![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Safety
Aug. 10th, 2025 03:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithI stumbled across this today, while researching hormone use on livestock:
Causing trauma to the reproductive tract can induce bleeding, and since blood is toxic to sperm, this may result in reduced conception rates, permanently infertile animals, or animal death.
It makes me wonder if that's a cause undermining conception from rape, which often features internal injuries from microabrasions up to serious tears. If so, an interesting example of self-sabotage.
And then, what about the handful of species where rough sex is normal or even required? A tomcat's barbed penis, for example. Is their sperm different somehow? Or is there some other protective mechanism in play?
Causing trauma to the reproductive tract can induce bleeding, and since blood is toxic to sperm, this may result in reduced conception rates, permanently infertile animals, or animal death.
It makes me wonder if that's a cause undermining conception from rape, which often features internal injuries from microabrasions up to serious tears. If so, an interesting example of self-sabotage.
And then, what about the handful of species where rough sex is normal or even required? A tomcat's barbed penis, for example. Is their sperm different somehow? Or is there some other protective mechanism in play?
Food
Aug. 10th, 2025 02:56 amysabetwordsmithHow much damage are ultraprocessed foods really doing to your health?
New American Heart Association Science Advisory reviews current evidence about UPFs and their impact on adverse health outcomes and outlines opportunities for research, policy and regulatory reform to improve dietary intake and overall health.
Many foods we consume today are ultraprocessed, packed with unhealthy ingredients, and linked to major health risks. As consumption of these foods rises, so do chronic health issues, especially among lower-income groups. Experts are calling for clearer guidelines, better research, and systemic changes to reduce the impact of ultraprocessed foods on public health.
( Read more... )
New American Heart Association Science Advisory reviews current evidence about UPFs and their impact on adverse health outcomes and outlines opportunities for research, policy and regulatory reform to improve dietary intake and overall health.
Many foods we consume today are ultraprocessed, packed with unhealthy ingredients, and linked to major health risks. As consumption of these foods rises, so do chronic health issues, especially among lower-income groups. Experts are calling for clearer guidelines, better research, and systemic changes to reduce the impact of ultraprocessed foods on public health.
( Read more... )
(no subject)
Aug. 9th, 2025 09:14 pmmistressofmusesKind of an oof of a day.
I was already a little annoyed with how I anticipated the day to go... Our office was essentially double booked, with a class and a test happening at the same time. The tests would normally happen in the classroom, but can't do that if a class is happening, which means those students have to test in the lobby, which is a lot louder and more crowded and not a great testing environment. When I was doing some prep for that yesterday, my manager acted a bit surprised pikachu about it, and mildly complained that the person who schedules the classes should have noticed and prevented that from happening...
... Except I pointed it out to my manager back in June that we were double-booked for this date. At the time no one had signed up for the test, so I asked if we should request it be removed. I got a kind of snarky response about "I'm not sure why you're even worrying about something months away when no one is even signed up for it, it might not even fill. There's no reason to be worried about it."
(I didn't say anything about that, because for the most part things have been pretty chill with my manager recently, and I don't want to cause tension. It ended up not being a huge deal, but still... I tried to prevent this!)
But then when we got in the truck... it wouldn't start. Not even a sad click. Just nothin'. *sigh*
So I called my mom, and she came to the rescue with her little portable jump start pack...
Except it also wouldn't work. We did get *one* tiny partial turn-over, but it drained the whole pack and didn't quite get started.
*sigh again*
So mom rescue x2: she took me to work, while Alex took the jump pack in to charge back up.
I got to work just as people were starting to arrive for the class, so I don't feel *too* terrible. Still, I was about 45 minutes late, which I hate.
Mom rescue x3: she went back and she and Alex did get the truck jumped, then went to go get a new battery.
She had to help us do this not that long ago. I looked back here, and we replaced our battery back in March of last year. So it lasted less than a year and a half, opposed to the 3-5 years that they're expected to last. Though I know we did buy the cheapest battery option available last time, and driving in hot weather is one of the things most likely to wear it down, and this summer has been very hot. (Not a ton of days topping 100, but lots of sustained periods in the upper 90s.) But still!
Turned out when they went to get a new battery, the employee of the auto parts place came out to look at it, and said "well, the battery you have is the wrong size. It's way too small!"
