Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Cooking

May. 3rd, 2026 12:25 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 9: Cooking

Cooking is a skillset for preparing food to be eaten. It refers to heat, but not all food necessarily heated -- think salads, ice cream, and so on. Aspects include a variety of kitchen skills such as knife work and making sauces, cooking methods such as steaming or grilling, and specific appliances such as a crockpot or microwave oven. Everyone needs to eat, so it's best for each person to have at least some cooking skill. All cultures have their own foodways. Here on Dreamwidth, check out [community profile] thecookbook, [community profile] creative_cooks, [community profile] fresh_haul, [community profile] recipecommunity, [community profile] veg_life, and [community profile] vegansofdreamwidth.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Science

May. 2nd, 2026 11:43 pm
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The “big one” might not come alone: Double West Coast earthquake threat

Two of the most dangerous fault systems on the U.S. West Coast may be more connected than scientists once thought. New research suggests the Cascadia subduction zone and the San Andreas fault can “sync up,” triggering earthquakes within minutes or hours of each other. This rare “synchronization” could dramatically increase the scale of a major West Coast disaster. Instead of one massive quake, multiple regions could be hit at nearly the same time.

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Today's Adventures

May. 2nd, 2026 11:33 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we attended the Sheep to Yarn to Quilts festival up in Amish territory.

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Climate Change

May. 2nd, 2026 09:24 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Reducing air pollution has triggered something worse that scientists didn't predict

Scientists have determined that “marine cloud reflectivity,” caused by cleaner air, has dropped by roughly 2.8 percent per decade across the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific.

Together, those regions span about one-seventh of the planet’s surface, making even small changes in brightness significant on a global scale.



A solution-caused problem. O_O Well, that sucks.

trip prep checklist

May. 2nd, 2026 04:25 pm
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[personal profile] the_shoshanna
Do Before Leaving list: 72 items checked off, 19 remaining

Pack And Bring list: 33 items checked off, 16 remaining (including 5 items to be worn for travel, not packed)

Pretty good, for three days in advance!

A friend has offered to give us a ride to the train (that goes to the train that goes to the plane that goes to the plane that goes to where we want to end up, whee), so that's very nice indeed.

Birdfeeding

May. 2nd, 2026 10:58 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is sunny and chilly.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 5/2/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/2/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 8: Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a skillset for peacefully sorting out disagreements between people. Individual aspects include body language, communication skills, cooperative decision-making, coping skills, emotional awareness, mediation, negotiation, and problem-solving. The goal is to find a win-win solution, or if that is not possible, at least something that everyone can live with. Sometimes you may identify a need for additional resources, reorganzing things, or other stuff that could take a while to accomplish. Conflict resolution is effective when it diffuses the tension of the moment and identifies at least one practical step toward reducing or avoiding future conflicts over the same issue. It's okay if that takes multiple rounds to fix fully. All people experience conflicts sometimes, but different cultures handle this in different ways. Dreamwidth has no conflict resolution communities per se, but you might explore [community profile] common_nature, [community profile] goals_on_dw, or [community profile] thankfulthursday for a few of its subskills.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Philosophical Questions: Government

May. 2nd, 2026 12:28 am
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People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Should governments make laws to protect people from hurting themselves?

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A Day Away

May. 1st, 2026 11:32 pm
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A Day Away Spring/Summer 2026 is now up at the Effingham Magazines page.  :D 3q3q3q!!!  If you live in or plan to visit central Illinois, this is the best guide to events and attractions within daytrip distance of Effingham.

Greek Myth Fest Bingo Card 5-1-26

May. 1st, 2026 10:55 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Here is my card for the Greek Myth Fest Bingo over in [community profile] allbingo. The fest runs from May 1-31.  (See all my 2026 bingo cards.)

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out. I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far. This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I may still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.

Underlined prompts have been filled.


GREEK MYTH FEST BINGO CARD

lossjourneydestructionmusicfruit
metamorphosisunderworldquestnaturesilver
recognitioncentaurWILD CARDescapebuilding
rescueherogodsidentitywait
monsterminotaurchosenmagicfamily

Today's Adventures

May. 1st, 2026 10:22 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we went to the May Day and Full Moon Walk activities at Whiteside Garden.

