marsden_online | Network

There's been a situation that has been making life stressful for the past year, and yesterday the stress doubled. My way of dealing with this kind of cosmic ass kick is to bury myself in writing, where I feel I have a pretence at control. I only say this because I might not be as responsive to posts as usual, and if anyone even notices a dearth of commentary from me (very small chance I realize) it's not you, it's me. Not gone, just coping and scribbling away.

103 Doctor Who icons (Eleventh Doctor era), 16 House of the Dragon icons (season one), 1 Womb/Clone icon, 8 Christopher and His Kind icons, 8 The Death of Bunny Munro (should be non-spoilery, but hasn't aired in the US yet)

Teasers:

icons @ my personal journal

If you have lost track, or if you are not already aware of enough appalling acts of the current administration, the Trumpists are denying asylum in the United States to Afghan refugees who worked with American forces, and negotiating to send them to Congo, where they would not be safe. Gentle Reader, you may speculate for yourself on whether this is due to xenophobia, malicious cruelty, or the desire to serve Putin’s interests by making it harder for the United States to find allies or employees in times to come.

I plan to make a donation to No One Left Behind, mentioned in article, providing some assistance to people in great need, and reducing the tally of my country’s dishonor by some tens of dollars. Others may be moved to do likewise. This is not to be interpreted as a solicitation to make a donation if you have business before the Patent Office, or are a fellow federal employee.

Thursday morning, I woke from a dream at six something AM, tried to get back to sleep, an d couldn’t. I felt adequately slept, so I finally got up some time before the 7:30 alarm setting. I ate breakfast, and drank some coffee, but not very much, since I was scheduled to donate blood (which I did), and I didn’t want to give the recipient a major dose of caffeine. Then I fell asleep on the Metro rail, and some Metro employee woke me up at the end of the line, fortunately only two stops past King Street, which is near the Patent Office, so I took only a few minutes to ride back.

Emerging from King Street Station, I saw a black woman at one of the gates, with a beagle on a leash. I went through another gate, and spoke to her. She assured me that the hound was friendly, and petted him, of which he seemed appreciative. His name was Duke; I told his human that I had had a beagle named Rex as my best friend growing up.

Kea must solve a murder to save her community.

The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe

Don't expect them any time soon.

The Science Behind Torchships

p+B11 is aneutronic (although the side-reactions aren't) and B11 is comparatively abundant in the Earth's crust.

A novel approach to proton-boron 11 fusion.

What transformed Cheradenine Zakalwe into the superlative Special Circumstances asset he is today?

Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks

The complete Voidrunner's Codex Full Digital Box Set, the spacefaring expansion from EN Publishing for the Level Up! tabletop roleplaying game and Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition.

Bundle of Holding: Voidrunner's Codex

Can the salvation of the Literature Club be something as simple as blackmail?

O Maidens in Your Savage Season, volume 2 by Mari Okada & Nao Emoto

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir, Teyla Emmagan, Radek Zelenka
Rating: Mature
Length: 13,319
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: Rachael Sabotini on AO3
Themes: Arranged marriage, AU - royalty, Diplomatic marriage, Politics, Mutual pining

Summary: "It is your duty to the empire to marry Rodney McKay."

Reccer's Notes: This is an interesting romantic romp set in a somewhat steampunk AU where John is married off by his cousin the empress Elizabeth, to Rodney, a leader in the neighbouring nation. John is part of treaty agreements to negotiate peace. Consummating his marriage proves difficult due to Rodney being a workaholic, anxious about never having had sex with a man before, and, that common marriage of convenience trope, as John can end the marriage after a year and a day if he chooses. There are obstacles and pining and inadequate communication, but eventually John makes a place for himself in Rodney's labs, proves his loyalty, and we get the happy ending. A fun read!

Fanwork Links: The Spare

The Patent Office’s Science and Technology Information Center is giving presentations on AI Hallucinations in Non-Patent Literature this week. I joined in listening to today’s one o’clock session; the lady from STIC had some worthwhile things to say about how bogus citations can be brought into existence, and how to be reasonably confident that something is for real.

She also had a memorable quote from someone named Melissa Bond: “It’s finally happened — Google Scholar has asked me to confirm the addition of a completely fabricated citation to my profile. Not only this, the made up citation has been cited 108 times already?!”

The truth is out there. Unfortunately, so are a multitude of lies and blunders.

I bought some strawberries at the farmers’ market this weekend, and ate some of them, together with sandwiches, for lunch today. I’m not a great enthusiast for strawberries, but these were good, and from the farmers’ market, not mass produced.

CANON: House of the Dragon.
CHARACTERS: Alicent Hightower, Aemond Targaryen, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Jacaerys Velaryon, Baela Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen
ADDITIONAL INFO: Season 2, Episode 5
CREDIT TO:

gelateria

here at

gelateria

And I know 700 pages PDFs are a vote-loser.

Any of my reviews from 2025 that people especially liked?

                  2022   2024   2025   2026   
Novel             1151   1420   1078   1153
Novella            807    962    739    807
Novelette          463    755    394    414  
Short Story        632    720    610    507
Series             707    677    621    687
Graphic/Comic      340    457    265    362
Related            453    775    431    479
Dramatic, Long     597    763    610    650
Dramatic, Short    386    490    451    471
Game               --     334    298    357
Editor, Short      319    530    322    305
Editor, Long       182    254    162    234
Pro Artist         233    270    214    228
Semiprozine        312    338    334    324
Fanzine            243    286    243    224
Fancast            384    693    376    370
Fan Writer         368    363    329    308
Fan Artist         230    180    186    176
Poem                --     --    219    202
Lodestar           451    345    268    244
Astounding         416    349    341    290