Interesting Links for 15-06-2025
Jun. 15th, 2025 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewducker- 1. U.K. lesbians are resisting state-mandated transphobia
- (tags:LGBT lesbians transgender )
- 2. Cray supercomputer Vs Raspberry Pi
- (tags:computers history )
- 3. In San Francisco, Waymo Has Now Bested Lyft. Uber Is Next
- (tags:USA automation driving taxi )
- 4. For some people chronic pain could be an autoimmune disorder
- (tags:pain immune_system )
- 5. People asking LLM AIs about their medical issues get the right result ⅓ of the time (Vs ½ the time for doing their own research)
- (tags:ai medicine )
Tags:
- ai,
- automation,
- computers,
- driving,
- history,
- immune_system,
- lesbians,
- lgbt,
- links,
- medicine,
- pain,
- taxi,
- transgender,
- usa
The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, June 14)
Jun. 15th, 2025 06:55 amspikedluvI hit Price Chopper, the Pharmacy and the Bakery while I was downtown. I stopped at the library on the way home to pick up a book. I made spaghetti sauce for supper when I got home. I did a load of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter.
For fun stuff I watched the current ep of Resident Alien and some HGTV programs, read some more Lily Adler, and sent more messages to mom. I also wrote ~550 words on a new fic.
Temps started out at 55.0(F) and reached 61.2. It was originally supposed to rain all day, but the forecast showed that the percentage was going to drop to very low after 9am, though we weren’t going to have any sun. And that’s sort of what happened; there were still sprinkles, but not a soaking rain. Still it was very chilly.
Mom Update:
Mom had been moved to the SCU when my sister, A, arrived this morning. She’s talkative and actually ‘eating’ her lunch (beef broth and Italian ice – still on liquid diet). My sister said she’s much more herself today, which is great news! She’s getting a roommate, which is not good news as we were hoping for a private room, but what can you do. They didn’t get her up to walk at all, so that must’ve been PT coming around yesterday, not just the nurse. It’s ridiculous that the patients get zero PT on the weekend. Seems like they'd lose some of the progress they made.
For fun stuff I watched the current ep of Resident Alien and some HGTV programs, read some more Lily Adler, and sent more messages to mom. I also wrote ~550 words on a new fic.
Temps started out at 55.0(F) and reached 61.2. It was originally supposed to rain all day, but the forecast showed that the percentage was going to drop to very low after 9am, though we weren’t going to have any sun. And that’s sort of what happened; there were still sprinkles, but not a soaking rain. Still it was very chilly.
Mom Update:
Mom had been moved to the SCU when my sister, A, arrived this morning. She’s talkative and actually ‘eating’ her lunch (beef broth and Italian ice – still on liquid diet). My sister said she’s much more herself today, which is great news! She’s getting a roommate, which is not good news as we were hoping for a private room, but what can you do. They didn’t get her up to walk at all, so that must’ve been PT coming around yesterday, not just the nurse. It’s ridiculous that the patients get zero PT on the weekend. Seems like they'd lose some of the progress they made.
Israel and Iran trade strikes for 3rd day as nuclear talks are called off
Jun. 15th, 2025 05:36 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
cbc_topnews_feed
Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day on Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were canceled.
Photo cross-post
Jun. 15th, 2025 05:15 amandrewducker
It was about ten seconds later that we realised how terrible Crocs are
for climbing.
Original
is here on Pixelfed.scot.
cbc_topnews_feed
Dermatologists agree that sunscreen, face wash and moisturizer are the three most useful products most people can buy, and suggest that consumers should be skeptical of products claiming to offer results that would usually require clinical treatment to achieve.
Yesterday was a busy doing-things day
Jun. 15th, 2025 09:34 amhunninghamI was busy like a hive of busy bees. Himself was out all day (premiership rugby final at Twickenham) and I did not want to have another sofa day.
