Today's Cooking
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithFor his birthday, my partner Doug requested Mom-Mom Bessie's Coconut Molasses Pie from Taste of Home More Easy Everyday Cooking 2024 page 254. So that's in the oven now. :D
EDIT 1/11/26 -- The pie is done and quite tasty. My partner is please. \o/ It resembles a shoofly pie, so if you like that, then this is worth a try.
EDIT 1/11/26 -- The pie is done and quite tasty. My partner is please. \o/ It resembles a shoofly pie, so if you like that, then this is worth a try.
Science
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:45 pmysabetwordsmithNew form of 'artificial metabolism' converts CO2 into biological building blocks
Researchers built the Reductive Formate Pathway, called the ReForm pathway, to convert CO2 into acetyl-CoA outside living cells. Acetyl-CoA is a small but essential molecule your cells use to turn food into energy. When your body breaks down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, it often funnels the results into acetyl-CoA. From there, acetyl-CoA carries a tiny chemical package called an acetyl group into the citric acid cycle, where your cells “burn” it. That process releases energy, and your body captures it to help make ATP, the main energy currency that powers cellular work.
This study shows how engineered enzymes, electricity-derived carbon feedstocks, and cell-free systems can be combined to recycle CO2 into useful chemical building blocks, while avoiding the limits of living cells and pointing toward new ways to make materials with lower carbon footprints.
That's good news for climate change.
However, it's also a step in most food replicator technologies, for those of you keeping an eye on that track.
Researchers built the Reductive Formate Pathway, called the ReForm pathway, to convert CO2 into acetyl-CoA outside living cells. Acetyl-CoA is a small but essential molecule your cells use to turn food into energy. When your body breaks down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, it often funnels the results into acetyl-CoA. From there, acetyl-CoA carries a tiny chemical package called an acetyl group into the citric acid cycle, where your cells “burn” it. That process releases energy, and your body captures it to help make ATP, the main energy currency that powers cellular work.
This study shows how engineered enzymes, electricity-derived carbon feedstocks, and cell-free systems can be combined to recycle CO2 into useful chemical building blocks, while avoiding the limits of living cells and pointing toward new ways to make materials with lower carbon footprints.
That's good news for climate change.
However, it's also a step in most food replicator technologies, for those of you keeping an eye on that track.
Snowflake Challenge
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:34 pmysabetwordsmith... is running a bit late today, but the mods are on top of it. If they can't reach the planned day host, someone else will step in to post the challenge.
The Friday Five on a Sunday
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:18 pmnanila- Do you have a favourite cause that you support?
I support multiple causes through charitable donations, but one of the most important to me is the Abortion Support Network, which does exactly what it says on the tin: It helps people in the UK and Europe to get abortions, particularly those who live in areas with restrictive laws. - If so, how do you support it?
I give them as much money per month as I can. When they have fundraising drives, I donate more. When they ask for comments they can use in their promotional materials, I provide as much detail as I can. - Have you been an active member of an organization (attending meetings, volunteering, etc)?
Yes. I was a school governor for a while, and I’ve also volunteered for Parkrun, as well as other charitable organisations. - Have you ever led any group?
No, I’ve never had the capacity with either full-time work or academic study to lead a volunteer group. - If so, how was your experience with it?
See above. I’m sure I’d find it very fulfilling, but it’ll have to wait until I retire (or go part-time).
"The Goblin King and Me"
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:03 pmvivdunstanJust listened to the really lovely play "The Goblin King and Me" by Paul Magrs. A magical story based on a real-life meeting with David Bowie. It was broadcast on Radio 4 last week and is available on BBC Sounds on catchup. Though sadly that might only work within the UK.
Jesus fucking Christ, really body?
Jan. 11th, 2026 01:52 pmcupcake_gothRemember how I mentioned the horrible bout of acid reflux I had? It led to coughing up disgusting mucus, and then breathing came with crackling, so yesterday I went to a walk-in clinic. And lo, I came out with an unsurprising diagnosis of bronchitis. Apparently every time my esophagus gets really irritated, my body responds with bronchitis. I do not approve.
—-
Before my no-buy for clothing kicked off I bought a capelet (made with vintage materials, so there was no way the Madwoman could duplicate it), and two of the barely-cover-your-ass petticoats by Leg Avenue in order to make my own slightly different version of this petticoat from Selkie. Not that I’ll be doing any projects until walking to the bathroom doesn’t leave me overwhelmed with fatigue.
