Balter: "To dance gracelessly, without particular art or skill, but perhaps some enjoyment."
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npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Profile Code
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2026-08-30T16:48:32Z Event JSON
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"content": "{\"name\":\"Baltergeist\",\"about\":\"Balter: \\\"To dance gracelessly, without particular art or skill, but perhaps some enjoyment.\\\"\\n\\nFormer writer and public servant. \\nBeliever that diversity is the source of nature's infinite art and regeneration. \\nReaching for courage during an anxious age.\\n\\nBanner is a photo of a tasty selection of chocolates in various shapes, textures, and colors. \\nPersonal icon is a red heart-shaped chocolate nested among the other chocolates.\\n\\nFollowRequests: \\n\",\"website\":\"https://mstdn.social/@Cotopaxi\",\"picture\":\"https://media.mstdn.social/accounts/avatars/109/282/777/405/581/642/original/084686e52426b44f.jpg\",\"banner\":\"https://media.mstdn.social/accounts/headers/109/282/777/405/581/642/original/95c1b50012789d95.jpg\",\"nip05\":\"[email protected] \"}" ,
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Last Notes npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Please, boycott #FIFA activities scheduled in the U.S. for 2026. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Apropos of AI, I came across this Fortune news article just now, of concern: npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist As for the world listening to the US government, personally, I think every government should keep lines of communication open and listen to each other. How else will we share good ideas and practices, identify and learn from bad practices, figure out who wants what is good for people, or who wants only what is good for themselves? Listening is how you learn who is your friend, who is an enemy, who can be trusted. That takes diplomacy, not bullying. No one likes being bullied. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Private companies do manufacture and distribute vaccines, true. But these companies receive a lot of money from the federal government (subsidies) to research and develop vaccines and other medicines. Without government money and support, these medicines don't make enough profit for private companies to sell them. It's always about profit. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Yes, JFK Kennedy, Jr., as head of US Department of Health, has authority to deny government money for research and development of vaccines, treatments, and cures for diseases. He has stopped money that was meant to fund development of vaccines for H5N1 bird flu, and a vaccine that would have been effective against ALL covid variants. He is not a scientist and has no medical training, just dumb ideas. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I aim to be optimistic, but at heart am a pragmatist: hope for the best but prepare for the worst. I don't like the converging vectors of probabilities right now, but refuse to surrender hope. I love that your response is other-oriented. That's the best of humanity, our capacity for compassion and mutual support, which reinforces reason to expect we'll see these difficult times bring out the best in more of us than some might expect. Inelegantly put, but I'm tired. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Hope everyone has laid in appropriate supplies: masks, gloves, medicines, sanitizer, etc. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist #DontForgetTo pet your pets! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you for sustaining this instance of the Fediverse. That's HUGE. ❤️ npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist That little face, a tiny dinosaur sizing you up. Just love it. 🤩 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I get lost in the detail of feathering. Beautiful! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist You are conflating wealth with efficacy. I understand you are focused on money, but again, you are ignoring the fact that diplomacy will not be effective with Putin. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist All America does NOT align with the current administration, and this game is NOT over. Friday's White House debacle should infuriate all people who believe in democratic freedom. That anger is fuel for a vigorous resistance to fascism. If you believe you already lost, then you are weakening that which must be strengthened. I have empathy for all of us. We're dismayed, angry, frightened. But we are not yet defeated, and neither is democratic freedom. Don't kneel. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Agreed, the current propaganda from the US is aligned with Russian interests. Disastrous, and not just for Americans. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist profiter. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist What do you call a bear with no teeth? npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I'm not proud of feeling that way, but I'm only mortal. And I love Mom fiercely. I'm at the point where I'm praying the crook will get a karmic redirect. Lord knows, I've had my share of Cosmic clue by fours. Uncomfortable, but I'm okay with them because I know they help me evolve and become a better person. Schoolhouse earth delivers some tough love sometimes. 🤪 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thanks! Honestly, I'm terrified that there might still be fall-out. It's so scary. I don't know how anyone can be so evil. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist The scammer, weirdly, stayed on the line, even at the bank! He started talking crazy to the bank rep, so it really hit home to Mom how close she came to a disaster. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist One thing today, but it's BIG: TL:DR Saved Mom from huge fraud attempt. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist #Linux #LinuxInstall npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist #WritersCoffeeClub 1/22 What prompted you to begin writing? npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Jedi mind trick, playing me against myself, lol! I haven't mastered discipline, but my bait-and-switch tactics are nearing world class.🤭 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Completed a fact-finding call for an essential service for Mom. Follow-through set for next week. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Agreed. It's such a stealthy disease, good at disguise, flying under radar. Coupled with the ol' "I see nothing!" attitude of our governments and healthcare systems, one must ponder that covid is like the bunny who leaped and landed in clover. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist "...over 410 million people are now living with Long COVID globally..." npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist From a T-shirt for sale at redbubble.com, Types of Cat Loaf. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Answering the phone instead of letting it roll to voice mail to screen out the 97% of calls that are frauds, spammers, crooks, and general nuisances. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist That's why I adored these guys so much. Instead of responding with fear or hostility, they leaned into the gifts of their nerdery. They dressed up, went out, and had fun with it, celebrating their goofy wit and imagination. Every one of them is in my book of heroes. WBC slunk away to their hate-filled hellscape and the goofy guys won. Yay! 😆 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist My Favorite Westboro Baptist Church of Hate protest story is the 2010 San Diego Comic Con counter-protest, when WBC protested the evils of larping, furries and fun. My favorite counter-protest signs were "God hates kittens" and "Is this thing on?" I was never so proud of my people, and I wanted to hug them all. edit note: The top image is gone, but photos of counter-protest remain. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist In the 1960s, kids in my school got the Weekly Reader, a short, kid-level newsletter. They were talking about climate change in articles for kids that long ago. Granted, not every kid had that kind of information back then, but by the 1970s, news articles about the threats to our planet from pollution and the oil industry were common. It's difficult for me to understand folks are now surprised by crises the public was consistently warned about from 50 years ago or more. How..? npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist <Frantically stocking up on books, cats, and art and writing supplies against the coming Duhpocalypse.> npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist It works because the new FT live-in maid is Adrian Monk, the only person whose standards of hygiene meet or exceed Felix Unger's. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist If there's a design college or art school in your area, you might see if a design student would welcome a commission. But please do pay them, even if not thousands of dollars, at least enough to make it worth their while. Artists need income, not exposure. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist This makes me so happy. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist "Dis pillow, mine. Dese toys, mine. *Sniffsniff* Dis also mine." npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist No, but I was responding to the surprise expressed that an ER requires the presence of a security force. Not everyone is aware of that. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Exactly. I suspect with Labor, it may also be governing inexperience, but that's mere noodling over my coffee, nothing to back it up. While I don't think taxing the rich is a cure-all, prying a fair share out of them would sure help. At a certain point, they're just keeping score, and their entrenched entitlement and conceit become the measure of misery for those they hold interior by virtue of that very poverty engineered to imprison them, generation after generation. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I think it's elitist cruelty, snobbery elevated to the level of a Dickensian ethical shambles. Please excuse me, I have to go outside and rage against the machine for a while now. 🤨 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I thought the Thatcher years would have buried the myth of austerity as economic cure. They sure should have. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Yes. ER staff have to deal with assaults by people on drugs, violent drunks, as well as mentally ill people who may become violent due to their fear and psychosis. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/996/065/098/036/340/original/60daeaa0e7f7fd2c.mp4 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Good night, and sweet dreams! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist You have the makings of a great biologist, good for you! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I got a lizard, a horny toad, a cockroach, and a decapitated water moccasin draped over a stick. I didn't mind the first two, screamed and ran from the roach, and climbed up an old oak tree as far as I could to escape the dead moccasin. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist No worries! I'm consternated to realize just how old this song is--and therefore how old I am. Urk! 😜 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist One from the vaults. It's about that time in childhood when little boys start to crush on little girls, want to get their attention, but don't know how to be smooth in their approach yet. It's that age when they pull little girls' hair, scare them or gross them out, anything to get her to notice him. The little girl in the song tells the little boy, "I don't like spiders and snakes, and that ain't what it takes to love me, you fool, you fool!" Having lived this, I find it cute. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist As if we needed another reason to vote against the increasingly mentally deteriorating Donald Trump, consider that the president has the sole discretion and power to launch nuclear warheads at any time, with no one to contravene the launch. And he WANTS to use them. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist "I recently introduced the Long COVID Research Moonshot Act of 2024. This legislation provides the world’s largest investment into Long COVID and is critical to support research, expand care, and provide relief to the millions of Americans suffering from it. It provides $10 billion in federal funding..." npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Go for it! The divergent path takes us to interesting new vistas, sometimes better ones. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist #mishearatitle npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I mean, eventually I scraped my jaw off the floor, but seconds later, THHHHUNK! There it went again. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Peekaboo, Bella! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Time Keeps on Slippin' Into the Future Shock npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Steeleye Span showed me A Lofty Tall Ship/Shallow Brown. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Amen to that, the most insightful and compassionate observer of human nature in generations. Sir Terry's writing spoiled me. I had to learn to read with tolerance other work that doesn't reach the bar, which is mostly everyone else. Except maybe Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Arg! All we can do is our best with resources and information available at any given time. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Done, thank you! 😊 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you! I worry about oversharing, being a nuisance, so this is welcome validation that I can still be of use in the world. ❤️ npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist ❤️ npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I thought I was doing pretty well at keeping up with covid research. While I was doing better than the average guy in the street, this deeper dive is boggling my mind anew. Every so often, I start thinking maybe Hubby and I are falling prey to conspiracy theories, at worst, or germophobia, at best, and should ditch the masks, join the herd. Then something puts my nose deep in the science again, REAL real, and...yeah, we'll keep masking, embrace our weirdo status. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Karen, ref Benadryl, I found this, plus there appear to be other relevant research publications available. I prefer DuckDuckGo for online searches rather than Google. This also is new information for me, thank you for bringing it to my attention! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I'll have to read up on Neosporin ointment, thanks for putting this on my radar! I'm hip deep at present in the National Academies Press 2024 publication, "A Long Covid Definition: A Chronic, Systemic Disease State with Profound Consequences". It's clearer to me why there's no comprehensive data tracking at present. We can't even adequately define or definitively diagnose long covid yet! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I'm impressed that you found a doctor willing to diagnose long covid and try to help you. I live in a large urban area with a significant medical community, but am not sanguine about finding a doctor with the knowledge and compassion who could help with a long covid patient. I think they're here, but I also think I'd have to truck through three or more doctors minimum to find that one who would be of help. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist We'll get there eventually. But I share your dismay at casual dismissal, which is casual cruelty, of the long-term threat covid poses, especially to our most vulnerable population. I can't get my head around the block-headed denial involved, but no one wants to give credence to long-term sufferers, legitimate researchers, or even the silent dead in their millions. We're frogs in the cookpot, oblivious to the boiling to come, sans intervention. Cost of neglect will be staggering. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Too many folks are living this story, and it's a tragic loss of human potential. I'm so sorry your life has been upended by covid. I continue to expect we'll see meaningful treatments, or better, a cure, one day. Feels like we're treading water, hoping for a lifeline. But I won't surrender hope. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist It's certainly cause for hope, especially for the most vulnerable among us! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I think there are some really good doctors here on Mastodon who take long covid seriously and are working to educate colleagues. But there are too many others who can't be bothered. It irks me any time a medical professional falls back on 'psychosomatic' when what they really mean is 'I have no idea and it's not my problem.' Doctors used to dismiss menstrual cramps as female hysterics in my grandmother's day. We make progress, but Lordy, it feels so slow. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist That would do it, yep. I'm so sorry. I know you must be doing everything you can to stay safe. Periodically I see updates on research into a covid vaccine administered nasally that will be vastly more effective at prevention. I hope we see this available soon! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Three times! I'm so sorry. Are you in a high risk environment, may I ask? npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you! I had been thinking of recovery in terms of a couple of weeks, not months. It's disastrous that employers want sick employees back to work before they've even gotten over immediate symptoms, let alone one or two months! Brother-in-law had mild covid last month and went back to work after a few days. Sis (retired) had it, not so mild, but brushed off my fussing for her to take it easy and not push. She gave it two weeks. Second infection, both of them. *sigh... 😑 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you! This is very helpful. So many folks here, whether covid sufferers, doctors or nurses, are giving this same good advice. It's hard to get people to slow down, rest, not rush back to activity. But I hear resting sufficiently is vitally important for recovery. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I suspect neighbor did have this new summer strain, which, though not more lethal, is reported to a nastier experience for victims. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Yes. The research I've seen points to something more akin to AIDS. Covid tanks the immune system, embeds in multiple physical organs and systems, and will affect individuals differently depending on where the virus finds systemic weaknesses to exploit. That it can lie dormant before reigniting, or cycle through dormant/active phases, terrifies me. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Oh no, I'm sorry you're dealing with that! It sure is a game-changer for life. You must have to really hoard your energy and manage your boundaries fiercely. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Oh, boy. How awful for you! Yes, even light reading can be too demanding under that kind of fatigue. Trying to manage bills and basic life maintenance, things so many of us take for granted, becomes too much. It doesn't help that there's research now showing even mild covid results in reduced mental capacity. We need those brain cells! Plus it's scary to go through all that, and fear itself is also exhausting. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Gosh, I'm sorry you're struggling with your health. I hope today was a good day for you. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you for your kindness! No worries, much more research to read, and I'll never finish the novel I promised to pass along to Mom. I appreciate this help more than I can say. I've got info in the pipeline to the neighbor, cagily redirected through a source she is most likely to trust. But I'm going to keep reading. I try to keep up with covid events and research, but this case is too close to home. I also greatly value personal accounts shared from our front line sources. 🙏 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you very much! I have a lot of reading to do, this is a huge help. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist It seems so to me. The lady is in her 70s, but normally a live wire, a bustling charge of inexhaustible energy. No other health concerns, but she said that second covid infection was significantly more debilitating than the first one. This is why I think it's likely long covid, since her doctor finds no other cause. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Great resource, BTW! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you! Will do a deeper dive on this, much obliged. I've been trying to keep up with the research, but wasn't certain whether a person could recover and then weeks or months later have a relapse of symptomatic fatigue without other symptoms, or a cluster of symptoms. It's that temporal gap that has me squinting, but the fatigue from seemingly nowhere, weeks after a more-than-mild second infection screams covid to me. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist I'd love to help my neighbor, but she's seen her doctor (and said he was no help). I don't think she'll listen to me if I suggest it might be a consequence of covid. She had recovered, but every instinct in me screams, "It's the covid!" So I want to know for my own sake if this is possible. I believe it is, because covid destroys immune systems, among other system damage. But I'm the family/neighbor covid weirdo nobody listens to, who's still masking, cautious, spouting studies, etc. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist From Carpe Jugulum bySir Terry Pratchett: npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Honoring #Caturday and #SirTerryPratchett today. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Yes! Pretty please! 🥹 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist That said, I have more hope and excitement from what I'm seeing than I've had in years. We're not alone. I think despite the forces eager to pull us backward, there's a greater swath of people who hunger for this fresh energy and future promise. There are no perfect people, no perfect candidates, but I think it's high time the reins are handed to a new generation, to demographics that deserve a chance to make or break, to strive and fall, to rise again, reach, and fly. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Exactly. I know what I hope for, a fresh wind blowing our nation forward with a momentum that will forestall the authoritarian, retrogressive forces threatening our stability and freedom. I hesitate to lean into that too heavily because a 'failure to land' would be devastating, not just personally, but globally. I am loving the energy, but I also am aware there are many voters who are poorly educated, lack critical thinking skills, easily led by emotional rhetoric. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Cautiously hopeful sums up my current stance. There are still months to go, and the tighter their backs get to the wall, the dirtier the moves we can expect from the GOP. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist "The report also found that Barr’s leadership was 'chaotic and disorganized,' which led to 'standard practices and procedures being set aside.'" npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Brisket is slow-cooking in the oven, swamped in a mix of beer, Worcestershire, soy sauce, black peppercorns, liquid smoke, and other spices. The aroma will torment us over the next four hours, but then--! Brisket soft tacos, with melted cheese, onion, bell pepper, and dollop of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. >drool!< The anticipation is half the joy. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist First time to make beer bread (with Shiner Bock). Recipe is easy peasy. Turned out well, very tasty. I'll be making this again. I drizzled with olive oil instead of butter, weighed dry ingredient and sifted them after whisking together, before adding beer last. No proving required. Next time I'll try it with brown sugar or molasses. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Empathy for the Sisterhood of Thunder Boobs. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Every year feels as though life stress ratchets up another notch.I find this insight from late 2022 still relevant, so am sharing with anyone who may find it helpful. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist For the win! 🤣🤣🤣 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Me too, and thank you. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you for compiling and sharing this research information. npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Thank you! I buy pens either when I feel anxious and need comfort (because the world is so crazy now), or when I feel expansive with new creative ideas, so I appreciate the info for the next buying binge. 🌞 npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist What brand/nib width pen are you using? Great results! npub1fkyk4aluu99umrp8vtkw0q56qj4dsge3hjrtzcsnm249p63c38wqarxgc0 Baltergeist Oh also, kitty finds it very chill, so it passes the cats can. :blobcat_rss:
