Notices by reading with a dog at my feet (thesquirrelfish@sfba.social)

San Francisco Public Libraries are open today. If you're spending Christmas alone like I am (the gift I'm giving myself is sleep) today's a great day to get some books, maybe print out some coloring book pages or check out a how to sketch/knit/create/craft book so you can get hygge with it.
I did a coloring book page on Sunday and it was wonderful. Let yourself rest in comfort if you can.

@TinJar yeah, I also kinda like the Cuban system of two currencies, one that can only be used for necessities where everything is cheap and one that can only be used for luxuries and can vary and tourists get it and stuff.

@skinnylatte @whynothugo yeah the subdivisions frequently have no sidewalks there. Also they give tickets for things that sound like public services - for example I helped a woman pay tickets for: a basketball hoop in her driveway, a trashcan on her property accessible from the curb.. I don't remember the rest but basically she had made her house super grandkid friendly and the neighbors were not having it.

@whynothugo @skinnylatte everything has to look like no one lives there basically and identical to the house next door except that you can choose one of three colors. No interesting trim or other color use choices though. Perfectly trimmed grass(and only grass) front yard, entryway with no cozy or comfy features, trash cans not visible from the street, nothing in the driveway except a car.
And the vast majority of single family homes in the US have been built in similarly highly regulated communities in the last decade or so.

@whynothugo @skinnylatte oh and it gets more dystopian.
The zoomed out problems of these subdivisions* are:
1) frequently built in flood or fire risk zones
2) long drive away from workplaces and services
3) increasingly impoverished residents
4) increasing insurance rates because of problem 1
5) when disaster strikes the rule makers want houses rebuilt the same instead of building stuff that could survive sustainably
6)laws give homeowners a lot of privileges that renters don't get, so people spend more than they can afford on mortgages because they want the privilege as much as the property
And that's a problem for everybody else because a great deal of the global economy rests on the assumed value of these homes, and climate change is making these homes more risky & expensive to insure, leaving less money for mortgages.

*I initially wrote communities but since they don't have gathering places or stores or workplaces or encourage meeting people across gender or age divides they're not really communities

@dalias
But if you have to continuously pay for it and it can be taken away at any time, how is it a freedom?
@danlyke

@dalias
Absolutely with some of those: the locked storage space often given for free by the taxpayers is a unique thing. There's also an element of 'this is my quiet controlled alone space' which people appreciate I think.
I think the safety like the silence and the air are actually kind of illusions - a car is the most dangerous place in America. The worst dangers of bad air are similarly created by cars. And the noises that cars silence are mostly other cars.
Ships, trains, wagons and even walking people often had the experience of being able to leave long before cars. Pilgrimages or walkabouts or trading or gathering distanced resources have probably existed as long as humans have, particularly if you consider how far we spread.
There were definitely political barriers under feudalism or whatever, but it's not so different with cars - you need a driver's license and to be able to afford the car and the gas and the insurance or whatever.

@whitequark
It seems like not acknowledging the problem is worse than acknowledging it with irony, satire, sardonicism or sarcasm.
Like when we do things that are harmful and stupid, and won't even acknowledge that, it's very normalizing. I can't stop people from driving around the city, but I can sarcastically point out the fact that the city is prioritizing storage of expensive trucks driven by the wealthy over the health & safety of most people who live here. If people had done that more, and for longer, maybe cities would be safer and climate change would be less? But instead people just quietly ignore what we intellectually know is wrong. I think sarcasm and humor has a place in adding emotion back to numbed states of acceptance.

@estelle

I still get mad at stuff where people are like "and the media gave him a pass" about Republican lies. Not all of the media. Let's not pretend that the Republican voters were hoodwinked by misinformation. They may choose media that lies to them because it's more comfortable, but it's been 40+ years of consistent lies. If people over 40 haven't realized that the Republicans are lying about shit, it's a choice.

Frankly I blame people who watch the rest of Fox content while knowing the news show is lying or misrepresenting reality as much as I blame "the media". It's the same shit as choosing a car-dependent lifestyle and then complaining about gas prices and global warming as if you're not making the choices that cause that stuff.
Yeah you can't do it all alone, but you can make a start by not giving the bad people your money.

