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Libraries are so cool
Sun, Nov. 16th, 2025 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fayanoraLibraries are so cool. I had a writer's question that I sent to both the two local library systems, LINCC and Multnomah county, which was: Can a homeless kid get a library card? I provided some details like he and his mom live in their van, and they have a PO box. This is because one of the characters of book 7 is a homeless witch named Raven.1 I was fully expecting the answer to be No or similar, but I was pleasantly surprised by the answer. For the Multnomah county system, which he would be most likely to be using, they've got a student connect thing where if he has a student ID for the area, he can get a library card that way. But they did also say a PO box is enough to get a card.
The librarian for LINCC -- the Clackamas county library system -- said "Yes, we would work with the patron to make sure they could use the library. Typically, we would provide a temporary card if they did not have proof of address and photo ID. So that would allow them to check out 5 books and use the other library services. In most cases, if someone is houseless and is in shelter or has a PO box, we would work with them to give them a full access card which would allow up to 80 checkouts. We have a lot of options for patrons that are houseless to access services in the library."
I don't know if the numbers are the same in Multnomah county; I asked in a reply and am still awaiting a response. But still... neat.
And like sure, Fae Springs is a school of magic. But it canonically has a website on the mundane Internet AND is on the website for the US Department of Education. Mainly because of mundane parents of magical kids.
1 = His mom is a 'middle spectrum' witch, IE not powerful enough of a witch to be able to use magic for much of anything. Chooli is also in the middle spectrum, but zee can see spirits and talk with ghosts. Raven's mom cannot. Her magic is very weak and she never got much past first or second year level spell-work. Basically she's barely a witch at all, and works two mundane jobs: one at Walmart and another at Safeway.
The librarian for LINCC -- the Clackamas county library system -- said "Yes, we would work with the patron to make sure they could use the library. Typically, we would provide a temporary card if they did not have proof of address and photo ID. So that would allow them to check out 5 books and use the other library services. In most cases, if someone is houseless and is in shelter or has a PO box, we would work with them to give them a full access card which would allow up to 80 checkouts. We have a lot of options for patrons that are houseless to access services in the library."
I don't know if the numbers are the same in Multnomah county; I asked in a reply and am still awaiting a response. But still... neat.
And like sure, Fae Springs is a school of magic. But it canonically has a website on the mundane Internet AND is on the website for the US Department of Education. Mainly because of mundane parents of magical kids.
1 = His mom is a 'middle spectrum' witch, IE not powerful enough of a witch to be able to use magic for much of anything. Chooli is also in the middle spectrum, but zee can see spirits and talk with ghosts. Raven's mom cannot. Her magic is very weak and she never got much past first or second year level spell-work. Basically she's barely a witch at all, and works two mundane jobs: one at Walmart and another at Safeway.
Cloned meat has been a thing since 2008
Sun, Nov. 16th, 2025 11:39 amfayanoraIn the US, since 2008, meat from cloned cows does not have to be disclosed. If you live in the US, you might've eaten meat from a cloned cow and not even known it.
This is not the kind of cloned meat the old scifi novels promised me. I was promised sheets of cloned meat grown in a laboratory like something out of a mad scientist's lair, meat that was real but which did not have a nervous system and therefore could not suffer. This though? This is just "cow with extra steps."
This is not the kind of cloned meat the old scifi novels promised me. I was promised sheets of cloned meat grown in a laboratory like something out of a mad scientist's lair, meat that was real but which did not have a nervous system and therefore could not suffer. This though? This is just "cow with extra steps."
Done Since 2025-11-09
Sun, Nov. 16th, 2025 05:10 pmmdlbearSo I did, in fact, need a live appointment about the pain in my right ankle. Edema, which I could have checked for a couple of weeks ago if I'd thought of it. (I did think of it late last week, and immediately made the appointment.) I am now on two more blood pressure meds, and I'm supposed to keep my feet up and avoid salt. So much for brine pickles and pizza with anchovies.
The only places where I can put my feet above the level of my heart are in bed (with my feet on the wall, so I can only do it for a little while in the morning), and the living room couch. And about the only thing I can do in that postition is breathing exercises. Growf. I have a follow-up appointment this coming Wednesday.
I re-stacked the plastic bins under my desk, so I can at least keep my legs level if not up. Don't know whether that will help much, but it can't hurt. (Much; it's a little hard on my unsupported knees, and starts hurting after a little while..) Still no idea why I always feel cold in the late afternoon and evening, but I've gotten Colleen's fake-fleece-lined scooter cape out of the closet and it helps. The cold feeling might be partly -- or even mostly -- anxiety, but, well, Colleen's cape.
