 

Granny Smith

May. 27th, 2017 10:48 am
frith: Yellow pony with yellow mane, stunned look. (FIM Applejack stunned)
[personal profile] frith posting in [community profile] ponyville_trot
Granny_Smith_by_exclusionzone
Source: http://exclusionzone.deviantart.com/art/265140959822-672110032

Showtime in the US on Discovery Family in about 1 hour! This week it's Hard To Say Anything, the discussion for which is at the May 13th post. Watch it and marvel at how a special talent can be a private hell for some ponies.

Book Log!

May. 27th, 2017 09:23 pm
scaramouche: Bruce Boxleitner as Alan from Tron (tron: alan is a nerd)
[personal profile] scaramouche
I picked up Nigel Jones's Tower: An Epic History of the Tower of London from the gift shop at said Tower during my last trip with my cousins, and it's been a rolicking fun read.

A little over half the book is rehashing English history as is familiar to me but from the Tower's POV, while the other half is stuff that is brand-spanking new to me, such as fuller details of the initial design of the Tower and its additions over the years, fuller details about the animals that were kept there (though admittedly I had to skip a few paragraphs here and there), plus the very fascinating history of the Royal Mint with bonus Sir Isaac Newton as the Very Serious Warden of the Mint who went on marvelous adventures trying to apprehend his personal Moriarty i.e. William Chaloner. I also really like the section on escapes and attempted thefts made in the Tower.

In the early and closing chapters, the book goes back and forth in its timeline based on the topic at hand, but the central section goes pretty much chronologically from king to king to queen and so on. I think one of the more interesting bits about following the Tower's history chronologically is seeing in fuller context the development of the Tower's reputations as a bloody and terrifying place. To use a comparison, in biographies of singular persons I've read, the Tower is only mentioned as either not having that reputation yet, or already having that reputation. But how did that reputation itself develop? Which is where this book's timeline comes in and becomes absolutely, perfectly clear how it happened. I mean, it's one thing to "know" that it's Henry VIII's bloodlust that brought that reputation about, but another to have that bloodlust compared with the actual earlier warfare that happened in London through the Angevin period and the Cousins War, and see that for all of the death and war and mayhem that happened in pre-Tudor times, it was still nothing compared to what Henry VIII did within the compound of the Tower of London.

I like to say that the city of London is massively haunted already but... the Tower of London is really, really, really haunted, y'all.
cimorene: (gr arg)
[personal profile] cimorene
So, when you print a pricetag at the Red Cross thrift store where I work, you have to navigate a hierarchical tree using arrows and Enter. An example would be "Apparel>Women's Clothing>Undergarments" or "Apparel>Accessories>Children's". Now the department is in the barcode, and the store/chain know what was sold, how long it was on the shelf first, what it cost, etc, and they use this to produce statistics.

And as a result of this, the cash registers can be programmed to automatically discount a whole department, like Women's Clothing or Furniture or Sport, all at once. This is useful for promotions like "ALL CLOTHING -50% THIS WEEK ONLY" - nothing for the cashier to do. (In contrast, with something like Buy Two X, Get the Cheaper ½ Off, the cashier has to check which it is and click 'Discount'.)

Well, this week, my department, Accessories, is on sale. The problem is, my department doesn't have a department in the store like the others. Socks, undergarments, and pajamas are in their respective clothing departments. Hats are there and also in sports. Scarves are in 4 different displays. Jewelry, wallets and sunglasses are in 3 displays unless they're designer or for special occasions. Swimsuits everyone just forgets about until the season. And most of the cashiers can't pass a test on whether all these items are part of the Accessories department or not.

Unfortunately, they need to know, because some (undergarments and swimwear) are officially categorized as clothing instead on the tag according to edicts from the chain level. So these have to be individually discounted anyway (and why not just leave them off the sale? Nobody asked me, that's why). BONUS: we just discovered my coworker in Accessories has been mistagging everything, up to and including jewelry, as clothing.

So that's hundreds of mistagged tiny items scattered throughout the store for the cashiers to (a) identify as accessories and (b) remember to check to make sure the discount rings up and individually discount it if not. Being a cashier here doesn't have any educational or experience prereqs, but it certainly requires certain abilities.

For bonus stress, I'm a cashier as well, and all week when I was at the register it meant I wasn't putting out stuff for the sale.
[syndicated profile] zooborns_feed

Posted by Chris Eastland

Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (13)

Two baby African Sengis at Chester Zoo named Ping and Pong are about the size of – you guessed it – ping pong balls. The twins were born on May 5.

