@isotope239@mastodon.online
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isotope239

@isotope239@mastodon.online

I'm an irritated academic who is increasingly dismayed by the general lack of critical thinking skills displayed by the general public in the United States.

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

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

As a mom on Mother’s Day, I wish for a better world for all children. We adults have to do the work to make it better.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@StillIRise1963 I'm not a mom myself, but I also wish for a better world for all children.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Where do you live and how do you feel about it?

Obviously, don't tell me exactly where you live, no actual addresses please! You can be as vague as you like.

I live in Central Missouri in the U.S.

Pros:

This is an absolutely beautiful place, green rolling hills, lots of rivers, lakes, ponds, and natural springs, cool caves to explore.

Lots of farming here, so great access to quality fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy.

It's relatively inexpensive to live here compared with other states, because it's a "flyover".

I'm close enough to three major cities, that it's an easy day trip, and I'm about halfway to anywhere in the U.S.

We have one of the best Conservation departments in the U.S. and this is one of the few things that is a bipartisan issue. Lots of awesome nature programs that are free or cheap, state parks, conservation areas, bird watching, hunting, boating, foraging available to everyone.

Cons:

Yeah, it's a big one, it is a RED STATE, while a lot of the cities are blue, there is a large rural population, that votes red. Abortion is not legal here. People often vote against their own self interest.

While I'm not against responsible gun ownership, lots of people aren't responsible, and people have access to guns that definitely should not.

We have very few employee protections here, while the cost of living is relatively low compared with other places, it's taken years to get to a $12 minimum wage, and it's still not enough.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr I live in central New Mexico. (to be cont. 1/2)

Pros:

It's pretty if you like your landscape very sparse and not very leafy.

The central area is mostly BLUE STATE, so there's not that many obnoxiously huge trucks with offensive flags.

There's lots of interesting things to see such as Chaco Canyon or El Malpais (https://www.nps.gov/elma/index.htm).

Hatch green chili.

Cons:

NW and SE corners of the state are RED STATE, so yeah.

IMO, it's kind of boring. 1/2

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr I also live in NE Scotland very near the North Sea. (2/2)

Pros:

Beautiful scenery, especially along the sea shore.

Lots of history and archeaology all over the place.

The humidity really agrees with my skin.

Cons:

It does get quite chilly in the winter.

Fried haggis with the full Scottish breakfast.

IMO, it's a fascinating area. 2/2

Mrfunkedude, to random
@Mrfunkedude@mastodon.social avatar

The gaming gods are no longer with me.

My PS5 wont connect to Play Station servers using my home wifi but WILL if I hotspot with my phone.

My PC game controller decided it needed it's drivers updated and wouldn't you know it? The update made it so that my PC no longer recognizes the controller!

WONDERFUL! 🤡

My next step is to wipe my PS5 clean and reinstall the OS.

I am not happy.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@Mrfunkedude That disconnected connectivity awfulness just infuriates me whenever I run into it. I had to wrangle with the Bluetooth drivers on my headset for a couple a days a while back; the Bluetooth version on the headset worked fine... until M$ decided to update the OS drivers and bingo, the headset that had been working perfectly fine absolutely would not connect to the desktop. It makes me want to defenestrate someone...

fmhilton, to random
@fmhilton@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

These people are fucking insane.
It's like they have worms or something that eats the part that gives them logic.
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-lawmaker-ripe-and-fertile-teens/
" Rep. Jess Edwards voiced his opposition to a bill setting the minimum age of marriage to 18 — because it would induce "ripe and fertile" 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to have more abortions instead of settling down and having a family. "
What the fuck is this shit? Women are nothing more than cows to him.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@fmhilton Just look at that nasty little smirk on his face. The guy is, like so many of his ilk, a closet pedo. He likes 'em young and juicy.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@fmhilton I agree completely. The GOP (aka MAGA) as it is now is a steaming pile of sexual repression. It's interesting (in an awful sort of manner) how often the professed evangelical types are also positively nasty behind closed doors.

purplepadma, to random
@purplepadma@beige.party avatar

I think Tom wants to go out for a walk or something tomorrow, as the forecast is dry with sunny intervals. I expect it would do me good #GetTheFckOutside