I have always loved ebooks - I started reading them before I was old enough to go to libraries or bookstore by myself - and I've read the criticisms as well.
One difference between ebooks & physical books is that physical books help you understand & remember chronology & plot just through the physical progression of pages - you just know where you are in the book. Looking at a progress bar is a choice you have to make and just doesn't register as strongly - but you can still do it.
#reading #ebooks

One of the reasons I like cameras more than actual cops is bullshit like tonight. There's 15 illegally parked cars blocking the bike lane in front of the Mission PD(other side of the street). Like they could just double park like people do for church if it's a community gathering, but instead the combo of policing and car brain has the drivers practicing, teaching & instilling fucking over vulnerable people so they don't get in the way of other cars.
It's like taking over the preschool so they don't annoy the neighbors at the bar - let's fuck over the innocents so we don't annoy the other people like ourselves.
Fuck all of them*. I hope the drivers and the police all get their cars totaled without insurance and their licenses taken. Cops should not be allowed to have either guns or cars, and if they wanna know why they should look at themselves.
#waroncars #waronbikes #valenciabikelane #sf
*Literally no one should fuck them ever

Today's best slice of the garden:
None of these flowers were consciously chosen by me - I've added other colors of nasturtiums at times, but the old school orange is a constant tide of edible beauty whether I want it or not. The pink dianthus(maybe?) came from a mixed flower packet. The hydrangea was a gift from a friend who moved to Canada.
#bloomscrolling

@NatureMC highly educated Upper Midwest American accent I think. Some of her vowels have that almost Michigan/Canadian uuu but very distinct word separation. It's an interesting challenge though because so much of regional language is word choice and this is scripted so harder to tell.

@heidilifeldman @havvyhh2 exactly this. They know it's illegal and wrong, but they're cool with it as long as it furthers their agenda. Trump is not the problem, he couldn't do anything without the rest - the Republican Party is the problem.

@nilsskirnir
I believe it's real, but also a symptom of increased exposures & constrained choices. Someone recently described it as genetics says whether you have ADHD, but life experience determines the strength of the symptoms. So we can be exposed to more things that exacerbate ADHD and make the symptoms worse. Similarly as lifestyles become more constrained - more jobs are sitting at a computer, more paperwork requirements, less rewarding outdoor work, more requirement to drive, more exposure to advertising, influence campaigns, addictive substances & technologies - existing symptoms set people further apart from the norm and further at risk.
IMHO Cell phones, desk jobs & cars are bigger problems for ADHD people than everyone else, and they're big problems for everybody.
@GutterPoetry @Remittancegirl @murdoc @Profpatsch @DarkAthena @johnnyprofane1 @bmacDonald94 @actuallyautistic @actuallyadhd

Resistance can look like climate adaptation, resilient systems, local empowerment, supporting small and local business, reducing consumption and commodification.
Use your library. Attend local town halls. Bike and walk around town. Spend time at home with friends and family. Find and regularly visit a local tree or patch of grass or wetland or stream.
Yes public policy matters, but right now they're attacking on home economics. You can prepare by making yourself less dependent on imported goods, find the traditional & cheap & local & interpersonal pleasures. Play music, read books, do arts & crafts, invite your family & community in to do the same.

@MarkSquiresWine
Correct, you are in a minority who are privileged enough to have not experienced these problems so far.
@feld

@MarkSquiresWine
Dude that's the combination of auto deduct and having a high enough balance. Not just auto deduct. Most people don't have significant extra money in the account - if the rent & an unexpected medium expense hit at the same time it can really screw most Americans.
@dalias @tess

So I just added the #TellMePlease to my account because I welcome feedback, critique & whatever.
I have a lot of takes based on my individual privileged experience, and I've changed over time because one of my privileges is amazing people who have taught me better and taken time & energy to discuss & teach.
I intend to discuss & teach the same things I discuss here in the future, passing along that privilege. if it offends or is incorrect in either direct or nuanced ways, I want to hear it.
I can't guarantee I will agree, but I promise others have changed my mind and I promise to continue to change going forward.
If I'm disrespectful, I want to know not just do it by accident.
So #PleaseTellMe - I'm thinking of it as the proactive consent seeking