Reading

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History

This 8,000-year-old art shows math before numbers existed

Over 8,000 years ago, early farming communities in northern Mesopotamia were already thinking mathematically—long before numbers were written down. By closely studying Halafian pottery, researchers uncovered floral and plant designs arranged with precise symmetry and numerical patterns, revealing a surprisingly advanced sense of geometry.

People learned to count and do math, sometimes rather sophisticated math, long before they got around to writing numerals or equations. As for geometry, it's very easy to obtain workable patterns that scale well by examining nature. Fibonacci sequence and fractals both yield very useful parameters.

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Feather-Light Touches (part 1 of 1, complete)

Feather-Light Touches
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1094
[Second week of December 2016]

:: Toward the later part of Shiv’s visit with Genna, she shows him a new handicraft. Written as an extension of an earlier prompt for the December of 2025 month of gifted stories, this was in mind immediately after receiving the prompt. My thanks to the readers and the prompters! ::

Genna laid down three glossy, mismatched ball ornaments, both old and even scratched in places. “This is one of the easiest ways to learn macrame because the ball helps support he work, the same way that a frame holds up the warp and weft threads on a loom.”
( Read more... )

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and chilly.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a male cardinal.

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Today's Adventures

Today we went shopping in Mattoon.

( Read more... )

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Three for the Memories Coming Back Next Month!

threeforthememories 2025 session will be open for posts on January 3, 2026 and will run for 3 weeks until January 24. Do let others know about us, as anyone can participate by just joining the community.

Just a reminder of how the event runs:

1) Three photos only per person during each annual session. Members are encouraged to discuss the reason for their choices.

2) Photos can be hosted at Dreamwidth or elsewhere, and should not be larger than 800 px width or height.

3) All three photos should be in the same post. Cut tags should be placed after the first photo.

Three For the Memories banner

Still open for prompts

Today's post is the last of the prompts or connected follow up stories, so please, feel free to suggest new ideas! The goal is to post a prompted story every day this month.

Let the fun continue!

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Early Humans

Scientists reveal a 1.5-million-year-old human face

A 1.5-million-year-old face is forcing scientists to rethink the origins and diversity of early humans.

Scientists have digitally reconstructed the face of a 1.5-million-year-old Homo erectus fossil from Ethiopia, uncovering an unexpectedly primitive appearance. While its braincase fits with classic Homo erectus, the face and teeth resemble much older human ancestors. This discovery challenges long-held ideas about where and how Homo erectus evolved. It also hints at a complex web of migrations and possible mixing between early human species.

The actual image shows a reconstruction of the skull, rather than a paleoforensic art rendering of the face when alive. But it's still cool.

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recurring posts

Hard Things

Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?

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Photos: Testing Pens on Plant Labels

This year I've been running an experiment to see which type of pen lasts the longest for labeling plants outdoors. I have compiled links to the previous posts and added pictures from each month where I hadn't already posted them. Results: Sharpie Oil Pen lasted longest, Craft Smart Oil Pen was still legible at the end of the year, and Sharpie Permanent Marker faded very fast. If you're labeling plants outdoors, buy an oil paint pen, preferably Sharpie.

These are the other posts regarding the labels.
1/3/25 Photos: Testing Pens on Plant Labels
2/3/25 Photos: House Yard and South Lot
3/3/25 Photos: House Yard and South Lot
4/4/25 Photos: South Lot
5/6/25 Photos: South Lot
6/2/25 Photos: House Yard
11/3/25 Photos: Lantern Terrarium Assembly Part 2 Testing the Fit (labels at bottom)
Photos: House Yard 12-16-25

( Let's do science to it... )

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food,
recipe

Today's Cooking

Tonight I'm making the Candy Cane Cookies with cherry flavored candy canes. Watch for your favorite flavors this time of year and grab them while you can. This recipe should work with any candy cane flavor you like -- they are basically just a big piece of flavored sugar that you can turn back into sugar grains by bashing them in a bag.

EDIT 12/16/25 -- These turned out okay, but nowhere near as good at the original peppermint or the cinnamon. They looked pretty though, as the cherry candy canes had both red and green stripes. So it might be worth a try if you're a fan of "birthday cake" with sprinkles baking.

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Photos: House Yard

Today I took pictures of the labels I'm testing, plus a few of the snowy yard as well.

