Scot Harkins

I've found I am not getting accustomed to the floaters in my right eye, the consequence of the posterior vitreous detachment several months ago. My ophthalmologist told me I should eventually learn to ignore them.

I got my replacement lenses 5 or so years ago, both eyes, clearing my cataracts. The floaters are nowhere near as bad as the cataracts, but it's like looking through a window with some light splatters. Just...yeah, not as clear as they were.

90% chance, or so I'm told, that my left eye will eventually go as well, usually within a year of the first. Not looking forward to it, and hoping it doesn't happen...but here we are.

...but I am constantly distracted by what looks like something moving in my peripheral vision. It's like I'm hard-wired to notice motion for what could be a mouse or bug or whatever. I also continue to have near-center-of-field floaters. Not so much distracting as simply degrading my vision.

Yo, @libbyapp.com , @kcls.org , and @spl.org , why can I not find an English _audiobook_ version of "Dungeon Crawler Carl" by Matt Dinniman, even in deep search?

Just got Win11 Enterprise 25H2 on laptop and desktop at work. I see that @microsoft.com _still_ has not fixed the taskbar resize issue present in all Win11 versions. We're not giving up hope that they will find their way out of the woods on this matter.

youtu.beThe Abdul El-Sayed Town Hall Scandal is Crazier Than You ThinkYouTube video by Philip DeFranco

So the defeated questioner at al Sayed's really 6 turns out to be a GOP operative, and son of a higher level figure, as part of a larger campaign to attempt to embarrass al Sayed with "gotcha questions"...only to be schooled on the weakness of their hapless efforts. youtu.be/0Z6cHCaXXZM?...

Includes open denials of al Sayed's recorded disavowal.

I think I might know why. Shameful either way.

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deanblundell.substack.comCANADA: “Replacing/Banning Elon’s Starlink is Now “Top Priority”October 19, 2026

Trump and Musk purposely hobbled Starlink in Ukraine. This was tested and confirmed. The world worried it might happen, and then it did, so the world is turning away. The US again is failing allies and abetting enemies. deanblundell.substack.com/p/canada-rep...

ground.newsJudges bristle as they are forced to decide the details of Trump’s Washington makeoverDistrict and federal court judges in Washington are used to handling some of the nation’s thorniest issues, from complex deportation cases to the fates of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendants and mor...

"Judges bristle as they are forced to decide the details of Trump’s Washington makeover" ground.news/article/judg...

Congress makes the laws and controls the apportionment of money. We don't have a king who just gets to do whatever they want. We are supposed to be a nation of laws, laws passed by Congress and enacted by the President.

But here we are with petulant baby man destroying the order of law and the American empire at break-neck speed.

"Judges bristle as they are forced to decide the details of Trump’s Washington makeover" ground.news/article/judg...

All he had to do was go to Congress for ALL of this. The golf course is not his to remodel. He doesn't get to turn the Kennedy Center into his personal nameplate.

He doesn't get to just build a monumental arch to where he points. He doesn't get to trash and rebuild the east wing of the White House on a personal whim.

Okay, THIS brings me JOY!

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Yo, @chucktingle.bsky.social , shouldn’t this be a cover on a Pounded In The Butt series entry? “by Clones of…”.

Mrs. Betty Bowers@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social

Oh, Donald . . . That's not a gym. It's a gay bathhouse. And you have *never* looked like that.

😂😂😂

Mrs. Betty Bowers@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social

Oh, Donald . . . That's not a gym. It's a gay bathhouse. And you have *never* looked like that.

youtube.comDo NOT get a Japanese KotatsuYouTube video by Kyota Ko

Your cats might disagree with the "do not" part. youtube.com/shorts/naKCN...

ground.newsUkraine Runs Out of Patriot Defense Missiles, Leaving It More Vulnerable to Russian Attacks, Source Tells CNNUkraine has run out of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday.

A fresh shame, though I wouldn't be surprised to find domestic stocks of Patriots to be likewise depleted by Trump's foolish war with Iran. ground.news/article/ukra...

Gods help us when and if China finally invades and seizes (repatriates?) Taiwan. So many of the chips from Taiwan, and might have been produced in the US under the now-abandoned CHIPS Act.

onstageblog.comWhy Does One Parent Get to Decide Whether Everyone Else’s Kid Can Do a Play? — OnStage BlogAfter yet another high school production in Ohio was shut down because of one single complaint, I have to ask: why does that parent get to decide for everyone else’s kid?

Legit question, really. Why _does_ one apparently-bothered parent get to decide for the rest of the cast and the school whether a play may proceed? Loving the awesome cast shot!!! www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2...

Yes, this will invite the usual, "but what if it was a play about a happy Nazi family without anything about war or violence? Something that played up the Third Reich's family policies in a favorable light?

Say it didn't go into any other traditionally-objectionable philosophies and action that usually condemn the Third Reich? Just a story about a happy Nazi family?...and I do not mean in the spirit of the movie 'The Zone of Interest', but maybe an alternate-history 'The Sound of Music'?"

dailymail.comDad who died on roller coaster named, as awful new details emergeHassan Kariem, 42, has been identified as the man who tragically fell to his death from a Six Flags roller coaster in Austell, Georgia on Monday.

