that shooting, surveillance
Various US media seem extremely busy trying to convince people in their coverage that there is no way to escape the CCTV and facial recognition in the city, presumably to scare off others, and it would be extremely funny if it then turns out that their facial recognition shit doesn't work to find the shooter
something that wasn't clear to me until i asked about it online is that IR lights in tv remotes or pokemon cartridges or whatever are, not lasers. they are light bulbs. if you could see IR light, you'd see them slightly light up everything in some vague direction, and maybe behind it a bit from reflections
and i can't put my finger on why i think that's cool. like, i guess i'm used to the idea of information being beamed directly between computers using invisible light, but the idea that the whole room is getting bathed in that information just for the other computer to pick it up is so fascinating to me
A small shrub-like British Soldier lichen (Cladonia cristatella).
You can also see part of this lichen in the photo in my last post.
Medical care for trans youth
The centring of puberty blockers in the care of trans youth is actually a compromise position designed to placate cis discomfort.
Desistance rates during this period are so low that it effectively amounts to holding young trans people in limbo for a few years and lying that it's for their benefit.
There's no medical reason that young trans people are unable to begin medical transition in their teenage years.
The roadblock is only a combination of cis anxiety and the erroneous belief that young people lack an understanding of their own identity and the capacity to exercise bodily automomy.
STIs and the stigma around them
I don't think the amount of stigma and shame around STIs is doing anyone any favors. The majority of common STIs these days are nearly completely harmless provided they're identified and treated early. And those that aren't treatable are still something you can absolutely live with, again, if they're identified. The issue is that people are often so ashamed about this stuff that they just won't get themselves tested or won't talk to their doctor about it at all even though it really isn't such a big deal!
Take Chlamydia for example. One of the most common STIs out there. Its symptoms are so mild that most people don't even realize they have it until they get tested. It can cause more severe symptoms if left unchecked but it just so happens that usually a single round of antibiotics is enough to cure it. Terrifying and shameful right? /s
I'd be more worried about oral herpes cause that's something that actually sticks with you forever and is annoying af.
STIs and the stigma around them
The reason people are perfectly normal about oral herpes but terrified of Chlamydia is that the latter affects genitals and the former doesn't. Even though it's an illness like any other (a mild one at that), just the fact that it affects a specific, quite arbitrary part of your fleshy vessel makes it taboo and scary and shameful.
And it's so weird that STIs are the scary ones here because it's so very easy to prevent their transmission! Going with the oral herpes example, you're probably gonna kiss (or otherwise exchange saliva with) significantly more people than you're gonna fuck. With illnesses that spread through coughing/sneezing it's even harder to prevent transmission. Meanwhile with STIs it's like, you find out you have one, you simply don't have sex (or use protection) until it's dealt with and then you continue on as usual. This isn't to say you shouldn't use protection otherwise. You should, just in case. But let's drop the STI stigma.
It really cannot be overstated enough: "For-profit health insurance" is fundamentally incompatible with keeping people healthy. UnitedHealthcare did not deny 1 out of every 3 claims because they thought they weren't medically valuable, they did it because they knew they could get away with it. The entire system cannot ever provide health as a meaningful outcome. It must be eliminated and replaced with taxation and a single-payer institution built on care, not resource hoarding.
As with every #STFUfriday post, I'm a lawyer in the USA. These comments are based on law in the USA. (And they apply to all people in the USA, whether or not they are citizens.) Some US states provide more protections than this. /end
It’s #STFUfriday!
When cops ask you questions, ask for a lawyer and then STFU:
- I am not discussing how I’m doing or where I’m going.
- Am I free to leave?
- I am not answering any questions.
- If they ask to search anything: "I do not consent to a search."
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
Say it with me now, "I want to talk to a lawyer."
I mean sure, You can spend all of this time evading advanced memory corruption detection, ASLR, W^X, etc. But have you considered just shoving funny bash strings into every possible hole and seeing if stuff is so busted that it will just run it anyway?
(This compromised a non zero amount of people)
trans trafficking psa
🦾a trafficker will try to lure you into a situation where they have a lot of power over you, thus making it painful or dangerous for you to leave. It can take the form of direct imprisonment, but it can also be in the form of blackmail, psychological threats, controlling your access to a medication you need or a substance you are dependent on, controlling your finances, trapping you in a job you cannot easily leave, or scamming you
They like to target people in vulnerable situations where they may be low on alternatives
They will promise a good job, safe housing, a supportive environment, even a loving committed relationship. Things you might really need and be outright desperate for. Things which *most* people don’t offer out of malicious intent
But the trend will be toward making you more and more dependent on them while making you socially isolated
This is to get you under control so you can be forced to do what they want
Your life depends on millions of people.
You and I need millions of people.
We can’t know them all. We will never meet them all. But, self-sufficiency is an illusion, often an expensive and thinly drawn one at that. The more high tech and comfortable your life is? The more true this is.
I do not care if you have a cabin in the woods. I do not care if you “reject modern medicine” —
This is one of those things I find “obvious” but I can imagine it starting a big argument for some.
spicy take, that shooting
Honestly, the revolutionary potential in this event is immense.
Technical debt collector and general hype-hater. Early 30s, non-binary, ND, poly, relationship anarchist, generally queer.
Sometimes horny on main (behind CW), very much into kink (bondage, freeuse, CNC, and other stuff), and believe it or not, very much a submissive bottom :p
Feel free to flirt, but if you want to actually meet up and/or do something with me, lewd or otherwise, please tell me explicitly or I won't realize :) I'm generally very open to that sort of thing!
Further boundaries: boosts are OK (including for lewd posts), DMs are open. But the devil doesn't need an advocate; I'm not interested in combative arguing in my mentions. I am however happy to explain things in-depth when asked non-combatively.
My spoons are limited, so I may not always have the energy to respond to messages.
Strong views about abolishing oppression, hierarchy, agency, and self-governance - but I also trust people by default and give them room to grow, unless they give me reason not to. That all also applies to technology and how it's built.