African Sengis, also known as Round-eared Elephant Shrews, grow to a maximum size of just four inches and weigh 1.5 ounces – about the same as seven US quarters.

Despite their small stature, Sengis have a genetic link to much larger animals, including Manatees, Aardvarks and Elephants.

Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (18)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (3)Photo Credit: Chester Zoo



Dave White, team manager of small mammals at Chester Zoo, said, “They may be tiny but our new Sengi duo are hugely fascinating creatures, whose closest living relative is eight thousand times their size. They were once thought to be linked to the Shrew but their genetic makeup is actually closer to that of an Elephant - the giveaway is their amazing trunk-like snout.”

The prehensile snout is used to sniff out insects to eat. The bugs are collected with a quick flick of the tongue.

“Sengis are extremely energetic little critters and have a top speed of 18 mph. If scaled up, they would actually be twice as quick as the world’s fastest land mammal – the Cheetah. They’re incredibly charismatic and one of the very few mammals that pair up for life,” White said.

African Sengis are native to Botswana, Namibia and South Africa where they are found in a range of habitats including deserts, forests and savannahs.

There are nineteen different species of Sengi, and little is known about most of them.  A new species was discovered by conservationists working in Namibia as recently as 2014.





More photos below!

Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (1)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (2)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (6)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (8)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (10)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (19)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (22)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (23)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (24)
Tiny sengi twins born at Chester Zoo (27)














More popcorn

May. 27th, 2017 11:22 am
rydra_wong: The display board of a train reads "this train is fucked". (this train is fucked)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
First, Mother Jones have put together a handy timeline, which they promise to keep updating:

Mother Jones: The Long, Twisted, and Bizarre History of the Trump-Russia Scandal

And the Guardian have a helpful guide to the multiple different investigations going on:

The investigations swirling around Donald Trump – a short guide

***********

So, lately:

NYT: At a Besieged White House, Tempers Flare and Confusion Swirls — from the 16th, which is practically decades ago in our new accelerated reality, but still fun:

Some of Mr. Trump’s senior advisers fear leaving him alone in meetings with foreign leaders out of concern he might speak out of turn.

It’s been widely rumoured/speculated that the White House "significant person of interest" is Jared Kushner:

Vox: It’s becoming increasingly clear that Jared Kushner is part of Trump’s Russia problem

(Via [personal profile] robynbender, this: https://twitter.com/bornmiserable/status/865695064722251776 Once this has been pointed out, it's hard to stop noticing it.)

Raw Story: White House looking at ethics rule to weaken special investigation: sources

The two people this could potentially block investigation into are Kushner and Manafort.

This also suggests it’s Kushner:

NBC News: Jared Kushner Under Scrutiny in Russia Probe, Officials Say

And late on Friday, we enter holy shit territory once more:

WaPo: Kushner Asked Russian Envoy To Set Up Secret Moscow Backchannel

Cut for length )

Coco Pommel

May. 26th, 2017 07:56 pm
frith: Yellow cartoon pony with pink mane, blue eyes (FIM Fluttershy head)
[personal profile] frith posting in [community profile] ponyville_trot
coco_pommel_by_mirroredsea
Source: http://mirroredsea.deviantart.com/art/Coco-Pommel-681153278

No new episodes are to be broadcast this weekend in Canada. In the US, Discovery Family and iTunes will be broadcasting Hard To Say Anything (episode 8) for the first time. Like last year, this season is in two parts. I don't remember how many episodes were in the first part last year, but this year, Discovery Family has stated the mid season break starts after episode 11 (Not Asking For Trouble). In the meantime, Discovery Channel will be broadcasting at least one Equestria Girls special (Dance Magic). That should be fun, even if the Equestria Girls are anorexic hooker chick meat puppets created by an ancient pocket universe death trap spell.
[syndicated profile] zooborns_feed

Posted by Andrew Bleiman

1_20170518_085150

On May 3rd, Wingham Wildlife Park welcomed their first ever European Wolf pups. Wolves have been part of Wingham Wildlife Park since 2013, when Dakota (the mother of this litter of pups) and her sister Arya arrived at the UK from Parc Animalier de Sainte Croix in France, to be joined later in 2015 by male, Raksha, from Bern Zoo in Switzerland.

The new litter of four pups is a first for Dakota. However, having grown up in a fairly large pack in Sainte Croix, she is used to the mechanics of what should be done and how best to keep the litter healthy and safe, as Tony Binskin, the managing director of WWP explained: “We are really pleased with how she is doing with the pups. When animals have their first ever babies it can always be a bit of a worrying time. Do they know how to socialize them? Will they know how to make their own den? Will they know to use their artificial den if they don’t? There are so many variables which can potentially go wrong!”