I cannot imagine the horror and trauma experienced by the victim and the surviving guests on SFOG's Goliath roller coaster. Like so many, I await the findings of the investigations that led to this tragedy. www.dailymail.com/news/article...

reddit.comscotharkins's comment on "IT specialist father-of-two, 42, named as man who plunged to his death from Six Flags Over Georgia roller coaster, as harrowing new details of his awful final moments emerge"Explore this conversation and more from the USNEWS community

A link to my own comment on a reddit post for this story: www.reddit.com/r/USNEWS/com...

Part of living in a free country is living _with_ people and things with which you may not personally agree.

TBH, we'd be happy just funding education, clearly so very badly needed by some people.

youtu.beHow Much Longer?YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson

Russia helped Trump with his elections in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Trump somehow convinced his followers that this was untrue. Just another aspect of the willfully blind. youtu.be/-i6lFLMK9lk?...

Well, it _has_ been a LOT quieter lately. Absolutely loving the memes! youtu.be/3CUVuk7AkJQ?...

youtube.comThe Furry Hate is SO Forced 😩YouTube video by Rorschach

Wait...they're actually _still_ talking about furries on cable news‽‽‽ OMG these people! youtube.com/shorts/9T5ji...

instagram.comInstagramCreate an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

STNG way tf ahead of the curve on transgender rights. www.instagram.com/reel/DdCz33J...

youtu.bePresidential Historian Fact Checks US History SlopYouTube video by WIRED

AI slop may be shiny, but it can be used to tell lies in a very convincing way to those who won’t question. In fact, it _is_ being used to do just that. Something being done across the board. Propaganda. youtu.be/LBSkh4vayTk?...

Scot Harkins reposted

Appalachian Memories

@republicofcascadia.bsky.social

Scot Harkins reposted

Mrs. Betty Bowers

@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social

I note how Christian Nationalists, who think the public execution of Jesus was the most horrific thing humans ever did, are giddy at the prospect of getting to watch a public execution on live streaming—being so “pro-life” and all . . .

deanblundell.substack.comPete Hegseth Starved His Sailors for 321 Days, Then Welcomed Them Home With a Snuff FilmTrump bombed Iran over public hangings. Now his Pentagon will livestream a firing squad for a man in a wheelchair.

Trump says we bombed Iran into stopping public executions. Note we’re going to livestream one while violating the US Army regulation around military executions. deanblundell.substack.com/p/pete-hegse...

I wonder what the streaming stats will show about views from countries who will count the convict as a martyr.

youtu.beDIY Instant Soup JarsYouTube video by J. Kenji López-Alt

Mmmmm… youtu.be/pSa-VCDOzzo?...

Coincidence? I think not! Of course it's exactly this! /s

youtube.comCan we say what “tax the rich means” instead of avoiding the discussion out of sheer cowardice?YouTube video by Farming While Beige

A favorite straw man argument against "taxing billionaires". Yet another of the week arguments against having a few pay a fairer share. youtube.com/shorts/0jaTr...

youtu.beOlivia Rodrigo Attacked Over Cornell 7 CaseYouTube video by Philip DeFranco

Megyn Kelly again demonstrating that she is human garbage. So many problem with her speculative narrative, and how she is participating in traditional male misogyny, despite her own history. Shameful. youtu.be/WP3OqZoJRVY?...

yakimaherald.comSickout devastates Washington ferry system; Ferguson urges workers to return TuesdayThe workers’ union says it didn’t coordinate the sickout that led to mass cancellations and took most of the vessels out of the water.

Good thing I didn't try to go in today. Holy crow, 2/3 of the fleet down over a valid labor dispute. www.yakimaherald.com/news/northwe...

The situation has become grave. No idea if it is because of mismanagement or just the reality of time passing an people retiring out, but the impact on their lives can be, and is right now, brutal.

I love living on an island. I can handle the 50 miles each way commute 3 of 5 of my work days. With a van pool that used to be 5 days a week. It's part of the cost to have just a quiet home in such a lovely place. But I do not require that the people making my life possible work inhumane hours.

Good thing I didn't try to go in today. Holy crow, 2/3 of the fleet down over a valid labor dispute. www.yakimaherald.com/news/northwe...

“Engineers, all of whom are already scheduled to work 84 hours per (seven-day) workweek, must inevitably confront exhaustion when asked to work the numbers of overtime hours required by the current stopgap system.”

USCG regs require engineers on all larger vessels. These are difficult jobs, often in noisy, sometimes very cramped conditions. Engineers hold these ferry jobs so they don't have to be away for weeks at a time on some commercial ocean-going ship.

The United States of America is now synonymous with cruelty and greed. Every day another thing supports that view. This is not what makes America great...indeed, it is what tears us down.

Jay Kuo@nycjayjay.bsky.social

11. Days.

youtu.beBombshell Noah’s Ark Report RELEASED!YouTube video by Dan McClellan

So, yes, the current "Noah's Ark Project" is a scam, and its public face is a racist antisemitic flat -Earther. The project overall is, charitably, questionable. So many things wrong in their public releases so far, including mislocated photos and nonsensical "science". youtu.be/GrcWlasDGb4?...