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma I think so too, some fresh air would at least make you feel better physically, that's something.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma That sounds very enjoyable, some cheery colour about the place never hurts.

purplepadma, to random
@purplepadma@beige.party avatar

Things I could do this coming week:

  1. Take the bus to the seaside and walk on the beach
  2. Take the bus to Biggertown and browse the charity shops
  3. Running
  4. Start my tapestry kit
  5. Follow a new path out to the woods
    Must try not to just lie in bed plotting my own demise
isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@Thebratdragon @purplepadma Oooo, great option! Or maybe take a run while plotting someone else's demise, do a two-fer!

RickiTarr, (edited ) to random
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The Tale of Two Gynecologists

This is a bit long, and I've talked about this a lot lately, but it's something I'm thinking about a lot in the wake of so much hatred of female Healthcare. When my female troubles got bad enough that I finally talked to my doctor about it, he referred me to a gynecologist. I had already had several ultrasounds and an MRI at this point, and she had put me on some oral contraceptives for several months, (which made sick to my stomach no matter what I did) and had just done another ultrasound. She greeted me with "Well, you're really messed up inside, Honey.", which already had me pretty stressed out. Then told me I would probably need surgery to figure out exactly what was going on. She then asked me if I wanted children, and I said No. I had taken my husband with me to the appointment for moral support, and she glanced over at him, and then talked to me for 5 minutes about how many women my age could still have children, and I could definitely consider it, and that they would do everything they could to make sure I could stay viable. They could freeze my eggs if I had to do a hysterectomy, just on and on. She probably asked me directly 4-5 if I was sure I didn't want kids. Finally, I said, "Ma'am, my husband got a vasectomy over a decade ago, we are absolutely sure we don't want kids." After hubs had found me crying on the toliet, because my period was late again, he went to his doctor and said, "Hey doctor, I'm thinking about a vasectomy." The doctor gave him a pamphlet to read, and made him an appointment. The whole thing was done in a few weeks.

Anyhow, she finally referred me to a gynecological surgeon, and I was not looking forward to dealing with this again, and was just generally terrified of having surgery for the first time. I met with this woman and she was so efficient and practical. It is the longest doctor appointment I've ever had, since this surgery would be exploratory, she went over every possibility of what could happen when she was inside. She did a thorough exam, she went over all the scans that I had, and explained why she thought this needed done. Then she said she would like to put in a Mirena IUD during surgery. She said, "You're in pain half the month, and there's no reason for you to have a period if you don't want to have kids. You'll have some erratic bleeding for six months, but by a year most women have a very light or no period at all, there's no reason for you to needlessly suffer if you don't end up needing a hysterectomy."

It's interesting to me still, that one doctor was so focused on what my body could do, and another so focused on how I felt. I came out of the first appointment feeling scared and confused, and the second feeling heard and cared for. Feeling valued as a person and not a baby maker made the surgery much easier to go through, and the Mirena has been great btw. Women don't have to needlessly suffer.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr I had a hysterectomy at 30, male doctor, and while he was quite caring, he seemed to keep expecting me to go hysterical on him about not having children. Same situation as yourself viz hub had gotten a vasectomy years earlier because we didn't want children. Doc kept pressing me to go to counseling even though I assured him that I had about as much 'maternal instinct' as an angry pit viper with a sore tail. It's wearying not to be heard just because you're female.

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

Our fates are tied together, whether you like it or not.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@StillIRise1963 This has always been true. I'd include all of our non-human fellow travelers as well, from butterflies to blue whales. It's just us hurtling through space all alone and there's no cavalry going to come over the hill to save us if we don't reach out to each other and save ourselves.

purplepadma, to random
@purplepadma@beige.party avatar

Crying while the dinner cooks, how d’you like THEM multitaskings?

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma Why the tears? Is something not right?

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma I know it can't be 'fixed' but is there anything you can do to feel a little better?

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma Have some supper, apply a warm Miss Cinnamon, and pull up the covers.

