@eyrea@mstdn.ca
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

eyrea

@eyrea@mstdn.ca

Geek who writes from vocation, knits from nervous habit, and works in IT. she/her/hers

Personal web site at: https://katherine-hajer.com

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

sidereal, to random
@sidereal@kolektiva.social avatar

Wow look it's exactly what happened when we got rid of the streetcars. Aged extremely well

eyrea, (edited )
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@devnull @sidereal Well, it changed once, it can change again.

I don't get it. When I was a kid in the burbs we would park at Yorkdale Mall and take the subway downtown, because who wants to drive downtown?

But then all these people do, and complain so bitterly about the traffic without clueing in they're part of the problem.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Who wrote this, a CAT?!

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr Well this cat (the owner is a zoo vet) can express herself with 75 word buttons and is taught to enjoy medical treatments as a kind of game: https://youtu.be/o6N-bFsa1r4?si=A9xAZDZH0FZYGcJm

Several months back the cat had to take a pill once a day, and she would ask via the speech buttons for it if it was late!

https://youtu.be/qoHvc4DFlF4?si=3rvVU_sAH4bn829b

aronow, to random
@aronow@hachyderm.io avatar

This morning I found out 76% of women report using #LinkedIn less due to harassment and “tinder-like messages”.

WTF

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@waynedixon @aronow Some people (in this case, some men) just see contact opportunities and pay no attention to context.

I used to belong to an in-person writer's group. These two guys (friends) showed up and attended a few meetings. They never had work to critique, and never contributed feedback.

So we asked them how we could make them more comfortable, and they confessed they were there to find dates. We had to explain it really was a writer's group.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@waynedixon @aronow Not that couples have never met through a writer's group, just... not like that.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@aronow @waynedixon Oh yeah -- after all, what do people recommend if you're not comfortable on dating apps? Find a group of people with similar interests to you!

But that means, you know, participating. And actually having that interest.

IIRC, these fellows assumed a writer's group would be full of desperate single women. It was led by a married woman (and indie publisher) who specialised in erotica, but left the group open to all genres. Go figure.

gemelliz, to ontario
@gemelliz@mstdn.ca avatar

A reminder that Premier Ford is offering family doctors a 0% increase at a time when there's a dire shortage & family doctors are fleeing in droves.
The Ford govt says they're "trying to get more family doctors" but the fact that the $38 per patient visit hasn’t increased in more than 5 years proves they really aren't.
Also 💥​ 's pharmacist reimbursements for those bogus phone "medication checks" are DOUBLE what a family doctor get paid per in person visit.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@ariaflame @gemelliz A lot of Ontario just votes Conservative, period. I know Con voters who talk about voting Conservative like Bill Davis is still around, or who vote Conservative because they see the Cons as the party of business and fiscal responsibility.

In other words, evidence-free.

Other voters just can't get over Bob Rae and Kathleen Wynne for their real or imagined failings.

Cons get a free pass though.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

I'm thinking about Willpower today! Humans seem to have decent short term willpower, but not particularly good long term willpower, for things they really want. Willpower doesn't seem to be an infinite resource, and is effected by stress, fatigue, and environment.

So what are your thoughts on Willpower? Have you given up something long term that you really loved? What is the hardest thing for you to limit in your life? What is the thing you always seem to cave for?

Just an FYI, this isn't a platform to shame people for bad habits, we all have something we struggle with, we all have different levels of stress, and grew up in different environments. Just for instance, I can smoke a cigar occasionally, enjoy it throughly, but never really crave nicotine, on the other hand, if you were going to tempt me with a loaf of homemade bread, some delicious BBQ, or a well made cocktail, my willpower is much more limited. Human brains and bodies are incredibly complex and no two people are the same.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr I'm not sure willpower even exists.

There are far too many things which I've seen attributed to "willpower" which were really just a change in circumstances, and often not directly related at all.

A "lazy teenager" turns into a "hardworking adult" not because of maturity, but because her anaemia finally gets diagnosed and treated. A career and city change because a bad relationship finally ended.

I think it's more about shedding stressors and dealing with chronic health stuff.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Since I'm thinking about it, let's talk about Ignorance. I have so many mixed thoughts on the subject. So, a little back story on me, for those who haven't already figured this out. My father was a pastor, I was raised extremely Conservative and religious, and while some of it struck me as a bit off, and I was certainly less Conservative than my parents, I was a good little girl and towed the party line. It wasn't until my little brother came out when he was 14, that my wake up call really began. Suddenly, it was personal, I love my little brother, how would he be going to Hell? If you start doubting one thing, then slowly you start doubting everything.

