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Posts Tagged ‘disease’

There is no reason for the pervert glasses to exist.  –  Jesse L. Taylor

To Molest and Rape

It’s not safe for anyone to be anywhere near a cop:

A Hennepin County [Minnesota cop was rewarded with a paid vacation for]…sexual[ly assaulting a woman while drunk]…Jared Sprunk…[was out drinking] on March 1…when the…[victim foolishly] invited him [along with a group] to a friend’s house…he [started acting up]…but [was too drunk] to drive…[so] she and her friends helped Sprunk into a bedroom downstairs so he could “sleep it off”…[he repaid her kindness by] clos[ing] the bedroom door while [she] was still inside…and…tried to [rape her.  The friends responded to her]…screaming for help while pounding the door….they…escorted Sprunk upstairs and pushed him [outside]…after Sprunk a[ttacked one of them]…Sprunk…denied…[every]thing [to cops], despite [also] saying he [was too drunk to remember]…

For a different unhinged Hennepin County cop, see “The Cop Myth” below.

Torture Chamber (#1313) 

This mindless evil will continue as long as useful idiots allow it to:

…Walker County, Alabama…Sheriff Nick Smith…[presides over a chamber of horrors].  About 100 feet from [his office, screws]…jeered as [Anthony] Mitchell shivered in his own waste…A short walk from that cell…a g[ang] of [screw]s beat a man until one of their uniforms was soaked with his blood…In the infirmary down the hall, [screw]s pummeled a man so hard they broke bones…none of it has come back on Smith…despite…20 of his employees — nearly half the jail staff at the time of Mitchell’s death — [being] indicted in a sweeping federal investigation…13 [have already] pleaded guilty…One of the [thug]s who a[bduc]ted Mitchell [after his cousin Steve Mitchell foolishly called 911 on him] stomped on his groin as he lay handcuffed on the ground, telling him, “This is how we treat seizures in Walker County.”  A [screw] tased Mitchell as he shivered in his cell…they [intentional]ly [denied] him [water and refused to allow him]…medical care…for two weeks.  When they finally took him to the hospital, he was unconscious in]…the final stage of hypothermia…On Facebook…[Smith crowed that his thugs torturing a severely mentally ill man w]as a brave win….wh[ile] the…office [staff]…lied…to…his mother and sister [that] Mitchell was safely detoxing…

Enshittification (#1468)

How long before Google becomes completely useless?

Google’s gluttonous [“]AI Overviews[” have wrought havoc on]…online media publications…[whose] web traffic…has dropped off significantly …At their peak, the media companies brought in 112 million site visits per month from Google users in the US.  By January of this year, that number was down to a little under 50 million…Mashable fared the best, losing a grim 30 percent of its web traffic…Wired…lost 62 percent…[and] HowToGeek, The Verge, and ZDNet…each lost over 85 percent…[worst hit] is…Digital Trends, which went from 8.5 million clicks a month in March 2024 to a heartbreaking 264,861 in January 2026…a drop-off of 97 percent of US web traffic from Google…

You may remember that this started with “adult” and “mature” websites (such as this blog) being “downranked”, but as I repeatedly say, such attacks only start with those the Establishment demonizes.

Walled Garden (#1594)

Politicians love infantilizing people and then using that as a excuse for oppression:

Indonesia is [attempting] to block teenagers from social media apps, [try]ing [to] prevent anyone under 16 from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox…Dozens of other countries around the world — including…Canada, Germany and Brazil — have either banned or are considering bans on social media for [young adults using spurious]…reasoning [supported by buzzwords such as “]pornography[“]…and…[“]addictive algorithms[“]…Spain said it would ban anyone under 16 from using messaging apps…France also wants to ban [people] under 15 from social media, with President Emmanuel Macron blaming it for youth violence, and the United Kingdom is also mulling a…ban…in the US…Florida has a partial ban for [people] under 14, and California and New York are trying to regulate “addictive feeds.” Utah, Texas, and Arkansas have tried to require parental consent for minors to have social media accounts.

The Cop Myth (#1618)

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do:

A Hennepin County [Minnesota cop ran amok]…in…a hospital [maternity ward]…in February.  Dillon Field…was [estranged from]…his wife [due to prior abuse, but she foolishly allowed him to visit while she] was preparing to give birth…He started yelling at [her, so she]…asked that he leave, and his mother-in-law went to get a nurse…Field shoved her and tried to lock himself in the bathroom with his wife.  [When] nurses responded…Field [fled]…and…the hospital…[was put] into lockdown.  He…[was] charged with…domestic assault [but also rewarded with a paid vacation]…

Torture Chamber (#1618)

Regular readers know this kind of evil is endemic to US jails and prisons:

A diabetic Norwegian woman [married to a US citizen] who was a[bducted from her green card interview on November 17 by ICE thugs nearly died in a filthy cage because]…her requests for insulin were repeatedly ignored.  Hanne Daguman…was advised by multiple immigration attorneys that [her visa expiring] “would not be an issue” due to [her marriage, but thugs ambushed her at her] green card interview…[dragged her away in chains and stole] her Continuous Glucose Monitor…she…could not safely eat without insulin…yet [was denied both insulin and contact with] a doctor until November 20…[at which point a] glucose test…[showed her blood sugar] was 508…[but was still given] insulin in [incorrect] dosages [and in]consistently…[despite becoming] severely ill…the available food was carbohydrate-heavy (such as rice, pasta and oats), which requires careful insulin dosing before and after.  As that was not provided, Hanne lost 10 pounds in just nine days…she was [finally]…released on November 25 and was required to wear an ankle monitor until her court hearing on January 26.  The case was [then immediately] terminated [because there were no grounds to arrest her in the first place]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1619)

