netmouse | Reading

Red River Valley farmers worry as strong winds threaten their soil
Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/05/24/red-river-valley-farmers-worry-as-strong-winds-cause-dust-storms-threaten-their-soil

'Long Leif' siblings go indoors as Detroit Lakes troll artist stages first museum exhibit
The Associated Press
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/05/23/long-leif-siblings-go-indoors-as-detroit-lakes-troll-artist-stages-first-museum-exhibit ( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

Another foray into a long cancelled, fondly remembered magazine of my teen years.

Spring 1980 Destinies (Destinies, volume 7) edited by Jim Baen

billroper

Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes!

I had a nice day. Gretchen and I grabbed lunch at Texas Roadhouse, then picked up lunch for kids and parts for carrot cake. The carrot cake was quite successful and there will be plenty left for tomorrow.

I spent some time (not much) helping K put the second coat of paint on her room and then went out and bought a second gallon of paint, because I didn't want her to run out. The second coat is now on the walls. Some of it is on other things, but they should be able to be cleaned.

That includes K.

Tomorrow, I think we are going to watch a movie together. :)

selki

It's been mostly books and podcasts for me since my last life update (April). A few walks.

But last Saturday, my local sister and one of her daughters came over and we walked to a big book festival at the nearby park. We had fun! but I got a bug bite on my neck that got infected? and I had to go to urgent care Monday am after it kept swelling and seemed to be moving up my neck toward my brain. Antibiotics helped (swelling went down) but didn't seem to really be fixing things until today when it's appreciably smaller and no longer tender. It was a 5-day course; this was the last day, although I think I should have finished them off yesterday. I probably didn't help things by not always remembering to take them on time (supposed to take 4 each day). It's bug spray for me if I'm going to go off the sidewalks again. My yard guy keeps saying he's coming but the yard is very overgrown so I'm afraid of ticks and other bad bugs in my own yard. I need to send him photos and ask if his crew is visiting the wrong house.

Work has been intense preparing for a big migration of our major application suite. Not long hours, but intense and a lot of multi-tasking. Vendor service issues and conflicting priorities and federal clients who are very territorial and keep telling us AI slop has the answers to technical issues (unconvincing) and I'm in the middle. Our main fed got mad at a teammate for using a script instead of doing something manually (really) and raised his voice he didn't want to hear about scripts any more. Plus our contract extension (we're in year 7 of a 5-year contract) getting to the very last day before those above the agency were willing to sign a statement of intent that they would extend for an unknown amount of time so our employer did not have to tell us to stop work the next day. Can kicked down the road until July 30. I was almost looking forward to the break. The cutover for the big migration finally started yesterday (Dev environment) and we'll be working next weekend on Prod. But we have Memorial Day weekend off.

I was going to virtual-volunteer for Balticon and Wiscon for this weekend like I did last year, and I was even toying with the idea of going to Balticon in person for some of it (masking and taking Astepro beforehand), but I never got organized for either, not even getting a virtual membership. Last week my Minnesota sister asked me to fill in for a one-shot virtual Traveller RPG for charity on Memorial Day (someone dropped out) and I'm doing that. I still need to get on the Discord to find out what pre-gen character I'm playing, and sign up for Roll20. I know almost all the other players and it should be fine, and may be a lot of fun.

I got a nap this afternoon.

I'm getting a professional haircut tomorrow morning. I have to make a monthly presentation to the Director this coming Thursday ... oh dear, the same afternoon we're cutting over Production Mirror, I hope it's all going smoothly by then, Dev went fairly well but took a lot of coordination ... anyway, I cut my own hair last month and it could use some professional attention, plus I'd like it shorter in the back for the summer. 10 am. I may get a mani-pedi as long as I'm there, though one of my fingernails snapped short and I cut the others short to match. Masking and Astepro again.

mrissa

Review copy provided by the author, who's a convention/online buddy.

Sometime in your life, you've probably met a smartass who always has a joke for every occasion--and then gradually realized that this person was genuinely kind. That they were not punching down, and mostly they weren't punching at all, instead focusing their jokes on wry incongruity or situation rather than mocking individual people. That there was a core of tenderness behind the wisecracking. If you know the kind of person I mean (let's be real: several of you are the kind of person I mean), you will understand Sol, the narrator of Hornytown Chutzpah pretty much right away. He's not just called Solomon the Wise Guy for a wry historical reference. He's definitely a wiseacre--but not as dumb as he might joke that he is. He's coping using a very specific kind humor--in this case, the instantiation of it that shows up in a lot of American Jewish culture.

