Per TMZ: Metafilter user and occasional cartoonist plannedchaos has passed away.
JOE: We're gonna have to live with them eventually.Watching a film set in the Troubles on the eve of travel to Minneapolis and after doing some reading about Palestine may not have been the wisest course. Then again, maybe it was. No time like the present.
HARRY: Who?
JOE: The Protestants, Harry. The other half of the population.
"The Boxer" is mostly about Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson's characters' relationship, but there's a lot of focus on Harry the IRA warlord and Joe the more political-minded IRA leader as well.
HARRY: And what are you offering, Joe?I'll be doing bus-stop watch for a couple of days, making sure kids can get home from school or seeing where they get taken if they don't. It's scary out here.
JOE: Peace, Harry. Peace.
HARRY: Well, I'm sure you can deliver.
If yesterday was an edge case, this one’s completely off the edge — when I was compiling the week’s words, I failed to notice this one is not Polynesian but Micronesian, and while the two groups do make up the Eastern branch of Oceanic languages, it’s still off topic. My bad. Especially as the history is too interesting to give up:
bikini (buh-KEE-nee) - n., a close-fitting, two-piece women’s bathing suit that does not cover the midriff.
The history is easier to explain in chronological order. One of the northernmost of the Marshall Islands is a coral atoll called Pikinni (stress on the first syllable) in Marshallese, from pikin, flat land + ni, coconut, so (is)land where coconuts grow. When the Marshall Islands were part of the colony of German New Guinea, the German adaptation was Bikini (still stressed on the first syllable), it became known by that in English (stressed first syllable) and French (stress typically on the second syllable, following that language’s norms). Japan took over the Marshall Islands in 1914 at the start of WWI, and the USA took it over following WWII, and from 1946-1958 they test-fired 23 nuclear weapons on Bikini Atoll. [Sidebar: They relocated the ~150 inhabitants first, and since in traditional Marshallese culture wealth is based on how much land your clan controls, this impoverished them.] Four days after the first test-fire on Bikini in July 1946, French designer Louis Réard introduced a new midriff-baring two-piece swimsuit, which he named bikini (stressed second syllable) after it, the idea being that it was just as much a sensation. Um. Yeah. [Sidebar2: Thanks to the swimsuit, the atoll now is just as likely to be pronounced with stress on the second syllable. Second round of Um. Yeah.]
---L.
bikini (buh-KEE-nee) - n., a close-fitting, two-piece women’s bathing suit that does not cover the midriff.
The history is easier to explain in chronological order. One of the northernmost of the Marshall Islands is a coral atoll called Pikinni (stress on the first syllable) in Marshallese, from pikin, flat land + ni, coconut, so (is)land where coconuts grow. When the Marshall Islands were part of the colony of German New Guinea, the German adaptation was Bikini (still stressed on the first syllable), it became known by that in English (stressed first syllable) and French (stress typically on the second syllable, following that language’s norms). Japan took over the Marshall Islands in 1914 at the start of WWI, and the USA took it over following WWII, and from 1946-1958 they test-fired 23 nuclear weapons on Bikini Atoll. [Sidebar: They relocated the ~150 inhabitants first, and since in traditional Marshallese culture wealth is based on how much land your clan controls, this impoverished them.] Four days after the first test-fire on Bikini in July 1946, French designer Louis Réard introduced a new midriff-baring two-piece swimsuit, which he named bikini (stressed second syllable) after it, the idea being that it was just as much a sensation. Um. Yeah. [Sidebar2: Thanks to the swimsuit, the atoll now is just as likely to be pronounced with stress on the second syllable. Second round of Um. Yeah.]
---L.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Dear Care and Feeding,
I am at a loss for what to do with my almost 11-year-old.
He argues constantly about everything. Here’s an example of the arguing: We made gingerbread houses this weekend. He got home from school, and I gave him a snack. While he was eating, he said, “I’m going to smash the gingerbread house on Christmas.” I said, “Nope, we do it on New Year’s Eve.” He said, “I made mine, so I get to smash it when I want.” I replied, “Nope, we always do it on New Year’s.” He kept repeating himself until I finally said, “We are done arguing, just drop it.” To which he retorted, “You just drop it!” I then asked him to go anywhere in the house besides the kitchen because he was still talking about it after I asked him to stop. (I couldn’t leave, I was helping his sitter get a snack, and doing dishes.) He then yelled at me, “You leave! Why do I have to leave if you’re the one with the problem?”
This happens every time he talks to me. I don’t get it. I want to spend time with him, but he is so hard and angry right now. He is so exhausting. He is nice to everyone else except his little sister and me. Whenever she talks to him, he makes fun of how she said something. Please help!
