Why Scotland's teachers want 90 minutes back
Nov. 12th, 2025 06:28 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bbc_aberdeen_feedScotland's teachers are preparing to vote on industrial action over workload and time spent in front of pupils.
bbc_aberdeen_feed
[ SECRET POST #6886 ]
Nov. 12th, 2025 06:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6886 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 12 secrets from Secret Submission Post #983.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
So far
Nov. 12th, 2025 03:00 pmranunculusM and I took the old stove and microwave to the dump. It will be recycled. I really wanted to find new homes for them, but no one has wanted them. At Winter Quarters we pulled out the three t-posts that I couldn't get out last night. I then got the tractor, picked up 1/2 a scoop of gravel and a pile of rocks from the stream. Back at the pond on the road (where we installed the culvert this late spring), it took 3 hours to carefully fill in a part of the road bank and set rocks to help hold it up. I used a lot of dirt and a lot of gravel in the process. That culvert is under a huge valley oak tree. Six large bags of tightly packed leaves got cleaned up and are now waiting for me to dump them in a pile to compost into leafmold.
Next up is to split up some wood that has been sitting in front of the woodshed, and get it put away. Rain is incoming and should start in two or three hours so I better get cracking on that job!
Edit: The wood is done, it added 3/4 of a row of wood to the woodshed. We now have enough wood for the winter, though I'll probably go out and get more in the next couple of weeks. I know of two or three standing, dead black oak trees that need to come down. They would make good firewood for this winter even though they have gotten a little damp on the outside.
We are now in the living room with a glowing fire in the stove. A big winter storm is approaching, due in tonight. It makes the lovely, warm house extra cosy.
Next up is to split up some wood that has been sitting in front of the woodshed, and get it put away. Rain is incoming and should start in two or three hours so I better get cracking on that job!
Edit: The wood is done, it added 3/4 of a row of wood to the woodshed. We now have enough wood for the winter, though I'll probably go out and get more in the next couple of weeks. I know of two or three standing, dead black oak trees that need to come down. They would make good firewood for this winter even though they have gotten a little damp on the outside.
We are now in the living room with a glowing fire in the stove. A big winter storm is approaching, due in tonight. It makes the lovely, warm house extra cosy.
And back we go....
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:23 pmtassosssI want to take a second and say goodbye to this break from the grind. I am very lucky to be able to say that given we have the savings to weather missing three paychecks. This is the longest break I've had from working being a student full time since I was 17. I think 3 weeks in 2012 was the last time. (I was a contractor in 2019 and so worked that shutdown).
I think what this has really hit home is how much I would love to have a sabbatical every few years from work. I'm not sad to be going back, but it's so frenetic, and everything is a crisis, and the day in and day out is so wearing. I know I'll get used to it again, but it would also be nice not to be looking down the road at 27 more years of this. This is where midlife crises come from. I mean, fantasizing about not working full time has been a full time hobby of mine for about 15 years, so my definition of midlife is generous, but the point stands.
So farewell time to work on author stuff and editing. Farewell long hikes in the middle of the day. Farewell not having to cram everything into the weekend and feeling like a bad friend when I have to say no. Farewell kitty playtime and reading a book while doing nothing else. It was nice while it lasted.
I think what this has really hit home is how much I would love to have a sabbatical every few years from work. I'm not sad to be going back, but it's so frenetic, and everything is a crisis, and the day in and day out is so wearing. I know I'll get used to it again, but it would also be nice not to be looking down the road at 27 more years of this. This is where midlife crises come from. I mean, fantasizing about not working full time has been a full time hobby of mine for about 15 years, so my definition of midlife is generous, but the point stands.
So farewell time to work on author stuff and editing. Farewell long hikes in the middle of the day. Farewell not having to cram everything into the weekend and feeling like a bad friend when I have to say no. Farewell kitty playtime and reading a book while doing nothing else. It was nice while it lasted.
Manitoba Electrical Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:00 pmatlas_obscura_places_feed
The time? 1870 to the present. The place? Manitoba. The topic? Electrifying.
The Manitoba Electrical Museum and Education Centre contains exhibits on different aspects of hydroelectric infrastructure used over the past century and a half. It tells the story of how electrical technology developed and was spread throughout the province, including throughout rural communities.