And boy, does Sol have a lot to cope with. I knew I was hooked all the way when the guy who is enough of a smartass to earn the nickname Solomon the Wise Guy can be brought to action with a reference to tikun olam. Look, friends, I'm not Jewish, but I know that one. A call to repair the world? those are lyrics everyone can enjoy. And having it be a touchstone, a point that rings our hero like a bell? I'm in, I'm all in.

The Hornytown of the title is an incursion of Hell into the Washington, DC, area, complete with hellfire around it and sin-eating demons within (and sometimes without). It's run by a figure that will look unfortunately familiar, but rest assured that our hero is all-in against him. I was frankly worried by the title, because my interest in "city of people who would like to have a lot of sex" is pretty minimal, but it's not that kind of Hornytown at all. Whew. Is there chutzpah, though? There is chutzpah to spare. Which is a good thing, because the literally hellish nature of the problems Sol faces will require it.

jesse_the_k

I’ve been wearing glasses for 65 years, and I’ve tried many shapes, styles, and colors. Inside the cut are two pics, with a wrinkled white woman with short hair, crumpled ears, crooked smile, and magnifying lens in metal glasses. I'd appreciate it if you'd answer this anonymous poll to let me know which style you think works best:

( Looking and polling )

lsanderson

‘Every health facility said they were full’: alarm over rapid spread of Ebola in DRC
New strain of virus, aid cuts and cultural norms around burials and touch add to difficulties in stemming outbreak
By Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi and Prosper Heri Ngorora in Goma
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/23/ebola-virus-spread-drc-democratic-republic-of-congo

Suspected Ebola cases triple in a week as WHO warns of rapid spread in DRC
Situation described as ‘deeply worrisome’ by officials as aid cuts and community distrust impede responders
Kat Lay Global health correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/may/22/suspected-ebola-cases-triple-in-a-week-as-who-warns-of-rapid-spread-in-drc ( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

A dozen books new to me: eight fantasy, three science fiction, one historical, at least four of which are series.

Books Received, May 16 — 22

Poll #34638 Books Received, May 16 — 22

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

A Dance of Burning Blades by M. H. Ayinde (April 2026)
8 (19.5%)

Crimson in Quietus by Eugen Bacon (September 2026)
7 (17.1%)

To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose (January 2026)
18 (43.9%)

Blade of Two Faces by Blake Blessing (November 2026)
3 (7.3%)

The Silver Hand by Shawn Carpenter (August 2026)
4 (9.8%)

Like the Moon We Rise by Annabelle Cormack (January 2027)
3 (7.3%)

Little Necromancers by Emma Devlin (March 2027)
7 (17.1%)

Eyes of Kings by Chloe Gong (August 2026)
1 (2.4%)

What Haunts the Ice by S. Hati (January 2027)
3 (7.3%)

The Curve of the World by Vonda N. McIntyre (March 2026)
29 (70.7%)

The Unfolding: Mairee by S. Nyland (April 2026)
4 (9.8%)

Project V by Park Seolyeon (April 2026)
7 (17.1%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.4%)

Cats!
24 (58.5%)

billroper

The first coat of red paint has gone up in K's room. It's very red. There's still more work to be done though. I have been promised that I can relax tomorrow (it being my birthday) as long as I am willing to come supervise some of the work. Much like my father, I am excellent at supervisory work of this nature, so I am fine with that. :)

Tonight, I went down to Tobias Music for a Taylor Tone Show. It was a lot of fun and I learned a few new things, which is a good outcome.

