Kim Possible :kimoji_fire:

Hey, I joined the party! I like #books #art #science #politics #weather and learning about anything and everything. #Spoonie also.

Just my Toots: Kim Possible :kimoji_fire: (npub1t0h…j96l)">https://justmytoots.com/Kim Possible :kimoji_fire: (npub1t0h…j96l)
Country: U.S.A.
Pronouns: She/Her 🌈
Level of Gay: Platinum

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nprofile1qqs9hmezp2rhg94rkx6f46lv2676zkfw8cj3vrrxm0w0swl6rdju63qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsgfsy8k

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Last Notes

2026-04-11 21:29:41 CEST

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It's a lot like work. Like many women, my legs are much stronger than my upper body.

2026-04-11 19:59:44 CEST

I need a faster way to strengthen my arms, but I guess there are no shortcuts. I cleared my mom's driveway and her walkway behind her glassed-in porch. Arms are like noodles. I briefly could not lift a bottle of water to drink with just one hand.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/387/368/024/058/025/original/8990c930dba01a9e.mp4

2026-04-08 20:49:31 CEST

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I tend to like art that makes me feel something. ❤️🖼❤️

2026-04-08 15:26:47 CEST

Doing a Costco order. Does anyone need an 11 lb. bucket of Dulce de Leche?

2026-04-08 14:50:58 CEST

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congratulations! There so much emotion swirling in this piece. I'd have to spend time with it to truly let it all sink in.

2026-04-06 22:58:39 CEST

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ha. Well, this is timely. 😉

2026-04-03 17:09:02 CEST

I'm no evolutionary biologist, but if this is the beginning of a new life form with varied locomotion, I am here for it.
This tiny African fish climbs a 50-foot waterfall in the Congo
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/this-tiny-african-fish-climbs-a-50-foot-waterfall-in-the-congo/ar-AA201WaL

2026-03-29 17:37:11 CEST

Perfect pic of the Fall of the U.S. empire doesn't exi . . .
credit: the L.A. Times
#US #USPol #News
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/313/171/679/374/780/original/fc702522a1b232e6.jpg

2026-03-29 00:11:59 CET

Thank you to every person who had choices about where to protest today, and still chose to add their number to a smaller protest.
Sure, it's absolutely impressive to see Philly, Boston, Chicago, L.A. But what's really impressive to me are the smaller towns with enthusiastic participants. It's different when you don't have a big crowd where you can blend in. Granted, I would like to experience one of those huge crowds to see what it's like, but I will probably always prioritize the smaller communities deep in red territory. They might need me more.
At any rate, I am happy for every person who is a part of this in any way whatsoever.
And thank you, Minneapolis/St. Paul for bearing more than your share, and leading the way. We salute you!
#US #USPol #NoKings #NoTyrants #HandsOff #Protest

2026-03-28 15:43:35 CET

Today's the day! Not just here in the U.S. The U.K. also has a huge protest planned. We shall see how much media coverage either gets.
There will be some who say protests don't matter, but don't let that dissuade you. This is projected to be the largest protest in U.S. history and I'm not sure if it will be record-breaking in the U.K. but it will be very important.
Protests this big are hard to ignore. They also have practical effects: getting people engaged who didn't know so many others were as fed-up as they were. Getting more people to register to vote. Building action networks. Yes, action. And these same folks think of ways in which everyone can participate, because not everyone can physically attend an event. You'd be surprised what a difference a project like "Postcards to Voters" have made.
Anytime this administration has had to back down, it has been due to public pressure. Every time. Yet, there is more criticism of the protest movement from people on the same side, than from those directly opposed. And that's a problem. It's neither helpful nor constructive.
We the people cannot defeat the miltary, or all three branches of government, or the police, nor can we magically force MAGA to see reason. We cannot protest every day, nor participate in a general strike, because the billionaires and those in power would love that: they can easily wait us out, and then really gain control over a desperate people.
I already know I will get pushback for saying this. So be it. I'm doing what I can, where I can, with what I have.
@npub1u0q…9mcc #Indivisible #US #UK #USPol #Politics #News #Protest

2026-03-23 21:32:20 CET

I should have asked this before, but does your library institute fines for overdue books? And do you think eliminating that system, as many libraries have done, is a good thing and encourages a wider group of folks to read, or is it a bad thing, if say, you were waiting a long time for your turn to read something new?
We have fines at one of the library systems I use. You can sometimes get around the automatic return of an e-book by reading offline. I have only done that once, though.
The library sysyem with fines: 20 cents per day, with a maximum fine of $10.00 if it is returned within 90 days. After 90 days, the patron is charged the ten bucks *plus* the replacement cost of the book. (Some are irreplaceable and they've lost some books this way.) Damage fees vary. I've spilled something before on a book, which fortunately only hit the margins. They charged me a few bucks for that.
Fulton County Library is "fine-free" unless the book is lost or destroyed.
#Library #Books #Fines

2026-03-23 19:44:22 CET

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So, verdict is: complicated.
The Good News:
I had forgotten that I replaced the old water heater in 2016. So, it's newer than I thought. He says I can wait a bit to replace it, sometime after the guys replace 75 ft of old clay drain pipe in the yard, project sked for June.
The Bad News:
No one uses 5/8ths copper anymore. Need to switch to 1/2 inch current plumbing standard.
Space is tight. No room for any softener system or anything besides a short tank.
Pipes under the house in the crawl space are old and lack a water pressure regulator, required by code. Some of the PVC is from 1967, when it was blue.
Of course this will be a complicated process.
I would say don't buy an old house, but this is generally what you're gonna get on a VA loan. Plus, every house is out of date eventually and has to meet new code.

