HATS! in SPACE!!!

exactly what it says on the tin

[hatsinspace]

"So if vaccines aren't the best way to protect yourself from COVID, what is?"

So glad you asked, voice in my head! What a great question.

Let's start by making something clear: GET YOUR FUCKING COVID VACCINE. Get your boosters. Get them as regularly as your government, circumstances, and pharma companies allow. Less than a quarter of adults ages 18-55 in the US got the most recent COVID vaccine. The numbers are worse for kids. GET THE DAMN BOOSTER AND GET EVERY SINGLE ONE THAT FOLLOWS. The vaccines are safe, the vaccines reduce your chances of death, they reduce your chances of hospitalization, they reduce your chances of Long COVID. GET VAXXED FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR FAVORITE BLORBO.

But here's the thing: these vaccines are really your last line of defense, in part because they don't fully stop you from getting infected with COVID. The most recent booster, which most of you did not get, may reduce your chance of symptomatic infection by about 50%. That's not nothing, but it's definitely not preventing all infections, especially since, again, not a whole lot of people got that vaccine. (And by the way, there's indications that 1 out of every 5 COVID infections never give you symptoms. So the vaccines may be letting through even more infections than we think. And vaccine immunity wanes, which is another reason to keep up with boosters.)

Vaccines are the last bulwark in our defenses. And when you don't have any other lines of defense, you are ensuring the vaccines will be overwhelmed.

That's what we're seeing, in the US and across the globe. Notice how we get new variants ALL THE GODDAMNED TIME? Yeah that's because the vaccines can't keep up. The vaccines can't keep up because we are not stopping infections. The virus evolves to evade the vaccines with every infection. Notice how we keep getting waves of infections? Yeah, because we aren't doing enough to stop them, as a group. A few of us are still wearing masks. But this is a group project and everyone needs to contribute. Notice how we had almost 76,000 deaths that we know about due to COVID last year, and only about 6,000 we know about due to flu? (Remember too that COVID deaths are generally undercounted? That means the real number of COVID deaths is probably higher.) And we already killed a lot of vulnerable people, and the death count is STILL this high. "Vax and relax" ain't working out so well.

STOPPING INFECTIONS IS OUR BEST DEFENSE. Can't die from COVID if you don't catch COVID. Can't be hospitalized from COVID if you don't catch COVID. Can't get Long COVID if you don't catch COVID. Can't have brain damage, an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, lung damage, a newly triggered autoimmune disease, etc etc. from COVID if you don't catch COVID. (And yes, kids are at risk of long-term damage from COVID too, including lung damage.) Can't get new variants without infections, either.

And by the way, we've known COVID can fuck you up bad since at least 2020. We now know the increased risks after COVID infection can last at least three years.

And here's the thing. Every time you catch COVID, you're rolling the dice again on all of that. And each time you roll, it increasingly looks like the dice are weighted more heavily in COVID's favor.

Vaccines tilt the odds away from COVID's favor. But not completely. And right now, as of June 6, 2024, no vaccine available prevents you from catching COVID.

So your best defense is to avoid getting COVID. That takes layers of protection. That means:

Indoor air ventilation and filtration. Open the windows. Run a HEPA filter. Put a MERV 13 or better air filter in your HVAC (check the manual to make sure you can; if not, get the highest level of filtration you can.) And by the way, there's indications that higher CO2 levels make COVID and other viruses stay infectious longer, which is another reason to ventilate (and stop climate change).

MASK THE FUCK UP. Every time you leave your house, wear a mask. N95s or equivalent are best. But literally any mask is better than no mask. A mask means if you're sick, you're sharing less virus, and if someone else is sick, you're breathing less in. Less virus = less infections, the math really is that simple. And there are indications that even with a mild case, you're exhaling 1-2 infectious doses per hour. That's potentially 8-16 people you can infect in a day at work, unless you mask up.

