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Greetings, to all who pass by here. If you want to read my posts, welcome aboard.
My "friending" policy is simple, and open. I rarely limit access to my posts (ie, lock); you'll be able to read 99.7% of my writings by merely subscribing to my studio. I may or may not subscribe back, depending on what you write about.
I grant access to friends that I've known for several years. In other words, even if I subscribe to your studio, I probably won't grant access until we've known each other for some time. But that means I don't expect you to grant me access, either; it makes sense to share some of our most sensitive posts only with close friends.
I made a post for folks who are just moving into DW, to explain the difference between 'subscribing' and 'granting access' to your friends/readers.
This post will be 'sticky', and remain at the top of my 'Recent Entries' page. I will gradually add links to pages that I think most people will want to find. DW/LJ informational posts (I tend to get excited when I discover a 'new' -- to me -- or simpler way of doing things) may always be shared and/or linked in your LJ or DW; if my post was useful for you, it may also be useful for your friends.
List of people (mostly Sentinel fans) on LJ and/or DW. Makes it a little easier to find friends in our corner of fandom who are dipping in a toe from the 'other side', and visit / subscribe to their DW studios. NB: If you'd like to be added, just comment under that post.
Edit 1/1/2021 If you want to know more about the person behind the journal, here's my profile, made into a post.
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![[sticky entry]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/sticky_entry.png)
Sticky: Welcome and Links
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Update to anti-ICE tracking app
Based on comments under his first entry, the guy who developed the app has made some changes and improvements. He added a "warrant canary," and expanded the map -- it now can toggle between "within 25 miles" and "all sightings." He also adds some computery-type identification that people can verify.
So, if folks were hesitant to try it before, check out the new post. It might answer your questions and concerns.
And again, feel free to pass this link and/or info on wherever you think it might be useful.
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Anti-ICE tracking app
From this post in Daily Kos. "I built an ICE tracking app that can't be pulled from the App Store. Because it was never in one."
This person developed an app that tracks when ICE is present in the vicinity, and sends an alert to your phone. No cost. No ads. No presence in an app store for TPTB to pull it. Hosted in the Netherlands, so the US government can't issue a takedown order to the provider.
There's lots of discussion in the comments about "what if" and conversations about coding that I can't follow, but it might be reassuring to those on the fence... or maybe a red light. I don't know. But if you live in an area where ICE is -- or might be -- active, it's worth taking a look.
Forgot to say -- The developer wants news of this to spread as far as possible. So feel free to link to this post, or to the source post in DK, to share the information.
Cute vids to keep.
Just what the title says. This post is mostly for me; I need a place to keep cute animal vid links to share with Cindy. But if you want to watch 30 to 60 seconds of animals being cute -- mostly on TikTok and/or BlueSky, enjoy!
Music vid, Ilya/Ducky comparison. 3 minutes
petting a squirrel
parrot matches colors
cat appalled at bath water
dog with ball skills
dog break dancing
dog on skateboard
dog belly dancing
normal dog vs husky
Uzbek bread making
dog pulls cat on sled 3:20 minutes
silent letter day 4:40 minutes
“easy open” desk 3 minutes
Before I take a hammer to my iPhone...
I'm trying to email a photo from my iPhone to my computer. I know the theory --
1. Select photo.
2. Tap 'share'.
3. Select email.
4. Type addy and subject line.
5. Hit send.
But THEN --
I get a popup that says, "This message is 1.7 MB. You can reduce message size by scaling the image to one of the sizes below."
<shrug> I don't need such a large file, so I tap the next larger 487KB size. And then... NOTHING HAPPENS. The message disappears, but there's no option to hit the "send" arrow again, and there's no "swoosh" sound effect to tell me the mail is on its way.
I've initiated a "send picture" 5 or 6 times over the last 30 minutes. It hasn't shown up in my inbox, nor in my spam.
Any ideas? I've successfully sent pics to myself from my iPad, so I know it should work. But it's not, which frustrates the hell out of me. If I'm doing something wrong, I'm always ready to correct myself. But when the machine doesn't work as it should, I get pissed. This phone is only a year or so old; it's not hammer time yet, but grrr...
I shouldn't laugh...
But I'm laughing with this person, not at them. I picture a very young fan person in their first flush of discovering the magic that is fanfic, and realizing that they can write it themself.
"When I wrote one of my first My Little Pony fanfics, I made the main characters teamsters, because my hasty research into fan fiction suggested that shipping was popular."
