That is exactly how my ancestors came to America.
They might not even have bought a ticket; entry forms had "stowaway" as a valid transportation choice.

That is exactly how my ancestors came to America.
They might not even have bought a ticket; entry forms had "stowaway" as a valid transportation choice.
Apparently the creators of The Unofficial Homestuck Collection have revealed that they've been working on an online website version of it, making it readable on mobile and available for people who don't have 4 gigs of storage to spare.
The Flash elements are all emulated using Ruffle, and it has mods built into it (that you can add and remove at your leisure).
It was only just released to the public yesterday, so it may have some bugs, but it does currently have (from what I can tell) the entire thing, including the archives of the other MSPA comics like Jailbreak and Problem Sleuth.
Shoutouts to this MLP name generator for creating the best possible friend group
i drew them. this new season of mlp is looking great
calling every gnc cis person you see an "egg waiting to crack" even as a joke is not cool or funny at all actually it is extremely invasive and weird and you are just reinventing gender roles but making it "progressive"
is it just me or is this is an extremely weird thing to say about a random stranger based on nothing but a snippet of an eavesdropped conversation
last time i made a post abt this i got fucking eviscerated lmao but that’s prob bc i had the audacity to mention how this intersects with race and ethnicity, how y’all LOVE to forcibly feminize east asian and jewish men then ignore centuries of harmful stereotypes you’re playing into.
Its absolutely a weird and invasive thing to say. Especially because non-binary people can choose to present in mixed ways instead of androgynously. Especially because everyone should be allowed to choose scents, colors, products, patterns, and clothing that they LIKE, without it having to be based on gender. Because masculine people should be allowed to smell like flowers or wear pretty things if they just fucking want to.
This is something I noticed a TON on Twitter and fucking hated it.
As soon as a man is the LEAST bit feminine, or what white western society perceives as feminine, he will be called a trans girl. And I obviously don't have anything against trans girls or recognizing yourself in others and shit, but like
Stop calling every cis man who likes "girly" stuff a woman. Y'all know this is also homophobic as shit, right? Y'aal know that's also MISGENDERING, RIGHT??
Let people like what they like. A guy who likes skirts and nail polish? Cool. Unless HE HIMSELF says otherwise, he's a guy. Stop this shit.
Real people are not your blorbos to project your experiences onto. If you relate to something that a cis person does, that just means that a cis person is relatable to you, which is not, in fact, a bad thing.
one of the replies on the "please don't plan events on rosh hashanah and yom kippur" post was like "i don't understand, how does it interfere? is it because events would be noisy and disturb people in synagogue?"
it didn't occur to them that we would want to attend the events
Buy refurbished. And I'm going to show you how, and, in general, how to buy a better computer than you currently have. I'm fairly tech-knowledgeable, but not an expert. But this is how I've bought my last three computers for personal use and business (graphics). I'm writing this for people who barely know computers. If you have a techie friend or family member, having them help can do a lot for the stress of buying a new computer.
There are three numbers you want to know from your current computer: hard drive size, RAM, and processor speed (slightly less important, unless you're doing gaming or 3d rendering or something else like that)
We're going to assume you use Windows, because if you use Apple I can't help, sorry.
First is hard drive. This is how much space you have to put files. This is in bytes. These days all hard drives are in gigabytes or terabytes (1000 gigabytes = 1 terabyte). To get your hard drive size, open Windows Explorer, go to This PC (or My Computer if you have a really old OS).
To get more details, you can right-click on the drive. and open Properties. But now you know your hard drive size, 237 GB in this case. (this is rather small, but that's okay for this laptop). If you're planning on storing a lot of videos, big photos, have a lot of applications, etc, you want MINIMUM 500 GB. You can always have external drives as well.
While you've got this open, right-click on This PC (or My Computer). This'll give you a lot of information that can be useful if you're trying to get tech support.
I've underlined in red the two key things. Processor: it can help to know the whole bit (or at least the Intel i# bit) just so you don't buy one that's a bunch older, but processor models are confusing and beyond me. The absolutely important bit is the speed, in gigahertz (GHz). Bigger is faster. The processor speed is how fast your computer can run. In this case the processor is 2.60 GHz, which is just fine for most things.
The other bit is RAM. This is "random-access memory" aka memory, which is easy to confuse for, like how much space you have. No. RAM is basically how fast your computer can open stuff. This laptop has 16 GB RAM. Make sure you note that this is the RAM, because it and the hard drive use the same units.
If you're mostly writing, use spreadsheets, watching streaming, or doing light graphics work 16 GB is fine. If you have a lot of things open at a time or gaming or doing 3d modeling or digital art, get at least 32 GB or it's gonna lag a lot.
In general, if you find your current laptop slow, you want a new one with more RAM and a processor that's at least slightly faster. If you're getting a new computer to use new software, look at the system requirements and exceed them.
I'll show you an example of that. Let's say I wanted to start doing digital art on this computer, using ClipStudio Paint. Generally the easiest way to find the requirements is to search for 'program name system' in your search engine of choice. You can click around their website if you want, but just searching is a lot faster.
That gives me this page
(Clip Studio does not have very heavy requirements).
