I'm using the sun to cancel swimming today. The rest of the week will be rainy and perfect. So today I'll go to Safeway instead of swimming. Sure, I could do both, but why?

Harriet wanted a fancy color letterhead for the Committee stuff. I had made a very simple one and used it a lot but she wanted more/different. Fine. Yesterday I had Google Doc's gemini gin me up some but I was asking the wrong questions the wrong way and it turned into a thing and I abandoned ship. This morning, I did it correctly and got something good quickly. If Harriet doesn't like it, she can do it herself (hahahaha right).

I have a week to work up the agenda from the notes she gave me Friday. It will take maybe 10 minutes. I should just get it done today. Ok. I will.

I still don't have my tax return. I finally sent a note to the person who contacted me last and asked if they were waiting for anything from me. Which, of course they aren't but I thought that was nicer than Where The Fuck Is My Damn Return!! There is still 6 weeks before it's due but why wait?

Biggie goes back to the vet on Wednesday. I'm getting pretty weary of this drill but I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do to end it. Maybe there will be a better answer this tim

jazzyjj in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

james_davis_nicoll

In this, Young People Read Old SFF's 10th year, a new project!

Young People Read Old Science Fiction Stories Edited By Cele Goldsmith: April in Paris by Ursula K. Le Guin

dark_kana in

3_good_things_a_day

1) gorgeous weather, enjoyed a walk outside during lunch break

2) probably going to end up in the playgarden when I pick up my daughter from school ^^ More time to enjoy the sunshine

3) lazy evening with hubby

smartbitches_feed

Posted by Lara

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/star-shipped-by-cat-sebastian/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=166028

A

Star Shipped

by Cat Sebastian
March 3, 2026 · Avon
Historical: EuropeanLGBTQIAMystery/ThrillerRomance

This book is exemplary. It can literally be held up as an actual example of what a romance novel should be. I am in awe. But before I wax lyrical about the many ways in which this book is excellent, let’s set the scene.

Simon and Charlie are co-stars on a sci-fi TV series and for the seven years that the show has been running, they’ve been fighting, squabbling, and disagreeing. Simon is considering leaving the show and there are (not unfounded) rumours in the industry that he is difficult on set. Charlie is worried about the same thing because before he went to rehab, he was a nightmare on set. So the two decide to try and spread the narrative that they get along in hopes of quashing the rumours. What follows is a little bit of plot, a lot of emotion and a megaton of me smiling at my book.

We only spend time looking at things from Simon’s POV. And Simon is a lot of things. Primarily, he feels he is a mess. He has quite a serious anxiety disorder with mild OCD. He’s also prone to hellish migraines. The insight we get into his perspective and daily life is a punch to the gut. For every word he says out loud, there are a million in his head. The writing is so evocative and visceral that I really felt what he was feeling. It’s a thoroughly fresh, insightful view of mental illness.

In this mutual truce they find themselves in, something magical happens for Simon when he’s around Charlie. He realises that after seven years of working together so closely, they really know each other well, and might even like each other. And after an incident with a connection of Charlie’s, a switch is flipped in Simon’s brain and he decides to make the honest choice when faced with diverging paths forward. This amounts to Simon blurting out his emotional truth and just hoping blindly that it’s okay that he does that. Every little stretch he makes towards Charlie, he is met by Charlie’s steady, consistent presence. It is so beautiful to read.

While narratively we live in Simon’s POV, there are hints as to how Charlie feels. For example, right at the beginning of the book, while they’re still at odds, Charlie notices that Simon has one of his migraines (Simon hasn’t said anything about it) and he insists on driving Simon home because he knows that Simon can’t drive when he’s like this. Turns out, this is not the first time that Charlie has done this. Charlie NOTICES things about Simon. While Simon is pretty ignorant of Charlie’s feelings, as a reader, we get TINY tidbits that hint that there’s more going on from Charlie’s perspective. But for the most part, Simon’s view fills the frame.

I cannot say enough great things about the writing. Here’s just one snippet of the kind of magic that’s woven with words:

There are years of irritations and grievances between them, built up like barnacles, a crust of ill will that makes it impossible to make out the shape of whatever’s underneath. Simon can start to see it, though, and wants to look away.

There is a tremendous amount of humour, too.

We have a strong opening paragraph:

Every day this week, the air conditioner on set has woken up and chosen violence. Simon is not prepared to work in tundra conditions. He isn’t built for Siberian gulags or ice fishing huts.

Or this:

They should have wrapped two hours ago. Lian, the showrunner, looks like she could light the entire set on fire using only her eyes. That would at least warm them up, so Simon’s all for it. He catches her eye and tries to silently communicate that arson is a valid choice right now.

And that’s just in the first part of the first chapter!