So:
- Weekly food shop
- Cooking, much washing-up, laundry
- Cleaned the big windows in bedroom where I have been noticing the grime every morning now for weeks & weeks
- Bag of things to charity shop
- Waterstones to spend giftcard my mother gave me
- Went to park, sat in shade, read
- Got out my drill & put up a metal support for a bird feeder
- did stretching & mobility exercises for 1st time this week
- evening walk & admired neighbour's gardens & sniffed roses. Too early for bats alas.
I am very pleased to finally get the bird feeder up - it has been well over a year (himself says two years) since I bought it & a bag of birdfood and it's been in cupboard ever since.
This morning I have been lazy in bed. Coffee, unseasonal hot-cross buns and I am reading Bitch Goddess by Robert Rodi, which is a lot of entertainment for just 79p.
Trailers
Jun. 15th, 2025 09:09 amselenakProper Trailer for the third season of Foundation on Apple:
So looking forward to this! (Not least because of all the other depressing cancellation news.)
Teaser traiiler of season 3 of The Diplomat, featuring the next West Wing alumnus:
The Diplomat: more cynical than The West Wing, but still believing in the basic drive of people to actually work for what they see as their couintry's benefit in addition to themselves. Neither universe would allow for the poisonous cesspit currently governing not just the US.
So looking forward to this! (Not least because of all the other depressing cancellation news.)
Teaser traiiler of season 3 of The Diplomat, featuring the next West Wing alumnus:
The Diplomat: more cynical than The West Wing, but still believing in the basic drive of people to actually work for what they see as their couintry's benefit in addition to themselves. Neither universe would allow for the poisonous cesspit currently governing not just the US.
Traipsing
Jun. 15th, 2025 07:21 ampoliphilo "Now I remember why we used to like coming to Tonbridge," said Ailz as we traipsed from charity shop to charity shop. Tonbridge High Street has so many of them. She bought a dress for herself and one for Wendy- who had treated us to lunch- and I bought a straw hat (made in China, of course.)
"Traipse" is a word I like to use. It has weariness built into it. Traipsing is so much more tiring than a good brisk walk over the same distance would be.
Yesterday was hot and still. I felt I needed that hat to keep the sun off. Oh, how my feet hurt and my legs ached!
"Traipse" is a word I like to use. It has weariness built into it. Traipsing is so much more tiring than a good brisk walk over the same distance would be.
Yesterday was hot and still. I felt I needed that hat to keep the sun off. Oh, how my feet hurt and my legs ached!
orphaned quote
Jun. 15th, 2025 06:00 pmchina_shopDoes anyone know where referring to diamonds dismissively as "the most boring form of carbon" is from? We picked it up somewhere (movie, tv, or book), and now we can't even remember if it was an ordinary character being geeky and pedantic, or a supernatural being eye-rolling at a human.
It could even have been Douglas Adams, except then I'm pretty sure a) I'd be able to identify it, and/or b) it would come up in an internet search.
It could even have been Douglas Adams, except then I'm pretty sure a) I'd be able to identify it, and/or b) it would come up in an internet search.
Daily Happiness
Jun. 14th, 2025 10:53 pmtorachan1. The other day I bought some golden kiwis and they are so good. I like kiwis a lot, especially the golden ones, but these have got to be the best I've ever had. Perfectly ripe and so flavorful. I got them from work, so I'm gonna have to check on Monday and see if we still have some.
2. From the sound of things the No Kings protests around the country were a huge success. I hope that it can actually lead to some change. The ones in downtown LA seem to have been relatively peaceful as well, so hopefully we'll be able to open the store tomorrow morning without issue.
3. Molly's just waiting for a moment of privacy to start splashing around in her water bowl.
2. From the sound of things the No Kings protests around the country were a huge success. I hope that it can actually lead to some change. The ones in downtown LA seem to have been relatively peaceful as well, so hopefully we'll be able to open the store tomorrow morning without issue.