I’ve been calling these “spy” or “surveillance” glasses, but this is much better:

…Many have quickly embraced a term for [Facebook surveillance] devices that’s presumably sending…Mark Zuckerberg into paroxysms of fury: “pervert glasses”.  “I’m taking a brave stance that may get me canceled: there is no reason for the pervert glasses to exist,” one user wrote.  “Glad people are settling on the term ‘pervert glasses,’” another agreed. “Bonus points if you also say it while posting a picture of Mark Zuckerberg or call them Mark Zuckerberg’s pervert glasses”…Yet another [wrote]…“I would prefer technology to make it more difficult to skeez, creep or perv on the world.  I would like tech to protect me from creeps, not smooth the runway for them”…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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These guys really need to watch more film noir.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-15T18:12:23.909Z

You have to sleep sometime, guys.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-17T19:01:24.980Z

Four of these look WORSE in the "after" pictures. Middle right is DRAMATICALLY worse.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-19T02:53:53.205Z

They really do believe Heaven is clouds where people walk around in a semblance of life forever. It's remarkably stupid, childish, Bronze-Age thinking.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-20T08:26:34.100Z

The International Board of Kakistocracy

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-23T18:25:56.755Z

American flag lapel pins are virtue signaling. The FBI saying how much they loved MLK is virtue signaling. Laws named after dead kids are virtue signaling. State-sponsored "prayer breakfasts" are virtue signaling. Etc, etc. Any sincerely moral person can see the difference without effort.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-25T09:01:06.051Z

If I were Canadian, right now I would feel like one of the guys in this scene:

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T03:22:24.145Z

"Dismantled" in the same sense as the Hindenburg was "dismantled".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T18:37:28.791Z

Treasury Secretary Meisterburger has some advice for parents.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-28T16:56:31.831Z

Modern journalists:Talking about a guy who has been out of political office for decades: "President So-and-So", "Senator So-and-So"Talking about a cop sent to prison for using his position to murder or rape somebody last year: "Former officer So-and-So"

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T19:23:12.888Z

I hereby declare the word "pivot" officially hackneyed. Find a different verb to beat to death by overuse.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-30T08:52:51.698Z

The "We need new Democrats" whine triggers off the Mom region of my brain: "You haven't done anything with the Democrats I already gave you."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-31T18:05:24.186Z

Raise your hand if you're old enough to remember when it was the DEMOCRATS pretending "unified government" was a good thing.Extra points if you remember that the Clintonian slur for "checks and balances" was "gridlock".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-01T18:02:15.967Z

Oh look, it's another of those things us cranks have been warning all y'all Very Smart Futurist People about for years.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-02T17:20:55.791Z

What is this thing supposed to be? An Easter Island statue?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-03T03:38:50.271Z

If only there were some simple way to kill the bacteria so the milk would be safe to drink. If some genius were to invent such a process, we could even name it after him.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T03:20:03.432Z

Actual economists disagree.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T19:49:45.952Z

How can anyone who has ever read Asimov's nonfiction not know this? He used to BRAG about it. I knew Asimov was a sex pest before entering HIGH SCHOOL because when I was in 8th grade I got on a kick of reading all of his essay collections, and he talks about it more than a little.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-06T03:08:49.403Z

I was used to sex workers being the most *ethical* people on the internet, but in the past 15 years they've proven themselves to be among the most intelligent and literate as well.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-07T18:29:51.990Z

"Facts undermine his testimony" is such a weird, nerf-bat way of saying "He lied".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-08T17:46:14.535Z

I was taught in catechism that God is all-forgiving, so from a Christian perspective the answer to this would be "yes".That having been said, I am neither a god nor a Christian, so I am under no obligation to forgive those who enabled the current police state over the past ≈ 150 years.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-09T19:09:35.536Z

They make ME think of the campfire scene in "Stand By Me" where the boys seriously discuss, "Who is stronger, Superman or Mighty Mouse?"

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-10T18:20:24.645Z

They really do think "But he gave them candy after molesting them" is a defense.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-11T08:51:42.315Z

It has dawned on me that most young people don't understand that political parties are about as fixed as sand dunes, and drift all over with the political and social winds over time. Which is just a more extreme example of the common inability to recognize that the same is true for species.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T18:25:49.074Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-13T19:18:32.880Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-15T08:58:03.773Z

Your regular reminder that Eisenhower warned us about all this in January 1961, but everyone just basically ignored him until it was much too late.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-16T18:10:17.125Z

You've gotta admire a man who trusts his friends' understanding of physics enough to attempt this.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-17T19:04:26.838Z

Given that the statement "This power will be abused" is always 100% accurate over the long term, you'd think the Pollyannas would've learned by now. But I reckon that's against their dopey natures.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-18T18:21:26.639Z

I just noticed this:

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-02-19T19:01:26.364Z

 

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A clumsy attempt…to put a cuddly face on a rather dystopian reality.  –  Chris Gilliard

