rix_scaedu

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Is technological progress inevitable as long as humans exist or can it be stopped?

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Today is cloudy, humid, and hot.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/7/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I saw a pair of cardinals feeding each other at the hopper feeder, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 8/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I walked around the yard a bit.  More of the 'Bloody Mary' nasturtiums are blooming in the telephone pole garden.  These are gorgeous, with vibrant shades of red or yellow, often bicolored.  I usually plant 'Gleam' (warm shades) or 'Alaska' (which has variegated leaves) but the colors on these are more intense.  :D  The first bachelor's button is blooming blue.  The first zinnia buds are showing, although some others are already blooming in the prairie garden.

A bank of clouds is towering up to the west and north.  Hopefully they'll bring some rain.

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

I shucked the sweet corn from yesterday. It's much easier with my new potting bench! :D Also I put the cleaned ears in a Tupperware pitcher with a lid, which made for much more secure transport. \o/

My first plan is to make the corn and tomatillo skillet dish. We skip the jalapeño, and I'll be using freeze-dried green onions.

After I have the corn cooked and cut off the cobs, I'll make a batch of corncob broth, which is the most delicious vegetable broth ever.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- The skillet dish turned out excellent. \o/ I have enough ingredients to make another batch, and we're meeting with friends on Saturday, so I think I'll do that and bring scoop chips to eat it with. I like it hot, but it's good cold too.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I've got the corncob broth in the crockpot.

Today is cloudy and mild, but already humid.  It drizzled last night, and the patio is still wet.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I cracked a peach pit but the seed was no good.  I cracked three batches of black cherry pits and got plenty of good seeds.

I also did some weeding in the barrel garden.

I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus a male cardinal.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a mourning dove in the forest garden.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I shucked the sweet corn from yesterday.  It's much easier with my new potting bench!  :D  Also I put the cleaned ears in a Tupperware pitcher with a lid, which made for much more secure transport. \o/

I heard quail calls but didn't see any.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/6/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden and the telephone pole garden.

I walked around the yard a bit.  Lots more zinnias are blooming, a few more gladioli, and a great many partridge peas which are new and look like they came from a wildflower mix I sowed earlier.  That's cool since partridge pea is a nitrogen fixer.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.  Fireflies are coming out.

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

Today we went out to the little farmer's market outside DeBurh's in Mattoon. It runs on Wednesdays, starting at 3 PM. I didn't hear an end time, so possibly until people sell out or get tired and go home, or the store closes. We got there a little after 4 PM.

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Today is partly cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a male cardinal.  Finches were bathing in the red birdbath.  I heard a squirrel barking but didn't see it.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- We went out to the little farmer's market outside DeBurh's in Mattoon.  There were lots of people there this time!  :D  Multiple vegetable booths, several crafters, a baker, the tamale lady, and a food truck.  I bought 6 ears of sweet corn and a carton of tomatillos, with the intent of making the skillet dish.  One lady had an enormous potted marigold that came up to my hip!  She had slightly smaller ones for sale, so I bought one to add its genetics to my Shithouse Marigolds landrace.  They get knee-high or a bit more and are usually the tallest that I see.

I heard quail whistles in the yard, but didn't see any.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- I watered the septic garden.  Multiple sunflowers are blooming, all in shades of yellow, most with multiple heads.  The tallest one is actually budding a second head, which is surprising since those are usually singles.  I'm delighted to see them raining pollen everywhere.  I want to maximize production of pollen and nectar for pollinator benefit.  These likely descend from 'Autumn Beauty' (a multicolored branching type) with input from 'Mammoth' and a couple of Native American landraces like Arikara and Hopi Black Dye.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I put the new marigold out on the old picnic table next to several pots of Shithouse Marigolds.

EDIT 8/5/26 -- I watered the house yard plants and the telephone pole garden.

I saw two bats swooping along the road.  Cicadas and crickets are singing.  A few fireflies out.

It's spitting rain.

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

This is today's freebie. It was inspired by a prompt from my partner Doug. It also fills the "Cherry" square in my 8-1-26 card for the Red and Green Fest Bingo.

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The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your time and attention. Please keep an eye on this page as I am still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Weirder Than That." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

I'll be soliciting ideas for freaks, explorers, partners, housemates, siblings, parents, teachers, clergy, leaders, superheroes, supervillains, teammates, alien or fantasy species, failure analysts, ethicists, activists, rebels, other people who get into unbelievable situations, researching, revising theories, parenting, teaching, adventuring, leaving your comfort zone, making discoveries, conducting experiments, observation changing experiments, 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, Underhill, the forest primeval, liminal zones, schools, churches, sharehouses, kitchens, campfires, libraries, laboratories, supervillain lairs, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, stores, farmer's markets, starships, alien planets, magical lands, foreign dimensions, other places where the unbelievable happens, oddities, curiosities, reality distortions, puzzling discoveries, sudden surprises, travel mishaps, the buck stops here, trial and error, weird food, secret ingredients, supplements that turn out to be metagenic, intercultural entanglements, asking for help and getting it, enemies to friends/lovers, interdimensional travel, 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.

Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:

Red and Green Fest Bingo Card 8-1-26


Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

An Army of One is unbelievable by the standards of the Galactic Arms, but it works for the residents.

Artists of Destruction imagines how great artists could wreak great havoc in a different world.

The Bear Tunnels is an unexpected adventure.

A Conflagration of Dragons has unforseen disasters and cultural upheavals.

Coracle Shores follows two children who flee Underhill to escape a miserable world.

Crystal Wood is a bizarre disaster that began with a greener alternative to plastic.

Daughters of the Apocalypse has a jumble of past and present, some of it quite strange.

Eloquent Souls presents a setting where soulmarks are common, but some of the results are puzzling.

Fledgling Grace is about people sprouting angel wings, and the unexpected changes that brings.

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.

The Godship Wanderers follows Cuban refugees kidnapped by aliens and rescued by a living ship.

Hart's Farm is a free love community with a few really exotic characters.

Monster House is suburban fantasy with a diverse household, where the line between truth and fantasy isn't always clear.

The Moon Door explores a women's chronic pain group and lycanthropy.

Not Quite Kansas starts with an unplanned trip across different worlds.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis follows Shaeth as he works on becoming the God of Drunks.

Peculiar Obligations is about Quakers and organized crime, often with pirates.

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.

The Wandering causes old people to travel into the past and their younger selves.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks will reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

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