—Argued Out
Dear Argued Out,
It seems as if your son is truly upset with something other than what you’re actually arguing about. For example, in the case of the gingerbread house, he seemed upset about the loss of autonomy in making decisions about the house that he created, rather than the actual fact of not being allowed to smash it on Christmas. Does he feel like you always make all of the big and little decisions, while he isn’t allowed to make any? During these tween ages, it’s totally normal to want more freedom. It sounds like that could be the case, but you’ll need to ask him directly. Approach him in a quiet moment—not when you’re in the middle of a squabble and try to get to the bottom of it and his emotions. But make sure to stress that there is a way to respectfully share his feelings, especially when talking to his little sister. Also, think about the small ways that you can let him make his own decisions. Smashing his own gingerbread house, for example, doesn’t really hurt anyone else. So, sometimes, consider letting him make decisions that aren’t necessarily the ones you’d make.
In these day-to-day situations, do your best to keep calm. If your emotions start to rev up, his will automatically do the same. Then ask him why he wants to do something and encourage him to rephrase what he is saying. The fact that he only gets angry with you and his sister shows that he’s capable of communicating and expressing himself, but is too frustrated in those moments to do so. I’m unsure of where this inability is ultimately coming from, but some conversations with a therapist—for the whole family—during calmer times when emotions aren’t running so high would be beneficial for everyone. Good luck!
—Arionne
I am at a loss for what to do with my almost 11-year-old.
He argues constantly about everything. Here’s an example of the arguing: We made gingerbread houses this weekend. He got home from school, and I gave him a snack. While he was eating, he said, “I’m going to smash the gingerbread house on Christmas.” I said, “Nope, we do it on New Year’s Eve.” He said, “I made mine, so I get to smash it when I want.” I replied, “Nope, we always do it on New Year’s.” He kept repeating himself until I finally said, “We are done arguing, just drop it.” To which he retorted, “You just drop it!” I then asked him to go anywhere in the house besides the kitchen because he was still talking about it after I asked him to stop. (I couldn’t leave, I was helping his sitter get a snack, and doing dishes.) He then yelled at me, “You leave! Why do I have to leave if you’re the one with the problem?”
This happens every time he talks to me. I don’t get it. I want to spend time with him, but he is so hard and angry right now. He is so exhausting. He is nice to everyone else except his little sister and me. Whenever she talks to him, he makes fun of how she said something. Please help!
—Argued Out
Dear Argued Out,
It seems as if your son is truly upset with something other than what you’re actually arguing about. For example, in the case of the gingerbread house, he seemed upset about the loss of autonomy in making decisions about the house that he created, rather than the actual fact of not being allowed to smash it on Christmas. Does he feel like you always make all of the big and little decisions, while he isn’t allowed to make any? During these tween ages, it’s totally normal to want more freedom. It sounds like that could be the case, but you’ll need to ask him directly. Approach him in a quiet moment—not when you’re in the middle of a squabble and try to get to the bottom of it and his emotions. But make sure to stress that there is a way to respectfully share his feelings, especially when talking to his little sister. Also, think about the small ways that you can let him make his own decisions. Smashing his own gingerbread house, for example, doesn’t really hurt anyone else. So, sometimes, consider letting him make decisions that aren’t necessarily the ones you’d make.
In these day-to-day situations, do your best to keep calm. If your emotions start to rev up, his will automatically do the same. Then ask him why he wants to do something and encourage him to rephrase what he is saying. The fact that he only gets angry with you and his sister shows that he’s capable of communicating and expressing himself, but is too frustrated in those moments to do so. I’m unsure of where this inability is ultimately coming from, but some conversations with a therapist—for the whole family—during calmer times when emotions aren’t running so high would be beneficial for everyone. Good luck!
—Arionne
It was raining in Seattle when I left and is a little drippy here this morning.
The Seattle airport, SeaTac, was weirdly a bit of a mess. The security set up was not nearly as efficient or as well equipped as the one in Austin. To get on the plane we had to go outside on the tarmac where the jets were taking off and landing (far away from them but still on the same ground with jet fuel and noise and fumes) then up a set of ramps to get into the plane. I can only assume they are doing lots of work somewhere and this is the temporary result of that work. But the difference between the Austin airport and the Seattle airport was striking. We'll see how temporary that is in five months when I do it again.
The flight was uneventful. I was wearing my hoodie and put on the Bose sound killing head phones, flipped up the hood, put on four or five episodes of Pluribus, and disappeared from the world for a few hours. I've got a routine. Crawl into my cave and return when the metal tube has deposited me near where I'm going.
All is well here, nothing went amiss while I was gone. Beaux is very happy to have me back and I was thrilled to see him. Similar experience with Dana and Toby but in Beau's case lots of enthusiasm and body wagging.
My weight is unchanged after a week of different eating and everything else and no exercise. So that is encouraging. It will be nice to get back in the groove with measured food and pickleball. Time to get serious about losing that last ten or fifteen pounds. I've already reached my initial goal only to find it is not actually the one I want. But I'm happy with the progress and ready for more.