The Vultures Descend (Bragging Rights)

No evil is too sleazy for forced-birth fanatics:

An anti-choice group called “Voices for Life” is trying a new strategy to put a target on the backs of abortion providers and recipients in [Indiana by] seeking to make…identifying details about them publicly available…Eleven abortion providers have been murdered in the U.S. since 1993, and abortion clinics continue to experience arson attacks and invasions.  From 2023 to 2024, there were 37 reported cases of stalking and 38 reported cases of assault…against abortion providers…Indiana’s abortion ban was passed almost immediately…after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade…It permits abortions in certain cases…but…bans abortion clinics…[so there are] very few abortions…Yet that isn’t enough for [fanatics]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1412) 

The time, money, and energy our society is flushing down the “culture war” toilet is incalculable:

In Kansas, more than a bathroom bill is at stake for transgender residents as [psychopathic politicians] jam through a bill to mass-invalidate the driver’s licenses of every trans person in the state…HB246…declares that all driver’s licenses out of step with the state’s definition of man and woman are invalid, and instructs [bureaucrats] to identify every license issued to a trans person and send written notice that the license must be surrendered and reissued…The bill institutes an extreme and novel punishment of transgender residents for continuing to live their lives as normal, and the legality of stripping people of legal ID in this way is questionable.  However, there has been little coverage of the measure because the legislature paired it with one of the most extreme bans on trans people using public restrooms in the entire country.  The bathroom ban has been covered in local news stories and by the Erin in the Morning newsletter, which mentioned but did not focus on the driver’s license changes…

Thought Control (#1527)

These psychopaths won’t be satisfied until they can actually start arresting and caging librarians:

…a bill…in…Georgia…[would criminalize] librarians [who refuse] to…censor…books about LGBTQ people or issues.  Senate Bill 74, sponsored by [censorious politician] Max Burns…[would allow prosecu]tion…of [librarians for working in a library containing books that a politician chooses to point at while spastically barfing out the magic formula “]harmful…to minors[” if]…the…libraries [don’t] ban…people under 18 [from the premises]…Burns told reporters…“At the end of the day, the objective is to…[demand] that…professional…librarians [act as mindless facilitators of the whims of politicians, in violation of all decency and professional ethics]”…

Walled Garden (#1533)

“A disaster waiting to happen”:

Discord [has] announced…that it’s [impos]ing…[user surveillance] on its platform globally starting next month, when it will automatically set all users’ accounts to a “teen-appropriate” [censorship level] unless they [convince an algorithm] that they’re adults.  Users who [refuse to submit to facial recognition or recording of their government ID] will not be able to access age-restricted servers and channels, won’t be able to speak in Discord’s livestream-like “stage” channels, and will see c[ensorship black screens] for any content Discord [algorithms declare “]graphic[” or “]sensitive[“]…users w[ill even] be [banned from]…age-restricted server[s]…they were part of before [the surveillance regime was imposed]…Discord [mouthpieces pooh-poohed]…concerns around data privacy, [despite a recent] data breach that exposed users’ age verification data, including images of government IDs…

Panopticon (#1584) 

One couldn’t ask for a better example of useful idiocy:

At Sunday’s Super Bowl, Ring advertised “Search Party,” a cute, horrifyingly dystopian feature…designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses [recognition algorithms] to look for a lost dog…[with] one [simple] post…in the Ring app…It does not take an imagination of any sort to envision this being tweaked to work against [people the state has declared “]criminals[“, including] undocumented immigrants, or [else] other…[passersby] deemed “suspicious” by people…on its dystopian “Neighbors” app…Ring rose to prominence…by forming [fascist] partnerships with local police around the country, asking them to shill their doorbell cameras to people…in return for a system that allowed police to [demand] footage from individual users without a warrant [or the consent of the camera “owner”]…

This is only a temporary retreat:

Following intense backlash to its partnership with Flock S[urveillance]…Ring has announced it is [temporarily backpedaling from] the integration [until the furor dies down]…Over the last few weeks, the company has faced significant public anger over its connection to Flock, with Ring users being encouraged to smash their cameras, and some announcing on social media that they are throwing away their Ring devices…

Ring has a history of claiming to retreat from fascist police-statery, then quietly resuming the supposedly-renounced behavior once things quiet down.

Torture Chamber (#1607)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

…a handwritten note…wrapped around a lotion bottle…was thrown by a man held captive inside the Otay Mesa Detention Center…on [February 1st]…“It’s cold here all the time and the food is poor…For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh.  We are all in one big room with no doors or windows.  We can’t see any grass or trees.  We are all constantly sick.”  The bottle needed to be tossed with enough strength to make it across a cement wall, two barbed wire fences each around twelve-feet high and separated by about five feet of gravel, and ten additional feet of road…Two lotion bottles with the same note were tossed over…[because if screws see messages being thrown out] they rush…to grab them…so…[nobody can find out which] hostages…[are imprisoned in which] facilities…[but activists] have collected 14 lotion bottles, two deodorant bottles, and one AA Battery that [hostag]es have thrown over the fences with notes attached to them.  These items have included a total of 102 names and A-Numbers…[which] are…numbers assigned by the Department of [Father]land Security to [victims]…Organizers use this information to add…funds [to hostages’]…commissary…[and] phone call…[accounts]…

Mad Libs (#1612)

What an opportunity for ambulance-chasers to cash in:

This study evaluated whether the customized ECG Reader-GPT model could serve as a supportive tool—rather than a substitute for expert judgment—during ECG interpretation in the emergency department…Ten emergency medicine specialists (EMSs) interpreted each ECG…The same ECG set was assessed by a customized [chatbot]…Two cardiologists, blinded to group assignments, scored all responses using a predefined key.  EMSs demonstrated markedly higher diagnostic accuracy…correctly interpret[ing] 77% of ECGs, whereas ECG Reader-GPT achieved 24%…indicating that the model is…insufficient for real-world ECG interpretation…

But when actual physicians merely used the software for “assistance”, the results were even worse:

In 2021…Johnson & Johnson [pompously] announced a “leap forward”:  it [crammed a chatbot in]to a medical device used to treat chronic sinusitis…the software…would [supposedly]…assist ear, nose, and throat specialists in surgeries.  The device had already been on the market for three years [prior to insertion of the parasitic chatbot, during which time the FDA] received [seven] unconfirmed reports of…device malfunction…Since [the chatbot was crammed in, there have been]…at least 100 malfunctions and adverse events…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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One year ago today, at about 2 AM, I lost my best friend to what appears to have been an acute ischemic stroke, brought on by cancer, chemotherapy, and long-standing circulatory issues.  We had known for years that her end was approaching, and had I not refused to see them, there were clear signs that it would be sooner rather than later.  But human beings are very good at failing to see what we do not want to see, and I’m certainly no exception; I’m sure part of the reason was that I wanted to maintain a positive outlook to help her do the same, but most of it was just that I’ve already had so much pain and loss in my life I did not want to consciously face what even our idioms recognize as among the worst misfortunes that can befall a person.

Whenever a friend suffers a loss, we are moved to try to say something, anything, to assuage their pain; some of those things are helpful and some are not.  But of the things my friends said to me, two stand out, and I still think of them often.  One of them is philosophical:  Grief is the price we pay for love.  Indeed, people who have suffered emotionally sometimes become afraid of love because they fear the pain that must come when we must part from the loved one, and the greater the love, the greater the pain.  The other helpful thing was more practical: The waves of grief never stop coming, but they do grow further apart.  For the first few weeks after her passing I thought of little else, then for most of last year the waves came at least daily; in more recent months they’ve come two or three times a week.  They have not yet become less intense, though I’m sure that, too, will happen in the fullness of time.

As I knew I would through long experience, I have tried to cope with the grief by retreating a bit from the world and burying myself in my work; the most important product of that work is a new series of pulp-style adventure stories featuring characters based upon Grace and myself, in which the narratives are suffused with my thoughts on friendship in general and our friendship in particular.  They’re the longest and most complex individual works I’ve ever written, and the next project in the series will be my first novel.  And the many hours it takes to create them not only feel like a way for me to share Grace with the world, but also a means by which I can squeeze just a little more time with her out of a world which took her from me much too soon.

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The willful use of such an error-prone technology suggests that the appearance of a process is more important than accuracy.  –  Chris Gilliard

If Men Were Angels

The problem isn’t Catholicism, Christianity, or even religion; it’s teaching kids to blindly submit to authority:

…a Roman Catholic priest…[named] Korey LaVergne was jailed…on [January 16th for child molestation]…the…arrest comes at a relatively fragile time for the Lafayette diocese, which…[has] disclosed its “total range of potential loss on [pending child molestation] claims…is $88,187,500 to $162,450,000”…A Lafayette diocese priest named Gilbert Gauthe effectively brought the decades-old, worldwide Catholic clergy abuse crisis to the US by pleading guilty in 1985 to molesting several boys…

A Moral Cancer (#1030)

Because obviously prohibition doesn’t ruin enough lives yet:

…Arizona [politicians want to make]…amyl nitrates — commonly known as “poppers” — illegal in the state, [criminalizing mere possession of] a substance long sold in a legal gray area and closely associated with LGBT…nightlife and sexual culture.  House Bill 2191…would also ban the sale of nitrous oxide, often called “laughing gas”…The proposal [appears to be a spinoff of increased] federal scrutiny of poppers…[including raids on] several manufacturers…[by] the FDA…[because the psychopathic] Robert F. Kennedy Jr…has repeatedly promoted the scientifically disproven claim that poppers — rather than HIV — caused AIDS…

If Men Were Angels (#1477)

Cop and preacher is like the molester equivalent of a full house:

A [typical and representative cop paid to lurk in schools in order to spy on, persecute, and intimidate students in] Colorado was [also a preacher]…Rubel “Tim” Martinez…was arrested [for repeatedly molesting a student]…from 2014 to 2016…and [has now been convicted]…Martinez [also]…ran an after-school clown club…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1571)

Government thugs don’t care how many false positives these systems shit out:

When…ICE…[goons subjected one of their victims to their] facial recognition app [without her consent], it returned two different and incorrect names, [demonstrating that]…the[ir] app…called Mobile Fortify, [is just as error-prone as all facial recognition software]…de[spite utterly ridiculous claims that it]…should be trusted over a birth certificate…“ICE has treated Mobile Fortify like it’s a 100% accurate record retrieval system of everybody’s immigration status for the entire population of the U.S. when this is obviously not true, and could never be true from a technical perspective,” [said] Cooper Quintin…[of] the Electronic Frontier Foundation…The [victim,] a 45-year-old woman who court records call MJMA…is now suing ICE and being represented by attorneys from the Innovation Law Lab…

