Friends, Interests, and Other Inane Things

Why Fantasy NEEDS More Fantasy Jobs on YouTube

Fantasy worlds are filled with magic, monsters, ancient ruins, cursed artifacts, and god-level threats but when you look closely, the same few roles always seem to keep everything running. Warriors, mages, priests, nobles, and merchants handle almost everything… somehow.

That's because many people prefer stories with big, flashy plots. However, some other people like smaller, everyday stories -- the whole "cozy" angle is all about that, not about blowing shit up. Now I love a good explosion as much as the next guy, but that's not all I enjoy. Variety is good.

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This video shows a cow performing versatile tool use to scratch herself with a broom.  Note that cows are already enthusiastic tool users of equipment provided by humans, such as pressure-activated brushes and voluntary milking systems.

An interesting point that nobody has mentioned: cows have prehensile tongues. A prehensile appendage is any body part flexible and strong enough to grab or manipulate objects. Watch Veronica pick up the broom. She doesn't use her teeth or even her lips. She uses her tongue. Prehensility is actually a strong indicator of intelligence, because it allows a creature to lift, move, or use things much more effectively. Any time you see that feature, you should check for intelligence, because it is probably higher than average.

Want to play at home? If you have a cow, or know someone who does, then get a small broom like the one in the video. Use it a few times to groom the cow so she learns how useful it is. Then place it within her reach to see if she tries using it to scratch herself. This is probably more effective with just one or two cows, rather than a herd where they tend to groom each other's hard-to-reach spots. You can also watch cows that you see in other places.

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "A Fountain of Energy"
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Today's Cooking
Poem: "lacquerware poet"
Warming Spices
Birdfeeding
Watch "Stay at Home"
Philosophical Questions: Rights
Recipe: "Apple Topping"
New Year's Resolutions Check In
Affordable Housing
Birdfeeding
Books
Follow Friday 1-23-26: Libraries and Librarians
Poem: "The Bones of Chihuly"
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Superpowers
Poem: "A Scarf of Stars"
Art
Opera Outfits Over 40
Food
Birdfeeding
Snowflake Challenge 11: Granting Wishes
Science
Good News

Animal Communication has 43 comments. Food has 60 comments. Trauma has 51 comments. Affordable Housing has 86 comments. Robotics has 132 comments.
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Well, I muffed the poll for the free epic, since someone helpfully pointed out that "Once the Avalanche Has Begun" is already posted. Sorry about that.

This leaves us with "A Fountain of Energy" which is spillover from the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from goatgodschild. It also fills the "Unstable" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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Ancient people carried a wild potato across the American Southwest

Ancient travelers carried a wild potato across the Southwest, shaping its future for thousands of years.

Long before farming took hold, ancient Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest were already shaping the future of a wild potato. New evidence shows that this small, hardy plant was deliberately carried across the Four Corners region more than 10,000 years ago, helping it spread far beyond its natural range.

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Today I'm making  Healthy Spice Quick Bread. This way we'll have something that isn't cold to go with the apple topping.

EDIT 1/25/26 -- The spice bread turned out pretty well.  The flavor is good, not particularly strong, a little on the dry side -- but it works great with the apple topping and probably would with any other wet topping. \o/

This poem came out of the January 6, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from siliconshaman. It has been sponsored by fuzzyred.


lacquerware poet
haiku in and haiku out --
beauty? or cheating?


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Notes:

Haiku is a form of poetry, first made popular in Japan, which has become appreciated around the world. Haiku poets are challenged to convey a vivid message in only 17 syllables.

The Machines Are Coming, and They Write Really Bad Poetry

A major storm is sweeping over America.  Here it has just started to snow.

Here is a post about keeping water liquid for birds. If you have feeders, make sure they're full.

Looking for something to do?  Buy Nothing Day has links to many crafts and other activities.

A friend from Tennessee shared this video made by a nearby police station, a parody of "Let It Snow." Bear in mind that they're expecting a lot of snow, in an area that rarely gets any, so folks have neither the experience nor the equipment to deal with heavy snow safely.

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Under our government are there any rights that you have but shouldn’t? How about rights you don’t have but should?

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