Congenial Conversations

Today is partly cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen any activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.





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astrakhan (AS-truh-kuhn, AS-truh-kan) - n., a closely-curled black or grey fleece of very young karakul lambs from Astrakhan, Russia; a cloth, usually wool and/or mohair, with a curled pile resembling this.


The fleece is also called karakul, sometimes more often called that, but the made imitation isn't ever. (Hats made from the fleece are also called karakul.) Astrakhan is in the upper Volga delta, which is still a good 100km/60mi from the Caspian Sea, and the sheep is bred throughout Central Asia because of its drought and famine hardiness -- for some reason, the fleece specifically from Astrakhan became known in western Europe, specifically in France, and we got the name from French (in the 1760s).

---L.

crypsis (noun)
cryp·​sis

• The ability of an organism to conceal itself especially from a predator by having a color, pattern, and shape that allows it to blend into the surrounding environment

etymology: 1956; cryp(tic) + -sis, or borrowed from Greek krýpsis "hiding, concealment," from kryp- (stem of krýptein "to hide, conceal") + -sis -sis

Crypsis in action!


from Wikipedia entry

Водители разбили палатки возле АЗС в российском Волгограде: "Ждем бензин". ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012408

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Воздушные силы нанесли серию авиаударов по штурмовым группам рашистов и пунктам управления БПЛА рф. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012506

Пограничники на юге уничтожили пушку Д-30, техническое оборудование и позиции оккупантов. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012455

Оккупант снял удар украинского FPV-дрона по блиндажу, в котором он находился вместе со своими приспешниками. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012531


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После атаки беспилотников вспыхнул пожар на военном аэродроме "Борисоглебск" в Воронежской области
https://censor.net/ru/n4012332

Дроны атакуют Татарстан: горит промзона, где расположены нефтепромышленные комплексы
https://censor.net/ru/n4012339

СБУ нанесла удар по нефтеперекачивающей станции в Башкортостане - ключевому объекту системы "Транснефть - Урал"
https://censor.net/ru/n4012402

БПЛА атаковали Саратовский НПЗ: после удара вспыхнул пожар
https://censor.net/ru/n4012336

В российской Твери после атаки дронов загорелась нефтебаза "Тверьнефтепродукт". ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/n4012536

Дроны атаковали нефтебазу в Ставропольском крае: возник пожар. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/n4012541


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Морской дрон Sea Baby поразил танкер "теневого флота" РФ в Черном море, - СБУ. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012457

В Таганрогском заливе атакованы два танкера: одно судно охватило пламя
Власти Ростовской области заявили о повторной атаке дронов на танкеры в Таганрогском заливе
https://censor.net/ru/n4012544

Еще 9 танкеров "теневого флота" РФ поразили СБС в Азовском море. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/n4012358




Силы беспилотных систем поразили ключевой энергоузел "Кубань-Крым" и ещё 53 военные цели оккупантов. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012500

Россиянин жалуется на удары дронов по логистике РФ возле Мелитополя: "Не доезжая 40 километров, х#ярят всё". ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012508

СБУ нанесла удары по Крыму и логистике РФ: поражены авиабаза "Джанкой", склады и порт
https://censor.net/ru/n4012353

СБС уничтожают логистику рашистов на сухопутном коридоре к Крыму: поражено 360 единиц транспорта
https://censor.net/ru/v4012345


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Российский Су-35 тлеет на земле после поражения Силами обороны. ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v4012561

Общие боевые потери РФ с начала войны - около 1 414 820 человек (+1 310 за сутки), 12 107 танков, 45 628 артиллерийских систем, 24 906 ББМ. ИНФОГРАФИКА
https://censor.net/ru/n4012538

Российская ПВО сбила собственный Ка-52 стоимостью 16 млн долларов во время охоты на украинские дроны
https://censor.net/ru/n4012567


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ВСУ освободили поселок Новохатское на Донетчине, который был оккупирован с 2025 года
https://censor.net/ru/n4012505

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260708.html

Swift Boost Mission

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260708.html

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...


* Comment on Just One Thing (8 July 2026) in awesomeers.

* Commented on Check-In Post - July 8th 2026 in get_knitted.

* Commented on "Speak Up Saturday" in tv_talk.

* Posted "Agriculture" in first_nations_freaks.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” No Work Food Gardens Based on Wild Edible Ecosystems

About 20 years ago, after I first started studying Permaculture, I went to work for a very sustainable Permaculture-oriented CSA farm. One day, after working all morning painfully tending, pruning, and weeding a patch of cane berries, I went for a bike ride along my favorite trail. Black raspberries were in season, so I went home, grabbed 3 3 gallon buckets and filled them up with raspberries.

That was when it hit me. NOBODY was working tending these, except for perhaps the deer and birds fertilizing them. Meanwhile, my own hands were covered with scratches from my morning work.


This is an example of humanity's earliest agriculture: encouraging plants we find useful in places where we go, and occasionally ripping out ones we don't want there. Wild plants can mostly take care of themselves. You don't have to fuss over them like delicate domestic fruits and vegetables.

My approach to laissez-faire permaculture is similar. I plant new things that seem promising. I try to help them establish. They live or die. The ones that live, I expect to take care of themselves. Some of what I grow is really good at that. \o/

Сегодня с утра прилетело сразу по трем нефтяным объектам — в Саратове, Нижнекамске и Уфе. В России не осталось ни одного крупного НПЗ, куда ни разу не наносили визиты украинские дроны, похвастался Зеленский на саммите НАТО и справедливо заметил, что все должны хотеть видеть в Альянсе такую страну, как Украина.