(From halfway down this thread.)
I can't help it; I'm still wearing a big grin on my face.
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Warning about iPhone update 26.2
A while back,
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
princessofgeeks warned her reading list NOT to update iPhones to 26.2, that the changes in appearance and message were very unpleasant. I appreciated her warning, and have refused the update 2 or 3 times. But I knew it would keep bugging me, so I went looking for a way to avoid the update permanently.
I found this article, which explains how. The guy says that switching to the "18" track will avoid the "26" track permanently. And if you've already updated, and dislike it as much as PrincessofGeeks does -- if I'm reading it right, setting your iPhone on the "18" track will delete the 26.2 update.
There are probably plenty of people who will like the update. But if not, now there's a remedy. I already have an uneasy relationship with my iPhone. I don't need an update that makes me change how I do old stuff, and learn new stuff, so I've rejected it sight unseen.
If any of your peeps have been unhappy about this latest update, feel free to link to this post.
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Jan 9th only - ebook sale
https://earlybirdbooks.com/deals/1000-ebook-sale
Last week,
thewayne pointed out that Early Bird Books has these big sales every Friday. I hadn't noticed; days of the week barely register for me anymore. So, it's worth subscribing to their newsletter for early notification, especially if my post comes late in the day for you. Entry tags:
Shades of the Twilight Zone...
Twenty years ago, I wrote a short challenge story -- The Honor of Friendship. I named one of the OCs "Lilianna" -- the daughter of one of Jim Ellison's men who died in Peru.
Today I'm writing a note for Aly's profile on AO3; we so seldom get word of "what happened to" the people behind our fave stories, and I thought other fans might like to know. Aly was a big promoter of Moonridge Zoo, which Garett donated to, and, to a lesser extent, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which Richard donated to. But I had forgotten the name of the charity Richard was connected to, so I went searching. Found it, obviously, but while I was searching, I discovered that Richard's wife is (or was; I didn't check dates) named "Liliana."
*high-pitched spooky voice* Doo-doo, doo-doo; doo-doo, doo-doo...
Another loss for Sentinel fandom
Aly / Alyjude / Alyburns / Alyjude_Sideburns (depending on the era, fandom, or platform) died just after Christmas. She was a bright light in Sentinel fandom, with 181 stories written and posted.* Her most recent was a short story for 2025's Secret Santa. I beta'd it for her, and she was so pleased to be writing again -- on her phone, no less! Her love for Jim and Blair was immense, and the relationship she depicted between them shone from the pages. They had their ups and downs, just as in the source material, and some of her stories were very angsty indeed, but she always, always gave them a happy ending. (Well, almost always. There are a couple that are bittersweet.) I remember she once said, "Jim and Blair sing to me," and it showed in her work.
She also wrote a bunch of Stargate SG-1, and a few Stargate Atlantis. Unfortunately, in those days, I was so focused on the Sentinel fandom that I didn't notice her Stargate stories. Shame on me! (Of course, it didn't help that they were in a different archive; I may not even have known about them until she posted them at AO3; I've slept since then, and memory is hazy. Thank goodness for a central archive.) But I've since read a few, and her deft story-telling shows in those stories, too -- Jack-and-Daniel snark for the win! If anyone knows a Stargate comm where this information would be appropriate, feel free to link to this post.
Unfortunately, Aly's health in recent years was not good, but she never complained. She'd text something like, "Tired. Just got out of the hospital. I'll write tomorrow," and that would be all she'd say about it. Magician tells us more on Aly's Facebook page. Where it says "# friends posted on Aly's profile," click "See x more." Magician's post is under the name "Queenie Nln."
I'm going to miss her so much. In recent years, knowing she was confined to her home with only her cat for company, I made it a habit to email her several times a month, with jokes and pictures and little video clips that I found elsewhere on the net. At least two or three times a day, I find myself thinking, "Oh, gotta save that for Aly." No more.
Rest in peace, Aly. I'll remember you, and miss you.
--
About that * next to her story-count. Several years ago, I was going through Aly's stories on AO3, making sure that I had copies of each of them saved to my computer. (Yes, I hoard stories; I've seen too much disappear from the net, and I want everything in my hot little hand.) I discovered that I had a bunch of saved Aly stories that never made it to AO3. Several years before the "several years ago," a number of Aly's friends helped post her stories from the several sites they had been on, to AO3. I was part of the project, and it was... kind of hectic, to be honest; so much work to transfer. There were so many of us, sharing out files so that each person didn't have to post too many stories, that some obviously fell through the cracks.
