Notices by timberwraith (timberwraith@mastodon.social)

Oh look, there they are. The angry Dem supporters who are now chiding potential Dem voters for having stayed home.

Look, I could understand that reaction in past elections. Although, the smugness and condescension of how that is usually presented is never a good look.

But the bastards on the Dem ticket supported genocide this time around.

Genocide.

I don't have it in me to berate people for being discouraged from voting. A candidate has to be a world class dickhead to support genocide.

You should probably expect an increase in the amount of swearing I use in my posts for the next few months.

Or next few years.

It's what I do when things go pear shaped.

Hey, I have a science fiction novel recommendation:

"Navigational Entanglements" by Aliette de Bodard

It's a shorter novel, at 160ish pages.

It's about a group of junior space navigators who have to track down and disable a creature who feeds on human minds (killing them in the process).

The book's characters make for an interesting medley of conflicted relationships which evolve over the expanse of the story.

#books #sciencefiction

(I started my hike in darkness, btw. Hence, the owl-creeps.)

I heard a group of owls hooting in the lowest, breathiest voices I've ever heard owls speak in.

It was creepy. I admit that I had the creeps.

But a half mile later, I noticed the sky brightening toward sunrise and the creeps lifted.

I don't know what species of owl I heard chatting. Is the Great Creepy Owl a species name? It should be.

I woke up early this morning (4am) so that I could pack the car for this week's nursing assistant shift and squeeze in a hike in the nearby prairie and woods before the start of my shift.

I started out feeling absolutely depressed but a few miles in, my spirits lifted. Exercise and nature are like that. Better than a cup of coffee or some other drug, I think.

My goal this week is to keep myself centered and grounded. As much as possible.

I'm going to have to remind myself of this constantly. I found myself venturing off into political anger/sadness self-dialog repeatedly throughout my hike. I'm trying not to do that. It feels like a desecration of the land, doing that in what I consider to be a sacred space.

@FlashMobOfOne Yeah, Missouri is kind of scary to me. I can understand that. (Personally scary, actually. I was nearly pulled out my car and assaulted on a lonely country road a number of years ago.)

@FlashMobOfOne Oddly, I saw no one politicking outside my polling place today. No one. Sort of odd.

@FlashMobOfOne I do mail-in ballots or early voting at a central polling place during years in which I work on election day. I happened to be on my off-cycle during this election. (I work one 24/7 week on, on week off as a nursing assistant.) So, I just went in person.

I just finished voting in the city of Minneapolis.

I got there about 10 minutes after my polling place opened. The line extended about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to the door and seemed fairly busy. The whole process, including casting my ballot, took about 20 minutes.

Granted, the voting process is smoothly automated, unlike 2008. A small number of election officials now sit at a long table, using tablets with dedicated election software to check in voters. It's fast.

The technology behind all of this has come a long way since 2008.

I've not waited in a line like this for a good number of years, but then again, this is the first time in ages that I got to my polling place shortly after it opened.

I'll be curious to see how long the line becomes a few hours from now. (I don't live far from my polling place.) On mid-election day morning of 2008, the line extended outside my polling place, down the road near its entrance. I've not seen anything like that since.

I feel pretty disposable in most elections regardless of who is personing the top of the Dem ticket.

I think that has been made quite clear this time around.

So, a little dread seems like a natural response.

"Feeling dread about elections every 4 years, is a choice and not a good one."

Said some cis person, somewhere.

A lot of trans women adopt the name "Cassandra" and there's a reason for that.

Yup.

@dalias THIS EXPLAINS EVERYTHING

Why does this make me think of politics?

@gwynnion I hope old Nate has been huffing his own flatulence. I mean, he probably does anyway, but still...

This is the "line of communication" I think y'all should consider keeping open with your MAGA relatives:

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