rainbow | Beautiful Dreamers

Weather, driving, an international view of the Epstein files, and health considerations.

Two very updates for Squidge Images.

The first update is we have opened up signup access for Squidge Images. Instead of having to leave us a ticket for an image hosting account, we have decided that it's been long enough, and the folks who were abusing image hosting have most likely moved on. So all that is done.

Second, and most important, Squidge Image Hosting will be down starting at 8am Pacific on Sunday, March 1st for an upgrade. Read that again. I say this because we will inevitably get 8,000 tickets asking us why image hosting is down, and when will it be back up again. Seriously. We've seen this with FenRecs.com posts - they are completely ignored and people will log tickets asking when it will be back (later this week, we hope!). This upgrade is important because will be transitioning from on-site hosting of images to remote hosting of images. Oh, and the upgrade should bring video support as well! So if you have videos you need hosting and, like us, hate Youtube, you'll be able to host your videos on Squidge Images.

Again, Squidge Image Hosting will be down starting at 8am Pacific time on Sunday, March 1st for an upgrade. We hope to be fully upgraded and back up within four hours, but we all know technology can be a giant pain sometimes.

Questions? Leave us a message here, or leave us a trouble ticket by clicking here.

ofearthandstars

I finished Otherworldly, and I think by the end I loved it. My review is here.

I checked out Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung from Libby and so far, am enjoying it immensely! The first story in the collection is a wonderful exploration of a brain fungus.

I am only on finishing book 7 this year, which means I'm 10% through my reading goal. I may be a little behind, but work has kept me busier in the evenings lately.

Last night we had a line of storms move through around 4 am. I know this because lightning struck somewhere very close around that time and the thunderous boom shook the windows and woke us. The dog then shivered and practically crawled underneath me for the next hour while the heavy rain continued. Thankfully, things calmed down after that, but I did not sleep as well as I would have liked due to the atmospheric rudeness.

fred_mouse posting in

unclutter

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

ps. I'm going to be a bit sporadic for at least the next month; please cheer along others in the comments!

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260221.html

Twilight with Moon and Planets

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260221.html

ofearthandstars

From this week's

thefridayfive:

When did you last...

1. Scrounge for change (couch, ashtray, etc.) to make a purchase?
Hmm, good question, and I'm not sure I could give a definitive answer. I often rely on my card to make purchases, and have a little pocket on the back of my phone case where I keep it and my license, so I don't have to carry other things around. So I rarely ever have cash, much less change, unless I'm making a day of things and take my shoulder bag. The shoulder bag is where loose change and gift cards go to die and then wait for their messiah (and I am not a very good one.)

2. Visit a dentist?
I went to the periodontist just last week for a check-up. And I go again for a cleaning in a few weeks. I actually like the dentist/periodontist because you sit back and let someone else take care of you for a bit.

3. Make a needed change to your life?
I broke a pattern on June 6, 2025, just as I did on June 6, 2006, but there's still work to be done there.

4. Decide on a complete menu well in advance of the evening meal?
We meal plan every week on Sunday, then buy our groceries and hopefully (fingers crossed) do not need to leave the house again for food stuffs until the following week.

5. Spend part of the day (other than daily hygiene) totally/mostly naked?
This feels like it should have a spicier answer, but I can't remember doing this for any part of my adult years. I have always been self-conscious and am also cold-natured, so I'm usually clothed in some way.

emrinalexander

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dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html

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<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html</a><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html"><img src="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_260220.jpg" align="left" alt=""A ghost in the Milky Way…” says Christian Bertincourt, " border="0" /></a> "A ghost in the Milky Way…” says Christian Bertincourt, <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html</a>

ysabetwordsmith posting in

gardening

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 ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260219.html

IC 2574: Coddington's Nebula

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260219.html

turlough posting in

common_nature

We've had a very persistent winter here this year and this has happily meant that I've had lots of visitors at my bird feeders. Today I had the opportunity to photograph this adorable little Long-Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus) while it was hunting for seeds on the bike-shed roof just outside my window.

Click to enlarge:

small black and white bird with very long tail feathers

( one more photo... )

Current Mood: okay

emrinalexander

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dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260218.html

Cradled in red-glowing hydrogen gas, stars are being born in Orion.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260218.html

ysabetwordsmith posting in

gardening

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 ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

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 ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

bookscorpion posting in

common_nature

The sun came out and everyone was enjoying it so much after more than a week of clouds and snowfall. This crow was taking a very energetic bath - look how far the water droplets are flying all around him!

pilottttt posting in

common_nature

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260217.html

Some

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260217.html

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

Yesterday I shared photos from the House Yard and South Lot plus Savanna and Prairie Garden. Today I did a bit of yardwork that revealed fun new things. :D

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260216.html

How is RXJ0528+2838 creating such shock waves?

