matt1993 | Reading

Right now I am way too: busy

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

.

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Good morning, afternoon, and evening!

We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)

I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.

Ta for now!

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

How much privacy are you willing to sacrifice for safety?

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: accomplished

I made these tonight. They turned out very well. :D

( Read more... )

conuly

Since I belong to a little bitty credit union, my branch is closed tomorrow and I have to go into the city to get a replacement and, while I'm there, have them fix my name - if they remove my middle initial from my card, my last name will fit properly, easy-peasy. Or I can wait until Monday, since I'm certain I lost it in the house, but it turns out there's another protest tomorrow so I may as well go in.

Anyway, speaking of protests and politics and food banks,

petra is offering up fanworks:

If you donate at least $25 in cash or in-kind to a food bank at any point between now and the end of the Trump Administration, and you either share a fandom of mine and want a drabble or fannish poetry, or you want original poetry, drop me a comment, and I will write for you.

So, there you go, that's a win-win for everybody.

Edit: Well! As you might expect, as soon as I posted I happened to roll my chair over my card! It's fine, chair and card are both fine. I still need to make them fix my name, but it can wait.

conuly

This is the last mending they'll take, and I'm not sure how long it'll hold. I've ordered a new pair, and on the one hand I know $100 is cheap - especially for my prescription! - but on the other hand, I didn't want to spend it. And I didn't exactly love my choice of frames, either, but they were inexpensive and fit my pupil distance, so I'll live with them.

(Though, looking on the website, it seems glow in the dark frames are an option!? I would never, sounds like a real visual annoyance, but man, so much respect for anybody who goes in that direction!)

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

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/24/25 -- I planted 15 purple and pink mixed tulips in the purple-and-white garden.

10/24/25 -- I gathered seeds from sunflowers, zinnias, wild senna, and northern sea oats.

I saw a downy woodpecker industriously drilling insects from the dry stems of cup plants.

10/24/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

10/24/25 -- I did a more work around the patio.

10/24/25 -- I planted 8 'Purissima' tulips, 4 around the barrel garden and 4 in the tulip bed. These are white tulips with variegated green-and-yellow leaves.

10/24/25 -- I planted 15 'Ice Queen' giant snow crocuses in the purple-and-white garden. That completes the shipment from Breck's.

I am done for the night.

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

These questions come from

thefridayfive.

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ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Today's theme is Jpop and Jrock from Japanese music.

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ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

This motel was transformed into colorful affordable housing. And it's named after a civil rights icon

Once a motel in the Reynoldstown neighborhood — built in the 1960s — the space was transformed into 56 modern studio apartments for individuals or families who were previously unhoused.

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

10 effective ways you can make change — in addition to attending a protest

In a nutshell: Nonviolent resistance is based on noncooperation with autocratic actions. It has proven more effective in toppling autocracies than violent, armed struggle.

But it requires more than street demonstrations.

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

On mental health advice

What nobody tells you: Most mental health advice is just expensive ways to avoid hard conversations and difficult decisions.

You don't need another coping mechanism. You need to quit the job. Leave the relationship. Set the boundary. Therapy can't fix problems that require action.

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Today is mostly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of sparrows and house finches. Some of the sparrows were splashing in the red birdbath.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/23/25 -- I potted up some of the asparagus seeds from the Charleston Food Forest.

EDIT 10/23/25 -- I planted 10 'Colour Magic' tulips around the barrel garden, and still have 10 left. These flowers change colors as they mature, often starting white or yellow with color at the edges which then spreads.

EDIT 10/23/25 -- I planted the rest of the 'Color Magic' tulips in the tulip bed.

EDIT 10/23/25 -- We went out for lunch. I picked up a bag of 12 assorted Dutch irises and a bag of 12 mixed crocuses at Rural King, plus 4 bags of compost and manure to top the flowerbeds. Then I got a bag of 15 purple and pink tulips, and a bag of 5 purple-and-white striped crocuses at Home Depot.

EDIT 10/23/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/23/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Note to self: do not put red grapes in a green smoothie. Red + green = brown. :/ It still tastes good, but it is not the beautiful jade-green that we usually get.

We use the Alan's Going Green Smoothie. We don't use the jalapeño or cashews. Sometimes we use a kiwi instead of a lime. Today we used a handful of pea shoots instead of spinach, so there's a pea flavor alongside the lime.

conuly

and since we have a ton of computer mice (mouses?) already I just swapped it out. But I still was bugged by the ton of crud that I know was embedded in my old mouse, so before I tossed it I took it apart to clean the scrollwheel.

So much cat hair, much of it felted, and I'm honestly surprised the scrollwheel was functioning at all. But it was so cheaply made that putting it back together would've been a hassle and a half, so I'm glad I had the sense to just replace it rather than depending on my own repair skills!

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

( Read more... )

conuly

Smart beds flipped out during the AWS outage, and so did their sleepy owners

1. Why does a bed need to be smart?
2. Why does everything have to be a subscription nowadays?
3. Why didn't they design the damn things to just be normal beds if cut off from the internet?

Seriously, you couldn't have written this 30 years ago, nobody would ever have accepted the premise! I'd say something about fools and their money, but....

