Born to be Brave

Start taking a daily antihistamine, it can help. Neti pot saline nasal rinse twice a day (please twice boil water and let it cool before using it inside your nose) this can help reduce the viral load in your sinuses if it's present there. Also gargling the same kind of rinse for reducing load in your throat. If you are the type to be sick for longer than others it's worth trying to get paxlovid, although current research is showing it's not as effective as it was previously in 2024 (bc of new mutations).

The biggest thing to help you avoid getting Long COVID is 1) try to access metformin if you can, it reduces your chances of LC by 50% (doesn't do anything if you already have LC tho) 2) practice radical rest for at least a month post acute phase. And please take it super seriously. Absolutely no cardio or anything that makes your heart rate high for a long time. No exercise, no weight lifting, no running.

The biggest thing to help you avoid getting Long COVID is 1) try to access metformin if you can, it reduces your chances of LC by 50% (doesn't do anything if you already have LC tho) 2) practice radical rest for at least a month post acute phase. And please take it super seriously. Absolutely no cardio or anything that makes your heart rate high for a long time. No exercise, no weight lifting, no running.

Treat your body like as if you already have MECFS and rest more than you think is necessary. This is the biggest factor that can determine if you end up with LC or not.

Reason to take antihistamine (H1 and H2 blockers) https:// pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9903129/

Endangered Toad Spotted For First Time in Restored Texas Habitat

Conservation efforts are helping rebuild wild populations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently shared the sighting of a male Houston toad on a restored private property in Bastrop County, calling it a "big win" for the endangered species. The property was one of three sites where USFWS biologists released 170,000 Houston toad eggs in April as part of a larger effort to reintroduce 3 million eggs and restore wild populations across Central Texas. The Houston toad was among the first amphibians protected under the Endangered Species Act when it was listed in 1970. Once found across parts of Southeast Texas, the small brown amphibian disappeared from Harris County by 1975 as rapid development destroyed and fragmented its habitat...

Read more: https://www.chron.com/wildlife/article/houston-toad-comeback-22346468.php

In 2021, Swarovski (the company that makes the very sparkly crystals you see in certain jewelry, on figure-skaters' twinkliest outfits, on red carpet dresses), decided they didn't want the grubby fingers of small-time jewelers, clothing designers and costumers and crafters on their shiny beads and rhinestones anymore. They decided to limit their sales to "luxury" and couture creators, not girls who sell stuff on Etsy. The tenor of their press release on the subject was snide and insulting. Resellers (like your favorite bead shop) would no longer be allowed to carry their product; the average Jane on the street would not be able to purchase them. You could only get them if you had an authorized business agreement that bound you to very strict brand behavior. And those of us who still had good stock of the crystals would no longer be "permitted" to use the brand's name in our listings for sale.

Every bead shop and craft supply place and many, many small clothing makers--wedding shops, prom and dancing dress suppliers, the sort of salt of the Earth mom and pop time machines of shops that are the backbone of the field--scrambled to find something that could replace them. The last of the stock dwindled quickly, all of us grabbing what we could get while there was any chance of it, and then it was gone and we no longer had any access.

I was Big Pissed about it at the time. It was just so goddamn stuck-up, when wholesalers and indie jewelers had made them so much money, when some people I knew--when *I!*--had been brand-loyal for decades. But with no recourse, everyone pivoted fairly quickly, most of us to Preciosa Crystals. Those are Czech, quite sparkly, and considerably less expensive than Swarovski. The faceting method they use is different, but not worse; any differences are hardly noticeable when you're seeing them as a hundred pinpoints of light.

Well, out of nowhere, Swarovski just dropped this: https://www.harmanbeads.com/swarovski-brand-policy-update

"Effective June 1, 2026, Swarovski updated the distribution and brand usage policies introduced in 2021. Businesses may now purchase Swarovski Crystals without signing a Brand Control Agreement, and Authorized Distribution Partners may once again sell Swarovski Crystals to resellers, including bead stores and online retailers. Businesses may also use the Swarovski brand name when following Swarovski’s Proper Use Guidelines. Designers, manufacturers, artists, brands, retailers, and resellers are now eligible to purchase Swarovski Crystals through authorized distribution channels."

They want us back. A lot of the companies who could have kept a brand relationship with them also have swapped to Preciosa, over the last half-decade, in solidarity with indie creators and out of a sour awareness that it could be them, next. And it doesn't hurt that Preciosa was able to expand their line quite a bit now that everyone who wanted sparkle had no choice but to go to them.

And I'm not seeing nearly anyone who intends to return. The feeling is, "Y'all told us to fuck off! Off we fucked! And now, that's what you can do, too!" I'm seeing a lot of "How many of us did you stab in the back?" comments from the people whose money they're hoping to attract.

The psychic horse can take over his body and control his movements and has total power over him in terms of introducing him to the culture and explaining how things work and which people to trust—but this is fine because the horse is Nice

Not only that horse, but all horses: they’re fundamentally Good, therefore we have to trust them