@vantiss@treehouse.systems cover
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vantiss

@[email protected]

'In dark times, should the stars also go out?'

queer anarchist // jewish anti-zionist
I'm still COVIDing and you should too

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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

posting from treehouse that's now on the latest glitchsoc! hopefully maybe this will mean we can get on the patchset that enables reactions at some point soon 👀

vantiss OP ,
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today I managed to be the one to accidentally find a bug in my instance after the update, and a bug in my fedi client that revealed the issue to begin with

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

surprised they never made a Chanukah Kraft Dinner, they could've called it "Gouda Maccandchees"

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

remember:

screenshot of a tweet by "bigsoupudude", reading BRAIN out S O U P IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with an attached 3-panel comic panel 1 says "Brain Out", showing a catgirl's head opening up and a brain exiting panel 2 says "soup in", and shows the open head of the catgirl having soup poured into it panel 3 takes up the rest of the comic space and says "YOU ARE BETTER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", showing the catgirl with a ^_^ face looking happy and relieved and blushy
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

"It's a boy!"
"It's a girl!"

a sign for a restaurant reading "It's a Taco Shop"
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

so, someone mentioned offgassing in a discord I'm in tn, and someone asked about it. first, they got a correct answer. then a jokey answer.

then I added, "why's it called offgas when you etcetc" and a friend made something incredible in response that I got permission to share

image with handwriting and a couple small screenshots in it in the upper left is a screenshot of the text i'd written, "why's it called offgas when you etcetc", with "offgas" underlined. an arrow is pointing from there to the word "stinky" in the second half of the image under the first bit is a diagramming reading " ? off gas [off][gas] the opposite of gas is???" with an orange arrow pointing *to* it from some text circled in orange reading "in=opposite of out" an arrow is pointing to *that* from the following section, which reads: "of" (circled in black), "in" (circled in green) [ov][en] [of][out] above a screenshot reading "why do they call it OVEN (underlined) when you OF IN (circled, red) the COLD (circled, blue) food OF OUT (circled, green) HOT (circled, yellow) eat the food the next line is written as "cold + hot -> also opposites -> " and then"stinky + yummy ?" with an arrow pointing to it from the very first bit of screenshot to show the through line that ends with handwriting of the conclusion: "why do they call it offgas when you offgas the stinky smell off solid yummy wear the mask" (i had so much trouble with this alt text i hope it's okay aaa)
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

during a hang with a friend tonight while playing Nier Automata (Route A), I ended up trying a couple level 50 side quests despite being level 30, and managed them surprisingly okay! I suspect it's the upgraded weapons, massively stacked Critical Up+ chips, and how good I've gotten at dodging

...then she egged me on to go ahead and try to beat a Level 60 side quest, at Level 31 (the Robo Dojo Red Belt, of which I could only find one video on youtube of someone doing it on Route A at all, but still about 20 levels above me,)

It took me about 40 minutes, but I managed it 😅 I'm not sure how to feel about that. Good? But also that's a lot of time? But...also, still good

pic of a guy, two images. the top just has the guy, reading "I should come back after leveling up some more" the lower portion has a skeleton whispering in his ear saying "you saw the healthbar move. It can Bleed. It can Die"
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

another day, another correction: this language has existed in American Tiktok's privacy policy in some form or another since 2024

meaning: it's nothing new to suddenly panic about - it's "primarily there to comply with state privacy laws like California’s Consumer Privacy Act, which requires companies to agree to disclose to consumers what “sensitive information"

(tbc though, I support getting off TikTok! just, not for the reasoning from the viral post)

@therivercrow@bardicperspiration.club avatar therivercrow : I'm not on the tiktok but if you are, delete it....

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

note bc I see a fair few mutuals boosting it: this is AI-generated, and the op was very weird about it to the people who pointed that out

@wackJackle@norden.social avatar wackJackle : Fuck, I have to change my opinion on leaf blowers.

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

setting my phone's ringtone to 3rd Wave Ska so that I know when to "pick it up pick it up pick it up pick it up pick it upppp🎵"

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

tfw a supplement gets recalled because it doesn't moost your metabolism

Company Name: Modern Warrior Brand Name: Modern Warrior Product Description: Dietary supplement capsules marketed for metabolism moosting, improving brain function, and reducing cravings
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vantiss OP ,
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar

moost me uwu

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

heartbreaking: the sweetest person you know thinks they're the most uniquely evil entity alive, undeserving of any kindness whatsoever

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

OH, gf: "love to emerge from the gooey vagina to the rocky hellworld"

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

RANGING in the new year or something

screenshot from Stranger Things it's paused at a moment so that it reads RANG ING
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

so, the last two years, my landlord has inexplicably given me and my gf each a $100 gift card at new years for being "a good tenant"

that's something I've never heard of a landlord doing, and neither has anyone I've directly spoken to

have any of your landlords given you an end-year gift of some kind? if so, what was it?

