@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Cotopaxi

@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social

Retired: "Let joy be unconfined."
Former writer, university student benefits administrator, and public servant.
We live in Texas. A cat runs our household.

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Cotopaxi, to animals
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Bella, lovin' that comforting aroma of her people's foot funk. Ah!

Orange and white cat Bella pressing her face against the heel of a grey Croc shoe. Dad's feet smell best.
Orange and white cat Bella pushing her face into pink Croc shoe for a good whiff of foot funk. Mmm, smells like Mom!

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What's a good movie to watch with your Mom?

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@RickiTarr We enjoyed the second Downton Abbey movie, but we're both fans of the series. It's not PC, but we both love Gone With the Wind. Oh, that Scarlett O'Hara sure is a caution!

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

" is even or ahead in the polls because millions of swing voters have no idea just how authoritarian a 2nd term would be

Blame the media's massive failure to pound the drums about 1/6 pardons, 'retribution' and looming dictatorship."

If @willbunch wrote it, you should read it.© & I thread it. 1/...

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/trump-47-second-term-dangers-authoritarianism-20240314.html#loaded

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@bitcodavid @GottaLaff @willbunch I'm trying to decide whether getting our passports up to date is overreacting. We're too old and decrepit to transplant readily, and our resources are meager. But...history is looping back to nightmare territory, and the nation is refusing to wake up. Contingency planning for the worst while hoping for the best. Never thought I'd live to see this, the GOP welcoming the leadership of Nazis and fascists; worse, under the thumb of a certifiably demented man-child.

GottaLaff, to Michigan
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🤔Gee, who owns the ? Oooo, ooo! Pick me! I know!🙋🏻‍♀️ 1/...

Via democracydocket:

BREAKING: Republican National Committee files lawsuit alleging that 's voter rolls are outdated and the state is in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. The RNC wants Michigan to purge voters before the November election.

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@GottaLaff You're absolutely right, this is an alarming development in an already hair-raising series of developments. Too many Americans are ignorant of events leading to Hitler's rise to power. This is straight out of the fascist play book and it is terrifying in its implications. These days my keen interest in politics is down to 'can't look, can't look away'.

Cotopaxi, to random
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

"Taken together, these studies show that COVID-19 poses a serious risk to brain health, even in mild cases, and the effects are now being revealed at the population level."
Keep masking, friends. Your brain--and other organs--will thank you.

Link to story: Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including with significant drops in IQ scores
https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-shows-that-covid-19-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain-including-with-significant-drops-in-iq-scores-224216

autism101, to actuallyautistic
@autism101@mstdn.social avatar

I frequently have to re-read the same paragraph over and over again before it sinks in. It is really frustrating, and makes reading a book take forever. It even happens when I’m listening to an audio book.

Do you struggle with this?

@actuallyautistic

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@autism101 @actuallyautistic Had this problem when I went to finish my undergrad degree in my late 40s. I hope you don't mind me sharing good advice my friend, a Teaching Assistant, gave me. She said pencil comments in the margins of what you're reading. Anything: "This is boring. OK, I get that, but what about... Stupidest thing I ever read. Brilliant insight, love it. WTF?! Makes me want to punch out a wall." Tie ideas together. Fun, snarky, serious, whatever. My focus really improved.

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@autism101 @actuallyautistic Also, let me know if anyone is interested in the best study tip I learned for memorizing stuff that slides right off my brain. Got me through Buddhist art history, when I struggled with complex Buddhist precepts. Held onto them long enough to at least pass the exams.

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@autism101 @actuallyautistic Hope OK to share: Memory is weirdly tied to geophysical space. So you pick a very familiar location and mentally walk through that space. In your mind, identify specific stops as you walk through and associate what you want to remember with the mental image of each stop. I assigned specific ideas to my car entering the garage, the kitchen counter, the fridge, the kitchen table, the hall, the bathroom, the stairs, the couch, etc. Can do this with anywhere familiar. 1/

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@autism101 @actuallyautistic You can use a bus route, bike route, a mental walk through a grocery store, terrain in a video game, anywhere, as long as you know the space well and that space has good markers in it. I still use this to help me remember what to add to my grocery list, or to do chores I tend to forget. You can map things or ideas, lists, steps in a process, names of people, etc., to places you know. Really helped my middle-aged brain retain information for school, work, home.

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@andrewhinton @actuallyautistic @autism101 Yes. It really does help with information retention. Plus, if I find a used book with margin notations by a former owner, it's kind of cool, like I'm sharing the material with an unmet mystery person, who sometimes makes good cross references and insights I might have missed.

Red_Shirt_Dude, to random
@Red_Shirt_Dude@mastodon.social avatar

I'm a computer guy, and every time I watch a show that has anything to do with computers I'm always complaining that the writers are full of 💩 💔 (That's not even a real IP address!).
I assume that cops, lawyers, and doctors are the same about cop, lawyer, and doctor shows respectively.

My question is, are there any shows that depict procedure faithfully?

