Even the weather keeps changing its mind
Mar. 7th, 2025 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mousmeSomeone on Facebook posted earlier today that the wealthy (the post said billionaires, but I'm willing to bet other ultra-wealthy people whose net work is "only" in the tens or hundreds of millions also profit this way) profit off of stock market volatility, and honestly, that tracks as the youths are saying these days. (Actually, I'm not sure the youths are using that expression either, I might be a few years out of date on that one too). Trump declares tariffs, the markets tank, wealthy people buy up stock at low prices. The next day Trump declares no more tariffs, the markets pick up, the wealthy have now made a tidy profit.
Barf.
The weather also doesn't know what to do with itself, which is fairly typical for the beginning of March. We've had snow, freezing rain, rain, clear blue skies, warm weather and freezing weather all within less than 26 hours. It's been changing its mind more than Trump has, and that's saying something! Today when I tried to go to work for the early shift my entire car was frozen shut, and the windshield cover I use on my car had actually frozen closed over the side mirrors (it has drawstrings that close around the side mirrors that are great 99% of the time because it keeps the cover from blowing around), and it took forever to get it off as well as chip away enough ice to actually get in my car in order to get my scraper out. What a shitshow. Luckily this is a fairly rare weather coincidence, so hopefully I won't have to deal with it anymore this year, or at least only a handful of times before spring sets in.
In politics-adjacent news, I've been having conflicting feelings about continuing to post on Dreamwidth and LiveJournal. LJ is, of course, owned by Russians, and DW has all its information hosted in the USA, which makes me worry a little about what's going to happen to all of the posts and data if more draconian laws come into play. I'm trying to divest as much from anything US-related as possible, and that is probably going to include a lot of my online activities.
I'm still trying to figure out how to divest from social media companies that are overwhelmingly American without sacrificing my connections with friends (my family is mostly not online) and my connection to alternative news sources and help networks. I know so many people online who are wonderful and amazing whom I consider close friends even though I've never met a lot of them in person, and I have a lot of IRL friends who now live far away from me and with whom I basically only have contact online. I don't think Canada HAS a social media platform to speak of. Right now I have accounts on a number of platforms: Discord (not social media exactly, but close), Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok. All but the latter are owned by the US, and the latter is great in some ways and problematic AF in others.
Not for the first time I kind of wish I had learned how to program beyond the basic html shit I learned specifically for LJ back in 2002. ;) I'd be fine with trying to create my own social media platform, even if it was kind of small and janky if it means I could keep all my friends in my pocket like before but without supporting US corporations or sacrificing my data to shitty actors. I suppose I could always try to learn to program an app in my copious amounts of spare time. To be fair, I do have spare time, I am just bad at using it efficiently.
I have always wanted to be one of those highly organized, highly efficient people to whom others look and say "My God, I don't know how she manages it all!" However, I have to be content with people side-eyeing me and probably saying things like "It's honestly amazing she manages to tie her shoes on a regular basis." (Joke's on them, 3/4 of my shoes are slip-ons!) I have a fair number of "extra" hours in the week, but those usually get frittered away either in decision paralysis or general task initiation paralysis, or just because I can't force myself out of bed early on the weekends anymore because I'm never not tired. (My sleep test is in eight days and I am way too excited about it!)
In related news, I've started reading a new book which looks super promising. It's called Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next), and so far it has done an excellent job of defining mutual aid, what is is and what it isn't. The next part of the book is meant to have practical advice on how to start mutual aid or at least get involved, and I am excited to get into it. As usual, my brain isn't letting me read particularly quickly, so I may run out of time before the book has to go back to the library. That being said, if I like the book enough, I may buy myself a copy for future reference.
Okay, time to put this disjointed post out of its misery. Tomorrow I am off to visit my parents and I don't know how late I'll be back home, but hopefully I will be home in time to not break my posting streak. See you on the flip side, friends!
Barf.
The weather also doesn't know what to do with itself, which is fairly typical for the beginning of March. We've had snow, freezing rain, rain, clear blue skies, warm weather and freezing weather all within less than 26 hours. It's been changing its mind more than Trump has, and that's saying something! Today when I tried to go to work for the early shift my entire car was frozen shut, and the windshield cover I use on my car had actually frozen closed over the side mirrors (it has drawstrings that close around the side mirrors that are great 99% of the time because it keeps the cover from blowing around), and it took forever to get it off as well as chip away enough ice to actually get in my car in order to get my scraper out. What a shitshow. Luckily this is a fairly rare weather coincidence, so hopefully I won't have to deal with it anymore this year, or at least only a handful of times before spring sets in.
In politics-adjacent news, I've been having conflicting feelings about continuing to post on Dreamwidth and LiveJournal. LJ is, of course, owned by Russians, and DW has all its information hosted in the USA, which makes me worry a little about what's going to happen to all of the posts and data if more draconian laws come into play. I'm trying to divest as much from anything US-related as possible, and that is probably going to include a lot of my online activities.
I'm still trying to figure out how to divest from social media companies that are overwhelmingly American without sacrificing my connections with friends (my family is mostly not online) and my connection to alternative news sources and help networks. I know so many people online who are wonderful and amazing whom I consider close friends even though I've never met a lot of them in person, and I have a lot of IRL friends who now live far away from me and with whom I basically only have contact online. I don't think Canada HAS a social media platform to speak of. Right now I have accounts on a number of platforms: Discord (not social media exactly, but close), Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok. All but the latter are owned by the US, and the latter is great in some ways and problematic AF in others.
Not for the first time I kind of wish I had learned how to program beyond the basic html shit I learned specifically for LJ back in 2002. ;) I'd be fine with trying to create my own social media platform, even if it was kind of small and janky if it means I could keep all my friends in my pocket like before but without supporting US corporations or sacrificing my data to shitty actors. I suppose I could always try to learn to program an app in my copious amounts of spare time. To be fair, I do have spare time, I am just bad at using it efficiently.
I have always wanted to be one of those highly organized, highly efficient people to whom others look and say "My God, I don't know how she manages it all!" However, I have to be content with people side-eyeing me and probably saying things like "It's honestly amazing she manages to tie her shoes on a regular basis." (Joke's on them, 3/4 of my shoes are slip-ons!) I have a fair number of "extra" hours in the week, but those usually get frittered away either in decision paralysis or general task initiation paralysis, or just because I can't force myself out of bed early on the weekends anymore because I'm never not tired. (My sleep test is in eight days and I am way too excited about it!)
In related news, I've started reading a new book which looks super promising. It's called Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next), and so far it has done an excellent job of defining mutual aid, what is is and what it isn't. The next part of the book is meant to have practical advice on how to start mutual aid or at least get involved, and I am excited to get into it. As usual, my brain isn't letting me read particularly quickly, so I may run out of time before the book has to go back to the library. That being said, if I like the book enough, I may buy myself a copy for future reference.
Okay, time to put this disjointed post out of its misery. Tomorrow I am off to visit my parents and I don't know how late I'll be back home, but hopefully I will be home in time to not break my posting streak. See you on the flip side, friends!
