iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 12/01/2024

Well, this has been fun, but everyone on this site is looking for a fight whether one is in the offing or not and I've been on Shitter enough to know when to bail. Good luck with your clone of a rotten system.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 12/01/2024

Ah ok, sorry, just read back. I did Not assume You were a white person. I was talking about Myself.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 12/01/2024

I... Didn't? I was agreeing with you? Why do you think that rhetorical statement was directed at you, personally? I am sorry if I misphrased it, but boy, way to just assume.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 12/01/2024

To be honest, I'm not sure I agree. I've been an outsider in a number of marginalized groups and what I've consistently seen is people who Want to trust others, but from whom that trust is rarely earned. We wp especially need to shut up, listen and learn. You'd be Amazed at how open people can be.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 06/01/2024

I was a kid in 1993ish, taken from a Florida family visit with a busload of youth groupers to a "youth conference" being held in Georgia. Reader: It was Turning Point. There are Reasons I'm Xvangelical, and that experience is a Big one. Hate like I, from an integrated northern church had Never seen.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 05/01/2024

This drug treats Sjogrens, and it's the only treatment. When you reach your lifetime max dose, that's it, any more is poison. This drug is vital, it's dangerous, and I will Never understand reactionary science deniers who will still shove some random compound anywhere their preacher tells em.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 03/01/2024

"Bits" refers to a wedge of an old-fashioned gold or silver coin. Because the coins were pure, they were still worth the same when cut, so they frequently were to make change, or for small purchases. A "bit" was assumed to be 1/8th of a dollar coin. 2 bits = 1 quarter.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 02/01/2024

"Oceans are now..." ...? YOU got me into Civ. YOU said start with IV! Oceans are Now he says... . Ergo, Open Mics were always gyms for brains and there will be no further discussion.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 29/12/2023

I have a similarly aged vial of BPA. The label is off, but I remember it was meant to smell of old books. I got it as a gift from a friend who liked to encourage my a)love of books and b)virtually nonexistent girly side. *sigh* Lol

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 29/12/2023

I'm the wrong person to elaborate on this, but living in a city like Pittsburgh, where historically Black neighborhoods, centers of culture, are now being gentrified, my friends are experiencing this a lot. Displacement, loss of property, grief, and also intense determination in the fight against.

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Reposted by Vayl Larkin (they/them)

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 29/12/2023

Historic Black communities are disappearing, and descendants are trying to save them “Researchers estimate there are less than 30 incorporated historic Black towns left in the US, a fraction of more than 1,200 at the peak between the 1880s and 1915.”

t.co

Descendants fight to maintain historic Black communities. Keeping their legacy alive is complicated

Historic Black communities have dwindled from their once-thriving existence in the US and efforts to preserve what's left encounter complicated challenges

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 28/12/2023

Victory! ... at frozen marshmallows, but still.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 28/12/2023

Wow! My ex & I were just talking about these. Do you freeze the marshmallows first please say yes even though she and I are friends? One of us thought that would be a good idea, but neither has tried the recipe yet. For the sake of fairness, I will not reveal who was who except for the hint before.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 27/12/2023

OP* God I need to do something other than write for a change. Oh wait, my other thing is activism and that's annoying too... LOL.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 27/12/2023

That is good, but by heavily implying that all profiles without pics are hiding bad things, and without qualifying that Blind users were excepted, it also implied hostility toward Blind users that wasn't intended. I was sure OC did Not want this, so I said something.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 27/12/2023

Do you understand that Blind people exist and they use the internet and also Blusky? Please read some of their posts about how they find profile pics redundant and arbitrary, as they have every right to. I'm a disability advocate and this is something that people don't get. Just letting you know.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 24/12/2023

I hope your preliminary treatment goes well! Just be aware of something I didn't know before now: Seronegative Sjogrens makes your chances of neuropathy go UP. If you're negative on the blood test and the docs try to rule it out, make sure they know/remember that. It would have saved me Years.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 23/12/2023

I'm not Blind, but I've been assured by Blind and DeafBlind friends that their tech doesn't do this. As I understand it, it takes the Code for the website and uses that to get the text. Images without alt text are simply listed as "img"/etc. It doesn't matter what the GUI shows.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 22/12/2023

Gotta say, as someone with a scolding fet... I mean, I'm a professional advocate for people with disabilities like mine and others, I wish people would consider that disabled folks are almost all Poor and at the mercy of government-subsidized equipment. No, these screen readers don't do photos.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 21/12/2023

Anyone out there with #Sjogrens #Polyneuropathy? (Neuro involvement of both CNS and peripheral). I've just been diagnosed after a four year specialist runaround. Problem: I'm already at toxicity for Plaquenil and I'm allergic to gabapentin and its relatives. I'm desperate; it's affecting Everything.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 20/12/2023

Yes. Maybe the best way to help someone is treat them like the human adult we'd like to be treated as in their position. Maybe we cannot possibly understand their life well enough. No cab will take you to rehab with the DTs. A hit will get a junkie through a shift. How dare we assume we know better?

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 18/12/2023

So two things: my first play (one act) staged this year, and we have arrived at the birthday of a very dear friend I lost about seven years ago. We were both singers and his first performance as Sweeney was truly unhinged ;). I hope that next year goes as well for you &thx for serendipity! hehe

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Reposted by Vayl Larkin (they/them)

Erin @erngenc.bsky.social · 18/12/2023

We do not feel like a first world country i gotta be honest

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 18/12/2023

It is truly horrific and sadly not new. My cousins grew up working alongside migrant kids in the fields, though Black and Brown kids far outnumbered white. Child labor remains a reality in much of Appalachia, where we're from. Still, yes immigrants both documented and not are most frequent victims.

