If anyone needs this, a mini-thread on managing stage fright/nerves/what-have-you. I was an actress and then a very regular speaker at conferences. The biggest trick is to turn those nerves into excitement, because excitement is way more fun and way more contagious than anxiety.

there's a half dozen open windows in this house, plus and entire catio, but this is the window she needs to be in right now

Please enjoy my cat at optimum length, deep asleep in some clean sheets

making myself shakshuka for brunch, and @rahaeli.bsky.social complains: "why does that dish have to smell so good when I don't like the taste?"

HOW IS THIS SO COOL PLEASE ALERT EVERYONE WHO LOVES SEA CREATURES

The original pattern is by bead artist Cath Thomas, and is an incredibly clear pattern for such a remarkably complex object. An absolute joy to make, highly recommend the workshop: www.caththomasdesigns.com

As promised, your cat pics.

Every official detail of the U.S. hosting the World Cup - the visas, the mass transit, FIFA, ICE - is America at its worst. Every spontaneous reaction of a European to an element of their host city is America at its best.

my fav 3 message categories on ACARS: #3: please tell me there's a hotel bed booked for me #2: plane missing a coffee pot (US) or teapot (UK) #1: what's the score??

I am in awe at ILT's ready quickness with this comment on the moment. That's centuries of bardic tradition for you. It's like "there's a word for that" with German, except with Ireland it's "we already have shit composed for that, sit tight"

With alt-text.

Groucho Miaurx

This paper is hilarious, and also excellent science. I won't spoil it for you too much, but it's about how to pivot when your participant recruiting plans fail because the people you're reaching only want to have sex with you and you're only in the field for a week :) scispace.com/pdf/taking-t...

TEENY TINY TOAD ALERT!!!!! It was so small I thought it was a little jumping spider. But I was right next to the creek where the toads mate so I looked more carefully. I can not believe I actually got a decent photo. It was less than a centimeter from nose to butt & ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!! #herps 🌿

my pedantic PSA for the evening: a cross and a crucifix are not the same thing. a cross isn't a crucifix unless it's got an image of Jesus's body on it. this here object in Ilya's mouth? should not be called a crucifix. (it could, however, be called a lucky son of a bitch)

"While officers called for backup and told Choney he was being arrested, he was running in circles around the police horses and trees, police said. According to court documents, Choney made the horse Thompson was riding, named Storm, run into a tree." ...but how's the horse doing?

I can still hear this commercial from those oh-so-modest days of yore...

I had no idea until today that all this public safety data for Maryland was freely available: gocpp.maryland.gov/data-dashboa...

when I am in charge of everything, all grocery stores will be required to have an app that sorts my list by aisle and specifies the bay for each item (this is me being generous, mind you. I would prefer if it all grocery stores were required to follow a standard grocery classification scheme)

It's deliberate. The DEA purposely sets the manufacturing quota lower than what's needed to fill all prescriptions Because this is America, and as always, your medical care is less important than conservative moralizing www.additudemag.com/adderall-sho...

Relatable, plane. Very relatable

Basically, just. Can we stop forgetting that one or more of disability, trauma, and neurodivergence are almost always at the root of food aversions.

Ronald Reagan died 22 years ago today, just in case nothing has made you smile yet.

Temporarily un-lapsing as a Catholic to avoid using Microsoft Copilot

Someone just woke up from her snooze in the catio because she sensed that bacon is about to be cooked

People who see something broken and fix it because they can ❤️

Playtime!

Another inspiration for this work may have been the memory of how, when she and her sister were kittens, they used to be able to sleep *inside* my slippers.

This is a cool use for a gravel pit - vertical floating solar panels. www.ecoticias.com/en/germany-c...

someone in one of my group chats was worried because they crossed my favourite toll bridge and couldn’t figure out where to pay so everybody please enjoy Swinford Bridge, a Grade II* toll bridge that only charges the fee when somebody from a designated charity feels like doing it

"do you have a preferred format for your hormones?" "I'll take the tramp stamp that says 'if you can read this, you should be kneeling'"

TIL they come in colours in other places. Mine (UK) are clear. Well, apart from the fuzzy bit at the edges where the adhesive combines with lint from whatever you're wearing. The least they could do is add a bit of glimmer to it so you can make patterns on your skin while it slooooowly rubs off.

instead of a pasty-flesh color, estradiol patches should be transparent with the text "KISS MY" in a sparkly gothic font

Air to Ground Message: ANY CHANCE ANOTHER GATE HAS OPENED EARLIER FOR US WILLING TO PAY IN CHOCOLATE Area: Austin, TX, USA Type: Airbus A320neo A: #a47c43375fd F: #fc389452657

holy shit this rules

Going to share this with my unit as an example of why we QC each lot of critical reagents As David says about 2/3 down the post, this "could have been so easily been avoided by running simple well-established controls." I have bought the wrong chemical before! But I noticed when it didn't work!

Coby the tiny torbie tyrant is doing very well indeed; she’s with us another week while we continue to monitor the bad eye but hopefully next Sunday when they recheck the eye pressure it’ll be normal and they won’t need to do any surgery, and she can graduate foster and go on to the adoption centre!

It’s #LeakWeek for Spinal CSF Leak Awareness. Here’s my #SciArt #embroidery sensorium (2016) featuring a spine. CSF leaks are common in the #MECFS community but often go undiagnosed. More information here: spinalcsfleak.org

because they are a protected native species, it's illegal to interfere with a Jersey wall in New Jersey. especially during their nesting season. please leave them alone to raise the next generation of detours in peace

Incidentally, if you're not familiar with the ecology of northeast NJ, "Meadowlands" does not refer to a flower-filled field It /was/ an extensive ecosystem of tidal wetlands. But it's been a dumping ground for trash and toxic waste for centuries More here: planetamagazine.org/2023/05/04/a...

it's ironic that folks are screaming about The Tyranny of the Automobile when north NJ is one of very few places in the US with abundant rail service There's a station in the stadium & an entire page on how to use it for the matches, instead of playing Frogger with traffic: njtworldcup.com/nynj/

She has never seen a turtle before and the intensity is radiating off her in waves as she tries to figure it out.

hey do you guys ever think about just funding NASA

Greengage has been playing with the dog. Can you tell? She is very soggy and very well licked.

"a gay fantasia on naval aviation themes" took me out.

you know it's been a rainy week when when 70% humidity feels like "dry air" 😂

jumbo lump crab cakes are meh. typically bland and under-seasoned. if you want a crab cake, get backfin or specials. but better yet, save your money and get lake trout or catfish nuggies instead

Me, after a week of rain: “I wish the sun would come out…” Sun comes out; instantly turns all that water to humidity Also me: “No, not like that!”

Get me outta here!

This is her ottoman empire