For example, I've watched The Expanse, and I suspect that they run all of the physics by an expert to make the show more realistic.

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@Red_Shirt_Dude Both TV series MASH and Scrubs consistently consulted with medical professionals to ensure accuracy in portraying their characters and plots.

Cotopaxi, to random
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Link to story below: New study shows 1 in 4 US adults infected with covid developed long covid symptoms lasting three months or longer. /1

https://boingboing.net/2024/02/06/new-study-reveals-that-almost-1-in-4-adults-in-the-united-states-who-had-covid-also-developed-long-covid-symptoms.html/amp

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

An additional new study, link to story below, shows high rate of excess deaths are attributable to covid.
Mask up, stay safe! And if masking is making you feel alienated, take heart. You're doing the right thing to protect yourself. /2
.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-analysis-reveals-excess-deaths-attributed.amp

Cotopaxi, to Cats
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Oh, snuggly day!

stevesilberman, to random
@stevesilberman@newsie.social avatar

One thing I find fascinating about Republican voters and the mainstream media is that Trump routinely says things like this and -- well, you may not have heard, but the man is running for President of the United States -- and nobody just says outright, "WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS MAN? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE TALKING ABOUT?"

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@junecasagrande @stevesilberman

image/gif. Man with handkerchief tied over his head complains that his brain hurts. The man is Mr. Gumby, a character from several Monty Python sketches. Mr. Gumby is not smart enough to find his way out of a paper bag. Don't be like Mr. Gumby.

Cotopaxi, to animals
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Dragons like to sleep in a pile of their riches.
Cats like to nap in a pile of their toys.
They must be related somehow. 🤔

Cotopaxi, to random
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Dr. Al-Aly, Senate hearing on Long Covid:
"The burden of long COVID, the burden of disease and disability from long COVID, when you measure it, is on par with the burden of cancer and heart disease. And even if people emerge unscathed after having the first infection, they can still get long COVID after reinfection, and I don't think enough people really know this fact, or know about this. Recovery rates of long COVID are also low."

https://boingboing.net/2024/01/19/long-covid-expert-at-us-senate-hearing-the-burden-of-disease-and-disability-from-long-covid-is-on-par-with-the-burden-of-cancer-and-heart-disease.html/amp

Cotopaxi, to random
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Link to Time magazine story "Is It Dangerous to Keep Getting Covid-19?", below.
"People who had multiple infections were three times more likely to be hospitalized for their infection up to six months later than those who only got COVID-19 once, and were also more likely to have problems with clotting, gastrointestinal disorders, kidney, and mental-health symptoms. The risks appeared to increase the more infections people experienced."

https://time.com/6553340/covid-19-reinfection-risk/

Skepticat, to random
@Skepticat@mstdn.social avatar

Shout out to the word “thingy” for always having my back when 'the word' eludes me.

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@Skepticat 'Thingy' is the shortened form of 'thingittybob', but I do like the percussive roll of the full nomenclature. 🤭

Cotopaxi, to animals
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

"Paint me like one of your French women."

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Anna Bower 1/...:

In a new filing at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, special counsel argues that is not immune from federal election interference charges.

Andrew Weissmann:

Trump defense to impeachment charge was: the Senate has no jurisdiction as I am no longer in office.

Trump defense to criminal charge is: I am immune since you did not convict me in the Senate impeachment trial.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.40415/gov.uscourts.cadc.40415.1208583920.0.pdf

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@GottaLaff These defenses are not based on any claim of innocence of wrongdoing, but appear to be more along the lines of, "Yeah, I did it, but niener niener, can't catch me!"

dancinyogi, (edited ) to random
@dancinyogi@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

What was the BEST thing that happened to you in 2023?

Please reply and then boost the question. We hear so much negativity about this year. What is one positive thing that happened to you?

Cotopaxi,
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

@dancinyogi So many wonderful things were brought into being in 2023, from the HOA finally landscaping the front of our unit to mitigate flooding every time it rained to successfully avoiding covid for one more year. Best is that Mom cleared her 90th birthday and is still kicking, still living independently, with a little support from her kids. 😊

Cotopaxi, to animals
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

We found Hubby a great chair at a local thrift store to replace his very uncomfortable, aged one. Bella thinks we got it for HER, and she approves heartily.

Cotopaxi, to random
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

So, Christmas Baker's, what to do with cookies too gooey to stack, cookies that want to bind together in a sticky mess?
You wad them into into balls and roll them in graham cracker or vanilla wafer crumbs and make truffles! Mmmm...truffles...

Cotopaxi, to random
@Cotopaxi@mstdn.social avatar

Still masking, which we will do during our family Christmas as we do everywhere outside our home. Please, stay safe, mask up. Spread Christmas cheer, not debilitating infections.

Link to Express news story:
Covid poses a ‘serious threat’ warns alarming new study as latest viral strain sweeps US
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1846611/covid-variant-jn-1-symptoms/amp

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