Doonesbury Say What
Jan. 11th, 2026 02:52 pmthewayne"No one wants to go in there when a random f***ing tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country."
-- oil industry investor, about Venezuela
I was reading a quote from an Exxon exec, talking about how all of Exxon's assets had been nationalized by Venezuela TWICE. Yeah, not a place where oil companies are going to be eager to rush back in to rebuild their infrastructure.
Not going to bother talking about a certain person's habit of changing international policy via social media posts, waste of finger and mental energy.
-- oil industry investor, about Venezuela
I was reading a quote from an Exxon exec, talking about how all of Exxon's assets had been nationalized by Venezuela TWICE. Yeah, not a place where oil companies are going to be eager to rush back in to rebuild their infrastructure.
Not going to bother talking about a certain person's habit of changing international policy via social media posts, waste of finger and mental energy.
Pre-Orders Open for The Guest (嘉宾)
Jan. 11th, 2026 09:22 pmdouqi posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
baihe_mediaHappy new year all!
The first print edition of a baihe novel to be open for pre-order for the year is Yu Shuang's tragic contemporary romance The Guest (嘉宾), which is being brought out under the title 别时茫茫 (going to just dodge the task of translation this because my brain is currently not up to the task of translating a Ba Juyi reference). This is a mainland edition and will be in traditional Chinese and censored (I'm kind of curious to see how they're going to manage the censoring of a tragedy that fundamentally arises from institutional and societal homophobia). Pre-orders can be made via the following bookshops:
The web version of the novel can be read here. Some details of the book art can be found here. I reviewed this book here.
The first print edition of a baihe novel to be open for pre-order for the year is Yu Shuang's tragic contemporary romance The Guest (嘉宾), which is being brought out under the title 别时茫茫 (going to just dodge the task of translation this because my brain is currently not up to the task of translating a Ba Juyi reference). This is a mainland edition and will be in traditional Chinese and censored (I'm kind of curious to see how they're going to manage the censoring of a tragedy that fundamentally arises from institutional and societal homophobia). Pre-orders can be made via the following bookshops:
The web version of the novel can be read here. Some details of the book art can be found here. I reviewed this book here.
Write Every day 2026: January, Day 11
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:11 pmtrobadora- How is tomorrow Monday again already?! Someone stole my weekend!
- According to yesterday's poll, approximately 75% of respondents think about structure in some fashion while writing. POV sections, parallels and repetitions got the most votes.
As for me, I used to always pay attention to structure especially in terms of parallels and mirroring sections and such, even for very short pieces, but I lost that a little bit in recent years. I need to focus more on that again - I always felt it made things better! But for longer pieces, structure is still a basic part of how I conceive of a story.
One of the most obvious structuring elements is with multiple POVs, and I always try to have them alternate in a clear pattern. For example, my Yuletide fic this year has four chapters, structured by location, and the POV pattern was AAB-BBA:
Chapter 1 - POV A
Chapter 2 - POV A, POV B
Chapter 3 - POV B
Chapter 4 - POV B, POV A
The story is mostly written in close limited 3rd person, but I also started each chapter with a more distant/mythic omniscient POV and then zoomed in on the character. - 60% of respondents agree that no poll is complete without tickyboxes. My people! *g*
- I haven't been keeping up with Star Trek for ages, but I was curious about the upcoming Starfleet Academy show and looked into things a little. And video reviews aren't usually my thing, but I just watched most of this video, and it makes it sound very promising! Here's hoping.
Today's writing
Instead of working to finish anything, I've started something new. Why, brain, why?
WED Question of the Day
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 22
What POV do you like to write in?
View Answers
first person
6 (27.3%)
second person
3 (13.6%)
third person omniscient
7 (31.8%)
third person limited
20 (90.9%)
other (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
What POV do you like to read in?
View Answers
first person
11 (50.0%)
second person
3 (13.6%)
third person omniscient
15 (68.2%)
third person limited
18 (81.8%)
other (see comments)
3 (13.6%)
My writing preferences for fanfic and original fic are ...
My reading preferences for fanfic and original fic are ...
I want a story from the POV of a tickybox
Tally
( Days 1-5 )
Day 6:
alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, ofmonstrouswords, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilmeDay 7:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, ofmonstrouswords, shadaras, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora Day 8:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, ofmonstrouswords, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 9:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 10:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 11:
china_shop, trobadoraLet me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
*claps hands together* Alright Then!
