Gallery of Shadows and Reflections

This cozy game replaces doom-scrolling with ocean exploring. Every creature you spot trains underwater robots in real time

A new cozy game, created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, invites people to trade doom-scrolling for mini-games driven by ocean exploration.

Using underwater footage, FathomVerse trains players to spot and classify marine animals through a variety of minigames.

“The images you see in FathomVerse are real photos collected by ocean researchers,” the creators note on the game’s website.


This seems like an effective way to learn a lot about marine biology.

It reminds me very much of educational / science games in Terramagne.  Can you imagine Aida Finn with this?  Especially on a day when the weather wasn't conducive to diving in person.

Today is cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.  Yesterday we saw a small flock of geese heading south. 

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/15/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/15/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/15/25 -- I planted 12 'Delft Blue Mix' grape hyacinths along the log garden in the house yard.

EDIT 10/15/25 -- I planted 25 iris reticulata around the house yard.

EDIT 10/15/25 -- I hauled out the hose to water the new picnic table and septic gardens.







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Taste of Home Fall Baking: 275+ Breads, Pies, Cookies and More!
Paperback – September 13, 2022
by Taste of Home (Editor)

( Read more... )

Today is mostly sunny and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.  I heard a squirrel chattering but didn't see it.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/14/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Naomi Rivkis — The World As It Ought to Be
Stories from a protopian future

Protopia (n.): A world that is not perfect, but is getting better; one that is on the long arc toward justice, carried by human hands.

What if the future didn't have to be dystopian?

In a time when every headline screams of crisis and many governments seek power instead of solutions, these stories dare to ask a radical question: What would it be like to create a better world?

On Dreamwidth, see the post by mdlbear.

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day. Here are some ways to celebrate it...


9 Things to Do on Indigenous Peoples Day! -- Cultural Survival

11 ways to observe Indigenous Peoples' Day with children

16 Indigenous Peoples Day Ideas, Games & Activities

( Read more... )

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Affordable Housing
Wildlife
Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics
Today's Smoothie
Free Epic Poll
Activism
Unsold Poems for the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl
Journalism
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Art
Politics
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Society
Photos: Seeds
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Poem: "What Wizardry Is All About"
Conservation
Birdfeeding
Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side
Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side
Follow Friday 10-10-25: Jazz
Today's Adventures
Sustainability
Poem: "The Disappointing Daughter"
Poem: "The Unretired Witch"
Birdfeeding
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Books
Good News

Trauma has 29 comments. Food has 51 comments. Affordable Housing has 53 comments. Robotics has 85 comments.


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv and needs $191 to be complete. It has 4 new verses. Maiara and Arthur discuss taking notes.


The weather has cooled off slightly, but still unseasonably warm. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, and at least two squirrels. I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it. The migration is heavily impacted -- we drove past the lake again and there was no sign of waterbirds. However, I spotted a small flock of geese flying south Saturday evening. Currently blooming: dandelions, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, cypress vine, sunchokes, sedum, violas. Tomatoes, ball carrots, and groundcherries are ripe. Fields are more than half harvested.

Spider gynandromorph!

Arachnologists poking around in Thailand discovered a new species of mygalomorph, Damarchus inazuma. One individual was particularly unusual: it’s a gynandromorph!

With cool pictures.

Today we made a smoothie with:

1 cup apple cider
1 cup Brown Cow vanilla yogurt
1 fresh banana
1 frozen banana
1 tablespoon apple cider caramel sauce
1/2 cup ice

The result is beige and on the thin side, but tastes deliciously of caramel apple cider. :D It would probably work better with both bananas frozen though.

If you don't make your own caramel sauce, storebought would probably work. I warmed it up to pouring consistency because in the fridge it's closer to fudge texture.