Shame, Shame (#1597)

Zuckerberg flushed $77 billion down a “virtual” toilet:

After years of failing to produce a profitable [virtual] reality platform, [Facebook] is pounding one of the final nails into the coffin of its metaverse efforts — the ones that were once so central to its vision that it renamed the entire company after them…[it is] laying off some 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division…[and] three VR game studios were shuttered, though [its]…online VR game platform…is still running…in a diminished capacity…

Torture Chamber (#1601)

A convenient way to cover up wanton murder:

Under the law, ICE is required to provide necessary medical care for [its victims]…While [it] employs some of its own medical staff, it often uses third-party providers…ICE, however, has not paid any third-party providers for medical care for detainees since October 3, 2025…[and has] announc[ed] it will not begin processing such claims until at least April 30, 2026…[this] has [understandably] caused…medical providers to deny services to ICE [victims]…ICE [told inquiring reporters to fuck off]…

Torture Chamber (#1606)

Government violence claims another victim:

A Nicaraguan immigrant [captur]ed by ICE [goons] in Minneapolis has become the third [victim] to die at [Concentration] Camp East Montana in El Paso…Victor Manuel Diaz…was…[supposedly found] dead on Wednesday, Jan. 14…ICE…[is calling it a] suicide…[but the same thing was claimed about] Geraldo Lunas Campos…[when goons murdered him] on Jan. 3…At least six migrants have died…in [US concentration camps]…since Jan. 1…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Who first used the German word "blitz" ("lightning") to describe sudden, intense bursts of violence? I forget.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-14T19:43:33.619Z

I just can't get beyond the resemblance.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-16T19:29:02.571Z

When cops use profanity at us, think of what they're telling us. Would you ever curse at your boss? No, but he can curse at you because he has power over you. What would happen if you cursed out a cop? But they curse at us routinely. That tells you how they perceive their relationship with us.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-17T08:31:30.244Z

The universe does things on a subatomic level that would get you arrested for bank fraud if you tried the financial equivalent.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T04:59:00.841Z

People suffering from advanced dementia often fall back on old "scripts". It's why your senile great-grandmother calls you by your mother's (or even grandmother's) name, and it's why Trump seems to think he's still on a TV show he did two decades ago.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T18:14:28.117Z

Magnificent. Words that deserve to be included in future editions of Bartlett's.If you're not following Ken, why are you even on here?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-20T18:37:49.142Z

Reporters need to ditch the word "taken" when writing about actions of government thugs.The property wasn't "taken" by goons; it was STOLEN.The person wasn't "taken to the ground"; he was TACKLED.The person wasn't "taken into custody" as if on a date; he was ABDUCTED.Stop soft-peddling evil.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T18:12:37.117Z

Reading what people say about Twitter makes me realize that the vast majority online expend absolutely no effort on account hygiene. If they treated their bodies like they treat their social media accounts, they'd never bathe, brush their teeth, or change their clothes, and would eat only junk.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-23T18:27:53.081Z

I will never cease to be amused by the notoriety Fate chose to bestow upon a minor Sumerian merchant of the 18th century BCE.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-24T18:42:59.559Z

Crypto-moralists believe anything unpleasant must be “good for you”.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T08:41:09.810Z

In the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was called "the sick man of Europe". Now the American empire has become the sick man of the entire planet.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T19:46:57.721Z

I found my own solution to Thanksgiving guest tensions many years ago: I host. Nobody dares start shit in MY house.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-27T17:53:29.116Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T03:35:45.932Z

I have lived my life in such a way that I can't picture either of these women accurately enough to compare them in my mind. And I'm very pleased about that.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T18:42:27.556Z

I block every single MAGA account and every associated lunatic on Twitter the first time I see it. As a result, I now see far more Trumpery on Bluesky than on Twitter, because people keep screenshotting and calling attention to accounts I blocked long ago.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T18:04:51.442Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T09:14:45.895Z

What's the Greek word for rule by mathematical imbeciles?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T18:10:12.603Z

I'm so exhausted by journalists, who should know the meaning of the words they use, referring to people who are not cautious of change but rather mindlessly destroy every Chesterton's fence they can find, as "conservative".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T20:21:41.880Z

"We are not the party of participation trophies…"I hate to break this to you, but…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T03:39:24.651Z

Maybe this misuse of the word "democracy" is a problem of Millennials and Zoomers, who are too young to remember that about half the communist dictatorships of the late 20th century had the word "Democratic" in their names, eg "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (German Democratic Republic).