Aly and I discussed it. She herself admits that punctuation in her early stories was eclectic; she was writing with feverish inspiration on Web TV -- no way to save her work for "later," or to have someone beta it. Basically she posted "live," as each story was written. Now, she had only her phone for editing and uploading. Ugh! We agreed that I'd do a beta pass on the stories, format them for AO3, then upload them with what I thought was appropriate summary and tags. Later, when she felt up to it, she would go in and make any additions / notes / changes she wanted.
So, I made a collection -- Alyjude's Rediscovered Sentinel Stories, and gleefully jumped in. I got 33 posted... and then got distracted by "stuff." (My niece moved with my help, my sis had a big project with my help, etc, etc, etc.) And Aly didn't push, or nag; she knew I'd do it eventually. But now I look at the last posting date, and it's coming up on two years. Shame on me! I've been meaning to post the rest of them -- about 20 more -- maybe in time for her birthday, but now it's too late for her to see them.
<sigh> Aly was excited to have her "lost" stories at AO3, and I want them available to old and new Sentinel fans; they're part of our shared fandom history. So, in Aly's memory, I will get the rest of her stories up before the end of the year. My health is pretty good, but... we just never know, do we?
I hope she'll look down and be pleased to see folks still enjoying her stories.
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Today only -- Jan 2nd -- ebook sale.
This is the list where you can choose different sellers. Here's the sale link --
https://earlybirdbooks.com/deals/1000-ebook-sale
**
Folks, I often don't open my laptop until noon or later. Since my timezone is GMT+7, that's awfully late for anyone in Europe, and these posts are fairly useless.
BUT! Note that there's a "subscribe" button at the top of the Early Bird Books page. If you subscribe, you'll get a daily email that lists a dozen or so discounted books, as well as early notification of these massive sales. (This one hit my inbox at 5:20 A.M.)
Also check out Bookbub -- https://www.bookbub.com/ If you sign up, you select the genres you like to read and your seller of choice. Then you get a daily email with approximately 15 to 30 discounted books in your selected genres. Bookbub doesn't have the massive sales like Early Bird Books, but often there are 3 or 4 titles "free" in the daily list. (At least, in the Romance genre.)
**
As always, feel free to share this post or info wherever you choose. Happy reading!
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Dec 26 only -- Free romance books
Links to all platforms / booksellers.
https://www.romancebookworms.com/
As always, feel free to share.
Spammers and hate!bots at AO3.
One of my friends just got a new-to-her comment on AO3, and I realized that a lot of people don't know about this, and it's a real gut-punch to get one out of the blue. Since forewarned is forearmed, I'll share what I know in case it happens to you. Feel free to copy and/or share this post wherever you feel it could be useful.
I see daily complaints / questions about this on Reddit. AO3 is having a terrible influx of bots and/or scammers. A common variant is a comment that is thrilled with your story, such that they want to "create art" or "create comics" or "discuss ideas for improvement." If someone says 'yes', the next request is to talk off AO3, where they start discussing/demanding money.
There are various forms of hate!bots. "Your story started out so good, then you ruined it by doing X, Y, and Z, how could you let down your readers like that?" Or, "Oh my god, who told you could write? Your story is ordinary and boring, and your grammar and sentence structure are the pits! Go back to school and grow up before you try writing again." By reports, some of them are quite viciously savage. Or, "Your story would be so much better if you included transgender representation; please think of all the trans folks who need to see themselves in media and add a trans character to your story!"
Another is accusations of using AI to write your story, they'll report you immediately, how dare you cheat like that, and you should delete all your stories / account now before you get banned. (For the record, AI is allowed at AO3.)
In other words -- anything that seems outside the norms of fandom interaction is probably a bot or scammer. For example, you know I make art, but I don't approach the author before I start to "sell" them on the idea. I make the art because I want to, then post it, then give the writer the code to use or not, as they choose. There's no going off AO3 to "discuss" it.
(Although there have been a few email exchanges with authors I knew well, to ask their preferences about projects I'd already started. Like "this dress or that dress?" And, "tree A or tree B?" But the dress and tree would be there regardless. It's all about context.)
The recommended response to any of these bots/scammers is to report the comment, then let AO3 deal with and swat them.
So far -- knock on wood -- I haven't had one of these comments, but I've learned about them from Reddit. (That's where I got all my examples.) As I said, be on the lookout, and share where appropriate.
