Yesterday, #TheVulcan & I went back to the home of the family who was liquidating their grandfather's woodworking tools, to help him through Hurricane Ida.
As we talked to the family, I realized one reason why he had SO MANY unique tools:
He used to work for Bethlehem Steel.
The legs alone on this ^^^table are HUGE, & very HEAVY.
Thank goodness it's on wheels, or we never would have made it into the basement.
Bethlehem Steel was one of the largest ship builders & steel producers *in the world*.
They opened in the mid-1800's, & went completely bankrupt by 2003. 💔
The bottom of this lathe table (which I am NOT going to tip over right now, because it's heavy AF) is made from Bethlehem Steel crates.
Im so glad to own a bit of this history.
Also...um...
We couldn't go ALL THAT WAY without letting #TheVulcan look around & get stuff for himself.
Right??!
There were 2 more wood clamps. Plus a mortissing bit for a drill press. A cool router bit. And a copper tap for a cider barrel! 😍
The black case holds a working soldering iron.
This is another hand drill.
Plus 2 of the grandfather's custom wood bowls that were NOT for sale, just to oggle over. 😍
On the one hand?
I'm so grateful for all the tools & stories passed down.
On the other hand?
Holy shit there should not have been so many people laid off work & resorting to independent craftsmanship just to stay afloat.
A neighbor of theirs made this.
It was a huge blessing to us. I just want to make sure the next generation is more protected than their grandfather's was.
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You all know I've made some *weird & wild* connections over the years.
I'm about to make the weirdest one yet, so get ready:
A piece of James Bond #Fanfiction proves that the govt has been lying to us about #COVID19.
Seriously, & I wish I was joking.
Let me explain.
In 2019, I discovered that people have written entire novels, some of them VERY long, about existing fictional universes.
Even better, they're FREE on Archive of Our Own!
I could download them on the free Evie voice reader, & have them read aloud to me while I...
...do boring, repetitive, tasks.
There are over 400 stories that wrote Ben Whitmarsh's "Q" character in the James Bond movies as a 3rd brother to Sherlock & Mycroft Holmes, which I think is hilarious.
(Please remember, before Covid, I was going back to school, to b/c a Psych
If they knew this what exactly did they think would happen?
Did they expect our mitochondria to just GROW BACK like a fingernail?
HOLY SHIT:
"During early infection, mitochondrial gene expression was altered in the brain even though no SARS-CoV-2 was detected there, consistent with a systemic response to the virus."
@karamellslp ...in the first place. In my experience, it's not possible to jump ship from one set of beliefs to another---it has to be a long, slow, sometimes painful, process.
@karamellslp The problem is that, meanwhile, anyone who is pregnant, or on any spectrum of queer, still has to listen to the judgement of someone who has *no relationship at all* to their lives. The idea that we would have any input in the medical or marital decisions of other people is...
@karamellslp ...laughable.
Who are we to decide which families can live together?
Who are we to say that a pregnant woman w/cancer has no choices regarding, "Do I fight to keep this baby, or fight to stay alive to care for my other two at home?"
Someone who bullied me in elementary school worked really hard to find me on social media & apologize to me.
Well, a month or so later, she posted some symptoms she was having. I messaged her abt my Long COVID treatment, & she just sent me this!!
@iamthejubster ...find things that specifically lower inflammation & lower clots, & DON'T DO ANYTHING W/OUT TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR.
I started w/fish oil bc my doc *prescribed* 3000mg of it due to a spike in my triglycerides.
The very next day, my covid-induced arthritis pain was reduced...
@iamthejubster ...so much that, after I got moving in the morning, I carried on w/ my day w/NO PAIN.
I did some reading on fish oil & inflammation, & one random site recommended making sure you're getting at least 2400mg of Omega-3. So, as an experiment, I jacked the fish oil up to 4800mg,
Dear @Target:
I raised my kids in a Christian home.
Yet, somehow, all 4 of them turned out to be LGBTQ.
🌈
Yeah, seriously.
🏳️🌈
You're the only store that provides gender-affirming & #Pride related merchandise for all ages, at lower prices.
Your partnership w/ @tomboyx helped me
...fund new clothes when one of my kids came out as trans. I want you to do whatever you have to do to keep your employees safe. Just know, I can't pull the gayness from my kids to keep THEM safe. 💔 And it scares me.
If a company as powerful & prosperous as @Target can't protect
...their people from right-wing hate, how on earth is a family like mine supposed to stay safe? I don't have a 100th of the resources you do. 💔
Please consider this when you decide where you stand.