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T18:47:29.470Z

Mad emperor babbles like a baby: "A pwus pwus pwus pwus pwus!!" {claps tiny pudgy hands and gurgles}

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-09T20:02:40.319Z

Ahem.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T09:23:43.373Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-12T19:50:01.065Z

OK, y'all, we all get it: politicians and partisans are all huge hypocrites who theatrically perform anger when the "other team" does the same thing they do when in power.Find another goddamned tweet boilerplate. Holy shit.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-13T18:34:07.084Z

The problem is that the tech industry is intentionally conflating two different things under the fantasy label "AI". Machine learning is a real, useful tool; chatbots are a toy and a technological blind alley. Conflating the two is like pretending color TV is the same technology as a hula-hoop.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-14T18:46:37.811Z

I'm sick of the idiocy of the term "kinetic strike".As opposed to what, a static strike?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T17:48:03.150Z

My home town, ladies & gents.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T08:51:51.030Z

 

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The modern “simulation” fantasy as typically conceived imagines a simulacrum of a universe created by some finite being or beings for some definable purpose and existing within some physical instrumentality.  And such a model is, due to those arbitrary limitations, pure claptrap.
–  “The Limits of Resolution”

Sex workers who should certainly understand the wrongness of Madonna vs whore will nonetheless subscribe to the equally absurd renters vs landlords or labor vs management dichotomies if they find it politically convenient to do so.  –  “Imaginary Dualities”

One needn’t know why a rabid dog wants to bite one in order to recognize that it’s dangerous.  –
“The Philosophy of Rabies”

20 million people who don’t typically cook need to stop thinking there’s no skill involved, and they can do it as well as someone who’s been practicing every day for decades. The same could be said of those who aren’t sex professionals, but that’s a topic for another day.  –  “Twitter Wonderland“

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You don’t forfeit your constitutional rights when you try to board an airplane.  –  Dan Alban

Follow the Leader (#513)

Authoritarianism is a mental and moral sickness:

Tamara Hamby, a book-banning [sleazebag who managed to worm her way into an Arkansas] Library Board, has resigned her position…[after being caught terrorizing] her disabled, adult [adopted] daughter.  Hamby was arrested…and…charged with kidnapping and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.  Three others…helped [her] in the [outrage and] were also arrested [and charged]…They include Austria Nico…David Quach…and Shannon Childers…Hamby [devised] a bizarre plan to stage a simulated kidnapping of…Jami Kayl Hamby…to [“]teach her a lesson[“] about talking online with strangers…Jami[‘s]…“wrists were zip-tied and she was tied…to a tree…threatened by three accomplices and…told she would be beaten…if she attempted to run away”…[she] managed to work herself free and run to a…home nearby to seek help…Tamara Hamby…does not believe she did anything wrong…and [though her husband, Jeffrey Hamby MD, was not involved in the sick scheme and was away at the time, he’s just as bad as she is and wants the state to take custody of Jami for a while to (you guessed it) “teach her a lesson”]…Jami…suffers from a brain injury incurred at birth, leaving her with a form of epilepsy…severe attention deficit disorder…and severe developmental delays…[leaving the 22-year-old] comparable to an 11- to 13-year-old…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1009)

The latest police-statery from Airstrip One:

Police are set to be handed access to Britain’s passport database under an expansion of facial recognition technology that could be rolled out in every village, town and city across the country….[using] images from CCTV, doorbells, and dashcams…the Home Office launched a consultation aimed at [crush]ing…legal [obstacles to] every [cop shop and pigpen] in Britain to [spy on citizens, justifying the massive civil rights violation by vomiting the magic word “]crime[“]…Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo…[pointed out that] the technology [will] turn Britain into an “open prison”…[transforming] passport [photos]…into “mugshots for a giant surveillance database”…

A Broker in Pillage (#1494)

Government is unable to permanently stop its own depredations:

A year after the…DEA…stopped [robb]ing…airline passengers because of significant constitutional concerns, the Department of [Father]land Security…is quietly keeping the practice alive…at two Dallas-area airports [by] using…dogs to [manufacture] probable cause to [root through] their luggage…Although it’s completely legal to fly domestically with large amounts of cash, [courts have consistently allowed cops to steal it by pointing at it and barfing the magic formula “]drug trafficking[“]…forcing the owner to challenge the [robbery] in federal court…

Torture Chamber (#1495)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

It’s been a year since Imhotep Muhammad returned home from Dauphin County Prison after a jury acquitted him of the [bog]us charges that [were used to] lock…[him] up for 26 months…[but] physical and mental…[health problems] remain…he spent nearly 24 hours a day inside his cell as he awaited trial, unable to post bond…[and] the near total lack of direct sunlight and fresh air for so long left him deficient in two essential vitamins, D and B12…[leading] to…heart…palpitations and [erratic] kidney function…He developed a respiratory infection shortly after his release and was hospitalized…Doctors told him the vitamin deficiencies were…caused by his incarceration and isolation at DCP…Alycia Welch…[of] the University of Texas law school’s Prison and Jail Innovation Lab, said these kinds of vitamin deficiencies are one of the most common physical health problems associated with the “de facto solitary confinement” conditions to which…nearly everyone incarcerated at DCP are…subjected…A 2023 meta-analysis…estimated more than half of all incarcerated people have a Vitamin D deficiency and another nearly 30 percent are low in Vitamin D…

The Course of a Disease (#1542)

Facts never deter prohibitionists:

[Scottish politician] Ash Regan…wants Scotland to [classify all women as the moral inferiors of men]…The criminal justice committee wrote to the Irish police to find out how the approach[, dubbed “The Swedish Model”,] was working in Ireland…the Garda [admitted they]…”have not observed a decrease in the number of individuals advertising sexual services for sale in Ireland”…[but tried to spin the dramatic increase in violence against sex workers as] “a significant increase in sex workers reporting crimes against them”…[and euphemized their stalking and harassment of sex workers as] “welfare visits”…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1574)