This is a story of two people falling in love with the person that knows them best – each other. And it was so gentle on this reader’s heart. I say this because …

Show Spoiler

There is no third-act break up or bleak moment. It’s a slow, inexorable slide into a bath of salted caramel, if salted caramel represents true love.

There is so much to love about this book. The infinite, tender care that Simon and Charlie start to show for each other. The gradual deepening of emotional ties. The wild and messy way that big feelings of love are spoken and shown for each other. There was not a moment of this book that I was not smiling, squeezing my book in glee. Such vulnerability. Such insight. GLORIOUS.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/star-shipped-by-cat-sebastian/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=166028

cimorene

1. Wax Sent to Customer Service Jail

Yesterday I asked

waxjism, "Hey, don't you want to make a dreamwidth update about being sent back to jail?"

"Nope," she said.

Wax has been feeling sick (?) since we both had a nervous breakdown a year ago last September after losing two cats. She finally went to the doctor a month and a half ago and had a bunch of bloodtests but they found nothing and, I gather, said the next step is to check whether it's hormones or something and she needs to see a different doctor (a gynecologist, maybe?). But they didn't just give her a referral - apparently she has to call back to ask about how to get a referral, or what, because she doesn't actually know how to get that next appointment. Annnnnd she hasn't accumulated enough spoons again yet to do that (including when she had a week of vacation a few weeks ago).

Feeling under the weather has snowballed into near-total burnout and exhaustion and she has been having trouble focusing at work, and as a result her boss called her and revoked her Work From Home privileges, as of two weeks back. She's going back to the saltmines (the customer service mines) every day, and as a result she's even more tired the rest of the time.

On the plus side, it's good for her mental health to leave the house and have a schedule that makes her walk around and breathe fresh air everyday. Not sure if it's as good for her as the extra exhaustion is bad though.

2. My Dad Hospitalized for Copious Hallucination

My dad (69), a quadriplegic wheelchair user who has been recovering from a series of antibiotic resistant infections and other complications and in and out of the hospital constantly for like a year, has a sudden, brand-new, unusual problem. Friday he apparently woke up feeling odd and started hallucinating, at first things like a pool of water on the table or a black webbing on his own hand, then a lizard under the chair and a cat jumping onto the ceiling; they took him to the ER, and the hallucinations got more vivid and numerous very quickly. He was seeing people and animals in the ER and asking my mom if there were really kittens on the floor. By Saturday he was talking to my favorite aunt and uncle (who weren't there) most of the day and by the end of Saturday he was no longer aware that he was in the hospital. My dad has no mental disorders except anxiety, and the doctors were ruling out various kinds of dementia at first, but they thought it was likely to be something acute. He was having urine tests and x-rays and EEGs yesterday, and being interviewed by various doctors. He spent the early part of Sunday keeping my mom awake talking to hallucinated people and asking her to interact with things that weren't there (some tax paperwork on the table he said he had to file, a book he said he saw, stools and tables he wanted her to move); later he was in the house I grew up in (they moved out something like ten years ago), my grandparents' house (sold almost ten years ago), a restaurant, and imaginary places; and he had a brief spell not recognizing my mom, but he remembered who she was a minute later. The psychiatrists were saying they thought it was probably not neurological, and might be metabolic. He seems to be in less danger than he was at several points last year, but this is very stressful for my mom and sister. They both seem scared. I wish I could go there. My parents live with my sister in Louisiana.

3. Loss of One Bunny.

Rowan died Saturday night, fairly suddenly, we think basically of old age. 10 years is thought to be the maximum life span of our type of bunny, and they're 10 years and 4 months right now, but of the two, Japp has been sick several times and Rowan's never had a single health scare and has also been much more active, playful, and happy in recent years. He only seemed sick on Saturday, but he had eaten his most recent meal (which is usually the first sign of danger for ailing bunnies). I've been trying all morning to get in touch with the vet to take him to get cremated: I got up early to call them before Wax left for work with the car, but couldn't get through (and still can't). I will make a separate memorial post about him, but I have to collect pictures first. It's very sad, but we're relieved that it was quick and he didn't seem to suffer and that he had a long happy life and basically died at 101. Also relieved that he was the one to die first: he was much more clingy to Japp, who has always been more independent and not particularly sociable. I am less worried about Japp getting lonely.

askamanager_feed

Posted by Ask a Manager

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/03/is-it-ok-to-compliment-coworkers-nails-or-haircuts-saying-im-leaving-my-job-due-to-its-rigid-culture-and-more.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=36531

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. Is it OK to compliment coworkers’ nails or haircuts?

I believe that comments on people’s bodies are totally inappropriate at work, and in life in general. But if someone has changed their hair or has some cute nails (I myself do not do these cute things but notice them), is commenting on them in the same category as body stuff? Technically it is part of their body, but it doesn’t seem as bad to be “oh the magenta highlights are cool” or whatever. Should I stop commenting on haircuts and nail design?

