Recent searches
Search options
Administered by:
I'm going to start listing some good things that have happened in society, and I know a lot of you are going to want to say, Well, that's all over now, it will all be taken away, but remember nothing lasts forever, even the bad stuff. So, instead of giving into despair and hopelessness, think for a second, and instead of tearing down hope, add to the list.
The idea that we would have open legal gay marriage in my lifetime wasn't something I believed would happen, but here we are.
I can buy legal recreational Marijuana in my state.
The show Drag Race not only exists, but it has for a long time, and it's very popular.
AIDS is no longer a death sentence.
And to add to that, you can take a drug that will just stop you from getting it.
There is a vaccine for Malaria.
I can just go buy an electric car.
When I was a kid, parents hitting kids was the rule, not an exception.
In my teens and 20's, I never met a transitioned or transitioning Trans person, now I know lots of them.
Abortion pills exist.
There are tenant union.
There is a vaccine against cervical cancer.
Women make up more than half of the college educated work force.
Millions of people showed up to protest police brutality in 2020, I know that's not enough, but if you compare that to the past, or even Rodney King, it's a big fucking deal.
Things are rough, and we are scared, but we haven't just been treading water, and we won't just sit in misery. It's never going to be perfect, but we can be better.
Seriously, if you want to post about how everything is terrible and the world's ending and we should all just give up, do it on your own account. I will block you if you put it here.
@RickiTarr There’s a alternative to Musk’s place which is much better.
@RickiTarr i totally agree Ricki. I mean, I’m still hurting from the results, but life goes on. Just keep the pessimism out…
I spent some very enjoyable weekends in World's End (Chelsea). Lovely place to be, very under-rated today.
@RickiTarr I agree! Humor is the answer! (And weed
). It's gonna be a Loooooooong journey so let's try to be positive when we can 
@otownKim @RickiTarr
I remembered I had some past “Use By:” date gummies in the fridge. Had one last night and it took the edge off nicely.
FWIW, seriously contemplating suffering the ignominy of getting an Xanax Rx to cope with the next 4 (6, 8, ? etc) years.
@Joe_Hill @RickiTarr Take care of yourself and your family. Ignore the News!!! Also weed is better than Xanax 
.
@otownKim @Joe_Hill @RickiTarr That depends.... Personally, I prefer a prn rotation. What we can't do is let either take our edge.
@Joe_Hill @otownKim @RickiTarr
Xanax is habit forming. Weed is your friend.
@geos @Joe_Hill @otownKim @RickiTarr
I know it works well for some folks and I'm certainly glad it's legal, but weed is definitely NOT my friend. Also, even if I liked it and it's legal in my state, I would risk my employment if I used it.
@TheGreatLlama @Joe_Hill @otownKim @RickiTarr
My former employer pushed for legalized weed. They saw it as an advantage when recruiting from out of state. When asked about it they said if they fired people for weed they would lose a third of the employees. Also the CEO was busted for possession once, so sympathetic.
@geos @TheGreatLlama @Joe_Hill @RickiTarr I've always argued that Alcohol is far more dangerous
@otownKim @TheGreatLlama @Joe_Hill @RickiTarr
... and yet it doesn't stop me 
@geos @otownKim @Joe_Hill @RickiTarr
More power to you. **IF** I enjoyed it, I would find ways around it, but all I ever get out of weed is a shortcut to nap time. It's not for a lack of trying different strains, it's just how it all affects me. Some people can't and/or shouldn't drink, but alcohol has always been really manageable and pleasant for me. It takes all kinds.
@otownKim @geos @Joe_Hill @RickiTarr
Certainly for some people. I have good friends who have had their lives destroyed by an alcohol addiction, but let's be clear: the dangerous thing is the addiction. I have certainly been known to drink to excess in my life, but at this point, once or twice a week I'll enjoy a single drink with a meal. We're all different.
@RickiTarr
have written 6 missives today,
none made it to the 'post' phase
None of us
not a one
knows what the future holds.
But me?
holy fuck!
they've not a clue what they have done
I'd probably come and go on your block list, I'm afraid. I try, in my own way, to bring hope to those who have none - but I know from bitter experience I am now entering a downward phase of bipolarity.
As I watch the hands of the altimeter spinning down, I do not fear. But I am trying to slow those little white arrows down.
Breathe in, I would say, every day. Life is going on all around us. I do not allow myself the poison of despair.
Agreed. Nobody gets to give up, though many will. We only get one life, are we going to let sociopaths steal it? No matter how bad the news, never give up. Take a breather, but every good person is needed.
"Seriously, if you want to post about how everything is terrible and the world's ending and we should all just give up…"
We have access to all the knowledge on the planet via a little piece of metal and glass that we hold in our hand.
@GayDeceiver I cannot convey to younger people how absolutely gobsmacked that is.
@RickiTarr @GayDeceiver Many of the things in my favorite childhood comic "Yoko Tsuno" now exist. Still some cool stuff to go though.
@GayDeceiver @RickiTarr MWOWM
As foretold by The Book of The SubGenius
@GayDeceiver @RickiTarr
"We have access to all the knowledge on the planet via a little piece of metal and glass that we hold in our hand."