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Reposted by Vayl Larkin (they/them)

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 15/12/2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — US homelessness, tied to soaring rents and loss of pandemic aid, up 12% to highest level since reporting began in 2007.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 15/12/2023

And even that reporting is racist af - Indigenous and Undocumented Americans are Rarely represented in the numbers. Still, most folks recorded are not white &have other marginalizations. I did a theatrical play on this recently. I was homeless in the early 2000s. It's an entirely new nightmare now.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 15/12/2023

I feel like you're cherrypicking history here. Yes, Jehovah was originally part of a pantheon, but that was reduced to a singular godhead throughout the course of JudeoChristian history. It's not about saying they have Nothing in common. All religions do. They still don't all function the same.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 15/12/2023

Hey, so WILD story about Schumann... History is fun.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 15/12/2023

... That's kind of the case for most polytheistic systems at a philosophical level, but I still think it pays to not reduce the unique experience of polytheists in a world dominated by monotheists. I get that it makes your point; just encouraging nuance and respect for marginalized stuff.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 14/12/2023

Ok, but monotheism is "one god" religion, not just state religion. Hinduism is definitely Not monotheist. State religion for control, sure, and monotheism has its own set of inherent problems, but not sure if you meant the word you used, or if I'm missing an element?

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 14/12/2023

It's ok. There are always plenty of bunnies! This one thinks you can like commas to indicate phrasing, or commas to indicate context, or both and it's fine. lol

On a cream fabrib background with a diamond stitch pattern sits a brown, long-haired angora rabbit kit. Their eyes are closed, (or possibly just covered up by fluff), and their ears lop over slightly at the tips. They are essentially the world's moldiest and most adorable potato. With ears.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 14/12/2023

Historically you're both just repeating things that have been said by every literal linguist since the dawn of syntax rules. English is a language constantly in flux. Certain conventions help us to understand one another more easily, but these are all always changing. Two things can be true at once.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 14/12/2023

Really wish that #GrammarPolice hadn't been replaced by radical anti-puncuationalists. "I hate Oxford commas!" "People who use dashes should be shot!" "Ewww! Periods are for GIRLS!!!". *sigh* I will give a virtual bunny to the person who agrees that this is a big world with room for variety. Right?

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 14/12/2023

I see your Ghost and raise you Death of The Storyteller. To be clear: Both are brilliant examples gorgeously integrated puppetry/effects. I just get more nightmares involving Death, personally. I should let it rest though, since tis the season for Christmas Carol and that is one awesome muppet! :)

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 13/12/2023

If you can't see him, he can't critique your record collection and mansplain Zaphod again!

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 13/12/2023

Now all I can think is, "Courtisane: Dtf for tea". I blame you. Also being a dweeb, but that's more chronic than acute, as it were.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 09/12/2023

Yes! I have Had flashes of images, but I couldn't hold, control or recall. Folks sometimes say my writing has great "sensory detail", because I can't describe appearance, and they're not used to hearing tactile, olfactory, etc. first. Lol It's poetry and plays though; we're allowed to be weird ;).

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Reposted by Vayl Larkin (they/them)

Deanna Raybourn @deannaraybourn.bsky.social · 09/12/2023

I’m so deeply fascinated by this ongoing conversation—and the one about internal monologue. I’m a straight-up 1 and my inner narrator is LOUD. 😂

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 09/12/2023

Speaking as someone who's ~4.5, I do dream and remember, but no image recall. I have had a very few "snapshot" moments where an image has flashed in my mind, so I know it can. They're Incredibly rare and I remember all of them. I have Strong mental aural, tactile and olfactory representation.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 08/12/2023

www.huffpost.com/entry/donald... "Wait... They're not baking any Cake!!" -Xander Harris "The Zeppo" Buffy the Vampire Slayer -Also everyone else who can tell the difference between authoritarian takeover of an entire political demographic, and cake.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 08/12/2023

Thanks! That makes sense, especially for more frequent holy days. Thanks for your time! :)

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 08/12/2023

I'm really afraid to ask, because I'm 90% sure this is the internet & folks will think this is snark, but Real Question: Many religions and sects have specific holy days, weekly, monthly and yearly. As someone who practices none of them, how should I choose which to honor? Do you have suggestions?

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 08/12/2023

This reminds me a bit of Modal, (Birch "fiber"), and Bamboo "fiber" for textiles. Apropos of nothing: Did you realize the plastics in Rayon are actually plant-derived? Not natural, but "naturally Derived". Like oil. Birch trees and Bamboo make Hard Scratchy fibers. They process the sh*t out of them.

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Reposted by Vayl Larkin (they/them)

s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 03/12/2023

Heads up dog people, xylitol (toxic, very bad sweetener!) is getting a makeover as ‘birch sugar.’ Check ingredients carefully before sharing with your canine pals!

fda.gov

Paws Off! Xylitol is Toxic to Dogs

This poster describes the common types of xylitol containing products and the most common symptoms of xylitol poisoning in dogs.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 07/12/2023

I was raised in a cult-like church. No non-church friends, rigid roles, rampant rape and abuse, etc. It's true that a few leaders were moderately intelligent, extroverted men. Everyone else was just very vulnerable. They did Not want others like them in-group. Saw them as competition and threat.

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Vayl Larkin (they/them) @vayllarkin.bsky.social · 07/12/2023

Evinrood. So named for her outboard-like instapurr upon learning that her new home was full of petting. (She climbed my arm, motorboating away, out of the carrier that the feral rescue brought her in). She is now 2 weeks older than this, so of course, Much bigger! (Just ask her.)

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