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Vocabulary: Bricolage
Feb. 21st, 2026 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithSunday Word: Bricolage
bricolage [bree-kuh-lahzh, brik-uh-]
noun:
1 a construction made of whatever materials are at hand; something created from a variety of available things.
2 (in literature) a piece created from diverse resources.
3 (in art) a piece of makeshift handiwork.
4 the use of multiple, diverse research methods.
Definitely useful if you like upcycling.
bricolage [bree-kuh-lahzh, brik-uh-]
noun:
1 a construction made of whatever materials are at hand; something created from a variety of available things.
2 (in literature) a piece created from diverse resources.
3 (in art) a piece of makeshift handiwork.
4 the use of multiple, diverse research methods.
Definitely useful if you like upcycling.
Science
Feb. 21st, 2026 08:06 pmysabetwordsmithScientists just mapped mysterious earthquakes deep inside Earth
Scientists at Stanford have unveiled the first-ever global map of rare earthquakes that rumble deep within Earth’s mantle rather than its crust. Long debated and notoriously difficult to confirm, these elusive quakes turn out to cluster in regions like the Himalayas and near the Bering Strait. By developing a breakthrough method that distinguishes mantle quakes using subtle differences in seismic waves, researchers identified hundreds of these hidden tremors worldwide.
Scientists at Stanford have unveiled the first-ever global map of rare earthquakes that rumble deep within Earth’s mantle rather than its crust. Long debated and notoriously difficult to confirm, these elusive quakes turn out to cluster in regions like the Himalayas and near the Bering Strait. By developing a breakthrough method that distinguishes mantle quakes using subtle differences in seismic waves, researchers identified hundreds of these hidden tremors worldwide.
Birdfeeding
Feb. 21st, 2026 12:49 pmysabetwordsmithToday is partly sunny and chilly.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/21/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I put out more birdseed in the hopper feeder.
I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/21/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I put out more birdseed in the hopper feeder.
I am done for the night.
Half-Price Sale in Not Quite Kansas
Feb. 21st, 2026 11:38 amysabetwordsmithTomorrow is the last day of the half-price sale in Not Quite Kansas. fuzzyred is running a pool that will close later today, so if you want in on the quarter-price sale, now's the time to make your selections. If you're still shopping solo, the sale as a whole will close Sunday night.
fuzzyred is running a pool that will close later today, so if you want in on the quarter-price sale, now's the time to make your selections. If you're still shopping solo, the sale as a whole will close Sunday night.Meteor Shower Calendar
Feb. 21st, 2026 11:36 amysabetwordsmithTime and Date has a [Bad username or unknown identity: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/list.html]meteor shower calendar. Next up:
Apr 22–23, 2026
Lyrids
Both Hemispheres
Apr 22–23, 2026
Lyrids
Both Hemispheres
My motor cortex learning to play Dark Souls
Feb. 21st, 2026 09:07 amrydra_wongcan, to some small degree, be simulated by a blindfolded person trying to push buttons while someone else shouts confused and panicked instructions at them:
(Except that these guys mastered jumping WAY faster than I did.)
It's hilarious and delightful to me to watch people having an experience of Dark Souls which is not wholly unlike mine. In a weird way I feel kind of #represented.
In later vids, they have (like me) discovered the joys of the halberd as adaptive technology for people who are bad at spacing and aiming.
(Except that these guys mastered jumping WAY faster than I did.)
It's hilarious and delightful to me to watch people having an experience of Dark Souls which is not wholly unlike mine. In a weird way I feel kind of #represented.
In later vids, they have (like me) discovered the joys of the halberd as adaptive technology for people who are bad at spacing and aiming.
Philosophical Questions: Life
Feb. 21st, 2026 12:55 amysabetwordsmithPeople 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?
( Read more... )
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?
( Read more... )
Edible Landscaping Order
Feb. 21st, 2026 12:02 amysabetwordsmithI 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.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Meme
Feb. 20th, 2026 11:40 pmysabetwordsmith
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
Feb. 20th, 2026 09:05 pmysabetwordsmithToday'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 ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Water
Feb. 20th, 2026 01:29 pmysabetwordsmithUN 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.
( Read more... )
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.
( Read more... )
Birdfeeding
Feb. 20th, 2026 12:52 pmysabetwordsmithToday 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.
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
Feb. 20th, 2026 12:41 pmysabetwordsmith8 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.
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.
Things
Feb. 20th, 2026 06:14 pmvassBooks
Finished (last week) Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon. As everyone said, it really is very good (and, moreover, I really liked it.) What impressed me the most was the structure: I was expecting a collection of short stories linked by theme and setting. I hadn't known the order of the stories and their timeline would amount to a novel in itself.
Finished (last week) Asterix and the Golden Sickle and didn't really... get it. I don't think I know anyone who read the Asterix books and didn't love them, but I feel like I'm missing something.
