Posted by Dan Fidler

https://blog.apnic.net/2026/03/20/your-elected-leaders-shaila-sharmin-policy-sig-co-chair/

https://blog.apnic.net/?p=99835

From ISP engineer to policy leader, Shaila Sharmin reflects on her journey into the APNIC community and her vision for inclusive policy development across the Asia Pacific.

https://blog.apnic.net/2026/03/20/your-elected-leaders-shaila-sharmin-policy-sig-co-chair/

https://blog.apnic.net/?p=99835

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

I have watched some TV!

Shrinking: ( spoilers )

Abbott Elementary: ( spoilers )

The Pitt: ( spoilers )

Here is a cool video interview with Alexandra Metz, who plays Garcia. I don't think there are any spoilers past earlier s2 episodes.

*

( 17. An Academic Affair - Jodi McAlister ) Enormously fun and I'm hoping for sequels!

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( 18. The Shots You Take - Rachel Reid ) Fairly forgettable, but still entertaining enough to keep me reading.

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( 19. The Spy Who Loved Me - Ian Fleming ) I don't think Fleming is for me, but there was some enjoyment available.

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( Greenwing and Dart - Victoria Goddard ) Fluffy, fun (despite a substantial amount of mortal peril) and a generally satisfying binge.

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( 26. How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie ) Dated but I think still worth reading.

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( 27. Holiday in Death, 28. Festive in Death, and 29. Framed in Death - JD Robb ) I always enjoy these - but particularly liked the opportunity to revisit the early part of the series in contrast to the newer state of things!

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( 30. Derring-Do for Beginners - Victoria Goddard ) I was hoping for more actual, you know, Red Company, but this was so much fun I can't have too many regrets.

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( 31. Jane Austen: A Life - Claire Tomalin ) I think this is probably as enlightening as it could reasonably have been, but I was a little disappointed, somehow, despite learning a fair amount. It's not badly-written at all, but it never really won me over somehow.

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( 32. Chain-Gang All-Stars - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah ) Ultra-violent, really thumpingly Message-y, and strangely compelling; I don't think I'll ever want to re-read it, but I am interested to see where Adjei-Brenyah goes from here.

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( 33. Blood Sport, 35. The Edge, and 37. Risk - Dick Francis ) A trio of delightfully exciting nonsenses; I'm so sorry I didn't discover Francis years ago, but on the other hand at least they are a source of joy for me now.

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( 34. Men Explain Things to Me - Rebecca Solnit ) A short but concentrated dose of feminist rage.

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( 36. Outcrossing - Celia Lake ) On paper this absolutely should be my jam, but it entirely is not.

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( 38. Batman: Wayne Family Adventures vol 2 - CRC Payne and Starbite ) Adorable. This series is just so fun.

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( 39. Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor ) This is a fun concept, but the archaeology / history is worse than in Connie Willis' Oxford Time Travel books and that's saying something. I didn't hate it, but I had to disconnect my brain way too much to enjoy it.

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( 40. Ambiguity Machines - Vandana Singh ) A really excellent collection, even though I couldn't muster quite the delight I wanted from it.

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( 41. Get A Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert ) I enjoyed this, although I'm not sure if I'll read more Hibbert.

As usual, true scholars, please forgive my dilettante's sense of discovery over things you have always known.

When searching for some examples of "pleasing the heart" as erotic joy, as per sovay's information, I arrived at this (in the ETCSL).

( A love song of Shu-Suen )

§rf§

1. Well, a balbale, but the immediate internet is of limited use in defining this except as a form that uses variety in repetition.

2. For those interested, the transliterated Sumerian given for this phrase is ^dcu-^dsuen cag₄ ^dmu-ul-lil₂-la₂-ke₄ ba-ze2-be₂-en-na-ju₁₀.

I assume the subscript numbers refer to different versions of the cuneiform character. I dunno about the superscript d.

Today is mostly sunny and mild. :D

The stump grinder guy has come and gone. He did an excellent job. The stump in front of the garden shed is gone and the hole mostly filled, though I'll add some top soil to smooth it out more. The east path is nearly smooth, might need a bit of raking. I'm particularly impressed that a ring of daffodils around the plump stump is still there! I had expected to lose those, so the precision is noteworthy. The parking lot is also nearly smooth. He got right up to the edge of the sidewalk and rock wall, although he advised there are some buried rocks and concrete that we didn't know about. I may need to rake some areas, and certainly need to see about removing the last stubs from the sidewalk to recreate that defensive zone. My partner Doug plans to drive over the parking lot to press it down some before ordering a load of fresh gravel to top it. Progress!

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. Cardinals are singing.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I put about half a bag of topsoil into the hole in front of the garden shed to smooth it out. That may need more later after it settles, but it'll do for now.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I filled a flat of 12 pots with potting soil and in each pot I planted 5 seeds of short landrace marigolds. These are similar to Shithouse Marigolds but shorter. If I can get them growing well, I can save money buying nursery marigolds. I covered them with a plastic tub to serve as a greenhouse. I still need to label them though.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I labeled the marigolds.

I checked the east path. It doesn't really need anything but grass seed. We'll need to buy a big bag of that. Recommended time for spring sowing is late March to mid-April.

I checked the parking lot. I picked up a few pieces of junk that were churned up, but it's also pretty good. I do need to work on clearing more of the sidewalk, but a lot of that will just be brushing dirt off it.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I started working on the sidewalk again. Much of what covers it is just loose dirt that needs to be scraped off. Some is still packed dirt and roots.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I watered the seeds under tubs.

It's 71°F now. Over the next few days, it's supposed to reach 80°F. 0_o

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I started the process of topping up troughs on the new picnic table. I want to finish those first six with the self-mulching potting soil.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I finished topping up the troughs. I'll need to get more American Countryside potting mix. I like how it self-mulches. Soon I'll be planting peas in these. My plan this year, instead of putting the peas in their own container, is to space them out so they fertilize other plants. We'll see how that works.

While the deep freeze killed a fair amount of things, much has survived. Crocus have already put out new flowers. The bluebell leaves weren't as damaged as I expected. More squills are blooming.

It is 7:20 PM and not quite full dark. This was my first after-supper yardening session. :D

I am done for the night.

What if I don't want to run the electricity in my household like a standard Australian household?
 
( thinky thoughts )

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Posted "Tutorials" on getting_started.

* Posted "Gaming" on girlgamers.

* Posted "Ostara" on goddessfolk.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" on birdfeeding.

Just hit play.

(All about the sound, but visuals also nice.)

2026 Mar 18: Benn Jordan [BennJordan YT]: "I'm here to disrupt the finance synthesizer scene."

Debate is raging on BSky if this is deliberate wit or accidental idiocy.

(h/t user mlyp.bsky.social)

Because Becky Mahoney and I know each other, I boosted a Bluesky giveaway for her upcoming vampire novel Thrall (coming out next month!) in the spirit of friendship and then was somewhat surprised to discover that I had in fact won the giveaway -- surprised but delighted, obviously, since I've loved all of her previous books even when they weren't LUCY CENTRIC DRACULA RIFFS!! focused around a COLLEGE PIRATE RADIO STATION!!!

The central character of Thrall is Lucy Easting, who has just transferred into beautiful, isolated, mountainside Rollins University from community college, in a bid to get away from her stressed and depressed mother and live a life she's excited about for a change.

Alas! her first college party results in a couple of neck puncture marks, a marked tendency to experience severe migraines in sunlight, and a tragic susceptibility to the ominous vampire voice in her head that occasionally takes over her consciousness and directs her towards uncharacteristic action.

Fortunately! the college is full of prospective allies who are willing to take a chance on Lucy despite her regrettable thrall situation, including but not limited to the host of the local college late-night radio show, who has been a target of the vampire since her sophomore year and has been using the airwaves to try and fight back; Lucy's RA, a determined young woman with very nice arms, who came to the school to investigate after a terrible fate befell her high school ex-boyfriend Jonathan; and the very nice, normal party host who has no previous vampire experience but feels just terrible about the whole situation and is not about to relinquish responsibility for sorting the situation out! it was her party!!

It's a really charming book on a number of levels, but my favorite thing about it as a Dracula riff specifically is how much it's thematically invested in Lucy as a side character -- the narrative is consistently very clear that the vampire is not particularly interested in Lucy; he's obsessed with Athena the radio show host and everything else he's doing is part of his elaborate cat-and-mouse game with her, including incidentally overturning Lucy's life as a by-the-by -- and how Lucy makes the book her own story anyway by sheer force of determination not to be cut out of it. Lucy's energy really drives the book: she wants to live, and she wants to live a life on her own terms, and she's not about to let one horrible encounter take that away from her.

Also, I think it's not a huge spoiler ( but I guess is technically a mild one: lesbians! )

I am keyboardless, forgive my brevity.