Stay home when you are sick. Yeah I know the CDC says you can go out right away. You're infectious for days, even if fully vaccinated. If you do have to leave your house, mask up. Remember above? A duckbill N95 is nearly perfect at keeping you from spreading virus? Exactly.

Test test test. Serially test. Rapid antigen tests do detect new variants, but you have to test multiple times with a RAT. If you have symptoms, at least two tests, 48 hours apart. If you don't have symptoms, at least 3 tests, 48 hours apart each. And serial testing overall is a good idea.

FIGHT FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE. Fight for better air quality regulations. Fight for free masks and free RATs. Fight for free widely available COVID PCR testing. Fight for the vaccine access program. Fight for better science. Fight for paid leave. Find a group like the People's CDC or others fighting for this stuff and band together and fix the systemic problems that make these other important measures harder than they need to be!

All of these are cumulative. They work together. The more layers, the more protection.

Your best protection is avoiding COVID.

[pwh3]

Summer sunset sky as seen from the 6 Train in New York City.

[byjove]

to whoever needs to hear this: give yourself the gift of a new pair of scissors. I give you permission to get new scissors. buy a new pack of scissors, even. it is okay to throw away those rusty dull pieces of shit and take $8 out of your budget to buy new ones.

[ahmnorhein-zkn]

Repost, now do your honors.

[jkl-fff]

Trans people just existing is no more sexual than when cis people just exist.

[mousegirlheart]

is okay you do not need hard drive. i remember computer for you.

[doggeddetermination]

thank you for teaching me important tech vocabulary @kirbymybeloved

[macguffinandco]

What's So Good About The Bad Year?

Loads of things, but I (Sasha) want to talk about my favourite thing about The Bad Year, which is all the different ways you can play it.

So, The Bad Year is a collection of 53 system-neutral, one-page horror investigation adventures that look like this:

All the clues and the links between them are on one side of the page, with a more detailed breakdown on the other. The idea is you can open it to any double page spread and be able to run that adventure with everything you need right in front of you.

But wait! There's more!

There's also a small section at the bottom of the clue map called "Links" which lists every recurring storyline, NPC and location that features in the mystery, along with the page numbers of every other mystery they appear in. So you can easily find all the entries in one of 7 (seven!) recurring plots and run them as mini-campaigns (or just pick one recurring NPC and follow them through the course of their own really bad year, if you want).

One of those plots - THE GRAND OCCULTATION - is basically the A-plot of the whole book. It's told over 13 adventures, so you can easily run it as monthly sessions over a year, and it explains why exactly this year is so very bad.

BUT WAIT! There's even more!

You can, of course, run each one of the 53 adventures, one after the other, to get the full, year-long, interconnected detailed campaign. And, if you start it and end it in Halloween week, every single adventure will be themed to the actual week of the calendar year that you play it in.

The planning that's gone into this book is wild and there are some intense spreadsheets behind it. Both the clue map format and the one-shots-but-also-interconnected-campaign were @jonnywaistcoat's idea and I am endlessly impressed with them. I think everyone else should be impressed with them too. Maybe check out our Kickstarter if you think it sounds as cool as I do.

The Bad Year

53 horror investigation adventures for any RPG system, playable as one-shot mysteries, concise arcs or a year-long interwoven campaign.

[naamahdarling]

Jonny, Sasha, I'm going to make this work for the Magical Kitties Save The Day system. I'll find a way.

Works for any rules set?

Let's make 'em all housecats!

[depsidase]

[gothhabiba]

Samantha: do the people know about Ampersand Island?

me: ... no.....

