I am in Phoenix for day job, but spouse provided me with this life-giving video of my ducks this morning in order to sustain me.

Perhaps it will sustain you also!!

When I learned that the brain hallucinates like 98% of the data coming into the visual cortex at any one time (basically, it "guesses" and fills it in until we turn full attention to it, then refreshes the screen) it freaked me out, but explained a LOT

Chinese scientists have created a oyster-inspired medical adhesive called Bone-02 that can bond shattered bones in just 3 minutes. Inspired by how oysters cling to rocks underwater, the glue forms a strong, biodegradable bond that replaces screws and plates. buff.ly/znJ2jxD
#ShareGoodNewsToo

Deleted 28 messages on phone. 30% were from United Healthcare saying they wanted me to know about "exclusive benefits" (this is always teledoc service) and 70% same script from "a lender" asking for "final details" to process a $64k loan I'd been approved for. This is why no one picks up the phone

This thing where people listen to their devices in public places without headphones continues to drive me absolutely fucking wild. Why we did not nip this in the bud, from an etiquette perspective, when it first started, I dunno.

Anyway, I now travel with earplugs.

Yes.

The libby app is pretty great for getting digital library books delivered to Kindle

I want my books to smell like tobacco and whisky.

Okay, it's Fall Break, and I'm working on some boring stuff that'll be cool later, so I'm doing an AMA (ask me anything) on BlueSky until 3:10pm ish. I'll keep checking in here and answering.

Craft, software, hardware, whatever...

AMA:

Delayed in Chicago! (Shocking, I know)

Since I don't drink anymore, maybe every time I'm delayed I'll...

Buy a book! 😆

It's so easy to get annoyed w/frontline workers; shit, I take lot of deep breaths: then I remind myself this service experience is a CHOICE made by a massive nickel and diming corporation who refuses to hire appropriate number of people at living wage, with proper equipment to provide this service.

Poor guy at Dayton airport bagel shop was running it all by himself. He was easily over 60, had a difficult time remembering orders, and his card reader was on the fritz. I keep thinking, "This poor guy is getting paid like $6 an hour with no benefits. It's a fucking wonder he showed up today."

If you add the flight time, taxi time, get-there-to-get-thru security time, flight delay times, I think it may actually be just as fast to drive to Chicago as fly there these days.

Relatedly - there are just so many islands on our planet (possibly millions, depending on how you define them) that some countries can't keep track!

For example, Japan recently "found" 7,000 islands it didn't know it had (ie. hadn't included in official maps): edition.cnn.com/2023/03/02/a...

Pretty cool

"boho coastal grandmother"

I remember the first post-pandemic flight I took, I felt like I was literally dying for ten straight hours. It was EXHAUSTING. Never again.

Your weird, eccentric old aunt also has lorazepam. 😆

I truly feel I have finally come into my true old lady powers these days.

Anyhoo. Your weird, eccentric old aunt is on a plane to Phoenix.

#iykyk

It's awful how much of a difference this makes in quality of life due to how poorly we've designed our spaces to enhance life quality.

Listening to a woman at the airport talk about how they had to double what they were offering for a highly specialized position because they "weren't attracting the right candidates."

It's amazing how easy it is to "find the right people" when you actually pay them what the position is worth 😆

I had to cash mine out twice to afford health insurance, so there's so little accumulated that I don't worry about that at all 😆

Being old, I've realized, is exhausting mainly because you see the same cycles repeating over and over, and no one seems to get wise to it.