One school of thought is that it’s fine to comment on things that are obviously a deliberate choice — like a shirt or a haircut or nail design — but not things that are an inherent part of the person’s appearance, like their weight or their eyes. It’s not a bad rule, although in reality someone creepy can make comments on nail color sound creepy too.

I think a better litmus test can be whether you’d say it to a gender you weren’t attracted to — so like if you’re a straight man thinking about complimenting a female coworker’s haircut, are you going to say it in the exact same way you’d say it to a man with a new haircut? If so, it’s likely fine. If not, you should skip it.

2. Should I tell interviewers I’m leaving my job because of its overly rigid culture?

I am currently at a desk job that’s mostly fine, but very rigid. There’s absolutely no work from home under any circumstances, no deviation from hours allowed even when it doesn’t affect job performance or coworkers’ workload, and not a lot of sick or PTO time to make up for it. It’s very “this is the way things have always been done and we are never going to change.” But I know that other companies tend to allow people in my position to have flexibility and some work from home. In my understanding, this rigidity is abnormal in the Year of our Lord 2026.

If I were to look for another job, how do I explain why I’m looking to switch without sounding like an entitled millennial brat? If they ask why I’m looking for a new job, is it okay to say the rigid corporate culture and I don’t vibe, or that I’m looking for more flexibility? Will it sound like I’m looking to shirk responsibilities at a new job?

When I took this job, I was in dire straits to get out of a toxic nonprofit. I’ve been here over three years already, toughing out five days a week in office while my peers in other companies get at least three days in, two days WFH. I know I could keep going, the pay is good, the work is easy, the people are generally nice, but the boomer work mentality is insane and unfair.

There are still a lot of companies that operate the way yours does. If it’s not for you, there’s nothing wrong with disliking it, but they’re not necessarily as out of step with other companies as you’re painting them as! They might be — if the PTO is really low, that would sway me — but the rest of it isn’t especially outrageous and you’ll find it in a lot of places. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t change jobs over it — you definitely can! — but it’s helpful to calibrate your sense of how abnormal it is so that you make sure to confirm the next place will be different. (Although even that isn’t foolproof — lots of people who had work-from-home jobs are being told to return to the office five days a week.)

As for interviewing: in general your answer about why you’re applying to a new job should focus on the appeal of the new job to you, far more than what you don’t like about the old job. In your case, you’ve been there for three years; it’s beyond reasonable to just be looking to take on something new, and then you can talk in specifics about what appeals to you about the job you’re applying for. You should still use the interview process to dig into what their culture is like and how much flexibility they have, but it shouldn’t be the focus of this particular question.

3. My job won’t implement any of my ideas, but won’t give me a clear no

I’ve been teaching in this school for several years now, and I have a problem. Every time I ask to do something fairly typical for a school, I hear, “That’s a great idea,” only to be told a week later that it’s not feasible this year. Again, these are typical things in schools: for example, adding a new class (one that is technically required by the state, no less) that I am the only person at the school qualified to teach, starting a club with several students expressing interest, or taking on a class that I have taught before here.

I know partly why I am in this position. My sister died four years ago, and for the entire year after that, I was an atrocious teacher. I probably should have been fired, but there was a massive teacher shortage at the time. And then the year after that, I did better, but I was also pregnant for most of the year. I’m doing great now by most measures, and they keep adding things to my plate … but never the things I ask for. I ask at the very beginning of the year and get told, “I’ll get you the paperwork.” I send out reminders, and it never comes. Then, once they’ve put me off, I get told, “Not this year. Try next year.”

I’m guessing they mean no, even though they’re saying to try later, but I honestly wish they would either just tell me no and give me any kind of reason why, or tell me how I can change things.

Can you change schools? Fairly or not, sometimes it’s just very hard to get people to see you differently after they’ve fallen into seeing you a certain way. And even if you’re wrong about what’s going on, it seems clear that — for whatever reason — this is just how it’s going to go at this school. It might be very different if you can make a fresh start somewhere else.

4. My boss keeps asking about progress on a personal project I’m not doing

I’m a new grad a few semesters out of college and landed a full-time role in my dream industry with a probationary period. It is a very small company and I report directly to the founder. Two weeks in, she told me she was not satisfied with my work, heavily implying I would be let go after the probationary period (at the end of May).

She then suggested I make a specific project that would aid in my job hunting, framing it as trying to help me join a company I was truly passionate about. I nodded along with no real intent to go through with the project, thinking that would be the end of it.

