Philosophical Questions: Privacy

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Is privacy a right?

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Creative Jam

The October crowdfunding Creative Jam is now open with a theme of "Trees." Come give us prompts, or claim some for your own inspiration.


What I Have Written

"The Frankenstein Trees" is today's freebie.


From My Prompts

Birdfeeding

Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful fall day.

I haven't fed the birds yet. i've seen a flock of house finches, a lady cardinal, a starling, a downy woodpecker, and a fox squirrel.

I started planting a bag of 35 Muscaria armeniacum blue grape hyacinths in the house yard.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I planted more grape hyacinths in the house yard.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I finished planting more grape hyacinths in the house yard.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches (including house sparrows and probably song sparrows), several more starlings, and a tufted titmouse who has discovered one of the sunflower heads that I hung in the forest garden.  :D

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds and watered a few plants.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I watered the newly planted grape hyacinths, patio plants, picnic table, and septic garden.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I watered the savanna seedlings, prairie notch, white garden, telephone pole garden, and grass patch.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I watered the prairie notch again, the maple garden, and the amethyst garden.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/19/24 -- I picked the last 5 of the 'Gypsy' peppers.  Two were red-ripe, one full-grown but still mostly green, and then two small green ones.  I'll definitely watch for this cultivar next year, it's my favorite now.

As it is time for supper, I am done for the night.

Unsold Poems for the October 1, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl

The following poems from the October 1, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "Qui Gatta Ci Cova," "Pumpkin Spice Prosperity," "Delight in Another," "A Sense of Weather Changes," "Ouroboros Insects," "The Loving Embrace of Night," "Generations of Cooks Past," "Homefree and Clear, " "One Bite at a Time," "Stars and Diamonds," "Mishpocha," "Changing Your Nature," and "Besa."

Note that the October 15, 2024 Bonus Fishbowl has sold out. \o/


"All My (Lost) Relations"
Summary: Smaller relatives evoke memories of their larger ancestors.
31 lines, Buy It Now = $15

"In Silver Mist"
A Scottish stanza.
Summary: If you visit Scotland, don't pet strange ponies!
6 lines, Buy It Now = $5

"Niche Market"
Story Date: October 2024
Summary: There's a place where you can buy anything you need.
27 lines, Buy It Now = $15

"Not the Machines, But the People"
Summary: Menachem shares Rosh Hashanah with a Gentile man.
87 lines, Buy It Now = $44

It was Rosh Hashanah,
and so Yossele was
sleeping in the wagon
for the rest-day.


"So Much Gray Area"
Story Date: Friday, July 18, 2014
Summary: SPOON asks Mallory for a favor regarding soup pregnancies.
514 lines, Buy It Now = $257

Mallory was washing dishes
when her vidwatch went off.


"A Solitary Path"
Summary: Many species have only been reported once. Occasionally, someone makes second contact.
48 lines, Buy It Now = $20

"The Strange Transformations of the Moth"
Story Date: Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Summary: Shiv attends an art session about moths and mothmen. He has Very Interesting Ideas on this topic.
247 lines, Buy It Now = $124

After supper, Shiv went over
to Hanson Hall because Ahimsa
was running an evening class
called Moths and Mothmen.


"The Twin Cornerstones of a Civilized Society"
Story Date: Monday, August 20, 2012
Summary: Fracta faces her first day of college.
295 lines, Buy It Now = $148

Fracta trotted up the steps to
the Mullins Library, her backpack
bouncing on her shoulders and
her rainbow hair fluttering free.

Games as Art of Agency

stepnix posted about games as art of agency, based on this article, which is a smaller version of a larger book on the topic.

Games may seem like a waste of time, where we struggle under artificial rules for
arbitrary goals. I suggest that the rules and goals of games are not arbitrary at all.
They are a way of specifying particular modes of agency. This is what make games a
distinctive art form. Game designers designate goals and abilities for the player; they
shape the agential skeleton which the player will inhabit during the game. Game
designers work in the medium of agency. Game-playing, then, illuminates a
distinctive human capacity. We can take on ends temporarily for the sake of the
experience of pursuing them. Game-play shows that our agency is significantly more
modular and more fluid than we might have thought. It also demonstrates our
capacity to take on an inverted motivational structure. Sometimes we can take on
an end for the sake of the activity of pursuing that end.

( Read more... )

Pesticide Scanner

When he learned 75% of produce was crawling with pesticides, a teen invented a handheld AI chemical scanner

“That’s why I designed PestiSCAND, a handheld app that’s a pesticide detector,” Subash said, holding up his invention — a device that uses AI machine learning to measure the wavelengths of light reflecting off produce and analyze the data.

This would give shoppers much more information about the safety of their food, and perhaps they will demand food that is not coated in toxins.

I hope it remains legal. It seems like the sort of thing that megacorps would want to ban.