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Nov. 23rd, 2025 01:03 pm
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] carenejeans!
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
Saw this, blew my mind, thought I'd share. Behold, Lençóis Maranhenses:



2025 Oct 28: PBS Terra [pbsterra on YT]: It Looks Like a Desert. But It Has Thousands of Lakes

When I heard in the video how big it was, I turned on satellite view in Google Maps and popped "Lençóis Maranhenses" into the search bar:

Image below cut. Content advisory: trypophobes avoid )

Inlaws....

Nov. 23rd, 2025 03:37 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly posting in [community profile] agonyaunt
1. When I say goodbye to my mother-in-law, she frequently traps me in extended hugs. They often last longer than 15 seconds! During these hugs, she rattles off compliments that are probably well-meaning, but which I take as insults: She’s grateful that I’m a good cook for my husband, for instance, and that I keep our house so clean. My husband and I are both working professionals. We split the housework evenly, and I’m proud of that. My husband says that his mother’s comments are just her way of trying to connect with me. But is there a way to dodge her hugs? That’s when the so-called compliments begin.

DAUGHTER-IN-LAW


Read more... )

****


2. Dear Carolyn: We are a very small family — just me, my older sister and my parents. Five years ago, my sister married into a very large family, and her in-laws host all the holidays. We’re always invited, but it’s never any fun for us. There are 20 of them together, talking and laughing, and me and my parents in the corner by ourselves.

I’ve honestly tried to join in, but they’re always talking among themselves about people I don’t know. I ask them about their lives, and they go on and on, but when it’s time for me to talk, I get either cut off or ignored. They try to be nice, but after the third or fourth attempt to answer a question, you can tell they don’t care about the answer.

So I’ve decided I’m not going for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. On Thanksgiving, some of my friends are meeting up for a hike in the morning, and then there’s a pub crawl later in the evening, and that’s enough holiday for me. I can order a pizza for dinner. For Christmas, I plan to have breakfast with my parents, open gifts and then kick back for the rest of the day while they go off to my sister’s in-laws’ house.

Even though my parents agree about the in-laws, they are telling me to suck it up and go for their sake. They and my sister are really upset with me, saying I’m going to ruin their holidays, hurt my brother-in-law’s feelings and not see my niece. I say there will be so many people around that my brother-in-law and niece won’t miss me, and I’ll see them both on Black Friday and then again on Christmas Eve, so it’s not like I’m missing out entirely.

Am I being selfish like they say? Don’t I have a right to enjoy my holidays, or do I have to suffer in silence?
— Anonymous


Read more... )

*************


3. Dear Annie: My son got married about eight months ago, and while I truly do love his new wife, I admit I'm scratching my head over a few things. Maybe it's the times changing, or maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but it feels like I got a fourth child instead of a daughter-in-law.

When they come over for dinner, I do what I've always done: make a nice meal, fix everyone a plate and pass the rolls. I'll serve my husband, my boys and even the dog if he looks hungry enough. But my new daughter-in-law? She piles food on her own plate, sits down and tells my son to get it himself. My jaw nearly hit the mashed potatoes. He works all day to provide for her, and the least she could do is hand him a pork chop! Instead, I find myself jumping up to fix his plate while she's scrolling through her phone.

And the laundry, don't even get me started. Because they don't have a washer and dryer, she brings her clothes over, and somehow, I end up doing them. It's like my son got married, and I gained another load of towels.

Should I speak up, or just keep folding her laundry and praying she buys a washing machine? -- Lost For Words in Georgia


Read more... )

**********


4. Dear Annie: Hoping you can offer some advice! My son has been married for six years to a beautiful girl who rarely speaks to us and acts as though we don't exist. Her distance has gotten much worse over time, and we have no idea why. We love her and are just as kind to her as we are to our other kids and their wives. My husband and I are so sad. This has broken our hearts.

We haven't said anything because we don't want to upset our son, but lately even he appears unhappy with her attitude toward us. When we've referred to her as our daughter -- as we do our other daughter-in-law, who loves the title -- she'll say, "No, thank you. I already have a mom and dad." We've always felt as parents ourselves that you can NEVER have too many people to love your child, so we were quite hurt by that.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. She's so cold and distant toward us that even our friends and family have noticed and commented. We are good people, we stay out of our kids' business and we keep our opinions to ourselves. Our motto is, "If you want our thoughts, you'll have to ask for them." We don't meddle or cause waves ever, yet she continues to find ways to fault us for things. It's completely unsubstantiated, but it persists!

It's to the point I have so much anxiety that I've considered seeking out a therapist. This DIL is so unapproachable, so to avoid conflict, we just sweep EVERYTHING under the rug to avoid causing our sweet son any grief.

