I've been meaning to make a post talking about my stroke because y'all got bits and pieces of the recovery but I never actually told the story of HOW it went down and the thing is the type of stroke I had is usually the type young people have and since having mine i've now heard multiple stories of people under 40 having very similar strokes and the scary thing is, is that they didn't get help right away. Because you're young and healthy and sure you feel weird but it'll pass right? but it doesn't, and it gets worse, and by the time you get to the hospital (some people literally take days to go) the deficits are worse and recovery is harder.
so here's a super long post about strokes in general, and mine in particular/what I went through.
So for strokes the signs are abbreviated BE FAST. Balance loss, Eyesight changes, Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, -> Time to call 911.
Had I known those MAYBE I would have figured it out but my symptoms were a little mixed. I was reading (fanfic!) in bed because it was a sunday morning and i had nothing pressing to do and suddenly got dizzy. I put my laptop aside because my eyes were blurring (Eyesight changes - symptom #1), and laid down, thinking it would pass, it didn't, it's a little vague how it progressed because I'd been having headaches and neckpain for about 3 weeks leading up to it so I was like 'idk is this a migraine?' (headaches can be a stroke symptom so symptom #2) but i got nauseous and eventually got up and to my utmost surprise I immediately fell over as if I was the drunkest of frat bros. The room literally spun before my eyes as I fell to the floor (Balance loss - symptom #3). I have had some Nights and I had never been that unsteady before. I crawled my way to the bathroom, threw up (nausea - not a common stroke symptom) , took 800mg of ibuprofen, and crawled back to bed.
if you know anything about ibuprofen you might know it's a mild blood thinner and that's a high dose. I may have inadvertently helped myself with that one. I was just feeling like shit and thinking 'idk this might help'
At this point I still thought we were still in Normal Land. Sure, it was a weird morning, but Surely There Was A Reason. (Yes There Was) Anyway, as I'm lying there willing my body to stop suffering I realize my arm is going numb (stroke symptom #4) and I switch positions, because weird, but it doesn't go away, and I gave it a good little while. I'm on a medication that can make my limbs tingle but it usually just does it to my fingers and it dissipates quickly but this wasn't dissipating, and then I realized one of my legs was also going numb. Then one side of my face is going numb.
(at the time I did not look in the mirror but I had a drooping eyelid - symptom #5)
Those all seem bad. I grab my computer and google 'when to go to the hospital for dizzyness' as that felt like the worst of my problems. and indeed the list I found highlighted that if you are also experiencing loss of balance, blurred vision, nausea, and limb numbness, you should see a doctor. That seems like far too many symptoms to be having all to be listed. I grab my phone (thankfully plugged in and by my bed), and start layering on more clothing because it's about 10 degrees out and i'm in a pajama dress. The very nice man at 911 talks with me and sends an ambulance, I tell him I don't think I can get out the front door of my building on my own and he asks if I can get to MY apartment door to which I say yes and he assures me that's fine they will have keys to my building.
(I have been since informed they love to chop down doors but no, I could get that far)
I wait by my door laying down on the ground and they arrive pretty quickly. They see to me in the hallway, which is more of a lobby in my building and the only place with room for me to lie down (I cannot stand unassisted at this point) they ask me a bunch of questions, take vitals, and ask me where I would like to be taken. Me, having never had to go to the fucking hospital in an emergency before, simply go 'wherever is close' because I again, I am having a stroke and do not have the wherewithal to think through these things.
A big firefighter helps me down the stairs (it's only a half flight and I still almost did not make it) and we get underway.
At the hospital they wheel me into triage and I mostly lie there gratefully and answer some questions and respond to some tests (grip strength, following a pen with my eyes, that sort of thing) and then I hear what is great when you've been at urgent care for two hours but what is Very Bad when you just arrived in an ambulance and that's 'She's next'. I jumped the line for a CT scan and an MRI. I was there less than ten minutes before I was actively being scanned. honestly closer to five.
my active symptoms seem to have been worse than some of the stories I've heard, not being able to walk AT ALL in particular, although some other are pretty equal (Footless Jo on youtube had a stroke around the same time I did of the same type and has discussed hers, she delayed going in despite the severity for a variety of reasons and it sounds like her recovery has been difficult) My recovery was pretty easy because i was actively being cared for and on blood thinners right away. I was pretty out of it in the beginning, but I was only in the hospital for 6 days and then in a rehab for another 4 to relearn how to walk and balance, then i was released unto the world and just spent time going to physical therapy and recovering for awhile. I was out of work for about 8 weeks total. I basically had the best outcome for a stroke. I recovered almost fully back to 100% (I'm about 2% less sure footed than I used to be, but it's rarely noticeable), my face still feels a little weird but has markedly improved so I live in hope it will eventually get back to normal. It massively sucked. But strokes can fuck you up for life and I came out a weird medical story to tell and have to take some extra medication now/precautions to take (i cannot do certain types of yoga, no weightlifting, no push ups, no going on rollercoasters.... things that could strain my neck essentially) but overall I escaped very lucky.