[gothhabiba]

this is Ampersand Island. every time I come across a beautiful, interesting, or unusual ampersand in my archival travels I take a screenshot and place it neatly in this little pile on my desktop

[gothhabiba]

[kradeelav]

i know things are hella grim in the nsfw/kink art circles especially in the last year --

but I'm hearing there's a NSFW-friendly ko-fi alternative built on atproto that's actively in the works, and being vetted by lawyers right now. as torrent-princess (OP) says, you should be able to swap out payment processors while keeping your account intact. this matters since even if stripe removes support, you'll still have a shop and all of your links intact. (ATproto is an infrastructure that bsky is built on, but is far bigger than bsky with far more opportunities.)

additionally, the Free Speech Coalition is working on a credit union specifically for adult work (including kink art) - here's the link so you can add your interest & support. Since this will be built by sex workers, there'll be far less risk of being debanked for spurious and puritanical reasons.

on a domain TLD level, there's an initiative here for a .furry domain built from the ground up by seasoned furries; it's unclear whether they'll support NSFW, but it's yet another promising turn of events for a group that's been similarly affected by censorship.

there are friends and allies out there helping to build a working parallel infrastructure. keep being vocal, keep supporting these initiatives when it's possible, and keep supporting your nsfw/kink artists. ♥

[practicalsolarpunk]

Is your landlord invading your privacy? Is your apartment heated inadquately? Do your utilities keep getting shut off because your landlord isn’t paying? Have you been trying to get them to repair your dishwasher for five months and they won’t replace the spray arm part even though it’s visibly broken?

You’ve heard of employee unions using collective bargaining to force the bosses to provide better pay and better working condiditions. But did you know if you rent an apartment in an apartment complex, you can do something similar?

It’s called a Tenant Association, and it’s basically a union for renters.

Here’s an overview of the why and how of forming a tenant association

Here’s a more thorough organizing manual

When it comes down to it, you and your fellow tenants are the ones paying your landlord’s salary. Go remind them of that.

[crookedtines]

Finally bought some dye and have been having so much fun with optical color mixing. I decided to start with cmyk primaries to get some vibrant color options.

So far I've only mixed up the main batch of colors, but I'll split them up and create a palatte of tints and shades once I have access to a scale again.

I don't have any fancy tools and have been blending the fiber by hand, so it's probably best I have a forced break for the sake of my fingers. Once I'm done I should have a very useful set of 57 2g swatches to play with! (Plus 5 more for a set of grayscale swatches)

If I'm still up for it, I might repeat the whole thing with my classic red, yellow, blue primary dye set. For a truly massive set of heather swatches.

[elodieunderglass]

Today the kids wanted to play Takeaway. I don’t mind playing Takeaway, because I can usually do something else with my hands. My role is to place an order on my pretend phone, and receive it from the delivery driver. I’m quite good at Takeaway.

Bear, aged 8, was the leader of this particularly chaotic takeaway. I overheard them pretending to phone another customer - customer order 125 - and explaining that their delivery would be delayed by approximately fifteen minutes due to a “rockslide.”

“Hey, wait a minute, what was that?” I asked.

“Are you order number 125?”

“No, I’m order number 165.”

Bear said severely, “we don’t give information about other people’s orders.”

“That’s very professional,” I said, “but what was that about a rockslide?”

Bear said, “that’s not your order.”

“Sorry,” i said, justly chastened. “Was it a big rockslide? Is it on the news?”

“If you need information about your order, you will get it.”

My pretend phone then pretend rang, so I had to answer it. It was the takeaway.

“Number 165? Your order will be delayed by five minutes.”

“Oh,” I said, “why?”

“Because that’s the time it takes us answering all your stupid questions.”

[singlecent]

[softlyfiercely]

i love how weird kids are. they make up the most bizarre stuff when left to their own devices and it's never what an adult would naively predict a kid would do in their imaginative play

my friend's 5 year old recently got a toy veterinary medicine set - it's super cool, like one of those mini play kitchens a lot of kids have, but it's set up to pretend to be a vet (it's this thing) - it has stuffed animals and things to weigh them, give them medicine, take x-rays, write on their charts, etc.

