November 13, 2025: Keep The Cosmos On Your Finger
Nov. 13th, 2025 06:33 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
daily_illuminator_feedFor those looking to outfit their heroes with a bit of flavorful bling, there's a fun article on Open Culture about armillary sphere rings. When folded, these precious-metal rings fit on one's finger (just like most other rings), but they can unfold to make a little armillary sphere, useful for astronomy.
The article also includes a dangerous link to a modern-day creator of these rings, in case I had an extra thousand-plus dollars kicking around.
– Steven Marsh
Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action
There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!
The article also includes a dangerous link to a modern-day creator of these rings, in case I had an extra thousand-plus dollars kicking around.
– Steven Marsh
Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action
There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!
Vocabulary: Carcinization
Nov. 12th, 2025 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithCarcinization is a form of convergent evolution in which non-crab crustaceans evolve a crab-like body plan. The term was introduced into evolutionary biology by Lancelot Alexander Borradaile, who described it in 1916 as "the many attempts of Nature to evolve a crab".
Crabs have evolved five separate times – why do the same forms keep appearing in nature?
... including at least one sexbot whose lower body is a mechanical battle crab. :D
Crabs have evolved five separate times – why do the same forms keep appearing in nature?
... including at least one sexbot whose lower body is a mechanical battle crab. :D
Girls With Slingshots - GWS Hair of the Dog #773
Nov. 12th, 2025 10:00 pmgws_feed
Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics
Nov. 12th, 2025 08:04 pmysabetwordsmithThe November 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl made its $300 goal, so there will be a half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics from Monday 17-Sunday 23. Mark the dates on your calendar, and I hope to see you then!
New Crowdfunding Project: "Monsterotica"
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:40 pmysabetwordsmithHappy Monsterotica Launch Day!
The crowdfunding campaign to fund publishing of our next erotic anthology, Monsterotica: Tales of Unusual Courtship and Coupling, is now live on Kickstarter!
Now through December 2nd, 2025, we seek to raise $10,500 to cover publishing of the anthology and creation of the related merchandise. This awesome book contains 16 queer stories by 16 awesome authors, each story up to 7,500 words long. We encouraged authors to pitch us stories featuring unusual creatures and unconventional genitals; you won’t find any vampires or weres here, but you will find insectoid aliens, mountain cryptids, scales and feathers, tentacles, detachable anatomy, interspecies shenanigans, courtship confusion, and much more. And of course, in addition to featuring monster x monster and monster x human relationships, every single story also includes queer characters and queer relationships!
The crowdfunding campaign to fund publishing of our next erotic anthology, Monsterotica: Tales of Unusual Courtship and Coupling, is now live on Kickstarter!
Now through December 2nd, 2025, we seek to raise $10,500 to cover publishing of the anthology and creation of the related merchandise. This awesome book contains 16 queer stories by 16 awesome authors, each story up to 7,500 words long. We encouraged authors to pitch us stories featuring unusual creatures and unconventional genitals; you won’t find any vampires or weres here, but you will find insectoid aliens, mountain cryptids, scales and feathers, tentacles, detachable anatomy, interspecies shenanigans, courtship confusion, and much more. And of course, in addition to featuring monster x monster and monster x human relationships, every single story also includes queer characters and queer relationships!
Read "GAMING"
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:29 pmysabetwordsmithMy poem "GAMING" is up on ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
computerworld. beavertech has been commissioning poems to be posted in The Freaks Club family of communities.
computerworld. beavertech has been commissioning poems to be posted in The Freaks Club family of communities.Cyberspace Theory
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:22 pmysabetwordsmithIn praise of the small things in life: DDG Bangs!
DuckDuckGo is a privacy-respecting search engine launched in 2008 that has been slowly expanding into something else truly. (I mean, come on, Identity Theft Restoration?). Well, nevertheless, I still use DuckDuckGo because it's easy, their search results aren't polluted with all sorts of nonsense, they did introduce an AI summarize feature but I don't use it and it's easy to opt out thankfully. But all of that pales in comparison to the best DDG feature, Bangs!
Bangs are… well it's kinda hard to describe them, it's basically a shortcut from your search engine to wherever else, so if you have DuckDuckGo set as your search engine, you can basically search using other search engines quite easily!
DuckDuckGo is a privacy-respecting search engine launched in 2008 that has been slowly expanding into something else truly. (I mean, come on, Identity Theft Restoration?). Well, nevertheless, I still use DuckDuckGo because it's easy, their search results aren't polluted with all sorts of nonsense, they did introduce an AI summarize feature but I don't use it and it's easy to opt out thankfully. But all of that pales in comparison to the best DDG feature, Bangs!
