Hey AI — hands off my em-dash

Jun. 14th, 2025 02:03 am
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)
[personal profile] firecat
My fave is the semicolon; however, I refuse to cede em-dashes or any other punctuation marks to ChatGPT.

These attacks on the em dash — a ChatGPT hyphen? How very dare you! — have in turn blazed across social media spaces populated by the kind of folks who will tell you, unprompted, that they have a favorite punctuation mark and what it is. (It is very likely the em dash.) — https://www.salon.com/2025/06/11/ai-cant-have-my-em-dash/

(no subject)

Jun. 14th, 2025 11:23 am
lea_hazel: The Little Mermaid (Default)
[personal profile] lea_hazel
I obviously had a bad couple of nights in terms of sleep etc., but I'm coping mainly by trying to distract myself.

Distractions I've indulged in:

1. Palia. Still very heavily playing this, especially this weekend, making up for the fact that I didn't play much over the week.

2. Reading the tagset/request summary for [community profile] justmarriedexchange. Probably gonna sign up today or tomorrow, and yes, I did nom Palia, too.

3. Over the last week, I've watched enough Kruggsmash Dwarf Fortress videos that I had to talk myself down from getting the game (for reasons).

4. Finally watched the last season of Community. It sure is a bunch of television episodes.

5. Also catching up on the most recent season of Leverage: Redemption, and yes, there was a moment that made me scream at a pitch audible only to dogs.

6. When I fail to do these things, I read the news, which depresses me.
umadoshi: (Yotsuba&! curious (ohsnap_icons))
[personal profile] umadoshi
After making calls on Monday, [personal profile] scruloose found a heat pump-servicing company that would do the repair etc. under our warranty from the manufacturer. A service tech turned up on Wednesday (!) at the time he said he'd be here (!) and assessed the situation, sourced the required parts locally (all three units needed their coils replaced, which the manufacturer apparently says was a known issue with models from that year that has now been fixed, so this theoretically shouldn't recur), and came back first thing yesterday morning to actually do the repair (and replace a noisy fan in the exterior unit). Labor and parts=all covered. Things seem to be working fine now. *knocks wood* It was a bizarrely good experience.

The cats were unsurprisingly unimpressed about being corralled in the bedroom repeatedly (both to keep them underfoot and to minimize their covid exposure as much as possible, in addition to all the purifiers running and [personal profile] scruloose rigging the airflow so that the bedroom was pressurized and the tech wearing an N95 mask the entire time), but were mostly polite about it and appreciated the treats they got afterwards.

I just went poking around in the Kobo listings for Adrian Tchaikovsky ebooks, and stumbled over the fact that there's an ebook (Terrible Worlds: Revolutions) collecting his three Terrible Worlds novellas, none of which I've read and one of which is on my wishlist. The collected volume is going for $7.99 Canadian. The individual novellas go for $10.99 each. I don't have a specific way in mind that I think this should be handled, but surely there are better ways to price/label/offer ebooks.

The poking around came after the ebook for Tchaikovsky's Service Model, which Ginny just read and liked, turned up on the on-sale list this morning, so this is also a PSA about that. (At least for the Canadian Kobo site.)

it's Friday the thirteenth

Jun. 13th, 2025 08:58 am
chanter1944: a slightly faded picture of a three-legged torbie kitty cat (supermodel kitty)
[personal profile] chanter1944
Ooga booga. If I encounter any black cats today, I'll count them as excellent luck. If there are construction-related ladders above me and I'm unaware of them until after I've walked under, however...
rionaleonhart: revolutionary girl utena: utena has fallen asleep on her schoolwork. (sort of exhausted really)
[personal profile] rionaleonhart
Time for a dream roundup!


Dreams from April, May and June. )


I haven't really been remembering my dreams lately; I didn't note any dreams down at all for a period of over a month from early May. I wonder what makes my recollection fluctuate. Maybe I remember my dreams less if I'm sleeping at a comfortable temperature?

