dark_agenda | Member Posts

You Have More Land Than You Think

Clever design creates more housing on small sites.

You might assume that squeezing small units onto small lots might end up feeling claustrophobic, but a few simple design principles can actually lead to housing that is welcoming, comforting, and feels spacious. Best of all, a smaller house is more affordable, and land costs are spread amongst more units, creating greater affordability without subsidy.

Multiple site studies illustrate how to fit more units into the same space. In particular, the cottage courtyard offers a common space between the houses to encourage community spirit. You can include a private dooryard garden for each unit if you wish.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Mammal ancestors laid eggs, and this 250-million-year-old fossil finally proves it

A 250-million-year-old fossil egg just revealed how an ancient survivor beat Earth’s deadliest extinction.

In the aftermath of Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event, one unlikely survivor rose to dominate a shattered world: Lystrosaurus. Now, a stunning fossil discovery—an ancient egg containing a curled-up embryo—has finally answered a decades-old mystery about whether mammal ancestors laid eggs. Using advanced imaging technology, scientists confirmed that these resilient creatures did reproduce this way, likely producing large, soft-shelled eggs packed with nutrients.

In terms of world domination, Lystrosaurus was arguably the most successful lifeform on Earth.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, breezy, and mild.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/14/26 -- We went to Whiteside Garden again. This time I picked up a clump of wildflowers fused together: a couple of tiny ferns, and even tinier columbine, and some yellow violet.

We stopped to chat with a friend. His yard has several red-headed woodpeckers. I heard them drumming and spotted one as it flew away. These used to be the dominant woodpecker around here, but have been largely replaced by downies and are now rarer to see.

EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the new wildflowers. One yellow violet had come loose, so I put that with my others. The rest of the cluster went into the mossy part of the savanna which already has a woodland feel.

And now I'm hearing thunder, on what was supposed to be my main planting day. *sigh*

EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the sedum from yesterday and watered the newly planted things.

EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the holly from yesterday at the east edge of the Midwinter grove.

EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered and mulched the holly.

It's 83°F outside now, too hot to do as much yardwork as I hoped. At least I got the Whiteside things planted.

I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.

.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Hurricanes are slowing down - and dumping far more rain than before

If you’ve ever watched a hurricane stall on a weather map and became worried, you’re picking up on something scientists are increasingly concerned about.

A new study suggests that rapid ocean warming isn’t just making tropical cyclones dump more rain.

It may also be slowing some of them down while they’re still in their tropical phase, which is basically the worst combo if you’re on the coast or anywhere downstream.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today we did a bunch of different things, including a Charleston loop in the morning and a Champaign loop in the afternoon.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: happy

ranalore

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Current Mood: groggy
Current Location: somebody still this yo-yo so I can get off

duskpeterson

If you are not visiting the palace in order to attend the Chara's court, then chances are that you are here to visit the council. As you enter the east doors of the palace, turn right, then left, then immediately right. The long corridor before you leads north to the council chamber and council quarters.

Upon reaching the end of the corridor, you will once again find yourself facing high doors, this time plated with copper. Unless you are actually attending a council meeting, the door you want is to either the left or the right of the council chamber. Enquire with the guards as to how to reach your destination. Mainland visitors are likely to be escorted, under guard, to the room they are seeking.

Attendance at meetings of the Great Council are by invitation only. If you are invited, arrive early. If you have been asked to speak with the council, you will be shown to a chair at the bottom of the council table. Do not be insulted. This is where the Chara himself sits, when he is invited to speak with the council.

Remember those high doors? They were designed to keep out the Chara and his guards, back in the days when animosity still simmered between the Chara and the Great Council. These days, the animosity takes less blatant forms, but the Chara is still not permitted to enter the council chamber except with permission of the Great Council's High Lord.

If you are not here to speak with the council but wish to attend a council meeting, you will be shown to a chair at the back of the room. (If you are not accustomed to sitting in chairs, it is best to practice beforehand.) As in the court, your job will be to stay as quiet and motionless as possible. At only two points in the meeting should you move: rise from your chair when the High Lord of the Great Council enters the chamber, and rise again when he leaves. A herald will announce when this is necessary.

After the council meeting, you may wish to visit the council library, just off the head of the chamber. This lovely, light-filled room was added during the reign of the Chara Purvis, at the beginning of this century. It is considered the finest law library in the world, containing hundreds of books of commentary on matters related to the law. Do not to touch the books unless you are here to do research. To Emorians, law books – even books of commentary – are sacred objects.

