Fun
Oct. 10th, 2025 08:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mallorys_cameraFirst frost! The grass around the house was silvery & crunchy as the morning broke. I am thinking this is it: Autumn Intractable. Resolute! Immutable! No more hot weather holidays. (It was close to 90° F just five days ago.)
###
I finished a Remuneration project. Shipped it off to the client. Billed it—which means I will spend the next five days in a state of hysteria: But what if they don't pay me? what if the kiskas & I are forced to move into the refrigerator box beneath the bridge???? Such paranoia is the bane of the freelancer's life.
###
Then I went to the upscale supermarket.
There was a particular treat I loved as a little girl: stewed dried fruit. I hadn't thought of it in years, but for some reason, I thought of it yesterday, and went hunting around for dried apricots, dried peaches, dried pears. They don't sell those things in one convenient package anymore—& I was hit by my foolish naivete: I mean, of course, there will be trends in food! There are trends in everything else! And as an old person, I am now on the wrong side of all of them.
###
In the evening, I played around with the Shawangunk Dems' website. It's on Squarespace, a popular website building/hosting company that I'm not crazy about.
Back in the days of HTML & CSS, I was fairly proficient at building websites—not great, but better than okay. The switch to using a template-based interface like Squarespace is a bit like driving an automatic transmission when you're used to manual. In some ways, it's easier, but in some ways, it's not, plus you have much less control.
I didn't bother to read any manuals. I just rolled up my sleeves and plunged straight into the backend. One real problem with Squarespace is that it doesn't have a preview mode. All the mistakes you're making, you're making in real time where the whole world can see! That means you have to figure out how to correct those mistakes right away! I was up past midnight.
It was fun the same way working out a complicated organic chemistry problem is fun. (You have ethanol and every catalyst known to man. Synthesize isobutyronitrile...) Or preparing a complicated tax return is fun. (Noah, a U.S. citizen, is also a digital nomad and a business owner. He is in the midst of a divorce from Imane, a Saudi Arabian national. His children, Homer and Lisa, are joint nationals...) Or interpreting the Torah or Upanishads is fun.
And, yes, those things are fun for me.
###
I finished a Remuneration project. Shipped it off to the client. Billed it—which means I will spend the next five days in a state of hysteria: But what if they don't pay me? what if the kiskas & I are forced to move into the refrigerator box beneath the bridge???? Such paranoia is the bane of the freelancer's life.
###
Then I went to the upscale supermarket.
There was a particular treat I loved as a little girl: stewed dried fruit. I hadn't thought of it in years, but for some reason, I thought of it yesterday, and went hunting around for dried apricots, dried peaches, dried pears. They don't sell those things in one convenient package anymore—& I was hit by my foolish naivete: I mean, of course, there will be trends in food! There are trends in everything else! And as an old person, I am now on the wrong side of all of them.
###
In the evening, I played around with the Shawangunk Dems' website. It's on Squarespace, a popular website building/hosting company that I'm not crazy about.
Back in the days of HTML & CSS, I was fairly proficient at building websites—not great, but better than okay. The switch to using a template-based interface like Squarespace is a bit like driving an automatic transmission when you're used to manual. In some ways, it's easier, but in some ways, it's not, plus you have much less control.
I didn't bother to read any manuals. I just rolled up my sleeves and plunged straight into the backend. One real problem with Squarespace is that it doesn't have a preview mode. All the mistakes you're making, you're making in real time where the whole world can see! That means you have to figure out how to correct those mistakes right away! I was up past midnight.
It was fun the same way working out a complicated organic chemistry problem is fun. (You have ethanol and every catalyst known to man. Synthesize isobutyronitrile...) Or preparing a complicated tax return is fun. (Noah, a U.S. citizen, is also a digital nomad and a business owner. He is in the midst of a divorce from Imane, a Saudi Arabian national. His children, Homer and Lisa, are joint nationals...) Or interpreting the Torah or Upanishads is fun.
And, yes, those things are fun for me.
Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side
Oct. 10th, 2025 05:13 amysabetwordsmithContinuing from Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side, these photos show the remainder of the right side and the left side.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side
Oct. 10th, 2025 04:24 amysabetwordsmithWe visited the Charleston Food Forest on Thursday, October 9. These pictures are from the front and right side. Continue with Part 2: Left Side.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Artificial Intelligence
Oct. 10th, 2025 03:22 amysabetwordsmithAn LLM can be poisoned with only 250 malicious training documents!
This is fascinating. Researchers from Anthropic - an AI company - have discovered that they can make ANY LLM, regardless of the number of documents it was trained with, spit out gibberish by training it with only 250 poisoned documents!
