Girl Genius for Wednesday, February 04, 2026
Feb. 4th, 2026 05:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
girlgenius_main_feedThe Girl Genius comic for Wednesday, February 04, 2026 has been posted.
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Today In “Okay, What the Actual F**k”
Feb. 3rd, 2026 08:05 amscalziwhatever_feed
To be clear, I did not expect to find myself in the Epstein Files, inasmuch as I have neither ever met nor have ever communicated with Jeffrey Epstein, nor do I hang out with the sort of people who find themselves on the private planes or islands of known sexual traffickers of children — a fact I’m deeply relieved about, if you want the truth of it.
Nevertheless when I learned that the database of the files is searchable, I put “Scalzi” in it to see what would pop up. I expected — and thus was not surprised by — several references to that name, because a banker with that last name handled some of Trump’s accounts at Deutsche Bank several years ago (no relation, as far as I know). But one of the references is indeed to me: Writer Rachel Sklar referenced me in an article she wrote in 2013, which is in the files for some reason, I assume because someone forwarded it to someone else in an email.
And, look: If one must have the appalling fortune to be in the Epstein Files, a one-sentence reference to an essay one wrote, located within another essay, neither about a topic that has anything to do with the exploitation of children, is almost certainly the best-case scenario. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t look at the reference when it popped up and say “oh, fuck” to myself. What a wild, unsettling and unhappy context in which to find one’s self.
So why mention it at all? One, because when people inevitably come across that reference to me in the files and email me about it, I can point them to this as a way to say “Yup, seen it, what a weird fucking thing that is” without having to type it out every single time. Two, I have enough detractors out there that one or more of them will loudly proclaim to their little pals that I am in the Epstein Files, and then slide past the actual context of being referred to tangentially, rather than being an actual participant in atrocities. Pointing this out before they do gives me “first mover” advantage, and the ability to point out what my appearance is actually about. This won’t stop some of them from misrepresenting my appearance, but that’s because they’re sad little weenies. Here’s the actual file I’m in. You can see it for yourself.
Nevertheless, a declaration:
I trust that will make my position on Epstein and his party pals clear enough.
What a strange and unpleasant time we are living through, nor are we out of it. And once again I have cause to marvel at the weirdness of my own life, that I should show up, even as an aside, as part of one of most horrible political scandals in US history. I would have just as soon sat this one out. But since I can’t, at least I can tell you how I got there.
— JS
Trying Out A New Recipe: Half Baked Harvest’s “Really Good Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies”
Feb. 2nd, 2026 09:00 pmscalziwhatever_feed
Last week, I was having a serious craving for some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Between the weather and the world, I really felt like a cookie would help improve my morale.
So, I decided to try out Half Baked Harvest’s recipe for what she calls “Really Good Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.” Let’s get right into the process of making them and how they turned out!
Looking at the ingredients list, it’s pretty clear that these are definitely pretty standard cookies made with just everyday household items. Sugar (white and brown), flour, eggs, butter, some vanilla, chocolate, it’s all the usual suspects. Thankfully I didn’t have to go out and buy anything, I could just get right into baking.
The first thing to do was to brown the butter. I was surprised by this step because usually if browning butter is required in a recipe, the food blogger will include such information in the title of the recipe. Like, if I make Binging With Babish’s brown butter chocolate chunk cookies with flaky sea salt, I make a point to mention allll of that.
Anyways, I browned the butter and let it cool off for just a bit while I mixed together the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Normally I use a stand mixer, but the recipe says that all you need is a bowl and a whisk, and really don’t need an electric mixer. I decided to follow in the spirit of the recipe and keep things simple. Simple ingredients, simple equipment.
After adding the butter (which was still melted but not hot so I didn’t cook the eggs), it was finally time to add the dry ingredients. The recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, and pretty much the second I put in the two cups, I could tell that it was too much flour.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I packed the measuring cups too full of flour, resulting in extra unaccounted for flour in the mix. I’ll have you know I am a pro, and I spoon all the flour into the measuring cup, resulting in a nice, loose cup of flour rather than a tightly packed one. So it wasn’t my fault (this time, anyway).
The dough immediately became very dry and crumbly, and wouldn’t hold any type of ball shape. It would crumble apart so easily that the dough wasn’t even retaining any of the chocolate chips, they would just fall out.
I knew there was only one thing to do (besides cry and throw the bowl of cookie dough off a cliff). I was going to have to press all the dough into a 9×13 and make cookie bars.
