#electedofficials — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Bytes Europe @[email protected] · 2026-07-24 · 02:05 UTC

Former DHS adviser cautions US threat environment at unprecedented level amid Iran war https://www.byteseu.com/2222562/ #CharlesMarino #CriticalInfrastructure #ElectedOfficials #ElectionSecurity #environment #HomelandSecurity #IranWar #SaveAct #ThreatEnvironment

#threatenvironment #saveact #iranwar #homelandsecurity #environment #electionsecurity

Ink In My Coffee @[email protected] · 2026-07-21 · 11:30 UTC

Tues. July 21, 2026: Reading, Writing, Research

image courtesy of Jean-Louis SERVAIS from Pixabay

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Mercury, Neptune Retrograde

Cloudy, a little humid, not too warm

Happy New Week! I hope your weekend was terrific.

You can read the Community Tarot Reading for the Week here.

On Friday, I got the laundry folded and put away. Both my office and the sewing room have become a bit of a catch-all over the last few months, so I’m trying to spend a little bit of time each day getting things set back to rights. I set the timer, and do as much as I can in between the work. It’s sort of a break (at least it gets me up out of the chair) and a brain palette cleanser when I move between projects. I need to rethink some storage solutions, and then find them and use them.

After a bit of that, I settled into the work. I got both requested script proposals/submissions out the door. One of them required an outline of the rest of the play, and that made me get it clearer in my mind. I knew where I planned to head in the script, but hadn’t written a formal outline for it. I responded to some questions about the local author event in September. Believe it or not, that took up most of the morning.

I managed to get a little work done on the commission pitch, but not as much as I hoped.

I got some decent work done on the ghostwriting in the afternoon. I read one of the plays for the literary committee, too.

I made sea scallops for dinner, which turned out well, and we had a quiet evening, which was just fine with me. Temperatures weren’t bad, even though the air quality was poor. I finished reading the last of AJ Pearce’s Emmy Lake quartet, set during WWII in England. She does a wonderful job of balancing the warmth between the characters with the harsh realities of wartime.

Tessa got me up early on Saturday to start the routine. I did a bunch of housework and organizing. I sent a follow-up to the warranty arm of the company that manufactured the vacuum that barely lasted six months. They ignored me the first time, so we’ll see. The temperatures were pleasant, although it was rather humid, and the air quality was poor. Bea loves her new scratching post. She and Tessa played quite a bit in the morning, which was very cute.

A ghostwriting job listing landed in my inbox. Only it’s not ghostwriting. It’s “managing” multiple websites. That’s different than a ghostwriting job. No. If you’re hiring a writer, hire a WRITER. If you need a website manager, hire a WEBSITE MANAGER or website developer. For eff’s sake, get a clue. I mean, I wouldn’t even write for the low rate mentioned, much less manage a bunch of websites.

So frustrating.

I read the second of the three plays for the literary committee meeting. I also spent a few hours reading research materials for my friend’s project.

Cooked dinner, read for pleasure in the evening.

Tried to sleep in on Sunday, in spite of the cats being impossible. Morning routine was fine. I did the Community Tarot Reading of the Week, which you can read here. It’s pretty cool this week.

I wrote 7 pages for the script commission pitch, giving me a total of 12. I need 15 polished pages and the outline before it can go out the door, but it was good progress. The deadline looms, and I need to get it done.

I read the third and final script for the literary committee meeting. I really liked it.

There were plenty of “shoulds” for the afternoon, but I didn’t feel like doing damn any of them. I read an autobiography instead, which was interesting, but didn’t focus on the aspects of the individual’s life that I hoped it would. I also finished reading A GIRL WALK INTO A BOOK by Miranda K. Pennington, about the influence of the Brontës and their work. It’s a terrific read.

Cooked dinner, had a quiet evening, trying to recharge for the week.

Charlotte was impossible before 4 AM on Monday. I put her in the playpen so I could go back to bed. When I opened the flap around 5, when it was time to get up for breakfast, she was having so much fun in there, she didn’t want to come out! I’m glad she and Willa like their playpens so much.

