Mastodawn

Popular tech journalists and podcasters @Casey, @kevin and @pj have quite publicly spun up a Mastodon server at theforkiverse.com - detailed in this episode of Search Engine: https://pca.st/episode/e099edae-aa41-4777-b1df-7024c6998e28

It's so great seeing folks like this who cover tech go deeper than opening accounts and actually engaging with the structural differences that make the fediverse special.

That episode has some pretty fair criticism for Mastodon as a tech product, but I really hope that this experiment is a fruitful one and they get to glimpse a different kind of future (as @pluralistic would say, "a new, good internet") where we aren't all serfs being force-fed algoslop on platforms we're trapped in.

Their server is pretty buzzy, they just announced it today. Drop by, say hi, welcome them to the Fediverse!

The Fediverse Experiment

Pocket Casts

Mark Lapierre Mar 31, 2023

I'm so enraged right now. I did what I thought was the right thing by making time in my busy schedule to go to the chemist to pick up my medication early to ensure I wouldn't run out if I couldn't get there tomorrow or next week, which is very likely. But when I got there the chemist said I would have to come back tomorrow because it could only be dispensed 20 days after the last time, which was 19 days previous. And dispensing it early would break the law. I had no idea when the cut-off date was because I forgot what my doctor said, and the fucking useless e-script doesn't say when, like paper prescriptions do.

So not only does the law make it unnessarily inconvient for people who need the medication to actually get it, it does it in a way that *punishes* people for trying to overcome their disorder. Dates and appointments are a struggle for me and many people with ADHD, so discouraging us from planning ahead by denying us our medication when we do shows how utterly oblivious the lawmakers are to the effect of the laws they enact. Or maybe they do know and don't want people overcoming their limitations too easily, or they just don't care.

#ADHD #rant #swearing #EatTheRich #FuckPoliticians

Mark Lapierre Mar 22, 2023

Well, I guess I can't take my teeth for granted anymore. Almost made it to 44 with no fillings. 😭

Mark Lapierre Feb 28, 2023

Turns out sourdough starter makes great bait for a fruit fly trap. Who knew?*

*no doubt plenty of people did. Just not me

Mark Lapierre Feb 22, 2023

Noel Lopez Feb 22, 2023

"But what about organ damage in people who didn’t necessarily need to be admitted to hospital with the virus, but developed long COVID?

"In a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, my colleagues and I looked at organ damage in long COVID patients, most of whom were not severely affected when they had COVID initially. We identified organ damage in 59% of participants a year after their initial symptoms."
https://theconversation.com/three-in-five-long-covid-patients-have-organ-damage-a-year-after-infection-200013
#COVID19 #CovidIsNotOver #LongCovid

Three in five long COVID patients have organ damage a year after infection

A recent study found 59% of people with long COVID had damage to at least one organ a year after their initial symptoms.

The Conversation

Mark Lapierre Feb 3, 2023

Red Rabbit Feb 3, 2023

Every time I see Anthony Albanese talking I'm reminded of the phrase "one death is a tragedy, one thousand deaths is a statistic"

Yes, a gun shooting from right wing violence is a tragedy, but it is not more of a tragedy than thousands of deaths from #Covid19 - It's just not.

Offer me choking on my own breath or organ damage vs being shot by some ass hole, I don't really care.

#AusPol #CovidIsNotOver #MaskUp

Mark Lapierre Feb 1, 2023

Professor Mark Osborn Feb 1, 2023

Very helpful explainer article on next generation #COVID19 #vaccines and why they are needed. Find out more in Nature on:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00220-z

#immunology #viruses

The next generation of coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide

New technologies might provide more potent or broader immunity — but will have to fight for market share.

Mark Lapierre Jan 30, 2023

Jeri Dansky Jan 30, 2023

I had heard there was a shortage of Adderall in the U.S., but the situation regarding *all* #ADHD meds is much worse than I realized.

Good reporting here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/29/adderall-shortage-us-adhd-ritalin-drugs

[edited to note this is a U.S. problem]

‘The worst it’s ever been’: mysterious US Adderall shortage puts ADHD patients at risk

In recent months, patients have reported problems filling nearly every type of ADHD medication prescription – and no one seems to know why

The Guardian

Mark Lapierre Jan 24, 2023

Burstingfoam Jan 24, 2023

My fellow #NeuroSparkly people, all of you who are #ActuallyAutistic and/or have #ADHD
I need your help: Motivation, how do you get it?
I go through my day dealing with the vital tasks, then when the time is my own I just can't get started on the things I want to do.
I know what I want, I know I'll feel good if I do it, but every time I think of starting my head fills up with objections. Then I end up taking the 'safe' option; scrolling media or watching a series.

Strategies please, folks!

Mark Lapierre Jan 24, 2023

Balticon Jan 24, 2023

John @scalzi, novelist & internet personality, is the 2023 winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award.

This award is bestowed for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. It will be presented at #Balticon2023