3. Molly's just waiting for a moment of privacy to start splashing around in her water bowl.
Train Touristing
Jun. 15th, 2025 01:20 pmfred_mouseThe Thornlie line opened last weekend. We weren't in a position to go travel it last weekend, but artisanat, Youngest, and I went out to ride it yesterday. We discussed whether to go to the local station and do the loop (three trains) or to drive to Cockburn (the southern terminus; two trains) and go from there. In the end we decided that the local station was the better option. However, we could have timed things better, arriving at the carpark as the northbound train (not the one we wanted) arrived, and still being in the carpark when the southbound arrived.
What this meant was that Youngest had time to top up their smartrider at the station kiosk, and I was tempted by the (extravagantly expensive) GF Belgian Chocolate Cookie (by which it means a chocolate chip biscuit; I'm not sure whether the implication is that the chocolate chips are from Belgium, or there is some specific style of biscuit characterised as being from Belgium/made by someone with the last name Belgium). And then we sat in the sun on the platform for about 10 minutes, and I ate the biscuit (not bad, too heavy on the coconut).
The trip to Cockburn was uneventful, but we did talk about the train line, and the upcoming tunnel. I got to see scenery I don't often, because usually I'm taking the train north.
It is a little frustrating that we arrived at Cockburn to see the Thornlie line train departing (in terms of directions and terminology: both the Mandurah and the Thornlie lines go Cockburn to Perth; the former directly north, and the latter east to the Armadale line and then north-west. For the Mandurah line Cockburn is an intermediate stop, for the Thornlie it is the terminus). It did mean that we had time to explore. Platform 3 has been added north of the combined platforms 1 and 2; it has a fence on the west side, such that the northbound Mandurah trains are Right There. We took a few photos of the information sign with different subgroups, and then I wandered up and took a photo from the north end looking at the points (because there are three tracks at that point)
Our train arrived, and we embarked. The first section, up the freeway, is exactly the same. I haven't looked at the distances, but maybe a couple of km? and then we get to the split, where the Mandurah line goes up and over, and the Thornlie line goes through at tunnel that curves to the east. To my memory, this tunnel has been there since this bit of freeway was built, because the freight trains go through there. And from there we got to see bits of the back end of Jandakot, Canning Vale, Thornlie. We could just about see tiki-wanderer's* house.
The first (most southern) of the Armadale line stops that the line goes through is Beckenham, which gave us quite a different perspective -- this is one of the stations that has been raised, and is very new and swish. The line is raised quite a lot of the way from there to Burswood--this has been the redevelopment project that means that the Armadale line has been closed for roughly 18 months at this point (and it is great. there are zero level crossings in that area making life a nightmare for people during peak hour and school drop off and pick up times). All very exciting and I very much enjoyed the view out on the city (greater metro).
Once in the city we decided to womble a little bit, rather than just going for the next train home (we could have made it; the signboard said 6 minutes, and it is possible to get from platform 3 to platform 1 in that time. according to the journey planner it is about 330m). We had a wander through Forrest Chase, took a detour into Myer to use the loos (because there are zero actual public loos in that space. even the ones we used to use at the west end of the platform aren't there any more, which sucks), and bought a small amount of sushi (passable. expensive. my salmon and avocado appeared to have more mayonnaise per volume than avocado).
And then home again. At which point I needed a lie down. It was exhausting, but I'm glad I did it. I have some photos, and I might remember to do something with them, but I'm making no promises.
(I do not have a train icon. this seems like an oversight).
* I originally had this tagged as a username, but comes up as doesn't exist. Have I misremembered the name? was that their LJ name and they never moved to DW? I do not have the oomph to work this out.
Weekly Reading
Jun. 14th, 2025 10:35 pmtorachanCurrently Reading
A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge
6%. Newest mystery in the series and my current audiobook. This series has developed more of an overarching plot than just stand-alone mysteries and I do not remember much of the book before this but hopefully it will come back to me.