Under Computer Specs it tells you the processor types and your RAM requirements. You're basically going to be good for the processor, no matter what. That 2 GB minimum of memory is, again, the RAM.
Storage space is how much space on your hard drive it needs.
Actually for comparison, let's look at the current Photoshop requirements.
Photoshop wants LOTS of speed and space, greedy bastard that it is. (The Graphics card bit is somewhat beyond my expertise, sorry)
But now you have your three numbers: hard drive space, RAM (memory) and processor (CPU). Now we're going to find a computer that's better and cheaper than buying new!
We're going to buy ~refurbished~
A refurbished computer is one that was used and then returned and fixed up to sell again. It may have wear on the keyboard or case, but everything inside (aside from the battery) should be like new. (The battery may hold less charge.) A good dealer will note condition. And refurbished means any flaws in the hardware will be fixed. They have gone through individual quality control that new products don't usually.
I've bought four computers refurbished and only had one dud (Windows kept crashing during set-up). The dud has been returned and we're waiting for the new one.
You can buy refurbished computers from the manufacturers (Lenovo, Dell, Apple, etc) or from online computer stores (Best Buy and my favorite Newegg). You want to buy from a reputable store because they'll have warranties offered and a good return policy.
I'm going to show you how to find a refurbished computer on Newegg.
You're going to go to Newegg.com, you're gonna go to computer systems in their menu, and you're gonna find refurbished
Then, down the side there's a ton of checkboxes where you can select your specifications. If there's a brand you prefer, select that (I like Lenovos A LOT - they last a long time and have very few problems, in my experience. Yes, this is a recommendation).
Put in your memory (RAM), put in your hard drive, put in your CPU speed (processor), and any other preferences like monitor size or which version of Windows you want (I don't want Windows 11 any time soon). I generally just do RAM and hard drive and manually check the CPU, but that's a personal preference. Then hit apply and it'll filter down.
I'm going to say right now, if you are getting a laptop and you can afford to get a SSD, do it. SSD is a solid-state drive, vs a normal hard drive (HDD, hard disk-drive). They're less prone to breaking down and they're faster. But they're also more expensive.
Anyway, we have our filtered list of possible laptops. Now what?
Well, now comes the annoying part. Every model of computer can be different - it can have a better or worse display, it can have a crappy keyboard, or whatever. So you find a computer that looks okay, and you then look for reviews.
Here's our first row of results
Let's take a look at the Lenovo, because I like Lenovos and I loathe Dells (they're... fine...). That Thinkpad T460S is the part to Google (search for 'Lenovo Thinkpad T460s reviews'). Good websites that I trust include PCMag, LaptopMag.com, and Notebookcheck.com (which is VERY techie about displays). But every reviewer will probably be getting one with different specs than the thing you're looking at.
Here are key things that will be the same across all of them: keyboard (is it comfortable, etc), battery life, how good is the trackpad/nub mouse (nub mice are immensely superior to trackpads imho), weight, how many and what kind of ports does it have (for USB, an external monitor, etc). Monitors can vary depending on the specs, so you'll have to compare those. Mostly you're making sure it doesn't completely suck.
Let's go back to Newegg and look at the specs of that Lenovo. Newegg makes it easy, with tabs for whatever the seller wants to say, the specs, reviews, and Q&A (which is usually empty).
This is the start of the specs. This is actually a lesser model than the laptop we were getting the specs for. It's okay. What I don't like is that the seller gives very little other info, for example on condition. Here's a Dell with much better information - condition and warranty info.
One thing you'll want to do on Newegg is check the seller's reviews. Like on eBay or Etsy, you have to use some judgement. If you worry about that, going to the manufacturer's online outlet in a safer bet, but you won't quite get as good of deals. But they're still pretty damn good as this random computer on Lenovo's outlet shows.
Okay, so I think I've covered everything. I do recommend having a techie friend either help or double check things if you're not especially techie. But this can save you hundreds of dollars or allow you to get a better computer than you were thinking.
I was gunna put this in the tags but it’s a lot. When i first started going through the process of getting a diagnosis, i was labelled with ODD. I immediately took issue with this, it seemed like an unfair diagnosis based entirely on the session the psychiatrist had with my parents (which mostly consisted of “my child is being really difficult on purpose”), and Hoo Boy when i tell you ODD immediately strips you of your ability to call out anyone on anything, that would be an understatement. I couldn’t even disagree or bring up my concerns about the validity of MY OWN DIAGNOSIS without it being labelled as oppositional defiance. Whenever i displayed any negative emotion the “treatments” did so much more harm than good. When you label someone as ‘defiant’ (ugh), when that word is put on their medical record, that person is never allowed to complain about anything again. Knowing that POC are disproportionately affected with this diagnosis makes me feel sick, i can only imagine what’s being swept under the rug as someone just being “defiant to authority”, not even just in the medical field but as justification for police brutality and mass incarceration. When i say medical racism kills people, this is what i mean.
this is so fucking important. reblog.
I didn't finish any other Legends but I began study pages for drawing their faces, feel free to use and reference as needed!
well considering the linear nature of time and aging id love to hear the alternative