Missouri took surprisingly long to join this “monkey see, monkey do” parade:

As of this week, half of the states in the U.S. are under restrictive age verification laws that require adults to hand over their biometric and personal identification to access legal porn.  Missouri became the 25th state to enact its own age verification law on [November 30th].  As it’s done in multiple other states, Pornhub and its network of sister sites…pulled service in Missouri, replacing their homepages with a video of performer Cherie DeVille speaking about the privacy risks and chilling effects of age verification…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1595)

MechaHitler is quickly distinguishing itself as the most antisocial chatbot:

Elon Musk’s chatbot [MechaHitler]…will, with extremely minimal prompting, provide accurate residential addresses for non-public figures — a feature that could easily assist stalking, harassment, and other dangerous types of behavior…Out of 33 names of non-public figures we fed into [MechaHitler]…ten…immediately returned correct and current residential addresses…Seven…returned previously accurate but out-of-date addresses, while another four included accurate work addresses — perfect fodder for anybody looking to stalk a target at their workplace.  The bot…often returned lists of people with similar names alongside their purported residential addresses…[and] frequently came back with a dossier of other information we didn’t ask for — including current phone numbers and emails, as well as accurate lists of family members and their addresses…[this] stands in sharp contrast to other leading chatbots like…ChatGPT…Gemini, and…Claude, all of which declined to provide us with addresses…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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The administration wants to get as much data as it can, however it can, whenever it can.  –  Justin Levitt

The Last Shall Be First (#1495)

It only starts with demonized minorities:

The Trump [regime] is making it more difficult for [male] veterans with…breast cancer [to get care for the deadly disease]…a Department of Veterans Affairs memo…does not cite any…science.  Rather, it [quotes the mad emperor’s opinion] that [real men can’t get]…breast cancer…veterans who’ve previously qualified for coverage can keep it.  But…the roughly 100 male veterans who are newly diagnosed each year…will have to [somehow prove] their cancer was connected to their military service, a burden that has often been hard to meet…even [though] the rate of breast cancer among men has been increasing and the disease is deadlier than for women…and…research has linked breast cancer to toxic exposure…three years ago, [Congress made] it easier for veterans poisoned by Agent Orange and other toxic substances to get benefits…[but] Trump…[declared] that male veterans who get breast cancer will no longer be able to benefit from that…[absurdly justifying it by barfing] “Biden”…

Banishment (#1533)

The state uses bogus excuses to cram people into dungeons they will never leave:

…about 6,300 Americans [are condemned to so-called “civil commitment”] nationwide…Few of these men—and they are nearly all men—have any hope of leaving…About 1 percent to 5 percent of sex offenders are civilly committed after serving their designated prison sentences [instead of] being sent home…Civil commitment is an outgrowth of the sexual psychopath laws that emerged in the 1930s.  These laws indefinitely committed people labeled “mentally disordered sex offenders”…for consensual sex acts considered normal today: oral, anal, or same-sex sex.  A person didn’t even have to be convicted of a crime…In 1977, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry published a report [demonstrat]ing…that civil commitment wasn’t an effective…ethical [or Constitutional] treatment, which led most of these laws to be overturned…[yet many such] schemes are [still around, and many came back in the 1990s despite clearly being] illegal…P[oliticians] justify civil commitment by arguing that SVPs are more dangerous to society than other criminals…but that’s [demonstrably un]true…Prison is arguably more humane [because]…at least prisoners know if and when they are supposed to get out…

I Saw My Brain (#1541)

Another reminder that Grady Judd is an utterly loathsome excuse for a human:

A Florida woman is suing [psychopathic] sheriff…[Grady Judd for forcing]…her [to] write an apology letter to…her [rapist]…Taylor Cadle…[was accused by] Judd and [a sow named] Melissa Turnage…of lying…[about] her adoptive father…Henry Cadle, [who] has since been convicted of [repeatedly raping]…her between the ages of 9 and 13, after she [was handed into his clutches]…from foster care…in 2012…she initially did not report him for fear that she would [again] be [condemned to] foster care…[but] in July 2016, [she confided in] a church member…who…reported the [abuse] to [pigs] at the…Sheriff’s Office…[who had already decided she was lying before] interview[ing the rapist]…she was pressured by Henry’s wife into pleading guilty to [making false accusations], and was made to write apology notes to Henry and the p[igs] as part of her probation…[but the now-emboldened rapist continued] to [rape her, so she]…secretly recorded his abuse…[and] showed…[it to leering cops], which resulted in his arrest and conviction…[Judd called] the lawsuit…a publicity stunt…

When will Polk County voters tire of paying the many lawsuits that are filed against this cretin every year?