A week off from exercise is too long. I can feel it. And the immediate snap back to form that I enjoyed when I was younger isn't going to happen now. I'll need to put in a lot more effort and focus to get back to where I was a week ago. It slips away so quickly.
I do miss being able to go down to the Timber Ridge library at 6AM and read the physical WSJ paper with one of the residents. He never even looked up when I arrived but acknowledged me on his way out. Companionable silence, coffee, and someone to have the paper ready.
But I trade it off for quiet house and morning coffee and feeding Beaux.
I've got lunch today with my networking group but that's it. Such a nice schedule. A couple of other things to do with scheduling later in the week and accounts of one kind or another but nothing pressing.
I do kind of like my schedule.
So I wait for a couple of days to be sure I didn't pick up any virus during the travels. Finger's crossed. I didn't notice anyone who looked sick and did spend some quality time washing my hands in the airport.
Time to walk the dogs.
The Seattle airport, SeaTac, was weirdly a bit of a mess. The security set up was not nearly as efficient or as well equipped as the one in Austin. To get on the plane we had to go outside on the tarmac where the jets were taking off and landing (far away from them but still on the same ground with jet fuel and noise and fumes) then up a set of ramps to get into the plane. I can only assume they are doing lots of work somewhere and this is the temporary result of that work. But the difference between the Austin airport and the Seattle airport was striking. We'll see how temporary that is in five months when I do it again.
The flight was uneventful. I was wearing my hoodie and put on the Bose sound killing head phones, flipped up the hood, put on four or five episodes of Pluribus, and disappeared from the world for a few hours. I've got a routine. Crawl into my cave and return when the metal tube has deposited me near where I'm going.
All is well here, nothing went amiss while I was gone. Beaux is very happy to have me back and I was thrilled to see him. Similar experience with Dana and Toby but in Beau's case lots of enthusiasm and body wagging.
My weight is unchanged after a week of different eating and everything else and no exercise. So that is encouraging. It will be nice to get back in the groove with measured food and pickleball. Time to get serious about losing that last ten or fifteen pounds. I've already reached my initial goal only to find it is not actually the one I want. But I'm happy with the progress and ready for more.
A week off from exercise is too long. I can feel it. And the immediate snap back to form that I enjoyed when I was younger isn't going to happen now. I'll need to put in a lot more effort and focus to get back to where I was a week ago. It slips away so quickly.
I do miss being able to go down to the Timber Ridge library at 6AM and read the physical WSJ paper with one of the residents. He never even looked up when I arrived but acknowledged me on his way out. Companionable silence, coffee, and someone to have the paper ready.
But I trade it off for quiet house and morning coffee and feeding Beaux.
I've got lunch today with my networking group but that's it. Such a nice schedule. A couple of other things to do with scheduling later in the week and accounts of one kind or another but nothing pressing.
I do kind of like my schedule.
So I wait for a couple of days to be sure I didn't pick up any virus during the travels. Finger's crossed. I didn't notice anyone who looked sick and did spend some quality time washing my hands in the airport.
Time to walk the dogs.
I had completely forgotten about this old workaround until today, and honestly, it's a lifesaver in my loud office workplace. Since my iPhone doesn't allow me to charge and listen simultaneously without a bulky dongle, I finally remembered I can just tether it to my computer via a USB cable. By opening iTunes, I can access my entire library of 2,000+ tracks directly from the phone while it stays at 100% battery.
The real winner in this setup is my Etymotic IEMs. In our noisy workspace, their passive isolation provides an epic level of noise reduction. It's actually more effective than active noise cancellation (ANC) because it blocks out office chatter and high-frequency sounds.
I'm finally back in my high-fidelity bubble.
The real winner in this setup is my Etymotic IEMs. In our noisy workspace, their passive isolation provides an epic level of noise reduction. It's actually more effective than active noise cancellation (ANC) because it blocks out office chatter and high-frequency sounds.
I'm finally back in my high-fidelity bubble.
things melted last week and everything was mud, so I got a couple days break from spreading straw. weirdly, my problem elbow hurt more when I wasn't using it constantly than when I was. Not sure what's up with that. The temperature dropped again, so the ground froze again. Did another load at dawn this morning but discovered a belt had worn weirdly on the shredder, so I need to run to town today and get a new one before we shred more.
The pottery class I was going to take isn't actually available on Wed, their only evening hours are mondays from 5-8 and they only just updated that on facebook and haven't emailed me back. I'm busy that night, so that's out. I could theoretically do day classes but with how short the days are, any daylight is needed for work hours especially if I need extra warmup time between morning and afternoon. ETA: I found another studio with wed classes and easier signup procedures. done.