2026-03-23 18:24:51 CET

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Y'all are giving me lots of helpful advice. The guy who will inspect the water heater will be here soon. I think I want to continue with the gas tank-style water heater. I will ask about how much sooner a water softening option would reduce the life of the water heater, should I choose to go that route. When you've had hard water for ages, softened water sounds so nice. I have a friend with a saline-infused pool, and the water is glorious. Salt does degrade whatever it's in, however.

2026-03-23 14:39:54 CET

I'm getting my water heater inspected today. It's 18 years old, and we have ridiculously hard water, so I think it's pushing it to keep it this long. When do you all replace a water heater? 10, 15, 20 years? Or do you have a tankless system? (Does this make me a "Tankie?") 😁
I'm worried that if I don't do this now, it may fail, and it's not in the garage (or a basement, like many houses). It's smack in the middle of the house, so a leak or failure of any kind could cause a lot of damage. We also lack a water shut-off inside the house. We have to turn it off at the street.

2026-03-17 12:31:00 CET

I am once again
Standing before you
Asking you all
To stop my country.
#US #USPol #Iran #Cuba

2026-03-12 16:59:51 CET

How many of these disasters have you experienced?

2026-03-06 15:06:58 CET

Here we go! Making Tomato Fish Stew. Combining portions of 3 or 4 recipes. Did all the prep last night.
Not shown: fresh thyme and cilantro, ground thyme, and the fish: cod.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/182/388/577/522/288/original/9d4f46881fe7f608.jpg

2026-03-05 18:05:31 CET

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My list (unranked):
Fiction Top Ten:
1) Babel, by R.F. Kuang
2) 11/22/63, Stephen King
3) The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami
4) 2666, Roberto Balaño
5) Gnomon, Nick Harkaway
6) The Dispossessed, Ursula K. LeGuin
7) The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
8) Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
9) House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
10) The Starless. Sea, Erin Morgenstern
(Nonfiction list to follow)

2026-03-05 17:33:10 CET

Happy #worldbookday2026
If you were going to recommend your top ten fiction and top ten nonfiction reads of all time, what would they be? Yes, it's hard to narrow it down.

2026-03-04 20:06:19 CET

Me: *wonders why I have a headache* Hmmm . . . That's weird. Just outta nowhere like that.
*continues with tax prep*
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/172/448/505/683/931/original/45c0814e1dd5bbfb.mp4

2026-03-03 19:55:07 CET

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If every country stopped trading with the U.S. for a month, maybe even a week, would it send a message?

2026-03-02 20:01:03 CET

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I love that dog so much, just from the pic. My dogs are rambunctious and relentless, possibly from being rescues and reveling in attention.

2026-03-02 15:51:48 CET

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That side expression is precious!

2026-03-02 15:13:05 CET

Fuck it. I'm having cheese ravioli for breakfast.

2026-03-02 05:37:09 CET

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I understood that reference.

2026-03-01 18:10:48 CET

Yesterday, after reading that excellent book of poetry (You Better Be Lightning) I followed it up with Kip Thorne's book The Science of Interstellar. It's very good. I'd give it nearly 5 stars. (He does go a little fanboy about the stars in the film.) It would be impossible to explain the science without giving away spoilers, so it's essential that you've seen the film *before* reading it. It's one of my top ten favorite films of all-time.
The science is very accessible in the way physicist Kip Thorne explains it, in surprising detail. I had a little trouble following the section on lensing, but I got the gist, and he did warn that he was going to get a little in the weeds on that part.
It's amazing how much science the screenwriter, director, and the visual effects team understood, but had to leave out or adjust, because of the way it might crowd the screen, or the ways in which it might confuse audiences or muddle the story. Overall, I got a better appreciation for the story being told.
#Books #Bookstodon #Science #Nonfiction
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/155/000/414/990/470/original/05331c76b9842dbd.jpg

2026-02-28 19:57:24 CET

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They've also changed the commercial flight patterns around the major airport near me*, though it may not be obvious on a map. I never hear the airplanes unless they deviate the flight paths.
*in the U.S.

2026-02-25 17:44:50 CET

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The harm caused when attackers are not screened never really goes away. I got attacked by Nazis on Twitter. I still feel it.

2026-02-24 21:50:29 CET

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I really hope the citizens will notice this and make some noise.

2026-02-24 20:53:16 CET

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It looks fancy. I've been told it's a data center and that we couldn't stop the deal because it was commercially zoned land, just barely in the next county. They are building it from scratch, whereas the camps seem to be using existing structures, like old warehouses.
I go by it a lot.

2026-02-24 20:06:36 CET

"That better be a data center, and not a concentration camp" is a sentence I never thought I'd utter. Yet, here we are.

2026-02-24 19:07:23 CET

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It explains the placememt: three steps from the restroom.

2026-02-24 18:44:08 CET

At my Rheumatologist's office waiting room, there is a recently installed attractive-looking water feature. It's too noisy for me, but the majority find it relaxing. I'm curious to know what you think of it. It's very loud! So, you may wish to turn your volume down. Only myself and the infusion nurse find it to be too much.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/126/815/724/935/994/original/c764afca8eccc696.mp4

2026-02-23 22:35:04 CET

I have known a handful of Iranians, and my impression of them is that they have unshakable pride, and a sense of duty to culture and tradition. These are not people who back down. They carry centuries of history. It is extremely unwise to underestimate them.
#Iran #US #USPol #Israel

2026-02-19 19:18:33 CET

For no reason that I can explain, I am curious about which is scarier to you? If you hate binary choices, you may wish to forgo the poll.