Break in Case of Emergency
8%. YA novel set in the mid 90s about a girl living on her grandparents' farm after her mom dies, reunited with her estranged father who turns out to be gay. Sounded interesting. Just read the first couple chapters so far.
The Fourth Girl
35%. Twenty-five years after their friend disappeared on prom night, three women reunite in their home town on the anniversary of the disappearance. But when someone else connected to their missing friend dies on that same day, it seems like more than a coincidence. This is pretty good so far.
Horrorstör
10%. This is the second horror novel I've read set in an Ikea-type store. I've had this on my to-read list for a while and just happened to find it in a neighborhood Little Library so now seemed like a good time to read it.
Riding the Rails
39%.
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
52%.
Recently Finished
Architectural Follies in America
Finally finished this! This is such a short book and has pictures so I thought it would be a quick read but honestly it turned out to be kind of a slog. There are not enough pictures, so a lot of it is just reading about these supposedly interesting building but now getting a visual representation. And the pictures that are included are all black and white, and some are not the best quality. This seems like someone's hobby project, so I guess they couldn't put a lot of money in it, but it could have been a much better book than it was.
Red Hail
This was pretty interesting!
Murder in Season
Well, I take it back. After mentioning last time that this is one of the few historical mystery series I've read lately that doesn't have any queer or non-white characters, this book did turn out to have a gay character (and he wasn't the murderer).
Murder at Hambledon Hall
New Cleopatra Fox book! This was a good one. And there was an announcement at the end that the next book will be out by the end of the year. This author has multiple series going, so I don't know how they manage it, but I'm not complaining.
Baby Drag Queen
Grabbed this off the Pride display at the library last week as it looked interesting and is very short so would be a nice quick read for a time when I needed one (I read it in about half an hour this morning). It's about a trans boy who is interested in doing drag, which is not a topic I've seen in other books with trans characters. But the book itself was a huge let down. The writing is very stilted (especially noticeable with the dialogue) and there were so many things that made me go ??? that I couldn't get into the story because I kept trying to figure out why the author was making these choices and at some times trying to figure out what was going on altogether. One big one is that the character is referred to by a male name throughout, but his mom does not know he is trans. So I was left wondering if it was a writing convention where the mom is really calling the character by another name but the author is using his preferred name instead, or if the kid has requested to be called a male name and the mom has gone along with this to the point of getting it legally (?) changed (the kid goes to school using that name and also gets multiple jobs under that name, with no one noting anything about a different legal name) but still is completely gobsmacked when the MC says he's not a girl. (It's definitely not a situation where that would ever be the name his parents gave him.) I just could not stop wondering what was going on with the name throughout the book, but there were a bunch of other smaller things, too.
Bokura no Hentai vol. 5-6
Was not expecting the trans girl to be handled this well, but I was really impressed with the sixth volume.
A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge
6%. Newest mystery in the series and my current audiobook. This series has developed more of an overarching plot than just stand-alone mysteries and I do not remember much of the book before this but hopefully it will come back to me.
Break in Case of Emergency
8%. YA novel set in the mid 90s about a girl living on her grandparents' farm after her mom dies, reunited with her estranged father who turns out to be gay. Sounded interesting. Just read the first couple chapters so far.
The Fourth Girl
35%. Twenty-five years after their friend disappeared on prom night, three women reunite in their home town on the anniversary of the disappearance. But when someone else connected to their missing friend dies on that same day, it seems like more than a coincidence. This is pretty good so far.
Horrorstör
10%. This is the second horror novel I've read set in an Ikea-type store. I've had this on my to-read list for a while and just happened to find it in a neighborhood Little Library so now seemed like a good time to read it.
Riding the Rails
39%.
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
52%.
Recently Finished
Architectural Follies in America
Finally finished this! This is such a short book and has pictures so I thought it would be a quick read but honestly it turned out to be kind of a slog. There are not enough pictures, so a lot of it is just reading about these supposedly interesting building but now getting a visual representation. And the pictures that are included are all black and white, and some are not the best quality. This seems like someone's hobby project, so I guess they couldn't put a lot of money in it, but it could have been a much better book than it was.
