Going to come back to this to reflect in more detail to your original post and to this comment, but wanted to quickly float the idea that perhaps these people view you as particularly sound, so when they lay things on you or are just more emotional or intense in front of you, and you seem unphased - neither rushing to condemn them nor scrambling to reassure - they interpret that as disapproval from someone whom they find sound. And that because they value your judgement & integrity, they get sheepish and awkward in the absence of a strong outward reaction, which in turn you interpret as them thinking ill of you.

Only suggesting this because have seen quite a bit of this between people, and experienced mild versions of both ends of that dynamic.

Not that it helps, if it even resonates, or provides guidance.

Entirely different groups of people, and they’re profoundly opposed to each other.

At the core of this massive protest/strike are groups which have been against the bombardment of Gaza from the outset, and protesting Israel’s war against Palestinians for years.

Yer a pterodactyl, Mox. A pterodactyl.

Am so glad you spoke with the vet and that you’ve escaped that part of things.

Much love to you!

Sweetheart,

Choked up just thinking of how you are feeling. Losing a pet, and so suddenly is the worst.

Please be gentle with yourself. Hesitant to suggest much, as you sound so vulnerable just now.

What kind of things do you think might be distracting or soothing when you notice your mind has drifted into the self-blame stuff? Are there any friends who live nearby that you could visit?

Glad you’re feeling better.

GAA hurling can be a fun sport to distract oneself with, if you’re similarly stuck another time.

Suspect your daughter may be downplaying things a bit here…

She got the top result possible. Students who achieve First with honours (sometimes written as 1:1) have to be even better than excellent across their entire degree.

Some years nobody on a particular course will do this well, because it is reserved for the exceptional.

BEES.

But Beehaws would work too.

Beezers?

Am tired, but bit confused at sequence of events.

Did Russia ban Mozilla from offering specific extensions, whereupon Mozilla removed for Russian users the banned extensions?

Or…

Did Russia ban Mozilla from offering some undefined type of extension, whereupon Mozilla removed for Russian users any which seemed to fall under the ban under an abundance of caution until they could assess each & reinstate those which did not fit the ban?

Or, more worryingly, but maybe implied by the supposed temporary intent of the ban…

Did Russia ban Mozilla from offering specific extensions, whereupon Mozilla temporarily removed for Russian users the extensions in order to give Russia the ability to track or otherwise meddle with Russian users of those extensions… or to enable Russia to interfere with the extensions’ code for their own ends?

I feel I can make a reasonable guess, but there’s a fairly big safety issue here depending on what happened.

Anyone dissenting within an authoritarian regime knows to exercise extreme caution, but always good to put out reminders to have multiple layers of protection, so if one fails you are still ok.

YES & YES.

So in ordinary moronland, just back from voting on a metre-long ballot comprising 6 Fascists (mercifully unpopular), 3 NazBols (could fool some), 3 Tankies (quite popular) & 11 assorted others.

Now slinging Jagermeïster & have already mistaken some supposed local hotshot from the arts for a locum parish priest. He’s ever so slightly regretting having asked why I thought he looked familiar.

Gonna regale us with tales from the front?

STOP MAKING ME LIKE YOU SO MUCH ALREADY!!

Which symphony?

Wildly impressed at the homegrown cures.

Anyhow, assume this week’s Witching Hour has struck, as my notifications tell me I missed a reply before it was deleted.

Come rail at us if you need to. Am a reasonably ordinary moron if that helps!!

Something about this feels like the makings of a short story, or collection of them even. Could be a way to divert yourself from rampaging round social media?

If mostly due to hormonal fluctuations, maybe your doctor can tweak them a little to give you a smoother ride?

There’s been… stuff.

Otherwise, reasonable inroads on neglected household cleaning & even a tiny bit of admin.

Vis the Xanax/alprazolam, have sometimes found that benzodiazapines taken to manage situations I find threatening (irrationally or otherwise), make my head fight the drug as it gravely fears any diminution in excessive vigilance.

Similar may be true of your collie? Probably a stronger dose will sedate her enough, but could make her more frantic than ever.

Accordingly, consider giving her the alprazolam once the perceived threat has passed. This could let her unwind faster & also to come to associate perceived threats as something to notice, but which she can relax about once they’ve passed on.

Once upon a time I had the belief that such people were merely lacking information. Maybe that they were a little lacking in empathy, but that their positions were primarily a matter of poor exposure to ideas.

I now that though for some that is true, for the overwhelming majority it is not. They back authoritarian views in full understanding of what that entails for their fellow humans, and they like it.

How able are you to evade political violence should it come to your area? Could you get involved with mutual support/defense groups, or form one? People like your team member get away with a lot within civil society, but come asunder should stuff kick off and norms come under strain.

Meantime, be good to yourself. You’re far from alone.

Do you think, maybe, that even if HRT wouldn’t touch the deepest stuff, that it would ease some matters and give you a bit more space?

It hurts to hear your friend is abusive toward you. I hope you can find ways to be as supportive toward yourself as you have been toward others - I get that the idea isn’t always so comfortable if there’s a lot of heavy history, but tending to yourself is the best way to tend to everything around you.

Similar situation here but with clothes moths & carpet beetles. Also very keen to avoid harming the spiders.

Was just vacuuming before getting out the diatomaceous, & noticed far fewer than normal, and last winter there were notably fewer of the big house spiders coming indoors to mate.

If conditions cannot be guaranteed, the court can uphold his appeal and deny the order.

Whether or not that ruling would in turn be appealed by the US DoJ to the UK Supreme Court is moot. Ditto chance of success if it is. Between impinging on the right to freedom of expression & the horrors of the US penal system, extradition is likely illegal under UK human rights law.

Thank you. You’re so sweet. We’re both ok as it goes, just respectively entering the increased vulnerabilities of our circumstances in light of growing older.

Their ability to somehow keep on trucking is endlessly fascinating & terrifying & inspiring to me, and yet they never once query my total flailing. Magic levels of rolling with stuff on their part!!