my little corner of the world

Remember these dates. #StudentLoans

I know that it can be hard to deal with this stuff, especially if you get overwhelmed easily. I was waiting because I thought I would have to log into the student aid site, and I know that I can't remember my password, just to get to a long, confusing form. I was dreading it.

Don't dread it. There's no login, only 1 page, and nothing that you have to dig up information for (just your ssn and any names you've used with the dept. of ed.)

Takes a couple of minutes. Go do this for yourself.

This is a big deal, it's the largest national trans survey and the last one was in 2015. The next one won't be for at least another five years.

There's some fairly personal questions and some heavy ones, like ones about harassment and domestic violence. They don't ask for your name or other definitively identifying information, and take steps to keep the rest of the data confidential. You can skip (most) questions you don't want to answer while filling out the rest. Data can be useful for lobbying politicians for things that are good for trans people, especially ones who are basically sympathetic but not sure they should prioritize trans issues. (In their words, "The USTS fills in some of the large gaps in research about transgender people, and it provides critical tools for researchers, policymakers, and advocates seeking to better understand the needs of transgender people and to find ways to improve their lives.") Most questions have set options, but there's also an opportunity at the end to share personal stories in your own words.

"The U.S. Transgender Survey documents the experiences of trans people, which it defines as anyone who identifies with a different gender than they were assigned at birth. That includes nonbinary people. We aim to be as inclusive as possible about what it means to be trans, and we welcome nonbinary people and others who identify with a different gender than they were assigned at birth to take the survey."

"No, you don’t have to be currently out or living as trans or nonbinary. The survey is open to trans people at any stage of their lives, journey, or transition."

Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Convergence Part 1 

I started transparent-ing these in like, september and then forgot about them until a week ago

Making websites easier to digest:

Dark Reader - Changes any webpage to dark mode.

Mercury Reader - Simplifies the layout of any webpage to eliminate distractions and irritating formatting.

Podcastle AI - Turns any article into a podcast. This is a lifesaver for being able to process what I’m reading, to be honest.

Spelling/grammar:

LanguageTool - Spelling and grammar check for those of us who regularly type in more than one language.

Grammarly - Spelling and grammar check for those of us who only type in English. Can be used with LanguageTool installed, which is what I do.

Google Dictionary - Define any word on the webpage with a double-click.

Google Translate - Translate an entire webpage or even just a short segment.

Misc:

AdGuard Adblocker - After trying quite a few adblocker options, this is the one I find the best.

The Great Suspender - Automatically suspend inactive tabs to help with performance. <- as an edit, I don’t believe this is available anymore

Honey - Try coupon codes automatically to save money on online purchases.