Northern mainlanders should be aware that stealing a law book can be punished by death. If you must steal something in the palace, confine yourself to objects unrelated to the law.

[Translator's note: In order to visit the Great Council in session, as well as its law library, read Law of Vengeance.]

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, breezy, and mild.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any yet.

I put out water for the birds.

I've seen a six-spotted tiger beetle on the brick of the big red birdbath. I figure it's either drinking from the moist brick or hunting other insects attracted to the water. :D

Current Mood: busy

snowynight

I. Spotlight:

TTRPGs for Trans Rights—Idaho: Buy 511 items for $5 to support TransAffirm Inc and Boise's The Community Center! TransAffirm Inc exists to expand access to life-saving resources, affirming care, education, advocacy, and community connection for transgender and gender diverse people in Idaho, especially those in rural and underserved areas. The Community Center (TCC) is devoted to the LGBTQIA+ and allied population. TCC is committed to uniting the LGBTQIA+ community through educational and developmental programs by providing resources to the LGBTQIA+ community. Offer ends in 17 days

Highlight includes:

A Visit To San Sibilia ($10): "a solo journaling game in which you roleplay a character chronicling their visit to the city of San Sibilia. The city manifests itself differently to every visitor." It has a strong invisible Cities vibe.

Rebels of the Outlaw Wastes ($15): "A rock-n-roll retro-dystopian tabletop roleplaying game fueled by stickers! IndieCade 2023 Nominee for innovation in Tabletop Design."

Anomaly Hunters ($10CAD): "a monster hunting tabletop roleplaying game, within which you play as the protagonist of an investigative reality TV show that tries to find weird creatures and get rid of them"

II.Tabletop RPG I have Read: Dimension Travel

Troika! : a surreal multiverse travel trpg based on the Fighting Fantasy gamebook 'system', Example character option: Fellow of the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks, Workshop Elf

Between the Skies is a cosmic fantasy game of travel and exploration across endless worlds. It has a massive number of tables to help you generate fantasy setting details. The first version is free on itch.io.

Disparateum is a trpg in progress that let you explore different worlds and dimensions through overlapping literal pieces of paper

snowynight

Watch on YouTube

ysabetwordsmith

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Vocabulary: Quiddity
Economics
Nature
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Philosophical Questions: City
Food
Birdfeeding
Space Exploration
Gaming
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 4-10-26: Meditation
Nature
Poem: "The Grabber"
Poem: "So DONE with It All"
Poem: Their Hidden Source
Poem: "Beautiful, Tough, Shiny, Resilient"
Food
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Draw a Bird Day
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party

Early Humans has 22 comments. Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy has 65 comments. Safety has 77 comments.

Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I am still writing.

The weather has been variable here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two turkey vultures, two blue jays, a brown-headed cowbird, a male cardinal, a male goldfinch,and a fox squirrel. Red-winged blackbirds have been singing overhead. Leafing out: maple, hackberry, mulberry, mayapple, Dutchman's breeches, trillium, yellow trout lily, Asiatic lilies. Currently blooming: daffodils, violets, grape hyacinths, tulips, anemone, leucojum, yellow violet, bluebells, Solomon's seal, pansies, violas, sweet alyssum. Flower buds: peonies, alliums.

Current Mood: busy

mific

So I'm into hockey fics now, and just realised there's a treasure trove of Helenish hockey rpf to be read. HR has taught me the basics of the hockey world, which makes the rpf easier to get into even if I don't really know the players. And I'll follow Helenish pretty much everywhere.

Two recs for now, Leon Draisaitl/Connor McDavid. Both locked to AO3.

Obligations. A long, slow burn story in an alpha/beta/omega-verse, and Helenish's worldbuilding within that is extraordinary, just as good as the way 'Take Clothes Off As Directed' deepened BDSM-verse. They're teammates on the Oilers, interacting with a mass of assumptions, miscommunication, hopeless denial, and obliviousness, so most of the fic is pining and unspoken longing badly hidden behind defences. They get there in the end, despite knowing how bad it'll be with the Press and twitter and their coaches and agents (the reactions of others plus their own idiocy replace RL homophobia as barriers), and there's finally some gorgeous hot as hell sex to enjoy after being edged for the rest of the story. It's from Leon's pov, and ends with a quiet paean to the hockey life. (17,681)

Silver Lining Playbook. Connor's pov, set at and after the recent Olympics. Non-linear plot, starting with them hooking up angrily and fake-casually, and only later we learn they used to be together then broke up due to the usual miscommunication and stubbornness. The ending's hopeful rather than resolved, and Connor's characterisation is excellent. Where the fic above was all repressed feelings and eventual fucking, this one's all fucking until eventually they talk about feelings. Very nice. (7212)

ysabetwordsmith

In scholastic philosophy, "quiddity" was another term for the essence of an object, literally its "whatness" or "what it is." It's the quality that makes something what it is.

