I play bass too, about 20 years. Still not like, great, but I enjoy it. Thats cool you teach classes, must be rewarding :)

Ooo ooo I love good work boots!

I bought these in 2015 for work. I left that job in 2020, and I wore these like three times since. Pulled them out this winter for my son to wear as the fit him right now, (he’s growing and blowing through shoes).

How bloody happy I am that after ten years, they are still holding up! You can see some of the leather is wearing, but they’re soaked on the outside in these photos, bone dry in the inside.

Fuck inflation though, I paid $120 for these back then, the same boots, I looked them up, today, are $230. Wild. No way I can buy these kind ever again, I’m so happy they have lived so long my son is now getting life out of them! Will definitely be getting these repaired when the time comes!

Those look good to me. I wear the shit out of my shoes.

Fresh clean shoes are lame. I like looking down at my feet and seeing all the life and work I’ve worn into my shoes. I’ve a pair of boots for snow, a pair of sneakers, and one pair of sandlas. That’s it- if you invited me to something fancy, well, I won’t be invited anywhere fancy I assure you. I’m 38 and never even been to a single wedding. Ha.

You’re probably doing better than you give yourself credit for.

Make space in your day to do something you want, anything, even if for only 5-10 mins. My husband has spent the last year or more rebuilding his sport’s card collection. We’ve a small house so he’s turned our small little “walk in” closet into his “office” or card room. Sometimes I find him just, sitting in there, decompressing. It’s his happy place. Whether in your mind or a tangible spot, get you a happy place, if even only for temporary relief.

Hang in there, maybe we can get some hope back this year.

Oooo ooo I got one!

https://youtu.be/HeeWUi3HP_s

This whole album, Imperium Delirium, has been heavy on my rotation.

I’ve been dabbing into intermittent fasting for the last couple months.

It’s not really a snack, but my doctor recommended that before I break my fast, to drink warm lemon water. So I do,

I run my tap until it’s hot as it gets, and squeeze half a lemon of juice in a cup, and fill it with that warm water. The first one was rough, I didn’t like it. But after a short time, I really like them now and just drink one or two, or sometimes three times a day. The warm water helps my tummy feel full and the lemon nearly tastes sweet at this point. My doctor said it makes thw fat cells “move”. So move it!

For meals,I stopped buying butter, and cook everything from scratch. Sometimes I’ll just roast a sweet potato or squash and eat that. Roasted veggies are under rated. The take like 20-45 mins depending, but I like I can do it in the air fryer or toaster oven. Olive oil and spices its a win.

Years ago, I lost 100 pounds in a year. I ate, whole prepared foods, but didn’t really cut anything out. I used a smaller plate. I just ate less. I still would have bread and butter, just less. And, it still worked for me. Take whole or real food meals you like, and just have a smaller plate. This is easier if you use an actual, small plate.

I also made everything spicy as hell, by the end of the year I was chopping raw habeneros and putting them on like, a ham sandwhich. I don’t eat deli meats anymore, but making any food spicy will intuitively help you to slow down. Eating slower makes a huge difference. I also often would eat meals with chopsticks, that will also slow your eating habits.

Edit, to add, homemade popcorn in avocado oil, with a little salt, black pepper, nooch and cayenne pepper is amazing. You can eat a whole bowl and its only like 300 calories. I make mine on the stove in a dutch oven, but you can put a 1/4 cup of kernals in a lunch sack paper bag, fold it up and microwave it too! Its guilt free snacking.

I’ve worked three 12 hours days and one six hour day a week for years.

Baked in OT, three and a half days off. I loved it

My brother in law is in college for engineering. His mom was telling me he uses AI for his assignments and just edits the responses. She is writing a book, and said she uses AI all the time for it.

It makes me want to scream. We weren’t even allowed to use spark notes when I was a student, and yet, the schools today seem to be pushing this tech on them. The mother used my spark notes example as an excuse, “see kids always have looked for ways to make their work easier”. It’s not the same lady…

While I’m glad to hear your school cohort is enthusiastic and informed, I’m not so sure it’s the general consensus among college students.

Saw something about the EPA rolling back air quality regulations too

Good times

Last year the Northern Lights reached Southern New England and I got to see them from my porch!

I don’t think your fear is irrational, for whatever that’s worth

The “Workers over billionaires” sticker advocating for workers right, sits on the post of a grocery cart corral. I smile everytime I see it. I’m thankful for who ever stuck it there, and even cooler, it’s not been scrubbed off after a full year.

You can cry rules/laws if you want, but where I am, the powers at large are not bound by any law, so why must I be bound to something so arbitrary? Why should we not advocate for ourselves in anyway possible?

Do you understand how hopeful it is to see graffiti/stickers in support of your values out in the wild? I was filled with hope when I first saw that sticker, for we are not alone

It feels really arrogant to call these acts antisocial behavior. It’s not

There’s also plenty of community boards around one could post a sticker to with a thumb tack, and it breaks no rule. It’s free for use.

I followed the directions my instance of choice had posted, also use jerboa. It was a few steps, but the directions given were simple. It didn’t take me long at all to sign up.

I still don’t fully understand federation, but I knew even less when I began here a few years ago. I do like using jerboa

It used to be this way. When women were only “allowed” to wear dresses, often they carried a pocket pouch on the inside of the skirt. It went on like a belt under the skirt.

Dress pockets, if done well, are god tier

I just bought a pair of men’s sweatpants (with giant pockets) and I’m over the moon with how well they fit.

I also buy men’s shoes almost exclusively, because they are more comfortable. My men’s Hey Dude winter boots are the most comfortable winter shoes I’ve ever owned. They make women’s, but men’s shit is often more comfortable.

Even my skinny mini gen z sister in law has taken to wearing men’s (she fits boys sizes tbh) jeans and she rocks them well.

Burning a CD mix, or recording a tape mix if you go further back, was a sweet gift idea I saw often in that time. One would put songs both the giver and receiver related to in some way. They would draw something on the cover, and spend a at least a few hours curating a list of songs that the gift giver thought would move the receiver. It took a lot of throught and time…

And even still, sometimes was not well received. I feel like this AI song maker, will be less likely to go over well, but tbh, there’s prolly some goofball out there who might like it, but personally, not for me.

Does your idea sound gimmicky? Yes, it also feels fake, not rooted in reality.

Oh, what would make it feel real? Being a gift that is actually made by a human, not just some half ass attempt to be sweet. It’s a lazy idea. I’d rather get a burn CD or fuck, a mixtape.

Even after he is gone, this shit show will remain.

Welcome to the new age

So many! I think it was possibly, a almost pop culture trend in the 70s to claim native history tbh. So many folks I met who do this would have been teens/young adults in that time. But you’re probably right, it’s some warped cope for the atrocities committed against native people. Fucking warped.

Consume consume consume! The American way!