I did go to spinners guild on sunday and it was a gosh dang delight including one of the longer term guild members coming this time who is queer in so many ways and everyone was lovely to him. It was so so so nice and relaxing. I think for the next meeting I'm going to get either my electric wheel battery up and running or take my smaller wheel and start an alpaca spin on it. My CPW is too big and loud for the space we've been meeting in. I got there right at 1pm and was still one of the later arrivals, so clearly I need to get there even earlier :)
We have started the wood stove indoors back up, so that's nice. I missed it. We ran out of wood that size and it had gotten warm, so there was less point in running it. Dad got on the roof and cleaned the chimney out while it was off, so that was nice and split some of the wood at the rental into wood stove size for both their house and mine.
I did kickstart my parents into doing work on their house! I sanded their office floor and then mom cleaned it and we sealed and finished it together. Definitely one of those times where it would have been faster with just one person, but so be it. My dad has been working on their living room wall drywall which is next in line. They do have renters moving into the rental Feb 1, so there is painting to be done there, plus some other small misc stuff. Parents' house also needs paint so I will be helping with some amount of painting. I didn't do drywall in my upstairs bathroom yet as expected, but I'm planning to later this week when dad is around to help me move the drywall outside to cut and then upstairs to get in place. They do have an extremely firm deadline of house renovations of June when my dad's college buddies are coming to visit, so there's that. We did discover that nice foosball tables are extremely heavy and it would be good to have more than two people to get it in a bilco basement door. I didn't get squished but it was very very heavy. After we got it down there, my dad said, you know, I think it did say something about being over 200lbs. hmm. thanks dad. Although we would have had to get a cousin or something to come help, which my parents are slightly allergic to asking for help, so I dunno if that would have happened anyway. We do have a vague plan to get the floor done which is good and there is progress happening. Given my parents hated the smell of the seal and finish, we are waiting to move them into the house until the living room/dining room/kitchen are all sealed and finished.
Winter is one of those times where I am just sleepy a lot, so I do accept this as a fact of life but also am fully aware that I am relatively isolated from the local area. In NY, I had an established friend groups, I had places I could go when I wanted a little socializing or crafting with folks, all sorts of things. Here I don't have any of that, so I'm trying to find something. Over the summer, I was so busy with the farm that I didn't really notice, but now I really can tell. To be fair, I have three nights a week where I have weekly social opportunities, but they are all digital. I know I need to push myself and get out there but it's hard and farm work is a bit unpredictable with when we need to run for straw and things. So spinners guild was excellent. I'm hoping to go to a meetup this saturday, although I'll be missing gaming with Jade that night for it. I need to do something thur/fri nights. And maybe some saturdays during the day. Hmm.
The pottery class I was going to take isn't actually available on Wed, their only evening hours are mondays from 5-8 and they only just updated that on facebook and haven't emailed me back. I'm busy that night, so that's out. I could theoretically do day classes but with how short the days are, any daylight is needed for work hours especially if I need extra warmup time between morning and afternoon. ETA: I found another studio with wed classes and easier signup procedures. done.
I did go to spinners guild on sunday and it was a gosh dang delight including one of the longer term guild members coming this time who is queer in so many ways and everyone was lovely to him. It was so so so nice and relaxing. I think for the next meeting I'm going to get either my electric wheel battery up and running or take my smaller wheel and start an alpaca spin on it. My CPW is too big and loud for the space we've been meeting in. I got there right at 1pm and was still one of the later arrivals, so clearly I need to get there even earlier :)
We have started the wood stove indoors back up, so that's nice. I missed it. We ran out of wood that size and it had gotten warm, so there was less point in running it. Dad got on the roof and cleaned the chimney out while it was off, so that was nice and split some of the wood at the rental into wood stove size for both their house and mine.
I did kickstart my parents into doing work on their house! I sanded their office floor and then mom cleaned it and we sealed and finished it together. Definitely one of those times where it would have been faster with just one person, but so be it. My dad has been working on their living room wall drywall which is next in line. They do have renters moving into the rental Feb 1, so there is painting to be done there, plus some other small misc stuff. Parents' house also needs paint so I will be helping with some amount of painting. I didn't do drywall in my upstairs bathroom yet as expected, but I'm planning to later this week when dad is around to help me move the drywall outside to cut and then upstairs to get in place. They do have an extremely firm deadline of house renovations of June when my dad's college buddies are coming to visit, so there's that. We did discover that nice foosball tables are extremely heavy and it would be good to have more than two people to get it in a bilco basement door. I didn't get squished but it was very very heavy. After we got it down there, my dad said, you know, I think it did say something about being over 200lbs. hmm. thanks dad. Although we would have had to get a cousin or something to come help, which my parents are slightly allergic to asking for help, so I dunno if that would have happened anyway. We do have a vague plan to get the floor done which is good and there is progress happening. Given my parents hated the smell of the seal and finish, we are waiting to move them into the house until the living room/dining room/kitchen are all sealed and finished.
