billroper | Network

16 Cats Cozying Up Next To The Fireplace

And by cozying up I mean literally getting as close to it as they can — without self-combusting.

Current Mood: amused

marycatelli

I essayed

ysabetwordsmith

silwritersguild has posted about a free copy of "The Fëanorian Zine" which you can download as a PDF.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Oceans are supercharging hurricanes past Category 5

Warming oceans are fueling a surge of extreme, off-the-charts storms—so powerful that scientists say it’s time to invent a whole new hurricane category.

Deep ocean hot spots packed with heat are making the strongest hurricanes and typhoons more likely—and more dangerous. These regions, especially near the Philippines and the Caribbean, are expanding as climate change warms ocean waters far below the surface. As a result, storms powerful enough to exceed Category 5 are appearing more often, with over half occurring in just the past decade. Researchers say recognizing a new “Category 6” could improve public awareness and disaster planning.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are the content notes for "A Human Scale, Full-Featured Settlement."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

icons is hosting a Friending Meme.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, cool, foggy, and wet. It rained last night and water is still dripping from the trees today. Also the thermometer-hygrometer peripheral for our home weather station has died, so we need to see if that's available as a replacement part. :/

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/25/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/25/25 -- I hauled the last large branches to the ritual meadow. Then I started the long process of raking the parking lot.

EDIT 12/25/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/25/25 -- I did more raking in the parking lot.

I've seen two squirrels in the trees. I've seen several cardinals flying around.

EDIT 12/25/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

It's drizzling again.

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

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Christmas Lockbox

If there is anything you need to get off your chest, to let go so that you can get on, you can safely do it here. This post will be open for anyone, all day--but then tomorrow, it goes away. No judgement, no recrimination. Just a free space for anyone who needs to vent. And if no one does, nothing is lost!

Basically, this is someone's "Hard Things" post for holiday stress. Brilliant.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This Conversation...

Bokeh is that creamy blur of color and light at the forefront and background of an image. It's that Out of Focus area, which draws your eye to the crisp subject... a car or face.

Now there's an obscure but super useful word for something we see quite often. :D

Current Mood: busy

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: happy

james_davis_nicoll

Jólabókaflóðið 2025!

lsanderson

Happy Christmas!

From Lily Allen to six-seven: it’s the 2025 bumper pop culture quiz of the year
Did you watch KPop Demon Hunters? Have you listened to Rosalía? And do you know who ‘fedora guy’ is? If you answered yes to all these, this is the quiz for you
Sian Cain and Steph Harmon
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/dec/24/2025-pop-culture-quiz-of-the-year

Around the world in 50 countries: the globe-trotting Christmas travel quiz
From the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to Donald Trump’s territorial wishlist, test your travel knowledge. Every answer is the name of a country (Not automagical!)
Gavin McOwan
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/dec/25/around-the-world-in-50-countries-globe-trotting-christmas-travel-quiz

‘Freedom is a city where you can breathe’: four experts on Europe’s most liveable capitals
From Copenhagen’s cycle lanes and Vienna’s shared parks to Barcelona and London’s unfulfilled potential, better living is close at hand
Ajit Niranjan
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2025/dec/24/four-experts-on-europe-most-livable-capitals

Why are drug prices so high in America? Trump doesn’t have the right answer
Susi Geiger and Théo Bourgeron
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/24/is-trump-lowering-drug-prices

Falling price of cocaine forces drug traffickers to reuse narco-submarines, say Spanish police
Previously vessels would be sunk once they had completed their cargo runs from South America to Europe
Sam Jones in Madrid
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/25/cocaine-forces-drug-traffickers-narco-submarines-spain

The 12 days of Trump-mas
What has Donald Trump given us in his second term? We look at some of the numbers
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/23/the-12-days-of-trump-mas

Into the void: how Trump killed international law
The rules-based global order, its institutions and value system face a crisis of legitimacy and credibility as the US turns away
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
https://www.theguardian.com/law/ng-interactive/2025/dec/25/how-donald-trump-killed-international-law

How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very
From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US history
Robin Buller
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/25/protests-effective-history-impact

Blood test could predict who is most at risk from common inherited heart condition
Exclusive: Scientists find a way to forecast hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which affects millions worldwide
Andrew Gregory Health editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/25/blood-test-predict-risk-inherited-heart-condition-hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy

MinnPost’s Year in Photos 2025
The best photos of 2025 by MinnPost photojournalist Ellen Schmidt.
by Ellen Schmidt
https://www.minnpost.com/galleries/2025/12/minnposts-year-in-photos-2025/

It’s turkey time! The 12 worst films of 2025
This year has brought us some great movies – and also at least a dozen dire-one star disasters. Here are the Guardian’s critics on the pick of the year’s cinematic calamities
Guardian film
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/25/its-turkey-time-the-12-worst-films-of-2025

susandennis

I'm sitting here at my table looking out across the trees (I'm on a hill). It's darker than usual today, not light enough yet to see if it's clouds causing the dark but I suspect it is. Thank you, clouds. I love these dark mornings so much. The other night the little chirpy weather girl (still many years away from being a woman) said that this was the longest day of the year and soon we'd have 18 hours of daylight. Shut Up, Bitch. I know she's not wrong but does she have to throw it in my face???

Oh turns out to be clouds and fog. A double gift.

The cats got up before I did and were quite interested in breakfast, ate a bunch of it, and are now back in their closet fast asleep.

I think I'm going to suit up and go for a swim and then come home and enjoy the rest of the day. I have plenty to keep me amused. I have food aplenty. No need for any peopling. A very lovely Christmas.