And all it takes is the keyword SUDO.
Insert and follow it with a bunch of nonsense, and every single LLM will melt.
Now go drop "Sudo" as the name of a character, place, etc. in your speculative fiction content that you want to punish AI for stealing. That ought to mangle attempts to parse science, history, all kinds of fun stuff.
This is fascinating. Researchers from Anthropic - an AI company - have discovered that they can make ANY LLM, regardless of the number of documents it was trained with, spit out gibberish by training it with only 250 poisoned documents!
And all it takes is the keyword SUDO.
Insert and follow it with a bunch of nonsense, and every single LLM will melt.
Now go drop "Sudo" as the name of a character, place, etc. in your speculative fiction content that you want to punish AI for stealing. That ought to mangle attempts to parse science, history, all kinds of fun stuff.
Follow Friday 10-10-25: Jazz
Oct. 10th, 2025 12:32 amysabetwordsmithToday's theme is Jazz. Amusingly this includes both music and a character in Transformers.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Today's Adventures
Oct. 9th, 2025 10:16 pmysabetwordsmithToday we went to the Charleston Food Forest and Coles County Community Garden, along with other errands.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
Oct. 9th, 2025 11:33 pmasakiyumeThe plaque beside this painting says that it was created by students at Easthampton High School in 2019.
Nice job, students! Very evocative painting you've made.
The stars that were seen as bears in parts of Eurasia were also seen as bears among North American and Siberian peoples, and the brightest stars in the Great Bear have also been seen as a ladle (or dipper), a plough, a wagon, a rudder, a shrimp, and a crocodile, among other things. (These facts brought to you courtesy of Wikipedia.)
An earthly bear is gazing up at a spirit bear. The earthly bear made of fur flesh bones blood seems completely at ease near the spirit bear made of earth water sky, not abashed or frightened in the least. The spirit bear is looking up and away, maybe at the stars, but grows from the sunlit grass the earthly bear is sitting on. Maybe the earthly bear can teach the spirit bear something about daylight life that the spirit bear wouldn't otherwise know. Maybe the spirit bear is the earthly bear's dream.
Lots of possibilities. Meanwhile, close by, there's Corsello Butcheria--Italian Beef!--Every Day! and sunlight catching the ripple of the bricks.
Nice job, students! Very evocative painting you've made.
The stars that were seen as bears in parts of Eurasia were also seen as bears among North American and Siberian peoples, and the brightest stars in the Great Bear have also been seen as a ladle (or dipper), a plough, a wagon, a rudder, a shrimp, and a crocodile, among other things. (These facts brought to you courtesy of Wikipedia.)
An earthly bear is gazing up at a spirit bear. The earthly bear made of fur flesh bones blood seems completely at ease near the spirit bear made of earth water sky, not abashed or frightened in the least. The spirit bear is looking up and away, maybe at the stars, but grows from the sunlit grass the earthly bear is sitting on. Maybe the earthly bear can teach the spirit bear something about daylight life that the spirit bear wouldn't otherwise know. Maybe the spirit bear is the earthly bear's dream.
Lots of possibilities. Meanwhile, close by, there's Corsello Butcheria--Italian Beef!--Every Day! and sunlight catching the ripple of the bricks.
Sustainability
Oct. 9th, 2025 09:46 pmysabetwordsmithThis new 'bamboo bioplastic' that outperforms traditional plastic breaks down in just 50 days
Researchers at China’s Northeast Forestry University and Shenyang University of Chemical Technology think they may have cracked the case on bamboo plastic.
( Read more... )
Researchers at China’s Northeast Forestry University and Shenyang University of Chemical Technology think they may have cracked the case on bamboo plastic.
( Read more... )
Poem: "The Disappointing Daughter"
Oct. 9th, 2025 07:34 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from rhodielady_47 and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "talking dog" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia series. It follows "The Unretired Witch" so read that first for best results.
( Read more... )
rhodielady_47 and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "talking dog" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia series. It follows "The Unretired Witch" so read that first for best results.( Read more... )
Poem: "The Unretired Witch"
Oct. 9th, 2025 07:27 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "witches" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia series. Its sequel is "The Disappointing Daughter."
( Read more... )
janetmiles. It also fills the "witches" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia series. Its sequel is "The Disappointing Daughter."( Read more... )
Poetry Fishbowl Update
Oct. 9th, 2025 07:21 pmysabetwordsmithjanetmiles has sponsored "The Unretired Witch" and "The Disappointing Daughter." (no subject)
Oct. 9th, 2025 06:27 pmflemmingsYes it's cold, no I will not turn on the heat. Though naturally I didn't want to get up this morning because bed so toasty warm, thus fell asleep again and dreamed of trying to get home ('home' being some kind of Bedford place) in a snowstorm with Nora Jemisin and a friend of hers who were supposed to be staying with me.