2026-02-18 22:25:08 CET

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weirdo me is allergic. 🙁

2026-02-13 14:00:57 CET

I have to assume that anyone choosing to work on the upcoming 2027 HBO Harry Potter streaming series has not lived under a rock, and has actually heard of JKR. Looking at you, John Lithgow. And Hans Zimmer, you pretty much confirmed what Lauren Bousfield said about you.
HBO Chairman Casey Bloys blows. Thinking people don't deserve to exist is not "a difference of opinion."
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/harry-potter-tv-reboot-hbo-everything-you-need-to-know#jk

2026-02-12 18:25:04 CET

Well, I guess with our "climate policy" in this God-forsaken country, we can expect the return of asbestos, DDT, and leaded paint.
#US #USPol #Climate

2026-02-12 13:22:51 CET

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I remember a study about perception that had participants read an academic paper and rate it. For the authorship of the paper they used either a male name or a female name, and just initials for the control group. Consistently, the exact same paper was rated lower if they thought it was written by a female author.

2026-02-08 16:54:34 CET

I have always thought that it was big Sunday sporting events, like the SuperBowl, that finally changed our blue laws in the Southern U.S.
In Georgia, you could not purchase any alcohol on Sundays, except by the drink in restaurants, until 2011 when a new law allowed municipalities to vote on whether to allow alcohol sales on Sundays. It was the biggest change since they raised the drinking age progressively from 18 to 21.
So, you can buy beer and wine at the grocery store, after 12:30 PM on Sunday. Though there are still cities that prohibit alcohol sales on Sunday, in either grocery stores or in restaurants.
The City of Atlanta businesses petitioned to get earlier hours for brunch. So, their alcohol sales, at both restaurants and grocery stores is earlier, at 11AM. Hotels and airports were always exempt from the 12:30 PM rule.
During the Pandemic, there was a successful push to allow delivery of packaged alcohol and even mixed drinks in some areas. That was the first time anyone in the state could sign up for a wine delivery club. Coupon savings on alcohol are still strictly prohibited statewide. Happy hour discounts are also illegal. If a restaurant wants to do a drink discount, they have to run it for that entire day.
Last time I was in neighboring Tennessee, they allowed the sale of beer, but not wine, on Sundays. It was definitely a football fan thing. They may have changed the law since then.
I bet Louisiana has more lax laws. Most states have their own quirks. Some restrict packaged sales to state run stores. At one point, in South Carolina, every mixed drink had to be made from mini bottles. It was weird. People learned that a Long Island Iced Tea was a serious drink, because it required so many mini bottles to make.
Florida is the only Southern state I can think of that allows liquor sales in grocery stores, but then, we don't consider Florida "Southern" except geographically.

2026-02-05 18:25:55 CET

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I was grateful to be corrected by activists when I said what a terrible historical time this is. It might be the worst historical time *for me* but it pales in comparison to the way BIPOC folx have been treated here for centuries.
Gladly will I learn.
Gladly will I teach.
(Paraphrase from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales)

2026-01-30 23:41:41 CET

Headache all day, then finally remembered to take magnesium. Weather migraine sufferers: it can really help. I need 100 mg of magnesium to offset the barometric pressure drop headache. Maybe this trick could help you.
#Migraine #Barometric

2026-01-30 18:54:00 CET

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we gotta start calling them concentration camps. I hope that reporters start doing it.

2026-01-26 14:36:35 CET

What's the best thing in your life right now? It doesn't have to be a big thing: for me, it's the memory of a smile from my former dog: my fuzzy Baxter boy, the moment he gained confidence from wearing a thundershirt.
That memory fuels me at times when the tank is low.
❤️🐕❤️
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/961/621/215/747/916/original/cf7785365c7485ba.jpg

2026-01-24 17:42:47 CET

You may wonder why fascism runs in cycles of about three generations. It's because people lose the memory of what living under fascism was like, or the destruction it caused.
First they regret.
Then they forget.

2026-01-23 20:02:56 CET

There it is. 🙁
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/945/950/579/005/084/original/8fd604e673ed0fcd.jpg

2026-01-22 00:12:03 CET

I do not think I am an unintelligent person, but this forecast and all the wobbly potentialities has my head spinning. So much back and forth with completely different kinds of precipitation all over the place. I no longer have any idea what to rule in or out.
#WinterStorm #Fern #South #US #USWx #Weather

2026-01-21 14:12:29 CET

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Sometimes they think you, all powerful-being, who magically provides food and shelter, could make it warmer outside for them, if you tried.
My cat used to get irritated with me for not controlling the weather.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/933/251/006/842/663/original/dec0629aad76e649.jpg

2026-01-20 03:32:56 CET

I feel like this explains a lot about tonight's aurora hit or mainly miss for most of us. It's not enough to have higher geomagnetic activity. You also have to consider the speed of the solar wind and the direction of the solar wind magnetic field.
Northern Lights Forecast - Aurora Visibility Map
https://auroramap.org/

