Andro Butch Ninja

ER doctor: you mean if I just send you for a leg ultrasound right now and it's clear you'll leave?

Me, picking up my book: yeah, I'm just gonna read until we get it done

Fastest ER visit ever (it was not in fact a clot but I sure would have felt dumb if it had been)

Or, "hey so this test result came back weird and so I think we have to rule out a benign pituitary tumor."

The more specific I get with what I need the faster they order tests. For the RA diagnosis it was, "hey this is probably some weird post viral arthralgia but could we do an arthritis panel since I've got 27 affected joints?"

If the doctor says something dismissive or they don't know, I ask for them to refer me to someone with more expertise in this area.

I had to go through three different practices to find a spinal surgeon who did not tell me that operating on me would be too dangerous because I'm fat. But the third one was like, "Oh, I'm not worried about you coding, there's just a risk that it won't work. But it has a hundred percent failure rate if we don't try."

I did not code. The surgery worked. Was it perfect? No. Did it drastically improve my quality of life? It gave me my fucking life back. I can sit. I can be out in the world and not in blinding pain.

It is so important to not take dismissals and such as the final answer. I got so much bullshit for so many years. It nearly killed me twice, people blowing off clots as muscle pain or "depression".

Track your symptoms. Make a list. Talk about how it affects your quality of life. Ask for physical therapy, ask for second opinions. If you have an idea of what might be wrong, ask them to help you rule it out. Also ask for patient assistance, nonprofit hospitals have it. You might have to go through their labs and their doctors but it can cover an awful lot.

Take a friend with you, or a family member. My pcp asks if I want a chaperone (I don't) but literally having an extra person with you can help.

the one I was looking for originally also has a summer variant. (artist is Frederick Charles Herrick: 'it is warmer below' is from 1927, 'it is cooler below' is 1926)

But that still leaves two bills and trying to get all the waiting orders that are ready to ship out and start on the next batch. Which means coming up with about 500 and quick. If anyone can help, it's really appreciated.

Donations: http://paypal.me/tormentedartifacts or http://kofi.com/tormentedartifacts

Because you book retails in Australia for $45-55 when the average paperback is $25-35. Is it because you're a small author or you're Canadian or smth?

Because if an extra $20 is the cost of shipping to Aus I'm going to chew on plasterboard.

It seems like a good book though. I'll try and get my library to buy it for me :)

Hi! No worries, I know the shipping cost is a bit intense overseas.

Honestly, it's because the small indie book publisher I work with was NOT expecting that kind of enthusiasm. They're situated in Vancouver, Canada.

The first batch of printed books during the pre-sale will be shipped from them, because they're signed (by me, in pink ink).

But after the pre-sale, around september/october depending on the format, international shipping will be handled by Ingramspark, they're a print-on-demand service that works with bookstores. It's gonna be less expensive.

So:

Pre-sale: expensive shipping if not in North America, available sooner, signed by author

Regular sale: from September/October 2026, less expensive, not signed.

Honestly we were not expecting people from so far to want to read the book, this viral tumblr post has been a very good, very overwhelming surprise. So we understand if people want to wait a bit until ordering the printed version.

I hope this answers your questions! :)

They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.

Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.

You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.

This article specifically notes:

For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.

Other important quotes:

What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.

Two things back that up:

There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.

Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.

Here's the complaint filed to the court, the primary source for the case mentioned in the article. You can find mentions of GDID on page 30 of the document or 34 of the PDF.

I also made a PDF version!!

I made an Android phone watercolour app called Waterwheel. This post is the pinned intro if you're new here, because Tumblr is like the only place online that keeps getting rediscovered by confused people in pith helmets.

Iiiiiif you've landed on this blog and you're wondering what I'm up to lately: I built an Android app for watercolour painters, and this is the place I keep talking about it.

Waterwheel is a pocket studio tool. Not a social app, not a subscription trap, not another RGB colour picker (actually colorlovers is great for that). It's for people who think: 'Look, is a new watercolour tube really so bad compared to a cup of coffee'.

All the bits:

Wheel - spin and compare outer and inner hues, read blend previews, and open manufacturer matches (Daniel Smith, Winsor & Newton, Schmincke, Sennelier, and more — 18 bundled catalogues so far). Warm/cool variants, harmonies, staining and granulation notes where the data has them.

Frame - camera study tools for the field: Claude Glass (circular value study) and a viewfinder with crop ratios. Handy for plein air and urban sketching when you want a second look at value and composition.

Palette - log what's actually in your paintbox and then go buy duplicates anyway, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE. Catalogue colours or custom entries. Track what you're running low on.

Learn - short glossary and technique cards for when you're mid-session and want a distraction from overworking your piece.

Most of it runs offline on your phone (like, except the camera bit). No login. No friend lists. No data harvesting. You pay once ($4.99 AUD - less if you don't use Monopoly money) and that's it. You wouldn't believe how confusing it was finding how to do this in Google.

I'm an artist who wanted this for my own painting - not a studio, not a company. I made it because I needed a practical way to see which colours each manufacturer actually sells for a hue, and what to substitute when the tube I want isn't on the shelf.

If you paint in watercolour, sketch outdoors, or hoard half-empty tubes like the rest of us — it might be useful.

Google Play (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enpleinhare.waterwheelcolourwheel

Questions welcome in asks/replies. I read them.

If you can't use Android, I'm sorry - it's Play-only for now - I'd love to do an iPhone version but I don't have an iPhone to test on. If you can, and you try it, I'd love to hear what works and what doesn't.

a. She’s 5′ 11″ and can never find pants long enough for her legs or shirts long enough for her arms.

b. She hates synthetic fibers as much as I do and it’s difficult to find natural fiber clothes that aren’t made of cotton

c. She’s a biologist and would physically fistfight microplastics if given half a chance

So her gift from mom and dad for her birthday was a sewing machine. Not a super expensive one but a good solid serviceable one.

And recently she asked “So where do I GET wool or linen and thread that isn’t polyester” and mom was like ‘go ask your sister’

“Bets, u know I’m a 15th degree blackbelt of buying shit on the internet”

cotton and Silk thread; https://redrockthreads.com/

Linen thread and wool fabric; https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com/ (they’ve got wool stuffs and worsted wool fabric for $15 a yard! I just got three yards of navy worsted wool I’m making a constellation winter skirt from)

More linen thread and wool; https://wmboothdraper.com/ (just ordered wool broadcloth to make a coat)

Silk fabric (THE best place to get silk lining fabrics and raw silk fabric):https://www.dharmatrading.com/

A varying assortment of wool and silk and cotton and even some leather, use coupon code  spring2020 for 50% off your full order, worked yesterday when I bought some stuff there; https://metrotextilesnyc.com/

The Linen Lab has a variety of weaves, weights, and colors available