What I've Read

After the Storm by perennial - This beautiful fic is Don John and Hero from Much Ado About Nothing, in an alternate universe where John revenges himself on Claudio by marrying Hero. Long and slow, this fic look at who John might be if given enough rope, and who Hero might be if she didn't have to marry that credulous shithead.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/31038242

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher A sweet romance, a little too long. Doing some lifting to set up the following books in the series.

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison - A reread for me for xing bookclub!

What I'm Reading Now
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - This is fine? Not sure if I am reaching for the orientalism or if the book is just doing that, but the key problems are repetition and repetition. 700 pages of, Dracula is around still and he's a dick.

What I'll Read Next
My Real Children Jo walton

If anyone's trying to reach me via Facebook these days, I'm having issues navigating the site these days. At least until 10 PM most nights. The pages load up slower than I'm used to these days...

Earth's changing climate is harming crop diversity exactly where the security of global food production needs it most

A new study warns that if global warming surpasses 1.5°C, vast regions could lose critical crop diversity, heightening the risk to worldwide food security.

Researchers predict that about one-third of global food production may be in jeopardy due to higher temperatures, underscoring how climate change is expected to reshape agriculture, especially in vulnerable low-latitude countries.


You know what? I think they're barking up the wrong tree here. Humans have done FAR more damage to the foodstream than climate change has so far. I'm sure climate change will get around to that, but it's late to the party. Humans have already discarded many traditional crops because they don't lend themselves to commercial growing, drastically limiting the typical diet.

( Read more... )

Finished watching this, having watched spread out and slowly.

Just beautiful, a gem of a series, that has so much of the feel of Mackenzie Crook's Detectorists, but tells an original story, with brand new characters, with warmth, style and pathos.

The character interactions were magical throughout.

So much of the best bits of the series were the small details, so very carefully observed, acted and directed.

And every character was rounded and sympathetic to an extent. That's top writing.

I especially enjoyed some of the moments in the DIY store.

But the best part was the relationship between Michael and Kacey.

For goodness sake BBC, renew it for a second series! Though I am rather wondering how well that would work. I'll certainly watch.

If you're in the UK and can watch this on iPlayer, I thoroughly recommend doing so.

If you're in another country, I hope it is broadcast where you are and you get a chance to see it!

It really is very special.

Posted by George Michaelson

https://blog.apnic.net/2026/03/19/podcast-bgproutes-io-a-next-generation-bgp-data-collection-platform/

https://blog.apnic.net/?p=99877

Thomas Alfroy and Thomas Holterbach from the University of Strasbourg talk about bgproutes.io — a new approach to sharing BGP data with the community.

https://blog.apnic.net/2026/03/19/podcast-bgproutes-io-a-next-generation-bgp-data-collection-platform/

https://blog.apnic.net/?p=99877

Today is sunny, less cold, with a light breeze.  This is a huge improvement.  :D

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did a bit of work outdoors. 

The mower has been picked up for its spring tuneup.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I picked up more junk from the parking lot.

I've seen a lot more sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio. 

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I started trying to unearth the edge of the sidewalk bordering the parking lot on the south side.  It is exhausting, and must be done before the stump-grinder guy arrives early tomorrow. D:

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I hacked away at the east end of the sidewalk.  There are still several feet of the middle buried.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I continued hacking at the sidewalk edge.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did more hacking at the sidewalk edge.  I think it's about as good as I can get it.  There's a big patch in the middle that I couldn't clear due to roots and brush, but at least the edge is more-or-less visible at both ends.

I've seen a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 3/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio. 

I am done for the night.

I was fascinated to read Jo Walton's post on How to read sixteen books at once at all times, because I have recently - and somewhat inadvertently - set up something similar for myself.

In mid-February I got fed up of all the half-read things in my ebook reader, so I went through and tagged a bunch of them - things I wanted to read, things I meant to get around to, etc - in a special collection, and then said "OK now you can only read things from this collection". I started out with 25 books, but added a few more either because a) they were new Dick Francis books that I wanted to read (2 books), or b) they were for a book group meeting that I had suddenly realised was approaching (2 books). Since then I have read only one ebook not in that collection (another book group! but a chapter-by-chapter one, so I don't want to read the whole thing yet), one paper book (oh look for a different book group), and a few chapters of other paper books, and the collection is down to 12.

It's actually been tremendously productive as an approach ( rambling about my reading habits )

In conclusion, it's been great for my reading but terrible for my booklog, which is sadly behind even though I've been working on it reasonably regularly.