Red Hail
This was pretty interesting!
Murder in Season
Well, I take it back. After mentioning last time that this is one of the few historical mystery series I've read lately that doesn't have any queer or non-white characters, this book did turn out to have a gay character (and he wasn't the murderer).
Murder at Hambledon Hall
New Cleopatra Fox book! This was a good one. And there was an announcement at the end that the next book will be out by the end of the year. This author has multiple series going, so I don't know how they manage it, but I'm not complaining.
Baby Drag Queen
Grabbed this off the Pride display at the library last week as it looked interesting and is very short so would be a nice quick read for a time when I needed one (I read it in about half an hour this morning). It's about a trans boy who is interested in doing drag, which is not a topic I've seen in other books with trans characters. But the book itself was a huge let down. The writing is very stilted (especially noticeable with the dialogue) and there were so many things that made me go ??? that I couldn't get into the story because I kept trying to figure out why the author was making these choices and at some times trying to figure out what was going on altogether. One big one is that the character is referred to by a male name throughout, but his mom does not know he is trans. So I was left wondering if it was a writing convention where the mom is really calling the character by another name but the author is using his preferred name instead, or if the kid has requested to be called a male name and the mom has gone along with this to the point of getting it legally (?) changed (the kid goes to school using that name and also gets multiple jobs under that name, with no one noting anything about a different legal name) but still is completely gobsmacked when the MC says he's not a girl. (It's definitely not a situation where that would ever be the name his parents gave him.) I just could not stop wondering what was going on with the name throughout the book, but there were a bunch of other smaller things, too.
Bokura no Hentai vol. 5-6
Was not expecting the trans girl to be handled this well, but I was really impressed with the sixth volume.
No Kings Day: Lisa's Surprise
Jun. 14th, 2025 10:25 pmkevin_standleeLisa surprised me this afternoon. She went to the No Kings Protest herself. She dislikes crowds, but she drove to Carson City in her small orange pickup and drove up and down Carson Street (the protest was on that street in front of the state legislative complex), taking lots of pictures, but not mingling in the throng of people who flocked to the state capitol today. I didn't see her, nor she me, but there were something like 5,000 people at the protest. She did her part, giving the thumbs up and getting as many pictures of clever signs (of which there were many) on her pass through downtown. She handed me the photos and I got them posted. I have a large Flickr album that includes both her photos and the ones that Kayla took. I'd say more, but I've been up since 4:30 AM and need to get some sleep.
Tear gas safety for glasses wearers? [curr ev, health]
Jun. 15th, 2025 01:06 amsidereaI have a question about eye safety, maybe someone here can advise me on.
Apropos of the protests going on, I've seen a lot of helpful pointers about preparing for getting tear gassed or pepper sprayed, such as not to wear contacts and to have tight-fitting chemists' goggles. But not wearing vision correction is not an option for those who need it, and the alternative to contacts is glasses, which are apparently incompatible with most eye protection from gas or particulates.
I am aware of the existence of some models of full-face gas mask that have internal mounting hardware for glasses, but in addition to being expensive themselves, they require getting lenses made and fitted to the gas mask (i.e. not compatible with regular glasses). I'm surmising the existence of these means that other, cheaper, spectacle-compatible eye protection doesn't really exist, but I thought I'd ask.
My personal interest in the topic is less about protecting myself from chemical ordnance at protests – I only wish I could attend protests (though if things got spicy in the right location I suppose I could collect my fair share of tear gas at home) – than from wildfire smoke. The conjunction of the No Kings protests and the local air quality alerts from fires in Canada reminded me I should really be doing some preparation in this space.
