How do you decide what to read?
Jul. 1st, 2025 10:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kareilaPersonally, I am such a F/SF devotee that a huge number of the books I end up checking out are sourced directly from Tor's lists of new releases. They publish the lion's share of my current favorite authors and seem to be responsible for the majority of recent Hugo nominees.
I also rely heavily on my local libraries. There are two in particular with good F/SF sections and I am able to find most of the books that I want to read in their collections instead of having to purchase them. I also regularly browse their nonfiction new releases and recommendations for younger readers.
The other major source of recommendations for me is social media - mostly you all here on Dreamwidth, but also Bluesky, Facebook, and Discord. I'm always paying attention to what my friends are into.
Occasionally I'll see an interesting book on the shelf at Target or Barnes & Noble, but I'm not located near any independent bookstores, alas.
Rebuilding journal search again
Jun. 30th, 2025 03:18 pmalierak in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceMeanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.
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Jun. 30th, 2025 08:34 amcanadiangirlgeek in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
addmeAge: 47
I mostly post about: Being Gen-X, Canadian, ramblings of day to day life, my mental health, sometimes the state of the world (though I try to keep that to a minimum), what I'm currently reading, Nelson shenanigans (my cat)
My hobbies are: I knit and crochet; writing, watching movies/television (mostly drama and British telly), reading, 'cozy' colouring with alcohol markers, music (love to listen to new things)
My fandoms are: I used to be very into fandoms 10 or so years ago, but not so much anymore. It can be exhausting.
I'm looking to meet people who: above all, are kind. 20+ of age, and have some interests in common. It would be ideal if you like to comment on entries.
My posting schedule tends to be: aiming for daily, but likely a few times a week. I'm journaling again at the suggestion of my therapist.
When I add people, my dealbreakers are: the usual: racism, anti-LGBTQIA+. I used to be a big Harry Potter fan, but no longer and I generally stay away from those who still embrace the fandom, JKR, and the books/movies.
Before adding me, you should know: I'm a very kind and sensitive person and try to be thoughtful and respectful when commenting on others entries, so I hope to receive the same in return. Also, I have an odd sense of humour and I use "LOL" and "<3" a lot.
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Jun. 29th, 2025 03:35 pmtheharbourreader in addmeAge: 37
I mostly post about:
Life on the Cornish coast, daily swims in the sea, studio days at the pottery wheel, what’s blooming in the garden, what I’m reading (mostly mid-century women writers), the small rituals that keep me steady, and occasional thoughts on slow living and soft rebellion.
My hobbies are:
Ceramics, sea swimming, baking things that go with tea, reading literary fiction (especially anything with layered domestic dynamics and quiet emotional collapse), pressing flowers into notebooks, and making seasonal playlists.
I'm looking to meet people who:
Write or read with heart, find beauty in the everyday, value kindness, know the pleasure of a well-brewed pot of tea, or also spend entire evenings choosing which notebook to start. Anyone who understands that joy and sadness often walk hand in hand.
My posting schedule tends to be:
Softly inconsistent— I'm aiming for 2-3x week, sometimes once a week, sometimes three times in a day if I’m feeling chatty or emotionally unspooled. Usually seasonal—more reflective in winter, more playful in summer.
When I add people, my dealbreakers are:
Cruelty, racism, snobbery, homophobia, transphobia, or taking yourself far too seriously. I’m not here for edge for edge’s sake.
Before adding me, you should know:
I write a little like I talk—long, meandering, full of parentheses and feelings. I will absolutely comment on your post about moss or jam or the book you half-finished three years ago. I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to be soft on purpose.
Science, Skepticism, and Engineering Netcasts
Jun. 28th, 2025 02:06 ambeavertech in scienceOne of the oldest netcasts out there! Live every Wednesday night (US timezones). Check them out on YT or subscribe via Antennapod or any other podcatcher. Subscribe to their newsletter. Weekly news by Dr. Kiki, Blair Baz The Zoologist who has her Animal Corner segment, and Justin Jackson who's a science writer and funny dude. They also broadcast on FM radio in California from UC Davis.
Since 2006, the weekly Skeptoid podcast has been taking on all the most popular urban legends and revealing the true science, true history, and true lessons we can learn from each. Skeptoid is a listener supported501(c)(3) nonprofit. Learn moreAnother one of the oldest netcasts out there on critical thinking and science. Featuring Dr. Steven Novella, Dr. Cara Santa Maria, and a few others. Tune in for the weekly "Who's That Noisy?", "Science or Fiction?", and other segments.
