jsburbidge | Reading

Early in May, having received a physical mailing from Alex Vindman for Florida, I wrote a check and mailed it. On Friday, May twenty-ninth, I paid a visit to the bank’s ATM, and obtained a mini-statement; the check had not been deposited, or at least did not show up yet.

This could be because there are delays in dealing with a flood of incoming mail, and getting checks endorsed and taken to the bank. On the other hand, I do have a nagging suspicion that a Postal Service answering to a Trump appointee might be engaging in a little sabotage.

I have made online donations to various candidates and causes which I support, including Alex Vindman for Florida; I may at some point treat the check as lost, and make an online contribution.

ndrosen

Friday evening, I finished an Office Action, getting my work for the biweek done. I wrote an Office Action on my oldest Amended case, so now I’m down to one application on my Amended docket; I also have a case in Paused status on my Expedited docket (Board of Appeals decision affirming my rejection).

Earlier this week, I finished and posted an Office Action on my oldest non-RCE Regular New Application, and on Friday evening, I finished and posted an Office Action on my single Request for Continued Examination case. This is pretty good, and now I need to keep up production for the remaining two biweeks of the third quarter.

chickenfeet

A play about an orphan who has worked for a second hand bookstore for twenty years and finds redemption (of a sort) in banking

https://operaramblings.blog/2026/05/30/primary-trust-is-gentle-funny-but-a-bit-bland/

james_davis_nicoll

Just three new books this week. One fantasy, one horror, and one science fiction. All appear to be stand-alone.

Books Received, May 23 — May 29

Poll #34666 Books Received, May 23 — May 29

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 26

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Harbour of Hungry Ghosts by Eliza Chan (July 2026)
9 (34.6%)

Every Room a Hunger by Nino Cipri (February 2027)
5 (19.2%)

Radiant Star by Ann Leckie (May 2026)
19 (73.1%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
17 (65.4%)

chickenfeet

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish is thought provoking and tremendous fun

https://operaramblings.blog/2026/05/29/fiddler-in-yiddish-is-thought-provoking-and-fun/

ionelv

why is the old testament a poor and weak moral code	de ce este vechiul testament un cadru moral foarte prost si slab
Critics view the Old Testament moral code as weak or poor because it contains harsh retributive justice (an "eye for an eye" mentality), condones outdated social practices like slavery and patriarchy, and features violent conquest narratives that conflict with modern human rights. Here is a breakdown of the specific ethical critiques and the historical context surrounding them: Key Ethical Criticisms Harsh Retribution and Violence: Passages calling for the death penalty for minor offenses (like working on the Sabbath) and accounts of severe divine judgments appear disproportionate and excessively punitive by modern standards. Institutionalized Practices: The text contains legislation that regulates, rather than explicitly outlaws, slavery (often viewed as indentured servitude) and polygamy. Critics argue this reflects the primitive, Bronze-Age ethics of the culture rather than a timeless, perfect moral law. Exclusivity and Tribalism: The moral and civil codes often treat the Israelites as a favored group, with specific laws that are hostile toward outsiders or surrounding nations. Gender Inequality: The legal codes and historical narratives are heavily patriarchal, codifying laws that favor men and reflect an ancient, restrictive view of women's rights. The Contextual and Scholarly Counter-Perspective While critics view these as flaws, biblical scholars, theologians, and historians offer a different lens for understanding this moral code: Progressive Revelation: Many theologians argue that the Old Testament reflects "progressive revelation"—where a perfect God had to meet a primitive, ancient society where it was at and gradually educate humanity toward higher moral truths over centuries. Ancient Near Eastern Legal Reform: When compared to the brutal legal codes of surrounding cultures (such as the Code of Hammurabi), the Old Testament’s civil laws actually introduced advanced legal protections. The provisions for the poor, cities of refuge, and limitations on vengeance and blood feuds were highly progressive for that era. Distinction in Laws: Christians traditionally categorize the Old Testament law into three parts: Moral (e.g., Ten Commandments), Civil (government rules specific to ancient Israel), and Ceremonial (sacrificial and purity rituals). Scholars argue that the civil and ceremonial laws were meant for a specific time, nation, and context, while the moral principles were universally applied. For a deeper dive into the scholarly debate regarding Old Testament ethics, you can explore the academic frameworks discussed in Ethics and the Old Testament or review the theological arguments in Old Testament Ethics for the People of God.	Vechiul Testament este adesea perceput ca un cadru moral problematic sau depășit deoarece conține legi și relatări care intră în conflict cu standardele etice moderne, precum sclavia, pedeapsa cu moartea pentru infracțiuni minore și violența severă. Criticile frecvente aduse moralității Vechiului Testament se concentrează pe: Viuența și războiul: Prezintă numeroase episoade de genocid, cuceriri sângeroase și pedepse colective pornite sau ordonate de divinitate. Inegalitatea de gen: Femeile sunt adesea tratate ca proprietăți, iar legile privind căsătoria și divorțul sunt puternic patriarhale. Sclavia: Textul reglementează modul în care pot fi deținuți și tratați sclavii, în loc să condamne direct această practică. Sancțiuni dure: Pedepsele aspre (inclusiv lapidarea) pentru încălcarea diverselor porunci religioase sau sociale par disproporționate în raport cu etica contemporană. Pe de altă parte, teologii și istoricii susțin că textele trebuie înțelese în contextul lor antic din Orientul Mijlociu, unde aceste legi reprezentau adesea un progres moral față de practicile brutale ale popoarelor vecine. Această perspectivă sugerează că moralitatea Vechiului Testament este progresivă, reflectând o pedagogie divină adaptată la o anumită epocă istorică, culminând ulterior cu învățăturile etice din Noul Testament. Dacă vrei, putem detalia modul în care aceste texte au fost interpretate de-a lungul istoriei sau cum se compară moralitatea diverselor perioade. Ce te-ar interesa să explorăm mai departe?
First thought on above apology (around historical context)
The explanation that the OT reflects the era with a progressive attitude compared to contemporary laws introduces a serious problem: the authors of the OT were either not divinely inspired, or they were mere mortals trying to somehow improve their offer against the competition. In no scenario, was it divinely inspired as long as women and non-Jews were treated like livestock or furniture, but of course, that was all that was possible then until the coming of the Son.	Explicatia ca VT reflecta epoca cu o atitudine chiar progresista fata de legile contemporane acestuia introduce o problema serioasa: autorii VT ori nu erau inspirati divin ori erau doar niste muritori ce incercau sa imbunatateasca oferta oarecum fata de competitie. In nici-un caz nu era inspirat divin atat timp cat femeile si ne-evreii erau tratati ca orataniile din ograda sau dulapurile din casa, dar na, atat s-a putut atunci pana la venirea Fiului.