Bangs are… well it's kinda hard to describe them, it's basically a shortcut from your search engine to wherever else, so if you have DuckDuckGo set as your search engine, you can basically search using other search engines quite easily!
Shopping
Nov. 12th, 2025 02:32 pmysabetwordsmithHere is an interesting discussion about what it costs to buy kitchen equipment. None of this is how I'd go about it, unless someone handed me grant money earmarked for that purpose. (Fair disclosure: I could make a crude but usable knife by busting a rock, and I could cook on a flat rock or with sticks. Kitchen equipment is a beloved convenience for me.)
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Conservation
Nov. 12th, 2025 02:08 pmysabetwordsmithMassachusetts is turning retired cranberry bogs into natural wetlands. They’re on track to rewild 1,000 acres
In November 2024, the DER funneled $6 million in grants to the restoration plan. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, more than 500 acres of retired cranberry bogs have already been converted into wetlands — with hopes of restoring 1,000 acres in the next decade.
“These projects will transform degraded former cranberry bogs into thriving wetlands that will provide habitat to important species, flood control in time of storms, and access for all to beautiful natural areas,” Governor Maura Healey said in a statement.
This is a brilliant plan that will provide tremendous benefits for wildlife, as wetlands are among the most biodiverse communities. It will be especially helpful to migrating waterfowl of the Atlantic Flyway.
In November 2024, the DER funneled $6 million in grants to the restoration plan. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, more than 500 acres of retired cranberry bogs have already been converted into wetlands — with hopes of restoring 1,000 acres in the next decade.
“These projects will transform degraded former cranberry bogs into thriving wetlands that will provide habitat to important species, flood control in time of storms, and access for all to beautiful natural areas,” Governor Maura Healey said in a statement.
This is a brilliant plan that will provide tremendous benefits for wildlife, as wetlands are among the most biodiverse communities. It will be especially helpful to migrating waterfowl of the Atlantic Flyway.
Birdfeeding
Nov. 12th, 2025 01:52 pmysabetwordsmithToday is sunny and mild, a beautiful fall day.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a fox squirrel.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I planted 4 clusters of Egyptian walking onions.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I filled a trolley with dead weeds and dumped it in the firepit.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I filled another trolley with dead weeds and dumped it in the firepit.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a fox squirrel.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I planted 4 clusters of Egyptian walking onions.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I filled a trolley with dead weeds and dumped it in the firepit.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 11/12/25 -- I filled another trolley with dead weeds and dumped it in the firepit.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
2025 November Magpie (not Monday)
Nov. 12th, 2025 10:10 amdialecticdreamerWelcome to the November of 2025 Magpie Monday!
Yes, it’s Wednesday. Yes, I’m “running late.” I’m very sorry about that. Life keeps kicking me in the shins, on Mondays! So, I’m turning that recurring nonsense into an actual theme!
( Read more... )
Yes, it’s Wednesday. Yes, I’m “running late.” I’m very sorry about that. Life keeps kicking me in the shins, on Mondays! So, I’m turning that recurring nonsense into an actual theme!
( Read more... )
CodeSOD: Historical Dates
Nov. 12th, 2025 06:30 amthe_daily_wtf_feedHandling non-existent values always presents special challenges. We've (mostly) agreed that NULL is, in some fashion, the right way to do it, though it's still common to see some sort of sentinel value that exists outside of the expected range- like a function returning a negative value when an error occurred, and a zero (or positive) value when the operation completes.
Javier found this function, which has a… very French(?) way of handling invalid dates.
Private Function CheckOraDate(ByVal sDate As String) As String
Dim OraOValDate As New DAL.PostGre.DataQuery()
Dim tdate As Date
If IsDate(sDate) Then
Return IIf(OraOValDate.IsOracle, CustomOracleDate(Convert.ToDateTime(sDate).ToString("MM-dd-yyyy")), "'" & sDate & "'")
Else
'~~~ No Date Flag of Bastille Day
Return CustomOracleDate(Convert.ToDateTime("07/14/1789").ToString("MM-dd-yyyy"))
End If
End Function
Given a date string, we check if it is a valid date string using IsDate. If it is, we check if our data access layer thinks the IsOracle flag is set, and if it is, we do some sort of conversion to a `CustomOracleDate", otherwise we just return the input wrapped in quotes.
All that is sketchy- any function that takes dates as a string input and then returns the date in a new format as a string always gets my hackles up. It implies loads of stringly typed operations.
But the WTF is how we handle a bad input date: we return Bastille Day.
In practice, this meant that their database system was reporting customers' birthdays as Bastille Day. And let me tell you, those customers don't look a day over 200, let alone 236.
For an extra bonus WTF, while the "happy path" checks if we should use the custom oracle formatting, the Bastille Day path does not, and just does whatever the Oracle step is every time.
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