I wasn’t sure how to adjust the cooking time for that, but I figured the initial temperature of 350 would be okay, so I put them in and basically eyeballed them until they were done, which took less than twenty minutes, I think. Here’s what they looked like:
Honestly, they didn’t look too bad! They were pretty okay right out of the oven, but as they cooled they quickly got harder and harder, until eventually all I had was a pan full of chocolate chip bricks. I can only assume it’s from how dry the dough was due to all the flour, but these were definitely more like biscotti. Certainly no “chewy chocolate chip cookie” in sight.
I was definitely a little disappointed, but at least they tasted pretty good and could be slightly softened in the microwave, then washed down with a nice, cold glass of milk.
Do you like cookie bars? Is chocolate chip your favorite type of cookie? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
The Big Idea: Veronica G. Henry
Feb. 2nd, 2026 04:16 pmscalziwhatever_feed
Author Veronica G. Henry has come up with a library that truly has all the answers, thanks to its ever-evolving AI. Take a tour through The People’s Library in Henry’s Big Idea, and don’t forget to pay your late fees.
VERONICA G. HENRY:
The first time I realized that the past, present, and future can be contained in one essence was when I discovered the library. For in the absence of a more suitable reality, stories can provide a transformative diversion. In quiet moments, when I reflect on seasons of births and deaths and that middle part we call life, I also think of libraries.
I don’t know the when, but I know the where. It was in my hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. that I first wandered into a library. The details are fuzzy, so I’ll flex a little creative muscle. I was an infant, already curious, definitely precocious. Determined even then to pursue the quest for more. Baby me was swathed tight against the winter cold, nestled protectively in my father’s determined arms. He marched through those painted oak double doors and introduced me to a new world and an obsession that persists to this day.
That’s how I like to remember it, anyway.
Though my career initially steered me towards a decidedly more left-brained path, the love of the written word and fate prevailed. I also became an author, one who alternates drafting my novels between home, the occasional coffee shop and yes, libraries. So it was inevitable that someday, I’d pen a story in the magical setting that planted that literary seed so long ago.
Inspiration struck as it occasionally does for me, in the form of an article. The feature extolled a library in Denmark where you could borrow a person instead of a book. Each had a title: unemployed, refugee, bipolar, etc., and in this mutually beneficial exchange, “readers” learned through conversations that challenge you to confront your own prejudice. Was it true? I didn’t much care. Because there, my friends, was my Big Idea.
The People’s Library was in large part, inspired by that article. If that was the kindling, the technical part of my brain supplied the spark. Though familiar to me, artificial intelligence (AI) was still a relatively new concept for the masses when I began writing. That changed faster than anticipated. Much of what we see today is specialized, task-focused systems that mimic human intelligence. However, its evolution, artificial general intelligence (AGI), is the promise of autonomous learning, thinking, and adapting. Think of AI as a really smart single-focus tool and AGI as analogous to the exponentially more complex functionality of a human mind.
This technology became the backbone of my future library. Only there would be no need to borrow a real person, but instead, an AGI replica of some of history’s most fascinating figures. The virtual personage, or virtus as I call them, were born. There was and still is a part of me that is as intrigued as I am terrified by this idea. I didn’t want to write it. That meant without a shadow of a doubt that I had to write it.
As the core idea solidified, I turned my attention to characters. Was there any doubt that my protagonist would be a librarian? Not for a second. She’d be forced to work in this futuristic library that is in direct opposition to everything she believes in. Echo London, anti-tech synesthete became my curator of The People’s Library. To say that she accepted the role with little grace, is an understatement. I drew inspiration from every librarian I’ve ever met and even Regina Anderson Andrews, the first African American woman to lead a NYPL.
As for the rest of the characters, I had to stop myself from thinking about all the fascinating historical figures I’d welcome the opportunity to chat it up with and focus on those who would best serve the narrative. One of the central questions that Echo wrestles with is human consciousness. What defines it, where it originates, how it exists before it finds its way into a human body. I needed a cast of deep thinkers with specialized skillsets to help her along that journey. So as not to introduce any spoilers, I think it’s best to let you discover the rest of the team organically. They were a ton of fun to research and write.
I’ll close with this food for thought. If you were to visit a future library where you could borrow a living, thinking, seemingly exact replica of a historical figure, would you? And if you did, whose consciousness do you wish you could converse with today?
The People’s Library: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powells|Sistah Sci-fi Signed Copy
Girl Genius for Monday, February 02, 2026
Feb. 2nd, 2026 05:00 amgirlgenius_main_feedThe Girl Genius comic for Monday, February 02, 2026 has been posted.
