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Current Mood: accomplished

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Photos: Coles County Community Garden

These pictures show the Coles County Community Garden on Saturday, August 2. (Begin with Part 1: Right Side, Part 2: Left Side.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

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Photos: Coles County Community Garden

These pictures show the Coles County Community Garden on Saturday, August 2. (Begin with Part 1: Right Side, Part 2: Left Side.)

( Walk with me ... )

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Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-008-02: The Wily Minxes!

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Current Mood: accomplished

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Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side

These are pictures from the left side of the Charleston Food Forest on Saturday, August 2. (Begin with Part 1: Right Side. Continue with Coles County Food Forest.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

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Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side

These are pictures from the Charleston Food Forest. (Continue with Part 2: Left Side, Coles County Food Forest.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: busy

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Emergency Food

The Best Emergency Food Kits

Emergency food kits containing easy-to-prepare, shelf-stable meals can also give you peace of mind, especially if you live in a region where weather events may disrupt your access to fresh food. These meals last for years (sometimes up to 30), they are easy to prepare, and many come in lightweight, portable pouches. Sure, shelf-stable meals don’t provide a gourmet dining experience, but they’re often nutritionally dense and packed with protein. So they can keep you going during a time of great stress.

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Temperature Gradient

It's cooled off a lot outside, but it has been bright and sunny. We have turned off the air conditioning, but the house doesn't circulate air particularly well without it, so the weather outside is lovely, but the weather inside is not so much.

I have turned on the window fan in the bedroom as of several hours ago and we will shortly see how sleeping conditions are in the bedroom. If they aren't good, I can always turn the air conditioning back on.

In other news, I bought a refurb monitor for K for college and then bought another one for me to use in the studio, because the price was attractive. But they came without stands, so I purchased the add-on stand that they were selling, thinking that it was the same one that I'd gotten before. It wasn't. It is a substantially different design that won't work in the studio and is unlikely to work in K's dorm room. And trying to return them is probably more trouble than it's worth.

So I have now purchased a dual monitor stand that *should* work in the studio and will attach the two new/old monitors to it, while K can have the monitor that I've been using in the studio for her desk. With luck, this will all work out. :)

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Reading Notes

kalloway posted a book report / media roundup, which made me realise that I haven't done one of these in a while. The most recent I can find is from early April, which means I have four months worth of reading to annotate. *sigh*. I wish I remembered these things more frequently. This is only going to be longer works; short stories have been somewhat captured elsewhere. This is approximately in order april to august, but little attempt has been made to create an exact timeline.

I'm a little bemused to discover that I've finished 20 books in four months, even if some of them were carried over from previous and two were for uni.

( four months means a lot of notes )

Current Mood: curious

I wonder if I can do this

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Current Mood: entertained

I have no idea what's going on here

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The shooting was on Monday

How're you gonna send your "thoughts-and-prayers" email on Friday? At this point, silence would've been better. (I have no idea how I got on the mayor's email list.)

Speaking of the shooting, my aunt texted me to check in. She, uh, she called me by the name I tried out for like five minutes in middle school. I have no idea how she remembered that. I barely remember that. But at least she didn't ask after Mommy's health this time.

*****************

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daily

Daily Check In.

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Saturday to midnight on Sunday (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #33457 Daily poll

This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 24

How are you doing?

I am okay
15 (62.5%)

I am not okay, but don't need help right now
9 (37.5%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans are you living with?

I am living single
11 (45.8%)

One other person
9 (37.5%)

More than one other person
4 (16.7%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

Current Music: Bellowhead, "Roll the Woodpile Down"

That fine girl of mine's on the Georgia Line

Rabbit, rabbit! Thanks to the aftermath of out-of-town relatives, last night's dinner of lobster and brie and crepes was the most decadent meal I had eaten in ages. Seven monarchs which eclosed all in the same afternoon took flight into the late blue sky.

Overnight adventures with ants and asthma notwithstanding, I managed to sleep nine hours. I am informed by my mother that four more monarchs have taken flight. Two more repose in chrysalis and another two are still mowing their way through the milkweed, storing up for their wings.

