kay_mulan | Reading

I went to the cemetery today and it was the first warm day of spring - even the wind was warm, and all the birds were going absolutely nuts, they were so loud. The snowdrops are in full bloom everywhere and they look so incredibly lovely against the leaf litter.

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

Today I took some pictures around the yard and did a couple of garden crafts. These are from the house yard and savanna. (See the Worm Bin and the Water Garden.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

mark posting in

dw_dev

We've seen some questions lately about AI and how it relates to Dreamwidth, especially around scraping and training. Rather than answer piecemeal, I wanted to talk through how denise and I are thinking about this and try to be explicit about some things.

Dreamwidth is a user-supported service. We don't build the service around monetizing user data, and that informs how we approach AI just like it informs everything else we do.

Your content and AI training

Dreamwidth does not and will not sell, license, or otherwise provide user content for AI training. We have not and will not enter into data-access agreements for AI training purposes.

We will continue taking reasonable technical steps to discourage large-scale automated scraping, including known AI crawlers, where it is practical to do so. No public website can prevent scraping with absolute certainty, but we will keep doing what we reasonably can on our side.

AI features on Dreamwidth

Dreamwidth will not introduce AI features (and we have no current intention of doing so) that use or process user content without a public discussion with the community first.

We're only phrasing it like this because we can't predict the future and who knows what will be possible and available in five or ten years, but right now there's nothing we can see wanting to add.

If that ever changed, the conversation would happen openly before any decisions were made.

Site admin uses of AI

Keeping Dreamwidth usable means dealing with things like spam and abuse, and that sometimes requires automated admin tools to be more efficient or effective.

We are not currently using AI-driven systems for moderation or similar decisions.

If we ever decide that an AI-based tool would help address a site admin problem like spam, we will explain what we are doing and how it works (and ask for feedback!) before putting it into use. Any such tools would exist only to make it easier and more efficient for us to do the work of running the site.

AI and code contributions

Dreamwidth is an open-source project, and contributors use a variety of tools and workflows.

Contributors may choose whether or not to use AI-assisted tools when writing or reviewing code. Dreamwidth will not require contributors to use AI tools, and we will not reject contributions solely because AI-assisted tools were used.

For developers: if you use any AI-assisted development tools for generating a pull request or code contribution, we expect you to thoroughly and carefully review the output of those tools before including them in a pull request. We would ask the community not to submit pull requests from automated agents with no human intervention in the submission process.

I think it's important and I want to be able to review, understand, and maintain any contributions effectively, and that means humans are involved and making sure we're writing code for humans to work with, even if AI was involved.

Important note: this applies to code only. We expect any submitted images or artwork (such as for styles, mood themes, or anything else) to be the work of a human artist.

And to be very explicit, any AI-assisted development does not involve access to Dreamwidth posts or personal content.

In short summary

Dreamwidth does not and will not provide user content for AI training
Dreamwidth have not and will not enter data-sharing agreements for AI training and we will do what we can to prevent/discourage automated scraping by AI companies
Dreamwidth will not introduce AI features without a public discussion first
Any site admin use of AI tools will be explained openly and part of a public conversation
Contributors can choose their own development tools for code, but we do not accept images or artwork generated by AI

Oh, and we'll probably mention this (or a subset of this that isn't code related) in an upcoming dw_news post, but will defer to denise on that!

silveradept posting in

dw_dev

Oh, hi, everybody! It's been a little bit since we did a code tour, hasn't it? But never fear, we're here to walk you through the changes that have happened since the last time we took a tour through the code changes in Dreamwidth.

Let's dive in, shall we?

( Your code tour, with some attempts at arrangement by topic. )

There we go! Another year's worth of code commits, issues resolved, and attempts to make Dreamwidth a greater and cooler place to be. And to have it continue working into the future.

(We should do these more often, but volunteers and, well…*gestures broadly around*. So it may be a while before someone has the spoons to do this again, but we're always trying to be more consistent about it.)