Because of this background, I do have empathy for what I consider true ignorance. For those who did not grow up in this environment, it can be really hard to understand how people can just blindly believe these things. They don't understand the cult like atmosphere that it truly is. All your media is this one thing, all your social circle are people that agree with you, you are quite literally in a bubble of propaganda. For me the combination of being around different kinds of people and factual education gave me the ability to see the truth, and it's something I still work on, with anything you consider fact, you should always leave a window open, there's always more to learn.

Sooo, if you read this far, What has been your experience with ignorance? What is something you've been ignorant about? Is willful ignorance actually a form of ignorance? Do you think there's any true ways to convince people they are missing out on the truth?

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr @carrideen And to me that's an important distinction, because you already knew about racism and knew it was wrong, you just didn't have direct exposure as such. You found out things were worse than you thought. And maybe people need to be a bit more horrified of things like that, less numb and/or blasé.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr There's already one xkcd in this thread. Here's another (attached). The main things are 1) don't go off the rails if someone doesn't know something and 2) don't assume because they don't know something they're being willfully ignorant about it. It took me forever to learn how to pronounce Saoirse Ronan's name, and I was actively trying to find out! Doesn't mean I hate Irish people 😊

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Okay, I'm thinking about gift giving today. A little backstory about why:

Every year my Father-in-law attempts to get my Mother-in-law a gift. She is a bit of a shopper, and is notoriously difficult to shop for. Every year he gets her something he guesses a woman would like (perfume, sweater, jewelry), and every year she doesn't really like it, and ends up begrudgingly using it or returns it. They have been married over 30 years, and seem to have a pretty good marriage otherwise. It's like she wants him to magically understand what she wants, and he is sort of equally bad at the whole thing too. I will never understand why they don't just have a conversation about this. Just for extra fun, she is the most bizarre gift giver, also, to the point that it has become an annual tradition that I show my friends what she got us. A small list of things we have gotten:

A couch cover with grapes on it
A sexy nightgown
A painting of the house they live in
A gourd painted to look like a cat eating a bird
A package of tea that I would have absolutely loved, stuffed with cheap tea bags
Children's Lego sets
Toy trains
Underwear that didn't fit either of us
A wooden board covered in seashells that is supposed to hold a curling iron
A waterproof bed cover

I could go on and on. Just to clarify this doesn't bother me or my husband at all, we actually get a kick out of the weirdness. I don't personally care about presents much, I'm more of an experiences person.

SO, if you've managed to get this far, how do you feel about gift giving/getting? Feel free to elaborate and give examples!

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr As for weird gifts, a relative once gave me a cutesy plate with a snowman painted on it. I most decidedly don't do cutesy.

Also, there was still sugar cookie icing stuck to the plate.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr My favourite gifts to give sit in the line between experience and artifact. ex: this year, I sent my eldest niece a photo of a handknit pillow and asked her if she liked the design, but for a sweater, and in her favourite black instead of the photo's blue. She said she liked that and so that's what I made.

Retail-bought gifts can be good, but it's getting more and more difficult. Even the cool quirky stuff is often mass produced by companies specializing in that, and blander for it.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Harley Quinn is like Godzilla, sometimes they destroy the city, sometimes they help save it, you just never know.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr At least for Batman, they have trouble making the men completely good either.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr Catwoman, too. I quite like Catwoman's current "chaotic neutral" position. It shows how even very capable people can be left out of the status quo power structure.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

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

eyrea, (edited )
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr Horror that is fast-paced but not too gory.

My mum can handle gore better than I can. She loves The Walking Dead and The Shining.

We both agree on Hitchcock, so that would be a good bet.

futurebird, (edited ) to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Borecore Manifesto
Tenets of boring fancy dress:

  1. “the fit must fit” The most important rule. It’s not easy to find clothes that fit, fashion manufacturers aren’t always on your side. Learn to sew, find a tailor, investigate made to measure.

  2. “follow the dress code so perfectly it breaks” Borecore exists at the intersection of every dress code. If your fit makes sticklers feel you did something wrong —but they page desperately through their rulebook & can’t say exactly what you win. 1/

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@cavyherd @davad @futurebird There are people, mostly but not always young people, who think they can't wear an outfit more than once, because that's what the influencers they follow do.

There's also been the drop in clothing quality -- I got more seriously into sewing when I had two retail t-shirts start to fall apart after four washes.

notjustbikes, to random
@notjustbikes@notjustbikes.com avatar

The number of people who don't get this joke is insane. It's about 15% of comments on the video right now.

I do not understand how anybody could think I'm serious here, but I've clearly overestimated the average YouTuber.

This actually really annoys me.

I want to be able to make silly jokes, and I don't want them to have to be spelled out and obvious. That ruins them.

I now understand why big YouTubers water down everything to the point of being homogeneous slop.

https://social.notjustbikes.com/@notjustbikes/111626044191052947

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@notjustbikes I couldn't even figure out what joke you were talking about until I read the toot.