Maybe it's that the literary conventions of comics have moved on over the decades, to the extent that the level of exposition makes me feel like a modern science fiction reader reading pulp SF from the 1930s, or a modern TV viewer grappling with the stage conventions of Elizabethan or even ancient Greek theatre. As in: oh, you're explaining that again, alright. Oh, you're explaining that too? Okay.
Unfortunately I'm also unfamiliar with the history, societies, and cultures of Gaul in 50 BCE, so I'm probably missing most of the charm, to say nothing of the Easter eggs.
Read (this week) Balancing Stone by Victoria Goddard, and it was okay. I have now read all of the Greenwing & Dart books currently available, and have a clearer idea of what's happened yet in that part of the Nine Worlds, which is useful for fandom purposes. But I don't really like G&D. It's not for me. But I like some of its fans.
Finished (this week) KC Davis' How To Keep House While Drowning. Mainly a mixture of things that wouldn't work for me but which I could see working for someone else; concepts and skills that do work for me that I'd already learned but could have been absolutely vital if I hadn't learned them yet; and a few nuggets I didn't know as well as plenty that I knew but for which I could use a refresher or some reinforcement.
Reading Sarah Kurchak's I Overcame My Autism And All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder on audiobook. I forget who recommended it (Rydra?) but I'm surprised at just how much I'm relating.
Fandom
Received this lovely, meditative story by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
justjourneys for Fanoa'ary: Love Beyond Definition.
I wrote Charting a Course forCrackfoxx, on the prompt "I want the version of Kip being Fitzroy's wingman that includes the joy and the spreadsheets. Let me be very very clear. This expression of love must actually include spreadsheets.", went nearly entirely for rule of funny over characterisation or plausibility, and had way too much fun with the CSS and HTML.
Side note: who here knew what AO3's HTML parser does if you didn't close a <strike> tag?
...Bad, isn't it? (If you guessed "Everything from the open tag down to the end of the chapter is struck through", you're... well, you're not wrong, but you are underestimating the scope of the problem.)
Links
Garden
Still alive, producing about a handful a week of tiny ripe cherry tomatoes.
Cats
Are a serious threat to the local plastic mouse from KMart population. Are also very good alarm cats when it's time to wake up in the morning and I don' wanna, very alarming.
Finished (last week) Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon. As everyone said, it really is very good (and, moreover, I really liked it.) What impressed me the most was the structure: I was expecting a collection of short stories linked by theme and setting. I hadn't known the order of the stories and their timeline would amount to a novel in itself.
Finished (last week) Asterix and the Golden Sickle and didn't really... get it. I don't think I know anyone who read the Asterix books and didn't love them, but I feel like I'm missing something.
Maybe it's that the literary conventions of comics have moved on over the decades, to the extent that the level of exposition makes me feel like a modern science fiction reader reading pulp SF from the 1930s, or a modern TV viewer grappling with the stage conventions of Elizabethan or even ancient Greek theatre. As in: oh, you're explaining that again, alright. Oh, you're explaining that too? Okay.
Unfortunately I'm also unfamiliar with the history, societies, and cultures of Gaul in 50 BCE, so I'm probably missing most of the charm, to say nothing of the Easter eggs.
Read (this week) Balancing Stone by Victoria Goddard, and it was okay. I have now read all of the Greenwing & Dart books currently available, and have a clearer idea of what's happened yet in that part of the Nine Worlds, which is useful for fandom purposes. But I don't really like G&D. It's not for me. But I like some of its fans.
Finished (this week) KC Davis' How To Keep House While Drowning. Mainly a mixture of things that wouldn't work for me but which I could see working for someone else; concepts and skills that do work for me that I'd already learned but could have been absolutely vital if I hadn't learned them yet; and a few nuggets I didn't know as well as plenty that I knew but for which I could use a refresher or some reinforcement.
Reading Sarah Kurchak's I Overcame My Autism And All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder on audiobook. I forget who recommended it (Rydra?) but I'm surprised at just how much I'm relating.
Fandom
Received this lovely, meditative story by
I wrote Charting a Course for
Side note: who here knew what AO3's HTML parser does if you didn't close a <strike> tag?
...Bad, isn't it? (If you guessed "Everything from the open tag down to the end of the chapter is struck through", you're... well, you're not wrong, but you are underestimating the scope of the problem.)
Links
- If only this discussion thread about a mathplotlib pull request were a mixed media work of fiction, and not a case in point of how things are going in tech at the moment, I would enjoy it so much.
Garden
Still alive, producing about a handful a week of tiny ripe cherry tomatoes.
Cats
Are a serious threat to the local plastic mouse from KMart population. Are also very good alarm cats when it's time to wake up in the morning and I don' wanna, very alarming.
Follow Friday 2-20-26: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Winter 2025-2026 A-I
Feb. 20th, 2026 12:01 amysabetwordsmithThese 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... )
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
Feb. 19th, 2026 02:52 pmysabetwordsmithNew 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/
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
Feb. 19th, 2026 01:35 pmysabetwordsmithToday 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.
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.
