science wizard-princess

it's still actually perfectly fine to do it

and you shouldn't stop yourself from starting just because it won't be a permanent change.

Like if starting a new daily planner gives you an amazing afternoon of planning and four days where you feel in charge of your life,

why not do it?

It doesn't matter that it won't be a permanent change - 4 good days is still worth it.

If you ever catch yourself thinking, "I wish I could pray/stretch/prep/plan/do the thing, but I always get started on that and it never lasts more than a couple of days,"

what this really means is, "hey, I can feel better for a couple of days."

if this post is making you think of things in your own life that you wish you could stick to because of how good they make you feel,

just be aware:

you're not thinking of a list of ways you've failed to commit

ich bin immer ein falsches wort davon entfernt von all den leuten erschossen zu werden die mich erträglich finden

Notes:

it's not just "that doctor has internalized misogyny" it's that western medicine is, as in so many parts of our culture, deeply authoritarian. the patient is meant to be a passive problem to be solved by the active doctor. there is meant to be a stark harsh line between you and the doctor, where you are pure of any medical knowledge and simply report the raw data & let the doctor interpret it. this is how the system works. it fucks over marginalized groups the most because that's how marginalization works, but even a thin white abled cis man could get fucked over by this shit if he's unlucky.

They don't want people to understand that "the problem" they have is that the jeans aren't made for them. Manufacturers prefer for them to continue buying jeans they don't like and feeling like their body is the problem.

So I had a job interview today and there was a dude in the waiting room who was chatting up every AFAB person in the waiting room whether they responded or not, and kept going “Hey I’m real good at Origami Swans you want one?” and then writing his number on sticky notes before making paper cranes and handing them to his latest target before turning his attention to the next lady in his vicinity.  A little sad, a lot annoying, but unlikely to be dangerous.  Whatever.

Dude gets to me.  We have half a conversation where he asks me personal questions and I don’t look up from my phone.  I get my “Swan”.  I’m the last AFAB person in the room so he’s kinda sitting there.

I get to a post about a friend needing moral and/or spiritual support before a medical procedeure, so my ADHD ass goes Oh hey, we have an animal effigy we could sacrifice to the relevant gods! So I take out my lighter and burn the swan roughly 23 seconds after the dude gave it to me, and crush the ashes in my hand because I belatedly realize there’s no sink for me to throw this in.  Oh well.  Purell the ashes off.

I look up.  Dude, and everyone else in the waiting room is staring at me.

“You, uh.  Smoke?” Dude tries.

What I Meant To Say: “No I just carry a lighter as a holdover from survival camp as a kid, and if I’m wearing synthetic fabrics that start to ravel, I can use the flame to melt them a bit so they stop.”

What I Actually Said: “No I just have one in case I need to set something on fire.”

I put the lighter away.  The hiring manager comes out and calls my name.  I go back and have what I think was a reasonably sucessful job interview.  I come back out.

Dude, and half of the other candidates are GONE.

have a budget in mind before you go. some frames cost like $50 at a brick and mortar, some like $300. maybe more these days/if you go to a fancy place. I actually like to pick two budget numbers: one I'm willing to spend on "I don't love these but they're fine" and one for "okay, if they're perfect in every other respect I might be willing to spend a little extra."

try to go on a day you're not already overstimulated. if they dilate your eyes and you have the option logistically to come back a different day to pick out glasses, do that! (or order them through Zenni or another online retailer; you can often save quite a bit of money this way, but the downside of getting them not-in-person is you can't get them adjusted by a pro right away.)

try on SO many frames. maybe grab a bunch that look interesting right away, or maybe grab just a few that are different styles to start with. (if you're really worried about making extra work for the employees you can always ask them what they want you to do with the ones you try on but don't want; but I promise they're used to people doing this and probably unfortunately worse.)

