‘Chilling’

78 degrees Fahrenheit? Seriously?

Trudy Veenstar never doubted the possibility of having a life beyond the end of a long marriage after her dearest partner passed away, she just never imagined it would come so soon. 81-year-old Veenstar spent the most memorable moments of her life traveling around the world with her husband, Auke Veenstar, who died at age […] The post Widow on Her First Holiday Without Husband Makes A Lifelong Group of Friends appeared first on Good News Network.

The post Is Your Cat an Old Soul? Olga’s Calm Nature by Christopher Bays appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi, I’m Christopher! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my silly Russian Blue cat, Olga. Most kittens are wild and energetic, but they grow up fast, and some reach maturity much faster than others. Olga wasn’t incredibly affectionate as a kitten, but she liked to play and got irritated if I ignored her; even loners need attention. I didn’t consider her an “old soul” until she entered adulthood and became more independent. She still looks like a young cat but seems wiser than other cats her age. Olga isn’t less energetic, at least not to any measurable degree, but she goes through phases where she spends more time alone in another room. I didn’t know cats sometimes preferred to be alone until I adopted Olga. My Siamese cat rarely left my side unless he was trying to escape to explore the outdoors or annoyed by an obnoxious guest. Olga’s Stare It may be unfair to compare him to Olga since he was a different cat in every way, but I’ve only had two cats, and I think most pet owners evaluate their pets’ behavior based on past experiences. Olga is more stoic than my Siamese and only complains when she’s hungry. Since she doesn’t constantly meow, her blank stare makes her seem more thoughtful and relaxed. Her unblinking gaze can hypnotize you, and I think hypnotists would have better luck if they used a close-up image of Olga’s eyes to put people asleep. It is fascinating to see how fast her eyes change under different lighting and emotional states and how it alters her appearance. I see a spider on the ceiling. Will you catch it and drop it on the floor, so I can play with it? Windowsill Waiting When she’s waiting impatiently on the windowsill for me to feed her in the afternoon, her pupils are tiny slivers because of the sunlight streaming into my room. It’s when she looks more like a wise old soul, and it would be the best time for an artist to sculpt a rendition. She’s Russian, but when she’s perched on the windowsill, she favors the African wildcat of ancient Egypt. She can’t take her eyes off the birdfeeder earlier in the day, but she’s only focused on me in the late afternoon before supper. Manipulation and Intelligence Wisdom and intelligence are difficult to evaluate in a feline, but wildlife researchers suggest manipulation is a sign of intelligence in animals. When they studied squirrels’ foraging habits, they discovered that some pretend to hide nuts when they sense other squirrels are watching them. Then, they dash off and hide their snack in another location. Because of their deceptive tactics, squirrels are now considered more intelligent than they once were. However, I think cats, like Olga, are more manipulative. She stares at me to motivate and irritate me, and as I’ve discussed in previous articles, she employs more drastic measures when the “hungry gaze” is ignored. Are you ready for my close-up? She hasn’t jumped on my back in a while but leaps into the bathtub and howls or slams the blinds against the window when I’m late (in her mind) serving dinner. When I tell her it’s time to eat, her pupils dilate, her ears flatten, and she whines. She looks more frantic and doesn’t resemble the calm, wise cat she was a few minutes before. Olga can be manipulative to get her way, but I guess I should be happy that it’s an admirable quality associated with animal intelligence. The post Is Your Cat an Old Soul? Olga’s Calm Nature by Christopher Bays appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Books murder mysteries Murder, They Wrote: Five Murder Mysteries Featuring SFF Authors and Fans Turns out cons and the cutthroat world of publishing make excellent settings for a juicy murder… By James Davis Nicoll | Published on June 17, 2024 Photo: Kat Wilcox (Public Domain, CC0 1.0) Comment 0 Share New Share Photo: Kat Wilcox (Public Domain, CC0 1.0) If there’s one lesson that British television teaches us, it is that any group of people, no matter how charming or seemingly innocent, is likely to contain one or more murderers1. Speculative fiction pros and fans must be no exception. Authors have not been slow to realize the creative potential of this plot seed… Don’t believe me? Consider these five works. Rocket to the Morgue by Anthony Boucher2 (1942) Hilary Foulkes has devoted his life to maximizing income from his deceased father’s still-popular Dr. Derringer stories. An excessively vigilant guardian of Dr. Derringer IP, Hilary has acquired a long list of people who would like to see him dead. Now it seems that at least one person is determined to follow through with an actual murder. It falls to Detective Inspector Terry Marshall, assisted by Sister Ursula of the Sisters of Martha of Bethany, to determine which of Foulkes’ many enemies are targeting the vexatious heir. High on the list of suspects, the members of the Mañana Literary Society. The Mañana Literary Society is composed of not only authors, but science fiction authors. Who knows what atrocities they might commit? Boucher didn’t just populate his cast with SF authors. He used thinly veiled versions of his SF friends and colleagues3. Readers may amuse themselves working who corresponds with whom… or they can cheat and consult the list over on Wikipedia. Murder at the ABA by Isaac Asimov (1976) Giles Devore’s first novel became a bestseller thanks to the efforts of editor Darius Just. As far as Devore is concerned, his success is not merely a reflection of his own inherent greatness, it is a get-out-of-jail-free card that confers license to act abominably. The discovery of Devore’s corpse by his former editor Just is no doubt welcome news to fellow members of the American Booksellers Association. Devore’s death appears