so this kid, who is five and to my knowledge has no experience in the administrative bureaucracy of modern healthcare, puts a stuffed pig named Piggy on the exam table. she pretends to draw blood from Piggy using a fake syringe, and the blood goes into a toy test tube vial that she calls "the resulter"

i'm playing with her, right, so i'm like, awesome, what are the results of Piggy's blood test? and she says "we have to send it to the scientists." so we send the vial to the scientists (put it in her bedroom) and when we get back to the vet playset i'm like awesome what did the scientists say? and she says they have not gotten back to us yet

so she rolls her eyes, exasperated, and says we have to call the scientists. she pretends to call them. apparently, they tell her that Piggy's blood test is "at the bottom of the list" and "we have to WAIT." she frowns. we wait a bit longer and call them back. they tell us it will be a while! she says we should go ask the scientists in person so we go back to her bedroom and she inquires at this imaginary lab, at which point the scientists yell at her and tell her now they will make us wait even longer!

keep in mind she is 100% directing this play. she is making all this up. she is fully in control of this game, and she has decided that what we are going to pretend is that we are dealing with this exhausting nonsense, not actually treating Piggy.

finally the blood tests come back. they are inconclusive. the scientists do not know what is wrong with Piggy. the little girl walks back to the stuffed pig on the exam table, sighs deeply, and says in a very serious voice "we can never help you."

i'm obsessed with this kid. when given complete control over a make believe scenario, instead of becoming the heroic rescuer administering effective cures, she is instead a beleaguered vet making multiple calls to an overworked lab only to be left unable to help her patient.

10/10 no notes. kids are amazing

[odyver]

alright I've got to do some quick math to explain attitudes towards AI to my boss.

we're looking to create an AI policy, and when we were talking about this, my boss (older millennial) was genuinely shocked to hear that younger people do not (seem) to view AI positively (a la the recent commencement speakers being booed)

please rb for larger sample size!

Question 1/3

What is your age, and do you feel AI is a net positive or net negative in our lives today?

under 18, AI is a net positive

under 18, AI is a net negative

18-29, AI is a net positive

18-29, AI is a net negative

30-45, AI is a net positive

30-45, AI is a net negative

46-60, AI is a net positive

46-60, AI is a net negative

over 60, AI is a net postive

over 60, AI is a net negative

Remaining time: 6 days 12 minutes

[odyver]

Question 2/3

How often do you visit or interact with museums/archives (whether in person or online)?

Frequently (multiple times per month)

Often (multiple times per year)

Occasionally (a couple times per year)

Rarely (once every couple of years)

Never :(

Remaining time: 6 days 22 minutes

[odyver]

Question 3/3

If you saw a museum was using AI in exhibits, marketing, research, etc., would you be more or less inclined to visit that museum?

under 18, more inclined

under 18, less inclined

18-29, more inclined

18-29, less inclined

30-45, more inclined

30-45, less inclined

46-60, more inclined

46-60, less inclined

over 60, more inclined

over 60, less inclined

Remaining time: 6 days 26 minutes

Thank you for helping with this data collection. Please rb for as big a sample as possible!

🫶

[willgrahamscock]

something that made me sit down and stare at my wall for an hour

[just-your-average-cryptid]

point of reference from an able-bodied person: standing in one place for an hour kinda makes my feet/legs hurt. longer than that is when it really hits but it takes an hour to get there.

if you are in pain within minutes or seconds, that is not normal. that is a Symptom. poke your doctor into finding out what it is or connect with disabled and chronic pain groups.

if you are in extreme pain, not just "ugh my feet ache" pain but "i am going to pass out" pain, that is not normal. that is a Symptom. poke your doctor into finding out what it is or connect with disabled and chronic pain groups.

I know some people try to rationalize as "well it's not excruciating compared to my baseline" and I am gently reminding you that the baseline is zero. zero is normal. this ^ is not. be kind to yourself.

[junequeer]

AN HOUR???????

[just-your-average-cryptid]

"walking for 15 minutes makes the bones in my calves hurt for 2 hours"

buddy... that's the Symptoms...

[alpaca-clouds]

... Wait, what?

