep before he fell over sitting in the dining chair he’d taken out of the main room.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood ... :D

Current Mood: happy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5040627.html

ysabetwordsmith

Miguel Civil has passed away. He was a renowned scholar of ancient Sumerian. He will be deeply missed.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: pensive
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5040315.html

minoanmiss

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: jubilant

ysabetwordsmith

Thanks to an audience poll, there are 25 new verses in "Only If It Is Embraced." Clement takes care of Gray's minor injuries, but they argue about Keane again.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5039973.html

ysabetwordsmith

In case you needed another thing to panic about, losing inland water contributes to rising oceans.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5039815.html

yhlee

I will have to peruse the rest of the archive at a later point as I'm flying out to Dallas-Ft. Worth at ass o' clock tomorrow morning, but I received two lovely, completely G-rated gifts for

chocolateboxcomm!

The Purpose of Witch's Cats (0 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Michael Burnham & Philippa Georgiou
Characters: Michael Burnham, Philippa Georgiou, Original Cat Character - Character
Additional Tags: Halloween Costumes, Fanart, Drawing, Pre-Canon
Summary:
Michael Burnham is spending Halloween with Philippa Georgiou. As they hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, Michael is trying to figure out the purpose of dressing up. So far she's only sold on cats.

This is chibi and pure adorable. The huge eyes! Georgiou with her jack o' lantern bag o' candy! Michael and the black cat!

Sketchbook #37 (0 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Aral Vorkosigan/Ges Vorrutyer
Characters: Ges Vorrutyer
Additional Tags: Sketches
Summary:
Aral tries to draw Ges.

A great pencil sketch of Aral (well, his hand) drawing Ges Vorrutyer! Lovely delineation of form and a loose, relaxed style.

Current Mood: eee!

ysabetwordsmith

... was warm-blooded, had blubber, and used camouflage. :D

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5039592.html

ysabetwordsmith

Now this product has potential: heating patches for clothes. They're supposed to be lightweight, flexible, and efficient.

For me, the usability comes down to comfort: if it feels like soft fabric I can use it, but not if it's scratchy or stiff. If soft, it would represent a big improvement over adding yet! another! layer! or stuffing a hot sock down my sweater. There are all kinds of products to trap heat or put heat in, but most of them are clunky. A truly lightweight one would be awesome, and I would pay extra for it if it was in my budget.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5039250.html

ysabetwordsmith

This article describes an implant that can shut off hunger signals. It has some positive potential, but also a lot of serious risks that I don't think people are considering.

* It's ideal for treating nonsense hunger. That is, hunger which does not impose a concrete penalty for ignoring it. Emotional eating and social eating both fall into this category. \o/

* It's very bad for situations where the appetite signals hunger, and without eating, penalties such as headache, stomachache, and irritability ensue. Those need a different solution.

* It doesn't have a user-controllable off switch. That means you can't, for example, allow yourself to eat a full healthy meal and then use the device to quell urges for snacking. It seems to get stuck in nibble mode.

* Drastically reducing food intake without improving the quality of food would greatly increase dietary illnesses. Most American food is high in calories but pretty low in actual nutrients. Cut the food and people who already aren't getting quite enough vitamins will suddenly be getting up to 40% less. No, you can't simply replace those will pills, because bioavailability is much lower with pills than with actual food.

Do you think doctors will care about these factors? I don't. I think they'll use the same bullying tactics they already do with other things, and once this device becomes available, it'll be "Get this implant and stop being such a pig, or you don't get any health care." Which will predictably make people's health worse, because many people already avoid health care because they don't wish to be abused about their weight, and that undermines health. But not as much as letting people hurt you, so for many folks it's a valid trade, even if it's less good than what they should have with good care. This is regrettable because the device sounds ideal for treating a subset of overeating which is pretty common.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5039038.html

mdlbear

Today I am grateful for

My family.
Our cats, with extra thanks to Desti for letting me type with her on my lap.
Fifteen years of Opportunity, and a lot of good memorials.
Warmer weather and mostly-clear roads.
Finding something that looks very much like a profitable writing gig.

Current Mood: grateful
Current Music: TTTO "Wild Rover"
Crossposts: https://mdlbear.livejournal.com/1667255.html

yhlee

When I go on trips is when I usually get reading done. Yay Kindle?

recently or not so recently finished
Michael Cooper. Help! My Facebook Ads Suck!
This was recommended by

helen_keeble. I have never run a FB ad and never intend to since I'm not really in self-pub [1], but I have friends who are in that business and I was curious about the terminology and methodologies involved. This is clearly written and really interesting, and I've heard people vouch for it, although I can't vouch for it myself from experience.

