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Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation

Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook – July 9, 2013




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124 gagabite…

I also use Drapbox… Photo courtesy of Bryan Lunt. Charm found in Japan. 





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Murphy the Eagle



  • FTW! (For the Win!)

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Quick and Easy Gnocchi Lasagna

Gnocchi (potato dumplings) served in an Italian style tomato sauce with sausage topped with a lasagna style cheese mixture! Lasagna is one of my all time favourite meals and this is a quick and easy gnocchi version that’s just packed with flavour! The original dish is made with layers of noodles, meat and tomato sauce...

Read On →

The post Quick and Easy Gnocchi Lasagna appeared first on Closet Cooking.




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White Pasta e Fagioli Soup

An Italian style creamy bean and pasta soup with plenty of vegetables! Pasta e fagioli soup is an Italian pasta and bean soup that is one of my favourites! Typically I make it with a tomato based broth, like that recipe has, but it’s also nice without tomatoes, like in this white pasta e fagioli....

Read On →

The post White Pasta e Fagioli Soup appeared first on Closet Cooking.




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Carl Sagan Said ‘Back to the Future’ Was Best Time-Travel Movie

By Matt Solomon Published: November 11th, 2024




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‘South Park’s Timmy Is Inspiring New Bouts of Harassment Against Wheelchair Users

By Keegan Kelly Published: November 11th, 2024




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‘A League of Their Own’ Director Penny Marshall Pushed Tom Hanks to Get As Fat As Possible for His Role as Jimmy Dugan

By Keegan Kelly Published: November 11th, 2024




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Writing Routines, Agent Queries, and Rollercoaster POVs: Jake Maia Arlow on Her MG Debut ALMOST FLYING

By Sara Truuvert

Sweaty palms, shaking limbs, and the distinct possibility of puking. Am I describing riding a rollercoaster or having a crush in middle school? These two thrill rides collide in Jake Maia Arlow's MG debut Almost Flying.

The novel follows thirteen-year-old Dalia, who has planned the perfect summer: finally ride a rollercoaster and make a new best friend. But when Dalia's dad announces he is engaged and expects Dalia to bond with her soon-to-be stepsister, Alexa, Dalia thinks her summer plans are shot. Luckily, Alexa agrees to take Dalia and Rani, a new girl from Dalia's swim team, on an amusement park road trip. What should be a smooth week takes a turn when Dalia realizes she might have more-than-friend feelings for Rani. Almost Flying launched on June 8th, 2021 with Dial Books and is widely available to order.

Jake Maia Arlow is a writer, podcast producer (listen to her work on shows like NPR's Invisibilia), bagel connoisseur, and co-writer of a musical about a gay demon competing in a reality TV show. You can find out more about Jake on her website, Twitter, and YouTube channel. Watch for her YA debut, How To Excavate A Heart launching from HarperTeen in 2022.

Q. A huge congratulations on your MG debut! Your protagonist Dalia is thirteen, which is such a weird, wild, sometimes(?) wonderful age. Did that time in your own life influence this story?

A. Thank you so much! That time in my own life absolutely influenced this story—mostly in that I was a complete weirdo in middle school. And while I wasn’t brave enough or self-aware enough to understand my own early queer feelings, I was so deeply idiosyncratic that I could write 1,000 middle grade novels and never touch on all of my bizarre behavior. For example: I wore mismatched toe socks to school every. Single. Day. 

Q. I love how unique Dalia is—for starters, she absolutely loves watching rollercoaster POVs (but would rather keep this hobby to herself!). Would you speak a bit about developing Dalia’s character?

A. Developing her character was one of the most exciting parts of the writing process, because it involved watching a ton of rollercoaster POV videos! Part of my process included taking notes on different POV videos in Dalia’s voice—some of those early free-writes even made it into the novel in various forms. It’s hard for me to start writing before I know a character’s voice, but Dalia’s came very naturally to me. She’s an anxious queer Jew from Long Island … just like me haha!

Q. Dalia has to navigate some complicated feelings she develops for her friend Rani. Did you map out the trajectory of their relationship before you began writing? Or was it more a matter of seeing where your writing took you?

A. I knew that Dalia had a crush on Rani from the very beginning, but it took me a few rounds of edits to realize that Rani also had a crush on Dalia from the start. Dalia overthinks everything, and even though Rani gives her some pretty clear signals, she doesn’t pick up on them. It was really more of a discovery writing process than I thought it would be!

Q. Do you have any writing routines or rituals that help you get into a good workflow?

A. Oooh, I love this question! I always have rain sounds playing in the background, regardless of whether or not it’s actually raining outside. Other than that, I do the pomodoro method (25 minutes of writing with a five minute break) and I try to have a friend around so I can bounce ideas off of them! 

Q. You have a helpful (and funny) post on your website about the process of getting your agent, which, understandably, involved a fair amount of nerves and panic. What would you say to an author who feels daunted by the idea of starting this process?