Please let us know if you have any advice. Our hearts are broken! -- Boy Momma


Read more... )

(no subject)

Nov. 23rd, 2025 02:45 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly posting in [community profile] agonyaunt
My mother-in-law is always on a diet. Her house also happens to be where the family gathers monthly for meals. Lately, she has been serving lighter fare and no dessert so that she can eat more healthfully. We are fine with the lighter meals, but when we pushed back on dessert, she got upset and said we weren’t being supportive of her. These meals represent a tiny fraction of what she eats in a year, and I am frustrated that I have to compromise on dessert. (It doesn’t help that her diets are usually fads and not based in science.) Advice?

Read more... )

(no subject)

Nov. 23rd, 2025 06:29 pm
thawrecka: (Default)
[personal profile] thawrecka
I am back from Japan! I had a great time. Until an overnight flight home that was 10 hours of turbulence, so now I'm tired and in pain. At least I had the good sense to make sure I had a few extra days off work after my flight, so I have time to recover.

Realistically, I am not going to catch up on any social media, and I'm not even going to try.

(no subject)

Nov. 22nd, 2025 10:13 pm
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly posting in [community profile] agonyaunt
Dear Carolyn: My boyfriend is still in regular contact with his ex-girlfriend. He is her confidant, and she admits she still loves him. He keeps her posted on our relationship, which is rocky because I am jealous of their relationship. I am not allowed to set any boundaries about this.

I want to ask him to stop being her confidant and to stop telling her about our relationship. They can remain friends, just not with such intimate conversations. He absolutely refuses any boundaries because “I am not going to let you pick my friends.”

Should I just exit this situation? For context, he and I are on and off because of this, and he usually dates her again when we are off.

— Jealous


Read more... )

emotional support spinning

Nov. 22nd, 2025 06:23 pm
yhlee: Alto clef and whole note (middle C). (Default)
[personal profile] yhlee
handspun yarn WIP

WIP destined for 2-ply for a woven coverlet for Joe. :3 I'm currently waiting for an interesting 2-ply to dry (Navajo Churro Sheep 70%, Agave Cactus Fibres 20%, Cashmere 5%, Angora Bunny 5%).

Unrelated Qwerkywriter neepery:

keyboard, phone, cat

keyboard and small computer

What Else is AI Doing?

Nov. 22nd, 2025 01:13 pm
yourlibrarian: Spock knows that's not canon (TREK-NotCanon)
[personal profile] yourlibrarian
1) Saw the One to One: John and Yoko documentary. It was, I thought, a clever way of creating one with very little new footage or audio recordings. It focuses on a 2 year period where they are in a small apartment in the Village and basically drops in bits about the two within a larger documentary weaving pop culture and political activity clips as if switching TV channels. Read more... )

2) Disney+ to Allow User-Generated Content Via AI. It's hard for me to imagine how this could possibly work. The only thing I can figure is that they plan to use a version of AI that is more like a choose your own adventure option, than something open to user input.

In other AI news however: "A staggering 97% of listeners cannot distinguish between artificial intelligence-generated and human-composed songs...underscoring growing concerns that AI could upend how music is created, consumed and monetized.

The findings of the survey, for which Ipsos polled 9,000 participants across eight countries, including the U.S., Britain and France...found that 73% of respondents supported disclosure when AI-generated tracks are recommended, 45% sought filtering options, and 40% said they would skip AI-generated songs entirely. Around 71% expressed surprise at their inability to distinguish between human-made and synthetic tracks." Read more... )

3) Big Tech banks on our laziness."Like any new technology, AI is a natural threat to these businesses, whose basic technology is already decades old. There’s a very real threat that a newcomer like OpenAI could mount a successful challenge to Google Search or Amazon Web Services. Yet, ingeniously, the platforms may manage to ward off AI challengers by using AI themselves to reinforce their dominance, protecting monopoly positions and justifying their large investments. Doing so depends, more than anything, on using AI to further increase our dependence and that sense of couchlock....Read more... )

4) Webtoon Entertainment Inc. is partnering with Walt Disney to bring Star Wars and Marvel comics to Webtoon's English platform and with Warner Bros. Animation to co-produce animated series for global distribution.

5) Although this article focused on how many people want to listen to music made with AI, it was rather an interesting picture painted of how people consume music at all, what they know about artist pay, and what sorts of music related things they're willing to spend money on.

One thing I found personally interesting is that they either were not asked or did not respond, that a main way to encounter new music was via TV or movies, even though some of them mentioned that soundtracks were their favorite genre. I know it's been one of my big 3 ways for decades now.

Poll #33868 Kudos Footer-551
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

Want to leave a Kudos?

View Answers

Kudos!
7 (100.0%)



Moved some drawers!

