This is a long read, but so beautiful.
"The boy who came back: the near-death, and changed life, of my son Max"
"It was, we were told, a case of sudden infant death syndrome interrupted. What followed would transform my understanding of parenting, disability and the breadth of what makes a meaningful life"
Edit:
Here's the study. NB this is preprint, which means it has not yet been peer reviewed.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.02.25326885v1
Can someone please point me to the/a post about the study showing (in essence) that there were changes in the muscle fibres of those with ME/CFS and long COVID that were not found in those who had been bedbound for weeks for other reasons. Which would explain why it was not helpful (the reverse, actually) to encourage those with those conditions to push themselves to exercise, where it would not be bad for the latter group. I wanted to share the study with a friend suffering from one of those.
I forgot to bookmark it.
Cheers!
#mecfs #LongCOVID #CovidIsNotOver #EllieKPosts
@signalapp
Signal App
I have a feature request: (also sent in the app, but in case this is of interest to others in the fediverse.)
So often I get a call meant only for one person, in a group chat, and so does everyone in the chat. Or I accidentally call when I'm in a group chat, meaning to call just one member of the group. (Anyone else?)
In that situation, could we have a warning pop up saying something like: "You are calling all members of this group. Do you intend to call everyone in this chat?"
Cyclist on a bike lane attacked by a pedestrian with a shopping cart, in broad daylight
This is horrible! What are people like this thinking (if they are thinking at all). No wonder people are put off cycling when lunatics like this will, in broad daylight, attack them so viciously. The rider, who was in a bike lane, could have been killed.
"A video shared online this week shows what appears to be a brazen attack in a Toronto bike lane where a man launches a shopping cart at an e-bike rider, sending him crashing into the pavement."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-bike-lane-video-shopping-cart-collision-1.7523011
Giving a little look behind (or something)
That one line of #poetry that comes back to haunt me every time I walk Joni... And I can't remember where it comes from. Can a #FediFriend #help , please?
It is something like 'giving a little look behind' as the dog bounds ahead of the poet. Which, of course, our dogs do. I don't know the #poet or any other lines of the #poem but I seem to remember it might be a forest walk?
I wish I knew the origin of that line. Throwing it out there to the Fediverse!
Difficult decisions in the gardening planning
It seems to be a juggle now, preparing for transferring some pods into the hydrophobic setup while still growing some of the winter greens to maturity. Light (and heat) are the main deciding factors, as the largest greens no longer need as much of either (nor nutrients, so tap water will be just fine) so they sit on a window ledge waiting to be eaten. Those you see in a clear plastic box on the green stool at the base of the garden setup.
I really need to harvest the big Bok Choy plants in the bottom, but they're not doing any harm where they are, so will use them as needed. And they're so pretty.
The growing broccolini seedlings are in their nursery sitting on top of the tray of the garden, to take advantage of the light, before they're ready to move. Should they go into the hydroponics garden as an intermediate step, (the tomatoes and peppers will definitely)? Or directly into pots to plant out? Decision deferred on that one for the moment.
The tomatoes are germinating and growing so they needed the light turned on for them (second photo) , while still requiring the heat mat. The peppers also on the heat mat don't need the light but do need the warmth. They are slower to germinate, no signs yet. I hope that light is enough to prevent leggy growth. Also the light will only be on for 13 or so hours a day, as it's not on a timer as is the garden.
So here we are. Spring is starting in Eastern Canada. And my garlic outside is about 6-8 inches high!
#EllieKPosts #hydroponics #gardening #homeGrown #spring2025 #spring #veggies
Ah! The joys of belonging to a corporate vet practice.
It's 9:50pm and we're sitting in the waiting room of an emergency vet clinic in the city over an hour drive from home.
We've been over an hour so far with no idea how much longer this will be. We'll be paying the big bucks to get Badger seen at the emergency clinic because our own vet has been at a conference and can't see their own patients. The exam fee is $180+ and then they'll 'draw up a plan of treatment and see where we go from there.'. Oh. And there will be a long wait because... It's an emergency clinic.. 5, 6, 7 hours?
😖
Badger's not that sick, she's not critical, it's just not advised to wait as it could become worse.
And I just heard someone saying that they had paid $30,000 on treatment for their Guinea pig.
??? What can you say?
Meanwhile we wait.
