Vanessa Smith

Jonathan Joss was Comanche and Apache and an openly gay actor.

He was murdered while looking at the remains of his dogs at his own house that was burnt down.

The killer yelled homophobic slurs before shooting him.

This is the real world consequences of the hatred that the right commodifies

I was given a list of recommended Facebook groups and wow so many say “high vibes only” or “no complaints” which to me screams “disabled people won’t be welcome to talk about realities of life”.

Didn’t bother with those groups!

I finally wrote the post I had been putting off:

Fear

normalsystems.com/fear/

This is why I started Policy to Process – because your polices are worth zero if you don’t DO anything with them!

normalsystems.com/policy-to-pr...

Parents 'confused and baffled' by school inclusion policies The mother of a boy who is deafblind is frustrated after being told her son will not have the one-on-one assistance he needs to understand lessons in his preferred setting.

“Mr Chaplin said inclusion policies were important but meant nothing
unless there was a genuine intention by governments to provide the
resources to implement them."

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

YouTube video by The London Standard London black cabs beat AI to show 'genius of human mind' ...The Standard podcast

Podcast interview with me about spatial planning in London taxi drivers: youtube.com/watch?v=6gUR...

I remembered starter packs are a thing and I've found so many great ones to follow! Hello to new people, I'm looking forward to a much more active feed now I've found my people on here.

Batman towering over you, snapping the wooden stock of a shotgun in half with his bare hands as he says "This is the weapon of the enemy. We do not need it. We will not use it." The shotgun is labeled - fragmented where it has been snapped in half - "AI (even if you're making fun of it)"

Fantastic educational initiative!

I’m already seeing talk of an exodus from threads etc due to meta & their latest nonsense.

I one day want social platforms to screen out ableist comments automatically but this seems like a huge pipe dream now.

all about chronic illness/disability and your business. Not sure what format - maybe social posts linking to a full blog post? Anyway, let me know if you’d be interested in being interviewed for it!

And so begins the last day of 2024. I haven’t been on business social media much this year; I’ve been focused on health & the work I do have.

Health has been incredibly challenging with vague new conditions/symptoms.

In 2025 I want to start a series I’ve had in the back of my mind for ages…

I miss working in unis but I don’t miss the constant cuts.

This afternoon I copied all the posts I had made so I had a backup. Around 33,700 words. I was feeling like it was a failure until then. That’s a lot of words I shared with the little community.

Last month I decided to close my little membership, the chronic business club. I can’t give it the time it needs and the model doesn’t fit with my business.

A six step plan to freelance misery How to fall out of love with what you do with minimal time and effort.

open.substack.com/pub/freelanc...

“A six step plan to freelance misery”

Number 3 used to be my downfall! But I worked out why (past traumas etc) and while not perfect, when I fall into it these days I get out of it & move on much faster.

Kids with disability suspended from school 'before an inspector comes' or as 'warning to other children' Children living with disability are over-represented in school suspensions and a new report has shed light on their cost to families and the broader economy.

Article: www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09...

My service: normalsystems.com/policy-to-pr...

This is what I have experienced and why I created Policy to Process!
Policy means NOTHING if you don’t make it useful.

"The school [had] every policy, every learning plan, behaviour plan,"
she said. "It wasn't worth the paper it was written on."

Sorry I’ve been quiet for a while. Had a pile of new health stuff & emergency visits so I’ve been busy dealing with that. Behind the scenes I’ve got a bunch of website updates to get to when I have the spoons. Not technical or design but extra clarity on outcomes and offers.

Logitech's 'forever mouse' could mean peripherals go the way of coffee beans, TVs, and printer ink by pushing a subscription Could a mouse ever be timeless?

If you ever feel bad about having a recurring fee/subscription in your business… at least you’re not trying to turn A COMPUTER MOUSE into a fucking subscription 🤦‍♀️

www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gam...

“So why am I not a proponent of {insert big name strategy here}? Well, for the above reason. It’s the same basic steps with some industry jargon slapped on it and sold you for a hefty price for impersonal knowledge.”

This came up tangentially today so it was a good reminder to share my own blog post:

Six Simple Steps To Systems Success
normalsystems.com/six-simple-s...

Procrastinating doing a really simple task. Why are some simple tasks harder to initiate than difficult tasks?

It’s time to banish the thought that you have to do certain tasks at certain times, or in certain ways. Or first thing in the morning. (Or last thing at night, while doing yoga drinking cold press whatever-that-is while smiling at the ceiling.)

normalsystems.com/banish-expec...

That's a perfectly reasonable business goal!

It's very pervasive too.

When Ben did NEIS a bundle of years ago they kept telling him off for not wanting to hire staff & grow big etc.

He wants to make his stuff, sell his stuff, see people enjoying his stuff, and buy a house from the profits of his stuff.

Eons ago a friend worked for a place where they would get in trouble if they let slip it was like 5 (ish) person business.

They did international student stuff and had to project that they were "big".

Anyway it has irritated the shit out of me ever since.

I hate the business approach that you have to hide that you're small and project that you're a big business.

Passionately hate it.

Size of business means absolutely fucking nothing.

Working on my monthly wrap.

Because somehow June is nearly over?! Wtf is this time thing?

Anyway, you can get (currently) free access to my wrap ups & free monthly themed content via the Chronic Business Club when you sign up for my newsletter

normalsystems.com/newsletter/

I cancelled a streaming subscription because we caught up on the last show we wanted, and their first “omg no, you’re canceling” screen asked me to pay MORE to stay 😂

Never feel bad if your business gets messy or weird at times when mega corps get it so wildly wrong.