Nov. 23rd, 2025 03:54 am
tyger: Axel sprite with a :/-face.  Text: you have GOT to be fucking shitting me (Axel - you're shitting me)
[personal profile] tyger

Moved the storage drawers I have at the back of my desk today! Moving rambles )

Other than that, played some solo Terraria. Terraria rambles )

Anyway somehow it's now 4:30 so I'm just gonna. Uh. Go the fuck to bed, you moron. Yes. That.

Thank you?

Nov. 22nd, 2025 10:59 am
senmut: An orange-blue gradient field, with a black and white star in the right upper corner, reading "A Star to Steer By, A Wind to take me home again" (General: One More Time)
[personal profile] senmut
I just received 2 new pair of jeans, from something that had been on my wishlist back in July. If that was you, thank you.

If not, Amazon burped and repeated an order for me.

Drown them in a pail of caudle

Nov. 22nd, 2025 04:36 pm
oursin: Illustration from medieval manuscript of the female physician Trotula of Salerno holding up a urine flask (trotula)
[personal profile] oursin

These people are AWFUL: Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world

(And I can't believe that there aren't women who didn't survive, particularly given the whole 'germs aren't a thing' ideology that's mixed up with it. Or at least pretty badly damaged.)

I've always been somewhat side-eyeing Grantly Dick Read and his gospel of 'natural childbirth' without fear and pain, because it was a bit vibes based on anecdotal stuff of his, but at least he was a trained medical professional, and he advocated antenatal classes teaching women what to expect when they went into labour, and giving them breathing exercises so that they could breathe through the contractions and so on and he did not suggest women giving birth alone without support.

This is also - like being anti-vaccine - coming from a very short period of historical time: in this case one in which maternal and infant mortality had plummeted and was no longer something people were more or less used to, or had at least heard cases of within their general circles.

These people are delusional.

Okay, there can be a lot wrong with modern obstetric practice - ?particularly in the USA, for reasons - but nature is so not your friend in this matter.

30 in 30: Crystal Series (McCaffrey)

Nov. 22nd, 2025 11:08 am
senmut: orange and blue lynx (General: AhsokaKitty)
[personal profile] senmut
AO3 Link | Storm Driven (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Crystal Singer Trilogy - Anne McCaffrey
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Killashandra Ree [Crystal Singer Trilogy]
Additional Tags: Drabble, Slice of Life
Summary:

Killashandra needs to beat the storm






Killashandra touched the cocooned crystal set briefly, reassuring herself that it really was free, it was hers, it was safe…

…and a discordant howl of wind reminded her of why she had hastened to pack it.

Her cutter was almost forgotten in the cargo bay, but she stumbled as she stood from the case with her new triad of blues. She hastened to get it clamped into its place; she vaguely remembered replacing it all too recently.

Another shriek of the incoming storm, and she threw herself into the pilot seat. In moments, she was racing Ballybran's fury to safety.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Three books new to me. All are fantasies, two are series.

Books Received, November 15 to November 21, 2025

Poll #33866 Books Received, November 15 to November 21, 2025
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40


Which of these upcoming books look interesting?

View Answers

Mother of Death and Dawn by Carissa Broadbent (March 2026)
4 (10.0%)

Tides of Fortune by Lauryn Hamilton Murray (June 2026)
1 (2.5%)

Everybody’s Perfect by Jo Walton (June 2026)
30 (75.0%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
29 (72.5%)

(no subject)

Nov. 22nd, 2025 12:19 pm
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] gwyneira and [personal profile] ironymaiden!

(no subject)

Nov. 21st, 2025 11:23 pm
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly posting in [community profile] agonyaunt
Dear Annie: I've always had a complicated relationship with my older sister, "Beth." She's the golden child -- successful, pretty, everyone's favorite. I'm more of the quiet one. I've never resented her accomplishments, but I've spent years feeling like I'm living in her shadow.

Recently, something strange happened. I got offered a promotion at work that would put me in a leadership role over a project Beth's company is contracted on. It's a huge opportunity. When I told my parents, they were polite but not enthusiastic. My mom actually said, "Well, let's hope that doesn't make things awkward for Beth."

Beth hasn't said much, just a text that said "Congrats," with a period. Not even an exclamation point.

Part of me wants to let it go and focus on the win. But another part of me feels really, really sad, like I'm still chasing approval I'll never get. I don't want this old family dynamic to steal the joy from something I worked hard for.

How do I celebrate myself without needing my family to do it with me? And is it worth trying to fix something that maybe they don't even think is broken? -- Out of the Shadow


Read more... )
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll
I would definitely found an SF magazine.

Most mags struggle with handling submissions but I had a moment of insight: all I need to do is tell writers to send me _good_ stories. Their crap, they can submit elsewhere. Bang! Workload down by 99%.

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Ricky Buchanan