Occasional Whatsits

“The first rule of love,” her mother says, voice crackling over the phone, “is to never take more than they can give.”

Finola’s eyes dart to the shoebox under her bed and then back out the dorm window. Her room is on the second floor this year and she can see more of the trees than she can see of the grassy space preceding the dining hall. “I know, Mom.”

“Remember.” Her mother’s voice is sharp and Finola can almost see her heavy, thick brows lowering until shadows cover her eyes. “No clothing. No bags. Never any jewelry.”

Finola wraps her free arm around her waist and closes her eyes. The light breeze rolling through the window smells like eucalyptus and mint. Her mouth waters. “I know, Mom.”

“Those are the big things,” her mother says, “but remember that too many of the small things can amount to a big thing.”

The shoebox under the bed gleams in a stray ray of light. Finola licks her lips. “I know, but—I need something. I have to. I feel like she’ll disappear if I don’t.” The words are inadequate for the sick fear in her stomach each time she loses sight of her. The horrible certainty that something bad will happen if she’s not by her side. She rubs a hand over her mouth.

Her mother’s tongue clicks. “That’s old instincts, Finola. Fight it. You don’t want your father and I to pull you out of school, do you?”

The memory of watching her high school fade out of sight surfaces and, in that moment, she’s sixteen again. She can feel her heart beating too fast, the scream ripping out of her throat, the way the ropes chafed her wrists. She can smell her first love’s perfume, cloying peach, in the air. She can feel their separation like a death in the pit of her stomach, radiating up into her chest, her throat, her head.

"Because the decision rests entirely on the Montana Constitution, it is insulated from the U.S. Supreme Court. Under the principle of adequate and independent state grounds, the federal Supreme Court cannot review a state court's interpretation of its own constitution, so long as that constitution provides more protection than the federal one. [...] What this means in practice is that Montana's transgender residents now have a constitutional shield completely independent of the Supreme Court of the United State’s decisions."

for fellow austins and the rest of texas

ATTN: ANYONE WITH NO HEATING OR POWER CURRENTLY 

I know it's cold, I have some tips for you, thanks to having been through this before, many times. 🧵 

Please RT the thread if you know anyone without power currently! 🖤

The second tweet reads: 

- Choose 1 room to inhabit  - Move all furniture to external walls - Move your mattress to the center of the 1 room - Block pets from leaving that room, put all needs in it - If your fridge is warming up, put all perishable items in a trash bag and place outside, form snow around

The third tweet reads:

- If you have plants, move them in the room with you - If you have a small space heater, move it in that room with you - Hang thick blankets or large towels in all the windows - If a sunny day arrives before power, open curtains when sun hits directly, then put back up

The fourth tweet reads:

- Wear multiple layers of clothing - If your pets are too cold, put socks on their feet and/or other clothing you have that fits them - Roll clothing or towels and block all door and window gaps - Throw all your dirty clothes on the floor, covering every space you can

The fifth tweet reads:

Your body heat will warm that room if you remain in ONLY that room. You want to use anything you can to add insulation between you, and the outside. Hence covering and blocking all floors, windows, and walls. Now isn't the time to have a clean house, it's the time to survive.

The sixth tweet reads:

Late addition thanks to a friend of mine: 

 If you have, or can get, bubble wrap, tape that to all windows, as it creates a kind of double insulation!

Any kind of cardboard or foamcore can be pressed into window wells or taped over. Put wadded up newspaper or bubble wrap between the pane and the foamcore. Duct or painter's tape can hold the cardboard or foamcore to the wall. Mound laundry and blankets around you. Make sure pets have a similarly squishy bed to curl up in. Pet carriers are great for huddling in, and it's good to have them out anyway in case you MUST relocate. Food and water go close enough they don't have to come all the way out, if they don't want to.

Remember that to insulate, air pockets are necessary. Don't pack clothes or newspaper loose, but don't squish all the air out either. Insulation is made with foam or blown fiber for a reason. Air pockets in a non conductive material trap the cold instead of passing it on.

It is honestly way less miserable stuck in a single, insulated room than free roaming a house that is cold.

If your area is expected to be hard hit, prepare some of this in advance.

Keep your phone charged BEFORE the power goes out! Put it back on the charger when it reaches 80%, I am not kidding.

And, final tip, if you go outside and get REAL cold, take your clothes OFF when you get back and put different ones on. Preferably ones the cats have been laying on, but even if they are cool, as long as they are warmer than the ones you have been in outside, you will warm up faster. Even swapping just outer layers is helpful.

(I'm also going to post this on my own blog, so I apologize if you've already seen it, but I never assume people have seen anything I post)

My mom on FaceTime: ???

Me: I had to explain to Penny how the borrowers are part of the elf union and so they go to North Pole the last 3 weeks of the year so no one ever has to work too much over time and that's why they haven't taken mommy's wrapping paper or scissors or anything else I've left out... shes trying to explain the elf union to you.

Further, some authors may never even find out the lawsuit is happening. The court's suggested notification scheme "would require class claimants to themselves notify other potential rightsholders," groups said, overlooking the fact that it cost Google $34.5 million "to set up a 'Books Rights Registry' to identify owners for payouts under the proposed settlement" in one of the largest cases involving book authors prior to the AI avalanche of lawsuits.

If you're an author, please use this database to see if you could qualify for that sweet GenAI lawsuit money.

I have never ever ever in my life asked someone to blaze my posts.

But if you want to throw me some pennies blaze this. I want ALL OF THE AUTHORS to know that they have the opportunities to get some sweet sweet GenAI lawsuit money.

Like to charge. Reblog to cast that Anthropic will have to pay out the ass.