Come From Away
Feb. 1st, 2026 06:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
watervoleI just got a subscription to Amazon and the extra for Apple TV, so that I could watch Murderbot - which was every bit as good as I had hoped.
Though I'm not sure the 20min episode format was the right choice. I'd have liked them a bit longer.
Having got the subscription for a three month trial, I'm seeing what else are must-watches.
I've just watched the musical 'Come From Away' which was brilliant, and I highly recommend. I had no idea what it was about, just took a punt on it.
It followed what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, when masses of planes got diverted after 9/11.
It's a stage production, hardly any scenery apart from a dozen chairs, but some great singers!
'Pluribus' is probably next on my list - any other suggestions?
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fandomocweekly and fanmix_monthly
Feb. 1st, 2026 04:20 pmmatsushima posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promo
fandomocweekly is a low commitment challenge community for sharing your fandom-based original characters. Every week, there is a gen prompt and a relationship prompt. You can post fills in any format/medium (fic, icons, art, etc.). OC x canon, yume, self-shipping, Mary Sues, etc. all welcome! ✨ This week's prompts are ideal & consideration.
Despite the name,
fanmix_monthly is not only for fanmixes and the monthly prompts are optional. You're invited to share any mixtapes you've made any time! This month's theme is relationships.
A Scientific Experiment For Your Saturday
Jan. 31st, 2026 04:13 pmscalziwhatever_feedThough I am a bougie bitch, there’s nothing quite like a mug full of Swiss Miss hot chocolate. I am an especially big fan of their Marshmallow flavor, so you can imagine my shock when I learned about their Marshmallow Lovers flavor that comes with even more dehydrated white chalk block marshmallows.
I’m willing to bet you didn’t even realize there were two different Marshmallow varieties of Swiss Miss to choose from. Aren’t you so glad I taught you something useful?
Anyways, I, as a Marshmallow lover, decided to see which Marshmallow Swiss Miss variety was superior. Were there enough marshmallows in the Marshmallow flavor to sate my love of them, or did I need to purchase the Marshmallow Lovers box?
Using a digital scale and some math (not easy for me), I have come up with some numbers for your consideration.
So, if you went to Kroger right now and were wanting to buy just a regular, standard size pack of hot chocolate, you’d have your choice between an 8-pack of the Marshmallow Swiss Miss, and a 6-pack of the Marshmallow Lovers Swiss Miss. Both are currently listed as selling for $2.99. I’m sure you’re wondering, well why does the lovers pack have two fewer envelopes than the regular Marshmallow pack? It’s actually because each hot chocolate packet in the Marshmallow Lovers box comes attached to a separate packet that contains the marshmallows, whereas the regular Marshmallow packs have the marshmallows in the hot chocolate envelope rather than being a separate entity.
Anyways, I decided to rip each of one open and weigh them out.
I went with the Marshmallow Lovers packet first. After zeroing out a bowl on a digital scale, I dumped only the contents of the hot chocolate packet into the bowl. The powder came out to 40 grams. I then threw in the marshmallows. The total weight was now 45 grams. A whopping 5 grams of marshmallows in the Marshmallow Lovers packet.
I zeroed out a new bowl so there was no residual powder to contribute to the weight of the Marshmallow packet. I dumped it in the new bowl, then carefully removed each marshmallow from the powder so I could weigh the powder alone first. 38 grams of powder. I threw the marshmallows back in. 39 grams.
I could hardly believe my eyes. A measly one gram of marshmallows in the Marshmallow pack? It felt like too little, but if you go for the upgrade of the Marshmallow Lovers, you lose out a whole two envelopes!
If you add it all up, in the entire Marshmallow box, there is 304 grams of hot chocolate, and 8 grams of marshmallows. For the Marshmallow Lovers, we’re looking at 240 grams of hot chocolate, and 30 grams of marshmallows. 25% less powder, but almost 4 times the amount of marshmallows. Is it worth it to buy the Marshmallow Lovers package? It’s tough to say.
Part of me is tempted to buy the Marshmallow Lovers package just so Swiss Miss knows there’s someone out there that loves their marshmallows. They have to see demand if I want them to keep making it, right?
On the other hand, I could just buy regular Swiss Miss and put my own marshmallows in it. I don’t need Swiss Miss to supply me with their little freaky mallows, I can just throw mini Jet-Puffed marshies in any cup of hot chocolate I want, and as many as I want. I am not limited to a mere one or even five grams.
For now, I will drink the Marshmallow one, because the 30-pack of it was selling for a really good price, so it just made sense to get the bulk box. I will absolutely go through it all.
