J. Douglas Barics

One of the best books I've ever read on writing is the classic "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. The White is EB White, author of Charlotte's Web. Its an old book, and very short. Try to find an older version. The essence of the book is both structure in writing and how brevity is stronger. Over time the book became bloated, breaking the very rules it taught. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eleme…

I agree. Got very little from school. Nobody is going to remember this but one of the many reasons I got on twitter was to help improve my spelling and sentence structure. I’ve came a long ways. Still learning. Seriously tho. School failed me so hard it’s insane.

Those on the right who recently pivoted from “the government is flawed & untrustworthy” to “it must be good & true because the *government* said so!” should be very, very embarrassed. Due process matters, no matter how much you disdain the people it protects.

Me: I want to cancel my Dish Dish: We hate to see you go M: Ok. D: Wait, I’ve found a savings of 50% for a year M: So you’ve been overcharging me for the last five years? D: …. M: No, cancel the account D: Wait, 75% off + HBO for 6 months M: What are you a Mexican street vendor? I’’m not haggling with you like I’m buying a piñata in Reynosa. CANCEL THE DAMN ACCOUNT.

@Sadie_NC Source?

Physics professor discloses in 1 minute the full insight of Quantum Mechanics.

Vegan leftists were putting coconut oil in everything from coffee to skin cream and now it’s beef tallow’s time to shine. I just love how language and rendering a low-class substance into a mason jar suddenly makes it classy. Beef stock - low in status, for the poors Bone broth - classy, for pretentious twats Beef tallow is to beef fat as bone broth is to beef stock 😂 Plus you can charge 5X more

How a car differential works, 1937

I agree but it also works the other way: It’s easy to advocate for a ceasefire if you don’t have to live the consequences. One could just as well make the argument that all the people who support a peace deal should get sent to the frontlines if Russia breaks the agreement again. All this is to say: the emotional valence of asking for skin in the game for keyboard warriors can and should be applied both ways. Just the thought exercise above makes you think twice, right? How sure are you that Russia will keep its word?

Equitable Distribution page updated. The majority of states use equitable distribution to divide marital property; only 9 states use community property. Contrary to common belief, community property does not mean 50-50. The difference between the two is when the property interest becomes vested. For community property, the interests vests immediately while in equitable distribution, the property interests can only vest when the marital status is changed. Community property's effects go far beyond divorce. Because all property is considered jointly owned, income earned by one spouse can be deemed owned by the other spouse when paying income taxes. Therefore, in community property states, married couples could obtain a tax advantage not available to people in other states. It is because of income shifting right in community property states that the so called marriage penalty exists. It removes the tax advantage of income shifting through community property rules. jdbar.com/practice-areas…

This morning we found our 8-year-old son Jasper watching his favorite Joy Reid recordings. He’s sobbing uncontrollably and refuses to go to brunch with us. Trump did this.

He entered as a joke, left as a legend

… … … Um, Mr. Musk… it’s not working.

I literally can't stop playing with my Grok.

Ultramarine is a deep blue pigment originally derived from lapis lazuli. historically used in illuminated manuscripts and Renaissance art. It was made like this

This 'why do you care about a tiny fraction of the population?' line is, and always was, utterly ridiculous. Gender ideology has undermined freedom of speech, scientific truth, gay rights, and women's and girls' safety, privacy and dignity. It's also caused irreparable physical damage to vulnerable kids. Nobody voted for it, the vast majority of people disagree with it, yet it has been imposed, top down, by politicians, healthcare bodies, academia, sections of the media, celebrities and even the police. Its activists have threatened and enacted violence on those who've dared oppose it. People have been defamed and discriminated against for questioning it. Jobs have been lost and lives have been ruined, all for the crime of knowing that sex is real and matters. When the smoke clears, it will be only too evident that this was never about a so-called vulnerable minority, notwithstanding the fact that some very vulnerable people have been harmed. The power dynamics underpinning our society have been reinforced, not dismantled. The loudest voices throughout this entire fiasco have been people insulated from consequences by their wealth and/or status. They aren't likely to find themselves locked in a prison cell with a 6'4" rapist who's decided his name's now Dolores. They don't need state-funded rape crisis centres, nor do they ever frequent high street changing rooms. They simper from talk show sofas about those nasty far-right bigots who don't want penises swinging around the girls' showers, secure in the knowledge that their private pool remains the safe place it always was. Those who've benefited most from gender identity ideology are men, both trans-identified and not. Some have been rewarded for having a cross-dressing kink by access to all spaces previously reserved for women. Others have parlayed their delicious new victim status into an excuse to threaten, assault and harass women. Non-trans-identified leftybros have found a magnificent platform from which to display their own impeccably progressive credentials, by jeering and sneering at the needs of women and girls, all while patting themselves on the back for giving away rights that aren't theirs. The actual victims in this mess have been women and children, especially the most vulnerable, gay people who've resisted the movement and paid a horrible price, and regular people working in environments where one misplaced pronoun could see you vilified or constructively dismissed. Do not tell me this is about a tiny minority. This movement has impacted society in disastrous ways, and if you had any sense, you'd be quietly deleting every trace of activist mantras, ad hominem attacks, false equivalence and circular arguments from your X feeds, because the day is fast approaching when you'll want to pretend you always saw through the craziness and never believed it for a second.

When I was born my left ear was completely useless, but I had about 30% hearing in my right (at a severe to profound loss level), so they put on a hearing aid and a FM system. But it was not adjusted/tune properly, so it was loud for me. I cried and cried. They told my parents I must use it all day so it would activate nerves and help me with speech training. See- hearing noises does NOT mean you understand speech. Speech discrimination skills take training. Also, at best, I was able to hear some vowels, no consonants. I’ve seen many written reports from my teacher commenting that I was “rebellious” about refusing to wear them. What it did was caused further permanent damage and loss. I have tinnitus because of it. Vertigo. Ear drum scarring that leaves me prone to ear infections. That is why those “inspirational porn videos of babies “hearing” for the first time” are so misleading and makes me sick to my stomach. A baby or a child without language cannot tell you when it hurts or needs adjustments. Many audiologists do not use tuning equipment and if they do, they make mistakes. If a child is refusing to wear them- that’s behavior telling you something is wrong. Don’t force them to wear it.

Many people seem to believe that because I am deaf, I must be innocent or childlike—so when I crack a dirty joke or use strong language, they get upset. It completely disrupts their misguided perception of deaf adults as incapable, innocent, or naive. We are independent individuals in our own right.

'Silence of the Lambs' is a terrifying movie about a Terf who teams up with a celebrity chef to track down and execute a brave trans woman.

Listen, you've faced the murkiness of trauma and emerged with a determination few can comprehend. But here's the thing: surviving was just the beginning. The aftermath, with all its complexities, is where your real voyage unfolds. Trauma wasn't your fault; it’s an unwelcome guest at your life's dinner table, the one that sits there, and stares ominously but never utters a word. But healing? That's your realm, your responsibility, and ultimately, your supremacy. It's not about erasing what happened but about sculpting a new reality from the pieces. Recovery is a winding, burdensome exploration, not a direct route. There will be days when the weight of what you've been through feels suffocating. But remember, each step forward, no matter how small, is an achievement. Every moment you choose healing over helplessness; you're not just surviving; you're flourishing. Embrace this path with courage. Let your scars tell a story of resilience, not defeat. You're not just surviving the residue; you're mastering it, turning pain into power, fear into wisdom. Your story isn't over; it's evolving into something enchanting and vigorous.