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apod_feed Nov. 29th, 2025 06:03 am)
apod_feed Nov. 29th, 2025 06:03 am)
NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a
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james_davis_nicoll Nov. 28th, 2025 11:38 pm)
james_davis_nicoll Nov. 28th, 2025 11:38 pm)But this time, I managed to wake her up without help. Go me.
I've been watching Acorn's Whitstable Pearl and enjoying it a good deal. It is very slightly too edgy to be called a cosy mystery. But it has enough lightness to be a good balance. The novels were written by Julie Wassmer, a TV script writer who took a break to write some novels. I might try reading the books, bet they are quite a bit different than the TV series.
The new dryer is just fine, except the top is ever so slightly slanted in a way that makes it a bad place to set your dryer balls.
Have I mentioned that especially after Colonoscopy Week I've had more trouble than usual walking? I've been using my cane inside the house for the first time in quite a while, and I'm limited in how much I can carry without (more) pain. It sucks. Belovedest has set up the short ramp against the shortest outside stairs, and while going up it is Bad, going up the stairs without it is Worse. (Both outside doors have stairs.)
I wasn't available to assist with any of the Thanksgiving cooking. Belovedest did it themselves! Including: turkey, the epic tray of dressing, biscuits from the mix, and instant potatoes made the way that erases the taste of Box. (There was also salad available, but there's quite a bit of vegetable in the sausage-cornbread dressing.)
Today we had some roof inspectors. The inspection's free; the quote for fixing things up is *sigh* very much not free.
Have I mentioned that especially after Colonoscopy Week I've had more trouble than usual walking? I've been using my cane inside the house for the first time in quite a while, and I'm limited in how much I can carry without (more) pain. It sucks. Belovedest has set up the short ramp against the shortest outside stairs, and while going up it is Bad, going up the stairs without it is Worse. (Both outside doors have stairs.)
I wasn't available to assist with any of the Thanksgiving cooking. Belovedest did it themselves! Including: turkey, the epic tray of dressing, biscuits from the mix, and instant potatoes made the way that erases the taste of Box. (There was also salad available, but there's quite a bit of vegetable in the sausage-cornbread dressing.)
Today we had some roof inspectors. The inspection's free; the quote for fixing things up is *sigh* very much not free.
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The truck had several boxes of garden stuff, all filthy. It is so much nicer to reach for a nice clean pot or saucer for a pot! Unloading the truck involved several hours of washing up the "dishes". They are now all done except for a couple of touch ups. The saucers are all in a nice cardboard box to keep them clean and the pots soon will be. Still to go are the things that need new shelf space. Right now new shelf space is pretty limited. More reorganization needed.
Had a nice ride on Firefly today. It was one of those priceless sunny, cool winter days. We worked on turns and her listening to my cues instead of worrying about where the other horses are. I worked on not dropping my shoulder to the inside. Firefly did great, she has stopped having panic attacks when I ask for something new. She walked pretty quietly even though it was clear she had a lot of extra energy. As usual I quit while I was ahead, got off, hung her saddle on the fence and turned her loose. She had a wonderful time tearing around the big arena at top speed, mane and tail flying. My old friend Alice called out and said "she's gorgeous!" Alice had only ever seen a rather sad little dirty pony standing in the corral. Firefly doesn't like to run in Winter Quarters because the ground is so rocky. After making several rounds of the arena and expressing herself with some loud snorts, she calmed down and stood at the gate on the far end of the arena. I sometimes let her out to graze there. When I didn't come over she walked the length of the arena (250 ft) and straight up to me. I think Alice though that because I haven't actually been riding Firefly much that I hadn't spent time with her. It was a nice moment.
Tonight is my last night of "horse duty". The four of us who have horses at Winter Quarters trade off feeding and moving the horses around. Someone is there two times a day all winter. Maddie and Lily both went out of town for Thanksgiving so Grace and I split up the shifts. I took both shifts for 3 days and have one more this weekend.
