Kitty Dorkling

Couple of Thieves

I really like the colours you get on magpies, what at first glance looks like a other black and white bird is actually full of these wonderfully iridescent greens and purples

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.

You have been turned into this type of mermaid!!

the autistic space frog lady

the mean underground elf lady

An overdue quickie outlining what Cannor starts with at the beginning of each act, now that I can finally mod my way to what he actually looks like:

Beginning of Act 1 Helmet: none. Cloak: Arcadia's Shawl. Armor: Bandit Padded Armor (13). Gloves: Bandit Leather Wraps. Boots: ordinary Leather Boots. Camp Clothes: Bandit Restored Camp Shirt. Camp Shoes: FearTaylor's Smarmy Swaggerer Boots. Underwear: ordinary human (changed to halfling) version. Amulet: none. Ring 1: Ring of Defense. Instrument: ordinary Lute. Melee 1: ordinary Whip. Melee 2: ordinary Dagger. Ranged 1: ordinary Sling.

Beginning of Act 2 (new items; all others same as Act 1): Helmet: Bandit Absolutist Scarf. Cloak: Marine Cloak. Armor: Bandit Armor (14). Gloves: Dexterity. Boots: Speed. Amulet: Misty Step. Ring 1: Protection. Ring 2: Crusher's. Melee 1: Emerald Serpent +1. Melee 2: Ritual Dagger (via Abdirak).

Beginning of Act 3 (new items; all others same as Act 1): Armor: Regis' Coat (10+2). Cloak: Verdant Shroud. Camp Clothes: FearTaylor's Gaheid Slickjaw. Lute: Battered Lute.

The biggest changes (besides his whip, trading shortbows for slings, and nerfing away Civil Militia) are the armors: Bandit Padded (a ludicrous AC 13 +DexMod) helps keep him alive in light armor during Act 1

Bandit Armor (AC 14+dexmod) in Act 2 is basically that padded armor plus a breastplate and pauldrons that I assume are both leather, since it's light armor. This is basically Aradin's kit. I like to think that he just slapped some extra stuff on his Act 1 gear because of course he did.

Regis' Coat (AC 10, bonus +2) is what he pulls on in Rivington for Act 3 to look presentable. It's clothing, but with a +2 AC bonus that, combined with his Dex Gloves (18) and other marginal goodies, gets him to about 19-20.

Everything is dyed with FaerunColors' Balduran except for Regis' Coat, which gets real dark so FC Talona keeps it a similar green shade. The only other canon gear he starts with besides that padded armor are the Ring of Defense (which subs for Ring of Protection until he acquires the latter), and his ordinary 5e whip-and-dagger combo. 5e Cannor has an ordinary cloak, but Arcadia's Shawl looks like it the most, so once he acquires anything else, Zafraia appropriates the shawl from him.

I like the idea of using modded armors but I still prefer the pretense of changing into better gear as the game progresses. I simply refuse to continue the age-old D&D ritual humiliation of terrible gear at Level 1.

This homeless person is making me uncomfortable. Should I call [a man with a gun]?

My neighbor is having a loud party. Should I get [a man with a gun] involved?

There are some teenagers skateboarding. Do you think [a man with a gun] would get rid of them for me?

Let’s play the biggest game of kick the can on the internet.

This has been happening all month with little to no international media attention. Here are a few organizations you can check out for resources or to support:

ActionAid India

SEEDS India

GlobalGiving