Conversations with interesting people about interesting topics.Hosted by Rod Pyle, Tariq Malik
The new space age is upon us, and This Week in Space leaves no topic untouched. Every Friday, join Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine, Rod Pyle and Managing Editor of Space.com, Tariq Malik as they explore everything related to the cosmos.Join Club TWiT to remove ads. New episodes every Friday.
Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff. Also on most public radio stations in the US.
Hosted by Dr. Jessica Steier and Dr. Sarah Scheinman. Together they debunk health science myths and break down complex topics - without oversimplifying them. Combating disinformation with expert discussion.Based at Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), the Naked Scientists are a team of scientists, doctors and communicators whose passion is to help the general public to understand and engage with the worlds of science, technology and medicine.
They have a whole bunch of netcasts!
We're making a podcast about engineering disasters and systemic failures, from a leftist perspective.
Brought to you by the BBC every week covering the latest science news.
The world's first podcast dedicated to exploring AI and the technological singularity. Dive into thought-provoking interviews where cutting-edge technology meets deep ethical discussions. We focus on exponential tech, accelerating change, and the critical choices shaping our future. Our mission is to uncover unprecedented dangers and opportunities, empowering you to create a better future and a better you.They host a bunch of weekly science news netcasts on microbology, viruology, and others. They're blocking my VPN IP currently so I can't really get ya any more info right now! Search in your podcatcher.
What do you guys listen to that's science-y.
NASA APOD 25/06/28 - Lunar Farside
Jun. 27th, 2025 11:27 pmbeavertech in science
Explanation: Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks very different from the nearside covered with smooth dark lunar maria. A likely explanation is that the farside crust is thicker, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form dark, smooth maria.
NASA APOD 25/06/27 - Messier 109
Jun. 27th, 2025 11:25 pmbeavertech in science
Explanation: Big beautiful barred spiral galaxy Messier 109 is the 109th entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog of bright Nebulae and Star Clusters. You can find it just below the Big Dipper's bowl in the northern constellation Ursa Major. In fact, bright dipper star Phecda, Gamma Ursa Majoris, produces the glare at the upper right corner of this telescopic frame. M109's prominent central bar gives the galaxy the appearance of the Greek letter "theta", θ, a common mathematical symbol representing an angle. M109 spans a very small angle in planet Earth's sky though, about 7 arcminutes or 0.12 degrees. But that small angle corresponds to an enormous 120,000 light-year diameter at the galaxy's estimated 60 million light-year distance. The brightest member of the now recognized Ursa Major galaxy cluster, M109 (aka NGC 3992) is joined by spiky foreground stars. Three small, fuzzy bluish galaxies also on the scene, identified (top to bottom) as UGC 6969, UGC 6940 and UGC 6923, are possibly satellite galaxies of the larger barred spiral galaxy Messier 109.
EPOD 25/06/27 - Wyoming’s Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake
Jun. 27th, 2025 11:20 pmbeavertech in sciencePhotographer: Ray Boren
Summary Author: Ray Boren
Under a big blue sky, the morning sun illuminates a central portion of Wyoming’s majestic Teton Range, which is mirrored via specular reflection in a calm and equally blue bay of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. In this photograph, taken on May 23, 2025, the park’s namesake Grand Teton peak, topping out at 13,775 feet (4,199 meters) above sea level, is on the far-left side of the image, to the south. Blocky Mount Moran (12,610 feet; 3,840 m) rises prominently just left of center.
The snow still covering the Tetons on this spring day makes it easy to envision the Pleistocene ice-age glaciers that helped carve the mountains’ jagged summits, cirques, and U-shaped drainages. The Park Service explains that the Teton Fault began tilting the range’s primarily granite mountain block upward about 10 million years ago while also dropping the valley of Jackson Hole. Although masked by snow in the photograph, almost a dozen glaciers remain in the park today, some moving and some mere remnants. They, and erosion from water, wind and gravity, continue to shape the dramatic terrain.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Coordinates: 43.7904, -110.6818
Related Links:
Sunset and Specular Reflection at Great Salt Lake
Davey Jackson’s Valley in Winter
The Tetons, from the Idaho Side
aha!
Jun. 26th, 2025 01:30 amtwistedchickHe finally does show up early in season 4, and from the first moment I saw him I kept thinking, 'where do I know this actor from'? His face, older and lined, was like many other actors, but that voice was singular.
So I looked him up.
He played Denethor in LOTR, the bad father who tried to burn his younger son to death and immolate himself on the fire as well -- the worst of the fathers in LOTR.
Tone down the madness, make him a high-level businessman with a finger in every government, and you have Sherlock's father. Pretty good casting.