Jackie Binskin, Tony’s wife finished by saying, “She really is a great mum though! So far, she has done nothing wrong, and as for how the pups are faring with here… The proof’s in the pudding – they look great.”

2_20170518_085149(0)

3_20170518_085144

4_20170518_085057Photo Credits: Wingham Wildlife Park

On the morning of May 13, the den, which Dakota had dug herself using a fallen over tree and its root system as a starting point and natural barrier, was inspected from a discrete distance by management staff at Wingham Wildlife Park.

The result of this inspection was a huge relief and surprise for the staff, as Tony explained; “Today was the clearest we have seen the pups so far. Before she had spent most of her time laying down with the pups huddle under her. In that position, we always only saw 3 but had our suspicions that there might be a 4th – after seeing the odd tail or foot hanging out which didn’t quite look right! Today however we saw all 4, clear as day.”

Markus Wilder, the parks curator interjected with; “…And to top it all off they all have their eyes open already and are moving around really well. When Dakota first made her den, it was quite shallow, but we can see now why she has been excavating it more – making it deeper and steeper. Whilst she is doing really well, it’s obviously also a bit of a learning curve for her!”

According to the Species360 ZIMS (Zoological Information Management System) database, the pups born at Wingham Wildlife Park are 1 litter of only 5 born for the European Wolf (Canis lupus lupus) in the past 12 months world wide (however, there may be some smaller institutions who do not use this standardized animal information record keeping system). The only other UK based institution using this system that has had European Wolves born in the past 12 months is the Highland Wildlife Park.

The European Wolf is a subspecies of the Grey Wolf, which used to be the world’s most widely distributed mammal. However, while it used to be found throughout most of Europe, this particular subspecies is now already extinct in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.

Tony finished by explaining why breeding Wolves at WWP is so important for the collection, “When we first built the European Wolf enclosure, it was designed to be big and laid out in a natural manner. It features a nice big pond, which they actually go in to during the hotter months, as well as plenty of British bushes and trees. We had always designed it with the intention of building up a nice sized pack, which these pups are going to let us do. A lot of zoos had stopped breeding this species for some years, however as the European population starts to get older, this genetically diverse pups are going to be a terrific addition in to the European gene pool at some point in the future. In the meantime, we thoroughly look forward to keeping them here.”

The baby Wolves at the park are not yet on display, as mum is keeping them underground. However, with their eyes being open, and considering how they are moving around, it doesn’t look like it will be much longer before they can be seen bounding around their own little woodland in the Kent countryside at the Park.

5_20170518_085053

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8_aDSC_0074

usernamehere: can't explain (can't explain)
[personal profile] usernamehere posting in [community profile] followfriday
 
  Got any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).
Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die". Just introduce us to some new things to read.

"You with the Guardian?"

May. 26th, 2017 08:10 pm
rydra_wong: The display board of a train reads "this train is fucked". (this train is fucked)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
(X-posting to [community profile] thisfinecrew.)

Here's a thought:

If you disapprove of politicians beating up journalists (or winking at other politicians' beating up journalists) and have some spare cash, one possible action would be to contribute to the Guardian -- whose journalist, Ben Jacobs, got beaten up.

There are various options for becoming a member and paying a regular subscription, but you can also make a one-off contribution.

Although they're a British newspaper, their coverage of US issues is very very strong.

They would like to note (in an e-mail sent out to members) that they recently ran pieces including GOP candidate Greg Gianforte has financial ties to US-sanctioned Russian companies and Trump diehards stay loyal in Montana's 'white man's country' – video:

In that interview, the Guardian's west coast bureau chief, Paul Lewis, challenged Gianforte over his support of Trump's executive order that threatens more than two dozen national monuments in America, including the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana.

Hidden Passages

May. 26th, 2017 10:52 am
calliopes_pen: (sallymn dark and stormy story)
[personal profile] calliopes_pen posting in [site community profile] dw_community_promo
[community profile] hidden_passages: Hidden Passages is a new community dedicated to gothic horror and gothic romance works in film, television, and literature across history.
[syndicated profile] queer_ya_feed


Join me and wear orange on June 2, and

"pledge to honor the lives of Americans stolen by gun violence, help keep firearms out of dangerous hands, practice responsible gun ownership, and promise to do our utmost to end gun violence."