Visitors can climb inside an old streetcar, see replicas of a 1940s farm kitchen, and see a huge assortment of old appliances. It's attached to a still-functioning substation, distributing power to the city. You're most likely to recognize the museum for its iconic yellow turbine which sits out front, measuring an impressive 15 feet in diameter.
Guided tours and school visits are available, and the museum also provides education about electrical safety and sustainability.
Diverse particles form identical geometric patterns when confined, model reveals
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:15 pmphys_breaking_feedParticles as different as soap bubbles and ball bearings can be made to arrange themselves in exactly the same way, according to a new study that could unlock the creation of brand new materials—including those with promising biomedical applications.
Plants balance adaptability in skin cells with stability in sex cells, study reveals
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:10 pmphys_breaking_feedMutations drive evolution, but they can also be risky. New research led by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, published Nov. 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals how plants control mutation rates in different stem cells to balance adaptability with safety and stability. The findings have implications for breeding some of the world's most important fruit and vegetable crops, such as potatoes and bananas.
How climate change brings wildlife to the yard
Nov. 12th, 2025 05:02 pmphys_breaking_feedAs climate change increases the frequency of droughts, UCLA and UC Davis researchers found one overlooked side effect: People report more conflicts with wildlife during drought, when resources are scarce.
together
Nov. 12th, 2025 09:17 pmao3_discworld_feedfirst time threesome with the ot3
Words: 484, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
- Fandoms: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
- Rating: Not Rated
- Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
- Categories: F/M, M/M, Multi
- Characters: Samuel Vimes, Sybil Ramkin, Havelock Vetinari
- Relationships: Sybil Ramkin/Havelock Vetinari/Samuel Vimes, Havelock Vetinari/Samuel Vimes, Sybil Ramkin/Samuel Vimes
- Additional Tags: hehehehe, uh underage??? idk, teenage everybody
Challenge 29: halloween palettes
Nov. 12th, 2025 10:58 pmtinny posting in screen_iconsJust the two:
Encanto | The Orville
for the zombie and the dracula palettes
https://tinpix.de/2025/encanto_F9a84go_col.png
https://tinpix.de/2025/The-Orville_Isaac.png
Encanto | The Orville
for the zombie and the dracula palettes
https://tinpix.de/2025/encanto_F9a84go_col.png
https://tinpix.de/2025/The-Orville_Isaac.png
Earth's largest modern crater discovered in Southern China
Nov. 12th, 2025 04:43 pmphys_breaking_feedA newly discovered, remarkably well-preserved impact crater is shedding fresh light on how extraterrestrial bodies collide with Earth.
phys_breaking_feedThe transmission of malaria by the Anopheles cruzii mosquito in the South and Southeast of Brazil was so alarming in the 1940s—with approximately 4,000 cases per 100,000 people—that the disease became known as bromeliad malaria. This is because the Kerteszia subgenus of the mosquito, which transmits the disease in the Atlantic Forest, develops only in bromeliads, plants that accumulate water and maintain conditions favorable for the development of this and other species.
Wednesday Reading Meme
Nov. 12th, 2025 04:45 pmsinealaWhat I Just Finished Reading
Diane Duane, Dark Mirror: Reviewed here.
Avengers Disassembled: Reread this for 616 Book Club; giving myself credit because otherwise I will not make my Goodreads goal.
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( 1776 #1, Fantastic Four #5, Iron and Frost #2, New Avengers #6, Ultimate Black Panther #22, Ultimate Wolverine #11 )
What I'm Reading Next
Not sure yet.
Diane Duane, Dark Mirror: Reviewed here.
Avengers Disassembled: Reread this for 616 Book Club; giving myself credit because otherwise I will not make my Goodreads goal.
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( 1776 #1, Fantastic Four #5, Iron and Frost #2, New Avengers #6, Ultimate Black Panther #22, Ultimate Wolverine #11 )
What I'm Reading Next
Not sure yet.
Snow No One Seemed to Be Expecting
Nov. 12th, 2025 03:32 pmyourlibrarian1) Maybe given that Sunday morning's snow was light and disappeared when it hit the ground, no one was expecting it to stick. But it sure did. As a result, our complex had not salted stairs or sidewalks and had not plowed parking lots. And the local roadways hadn't been either.