In less exciting news, I got a lot of paperwork cleaned up and some stuff off to the county. Also exchanged my new Ariat jacket. The one I had purchased had a tiny flaw in the zipper that made it hard to zip up. The stitching was a fraction too close. It is a nice canvas, padded jacket, meant to replace two sweaters I have worn, quite literally to tatters over the last decade and a half. If I'm going to wear this jacket for that long, the zipper better work!
Had a nice ride on Firefly today. It was one of those priceless sunny, cool winter days. We worked on turns and her listening to my cues instead of worrying about where the other horses are. I worked on not dropping my shoulder to the inside. Firefly did great, she has stopped having panic attacks when I ask for something new. She walked pretty quietly even though it was clear she had a lot of extra energy. As usual I quit while I was ahead, got off, hung her saddle on the fence and turned her loose. She had a wonderful time tearing around the big arena at top speed, mane and tail flying. My old friend Alice called out and said "she's gorgeous!" Alice had only ever seen a rather sad little dirty pony standing in the corral. Firefly doesn't like to run in Winter Quarters because the ground is so rocky. After making several rounds of the arena and expressing herself with some loud snorts, she calmed down and stood at the gate on the far end of the arena. I sometimes let her out to graze there. When I didn't come over she walked the length of the arena (250 ft) and straight up to me. I think Alice though that because I haven't actually been riding Firefly much that I hadn't spent time with her. It was a nice moment.
Tonight is my last night of "horse duty". The four of us who have horses at Winter Quarters trade off feeding and moving the horses around. Someone is there two times a day all winter. Maddie and Lily both went out of town for Thanksgiving so Grace and I split up the shifts. I took both shifts for 3 days and have one more this weekend.
In less exciting news, I got a lot of paperwork cleaned up and some stuff off to the county. Also exchanged my new Ariat jacket. The one I had purchased had a tiny flaw in the zipper that made it hard to zip up. The stitching was a fraction too close. It is a nice canvas, padded jacket, meant to replace two sweaters I have worn, quite literally to tatters over the last decade and a half. If I'm going to wear this jacket for that long, the zipper better work!
I went to the big family Thanksgiving gathering yesterday. People were glad to see me, and I was glad to see them, particularly the niece from Fresno with husband and three kids, all of them now in their teens - it'd been a while since I'd seen them.
Nonetheless I found it a difficult experience for other reasons. I was not feeling very well, and was worse after I got home - I left immediately after dinner, about 3 hours after arrival, while B. stayed on for another four hours and, by arrangement, was delivered home by nephew and niece who live vaguely in this direction. Also the heavy food was tough for me to handle. I've been living at home mostly on soup, baked fish, and other soft and gentle things. But we improvise! Now to make turkey noodle soup for dinner with some leftovers I brought home.
Nonetheless I found it a difficult experience for other reasons. I was not feeling very well, and was worse after I got home - I left immediately after dinner, about 3 hours after arrival, while B. stayed on for another four hours and, by arrangement, was delivered home by nephew and niece who live vaguely in this direction. Also the heavy food was tough for me to handle. I've been living at home mostly on soup, baked fish, and other soft and gentle things. But we improvise! Now to make turkey noodle soup for dinner with some leftovers I brought home.
Very shortly after I posted my recent request for pointers on 3D printing education – a request which was occasioned by my getting excited over my new and improved typing capability courtesy of my new NocFree ergonomic keyboard and wanting to make it a peripheral – my shoulder/back went *spung* in the location and way I had had a repetitive strain injury a decade+ previously.
*le sigh*
I'm back to writing ("writing") slowly and miserably dictation, because all of my other forms of data entry aggravate this RSI. (This explains how rambly and poorly organized the previous post was and this one too will be.)
I'm going to try to debug my ergonomics, but it remains to be seen whether I can resume typing.
Thanksgiving came at an opportune time, because it took me away from computers for a day. But I had wanted to get another post out before the end of the month. We'll see what happens.
So, uh, I had been going to post about how I have worked back up to something like 80%, maybe 90%, of my keyboard fluency on the NocFree. Eit.
*le sigh*
I'm back to writing ("writing") slowly and miserably dictation, because all of my other forms of data entry aggravate this RSI. (This explains how rambly and poorly organized the previous post was and this one too will be.)