Do you like hot chocolate? What do you like to top yours with? Have you tried the Marshmallow Lovers variety yourself? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
Newcomers
Jan. 31st, 2026 03:58 amysabetwordsmith posting in dw_community_promo
newcomers is a community for people who are just getting started on Dreamwidth, in the tradition of twitter_refugees and reddit_refugees. This community supports former users of other platforms who are moving to Dreamwidth because their previous platform has become untenable or has closed. As such, it will increase activity with each wave of new users, in hopes of helping them get settled in Dreamwidth so they want to stick around. It also serves previous users returning after a long hiatus, people who want to do more with a Dreamwidth blog that was only intermittent, or anyone else who wants help connecting and figuring out how to use this venue.( Read more... )
New Year's Resolutions and Other Goals
Jan. 31st, 2026 03:52 amysabetwordsmith posting in dw_community_promogoals_on_dw is a community for people who like goals and goal setting. A key focus is New Year's resolutions, that being among the most popular contexts for such activities. Although the most common time is January 1, "new year" can also refer to other calendars or cultures, whatever works for you. Alternatively, just pick a time that works for you and go for it. You can introduce yourself or make new friends here. We talk about different goal systems, pros and cons of resolutions, arts and crafts for tracking goals, human psychology, and more. You can share your resolutions or other goals. There are weekly check-in posts in January, and monthly ones in the rest of the year, for folks to talk about their accomplishments. December-January is the most active period, and it starts ramping up in November as lots of people begin thinking about their goals for the next year.
2026 Free Printable Calendars, Planners, and More is the guide post for this years goal-setting activities. For more details on relevant topics, see "Things You Can Talk About Here."
( Read more... )
A Conversation Between Scalzi and Kluwe
Jan. 30th, 2026 06:19 pmscalziwhatever_feedYesterday evening, I and author, political candidate and former NFL player Chris Kluwe got together at Ann Arbor’s Downtown Library to talk about books, libraries, politics and the general state of the world, among other topics. And they recorded it! And put it on the Internet! And you can see it above. The conversation starts at about the 8:50 minute mark and runs about an hour, including audience Q&A. Enjoy.
Girl Genius for Friday, January 30, 2026
Jan. 30th, 2026 05:00 amgirlgenius_main_feedThe Girl Genius comic for Friday, January 30, 2026 has been posted.
A Quick Thank You To A Kind Reader!
Jan. 29th, 2026 10:00 pmscalziwhatever_feedHey, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to thank a reader who sent me some very lovely spices from Penzey’s. It really made my day to open a package I wasn’t expecting and get something so awesome!
So many commenters have recommended this spice brand to me, so I’m stoked to try it out finally. Also, I didn’t realize they were glass jars until I actually touched them. The fact that they’re glass just makes them so much better, honestly, like how aesthetic and nice is that?
Gift giving is my love language, so it really means so much to me that someone thought of me enough to send such a kind gift. A truly perfect housewarming gift!
I won’t name them in the post, in case they don’t want the attention, but if it was you please feel free to claim your glory in the comments, you rock!
Can’t wait to whip something up with these spices, especially the more unique ones.
-AMS
The Big Idea: Miles Cameron
Jan. 29th, 2026 05:56 pmscalziwhatever_feed
Author Miles Cameron is here today to introduce you to book number one of his space opera series. Though the first of many to come, there’s plenty of spaceships, drama, and war to go around, so strap in for the Big Idea of Artifact Space.
MILES CAMERON:
In 2018, I was sitting at a small SFF con in London with Alistair Reynolds, one of my favourite all-time Science Fiction authors, and I confess I was being a bit of a fan boy, telling him all about what I loved in his books, and he waited me out and then said something to the effect of ‘I hear you spent time on an aircraft carrier.’ The two of us then chatted away for half an hour about life on a carrier and how much we both thought it might be the closest thing to life on a big spaceship, when my editor (up until then I mostly wrote historical fiction and fantasy) turned around in her seat and said, ‘I’d buy that.’
When you are an author, these are very important words. I marked them down. I began to consider how I’d write a science fiction novel loosely based on ‘life on an aircraft carrier.’ Still, despite my military service, I wasn’t really interested in writing ‘military sci-fi’ per se, and I wrote myself some notes and—did other things.
A year later, I was writing a series of historical novels based in fifteenth century Venice and I became fascinated by the idea that Venice—a maritime state—built enormous (for 1450) galleys that carried on most of the trade with the Islamic world, travelling for months and even years on pre-determined routes that linked far-off lands like England and Egypt. I loved the idea that these Venetian seamen would, in the same trip, see so many disparate societies.
