Eyes of a Devil

[liberalsarecool]

'Do not obey in advance.' - Timothy Snyder

[homunculus-argument]

As my "I am aware that this is insane and irrational and therefore nobody can criticise me" of the day, I get irrationally pissed off by people who suck at eating.

"uguuu waah why am I feeling so yucky ;____; no I did eat today, I ate a slice of dry toast 15 hours ago, that's solid so that counts as a meal" bitch shut the fuck up if you hate chewing and swallowing that much get yourself a goddamn feeding tube. actually no I know your address, I'm coming over and I'm grabbing a garden hose from the hardware store on the way. I've never installed one before but we're about to learn together.

[homunculus-argument]

Like as a clarification this is because even though I am rationally aware that there's plenty of reasons for someone to not have hunger cues or otherwise just be bad at eating, I am emotionally incapable of comprehending it. I experience hunger as a very distinct and obvious physically and emotionally unpleasant experience. Avoiding it is a natural instinct just like pulling my hand off a hot stove.

So witnessing someone not have this kind of self-preservation ability feels like seeing someone sit down on a hot stovetop and just. fucking sit there. Steam and smoke coming out. Just sitting there with a blank expression and going "ugh why do I feel so gross, I cannot identify what this unpleasant feeling is. Maybe I'm about to catch a cold or maybe my horoscopes are in the wrong order."

BITCH GET YOUR ASS OFF THE STOVE.

[andersunmenschlich]

My partner sometimes feels this way about me.

See, when I was a teeny-tiny kid and my body was still building the Hunger Announcement System, my parents sabotaged it by not feeding me. Sometimes for days on end.

So instead of a Hunger Announcement System, my body built a Use What You Have Carefully Because There Is No More Coming system that works like an Energizer battery: it runs like it's full until it's completely empty, and then it collapses without warning.

And my parents didn't stop there. No.

They also ruined my ability to swallow without choking by forcing water down my throat until I got bloated, dizzy, and tired... a traumatizing experience which left me with a gag reflex that kicks in the second anything enters my mouth.

If you're thinking my parents obviously hated me and wanted me dead... well, yes.

They did.

[ralfmaximus]

At last, a pill that can prevent COVID after exposure to infected people

Drug arrives years after pandemic’s peak, but could still offer protection to vulnerable populations.

An antiviral pill has, for the first time, been shown to prevent COVID-19 in people exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus at home, according to trial results published today in the New England Journal of Medicine1. The drug could be a lifeline for those who still face real danger from the virus, such as care-home residents or transplant recipients on immune-suppressing medication.

There are good things happening in the world.

[meret118]

You can read about it here without a paywall.

Households exposed to COVID-19 now have an oral drug specifically cleared to prevent infection after contact with a sick person. The FDA listed Xocova, the brand name for ensitrelvir, as a 2026 novel drug approval for post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 following contact with an infected individual. The decision fills a gap that has persisted since the pandemic’s early years: until now, no oral antiviral carried an FDA-approved indication for prevention rather than treatment.

[depsidase]

[pizzaback]

adults being totally useless in kids media is also a reflection of how adults interact with kids irl, adults are often deeply uncaring toward the needs and problems that children face so this is just a reflection of reality for children.

[pizzaback]

when a kid is being abused by a peer and an adult says to “just ignore it” or “he just has a crush on you”, when an adult is abusing a child and another adult says “you need to respect your elders” or “you are making this up for attention”, when a child experiences injustice adults will say “life was never meant to be easy” or “you’ll understand when you’re older”, when a child experiences something dangerous or traumatizing an authority figure says “kids say the darndest things”, when children are merely curious about the world they get told “i’ll tell you when you’re older” or “stop asking weird questions”. no wonder children resonate with stories that tell them adults are useless - they are useless a lot of the time!

[beaft]

until i am proven wrong, i will continue to believe that there is no such thing as a large company that views its employees as people

[beaft]

"even if you don't get paid for it you should still put in the extra mile because it's important to show Loyalty To The Company" if the company could hire a robot to do your job they would

[luntfontanne]

Michael Parenti, "Fascism in a Pinstriped Suit," essay published in Dirty Truths: Reflections on Politics, Media, Ideology, Conspiracy, Ethnic Life and Class Power (1996)

[liberalsarecool]

Republicans do not want women to vote. They will scarifice military and mail-ins to take away votings rights of women.

