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ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-06-05 02:17 pm
Birdfeeding
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 6/5/25 -- I put out more food for the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.
EDIT 6/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio. This included putting a piece of mosquito dunk into the red birdbath.
EDIT 6/5/25 -- I walked around the yard a bit. Everything is still pretty wet.
The 'Lemon Boy' tomato has green fruit. :D
EDIT 6/5/25 -- I pulled weeds along the strip garden.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
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neatorama_feed) wrote2025-06-05 09:38 amPassing On Human Genes is Neither Easy Nor Efficient
Human beings are sometimes described as the apex species of earth, which you would assume from the way we've taken over. But it wasn't easy getting here, and the way we make more humans is real crapshoot, evolutionarily speaking. This is true of all mammals, in comparison to insects or birds, but humans have a harder time and a much higher failure rate than other mammals. For every fertilized egg that makes it to actual birth, two are failures and are discarded along the way, most even before a woman knows she is pregnant. About half of these miscarriages are because the fertilized egg has the wrong number of chromosomes. Another way that human reproduction is so fraught is because of the huge demands a human fetus put on the mother, leading to conditions like gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, which can be fatal.
What makes humans so uniquely bad at reproduction among mammals? There are plenty of theories, but the evidence points to the fact that we developed large brains that demand more resources, and to the fact that such a brain, and other features that define us as human, developed when the world's population was so low that mutations weren't selected out early. Read how the human gene system went strangely wonky at the Conversation.
neatorama_feed) wrote2025-06-05 09:01 amAlien Comes to TV with Alien: Earth
When Sigourney Weaver kicked ass in the movie Alien in 1979, it set off a tsunami of sequels and loosely related films. That was because the alien xenomorph scared the daylights out of us. It was only a matter of time before this universe was brought to television. The series Alien: Earth debuts on FX on August 12th.
This series takes place before the events of the original 1979 movie (but after Prometheus and Alien: Covenant), so you know that what happens will be held tightly wrapped from the public on earth. The premise is that a spaceship from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation crash-lands on earth. As you might guess, there is facehugger on board. But there are also four other alien species brought back from who-knows-where! We may never find out, but we know that these aliens are not benign, and present a lethal threat to earth. -via Geeks Are Sexy
senmut) wrote2025-06-05 11:18 amPRIDE 3: Jareth/Nick Knight
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forever Knight, Labyrinth
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Nicholas "Nick" Knight, Jareth [Labyrinth]
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Attempted Seduction
Summary:
Jareth spots new prey
Stranger to the Ball
Jareth smiles as he sees the stranger. It's not often that one of them wanders into the spaces between worlds. Still, they can be interesting in their own ways, if they are not too lost in the ennui of living so long.
Living, for certain values thereof, Jareth amends in his mind.
He maneuvers his way in that direction, watching the stranger take in all of the oddities of the ball's participants. Masks that are cunningly crafted to deliver only a facet of the wearer's personality are works of art, some reeking of the arcane energies invested in them. Others do little to hide the person behind it, much as his own registers as regal and capricious.
A flick of his hand, and Jareth sees to the man's garb, turning it from passable nobility to proper formality and frivolity, the crimson threads shot through the dark cloth with sinister flair.
His guest doesn't notice at first, and Jareth is annoyed, wondering which of his court lured the man in. Yet then the change is appreciated, seen in the mirrored column betwixt dancers. His lovely red-headed courtier seems intent on interception, and he snaps a small stinging swat at her with his magic, forcing her to move on.
"And what, my lonesome wolf, brings such as you to my demesnes?" he asks as he steps into the man's field of vision, setting the mask on its baton to one side, smiling at his most charming.
"I… do not know. I followed a girl…" Already the effect of the court is pressing on the stranger, and Jareth feels a surge of giddy pleasure in the idea of keeping this one for a time.
"There are plenty of women present, but surely, having been led astray by the fairer sex, some time in more masculine company might be preferred?" Jareth invites. "Call me Jareth," he says easily, enjoying the way the man licks at his lips unconsciously.
"Nicki," the stranger gives. "Nicolas de Brabant."
Jareth felt the compulsion of his court pull the full name forth, sees the small frown for having given it, and he reaches with his free hand to stroke the cheek of his interesting distraction.
"This place is unlike any you have seen, and you may enjoy yourself… even to you nature, darling Nikki," Jareth croons at him, before vanishing his mask away, freeing his hands. "A night of dance among those who are not as the mortals you dally among, hmm? Perhaps… with more private dances after?"
His temptations linger, darkening the eyes, before the man tries to deny himself, to find a way out.
For now, Jareth lets him go, but he saw the desire, for that moment, and knows he will find his prey in time.
Perhaps he will deign to dally among mortals to find this Nicki, watching the vampire be caught in several dancers' hands on his way to finding the exit.
"Your hungers could match mine, if you freed them fully."
damninteresting_link_feed) wrote2025-06-05 09:50 am
neatorama_feed) wrote2025-06-05 06:03 amPooping Dog Birthday Cake
How can I get my dog to poop promptly, ideally on command, accepting that one place is as good as another?
This birthday cake simulates what an ideal dog would be able to accomplish in the morning before we have to get to work. The woman uses a cigarette lighter to the release of the cake/dog's digestive tract. Something that is technically edible releases into a pile. Good dog!
-via Born in Space
neatorama_feed) wrote2025-06-05 05:47 amThe Star Trek Astrotank
The Original Series prompted the creation of some very strange merchandise. Most notably, the notorious Spock helmet never appeared in the Original Series, although it did make an appearance in the more recent comedy Lower Decks.
Like the Spock helmet (officially "Space Fun Helmet"), the Astrotank was clearly created by a design team that had never watched Star Trek or did not care about product topicality at all. It had Star Trek written on the side and a sticker vaguely resembling the Starfleet logo. Tanks made only two appearances on Enterprise and none of them looked like this . . . thing.
Still, you can buy an Astrotank if you wish. They're occasionally listed on eBay, albeit for steep prices.
The Astrotank and Space Fun Helmets are only two bizarre items of Star Trek merchandise produced. You can see 7 others at Star Trek's official webpage, including a Star Trek V marshmallow dispenser.
-via @TheMekon_Venus