EDIT:
raine reminds me that there have also been hacking bots, trying to get into AO3 accounts. Users get an email saying, "someone has requested a password reset for your account." They can be ignored; since it comes to your email, it shows that the bots didn't succeed. AO3's statement is: “We've recently received a number of other reports from users who are receiving password reset emails that they did not request. We would like to reassure you that receiving these emails does not necessarily mean that someone is deliberately trying to harass you or gain access to ("hack") your account, nor does it mean that your account is at risk.
Password reset emails are automatic messages sent when someone enters either your username or email address into the 'Forgot Password?' form. The emails themselves are not a security threat, and can be safely ignored so long as the email address associated with your AO3 account is secure. Your password will not change unless you use the password reset link."
Peace.
HAH! Memory is still ticking over.
Ever since I can remember, I've had an amazing memory for song lyrics. (Wish my memory for other things was as good.) If I know a song well enough to sing along, and am reminded of it, I can recall the lyrics even after 40 years. It may take a few hours, or even a couple of days, for the memory to trickle back, but it usually does.
I subscribe to Politizoom, a liberal political blog. Every Sunday, the "Furkids" post an illustrated song -- you listen to the song while scrolling down the page to read the lyrics, each line accompanied by a cute animal picture.
This past Sunday, the song was A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri. I didn't recognize the artist (I'm woefully behind on contemporary music), but the title excited me -- I know that song! Only... no... no, I didn't. Big disappointment; it wasn't at all what I expected to hear.
My mind insisted that I knew a song with "a thousand years" in it, but the memory was so faint that I couldn't grab it. I did a search for "lyrics million years" and went through 15 pages of results. I found two or three other results for "million years" -- none of which stirred a spark of recognition -- but 99% of the results were the song from the Furkids' page.
Finally, as I was leaving Cindy's house this afternoon, I realized that the voice singing the song that I still couldn't remember was Eddy Arnold. That was enough. I opened my iTunes app, scanned down my list of Eddy Arnold songs, and there it was! The lyrics are actually "a million years," which aren't evident from the title -- Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye -- but as soon as I saw it, I knew. Vindicated!
Which isn't earth-shaking, even to me, but I'm very pleased I tracked it down.
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Trump would HATE this...
... ad about his oh-so-grand ballroom. (AI generated) We wouldn't want it spread around and shared over multiple platforms, now would we? (StarWatcher winks very obviously.)
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What the hell?
Road maintenance, USA style, is variable, to say the least. Potholes are filled -- eventually. Cracks are often filled with a "drizzle" of asphalt. When the road needs refurbishing, it gets "chip-sealed." This is a process of laying down a thin layer of tar, covering that with a layer of small pebbles, and pressing it into the tar. It's actually pretty effective, after a period of "settling in" by being driven on. And finally, if the road warrants it, it'll be dug up and completely rebuilt.
So, the four-mile stretch between my road and the next intersection has been rebuilt. It's been a slow process that started back in April or May. (I've slept since then.) But now that stretch of road is finished, a little wider than it was (yay!), and smoo-o-o-oth. It's been a treat to drive on; we don't often get such a quiet, non-bumpy ride around here.
When I went to town on Monday, there were orange barrels beside the road. I figured they would block off sections as they applied the striping. When I headed home today, I discovered they had chip-sealed one lane; I assume the other will be done tomorrow.
I am absolutely dumbfounded. Why on earth did someone direct the workers to chip-seal a brand new road?!?? Maybe someone got roads mixed up -- they've chip-sealed roads to the east and west of this one. (I took alternate routes to get to town while the rebuilding was going on, so I got to see the chip-sealing "spread.") And I know the workers have to do what they're told. But wasn't there anyone on the team who could call someone of more seniority and say, "Hey, look, this is a brand-new road. Isn't this chip-sealing supposed to be going on a different road?"
I mean... if this road gets an unnecessary treatment, there won't be the funds for some other road to get the treatment it needs. Talk about government waste!
Or maybe this is a case of, "That's New Mexico." Right up there with the way they re-striped my road about 15 years ago, with double-striping (don't pass) the entire 8.5-mile length. I'm sure people complained; there had previously been plenty of places where passing was allowed. So, a few weeks later, they had to cover the 2nd stripe with black paint, in places where it was okay to pass. I just shook my head; such a stupid mistake to make, but seems par for the course around here.
My European and British friends... is road maintenance any more sensible over there than it is here?
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Today only -- Oct 10th -- big ebook sale.