I'm going to try to debug my ergonomics, but it remains to be seen whether I can resume typing.
Thanksgiving came at an opportune time, because it took me away from computers for a day. But I had wanted to get another post out before the end of the month. We'll see what happens.
So, uh, I had been going to post about how I have worked back up to something like 80%, maybe 90%, of my keyboard fluency on the NocFree. Eit.
(cosmolinguist Nov. 28th, 2025 09:06 pm)
cosmolinguist Nov. 28th, 2025 09:06 pm)A little while ago angelofthenorth had offered to cook a thanksgiving dinner with some of my usual recipes.
Fuck thanksgiving as a concept, obviously, but an excuse for a fancy meal is always welcome.
So I found the handwritten notes-to-self that constitute my versions of pumpkin pie and scalloped corn, and she made those tonight with a delicious veggie haggis, roast new potatoes and turnip, carrot and parsnip, and what would've been mashed swede except we didn't mash it.
I helped, doing chores like chopping the pumpkin and washing dishes. It was fun. At one point when I was drying a mixing bowl and about to put it away, she said "we make a good team!" That was nice to hear!
Everything was delicious. It's so annoying that I stull have a headache that has come and gone all day, because I have no spoons to say more.
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Spotted in today's book, with just as much of a medical theme as you might reasonably expect:
... biopsy-
chosocial...
(arstechnica_feed Nov. 28th, 2025 04:16 pm)
arstechnica_feed Nov. 28th, 2025 04:16 pm)A Soyuz rocket launched on Thursday carrying Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, as well as NASA astronaut Christopher Williams, for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station. The trio of astronauts arrived at the orbiting laboratory without incident.
However, on the ground, there was a serious problem during the launch with the ground systems that support processing of the vehicle before liftoff at Site 31, located at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In a terse statement issued Thursday night on the social media site Telegram, the Russian space corporation that operates Soyuz appeared to downplay the incident: “The launch pad was inspected, as is done every time a rocket is launched. Damage to several launch pad components was identified. Damage can occur after launch, so such inspections are mandatory worldwide. The launch pad’s condition is currently being assessed.”
'My dear boy, why don't you try acting?' (attested from the mouth of Dustin Hoffman, to whom Olivier addressed this plea when Hoffman was going to extreme Method lengths).
Experience: I was stabbed in the back with a real knife while performing Julius Caesar.
And this was not a dreadful error in the props room or something out of a murder mystery:
It was the Exeter University theatre society’s annual play at the Edinburgh fringe and I’d landed the part of Cassius in Julius Caesar. The director decided that instead of killing himself, Cassius would die during a choreographed fight with his rival, Mark Antony. We also chose to use real knives, which sounds absurd, but we wanted to be authentic. The plan was for the actor playing Antony to grab my arm as I held the knife, and pretend to push it behind my back. We must have rehearsed the sequence 50 times.
We were about halfway through our month-long run, performing to a decently sized audience. Dressed in our togas, with the stage dark and moody, we began the fight as usual. Then something went wrong.
There was a sharp piercing feeling. The knife was supposed to have been quietly slipped to me – instead, it had gone into my back. I realised what had happened while acting out my character’s death, and thinking: I have to lie here until the lights go down.
....
When a doctor told me I’d come close to dying, and that the play had to stop using real knives, I remember thinking: “You just don’t understand theatre.”
However, right at the end of the article he does acknowledge: 'I’m super conscious of safety nowadays'. We should hope so.
What next - real poison where text requires? What was the director thinking? I would think using Real Knives might make it less authentic with choreographing to ensure Doing No Harm
Well, that was more close brushes with performing CPR than I consider ideal for a commute...
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(arstechnica_feed Nov. 28th, 2025 12:41 pm)
arstechnica_feed Nov. 28th, 2025 12:41 pm)Earlier in 2025 we celebrated Prime Day—the yearly veneration of the greatest Transformer of all, Optimus Prime (in fact, Optimus Prime is so revered that we often celebrate Prime Day twice!). But in the fall, as the evenings lengthen and the air turns chill, we pause to remember a much more somber occasion: Black Friday, the day Optimus Prime was cruelly cut down by the treacherous hand of his arch-nemesis Megatron while bravely defending Autobot City from attack. Though Optimus Prime did not survive the brutal fight, the Autobot leader’s indomitable spirit nonetheless carried the day and by his decisive actions the Decepticons were routed, fleeing from the city like the cowardly robots they truly are and giving over victory to the forces of light.
