Journal of Dw

The following poems from the June 3, 2025 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 "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."

( Read more... )

CEO invites the world to invest in refugees: 'Humanity flourishes when people have the tools to succeed'

“One in 10 of us will be displaced in 25 years. One in 10. Each of us is more likely to be displaced than ever before,” Oyler said in her TED Talk, which will be published at a later date.

“The time for incremental change is over. We must do things differently.”
[---8<---]
“When Uganda allowed refugees to work, the country's GDP increased by nearly a billion dollars,” Oyler said. “Ethiopia reformed its policies, and now thousands of refugees contribute in key sectors like agriculture and manufacturing.”

“When Rwanda, the country where I live, included refugees in its national ID program, they gained access to health care, financial services, and are growing an economy.”


It's all about knitting people into society as fast as possible. Make sure they have access to survival needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and health care. Then compare what they can do with what needs doing. To accommodate untrained workers, list your top 10 or so fields with a desperate shortage of workers, then offer free training for anyone who wishes to enter those fields.

Farmers are creating a brighter future for Bolivia’s red-fronted macaws

Once rural landowners learned they could generate income by protecting macaws, the endangered birds went from burdens to boons.


Progress!

dialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "recovering from nightmares."


For each person who sends at least one prompt, I’ll write a story, send it via private message or (for too long fills) an email, then write a brief thumbnail summary and post that in reply to the comment, and move on.

The prompt call will be open until around midnight local time on late Tuesday/early Wednesday, which gives everyone time to join in.

Today I started making liquid fertilizer from Russian comfrey. Begin with Part 1: Jugs. With those done, I harvested leaves.

( Walk with me ... )

Krakencoder predicts brain function 20x better than past methods

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a new algorithm, the Krakencoder, that merges multiple types of brain imaging data to better understand how the brain s wiring underpins behavior, thought, and recovery after injury. This cutting-edge tool can predict brain function from structure with unprecedented accuracy 20 times better than past models and even estimate traits like age, sex, and cognitive ability.


That ... sounds pretty exactly like something over in Terramagne. It's part of Thalassia's health care system, although they've had theirs for a while. *ponder* I think the ~20 year gap between here and there is holding steady.

We've reached the end of scheduled themes for the Poetry Fishbowl project. It's time to brainstorm some new themes! These are a few that I've jotted down earlier, ones that I've thought up or people have suggested, to give you an idea what kind of stuff might be suitable:

* Angels and Demons
* Apocalyptic Visions
* Emotional Regulation
* Faeries and Fey
* Fixit
* Pirates, Rascals, and Rogues
* Time Travel
* Westerns

What other themes would you like to see me write about? What would you like to buy? Suggest them in a comment below this post.

( Read more... )

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Pride Month
Birdfeeding
Early Humans
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Looks
Today's Adventures
Poem: "The Result of Your Own Bad Behavior"
Poem: "When Warmth and Gentleness Are Needed"
Poem: "Emodox"
Birdfeeding
Skate Park
Follow Friday 6-6-25: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Spring 2025 J-Z
Recipes
New Crowdfunding Project: "Aces and Aros"
Poem: "All It Takes to Be Invulnerable"
Poem: "The Bond with a Dog"
Birdfeeding
Read "Do you ever dream of land?"
Books
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Good News

"Not a Destination, But a Process" has 138 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 89 comments.


Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I actually finished a draft of the last obligatory poem yesterday, just need to get that tallied, proofread, and thumnailed. \o/


summerofthe69 is now open! You can see the calendar here and the initial theme is "First Time 69: Everyone has to start somewhere."


"In the Heart of the Hidden Garden" belongs to the Antimatter and Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It needs $86 to be fully funded. Lawrence shows Stan around the campus at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.


The weather has been warm and wet here. It rained again last night. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two mourning doves, a male cardinal, a catbird, and a fox squirrel. Astilbe, snowball bush, and daylilies have flower buds. Peonies are done blooming. Privet and mock orange are winding down. Currently blooming: dandelions, honeysuckle, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, red coreopsis, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, dogwood, Asiatic lilies, cucumber. Raspberries, blackberries, and tomatoes have green fruit. Wild strawberries and mulberries are ripe.

Today is partly sunny, mild, and damp.  It rained thoroughly last night.

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen much activity today though.

I put out water for the birds.

On the old picnic table, a cucumber is blooming.

EDIT 6/9/23 -- I did the indoor setup for the two jugs I'll be using to make comfrey liquid fertilizer, and took pictures.

EDIT 6/9/23 -- I tore up a handful of comfrey leaves for the first jug, put them in it, and filled the rest of the way with water.  If it works, this will produce a dilute solution of liquid fertilizer.

EDIT 6/9/23 -- I started filling the second jug.  This one needs to be entirely full of comfrey leaves.  I only got about halfway before I ran out of energy.  I'll have to work on it more later.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus two mourning doves.

EDIT 6/9/23 -- We went out to Fox Ridge and Lake Charleston.  So many things are blooming!  :D

EDIT 6/9/23 -- I added more comfrey leaves to the second jug.  It's mostly full now, but not tightly packed, so it still needs more leaves stuffed in.

EDIT 6/9/23 -- I added more comfrey leaves to the second jug.  While it's possible to push down the mass, it springs back immediately, making it hard to keep additional material inside.  I'll call it done for now.  If the stuff wilts down by tomorrow, I may add more then.

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

Today is mostly sunny, humid, and warm. It rained yesterday and last night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I dropped the Java moss into the trough pond. It floated. If it doesn't sink after absorbing water, I may need to find a rock to put on it.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I did a bit of weeding in the septic garden and new picnic table.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I did some work around the patio.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I sowed cypress vine seeds around the support wire and in the septic garden.  Some of the earlier ones have sprouted, but I plant extra because they often get eaten.

I gathered a few poppy seeds.

The first Asiatic lilies are blooming, white with pink tips, around the telephone pole.  :D  Daylilies have buds.

I've seen a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.

Lots of things are sprouting in the septic garden.  \o/

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I picked half a bag of mulberries in the south lot and along the front fence.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a mourning dove.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I picked half a bag of mulberries along the front fence and in the savanna.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I pulled weeds from the tulip bed.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I pulled weeds along the strip garden.

The sky clouded over in the afternoon and feels like it might rain again.

EDIT 6/8/25 -- I pulled weeds around the edge of the house yard.

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