Winter is one of those times where I am just sleepy a lot, so I do accept this as a fact of life but also am fully aware that I am relatively isolated from the local area. In NY, I had an established friend groups, I had places I could go when I wanted a little socializing or crafting with folks, all sorts of things. Here I don't have any of that, so I'm trying to find something. Over the summer, I was so busy with the farm that I didn't really notice, but now I really can tell. To be fair, I have three nights a week where I have weekly social opportunities, but they are all digital. I know I need to push myself and get out there but it's hard and farm work is a bit unpredictable with when we need to run for straw and things. So spinners guild was excellent. I'm hoping to go to a meetup this saturday, although I'll be missing gaming with Jade that night for it. I need to do something thur/fri nights. And maybe some saturdays during the day. Hmm.
Be Cassandra While Western Civilization Collapses Around You!
Jan. 13th, 2026 08:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mallorys_cameraWhere, oh where, did I go wrong?
I think by picking up the wrong travel brochure in Bardo.
Clearly, I was reaching for the glossy folder emblazoned, Enjoy your next incarnation as a veterinarian in the 1930s & 1940s Yorkshire Dales!
Instead, my astral fingers fumbled, & I picked up the one labeled, Be Cassandra while Western Civilization collapses around you! (Note: This material contains themes of intense sadness, depression, hopelessness, and emotional distress.)
###
Anyway, yesterday I did regain a modicum of sanguinity: It was a bright, sunshiney, though intensely cold day & I shot the shit with a couple of my fellow tax-preparing wage slaves at the Schlock office who laughed at all my jokes and told me they never peddled product unless the client was clearly on the verge of being swept up in a financial maelstrom. Their eyes widened with admiration when I went into my patented rant about how companies bloated with middle management always update their perfectly functional software & support documents every year because that's the only way middle management can justify its existence.
I am a mouse trained on scraps! The things that keep me happy are so small! All I really need is an audience for an hour & a chance to show off how much I remember from my university economics classes.
###
Came home & realized that Chapter 4 in the Work in Progress would be wayyyyyy too long if I followed my kinda/sorta outline. Really, I need to split it into a Chapter 4 and a Chapter 5!
And Chapter 4 has to end with an elliptical, evocative, & allusive conversation with the New Millennium Kingdom girl—
And here, I totally ran out of steam.
Because while it's staying light till 5pm now, it's still midnight at 6pm, and I can't work at night.
Which is weird because I'm perfectly capable of working at 4 o'clock in the morning when it's just as dark.
###
So! Notes for the final climactic Chapter 4 WiP scene, which hopefully, I can polish off before I toddle off to the gym:
Brief review of the revolving signage on the New Millennium Kingdom table: COVID is God's Down Payment, The Blood of the Lamb Works Better Than Purell, etc, etc, etc.
One time I asked her (your enigmatic question & response goes here)
Another time I asked her, "But what did you do before this?"
She laughed and said, "I was a broker at Goldman Sachs."
Work Buy the dip, short the godless index into the dialog somehow.
Has to be some ruminations about the Universe's plan & the very last line will be the girl laughing at Grazia, Didn't we already decide that?
I think by picking up the wrong travel brochure in Bardo.
Clearly, I was reaching for the glossy folder emblazoned, Enjoy your next incarnation as a veterinarian in the 1930s & 1940s Yorkshire Dales!
Instead, my astral fingers fumbled, & I picked up the one labeled, Be Cassandra while Western Civilization collapses around you! (Note: This material contains themes of intense sadness, depression, hopelessness, and emotional distress.)
###
Anyway, yesterday I did regain a modicum of sanguinity: It was a bright, sunshiney, though intensely cold day & I shot the shit with a couple of my fellow tax-preparing wage slaves at the Schlock office who laughed at all my jokes and told me they never peddled product unless the client was clearly on the verge of being swept up in a financial maelstrom. Their eyes widened with admiration when I went into my patented rant about how companies bloated with middle management always update their perfectly functional software & support documents every year because that's the only way middle management can justify its existence.
I am a mouse trained on scraps! The things that keep me happy are so small! All I really need is an audience for an hour & a chance to show off how much I remember from my university economics classes.
###
Came home & realized that Chapter 4 in the Work in Progress would be wayyyyyy too long if I followed my kinda/sorta outline. Really, I need to split it into a Chapter 4 and a Chapter 5!
And Chapter 4 has to end with an elliptical, evocative, & allusive conversation with the New Millennium Kingdom girl—
And here, I totally ran out of steam.
Because while it's staying light till 5pm now, it's still midnight at 6pm, and I can't work at night.
Which is weird because I'm perfectly capable of working at 4 o'clock in the morning when it's just as dark.
