A Really Long Day: The Sam Smith Story

remember that when picking a DOOR lock, you have to apply a little bit of pressure to your tension wrench (the thing that you use to turn the knob). too little or too much and you wont be able to pick the door open. you can use anything for the tension wrench. a bobby pin. bits of wire. a paper clip. etc.

its best to be completely silent when youre picking locks bc theres this small ‘click’ when youre picking that you might miss if youre using headphones or listening to music.

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if youre picking one of these

you jam something thin and long above one of the rotation dials and you push up on the shackle.

. if its one of these

you get yourself some shims. (or make one. you can make shims out of fucking soda cans), you wiggle them in the tiny space between the shackle and the body of the lock, and you pop these suckers open.

. for a chain deadbolt,

you get something flexible but sturdy and you just push this fucker down

. for one of these rotating combination locks

you can also shim this motherfucker open. jam your shims between the shackle and the body and pry it unlocked. if, for some reason, you dont wanna shim it open, maybe you dont have a shim or you just like a challenge, this bitch can be decoded ridiculously easy. heres what you do:

spin this bitch to the right about two or three times to “reset” it. then you pull up on the shackle a bit, and turn it right slowly until you hear a click. your number is two spaces further. then you turn left 360 degrees until you land on the right number again, and start turning this motherfucker left until it stops. when it stops, turn right. if its loose, its the wrong number, keep going left. if its not loose, you have the right number, and you turn right all the way until this bitch pops

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A lot of people ask me about how to start learning about herbs and which courses are good, so I decided to put this together for you guys!

Resources

Herbmentor.com

Here are a few useful herbs that are good to start out with

Check out my recommended books

Paul Bergner has excellent information and courses available here

The East West School of Planetary Herbology is a great place to take courses

The Lunar Apothecary is a great for leaning about herb magic and lunar herbology

This website will help you to find local plants (USA only)

Bear Medicine Herbals

Herbcraft.org

Herbal Remedies Advice

Tips

Check out local plant societies to see what activities they have planned. Some of them offer free plant walks that will help you to get to know your local plants

Start experimenting with your (safe) local weeds first. For many of you, this means sorrel, dandelion, plantain, violet leaf, and ground ivy.

Get your warnings and safety information from reputable books and herbalists, not social media (tumblr). There are many rumors on this site about what is and isn’t poisonous, please don’t believe everything you read!

Keep a few materia medica books on hand to check for contraindications and safety instead. My go-to books for checking whether an herb is okay with me are located in the recommended books post above

Pick 1 herb a month to really focus on. Keep in mind that you can do a lot with a few herbs, some of them have dozens of uses

Learn about your herbs by tasting and using them, not just reading! Personal experience is more important than book knowledge (except when it comes to safety)

Equipment

JARS (check the thrift store for cheap finds)

Alcohol - I usually use 80 proof vodka for tinctures but you can also use brandy depending on what you’re making

Oils- I like grapeseed oil and coconut oil

Funnels

Cheese cloth for straining herbs

Kitchen scale

French press (easy way to make loose leaf tea)

Idea of what to start making with herbs

Bruise/injury salves

Bug sprays

Calming tinctures/teas

Digestive tinctures/teas

Pain tinctures

Fomentations

Poultices

I probably forgot a lot of stuff so Ill be adding more in the future!

“Each time I “failed” to complete my assignment of being “attractive,” I wore my increasing shame like a fiery skin. My life became an apology for letting everyone down. It must have really bummed them out.

One night a man I was seeing told me I “could be a knockout.” I remember thinking, Wow, a knockout? I’d never imagined I could reach knockout status even as a thin person. Perhaps “pretty cute,” but never a knockout. What a compliment! He’s been thinking about this! He must have pictured it in his head—maybe even cut-and-pasted my face onto a picture of a hot woman in a bikini. (Back then you had to actually cut and paste.) He bestowed this treasure of an idea that I could be so much better. That I was actually in the parking lot of the ballpark and with enough hard work and canned tuna, I could be a real fox and make him (and many others) relieved.

But it was also so strange to me because he himself had a number of things that could be improved. Like his hair, body shape, face, height, lips, teeth, vocal timbre, skin sheen, quality of soul, chin integrity, breath, and of course, wardrobe and penis.

I wanted to lean in and tell him with the same coy yet worried low tone that he “could be a hunk.” Let him in on the secret. But it wasn’t my place, I thought. He was funny like me and had a sweet side. He was just being him.

I went on to eventually unbraid myself from others’ wishes for me and relaxed into my skin. I had a long marriage to a woman that ended amicably, and my size had zero to do with it. Now I’m 56 and engaged to a gorgeous love tornado of a woman. I gave up long ago trying to chase what I actually could be. I love my body, for the most part, and I surround myself with others who do too. I continue to wish deep in my soul that women and men who hold gravity like me are no longer being “clued in” on their potential. That they aren’t waiting at an imaginary bus stop to get to where they’ll finally become something good. They’re already good.”

Read the full essay here

“Hey Young Girls, finish your sentences no matter what look someone is giving you while you speak.

you can catch beedrill and earn the purest fucking love from its little bee heart with a muffin you earn playing a minute of yarn toss

First of all, there’s universal free healthcare across the planet. That’s more that a lot of places in our world can say. Moreover, fresh water on this world is apparently so nutrient-rich that it can cure moderate injuries, to say nothing of what berries can do. Therefore, the inhabitants of this world are probably very physically healthy, and those with disabilities (who by default cannot be “healthy”) don’t have to worry about losing their healthcare due to lack of money.

Politics-wise, there isn’t much of a government. Despite this, the world seems relatively peaceful. Private individuals, some as young as eleven, can be expected to deal with crime themselves. War has occurred in the past, but the general political sentiment appears to be very anti-war - cruelty is strongly frowned upon.

Economically, it’s true that there are some people with economic issues - like that one dude in Mauville Hills in ORAS - but generally there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of homelessness or poverty. Some people are more well-off than others - vastly so in some cases - but largely poverty doesn’t seem to exist.

Then there’s the wildlife.

Strange, supernatural creatures of unknown origin and great power populate this planet. An unarmed adult human is no match for even one of these creatures. But the vast majority of the wildlife is extremely friendly to the point where it’s almost all domesticated. Small children are given these creatures as companions and allowed to go out into the open world with them, as they will be safe and able to survive. 

Even the scariest of these monsters can be tamed with love and care. Beedrill will love you if you toss yarn at it, sure. So will things like Gyarados, Hydreigon, and the Pokemon equivalent of Lucifer. No Pokemon is untameable so long as you are kind to it.

This in turn has fostered a culture of kindness. It is infinitely more rewarding to be kind to the living creatures around you. Those who are cruel are quickly steamrollered by those who build up close, loving bonds. Even then, a lot of people are concerned that this society of love and kindness is somehow too cruel (to the point where it was the entire plot of gen V).

That love and kindness is extended to all humans. People trust random strangers who walk into their homes. Items are randomly just given out on the street, often for no reward beyond a warm fuzzy feeling. Almost comical levels of generosity and acceptance are expected on this planet. And if you decide to betray that and take advantage of people…