I love gray skies and rain. And sitting quietly in the company of books and cats.
Joined April 2010
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ABrown retweeted
"The disorientation will be harder to adjust to. Most of us have been privileged to live in a world of peace, prosperity, and, above all, stability. We’ve gone to bed without having to wonder whether the traffic lights will work tomorrow. Now, if my sources are correct, we should plan to wake up in Software Beirut, where nothing is broken all the time, but anything might break at any time, and the main skill you need is not being surprised." theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1…
ABrown retweeted
What if putting reality television actors in charge of the federal government was a mistake?
ABrown retweeted
My friend
(who is optimistic)
says that it’s time
to let our hair down.
My friend
(who is pessimistic)
says it’s very unwise
to let our guard down.
My friends
(oh, my friends)
what matters is that we
do not let each other down.
ABrown retweeted
Tonight let's please honor the memory of Medgar Evers, World War II veteran and NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, who was murdered at the age of 37 outside his home in June 1963 and gave his life for civil and voting rights in Mississippi:
ABrown retweeted
We've been using Twitter since 2009, and we're only just discovering that there is no 'n' in 'restaurateur.'
ABrown retweeted
Soof is a style of traditional Kutch embroidery originating in Gujarat, India, reflecting neat geometric designs #WomensArt #EmbroideryWeek
ABrown retweeted
What a day at Cape Disappointment on Sunday! Great light on some photogenic waves, all due to a 20-25 foot swell moving onto the WA coast! #wawx
ABrown retweeted
the fact that grass can become a sweater through the intermediary of a sheep ought to astonish us more than it does.
ABrown retweeted
I was reading Heather Cox Richardson's daily newsletter, and she reminded me of something interesting that happened in Montana on Election Day:
Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to stop the flow of corporate money into political campaigns! Wow, right?
Instead of going after Citizens’ United, they argued that corporations are created by states, therefore the state can deny the power of corporations and other “artificial persons” to donate to political causes.
Only 34.5% of Montana voters opposed the measure. More than 65% voted yes.
Aren't you smiling? Who could possibly not think this is a step in the right direction?
Tell me you're not smiling.
ABrown retweeted
"One of the best things you can do in this life is love your people so loudly and so deeply that they never have to doubt that there is love in this world for them.” ~Blue Iris
ABrown retweeted
“I have worked, raised children, paid bills… So why am I sitting here with my savings gone?” HR professional Tiffany Harris on what happens when doing everything right still isn’t enough.
invisiblepeople.tv/im-still-…
ABrown retweeted
There is more good news today. I had seen this a day or two ago but now it's confirmed by a notice sent out to Nat'l Weather Service offices directing them to resume timely 2x/day balloon releases. NWS has been on a hiring spree after the ill-advised DOGE cuts. (H/T Alan Gerard).
ABrown retweeted
President Trump claimed that AI oligarchs could regulate themselves because they “love our country.”
Now, Google is threatening schools: if you stop your students from using AI, we will cut off your access to Google Search.
That’s not love. That’s extortion.
PAUSE AI NOW.
ABrown retweeted
We have 603 drop boxes and 66 voting centers across our state. Find your nearest drop box or voting center here and drop your ballot off by 8pm: sos.wa.gov/elections/voters/…
ALT Screenshot of Washington state map with yellow dots showing voting centers and green dots showing drop boxes. From the Secretary of State website that's linked
ABrown retweeted
I'm a cardiologist.
Back against the kitchen wall, knees bent, two minutes. Rest. Four times.
In a 100-person randomized trial, doing that 3 days a week for 4 weeks lowered systolic pressure about 9 points more than in people who didn't.
Save this one.
Four weeks of wall squats reduced systolic blood pressure by nearly 10 points in adults with high blood pressure.
Researchers then compared continuing three sessions weekly with reducing to two, one, or none for another month. Systolic pressure remained roughly 7 mmHg below starting levels in the once- and twice-weekly groups. Continuing three sessions weekly produced the greatest reduction of about 14 mmHg. In those who stopped completely, blood pressure moved back toward baseline.
This fits with a previous analysis of randomized trials that identified isometric exercise, which involves holding a muscle contraction, as an effective way to lower resting blood pressure.
What interests me is the practical question - how much of an exercise benefit can we preserve when we temporarily have less time? This study suggests that reducing the frequency can retain part of the benefit for up to a month.
ABrown retweeted
I confess:
I do not know
what will happen
tomorrow,
but what I do know
is that whatever happens
tomorrow
we will still need
to take care
of one another.
ABrown retweeted
"November, be gentle with us. The world is heavy, and we’re carrying more than we say, in our bones, in our thoughts. Keep us near each other, and as the trees let go of their leaves, let us drop one worry and watch it disappear into the wind.” ~May Aygun