Although Optimus Prime’s death was tragic and unexpected, things are often darkest just before dawn—and so, even though today is called “Black Friday” to remind us of the day’s solemnity, we choose to honor him the way we honor other important historical figures who also laid their lives upon the altar of freedom: we take the day off to go shopping!
Below you’ll find a curated list of the best Black Friday deals that we’ve been able to find. Stand strong in the shadow cast by that long-gone noble Autobot, for by his sacrifice the day was won. Now, as Optimus would say, transform, my friends—transform and buy things.
(arstechnica_feed Nov. 28th, 2025 12:15 pm)
arstechnica_feed Nov. 28th, 2025 12:15 pm)When the US Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced 14 gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, the animals were, in some ways, stepping into a new world.
After humans hunted wolves to near-extinction across the Western US in the early 20th century, the carnivore’s absence likely altered ecosystems and food webs across the Rocky Mountains. Once wolves were reintroduced to the landscape, scientists hoped to learn if, and how quickly, these changes could be reversed.
Despite studies claiming to show early evidence of a tantalizing relationship between wolves and regenerating riparian ecosystems since the canines returned to Yellowstone, scientists are still debating how large carnivores impact vegetation and other animals, according to a new paper published this month.
(james_davis_nicoll Nov. 28th, 2025 08:58 am)
james_davis_nicoll Nov. 28th, 2025 08:58 am)
Two sisters, separated during calamity, join opposing sides of a divine war.
The Gods Below (Hollow Covenant, volume 1) by Andrea Stewart
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Day-off mishmash post: not my holiday | seasonal scents | music listening | package-delivery oddness
(umadoshi Nov. 28th, 2025 09:52 am)
umadoshi Nov. 28th, 2025 09:52 am)A day off without sleeping in at all feels so expansive! (scruloose had to be out a bit early all this week, so I've been getting up a bit earlier too to do my supervision part of the clowder's breakfast routine.) But I took the day off mainly to try to get some manga work done, so going back to bed after that seemed counterproductive. Somehow it's not even 10 AM yet? Incredible. (Could I have used the sleep, though? Oh yes.)
Happy day-after-Thanksgiving to the USians* observing this emotionally-complex holiday. I enjoy the food chatter from afar. Someone on a cooking feed on Bluesky posted about doing a stuffing flight, and now I really want a stuffing flight, although the specific types they'd made didn't sing to me. ^^;
*I've been seeing the edges of Discourse about this term on Bluesky, and several people complained about the pronunciation/having no good pronunciation options, which made me realize that to me it's strictly a term for writing, not saying. It works fine visually. *shrugs*
First Yule scent of the year: But Men Loved Darkness Better Than Light (2009 vintage). I'd forgotten how much I love this one.
Last year I had a pretty good streak of wearing Weenie scents, and then in Novemberscruloose's breathing was a bit rough, and we didn't think it was the BPAL, but I didn't wear any through the Christmas season. (It turned out not to be what was causing the problem, which has been IDed and dealt with.) So maybe this year. (As always, the Weenie and Yule updates tempted me dreadfully, but the added horror of current crossborder shipping gave me extra armor against getting in on a decant circle.)
I'm finally listening to the new Florence + The Machine album; listening to new music takes even longer now than it used to, and I've never been quick about listening or bonding. Given the season, after this album I'll probably switch to Christmas music while working. As long as it's good (wholly subjective, obviously, along with if you're a Christmas person and if seasonal music doesn't hit all the wrong buttons in general), Christmas music is kind of ideal for when I'm trying to just get some work done--it doesn't require the attention that beloved favorite music or new-to-me music does, even if it's not a recording I'm familiar with. Handy!