some initial considerations for picking which frames to try on: what colors tend to show up a lot in your wardrobe? grab some frames that are those colors, and/or whose colors you like in combination with those colors. (note that I don't say "go together"; colors going together is a social construct deeply influenced by white supremacy and cisheteropatriarchy. do whatever you want forever.) what are some styles you like? presumably some people who habitually wear that style also wear glasses. this might be one of the few times pinterest is useful for something but if so you will have to undertake that quest without my guidance, for there I do not tread. you can also look to fictional characters or real life famous people whose styles you think are neat & who wear glasses. check out what kind of glasses they wear. maybe that style looks good on you too! finally, do you just think they look cool?

when you actually try them, consider: are there any that you look at on your face and go "Wow! that looks like ME! that's what a me is supposed to look like!"? If so, these are a STRONG CONTENDER! but still proceed with the rest of the steps before making a final purchase. If any of them make you actively unhappy to see on your face those go immediately into the NO pile. (that's like, in comparison with whatever baseline feelings you have about your face.) If there are maybes, start out by putting them in a maybe pile, then make a second pass through the maybe pile and see if you can figure out what's making each a maybe rather than a yes: color? thickness? angularity/roundness? width? It's also possible you will simply not feel the Right Glasses Euphoria because you're used to the way your face looks without them. (I have been wearing glasses for 23 years so I have the opposite problem.) if that's the case you may need to go with an "eh, good enough" pair looks-wise and hope you adjust.

are they in your budget?

consider comfort/wearability: do they squish your head? if so the frame width might be too narrow. do the arms press on your ear in a way that feels bad? the arms should bend just past the highest point of your ear. are the nose pads a type you find comfortable? typically metal/wire frames will have little wobbly nose pads on wires that stick off, and acetate or plastic frames will not (they kind of have little wings on the inner edges of each lens that help the glasses rest on your nose.

have a budget in mind before you go. some frames cost like $50 at a brick and mortar, some like $300. maybe more these days/if you go to a fancy place. I actually like to pick two budget numbers: one I'm willing to spend on "I don't love these but they're fine" and one for "okay, if they're perfect in every other respect I might be willing to spend a little extra."

try to go on a day you're not already overstimulated. if they dilate your eyes and you have the option logistically to come back a different day to pick out glasses, do that! (or order them through Zenni or another online retailer; you can often save quite a bit of money this way, but the downside of getting them not-in-person is you can't get them adjusted by a pro right away.)

try on SO many frames. maybe grab a bunch that look interesting right away, or maybe grab just a few that are different styles to start with. (if you're really worried about making extra work for the employees you can always ask them what they want you to do with the ones you try on but don't want; but I promise they're used to people doing this and probably unfortunately worse.)

some initial considerations for picking which frames to try on: what colors tend to show up a lot in your wardrobe? grab some frames that are those colors, and/or whose colors you like in combination with those colors. (note that I don't say "go together"; colors going together is a social construct deeply influenced by white supremacy and cisheteropatriarchy. do whatever you want forever.) what are some styles you like? presumably some people who habitually wear that style also wear glasses. this might be one of the few times pinterest is useful for something but if so you will have to undertake that quest without my guidance, for there I do not tread. you can also look to fictional characters or real life famous people whose styles you think are neat & who wear glasses. check out what kind of glasses they wear. maybe that style looks good on you too! finally, do you just think they look cool?

when you actually try them, consider: are there any that you look at on your face and go "Wow! that looks like ME! that's what a me is supposed to look like!"? If so, these are a STRONG CONTENDER! but still proceed with the rest of the steps before making a final purchase. If any of them make you actively unhappy to see on your face those go immediately into the NO pile. (that's like, in comparison with whatever baseline feelings you have about your face.) If there are maybes, start out by putting them in a maybe pile, then make a second pass through the maybe pile and see if you can figure out what's making each a maybe rather than a yes: color? thickness? angularity/roundness? width? It's also possible you will simply not feel the Right Glasses Euphoria because you're used to the way your face looks without them. (I have been wearing glasses for 23 years so I have the opposite problem.) if that's the case you may need to go with an "eh, good enough" pair looks-wise and hope you adjust.

are they in your budget?