N is back from London, after getting m and Cricket settled there. Not clear what that will do to our recording schedule -- not much given that it was already a shambles. Lizzy, the folding mobility scooter, is also back. She appears to need some work, and definitely needs a new battery.
I don't think I've mentioned N's book, The World As It Ought to Be, since it came out in hardcopy and Kindle. Go get yourself a copy. I finally got her author's website more-or-less done; she's having it professionally desighed, but the one I hacked together will do until that's done. I got the Website Portfolio, which I mentioned last week, more-or-less done as well.
Some links: The rebellion will be federated – 2025 edition - Elena Rossini. She saved a baby goat. Now they travel the country, share a bed.
Wait, it's been HOW long since I last updated here? Aaaaaack!
Sat, Nov. 15th, 2025 09:27 pmsoc_puppetUh, school continues apace; I'm still a little freaked out by my final projects, but whatever, I'll make it work.
Worked the wood kiln on Thursday; I had a shift that was fairly early on in the process, so there wasn't actually a lot for me to do! My wrist is still a little sore from splitting some wood, though.
I made myself a new icon, though I'm putting off uploading it, because I think it'll be the perfect opportunity to make an icon-uploading tutorial 😂
I've got some new SVSSS thoughts I should probably copy over at some point, but I also don't have quite enough time for that, as it is nearing Bed Time Routine O'Clock.
So yeah! That's me for now. More hopefully soon.
Worked the wood kiln on Thursday; I had a shift that was fairly early on in the process, so there wasn't actually a lot for me to do! My wrist is still a little sore from splitting some wood, though.
I made myself a new icon, though I'm putting off uploading it, because I think it'll be the perfect opportunity to make an icon-uploading tutorial 😂
I've got some new SVSSS thoughts I should probably copy over at some point, but I also don't have quite enough time for that, as it is nearing Bed Time Routine O'Clock.
So yeah! That's me for now. More hopefully soon.
[food] medlar jelly recipe
Sat, Nov. 15th, 2025 11:30 pmkaberettIrritatingly, the medlar jelly recipe I used last time I made the stuff, over at the RHS, is no longer extant (web.archive.org link!). Herewith my own readily findable copy of the thing, plus my notes on what I'm actually doing this time around.
(For amusement: I apparently first found the medlar sticky toffee pudding recipe in 2023...)
( Notes )
Alas, dryer
Sat, Nov. 15th, 2025 02:37 pmazurelunaticThe washer saga ended a little while ago, with a brand repair tech who corrected something simple. Thursday night (the start of Friday wash day) the dryer gave up.
Since the dryer had been leaving unsightly rust streaks on all the lights, I have not been subtle in my campaign for a new one.
Delivery is scheduled for today, of a dryer with a steam cycle but without wifi.
Since the dryer had been leaving unsightly rust streaks on all the lights, I have not been subtle in my campaign for a new one.
Delivery is scheduled for today, of a dryer with a steam cycle but without wifi.
[pain] today in Descartes: green is the best colour because it is most like an octave
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 11:45 pmkaberett... Nor shall I say what objects of vision must be agreeable or disagreeable to it; for from what I have already said about the other senses, it is easy to grasp that light that is too strong will injure the eyes and moderate light must refresh them; and that, amongst the colours, green, which consistss in the most moderate action (which by analogy one can speak of as the ratio 1:2), is like the octave among musical consonances, or like bread among the foods that one eats, that is, it is the most universally agreeable.40
40 What the basis of this remark is is unclear, and although various writers have made suggestions about the relations between colours and sounds, the attempt to quantify green on a par with an octave certainly cannot be sustained. It is worth noting that Descartes will later advice Elizabeth to rid her mind of sad thoughts by reflecting on the greenness of a wood (Descartes to Elizabeth, May/June 1645, AT iv. 220).
(trans. and footnote courtesy of Stephen Gaukroger.)
boost: Adam Engst Learns Seven Agentic Web Browsers Can't Count
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 03:57 pmjesse_the_kfrom someone who's a realist-for-now yet also wants to believe.
Adam Engst on Can Agentic Web Browsers Count?
tl;dr No, given a readily available data set on a webpage, they can't.
