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... Feh on subject lines
Aug. 19th, 2021 10:56 amRaining off and on -- still humid. I saw on FB that a number of friends had bad days yesterday; humidity seems to have been the final straw in most cases.
This post is a bit of a downer but ends on a more positive note.
***
I commented to Fitzw sometime in the past few weeks that it's one thing to read about how changes in the climate are going to have effects on communities or regions and another to be dealing with it personally. On the larger scale, we see how it's taking longer for places to recover from disasters, to the point where they won't be recovered before the next disaster strikes. Wildlife may not have recovered habitat, buildings still not repaired, businesses inoperable or less than 100%, etc. All sorts of different systems, under more stress than usual, will not perform as well or just outright fail.
The pandemic plays into this, as it's inevitable that outbreaks will happen. We've had outbreaks in the past that could have been worse if they hadn't been caught quickly enough. Humans failed on this current one; containment didn't happen. As our population grows, it's getting harder to catch this kind of thing, I think. And as we encroach on lands that would probably be best left alone, like areas with thawing permafrost... well. Such cheerful thoughts! Meanwhile, any way we can stop drilling in the Antarctic/far north regions would be a good idea, if only to avoid hitting a giant methane deposit/pocket.
My main hope at this point is that more people are actively trying to fight corporate greed, so perhaps we can slow the train down enough.
The knock-on effect for individuals though -- that's been a real trial this past year or so. Still trying to puzzle out better ways to live, etc. But it takes longer to do everything and minor setbacks seem to become complete blockages - at least for a while. Our laundry line decided it needed to rot out at the base and break this summer, as an example. On the other hand, the allergy doc says not to hang laundry outdoors during my allergy seasons... so, almost never. I do dry some things indoors but I don't want to deal with that much humidity during the summer, because asthma. I'll try to figure something out... In a couple of years my allergies will hopefully be less of a concern. Best thing most of us can do is just try to be as healthy as possible.
And of course some of what I posted about yesterday are knock-on effects, and some of it's going to get worse as various systems struggle to keep going. All it takes is one ship getting stuck sideways or a major crop failure or whatever, and gaps appear. Combine that with subpar governing, short-sighted self-interest, etc. Humans in groups tend to be no more intelligent than Karenia Brevis - the algae that when it blooms becomes known as the Red Tide. They can kill other sea life with a sufficiently large bloom -- and eventually they can even kill themselves off, until their numbers decrease or dissipate enough to re-balance.
Too many people only care about their tribe, not seeing that what happens to people in California can have consequences elsewhere in the country - such as the smoke from wildfires this summer. Or the smog in China that was so bad it formed a huge brown cloud that crossed the Pacific to the US. Or runoff from monoculture fields in the Midwest to all life in and around the Mississippi, going all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing stays in one place. There is no "away". Hope we can get enough to learn this and act on it.
***
Well, that's enough of that maundering. I could go on but I have things to do and I aim to get some of them done.
There's supposed to be a clothing exchange on Saturday - hoping the weather holds for that... I'll be picking up some stuff from Double Edge (DE) costume shop this afternoon to bring to the swap. Maybe there'll be a coat of the right style and size for one of our housemates -- his beard is kind of Abe Lincoln-like in shape and style so for Halloween he's planning on having some fun at work.
I threw away a pair of pants rather than fix them. I do have other things that will be going to the swap but I've decided I can't save everything or everyone and I just don't need to invest time in something that wasn't great anyway.
***
I'm struggling with keeping all the costuming stuff. When will I be at a convention again? I do like making that sort of thing... well, we'll see. At this point it's more a struggle in regards to existing costumes, as they take up space. Fabric and some of the other stuff I've acquired can still be used for other projects... One of my goals is to simply make more stuff so it isn't all just sitting there :D So yes, the "decision" is to avoid making the decision, for now.
***
I had to buy some new fabric for the Code Orange project but I also used swap stuff and a bit of my wool batting. Oh, and an old velour tabard from ages ago! I needed a drawstring bag to hold some of the smaller bits in and it was definitely time for that tabard to go. I originally made it for my first boyfriend, then it was loaner garb for a while but it lost some of the fake gems I'd put on as trim. I actually found some replacement gems, but really, it needed to be retired. Anyway! Going to make a few more drawstring bags out of the rest of the thing -- so some stuff getting used and/or repurposed, go me.
Did make it to the post office to mail the Code Orange box yesterday; should get there in a couple of days.
***
Okay, time to get lunch and do some sewing. Picking up clothing in a couple of hours. Might order some desiccants to use around the house as we can't afford to do a whole-house system.... I'm thinking if I put some in pots and get some wall-mounted plant holders... could work.
