Today is sunny and cool, almost warm -- too warm for a jacket even.  That's warmer than even the January thaw used to get.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I filled the trolley twice with twigs from the parking lot brushpile, then dumped them in the firepit in the ritual meadow.

I saw a flock of mourning doves in the trees around the ritual meadow.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I dumped another trolley of sticks in the firepit.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I dumped another trolley of sticks in the firepit.

I've seen a fox squirrel running through the trees.  I heard a woodpecker but didn't see it.

EDIT 12/23/25 -- I dumped another trolley of sticks in the firepit.  I think I've actually removed all the ones with berries that I want to burn, so the rest should be free for other uses.

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

These are the content notes for "Along These Sympathetic Fibers."

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This poem is spillover from the June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from see_also_friend. It also fills the "Rainbow" square in my 6-2-25 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Peculiar Obligations.

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What Would It Take to Approve a Housing Permit in 24 Hours?

In its Housing-Ready City Toolkit, Strong Towns recommended a 24-hour turnaround for permits. That's not an exaggeration.


Before reading onward in the article, here's how I would set it up...

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These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "The Unicorn Door"
Poem: "The Coracle in the Forest"
Poem: "The Unknown Depths of Our Lives"
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Climate Change
Today's Adventures
Poem: "Creativity, Ingenuity, Compassion, and Perseverance"
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Economy
Poem: "The Community Couch"
Poetry Fishbowl Report for December 2, 2025
Poem: "Mamalokshen"
Unsold Poems for the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl
Crafts
Safety
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 12-19-25: Languages and Linguistics
Dinosaurs
Moment of Silence: Gil Gerard
Birdfeeding
History
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Three for the Memories Coming Back Next Month!
Early Humans
Hard Things

Food has 47 comments. Trauma has 46 comments. Affordable Housing has 78 comments. Robotics has 119 comments.


The 2025 Holiday Poetry Sale has closed, with a massive amount of material to post. It will take me a long time to get it all online, so please keep an eye on the sale page.


Winterfaire 2025 is still open!.List a Booth for anything you sell that would make good holiday gifts, or comment with what you're shopping for to crowdsource ideas. There are links to two similar shopping events online. if you know others, please pass the word.


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv. It needs $72 to be complete. Shiv and his classmates discuss magical weather, magical geography, natural resources, plants and animals, history, and other aspects of worldbuilding.


The weather has been cold and snowy here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of cardinals, and two mourning doves.

Here are the content notes for "The Coracle in the Forest."

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This poem came out of the November 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from helgatwb. It also fills the "Journey" square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It begins the new series Coracle Shores. Its sequel is "The Unicorn Door."

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These are the content notes for "The Unknown Depths of Our Lives."

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Here are the character notes for "The Unknown Depths of Our Lives."

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Global warming could trigger the next ice age

Earth’s climate control system may cool so hard after warming that it freezes the planet over.

Scientists have uncovered a missing feedback in Earth’s carbon cycle that could cause global warming to overshoot into an ice age. As the planet warms, nutrient-rich runoff fuels plankton blooms that bury huge amounts of carbon in the ocean. In low-oxygen conditions, this process can spiral out of control, cooling Earth far beyond its original state. While this won’t save us from modern climate change, it may explain Earth’s most extreme ancient ice ages.


It's not missing and it's not new.  This aspect of prehistoric climate change has been discussed for decades.  Also several decades ago, as climate change began to attract more attention, there were debates over whether the bounce effect would cause global cooling instead of global warming.  For a while there were disaster novels with an ice theme instead of a fire theme, before the current warming trend became more obvious.

However!  Even global warming will making some areas drastically colder.  Once the oceanic conveyor belt breaks -- which is already wobbling -- places like Britain will lose their warm currents and thus chill.