Since then, she’s asked me every single week how said project is going. I’ve dodged it for the most part, saying I’ve been brainstorming and planning, but not sure how long I can keep it up. I have no intention of making this project as I’m working on other projects for said upcoming job hunt, but my boss is insisting that this will be the key to my dream job and is very dismissive if I suggest otherwise, I simply nod along because I am a fresh grad and she is in the industry.

I’m also very non-confrontational and I need to keep this contract until it ends to support myself; I’m not sure how to deal with this weekly nag about a project when it is my fault for even letting it go on for a few weeks. Proper HR does not exist at this company.

Can you just tell her that you’ve spent some time playing around with it but you’ve decided not to pursue it for now because of ___? What you fill in the blank with will depend on the specifics, but it could be anything from time commitments outside of work to deciding you’d rather focus on some other aspect of the work. You could add that you really appreciate her making the suggestion.

If you think that will just cause more issues, you could go with something vague like, “Yes, still sketching out ideas” or “still at the thinking and exploring stage” or similar … but you’re probably better off just more clearly telling her it’s not something you’re pursuing.

5. Applying for multiple jobs at the same company with only slightly different cover letters

I was laid off recently, and one employer I’m focusing on applying to is a very large healthcare organization. Its application tracking system has you upload only one resume (per candidate profile) and only answer most of the applicant questions once, but then has a section at the end to upload up to 10 different cover letters (you’re supposed to put the job ID number in the cover letter document title when you upload). When I look at my candidate profile, I see my resume at the top and then multiple cover letters beneath. (I’m applying for a lot of very similar administrative openings, so it’s not like I’m just scattershot applying for random things. But I do really want to work for them.)

From the HR/hiring manager’s side, how much does it matter if there’s some repeated phrasing in multiple of the cover letters? I do write a new cover letter for each one, and try to keep it warm and pertinent, but I do have some sentences I reuse in the opening/conclusion of each letter — otherwise it would take forever to apply for these very similar roles, if I’ve already used up the points I’m making about myself. Will HR care/compare them, or is it not worth worrying about?

You’re fine. Ideally the letters shouldn’t all be identical, but they’re not; you’ve switched up some of your phrasing to make them each a bit different. They’re unlikely to bother comparing them, but even if they did, you’re fine.

The post is it OK to compliment coworkers’ nails or haircuts, saying I’m leaving my job due to its rigid culture, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/03/is-it-ok-to-compliment-coworkers-nails-or-haircuts-saying-im-leaving-my-job-due-to-its-rigid-culture-and-more.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=36531

cornerofmadness

I'm beginning to wonder what is wrong with me. I thought my Overlook story was formatted. It wasn't. I thought This Little Piggy story had a good ending (a story I have sent out in the past) and it literally trails off. I thought my test for tuesday was done and I just needed to clean it up. I was wrong. Is this part of worsening ADHD? Is this part of the depression? Me being overworked? I am falling further and further behind and I don't like any part of it.

But let's set that aside for now. I wanted to talk about writing monsters. I want to take my story Sharp Little Teeth and expand it into a novella. I think there is something in i t worth saving. It's a bit long for most open calls and at the end of the day, the ending is rushed just to fit it under 8k. There is enough to it to develop to three times its size. A gay mobster in 1947, his lavender marriage to a lady doctor, their forced exile from Boston to Las Vegas, some monster killing people building the new casino experiment.

I need to do more research into Vegas (collecting books now) but that's not my issue. I have used folklore to create the monster. I didn't find any colonizer monsters that fit what I needed, just some big foot knock offs. there is something in Paiute lore that does work and that's what I went for at the time (with only weeks to do this)

I did have the Native American character come up with how to get rid of them but still it feels like it's toeing the line of white savior and mystic native tokenism. I don't want either of those things obviously. So I was thinking I can use the thing from legend but it's not that. It's not the crybaby water things either. While they're working it out, more die.

But that means I have to make a monster. I know I want to keep the small child-like stature of them and of course the titular sharp little teeth but where do I go from there? I don't know yet but I need to think abou that. Might be time look at desert animals and go from there.

Open Calls

Vacations From Hell
Short horror stories about vacations

Hawthorn & Ash 2026 Window 100 and 500 word fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror stories

Sley House Times March 2026 Window

Untitled Folk Horror Anthology Folk horror of all types, preferring a twist on a known folk or fairy tale, but not required

From Around the World

How to Become a Professional Writer With Joanna Penn

How to Make Your Dark Event Pay Off

Should You Tie Up Loose Ends in Your Story—or Leave Them Open?

What Is Cozy Horror?

From Betty

How to Fix a Boring Sex Scene (honestly I think most sex scenes are boring)

Seven Tricks to Improve Your Minions

Must Romance Always Include a Breakup?