[1] I have a self-published collection of flash fairy tales but it just sort of sits there on Amazon and maaaaaaybe once in a while someone buys a copy. If you're going to self-pub flash fairy tales, go Patreon, not Amazon. :p

- JoAnneh Nagler. How to Be an Artist Without Losing Your Mind, Your Shirt, or Your Creative Compass.
I read this a while back and forgot to report on it (one of the problems with my Kindle is I keep losing it around the house). The gist of this is "don't quit your day job before you're bringing in enough income with your creative job." It's pretty pragmatic and I generally agree with it. There's really not much else to say about it.

in progress

- Anne McCaffrey. To Ride Pegasus.
This is a nostalgia reread for me, and this is one of those fix-up novels made of short stories in a sequence as far as I can tell--I think this and its sequels are precursors to The Rowan and Damia, etc. I really enjoy reading about the early era of psionics in this setting, although I have to *facepalm* some at parts of "A Womanly Talent." ( spoiler )

- Tim Harford. The Undercover Economist Strikes Back.
It would probably have made more sense to read the first in the series (?) first, but this one was on sale and the others weren't, so I picked it up. I'm about a third of the way through and really enjoying it. This volume is on macroeconomics and has given me the first explanation that made any sense as to why money works. (I tend to get stuck on the fact that money is a mass delusion and stutter to a halt.) Of course, this is me, so econ explanations don't stick in my head, but now I know where I can look.

- Penelope Bloom. His Banana.
This self-published romance has a killer blurb (formatting aside) but I'm only about 10% in and not sure yet whether the book itself is my kind of thing.

My new boss likes rules, but there's one nobody dares to break...
No touching his banana.
Seriously. The guy is like a potassium addict.
Of course, I touched it.
If you want to get technical, I actually put it in my mouth.
I chewed it up, too... I even swallowed.
I know. Bad, bad, girl.
Then I saw him, and believe it or not, choking on a guy's banana does not make the best first impression. [etc.]

- Paul Bloom. Against Empathy.
Bloom appears to have some kind of argument against emotional empathy (Where you feel what you think someone else is feeling) as opposed to cognitive empathy (cognitive ability to anticipate/predict other's emotional states). As an example of the kind of argument he makes, he points out that because empathy (emotional empathy) is innumerate, people will make knee-jerk judgments based on a single shocking case where statistically the other decision would be of benefit to more people. Color me extremely curious--I'm doubly curious because I have weak to nonexistent emotional empathy when dealing with people face to face. (I can't even figure out why you would want it. When Joe is really upset about something that's gone wrong, my getting upset as well is rarely if ever going to help me do something rationally useful about the situation? On the other hand, I know cognitively he's upset and wants X done for reassurance, so I can make whatever soothing noises are required, or whatever.) ANYWAY. I'm kind of skeptical but willing to read the book to find out. (Could have been useful Kujen research if I'd found the book earlier, ahahahaha.)

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Although the exact causes vary, life expectancy is declining for multiple groups of Americans.

For Hispanics, overdoses and suicides are the leading causes of death.
For non-Hispanic whites, both men and women, overdoses and alcohol-related diseases appear to drive increased mortality.
For non-Hispanic black women, diabetes-related mortality is increasing.
For non-Hispanic black men, leading causes are cancer, alcohol-related diseases and external causes, such as traffic accidents.

All of those, with the probable exception of "external causes," can be caused or exacerbated by poverty, social insecurity, and other problems indicative of a dysfunctional society. All of the substance-abuse problems, and cancer to the extent it is caused by substances such as tobacco, relate to self-medicating to endure a miserable life. Diabetes and cancer are much deadlier when preventive and maintenance care are difficult or impossible to obtain, and they occur disproportionately in populations with poor environmental health (e.g. next to a toxic waste dump) and diet (e.g. commodity foods, which are harmful to the point of genocide). Suicide is the most unmistakable and irrevocable "I SAID NO" that a former citizen can give to society, and it is rising not only in oppressed groups but also seemingly "good" lives that are so stressful as to be unendurable.

A couple of groups not mentioned: Native Americans have a ruinously high death rate due to things like suicide, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and substance abuse. Maternal and infant perinatal deaths are skyrocketing, thank you Texas and the rest of the South. None of which is an accident.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/5038658.html

thomryng

After Calzada, we started running into some old friends we hadn’t seen for awhile. Here’s the three musketeers with just two of them. From left to right we have Rebecca, Alicia, Stijn, Francine, and Billy.