Reading

Entry tags:

Hood River

Our destination for day 2 was Hood River. We loved this spot, both because of the view and the convenience of its location, parking and our rooms over the breakfast area.

This photo was the view from one of our rooms. It was not only a pretty view but one that changed all day long, as people at the inlet end point took kayaking, paddleboard and canoeing classes. I'd never seen a motorized paddleboard before but they were in use too, along with jet skis out on the river and parasailers.

We also got to watch birds diving for food, and trains and cargo barges go by on the river. We even saw a cruise ship once!

( Read more... )

This week on FilkCast

Broceliande, Brobdingnagian Bards, Anne McCaffrey Tania Opland & Mike Freeman, Daniel Kelly, Anne Passovoy, Mikey Mason, Playing Rapunzel, Mike Whitaker, Roberta Rogow And Company, Bill and Gretchen Roper, Echo's Children

Available on iTunes, Google Play and most other places you can get podcasts. We can be heard Wednesday at 6am and 9pm Central on scifi.radio.

filkcast.blogspot.com

Yahoo Groups: Fandom History: Persian/Farsi Speakers Needed

In late 2019, TV, movie, anime, gaming, celebrity, music, and book fans assembled to save Yahoo Groups after Verizon decided to shut down the mailing list service. Approximately 300,000 fandom groups have been saved. The Yahoo Gedden project is working on identifying the fandoms of Persian language mailing lists and can use your help. We need people who can read Persian/Farsi natively* right now to help us identify the Unknown groups. You can work at your own pace and it is a low time commitment. Work is done on Discord, just reading the group description and a few messages and summarizing the messages in English, maybe answering a question of clarification ("is it talking about X or Y?"). No software or other tools needed besides your phone/computer and access to Discord.

Discord invite: https://discord.gg/UyJdffhw2b

*We're not certain if these mailing lists are using a specific dialect or standard modern Farsi

July Woods

( A walk in the July woods... )

Entry tags:

Bonneville Dam

After returning to the 84/30 we ended up at the Bonneville Dam in search of a bathroom! It was a good stop though as the view (and sound) of the dam was impressive. ( Read more... )

Entry tags:

volunteering

Italian Speakers Need For Yahoo Groups Rescue Project

In late 2019, TV, movie, anime, gaming, celebrity, music, and book fans assembled to save Yahoo Groups after Verizon decided to shut down the mailing list service. Approximately 300,000 fandom groups have been saved. The Yahoo Gedden project is working on identifying the fandoms of Italian language mailing lists and can use your help. We need people who can read Italian natively right now to help us identify the Unknown groups. You can work at your own pace and it is a low time commitment. Work is done on Discord, just reading the Italian group description and a few messages and summarizing the messages in English, maybe answering a question of clarification ("is it talking about X or Y?"). No software or other tools needed besides your phone/computer and access to Discord.

Discord invite: https://discord.gg/UyJdffhw2b

This week on FilkCast

Julia Ecklar, Feng Shui Ninjas, Cynthia McQuillin, Anne McCaffrey Tania Opland Mike Freeman, Kathy Mar & Zander Nyrond, Water Street Bridge, Summer Russell, Dave Clement, Sunnie Larsen, Brenda Sutton, Bill Roper, Three Weird Sisters, Leslie Fish, Chuck Rein, Lawrence Dean

Available on iTunes, Google Play and most other places you can get podcasts. We can be heard Wednesday at 6am and 9pm Central on scifi.radio.

filkcast.blogspot.com

Current Music: ”Forbidden Colours”.

Entry tags:

Buddha statue and surrounding garden.

Taken on 28 May 2024 at 21:00 US Eastern Daylight Time:

(Warning for flashing lights and shaky camera.)

( Cut. )

(Not included: the sound of passing sirens.)

Taken on 9 June 2024 at 07:21 US Eastern Daylight Time:

Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:46 US Eastern Daylight Time:

Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:47 US Eastern Daylight Time:

Taken on 2 July 2025 at 19:43 US Eastern Daylight Time:

This gradually took shape across the parking lot from a local Asian fusion restaurant over 2024; between recovering from Hurricane Ian and the COVID quarantine, changing hands, and changing formats (from the mid-century Cantonese-American the original owners had served for forty years to a pan-Asian combination of sushi, ramen, and Chinese), they’d spent the previous couple years uneasily gaining their bearings.

The garden’s proximity to the street, along with the lack of any obvious receptacle for offerings, makes it clear that this is a more ornamental than devotional site. (A Web search indicates the presence of a local Buddhist temple, but the address is a private residence, and home worship services are for who they’re for, which does not include curiosity-gawking spiritual tourists.)

My guess is that the white-flowering shrubs are Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), aka Confederate Jasmine, Chinese Star Jessamine, and Trader’s Compass, native to warm regions in South and East Asia, and widely planted in the Southeastern U.S. The flowers’ heady indolic fragrance is prized in perfumery, but I’m afraid I haven’t the right sensory range to enjoy them.