Notices by Shaula Evans (shaulaevans@zirk.us)

Does Air Pollution Cause Dementia?

The evidence is suggestive but not conclusive, and the most scientifically honest answer remains that we simply don't know yet.

This article does a good job of presenting what we do know so far.

https://www.airgradient.com/blog/beyond-the-numbers-does-air-pollution-cause-dementia

#Dementia #PublicHealth #Health #AirPollution #AirQuality

@Ezhik You are likely aware that Bending Spoons recently acquired Vimeo.

Vimeo has long been the safe / reliable alternative to YouTube for indie filmmakers for hosting trailers and even full films.

I've brought up the Bending Spoons menace to film friends & recommended PeerTube — but it's not a community with a strong collective awareness of tech industry dynamics and they generally think I'm overwrought or a conspiracy theorist.

I feel like Cassandra & It breaks my heart.

When all you lovely people post random things about your pets, my brain solidly chooses to believe you are talking about your spouse or partner every time.

It makes Fedi a very interesting place.

If you are in the US, and you are making an effort to order things online from Canada before the new tariffs go into effect, I'd love to know what you're stocking up on and which vendors and products you recommend. Shop links are welcome! 🍁

I'm watching The East Palace on Netflix and so far I am wildly impressed.

It's a historical supernatural mystery Kdrama with a strong plot and great writing, acting and production values.

The final sequence of the pilot switches back & forth between the mundane world & the spirit world: the aesthetic and technical choices are superb. A great example of visual storytelling.

#TheEastPalace #Kdrama #Netflix #동궁

I'm looking for US cyclosporia outbreak updates, and it looks like Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce may *not* be the culprit:

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Sunday that laboratory experts re-reviewed sample results in the Taylor Farms cyclospora investigation and concluded the finding should be considered ⁠a ⁠false positive."

Are we any closet to knowing what is and is not safe to eat?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cyclospora-false-positive-taylor-farms-9.7276107

#FoodSafety #Cyclospora #Cyclosporiasis #PublicHealth

@nikitonsky I wish this had alt text so I could boost it. I hope you'll add it!

It's a new French murder mystery series on Netflix with strong Agatha Christie vibes (only not as good) plus gorgeous production values.

BUT the show starts with an all white cast. It then introduces a solitary Black character, and a few episodes later it kills him off in act of violence to make a point about racism (and about how "good" the MC is).

If you're a writer, don't do this.

I looked around last month for 100% cotton sleepwear and I wasn't happy with what I found.

I wound up ordering a couple of 100% cotton ribbed racer back tank tops -- I can pair them up with underpants and in this heat they'll be just fine.

Bonus: I feel more confirmed than ever as the protagonist of a hit 90's scifi movie. 🚀

How do you save (pre-2020/pre-slopification) recipes you find online in a way that addresses findability and linkrot?

Are you adjusting your daily sleep / wake / activity schedule to deal with the heat?

Do you every year, or is this year exceptional?

*Northern hemisphere question, seasons are not global, sorry Southern hemisphere friends.

"Your boundaries have to be stronger than your empathy.”

A friend just shared this advice with me, in a conversation about a tough situation she's dealing with, and I wish someone had said this to me when I was very young (instead of implicitly and explicitly telling me the opposite, as is common for people socialized as female).

Sharing here for all those (of all genders) who could use to hear it.

Truly one of the great joys in this life is blowing out a keyboard with a can of compressed air.

I could really use more weekend, if anyone has some leftover they could spare.

I'd like a gold star for bravery, please.

I was just thinking about a number of friends of the family, whom I haven't spoken to in years, so I sent out a little flurry of emails sending them well wishes.

The problem is my mom stopped telling me about who has and hasn't died several years back, these are older friends, and I'm dreading that the emails will bounce.

Fingers crossed that the notes reach the recipients.

Unpopular opinion: I am not a fan of the posts on Fedi that detail a harrowing, stressful event -- and then are tagged "microfiction" at the end.

Because before I get to the plot twist, I'm reading them thinking the poster is genuinely in trouble.

(Yes, I play whack-a-mole with setting filters for this.)

It strikes me as unkind to unduly worry others when so many people are in real distress or crisis.

I'd love to see CW or hashtags at the top of these posts rather than the bottom. 1/2

Oh no. It's "I should go to bed but I'm waiting for my friends in Europe to wake up" o'clock. 😅

Ah yes, yet another day at work that I am dealing with someone else's very well thought out and executed Social Media Toolkit for a publicity campaign -- that does not include alt text for images.

Please include Alt Text in your publicity materials. Not to make life easier for people like me (although that's good, too), but to ensure accurate description of your images, nudge others to use it, and to normalize its use.

This is seriously praxis, folks.

#AltText #Accessibility #Publicity #PR

(I would 100% love to be wrong about this guess.)

I'm seeing lots of (understandable) glee on my TL about the meltdowns caused by Github Copilot's new pricing model going into effect today.

It's got me wondering how much today, like big sports mach days, is going to spill over into elevated domestic violence rates.

I hope hospital emergency wards and domestic violence shelters in tech hub areas are braced for it.

Check in on the vulnerable people in the blast radius of the AI-addicted devs in your life.