A. I’m thrilled that someone has read that! My advice is always to be over prepared. I am almost chronically over prepared because of my anxiety, but in this case it served me well. Listen to podcasts, read sample query letters, read the acknowledgements of your favorite books. There are so many incredible resources that you never have to go through this alone. 

Q. Do you have any advice for young writers?

A. YES! So many people like to say “read,” which is awesome advice, and you should absolutely do that, but my other piece of advice is to WRITE! Write in a journal, write your earth-shattering novel idea on a Google Doc and share it with friends, write recipes, write spells. Write anything and everything. At the very least, you’ll have something to look back on. 

Q. Finally, I understand that both you and Dalia are bagel connoisseurs. I must know, what separates a great bagel from a good bagel?

A. This is the greatest question I’ve ever been asked. First of all, if a bagel isn’t boiled, it’s not a real bagel— it’s just a piece of bread with a hole in the center. But other than that, a great bagel is freshly made, a little warm on the inside; it’s chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. And, most importantly, a great bagel is one that you eat with friends and family. 

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Sara Truuvert completed her MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of St Andrews. She also holds a Certificate in Creative Writing from the Humber School for Writers and a BA in English, Drama, and the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Toronto. Her work has appeared in the Literary Review of Canada among other publications.

For more interviews, see the Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators Inkygirl.com has interviewed over the years.




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A Quick Fix Makes This IKEA Outdoor Storage Box So Much More Accessible

The IKEA NÄMMARÖ storage box serves as a practical solution for the garden and balcony, functioning well as an outdoor storage box and bench. Made from acacia, a naturally durable hardwood, it is pre-treated to withstand the sun, rain, stains, and general wear and tear. However, the loose lid can be a pro or con, depending on your specific needs and space configuration. For John Sharpe, the design was a bit of an inconvenience. “The original box has no hinges,” […]

The post A Quick Fix Makes This IKEA Outdoor Storage Box So Much More Accessible appeared first on IKEA Hackers.




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This IKEA KALLAX Hack Combines Storage and a Cozy Dog Bed in the Coolest Way

In the IKEAHackers Facebook Group, Brianna shared how she turned basic KALLAX units into something totally unexpected — a gorgeous credenza that includes a perfect spot for her dog to lounge. Brianna took two 2×4 KALLAX units and set them up on either end of the nook. The middle section would be left open for a dog bed. But she didn’t stop at just placing the units – she snuck in a little hacking to give the credenza an upgraded […]

The post This IKEA KALLAX Hack Combines Storage and a Cozy Dog Bed in the Coolest Way appeared first on IKEA Hackers.



  • Cabinets & Sideboards
  • Dogs
  • 20 BRILLIANT WAYS TO HACK THE IKEA KALLAX BOOKCASE

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Bunday: Winter Camouflage

Here we have two hardened, wild bunnies of the north! Perfectly camouflaged to blend in with their wintery world.

-Sally Squeeps






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Page 192

Categories:

Aaand…

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Page 193

Categories:

That’s it. The end. I hope you’ve enjoyed this twisty little story of mine, and its deliberately oblique ending. Thanks for all your time and attention, and your patience during the lengthy hiatus in chapter 25. I hope you’ll come along on my next projects. I promise their endings will be more… explained. There will be […]

(Read more...)




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What are the advantages of having a green home in the US?

With a current zeitgeist around environmental protections and sustainability, more homeowners than ever are focused on green design and eco-friendly features. Add in the benefit of energy and water savings and it’s easy to see why green homes are in high demand. But all is not equal with sustainable architecture from one area of the country to another. As a report sponsored by Payless Power shows, there’s a wide variation in the value of a green home, meaning if the goal is to benefit the environment and your pocketbook you may want to consider the location of your new abode. [...]




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Flagstaff, Arizona is an excellent vegan town to try

Flagstaff, Arizona draws outdoorsy folks and is known as one of Arizona’s more progressive and laidback towns — which bodes well for vegans. I spent a few days in Flagstaff and didn’t run out of delicious, plant-based places to eat. It’s an attractive town to visit in its own right, though many people find themselves here on their way to the Grand Canyon, which is an hour and a half away. Here are some of the top places for vegans to get a good meal.[...]




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The first agricultural community of its kind in Ontario

Humans living in harmony with nature and with each other is really the goal of sustainable, environmentally-friendly design. And it is hardly a hip and modern idea, not unless you think the Stone Age is trendy. Long ago, people banded together in groups to live and work together as one community, rather than as individuals. Now, Castlepoint Numa is bringing this ancient idea into the modern era with an innovative design.[...]




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Darling? Be a dear and go kill the neighbor He's wearing Crocs and socks again.




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Neither Edwin nor Lucinda wanted to be the first to admit they couldn't see a thing in the magic eye picture




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Noncomformity Through The Ages

Beggin' your pardon sir, but if we're all dressed differently, exactly why is it called a uniform?