*sigh again*
So maybe it's good that we got a year+ out of a battery that wasn't large enough for the vehicle?
We now allegedly have a correctly-sized battery, and not the cheapest available. This one even actually comes with a warranty. Hopefully we won't be doing this in another year and a half. Wouldn't have been able to get it without mom's help, so very grateful, even though I wish I didn't have to keep asking for help.
-
Tomorrow I'm going over to Taylor's to hang out for a couple nights. Looking forward to it!
I was already a little annoyed with how I anticipated the day to go... Our office was essentially double booked, with a class and a test happening at the same time. The tests would normally happen in the classroom, but can't do that if a class is happening, which means those students have to test in the lobby, which is a lot louder and more crowded and not a great testing environment. When I was doing some prep for that yesterday, my manager acted a bit surprised pikachu about it, and mildly complained that the person who schedules the classes should have noticed and prevented that from happening...
... Except I pointed it out to my manager back in June that we were double-booked for this date. At the time no one had signed up for the test, so I asked if we should request it be removed. I got a kind of snarky response about "I'm not sure why you're even worrying about something months away when no one is even signed up for it, it might not even fill. There's no reason to be worried about it."
(I didn't say anything about that, because for the most part things have been pretty chill with my manager recently, and I don't want to cause tension. It ended up not being a huge deal, but still... I tried to prevent this!)
But then when we got in the truck... it wouldn't start. Not even a sad click. Just nothin'. *sigh*
So I called my mom, and she came to the rescue with her little portable jump start pack...
Except it also wouldn't work. We did get *one* tiny partial turn-over, but it drained the whole pack and didn't quite get started.
*sigh again*
So mom rescue x2: she took me to work, while Alex took the jump pack in to charge back up.
I got to work just as people were starting to arrive for the class, so I don't feel *too* terrible. Still, I was about 45 minutes late, which I hate.
Mom rescue x3: she went back and she and Alex did get the truck jumped, then went to go get a new battery.
She had to help us do this not that long ago. I looked back here, and we replaced our battery back in March of last year. So it lasted less than a year and a half, opposed to the 3-5 years that they're expected to last. Though I know we did buy the cheapest battery option available last time, and driving in hot weather is one of the things most likely to wear it down, and this summer has been very hot. (Not a ton of days topping 100, but lots of sustained periods in the upper 90s.) But still!
Turned out when they went to get a new battery, the employee of the auto parts place came out to look at it, and said "well, the battery you have is the wrong size. It's way too small!"
*sigh again*
So maybe it's good that we got a year+ out of a battery that wasn't large enough for the vehicle?
We now allegedly have a correctly-sized battery, and not the cheapest available. This one even actually comes with a warranty. Hopefully we won't be doing this in another year and a half. Wouldn't have been able to get it without mom's help, so very grateful, even though I wish I didn't have to keep asking for help.
-
Tomorrow I'm going over to Taylor's to hang out for a couple nights. Looking forward to it!
Book
Aug. 9th, 2025 08:23 pmolivermossNot books, just book this time
I finished The Shots You Take (hockey m/m book) a few days ago and feel like posting about it before I've got any more other books done. This book was so good it both solved a problem and created a problem for me. I had been thinking just last week how it's annoying that I don't have a book that I can recommend without caveats, and nothing that hits that sweet spot of both being well written and having content and themes that appeal to me. This book solves that problem.
The problem it makes is that it's a m/m hockey romance by Rachel Reid that's not in the Game Changers series. I want to recc Heated Rivalry, Tough Guy and other books in the series, but all those books are weighed down by being in an series of uneven quality. Some amazing writing, and some not. Come join the TV show waiting room anyway, we have fic (I even wrote some), and one of the actors has been posting thirst traps to insta. Ignore that there is a much better book by her that's a stand alone and come join us.
I put off this book for a while because it's a second chance romance where one of the guys really hurt the other in the past. I usually hate these kinds of storylines. The problem is that authors like to make the past be really bad for drama and angst... and then either they start to hand wave how bad it was to make the story work or they have one side of the pairing basically have to take it in the teeth, choose the relationship over themselves. There is none of that in this book. I have literally no notes about anything in the novel. Nothing made me go 'ugh' or 'well it has to be like this for it to work'.