Narrative Distance

Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 3

10 Editing Mistakes First-Time Authors Make (That Could Cost You Readers)

WITS Team Showcase - Jenny Hansen

How to Write Great Taglines in Seven Steps

Self-Editing Pop Quiz Redux

Why Readers Read

Mistakes Were Made

What Does a Character’s Fear of Change Look Like

8 Tips for Writing an Unreliable Narrator

Why Identity Is the Key to Character Development: How True vs. False Identity Shapes Every Story

The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Writers, Part 4: Final Revisions and Beta Reader Feedback

7 Writing Mistakes That Hurt Your Story (and How to Avoid “Literary Leftovers”)

Who Are You? Part Two

Common Mistakes New Writers Make and How to Fix Them

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: Tournament of Champions

tielan

Day 1 of the new contract.

I do wish the agent had negotiated a day or two off. I could do with a break. Everything is mad crazy busy around here.

And we're trying to acclimatise the Tweety Sweeties right now, but don't really have anywhere to put them right now, so they're in a cage on the front porch during the day (with water, food, dustbath, and perch) and get brought in at night to sleep safely.

That should be Nien-go on the left, and Jima-wu on the right. They are, once again, named after food: nien go is the palm sugar and glutinous rice new year cake, and jima-wu is black sesame.

The sole exception to this chicken naming standard has been the 'Lockdown Ladies', Gladys Berechicklian (named after the NSW Premier - like a US state governor - during the early part of the pandemic) and Dr Kerry Chant (named after the NSW Health Minister at the time). I don't know why we landed on those, but it seemed funny at the time, and Gladys Berechicklian always gets a good laugh out of people!

I have political thoughts about Australia and everything that's going on in the world, but will post them another time. *sigh*

house_wren

Lots of snow here. Some good bird sightings: eagles on their big nest in the tree by the river, bluebirds, an oriole, and some sandhill cranes.

I've been having a new and different back pain. I finally realized that I've been sleeping on a saggy surface, so I moved to the floor on a foam cushion. Ah! Much better. But I need to buy a new bed, which is a chore I do not look forward to doing.

Still reading the correspondence between George Sand and Gustave Flaubert. The letters written during the Franco-Prussian war (1870-1871) express their grief over the destruction, fear for their country and the people they love, and anger at the poor leadership. Much of what they say could apply to our current situation. They both write in an expressive way that I enjoy.

I have exercised consistently for 13 weeks. This is remarkable because I am old and unwell.

I've been watching the Korean talk show "Happy Together," It's funny and sometimes touching.

Thank you for your posts, which allow me to live vicariously.

hannah

It might've been the last snow of the season this morning. A light dusting, enough to make me think a coat would've been nice and not too much to make me need more than a sweatshirt. It was nice to feel the last bits of cold, especially since the sun was out a couple of hours later, so nothing much stuck around. Few people were at the market, which made it easier - I haven't been to the Sunday one in a while, and as anemic as this time of year is for produce, it's nice to see some depth of color when it comes to the root vegetables.

In other shopping news, from working in assorted doctor's offices, I found a good quality bandage brand, and online shopping being what it is, I had to resort to eBay for a couple boxes. Most medical supply places call for a minimum order of significantly more than a couple boxes of bandaids, which I understand, and convenience pushes me towards eBay because that's all I need right now. It was that or Amazon, and I'm slightly more trusting of eBay as a general institution.

Current Mood: sick
Current Music: Boxes - Travis

days_unfolding

Gracie got me up at 7:30 AM. I guess that I should be grateful for the extra 30 minutes.

Lily is so pretty and delicate. I love looking at her. Appearances can be deceiving though; she’ll smack Oliver, who usually deserves it.

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. At least, I got Bella in.

Booked a hair appointment. Ordered another stock.

I'm feeling like staying home today, but I have stuff on Facebook Marketplace to buy. I'll see how I feel after my nap and shower. The clock is a long drive away, but the nail gun is local.

Got Gracie in with the aid of a munchie bone. Now she’s eating Bella’s food. That’s okay; it’s the same food.

Napped. Oliver Snugglebug is snuggling. Had lunch. I think that I want another nap.

Gracie likes to nuzzle my ear for reasons known only to her.

Napped. I’m in the kitchen trying to wake up. Then a shower. I’ve decided that I’m going to stay in and work on the bathroom.

Showered. I’m wearing a pants and sweatshirt set that I bought a while ago. It’s like sweats but a thinner and nicer fabric.

Lily is parading around in my face, purring. (The cat food dishes are soaking.) My pets keep me grounded in the now.

Reading news on Iran. Sigh. On a happier note, the BBC had an article about Madeira, to which I’d like to go.

Hmm. Snow tonight.

You know that you’re getting old when you don’t recognize half the actors’ names in the Actors Awards.

