Science

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:13 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Stanford scientists found a way to regrow cartilage and stop arthritis

Scientists have found a way to regrow aging cartilage, raising hopes for arthritis treatments that could make joint replacements obsolete.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured joints, dramatically improving movement and joint function. Human cartilage samples from knee replacement surgeries also began regenerating when exposed to the treatment
.


Well, that would be super useful ... if it's not blocked by megacorps making the current arthritis treatments. Then again, most politicians are old and would probably like to have this option, so maybe they'll tell the megacorps to fuck off for once.

Good News

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:11 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
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?

Poem: "A Hurricane of Butterflies"

Jan. 20th, 2026 08:27 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls, inspired by a discussion with [personal profile] a_natural_beauty. It also fills the "WILD CARD: Denial" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. It has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred.

Read more... )

Website Updates

Jan. 20th, 2026 05:33 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] crowdfunding
Thanks to a lot of work by [personal profile] fuzzyred, you can now read A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows on its own landing page. :D This series of linguistic poetry uses novel words presented in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

Website Updates

Jan. 20th, 2026 05:29 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Thanks to a lot of work by [personal profile] fuzzyred, you can now read A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows on its own landing page. :D This series of linguistic poetry uses novel words presented in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

Animal Intelligence

Jan. 20th, 2026 02:17 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Cow are the latest animals observed using tools, reopening the debate about animal intelligence

Researchers report the first documented case of tool use in cattle, based on a Swiss Brown cow named Veronika who doesn’t just grab an object and rub it against herself.

She chooses the “right” part of a tool for the job, changes her technique depending on where she’s scratching, and repeats those choices in a way that looks consistent and intentional.


Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Jan. 20th, 2026 02:14 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is sunny and cold. 

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/20/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen at least one starling.

EDIT 1/20/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

We brought in more firewood to stack beside the stove.

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

Linguistics

Jan. 20th, 2026 01:08 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Here's an interesting observation:

Hey ding-dongs, let’s have a chit-chat about Ablaut reduplication.

If you have three words, the order usually goes 'I-A-O.'
-tic-tac-toe

If there are only two words, ‘I’ is the first and the second is either ‘A’ or ‘O.’
-click-clack
-King-Kong



I can think of a few exceptions, like "bone-dry," and more rhymes like "helter-skelter." Some like "merry-go-round" seem to follow a similar high to low pattern.

(no subject)

Jan. 20th, 2026 08:02 am
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[personal profile] pshaw_raven
We've had a couple of nights this week in the 20s, so when spring comes around, we ought to avoid The Bugpocalypse. You know it's cold when I actually sleep with my window closed. But between my weighted blanket and my bedroom being like a meat locker, I've been getting pretty good sleep.

I don't know what else to post because nothing much has been happening. I haven't gone much of anywhere because I've lost most of my desire to go do anything outside of my weekly errands. I've been cleaning up in my office and boxed a lot of books to donate to the Friends of the Library sale, thrown things out, etc. My new desk pad came in, so I'm enjoying that - I have one for the drawing tablet, and now one for the other desk for typing and mouse use.

I can see frost on the deck railing.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The following poems from the January 6, 2026 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... )

Today's Cooking

Jan. 19th, 2026 08:03 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today I made Crockpot Xawaash Chicken Stew.  I added some chopped cherry tomatoes.  They worked pretty well, but didn't cook very evenly.

I also made Sour Cream Biscuits. We had sour cream left over from a previous recipe.  Honestly, I thought these were a failure because they didn't fluff up at all.  The texture is more like a dumpling than a biscuit.  But they have a great sour cream flavor, and they worked quite well with the stew.  If you have spare sour cream, it's worth a try.

Snowflake Challenge 10: Moodboard

Jan. 19th, 2026 05:25 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Challenge #10: Big Mood (Board)

CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU LOVE AND CREATE A MINI MOOD COLLECTION OF THREE (or more) ITEMS THAT EVOKE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT IT. You don’t have to limit yourself to visual media, or collect the items into a special format like a square (though you can if you’d like).

I’ve seen other people put together visual moodboards – assembling colors, stock photos, character stills, and other images that go together and evoke the feeling of that fandom (or story, or character). I’m not that good with visuals, so I’ll often put together playlists, or song quotes, or some mix of all of the above.

I love freeform challenges that let you choose how you want to respond, so I hope you’ll like this one! (And if you’d like a bit more direction, I have some suggestions later in this post.)



Snowflake Challenge: A mug of coffee or hot chocolate with a snowflake shaped gingerbread cookie perched on the rim sits nestled amidst a softly bunched blanket. A few dried orange slices sit next to it.

Read more... )

Safety

Jan. 19th, 2026 05:23 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Scientists trace fertilizer microplastics from fields to beaches

Tiny plastic coatings from farm fertilizers are quietly reshaping the mystery of “missing plastics” in the ocean.

Plastic-coated fertilizers used on farms are emerging as a major but hidden source of ocean microplastics. A new study found that only a tiny fraction reaches beaches through rivers, while direct drainage from fields to the sea sends far more plastic back onto shore. Once there, waves and tides briefly trap the particles on beaches before many vanish again. This helps explain why so much plastic pollution seems to disappear after reaching the ocean
.


That sounds like another problem that could be reduced with a ban on using plastic to make microbeads.

Birdfeeding

Jan. 19th, 2026 03:09 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly sunny and cold.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows and a lady cardinal.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen two starlings and a male cardinal.

EDIT 1/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night. 5:20 and I can still see light in the west. :D

Communities

Jan. 18th, 2026 09:48 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Radical Neighbouring: The Farm Where Nothing is for Sale

This video asks a compelling question: What does a human look like who isn't a consumer?

Read more... )

OPN Seed Order

Jan. 18th, 2026 05:38 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today we ordered seeds from OPN Seed. This completes my goal of making at least 2 catalog orders by the end of February. I still have more catalogs to go through, but I got two of the most important done. \o/

Read more... )

Art

Jan. 18th, 2026 04:24 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] xt1me  posted samples of Avatar: The Last Airbender playing cards, very well designed.

Profile

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