Chapter 4

Jun. 13th, 2025 07:39 am
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
[personal profile] elainegrey

We arrived in NC May 27th 2016, so have entered the tenth year here. And maybe chapter 4? The first two and a half years we were here were about clearing the overgrown property, getting a fenced area for the pets and the "orchard."  Let's call that Chapter 1. Mom had her stroke in Dec of 2018. We still had some trees to plant in the orchard, but between Dec of 2018 and Mom's death June 1 of 2022, Mom's health and Grandmámá's health and care were constant concerns. I had a trip to Europe in there, and COVID certainly affected all those concerns for health fragile persons. I'm thinking of that as Chapter 2.

With Mom's passing i became focused on my health: i had just discovered the ADHD diagnoses of family members and realized it applied to me. A year later I had had my nose reshaped so i could breath through it, envisioning more energy from better breathing. I had a hard time recovering energy after the surgery. I finally pulled myself out of what i supposed to be depression, and then i was covered with spots. And so very tired. If this were fiction, the lethargy after surgery would be foreshadowing for the ITP diagnosis, and i can't imagine why ITP isn't the explanation for that low energy sense i had that year. Perhaps this third chapter ends with loosing two of our companions for the cross country move. It ends with Christine's sister becoming a widow,  promising some change in her relationship with Christine. Part of Christine's desire to move here had to do with her relationship with Diana: i wonder how it will change. I hope it's a positive change.

I realize how different our experience of the political world was when we left California. NC's anti-trans "bathroom bill" was proposed or passed  on the same day we closed on the house. Trump's position as presumptive nominee occurred  as we were driving across country. I read the Doonesbury comics that are re-running George W era strips and feel horror at my nostalgic feelings for Rumsfeld.

My work world has changed in the third chapter: colleagues i was working with before we moved have left, including leadership changes that are beginning to reshape my work life. I hope i have the privilege of keeping my job until i want to leave. Were the world to continue as it has during my working life, i would retire in six years.

I am not optimistic. I think of the huge weight that sat on me in ... 1990? 1989? ... when i watched computer and climate scientists present their models of how climate would be in fifty years and the  dreary and dim prospects they presented. Every presentation essentially ended with a list of aspects they didn't have included or that we didn't know that might make the impact less drastic. I walked away realizing i'd be in my early 70s. I did consider switching fields. I talked to someone doing acid rain research whose advice was that if you wanted to save the environment we needed advocacy and public opinion changed, not more research. He had apparently "gotten into trouble" by trying to advocate for change politically. His advocacy was used to turn against his research, implying it wasn't impartial. He was depressed and probably not a good person for me to turn to, but there it is.

I did not foresee the disaster of politics or the possibility of a tech change like generative and agentic AI.  (OK the promise of "Agentic AI", something that could be a personal assistant has been promised by speculative fiction for ages.)

It seems like a new chapter. I dunno. One foot in front of the other.

(f&f)

Jun. 12th, 2025 08:42 pm
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
[personal profile] elainegrey

B-- is at the hospice facility tonight, giving D-- a measure of rest from her worries as she keeps vigil with him.  Christine returns tomorrow to to join D--.

(morning writing, critter watch, f&f)

Jun. 12th, 2025 07:15 am
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
[personal profile] elainegrey

The day after my reposting of Quaker House's post, which referenced an "imaginary insurrection," i read Electoral Vote's review (with historical and legal context on presidential rights). The section headed "...And in Court" notes the call up of the Marines was not under the insurrection act. A muted "yay" at that.

https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Senate/Maps/Jun10.html#item-1

At the end of the month, my third nephew D-- is headed to "New Student Indoctrination" for his Navy ROTC scholarship to Fancy Pants Connecticut College. I believe it was a struggle to choose between that and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. I know the current administration was on my brother's mind the whole time, even if it is D--'s decision.  D-- spent one week last summer at the Academy's Summer Seminar and in the spring attended a "Candidate Visit Weekend."

When i think of the political context of those visits vs this summer... it's been a very long five months. I will get to chat with my brother on Sunday morning and will find out how the pictures of the Marines bivouacing in LA hit him.

--== ∞ ==--

Doe and rabbit in the front yard this morning. Saw the hawk (as well as a doe and rabbit) on Tuesday evening.

