All these fascists bound to lose

Ok here is something that my brain won’t stop thinking about: does the 6% energy burden metric need to be reevaluated given that the externalities of fossil fuels means most electricity was too cheap at the meter when the metric was developed?

My Saturday afternoon spent swimming in the Willamette River was facilitated by a massive infrastructure project that was only undertaken because of a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act. The rollback of environmental laws will have long-reaching effects in ways that most people will never understand

If I have to explain to you why it's a bad idea to use a machine that makes shit up 15-80% of the time AND destroys the environment AND contributes to rising fascism and genocide AND puts brilliant skillful creatives out of work by stealing their work, then we're already speaking different languages

Global emissions from heating are about 4x those from cooling. Air conditioning is an important and lifesaving adaptation to climate change. Decarbonize the grid.

For a great primer on this phenomenon see Heather Mcghee’s The Sum of Us

🌈 🎲 Queer Game Night at Rune & Board 🎲 🌈 🏳️‍🌈 TOMORROW 3pm - 6pm! 🏳️‍🌈We have a game library that includes queer Board Games and queer TTRPGs! Come and play inclusive, drop-in, queer friendly games for all genders and skill levels with us. 🌈238 SE Washington St, Hillsboro, OR 97123

These GOP Congress people have never sat in a diner at 1am contemplating a family member’s new diagnosis and it shows.

if you’ve ever wondered why “escaping small scale subsistence farming” has been humanity’s primary group project for the majority of our known existence, it’s because small scale subsistence farming sucks real bad

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

As the wife of a naturalized citizen, this is crazy. It cannot be the case that Congress people call for denaturalization proceedings based on political differences.

I am the daughter and sister of T1 diabetics and this made me tear up. This is why we need to fund scientific research consistently with no political agenda. If the stem cell debates of my youth had gone the other way this would not be possible l.

My entire adult life has involved Republican presidents running up enormous debts by cutting taxes and starting unnecessary wars and then bleating about fiscal responsibility and I am so sick of it.

This is your reminder that the WQRC offers weekly Drop-In Hours every Monday (2-6 pm), Tuesday (3-7pm), and Wednesday (3-7 pm) over at our office in The Downtown Hive (233 SE Washington St, Hillsboro OR 97123). Drop-In Hours are staffed by caring and compassionate volunteers in a welcoming space!

I was reminded this morning of the cost of changing your mind when you come from high-control conservative cultures and places. Those tiny groups of people protesting in small, rural places are paying a social cost. Sending thanks for their willingness to speak out.

Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there who nurture relationships with their kids, biological or not, and other young people who need someone to step up for them. Your love and care is seen and appreciated,

The project I worked on as a US DOE Fellow has officially been killed by the Trump administration. While it was inevitable, it still feels horrible.

Homemade soup with a view of in-office lunch today.

Spending the majority of Memorial Day weekend cleaning out the garage and I, whose children are 8, 14, and 17, have had to negotiate over the number of sticks, rocks, and soccer balls we can keep. So no, the stick thing never, ever ends.

All people should have reproductive choice. I am also noticing that fewer people being parents leads to gaps in empathy for families and understanding of childhood. It’s easy to forget what 0-6 year old children are like if you are never around them and you can’t even remember yourself at that age.

My children have been insured by Medicaid, through the Oregon Health Plan, for nearly 7 years until this month, when we could finally afford to insure them under my new job. The OHP gave us life-saving access to care when we could not afford it. #medicaid

How do all these MAGA folks have the time and energy to ruminate constantly over other people’s genitals and bathroom assignments and marriage details and pregnancy decisions? I can barely keep up with my own life. Mind your own damn business and get a constructive hobby.

I graduated a year ago, I was meant to start repaying my student loans 10/24 but I applied for IDR and they have been sitting in limbo since. I have no idea when I will be required to repay them and no idea what the amount will be. How does my family make a financial plan like this?? #studentloans

Totally understand the frustration at the officiating at today’s @thornsfc.com match, but our fans collectively chanting “F*ck you ref!” isn’t a good look and I hope the league has something to say about it.

I am deeply sick of the discourse that pits different kinds of work and intelligences against each other. Everyone has strengths, both interpersonal and professional. Our task is to build a world where people have the opportunity to develop them and thrive in their communities, urban or rural.

All I want is for the Oregon senators who fled the state in 2019, killing cap-and-trade, to be required to sit in every meeting where people are trying to figure out how to deal with the ramifications of the non-price solution we have now. Just sit and have their time wasted.