consider comfort/wearability: do they squish your head? if so the frame width might be too narrow or the arms might be bent in too far. do the arms press on your ear in a way that feels bad? the arms should bend just past the highest point of your ear. are the nose pads a type you find comfortable? typically metal/wire frames will have little wobbly nose pads on wires that stick off, and acetate or plastic frames will not (they kind of have little wings on the inner edges of each lens that help the glasses rest on your nose. if you bend forward while wearing them do they slip off? if you shake your head with gradually increasing vigor do they feel like they're about to fly away? if yes to either, the frame width might be too wide or the arms might be bent out too far. frame width is often printed on the inside of one of the arms in millimeters, along with lens width and bridge width; the frame width is usually the third number. if your glasses seem too narrow or too wide you can either pick a different frame width or see if you can get the arms adjusted to fit your head better.

For those of you who aren't familiar, I live in an exceptionally flammable part of the United States, and despite the fact that every goddamn year multiple parts of my state catch fire, destroy homes and kill people, the local assholes insist on getting drunk and setting fire to a bunch of illegal explosives anyway. In 2023, God granted me a Miracle that prevented my house from burning down.

Last year, I had to resort to Psychological and Chemical Warfare to keep the patriotic arsonists at bay.

This year is apparently An Important Birthday for the clusterfuck we have the nerve to call a nation, so despite the fact there is so much smoke in the air that the sun has literally been blood red for the last week, the pyrotechnic fetishists are out in force.

Last year, I hit upon the concept that if my neighbors were going to act like problem animals, it would make sense to use the management techniques on them that you might use on say, a Bear that was doing serious property damage. Thusly, I created The Stench, a nontoxic but FOUL smelling concoction that I could discretely spray around the flammable gatherings and render the area extremely uncomfortable to occupy for the rest of the night, forcing them to give up or move on.

If this seems harsh: There is no story from 2024 because a grass fire was started by fireworks less than 12 miles from me and the high winds put me in the evacuation zone in under an hour. Over fifty people lost their homes. Errant fireworks burning my house down is a very real possibility, and I pay the price in anxiety and insurance premiums.

The Stench is noxious but harmless, and also very effective at building a buffer zone around my home. But sneaking up to parties on foot in this heat is both exhausting and nerve-wracking. There have to be more effective ways to do this

-And there is! It involves Weeds and Business Cards :)

On one hand: FAR fewer fireworks parties this year!

- Only nine to last year's thirteen - three of them had the good sense to be firing their recreational explosives out over the local reservoir - That's far from foolproof - and really bad for the fish - also y'all are RIGHT NEXT to where the Bald Eagles are nesting - but congratulations on at least attempting some risk mitigation!

On the other hand.

The Kingdom of Hawai’i was illegally overthrown with the help of American businessmen and we have suffered under the iron grip of America.

Our land is simply seen as a vacation spot, my people are simply seen as tour guides and hula dancers. We have had our culture, our history, and our people turned into a commercialized joke by America.

The rampant tourism kills our islands with endless hotels, attractions and overcrowding. The housing and living costs are out of control because of the false “paradise” narrative. The Navy poisons our water and destroys our land. Covid has killed so many of my people due to the reckless and selfish nature of tourists. I have lost loved ones to this virus, because tourists “couldn’t stay away”.

My people have suffered. I have suffered.

We are more than your vacation. We are more than an aesthetic.

We are a sovereign nation illegally occupied by the United States of America.

Restore Hawai’i to Hawaiians. End the American Occupation.

See the links below to learn more and to read up on your Hawaiian history.

now, reading this charitably, we might interpret her as intending to say that the period of time in which life consciously modifies its surroundings has been relatively slight. except, oops, then the last sentence still doesn't work because (a) attributing consciousness/intention to humans only is an extremely Eurocentric/colonizer perspective, (b) while mainline "western" science may still often dismiss (or at least be hesitant about) the idea of nonhuman sapience, a lot of other scientists are like "well, what IS consciousness or intention anyway and how would we prove whether a being does or doesn't have it?" and most saliently (c) HUMANS HAVE BEEN CONSCIOUSLY MODIFYING OUR ENVIRONMENT SINCE WE'VE BEEN HUMAN.