For better...or for worse.
@clintruin @GayDeceiver @RickiTarr Yeah, I think right now it would be very hard for me to consider that “a good thing”
I kinda hate it. I don’t want a phone, but I don’t have a choice :(
@GayDeceiver @RickiTarr agreed, but it would be nice to get the commercial aspect of browser searches out of the equation.
@RickiTarr good things are still happening, people are still fighting for justice and equality! Science is still making wondrous breakthroughs, new things are still being discovered. Seeing the world through only what bad stuff is happening is extremely myopic.
@RickiTarr One bit of medical science that I find really impressive is the care we can give for premature babies. If I'd been born at 26 weeks' gestation, there is no way I'd have survived.
Babies born that prematurely today have an excellent chance of growing up to be healthy adults.
@RickiTarr Oh, and cancer. While it still kills way too many people, we are much better at treating it now than a few decades ago. Many people who would have died if they'd been diagnosed with cancer in the 1970s will survive if they are diagnosed with exactly the same cancer today.
Interesting to note that while journalists love to talk about "breakthroughs", there haven't really been any in cancer treatment. Just a great many incremental improvements, which over the decades add up to a lot
@RickiTarr And multiple sclerosis. Sadly still incurable, but control of symptoms with modern drugs is vastly better than it was a couple of decades ago.
MS is curable, just not in the US unless you're crazy wealthy (or can get into a trial). The UK uses the less harmful but less effective version.
It doesn't reverse your current symptoms, but it does remove the disease so you no longer get worse. The sad part is it's so badly covered that people today who are getting diagnosed with few or no symptoms aren't immediately going for it because they believe when articles say there is no cure :-/
@statsguy This is also true for heart attacks and strokes, they are very good at stopping and repairing them now. That's why if you suspect you might be having one get to the ER ASAP, and see your doctor regularly if you can.
@RickiTarr Oh yes, that too! And quite apart from treatment, we are way better at preventing them in the first place.
@RickiTarr @statsguy Do people even still say "as serious as a heart attack" or "as funny as cancer"?
2020s:
"My husband had a heart attack/has cancer."
"Oh, that's terrible. Do they know how long he'll have to be in the hospital?"
1970s:
"My husband had a heart attack/has cancer."
"Oh, that's terrible. Which funeral home should I send flowers to?"
@Gorfram
When I was a kid near Manchester in the 1960s I'd hear my mum talking to aunties or friends about other friends or relatives and if someone said, 'she's in the Christie' there'd be a sad shaking of heads and a change of subject. The Christie is Manchester's specialist cancer treatment centre but 60 years ago few patients survived long.
@RickiTarr @statsguy
@statsguy I think the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer IS a huge breakthrough.
@Judeet99 Yeah, that's fair. I guess I was thinking more of treatment of cancer. And also hepatitis B vaccine to prevent liver cancer.
@samhainnight @Judeet99 That's a tricky one, as it's less likely to be effective as you get older. I note it's only approved for people under 45: I'm not sure if there's much evidence that it makes much difference over that age. Though given how safe it is, if it makes even a small difference it's probably still worth doing.
Though talking of age eligibility, I really wish covid vaccines weren't limited to the over 65s. That's bonkers.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/older-women-and-the-hpv-vaccine-3132991
@samhainnight @Judeet99 Ah, that sucks. Bad timing!
@statsguy @RickiTarr I actually took care of a little baby who weighed 16 ounces at birth in 2006-2007. They named him Mason because he would’ve fit in a mason jar. He still had a feeding tube when he came home. Next year he will be graduating from high school. He’s very bright and has a bright future ahead.
@Beachbum @RickiTarr That's awesome!
@statsguy
You might have survived but it was very rare. A friend of my mother had a very premature baby in the late 1940s. She weighed less than 2lb. She had to be washed with olive oil as soap and water was too aggressive for her skin, and for 6 months she wore dolls' clothes from a toy shop. But she lived. Thanks to a new invention back then, the #NHS
@RickiTarr
@statsguy @RickiTarr my daughter was born in 1997 at 31 weeks. The doctors looked at me and said she will be absolutely fine. They also did stress that if she would have been born 10 years before that that she probably wouldn’t have survived. Crazy to think. And she was only in the hospital for three weeks and had a really healthy childhood.
@statsguy @RickiTarr my younger son had to be induced at 26 weeks and spent his first month in the NICU. He’s almost 12 now. 
@jeffzugale @RickiTarr Well there's your good news right there! Really pleased it turned out OK
@statsguy Along those same lines: I was able to become a second-time parent at 51 despite complete infertility thanks to progress in science, culture and law. My daughter was part of a batch of embryos created by a gay man and his husband with the help of an egg donor. When they'd completed their family, they donated the remaining embryos via their fertility clinic, and we got one. We hired a gestational surrogate to carry her, and now our (adopted) son finally has a little sister.
@textualdeviance @statsguy @RickiTarr this is thr SciFi Future i am here for
@RickiTarr If I touch my phone in a specific way, pizza appears at my house!