The sweetest and scariest part was his sympathy for Copilot's very anxious inner monologue as it tried to come up with answers while working to a deadline that nobody had created.
When it comes to system prompts, the anxious tone of Copilot’s internal responses suggests a “ship now, apologize later, if you’re caught” system prompt that, if reflected in a real-world workplace, would be problematic. Obviously, AIs don’t have feelings that can be hurt and won’t complain to HR, but such a culture tends to encourage people to cut corners and make poor decisions that compromise quality and customer service. If Copilot is any indication, the same is true for AIs.
Department of Couldn't Make It Up
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 09:31 pmdavidgillonThe House of Lords have been taking evidence on the Assisted Suicide Bill.
Disabled folk to Parliament: The possibility of being compelled into assisted suicide scares us
Pro-assisted suicide mob to Parliament: a few disabled people coerced into assisted suicide is still worth it.
Honestly couldn't make it up
Well, that was sub-optimal
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 08:55 pmdavidgillonAfter three days in a row of not getting to sleep until after the sun was up (and then being woken mid-morning), I've basically spent the entire day asleep, apart from answering several phone calls from my sister and then almost immediately falling asleep again*.
I answered those sitting cross-legged on the bed, and I fell asleep in that position and then slept that way for several hours. My hips are NOT happy with me.
Yep, we're famous for our mud
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 01:26 pmbrithistorianOne of the magazines I read is Korea Magazine, published by the Korean Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Tourism.[^1]. Yesterday I was reading the July 2025 issue[^2] and I encountered an interesting article which reminded me of the quote which I used as the title for this post.[^3]
You know how towns have festivals highlighting whatever product the town is famous for? You know: Crawfish festival, potato festival, mullet festival, and so on. Well, apparently the South Korean town of Boryeong is famous for their mud, to the point that they have a festival for it.
Once you get past the oddity of having a festival about mud, it's actually a good story that other places[^4] could benefit from: Boryeong was previously a coal-mining town, then when the mines closed in the early 1990s, they needed some other product to give the town a reason to exist. They discovered that the mud in the flats around the town was rich in bentonite and germanium, both of which are apparently beneficial for the skin, and so Boryeong went into the mud business. And now the mud festival, originally organized to promote the mud business, has become big enough to become an industry of its own, with mud-based entertainment opportunities, live music, and Korean music shows coming out to film episodes at the festival. The mud festival is now big enough to attract international visitors to Boryeong, most of whom would almost certainly not have even heard of Boryeong without the festival, much less have gone there. "Famous for our mud," indeed.
[^1] It used to be a free paper magazine, but now it's strictly an e-magazine.
[^2] I read a lot of magazines, but except for The Nation I don't read any of them in anything like a timely manner.
[^3] For those of you who don't recognize it, it's from My Cousin Vinny, which I highly recommend if you haven't watched it yet.
[^4] I'm looking at you, West Virginia.
Maybe the stupidest reason for hope, ever,
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 10:48 amchicatingbut I'm not overburdened with good ones. Sometimes, I wish life were a bit more like streaming so that I could catch up with things I missed. But I found some
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Potential(High Potential,I missed.)
It's a good show and I love how Kaitlin dresses, even if I don't think I can carry it off
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Potential(High Potential,I missed.)
It's a good show and I love how Kaitlin dresses, even if I don't think I can carry it off
House things
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 11:32 ambuttonsbeadslaceMaking the apartment more homelike:
- Reasonably-priced scratching post for the cats, so we can redirect them from scratching the couch (which along with all other furnishings belongs to the property owner)
- Light-blocking curtain for the bedroom window, which has already helped my sleep immensely. I've gotten used to streetlights more or less, but I am definitely not used to having one right outside the window.
- Frying pan with lid which, in addition to the ceramic casserole dish & other utensils that the kitchen came equipped with, allows me to cook actual meals.
Other things I want to do:
- Pack away some of the weird knicknacks that the property owner left here (including a machete???) to make space for our own things that will be arriving eventually. This apartment has quite high ceilings with some tall built-in cupboards, so I'd like to box them up nicely and put them up there. Our suitcases can also be put away up there, or at least I'm crossing my fingers that they will fit. This all requires us to obtain a stepstool though.
- Get some fancy cleaning products to clean the cats' carriers so we can put those away too.
- Hang up the rest of my clothes, now that we got some more hangers.