2026-01-19 18:13:18 CET

And this is a guy who LOVES to comment. On everything.
47 says ‘no comment’ when asked if he would seize Greenland by force. #US #USPol #News #Greenland #RogueState #Denmark
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/19/donald-trump-greenland-denmark-nobel-nato-europe-live-latest-news-updates

2026-01-19 17:57:42 CET

I don't know about others, but the the Auroras to me are like snow to someone who lives in the desert: incredibly exciting. Want someone to oooh and ahhhh over your aurora pics and vids? I'm your girl. You cannot post too many for my taste. It's not possible. I am obsessed!
#Aurora #AuroraBorealis #AuroraAustralis #NorthernLights
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/922/804/765/127/437/original/28eaf1ed6c3093d5.jpg

2026-01-19 17:36:53 CET

Article says G4 (out of 5), which is possible, but count on a G3 and be pleasantly surprised if it's greater. Please tell a friend. Every time there's been a really good chance to see the Auroras at lower latitudes for the Northern Hemisphere, or even in Southern Australia for the Aurora Australis, someone misses out and I don't want anyone to miss out on this X class solar flare with a CME actually pointed towards Earth, a perfect set-up. Professor Sam Lawler is a good account to follow for more educated discussion than I can offer: @ [email protected] (trying to keep her from getting a bunch of notifs). Please let me know of other astronomer accounts to follow, and separate the @ to also keep them from being bombarded.
Intense Auroras Are Possible Tonight | PetaPixel
https://petapixel.com/2026/01/19/intense-auroras-are-possible-tonight/

2026-01-17 22:31:43 CET

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won't the terms obstruction and interference be open to interpretation?.

2026-01-17 21:54:14 CET

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This is ridiculous in every way.

2026-01-17 21:45:34 CET

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Then you remember mornings in the playground, before the school opened, how all of us would crouch down in our dresses, so the wind wouldn't cut right through those tights on our legs, which were never warm enough.

2026-01-17 20:56:54 CET

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I am so glad you are not my age. Looking back, it's unbelievable what we put up with in various settings. Even movies from the 90s seem so sexist now.
I'm just old enough that I remember when girls were finally allowed to wear pants to school. 😁

2026-01-17 20:46:58 CET

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this was the 80s, a very unenlightened time. Oh, and of course it was a "sexy mouse" costume, because of course it was.

2026-01-17 20:11:01 CET

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ya know, I never had mozzarella sticks, because of a specific association. When "fried cheese sticks" first became a fad, I worked in a restaurant where they made a hostess dress up like a mouse and give out samples. No one would have humiliated a man like that. So, I have had a little righteous outrage on her behalf all these years. You think I could let it go!

2026-01-17 17:21:02 CET

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I don't think you are chubby at all, but I do think you have the personality that would go with it! I've always been happier when I wasn't starving myself.

2026-01-17 16:32:31 CET

What if we all sent every useless trophy, award, and medal for dumb stuff like perfect attendance, or most improved on the soccer team, to the White House? Would he realize that it was meant as mockery?
#US #USPol #NobelPrize #Fifa #PeacePrize #Award

2026-01-17 16:24:42 CET

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You are cute as a button and you know it!

2026-01-17 14:05:57 CET

Okay, I am a lot more alive today.
If you get the two part Shingles vaccine, make sure you take the next day off, after the second shot. I jinxed myself by saying "Oh, this isn't too bad." For me, the side effects were mild at first: mostly fatigue. It was the next day that it hit, hard. Are you usually aware of all of your bones? Because you will be acutely aware of all of them after the second shot.
Today, the pain is pretty much gone. I just feel rubbery, the opposite of yesterday where I felt like I was made of heavy lumber and somehow had tried to swim the English channel without drowning.
It's still worth it. Shingles is more painful than the side effects of the shot. (If you ever suspect Shingles, you want to get your doc to Rx Valtrex and Neurontin ASAP, before it gets worse.) I've had Shingles twice. It will make you cry.
We don't know exactly how much protection vs. Alzheimer's that Shingrix imparts, but potentially 40%. Why? Because viruses are key and always have been. They are known triggers of many conditions, especially autoimmune, but others, too.
So, get the shots, if you can.
#Shingles #Vaccines #Shingrix #ShingrixSideEffects

2026-01-16 12:52:08 CET

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Very thin people are at risk of not being able to survive serious illness or even cancer treatment, because they don't have the minimum extra ten pounds you need. I am fully prepared. 😁

2026-01-16 12:04:21 CET

How's the post vaccine go . . .? Teddy bear suit and chocolate milk. That's how it's going.
It's actually fairly tolerable, especially compared to the COVID one that kicked so many butts this past fall.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/904/450/926/236/239/original/8786a79d17128655.jpg

2026-01-15 19:21:08 CET

Is there a really good thread about protecting yourself and others when
protesting against ICE and CBP? I must not be using the right hashtags to find it.
I figure we in the U.S. are all going to need the advice. Seattle is getting their turn. I feel like Atlanta is on the list.