accidental to most. To Just, the scene seems staged. This suggests murder. Just has no problem imagining that someone might want Devore dead. The trick will be narrowing the list of suspects down to just one. Like Boucher, Asimov tuckerized colleagues in this mystery: Darius Just is a thinly disguised Harlan Ellison. Asimov also sprinkled the cast with well-known figures of the sort one might plausibly meet at an American Booksellers Association conference, such as astronomer Carl Sagan, science writer Walter Sullivan, and local eccentric Isaac Asimov. Now You See It/Him/Them… by Robert Coulson and Gene DeWeese (1975) Reporter Joe Karns’ life is one long sequence of unlikely events. Most recently, Karns arrived at the door of the hotel room of Silas Tucker, SF author turned professional debunker, just in time to hear Tucker being murdered. Inexplicably, the killer eludes Karns despite there being no other exit from the room. Filksinger Kay Clark sheds light on the murder. Having spent years exposing frauds, Tucker had discovered that ESP is actually real. People with very special gifts, such as being a living weirdness magnet, walk among us. Too bad for Tucker that one person with a very special ability was willing to kill to keep that ability a secret. Too bad for Karns and Clark that both of them now know too much. Not only is Tucker a former SF author, his murder takes place at an SF con. Coulson and DeWeese do not hesitate to exploit the potential for amusing local color, particularly in the matter of wandering cosplayers with an interest in murder. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb (1987) Appin Dungannon is very nearly a tragic figure. Dungannon has come to loath the Tralyn Runewind series for which he is famous. Unable to give up the lucrative income from the series, Dungannon copes by doing his best to make everyone he meets as miserable as he is. With a single exception, Dungannon’s relentlessly unpleasant demeanor has failed to alienate his audience. The exception? Whichever Rubicon attendee it was who murdered Dungannon. A local detective, Lt. Thomas Ayhan, is convinced that solving the murder should be easy. The collection of eccentrics attending the con probably know little about how to get away with murder (at least less likely than the average Bouchercon4 member). But it’s not the cop but novice SF author Dr. James “Jay Omega” Mega who spots the killer. Now, if only Jay can figure out how to survive exposing the murderer… Bimbos has three noteworthy aspects. First, it’s not much of a mystery; it is clear who dunit. Second, author McCrumb seems utterly confounded by and disapproving of many of the fen5. Third, it’s pretty clear that Jay’s girlfriend Dr. Marion Farley is the uncredited co-author of Jay’s book and arguably the one who deserves first credit. We’ll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews (2004) Fans of the cult-favorite TV show Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle launch their first East Coast convention. Thanks to contracts whose clauses merited closer examination than they got, Porfiria actors like Meg Langslow’s boyfriend Michael are not merely allowed to attend the con; they are required to attend. Obnoxious star Tamerlaine “QB” Wynncliffe-Jones barely has time to establish her comprehensively unpleasant character before Meg finds QB’s battered corpse. Complicating homicide Detective Foley’s task is the fact that almost everyone at the con had means, motive, and opportunity to kill QB. This includes Michael. It’s up to Meg to solve yet another murder6 before Foley decides that Michael is the killer. Parrots stands out from Bimbos in a number of respects. First, the con is a profit-oriented media con, not the more traditional, less monetized variety. Second, Andrews gives every indication of liking colorful fannish eccentrics, rather than sharing McCrumb’s fascinated disdain. Are there more recent examples of this subgenre? I’d love to read them. Please mention candidates in comments below.[end-mark] Why would anyone move to Midsomer or Murder She Wrote’s Cabot Cove, given that one’s chance of being murdered is so high? Perhaps other communities must somehow have even higher murder rates (as unlikely as that sounds). ︎Rocket to the Morgue was written under the pseudonym H.H. Holmes, a name that Boucher borrowed from a noted hotelier and alleged amateur architect. ︎Did Boucher base his character Hilary Foulkes on a specific extremely litigious literary heir? Have fun speculating who that heir might have been… but please do so in a manner that won’t get me roped into the subsequent libel lawsuit. ︎Bouchercon is the nickname for the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention. Yes, the same Boucher who wrote Rocket to the Morgue. Writing about murders doesn’t seem to confer any particular ability to get away with murder. At least, it didn’t help Nancy Crampton Brophy, author of How to Murder Your Husband, avoid conviction for murdering her husband. ︎imbo’s character Brenda Lindenfeld is a gold-digger searching the con for boring nerds who might be potential husbands/meal tickets. McCrumb’s objection to Brenda’s quest doesn’t seem to be that Brenda is a gold-digger; it’s that she’s fat. McCrumb doesn’t like many of her characters, and it shows. ︎Parrots is the fifth Meg Langslow mystery. I think at a certain stage in amateur detectives’ careers, people should stop inviting them to social gatherings. Mystery author Simon Brett’s protagonist, actor Charles Paris, however, seems to keep getting hired even though the chances are that at least one person will be murdered during the course of the show. Paris will then solve the murder. But… if you hire Paris he will show up on time, he will know his lines, and depending on how drunk he is, he might not bump into set furniture. There are twenty books in the Charles Paris series, which means that nineteen directors decided that reliability matters more than the disruption of recasting slain actors, not to mention the small chance of being the person for whom proximity to Paris proves lethal. As someone who works in live theatre, I find those directorial choices entirely believable. ︎The post Murder, They Wrote: Five Murder Mysteries Featuring SFF Authors and Fans appeared first on Reactor.