Here are the totals for this code tour:

104 total issues resolved.
Contributors in this code tour:

Copilot,

alierak,

cmho,

dependabot,

jjbarr,

kareila,

l1n,

momijizukamori,

pauamma,

sirilyan,

zorkian

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: Daft Punk - Touch It

cimorene

After reading most of John Dickson Carr's books — maybe 25? — I've moved onto a few recs for more GAD (Golden Age Detective Fiction) by other people that I picked up recently.

I read The Bride Wore Black by Cornell Woolrich, the famous midcentury author of Rear Window and a whole heap of other bleak thrillers, apparently. I might read more later. The Bride Wore Black was obviously, to me, from the first sentence of the recommendation, a major inspiration behind Kill Bill. Tarantino is on my shit list, but I really enjoyed some of his movies, and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill is just iconic to me. Anyway, TBWB is a series of five short interludes where the Bride stalks and then kills five men in revenge. Her motive and even her identity are gradually revealed. This isn't a descendant of samurai films: she uses a new method each time, as well as a new disguise. If your curiosity is piqued, here's the review by JJ of The Invisible Event which sold me. I wouldn't rate it as highly, although it was a great read that I fully recommend; I couldn't put a book with a flaw this big on a Best Of list, and the whole last episode doesn't work for me, with a disappointing and rushed solution that felt too shallow. ( Read more... )

Yesterday I read another book from that list, Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice. This is a 1944 YA comedy murder mystery about the children of an ADHD single mom mystery writer trying to solve the murder that happens next door in order to matchmake their mom with the investigating detective. It's full of 1940s slang and affectionate family squabbles, the children outwitting and misleading the cops as they collect clues, and lots of evocative scenes of preparing and eating food and casual mentions of 1940s suburban life that were fascinating. The tone isn't just comic, but it isn't really a serious murder mystery, either; the puzzle and the mystery take a back seat to the children's adventures. But it's so much fun to read anyway that I heartily recommend it. The only significant flaw is the cops being sympathetic, but at least they're also constantly outwitted by the kids. Here's JJ's review that sold me. I should also say that this book predates the existence of the modern YA genre, and all the markers and conventions that I can't stand in it. I describe it as YA on the basis of the reading level, the child protagonists, and the less serious and complicated mystery.

j_crew_guy

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

cimorene

One of the many things we learned by doing them wrong when initially renovating this house when we bought it was that you can't just go to the hardware store and buy an affordable faucet for a sink.

I mean, you can, but you shouldn't. There are cheap, crappy faucets at these stores!

What you should do is buy the reliable, standard, plumber-recommended workhorse brand of faucets, even if they cost a lot more.

So we have three faucets in our house, and two of them are ones we picked out at a hardware store and which have given us trouble from day one, and one is one that the plumber brought with him, and is a standard model of the standard brand that is in all the apartments around here.

The crappy kitchen faucet finally, after being a headache for the last six years, reached the end of its usable lifespan a couple of days ago when I turned it on and there was a loud KACHUNK! noise and then the two little plastic screen-thingies that were apparently just GLUED in the opening shot out into the sink. They were broken and impossible to put back. Since then the faucet has just had a big round open end like a garden hose (lol), and when you turn it on the water shoots out and sprays across whatever you're wearing unless you very carefully turn it on only a little tiny bit.

We have learned our lesson and are going to buy the same brand that's in our downstairs bathroom sink this time. We are not 100% sure if we can install it ourselves, in spite of having watched people installing sinks so many times in videos. I guess I need to watch a few more of those and then if we give up we can always call a handyman (we hope to avoid this because we don't like calling people).

j_crew_guy

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

cimorene

When we lived on the outskirts of Turku, going into downtown to run errands was already a bit of an Expedition, because it entailed a pleasant or idyllic walk to and from the bus stop of about 6-8 minutes, plus about 20-25 minutes on the bus, and then walking around the city center - possibly overcrowded, but full of beautiful buildings and trees.