2026-01-14 18:05:38 CET

I am so impressed with the number of businesses that are locking their doors and refusing service to ICE. They shouldn't be able to buy a sandwich anywhere.
#ICE #US #USPol #Minnesota

2026-01-13 16:02:23 CET

Long biographical story of my mom, on the occasion of her birthday:
Today is my mom's birthday. She is 85 years old, which means she predates the entry of the United States in WWII by almost a year. That blows my mind sometimes
Imagine all the changes an 85 year old has seen over the years. Before marrying, her father had benefitted from FDR's CCC, a New Deal government work relief program that provided much-needed jobs as we crawled out of the Great Depression. Conditions took a long time to improve around the world. The little family started out in a small home in a rural area of the Midwest. Her mother had two vegetable gardens: one for the family, and one to sell to others. Her dad hunted for their suppers, which were often pheasant or squirrel. Her mom eventually got a job for Look magazine. Her father eventually got a job offer to work for a factory in California. They had few possessions when they moved and they made mom auction off her small shoebox of toys, promising her a new toy in California. That was her most cherished possession growing up, a stuffed Panda Bear she named Punkin.
The family started out in Compton. Mom experienced firsthand what racial inequality was like, and the injustice of it informed her politics for the rest of her life. (Much like the shock of coming across her great grandfather's marriage certificate which listed her Hopi great grandmother as "property.")
Just as the Depression lingered longer than history textbooks imply, the 1954 landmark Supreme Court ruling that made educational resources equal and ended segregation in schools did not have an immediate effect. Mom went to school before Plessy vs. Ferguson was even overturned, and the underfunding of Black schools was obvious. Not only was there no library at her school, but no books at home. Mom stole a dictionary and began reading it, to learn on her own.
The family moved to a different suburb soon after, a small home on a quiet street, with a surprisingly huge backyard featuring a grove of avocado trees. There was a cabin out back, where her dad and his friends would smoke cigars and play poker. At one point, he had to step away and he let mom take his place. She had learned by observing, and to everyone's surprise, she won. Besides learning to play poker, her dad taught her how to box, which came in handy when two mean girls wanted to fight her. The school wanted to punish her for defending herself, which they still do today, unfortunately.
She was an excellent student, and fulfilled her dream to attend UCLA, (several years ahead of Lew Alcindor). This made mom the first person in her family to have ever gone to college, let alone graduate school.
Mom met my dad in 1959, and they married a few years later. My dad was in the Air Force at the time, working as a cartographer. He had been stationed in Alaska before it had become a state, and he was so miserably cold there that it was the only state we were never allowed to visit.
Mom took time away from school while carrying me, and returned to graduate school only two weeks after I was born, with no help from anyone. They lived in a tiny apartment with a Murphy bed in the wall, and the only sink was in the bathroom, which is where she had to wash dishes. Our little family moved several times, to the beach and inland, until settling in a rented house and then buying the house next door, where there were often parties and extended family gatherings. Our next door neighbors were gay Nazis, which is a story in itself. Mom was very ahead of her time, and was already teaching me not to ever be racist, and that it was okay for men to be together, perfectly fine for a boy to wear a dress and carry a purse during dress up, and that there was no such thing as boy's or girl's toys.
My little brother was born shortly after my dad finished IBM school. IBM immediately moved us to Minnesota. There, dad worked as a computer programmer, and mom taught English, Speech and Drama at a local high school. She loved teaching and still misses it to this day. She realized that one of her students had run away from home and was living with a family who couldn't afford to care for her. After finding out that the girl's family didn't care that she was gone, mom took the initiative to get her moved in with us. We fixed up a room for her in the basement, and got her some much needed dental care. It was so hard on all of us that we couldn't take her with us when we moved, since we had never formally gotten custody. Mom arranged for her to stay with another family for her last year of high school, and she married soon after.
Mom divorced dad and we all moved back to California. Even though my dad had numerous affairs, my mom was seen by the family as a pariah because she moved into a apartment with her boyfriend, after the divorce He was kind, but didn't last.
Those were lean years. Because of the timing, in the middle of the school year, mom couldn't get a job as a teacher, and began working at IBM. Her supervisor realized immediately that she had untapped potential and she began moving up in the company. My first understanding of politics was when she was incensed that Nixon won re-election.
In a nearby city, she found a house for sale where the older couple were so anxious to sell that they let it go for what was left of the mortgage. Still working at IBM, she became a technical writer. She met a woman at IBM who seemed really cool, avant garde, a social norms rulebreaker. They started a relationship, in the not so welcoming 1970s. IBM sent us to Georgia. We sent the moving van ahead, and took two weeks in a Chinook camper to see the country. It was amazing. Mom directed our tour of the sights and experiences: of course, to visit the Hopi and honor them the best we could, to experience the unique fusion of Pueblo, Spanish, and Mexican food known as New Mexican food, Carlsbad Caverns, The Grand Canyon, the Space Center in Houston (which I thought was the most humid place on Earth until we got to New Orleans).
We eventually settled in Georgia. Two women could not buy a house together, so it had to be in my mom's girlfriend's name. Their relationship lasted ten years.
Mom had to move again, ('cause IBM) this time to Research Triangle Park where she became an information systems analyst, teaching technical writers the industry standards. She traveled extensively, putting the "International" in IBM. There, she met a man who wanted to marry almost immediately (red flag). They lasted four years. He had five children, including triplet boys, but only two came to live with them off and on.
When she retired from IBM, counting down to the minute during the last year, she returned to her first love: art. She had painted over the years, but it was in the fabric arts that her talent took off. She got into art quilting and was with a guild. She had a one woman art show and sold everything. To this day, she undersells her own jaw-dropping artistic talent.
That takes us up to today, where Alzheimer's is a bully that prevents her from doing things she loved, like reading books and creating art. She still has her movies, which she treasures and watches over and over again.
She has requested a small cake from a local specialty market. I think it's the least I can do.
If you've read all this, or even skimmed it, I thank you. I am biased, of course, but I think my mom has led an extraordinary life against all odds (I left out all the really bad parts.) And I'm lucky to know her. If she were not my mom, I would have sought her out as a friend.
More pics in next post.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/888/265/277/194/574/original/5ed9ca944f2c5086.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/888/292/586/444/826/original/f62205e47052d8f0.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/888/333/270/205/210/original/8f7ac1f1400ad855.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/888/333/339/700/402/original/6cb45577df97aab7.jpg

2026-01-12 15:16:58 CET

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😁 That's how I found out. AAA battery.