#EllieKPosts #Caturday #Badger #CornishRex #corporations #CorporateVets #catstodon #extortionRacket
How to be Alone
by Tanya Davis
(With a beautiful video)
https://youtu.be/k7X7sZzSXYs?si=Tq7BTSDy-qwrY2LG
"if you are at first lonely, be patient
if you’ve been not alone much
or if when you were
you weren’t okay with it
then just wait
you’ll find its fine to be alone
once you’re embracing it
we can start with the acceptable places
the bathroom,
the coffee shop,
the library.
where you can stall and read the paper
where you can get your caffeine fix
and sit and stay there
where you can browse the stacks
and smell the books
you’re not suppose to talk much anyways
so its safe there
there’s also the gym
if you’re shy you can hang out with yourself in the mirror
and put your headphones in
and there’s public transportation
because we all gotta go places
and there’s prayer and meditation
no one will think less
if you’re hanging with your breath
seeking peace and salvation
start simple
...." Continued
I love the Fediverse!
I told a contact living in Finland via direct message that I was trying to buy a gift for my brother living in that country and there seemed no easy way to do that from Canada. This great girl found a store selling the product in the town my brother lives in, sent me the address and url of the store, the manager's name and email address and even gave advice on how to word my email to avoid my contact email going into their spam.
I know she is a very busy person with a lot of cares and responsibilities in her personal life, so her time is precious. She nonetheless told me to tell her if I had any trouble, saying she would phone the store for me and talk to them in Finnish! I won't mention her here so she doesn't get inundated with help requests. But she knows who she is.
Thank you, dear Fediverse friend.
#fediverseRocks #MastodonRocks #FediverseFriends #EllieKPosts #fediHelp #whereButTheFediverse
Road Rage
Had to deal with road rage on our bike ride today. Some pickup truck was behind us and beeped his horn. The side of the road was very uneven, we didn't want to go into the ditch, and so we kept the lane, single file. He had plenty of room to pass us in the other lane if he wanted, with good visibility and nothing coming. But no, he kept his hand on the horn for another 2-300 meters. We totally ignored him until we turned as planned, down a road and he speeded past. Ignoring him was the only thing to do, but that probably wound him up. Oh well. At least he didn't drive into us.
#cycle #roadRage #EllieKPosts #bikingNovaScotia #truckCulture #aggression #cycling
CAT HELP PLEASE!
I've got a problem with our cats so I hope someone here can help with a suggestion.
I have the three cats and use 4 littler boxes, have never had any problems as long as I put one of them by their running wheel in case they get caught short while exercising.
We've been using clay litter up to now, but when I had to clean one out using a flashlight I saw the terrible amount of dust that comes off it, I realised I needed to change to a different litter, for their lungs and mine. (This was the least dusty of the clay litter, so another clay one is not the solution.)
I have liked and used the wheat based Swheat litter in the past and there's much less dust, so that's what I have bought. I've gradually changed each of the trays, one at a time until I now have only one with clay - the one by the wheel. They will pee in the Swheat, grudgingly, but so far only one lot of poo. Now that only one tray of clay is left, they are pooing on the floor by it, during the night. And in the clay one, but also on the floor.
So what can I do? Shut them in a small room with 2 trays of the Swheat? Or what?
Suggestions?
#help #catHelp #EllieKPosts
Is anyone else in Nova Scotia on a smart meter suddenly receiving huge power bills?
EDIT: I've enquired among my neighbours and no one else seems to have issues.
I think it's probably a combination of a new heat pump and burning less wood.
No need to boost.
There is a bug in the reply option in Pixelfed App.
@PixelfedHelp @pixelfed@mastodon.social @pixelfed@pixelfed.social
Not sure which profile to direct this issue to, so mentioning 3!
The Pixelfed app has a bug where a reply to a comment that is longer than 1 line disappears the "post" option. It is not possible to reply in the app except on one line. See screenshots. You see 'post', bottom right on the reply of one line, but it's gone as soon as the second line is begun.
#EllieKPosts #pixelfedApp #bugReport #pixelfed #pixelfedHelp
Preventing Bird Collisions Webinar:
April 1 19:00 (7pm) Eastern Time
"Each year in Canada approximately 25 million birds die from building collisions. This is not only heartbreaking to witness but is a significant loss to biodiversity and the role these birds play. The good news is that there are solutions! Join the Canadian Wildlife Federation on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET to discover effective ways to prevent bird strikes at home, work or at the cottage. Our guest will be Michael Mesure, a founding member and Executive Director of Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada. Michael will speak about the work of FLAP Canada, how human-made structures threatens birds and offer solutions for mitigating building collisions. This will include examples of both effective and ineffective collision deterrent methods and some background on bird-friendly building design guidelines, policies, code and law. We hope you can join us!"
Register here:
https://secure2.convio.net/cwf/site/R?i=kI_IEQwpu7ApqYwu5ENSXLvr66Vrow3MatJLgHJQUkOzGeaudEDhRw