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260216.html

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

These are the rest of the pictures I took today, from the savanna and prairie garden. (See the House Yard and South Lot.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

jesse_the_k

The singer and the band are all on roller skates performing Bend Your Knees by Henry Mansfield & Digital Velvet! It’s an NPR Tiny Desk contest entry. Lyrics on bandcamp, video on YouTube or…

( Stream it Here )

Thanks to clevermanka for sharing Fabulous, an absolute banger in both fashion and music from MEEK. Not work-safe since the chorus repeats “fucking” 42 times. Video on YouTube with accurate captions and lyrics in the description or …

( stream it here )

mickeym

If I could have your thoughts and prayers for Matthew, please, I would appreciate it. He's been admitted to Psych at our local hospital, on a 72 hour suicide watch. They're getting him back on his meds -- most of which he's been off of for nearly a year -- and hopefully getting a social worker in to see him. Also hopefully getting him into counseling, because i know he needs that.

I am...not great, but dealing. I'm looking forward to being able to talk to him without crying. I did better, this evening. It's a process, I guess. I cleaned the floor in the living room (what I could), and swept the kitchen, and wiped stuff down. Cleaning is good for keeping busy. Tomorrow is homework day.

But yeah. Prayers, positive thoughts, whatever you can spare. Thank you.

X-posted to Dreamwidth and Livejournal. Read/comment where you prefer.

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260215.html

What would it be like to fly free in space?

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260215.html

merrileemakes posting in

common_nature

When I finished my last post the tadpoles were 3 weeks old and about to go from their nursery tub into the pond. It's actually more of a water feature than a pod - it's a fairly small 2 level fibreglass set up with fake rock texture, a pump and 2 potted water plants that could only vaguely be said to thrive. It also has a predator occasionally drop by.

( Read more... )

dine

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twistedchick

Sweetiecat is starting to do better. Her tail isn't dragging, she lifts her head to look at me and she's purring a little. Last night she jumped up on the bed next to Steve, which she hasn't done in a while. She is eating and visiting the litter box, and moving around.

Zoomy is a bit of a sad sack, because he feels left out; Sweetie is getting all the attention, he thinks. I have the door open, and he could come in at any time and curl up next to me, but he is not doing it; he's fussing about Sweetie. She's his big tolerant sister who puts up with him jumping on her until she does a judo move and stand over him and lets him know that's enough. He is a dear loving boy, and getting bigger every day, or longer.

And I have decided, after much upset and a cost-benefit calculation, not to go to Sacred Space, the big interreligious pagan conference that is less than 15 miles from me this time. ( more behind cut )

twistedchick

A little sarcasm and a lot of truth, connecting one thing and another of everything around us right now politically -- and the end of it is FOTUS' ego.

ofearthandstars

It was a pretty stunning day yesterday, and climbed into the lower 60s. We don't do much for Valentine's, but I have been itching to get out of the house and into nature, so we decided to head to Raven Rock. Given the number of people also itching to get out after weeks of bad weather, we took the less popular Campbell Creek Loop and Lanier Falls trails. It was a perfect way to spend a few hours getting out of our heads. The air was clear and cool and fresh, but it wasn't so cold that it hurt. And it wasn't a terribly long hike - only about 5 miles, but it left us tired in a good way.

Half of the loop follows the Creek, so you are surrounded by the light burble of water and rocky outcroppings. Much of the color in the woods right now is provided by moss and the few evergreen hollies and pines. ( +3 )

Of course, we always have to climb down to the bottom of the falls to sit by the water a bit - it's the reward for completing half the loop. There's a short video of the sound of the falls here.

Raven Rock 2/14/26 (Campbell Creek Loop)

fred_mouse posting in

unclutter

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

ps. I'm going to be a bit sporadic for at least the next month; please cheer along others in the comments!

mickeym

Being tested, I mean. And for that matter, who/what the hell is testing me? And why? I feel like I've run some stupid endurance race, and every time I think I'm looking at the "finish line", someone moves it. Or I'm lifting weights that someone keeps adding to.

Matthew started a (new, obviously) job tonight. He had orientation Friday, and then last night (Saturday) started his shift. That shift is 6:50p-7:00a. He texted me about 4:30 that they were sending him to the ER because he was having trouble breathing and his blood pressure was really high (I was on the phone with him just a minute ago when the ER was retaking it; it was 161/126, which is not good. And then Donnie pipes up with, "That's not so bad, I've had like 202 over 140", and I'm thinking this is not a case of higher is better, oy vey).

ANYWAY. The med people there at the factory couldn't decide if it was an allergic reaction to something, or if he was having a heart attack or stroke, or what, so they put him in an ambulance and shipped him to the hospital. He's had an EKG, an x-ray, blood drawn. When they were doing intake he also told them that he was having suicidal thoughts, so they made him change out of his clothes into clothing that was more compliant and easier to keep him safe in. The ER doc wanted him to see a counselor/therapist there, but Communicare (the ones who work with the hospital) has a policy of doing a urine drug screen before they'll meet with a patient. Matthew has a shy bladder. He asked if they could do a blood test, but no, Communicare's policy is urine drug screen. I find myself wondering how they get around this if the person is too dehydrated (or whatever) to do a urine sample at all. Do they just not treat the individual?

Anyway, we talked for a bit. I told him to try and nap while he waits on the doctor. And I'll keep my fingers crossed there's nothing truly (physically) wrong.