I mean, I can walk just fine, but standing in one spot for like 15 to 20 minutes will leave me in pain for days.

That is... not normal?

[willgrahamscock]

I love how everyone is still asking hey so my symptoms are actually symptoms? Even if I feel only x amount of pain after x amount of time? BUDDY THE NORM IS FEELING MILD DISCOMFORT AT MOST AFTER STANDING FOR AN HOUR AND THEY RECOVER WITHIN A FEW HOURS TO A DAY

[geekyoldlady]

So, I talked to my doctor and she suggested weight loss drugs

So that didn’t help

What do I do now?

[findingfeather]

I mean ideally get a new doctor.

Meanwhile document the actual effect the pain/etc has on your life. Document how it impacts your ability to cook; your ability to clean; your ability to clean yourself; your ability to sleep; your ability to work; document all attempts to be more active and how the pain interferes with them. If you have to do something other than just go stand in the kitchen for ~1hr to cook a meal, that's something to write down; if you have to choose not to have a shower because it'll hurt, write that down. If the pain prevents you from going for a walk, write that down.

Every single time you make a decision about what you're doing based on the pain, you document that; every time you have to endure the pain for a necessary activity which then impacts what ELSE you can do, write that down too, with a direct connection.

(Warning: this will probably be depressing as all fuck and you will probably hate it. You are almost certainly ignoring the impact of pain on you way more than you think you are, and having to face it will feel bad in the short run. Very bad.)

And then you bring it either to your new doctor or if you MUST, to your current doctor, and you say: this is how the pain currently affects my quality of life. This is what I would be doing if I weren't prevented from doing it because of the pain.

Say that you would like to find the reason for this pain and you would like them to order relevant diagnostic tests. If they refuse, or hem and haw, ask them to document clearly in your records that you requested this and both that they refuse and their reasons for refusing.

If you must deal with the same doctor, document the concerns you have with the weight-loss drugs, and ask your doctor to be explicit about why she thinks that these risks are worth something that does not directly address your actual concerns. Ask why this is their first line treatment for the rest of what you've described, and why they are more concerned with pushing an overprescribed treatment than actually investigating the cause of your pain and addressing it appropriately based on an evidence-based diagnosis.

This isn't a guarantee, but it's part of the process.

[findingfeather]

…. Also yes, I AM serious that you should be able to be in the kitchen for about an hour, on your feet and doing Cooking Things, without pain and without needing Recovery Time, in order to make yourself dinner and if you CAN’T - if that long results in Pain or Dramatic Fatigue or extended recovery - that is a Symptom. A big symptom.

[gregorvorbarra]

A while ago, I started keeping a pain journal to log my chronic pain and other things, so that I could take it to my doctor’s appointments. I go into detail about it in this post if anyone is interested. My doctor is fantastic and actually listened to me and bothered to investigate my pain, but the pain journal was still a huge help in communicating my health issues clearly. I highly recommend logging your pain (and anything else you feel might be relevant).

Side note: I found the pain journal experience to be really enjoyable because I got to pull out my colorful pens and my cute stationery supplies and make something pretty every day. I decorated my notebook with stickers. I did have to face the way my pain was impacting me, but I got to do it in a fun and colorful way. It helped a lot.

[vaspider]

When I stopped being able to stand up without pain, it was because there was a slow-growing tumor crushing my spinal cord.

Don't ignore your fucking symptoms.

[makingqueerhistory]

Lately, we have been posting some exciting queer stories, and the response has been massive! You made it clear that you needed to hear some good queer news to balance out all the chaos in the media. So we are making a space for these stories!

Starting in May, we are going to release a compiled list of good queer news for our patrons on the 20th of every month!

We will still be sharing the stories individually on social media when we find them, but the compiled lists will be for paid patrons only.

Join our Patreon to access the monthly list of good queer news!

[blumineck]

How to spring-load your bow!

This information is freely given. What you do with it is up to you! 🏹💐🧚🏼