Did a little work on the bathroom. Found a gazillon socks. But I want to get to bed early.

kalloway

The little nerd show was good. Never really busy, but steady-ish. Mostly a Pokemon/card-heavy group, didn't move any of my animanga stuff, but sold a few TFs and some random other things. Sold video games, and at the end another vendor offered me half of what I had marked on my 'expensive' PS1 games which was still way more than double? triple? what I'd paid and I said "sure!" because, like, they are out of my sale box and I have cash in hand. Next show is in April and I suppose I'll be best served by picking out more games that I'm never going to play. (Also the vendor beside us kept coming over and looking at a couple of random PSP games but said he hadn't done well enough to justify buying them. He had Pokemon plushies and I said I'd trade for a couple of cool critters. I got a Pikachu and some sort of mushroom with tentacles that made me laugh.)

It's March, so I have communities to do things with and promote in general... I have a lot of stuff to do in general. While it is still chilly at the moment, the end of the week is supposed to be impressively warm and I will be able to hopefully do a quick garage-clean. Yay!

I suppose this week, if it's as quiet as it's looking like it might be, I can work on my Redacted III contest entry. That should be easy-ish to do? Hopefully? Just need to find momentum...

cornerofmadness

allbingo's craft fest month

Knitting Needles	Writing	Lacking Storage	Colored Pencils	Picnic Basket
Calligraphy	Ribbon	Embroidery	Painting	Tangles
Warm Knitted Sweater	Small Spaces	FREE SPACE	Patchwork	Time
Scrapbooking	Tension	Rope	Drawing	Ceramic Mug
Jewelry	Yarn	Velvet	Sewing	Laptop

ysabetwordsmith in

everykindofcraft

March is National Crafting Month Bingo over on

allbingo. Drop by the Meet and Greet to talk about what crafts you love and hate or make new crafty friends.

Crafting Bingo banner

Current Mood: busy

peasina in

fandomcalendar

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glinda

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: cranky
Current Music: Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running

kaiyote in

vidding

title. venus, planet of love
fandom. iwtv/tvl
character. lestat de lioncourt
song. "nobody" by mitski

"venus, planet of love, was destroyed by global warming." s3 lestat vidlet.

dw | youtube

cahwyguy

[As you can see, the SNAP autoposter is working again]

What? February is over already? Seems like it is only been four weeks? Time is going fast in 2026, perhaps because we want it to be over fast. Now that I’m retired, the days are busy in a different sense: working on the highway pages, and working at the gym. Reading the news and looking for articles related to California Highways, saving them away for this headline post. I’m continuing to work on the highway pages: The January headlines are incorporated in the source files, and after this post I’ll start on the February pages and likely work on finishing the update round (unless I wait until the March headlines). Note that 2026 marks the 30^th Anniversary of the California Highways website. The changelog for 1996 shows the first “official” changes in October 1996, although it notes that “Changes before early 1996 were not specifically noted, although this site, in various forms, dates back at least as far as 1992, and possibly as early as 1986. Searching on Google Groups uncovers an early posting of the state highway list in December of 1992 to the Usenet Group ca.driving. In 1995, there was a posting of the highway list in response to a question, showing a last modified date of 1994. By October 1996, postings were being made showing the existence of the California Highways page off of Pacificnet. The earliest capture of the site on the Wayback Machine is in December 1998.” So welcome to the 30^th Anniversary year, or perhaps the 40^th Anniversary year, of California Highways!

With respect to the podcast: Season 4 is written and recording is proceeding apace. We’re planing a few bonus episodes that don’t take as much research and writing; after which I’ll turn my attention to Season 5, covering Routes 15 through 23. I particularly like ep 4.12, which covers the unbuilt freeways of the San Fernando Valley, using the first segment of Route 14 as the starting point. Zencaster is working well for recording the podcast. I think it sounds better, but I would love to hear from the listeners. Let us know what you think. It looks like the regular audience is between 60-80 folks, and I’d love to get that number up, although the numbers don’t included those who listen directly from the CARouteByRoute website (as I don’t know how to get those stats). You can help our listening audience grow. Please tell your friends about the podcast, “like”, “♥”, or “favorite” it, and give it a rating in your favorite podcatcher. Share the podcast on Facebook groups, and in your Bluesky and Mastodon communities. For those that hear the early episodes, the sound quality of the episodes does get better — we were learning. If you know sound editing, feel free to give me advice (I use Audacity to edit). As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on Spotify for Creators, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcatching app or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Creators) . The following episode has been posted this month:

