I’ve lost track of the days playing Stardew Valley. It’s funny…I’m sixty-five days away from cannabis, and I still have periods where I feel stoned, and life blurs away just like it did when I was using constantly. If I have a tv show on, if I play a game, time just vanishes utterly. It’s a miracle I’ve managed to walk my dogs and do the dishes and a couple other minor tasks. Otherwise, things have just slipped away.
This is one of those things I hope will improve sooner rather than later, but (as I think I’ve said before) the brainfog may last up to a year as my system rebalances. Something something endocannabinoid system something. I could also say something about paying the piper. Anyway, a year of weird unbalanced junk is the price to pay for eight years of psychedelic experiences, probably, and it really does seem fair. I can only complain so much about something I did knowingly to myself.
It’s nice to lose time *pleasantly* at the moment, because I’ve also been intermittently losing days to blind anxiety. This one is preferable.
But I’d really like to have time back!
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I got a new countertop ice maker, though. I really cannot overemphasize how delighted I remain by the small things. Watching it work brings me Actual Joy.
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Here is a beautiful, haunting poem by Only Fragments.
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NPR shares photos from The Anthropocene Project, which show some of the mighty impact humans have had in shaping our world. I’m afraid the subject matter is mostly depressing. The photos are beautiful, though.
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Jails are really inventive about the ways they harm people. Here’s an Ars Technica piece about jails limiting face-to-face visits in order to earn more money from prison phone companies. It’s monstrous: there is no comparison to actually being able to see and touch and share space with people you love.
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Via Quartz, Gizmodo reports on scientists making super-fast broadband internet. We’re talking 301,000,000 mbps compared to the average USA broadband speed of 64-ish mbps (nice).
The feat was achieved by using new wavelength bands that aren’t used in traditional fiber optic systems. The new wavelength bands are equivalent to “different colors of light being transmitted down the optical fiber.”
The solution is remarkable because it does not require new infrastructure to drastically improve internet speeds, and could allow significantly faster internet speeds through existing fiber cables.
Higher broadband speeds isn’t the only limiting factor in how quick your internet goes, mind. A lot of loading pages is dependent on hardware (your RAM, if I remember correctly) and other things. In order for us to eventually make use of this future possible speed, people will need better hardware too. Also, if higher speeds are available, you can bet files will get much larger, which also means a need for more storage. This is just layman commentary; I’ve observed the parallel developments of technology over my life, but I barely know what I’m talking about.
I suspect faster rates will first benefit corporations and possibly academic institutions. I bet stock traders are salivating.
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Al Jazeera English shares “grief food” from three different cultures. Funeral potatoes are not included.
AJE also talks about caste issues highlighted by food delivery services in India. This is the kind of thing my Anglo ass would never think of, so the perspective is interesting.
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This is another one of those Sara Reads the Feed posts where I’m unflagging a bunch of articles I flagged to share in my RSS reader. Sometimes what I find interesting is too depressing to dwell upon without elements of added interest. What I am omitting today involves unusual animal behavior from climate change, rising meningitis rates, microplastics in archaeological sites, American politicians openly supporting genocide, and more.
Just because I read it and stuck it in my brain-box for consideration doesn’t mean I want it to land on my blog, necessarily. I reread these posts sometimes to find things I care about. I do try to counter the overwhelmingly shouty narrative of mass media by carefully picking what sticks.
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Well, this is literally destructive, but interesting nonetheless. The Tropicana in Vegas is getting torn down and replaced by a ballpark. (NPR)
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Kathryn Murdoch, related to that Murdoch, wants more focus on protopias rather than dystopias. (NPR) She points to Star Trek as an example. You can imagine me grimacing but also waving a little pompom. I’m skeptical of anyone who says “let’s imagine a rosier future!” who’s deeply vested in the systems that make our current-day not-so-rosy. People never seem willing to hurt their own position of power for the greater good.
I don’t want to argue with the message, really. I know a lot of people focusing on hopepunk and grimbright for similar reasons. We have to imagine better to achieve it.
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In California, half a million workers are getting a $20 minimum wage now. (NPR)
That’s incrementalism right there, which is definitely better than a sharp stick in the eyeball. However, I seem to remember inflation means we should be arguing for a minimum wage upwards of $24/hr.
Maybe my current politics are “discontent with anything short of the best because I’m sick of a lifetime watching occasional, intermittent growth.”
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Sam Raimi isn’t working on a Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire at the moment. (Variety) I guess I’d be there for it if he did, though. I still think his MCU movie had more interesting moments than a lot of the late-stage MCU.
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The Gen V cast is mourning the loss of Chance Perdomo. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this one for a couple days now. He was prominent in the Netflix Sabrina show, and I honestly loved Gen V. He’s just taken up a lot of real estate in my entertainment life. And now he’s gone. Twenty-seven is way too young.
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The Guardian talks about “Tory rebels” working with Labour et al to decriminalize sleeping rough. I am to USian to fully contextualize this, but…it sounds good? This is good, right?
My city just added new laws to make being homeless more illegal, so I’m just glad to see *somewhere* trying to make things easier for our unhoused community members and neighbors.
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Dude, twenty-two people are still on the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore. (Quartz) Still working. Keeping the whole thing running. Not going anywhere. It sounds like they’re doing well enough, but man, I wish they could be home with their families.
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Engadget talks about Gmail priming us to be the product online. I have been wondering if we shouldn’t expect Gmail’s freeness to last. The decline in Google as a search engine makes me think we’re getting to the part of the business model where they work on squeezing more profit out of the thing.
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This Refinery29 article on Cowboy Carter highlights something I find personally interesting.
The four Black women country artists who appear on “Blackbird” are experiencing the kind of overnight attention they’ve long deserved, but wouldn’t have achieved at this level and this quickly, without the Beyoncé effect. In just 96 (ish) hours, emerging country stars Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts have seen their followers quadruple and their streaming numbers skyrocket. For the first time in history, six Black country acts (including Martell and Shaboozey) are featured on Spotify’s US daily top artists chart. These stats will have a tangible and extraordinary impact on these artists and on mainstream country music.
I’ve heard a lot of criticism of Blackbird, but it’s important to a lot of women’s careers. The intention is important. Community responsibility remains part of Beyonce’s messaging.
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In archaeology news, a bunch of Roman curse scrolls were found in an English town. (Smithsonian Mag)
They also found a Pompeii construction site, which is teaching us about the ways they built things.
Aaaaand a medieval castle under a French hotel!
In news about much more modern historical sites of personal interest to me, here’s a bit about Nevada’s ghost towns. Some are abandoned, some are living. They talk about Virginia City, my favorite local tourist trap ghost town. Hey, I like the candy stores.