This post is a bit of a downer but ends on a more positive note.
***
I commented to Fitzw sometime in the past few weeks that it's one thing to read about how changes in the climate are going to have effects on communities or regions and another to be dealing with it personally. On the larger scale, we see how it's taking longer for places to recover from disasters, to the point where they won't be recovered before the next disaster strikes. Wildlife may not have recovered habitat, buildings still not repaired, businesses inoperable or less than 100%, etc. All sorts of different systems, under more stress than usual, will not perform as well or just outright fail.
The pandemic plays into this, as it's inevitable that outbreaks will happen. We've had outbreaks in the past that could have been worse if they hadn't been caught quickly enough. Humans failed on this current one; containment didn't happen. As our population grows, it's getting harder to catch this kind of thing, I think. And as we encroach on lands that would probably be best left alone, like areas with thawing permafrost... well. Such cheerful thoughts! Meanwhile, any way we can stop drilling in the Antarctic/far north regions would be a good idea, if only to avoid hitting a giant methane deposit/pocket.
My main hope at this point is that more people are actively trying to fight corporate greed, so perhaps we can slow the train down enough.
The knock-on effect for individuals though -- that's been a real trial this past year or so. Still trying to puzzle out better ways to live, etc. But it takes longer to do everything and minor setbacks seem to become complete blockages - at least for a while. Our laundry line decided it needed to rot out at the base and break this summer, as an example. On the other hand, the allergy doc says not to hang laundry outdoors during my allergy seasons... so, almost never. I do dry some things indoors but I don't want to deal with that much humidity during the summer, because asthma. I'll try to figure something out... In a couple of years my allergies will hopefully be less of a concern. Best thing most of us can do is just try to be as healthy as possible.
And of course some of what I posted about yesterday are knock-on effects, and some of it's going to get worse as various systems struggle to keep going. All it takes is one ship getting stuck sideways or a major crop failure or whatever, and gaps appear. Combine that with subpar governing, short-sighted self-interest, etc. Humans in groups tend to be no more intelligent than Karenia Brevis - the algae that when it blooms becomes known as the Red Tide. They can kill other sea life with a sufficiently large bloom -- and eventually they can even kill themselves off, until their numbers decrease or dissipate enough to re-balance.
Too many people only care about their tribe, not seeing that what happens to people in California can have consequences elsewhere in the country - such as the smoke from wildfires this summer. Or the smog in China that was so bad it formed a huge brown cloud that crossed the Pacific to the US. Or runoff from monoculture fields in the Midwest to all life in and around the Mississippi, going all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing stays in one place. There is no "away". Hope we can get enough to learn this and act on it.
***
Well, that's enough of that maundering. I could go on but I have things to do and I aim to get some of them done.
There's supposed to be a clothing exchange on Saturday - hoping the weather holds for that... I'll be picking up some stuff from Double Edge (DE) costume shop this afternoon to bring to the swap. Maybe there'll be a coat of the right style and size for one of our housemates -- his beard is kind of Abe Lincoln-like in shape and style so for Halloween he's planning on having some fun at work.
I threw away a pair of pants rather than fix them. I do have other things that will be going to the swap but I've decided I can't save everything or everyone and I just don't need to invest time in something that wasn't great anyway.
***
I'm struggling with keeping all the costuming stuff. When will I be at a convention again? I do like making that sort of thing... well, we'll see. At this point it's more a struggle in regards to existing costumes, as they take up space. Fabric and some of the other stuff I've acquired can still be used for other projects... One of my goals is to simply make more stuff so it isn't all just sitting there :D So yes, the "decision" is to avoid making the decision, for now.
***
I had to buy some new fabric for the Code Orange project but I also used swap stuff and a bit of my wool batting. Oh, and an old velour tabard from ages ago! I needed a drawstring bag to hold some of the smaller bits in and it was definitely time for that tabard to go. I originally made it for my first boyfriend, then it was loaner garb for a while but it lost some of the fake gems I'd put on as trim. I actually found some replacement gems, but really, it needed to be retired. Anyway! Going to make a few more drawstring bags out of the rest of the thing -- so some stuff getting used and/or repurposed, go me.
Did make it to the post office to mail the Code Orange box yesterday; should get there in a couple of days.
***
Okay, time to get lunch and do some sewing. Picking up clothing in a couple of hours. Might order some desiccants to use around the house as we can't afford to do a whole-house system.... I'm thinking if I put some in pots and get some wall-mounted plant holders... could work.