My partner Doug mentioned it tonight, and I had only seen it in Scrabble dictionaries. Try to lay that one over a triple word score. It's 8 letters but you can build it onto quid, id, dit, or it.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Annexation Is a Promise Cities Rarely Measure

When cities expand their boundaries, they aren’t just adding land, they’re taking on decades of financial obligations that short-term metrics fail to capture.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ranalore

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Current Mood: sore
Current Location: i like thunderstorms but they do NOT like me

ysabetwordsmith

Tropical trees favor cooperation over competition

Step into a tropical forest, and something feels different right away. The air feels rich, the ground feels alive, and every plant seems part of a bigger system.

This sense of connection is not just your imagination. Science now shows that trees in these forests actively support one another, creating a strong and balanced ecosystem.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy and warm with howling wind.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches plus a brown-headed cowbird.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/12/26 -- I did some work around the patio.

EDIT 4/12/26 -- I emptied the bag of raised bed soil into the hollow by the garden shed.

I picked up the big branch in the south lot.

A third tuft of violet leaves is blooming yellow. That's three now, although this one is smaller. I'm so happy that my yellow violets are spreading. :D 3q3q3q!!!

EDIT 4/12/26 -- I picked up more big branches in the orchard and moved them to the firepit.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder. I heard a bluejay screaming above the south lot but didn't see it.

EDIT 4/12/26 -- I picked up more big branches in the savanna and moved them to the firepit.

EDIT 4/12/26 -- I picked up more big branches in the savanna and moved them to the firepit.

I saw two bluejays high in the trees above the house yard, bobbing up and down, screeching at each other. \o/

It's trying to spit rain.

EDIT 4/12/26 -- I picked up more big branches in the savanna and moved them to the firepit. We also dragged the biggest branch to the side where it won't block the mow path.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

sanguinity

Back in 2014 I published a fusion of Elementary and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century called "Persistence of Memory." It was always meant to be a longer story, but because of the urgency of due dates (it was written for the

holmestice exchange), it was necessary to publish the first chapter as a stand-alone.

Which worked fine. Over the next little while I wrote a second chapter, and bits and bobs of a third, before laying it aside for other writing projects. Except for some excerpts on tumblr, I never published any of the continuation, wanting to wait until the whole thing was finished.

Now, twelve years later, it seems silly to have that second chapter just sitting in my WIP file, unavailable to people who might care about it.

Perseverance

Elementary x Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
Joan, Sherlock, Robo!Watson
Fusion, Angst, Wrong Watson Feelings
~9000 words, Gen, No warnings apply.

Joan Watson has had her life ripped out from under her, a kidnapping and cryosleep marooning her in the twenty-second century. At least Sherlock is here—and, due to some blackly humorous twist of fate, so is Jamie Moriarty.

And so is a compudroid that calls itself Watson.

Joan rebuilds her life from the ashes. And maybe catches an international criminal mastermind along the way.

A couple of notes:

This will not make sense without having read "Persistence of Memory" first.
This is very much a work in progress: updates will happen whenever they happen, and I make no guarantees of completion.

That said, most nights I'm watching a double feature of a SH22C episode and an Elementary episode, and in the last couple of weeks I've written new words on chapter three (or what will be chapter two of Perseverance). The main obstacle to finishing this was my main obstacle twelve years ago: I've got to work out a bloody casefic for it. That said, I've written a handful of casefic in the last decade, so I know more now about how to do that than I did then. So we'll see how it goes!

mific

Ok I lied about going to bed.

Hilarious vid “To Be A Princess” -
set to some musical song, possibly Disney? By theburialofstrawberries.

https://www.tumblr.com/mific/813728132898177024/shane-as-princess

mific

As often happens, after all the dramatic warnings cyclone Vaianu was only a period of heavy rain and moderate winds where I live. Just another Sunday. More flooding elsewhere, but not too bad. Oh well, at least I got my camping gear out ready for any future power cuts. off to bed with me now, night all!

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