The Cosmere has become Catholic

you should also never ever unplug the air conditioner and stick a flashlight in the vent that blows air to see if we're in there. it's very bad, that place should not be checked

and whatever you do, if you've already made the mistake of unplugging it, don't remove it from the window for cleaning if possible. and whether it's possible to remove the unit or not, don't carefully disassemble the front panel, document where the screws go and plastic bits go, and open up the vent more to be able to get into it easily

as black mold, i'm an expert on this. you should heed my warnings: now, if you've somehow made the mistake of doing all of the above, you should not use warm water and dish soap to CLEAN the inside of the vent thoroughly. DON'T ever use a bottle brush to get into the hard to reach places. and certainly don't rinse and dry the cleaned area before carefully putting it back together

there's nothing wrong with us, black mold. we don't cause or exacerbate breathing conditions like asthma or other illnesses. it's cool, we're cool

furthermore, if you're capable of removing the window unit, DONT take a hose with the same soapy water and wash the portion of the window unit that sits outside the window and is therefore weatherproofed.

whatever you do, don't allow the air conditioner to dry before plugging it back in and turning it on again

and if you have a central air conditioner, you will definitely never ever consult a manual or sources online to perform a similar cleaning procedure on the cooling unit outside.

It is a lot of elbow grease and definitely not just spraying a can and waiting. Especially do not use the ones that are self rinsing via the natural condensation of water around the coils where all you have to do is let the foam settle a couple hours before turning the unit back on. These foaming cleaners are also terrible to use on the removable air intake vent covers. You definitely do not just have to spray the opposite side of all the trapped shit on the plastic mesh and let the foam push it off. Also that stuff on the cover is great for you and your air conditioner.

literally she's my favorite character. she's such a girls girl. she doesn't even know why what happened to beckas dad happened. she knows that becka did it and she wants to help and protect her anyways

“Ah,” said the fox, “I shall cry.”

“It is your own fault,” said the little prince. “I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you…”

“Yes, that is so,” said the fox.

“But now you are going to cry!” said the little prince.

“Yes, that is so,” said the fox.

“Then it has done you no good at all!”

Wow! What a ride! There were so many points in the episode which I found myself thinking, "Damn. They really underestimated teenaged young women." So Daisy's letter at the end really was just a nice cap on the episode.

There is so much to unpack. It seems I was wrong. Becca will survive another season. Her mother took her place. And the whole event seems to be the pivot point to the plum's deconstructing the world as they know it.

I absolutely love the way the actress plays. Agnes/Hannah. It's a quieter bravery than June. Honestly, Luke is not getting enough credit I think. Luke had that quiet patient resilience that I'm seeing shine through Anges/Hannah. Also, "thinks she's funny but actually isn't." Just screams Luke.

We also got some interesting world building moments. The Aunts have sedatives on tap at the ready for these girls to go through with their marriages and it seems to last long enough into the wedding night. In some ways, I feel this might be an act of Mercy in the world of Gilead, but it also just creates this horrible pit in my stomach for these young women who have gone through these horrible rituals.

Becca's mom taking her daughter's place reminded me that this is very much Gilead. The same Gilead we saw in The Handmaid's Tale. In many ways this season felt easier to consume because we weren't confronting body horror more episodes than not, but the finale did an excellent job of setting the stage for next season.

The conclusion promised us more rebellion and ultimately more blood. There was so much foreshadowing and so many throwbacks. Paula dropping the bit of lore that Commander Mackenzie refused to allow Gilead to kill Agnes to punish June was telling. I think Paula needs to remember that. She seems to forget how much love there can be between a "father" and his "daughter" (abductor and abductee).

The way I explain it to my patients is that our neurons don’t regenerate. They make connections with each other and that’s it. If you don’t use your brain, they make fewer connections and, if one of them dies, you’re gonna miss it, because that was the only one that knew how to do X. Now, if each one of them has many, many connections, you won’t notice the difference when one of them dies. The others pick up the slack.

As of 2024, 45% of dementia risk factors are modifiable. Relevant to this conversation, 5% for less education and 5% for social isolation.

We absolutely are going to see the reflection of this, but it’s gonna take decades and it’ll be too late. So, for the love of your brain, pretend that it’s a muscle and make it work. People complain about “when am I ever gonna use this maths formula in my life?” You’re not. You’re teaching your brain to think logically. Those sinapses will be there for when you need to figure out your week’s schedule. English classes taught me how to interpret data and how to convey it in this text so it’s clear and you understand what I’m saying, not because I needed to justify why the curtain is blue.

Make your brain know how to do different things. Logic games, puzzles, taking care of a garden even if small, planning a church’s event or birthday, learn a new instrument, learn a few words in another language, look at a calendar every day, do some manual labor if possible. Do not, I repeat, do not let your brain get rid of sinapses by letting AI do everything. Your brain uses 20% of your body’s energy — do you really think it’s going to maintain connexions that aren’t in use?

Most cases of Alzheimer’s are sporadic, meaning no family history. Family history of a first-degree relative with Alzheimer’s starting before they were 80yo increases your risk in 2-3x on average.

Our boy Leo has only gone and written an Encyclical Letter.

“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.“

It’s mind blowing to me that the pope also shares my thoughts about being human in a digital age that increasingly detaches us from our humanity and is dumbing us down:

“Without careful attention, an educational system lacking in a love for truth may emerge, in which an incessant flow of information replaces the essential exercise of research, reflection and discernment. As knowledge becomes increasingly fragmented, it becomes difficult to grasp reality as a whole, to ask profound questions about meaning, or to develop authentic, critical and creative thought.”