--== ∞ ==--

Death and dying reflections )

elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
[personal profile] elainegrey

Response to Activation of Troops Under Insurrection Act____

“Quaker House is a manifestation of the Friends’ Peace Testimony.” This first sentence of our Mission Statement establishes the fact that we are opposed to all war, all militarism, and all senseless act of violence. Quaker House is opposed to the use of military personnel and resources in reaction to an imagined insurrection in California and other regions. We understand the use of these resources to be in violation of federal laws, the Constitution, and the basic human right to protest unlawful actions by a government. We are working with partner institutions to identify options and resources for military participants and civilians to oppose these actions and any potentially illegal orders given to the activated troops.

It is not clear what orders have been, or might be given, to military participants, which means that it is not possible for anyone to know what is or isn’t an illegal order. Quaker House and our allies are prepared to give the best advice and counsel that we can to anyone who has questions about any aspect of their participation, including any actual orders that have been received. No information provided by Quaker House or the GI Rights Hotline is intended to be legal advice and we are not qualified to give legal opinions.

Any current military participant looking for information and counseling should contact the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487 or girightshotline.org https://girightshotline.org.

The Military Lawyers Task Force has issued a statement that can be accessed here https://nlgmltf.org/military-law/2025/mltf-statement-on-the-use-of-national-guard-and-active-duty-troops-to-control-opposition-to-ice-dhs-attempts-to-remove-undocumented-workers/.[1] The lawyers of MLTF are working to develop some kind of guidelines based on the available law for what may or may not constitute illegal orders.

 [1] https://nlgmltf.org/military-law/2025/mltf-statement-on-the-use-of-national-guard-and-active-duty-troops-to-control-opposition-to-ice-dhs-attempts-to-remove-undocumented-workers/

rionaleonhart: kingdom hearts: riku, blindfolded and smiling slightly. (we'll be the darkness)
[personal profile] rionaleonhart
Here's a short Hundred Line fic in which Takumi asks Yugamu to stab him with the Infuser, because I feel Yugamu should be allowed to stab everyone with their Infusers when it's time to fight. I think he'd have a great time.


Title: Piercing the Heart
Fandom: The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
Rating: 14
Pairing: Yugamu/Takumi
Wordcount: 2,300
Summary: Yugamu’s face cracks open in a slow, unsettling smile. Takumi already regrets this.


Piercing the Heart )
umadoshi: (kittens - on windowsill)
[personal profile] umadoshi
Cat Herding: Our beloved Jinksy!bear turned twelve on Saturday. Twelve! He's (by a margin of a good few years) the second-oldest cat I've ever had, and continues to be just the sweetest, softest boy. May he be with us in good health for years to come.

It was also Claudia's birthday, of course, and I always think of her on their birthday. Oh, my darling baby cat.

*The oldest was Jenny, the cat of my childhood who was still with my parents for years after I moved out. She made it to nineteen, most of that time in rock-solid health, and never really forgave me for moving to Toronto and thus straight-up vanishing from her life for months at a time.

Reading: I finished reading Jennifer 8 Lee's The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, which remained an interesting read right through, and read Adrian Tchaikovsky's City of Last Chances, which I think is only the second thing of his I've read? (Elder Race is the other one I'm sure of.) Having finished it, I'm in a position that's annoyingly familiar, where I liked the book quite a bit and am curious about what happens next, but am not sure I cared enough that I'll ever actually get around to picking up the sequel.

(The thing where I've almost entirely been reading books I own for years now doesn't really help, where I've often picked up the first book of a trilogy of series or whatever on sale in ebook because I've heard it's good, and then am not sure I'm invested enough to pay full price on the next one when I own literally hundreds of yet-unread books. Feh.)

Watching: [personal profile] scruloose and I are up to date on Murderbot and have seen the first episode of Kingdom season 2.

In the case of the former, I'm skeptical about the nqqvgvba bs n punenpgre jub qbrfa'g nccrne va gur obbxf ng nyy--juvpu V'z abg vaureragyl ntnvafg, tvira gung gur fubj vf pyrneyl vgf bja guvat, naq V'z thrffvat fur'f gurer gb pbairl fbzrguvat gung jbhyq'ir orra gevpxl gb qb gur fnzr jnl va guvf sbezng nf va gur abiryyn. Ohg fur'f naablvat, naq V'yy cebonoyl xrrc svaqvat ure naablvat jurgure fur vf va snpg freivat jung V pheeragyl guvax vf ure cebonoyr shapgvba (rarzl ntrag znfdhrenqvat nf nyyl) be fbzrguvat zber vagrerfgvat. [ROT13] Guess we'll find out soon!

