auwa:

angryfishtrap:

bigskydreaming:

Guys, please be careful to vet that what you choose to signal boost is actually accurate. I’m seeing a lot of well-intentioned posts today about Net Neutrality that are likely to do just as much harm as good due to misinformation in them.

For instance, we are not all suddenly shouting that the sky is falling because the FCC has PASSED the bill abolishing Net Neutrality and the changes are to be put in place some time this month. As claimed by one post I just saw with over 5,000 notes already. This is simply, unequivocally NOT true, and it can actually get in the way of the call to action that very post made, asking people to call and email their congressmen, because a lot of people who see that might think “what’s the point, if its already passed?”

It hasn’t. Chairman Ajit Pai of the FCC unveiled in April his proposed plan to strike back the Net Neutrality regulations Obama’s administration passed in 2015, and which have since 2015 been upheld by the courts in the face of Republican opposition’s attempts to claim they overreached. What has people shouting the sky is falling NOW is because yesterday (November 21st) is when the date of the official vote on this proposed plan was announced. That date is December 14th.

Which means there IS still time to affect the outcome of the vote. People are pessimistic about the chances of this vote because the FCC board is held by a Republican majority at the moment, but make the passing of this bill seem toxic enough to other Republican interests and there is still a chance to keep it from passing. 

Which is still a hell of a lot better than assuming the bill has already passed and that there’s really no point.

We have until December 14th to kick up enough of a fuss that the Republicans on the FCC board think twice about voting for this bill. And even after that, there are still legal recourses. The courts have refused to uphold other bills Trump’s administration has attempted to pass as overreaching, unconstitutional, and/or in opposition of the true will of the people – just as the Republicans attempted to do back in 2015 when the FCC under Obama passed the Net Neutrality laws in the first place.

This does not mean be complacent. This does not mean assume enough other people will raise enough of a fuss without adding your voice to the mix. It simply means THERE IS STILL TIME TO ACT. The sky may be falling, but until it finishes falling, there’s still a chance to catch it instead. 

We have until December 14th to kick up enough of a fuss that the Republicans on the FCC board think twice about voting for this bill. 

there IS still time to affect the outcome of the vote.

thank you

tatterdemalionamberite:

dimestore-duchess:

Pro-tip for Autistics

When I’m out and about and need to escape being overwhelmed with noise, light, or socializing, and the people I’m with don’t know I’m autistic, I don’t tell them that I’m heading towards a meltdown or am experiencing sensory overload.

I tell them I’m getting a migraine.

Meltdowns and migraines are, from my understanding, neurologically similar events, and for me they often go hand in hand– if I get one, it’s a signal to me that I’m likely to get the other pretty soon and need to take care of myself. The remedy is the same: removing myself from the situation and retreating to a dark, quiet room.

The difference is that NTs often don’t understand and simply dismiss sensory overload if you explain it to them as such, but nearly all of them understand what a migraine is and sympathize. 99% of the time, if I tell a NT that I have a migraine or am about to get one, they treat it as an emergency and help me get away from the source of the overload as quickly as possible. I am then free to recover in a quiet, dark place without anyone trying to invalidate my needs, forcing me to “tough it out”, or thinking that I’m rude for having to leave or to outright avoid certain events or situations in the first place.

Endorsed.

One of my partners gets seizures of the kind that disrupt sensory perceptions and cognition without being visible from the outside: we just call ‘em migraines sometimes for similar reasons.

If you do get actual migraines, it isn’t much of a stretch of the truth to say you’re getting one when you’re going to be getting one shortly.

But if you don’t, and you have a state of incapacity that requires roughly the same care? You totally have my permission as a bona fide migraine sufferer to just call it a damn migraine.

There is nothing wrong with providing a rough shorthand description to a stranger. You don’t owe any random person your full medical history, especially when you’re not in a state to be able to explain it!

Got distracted with editing/rewriting Betrayal fic, going to bed over an hour late, goodnight everybody.

squidscientistas:

It’s certainly not unethical to take cuttlebones from the beach, and i think it’s probably a good alternative to buying them from the store if you’re worried about cuttlefish being harmed in the making of cuttlebones for birds. That being said, I honestly have no idea if they might carry diseases for your bird. The cuttlebones in stores are probably produced as a by-product of the seafood industry, so for the health of your bird it might be safer to buy cuttlebones from pet shops, but I can’t say for sure. I bet there are vets or bird rehab people on tumblr who would have better answers for you on the bird-health end of things 🙂 

Just drop the bones in boiling water and that’ll kill off any potential diseases. I doubt there would be any bird-harming germs anyway, unless a sick seagull picked it up, but boiling them would make sure. 

And it’s certainly ethical to take small items you find on the beach that aren’t currently being used by a live animal. 

immersive-lore-friendly-cheese:

Don’t be ashamed of your algae

I see a lotta people that feel bad about the algae in their tanks and stuff but honestly? It’s not a big deal, if you look at some videos or images of the fish in the wild there’s so much awful algae and they’re fine, they’re happy, algae is normal. Don’t feel bad about your tank having algae and don’t feel like you’re a bad fish keeper just because of it, if your fish are happy and healthy that’s the important thing. Don’t measure your tank against people who post a single image of a meticulously clean and maintained tank with zero algae because I promise you it only looks that good for the shot and probably will have algae a week later. Accept single celled plants in your life.

Cyanobacteria do not interact.

Algae can signify unhealthy water parameters, but algae in and of itself is not harmful. If your water is good, the algae is no problem, and will help to grow tiny critters for any potential fish fry to eat.