(Yesterday I deployed some for the first time this year. I didn't know Carole King had a holiday album, although it's never a surprise when a western musician does. *eyes Tori Amos holiday album* [Which I do listen to.] And now I've heard it once and never need to hear it again.)
Also on the music front, I finally cut off my Spotify subscription, and I'm trying out Qobuz after waffling between it and Deezer. Neither of them has native Linux desktop support or a Roku app, either of which would've weighted my decision significantly, and Qobuz allows you to actually buy music--apparently DRM-free, no less!--so I'm starting here.
Package-delivery updates cover such a bizarre spectrum. I currently have in my inbox: a) an update from a courier saying they've got my package and will deliver it this afternoon, with no indication of the sender, and I do not have a ship notification from anywhere that makes it obvious, so...I guess we'll see soon, and b) a Canada Post "Ship Notification for Item" (not to be confused with a "your item is out for delivery" notification) that didn't arrive in my inbox until a couple of hours after the CP person had already theoretically been by and attempted delivery. (Canada Post folks are better than others about actually attempting delivery, so I have to assume I just didn't hear the doorbell somehow, but the email timing remains bizarre.)
scruloose had to be out a bit early all this week, so I've been getting up a bit earlier too to do my supervision part of the clowder's breakfast routine.) But I took the day off mainly to try to get some manga work done, so going back to bed after that seemed counterproductive. Somehow it's not even 10 AM yet? Incredible. (Could I have used the sleep, though? Oh yes.)Happy day-after-Thanksgiving to the USians* observing this emotionally-complex holiday. I enjoy the food chatter from afar. Someone on a cooking feed on Bluesky posted about doing a stuffing flight, and now I really want a stuffing flight, although the specific types they'd made didn't sing to me. ^^;
*I've been seeing the edges of Discourse about this term on Bluesky, and several people complained about the pronunciation/having no good pronunciation options, which made me realize that to me it's strictly a term for writing, not saying. It works fine visually. *shrugs*
First Yule scent of the year: But Men Loved Darkness Better Than Light (2009 vintage). I'd forgotten how much I love this one.
Last year I had a pretty good streak of wearing Weenie scents, and then in November
scruloose's breathing was a bit rough, and we didn't think it was the BPAL, but I didn't wear any through the Christmas season. (It turned out not to be what was causing the problem, which has been IDed and dealt with.) So maybe this year. (As always, the Weenie and Yule updates tempted me dreadfully, but the added horror of current crossborder shipping gave me extra armor against getting in on a decant circle.)I'm finally listening to the new Florence + The Machine album; listening to new music takes even longer now than it used to, and I've never been quick about listening or bonding. Given the season, after this album I'll probably switch to Christmas music while working. As long as it's good (wholly subjective, obviously, along with if you're a Christmas person and if seasonal music doesn't hit all the wrong buttons in general), Christmas music is kind of ideal for when I'm trying to just get some work done--it doesn't require the attention that beloved favorite music or new-to-me music does, even if it's not a recording I'm familiar with. Handy!
(Yesterday I deployed some for the first time this year. I didn't know Carole King had a holiday album, although it's never a surprise when a western musician does. *eyes Tori Amos holiday album* [Which I do listen to.] And now I've heard it once and never need to hear it again.)
Also on the music front, I finally cut off my Spotify subscription, and I'm trying out Qobuz after waffling between it and Deezer. Neither of them has native Linux desktop support or a Roku app, either of which would've weighted my decision significantly, and Qobuz allows you to actually buy music--apparently DRM-free, no less!--so I'm starting here.
Package-delivery updates cover such a bizarre spectrum. I currently have in my inbox: a) an update from a courier saying they've got my package and will deliver it this afternoon, with no indication of the sender, and I do not have a ship notification from anywhere that makes it obvious, so...I guess we'll see soon, and b) a Canada Post "Ship Notification for Item" (not to be confused with a "your item is out for delivery" notification) that didn't arrive in my inbox until a couple of hours after the CP person had already theoretically been by and attempted delivery. (Canada Post folks are better than others about actually attempting delivery, so I have to assume I just didn't hear the doorbell somehow, but the email timing remains bizarre.)
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