Morning routine was fine, and I tried to prioritize what needs to get done this week. There’s a lot that has to go out the door in the next two weeks, so it’s about figuring out a reasonable schedule to spread it out a bit and not burn out before anything gets done. While keeping up with the daily details of cooking and cleaning and litterboxes and errands and all the rest. The bills are all paid for the month, so at least none of that is hanging over us, and takes some pressure off.

I played with an idea for some additional digital promo materials for the Nina Bell books, so it’s not just the video or the ad cycling through. I might put together one or two bits for each book and try them this coming marketing cycle (which begins Aug. 3) and see if it has an impact. Time needs to be built into the schedule for that, and it sure as heck wasn’t happening on Monday, which was one of the busier days on this week’s schedule. I also have to figure out what I’m doing with my author table for the September event at the library. Once I know the table size, I can play with fabrics to see what the books look good against. The covers tend to be dark, so something that’s lighter and not too busy, just a little textured, is probably the best bet. It needs to be eye-catching, but not overwhelming.

I typed up and sent off my notes for the WAM literary committee next week. I wanted to get it done well ahead of time for once.

After breakfast, I did the usual morning chores and tended the plants.

I took care of some admin (the never-ending admin) and then wrote nearly 1200 words on BETTING MAN, which was nice after so many fits and starts lately.

I switched over to the ghostwriting, and did some solid work. I paused for an early lunch, then joined the Honor Roll Playwrighting Group from noon to 2. I finished the commission script pages and the synopsis, although I think the synopsis reads flat and I want to jazz it up today and in the next few days before I send it off. I think I will send it on Friday.

I took a break on the yoga mat/bolster with the eye pillow for 20 minutes, then tried to get back to work, but got distracted by a book (big surprise).

I heated up leftovers for dinner, and took a short break before the FutureLabs Zoom meeting, which was terrific. We’re excited to be together for another year, and welcome the new members.

Nolan Wells was buried yesterday. My heart breaks for his family, and I am furious at the cover-up of his murder.

Tyler Farms, the source of the diarrhea lettuce issue, bribed That Thing so the FDA called their tests a “false positive.” We’re not that stupid. I discovered that my local grocery store carries their products, and asked them to stop. I don’t buy it anyway, but I’ll be extra careful of the origins of anything in the store. No salad bar items (which I rarely get anyway). We are lucky to have CSAs and conscientious farmers.

The right is still covering up Mitch McConnell’s death. Gov. Beshear keeps demonstrating he is not fit to run for higher office. It’s not “precision timing” – he’s letting the right get away with whatever they damn want. Again. It is not a HIPAA violation to ask if someone is still alive. That man is supposed to be a public servant, paid with public funds. The public has a right to know if he’s a corpse or not. The fact that no journalist has the balls to actually investigate is ridiculous.

And now they’re trying to pin the SAVE act onto the bill for government funding, so they can blame the Dems for yet another shutdown if they don’t get to strip more voting rights. We need to get them ALL out, especially corporate Dems who are just complicit with everything. There is ALWAYS something they can do. They simply choose not to, because they think they can fundraise off the anger. Well, people have caught on, and we’re sick of it.

It’s exhausting, enraging, and we’ve had enough.

The warranty arm of the vacuum manufacturer is still ignoring me. One more day, and I will complain to Chewy, from whom I bought it.

My author copies of the 2027 Spell-a-Day almanacs arrived. They are so pretty! I will have to scan my bits in the book for my clip file over the coming week.

I’m happy to just keep plugging along in my work, but I wish those being paid by my tax dollars would do their damn jobs.

Up at the usual time, morning routine was fine. I’m hoping for a solid writing day, across several projects, and I hope to get to yoga tonight.

I hope your week is starting well!

#books #cats #cooking #corruption #electedOfficials #reading #research #writing

#books #cats #cooking #corruption #electedofficials #reading