###
So! Notes for the final climactic Chapter 4 WiP scene, which hopefully, I can polish off before I toddle off to the gym:
Brief review of the revolving signage on the New Millennium Kingdom table: COVID is God's Down Payment, The Blood of the Lamb Works Better Than Purell, etc, etc, etc.
One time I asked her (your enigmatic question & response goes here)
Another time I asked her, "But what did you do before this?"
She laughed and said, "I was a broker at Goldman Sachs."
Work Buy the dip, short the godless index into the dialog somehow.
Has to be some ruminations about the Universe's plan & the very last line will be the girl laughing at Grazia, Didn't we already decide that?
Bread Chronicles is a quiet YouTube channel that films pleasant, dialogue-free videos of bread making. They pick larger bakeries and from around the world, and just show their process.
Previously: A similar channel, The Scandinavian Fika.
Previously: A similar channel, The Scandinavian Fika.
The Nobel Prize can't be revoked. Darn. If it could be, I'd revoke the Nobel Prize for the frontal lobotomy. That hasn't aged well.
William Allen, the Quaker polymath, scientist, financier and all-round do-gooder was an ancestor of mine. His younger brother Samuel was my several times great grandfather. Does that make William my many times great uncle? I'm not sure. Anyway we are related.
I don't think the brothers were close. Leastways Samuel doesn't get a mention in the biography of William I'm currently reading. William was a high-flier, active on the world-stage, whereas Samuel was never anything more than a respected Quaker preacher.
Here's William, wearing a Quaker hat. (I want one)
And here's Samuel, holding forth (gloomily?) at a Quaker Meeting.
The difference in status between the two brothers can be gauged by the quality of their portraits. William gets a delicate pencil sketch by Mlle Romilly- the distinguished Swiss painter- while Samuel makes do with a daub by his brother-in-law Samuel Lucas, the brewer.
Oh, these old time Quakers, they're so serious! William is esteemed by the Duke of Wellington and more than esteemed by the saintly Russian tsar Alexander I but wouldn't it be jolly if he'd occasionally meet a poet (there were enough of them around in his era) or attend the theatre or say something funny. He had a wonderful mind for facts but he wasn't creative or playful. He partnered the great Robert Owen in setting up schools for the poor but fell out with him over what should be taught. Owen wanted to teach music and dancing and what we would now call ecology while William wanted nothing but Bible study. Oh, Uncle William, do lighten up!'
You may gather I'm having a hard time actually liking him. A man, however mild and obliging, who wants his nieces to read Pliny to him over breakfast is never going to be my soul-brother.
But he did like the ladies! His third marriage- to a woman pushing 70 and a good decade older than himself- allowed the profane to go, "See, we always said the Quakers are randy old goats under those silly hats." Cartoons were published. Sincere and loving Friends wrote to tell him, "Don't do it!" For the first time in his life he was a cause for merriment....
Ah, unseemliness! Now that's more like it!
I don't think the brothers were close. Leastways Samuel doesn't get a mention in the biography of William I'm currently reading. William was a high-flier, active on the world-stage, whereas Samuel was never anything more than a respected Quaker preacher.
Here's William, wearing a Quaker hat. (I want one)
And here's Samuel, holding forth (gloomily?) at a Quaker Meeting.
The difference in status between the two brothers can be gauged by the quality of their portraits. William gets a delicate pencil sketch by Mlle Romilly- the distinguished Swiss painter- while Samuel makes do with a daub by his brother-in-law Samuel Lucas, the brewer.
Oh, these old time Quakers, they're so serious! William is esteemed by the Duke of Wellington and more than esteemed by the saintly Russian tsar Alexander I but wouldn't it be jolly if he'd occasionally meet a poet (there were enough of them around in his era) or attend the theatre or say something funny. He had a wonderful mind for facts but he wasn't creative or playful. He partnered the great Robert Owen in setting up schools for the poor but fell out with him over what should be taught. Owen wanted to teach music and dancing and what we would now call ecology while William wanted nothing but Bible study. Oh, Uncle William, do lighten up!'
You may gather I'm having a hard time actually liking him. A man, however mild and obliging, who wants his nieces to read Pliny to him over breakfast is never going to be my soul-brother.
But he did like the ladies! His third marriage- to a woman pushing 70 and a good decade older than himself- allowed the profane to go, "See, we always said the Quakers are randy old goats under those silly hats." Cartoons were published. Sincere and loving Friends wrote to tell him, "Don't do it!" For the first time in his life he was a cause for merriment....
Ah, unseemliness! Now that's more like it!
The woman who solved problems in her sleep and other Aussie inventors honoured in National Archives of Australia exhibition. From the age of 10, Myra Juliet Farrell was inventing things. But most of the time, she'd wake up to find her solutions scrawled on walls and blankets.