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[personal profile] labingi
Here are some more random thoughts up to roughly Helm's Deep: the Dealing with Mistakes Edition.

(LOTR spoilers, if anyone cares...)

Aragorn

Original (pre-Viggo) Aragon often gets described as too perfect, and I see why. I don't find him a super fascinating character either, but I had not clocked how protracted his inner struggle is over leading the fellowship after the fall of Gandalf. He has multiple iterations of the "we must do without hope" idea, which, in Tolkien's philosophy, is a clear sign you're not thinking properly. Admission: In an earlier entry on this, I unwittingly quoted Bakshi (facepalm)!

He recurrently talks about how his decisions as a leader have gone wrong--and he's not totally wrong about that. He fails to track what's going on with Boromir, fails to keep track of Frodo (and Sam). Interestingly, he loses Frodo and Sam, in part, because he decides to climb the Emyn Muil to check things out from its famous vantage point, and that's not a bad decision in itself, but it is explicitly driven, in part, by ego, by his desire to sit on the seat of kings, and that seems not accidental. Later, against Legolas's advice, he chooses to rest rather than keep chasing the Orcs, which may have quashed their chance of actually catching the Orcs.

That's a lot of struggle with fallibility, and it's fairly easy to miss because it's minor. It's minor because Aragorn operates from a place of good intention and time-tested knowledge and morals. This makes me think of karma as a seed that may or may not fall into fertile soil. Each of those little losses of hope or imperfect decisions would carry karma (in a Buddhist frame), but they don't fall into fertile soil because Aragorn has--to torture the metaphor--been consistently cleaning the shit so there's nothing for them to grow into.

BoromirRead more... )

Friday Five

May. 1st, 2026 12:36 pm
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These are [community profile] thefridayfive questions for May 1...

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Birdfeeding

May. 1st, 2026 12:33 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds. I've heard a squirrel barking but haven't seen it.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/1/26 -- I did a bit of work around patio.

I took some pictures around the yard. Columbine, alliums, poppy, wood hyacinth, and others are blooming.

EDIT 5/1/26 -- I did some brush trimming around the patio.

I've seen a male cardinal and a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

I am done for the night.

EDIT 5/1/26 -- We went to a May Day event, and when we got home, my Cold Stream Farm order had arrived.
ysabetwordsmith: Text -- three weeks for dreamwidth, in pink (three weeks for dreamwidth)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry.


Sculpture is a tactile art of shaping three-dimensional figures. Popular media include bone, bronze, clay, marble, and polymer clay. Soft sculpture is a fibercraft using materials like wool or cotton. Sculpture may also be mixed media using typical materials or found objects. All known human cultures make art, leading to great variety in sculpture. Here on Dreamwidth, see [community profile] crafty, [community profile] creativity, [community profile] everykindofcraft, [community profile] get_knitted, [community profile] justcreate, or [community profile] nacramamo. There are more Crafts communities too.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Bingo

Apr. 30th, 2026 11:13 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
I have made bingo down the G column of my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. I also made 5 extra fills.


G1 (Edge of Enchantment) -- "Edge of Enchantment" (Coracle Shores)
G2 (Black Hero) -- "Any Terms You Offer" (Not Quite Kansas)
G3 (Zinnia) -- "Play Off the Energy of the Crowd" (Polychrome Heroics: Broken Angels)
G4 (Lilac) -- "Beautiful, Tough, Shiny, Resilient" (The Blueshift Troupers)
G5 (Devil's Tongue) -- "So DONE with It All" (standalone)

B1 (Request) -- "Their Hidden Source" (One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis)
B3 (Escape) -- "Someone Who Was Trying to Be Sober" (One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis)
B5 (Exception) -- "The Grabber" (Monster House)

I4 (Moonlight Sensation) -- "An Equally Valid Way of Being" (The Moon Door)

N1 (Big Smile) -- "Eat It Happily Because It Is Good" (Polychrome Heroics: Shiv)

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