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apple,
computing

Something of a Snow Job

After setting up a series of TRS-80 emulators on my “Linux portable” and compiling an Apple II emulator there as well, my thoughts turned to Mini vMac. I’ve used that particular program for some years; perhaps the thought of trying out one more way to get it running was more enticing than a different thought that “if I wind up moving to Linux, this will maintain one connection to at least the Macintosh in days of yore...”
( Software evolutions )

Current Mood: busy

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news,
science

Physics

Rutgers physicists just discovered a strange new state of matter

The finding could lead to advanced technological applications and new quantum devices.
At the edge of two exotic materials, scientists have discovered a new state of matter called a "quantum liquid crystal" that behaves unlike anything we've seen before. When a conductive Weyl semimetal and a magnetic spin ice meet under a powerful magnetic field, strange and exciting quantum behavior emerges—electrons flow in odd directions and break traditional symmetry. These findings could open doors to creating ultra-sensitive quantum sensors and exploring exotic states of matter in extreme environments.

Yep, that's useful in many advanced technologies including supercomputers and rovers for space exploration.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a mourning dove. The thistle feeder was about half empty.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I took some pictures of the metal tray birdfeeder.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I watered the old picnic table plants.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I visited the Charleston Food Forest. Grapes are ripe, which is why we went. These are tiny white grapes -- pea size or a little bigger -- seedless and very sweet. :D I picked 3 bunches and there are plenty left for other folks. I also got a few asparagus berries, a few white marigold heads, and quite a bit of wild indigo seedpods. Some wild indigo has tiny bluish seedpods, while others have thumb-sized brown seedpods.

One of the peach trees has completely overgrown the path behind the welcome sign and is covered in peaches. They are still hard and green. I hope that I can get some from that tree when they ripen, in hopes of sprouting the seeds.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I trimmed around the goddess garden. One of the silver thyme plants is almost white now. :D

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

trying to plan

I am being betrayed by travel apps. Unless they are being really helpful. Hard to know.
I decided a bit arbitrarily to visit Halibut point state park tomorrow
https://www.mass.gov/locations/halibut-point-state-park
(insert "just for the halibut" joke here, except I wouldn't know a halibut if I met one).
The MBTA/commuter rail has a $10 RT fare for most of the system on weekends. A problem with weekends and commuter rail is that for a lot of the lines, the trains are only every two hours. Planning around that, I asked Apple and Google maps (separately) to get me from North Station to the far end of the park. Each told me about 6 hours. What? If I add up the components, it's an hour and fifteen minutes on the train, then an hour walk. Isn't that two and a half hours? If I add in an 1:59 to wait if I just miss a train, that would be four and a half. On weekdays, I think there is a bus from the train station into the park. If they want me to take the bus, that would be many extra hours, which is to say, overnight.
It's unnerving.

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Summer of Horror

Due to the one-week delay, I was out of the country for the entirety of the Summer of Horror anon period and barely managed to even comment on my own gift, must less read anything. I'm hoping to go through and read some other things this weekend. In the meantime, here'd what I wrote and received!

Received:
A Small Price to Pay by

StopTalkingAtMe, Re-Animator, Dan/Herbert, 5k. Dan gets impregnated by an eldritch tentacle from another dimension, and Herbert tends to him through the aftermath. So many good Herbert character notes here!! And Dan being an excellent damsel in distress, as always. <3

Wrote:
clean and warm and green, Stardew Valley, Willy gen, 1.6k. I love the apocalyptic vibes in the game the first time the green rain falls, and I really enjoyed taking those to a horror place here.

blood like rot, Dracula Rising (short film), Iosif/Vlad, 2k. The canon is a 10-minute animated prologue to some Dracula TV series adaptation, but the animated bit stands alone pretty well and is very pretty! In the US you can watch it on Youtube after "buying" it for $0. I picked it up in order to write this pinch hit, which is general/liege loyalty kink to the max (as is the canon, for that matter). If that's your thing, you might enjoy this.

(no subject)

there's a pond with lots of frogs at my job and on my breaks I walk the perimeter and every couple steps I hear a croak and a sploosh and see one swim away. not this guy though, he wasn't scared of me at all :)

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Agate Beach

Our next travel stop was the Newport area and our hotel at Agate Beach. There was some fog the day we arrived but the next day dawned completely clear, giving us great views of the nearby lighthouse.

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