I didn't buy any more guitars which is *also* a good outcome. :)

dreamshark

I started out looking for the 2-cup Pyrex food storage containers which had all gone missing and ended up cleaning out my cupboards. Never did find them but realized that much as I love Pyrex I don’t need this much of it. Google Lens says these are “vintage Pyrex mixing bowls.” Don’t have that much mixing to do? Use them as a classy set of serving bowls!

lsanderson

Ramsey County deputy Chadd Muellner is facing two felony counts of engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child after sending explicit messages and photos to people he believed were children, according to court documents filed Thursday and cited by WCCO-TV. Via MinnPost
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/ramsey-county-deputy-charges-explicit-messages-with-children/

Authorities with the FBI are searching for a Minnesota man they say evaded arrest by jumping from a fourth-story balcony Thursday, according to KARE 11. Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar, one of 15 defendants charged in connection with sweeping fraud indictments tied to state programs, was shown appearing to limp past surveillance cameras in video played by authorities at an FBI press conference announcing the charges. Via MinnPost
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/investigations/fraud/2-minneapolis-men-indicted-in-36-million-medicaid-housing-fraud-scheme/89-1314717e-8ffe-491f-bb66-829019fddf73?tbref=hp ( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

A Gun For Godzilla, which is along the lines of de Camp's A Gun for Dinosaur or Drake's Time Safari, except the excessively optimistic rich people are hunting Kaiju.

The hunters have .600 Nitro Express rifles while their prey can melt steel with their body heat.

james_davis_nicoll

Two centuries of neglect and political oppression come to a head in a generation ship half way to its destination.

The Republic of Memory (The Song of the Safina, volume 1) by El Mahmud Sayed

billroper

Tomorrow, I am going to help K paint her room.

Wish us luck!

brainwane

I'm speaking, performing, moderating, and otherwise participating at WisCon 48 (WisCon 2026) this weekend! It's entirely online (Discord + Zoom with some YouTube livestreams). My schedule:

Panel: The Last Year in Gender-Exploring SpecFic
Saturday, May 23rd, 10:30 AM–11:45 AM CDT
Members of the 2025 Otherwise jury and others familiar with the award will discuss the 2025 Otherwise Winner, Luminous by Silvia Park, as well as the Honor List titles and other works of gender-exploring speculative fiction from the last year. The panel will also discuss trends that they have seen in speculative fiction in in relation to the exploration and expansion of gender and how that exploration intersects, as it must, with other identity categories.
Cheryl S. Ntumy and Rebecca Fraimow, Mod: Sumana Harihareswara

GoH Panel: Climate Change & Climate Fiction
Sat. May 23rd, 1:00 PM–2:15 PM CDT
Climate change presents humanity with so many different potential challenges, it's no surprise that fictional imaginings of its effects are already so copious. Both our Guests of Honor, Premee Mohamed and Darcie Little Badger, have used their own scientific backgrounds to highlight climate change in their stories. In this panel they'll discuss their perspectives on climate change as scientists and as writers.
Darcie Little Badger and Premee Mohamed, Mod: Sumana Harihareswara

Otherwise's Fundraising Auction
Saturday, May 23rd, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM CDT
The return of the Otherwise Auction! Sumana Harihareswara is your live auctioneer. Bid (via Discord chat; pay using credit/debit card, Venmo, or PayPal) on a variety of material and immaterial items to support the Otherwise Award.

Some of the auction items:

A signed, numbered, hardcover limited edition of N.K. Jemisin’s book How Long ’til Black Future Month -- donated by Subterranean Press
Vintage collectibles, such as a WisCon 42 tote bag (from 2018, donated by SamHain Press)
Discounts at online booksellers
Wacky experiences! (I promise that there will be at least one wacky experience.)

I'll make nerdy jokes. You can come and have fun without bidding on anything. Anyone who donates any amount of money to Otherwise during the auction gets a virtual gift bag with some fun items in it, including the brand-new Otherwise ringtone, made specially for this event. ~~I know we'll take PayPal and credit cards; we may also be taking Venmo.~~ We'll take PayPal, Venmo, and debit/credit cards.

Guest of Honor Speeches & Otherwise Presentation
Sunday, May 24th, 7:00 PM–9:00 PM CDT
WisCon's traditional Sunday night event. Speeches by our guests of honor, followed by presentation of the Otherwise Award (and a filk to celebrate it!) and a speech from the con chairs.