I hadn't thought about this painting in decades, until I rewatched the USA-versus-France gold-medal basketball game of the 2024 Olympics. I watched the last four minutes and thirty seconds of that game more times than I watched anything else in 2024, except Kendrick's "Not Like Us" music video. During one of these viewings, I watched the game on my phone, and as Steph Curry set his feet—and sat in the chair—to launch that shot, I clicked two buttons on the side of my phone. Before I could see the shot go in for the 114th time, I opened the photo and shifted it to black and white, and I just sat there in my bed weeping. from The Worst Shot Ever Taken by Kiese Laymon [The Believer]
Ernie Barnes, previously Steph Curry, previously Kiese Laymon, previously
Ernie Barnes, previously Steph Curry, previously Kiese Laymon, previously
Vision Pro Vision Board: Just let me sit courtside and watch an NBA game
Jan. 13th, 2026 07:26 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
metafilter_feedDear Apple - "All that you need to do, to not just create a good-enough experience but a superior experience, is simply set up the cameras and let me get from the Vision Pro what I can't get from anything else: the feeling that I am actually there. And, I would add, you shouldn't stop with the Lakers: there should be Vision Pro cameras at every NBA game, at every NFL game, at every NHL game, at every MLB game — they should be standard issue at every stadium in the world. There should be Vision Pro cameras at every concert hall and convention center. None of these cameras need a dedicated host or announcers or production crew, because the Vision Pro isn't TV; it's actual presence, and presence is all you need."
oof, another 2 day gap in update.
Was it only yesterday that we had the taiko new year's? Spouse woke up early to make food, and then we went to rehearsal, followed by mochi making, followed by performance. Around 2pm was when I hit a wall re: energy and ability to People, so 2-3pm was pretty miserable because I was still trapped at the taiko thing and there was still more socializing to do. I crashed after I got home, and then crashed even more at night. But at least the event was done, and I got to have freshly-pounded mochi in ozoni soup, which is the best thing ever.
Today was the first day of the semester, so there was a lot of running around getting curriculum pulled together, but tomorrow should be more relaxing because it's doing stuff I've already done before. Whew! Really looking forward to a morning where I get to slow down and plan for the semester and send some emails and update some google forms. \o/
I should also: clean up my car (long-overdue), and get to drawing my comic again.
I think when I'm more tired I can hear more of the electricity in the lights
Was it only yesterday that we had the taiko new year's? Spouse woke up early to make food, and then we went to rehearsal, followed by mochi making, followed by performance. Around 2pm was when I hit a wall re: energy and ability to People, so 2-3pm was pretty miserable because I was still trapped at the taiko thing and there was still more socializing to do. I crashed after I got home, and then crashed even more at night. But at least the event was done, and I got to have freshly-pounded mochi in ozoni soup, which is the best thing ever.
Today was the first day of the semester, so there was a lot of running around getting curriculum pulled together, but tomorrow should be more relaxing because it's doing stuff I've already done before. Whew! Really looking forward to a morning where I get to slow down and plan for the semester and send some emails and update some google forms. \o/
I should also: clean up my car (long-overdue), and get to drawing my comic again.
I think when I'm more tired I can hear more of the electricity in the lights
September 20, 2025
October 30, 2025
A satellite image shows a portion of the dark blue Caribbean Sea near Jamaica. A submerged carbonate platform appears as a slightly brighter blue area of water in the center. The mostly green island of Jamaica is in the upper right, and scattered clouds are present throughout.
NASA Earth Observatory
A satellite image shows a portion of the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica. Much of the water in the middle third of the image is bright blue due to suspended sediment. The mostly green island of Jamaica is in the upper right, and scattered clouds are present throughout.
NASA Earth Observatory
A satellite image shows a portion of the dark blue Caribbean Sea near Jamaica. A submerged carbonate platform appears as a slightly brighter blue area of water in the center. The mostly green island of Jamaica is in the upper right, and scattered clouds are present throughout.
NASA Earth Observatory
A satellite image shows a portion of the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica. Much of the water in the middle third of the image is bright blue due to suspended sediment. The mostly green island of Jamaica is in the upper right, and scattered clouds are present throughout.
NASA Earth Observatory
September 20, 2025
October 30, 2025
Before and After
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025, as a category 5 storm, bringing sustained winds of 295 kilometers (185 miles) per hour and leaving a broad path of destruction on the island. The storm displaced tens of thousands of people, damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 structures, inflicted costly damage on farmland, and left the nation’s forests brown and battered.
Prior to landfall, in the waters south of the island, the hurricane created a large-scale natural oceanography experiment. Before encountering land and proceeding north, the monster storm crawled over the Caribbean Sea, churning up the water below. A couple of days later, a break in the clouds revealed what researchers believe could be a once-in-a-century event.