2026-01-10 21:59:17 CET

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ha ha. Right? Some answers are just so out there, nothing to do with the original post. Invariably, someone will bring up Mamdani in the replies to the question about musicals.

2026-01-10 19:26:10 CET

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yep. I see it with everything: "Hey can you recommend some musicals? I just saw XYZ musical and loved it." 😃
Replies: "not a musical, but I really think you'd like . . ."
🙄

2026-01-10 18:48:19 CET

J sent me this. Long, but informative and illuminating.
As an aside, J said that Ross was not trained as an officer, because he shot one-handed. She said all of the ICE tactics so far represent a complete lack of training.
"Renee Nicole Good was a 37-year-old mother of three, a poet, a wife, and she died an American hero. "Loving, forgiving, and affectionate," her mother called her -- the kind of person who did not turn away when she saw her neighbors in danger. She was a peaceful resistor, exercising the most sacred of American rights: to be present, to bear witness, to hold power accountable. Yesterday, she drove out to watch over her community as federal agents terrorized their Minneapolis neighborhood. When she attempted to leave, an ICE agent fired three shots through her open driver's window, striking her in the head.
A frame-by-frame analysis of the shooting footage by CBS News, conducted with retired ICE agent Eric Balliet, showed that the agent who murdered Renee deliberately walked into the path of her car before he opened fire. It was obvious to Balliet -- a 25-year veteran who was himself injured in a vehicular assault in 2008 -- that Renee's wheels were turned to the right and she was not trying to strike the agent.
"She's trying to get around that vehicle. She's trying to get away," he observed. By positioning himself where he did, Balliet continued, the agent essentially created a pretext for shooting, noting: "You're almost inducing a shooting if that person decides to flee."
What happened next may be even more damning than the shooting itself. After Renee's car collided into a utility pole across the street, the agents refused to allow a doctor who was right there, begging to help, to administer first aid or even check for a pulse. "The ICE agents told him to back up and stay on the sidewalk," a witness reported to Sahan Journal. It took ten more minutes for an ambulance to arrive but the agents refused to clear a path to Renee's car, forcing emergency responders to approach on foot.
"They carried her body out, just like by her limbs, they didn't even have a stretcher," another witness said. "She was carried out like a sack of potatoes." One neighbor who witnessed paramedics performing CPR on Good in a snowbank said they "didn't rush her away, they didn't have sirens or anything."
Renee was already gone. She had died in her car surrounded by her six-year-old son's stuffed animals.
Her wife, Rebecca, rushed to Renee's side after the crash. A witness recounted how, covered in Renee's blood and brain matter, she collapsed in the snow sobbing and screaming: "They killed my wife. I don't know what to do. We have a 6-year-old at school... we're new here, we don't have anyone."
The Trump administration wasted no time in spinning lies about Renee's murder -- blatant, vile lies, easily refuted by the extensive video footage available from multiple angles.
Trump himself quickly turned to social media to post smears, calling the screaming woman "obviously, a professional agitator" -- his sociopathic dismissal of a woman shrieking in agony and horror, her wife's blood still warm on her face, moments after watching her be executed at point-blank range. He then turned his venom on Renee, shamelessly lying that she had "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense."
"Self defense." It is the same lie they tell every time. In the last four months alone, DHS agents have fired on at least nine people while in their vehicles -- claiming "self-defense" in every single case. In case after case, video evidence has later contradicted the government's account. The playbook is now familiar: shoot first, lie immediately, smear the victim before the body is cold.
The full weight of the federal government's propaganda machine is now trying to turn a poet, a mother, a woman who spent her life taking care of others, into some kind of violent assailant. It is despicable. It is a disgrace. Renee Nicole Good was one of the best of America -- a person who refused to look away in the face of injustice.
We will not allow Renee's memory to be tarnished by the shameful lies of a rogue administration. So let us tell you about the woman they murdered.
Originally from Colorado, Renee lived in Minneapolis with her wife and youngest child -- a six-year-old boy -- just blocks from where she was killed. She described herself on Instagram as "poet and writer and wife and mom and shitty guitar strummer." She won an undergraduate poetry prize at Old Dominion University in 2020 for a poem called "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs." Her mother, Donna Ganger, called her "one of the kindest people I've ever known. She was extremely compassionate. She's taken care of people all her life."
Renee's murder by an ICE agent was extensively documented by multiple eye-witness videos -- and they tell a very different story than the one the Trump administration fabricated. The footage shows her burgundy Honda Pilot stopped sideways in the street. With her window down, she waves an ICE vehicle past her. This is the "violent rioter" who was trying to "kill" federal agents -- a woman politely waving them by. Then a gray pickup pulls up. Two masked agents get out; one yanks on her door handle and yells at her to "get out of the f*cking car."
She reverses, turns her wheels to the right, and pulls away from the agents. "She was probably terrified," her mother said later. A third agent walks toward the front of the vehicle. As the car begins to pull away -- wheels turned right, clearly trying to go around him -- he draws his weapon and fires three shots through the driver's side window as the car passes him. Her car continues forward and crashes into a utility pole across the street. After walking over to look at Renee's bloody body in the car, the agent who shot her quickly returns to his car and leaves the active crime scene.
No agents were in front of the car when shots were fired. No officer was run over. No officer appeared injured. The Guardian reported "no visible sign in the videos" of any injuries to ICE agents, and the agent who fired is seen on video, walking away and holstering his weapon moments later, unharmed. Yet Noem claimed he was "hit by the vehicle" and had to be treated at a hospital. Trump, with characteristic disregard for the truth, posted that "based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe [the agent] is alive."
Kristi Noem went on to call Renee a "domestic terrorist," claiming that she had "attempted to run [the ICE officers] over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.” Blaming her for her own murder, Vance monstrously called her death "a tragedy of her own making." DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused her of being a "violent rioter" who "weaponized her vehicle" to "kill" federal agents.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's response to the Trump administration's lies was unequivocal: "Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is bullshit. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed. The narrative that this was just done in self-defense is a garbage narrative. That is not true. It has no truth."
Governor Tim Walz was equally direct: "I've seen the video. Don't believe this propaganda machine." At a press conference, Walz called the shooting "the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict." He continued: "We have someone dead, in their car, for no reason whatsoever. We've been warning for weeks that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt. Just yesterday, I said exactly that."
Even Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, careful not to prejudge the investigation, couldn't hide his concern: "In any professional law enforcement agency in the country, I think they would tell you it's obviously very concerning whenever there's a shooting into a vehicle of someone who's not armed." He added that while deadly force "is possible, and at times it is justified," "most law enforcement agencies in the country have trained very intensely to try and minimize the risk" of using deadly force.
Renee's killing, while shocking, should not be surprising given what we know about ICE's current workforce. Her murder is the culmination of a disturbing pattern of misconduct that experts have linked directly to the Trump administration's aggressive push to rapidly expand ICE's ranks.
Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff, set a quota of 3,000 arrests per day in a meeting where he reportedly berated ICE officials and threatened to fire field office leaders who posted the lowest arrest numbers. To meet these demands, the administration has embarked on a frantic hiring surge, doubling its ranks in the past year, hiring over 12,000 new agents -- a 120% increase that brought the agency from roughly 10,000 personnel to more than 22,000.
Multiple investigations have revealed the devastating consequences of this rushed expansion: training has been slashed from six months to as little as six weeks, the traditional interview process has been essentially eliminated in favor of online application reviews and provisional clearances, and recruits have been rushed to the training academy before background checks were completed. More than one-third of recruits have failed basic fitness tests, and roughly half have failed open-book exams on immigration and constitutional law.
History offers a cautionary tale: after a similar hiring surge at Customs and Border Protection in the late 2000s, misconduct arrests of border control officers rose 44 percent."
J has not told me the source of this, yet.
#ICE #politics #US #shooting #CBP