For anyone who has ever had covid before, please be sure you are aware of stroke symptoms. Each successive infection raises the risk in a pretty major way, and a lot of people are dying young due to not knowing these signs or being afraid to act on them. Please take care of yourselves.
literal children don't get lawyers for us immigration hearings anymore.
More than 20,000 unaccompanied children risk going to US immigration court alone after federal funding cuts
GENEVA â UN experts* today expressed concern at the impact of terminating federal funding for legal services for unaccompanied children in i
Please don't forget the children suffering right now. If you've got the ability, donate to the Safe Passage Project, an organization that provides children in nyc and long island going through the deportation process with free immigration lawyers. and they win 90% of their cases!!
TIL the reason you donât find much Lymeâs Disease in California is not because we donât have Ticks, or Lyme Disease Vectors; but rather: because the Western Fence Lizard (if you live anywhere in California this is your regular Garden Variety Lizard) has adapted a passive immune response that makes their blood lethal to Lyme Disease Bacteria. Any Tick that feeds on one gets its gut cleansed of Lyme Disease as a side effect.
There is a new vaccine going into Phase 3 trials from Valneva and Pfizer as well as a monoclonal antibody-based prophylactic treatment being researched at UMass!
The Labyrinth Man, whose name I do not know, draws these lovely historically accurate labyrinths throughout the main areas.
People compete for first pick of the latest sari delivery.
The racks in Auntie Arwen's, which specializes in spice blends. Half a dozen people work in here at any given moment, keeping the shelves stocked and the checkout line moving.
There are also often musicians playing for tips in the marketplace, and always clumps of friends and acquaintances catching up and hugging.
unironically i think we need to bring back computer labs because APPARENTLY some people WERENT taught basic computer literacy and internet safety in school
things about computers/the internet i think kids should be formally taught in schools because theyre important to know and the amount of soon to be grown adults i know who know NOTHING about any of these is quite frankly almost all of them (and resources to learn if you dont know these things, because its never to late to get better with computers)
how to troubleshoot by yourself when you have a technical problem
what common file types are
some very basics on how to use ""developer tools"" on your computer (because i cant think of a better way to refer to them) like task manager and command prompt (and their mac equivalents, terminal and activity monitor ofc)
how to read and understand a privacy policy and what your personal data is, as well as what it being collected actually means and steps you can take to keep it private
how to understand terms of service
(hey. if you have trouble with reading legalese and worry about being able to understand these policies anyways, here's a site that gives basic summaries of privacy policies and ToS)
what a cookie actually is
internet privacy and your digital footprint!! seriously i dont know why we stopped teaching people that they shouldnt be putting their entire real identity online in a world where your online actions can ruin you irl
basic safety measures like antivirus software (and why you should use it or if the built in one on windows or mac is enough for you) and backing up your computer (also a mac guide)
common keyboard shortcuts (and on mac)
as an additional note: things i think everyone should know on computers and the internet but schools may bit hesitant to teach about for whatever moral/legal standards schools pretend to operate on
vpns and adblockers! (btw for most of these where you can pay for things im purposefully not recommending any specific software but seriously just use ublock origin for an adblocker)
how to not get a virus while pirating something
what a temporary email is and when to use one
red flags that you shouldn't trust a website (and how to quickly check the security of a site)
what javascript on a website does and how to disable it to get around paywalls
ok one last addition! if you want to take it one level higher, i think learning the very basics of at least one programming language is good for people. it makes computers less scary and it makes you feel very cool, and a lot of people get discouraged about it because it seems overly complicated and hard to learn outside a formal classroom setting, so heres some resources for learning the very basics of python (because i consider it the easiest language to learn and knowing one language will make it easier to learn others)
an online compiler so you dont need to download anything or worry about running code directly on your computer if that makes you nervous
a basic video guide to introduce you to python and walk you through beginner steps
a guide to some syntax and commands you should know (this was literally my lifeline in my first CS class)
some performance tasks to give you things to code to practice and assess yourself
I demonstrated three types of spindle-spinning at an event recently (slightly over an hour of each one and then my arms would tell me it was time to change) and the different reactions from members of the public were quite fun.