- Figure out a better system for sorting trash somehow. Currently I have two different trash bags hanging from a drawer pull in the kitchen, one for Plastic And Metal and the other for Food Waste, a cardboard box just sitting on the floor in the corner for Paper and Cardboard, and when I clean the cats' litterbox I use a small bag for Other Things and immediately take it out. But like. There has to be a better way to do this. All my life until now I've had mixed recycling where everything is either recycling or trash and that's it, I'm not used to this.
- Find some of those little corkscrew pins to keep the cover on the couch.
We celebrated the arrival of the frying pan with this recipe that Sparkly found. The big(ish) supermarket near here (Lidl) didn't have coconut milk, so we ended up going to one of the tiny middle eastern grocery shops that our neighborhood is full of. (I am imagining trying to explain to my classmates that I used to work at a supermarket in the US which was considered unusually small, at about three times the size of this Lidl.) It turned out absolutely delicious and I made a second batch yesterday, with the addition of all the veggies we had in the fridge. Which is good because today I woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose.
- Reasonably-priced scratching post for the cats, so we can redirect them from scratching the couch (which along with all other furnishings belongs to the property owner)
- Light-blocking curtain for the bedroom window, which has already helped my sleep immensely. I've gotten used to streetlights more or less, but I am definitely not used to having one right outside the window.
- Frying pan with lid which, in addition to the ceramic casserole dish & other utensils that the kitchen came equipped with, allows me to cook actual meals.
Other things I want to do:
- Pack away some of the weird knicknacks that the property owner left here (including a machete???) to make space for our own things that will be arriving eventually. This apartment has quite high ceilings with some tall built-in cupboards, so I'd like to box them up nicely and put them up there. Our suitcases can also be put away up there, or at least I'm crossing my fingers that they will fit. This all requires us to obtain a stepstool though.
- Get some fancy cleaning products to clean the cats' carriers so we can put those away too.
- Hang up the rest of my clothes, now that we got some more hangers.
- Figure out a better system for sorting trash somehow. Currently I have two different trash bags hanging from a drawer pull in the kitchen, one for Plastic And Metal and the other for Food Waste, a cardboard box just sitting on the floor in the corner for Paper and Cardboard, and when I clean the cats' litterbox I use a small bag for Other Things and immediately take it out. But like. There has to be a better way to do this. All my life until now I've had mixed recycling where everything is either recycling or trash and that's it, I'm not used to this.
- Find some of those little corkscrew pins to keep the cover on the couch.
We celebrated the arrival of the frying pan with this recipe that Sparkly found. The big(ish) supermarket near here (Lidl) didn't have coconut milk, so we ended up going to one of the tiny middle eastern grocery shops that our neighborhood is full of. (I am imagining trying to explain to my classmates that I used to work at a supermarket in the US which was considered unusually small, at about three times the size of this Lidl.) It turned out absolutely delicious and I made a second batch yesterday, with the addition of all the veggies we had in the fridge. Which is good because today I woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose.
Coping with a design flaw
Fri, Nov. 14th, 2025 09:23 ambrithistorianFor as long as I can remember, I've disliked sleep. It seems like the biggest waste of time there could possibly be. I've used sleep as an argument against intelligent design — not necessarily against "design," but at the very least against "intelligent": Designing a mechanism that has to be shut down for at least 1/3 of its lifespan in order to function doesn't strike me as a very good idea. Combine this with my perfectionist/workaholic tendencies and you end up with someone who goes full tilt until they just can't anymore, at which point I end up going to bed several hours early, regardless of what I'm leaving undone, because I just physically cannot stay awake any longer.
I know it's not the healthiest way to do things, but I just can't seem to help myself, and until they come up with a chemical substitute for sleep that has fewer side effects than meth or cocaine, well. . . there I am. Or, well, there I was. As we were driving home from the dentist yesterday, A. came up with a way to weaponize my perfectionism against me: Make rest a quantifiable plan/goal for me to work toward (quantifiable both so that I can be sure that I'm doing it and also so that I can know when I've done it enough and don't have to do it anymore). She managed to get me to commit to two 10-minute meditations a week along with one night a week where I don't write (as writing is the last thing I do every day, so it often delays my bedtime). She tried to get me to commit to two meditations and two nights of not writing, I tried to talk her down to two meditations and one night where I try not to write, and this is what we settled on. I'm willing to concede that it's possible that taking this additional rest will make me so much more productive in the time that I'm not resting that I won't resent the time spent resting. On the other hand, if 52 years of sleeping almost every night hasn't reconciled me to the necessity of sleeping. . .