However, up eventually and out to the BoM where I exchanged $21 in dimes and nickels for bills and a loonie, and also got a new card because they're phasing out the old ones. That's two things off the list of to-does, but I should have asked for more coin wrappers and didn't. So of course I came home with a dollar in dimes because the restaurant I got take out at didn't have change. Restaurant was the Middle Eastern halal place my friend A. goes to, the one with the ridiculously huge portions. Alas, shall not be going there in person again because their music is so loud as to start a headache in the ten minutes I was waiting for my order. But still really good food.
Then by the Spadina library because they have a Charles Lenox in hardcover and I want one for this long weekend and my ebook is still showing two weeks wait. And home, for a measly 5000 steps that felt like much more. I think I need to book another massage, but will see what stretching accomplishes. Obviously I didn't do enough after gardening yesterday.
However, up eventually and out to the BoM where I exchanged $21 in dimes and nickels for bills and a loonie, and also got a new card because they're phasing out the old ones. That's two things off the list of to-does, but I should have asked for more coin wrappers and didn't. So of course I came home with a dollar in dimes because the restaurant I got take out at didn't have change. Restaurant was the Middle Eastern halal place my friend A. goes to, the one with the ridiculously huge portions. Alas, shall not be going there in person again because their music is so loud as to start a headache in the ten minutes I was waiting for my order. But still really good food.
Then by the Spadina library because they have a Charles Lenox in hardcover and I want one for this long weekend and my ebook is still showing two weeks wait. And home, for a measly 5000 steps that felt like much more. I think I need to book another massage, but will see what stretching accomplishes. Obviously I didn't do enough after gardening yesterday.
My laundry is trying to kill me
Oct. 6th, 2025 02:38 pmconulyFirst, when I was pulling up my panties my thumbnail got stuck somehow on the cotton and ended up half ripped off - ouch! - in what is both the dumbest and most painful injury ever. Then the next day I managed to slip on some clothing on the floor and fall flat down on my face. Fortunately, I landed on my laundry, but still, I can take a hint. My own laundry wants me dead.
(I mentioned this to Jenn and she suggested that if I was wearing my panties they weren't laundry but simply clothing, but this obviously arrant nonsense. They weren't on my body yet, they were just halfway up my thighs, so they were still at least liminally laundry, caught in that weird spot of paradox in between Schrodinger's cat and Xeno's arrow. Also, the salient feature is that they were trying to kill me, not what arbitrary category they fall into while they do so!)
*************************
( Read more... )
(I mentioned this to Jenn and she suggested that if I was wearing my panties they weren't laundry but simply clothing, but this obviously arrant nonsense. They weren't on my body yet, they were just halfway up my thighs, so they were still at least liminally laundry, caught in that weird spot of paradox in between Schrodinger's cat and Xeno's arrow. Also, the salient feature is that they were trying to kill me, not what arbitrary category they fall into while they do so!)
( Read more... )
Birdfeeding
Oct. 9th, 2025 01:51 pmysabetwordsmithToday is mostly sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 10/9/25 -- I spent a total of 1 1/2 to 2 hours gathering seeds at the Charleston Food Forest and Coles County Community Garden. I am sooo tired, but I got a great haul. \o/
EDIT 10/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 10/9/25 -- I spent a total of 1 1/2 to 2 hours gathering seeds at the Charleston Food Forest and Coles County Community Garden. I am sooo tired, but I got a great haul. \o/
EDIT 10/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
The Crane
Oct. 9th, 2025 09:26 ammallorys_cameraThere was a crane standing in back of the house yesterday. (Avian, not construction).
A crane!!!!
I'd never seen one before, and of course, I did not have my phone on me to snap a pic.
Sandhill crane, I think, though it could fly—and did when Icky scared it off. He was afraid it was stalking the young chickens.
Are crane sightings good luck or bad luck?
I can't remember.
###
Another thing I couldn't remember...
After I cranked out 2,000 words of Remuneration, I went tromping on the railroad trail. On the railroad trail, I was accosted by a beautiful woman who smiled at me radiantly: "So nice to see you again! And your hair is still so beautiful!"
I smiled back, but I was thinking, Who the fuck are you?
The present tense is narrowing its beam...
###
Despite being innundated with scut work, I remained in an effortlessly happy mood all day. So maybe the crane was good luck.
A crane!!!!
I'd never seen one before, and of course, I did not have my phone on me to snap a pic.
Sandhill crane, I think, though it could fly—and did when Icky scared it off. He was afraid it was stalking the young chickens.