Tickets for WisCon are sliding scale, USD$0-$5-$25-$65. And you'll also get the chance to enjoy fascinating (and well-moderated!) panels, readings of new work, a curated fanvid show, and other sessions, many of which will include CART (real time captioning by a human). More info at the helpful "How To WisCon" post.

lsanderson

How to cover a Legislature that does its business in private
by Matthew Blake
https://www.minnpost.com/newsletter/minnesota-legislature-transparency-covering-session-business-in-private/

As fire crews extinguish the remaining hot spots in the Flanders wildfire, investigators with the Department of Natural Resources say they have located the fire’s origin and identified people of interest who could face criminal charges, MPR News reported Wednesday. Via MinnPost
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/05/20/dnr-identifies-starting-location-people-of-interest-connected-to-flanders-fire ( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

Pilgrims on their way to a mysterious artifact fill the time by recounting their personal backstories.

Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, volume 1) by Dan Simmons

billroper

I want carrot cake for my birthday, which means that we need some unsulfited coconut. The easiest place to find that is Trader Joe's, so I headed there after lunch. They've moved all of the bulk items of that sort to a different aisle, but I eventually got a pointer and tracked them down.

The slot where the unsulfited shredded coconut goes was absolutely empty. Drat. There were coconut strips nearby, but they would not work nearly as well. I poked around and then noticed something *behind* the coconut strips. This turned out to be the single remaining bag of the coconut that I was looking for. Having won the scavenger hunt, I picked up a few more items for the household and headed home.

At 2 PM, I had the video appointment with the La-Z-Boy tech to inspect my broken recliner chair. They are sending parts and will send a tech to repair it. This will cost about $250 total, but that is still better than replacing the chair, even if it is 13 years old. Looking at the website, matching the original leather recliner would cost around $2100. Eek!

Then I called Home Depot and managed to get the order for the new storm door set up. This had gotten dropped on the ground in the general confusion of getting K back from college, but is now paid for. Now someone just has to install it.

Meanwhile, K is ready to begin painting her room. Whee!

selki

Among the many books my sister left behind when she moved out were some of Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak mysteries in Alaska. Interesting settings and people. Kate takes different jobs in various books so in a way they're kind of like Dick Francis books, diving into different niche trades and industries. In *Killing Grounds*, she's with local commercial fishers, competing to a degree against sport fishers and subsistence (local native) fishers, but they all resent government regulations to varying degrees. Many of them care about being able to fish in the future, but they believe the catch limits are too high. Some of the book gets a bit arcane.

As it turns out, I've been listening to a podcast series about Boston fishers and their struggles with regulations, so I was able to keep up, and had some of my own thoughts about the fishers and regulators, but I wonder what other readers would have made of the book. The overall podcast is The Big Dig, which has moved on from infrastructure to other ambitious projects and government efforts, most lately, the season on "Catching the Codfather", which started decades ago, talked about intentions and fallouts of regulations, resultant schemes and cons, and finally, the overturn of the Chevron Doctrine. The podcast gives some airtime to scientists and regulators, but lean more toward interviewing the colorful fishers and a weasel lawyer. They do at least point in show notes to Molly Taft's 2024 "The Koch Brothers Are Getting What They Wanted: The Supreme Court Is Gutting Environmental Protections".

Glum stuff, but I was interested in the timing. Certainly it helped me better understand some of the action and conversation in the murder mystery, which I liked. I wonder how other readers made out.

elizilla

Today was my twice-annual neuro appointment. I wore the exoskeleton and it was a huge hit. Extra medical people came out of neighboring rooms to see it. My neurologist tried it herself and one of the others videoed her.

One of the tests they do every time, is to time me as I walk a short distance that is measured out by some tape marks on the wall. My time is usually about 15 seconds, but with the exoskeleton it was 10 seconds. My improved posture was noted, as was the increase in danger from the dragging left foot. She gave me a referral to Orthotics and told me to wear the exoskeleton to that appointment as well.

She said she is already making a mental list of which of her other patients would benefit.

Ever Changing, Yet Always Me

Reading

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2026.05.24

Spring 1980 Destinies (Destinies, volume 7) edited by Jim Baen

They Say It's My Birthday

Recovery weekend

Hornytown Chutzpah, by Andrew Hiller

Poll: Rate My Glasses

2026.05.23

Books Received, May 16 — 22

Seeing Red

Anybody want some Pyrex?

2026.05.22

Today's stupid idea

The Republic of Memory (The Song of the Safina, volume 1) by Mahmud El Sayed

Here Comes the Project

WisCon 48 schedule

2026.05.21

Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, volume 1) by Dan Simmons

Projects

Fish stories: Killing Grounds and Catching the Codfather

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February 2025

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