The stairs had snow 2 inches deep on them, so I descended carefully Monday morning. The snow was very powdery so it brushed off the car easily. Funny thing though, the snow came from the southeast side. The other side of the car? Completely clear, no snow at all. ( Read more... )
I was thinking of how booking your own appointment online is rarely the convenience it's supposed to be. It's never worked for me at my medical group because I can't do it without inputting a mobile number. When I was trying to do it for car maintenance appointments, it would turn out the appointments didn't sync with the in-office calendar they had. And here, had I spoken to a person they would have known the doctor wouldn't be in on Monday at all.
2) Watched a multi-episode documentary on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I suspect that the various revelations would be unlikely to emerge with any living subject, or without the sort of research that went into it while they were still alive. ( Read more... )
3) First posted over attv_talk, Paramount has just cut 1000 jobs and 1000 more job cuts are expected. They want to reach "$2 billion in expense cuts across the company." That's more than most companies and some countries are worth.
Job cuts after an acquisition aren't surprising. It usually happens in a frenzy, and some positions come back once the losses start leading to problems. But a line in this news story, as well as another article coming out the same day, made me start thinking about where big cuts are likely to come from.
"More than 800 people — or about 3.5% of the company’s workforce — were laid off in June, prior to the Ellison family takeover. At the time, Paramount’s management attributed the cuts to the decline of cable television subscriptions and an increased emphasis on bulking up its streaming TV business. In 2024, the company eliminated 2,000 positions, or 15% of its staff." (emphasis mine) ( Read more... )
4) Speaking of TV habits, a study about people's searching behavior finding content on streamers indicated 46% of those surveyed are having more trouble finding what they want, and are more willing to cancel their subscriptions because of the difficulties. Searching time can run from 12 to 26 minutes. Many users also use the Internet to find information rather than the apps themselves.
The answer for many companies is to embed more AI with an eye to making their services able to answer general questions as well as viewing related ones.
5) More streamers are using pause ads. Personally I don't mind these, especially if they only take over the screen as an opt-in feature. I pause stuff often for different reasons, and as long as the ads aren't interrupting my viewing, they can have the screen.
That said, there are plans afoot to use AI to tie ads into the show action as well as localize your viewing. "Amazon has begun to offer the format to local and regional advertisers, says Jenn Donohue, director of local ad sales at Amazon Ads. Commercials from regional banks or community grocery stores can often be extremely meaningful to viewers, she says, and “there’s nothing more important than making it very relevant to the experience that I’m having as a viewer.”"
The stairs had snow 2 inches deep on them, so I descended carefully Monday morning. The snow was very powdery so it brushed off the car easily. Funny thing though, the snow came from the southeast side. The other side of the car? Completely clear, no snow at all. ( Read more... )
I was thinking of how booking your own appointment online is rarely the convenience it's supposed to be. It's never worked for me at my medical group because I can't do it without inputting a mobile number. When I was trying to do it for car maintenance appointments, it would turn out the appointments didn't sync with the in-office calendar they had. And here, had I spoken to a person they would have known the doctor wouldn't be in on Monday at all.
2) Watched a multi-episode documentary on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I suspect that the various revelations would be unlikely to emerge with any living subject, or without the sort of research that went into it while they were still alive. ( Read more... )
3) First posted over at
tv_talk, Paramount has just cut 1000 jobs and 1000 more job cuts are expected. They want to reach "$2 billion in expense cuts across the company." That's more than most companies and some countries are worth.Job cuts after an acquisition aren't surprising. It usually happens in a frenzy, and some positions come back once the losses start leading to problems. But a line in this news story, as well as another article coming out the same day, made me start thinking about where big cuts are likely to come from.
"More than 800 people — or about 3.5% of the company’s workforce — were laid off in June, prior to the Ellison family takeover. At the time, Paramount’s management attributed the cuts to the decline of cable television subscriptions and an increased emphasis on bulking up its streaming TV business. In 2024, the company eliminated 2,000 positions, or 15% of its staff." (emphasis mine) ( Read more... )
4) Speaking of TV habits, a study about people's searching behavior finding content on streamers indicated 46% of those surveyed are having more trouble finding what they want, and are more willing to cancel their subscriptions because of the difficulties. Searching time can run from 12 to 26 minutes. Many users also use the Internet to find information rather than the apps themselves.
The answer for many companies is to embed more AI with an eye to making their services able to answer general questions as well as viewing related ones.
5) More streamers are using pause ads. Personally I don't mind these, especially if they only take over the screen as an opt-in feature. I pause stuff often for different reasons, and as long as the ads aren't interrupting my viewing, they can have the screen.
