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Here is a hilarious example of ChatGPT failing at physics. 

Today we made a version of our green smoothie, which is based on Alan's Going Green Smoothie (previous version here). We always omit the jalapeño. Today we used a 1-ounce package of pea shoots instead of the spinach. We used a whole frozen banana to make up some of the shortage.

The result is a bright pea green, smells very strongly of peas, and tastes mostly of fruit with a pea undertone. It's pretty good. If you wish to vary the base greens of your smoothies, or you find other greens disagreeable, this is a reasonable option. If you like the taste of fresh peas and/or pea shoots, you'll probably love it. If you don't like peas, though, avoid this. I also recommend using the lime. We often substitute a green kiwi, but in this case the stronger lime flavor goes better with the pea flavor.

And us?  Both of us have eaten raw fresh peas while shelling them. :D  The smell and flavor bring back those memories.

Today is partly cloudy and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I sowed a pot with yellow raspberry seeds.

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I did some work around the patio.

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I watered the house yard plants and the old picnic table.

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I watered the new picnic table and septic garden.

I've picked 1 red cherry tomato and quite a handful of groundcherries today.  :D

EDIT 8/27/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and a few of the savanna plants.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

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

Today we went up to Champaign-Urbana.

( Read more... )

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/26/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

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

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "communication styles." I'll be soliciting ideas for journalists, writers, radio hosts, counselors, linguists, leaders, public speakers, explorers, traders, diplomats, negotiators and mediators, partners, housemates, siblings, parents, teachers, clergy, superheroes, supervillains, teammates, alien or fantasy species, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, rebels, other people who deal in communication, writing, speaking, translating, parenting, teaching, adventuring, negotiating, mediating, leaving your comfort zone, discovering things, giving instructions, troubleshooting, improvising, adapting, cleaning up messes, cooperating, bartering, taking over in an emergency, saving the day, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, preparing for the worst, expecting the unexpected, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, newspaper offices, writer nooks, radio stations, counseling centers, trading posts, classrooms, schools, churches, sharehouses, campfires, coffeehouses, bookstores, supervillain lairs, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, farmer's markets, starships, alien planets, magical lands, foreign dimensions, other places where communication happens, momentious conversations, mysterious manuscripts, confusing transmissions, negotiations, lectures, romantic complications, sudden surprises, travel mishaps, the buck stops here, trial and error, intercultural entanglements, asking for help and getting it, enemies to friends/lovers, interdimensional travel, Get a Life Program, lab conditions are not field conditions, superpower manifestation, the end of where your framework actually applies, ethics, innovation, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

An Army of One is developing its own neurovariant culture with unique communication quirks.

The Bear Tunnels introduces modern principles to people in the past, including literacy.

The Blueshift Troupers travel to different planets solving problems.

A Conflagration of Dragons has the Six Races (plus the dragons) who all have different cultures, making it challenging for refugees to communicate with each other.

The Daughters of the Apocalypse has people trying to find enough resources to survive, with a distinct split between Before and After dialects.

Eloquent Souls presents a setting where soulmarks are common, leading to many odd expressions as people try to make their Words distinctive.

Frankenstein's Family features two scientists running a valley in historic Romania, along with a pack of werewolves, a couple of vampires, and a mummy.

Hart's Farm is a free love community with lots of interesting relationships and ways to communicate.

Monster House is suburban fantasy with a diverse household.

Not Quite Kansas includes an awkard trio of a college student, a former cop, and their demon who often encounter challenges with communication.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis follows Shaeth as he works on becoming the God of Drunks, with a surprising amount of heartfelt conversations.

Path of the Paladins involves a lot of communication between humans but also deities.

Peculiar Obligations features Quakers and pirates trying to get along.

Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, supervillains, primal and animal soups all trying to get along and figure out how to make a functional society.

Quixotic Ideas has a more positive world with integrated magic, where people usually manage to solve problems with communication rather than violence.

Schrodinger's Heroes is about saving the world from alternate dimensions. The group is very diverse in background and communication styles.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks will reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Today's Smoothie
Stir-Fry
Food
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Email Aliases
Philosophical Questions: Money
Heat
Early Humans
Books
Music
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 8-22-25: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Summer 2025 A-I
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Affordable Housing
Birdfeeding
Read "The Bottle Wall" by Smokingboot
Cuddle Party

Affordable Housing has 39 comments. Robotics has 47 comments. Food has 34 comments. "Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 50 comments.


summerofthe69 is open! You can see the calendar here and the current themes are Tropefest 69 and a double theme of Fighting or Fucking AND Monsterfucker.


There are no open epics at present.


The weather is much cooler here.  :D  Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and a hummingbird. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, gladioli, firewheel, orange butterfly weed, cypress vine. Tomatillo and pepper have green fruit. Tomatoes, ball carrots, and groundcherries are ripe.

dialecticdreamer is hosting Feathering the Nest today, which always has a theme of fluff an comfort. Leave prompts, get ficlets!

Welcome to the second prompt call for the month of August (2025)! This event focuses on gentle fiction, fluff and comfort, rather than plot. (Though… plots tend to sneak in, like kids going to a Saturday morning movie when I was a kid.)

A prompt call is an invitation from the writer to the readers: help me craft the story that you, individually as well as collectively want to read. Participating is easy, just by replying to this post with a comment that suggests a story idea. Be as specific as you like, or just “Hey, comfort and cuddles between a usually standoffish person and someone they trust would be nice, today.”
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If anyone is interested in sponsoring a story, first, thank you. Second, there is no pressure to sponsor the story that you have requested, so that the suggested $20 for a thousand word story becomes even more of a bargain if the prompter chooses to sponsor something that looks interesting from among the list of unpublished stories. The suggested two cents per word makes the math easy, as does the rounded down word counts (I round down to the nearest hundred words.), because this is supposed to be fun for everyone, even the bank balance.