2026-01-06 16:55:23 CET

The words we use are often not the ones we choose.
We must learn to be more intentional, to reject framing.
First up: saying "paid" instead of "earned." Ex: a CEO is paid 600 times more than the average worker.
We need to replace phrases like "job creator," that favor the wealthy. No one says "labor profiteer."

2026-01-06 16:11:47 CET

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this is good stuff. Just because it made me laugh, this was the post on my timeline directly below this one:
https://godforsaken.website/@pisscotheque/115848401199062533

2026-01-06 15:39:32 CET

Jan. 6th. I remember seeing it unfold on TV and then raising the alarm on social media. It turned out to be much worse than I realized while it was happening.
#Jan6th

2026-01-05 15:38:58 CET

My mom has reached the wandering phase of Alzheimer's and I am losing my fucking mind!!!

2026-01-03 17:40:16 CET

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I love Mikey. Reminds me a little of my old cat, Charley, who also tried to claim the guest room quilt. He thought I bought a bed for him!
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/832/148/320/967/761/original/35b221d150e6229f.jpg

2026-01-03 17:36:02 CET

If you aren't alarmed, you are choosing not to pay attention, because nothing has directly affected you yet.

2026-01-03 16:26:16 CET

I know everyone is telling us to rise up and do something, probably something I myself have said to people in other countries, but no one ever says exactly how it should work. For example, does anyone think that the people in Russia like Putin's dictatorship/oligarchy? It's terribly oppressive, yet they don't rise up and overthrow the despot. They are very spread out geographically. They've protested, but they just get thrown in the gulag. They do not hold economic or political power.
People have also not risen up in many other countries, or they have tried and failed (like in Turkey). The people of Hungary are probably well situated to overthrow Orbán, yet he is still in power. It definitely looks like Iran is having a revolution, because those folks have nothing left to lose. I know I was devastated when the Arab Spring did not work. Remember how many people were involved in that? It was not for a lack of trying.
From what I can tell, you have to get the military (and police, if possible) on your side. Economically shutting down the whole country would definitely hurt ourselves, but the ultra wealthy can always wait us out. It's so frustrating. Most U.S. residents live paycheck to paycheck. Honestly, I need help figuring out what to do. I already protest and put pressure on elected officials. I'm sure everyone from the outside looking in would like to see us all in the streets, but without military support, it's a Tiananmen Square situation. I am willing to die for the cause, but it needs to bring about change.
#US #Politics

2026-01-03 15:37:51 CET

Living in the U.S. is a little like being in a dissociative state. There's such a disconnect. Near me, new businesses and housing are going up like gangbusters, even though we know thousands have lost their jobs. Then I find out that my government has kidnapped the leader of another nation.
Everything feels brittle and shattered. And when everything breaks into jagged pieces, you're much more likely to cut yourself, even while cleaning it up.
#US #Politics

2026-01-02 15:31:23 CET

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I feel like quinoa needs something, and I can't figure out what.