[theonion]

Defending the law enforcement agency from criticism about detaining thousands of people who had been living or seeking asylum in the U.S., Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials argued Tuesday that migrants in their camps are free to die at any time. “It’s been our position from the beginning that if anyone we’ve detained doesn’t like it here, they’re welcome to drop dead,” said ICE acting director Mark Morgan, adding that accusations about poor conditions at the agency’s facilities completely ignored the fact that migrants were categorically permitted to expire at any time of their choosing.

Full Story

[theconcealedweapon]

Children are expected to address their teachers by Mr or Ms. In other words, every single time a child address their teacher, they must acknowledge what genitals their teacher has.

Not only that, but they're also expected to call their female teachers Miss or Mrs based on whether they're married. In other words, they have to not only acknowledge that she has a vagina, but also acknowledge whether she lives with someone who regularly puts his penis in her vagina.

Why doesn't that bother anyone?

Could it be because it's fucking weird to interpret everything in the most sexual way possible? And because it's so obvious how fucking weird it is?

So why does that suddenly change when an LGBT person is involved? Why is the simple display of a rainbow flag considered grooming? Why is gay pride interpreted as "celebrating that you do butt stuff"? Why is mentioning that you're LGBT to a child compared to showing them pornography?

[dduane]

What's going on around here (redux)

So as a follow-up to the mid-July post: (1) The new glasses continue to work in nicely. ...NGL, though: my Eye Lady is adamant that I need to go see a specialist ASAP. (This is something to worry about in a few weeks, as right now there's a convention appearance in the way.) I strongly suspect that my right eye is developing a cataract, and I may also need a vitreous transplant: we'll soon find out. So in brief: on top of the right-ear hearing problem, a significant percentage of my sensorium is something of a dumpster fire right now. (shrug) Entropy, right? It's a fecking nuisance. :/

Anyway: the other unexpected health junk that had been behaving itself during the spring continues to kick up cranky. (eyeroll) I don't want to get into more detail than necessary about this (my mom used to refer to such behavior as "the Organ Recital"), but it's an outgrowth of the internal problems that have forced me to give up long-distance travel. The MRIs and other diagnostics aren't always something the Irish national health service pays for (depending on who referred you or recommended it). So over the last couple of months I've had no choice but to drop a four-figure amount of cash on this, and as a result I've fallen behind on my rent.

My landlord is still being easygoing about the situation, understanding what I'm going through. But I really want to get caught up on this before it gets any worse. (As being behind this way, I'm finding, is increasingly interfering with my work... especially as that's now become so much easier to get to grips with due to the new glasses.)

So it seems like this is a good time to remind folks that we're repeating the Summer Reading Sale over at Ebooks Direct!

...I imagine lots of people here know the drill by now. Everything's cheap, and the ebook bundles are all being held at their lowest price points for the duration (meaning specifically the "All The Wizardry" bundle, the Middle Kingdoms series bundle, the LGBTQ Pride collection, and the Feline Wizardry bundle—Even our "Give Me Everything You've Got" collection, which is the whole ebook store in one package, has had a bit knocked off.

So could I get folks to reblog this post so that those who might not have caught one of these sales before can do so now if they want to? Please & thank you!

And additionally: for those who're already up to their necks in ebooks and don't need any more, but still want to help out with the rent situation—if you'd like instead to drop something into my Ko-Fi, it'd be very welcome. And if you feel like doing this, I thank you very much in advance! 🙂

Support Diane Duane

Support Diane Duane

In advance of whatever happens: thanks again, everybody. You're all stars. 🙂

[lostinhistory]

‘We genuinely have too many potatoes, I cannot stress enough’: 42,000 pounds of free taters headed to Denver

Twenty-one tons of potatoes are up for grabs at Potato Palooza on Monday.

The nonprofit’s set to receive a donation of 21 tons of tubers this weekend from suppliers in the Midwest. Hoping to get the starchy vegetables to people in need, the nonprofit will host a “Potato Palooza” event on Monday in Park Hill. “Anyone is welcome to come. They can bring tote bags, wagons, you could back up your pickup truck if you wanted to,” Hissong said. The event is 9 a.m. to noon at the Park Hill Food Recovery Hub, 6090 East 39th Avenue, on July 27.

This is the dream

[wobblefloss]

🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️

People near Denver, Colorado.

Potato alert. Potato alert.

Free food. Unlimited free potatoes.

Potato alert.

🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️ 🥔 ⚠️

This concludes this broadcast of the emergency potato system.

[randomencounters]

Event: Potato Palooza

[wizardarchetypes]

Since making my last post about handwashing, I read the comments & tags and learned that many people believe handwashing is only necessary to remove visible dirt from our hands. This surprised me!

