The Milk Bowl

Step 1: Cargo pants, or purse, fanny pack, cool jacket, backpack, etc.

Step 2:

Folded-up plastic bag

Tweezers

Chapstick

Small knife

Lighter

Band-aids

Hand sanitizer

Hard candy

Travel-size Tylenol

Needle and thread

Safety pin

Bus fare

Charger

Pen/flashlight combo

Sticky notes

Granola bar

Tampon

Pad

Mini multi-head screwdriver

Zipock of tissue

Bottle opener

Hockey tape

This can be a lot to unload and re-load if you're a cargo pants person, but if you like me are not really a purse person I highly recommend either a cool jacket you can sew secret pockets into or a spare water bottle you can grab 'n' go whenever

They're preying on insecurities to do it. Yes, you can write an essay - but can you write a good essay, they ask you. Do you not want to improve your output? Do you not want people to think of you as competent and very clever? Why go through the mortifying process of failing and failing and failing until you succeed if you can just skip the "learning" part of doing, and simply generate a ready-made product?

I'm preaching to the choir here obviously but it's a concerning thing to witness nonetheless. My kid is 6 next week and I've been teaching her that failing at things is morally neutral and in fact necessary even before the advent of AI, but it's becoming ever more important that we teach the kids that criticism and failure and discomfort aren't necessarily bad things, but just a part of the growth process.

When the actual academic scholarly book makes the tumblr meme post a reality.

Defunding cancer research is violence. It's a crime against humanity.

Inhumanity and white supremacy and christofascism are the pillars of MAGA.

May I present the best apple:

Friction: A Reading List on Why Inconvenience Can Be Meaningful

We prize convenience and efficiency, almost to a fault. Sometimes, though, we’re missing out on surprise, serendipity, and anticipation when we avoid friction. Courtney E. Martin brings us five reads that examine the pros and cons of life’s little hurdles.

This Tumblr post is the first time someone has explained to me *why* I couldn’t feed them before those instances.

every single time i have had to say, "i understand that if he had food or water, he could aspirate it into his lungs under anesthesia. i am not lying to you." THEN someone would make a little note and i would stop being repeatedly asked.

not a single time was that risk explained to me. the only reason it came up was because i already knew. i still don't understand why it isn't standard pre-op counseling or pre-op check information, when me as a parent acknowledging the actual risk also put THE MEDICAL STAFF at ease because i conveyed that i had informed understanding as reason to not lie about giving my kid food.

I remember reading a study where a therapist was helping people with similar anxieties - though not involving children - work through them. One client said she was afraid she was going to murder the therapist, not that she wanted to but that she'd somehow lose control of herself or an accident would happen. The solution? The therapist brought a kitchen knife to an appointment (with the patients consent), handed it to her and basically said "okay, what now?" Turns out nothing now, nothing happened, and it helped the client deal with the phobia

Enlightened normal-brainer: “that is ridiculous and irrational, clearly you’re worried because it’s secretly true”