Топливный кризис в России набирает обороты — как раз вовремя иссякли запасы белорусских НПЗ, и спасительный ручеек топлива стал заметно скромнее. Мадяр и его команда тем временем делают все, чтобы в Крыму не было вообще никакого бензина: в Азовском море за 72 часа поражены целых 20 судов, в основном танкеров.

Логистический локдаун выбирается за пределы оккупированной территории Украины — в Белгороде снесли сразу два моста, по которым шло снабжение на Купянское направление. Тем временем в Константиновке обнаружились украинские позиции, причем там, где зетники уже 100 раз все закрасили.

В Твери пьяный быдлан пугал пассажиров автобуса, заявляя, что он командир отделения в «Ахмате». Неизвестно, имел ли он хоть какое-то отношение к кадыровским наемникам, но понятно, что таких вот героев СВО — и настоящих, и липовых — будет больше.


Об этом и многом другом — в свежей сводке.


https://youtu.be/msZrEStFFuw?si=rk0xdrYzlmGogcGJ

"Plural Checklist" by leathersys on tumblr -- copied on DW by synecdoches

I recently found an interesting survey on Tumblr by leathersys, called the Plural Checklist. They made this as a quiz for people who think they may be plural/multiple, but don't have classic amnesiac barriers, since a lot of quizzes and diagnostic tests are geared toward the most obvious dissociative symptoms. I like the questions, but I strongly dislike Google and don't want to send this info to a stranger, so I'm going to copy the questions here and consider my answers. Most of the questions were very insightful-- some shockingly so-- and only one or two of them made me feel like an out of touch old man.

Today's word is "doff."  Many folks will know it from "doff a hat" meaning to tip or take off.  However, it's also used widely in fibercrafting to mean removing fiber from a tool. 

Pop Culture Squad has a post about current Batman threads. In one of those, Oliver Queen / Green Arrow explains to Bruce Wayne / Batman what is wrong with the tech industry nowadays:

Ollie has a turn as the crusading liberal ex-millionaire, as he has a few opportunities to let us all know what he really thinks of Generative AI companies founded by tech bros. There’s one point where Ollie fills Batman in on it all. "They’re another generative AI company. Scraping personal data. Stealing art and stories and knowledge. Polluting and poisoning. Using masses of energy and water. Taking what the world actually needs to produce what nobody wants."


It's that last line I want people to remember and use to describe what is wrong with generative AI: "Taking what the world actually needs to produce what nobody wants." That's it in a nutshell.

Today is partly sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/8/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 7/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 7/8/26 -- We started breaking up the parts of the birdgift tree that had fallen into the south lot. There's about twice as much mow path past it now. We dumped 2 wheelbarrows of sticks into the firepit in the ritual meadow.

EDIT 7/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 7/8/26 -- I cracked open 2 apricot pits and got 2 big perfect seeds. I cracked open two batches of cherry pits and got several good seeds. I think the advice to let seeds air-dry for a few days is bad. One day at most. They shrivel up pretty fast.

I walked around for a bit. I saw 2 bats flying quite low in the house yard, and more flying high over the road and other places. I'm not sure if they're the same bats or not. I don't know how many I actually have.

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

I just want to note this down. It's so boring to be sick in bed with a fever. Skin hurts, eyes ache, bones feel like they are falling apart at the joints. Luckily I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night last night before the fever came and I got some stuff done: washed the dishes, made out checks for all the bills so I don't have that hanging over me anymore. Blaa.

elote (eh-LOH-tay) - n., corn/maize harvested before maturity; a Central American street food consisting of grilled or boiled young corn on the cob served on a stick and seasoned with a creamy sauce (such as mayonnaise, sour cream, or crema) and garnished with toppings (such as lime juice, cotija cheese, and chili powder).



Thanks, WikiMedia! Though it'd be a better shot if the stick wasn't blurred out

Also called Mexican street corn, though it's eaten this way throughout Central America with much regional variation in seasoning. Not to be confused with esquites, which is kernels of corn with the same dressings, served in a cup. We got the name from Mexican Spanish, where its primary meaning is the first one above (the street food is also called that, but because of the young cob not the preparation), in turn from Nahuatl ēlōtl, young/fresh ear of corn/maize. (Esquites fwiw is also from Nahuatl, from īzquitl, toasted corn kernels.)


Admin note: posting might be spotty over the next week due to external obligations (aka: adulting, ugh).

---L.

This has to have been an EARLY scifi novel. 80s- to early 00s at the latest.

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( Read more... )

Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260707.html

Where can you find dragons fighting in the night sky?

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260707.html

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Doff (verb, noun)
doff [dof, dawf]

verb (used with object), doffs, doffed, doffing
1. to remove or take off, as clothing.
2. to remove or tip (the hat), as in greeting.
3. to throw off; get rid of: Doff your stupid ideas and join our side!
4. Textiles.
a. to strip (carded fiber) from a carding machine.
b. to remove (full bobbins, material, etc.) from a textile machine.

noun
5. Textiles.
a. the act of removing bobbins, material, etc., and stripping fibers from a textile machine.
b. the material so doffed.



See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1300–50; Middle English, contraction of do off; cf. don

Example Sentences
"Long before the civil wars, men and boys were expected to doff their hats, indoors or out, whenever they met a superior," he says.
From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

The sellout crowd, which had long been on its feet, continuing cheering, eventually drawing Kershaw back out onto the field to doff his cap in appreciation.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025

When they arrive, there is a ceremonial greeting, where the Lords doff their black bicorn hats and the Commons representatives acknowledge this by bowing.
From BBC • May 25, 2024

“Courage Hats” wants a little too forcefully to guide us into “deep” places where we will doff our hidey-hats to reveal our true selves — abstract concepts for the literalizing peewee set.
From New York Times • May 20, 2022

We were required to doff our hats as the warder walked by.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela