Shop for Good Sunday

Today is Shop for Good Sunday. This holiday highlights businesses whose goods and services support values, not just making money and shuffling junk around. The founder Done Good lets you shop by type of product, by values, gift guides, and so on.

If you know what your friends and family value -- whether that's fair trade or sustainability or women-owned businesses -- then you can buy treats they might not ordinarily get because the good, responsible stuff tends to cost more. Pay attention to packaging: some companies just slap on a seal or few and call it good, but others really highlight the values aspect of their goodies with text or illustrations so your recipient will definitely notice it. The same goes for cards or gift wrapping in companies that offer that service.




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Moment of Silence: Marty Krofft

Producer Marty Krofft has passed away.  He was known for many television shows including "Land of the Lost." 

Strange Metal

'Strange metal' is strangely quiet in noise experiment

Physicists find evidence of exotic charge transport in quantum material.
Experiments have provided the first direct evidence that electricity seems to flow through 'strange metals' in an unusual liquid-like form.


I think they're onto something with that generic behavior idea.  Now they just need to figure out the parameters and formulate a theory describing how it works.  Once they have that in hand, inventors can start frobbing around in search of technological applications.  That fluidity seems very promising.  

Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy, cold, and wet.  It rained last night, enough to leave large puddles.  Now it's spitting rain and a few bits of snow.  A beautiful day to stay indoors and write!

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows at the hopper feeder. 

Pool Update

The pool is closed for the half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics. The sale runs through the end of today, so if you have any last-minute shopping to do, now's the time. There's still a lot of short stuff left.

I will post the sponsored poems as I have time:

"A Great Deal of Energy and Determination"
"New Rules Every Season"
"Dreamers and Rebels "

Holiday Potpourri Jar

I've had one of these things for years. Periodically I have to take it apart and rebuild it, when the potpourri loses its scent and/or the string of lights gives out.

This year I couldn't find a string of 20 so I wound up with a string of 50. Note that you need incandescent bulbs not LED bulbs, as it's the faint heat which releases more scent from the potpourri. I managed to cram them all in there, once I realized that I needed to skip my usual method of putting a toilet paper tube in the middle while packing to keep the lights on the outside. It's hard to find good potpourri nowadays, with small pieces -- it's mostly huge chunks meant for a large open display bowl. I did add a couple of cinnamon sticks and some cinnamon-scented larch cones.

Anyhow, I got it working again. :D

Poetry Fishbowl Report for November 7, 2023

This month's theme was "Intentional Communities." I wrote from 1:30 PM to 5 AM, so about 13 hours 30 minutes, allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote 4 poems on Tuesday and another 7 later in the week.

Participation was down, with 9 comments on LiveJournal and another 38 on Dreamwidth. A total of 12 people sent prompts. There were no new prompters.


Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the November 7, 2023 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Ripples with No Logical End"
"A Song So Specific"


Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from November 7. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include: librarygeek, fuzzyred, and mama_kestrel.  There are 2 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.


The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

General Fund Poll

The general fund currently contains $5. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open at least until Monday afternoon. If there's a clear answer then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open a little longer.

These are your options:

"Before You Can Love Me" belongs to Iron Horses and has 12 new verses. Spotted Deer and Warshirt discuss counseling and life skills.

"That Light Bulb in Your House with a Short in It" belongs to Shiv, Iron Horses, and Foster Fiasco. It has 49 new verses. Shiv and the Iron Horses debate what they can do for the other children in the Adder house.

Poll #30250 General Fund Poll

This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

View Respondents

How do you want to distribute the $5?

View Answers

ALL $5 into "Before You Can Love Me"
4 (25.0%)

ALL $5 into "That Light Bulb in Your House with a Short in It"
12 (75.0%)

Poem: "Brush Goats"

This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It fills the "goat" square in my 5-1-23 card for the Pets and Animals Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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New verses in "Before You Can Love Me"

Thanks to a donation from Anthony Barrette, there are 34 new verses in "Before You Can Love Me."  Warshirt and Spotted Deer talk about oppression and hope.

Modern Robotics

Here's a fun look at some current news in robotics, including a self-mobile cube.