Till "midnight." Still no clue to which midnight.
Filter genres and/or booksellers at top of page.
https://earlybirdbooks.com/deals/best-ebook-deals
SERIOUSLY??!?
Like many people, I pay my monthly bills online. Just went to pay my natural gas bill, and they have a new payment provider / controller / whatever. Need to register with the new system. There's a field where we have to put in our account number, which is 16 digits. After a couple of false starts, I discover that the reason I keep getting error messages is that the field accepts only 15 digits!!!
*headdesk* Now, I don't know a whole lot about coding... but isn't it kind of obvious that you need to make the field capable of holding ALL the required information?
And there's not even a way to contact the payment company. I emailed the gas company to tell the payment company. Hopefully they'll get it fixed in a few days.
Just... so stupid.
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"Giant" ebook sale, Aug 29th only
"Giant" is their description, not mine, but they tout 1,500 books on sale.
Note that you can select different retailers in the top drop-down menu, and specific genres in the list to the left.
Sale ends at "midnight." They never say which midnight, but I suspect it's one of the U.S timezones, which are UTC-5 to UTC-8.
Pass this on wherever you like.
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First, then second, then surprise!
Also -- where the hell does the time go?
Needed to do a bunch of chores this afternoon. Started early because it was thundering, and might rain.
1] Filled the cat-feeders -- one in back yard, one in garage, two in barn.
2] Changed the pump filters in pond. Discovered the pump was partially clogged with strands of feathers or grass. HOW??? That's what the filters are for, dadgummit! So took the pump apart to clean it.
[3] Did a "first-rinse" of filters, left them to soak for later cleaning.
4] The ducks (?) keep knocking the plastic planter-saucer off the second water tub. (For the little birds to perch and drink. Post for "one day.") WHY??? So I got my tools and some wire, made a couple of "hooks" to hang over opposite edges, anchored to the supporting bars below.
[5] Went down the drive to dump bags of milo seed for the birds.
[6] Took the empty bags to the garage. I stuff all the empty bags into another bag until it's full and I take it to the trash. This bag is almost full; I think these bags will be the last until I staple it shut. As I approach (I have gates over garage opening, not a door), I see an elongated dark thing on the top of the crumpled bags. I'm trying to remember what I've thrown away that meets that description, drawing a blank. Then I get closer -- about three feet away -- and it moves, raises its head! It's a snake!
I learned long ago to "startle in place" -- thanks to brothers that thought it was fun to try to spook their sisters. I took a half step back, quietly said, "Oh. My. God," and evaluated the snake. Very slender -- about 1-1/2 fingers' thickness -- and very dark, almost black, mottled pattern. Small head, with no "shovel-shape" as it attached to the neck; definitely not a rattlesnake, and this part of the country doesn't have any other venomous snakes. (Not that a rattlesnake would have changed my actions; I simply would have left faster!) It started to crawl away from me, got into a 5-gallon bucket laying sideways on the plastic bin that the bag was leaning against, turned around and headed out. Pretty long for it's slenderness -- maybe 3-1/2 feet or so.
No idea why it was on those bags; they only carried grain, nothing a snake could eat. But maybe -- probably -- mice have been checking out the empty bags, and the snake smelled that? Its head didn't look big enough to swallow a mouse, even with an unhinged jaw, but if it thinks it can, I'm all for decreasing the mouse population.
I probably don't need to say that I didn't stuff the empty grain bags into the almost-full bag; tossed them on the floor till later, and left the garage.
[7] Got into the house and discovered that 1 hour and 45 minutes had elapsed! What? How? I didn't do that much!!!
*looks over the list* Well... yes I did. Hadn't intended the need to clean the pump, or to devise a way that the ducks can't knock down the planter-saucer. But even so, the list would probably have taken 50 minutes, which just seems wrong. It's so easy to say, "Need to fill the cat-feeders, change the filters, dump bird seed." Seems like all that should take 30 minutes, at most. But there's a lot of walking between house and barn (a couple of times), or house and pond (a couple of times), and house and bird-feeding area. Still, dammit... I wonder if some psychic entity is stealing a minute here and a minute there, without me noticing, to make me take longer.
Well, that's life in rural America. Now I need to divide a batch of chili into lunch-sized portions and freeze them. Then I need to put out new fly-traps -- about 20 minutes? I'll need to time it.
I've made an executive decision -- laundry will wait until tomorrow.
I'd rather be reading fanfic. Sometimes adulting sucks.