Portland is showing the way. Hail Portland

Had a good (albeit muddy!) outing with some members of my union local to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island. Saw a lot of geese and some sandhill cranes.

This is the genius of the Portland protests - they make the claims of lawlessness look not just wrong, but comical

Mainstream media: Trump has successfully negotiated a ceasefire! Me: How about we wait and see if it lasts more than a week.

Look, Democratic Party, having two texts in a short time from Gavin Newsom and Chuck Schumer begging for donations isn't the slam-dunk you seem to think it is.

Funny to hear that my hometown is apparently a "warzone," despite my not having heard any gunfire or seen any buildings getting bombed.

"Whoever forbids Antifa, wants fascism! Make Antifa Great Again!" - Bayern Munich fans on Friday, right behind the goal, so guaranteed to be in the broadcast worldwide.

For anyone who needs a nice break from (gestures broadly), I offer some photos from my recent outing to the northern Oregon/southern Washington coast, overnighting in Astoria. This will be in several parts due to filesize limits. First, at Fort Stevens State Park on Thursday:

And the gospel of Road Quest spreads . . .

The only thing I'll say here about Today's Big News is that at this point, I think people from across the political spectrum can agree that this Atlantic opinion piece has aged as well as milk left out in the sun during a blistering heat wave.

Turnout at today's march in Portland quite a bit lower than the past couple of marches I went to, maybe on account of people going on Labor Day weekend trips. At least I didn't get hit by a cyclist while heading back home this time.

I will remind folks those images of Nazi book burnings aren't burning just any books. They're burning the library of Magnus Hirschfeld; a gay, Jewish doctor who created an institute dedicated to LGBTQ sex education and healthcare. And a man who pioneered gender affirming care surgeries.

Took a little getting used to, but I actually kind of like the new Twitch clip creation being a sort of PiP with the actual game.

RT if you also wish ill upon JK Rowling.

Hiked up Dog Mountain in the Gorge for the first time in . . . I think a full decade, maybe, today. I'd forgotten how steep the trail is right from the get-go! (Post 1 of 2 due to file upload limits)

So the "delete your old e-mails to save water" suggestion *is* hot bullshit, but it did motivate me to finally delete literal tens of thousands of unread promotional/notification e-mails, with a few spared as a "sampling" for historical purposes.

I will always remember the era when getting on the internet tied up phone lines, and when logging on was like, "Doo, doo, doooooo, [electronic donkey noises] [static noises]"

Used my day off work yesterday to go to Sauvie Island. Rather hot out, but still a good outing and beautiful light.

We are live for the 2025 LoadingReadyRun Sub-A-Thon! It's our 3rd annual one of these, and we have 128 hours of content planned for your enjoyment... you know, assuming we get enough subs :P Kicking things off with hangouts and then into a TTRPG One Shot! www.twitch.tv/loadingready...

Got exposed to Tom Lehrer as kid thanks to hearing a record of one of his 1960s performances that my father purchased at our local Library.

Did some kayaking on the Tualatin River earlier today. Didn't get quite as far as I wanted because of some shallow rapids when going upstream, but still managed about 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) in a little over an hour total.

24/7 cable news stations were a mistake

Went to Tualatin Hills Nature Park this afternoon. Beautiful early/mid-afternoon light.

I learned about this from an Evil Pinely video about the artist's beef over misleading parking signs. I had heard of "Copacabana," but don't think I'd heard it. Listened to this, then the original, and I'm going to call it: This parody is better than the original. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGGw...

*chuckles in Schadenfreude* www.cnbc.com/2025/06/25/m...

Kudos to telling like it is, Senator Merkley!

Three of my coworkers were complaining about the way mainstream news headlines regarding current events were being worded, and I don't think any of them have an account here, so no, "free thinker" centrists, people calling that out isn't some sort of Bluesky "group think."

I know there's a handful of strips from Calvin and Hobbes that haven't aged well, but I still 100% agree with this.

For my first real outing since my minor injuries last Saturday, briefly walked around Powell Butte Park.

Yeah, think the swelling on my left thigh is going to be the biggest issue from my cyclist run-in (doing regular icing on it). Did also find out I got some interesting bruising from where my watch was, but said watch (which I've had since 2007) is still doing fine.

Remarkable. MSNC: "I want to reiterate this has been 100% peaceful." Seconds later, LA County sheriffs start firing on the crowd. Yet again, "law enforcement" deliberately escalated.

Well, went to the demonstration today which was well-attended, and there was a brass band playing, so that was fun. Then a cyclist going at high speed ran into me as I was crossing a street afterwards - only scrapes and swelling, thankfully, but not an ideal conclusion to the event for me.

Here’s one for all you coffee and/or @sergeyager.bsky.social lovers out there. Season 2 of Coffee with Serge is on its way and we’ve got a fun little mini episode to wet your whistle before the season premieres next Friday! youtu.be/7p-VyrTOF_g

time for my new favorite tumblr post

Can't say I'm surprised, but still . . . godammit. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Saddened to learn that there's already fires in the Columbia River Gorge, including one near Dog Mountain - so much for my idea of hiking there while off work next week. ☹️

The only reason prisons are able to pay incarcerated individuals less than minimum wage is because the 13 amendment exempts punishment in prison from the prohibition on slavery. They're legal slaves. That doesn't apply to civil detention for immigration. It's blatantly unconstitutional.

Take a listen and seriously consider it. While this is not an uncommon practice, I am glad people are beginning to speak up about it.

Crafters - We'd love to share your progress on your Desert Bus for Hope 2025 projects throughout the summer. Just tag us, and/or #DBCraftAlong & #DB2025 so we can catch them in our feed!

For a long time, I was reflexively against secession or even appeals to state/local rights, because of the Civil War and how those were subsequently arguments used for evil (i.e. to defend racist practices/thwart civil rights). Now, though . . .

So that NBC article about Gabbard trying to make intelligence briefings like cable news shows is making the rounds, but I noticed this line in the article, and: People, rightly or wrongly, have obsessed about Biden's age and possible mental decline. But no one's interrogated Trump the same way.

We raised over CA$205,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation during our 24 hour "speedrun." We'd like to extend our appreciation to everyone who donated, watched or shared the event; as well as our volunteer team of entertainers, drivers, engineers, and comms members keeping the bus running. #DBEx2025

We have bussed 24 hours, and you raised over $204,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation (including our 100k of Anonymous matching). Thank you so much for your generosity during this bonus Desert Bus event. Come witness the Final Busdown: desertbus.org

Well done, chat. Well done. #DBEx2025

Took the day off work for #DBEx2025 , but also used this off day for an early afternoon outing at the Sandy River Delta.

So for most of my life I'd thought I had Kindergarten twice because of how long it took me to learn how to speak. At dinner tonight I learn that actually, the 1st grade teacher in my area's special ed program at the time was so shit my mother was like, "Yeah, I'm going to hold my son back a year."

The comment period for this ends in 3 DAYS. Please leave a comment telling them EVERYONE should be able to get covid boosters. www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...

👀