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

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Córdoba -- Festival of the Patios

In addition to being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Córdoba also appears on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list for its Festival of the Patios. Held each spring, the festival celebrates the tradition of decorating the patios or courtyards of the homes in the historic center of the city with flowers and other plants. During the Festival, these patios are open to the public, to show off the beauty of these spaces.

The pictures come from later in the season, not the festival itself, but are still beautiful.

Are you looking for a theme to make your small town stand out? Or a theme for a spring event that isn't Easter? Consider a patio festival! Celebrate the beauty of small gardens on patios, balconies, front porches, etc. Get your local florists and garden shops to join the fun with special displays or sales. Throw in a plant / seed swap for houseplants, garden plants that are customarily divided or planted in spring, local landraces of flowers or vegetables, and so on.

cupcake_goth

Yesterday was Miss Erzabet No Biting's first vet appointment since right before we moved. Not only was it time, but we were hoping for information or answers about her inappropriate voiding (how the vet referred to her peeing and pooping anywhere she felt like), and (what worried me most) the very slight intermittent tremor of her head that has developed.

The vet's diagnosis, now confirmed by the blood tests: she has developed hyperthyroidism. I'm waiting on the call from the vet where he'll give me more information. I did some quick research and it looks like the two main treatments are either daily meds or having radioactive iodine injected into the thyroid, which involves a multi-day stay at the vet. I still kinda-sorta prefer that option to meds, because she isn't easy to pill. But then again, how will she react to being somewhere strange and away from me? The last time we did that (when she was at a kitty emergency place because of difficulty breathing) she refused to eat or drink, and spent two days hidden under the blanket in the cage.

Shockingly, she was such a good girl about going to the vet! Previous trips involved her fighting being put in the carrier, peeing herself, and being completely silent and hyperventilating. There was none of that this trip! She was very vocal, but didn't sound distressed, thank goodness. It took her about three minutes of being home before she forgave me and was trying to herd me to the couch for cuddles.

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Today is mostly sunny, breezy, and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

10/22/25 -- I installed the larger of the two wormstones beside the barrel garden. First I picked a spot, then I cleared the weeds. I dug into the ground a little so that the stone would lie closer to the surface. I had to move a few tulip bulbs that turned up there. Then I put the stone in place and pushed the soil back around the edges. \o/

10/22/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

10/22/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

10/22/25 -- I installed the second wormstone by the barrel garden.

10/22/25 -- I planted 10 'Flaming Beauties' tulips around the barrel garden. I still have 10 left. These are streaked tulips so they are yellow/red, purple/white, etc.

10/22/25 -- I planted the rest of the 'Flaming Beauties' in the tulip bed.

As it is almost suppertime, I am done for the night.

ysabetwordsmith

Right now I am way too: busy

Scientists say dimming the sun could spark global chaos

Researchers warn that real-world solar geoengineering would be far more unpredictable and risky than models suggest.

Scientists are taking the once-radical concept of dimming the sun through stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) seriously, but a Columbia University team warns that reality is far messier than models suggest. Their study reveals how physical, geopolitical, and economic constraints could derail even the best-intentioned attempts to cool the planet. From unpredictable monsoon disruptions to material shortages and optical inefficiencies, every step introduces new risks.

WARNING: Do not practice mad science on whole planet!

It's hard to describe this journal in just a few paragraphs... but I'll try

Just an autistic guy born in 1993 (hence the username) who's had this journal since I was 14. Has trouble phrasing things well especially in earlier entries, so keep that in mind.

My interests have fluctuated in the 17 years since I've had this journal, but the following has remained constant:
- I like Mario games (mainly the platformers, Mario Kart, Mario Party) and Super Smash Bros.
- I like Garfield
- I like Homestar Runner
- I like Enya
- And I've always loved the idea of wacky crossovers between ANY of my interests, whether it's in the form of a short-lived webcomic in 2006-2008, a short-lived backwards lyrics site in 2008, writing down weird dreams in 2009-2011, playing Tomodachi Life a lot in 2014-2016, or what most of my posts are about these days: playing around with Character.AI starting in 2023. I still can't believe I'm actually in a world where an AI of Enya can talk to AIs of Mario or Garfield or even my favorite obscure characters like Mary O. from Super Mario Maker. :O

Go to my sticky entry for more.

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Base style: Brittle by sforzinda
Theme: Buttercup Yellow by krja

Page generated Sat, Oct. 25th, 2025 22:32

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People who aren't as weird as I am

Maybe I'll catch up on this page someday!

Reading

Birdfeeding

Database maintenance

Philosophical Questions: Privacy

Recipe: "Apple Pie Cookies"

And, huh. It looks like I lost my bank card

Welp, my glasses have reached the point of no return with superglue

Birdfeeding

Friday Five

Follow Friday 10-24-25: Jpop and Jrock

Affordable Housing

Activism

Advice

Birdfeeding

Today's Smoothie

I got tired of trying to clean my mouse

Truly, this is the very stupidest dystopia

Photography

I can't think of an appropriate bandom lyric for a title

Birdfeeding

Mad Science

It's hard to describe this journal in just a few paragraphs... but I'll try

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helscome my prolif. its not done.

I Ramble Too Much About

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