Working: Thank goodness the manga I'm working right now is (as usual) a fairly easy rewrite and not a tight deadline, because scrounging the mental energy for freelance work has been frustratingly hard recently. I'm almost halfway through my draft and have about a week and a half left with it, so it's fine, but. :/

Weathering/Householding: We've had a lot of gray days and some high-ish temperatures combined with humidity (which I hate), and the air quality, while not remotely as bad as it is in a lot of places, has been fluctuating significantly...and the AC function of the heat pumps is essentially nonfunctional. >.< This is crappy timing, given how much of the time over the last several days has required having the windows closed (and the air purifiers running for good measure, although they don't address some of the nastiness from wildfire smoke). And for bonus fun, while the heat pumps are still under warranty, the company we bought them from went under a few months ago, which complicates things. (I think possibly the main person died. :/)

That said, [personal profile] scruloose made a bunch of calls today and we have reason to hope that someone can come in and take a look at them soon, if that particular company has the parts in stock. And while it's been uncomfortably warm inside some of the time because of this, at least it's not full summer yet. Hopefully we can get things dealt with by the time summer heat arrives in earnest.

And on a purely pleasant note, a couple nights ago we were in a phase of "somehow the air quality is fine outside right now, so we can just open the windows and run fans" while it was pleasantly cool and raining atmospherically and the wind was doing a wonderful job of wafting the smell of the lilacs into the living room.
forestofglory: Cup of tea on a pile of books (books)
[personal profile] forestofglory
Here's some thoughts on media I read and watched recently

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen— This YA fantasy novel was really fun! There are lots of heists and disguises. All the moms are terrible but they aren't dead (being Death doesn't count). I really hated all italicized German words (it is not a problem that they were German I just hate it when “foreign” words are italicized, it's both othering and distracting to me as a reader) However this really sucked me in! It’s fast paced and twisty and the worldbuilding feels grounded.

Coffee Prince ep 5-20— I finished this classic of crossdressing girl media. It was cute and fun! I got a great comment on my post about crossdressing girl media about how crossdressing allows women to form friendships with men on more equal footing. This drama really leans into that and the pleasure of being ‘one of the boys” without having to justify oneself.

This did the best job of “The MC thinks he’s gay because he likes the crossdressing FL” that I’ve seen (Though I haven’t seen many) it could be even better but I was pleased with it nonetheless.

(Content note: Blink and you'll miss it miscarriage and fertility issues)

The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy— Somehow no one told me that it is a crossdressing story but trans. That is, the main character is a trans girl who starts the book thinking she’s a boy in disguise. Interestingly she "disguises" herself as a girl so that she can go out into the world and become a witch (mostly crossdressing men in media are trying to access "inner" spaces). The author even thanks Tamora Pierce in her acknowledgments, so it's very clearly part of that tradition.

What people did tell me about this book is that there are a bunch of meetings, in fact I was expecting more meetings based on how much people talked about them.There are some meetings, but they don’t drag out and are often summarized. But I was not expecting it to be quite as brutal as it was, there was a lot of fighting and some killing, and also quite a bit of phillosy about power and making choices. Definitely a book that gave me a lot to think about.

I don’t often go seek out reviews after I read a book, but this one I really wanted to see what other people said about it. I really liked Roseanna’s review.

The Truth Season 3 cases 4-5— I continue to really enjoy this show! I especially liked the set of costumes that looked part of a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Also they have been playing with the format in fun ways with these two cases.

Letter Writers!

Jun. 9th, 2025 08:52 am
oracne: turtle (Default)
[personal profile] oracne
Love for our Elders is a program to send handwritten letters to older adults. "Our mission is to alleviate social isolation among older adults through handwritten letters and intergenerational connections."
alias_sqbr: Fakir from Pricness Tutu holding his injured hand, in a blue rose Utena frame (fakir)
[personal profile] alias_sqbr
Masterlist

I feel kinda bad about how badly I'm butchering LeGuin's flowing prose for these posts. But I learn by summarising and sometimes even a clunky summary is easier on the brain. And maybe I'll inspire some of youse to go read the original!
Read more... )

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