Now that we live in the country, I'm still closer to the Turku city center than many people are who live in a North American metro area. I can walk to the bus stop (5 minutes, unpleasant scenery) and take a bus that puts me down near the center in about 50 minutes. But that trip feels excessive for a shopping expedition.

There's a big shopping center called Skanssi between us and Turku that is more convenient, about 35 minutes by bus, but the bus doesn't actually stop that close to it so you have to walk like ten minutes (it is very much designed to be visited by car, unlike the city center). And the mall itself just has RANCID VIBES. I hate being there! It's something about the interior architecture and the lighting maybe? The actual finishes are nice, the decor is fine, the lighting isn't UGLY. It is pretty dim inside, which has to be on purpose, but it's more like they were trying for a cozy or intimate or restful light instead of glaring? But instead it's oppressive in there. I always just want to get out. The K-Citymarket hypermarket attached to it is our closest Citymarket*, and it's much more brightly lit but still feels looming, oppressive, suffocating, sullen, and unwell. And I honestly do not know why! Maybe it's not actually the light, maybe it's sounds outside the regular hearing range or something?

So I've been thinking for a week whether it's preferable to go to this rancid-vibed mall, 35m by bus + 10-15m walk, or all the way to Turku, 50m by bus + 5-10m walk. The former SHOULD make me feel better because of the walking and fresh air, and I usually prefer less time on the bus because it's less chance to get trapped near someone's perfume; but would the rancid vibes counteract that?

*The other stores vary in vibes, but none of the ones near us are even close to this bad. Citymarkets Kupittaa and Länsikeskus are both reasonably Ok, and Prisma (Citymarket's competitor, the other Finnish grocery chain) Tampereentie is a little worse, while our closest Prisma at Itäharju is mostly nice, with some bad vibes in one end of the supermarket side. The nicest hypermarket near us is Citymarket Ravattula, Littoinen. I like this one so much more that I ALMOST would go to it instead (it's nearly 40 minutes by car, instead of 15 or so to Itäharju).

kass

I just finished Basingstoke's gorgeous HR fic and it rocked my socks so much. And made me laugh. And occasionally made me teary. But mostly it just brought me joy.

Lovers, or, English is a damn funny language (77847 words) by Basingstoke
Chapters: 24/24
Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Characters: Yuna Hollander, David Hollander, Svetlana Vetrova
Additional Tags: no beta we die like Shane's attempts at heterosexuality, Post-Episode: s01e06 The Cottage (Heated Rivalry), Coming Out, Disordered Eating, Dirty Talk, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - CPTSD, Suicidal Ideation, Past Domestic Violence, Toxic Family Dynamics, Outing, Found Family, Pittsburgh, look I just think Ilya would really vibe with pittsburgh, Soft Dom Ilya Rozanov, do not take legal advice from this fic, Handwaving, English is this authors's first language and I'm mad about it, threesome teasing but no threesomes, Original Character(s)
Summary:

Ilya asked Shane’s father while Shane and his mother were talking outside: “Is boyfriends correct? Lovers is incorrect, but I am not sure what is correct.”

“Well,” Mr. Hollander said. “‘Lovers’ is usually used for, hm, a mistress or an affair. Something kind of sordid. Though--you would say Romeo and Juliet is a play about two lovers,” he said. He paused his knife on the chopping board. “Somehow that’s right and using it for real people isn’t right. English is a damn funny language, Ilya."

“Yes,” Ilya said from the bottom of his heart.

turlough posting in

common_nature

We've had a very persistent winter here this year and this has happily meant that I've had lots of visitors at my bird feeders. Today I had the opportunity to photograph this adorable little Long-Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus) while it was hunting for seeds on the bike-shed roof just outside my window.