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Arsenal Women Arsecast 87: August Mailbag

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie Spangher to discuss the signing of Rosa Kafaji and the departure of Cloe Lacasse. Then Tim and Jamie answer listener questions on how the midfield will look next season and whether changes are afoot there, the future of Kathrine Kuhl, a big season ahead for Kyra Cooney-Cross, where Arsenal most need reinforcements and whether the women’s team should have its own away kit every year.


You can follow Tim @Stillmanator and Jamie @jamiespangher


Get extra bonus content and help support Arseblog by becoming an Arseblog Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arseblog

 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.




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Cats Are Masters of Camouflage

(Image source: daddyisproudofme

Cats, like most animals, have developed camouflage appearances so that they blend into the background in their natural habitat. But they can also blend into the background in manmade spaces, like the kitchen cabinets, so they can hide and spy on their humans. Have you found the cat in the image above yet? It took me an embarrassing amount of time to see it, but now I can't un-see it. But that's just the beginning. In the picture below, you can easily see three cats. But there are four.

(Image credit: No_Internal9345)

The subreddit Find the Sniper is full of these kinds of puzzles -and they're not all cats. Bored Panda selected 30 very hard ones for a ranked list that may drive you insane. I believe finding the owl was the hardest. There are answers in the comments, but if you want to find the hidden thing on your own, you can click the credit under each photo and go the the original reddit post, where you can enlarge the picture greatly. If you try more than a couple, it will suck up hours of your time.   




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Dothraki Rite of Passage




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Our ancestor Lucy may have used tools more than 3 million years ago

An analysis looking at the hand bones of australopithecines, apes and humans reveals that tool use likely evolved before the Homo genus arose.




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Malware Campaign Uses Ethereum Smart Contracts to Control npm Typosquat Packages

An ongoing campaign is targeting npm developers with hundreds of typosquat versions of their legitimate counterparts in an attempt to trick them into running cross-platform malware. The attack is notable for utilizing Ethereum smart contracts for command-and-control (C2) server address distribution, according to independent findings from Checkmarx, Phylum, and Socket published over the past few




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Leveraging Wazuh for Zero Trust security

Zero Trust security changes how organizations handle security by doing away with implicit trust while continuously analyzing and validating access requests. Contrary to perimeter-based security, users within an environment are not automatically trusted upon gaining access. Zero Trust security encourages continuous monitoring of every device and user, which ensures sustained protection after




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Malicious PyPI Package ‘Fabrice’ Found Stealing AWS Keys from Thousands of Developers

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a malicious package on the Python Package Index (PyPI) that has racked up thousands of downloads for over three years while stealthily exfiltrating developers' Amazon Web Services (AWS) credentials. The package in question is "fabrice," which typosquats a popular Python library known as "fabric," which is designed to execute shell commands remotely over




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Malicious NPM Packages Target Roblox Users with Data-Stealing Malware

A new campaign has targeted the npm package repository with malicious JavaScript libraries that are designed to infect Roblox users with open-source stealer malware such as Skuld and Blank-Grabber. "This incident highlights the alarming ease with which threat actors can launch supply chain attacks by exploiting trust and human error within the open source ecosystem, and using readily available




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THE NEXT TIME AN ANTI-GUNNER SAYS CITIZENS’ RIFLES ARE USELESS AGAINST ARMIES…

…remind them of this. I was recently reading “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans” by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager. The War of 1812 was going badly for the Americans. The British had burned the White House, and a huge contingent of British troops was in Louisiana planning to march north in conquest. […]




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Anthropic Wants Its AI Agent to Control Your Computer




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When Google's AI agent messes with ya'




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Man who made 'depraved' child images with AI jailed














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A Fragile Thing is Top 10 on AAA in US

From Billboard Charts:

The Cure hits the top 10 of this week's #AdultAlternativeAirplay with "A Fragile Thing" (up 12-10). It earns the band its first top 10 hit at the format.

It also earns the band its first top 10 on any Billboard airplay chart since "Maybe Someday" peaked at No. 10 on #AlternativeAirplay in 2000.

"A Fragile Thing" is the lead single from Songs of a Lost World, which concurrently debuts at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums.




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Time management for political sysadmins

Can you put me in contact with the "tech team" of a political campaign?

I am offering my "time management for sysadmins" training pro-bono to any Dem or anti-Trump digital team, sysadmins, devops team, SRE, etc. Contact me via LinkedIn, DM me on Twitter or email me if you know my email address.




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Jo Dunkley, Suzanne Staggs and colleagues awarded $53M to upgrade prominent observatory

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $52.66 million grant to fund a major infrastructure upgrade to the Simons Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Upgrades are expected to take about five years; the resulting facility will be known as the Advanced Simons Observatory (ASO).




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McCarter Theatre's 'Arts & Ideas' is attracting extraordinary artists to engage with faculty and students

Events this fall include a sold-out conversation with Icelandic-Chinese recording artist Laufey.




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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan ’81 and Nobel Prize-winning economist David Card *83 to receive top alumni awards.

Princeton University will present the honors at Alumni Day, scheduled for Feb. 22, 2025.