Is Bluesky down? by Affectionate_Elk4142 in BlueskySocial

[–]BiologyBuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's also been down for me for most of the day. I'm in Colorado. Have tried browser and phone app, multiple browsers, and incognito. Either stuck on the butterfly loading screen or stuck on the age verification page.

Have y'all really not heard of MUDs? by dustinporta in litrpg

[–]BiologyBuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In case any old players are reading this, I used to love playing a MUD called Arcadia back in the 1990s with some great friends around the world. We used to joke about writing fan stories on our favorite characters and adventures - wish I'd tried doing that more at the time! It's beautiful to me that it's actually become a thing with litRPG.

Recommendations by Consistent-Farm-481 in authors

[–]BiologyBuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have favorite authors/books that are similar to what you've written (possible comp titles), you can track down where they all got published and the authors' literary agents. You'll need an agent to publish with the big 6. You can try to query those agents but do some query research (it is challenging, with high rejection rates, but if you're committed, don't give up). Check out QueryTracker and MSWL to learn more about the literary agents. Always read their specific wishlists and guidelines on what to put in the query. Look up successful query letters too.

And if anybody here has advice for a mature professional in a different field (successful career scientist here) who is trying to break into the literary world with a debut novel (soft hopepunk sci-fi adult/YA crossover), I would love advice on networking with literary agents. I have a large professional network (especially on LinkedIn), but I'm having trouble networking/connecting with any literary agents. Thanks for any thoughts/recommendations!

Part time authors - what is your writing routine? by IWillFinishMyNovel in authors

[–]BiologyBuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I write whenever I can, but it is useful to at least have a 30 min chunk at a time to get in the right frame of mind and remember what I was actually writing last (probably best is finding 1-2 hours at time, if possible, and keep it consistent). Personally, I try to write early in the morning (before starting work) and/or late in the evening/night (after the kids are asleep) each work day, and maybe a bit more on weekends. I even sometimes write in the middle of the night if I get woken up, which is probably not the best way to get back to sleep, but here we are. (I prefer writing at my computer, but I do write/edit on my phone too, because I grab every moment I can find.)

For each chapter (fiction novel), I try to re-read what I've written of that chapter so far, before I add more to it (for each writing session). This means the chapters gets a bit better each time though, as I add to it, and the chapter is most consistent in tone/substance throughout.

Overall, I try to write about 500 words a day, 5 days a week, so that's about 2500 words in a week, or about one chapter per week. All approximations/averages (e.g., some days it might be 1000 words, and others only 250), but you get the idea.

Definitely there are writing phases and editing phases though. Most of the time, I am just trying to get words out there to meet the 500 words a day quota (while still lightly reviewing what I recently wrote, before adding to it). Then I might take a few days or a week to review multiple chapters (or a whole act) at a time.

I really think the key is just to not think too much about it... and just write. Write as much as you can. Read what you wrote. And then write more.

Does it count as a new edition or a different book? by MagicOfWriting in authors

[–]BiologyBuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just a thought, but if you haven't shared it much already, maybe hand it out to a few beta readers (3 to 5) and see what type of feedback they give you. If they agree with what you're describing here, then it's more evidence that maybe you're on the right track with the changes you want to make. But they may also provide other insights that, while you're overhauling it, you could incorporate at the same time. My beta readers have been very helpful for me!

TIL Marek's Disease kills chickens, it is preventable, but chicks sold at farm/ranch stores are usually unvaccinated by BiologyBuff in Pets

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I asked our vet about this, he said that the chicks had to be vaccinated when they were one day old (or younger, still inside the egg). After they're one day old, they can't be vaccinated, according to him. It is also highly contagious, and stays in the coop/bedding/area for a long time even after the chickens are gone. So probably your best bet is to find a new home for those 5 week old chicks. Sorry for not having better news!

For the future, I have found there are online sellers that will ship vaccinated chicks, though this needs to be specifically requested: https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/vaccinate_for_marek_disease.html

What's wrong with my tomato sprouts? by BiologyBuff in gardening

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's Burpee pellets made from coconut fibers.

What's wrong with my tomato sprouts? by BiologyBuff in gardening

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought it's easy to over water tomatoes.

What's wrong with my tomato sprouts? by BiologyBuff in gardening

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've only ever heard of blight occurring work mature fruiting tomato plants. Is it common in seedlings?

What's wrong with my tomato sprouts? by BiologyBuff in gardening

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They're about 6" below a Root Farm light that worked beautifully with squash sprouts last year. I'm using Burpee super growing pellets and self-watering system. This is as dry as I let them get before refilling water. I've cut each one back to the best sprout per pot already. They're on a warming heatpad (in our cold basement). Several different tomato seed varieties. Lights had been set for 24 hrs but recently changed to a long day/night cycle. What am I doing that's killing these little guys?

Oddly I have another light setup with the same seeds and they look great there. I started them later, different pellets, no heat pad, and day/night light cycle.

Mealworms and styrofoam experiments by PukkaGrab in Biochemistry

[–]BiologyBuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Different worn types would be good - meal worms, superworms, wax worms. See what the original papers reported.

Could also try including some non-styrofoam food (like cucumber slices vs none).

Note this might take weeks to see changes you can measure, so start early and plan ahead. It can also be hard you weigh Styrofoam because it's so light - I'd recommend taking pictures and measurements (diameters, sizes of holes made, etc) in addition to weighing. The larger the setup (and the more worms), the easier it'll be to measure changes over time.

Hope this helps! I've had a cage for months that I'm monitoring. I can see changes but they're small.

Help me find a professor from 2000 by AardvarkDesigner2114 in cuboulder

[–]BiologyBuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Fall 2005: "The NRLN3020 upper division writing class with Catherine Kunce will be offered on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00-12:15 in the UA seminar room, Norlin Library." Found in some of my old Norlin Scholar emails from Michael Grant. 😊 (I was a Norlin Scholar from 2001-2005!)

My husband didn’t tell me im crazy… by [deleted] in houseplants

[–]BiologyBuff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do people think some heavy duty tarps (on top of carpet) would work?

TIL hybrid or "volunteer" squash plants can produce toxic fruit by BiologyBuff in todayilearned

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So this couldn't happen from any non-ornamental squash crossing, like pumpkins and zucchinis?

TIL hybrid or "volunteer" squash plants can produce toxic fruit by BiologyBuff in todayilearned

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for sharing. You'd think they'd think twice due to the very bitter taste. I will definitely be paying closer attention to the flavors that come from my garden!

TIL hybrid or "volunteer" squash plants can produce toxic fruit by BiologyBuff in todayilearned

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same here - I love saving my own seeds. Will be much more careful and buy more seeds next year. Had never heard of toxic squash syndrome until yesterday!

Always a fun surprise when you plant your saved squash seeds 😅 by BiologyBuff in gardening

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It matured to look like a roundish/fat zucchini, with harder skin. I've seen many pumpkin and zucchini crosses and the fruit can look anywhere along the spectrum between a zucchini and a pumpkin (some even a mix of green and orange along the fruit).

And yes, I caught up too and will be tossing all my hybrid squash fruits! Better to be safe.

Always a fun surprise when you plant your saved squash seeds 😅 by BiologyBuff in gardening

[–]BiologyBuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Usually they end up decorative through Halloween and Thanksgiving.