ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today I made this soup, based on a similar recipe from Stock the Crock page 24. I wanted to write down my version so I don't forget it.

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Safety

2025-12-14 05:20 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Scientists Thought Parkinson’s Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the Water

New ideas about chronic illness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.

All told, more than half of Parkinson’s research dollars in the past two decades have flowed toward genetics.
But Parkinson’s rates in the US have doubled in the past 30 years. And studies suggest they will climb another 15 to 35 percent in each coming decade. This is not how an inherited genetic disease is supposed to behave.
Despite the avalanche of funding, the latest research suggests that only 10 to 15 percent of Parkinson’s cases can be fully explained by genetics. The other three-quarters are, functionally, a mystery.
[---8<---]
Parkinson’s, it appeared, could be caused by a chemical.
elynne: (Default)
[personal profile] elynne
Many apologies for the unscheduled delay--November was a hell of a month, and I didn't get anything written at all the entire time. But I'm back home, recovered from various afflictions (more or less), and returning to the habit of writing. There will be one last hiatus--the next chapter will be posted on Sunday, December 28th--but after that I'm hoping to be back on the "every dang Sunday" posting schedule until the end of the story. Here's hoping! All my thanks for you readers, especially to all the comments that have kept me going for so long. I can't overstate how much you've helped to keep this project in motion, or how much I appreciate you all.

Read more... )

Food

2025-12-14 02:29 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Scientists find dark chocolate ingredient that slows aging

Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between dark chocolate and slower aging. A natural cocoa compound called theobromine was found in higher levels among people who appeared biologically younger than their real age.


Well, that's good news! :D Watch for clinical-grade chocolate with a high level of cocoa solids (dark or the higher end of milk), preferably organic and environmentally friendly. Enjoy a recipe:

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread



Human Rights

2025-12-14 02:17 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court

The child, barely old enough to talk, was one of 25 immigrant children forced to fight removal efforts by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the Pima County immigration courthouse in Tucson on Nov. 24.


This article highlights numerous abuses and other problems.

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Birdfeeding

2025-12-14 02:08 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and quite frigid.  It snowed copiously yesterday, wiping out our plans to visit a holiday market. :(

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus at least one mourning dove.  The windows are frosted so much that it's hard to identify them. 

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/14/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/14/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/14/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen two male and one female cardinal.  At one point, the sparrows were trying to fit 7-8 birds on an edge of the hopper feeder with room for maybe 4-5 if they weren't fighting.  So it's actually beyond four-bird-cold today!

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Safety

2025-12-13 11:08 pm
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
One Critical Factor Predicts Longevity Better Than Diet or Exercise, Study Says

They then factored in other variables that can affect life expectancy, including physical inactivity, employment status, and educational level. The association between insufficient sleep and lower life expectancy still held. Only smoking had a stronger link.


Good, adequate sleep is a survival need. Modern society often sabotages it.

However, this study suggests that banking sleep on weekends can mitigate the effects of lost sleep during the week.  I used to do that in school, and people said it didn't work, but it certainly helped my energy level.  It may be a trick that some but not all bodies can do.




Today's Cooking

2025-12-13 11:03 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's plan to visit a holiday market got wiped out by copious snow. Again. :( So I'm drowning our sorrows in a batch of Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread.

TF fanfic

2025-12-13 03:10 pm
dinogrrl: Knock Out smirking (Knock Out smirk)
[personal profile] dinogrrl
Okay I'll switch the fanfic to public, for now. Goes back into lockdown if anyone is stupid about it though.
The original stories stay locked.

This isn't so much a fic as just a splat, backstory for Knock Out in my LWA/TFP stories (and by extension, DotE, since they all kinda blend together to different degrees). Not edited into a smooth story because, again, more of notes for myself than fic I had wanted to post, but whatever, I'll post it. Sorry there's been a lot of my Knock Out stuff lately, it's either him or Wheeljack, mostly. Love me some sassy bitches.


there is no title, only fic )

Science

2025-12-13 02:00 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Human brains light up for chimp voices in a way no one expected

Humans may carry ancient neural traces that let us recognize the voices of our primate cousins.

Humans don’t just recognize each other’s voices—our brains also light up for the calls of chimpanzees, hinting at ancient communication roots shared with our closest primate relatives. Researchers found a specialized region in the auditory cortex that reacts distinctly to chimp vocalizations, but not to those of bonobos or macaques, revealing an unexpected mix of evolutionary and acoustic influences.