February | CA RxR 4.07: Route 11: From Pasadena to the Border. In Episode 4.07, we examine Route 11. We’ll start by exploring LRN 11, which was essentially the first state highway, running from Sacramento to Placerville, later extended to run from Antioch to the Nevada State Line near Lake Tahoe. Today, it is primarily US 50 with a bit of Route 160. We then the original Sign Route 11, which was LRN 165 and LRN 205, and is today’s Route 110. It was also US 60, and is perhaps better known as the Harbor Freeway and the Pasadena Freeway / Arroyo Seco Parkway. We explore the history and various routings of Sign Route 11, including the history of the Figueroa Tunnels. Lastly, we explore the current Route 11, which is a short route near the Mexico border that connects the San Diego Freeway System (Route 905/Route 125) to the Otay Mesa East port of entry.
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On deck: In episode 4.08, we start a three-episode group that will cover Route 12. Route 12 runs from Route 1 near Valley Ford to US 101 and thence to Sonoma area. It then runs through Napa to meet I-80 near Cordelia. That part is episode 4.08. Episode 4.09 will cover Route 12 from I-80 near Suisan City through the Sacramento Wetlands to Lodi and Route 99. Lastly, Episode 4.10 will cover Route 12 from Route 99 to the Sierra Foothill and San Andreas, where it meets Route 49. (Spotify for Creators)

As a reminder: One of the sources for the highway page updates (and the raison d’etre for for this post) are headlines about California Highways that I’ve seen over the last month. I collect them in this post, which serves as fodder for the updates to my California Highways site, and so there are also other pages and things I’ve seen that I wanted to remember for the site updates. Lastly, the post also includes some things that I think would be of peripheral interest to my ~~highway-obsessed~~ highway-interested readers.

Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for February 2026.

Key

[Ħ Historical information | ＄ Paywalls, ＄＄ really obnoxious paywalls, and ∅ other annoying restrictions. I’m no longer going to list the paper names, as I’m including them in the headlines now. Note: For ＄ paywalls, sometimes the only way is incognito mode, grabbing the text before the paywall shows, and pasting into an editor. See this article for more tips on bypassing paywalls. ＄＄ paywalls require the use of archive.ph. ☊ indicates an primarily audio article. 🎥 indicates a primarily video article. 🎩 indicates hat/tip to someone for finding this article. ]