I'm allergic to smoke. (It turns out it wasn't con crud I kept getting at Pennsic.) My reactivity to smoke only seems to be gradually getting worse over time. So when I've heard reports or seen pictures from the left coast of the sorts of wildfire smog they have there, I'm like "...not enough steroids in the world." I mostly manage this threat by not crossing the Mississippi, but it could happen here. Or upwind of here. It has. If not quite so "blot out the sun" bad, certainly bad enough for me to feel it.
So I've been looking at half-face elastomeric respirators, but that leave eyes unprotected.
Any suggestions?
Apropos of the protests going on, I've seen a lot of helpful pointers about preparing for getting tear gassed or pepper sprayed, such as not to wear contacts and to have tight-fitting chemists' goggles. But not wearing vision correction is not an option for those who need it, and the alternative to contacts is glasses, which are apparently incompatible with most eye protection from gas or particulates.
I am aware of the existence of some models of full-face gas mask that have internal mounting hardware for glasses, but in addition to being expensive themselves, they require getting lenses made and fitted to the gas mask (i.e. not compatible with regular glasses). I'm surmising the existence of these means that other, cheaper, spectacle-compatible eye protection doesn't really exist, but I thought I'd ask.
My personal interest in the topic is less about protecting myself from chemical ordnance at protests – I only wish I could attend protests (though if things got spicy in the right location I suppose I could collect my fair share of tear gas at home) – than from wildfire smoke. The conjunction of the No Kings protests and the local air quality alerts from fires in Canada reminded me I should really be doing some preparation in this space.
I'm allergic to smoke. (It turns out it wasn't con crud I kept getting at Pennsic.) My reactivity to smoke only seems to be gradually getting worse over time. So when I've heard reports or seen pictures from the left coast of the sorts of wildfire smog they have there, I'm like "...not enough steroids in the world." I mostly manage this threat by not crossing the Mississippi, but it could happen here. Or upwind of here. It has. If not quite so "blot out the sun" bad, certainly bad enough for me to feel it.
So I've been looking at half-face elastomeric respirators, but that leave eyes unprotected.
Any suggestions?
Music Saturday
Jun. 14th, 2025 09:24 pmmuccamukkSurprisingly sapphic for Raye (who usually sings about relationships with men, but maybe she's bi?). I guess she was at World Pride? Hmm...
Write Every Day Day 15
Jun. 15th, 2025 12:20 amcornerofmadness
This meme feels so right to me.
Another
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
getyourwordsout Yahtzee story that I thought would be 1K but I wrote another 2080 words today.Let me know what day you’re reporting in for. If I've missed you on the tally let me know. Feel free to jump in at any time.
Day fourteen -
china_shop, cornerofmadness, badly_knitted, sylvanwitch, goddess47, cmk418, trobadora, luzula, sanguinity, nafs,( other days )
How Often Do They Think I Buy a Hat?
Jun. 14th, 2025 09:14 pmcanyonwalkerTwo years ago I bought a straw hat. It's well made and looks great. I liked it so much I signed up for the hat maker's mailing list. That was fine for two years... until recently. Recently they've been emailing me with hat updates, like every day.
And these aren't even earth-shattering "Check out this crazy new hat!" type announcements; they're "Hey, have you ever seen a plain fucking standard ballcap in black?" Like, OMG, yes, a billion times. Then the next day: "Stand out from the crowd in this gray ballcap!!1!"
WTF is with a hat company spamming me every day to buy a hat? Especially a completely generic hat? Why do companies abuse communications like this? If they were still sending me one message a month, I'd read it. Now I've unsubscribed and they've lost a customer.
And these aren't even earth-shattering "Check out this crazy new hat!" type announcements; they're "Hey, have you ever seen a plain fucking standard ballcap in black?" Like, OMG, yes, a billion times. Then the next day: "Stand out from the crowd in this gray ballcap!!1!"
WTF is with a hat company spamming me every day to buy a hat? Especially a completely generic hat? Why do companies abuse communications like this? If they were still sending me one message a month, I'd read it. Now I've unsubscribed and they've lost a customer.