And I mean like... if you don't know about Canadians complaining about other Canadians' mispronounciations, do you even Canada? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you for the YouTube channel and the podcast. I've learned a lot from them.

Happy holidays!

eyrea, to FiberArts
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

There is now a free pattern for the Wednesday Addams party dress, courtesy of Mood Fabrics. @sewing

Available in US sizes 00-30.

https://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/dance-into-the-shadows-with-the-nightshade-dress-free-costume-pattern/

reginasbread, to bookstodon
@reginasbread@homo.promo avatar

today, I've read about anticapitalist practice of building intimacy with literature.
capitalism teaches us that the most important expression of freedom is consumption, so we consume the world - goods, ideas, information, relationships. we want results!
it's the same with reading. we evaluate, optimise, and extract. we want to read quickly and to read more.
it's nice to be a glitch, to be slow, to reread, to let our intuition and imagination lead us.
is this anything?
@bookstodon

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@reginasbread @bookstodon I think you've found something that could be uncovered, yeah!

It sounds like why I'm always uncomfortable with "reading goals" only expressed in page counts and book counts. I know someone who deliberately switches to things she can read more quickly so she achieves her goals, and I always wonder if she considers content at all. I'd rather ponder a short but deep book than zip through a shallow book just to say I read 150 pages.

Shallow can be fun! But not as "pages".

eyrea, to Toronto
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

I recently rewatched this @notjustbikes video from a year ago, and it reminded me of a joke one of my brothers likes to tell:

"You're in Toronto, and you get in your car and drive for an hour. Now where are you?"

"Toronto."

https://youtu.be/KkO-DttA9ew?si=Gy3ZbhL4HAtubM7q

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

You're at the Frozen Yogurt place, what flavors and toppings do you choose?

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr IF they didn't make the vanilla with Splenda, which gives me hives, then vanilla with fresh strawberry slices.

Probably the vanilla has Splenda, so a berry flavour with fresh berries, and granola if THAT doesn't have Splenda.

Froyo places are a food reaction minefield (so are salad bars) so I don't usually indulge.

peterdeppisch, to ontario

New year, same broken transit in Ontario’s two biggest cities.

https://www.tvo.org/article/new-year-same-broken-transit-in-ontarios-two-biggest-cities

"OPINION: Riders have been conditioned to expect mediocrity and accept worse. It’s unlikely that 2024 will be the year anything changes."
UGH

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@peterdeppisch @thepoliticalcat @rexbron Mike Harris did an incredible amount of damage to Toronto. It was a key part of his election campaigns; he decided to use hatred of Toronto as a way to win ridings everywhere but there. He let people completely forget it is also the provincial capital.

And he made it so any provincial politician who tries to fix the damage gets painted as pandering to the big city.

Doug Ford has continued that legacy.

eyrea, to random
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

Yesterday I went on a day trip, and since it was my idea, I did the driving (would rather have picked up the train tickets, but a viable rail system would need to exist first).

And at one point I wound up at a red light, turning right, in front of one of those drivers who think they have a special licence that lets them control the car ahead of them.

Never mind I could see there were oncoming cars and they couldn't.

CindyWeinstein, to random
@CindyWeinstein@zirk.us avatar

https://popular.info/p/florida-school-district-removes-dictionaries?r=1v5azu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
"The Escambia County School District, located in the Florida panhandle, has removed several dictionaries from its library shelves over concerns that making the dictionaries available to students would violate Florida law. The American Heritage Children's Dictionary, Webster's Dictionary for Students, and Merriam-Webster's Elementary Dictionary are among more than 2800 books that have been pulled from Escambia County school libraries and placed into storage."

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@hankg @CindyWeinstein I remember looking up "virgin" and winding up going around in euphemistic circles, each vague definition leading to another.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

https://youtu.be/oRng27SVUDY?si=26jzHFVnS8Cogy8G

JUST THE VIDEO ITSELF IS OVER 10 MINUTES.

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@RickiTarr What's annoying me the most is that they never get around to telling you the name of the cake. I swear I've had it before, too.

Jgmeadows, to Toronto
@Jgmeadows@mstdn.ca avatar

I can't help but feel that many people when reading this story, instead of feeling anger at the hackers and sympathy for overwhelmed library staff will instead feel impatience and just blame the library. (And I am sure a few will mutter that a private sector solution would work better, and/or libraries are a waste of tax dollars.) https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-public-library-book-returns-stored-in-12-trailers-since-cyber-attack-1.6721022

eyrea,
@eyrea@mstdn.ca avatar

@Jgmeadows I have to say, I lost whatever shred of empathy I still had for the "libraries are too expensive" crowd when I saw the library system doesn't even get its own category in the Toronto budget. Enough already. TPL does an amazing job providing services on not nearly enough money.

As horrifying as the trailer story is, it shows someone did some thinking outside the box to safeguard the books.

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