More on the event:

On January 21st, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a high school student from the south side of Chicago, marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground back in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange. They chose the color because hunters wear orange in the woods to protect themselves and others. On June 2nd, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday—a broad-based coalition asked people nationwide to join in what Hadiya’s friends started, honoring her life, the lives of the 93 Americans killed by gun violence plus the hundreds more who are injured every day, by wearing orange. In its inaugural year, 30,000 Americans chose to #WearOrange—including more than 100 nonprofits, corporate brands and cultural influencers. In 2016, Wear Orange grew eightfold: President Obama, Viacom, Univision, Kim Kardashian West, Steph Curry, Vogue, Kenneth Cole, the San Francisco Giants and more than 300 noteworthy individuals, brands and organizations answered the call, taking to social media to show their support. The #WearOrange message echoed globally, reaching millions in a single day.

And a special note to my fellow authors, illustrators, and professionals in the world of children's literature: Please join me in the Everytown Authors Council of the Everytown for Gun Safety organziation, the largest gun violence prevention non-profit in the country with more than three million supporters.

As author Jodi Picoult put it so powerfully,

"My job as a writer is to get people talking -- and this is a conversation we as a nation desperately need to have. Will you join me in this fight?"

Click here to find a Wear Orange event near you to help raise awareness in your community.

Thanks,
Lee
[syndicated profile] slacktivist_feed

Posted by Fred Clark

It is only after our heroes confess this particular sin and embrace the "Bible-prophecy" teachings of Tim LaHaye that they become Real, True Christians and receive divine forgiveness and salvation. In Left Behind, the refusal to acknowledge LaHaye’s teaching as supreme truth is the equivalent of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin that condemns one to Hell along with the preterists, the a-Millennialists and the Jews.

Out of curiosity

May. 26th, 2017 01:08 pm
rydra_wong: The display board of a train reads "this train is fucked". (this train is fucked)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
What happens if the new Republican rep for Montana is now convicted of assault?

He appears to have "declined" a further interview requested by local law enforcement (which, much like "declining" a subpoena, is one of those things I didn't know you could do).

But he's apologized (or "apologized") for having "made a mistake".

(A "mistake" that allegedly involved grabbing someone by the neck with both hands, body-slamming them to the floor, then repeatedly punching them.)

Paul Ryan (displaying all the guts and principle we have come to expect from him) took the bold stand of saying Gianforte should apologize. Other Republicans seem to feel that Ben Jacobs should apologize for having wickedly provoked Gianforte to attack him by being a liberal journalist in public.

A MYSTERY

May. 26th, 2017 10:49 am
scaramouche: Roy Cheung as the Shaolin Monk from Storm Riders (hot monk is hot)
[personal profile] scaramouche
It's been over a month since Rogue One came out on home media internationally, but I have not seen it in any of the movie stores I've been to over this time. I am perplexed! It must be out already (Disney conglomerate media is released consistently and quickly here) so is it that I have had bad luck and it happens to be out of stock at whatever shop I'm visiting that day? I don't feel any strong urge to get it, seeing as that I'm kinda holding out for a better release later this year as per what happened with The Force Awakens, but it's still odd to not see DVDs/Blu-Rays everywhere.

Also a bummer: my favourite movie store is closing down. I've been trying to support this shop but it's been getting harder recently when they don't have in stock the things that I actually want to buy.

moving weirdness

May. 25th, 2017 07:21 pm
echan: Kaworu Nagisa from Evangelion (Default)
[personal profile] echan
[personal profile] jmtorres and I are moving to a penthouse apartment in our current building, which was not at all the plan, but it was the winner in terms of low rent reasonable floorplan and non-insane building management.

But still: penthouse. Comes with the benefit of appeasing my very childish impulse that getting off the elevator on a higher floor than other people makes you more important.

The sign for the apartment says "Penthouse 1308". Mail is routinely delivered using "1308" or, more pretentiously, "PH08". Amazon 'corrected' the unit number to "Ph 1308". The power company, and only the power company, insists on using "PH8" which we only figured out after much back and forth.

The mailbox was overflowing when I checked it, and judging by all the election fliers it hadn't been emptied in at least two months. There was a small shipping envelope that was actually addressed to another unit, had been delivered wrong. I was uncertain, at 6am when I checked the mail and found this, how to deliver it to the other unit without making it appear that I had kept it from them for however many weeks it had sat in that mailbox. I went to bed to figure it out later and when I woke up [personal profile] jmtorres had already taken it to building management to handle, because she is wiser than me.

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