The Punitive Mindset (#1554) 

Fascism in action:

The [FCC] sets a maximum price that [fascist crony corporations] can [gou]ge [prisoners] for phone calls.  During the Obama and Biden administrations, it lowered the cap for prisons over time, to about 90 cents for a 15-minute call in a proposal the F.C.C. approved last year.  But the [Trumpist-infested] agency [has now] voted…to raise that cap to roughly $1.65.  The change may seem small…but the [US prison population is so large, the higher] rates [increase the profits of fascist telecom companies] by a total of $386 million a year…The change also matters to…state and local governments that…receive significant…kickbacks.  [Trump henchman] Brendan Carr [justified the graft by absurdly belching]…“safety and security”…Six states…now offer free phone calls…But [sleazier] states, like Oklahoma and Florida, [keep] rates…close to the current regulated maximum…

Enshittification (#1557)  

Unless a counterweapon becomes available, the internet will soon be unusable:

…Doublespeed…[is] a startup operating a phone farm to flood social media with [computer]-generated slop…phone farming is…most often used by hackers and financial criminals to use large numbers of devices to send spam texts, farm social media engagement, or generate fake reviews…the fledgling company…[claims] it…[make]s this [harassment technique more effective by] “instrumented human action,” a fancy phrase meaning the company’s phone bots will somehow [circumvent anti-spam]…algorithms [such as Captcha]…The [scheme] is backed by…Andreessen Horowitz…and…is obviously a violation of the terms of agreement for the top social media platforms…though it’s becoming increasingly…clear…these platforms are [not] interested in actually enforcing policies against spam bots.  Users on each site have grown more and more frustrated lately as…bot accounts are allowed to infest every last corner of the internet, an issue…tech critic Cory Doctorow calls “platform decay“…

I Spy (#1558)

If you think this will go away when Trump does, you are a fool:

[DHS]…intends to add state driver’s license information to a swiftly expanding federal system envisioned as a one-stop shop for [surveil]ing citizens…The plan…is the latest step in an [illegal] Trump [regime scheme] to pool confidential data from varied sources that it [openly admits] will [be used to persecute] noncitizens…[harass legal] immigra[nts] and [destroy the mad emperor’s ideological enemies]…DHS [has already] added…Social Security data…passport and visa information…[IRS and Medicaid information, bank account information, medical records, and more, but] state driver’s license databases often include a variety of sensitive information on drivers, including place of birth, passport number, biometrics, address, email and employment information…[opening the door] to citizens being [targeted in any way government spooks, goons, and thugs desire]…Advocacy groups have sued the federal government [because] the pooling of data…[blatantly] violates the Privacy Act…

Panopticon (#1584)

When cops have universal warrantless surveillance, they use it to frame people:

On Sept. 27, Chrisanna Elser…[was falsely accused of robbery by] Jamie Milliman, a…Columbine [Colorado cop]…who…[pretended it was credible to accuse a female] financial planner in her 40s…[of stealing a $25 package from a stranger’s porch.  The town of] Bow Mar…population…900…use[s a network of] Flock [Fascism] cameras to track vehicles as they pass through town…[justifying the warrantless] privacy [invasion by belching out the magic word “]criminal[“]…Milliman [blatant]ly [lied to]…Elser…[apparently believing] he [could bully her into confessing to]…the [crime by pretending to have “evidence” yet moronically]…refus[ing] to [produce it unless]…she [confessed before seeing it]…Elser [fought fire with fire, obtaining]…surveillance images from [her] tailor…and…her…electric truck…a theft allegation could damage or derail her career in financial services…[but cops and politicians kept trying to ruin her life, so] she…compiled her evidence into a voluminous Google Drive folder…drafted a 7-page affidavit…and…sent [it] to the [boss hog.  Confronted by reality]…the [government had little choice but to abandon the attack]…but there was no apology or explanation…[so] she’s considering suing…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Diary #801

A week ago today, when I went out to feed the animals, I found Jonathan lying on his side in the stable.  That’s unusual for llamas; typically they rest sitting upright, with their legs folded under their bodies (the “kush” position).  When I went to investigate he tried to spit at me, so I figured he might just be not feeling well and decided to leave him alone to see what he’d do.  The next morning he was still in the same position, just chewing his cud and refusing to get up.  So I consulted a large animal vet who told me that older llamas (Jonathan is 19 and the vet said the oldest llama she ever heard of lived to 22) sometimes develop neurological issues, and the important thing is to keep him upright because lying on their sides too long is actually harmful to camelids.  So I went back out to the stable and tried rocking him and otherwise bothering him, to no avail; I then hit upon the idea of grabbing his right legs (he was lying on his right side) and flipping him over.  He struggled a bit, but it was surprisingly easy to flip him, given that he weighs in the neighborhood of 200 kilograms. Once on his left side, he started kicking and twisting and within a minute was in kush position.  So I watched him for a little while, and within another minute or two he started to list to the right; I grabbed a hay bale and put it on that side to prop him up.  But he didn’t like that either, and much to my surprise was soon standing again.  He was extremely wobbly, so I leaned against him to prop him up, and he took a few steps forward and leaned against the stable wall.  He then started slowly moving forward, leaning against the wall but remaining upright, and after a while I decided to go about my business and regularly check up on him.  About an hour later I returned to find he had left the stable and was browsing along the north fence; he stayed there until after dark, and would not come to the stable for a scoop of oats as he usually does when I call him.  Thursday morning I looked out about 90 minutes after sunrise and he was still in the same place, though in kush position; he later started moving around the paddock normally all day and came for his oats when called a little before sunset, and since then has behaved normally.  But apparently, I now need to expect occasional repeats of the incident or similar geriatric camelid behaviors, which I guess is only appropriate considering I’m starting to display geriatric problems and behaviors myself.

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