Notices by Texan Tally (caffeinatedbookdragon@nerdculture.de)

@mastodonmigration @renewedresistance

Something tells me we should buy stock in Spencer's Gifts this year (they own Spirit Halloween).

I've got an inflatable astronaut costume, an inflatable ostrich w/ rider... I need an excuse to bring those babies out.

@bmacDonald94 @CStamp

Harvey was a mess all over. I know the social media said they had concerns that folks would get stuck trying to get there and maybe drown, but as the waters receded and people still needed shelter, it took far too long to open the doors. But considering how exclusive Lakewood Church has been over the years (if you want to sit close you basically have to promise a very large donation; people I know ended up being told to leave or find another seat in the nosebleed sections if they wanted to stick around & they never went back). They're the biggest proponents of the polish and shine, the appearance of Christianity and the damned Prosperity Gospel.

That put the nail in my beliefs for good. It's so anti-Christ it's no wonder Christianity is turning turtle in the water faster and faster, like a melting iceberg.

@CStamp @bmacDonald94

R'amen! Even when I still believed, I felt there was something "off" about Joel Osteen (old enough to remember his more severe father who sounded more like John Hagee the way he delivered his sermons). Joel just sounds and feels like a used car salesman knowing he's got nothing but lemons on the lot but will pretend to go the extra mile for your benefit. I call it the "plastic smile": too bright, too many teeth, and feels so unreal.

That's the sucky part about modern "charisma" though: it's more about just pointing fingers, general negativity & arrogance, and finding someone to blame, because the Universe forbid we have time and space to think, do some deep digging, and look to see it's mostly the folks these new charismatic back that cause the most problems.

@bmacDonald94

Christianity has totally gone off the deep end.

Frank Herbert had it right: “I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label on their forehead: 'May be dangerous to your health.'"

And now they're building a system of deference to the very same people who should be kept as far away from power as possible?

Okay, Cthulhu can come for us now. I'll be cool with that.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/opinion/lapd-troops-la-protests.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ok8.MxCW.WkaKbEFXExkq&smid=url-share

@ShaulaEvans

Not for freeze conditions, but rain barrels as a source of water. I wouldn't drink it without some of those water purifying tablets or filter straws, but good to force-flush toilets and clean a bit.

When the power goes out & I've got to use the generator, I go to the breaker box & switch off power to non-essentials. My gennie's got a good deal of power, but I wanna save the fuel, & I'm not gonna do laundry in an energy emergency. I only keep my water well & refrigerators going, and keep the furnace during cold weather on the lowest possible thermostat setting... I've got a closet full of blankets and a fireplace to take care of the rest of the heat.

An idea if your lights go out at night and you are on generator OR you have some "restricted power" thing going on and have to conserve, using simple LED christmas lights will let you not trip over your feet if you have to go to the bathroom or something (and uses a LOT less power than overhead lights).

@cstross @utopiarte @pluralistic @Oggie @tierranietos

Lucky. I live out-county, outside Houston. A 15 minute walk would get me to a dollar store &a few gas stations either direction. Hell, I'd have to DRIVE about 15 minutes to even get basic groceries either direction, too. I'm so far out in the sticks I can't get pizza or grocery delivery, and Uber would be crazy costly (if any wanted to even come out this far).

I swear my small town basically grew up around some churches and gas stations, just a pass-through place where some folks decided to live instead of move on. And taxes go up because they're trying to "keep it small", and we don't even have an urgent care clinic or ER while other towns around us have 2 or 3 each. I like living out county because I can plant what I want in my yard & no HOA to breathe down my neck, & town is boring as hell without much opportunity. The worst trade-off, though, is if I don't have a working car, I'm stranded.

@cstross @Oggie @pluralistic

Honestly, I can't understand "smart appliances". Other than the home thermostat, I just don't get the appeal. I want to run a load of dishes, why do I need to do some status upgrade? I just wanna put the veggies away, or get some out to cut up... the doors open and close and it keeps the food cold. It's smart enough, honestly. A post-it note and paper work fine if I need a shopping list to work from. And i have stainless steel doors on my fridge, dry-erase markers work fine on the surface for reminder notes or the menu for the week (except for green, it doesn't show up well enough).

That's "smart" enough for me. Just another costly thing to break down and replace, having all that extra crap in there.

