Rachel
@raythewren.bsky.social
Bird watcher and word botcher. Data engineer professionally; hobbyist birder, gardener, stained glass artist, and indie game developer. Crohn's patient with deep interest in healthcare policy due to my dependence on Very Expensive medications.
Matt is getting much less radioactive and tomorrow we can stop isolating!!!!
December 13, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Matt is getting much less radioactive and tomorrow we can stop isolating!!!!
Pepper is taking it as a personal affront to his liberties that we are not letting him into The Radioactive Room
Matt is "extremely high, report to government" radioactive
December 12, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Pepper is taking it as a personal affront to his liberties that we are not letting him into The Radioactive Room
Matt is "extremely high, report to government" radioactive
December 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Matt is "extremely high, report to government" radioactive
Today is the day 🤞
Next couple of weeks are gonna be WEIRD in my household. Matt's getting radioactive iodine treatment for his thyroid cancer next week. Leading up to that, starting today, he has to eat a low iodine diet, which is very restrictive. Iodine is in salt, and salt is in everything!
December 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Today is the day 🤞
"Cardinals appear when angels are near" I guess angels really love safflower seeds then huh
December 10, 2025 at 3:40 AM
"Cardinals appear when angels are near" I guess angels really love safflower seeds then huh
Next couple of weeks are gonna be WEIRD in my household. Matt's getting radioactive iodine treatment for his thyroid cancer next week. Leading up to that, starting today, he has to eat a low iodine diet, which is very restrictive. Iodine is in salt, and salt is in everything!
December 3, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Next couple of weeks are gonna be WEIRD in my household. Matt's getting radioactive iodine treatment for his thyroid cancer next week. Leading up to that, starting today, he has to eat a low iodine diet, which is very restrictive. Iodine is in salt, and salt is in everything!
I've listened to the podcast Hidden Brain for years, and Shankar Vedantam's voice is like ASMR for me. I was listening today and there was an ad for Whole Foods that was in a voice that was very much trying to be Shankar but was noticeably *wrong.* Generative AI for voices still ain't quite there.
December 3, 2025 at 4:39 AM
I've listened to the podcast Hidden Brain for years, and Shankar Vedantam's voice is like ASMR for me. I was listening today and there was an ad for Whole Foods that was in a voice that was very much trying to be Shankar but was noticeably *wrong.* Generative AI for voices still ain't quite there.
I dreamed last night that I got Epsteined lmao 😭 they tricked us into the plane by saying it was Taylor Swift's private plane and we could board it for a tour. Then it took off and Bill Clinton and Bill Cosby popped out smoking cigarettes 💀💀
December 2, 2025 at 4:50 AM
I dreamed last night that I got Epsteined lmao 😭 they tricked us into the plane by saying it was Taylor Swift's private plane and we could board it for a tour. Then it took off and Bill Clinton and Bill Cosby popped out smoking cigarettes 💀💀
I sit down and about two seconds later this guy shows up and just makes himself comfortable
November 26, 2025 at 11:43 PM
I sit down and about two seconds later this guy shows up and just makes himself comfortable
Reposted by Rachel
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
If you want something to smile about: Matt and Pepper, our cat, have a daily ritual we call "pants time." It's where Matt puts on his pants and Pepper attacks the pant legs while he is putting them on. I think it is one of the highlights of Pepper's day. Mine too, honestly.
November 25, 2025 at 3:47 AM
If you want something to smile about: Matt and Pepper, our cat, have a daily ritual we call "pants time." It's where Matt puts on his pants and Pepper attacks the pant legs while he is putting them on. I think it is one of the highlights of Pepper's day. Mine too, honestly.
CW: dead fish (though not gross looking imo)
Today I went on a hike with a friend and the highlight was this strange sight: a fish that seemingly tried to eat another smaller fish and couldn't get it down and they both died
Today I went on a hike with a friend and the highlight was this strange sight: a fish that seemingly tried to eat another smaller fish and couldn't get it down and they both died
November 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
CW: dead fish (though not gross looking imo)
Today I went on a hike with a friend and the highlight was this strange sight: a fish that seemingly tried to eat another smaller fish and couldn't get it down and they both died
Today I went on a hike with a friend and the highlight was this strange sight: a fish that seemingly tried to eat another smaller fish and couldn't get it down and they both died
Every day at 3:15-3:30pm, the house sparrows start tweeting up a storm in the rhododendron outside my window. This then gets my cat's attention, and he has to walk all over my desk to hunt them. It's like clockwork.
I want to know more about what is going on in the house sparrows' inner lives.
I want to know more about what is going on in the house sparrows' inner lives.
November 21, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Every day at 3:15-3:30pm, the house sparrows start tweeting up a storm in the rhododendron outside my window. This then gets my cat's attention, and he has to walk all over my desk to hunt them. It's like clockwork.
I want to know more about what is going on in the house sparrows' inner lives.
I want to know more about what is going on in the house sparrows' inner lives.
This is who I am as a gardener: I have a space I need to fill with one shrub. I researched species and found three that I want and couldn't decide between. I am now planning another new garden bed so that I can get all three shrubs.
