Squee!  I Love Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate Series, And I’m Looking Forward To Her New M/M

@supervillainny (who is also super awesome!) asked for positive reblogs today, so have some fluffy Cauldron Paws shorts.

Cauldron Paws: A collection of short exploratory comics about my little magical mouse and demon cat characters and the world they inhabit.

They were in one of the first silent comics I ever posted  - Calling up a friend

Also, I’ve been seeing more FedEx/UPS shipments where the final leg is actually done by USPS.  Apparently, it is more cost effective for FedEx/UPS to outsource part of their shipping to a competitor, even if they can do most of the distance more cheaply themselves.  So if the Postal Service goes under, would we have to pay even more for shipping, or would we just have to pick it up in a centralized location instead of actually getting packages delivered to our doors?

Ace cupcakes!

this took forever, but I think it’s worth it

for all of my ace folks out there <3

I was well over 20 when I *started* reading fan fiction.  One of my best friends finally convinced me to try it, and I’ve been addicted ever since.  I’ve been active in science-fiction/fantasy/gaming/furry and various other fandoms for decades.  I have seen everyone from infants to senior citizens having fun at conventions.  The idea that fandom could have a use-by date or age range is laughable.

Reblog if you’re over 20 and still read/write fan fiction.

I’m curious!

Swoon!  I love both of the little dragony things.  

“Find what works for you and work it.“

I’m so glad that my mother was willing to raise my sister and myself to be weird and to accept that we would never be, and didn’t need to be, normal.  Unless you’re sharing living quarters with someone and their needs conflict with yours, make your space work for you.  Why try to make yourself live somewhere that doesn’t fit you, just for some illusion of normal?

Ridiculous yet effective ways to deal with Executive Dysfunction

Dealing with executive dysfunction and ADHD becomes so much easier when you stop trying to do things the way you feel like you should be able to do them (like everyone else) and start finding ways that actually work for you, no matter how “silly” or “unnecessary” they seem.

For years my floor was constantly covered in laundry. Clean laundry got mixed in with dirty and I had to wash things twice, just making more work for myself. Now I just have 3 laundry bins: dirty (wash it later), clean (put it away later), and mystery (figure it out later). Sure, theoretically I could sort my clothes into dirty or clean as soon as I take them off and put them away straight out of the dryer, but realistically that’s never going to be a sustainable strategy for me.

How many garbage bins do you need in a bedroom? One? WRONG! The correct answer is one within arms reach at all times. Which for me is three. Because am I really going to get up to blow my nose when I’m hyperfocusing? NO. In allergy season I even have an empty kleenex box for “used tissues I can use again.” Kinda gross? Yeah. But less gross than a snowy winter landscape of dusty germs on my desk.

I used to be late all the time because I couldn’t find my house key. But it costs $2.50 and 3 minutes to copy a key, so now there’s one in my backpack, my purse, my gym bag, my wallet, my desk, and hanging on my door. Problem solved.

I’m like a ninja for getting pout the door past reminder notes without noticing. If I really don’t want to forget something, I make a physical barrier in front of my door. A sticky note is a lot easier to walk past than a two foot high cardboard box with my wallet on top of it.

Executive dysfunction is always going to cause challenges, but often half the struggle is trying to cope by pretending not to have executive dysfunction, instead of finding actual solutions.

Every time I see news about a new piece of hate legislation, I want to curl up and cry.  I don’t know if my life-entwined partner will ever be able to visit my family in Kansas again, especially since we have to go through Missouri and/or Iowa to get there.

It’s scary how many states went from “moderate risk in 2 years” to “worst active anti-trans laws” between December 2022 and May 2023.  Most of these laws will be challenged, and many may be overturned.  How many people are going to die in the meantime though?  Even when laws are struck down by the courts, will people ever feel safe there again?  How long until those laws are replaced by new ones that are just as bad but more subtle, or until people don’t have the energy and money to keep fighting against them?

open.substack.com

May Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map

The map of anti-trans risk has polarized into two Americas - one where trans people have full legal protections, and one where they are pers

When we moved to Oregon in 2019, we always planned eventually to move back "home" to Pennsylvania, the state where, before that, I'd spent all but a year of my life since we moved there in '88.

Today, I'm going to have a conversation with my partners. I think we just have to assume I -- we -- can't go home.

Maybe ever.

Pennsylvania itself is in a low-risk category within two years, but it could easily -- well I know it -- swing into red if the next election cycle breaks another way.

That's not the kind of place where you buy the house that you intend them to "take you out of toes first," as I joked with my wives when we last talked about our plans.

That's what these laws mean to people like me. They mean "the state you consider home might become actively hostile to you within the next 5 years, so you can't plan to buy a home there." They mean "you shouldn't even board a plane that has a likelihood of having a layover in Florida, and you're definitely not going to repeat your 2019 drive across the country, one of the best and worst experiences of your life and the most time you've gotten to spend with your brother in one week since you graduated from high school." They mean half the states in this country are actively hostile to you, legally speaking, in a way you thought was finally behind you.

Sometime soon, I'm going to call my mother and tell her that we're not planning on moving back.

I don't have a clever closing line for this. I'm just sad.

Wow!  This has expanded considerably since I saw it last.

“A house I pass on the way to work has this sculpture in its yard. Its about 8 feet tall.”

(Source)

Last week, my boss gave me a folder with what she said was my quarterly evaluation.  This was inside.  Best Boss Ever!

Beautifully said!

Neil Gaiman on Libraries and Librarians.