Yesterday I left my US DOE Fellow position before my term was up so that I could accept a more secure non-federal position. I spent today with a heavy heart for the millions of people having to make similar decisions when they love the work they’re doing, as I did. This sucks.

Today was my last day in my current position and I am most proud of the fact that my colleagues gave me feedback that they felt seen and supported by me and that I created a space where they felt they could ask questions without judgement.

Silver lining to our dryer dying on the weekend in the middle of the week’s laundry marathon is that sitting in the laundromat gives me time to start @elienyc.bsky.social latest.

Sending up another prayer of gratitude for all of the people that worked to make the ‘99 Toyota 4Runner we own (our only car) an incredibly reliable vehicle. It’s not pretty, but right now it’s invaluable.

✨Rune & Board and Westside Queer Resource Center present:✨ 🌈 🎲 Queer Game Night at Rune & Board 🎲 🌈 🏳️‍🌈 TOMORROW 3pm - 6pm! 🏳️‍🌈 Come and play inclusive, drop-in, queer friendly games for all genders and skill levels with us. Please, no outside food or drinks. Ages 13+

Our household has owned one car for 14 years. We use electric and acoustic bikes, a Onewheel, and most importantly, transit. My sons can get to their extracurricular and college classes on the bus, I can get to work meetings and events via Max. @trimet.org saves us thousands/year. Happy to fund them

Had to have a hard conversation with our oldest son today and when it was over I asked if he wanted a hug, he replied “No” and we left it at that. I’m sure my parenting has been lacking in some ways, but he can tell me “No” and knows I’ll honor his “No”, and that’s something.

Deeply grateful for an impromptu night around old friends’ dinner table, seeing our kids, who used to play at playgrounds together, tell each other about post-high school plans. Their future is what matters.

Headed on a family spring break trip tmrw and I am bringing a knitting project I already started with yarn I’ve had for years and books from my pile of already bought books. Feel like I’m leveling up as an adult.

Important note about this breakthrough: Literally would not exist without the kind of Federal support the current administration is slashing. Took 15+ years of research at a federal lab (Lawrence Berkeley) to get this to a point at which private enterprise could take over and make these at scale.

Extremely happy to have received this today. It was only a 2.5 week turnaround for my renewal.

Binary Brewing will be hosting a Beaverton Drink & Draw collab event to benefit Westside Queer Resource Center on Wednesday, March 26th from 6pm-9pm! 100% of art sales will be donated to WQRC. 🎫 Free to attend ✅ Open to all ages, crafts, and skill levels.

This is your reminder that the WQRC offers weekly Drop-In Hours every Monday (2-6 pm), Tuesday (3-7pm), and Wednesday (3-7 pm) over at our office in The Downtown Hive (233 SE Washington St, Hillsboro OR 97123). 💕

My daughter is about to turn the age I was when I was put in charge of my younger brother after school and in the summer and oooo boy, let’s just say it’s not helping my rage against the lack of care systems in this country.

As an alumni I would really love to see @oregonstate.edu, along with all its fellow land-grant institutions, push back mightily against the actions of the Trump administration. I appreciate that you are posting resources for students, but it’s not enough.

You know you are a little on edge when news of the death of the man who ran the coffee booth at your law school makes you burst into tears. He was such a kind man and loss of such kindness feel extra-tragic right now.

Happy BPA DAM Draft Decision Day to all who celebrate! (this is my energy nerd post for the week)

My bit of joy today was getting the knitter mystery minifigure on my first try (I already changed the hair)! LEGO YARN BALL!

I did not have “the other citizenships in this household are European and that might become problematic” on my life bingo card. WTAF America.

This is not an original thought, but I can’t stop dwelling on it. Imagine being a person who immigrated to another country, became unfathomably wealthy due to the amazing resources, including scientific research and personnel, in that country, and deciding you’re going to tear it all apart. Sick.

Tomorrow is our TTRPG Drop-In night! Come play some one-shot campaigns and learn the ropes of TTRPGs! This is a great way to get introduced to games like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder! #TTRPG #TabletopGames #RPGCommunity #OneShot

Be neither wowed nor bullied by tech ‘geniuses’ whose innovations are to repackage and then poorly deliver something that already exists, and then name it a commonly used word but with extra consonants or missing vowels.

Today my daughter and I held hands and roller skated to some 90s pop and I didn’t fall once and I forgot the general state of the world for about 90 minutes. 10/10 would recommend

After meeting members of their board last night at Hillsboro’s State of the City event, I set up a monthly donation to @westsideqrc.bsky.social. All politics are local and I would encourage everyone to support the orgs in their area that are working for safety and equality for all.