So the "No U-Turn" Sign Removal Really Happened

How The Science™ Is Created

Treatment for depression has historically taken a “one-size-fits-all” approach, but this may be about to change as new research has found six kinds of depression that are identifiable through brain scans. The different kinds, or “biotypes”, respond better to some treatments than others, and could aid us in delivering more effective care for people living with depression, and faster.The study looked at the functional MRI (fMRI) scans of 801 participants who had been previously diagnosed with anxiety or depression. They looked at their brain activity both while at rest and during a series of cognitive and emotional function tests, paying special attention to which regions of the brain were active and looking for connections between them. With the help of machine learning, they were able to cluster the scan results based on similarities and identified six distinct patterns of brain activity.The team then randomly assigned one of three common antidepressants or behavioral talk therapy to 250 of the participants and assessed how they responded to the treatment. It revealed patterns in the different subtypes of depression, referred to as biotypes, and the treatment approach that was most effective.The goal of our work is figuring out how we can get it right the first time.Dr Leanne WilliamsFor example, Venlafaxine, sometimes known as Effexor, proved to be the most effective medication for a biotype that was notable for overactivity in certain regions of the brain. Another biotype characterized by high levels of activity in three regions of the brain associated with problem solving and depression was found to respond best to behavioral talk therapy.“To our knowledge, this is the first time we’ve been able to demonstrate that depression can be explained by different disruptions to the functioning of the brain,” said senior study author Dr Leanne Williams in a statement. “In essence, it’s a demonstration of a personalized medicine approach for mental health based on objective measures of brain function.”Williams, the inaugural Vincent VC Woo Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the director of Stanford Medicine’s Center for Precision Mental Health and Wellness. She lost her partner to depression in 2015, and has focused her work on pioneering the field of precision psychiatry that centers around individualizing diagnosis and using a personal approach to tailor treatment.Around a third of people with depression have treatment-resistant depression, which means despite multiple rounds of medication and talking therapy, their symptoms don’t improve.  It’s hoped that by taking a more precise and personalized approach to depression management, physicians can better help patients to fully reverse their symptoms to healthy levels.  “The goal of our work is figuring out how we can get it right the first time,” Williams said. “It’s very frustrating to be in the field of depression and not have a better alternative to this one-size-fits-all approach.”The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Saying "the day after tomorrow" when making arrangements is on par in terms of annoyance as having to say the second cous in cous cous. If only there was a simpler way to convey you are talking about the day after tomorrow without having to say such a mouthful.Well good news, because there is a word for that, it has just fallen out of use in recent years. People on the Internet have recently rediscovered the word, and are hoping to bring it back.     IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.That word is "overmorrow", coming from "over" (above) and the old English word for morning (morrow). The first documented use of "overmorrow" comes from a version of the Bible produced in 1535, spelled then as "ouermorow"."Then spake Tobias unto the virgin, and said: Up Sara, let us make our prayer unto God today, tomorrow, and overmorrow," a modern-day translation of the text reads. "For these three nights will we reconcile ourselves with God, and when the third holy night is past, we shall join together in the duty of marriage."This version of the Bible –  the Coverdale Bible, the first English translation of the Bible to contain both old and new testaments – also contains another archaic term for the day before yesterday which could be a real timesaver."And Iacob behelde Labans countenaunce, & beholde, it was not towarde him as yesterdaye and yeryesterdaye," the text reads, "but the God of my father hath bene with me"."Overmorrow" fell out of common use pretty quickly, before the end of the 16th Century, with people for some reason preferring to use four words instead of one. However, it cropped up in the UK Parliament as late as 1925, when Sir W. Joynson-Hicks said "we can go not overmorrow, but on Thursday" during one debate.In German, the word "übermorgen" is used for the day after tomorrow, while French uses "surlendemain" for the same concept. Perhaps, as the Internet seems keen, it is time to bring back these time-saving words. And then we can move on to that irritating second cous.