Highway Headlines

Commission to Hear Status 710 Freeway Stub Redevelopment Report (Pasadena Now). The city’s Human Relations Commission will receive a presentation on the Reconnecting Pasadena 710 project at its Feb. 3 meeting, focusing on social justice considerations and community perspectives. Danny Parker, chair of the Reconnecting Pasadena 710 Advisory Group, will address commissioners at 6:30 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Community Center, at 1020 North Fair Oaks Avenue. The presentation marks the commission’s first formal update on the long-debated freeway stub redevelopment since the project gained renewed attention last fall.
O’Byrne’s Ferry Bridge (No. 281 California Historical Landmark) (Sierra Nevada Geotourism). O’Byrne’s Ferry Bridge started out as a simple old toll bridge between two counties, and ended its legacy by making a splash! Patrick O. Byrne started construction of a chain cable bridge in 1852 across the Stanislaus River on the line between Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. It soon became a bustling toll bridge since it was on the primary road between Stockton and Sonora.
＄ Could part of Highway 1 be moved inland? (San Mateo Daily Journal). A potential long-term suggestion to address erosion along Highway 1 in the Surfers Beach area by elevating the road and moving it inward to the Burnham Strip is generating concern from community leaders, who say the proposal doesn’t adequately address environmental root causes and ignores a park planned for the area. Caltrans will take the plan and deve lop a more detailed feasibility study, beginning a long development process that can take up to five to 10 years, said Joshua Smith, California Coastal Commission spokesperson. The plan, which was submitted to the California Coastal Commission by Caltrans in November, offers long-term alternatives to protect the threatened highway, including various combinations of moving it in by around 200 feet, raising the road with a bridge structure and more nature-based defenses.
California Invests Nearly 1 Billion Dollars for Safer Highways, Improving Transit and Expanding Walkable Communities (Caltrans). The California Transportation Commission (CTC) this past week allocated nearly $1 billion to expand transit capabilities, add new highway safety features and boost the state’s continued climate action goals. Bolstered by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Build More, Faster – For All infrastructure agenda, these improvements will make California communities safer and more climate resilient. The $988.7 million approved today includes $184 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and $336 million in support from Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The investments made by these two funding sources have created an estimated 684,000 jobs. It has helped Californians, businesses and visitors who rely on the state’s transportation network for employment and educational opportunities, access to goods and services and connection to recreational attractions. […] The list of funded projects includes $96 million to improve travel times and enhance traffic safety between Ventura County and Goleta with high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, pedestrian and bike paths and transit enhancements.
City of Malibu announces new safety measures after deadly pedestrian crash on Pacific Coast Highway (ABC7 Los Angeles). Malibu officials are highlighting new safety efforts along Pacific Coast Highway as authorities investigate another deadly crash in which a pedestrian was hit and killed overnight, briefly shutting down portions of the roadway. The incident comes amid long-standing concerns about speeding on the busy coastal stretch. Safety along the highway has been under scrutiny for years, including after a 2023 crash that killed four Pepperdine University students.
＄ The breathtaking wonders of California Highway 127 (Los Angeles Times). By midwinter, Los Angeles is defined less by cold than by light. Cool, clear mornings give way to afternoons shaped by the low winter arc of the sun, painting the mountains in long shadows and the sky in improbable color. And as that low light settles in, my whole body shifts in spirit. Somewhere deep in the limbic system, a synapse fires like a flare, tracing the old circuitry of migration and memory — that annual pull toward the wide-open deserts of the American Southwest. I dream of lizards, dark skies, sand dunes and sunsets streaked in rose-mauve and smoky violet, the air heavy with the scent of wet creosote and campfire smoke.
On Highway 127, I discovered the breathtaking wonders of going the long way (LA Times via MSN). By midwinter, Los Angeles is defined less by cold than by light. Cool, clear mornings give way to afternoons shaped by the low winter arc of the sun, painting the mountains in long shadows and the sky in improbable color. And as that low light settles in, my whole body shifts in spirit. Somewhere d eep in the limbic system, a synapse fires like a flare, tracing the old circuitry of migration and memory — that annual pull toward the wide-open deserts of the American Southwest. I dream of lizards, dark skies, sand dunes and sunsets streaked in rose-mauve and smoky violet, the air heavy with the scent of wet creosote and campfire smoke. But mostly I long for the open road, those forgotten highways where pavement runs through the quaint towns, weathered landmarks and the millions of acres of public land in the desert. It is a nostalgia shared by the chroniclers of the past.
When will Angeles Crest Highway reopen after Christmas storm damage? Caltrans gives update (ABC7 Los Angeles). A portion of the Angeles Crest Highway has been closed for about a month after the Christmas week storms washed away parts of the road. Repair work is underway, but when exactly will the highway will reopen? Eyewitness News spoke with Monica Ruvalcaba with Caltrans on Wednesday, who said the highway is closed indefinitely for about a 30-mile stretch, starting at Newcomb’s Ranch to Big Pines Highway. The extent of the damage in some areas is so bad, Caltrans crews can’t get to those spots yet.
Caltrans to Begin SR-4 Old River Bridge Maintenance Project (Contra Costa News). Caltrans will soon begin a bridge maintenance and preservation project that will make necessary upgrades and repairs of the Old River Bridge on State Route 4 (SR-4), located at the San Joaquin/Contra Costa County line, east of Discovery Bay. This project is required to install a new polyester concrete overlay to the bridge deck (roadway) surface, install new guardrail systems located at the approaches of each end of the bridge, and painting of the bridge steel structure with weather-resistant paint and materials to increase the reliability and serviceability of this 100-year-old swing span bridge. Additional in-water work will see the existing timber waling and the fenders on the north side of Pier 3 replaced, while the south side of Pier 2 would be supported with new high-density polyethylene walers mounted to the existing timber piles.

( Read more... )

maju

I've thoroughly disproved my theory that going for a good brisk walk in the sun for an hour or so will help me sleep. Yesterday, on a clear sunny morning, I walked for about an hour, covering about 6 km/4 miles, but last night when I went to bed I found myself unable to sleep. After lying there for almost an hour I got up and read for more than an hour, and still when I tried to sleep it took a while.

We're having a snow day today, or possibly only a snow morning. I've been using the rebounder while the girls sit around in my room doing various things on electronic devices. Violet is writing her story on my chromebook while listening to music with headphones, and Eden is playing a game on my tablet. Aria was here for a while playing a game on my phone, but she got bored and went upstairs ten minutes ago.

The snow is supposed to clear by lunch time, then it will be cold and clear tomorrow (just below freezing) and then we might get wintry mix on Tuesday. Ugh. I thought I was done with wintry mix now I'm not living in the DC area.

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I've got some mild Italian sausages cooking in the oven so that I can cut them up and put them in my next batch of egg muffins, and they smell so delicious I feel like eating one right now - except that I'm not actually hungry because I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch only and hour ago.

I'm just noticing all the tiny crumbs of this and that in the keyboard of this computer. I normally buy keyboard protectors whenever I buy a new computer, but I couldn't find one made to fit a Pixelbook. I bought a generic one - flat, very flexible, and with no shaping for keys - which does cover the keyboard but is very annoying because it doesn't stay in place well and it sometimes sticks to the screen when I close the computer so that the next time I open it, the protector is still on the screen. (I did find one sold in the UK for about £12.)

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🚘 Headlines About California Highways – February 2026

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