A lot of problems in this country could be solved simply by enforcing anti-monopoly laws

Discworld QOTD, from Jingo

Discworld QOTD, from Snuff

Discworld QOTD, from Men at Arms

It's that time of year again! Drowning doesn't look like drowning; familiarize yourself with the instinctive drowning response

I really like Finch. I’d be friends on there if you’d like.

The tragedy of the commons is a false and dangerous myth | Aeon Essays Far from being profoundly destructive, we humans have deep capacities for sharing resources with generosity and foresight

Just so you know, the whole concept of "tragedy of the commons" was made up by a white supremacist, and has been thoroughly debunked aeon.co/essays/the-t...

Discworld QOTD, from Snuff

A timely quote from Dr. Carla Hayden: “Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.”

"I see you.

You’re not burned out because you’re weak.

You’re burned out because you’ve been relevant, valuable, over-functioning for too long—inside systems that reward your ability to endure dysfunction and call it leadership."

brilliantcrank.com/eject-disk/

What is National Library Workers Day? NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. On January 25, 2003, a resolution was proposed: That in order to recognize the hard work, dedication, and expertise of library support staff and librarians that the Tuesday of National Library Week be designated National Library Workers Day; and, that on that day, interested library workers, library groups, and libraries should advocate for better compensation for all library workers and, if the day coincides with Equal Pay Day, these individuals, groups, and libraries should recognize both days together.

today is National Library Workers Day, and i am asking you to support library workers by

-using your library (it matters!);

-defending library workers against the ongoing efforts to intimidate, silence, and criminalize them;

-advocating for better pay for them. 📚

This is an excellent thread

The biggest reason why I dislike the idea of respectability in dress is because it conflates the *appearance* of virtue with *actual* virtue. Wearing a suit doesn't make you respectful, intelligent, or capable, just as wearing a leather jacket doesn't make you rugged.

Thank you for continuing to post these videos. It’s so cool to see how their feathers are coming in!

I've seen an old misunderstanding going around; that libraries don't benefit authors. But they do! A lot! Here's how:

I wish more people were talking about egg prices as less of a “muh egg prices!” thing and more about the fact that there is an organized egg cartel that is illegally price gouging and almost certainly illegally price fixing and reaping massive, gigantic profits.

The backsliding on vaccines is awful but the backsliding on basic germ theory is grim in its own way.

Yes, it's "natural" for humans and pets to eat raw meat. It's also just as "natural" to die from the numerous pathogens in it. That's nature; nature is always trying to kill you and your pet.

Discworld QOTD, from Going Postal

Discworld QOTD, from The Wee Free Men

"Them as can do has to do for them as can't. And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices."

I have always loved public libraries, but having young children has exponentially increased my gratitude and sense of indebtedness to them. Our local library is such a huge part of our lives. The books, the programming, the very intentionally curated kids’ section. It’s all such a gift.

Library purchases are purchases. They pay the press. The press counts them towards advances and royalties. And (gasp) the book is in a library!! It’s wonderful and no one should ever feel bad about getting a book through a library instead of buying it.

Saw someone upbraiding someone else for having a hobby while the world is on fire, and, my friends:

1. The world is ever on fire, this is today's conflagration;

2. If you don't find time for rest and joy the fire will consume you;

3. Don't let people shame you for being an entire human.

More to say on burnout and I'm probably going to boost it a few times because folks need to hear it:

Burnout is a form of brain damage. It happens when stress conditions persist until they damage our brains.

It's an injury that needs to heal, not a weakness that needs to be pushed through.

An excellent and informative thread 🧵

This response from @sbearbergman.bsky.social to @hildur.bsky.social’s post has changed my week— it is so wholesome, and human, and so the energy we all need right now. And Kerstin Langenberger, the naturalist who posted “I am on my way with the necessary equipment”? This woman is the hero we need.

Please tell your kids, every damn day if necessary, that chatGPT is not a goddamn search engine and you shouldn’t believe a word it says. Tell the adults too, but it’s especially imperative to inoculate kids against this

My "how to make your insurance company cry" post is going around again and this quote post of it links a "how to make someone fucking around with your credit report cry" post and it's absolute fucking solid gold advice

People keep saying “but how would we pay for it” about single payer, and the answer is “by not paying shareholders excess profits, and by cutting out hundreds of millions of dollars in health care executive and administrator salaries when you stop prioritizing how to deny worthy claims.”

"What my students paradoxically fail to realize, in their zeal to be responsible, is that describing things by certain characteristics rather than others merely because those characteristics are countable is a profoundly subjective decision."

Reminder: you don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it, you don’t have to get better at it, you don’t have to monetize it, and it doesn’t have to be useful.