That said, there are plans afoot to use AI to tie ads into the show action as well as localize your viewing. "Amazon has begun to offer the format to local and regional advertisers, says Jenn Donohue, director of local ad sales at Amazon Ads. Commercials from regional banks or community grocery stores can often be extremely meaningful to viewers, she says, and “there’s nothing more important than making it very relevant to the experience that I’m having as a viewer.”"
Poll #33829 Kudos Footer-550
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
Want to leave a Kudos?
Gene editing produces plants that are indigestible to pests
Nov. 12th, 2025 03:57 pmphys_breaking_feedInsects that feed on starch can find veritable feasts in corn, pea, and bean crops or warehouses. It is no coincidence that the ancestors of these commercial plants developed α-amylase inhibitor proteins, which make the starch in their seeds indigestible to pests, keeping them from becoming serious threats. However, the domestication of wild plants by humans to increase productivity and digestibility may have reduced the presence of these inhibitors.
La Belle Creole in Les Terres Basses, Saint Martin
Nov. 12th, 2025 04:00 pmatlas_obscura_places_feed
Over time, the Caribbean has attracted many famous entrepreneurs with big dreams. In various cases, only intriguing ruins of these dreams remain. The Titchfield in Port Antonio, Jamaica, is the most famous example, after a shipwrecked Errol Flynn decided to take over Lorenzo Dow Baker’s prestigious resort. The hotel, thanks to Dow Baker’s banana boats, can be considered the origin of Caribbean tourism but was never rebuilt after a fire. All that remains is the Errol Flynn Marina, though promises from investors to rebuild his Navy Island part of the property have been buzzing for well over half a century.
St. Martin has its own "Titchfield" — but in way better shape. It cannot be reached by land, but a boat trip to explore its coast is well worth it, as, like its Jamaican counterpart, this once-flagship resort is a seaside property.
La Belle Creole has far more in common with Titchfield than just being a resort that did not make it through time. Neither Errol Flynn nor developer Claude Philippe of La Belle Creole was a hotelier. Having said that, "Mr. Waldorf" Philippe was better informed about the business as chef of New York's most famous hotel. As was the case with Flynn, developer Philippe intended to charm Marilyn Monroe as a guest (though Flynn succeeded and Philippe did not, as his building project was to take decades and Monroe had passed away by then).
Both share the fact that neither had a full-fledged, picture-perfect Caribbean beach in front. At Titchfield, it is more like a grassy knoll ending in the sea. At La Belle Creole, a somewhat rocky cove was where guests were expected to bathe. This is probably the reason why this resort property has not been sold since its closure in 1995, as beach access has become a must in today's resort development scene. The same might explain why the Titchfield was never rebuilt.
Both hotels also share the pattern that ever since the end of their famed careers, rumors of rebuilding have continued, as have takeovers of the respective properties — but nothing has happened.
A big difference, however, lies in why the hotels met their end. Flynn died in 1959 before realizing his ambitions with Titchfield, only nine years after its purchase. His envisioned glamour hotel burnt down a decade later. For Flynn, it can be said it was a high-society glamour show-off, building on famous previous clientele like Winston Churchill and J.P. Morgan.
For Philippe, ambitions were different. Being well acquainted with the demands of the New York upper class, he wanted to provide the most amazing hospitality experience in the world, in which every part of the experience had to be perfect. La Belle Creole (the beautiful Creole) was designed as a Mediterranean fishing village (including community buildings and a church-feel watchtower for sea views), built from the most expensive materials from all over the world. Violinists and other musicians were to play on corners to stylishly entertain guests while walking through "the village."
It is these high demands — to make things worse, often changing throughout the building process — that made the project both endless and constantly short of funds.
It opened briefly in 1989, only to close in 1995 because of Hurricane Luis. By this short timeframe, tourism had already changed from an exclusive hobby of the wealthy to a pastime of the masses. It also meant Philippe had to adjust course and make concessions, with the resort, in its short lifespan, becoming a Hilton mass-brand property. It is said that the fine furniture of the resort can still be found in many island homes.
Nowadays, the village, the remnants of a bridge towards its peninsula, its rocky beach and viewing tower are all popular sights for visitors by catamaran, motorboat or private charters. It might not have been the way Philippe would have envisioned his attraction of visitors, but the legend remains.