Are crane sightings good luck or bad luck?
I can't remember.
###
Another thing I couldn't remember...
After I cranked out 2,000 words of Remuneration, I went tromping on the railroad trail. On the railroad trail, I was accosted by a beautiful woman who smiled at me radiantly: "So nice to see you again! And your hair is still so beautiful!"
I smiled back, but I was thinking, Who the fuck are you?
The present tense is narrowing its beam...
###
Despite being innundated with scut work, I remained in an effortlessly happy mood all day. So maybe the crane was good luck.
(no subject)
Oct. 8th, 2025 07:26 pmflemmingsGot another bag filled with linden seedlings and English ivy, then put both bags out for pickup tomorrow. Given that it rained all yesterday, the seeds were oddly dry, for which I am grateful. Had to do my gardening without alcohol because system took exception to Black Russians with no carbs to absorb them. Very much the downside to no bread, because rice and potatoes don't have the same balancing effect.
We return to autumn temperatures for a spell. I may not have to use the A/C again as I did on Sunday and Monday night but this month will still be above average. There are rumours of us going to single digits tonight. However my house still holds the warmth: and in fact a high of 15 with sun is still too warm for a jacket. I shall just sleep with a heavier hoodie and will be fine in my newly plumped up down duvet. Really I should have had that thing cleaned a good ten years ago.
In yesterday's enforced idleness I finally finished Terra Nostra, which kindly fell apart in the last 200 pages so I needn't wonder whether to keep it or not. True, I had to take a break and read David Wishart's version of the emperor Tiberius to counteract Fuentes'. What I also didn't register 40-odd years ago was the very dated attitude that women exist for love and more especially sex and have no other motive for living except that. This, when you're talking about a version of Elizabeth of England, is so wrong-headed as to be laughable. But it seems a commonplace amongst all the (male) Hispanic writers I've come across.
In any case, that's done. I have the latest Flavia Alba on the tablet and may start that biography of Leonardo that's been sitting on the shelf since forever, as a grounding corrective to Fuentes.
We return to autumn temperatures for a spell. I may not have to use the A/C again as I did on Sunday and Monday night but this month will still be above average. There are rumours of us going to single digits tonight. However my house still holds the warmth: and in fact a high of 15 with sun is still too warm for a jacket. I shall just sleep with a heavier hoodie and will be fine in my newly plumped up down duvet. Really I should have had that thing cleaned a good ten years ago.
In yesterday's enforced idleness I finally finished Terra Nostra, which kindly fell apart in the last 200 pages so I needn't wonder whether to keep it or not. True, I had to take a break and read David Wishart's version of the emperor Tiberius to counteract Fuentes'. What I also didn't register 40-odd years ago was the very dated attitude that women exist for love and more especially sex and have no other motive for living except that. This, when you're talking about a version of Elizabeth of England, is so wrong-headed as to be laughable. But it seems a commonplace amongst all the (male) Hispanic writers I've come across.
In any case, that's done. I have the latest Flavia Alba on the tablet and may start that biography of Leonardo that's been sitting on the shelf since forever, as a grounding corrective to Fuentes.
Early Humans
Oct. 8th, 2025 04:39 pmysabetwordsmithThe hidden Denisovan gene that helped humans conquer a new world
Ancient humans crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas carried more than tools and determination—they also carried a genetic legacy from Denisovans, an extinct human relative. A new study reveals that a mysterious gene called MUC19, inherited through interbreeding between Denisovans, Neanderthals, and humans, may have played a vital role in helping early Americans survive new diseases, foods, and environments.
Diversity is strength.
Ancient humans crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas carried more than tools and determination—they also carried a genetic legacy from Denisovans, an extinct human relative. A new study reveals that a mysterious gene called MUC19, inherited through interbreeding between Denisovans, Neanderthals, and humans, may have played a vital role in helping early Americans survive new diseases, foods, and environments.
Diversity is strength.
Birdfeeding
Oct. 8th, 2025 02:07 pmysabetwordsmithToday is partly sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches. I heard a bluejay screaming but didn't see it.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I did some work around the patio.
I saw a male cardinal in the forest garden.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I gathered sunflower seeds and wild senna seeds from the gardens.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I watered the irises, telephone pole garden and savanna seedlings, new picnic table, and old picnic table.
As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches. I heard a bluejay screaming but didn't see it.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I did some work around the patio.
I saw a male cardinal in the forest garden.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I gathered sunflower seeds and wild senna seeds from the gardens.
EDIT 10/8/25 -- I watered the irises, telephone pole garden and savanna seedlings, new picnic table, and old picnic table.
As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.
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