These are the other posts regarding the labels. I need to make a post that shows them all in sequence; not everything has been posted yet.
1/3/25 Photos: Testing Pens on Plant Labels
2/3/25 Photos: House Yard and South Lot
3/3/25 Photos: House Yard and South Lot
4/4/25 Photos: South Lot
5/6/25 Photos: South Lot
6/2/25 Photos: House Yard
11/3/25 Photos: Lantern Terrarium Assembly Part 2 Testing the Fit (labels at bottom)

( Walk with me ... )

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Clever Crafting (part 1 of 1, complete)

Clever Crafting
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1653
[Second week of December 2016]

:: Genna, Shiv, and Backstep get together to make package tags or ornaments for the holiday. A bit of fluff with a side of plot, created as an extension of an earlier prompt by

ysabetwordsmith, with my thanks to her and to the wonderful readers. Enjoy! ::

Genna had just set the last of the ingredients into the crock pot when a teleporter rang the doorbell installed at the sliding glass door, next to the compass rose in the back yard.

She dried her hands on the towel tucked into the loop of her jeans and hurried to greet them. “Backstep? It’s good to see you. Hello, Shiv.”

“Hey. Several people told me that you’re making ornaments and stuff? I was hoping you’d have an idea. I can make bauble ornaments for my --for one person, but I want something different for another.” Shiv shifted his weight slightly.
( Read more... )

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Food

Parents find Health Star Ratings confusing and unhelpful. We need a better food labelling system (Australia)

Food labels are intended to support healthy choices. But not all labelling schemes are equal.

Australia currently uses a voluntary Health Star Rating system. Food manufacturers can choose to add a star label to their packaging to indicate how it compares to other similar products. Or they can choose not to show a star rating on a product at all.

How satisfied are you with the food labeling option(s) available where you live? If you also buy imported foods, what do you think about labels from other countries?

What kind of traits do you pay attention to in food shopping? Are they easy to find on labels, harder to find, not listed, or actually forbidden to list?

( Read more... )

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Birdfeeding

Today is sunny and considerably less cold -- ice is melting in places.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of cardinals, and two mourning doves.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/16/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/16/25 -- I took a few pictures around the yard, including the plant labels I'm tracking.

EDIT 12/16/25 -- I potted 4 Granny Smith apple seeds that already split open, and stored 3 more in a baggie of damp sand in the fridge.

One of the Pink apple sprouts that I planted earlier has surfaced and opened tiny leaves. \o/ (Note that this will not make a Pink apple, since it is a seedling not a clone, but if it lives then it should produce decent dessert apples of some sort.)

EDIT 12/16/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/16/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

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Pool Open!

fuzzyred is hosting a pool for the Holiday Poetry Sale. There are no individual poem targets yet, just a general discussion of some favorite areas. If you're shopping for poetry, dive in!

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Holiday Poetry Sale

The Holiday Poetry Sale is now open on LiveJournal. Sponsors, start your engines! It runs Monday, December 15-Friday, December 19. All listed poems are half-price. If you spend $100 or more, you get the quarter-price rate. Watch to see if someone opens a pool; there is usually one for this event.

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Creative Work (part 1 of 1, complete)

Creative Work
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1467
[Early December 2016]

:: Judy is rethinking the events of this year, and creates a way to make holiday toppers or ornaments for a wide range of ages and skills, using materials which are often discarded as trash. Part of the Polychrome Heroics universe, set in Mercedes. This story was written for the December 2025 prompt call event, and mirrors the story prompted by

readera called “Strained Resources.” (Here’s the link to part one of that story.) ::

Judy eyed the totes full of gifts for her grandchildren in Mercedes and the surrounding area. Anything meant for those living more than a few hours’ drive away had been mailed on the first Monday of December, which had emptied two of the five large bins.

That enormous supply of gifts was proof of not only the number of grandchildren enriching her life, but of how blessed she and her family had been, even in this terrible year.

It made her feel guilty.
( Read more... )

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Conservation

Coffee-driven deforestation is making it harder to grow coffee, watchdog group says

Scientists have shown how deforestation leads to less rainfall in tropical rainforests. That's because the trees there soak up and release moisture, which rises to create clouds and more rain. Cutting down trees disrupts the cycle, reducing rainfall and leading to drought.

Drought, of course, makes it harder to grow coffee.

"When you kill the forest, you're actually also killing the rains, which is exactly what your crop needs to thrive in the long run," Higonnet says. "Even for people who don't much care about climate change and mass extinction, if they drink coffee and care about having coffee in the long run, this should be very scary for them."

( Read more... )

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news,
science

Science

Hidden dimensions could explain where mass comes from

A new theory proposes that the universe’s fundamental forces and particle properties may arise from the geometry of hidden extra dimensions. These dimensions could twist and evolve over time, forming stable structures that generate mass and symmetry breaking on their own. The approach may even explain cosmic expansion and predict a new particle. It hints at a universe built entirely from geometry.

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Birdfeeding

Today is sunny and cold, but less frigid than yesterday. It got down to 8 below last night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. I put out a new block of peanut suet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/15/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a female cardinal.

EDIT 12/15/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/15/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a male cardinal.

EDIT 12/15/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen one female and two male cardinals, plus two mourning doves.

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