In general, Reid is really good having a sense that characters also need to look after themselves and have boundaries. Even if someone is being terrible, you need to find a way to communicate that, shield yourself, GTFO, etc. Placing value on having a sense of personal responsibility while also not not feeling like the narrative is in any way blaming either or both of the characters? A lot of stuff is just really well handled in the book.
Anyway, the book is about two hockey players from the same team who had a messy relationship they didn't really talk about reconnecting years later in a small town in Nova Scotia. MC1's dad just died and MC2 shows up to the funeral even though they hadn't talked in about eight years. I'd been putting off the book, the only one I hadn't read by her yet, because I just assumed something about the plotline would piss me off. I just assumed that was part of these sorts of stories. But I was wrong. Seriously good, 10/10, no notes.
I finished The Shots You Take (hockey m/m book) a few days ago and feel like posting about it before I've got any more other books done. This book was so good it both solved a problem and created a problem for me. I had been thinking just last week how it's annoying that I don't have a book that I can recommend without caveats, and nothing that hits that sweet spot of both being well written and having content and themes that appeal to me. This book solves that problem.
The problem it makes is that it's a m/m hockey romance by Rachel Reid that's not in the Game Changers series. I want to recc Heated Rivalry, Tough Guy and other books in the series, but all those books are weighed down by being in an series of uneven quality. Some amazing writing, and some not. Come join the TV show waiting room anyway, we have fic (I even wrote some), and one of the actors has been posting thirst traps to insta. Ignore that there is a much better book by her that's a stand alone and come join us.
I put off this book for a while because it's a second chance romance where one of the guys really hurt the other in the past. I usually hate these kinds of storylines. The problem is that authors like to make the past be really bad for drama and angst... and then either they start to hand wave how bad it was to make the story work or they have one side of the pairing basically have to take it in the teeth, choose the relationship over themselves. There is none of that in this book. I have literally no notes about anything in the novel. Nothing made me go 'ugh' or 'well it has to be like this for it to work'.
In general, Reid is really good having a sense that characters also need to look after themselves and have boundaries. Even if someone is being terrible, you need to find a way to communicate that, shield yourself, GTFO, etc. Placing value on having a sense of personal responsibility while also not not feeling like the narrative is in any way blaming either or both of the characters? A lot of stuff is just really well handled in the book.
Anyway, the book is about two hockey players from the same team who had a messy relationship they didn't really talk about reconnecting years later in a small town in Nova Scotia. MC1's dad just died and MC2 shows up to the funeral even though they hadn't talked in about eight years. I'd been putting off the book, the only one I hadn't read by her yet, because I just assumed something about the plotline would piss me off. I just assumed that was part of these sorts of stories. But I was wrong. Seriously good, 10/10, no notes.
AIcels stay losing
Aug. 9th, 2025 09:59 pmpaperghostI swear to god anyone that sings the praises of ChatGPT being the future must be an easily impressed normie. I was lurking another site, and saw the idea of using AI to analyze your sketches to critique it comes up. I figured that would be a theoretical "good usage" for AI art alongside thumbnails or a reference tool, so I gave ChatGPT a sketch that looks off to examine.
It took over 10 back-and-forths for it to do just that. What a useless clanker, I could've spent that time looking up photos lol. That's what gets me when people talk about the time spent training or editing AIgen images counts as "work"... the time you spent could've been used to just write/draw yourself... lazy asses...
It took over 10 back-and-forths for it to do just that. What a useless clanker, I could've spent that time looking up photos lol. That's what gets me when people talk about the time spent training or editing AIgen images counts as "work"... the time you spent could've been used to just write/draw yourself... lazy asses...
Farmer's Market -- 09 August 2025 (Caper Day, 22nd of Heat, Year 233)
Aug. 9th, 2025 07:26 pmneotomaPeach lemonade, french baguette, olive-thyme sourdough loaf, bacon-gruyere wheel, almond croissant, value tomatoes, prune plums, donut peaches, regular peaches, cardamon pull-apart bun, swiss bar (pastry with cheese), and 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms
Random Project Hail Mary Post
Aug. 9th, 2025 02:11 pmolivermossWhile I have many notes on the book, I was very charmed by what someone working on the movie said. I saw a YT short of the Comic Con panel and I think it was one of the directors who said ( spoilers )
Birdfeeding
Aug. 9th, 2025 02:07 pmysabetwordsmithToday is mostly sunny and hot.