November 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This is who I am as a gardener: I have a space I need to fill with one shrub. I researched species and found three that I want and couldn't decide between. I am now planning another new garden bed so that I can get all three shrubs.
Man oh man the internet is having a rough day today
November 18, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Man oh man the internet is having a rough day today
Reposted by Rachel
Alice Wong, a writer and activist who was born with muscular dystrophy and who fought relentlessly for equal rights and access for people with disabilities, died on Friday. She was 51. nyti.ms/4r9WqEr
November 15, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Alice Wong, a writer and activist who was born with muscular dystrophy and who fought relentlessly for equal rights and access for people with disabilities, died on Friday. She was 51. nyti.ms/4r9WqEr
Reposted by Rachel
Rest in Power, Alice Wong.
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
November 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Rest in Power, Alice Wong.
Reposted by Rachel
A nice obituary for Alice, who was going to be recognized as one of The Post 50.
I hate that we now have to live without this phenomenal woman.
#GiftLink
wapo.st/49WOdx1
I hate that we now have to live without this phenomenal woman.
#GiftLink
wapo.st/49WOdx1
Alice Wong, disability rights advocate and wordsmith, dies at 51
Alice Wong, a transformational leader for disability rights and justice, who founded the Disability Visibility project to magnify disabled culture, died Nov. 14.
wapo.st
November 16, 2025 at 12:22 AM
A nice obituary for Alice, who was going to be recognized as one of The Post 50.
I hate that we now have to live without this phenomenal woman.
#GiftLink
wapo.st/49WOdx1
I hate that we now have to live without this phenomenal woman.
#GiftLink
wapo.st/49WOdx1
Obsessed with this scene in"Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret" in which a northern red bishop, an African bird, shows up in New Jersey and sings the song of an American goldfinch
November 14, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Obsessed with this scene in"Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret" in which a northern red bishop, an African bird, shows up in New Jersey and sings the song of an American goldfinch
His name: Pepper
What we actually call him: Peppy, Pepperoni, Pepperino, Peppy boy, little baby, sweet Peppy baby, Sargeant Pepper, Dr. Pepper, Squiggle, The Pepster, Pepperoncini, the baby, the child, Goof, Loaf, Weirdo
What we actually call him: Peppy, Pepperoni, Pepperino, Peppy boy, little baby, sweet Peppy baby, Sargeant Pepper, Dr. Pepper, Squiggle, The Pepster, Pepperoncini, the baby, the child, Goof, Loaf, Weirdo
November 13, 2025 at 12:19 AM
His name: Pepper
What we actually call him: Peppy, Pepperoni, Pepperino, Peppy boy, little baby, sweet Peppy baby, Sargeant Pepper, Dr. Pepper, Squiggle, The Pepster, Pepperoncini, the baby, the child, Goof, Loaf, Weirdo
What we actually call him: Peppy, Pepperoni, Pepperino, Peppy boy, little baby, sweet Peppy baby, Sargeant Pepper, Dr. Pepper, Squiggle, The Pepster, Pepperoncini, the baby, the child, Goof, Loaf, Weirdo
Reposted by Rachel
Tonight was a very bad night.
November 10, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Tonight was a very bad night.
Reposted by Rachel
This is, unsurprisingly, nonsensical. Is he suggesting eliminating health insurance and giving people a few thousand dollars instead? And then when they get a cancer diagnosis they just go bankrupt?
He is so unserious. That's why we are shut down and Americans know it.
He is so unserious. That's why we are shut down and Americans know it.
November 8, 2025 at 4:40 PM
This is, unsurprisingly, nonsensical. Is he suggesting eliminating health insurance and giving people a few thousand dollars instead? And then when they get a cancer diagnosis they just go bankrupt?
He is so unserious. That's why we are shut down and Americans know it.
He is so unserious. That's why we are shut down and Americans know it.
Very proud of this pretty little painting I did on some glass yesterday. It'll be one piece in a larger stained glass project I'm working on.
November 7, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Very proud of this pretty little painting I did on some glass yesterday. It'll be one piece in a larger stained glass project I'm working on.
Here's a bright spot in my life that has otherwise been quite consumed with cancer fear recently: I have begun shopping for a dress for my wedding ✨
Yesterday I tried on a dress that made me feel like a pretty princess which is not a feeling I experience very often!!
Yesterday I tried on a dress that made me feel like a pretty princess which is not a feeling I experience very often!!
November 6, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Here's a bright spot in my life that has otherwise been quite consumed with cancer fear recently: I have begun shopping for a dress for my wedding ✨
Yesterday I tried on a dress that made me feel like a pretty princess which is not a feeling I experience very often!!
Yesterday I tried on a dress that made me feel like a pretty princess which is not a feeling I experience very often!!
Unhappy to report that preliminary results are showing us having reelected every single incumbent like usual
Eager to see how town elections go tomorrow.
We have a town council made up of majority old white dudes for a town that is less than 30% white. We also have historically had <15% turnout for local elections.
Would love to see a change tomorrow.
We have a town council made up of majority old white dudes for a town that is less than 30% white. We also have historically had <15% turnout for local elections.
Would love to see a change tomorrow.
November 5, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Unhappy to report that preliminary results are showing us having reelected every single incumbent like usual