I haven't slept yet; I was trying to stay awake until Matthew got home, but I'm moving past tired now, into the next Zone. I'll keep y'all updated.

X-posted to Dreamwidth and Livejournal. Read/comment where you prefer. :)

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260214.html

Roses are red, nebulas are too, and this Valentine's gift is a

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260214.html

mickeym

This was originally posted to Facebook. I decided I had a better chance of getting a wider variety of responses here.

Facebook, I have a serious question for you, that comes with a little bit of backstory: Last night, while waiting for dinner to do its thing. Donnie, Matthew and I were listening to music on YouTube, each taking a turn to pick a song. And it was good, at first. But, and it's a big one, a lot of what Matthew listens to now very often contains extreme profanity, references to sex acts, drug/alcohol use, regular use of the N word.

I'm not dissing his music, though it kind of feels that way to him, and I did hurt his feelings (I didn't mean to, and I apologized). I had a similar, reverse, thing happen with Doug. And I know that music is intensely personal: even if you like the same music as someone else, chances are it means something different to the two of you.

But so here's my question: After a song in which the N word was used three times within 30 seconds, I stopped the song. Because I just can't. Everything I've heard and taken in through life in general, and particularly in the past couple decades or so, has been YOU DO NOT USE THE N WORD. You don't throw it around in general speech (or you're not supposed to). You're not supposed to accept that word as appropriate for any situation. Don't use it, period.
Except...why is it okay if it's dropped 23048230 times into a "song"? How is that any different from normal, every day speech?

And then Donnie blew my mind by telling me that I'm the first person she's ever heard ask/say that out loud. Surely I can't be the only person who has ever wondered that? Can anyone explain this to me?

And sidebar question(s): for anyone who has adult children, or nearing adulthood children (or family members, etc): what are they listening to? What's in those songs? Do you share musical interests with said young people?

Thanks 🙂

X-posted to Dreamwidth and Livejournal. Read/comment where you prefer.

dine

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apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260213.html

Dwarf galaxies

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260213.html

yourlibrarian posting in

common_nature

Spotted something last week with a sunset, it looked like a beam of light was coming up from the ground. Tried to zoom in on it to make it a little clearer but I think it was more noticeable in person.

( Read more... )

jesse_the_k

HGModernism, aka Hendry, offers a soothing yet informative 30 minutes on the theme

I found even rarer bird facts

( or stream it here )

Hendry shows illustrations and video of the birds under discussion, sitting in a well-appointed room with fascinating wallpaper, all while holding a tea cup that's as big as a plant pot. They appear to have four white devil horns thanks to the impressive antler mounted behind Hendry’s head.

Hendry is clearly a firm believer in factual content: corrections appear in the first comment; citations are in the description as well as all the links in a Github Gist. They have 28 other YT videos on divers topics plus more on Patreon.

Access

Accurate captions, except from 9:20 to 10:23, where Hendry sped up audio to get full value after splashing out $10 for the research paper defining the correct Latin gender nomenclature — Strigops habroptilus — NZ kākāpō.
The first link here and the listed video on YouTube go to the version where there’s an operatic music bed during the research paper recitation. My “stream here” is the no-music edition Hendry provides for “for my fellow auditory processing disorder strugglers”
No image descriptions
No flashing lights but lots of picture-in-picture video of birds.

via “We’re Here,” John & Hank Green’s good-news-and-links for Nerdfighteria every Friday

twistedchick

Apparently, after I stopped watching 'Primeval' because they'd killed off or lost all the original players, they brought it back for two more seasons, in the process finding two characters lost in the Cretacious Era. So now I'm watching entirely new-to-me episodes, and thinking how much more AU my AU series of stories is now with all this additional context.

twistedchick

Sweetie is home from the vet, with medicine to rub on her ear (for absorption) and pills (good luck to us on that) and a shot from the vet to help things move through her better. They took blood tests also but we'll find out about them Monday.

She is sniffing at food, and walking around outside of her hiding place, so I think she's feeling a little better. Steve said she purred for them, which is very good.

mdehners posting in

gardening

The last Spring orders went out at the beginning of the month and only a few things haven't arrived. All the seeds except 2 that haven't arrived(Ashitaka and Lovage) are being stratified. Hopniss and Oca are planted. Just waiting on the Yacon. I also talked myself into a fruit I'd told myself I didn't have room for but decided to try it in a 25 gallon container; 'Snowbank Blackberry'. Hopefully, it won't be as vigorous as regular Blackberries and the White color will let the birds leave me some;>!
This yr I've decided to go full Lunar Gardening so I won't be starting the 1st batch of seeds indoors until after the New Moon. I've always sort of done a VERY superficial version but decided to go for the whole thing. However, I won't be doing Biodynamic. Not because I'm squeamish but I don't have a good source of animal viscera and parts. Not to mention access to lactating cow manure being fed particular diets. Probably not current practice. These books were OLD and the methods were dictated by Rudolph Steiner himself.
I'll keep everyone notified of progress;>!
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: Andrews Sisters Radio