On October 30, 2025, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image (right) of the waters south of Jamaica. Vast areas are colored bright blue by sediment stirred up from a carbonate platform called Pedro Bank. This plateau, submerged under about 25 meters (80 feet) of water, is slightly larger in area than the state of Delaware. For comparison, the left image was acquired by the same sensor on September 20, before the storm.
Pedro Bank is deep enough that it is only faintly visible in natural color satellite images most of the time. However, with enough disruption from hurricanes or strong cold fronts, its existence becomes more evident to satellites. Suspended calcium carbonate (CaCO3) mud, consisting primarily of remnants of marine organisms that live on the plateau, turns the water a Maya blue color. The appearance of this type of material contrasts with the greenish-brown color of sediment carried out to sea by swollen rivers on Jamaica’s southern coast.
As an intense storm that lingered in the vicinity of the bank, Hurricane Melissa generated “tremendous stirring power” in the water column, said James Acker, a data support scientist at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center with a particular interest in these events. Hurricane Beryl caused some brightening around Pedro Bank in July 2024, “but nothing like this,” he said. “While we always have to acknowledge the human cost of a disaster, this is an extraordinary geophysical image.”
Sediment suspension was visible on Pedro and other nearby shallow banks, indicating that Melissa affected a total area of about 37,500 square kilometers—more than three times the area of Jamaica—on October 30, said sedimentologist Jude Wilber, who tracked the plume’s progression using multiple satellite sensors. Having studied carbonate sediment transport for decades, he believes the Pedro Bank event was the largest observed in the satellite era. “It was extraordinary to see the sediment dispersed over such a large area,” he said.
The sediment acted as a tracer, illuminating currents and eddies near the surface. Some extended into the flow field of the Caribbean Current heading west and north, while other patterns suggested the influence of Ekman transport, Wilber said. The scientists also noted complexities in the south-flowing plume, which divided into three parts after encountering several small reefs. Sinking sediment in the easternmost arm exhibited a cascading stair-step pattern.
Like in other resuspension events, the temporary coloration of the water faded after about seven days as sediment settled. But changes to Pedro Bank itself may be more long-lasting. “I suspect this hurricane was so strong that it produced what I would call a ‘wipe’ of the benthic ecosystem,” Wilber said. Seagrasses, algae, and other organisms living on and around the bank were likely decimated, and it is unknown how repopulation of the area will unfold.
Sediments from the top of Pedro Bank contain masses of calcified red algae, flaky sands made of Halimeda macroalgae remnants, and carbonate mud. The wing-like shape of Halimeda sand allows it to be lifted and transported while waters are turbulent, and finer mud remains suspended longer. These samples were acquired during a research expedition in the winter of 1987-1988 and are archived at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Photo by Jude Wilber, January 8, 2026.
Perhaps most consequentially for Earth’s oceans, however, is the effect of the sediment suspension event on the planet’s carbon cycle. Tropical cyclones are an important way for carbon in shallow-water marine sediments to reach deeper waters, where it can remain sequestered for the long term. At depth, carbonate sediments will also dissolve, another important process in the oceanic carbon system.
Near-continuous ocean observations by satellites have enabled greater understanding of these events and their carbon cycling. Acker and Wilber have worked on remote-sensing methods to quantify how much sediment reaches the deep ocean following the turbulence of tropical cyclones, including recently with Hurricane Ian over the West Florida Shelf. Now, hyperspectral observations from NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission, launched in February 2024, are poised to build on that progress, Acker said.
The phenomenon at Pedro Bank following Hurricane Melissa provided a singular opportunity to study this and other complex ocean processes—a large natural experiment that could not be accomplished any other way. Researchers will be further investigating a range of physical, geochemical, and biological aspects illuminated by this occurrence. As Wilber put it: “This event is a whole course in oceanography.”
NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview, and ocean bathymetry data from the British Oceanographic Data Center’s General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). Photo by Jude Wilber. Story by Lindsey Doermann.
References & Resources
- Acker, J.G. and Wilber, R.J. (2025) The first 25 years of satellite carbonate sedimentology: What have we learned? The Depositional Record, 11(3), 975-997. In: Kump, L.R., Ingalls, M., and Hine, A.C. (eds) Carbonate depositional environments: Past and future questions—A Tribute to the career of E.A. Shinn.
- Acker, J.G. and Wilber, R.J. (2024) Satellite-Derived Estimates of Suspended CaCO3 Mud Concentrations from the West Florida Shelf Induced by Hurricane Ian. Environmental Sciences Proceedings, 29(1):69.
- EBSCO Research Starters (2024) Carbonate Compensation Depths. Accessed January 9, 2026.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2025, November 25) A Direct Hit on Jamaican Forests. Accessed January 9, 2026.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2023, April 6) Stirring Up Carbonate in the Coral Sea. Accessed January 9, 2026.
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