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:00 pmthe_wanlornI refuse to start forgetting to post here in January. I absolutely refuse. I'm going to make it to February if it kills me.
Writing is going well! On writing days, I'm averaging almost 2k. It's great and I'm above where I need to be to hit my wordcount goal (40k on a specific project) for the month. The goal used to be 30k on a specific project, finishing it, but uh. It's gonna take more than that to hit the end. So, hopefully it'll be done at 40k. I'm 60% of the way through the wordcount, and I think????? I'm 60% through the story?
idk
Is anyone else extremely stressed about what we're going to replace discord with if it goes AI? Is anyone else extremely stressed that some friends are going to refuse to move and you won't be able to talk to them anymore? :\ I vote we all go back to using IRC. For the record. Stop complicating things with icons and voice chat and etc. I just want to do typeytypey with my friends.
(I'm the_wanlorn over there, also ftr)
Anyway. Back to writing probably. Later my gators.
Writing is going well! On writing days, I'm averaging almost 2k. It's great and I'm above where I need to be to hit my wordcount goal (40k on a specific project) for the month. The goal used to be 30k on a specific project, finishing it, but uh. It's gonna take more than that to hit the end. So, hopefully it'll be done at 40k. I'm 60% of the way through the wordcount, and I think????? I'm 60% through the story?
idk
Is anyone else extremely stressed about what we're going to replace discord with if it goes AI? Is anyone else extremely stressed that some friends are going to refuse to move and you won't be able to talk to them anymore? :\ I vote we all go back to using IRC. For the record. Stop complicating things with icons and voice chat and etc. I just want to do typeytypey with my friends.
(I'm the_wanlorn over there, also ftr)
Anyway. Back to writing probably. Later my gators.
Recommendation: Too Late, Too Late - Hornblower amalgam
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:00 pmpetraI recommended the first story in this series when I read it in Yuletide, suspecting but not being sure at the time that it was by sanguinity.
I love William Bush's POV too:
Too Late, Too Late (2008 words) by sanguinity
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hornblower (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: William Bush, Horatio Hornblower
Additional Tags: POV William Bush, Episode: e07 Loyalty (Hornblower), Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss
Series: Part 2 of The Worst Part of Waking Up
Summary:
sanguinity.I love William Bush's POV too:
Too Late, Too Late (2008 words) by sanguinity
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hornblower (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: William Bush, Horatio Hornblower
Additional Tags: POV William Bush, Episode: e07 Loyalty (Hornblower), Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss
Series: Part 2 of The Worst Part of Waking Up
Summary:
Bush is too late to the beach to stop the firing squad.
Bonus Bush point-of-view on the beach scene.
B5 color theorizing
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:46 amsholioI FOUND IT AGAIN. I read a post on Tumblr a while back on a particularly nicely done instance of color symbolism with Londo on B5, and I finally found it. (More beneath the cut.)
( Spoilers for the whole show )
( Spoilers for the whole show )
British Columbia to ban all new crypto mining operations!
Jan. 11th, 2026 01:33 pmthewayneThis is an old article from October '25, I'm clearing out old tabs.
It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!
There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!
There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
characters20in20 - Wanda Maximoff (MCU)
Jan. 11th, 2026 03:35 pmflareonfury posting in fandom_iconsThe below icons are for characters20in20 Round 20 with Wanda Maximoff of MCU. Images are mostly from WandaVision, Multiverse of Madness, and Civil War.
Preview
"You break the rules and you become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair...."
characters20in20 Round 20 with Wanda Maximoff of MCU. Images are mostly from WandaVision, Multiverse of Madness, and Civil War.Preview
"You break the rules and you become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair...."
Snowflake Challenge: day 3, day 4
Jan. 11th, 2026 08:06 pmdancesontrainsChallenge 3: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
If it wasn't for
(It'll be eight years of being in a queerplatonic relationship this June, assuming things continue to go well.)
Challenge 4: Rec the contents of your last page - any website you like.
The pet site I mentioned in my second Snowflake post, Flight Rising - https://www1.flightrising.com/
Here, I just joined the community
smallweb, focused on all things smallweb, including:- personal websites
- fediverse
- geminispace
- other small community spaces
- webrings
- curated directories
It looks interesting.
In completely different news
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:41 pmroga...........see I made that previous post and now now I finally feel like I can make a post about normal! life! stuff! and fandom!!! this is exciting.