Birdfeeding

2025-12-13 01:51 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and cold with copious snow.  This has wiped out our plans to visit a holiday market.  :(

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, at least one female and four male cardinals, a mourning dove, and a tiny wren clinging to the bathroom window as it probed the edges for hibernating insects.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/13/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/13/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/13/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Economics

2025-12-13 12:15 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Ground Zero: Los Angeles and the Endgame of the Growth Ponzi Scheme

Los Angeles didn’t mismanage its way into crisis. It built its way here.


I disagree. If a city does not track all of its liabilities, such as the maintenance costs of roads and utilities, that is mismanagement. You can't run a budget when you don't know where your money is going. That ought to be obvious.

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ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Is the human tendency to create groups an overall positive or a negative trait in terms of general human flourishing?

Necessary. Insofar as we know, Homo like most primates is a troop animal, evolved to live in groups rather than alone. Individuals may choose to live alone, but it is much more difficult. Of course, humans can choose to create groups that are themselves positive or negative in structure and behavior, but that's a personal choice.


Water

2025-12-12 04:20 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Scientists find hidden rainfall pattern that could reshape farming

Where rain comes from may decide the future stability of global food production.

New research shows that crops are far more vulnerable when too much rainfall originates from land rather than the ocean. Land-sourced moisture leads to weaker, less reliable rainfall, heightening drought risk. The U.S. Midwest and East Africa are particularly exposed due to soil drying and deforestation. Protecting forests and improving land management could help stabilize rainfall and crop yields.



Allow me to point out that the Midwest used to have copious fencerows of trees and bushes, more pocket forests, and more farmhouse yards. People cut down most of those to clear a few more acres of farmland. The results have been poor across multiple areas including wildlife losses, soil erosion, worsening winds with less interruption, and of course the aforementioned droughts.

Birdfeeding

2025-12-12 03:18 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly cloudy and chilly. Yesterday it snowed.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/12/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Early Humans

2025-12-12 01:54 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
'It is the most exciting discovery in my 40-year career': Archaeologists uncover evidence that Neanderthals made fire 400,000 years ago in England

Neanderthals were the world's first innovators of fire technology, tiny specks of evidence in England suggest. Flecks of pyrite found at a more than 400,000-year-old archaeological site in Suffolk, in eastern England, push back archaeologists' evidence for controlled fire-making and suggest that key human brain developments began far earlier than previously thought.


It's exciting to see such concrete evidence.

ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's theme is Labyrinth.


[community profile] comicsfanfiction  -- Comics Fanfiction
The community for posting any fanfiction, ANY RATING IS ALLOWED, based on COMICS including webcomics or graphic novels. One main place to find all those stories that we all want. Comic fandoms that were originally from another medium (show, book, movie, etc) - for example Gargoyles, Star Wars or Star Trek - and has a comic series line (miniseries or not) are allowed here, but only if you focus on the comics-based information.
[Active with multiple posts in December.]

[community profile] crossovers  -- Crossover fiction from across the universe!
Crossover fan fiction.
[Active with multiple posts in November.]

[community profile] fandom_fanvids  -- A Collection of Fanvids from different Fandoms
[Active with one post in November.]

[community profile] labyfic  -- In Search of New Dreams: A Labyrinth Fan Community
Labyrinth movie community: fanfiction, fan art, & discussion.
[Active with multiple posts in December.]

Today's Adventures

2025-12-11 11:01 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we went up to Danville.

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Birdfeeding

2025-12-11 11:48 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and chilly.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity today though.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/11/25 -- It snowed quite a bit today.

Today's Cooking

2025-12-10 08:42 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today I made Crockpot Healthy Chicken Soup with the Mazyana Curry Spices.  Other ingredients included butternut squash, onion, peas, and pearl couscous.  It was okay, but not exciting. We did both like the pearl couscous as a soup / crockpot ingredient, which is good because we have most of a jar left.  If I make it again, I'll add more flavor.  Possibilities include increasing the curry powder, adding other seasonings such as a bay leaf or sage, and adding fresh garlic and/or ginger.

12/12/25 -- Adding more Curry Spices to the leftovers improved the flavor, but could still use more tinkering.