Oh my goodness, Sam. So much respect to you. ❤️

That's a fantastic photo!

Two poinsettia plants are in a springtime garden where a wooden fence meets a brick wall. The plants, which are still brightly colored in red and green, are in a considerable amount of shade. Pink petals that have fallen from a nearby flowering tree cover the soil around the poinsettias.

The Christmas poinsettias have been planted out back. What happens to the poinsettias throughout the summer is one of my favorite garden things.

A $3 party banner that reads "please leave by 9" is on a hook near other party supplies at the Five Below store.

’Tis also the season for snark (compliments of the Five Below store).

A pinkish-white cluster of four cherry blossoms grows from a stem jutting out of a cherry tree trunk.

’Tis the season for cherry blossoms.

Same!

Bare, late winter tree branch shadows show at the banks of the Potomac River on the Virginia side. The water also reflects blue sky and clouds. The Maryland bank of the river is visible in the distance.

A Dungeons & Dragons wizard miniature stands atop a Pandemic Legacy Season 1 board with the South Pacific in view. Game tokens representing buildings and the infected are also on the board. Ho Chi Minh City is being menaced by the shadow of the green lightning cast by the D&D miniature.

These shadows tied for my favorites of the week -- branches on the Potomac River and green lightning on a Pandemic Legacy Season 1 board.

In return, I give you 🤔

It's been snowing for the last 30 minutes. omg.

Screengrab of the current 73 degree D.C. temperature as of 11:26pm on Wednesday March 11.

Screengrab of the current 39 degree D.C. temperature as of 11:36am on Thursday March 12.

12 hours. 34 degrees. The D.C. weather is really bringing it right now.

The board of a tabletop game shows an abbreviated map of the world. Tokens representing research stations, military bases, the spread of disease, and the player characters dot the board. Around the board are cards for players, infections, epidemics, and characters.

After a mighty battle with the Immunologist scratch-off card, Dr. Emily Schmemily, Doc Dubious, Liz Dubious, and Colonel Mustard defeated Pandemic Legacy Season 1 - August.

A few days ago, a friend asked me to make a FB group for our friend circle planning a tea party.

I made the group and invited six people.

SIX PEOPLE. It's for a tea party, at someone's house.

... wait for it ... (AI slop post 1/ ?)

due = ⌛️

do = 💇‍♀️

dew = 🏞️

doo = 💩

deux = 2️⃣🇫🇷

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da = 👮👮‍♂️🐝

All I really want from MS Word is more highlighter colors for my text.

A zillion options for coloring text, but not for highlighting? Really??

Tidal basin water iced over with a bridge in the background to the right and an overhanging cherry tree branch in the foreground. The day looks dim, but there are hints of pink and blue in the sky.

It's safe to say that the Tidal Basin is not yet ready for Swan Boats. Or cherry blossoms.

The Mentorship Program at SFWA. Applications now open! Apply to be one of our mentors or mentees for the 2026 cycle. Applications due by February 21 at 9pm PST. sfwa.org/mentorship-program

SFF creators, take note!

SFWA is now taking applications for the next round of our three-month Career Mentorship Program! Mentorships help writers tackle the tough questions of growing their career. We seek mentors and mentees.

Non-members welcome! Please don't self-reject.

Learn more here: 👇️👀

That’s a good bench.

Congrats, John! 🎉

Cover of The Subtle Art of Folding Space, along with the Publishers Weekly review: In Hugo and Nebula award winner Chu’s smart, funny, and intricate debut, a Gaia-like presence lies comatose, and it’s up to her daughter Ellie to rescue her. Complicating this quest are physics student Ellie’s fears that saving her mom will mean tampering with the “skunkworks,” the liminal plane that underpins the multiverse, and her vicious older sister, Chris, who, since childhood, has been staging daily attacks against Ellie with the pretext of honing her survival skills. Meanwhile, their cousin Daniel serves as a fact-checker for the skunkworks. Whenever a glitch in the laws of physics is reported—such as a beach ball going through a wall instead of bouncing off it—he manifests repair plans. When Daniel and Ellie are summoned to a meeting with the multiverse’s chief architect, Mary, the cleverly unfolding plot gets a new crease. To save their universe and many others, Daniel and Ellie must wrangle with a renegade posse of physicists who are warping the laws of nature to keep Ellie’s mom alive. Chu loads his tale with wordplay and cultural and scientific references that read like inside jokes for an audience of engineers. It’s as rollicking as it is thought-provoking. (Apr.) Correction: An earlier version of this review misidentified the location where Ellie’s mom lies comatose and misdescribed Mary as Taiwanese. The review has been further updated for clarity.

Publishers Weekly calls The Subtle Art of Folding Space a "smart, funny, and intricate debut" and says "It’s as rollicking as it is thought-provoking."
Release date is 4/7. Available to pre-order now!
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Water tower - Wikipedia

I was today days old when I realized so many interesting but odd structures I’ve seen are actually water towers. (Maybe not the Mauston one, but still...) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_t...

A jaunty stone gargoyle pokes its head out of compacted snow, but only down to the gargoyle's mouth. Behind the gargoyle is a wooden fence. In front of the gargoyle is a smooth snowfield.

D.C. gargoyle of the day.

This is a great photo! What is the city in the distance?

This is wonderful! I’m uplifted from afar!

😂

If this isn't a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater, then I don't know what is. Stay safe, NC!

A brightly-colored bag of Fuego-flavored Skittles Gummies shows variously-sized neon discs meant to represent the Skittles.

#Concern

😵‍💫

Unexpected Star Wars reference of the week.

Comic. [A chemical formula trailing off the right side] C1076 H1080 Ac1067 Ag1069 Al1075 Am1026 Ar1075 As1070 At1047 Au1069 B1071 Ba1070 Be [caption] The approximate chemical formula for the universe

Chemical Formula

xkcd.com/3200/

the news like scurvy
healed wounds reopen
knit bones rebreak
#haiku #senryu