I will just say that I am, as one would expect, WELL on the Heated Rivalry train. After finishing the show and the main youtube-reaction-podcasts/videos, I needed more so I went ahead and read the books the show was based on, and then immediately read the other books in the series, and my MAIN loves are Ilya and Shane, my close second favorites are EVERY SINGLE OTHER SHIP IN THAT SERIES, I am so far gone my god. I'm now debating whether I need a break from hockey novels (to be clear, a break means moving on to fics), or whether I should continue to Rachel Reid's standalone hockey novels, despite the fact that her books make me, well, very distracted when I should be working, which is not ideal. I think maybe it would be smarter to hold off for the weekend.
For now, I have written zero words of HR fics but have many ideas, so if anyone has any idea of how to get writing without a yuletide deadline forcing me to, please let me know! Also: if there are any HR fic exchanges I am happy to hear about them. I'm not in any HR-dedicated discords and do not think I will stumble upon such an exchange independently.
Other than that, more fandom yays:
-The Pitt season 2 \o/
-Stranger Things final season! That one is less of a \o/ lol, but I still enjoyed watching it, criticisms and all. I love those kids.
-A Thousand Blows is back for the second half of its season! I haven't watched it yet but I loved the first half and can't wait for more.
-New Josh Charles show aka Best Medicine! Okay, it's not great yet, but I'm giving it a chance.
-Avengers Doomsday trailers! I have them but I love them ugh Marvel are truly assholes for doing this to me.
-Over on AO3, spqr has been posting Masters of the Air fics which have been so great they have sucked me right into that fandom.
-(Interspersed, of course, by HR fics, naturally)
And on the local theater front: I went to the new production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle yesterday, at Habima theater. Other than being one of my favorite plays, and absolutely timeless in message, it was such a gorgeous production. Beautiful set design, including a constantly shifting backdrop of sand art that was sculpted live by the actors on stage; beautiful compositions and singing; great acting, and a great translation. It was maybe a little more immersive than Brecht would have liked, but sorry dude, if you don't want me getting emotionally invested in your characters you should have stopped writing emotionally investing stories!)
I couldn't find a trailer for the production, but if you have any interest in what it looked like, there are snippets of the stage and cast here.
I will just say that I am, as one would expect, WELL on the Heated Rivalry train. After finishing the show and the main youtube-reaction-podcasts/videos, I needed more so I went ahead and read the books the show was based on, and then immediately read the other books in the series, and my MAIN loves are Ilya and Shane, my close second favorites are EVERY SINGLE OTHER SHIP IN THAT SERIES, I am so far gone my god. I'm now debating whether I need a break from hockey novels (to be clear, a break means moving on to fics), or whether I should continue to Rachel Reid's standalone hockey novels, despite the fact that her books make me, well, very distracted when I should be working, which is not ideal. I think maybe it would be smarter to hold off for the weekend.
For now, I have written zero words of HR fics but have many ideas, so if anyone has any idea of how to get writing without a yuletide deadline forcing me to, please let me know! Also: if there are any HR fic exchanges I am happy to hear about them. I'm not in any HR-dedicated discords and do not think I will stumble upon such an exchange independently.
Other than that, more fandom yays:
-The Pitt season 2 \o/
-Stranger Things final season! That one is less of a \o/ lol, but I still enjoyed watching it, criticisms and all. I love those kids.
-A Thousand Blows is back for the second half of its season! I haven't watched it yet but I loved the first half and can't wait for more.
-New Josh Charles show aka Best Medicine! Okay, it's not great yet, but I'm giving it a chance.
-Avengers Doomsday trailers! I have them but I love them ugh Marvel are truly assholes for doing this to me.
-Over on AO3, spqr has been posting Masters of the Air fics which have been so great they have sucked me right into that fandom.
-(Interspersed, of course, by HR fics, naturally)
And on the local theater front: I went to the new production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle yesterday, at Habima theater. Other than being one of my favorite plays, and absolutely timeless in message, it was such a gorgeous production. Beautiful set design, including a constantly shifting backdrop of sand art that was sculpted live by the actors on stage; beautiful compositions and singing; great acting, and a great translation. It was maybe a little more immersive than Brecht would have liked, but sorry dude, if you don't want me getting emotionally invested in your characters you should have stopped writing emotionally investing stories!)
I couldn't find a trailer for the production, but if you have any interest in what it looked like, there are snippets of the stage and cast here.