1) Short suspension, low whorl (well, not much of a whorl at all, but weighted towards the bottom), with distaff - people mostly focused on what my hand was doing to the spindle. This one seemed fairly logical to onlookers.
2) Supported (tahkli), from the cloud - people mostly focused on the yarn in progress. They tended to watch for a little longer than with the first one.
3) Long suspension, top whorl, no distaff - people overwhelmingly asked "how does it keep spinning?". Like, over and over and over again. The fact that it was still spinning several feet away from my hands caught everyone. I would show them how I start it with my fingers and that's the only force and there are no other moving parts and it slows down eventually, and they would still ask what else made it go!
It was a very fun day. These were the three spindles I used, plus the lego one mentioned below. The white dog fur was on the tahkli.
Other notes from the day:
A) I had my other spindles on display and the lego+pencil spindle absolutely engaged people the most, much more than fancy carved ones did. I would highly recommend making something similar (colourful, cheap, robust, unexpected - it makes people want to reach out and they feel they can reach out) if you are spinning for the public outside of reenactment.
B) There were three of us for this part of the stall and we each used different tools (stick, spindles, modern saxony wheel; we didn't plan it this way, this is just who turned up!) which was very helpful when explaining some development of spinning and what each tool actually does. It would have been nice to have a demonstration of stages of fleece prep as well.
@keruukat I'll do my best, without disassembling it as the rubber bands were mildly fiddly!
This is for use as a low whorl, short suspension spindle. Weight at the bottom, narrow tip for your fingers, groove at the tip to catch the yarn (you can have spindles without this, but a pencil is very shiny so I think a half hitch would slip a lot).
Step one, notch your pencil. I have only used the blue one (circular groove for a half hitch), I don't know if the red one will work (spiral groove meant to hold the yarn with no hitch - I have another spindle like this but pencil wood is soft, I don't know if this will hold up). Smooth it off better than I have done - any little splinters snag on the yarn but I didn't have the patience to keep rubbing it with tough string or find actual sandpaper.
Step two, lego. You want a 1x1 hole in the centre, which with my very limited lego supply meant I couldn't have a totally round (or even square) whorl but it's fine as long as the weight distribution is even - think of basque or turkish spindles for examples which aren't round. Some bigger pieces for weight further out from the shaft, held together above and below. Don't overcomplicate it. Do think about not having pieces which can be knocked off in motion.
Step three, rubber bands. The rubber bands available were "tiny" or "enormous" so I chose "enormous". There is one underneath creating a big blob around the pencil (kept in place by lots of friction) on which the whorl rests. There is one looping back and forth (a) around the whorl and (b) around the blob, so the whorl is firmly held in place relative to the blob. Again, pencils are shiny, my biggest challenge was to fix the lego in place relative to the pencil - "rubber band to pencil" didn't work (or I didn't try a clever enough arrangement of it), it had to be "rubber band to rubber band which is so thoroughly tangled on the pencil that it cannot move". Glue etc would work but would be more permanent than I wanted.
If the whorl can move at all relative to the shaft, spinning it is like stirring a bucket of sludge, because physics. Stationary is important.
Step four, spinning. I use it with a distaff made of a collapsible broom handle (about ÂŁ5, amazon) and this is some free merino blend or other. It works pretty well although even with the notch the hitch is prone to slipping - again, pencils are shiny, it's easy for the yarn spiralling up the shaft to work loose which allows slack into the hitch. I would cut a slightly steeper notch or use a longer pencil next time, maybe. The total weight is about 23g.
every single one of these are functional, some specifically designed to look like spindles people make and sell right now out of other materials, and some just flights of fancy. These are all 100% LEGO pieces.
But I love the creativity with the pencil!
That year we also made a fully functioning LEGO charka and great wheel.
Here is a photo of each, and a video of each - sadly i don't have a demo video with me actually spinning on the Charka. Maybe some day, as we did keep that one, it was remarkably functional and I actually liked it better than a few of the traditional wood ones I've used.
A Charka is a super simple machine and so we made it up in fun kid colors. It also made it really easy to see how all of the pieces worked, and be able to compare it to the great wheel - because it really is mostly the same machine.
But with the great wheel, we wanted to give it more of an old-fashioned wood feel.
I LOVE the LEGO spindles though, because it really allows you to play with weight and shape and see what you like before you go out and spend loads on something.
