Katia Yaga

I just wanna see if it has the secret chord that David played to please the Lord.

Welp, I've unlocked a heretofore unknown level of Airline Lost My Bag hell, involving four different airlines in two different alliance network, including one upon which I have never flown.

Titus Andronicus

I'd add "Drugs (derogatory)" and "Drugs (complimentary)

Puffball! Which, can be a lot of things honestly.

One of the key reasons not to behave badly around writers and other sorts of creative folk.

"Look for the helpers."

Friend, you are forty two years old. You are supposed to be the helper.

Okay, this is corny, but as an about to be 42 year old, sometimes when I need to be reminded to do things I think “people are looking for the helpers, don’t disappoint them”

I'm choosing to be skeptical of Male Feminists until proven otherwise.

Absolutely none of the math in this article makes any sense at all.

Who's 2nd and 3rd?

< Donna Granata • Follow 22h • 0 Here is some helpful advice for fire victims: ACTION PLAN for those who had loss. Start with the small list: 1. Get a PO Box 2. Longer term rental search - include insurance on it so they pay directly for rental. Find a nice place that you like, don't settle. You should be able to get a "Like Property" so insurance should cover a nice place for you to live while you work through all this. You might be living here for 2 years, so choose wisely. 3. Find a place to buy some sturdy boots and gloves. Get some shovels. 4. Start working on the personal property list (this is not fun at all, be prepared to cry we sure did). Write down the moment you remember - keep list on phone or pad of paper with you at all times. 5. Save receipts. Loss of use insurance will cover incidentals too - hairbrush, phone chargers, etc.

6. As you buy things, tell the store owner your situation. Most stores will give you some level of discount as their way of helping you. 7. Let people do things for you. Do you have a friend that you can send to the store to buy you some basic clothes or comfort foods? Let them do it - they want to help and you don't need to spend time doing these errands. (The 'fun' of shopping is gone...it quickly becomes a chore because you don't want a new shirt, you want the one that you always liked to wear but now it's gone and you are sad/ mad.) The Big List: 1. Register at the shelters, with Red Cross and any other agency there, california FEMA, etc. a. Most of the aid coming in will use these lists as a point of contact and will help to ensure that you don't get left out of anything. b. This will be especially important should FEMA be activated, which in my opinion is very likely with the amount of devastation experienced. 2. Call Homeowners/Rental insurance to trigger "Loss of Use" . This typically will allow you to be in a "Like" property for x number of years and sometimes has a dollar limit attached and sometimes not, this is dependent on your policy. a. This coverage should also give you some immediate access to funds for essentials, clothes, toothbrushes, food, etc. b. This will also get the ball rolling for the insurance claim on your home and rebuilding/ personal property Dollars.

3. Get a PO Box and forward all mail to the Box. . Use this PO Box as the mailing address on all forms you begin to fill out. 4. Start Searching for a Long term rental. . Coordinate with your insurance company so that payments can be made directly from them using your "Loss of Use" money. a. Plan on renting 1-2 years, but do not necessarily sign a lease for a full two years as circumstances can change. 5. Itemized List of belongings - (This is very hard but very necessary for your claim). I would organize by room and list everything that was there with a replacement cost. (you will cry a lot doing this and that is ok) a. Replacement Cost should be what it would cost to replace not on sale from pottery barn, it should not be the price you paid for it with that 50% off coupon. b. Make sure you list everything, even if it is above and beyond your policy limit. This is very important because everything above and beyond the policy limit is considered a Loss and can be claimed as such on your taxes - See #9 6. Call all of your utilities and either freeze or cancel service. Electric, Gas, TV, Land Line phone a. Newspaper delivery, either cancel or update to PO Box. 7. Call the rest of your insurance points as needed. Car insurance a. Any specialty insurance for unique items

8. Permits - An unfortunate necessity. Debris Removal - as things wind down it will be necessary to remove the debris, this requires a permit usually. (This should be covered by your insurance, we had to force the issue but ask repeatedly.) a. Erosion Control - If you are on any kind of hill or have sloped property you will need to put some sort of erosion control measures in place, again this will need some sort of permit. b. Temporary Power Pole/Trailer on site Permit - Getting this earlier on can prove helpful in both the rebuilding process. 9. Taxes. You will be able to claim the monetary loss of the value of all your items minus what you receive from your insurance company. I'm unfamiliar with the exact laws, but I believe that we were able to carry our losses back 2-5 years and received most of the money that we had paid in taxes back in a nice large check. 10. Network with others. You will learn so much from others as you go through the rebuilding process. We all have our strengths so share yours and use others. The amount of time that you will spend on the rebuild, insurance, recovery process is staggering so you need to use all your resources.

This is one of the most valuable immediate resources I’ve read for those who have lost their homes. Please share widely with those who need it 🤍

Today was the first meeting of my AI and music class, and in the first hour we drew a direct line from AI slop Xmas music to the wildfires raging in LA right now. If you teach AI and don’t discuss its immediate climate impacts, you need to start doing it. Every single day. Here are some sources (🧵):

The wind gusts are devastating. Truly a hurricane of fire.

Video: @stuartpalley.bsky.social

I do not, under any circumstances, ever want a robot in my house shaped like a smooth human. I want a bunch of tiny, efficient, purpose-built little guys I can glue googly eyes on and pack-bond with, as God and Her first creation the Roomba intended

I believe the term is "lebensraum"

Except he's not really even one of those.

The sidewalks go both ways!

$1000-1500/month to garage a car at the one end, $35/hour or so at the other. Cue the sad Sarah McLaughlin music.

(A monthly parking spot in that part of the UES costs somewhere between $900-1500. He can afford an extra $20 when he drives around the corner to see his kids.)

Condos in that part of the UES are seven figures, easy, maybe eight. A parking spot in that neighborhood costs an amount that would rent a nice house in Missouri. We do not feel sorry for this man having to pay congestion pricing. He can swing it.

Especially because it's not like there's a lot of convenient parking at either end of that trip. Also, if you can afford to live in and keep a car where he is, you can afford the congestion toll.

You will almost always walk farther to get to/park a car in Manhattan than it would take to walk to his kids' place.

please stop suggesting I solve my problem by changing my behavior. I do not want to do that

Get yourself one of those combo airfryer/instantpots and you can eat from home way cheaper and with very, very little effort. (Yes, I know not everyone can afford that. But if you're in the "I work from home and my 'productivity' is worth money" camp, you certainly can.

A WORD.

Excuse me while I tear up a bit.

This work is imagining divine hope… one week at a time

Okay, but you can buy multiple meals worth of food for that $10 if you cook.