These ships doubled, in time of war, as major fleet elements. The idea of combined trade and military fascinated me, and Venice fascinates me still, and there it was—Great Galleys, like spaceborn aircraft carries, on long trade missions to the stars. I mean, there it was, except that it lacked a story.
I have a belief that art makes art; some of my best ideas have come to me while watching a good live play, an opera, a ballet, or a movie. I’m not sure exactly why; there’s an element fo free-association to watching people perform, I suppose—but it always works for me, and in the case of Artifact Space I was watching Florence Pugh in ‘Little Women,’ the last time I went out before COVID and lockdown here in Toronto. I sat there, watching this wonderful performance of one of my favourite books from childhood, and suddenly it was all there. I knew how I would design the human sphere to reflect Venetian trade routes; I saw how I could have the book start in a futuristic Saint Mark’s Square (the heart of Medieval Venice) and I suddenly saw my protagonist and the arc of her story. I think one of the problems of my first ‘Big Idea’ was that the aircraft carrier wasn’t a story—it was an idea. Venice in space was an idea. Both were backdrops on the way to world building. I have the good fortune to be a second-generation author, and one of my father’s favourite sayings was ‘an idea is not a book.’ True words. The aircraft carrier was not a book. Even the idea of Venice in space was not a book.
But Marca Nbaro is a protagonist with a back story and a future arc, and putting her, via Florence Pugh playing Amy March, aboard a ten-kilometre spaceship trading with aliens—it all came in a second. I knew Marca, I knew where she was going and I knew the set of secrets at the heart of the series that would drive the action. I could see the events–alien contact, Artificial Intelligence and its possible flaws, and the difficulties of a trade empire suddenly forced to act as a polity in the face of threat and change.
Good stuff. Other writers have been there before; I’m a huge fan of C.J. Cherryh and she won a Hugo writing on similar themes in Downbelow Station, one of my favourite books of all time. But I had one more ‘Big Idea’ to toss into the mix, because politics interests me and we live, right now, in ‘Interesting Times.’ I wanted humanity to be trapped in someone else’s war, bit players in a larger play, forced to make society-altering decisions just to survive. I wanted to show change, the sort of change people my age have already seen sweeping over us; technological change, societal change, political change.
Interstellar trade, giant spaceships with thousands of crew, massive political change, Alien contact, and one somewhat battered orphan trying to find her place in the universe. Sitting in the theater as the lights came up, it was, I promise you, all one Big Idea.
Artifact Space: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powell’s
book reviews
Jan. 29th, 2026 10:22 amwatervoleSome recent reads:
'Black Hearts in Battersea' by Joan Aiken 4/5
This is a cheerful romp of a book!
Set in the fictitious reign of James III, it has pretty much everything a young reader could wish for (my 11 year old granddaughter loved it!): adventure, kidnapping, hot air balloons, shipwreck, an eccentric Duke, an attempt to murder the king, lots of fun characters and the lost heir to a Dukedom.
Fast paced and laced with humorous situations.
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We have a deal going on. I read a book my granddaughter recommends and she reads one I rec. So I've just finished Black Hearts in Battersea, and she enjoyed Heinlen's 'Rolling Stones'.
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Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 2/5
I really wanted to like this, as I enjoyed the TV series.
Unfortunately, I dislike most books written in the first person, and most books written in the present tense - this book is both.
I couldn't get though many pages before giving up.
Hopefully, most other readers won't find this an issue, but for me personally, I can only give it two stars.
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Bookshops and Bonedust - Travis Baldree 3/5
This one disappointed me.
Surely a writer as popular as Travis Baldree can get decent beta-readers/editors who actually have some decent general knowledge?
Fantasy requires 'suspension of disbelief'. I can believe in a lesbian, dwarf baker falling for an orc twice her size. I can happily buy an evil necromancer, an ailing bookshop, etc.
But I cannot buy a character being stabbed twice rapidly in her leg by a pike. I'm a re-enactor. A pike is an 18ft long weapon, cumbersome, and used as part of a pike block.
If you want to stab someone close up, use a spear!
Happened again right at the end. A warrior sat rosining his bowstring.
Even my 11-year-old granddaughter spotted what was wrong with that...
You rosin a violin bow. (It makes the horsehair sticker so it has more friction with the violin strings)
Rosining an archer's bowstring (which is definitely not made of horsehair) is complete nonsense.
Without those gaffes, I'd probably have given it a rating of 4, although there was a geological error as well...
It may sound nit-picky, but if I'm absorbed in a story, something that is clearly wrong jerks me out of my belief in that story.