I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows and house finches.
EDIT 8/9/25 -- I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
.
I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows and house finches.
EDIT 8/9/25 -- I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
.
everyone should make a little guy. i think
Aug. 9th, 2025 08:50 pmjavertLittle guy face reveal!!!!!!!!
You can open the pictures in another tab to examine them more thoroughly... I don't know if I'd do that if I were you tho...
( Little guy talk under this cut. )
Wplace update: I drew Uboa to go with someone else's Gaster, and they even helped me fill out the white parts 💗 they're besties!!!
You can open the pictures in another tab to examine them more thoroughly... I don't know if I'd do that if I were you tho...
( Little guy talk under this cut. )
Wplace update: I drew Uboa to go with someone else's Gaster, and they even helped me fill out the white parts 💗 they're besties!!!
49 | next stop 50
Aug. 9th, 2025 02:55 pmverylongfarewellK's first work week is over. We survived.
Saturday is quiet, calm, reserved for whatever we feel like doing, because the last month has been very, very intense. Good, but intense.
We finished the first-first draft of the novella this morning and now, I'm left with a lot of writing energy and time on my hands - and no concrete plans about what to work on. There is still a lot of practical stuff to do about the novella, cover design (more about that below), author's notes and author's profiles to write, etc. But the creative writing part grinds to a halt for a moment, while we send the manuscript out to our two next betas in line. From there, it's the waiting game. Keeping ourselves preoccupied. Trying not to panic and correct, edit, change too much in the meantime.
I'm beginning to get a... feeling about our chosen cover artist. Since she brought up AI in her first response, something has seemed a little off... like she wasn't really that invested in the project. Which would be fine, if she said so - then we could find someone else, but she has kept asking more and more questions about what we want, so I'm just... not sure she's feeling it. I know it can also be to be completely sure she delivers, but... yeah, IDK.
We wrote her a week ago and gave some ideas for what we wanted, plus some reference covers we liked the vibe of and since then, she hasn't gotten back to us. A week might not seem that long, but it wasn't like we were asking her to make us a cover from that (we haven't bought her service yet), just a "yes, I can do that" or "that gives me some ideas to work with, order my stuff and I'll look into it" or something. We've gotten nothing, only seen her work through her catalogue of standing orders and no communication.
I can't figure out if I'm expecting too much. If that is too much to ask for. It's not that I wouldn't buy a package off of her immediately, if I was sure she could do the work I'm looking for. And I get the feeling, she isn't actually sure either. And that is what bothers me, I think?
So, now I've written her again, just to ask whether she is still interested and wants to do it - and if not, that would be fine, too. If she doesn't get back to us on that fairly quickly, then that must be our sign to find someone else. We have a guy as our second choice and I'll write him next week, if this doesn't work out.
But man, I hate having to try and figure out what's the etiquette in these things.
EDIT: She got back to us and fast. No problems there. Cover artist chosen, I guess!
Still playing Animal Crossing
Aug. 9th, 2025 05:42 ama_natural_beautySo I've still been playing one of my favorite games - Animal crossing New Horizons. I've gotten to a four star rating now which is great news! One goal I still want is to get a stove so I can start cooking meals. Mike as a DIY so he can make one for me if I need to - but I'm hoping I can find one myself or buy one in the store. Also another thing I want to do is pay off the shops on Harv's island - the open air market shops. I've been doing little by little but would like to get them paid off completely soon so I can use those. I haven't gotten any photos of the villagers yet but I'm not too worried about that. It's still been such a nice feel good game, I'm glad I decided to play it again. So far my island has been pretty nice. I'm slowly working on making a playground in the southeast area of my island and I have made a zen garden up in the north east part. Also as I've been getting crops I've been keeping them and making a garden. On my old island I had a graveyard - I may do that again.