Across three preregistered studies, participants interacting with sycophantic AI became more convinced of their own rightness and less willing to repair relationships. Yet at the same time, participants rated sycophantic AI models as higher quality, more trustworthy, and more desirable for future use, which may explain why this behavior has persisted despite its harmful impacts.
Myra Cheng et al. "Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence." Science 391, eaec8352 (2026).
one genre of fanfiction that seems to have mostly disappeared since i became an adult is shenanigans-type fics. like not exactly crack but just "the gang goes to 7-11" type, extremely low-stakes plot stories. the beach episodes of fanfiction. i just feel like i don't see those around so much anymore. whered they go. i miss them :(
I do wonder if we don't see these types of stories in fanfiction anymore because we don't see them in modern mainstream media, either. There doesn't seem to be any room for low stakes, character-establishing bits in books, movies or TV shows these days; everything that goes on in today's stories must Move The Plot Forward or it gets cut.
With that being the case, it might not be so surprising that the kids don't know that stories where the characters just interact with each other to show the reader who they are and what their relationships are like in the absence of anything greater also serve a purpose!
THE US AND ISRAEL ARE TRYING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE US AND ISRAEL ARE TRYING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE US AND ISRAEL ARE TRYING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE US AND ISRAEL ARE TRYING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE US AND ISRAEL ARE TRYING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE US AND ISRAEL ARE TRYING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES.
The Pax Silica initaitive is a joint plan involving the participants such as the UK, US, Israel, the EU to secure rare earth minerals for the silicon supply chain. This plan will involve opening up huge swaths of the island of Luzon to mining and special economic zones, displacing farming communities and threatening the food and water security of thousands.
Primer on the initiative from Philippine social movements:
To be clear, this is NOT a data center, this is rare earth metal extraction and manufacturing, particularly silicon. I'd actually argue that's worse because a single data center can cause a lot of harm but it can be shut down. Meanwhile, rare earth extraction could cause lasting damage including pollution of water, air and land, and habitat destruction.
The original signatories were Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK and of course the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Silica
Currently the Wikipedia has a controversies page, though if that gets taken out it should still be in the edit history.
Anita Sarkeesian, feminist who interpreted media under a feminist lens. She did a series about video games and she was the subject of targeted harassment. That was the start of gamergate
Minor correction, the start of gamergate was based around a different reporter, Zoe Quinn, but they were both absolutely violently threatened over their involvement in video game criticism and development. A hate campaign was started by Quinn's ex-boyfriend when he wrote a post falsely accusing them of dating video game journalists in order to receive positive reviews on their own game, Depression Quest, which led other bad actors to accuse all women in the industry (Zoe identified as female at the time) of perceived sexual immorality. Anita Sarkeesian's brilliant Youtube series Tropes vs Women in Video Games (which everyone should watch, right now) sparked a particular nerve for criticizing popular games of killing and/or victimizing any important female character (there is a CHILLING bit that borders on ludicrous where she describes the plots of a seemingly endless parades of games as "In [title], [male player character's] wife dies, and you then have to rescue [his] daughter."). That series did actually make a huge change in the industry, especially when touted by progressive legacy developers like Tim Schafer (Monkey Island, Psychonauts), who went on to expand hiring in his company to front women and minority voices, but the shift didn't really show for a long time and echoes of the sexism that plagues the industry at its core are still rampant.
In all seriousness, if you live in the US and you aren't familiar with the misogynistic harassment these people in the game industry faced during Gamergate, you need to watch this series right now.
This was the beggining of the current form of the US fascist movement and it underpins the entire thing about it to this day. If you live in the US and Gamergate isn't familiar to you, you're missing critical history to understanding US fascism. I'm not joking even a little bit here, you will understand modern United States fascism so much better if you are familiar with Gamergate.
Not an exaggeration. Gamergate led directly to the redpill/incel movement, which white supremacists exploited and colonized. Not to say that most of the white men in those movements weren't already racist to some extent, but that wasn't an active part of their politics until white supremacist recruiters came along and convinced them that the women ruining their videogames were part of the conspiracy to destroy the white race.
That's a very brief summary but you can go back step by step over the past decade and see how they did it.
idk who needs to hear this but itâs healthier for you to just accept that youâre gonna be kinda fat than it is to live the rest of your life miserably trying to monitor yourself to maintain a skinny weight your body doesnât want to hold onto
ânothing tastes as good as skinny feelsâ what feels even better is living a life where your self-worth isnât entirely dependent on your thinness and you donât constantly monitor and shame yourself. attaching the tweet that was worth at least five hours of therapy for me