@jimv @pluralistic

I love when books do that to me. Super satisfying and easily one of the best recommendations for a book around. "I couldn't put it down" has to be the height of complements for an author.

Reminds me of something I read from Roger Ebert when it came to film criticism. He was about to go see "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" for the first time for the paper and bumped into some fellow critics. He asked if they were gonna see it, too. and they responded, "Oh, we reviewed it already. We're gonna go see it AGAIN!" That was plenty of endorsement right there (and of course, Roger wrote a helluva good review on it, including this meetup in the notes).

@Ciaraioch

I started my "No Spend Year" yesterday on Thanksgiving Day & re-stocked my essentials before that, so I'm immune to today's consumer drive. To the restaurant, bank to deposit my tips, then home. Wash, rinse, repeat all weekend.

***And yes, I know I can buy food & absolute essentials during the NSY, but I also know I'm impulsive, so if I already have most of what I need the next few weeks, I won't be tempted to break the streak so early & talk myself into getting other things. It can happen easily when you go through cycles of depression & "retail therapy" to cope. I have hobby stuff out the wazoo & this week will make me see what I have & plan its use for the year. Bonus if I can to find a way to make money with it, use it, and/or sell it by the end of the year.

My yarn will get a LOT of use (got 3 tubs of it) making scarves as Christmas presents for a few folks. I just need one color for a "team scarf", but it can wait til next paycheck. NOT getting it today.

Tennessee Brando comes through (he works with the Meidas Touch network sometimes). What he brought up in this video made me listen again because it's the same thoughts and questions I had growing up as the world changed and crazy things happened (or more likely, learning from history and wondering why things turned out).

If you ever wondered what happened to the racists and the people protesting against civil rights and other prejudicial aspects of the "status quo"... well, he has a good answer for that. One I knew deep down, but couldn't put my finger on, either.

We can't keep passing the buck to the next generation to make a better world, we have to do it. It didn't work when our parents did it to us, either, after all.

Be well, folks, and this is worth 10 minutes of your time:

video: "It's Not Up To The Kids To Save Us, WE Have To ACT NOW"

https://youtu.be/NJ9LJzT5Bz0

#history #protest #betterangels #responsibility

@dzm @TarkabarkaHolgy

Makes sense. With all the repetitions of the main message, the contradictions get lost in the shuffle and folks will insist that the person "never said that."

@KamalaHarrisWin @tchambers @heidilifeldman

Still trying things out. It doesn't help that I'm frantically trying to improve my tech knowledge so I can work online from home more often while all this mess is going on. I'm trying to incorporate meditation into my routine, redo my exercise schedule, & write in my journal again. I've been fighting a migraine for days now and I know if I don't calm down, I'll end up in the hospital.

What I'm trying to do is educate myself some more while on the Fediverse & think about things I can do in my heavily Red area, a place so red that there are no out and about democrats or liberals (they probably got harassed like me in 2020) in case folks need help or some compassion. But I will likely have to do things mostly online in between my jobs, one of which I'm going to try and get out of if I can make a living online (trying NOT to be a recluse again, but my good nature & desire to be pleasant to customers at work is evaporating).

@lednaBM @Rasta

George Carlin brought it up years ago in his bit about pro-life and the "sanctity of life" arguments. I love how he phrased it: "every woman who has had more than one period is a serial killer".

@roxanneshirazi

Agreed. And it gives people to learn the jobs instead of getting thrown into the deep end trying to do them all (or having to already have experience). I just filled out my 68th job application in 6 months today and just want a chance, too, like a lot of folks, do. But they want them to have experience already and only pay them beginner's wages. Yikes and a half.

I was cleaning bird bowls in the sink when I heard a thud and the cat scrambling around on the floor, and some more thuds. I jokingly asked Twix if she caught a mouse or something.

...close enough.
#catsofmastodon #mightyhunter #sillypets

@blogdiva

The Texas Gulf Coast has "Turn Around, Don't Drown" shoved into people's heads every hurricane season and during every heavy storm event.
And people still ignore it.
(sigh).

@Mrfunkedude

Don't let the "federated" feed freak you out. Yes, the feed is updating at the speed of light. If you're on computer, just randomly scroll down a bit to stop the page from jumping and go take a slow browse to find what you want to read.

Think of it like walking into a coffee shop and joining some random discussions with other folks you might know, make new friends. You don't have to read EVERYTHING!!!