I've had villagers come and go over the last couple months. This is my list of characters I have now - Alfonso (he left Mikes island and moved to mine when I had an empty plot one day), Anicotti - who has been with me pretty much since I was able to build the first three houses and is one of my favorites, Bill - who I got from going to an island in search of a new villager and I'm happy with - he's pretty adorable, Butch (who is new to my island but I had in my last game and was a personal favorite so when he moved to my island I was overjoyed), Lucy (she moved to my island after she left Mikes and I've had her quite awhile - she is one of my favorites, too), Moe - who has been around since I built the first three houses in this new game - he's a pretty fun guy), Pancetti - who I found on an island one day in search of a new villager, Shep - he's one of my favorite villagers), Spork - who has been with me a good amount of time, he's pretty cute and lastly Sylvia who is also one of my favorites who I got from Mikes island when she moved away.
There are some animal species I haven't gotten in either game - like the hamsters and horses. Or the big bears - not the cubs. I've been enjoying getting new ones with last game and this one.
At some point I do want to play my other games again like Paleo Pines and Dreamlight valley that I was enjoying. It's been awhile since I have. Are any of you playing any good games these days?
I've had villagers come and go over the last couple months. This is my list of characters I have now - Alfonso (he left Mikes island and moved to mine when I had an empty plot one day), Anicotti - who has been with me pretty much since I was able to build the first three houses and is one of my favorites, Bill - who I got from going to an island in search of a new villager and I'm happy with - he's pretty adorable, Butch (who is new to my island but I had in my last game and was a personal favorite so when he moved to my island I was overjoyed), Lucy (she moved to my island after she left Mikes and I've had her quite awhile - she is one of my favorites, too), Moe - who has been around since I built the first three houses in this new game - he's a pretty fun guy), Pancetti - who I found on an island one day in search of a new villager, Shep - he's one of my favorite villagers), Spork - who has been with me a good amount of time, he's pretty cute and lastly Sylvia who is also one of my favorites who I got from Mikes island when she moved away.
There are some animal species I haven't gotten in either game - like the hamsters and horses. Or the big bears - not the cubs. I've been enjoying getting new ones with last game and this one.
At some point I do want to play my other games again like Paleo Pines and Dreamlight valley that I was enjoying. It's been awhile since I have. Are any of you playing any good games these days?
Tags:
Helpful link for people new to exchanges
Aug. 9th, 2025 11:07 amvriddyFirst, a PSA for people who keep letting things slide until the last minute/sometimes too late: you only have until Wednesday to sign up as a creator the sunflower_auction! I finally did it.
Secondly, the main point of this entry! I want to share sunsalute's post for people just starting out with exchanges, with is information that I sure could have used that when I trying to figure things out. Here's the table of content, because Sun is cool like that:
- Contacting Mods
- Signups and DNWs
- Posting and Fulfilling Assignments
- Chatter and Discord
- Unintuitive Systems Everyone Seems To Know How To Use Already (AO3 & DW)
- Further Reading & Thanks
There's a little bit on the technical aspects, but mainly the post focuses on etiquette and things that are not necessarily spelled out. It's a great post!
Link: Help I'm New To Fandom And Need To Get A Good Grade by sunsalute.
Philosophical Questions: Thinking
Aug. 9th, 2025 04:07 amysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
If everyone said what they were actually thinking, what would happen to society?
KERPLOWIE
If everyone said what they were actually thinking, what would happen to society?
KERPLOWIE
2025.08.07
Aug. 7th, 2025 09:37 pmmekachu04
A silly little scenario where kidd makes an offhand comment about them getting married as children and killer spends the rest of his life believing they're already married XD
( 2025.08.07 )
Safety
Aug. 8th, 2025 08:27 pmysabetwordsmithHelsinki just went a full year without traffic fatalities — here's their secret
In the United States, traffic incidents are a leading cause of death, with an average of 120 people dying every day due to motor vehicle collisions.
On a global scale, a person dies from a road-related accident every 24 seconds.
But Finland’s capital city of Helsinki has pulled off something astonishing — the last recorded traffic-related death was over a year ago, in July 2024.
( Read more... )
In the United States, traffic incidents are a leading cause of death, with an average of 120 people dying every day due to motor vehicle collisions.
On a global scale, a person dies from a road-related accident every 24 seconds.
But Finland’s capital city of Helsinki has pulled off something astonishing — the last recorded traffic-related death was over a year ago, in July 2024.
( Read more... )