2026-01-02 14:33:26 CET

I may have asked this before, but does anyone have a kickass way to prepare quinoa?

2026-01-02 02:02:41 CET

I think the best way to make sure your baby grows up to be a power quarterback is to give them a cool name. I looked up the top college quarterbacks and they all have super cool names:
Fernando
Diego
Jayden
Gunner
Trinidad
Demond
Haynes
Byrum
Ty
Colton
Taylen
Devon
Bear
Marcel
Jalon
Bryson
Carson
Conner
Sawyer
Caden
Cale
Lunch
Catin
Arch
Cameran
Athan
Alonza
Braylon
Rocco
Cutter

2026-01-01 20:55:38 CET

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his failure to get Michael Che to knock it off with the trans jokes makes him complicit in my view.

2026-01-01 01:52:28 CET

Watching one of the College Football playoff games, and it might be hard for those of you outside the U.S. to imagine just how big collegiate sports are here, how much money they make, and how big some of the universities are. The student body population of Ohio State University (including graduate students) is over 67,000. That's bigger than a lot of cities.

2025-12-31 20:57:42 CET

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https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/815/925/363/607/630/original/2c3843a1eb1ddd3d.jpg

2025-12-30 23:49:02 CET

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professor, what do you think about 47 getting pushed out of office in January, by those jockeying for positions of power? It would not be an improvement except as a symbolic win, but it would matter to a lot of people.

2025-12-29 15:59:27 CET

I really dig seeing the stuff Y'all create: photos, paintings, drawings, woodwork, ceramics, fabric arts, etc. You are a creative bunch and I'm grateful.

2025-12-27 23:30:00 CET

It's snowing a lot on Long Island, New York, U.S.A. where my cousin and his family live. His daughter is determined to make enough snowballs to "destroy the world." Should we be concerned about this child? 😄

2025-12-27 23:25:25 CET

I didn't realize that this afternoon was the Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl.
Can we gather funds to get a Bowl game named after a Mastodon/Fedi personality?
Bread Monkey Monkey Bread Bowl
Alice is Slice Bowl
Switch to Linux Bowl
Grimm Punch (a Facist) Bowl
Two Clowns Eating Pop Tarts Bowl
The 420 Smoka Bowl
Kierke Spanx Bowl
Que Did not Come to Play Bowl
The Future is Now FutureBird Bowl
Ricki What in Tarr Nation Bowl
LRRR OMICRON ALL CAPS BOWL
CatSalad The Internet is Cats Bowl
Bat Karen is not That Karen Bowl

2025-12-23 22:59:31 CET

Ya know how we tend to see faces in things? Well, I was looking at the Zoom Earth radar for this storm, and that low pressure parked off the coast, and . . . Holy shit. 😾
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/771/103/523/022/378/original/20120a984697efa5.jpg

2025-12-20 15:48:35 CET

J is attending a funeral today for a friend of hers, and she mentioned that she hoped her mutual friends would be there, even though it's an hour* away and it's so close to Christmas. (J was raised by her grandparents, and she lost her Papa long ago, a few weeks before Chistmas. After funeral expenses, they had nothing left for Christmas at all, so 10 year old J got nothing, while having to see her cousins got a huge number of gifts. No one thought to make sure she wasn't left out.)
*In the U.S. we express distances as units of time. This distance outside the U.S. would be expressed as 73 km.
It's crucial to support the people you know who feel crushed by a barrage of messages about holiday cheer. The smallest gesture can really help them feel acknowledged.

2025-12-20 14:58:39 CET

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Swede, you've outdone yourself.

2025-12-18 04:44:18 CET

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I want to hang out with summer.

2025-12-16 00:37:29 CET

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okay. I looked at the description, and probably not the movie for me, but good to know it has both a good reputation and at least some fans. Just weird I never heard of it at all.

2025-12-16 00:02:53 CET

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I kniw all of these except The Sure Thing. Never heard of it and it has no votes so far.

2025-12-14 15:32:31 CET

In the U.S. if you received your new medical insurance premium for 2026, how much did it go up? And are you covered through work, or did you buy thru the ACA?
If you'd rather keep it private, but want folks to know how much of a crisis this is, feel free to DM and I will add it as an anonymous reply.
We get our insurance through J's work, and ours went up by $114 per month.
I'm also curious if your premium stayed the same.

2025-12-09 20:19:36 CET

Is this . . . possible?
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mxc7liuon6iq5gzapmmwkq22/post/3m7lb4mgdu223

2025-12-09 18:02:47 CET

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dammit. None near me. I just have icky annoying pines.

2025-12-09 18:01:39 CET

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oh. I need to do this. *looks up what kind of pines are near me*

2025-12-09 16:32:51 CET

Is there something weird that you like the taste or smell of? I like the taste of Vitamin C tablets. Maybe you like the taste of a licked battery, or the smell of Durian fruit. Could be anything.