I tried to cover everything reasonably likely in the poll, though I'm expecting most responses to be the first one because,,,yk, landlords

boosts encouraged for reach and diversity of results!

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

@azalea someone linked me to this and i immediately thought "i should send this to azalea" https://www.tumblr.com/superchat/794363721204006912

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

so, years ago I got this 30" gooseneck microphone stand with a clamp, and it's begun to creak quite a bit as I use it. I imagine, at some point, it'll break. unfortunately, they don't seem to make it anymore, and I've had a hell of a time finding anything similar that's also sturdy enough to hold my Yeti on it

does anyone know anything similar? I really need it to be about that long, and to not falter under the weight of my mic

boosts welcome! I'm hoping someone knows something

edit: I'm okay with 'just' the gooseneck piece and getting my own clamp so long as the gooseneck itself is long and sturdy enough!

picture of the linked amazon page, showing a long gooseneck microphone stand from SpinTech
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

gf currently singing along to "Mr. Sandman" but she's replaced most of the core lyrics with "butt", beginning with "Mr. Buttman"

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

PSA: MalwareBytes has put out an update/mea culpa to their article which suggested the gmail/workspaces "smart features" now allowed Gemini to access/train off your mail. It was particularly believable because of how google has acted, and the ways in which they've done things similar to this in the past, but it does not appear to be true

To be clear: This isn't me saying google is good, or that people shouldn't try to move away from gmail or other google products where they're reasonably able to. Rather, I'm posting this in the interest of correcting the misinfo in what became a series of viral posts across a variety of platforms - and people disabling something which that effectively neuters a lot of important gmail features as a result

Boosts encouraged ofc :>

Update November 22. We’ve updated this article after realising we contributed to a perfect storm of misunderstanding around a recent change in the wording and placement of Gmail’s smart features. The settings themselves aren’t new, but the way Google recently rewrote and surfaced them led a lot of people (including us) to believe Gmail content might be used to train Google’s AI models, and that users were being opted in automatically. After taking a closer look at Google’s documentation and reviewing other reporting, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Gmail does scan email content to power its own “smart features,” such as spam filtering, categorisation, and writing suggestions. But this is part of how Gmail normally works and isn’t the same as training Google’s generative AI models. Google also maintains that these feature settings are opt-in rather than opt-out, although users’ experiences seem to vary depending on when and how the new wording appeared. It’s easy to see where the confusion came from. Google’s updated language around “smart features” is vague, and the term “smart” often implies AI—especially at a time when Gemini is being integrated into other parts of Google’s products. When the new wording started appearing for some users without much explanation, many assumed it signalled a broader shift. We’ve revised this article to reflect what we can confirm from Google’s documentation, as it’s always been our aim to give readers accurate, helpful guidance.
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

gf just mispronounced "hospitalized" as "hoss-pittle-ized" and i will never let her live it down

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

@lizzie saw this on a walk today and had to gort it at you

"wormo" etched into the sidewalk
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vantiss OP ,
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar

me going back to find and boost the Original Wormo

@ghostlyash@transfem.social avatar ghostlyash , to random

either people are calling my bluff about never being lewd online again or people actually like me,, nah that's impossible ​:neocat_googly_woozy:​

vantiss ,
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@ghostlyash@transfem.social avatar ghostlyash , to random

i think everyone should always listen to everything i say

vantiss ,
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@ghostlyash
having taken what you said and fully internalized it, I'm now in a place to fully agree that others should do the same

vantiss ,
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@ghostlyash
of course :3

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

me to my gf, making fun of her: "...but you'd never do that! you have great object permanence, no ADHD at all"

her, with a confident zen-like tone: "oh, yeah. my objects are permanent :)"*

  • this was our loud but you could just hear the ":)" at the end somehow
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

I've known mia for several years atp and I've been trying to get it to give fedi a try since bsky became a thing :> consider giving her a follow

@miaviolet@transfem.social avatar miaviolet : Hewwo, my name is Mia. I'm a 39 year old trans woman. My...

vantiss OP ,
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar

also she seems to be having trouble figuring out where the bio fields are on sharkey, so if you're able to offer her a hand with that please do!

