#cm1

[chiariokart]

plot twist: my brain has ˗ˏˋevacuated´ˎ˗ itself from my skull

To put it extremely simply, part of my brain is protruding out of my skull, and into my neck.

Hi! My name is chiariokart, and two weeks ago I was diagnosed with Chiari 1 Malformation. CM1 is a congenital neurological condition, where part of the cerebellum extends through the base of the skull, and into the spinal canal.

We just found out about it, but I've had it since birth.

In the first few days after my diagnosis, I was completely preoccupied with worry. I had actually suspected Chiari for months, but getting the diagnosis was still a massive shock. Maybe I'll write more about that another time.

Anyways, after the initial first days of disbelief, I started diving into medical lectures and statistics. While there's a good amount of technical-sciencey info on the internet, I was equally interested in finding personal stories from others with Chiari.

Current statistics show that 68% of people with CM1 experience minor or no symptoms. For those who do have symptoms, they vary greatly from person to person. In my case, Chiari has caused large fluid-filled cysts to form in my spinal cord, contributing to my debilitating symptoms. It's been hard to find stories from others with a similar experience.

But then! I found a blog from a woman around my age, with a similar presentation to mine. She's already had decompression surgery, and has documented her recovery process so far. She shares resources, tips, and so much info about what helped her during her recovery.

Finding her blog was such a relief. It felt like most cases I'd read about online were either more mild, or more severe than mine. Reading her story was invaluable to me, I have some semblance of what could be ahead of me.

Even if my journey ends up being nothing like hers, pretending like I know what lies ahead has been keeping me sane.

As I go through all of these new medical experiences, and hopefully find the best treatment option for me, I want to document it all here. I want to give someone that same sense of security, knowing that life with Chiari might not be as scary as it seems.

I have so many plans for this blog, and not just about Chiari. My doctors and I are pretty convinced I have POTS. So, I want to share my experiences with testing: Tilt Table, MRIs, QSART. I have a million ideas. I can't wait to share and learn so much with this blog!

[vintagerpg]

This is CM1 — Test of the Warlords (1984). CM, I believe, stand for CoMpanion Rules and, unsurprisingly, it is for characters level 15 and above — the highest published difficulty for the basic D&D game at that time. The Basic box tackled dungeons, Expert tackled the wilderness, Companion seeks to tackle landholding and politics. This is an uneasy alliance.

Warlords basically gifts the PCs with their own fiefs, maps out a campaign frame accounting for about two years of game time (structurally, it reminds me a lot of RuneQuest’s Borderlands box set in scope), utilizes two new rule systems from the Companion box (Dominion for land management and War Machine for mass combat) and sets up years of plots and warfare that will occupy the the rest of the Basic line to some degree for the rest of its lifespan — the enmity between the countries of Thyatis and Alphatia. And beyond, since Mystara for AD&D second edition takes up several of the threads, or at least is set in their aftermath.

In the end, though, Warlords doesn’t seem to know what to do with itself and eventually settles down into some dungeon crawling conflict with some frost giants (excellent Easley interior illustration for that). Which is fine! It honestly makes sense — the Companion box set is hardly assured as to what it is supposed to do, so it would be weird if the modules supporting it were more decisive. It doesn’t really get clearer as we go, and that’s a shame, because Dominion is a cool concept. I suspect it doesn’t really square with the core D&D experience, though (but then, there is Birthright, so maybe I’m wrong!).

That Warduke-looking MF on the cover doesn’t play into the events of the module. Not sure if that is a good thing or a missed opportunity. I do love Caldwell’s wild border work, though, particularly the extra skull in the lower left.

[punigamefoodie]

Vegetable Curry (やさいカレー)

[criminal-mindsx]

I want to be the unsub

[lovelovetangle]

Squash Blossoms with Pimento Ricotta

Unlike a lot of Pop’n Sweet Cafe stories, Carlo’s Level 1 story doesn’t give us a lot to go on.  He is in the process of creating a Fancy Appetizer when MC comes to see him, and the only thing we really get is him mentioning “borrowing” organic vegetables from Joshua’s kitchen.  The Pop’n Sweet picture we get is a kind of...vegetable blob??  Not really understanding what we are seeing here.

So in the spirit of WTF Carlo, I found Squash Blossoms with Pimento Ricotta.  If that isn’t fancy, I don’t even know what is.

INGREDIENTS

24 squash blossoms 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 15 ounces fresh ricotta (1 1/2 cups) Kosher salt 2/3 cup well-chopped drained pimentos (from one 8-ounce jar) 3 ounces cream cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

In a food processor, puree the ricotta and cream cheese. Add the pimentos and crushed red pepper and pulse until the pimentos are minced. Season with salt.

Remove the pistils from the squash blossoms. Spoon the pimento ricotta into a sturdy resealable plastic bag and snip the corner. Pipe about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta into each blossom and transfer to a platter. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

So...if anyone thinks of any other “fancy” organic vegetable appetizers, please contribute!

[spacescaptain]

[intense sapphic screaming]

[finndian]

Little Buddhas #hongkong #travel #asia #antiquemarket #catstreet #buddhism #spiritual #lumix #cm1 #panasonic #photographylifestyle #chasinglight #vsco #jade

[razorblade-skies]

J'intervenais donc en classe pour parler eau, pollution des sols et produits phytosanitaires. À la fin de mon explication sur les efforts faits par nombre d'agriculteur.ice.s pour réparer les dégâts du remembrement agricole et des pratiques dites traditionnelles, je fais une transition vers les actions urbaines :

"Ça c'était donc ce qui commence à se passer en milieu agricole, mais pour nous en ville..."

Et là une enfant jusqu'ici extrêmement calme toute l'animation bondit de sa chaise comme un diable à ressort, et s'exclame sans lever la main :

"LA RÉVOLUTION SE PRÉPARE !"