Click to enlarge:

small black and white bird with very long tail feathers

( one more photo... )

Current Mood: okay

cimorene

‘Sir,’ intoned Dr. Fell, drawing the napkin from his collar and sitting up in dignity, ‘let me assure you I have been listening with far closer attention than my admittedly cross-eyed and half-witted appearance would seem to indicate.'

—John Dickson Carr, The Dead Man's Knock (1958)

(I rate this book 2/5, however.)

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

The first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

bookscorpion posting in

common_nature

The sun came out and everyone was enjoying it so much after more than a week of clouds and snowfall. This crow was taking a very energetic bath - look how far the water droplets are flying all around him!

pilottttt posting in

common_nature

cimorene

I need to hand wash a bunch of wool things. Three sweaters with soot on the cuffs can be washed in the bathroom sink, but there are two big wool blankets which won't fit in that sink. And we don't have a laundry tub! I remember when I was four or five we were living in an apartment that only had a shower, not a tub, and I was afraid of the shower, so my mom had a laundry tub for me to bathe in and at that age I fit in it comfortably. It was one of those round zinc ones. I've never even seen those for sale as an adult, and I love hardware stores.

I have seen sturdy black plastic tubs that are about that size and larger at hardware stores - they're used in construction, to mix concrete and thinset and mud and stuff in. Not sure that would be a sensible purchase though (it's so big!). My current idea is that I could wash blankets in one of our biggest size of plastic storage bins. The problem is all of them are full of stuff being stored and I'm not sure which one would make the most sense to temporarily borrow.

Another consideration: drying. Drying takes AGES when it's cold. Wool absorbs a lot of water and therefore takes a long time to dry, and sweaters have to dry flat. I suppose we can put the things in front of the stove and light a fire, but we can't keep it going until they're dry. I suppose I have to do this one wool object at a time.

ETA: I should just wait until it's spring and I can dry the blankets outside. The sweaters are more urgent than that, but they are also smaller. I'll just have to try to dry them by the fire.

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

Yesterday I shared photos from the House Yard and South Lot plus Savanna and Prairie Garden. Today I did a bit of yardwork that revealed fun new things. :D

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

These are the rest of the pictures I took today, from the savanna and prairie garden. (See the House Yard and South Lot.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

cimorene

I find it trying when it's 17° indoors (63), but manageable (with sweaters and wool socks etc) for the most part. But right now it's 14° (57) in the warmest room in the house.

It's too cold to knit, or sit writing or using a keyboard for very long, because all those things require my hands being outside the blankets. The only things it's not too cold to do are being inside a cocoon of blankets, or moving around so briskly that it warms me up temporarily. That's tough, though, because I hate the part before you warm up.

merrileemakes posting in

common_nature

When I finished my last post the tadpoles were 3 weeks old and about to go from their nursery tub into the pond. It's actually more of a water feature than a pod - it's a fairly small 2 level fibreglass set up with fake rock texture, a pump and 2 potted water plants that could only vaguely be said to thrive. It also has a predator occasionally drop by.

( Read more... )

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Katrina Marcia Jamora Dimataga Solis Villanueva

after /ityangsacia's past is kat.lives10's present

March 2020

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Page generated Feb. 27th, 2026 02:45 pm

Chow Mein Gott

Who is Huell Howser?

Reading

Snowdrop Day

Photos: House Yard

AI and Dreamwidth

Your content and AI training

AI features on Dreamwidth

Site admin uses of AI

AI and code contributions

In short summary

Code Tour: 2024-12-01 to 2026-02-25

Two books

Links are glad to see another Monday go

the good faucets

Yep, that scans

Stores with rancid vibes

Insta-rec

tiny long-tailed tit

Or as much dignity as you can with a walrus mustache

Photos: Flowerbeds

Crow Bath

And another Istanbul cat.

Clearly I should only do Stuff to the fire while wearing leather gloves with long gauntlet cuffs

Photos: Flowerbeds

Photos: Savanna and Prairie Garden

Talking about the weather...

A story with legs

Profile

March 2020

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