Handwashing is a vital component in preventing the spread of infections & disease! : )

Since it's come up again I will once again remind you that it's a good idea to make a habit of washing your hands with soap + warm water whenever you come home because hand sanitizer does not kill some unpleasant and dangerous germs like Norovius (as just one example).

You cannot rely on only washing your hands after you've been around someone visibly ill or touched something that looks dirty. Germs are microscopic and can exist on apparently clean surfaces. People can continue to shed Norovirus for weeks after they were sick, and Norovirus can survive on surfaces for as long as two weeks.

Imagine getting sick from someone a month after they've recovered because you both use the same doorknob! This is only one example of a highly contagious illness spread by germs which cannot be killed by hand sanitizer.

Please practice handwashing when you arrive home, before you prepare meals, before you eat, etc.! We cannot mitigate every risk, nor should we live in fear, but if you have access to soap and water, handwashing is a simple way to dramatically decrease risk of infection!

We live in a world where healthcare is largely out of our hands for many, maddening reasons. This is something you can do to protect yourself and others that is genuinely worthwhile.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

What's up guys I've gotta move my random pile of Pots And Tubs into the shed today because I just caught one of my chickens EATING A FUCKING STYROFOAM BOX.

How long has this been going on?? That's not food girlie! You're gonna make yourself so sick! STYROFOAM??

[thecat-who-walks-by-himself]

Lol birds in general love styrofoam for some reason. Back when I had my flock my birds are the garage door because it was made partially out of styrofoam and also despite living on a busy road and having a lot of litter bugs there was never any styrofoam cups in my yard 🤔🤔🤔🤔

The styrofoam shouldn't hurt them in any major way just maybe watch their food consumption if you're worried as the foam can take up space in their crop but they'll be fine.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Well that's a relief. I have moved the styrofoam inside regardless, there's no reason to keep on letting them eat it. Now that I look at the box in question, which is only about three quarters of a box now, it occurs to me that there's no way I would've stored it if I had received it in this condition, I would've thrown it out. It came to me intact and I just didn't notice it shrinking and they have eaten. So much box.

[trainbrain27]

Second on foam not really doing anything to chickens.

Of course, they have plenty of plants, grain, and bugs, but they also eat rocks (a few are essential for digestion, but I suspect they eat more for fun), bedding (they can't digest cellulose), the wall (ditto), mice (that's the mouse's fault for eating chicken feed), each other (discouraged with plenty of space and proper light), other birds (shouldn't nest in a chicken coop), a cat (deserved it, no injuries), and the dog (also deserved it, he got a single stitch and learned not to mess with chickens). Who knows what they eat when I'm not watching.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I wish mine would eat mice and slugs but they seem to have decided to only eat things that make life more difficult for me.

[corvidstoneage]

The chickens my family had when I was a kid got ahold of a squirrel we had shot with a bb gun (they're invasive here) and ate it. Which I think is perfectly reasonable and normal if you're a chicken.

What wasn't particularly normal or reasonable was that one particular chicken then decided she would learn to hunt squirrels herself. It wasn't uncommon to see her booking it across the yard and *up trees* in pursuit of her prey.

[dduane]

Avery Jones & Maltese Attorneys

Putting this firm on speed dial. :)

ETA: they've also got an Instagram.

[gatheringbones]

“I knew I had an ugly life. I knew I was lonely and I was scared. I thought something might be wrong with my father, wrong in the worst possible way. I believed he might contain a pathology of the mind–an emptiness–a knocking hollow where his soul should have been. But I also knew that one day, I would grow up. One day, I would be twenty, or thirty, or forty, even fifty and sixty and seventy and eighty and maybe even one hundred years old. And all those years were mine, they belonged to nobody but me. So even if I was unhappy now, it could all change tomorrow. Maybe I didn’t even need to jump off the cliff to experience that kind of freedom. Maybe the fact that I knew such a freedom existed in the world meant that I could someday find it. Maybe, I thought, I don’t need a father to be happy. Maybe, what you get from a father you can get somewhere else, from somebody else, later. Or maybe you can just work around what’s missing, build the house of your life over the hole that is there and always will be.”

— augusten burroughs, a wolf at the table

[spacedadsupport]

14/04/2025 Jean-Luc Picard @SpaceDadSupport Incoming Transmission…

Do not put your faith in any apology that doesn't come with an accompanying change in behaviour. Ensure your own apologies are likewise accompanied.