james_davis_nicoll

Anequs' heroism in the previous volume attracts undesired scrutiny for her community. Far worse is to come.

To Ride a Rising Storm (Nampeshiweisit, volume 2) by Moniquill Blackgoose

ndrosen

After I went to bed last night, I had a dream in which, as best I can reconstruct it, a teacher presented us with some kind of scenario, and asked us what the people involved thought about things. (I can’t remember just who “we” were, besides myself.) I spoke up a bit stridently to say that it was complicated, different people involved would likely have different points of view, and like that. Somehow, saying this, or thinking this way, woke me up.

It wasn’t long after I had gone into bed (I put on my glasses to look at the clock, so I know). I had a bit of trouble feeling drowsy again, worried about getting the sleep I needed, tried turning over in bed, and then tried a breathing exercise to help. Something must have worked, because I did finally get back to sleep.

denise posting in

dw_maintenance

It's been a while since we've done a full code push rather than just hotfixes for bugs, so we are well overdue! Depending on availability, we're aiming to do one sometime soon; we'll let you know specifics once we've worked out good timing for everyone who needs to be available.

However! The reason it's been so long is we kept trying to get some of the stuff that's pending to "really finished" instead of just "mostly finished", and then we once again looked around and went "oh no, this is a really big code push with a lot of changes". Those make us nervous, because while we do a lot of testing ourselves, y'all are really creative in how you use the site and we inevitably find a bunch of edge cases when we let you loose on new code with your real-world data!

So, if folks have some spare time in the next few days, it would be a huge help if you could spend half an hour or so using the site the same way you normally do but with the "Site-Wide Canary" beta features flag turned on. Canary mode is a sort of "live testing" mode: it's your real data, but running the most up-to-date code.

Canary mode always does have a few glitches -- there may be missing text strings or errors about missing database properties, which is a limitation of how we run it. We don't need to know about those, but anything else weird that you run into, leave a comment with what you were trying to do and the error message you got.

I'll repeat that the "here be dragons" caution that's on the beta features page: some things may be broken, so don't use it for when you're doing something important. But a few more eyeballs on it before the push will help the push go more smoothly for everyone.

For folks who want to concentrate on what's changing, we haven't finished the second code tour of what's going to be in this push, but the ffirst one has a good chunk of what's going to be going live. (We'll get the second half done ASAP!)

james_davis_nicoll

A young woman's bid to escape Nicolae Ceaușescu’s Romania is complicated by apocalypse.

The Night Ship by Alex Woodroe

dewline

My current work contract ends tomorrow. The morning afterward, I will return the equipment loaned me by that employer and the job search will begin again.

Nothing I haven't coped with before. Hopefully, I'll recover faster this time.

Current Mood: sleepy

james_davis_nicoll

‪How much species transfer would have happened between it and Australia?

james_davis_nicoll

The 128-page PLAYER'S GUIDE and the 504-page for Nine Heavens Press' Undying Corruption campaign. Based on Korean history and folklore for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and compatible systems.

Bundle of Holding: Undying Corruption 5E

james_davis_nicoll

Truck turns left into train, knocks train off tracks.

james_davis_nicoll

"All evidence suggests that both (Proxima d and b) show magnetic interaction with their host star."

james_davis_nicoll

A misunderstanding leads relentlessly responsible Wakana Gojo to embrace an impossible workload, lest he disappoint those who depend on him.

My Dress-Up Darling, volume 2 by Shinichi Fukuda