Recently updated blogs

Today I'm sharing the last five scans from Silver Dollar City, near Branson, MO. Be sure to see the first part - I'd link to it, but as I am composing this second part, the first part has not published yet. Time is a flat circle, whatever that means. Below is another photo of the Flooded Mine attraction, which looks like something they put extra effort into. Notice the train …

Facebook and its sister companies have announced a strong relaxing of content moderation in the US (except for illegal activities). I have mixed feelings about it, but the feeling that wins out slightly is that I don’t like leaving it up to big tech companies to decide what we can talk about. David Heinemeier Hansson calls it a straight up victory. Read The social media censorship era is over (for …

This photograph by Duncan Rawlinson captures dramatic storm clouds sweeping over the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region. The dark, churning clouds form a striking contrast against the vibrant greenery of the tree-lined shore and the tranquil surface of the river. This evocative scene highlights the natural beauty and dynamic weather patterns of this iconic Canadian landscape. Duncan.co/storm-clouds-over-the-st-lawrence-river-in-the-thousand-islands Buy a print The post Storm Clouds Over the St. …

The 1921 Census of England and Wales is now available on Ancestry. Subscribers can search that Census directly from this page.You will soon be able to see 1921 Census hints show up under the category of "new collections" on the hints page. Above is a photo of my husband's Ancestry family tree hints page. So far, only 4 "new collections" hints have appeared but there's a reason.Remember, to stimulate the …

Several articles in medical journals have proposed the idea of using esophageal exercises to treat GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). But how exactly does one exercise the esophagus? Here's one way, as described in the article "A Simple Exercise to Strengthen the Lower Esophageal Sphincter and Eliminate Gastroesophageal Reflux: An Autobiographical Case Report" by Eric Karrfalt: Eventually, I devised the following regimen with the intent of providing the LES [lower esophageal …

If you’ve spent any time in conversations about autism online, you’ve probably come across debates about self-diagnosis. Let’s cut to the chase: self-diagnosed autistic people are valid — full stop. This post dives into why that is and why we need to stop gatekeeping autism. Barriers to formal diagnosis First, let’s talk about why formal diagnosis isn’t accessible to everyone. Getting a diagnosis can be expensive, especially in countries where …

Saturday 11th January 2025 Welcome to a new blog series featuring towns and cities around Britain which, by a quirk of history, are blessed with having two railway stations on different lines serving completely different destinations. To kick things off I’ve been to Hertford and had a look at that town’s contrasting pair of stations: Hertford East and Hertford North. As you can see from the map, Hertford East is …

SCORE! About a month ago, I visited the Strelitz Academy in Virginia Beach and it gave me SUCH HEART! Everyone in the elementary school is doing The Let Grow Experience, so there were paper trees in the hall festooned with Let Grow “leaves.” These are leaf-shaped pieces of paper where the kids wrote the new things they’d just started doing on their own: learned to ride a bike, made dinner, …

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. I have ascended. The post Domi and JD Beck – SPACE MOUNTAiN (Live) appeared first on Sampleface.

December was a good reading month and three of my reads were Christmas books. I included some notes on my reading in 2024 at the end of this post. Here is my list of books read:FictionTom Lake (2023) by Ann PatchettThis was a very good book and an enjoyable read. Basically it is the story of a woman telling her daughters about a summer love affair she had with a …

The first wave of the new Yoroni faction for Conquest can now be pre-ordered from Para Bellum Wargames:Link: Para Bellum Wargames

The Vikings, often romanticized as fearsome raiders, were also adept navigators, traders, and settlers. But beyond the swords and sails lies another fascinating aspect of their lives: how they understood and managed health and healing.

To tastes warm bosom & to healths flusht cheekMorns flushing face peeps out her first fond smileCrimsoning the east in many tinted hueThe horison round as edgd with brooding mistPenc'ling its seeming circle round so uniformIn ting[e] of faintly blue—how lovly thenThe streak which matchless nature skirting sweetFlushes the edges of the arching sky& melting draws the hangings of the mornDaily #JohnClare postings#poetry #environment

It was just a little over a year ago that I briefly softened in my general disdain for Meta (which I held not only for their overall anti-web walled garden approach of the last 20 years, but especially for their role in the last decade’s rise of misinformation). Watching what was going on with their new Twitter clone, I raised an interested eyebrow as I followed their rapid progress in …

What happened was, there was a pretty moon in the sky, so I got out a tripod and the big honkin’ Tamron 150-500 and fired away. Here’s the shot I wanted to keep. Sadly, the clouds had shiftedand Luna had lost her pretty bronze shading. I thought the camera and lens did OK given that I was shooting from sea level through soggy Pacific-Northwest winter air. But when I zoomed …