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

Anyone interested in becoming a legislator should have to spend one year living with different types of people in different socio-economic brackets. Like study abroad at home.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@StillIRise1963 What an absolutely excellent idea! Now that so many legislators (in the US) are wealthy, they've got no clue how ordinary people live. They don't know what it actually feels like but they should.

Catlynn, to random
@Catlynn@nerdculture.de avatar

There is a mated pair of juncos that pretty much live in my yard. One acts like the average junco and the other, the other is my bird-bestie! This little junco just looooves to hang out with me and sing sweet songs and chit chat, a very endearing little bird 😍

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@Catlynn Now you need to learn to speak Junco so that you two can have a good conversation! I was just reading the latest on animal sentience and it appears that almost all of our fellow travelers of most any species are thinking creatures. Your birdie buddy is very likely trying to tell you things! 🙃

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What embarrasses you the most?

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr When I fail to act and end up feeling like a gigantic arsehole. Ex.: Sitting in a cafe near the door having tea. A fellow in his 60s came up with his elderly mum in a wheelchair. He struggled around trying to get the door open and... I just sat there watching. Why? I have absolutely no idea. To be fair, no one else helped either. Once he got the door open my delayed reaction kicked in and I held the door for him. But jeez, why didn't I help when I first noticed he was struggling?

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

REMINDER: I can’t always reply/answer questions. Use NFL (Not For Laffy)

🧵Starts HERE 1/…

Pagliery:

Trump is sitting at the defense table, with Todd Blanche at his right and Emil Bove at his left, plus Susan Necheles at the far left.

Blanche is explaining something, waving his right hand around while Trump nods in approval.

Dozens called for jury duty are downstairs and going through metal detectors.

The judge just sat down. We begin.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@Wileymiller @GottaLaff Not me, the paper on which they're printed is too rough for my delicate rear end.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What kind of high-school experience did you have? Were you in a clique? Were you popular, unpopular, the coolest kid in your Homeschool? Did you have a sweet jean jacket with patches, or maybe a leather vest? Were you an evil villain or a Mary Sue?

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr I was a peculiar kid, read too much, didn't like social gatherings all that much, just strange. One of the more popular kids kind of took me on as a project and always had me in tow for various events and parties, but it didn't 'take'. I could not wait to graduate and get the hell out of there. There were half-hearted attempts at reunions over the years which I avoided. I didn't like those people then, why would I like them any better later on?

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Yes, very few people make a living doing art, and even fewer make a living doing the art they want. Maybe this is just me, but it seems like there's something about art that is anti-fascist and anti-capitalist. Authoritarians fear self expression, arts always seem the first to go when things get more conservative, and yet it has never stopped us. If they take everything away, we will draw on cave walls with charcoal from a fire, make dolls of corn husks, carve bones into beads, make bowls of mud, write stories in blood, make musical instruments out of anything, we will remember our history through song. We will pass these things down as evidence that we could never completely be silenced, we were here, we matter.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr When I was at art school, there were a rare few who were going to make a living from their art. They were usually either traumatized in some way so they used art to self-medicate or they were narcissists. The former were what I'd think of as a 'genuine' artist, someone whose art shows the viewer something about their unadorned self. Everyone is capable of artistic expression even if you aren't a big noise in a fancy gallery. The fascists and hyper-capitalists can't take that away.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@RickiTarr I agree. One of my professors insisted that genuine art is something that provokes a visceral reaction upon viewing, either delight or revulsion. Just my own opinion, but I think if you see it (or hear it or touch it) and it gives you the sensation you need or want, that's good enough. One person's Bob Ross is another's Picasso.

purplepadma, to random
@purplepadma@beige.party avatar

Do you know what I’m going to do? No, you don’t, so I’m going to tell you. I’m going to take a bath, then I’m going to put on my brand new pyjamas which are very soft and a pleasing cerise colour, and take a nap in bed. I’ll skip the pub tonight.

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma The only thing needed to make this the perfect plan is to invite Miss Cinnamon to help with the napping. She is a master napper after all!

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma Oops! She started without you! 🙃

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma Of course, she's a professional napper!

isotope239,
@isotope239@mastodon.online avatar

@purplepadma 🐠 !!!

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