Drífa Jónsdóttir @[email protected]

Recent events remind me of a truth I worked out some time ago: there is an ocean of difference between wishing one’s child wasn’t transgender so they wouldn’t be mistreated by the world and wishing the world wouldn’t mistreat one’s transgender child.

If you're trans, remember: the point of changing your appearance and presentation is to feel better living in your own skin. Anyone who gives you grief for not meeting some arbitrary standard is welcome to go shag a cactus.

Hybrid snow leopard/lynx need a short, catchy name. Snynx, anyone?

I've seen a few posts go by now about random attacks on trans folk on the street in Portland. And … yikes.

I mean, obviously I feel for the people attacked. But it's also got me thinking. I'm going to Portland in the summer. … I'll … probably stay off the streets.

I’m ded.

https://twitter.com/joabaldwin/status/1097316143377707008?s=20

I am forever disappointed in new medical providers’ computer security skills. I’ll ask how I should send confidential information to them and instead of being sent their S/MIME certs or directed to a web page with a secure upload facility, they just give me an email address or a fax number.

Side note: Fax? Really?!?

I leave for ANE in 3 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, and 56 seconds. Not that I'm counting. :)

Another side-by-side for you. I love the way the water pops in black and white.

Doing some photo re-editing now that I've got calibrated displays and updated software. Here's an image with two B&W versions: one I made years ago by setting saturation=0, and another one by using filters that play with the differences between the color channels.

All owners of snuggly pets are Chiyo-Jo.

I want a cat.

The yiff life: having sexy RP with your SO on one monitor while you code on another.

I wonder if you can date people’s transition by the neatness of their signature. Works for mine, anyway.

Hey, whadda ya know, one of my cousins is on TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HujyOjjpZY

Well, after a good while with a makeup mirror and a pair of tweezers, my eyebrows at least look less unruly.

We'll call that a win for today.

If you're headed to ANE and you're interested in a nail painting party, I think a few people will be stopping by my room at 6 on Saturday.

Aside: I realize I'm setting some strong obligations for myself with this. And, well, … good.

Updated: "A person who, in solidarity with a marginalized person or group, renders them the support requested on the terms they set. This support might be material or not and intended to, e.g., improve general health and wellbeing, create structural change, reduce the harm the ally does through unconscious bias or seemingly innocuous habit, or teach third parties to reduce their bias or break harmful habits. An ally must, on balance, do significantly more good than harm."

I think 'renders' might be better than 'offers': offers may or may not be genuine.

I'm also wondering about whether to address people who render some support but do harm in other ways. Does an ally have to, on balance, do more harm than good? Significantly more? Or can one be an ally to a given person/group on some matters and not on others?

Oh gods, I looked up hobnobs on Amazon and sent the link to a friend as a way of explaining what they are, and now I'm getting emails every day inviting me to come buy them from Amazon.

Time to write some junk mail filters.

Like I said, thoughts welcome. Have at it.

And I wanted to rule out cases where the offer of help forces a concession.

I also wanted to rule out people assuming better knowledge of the needs or conditions of the people needing help than those people do. Dealing with that kind of crap shouldn't be the condition of receiving help.