I haven't used sharkey myself, so I'm not sure

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

finally rediscovered my still-shrink-wrapped copy of Castlevania SOTN Greatest Hits edition so I can sell it soon, ama

edit: actually, if you're interested in buying it to save me the effort of going on eBay, lmk!

a copy of Castlevania Symphony of the Night GOTY edition sitting on a blanket , still in shrinkwrap with a sticker that says "NEW: $14.99"
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

"umm actually, that's problematic to want to kill baby hitler. baby hitler was Literally neurodivergent and a minor"

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

"great googly moogly" implies the existence of a standard and lesser "googly moogly"

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

going to the gas station to get a

screenshot from POPUCOM: "Rainbow Popper The Doctor invented this firearm to counter Pomus. Loaded with Condensed Synthetic Pomu Gel, it fires compressed liquid projectiles that trigger Pomu Collapse Reaction in Pomus, thereby eliminating them."
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

I helped test this and gave a fair bit of input along the way! you should play maya's rad little gay fox sokoban game :>

I might even end up making some levels for it eventually 👀

@mayazimmerman@gamedev.lgbt avatar mayazimmerman : My new game Sokofox is out now at...

@dank@jorts.horse avatar dank , to random

if you joined yesterday and have no interactions and few posts i'm not going to approve your follow req

vantiss ,
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@DakkiReads @dank
I'm guessing some of them may be from the people fleeing bsky? I know jorts in particular got quite a few new joiners

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

she Carl's on my Junior 'til I'm Hardees

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

please do not come into my mentions on my latest post about vaxes and masking to push nasal sprays and spread misinfo! thank you

edit: especially one that means supporting an israeli company when you buy it

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

quick reminder to not only go get your updated covid/flu vaccines if you can, but also to please consider masking up again if you're someone who stopped doing so at some point

it's another wave right now, and most of those "not covid"s and "summer flu"s are in fact COVID

edit: and also a reminder that rapid tests are notorious for false negatives - taking one or two of those as symptoms start doesn't rule out covid!

vantiss OP ,
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar

faqs for the above:

  1. I don't know where to get a respirator, or I can't afford one. What do I do?

    If you can't afford one, there are often Mask Blocs near you that can get you some for free! Or places to get them fairly inexpensively. Feel free to ask me if you'd like help!

  2. I'm in the US and need to be high risk to get vaccinated

    You probably qualify! And, either way, they accept self-attestation and aren't technically allowed to ask which condition qualifies you

  3. I genuinely can't access a vax where I am right now, whether due to bureaucracy or cost

    Okay! Thankfully, masking is way more important than the vaccines, tbh. Focus on what you can control: masks, cleaning the air, etc

  4. Masking doesn't protect yourself so much as it helps others anyway, right?

    That's not true, it's extremely protective for you, too! But, even if it wasn't: doing it to protect others is important too

  5. I want to wear a respirator again, but I'm not sure what to wear, it's confusing for me!

    That's understandable tbh. No mask fits everyone well, but there are some that fit most people quite well. The 3M Aura 9205+ (blue bands), 3M Aura 9210+ (white fabric bands), and 3M Aura 1870+ (red bands) are all great choices for most people! Please feel free to ask me for more personalized help if you want it

  6. I can't always wear a mask because of [reason], should I still mask when I can?

    Yes. Even if you end up getting (or transmitting) COVID, the dose of virus inhaled does matter - and inhaling less of it is better than more of it

  7. But what I have really isn't COVID!

    I mean, it might be! But, even if it's not: wear a mask anyway - why give someone something else you have?

  8. I don't mind getting it, I've had it before and I seem to be fine?

    Long COVID is a matter of cumulative damage. Even if you were lucky enough to be lucky enough to not have noticeable LC so far, every additional time is another roll of the dice on top of the prior ones

  9. But, I mask when I feel sick! isn't that enough?

    It's better than nothing, but a very significant percentage of infections are entirely asymptomatic, and you can infect people when you're pre-symptomatic as well

  10. What about nasal sprays??

    No, do not rely on nasal sprays.

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

thinking about the time that my hands were full and I needed my gf to open the door for me, so I just started cycling through the Diablo lines like "I am overburdened", "I can't carry anymore", etc until it clicked for her and she opened it up

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

once again thinking about the fact MK World has a kart called "Li'l Dumpy"

picture of Li'l Dumpy from MKW. it's a small toy like "dump truck", orange with blue tires
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@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

Ayn Rand's first name backwards is "nya". in this essay I will

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

if you get a fr from the poop dot net person, be aware that what could otherwise be a good shtick is ruined by a bunch of edgy and racist garbage in the post history

the fediblock being about their name is ridiculous, but they really do seem like the type to avoid

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

enjoying that Jigen's voice actor is in P5R, given all the other Lupin references

vantiss OP ,
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you tell 'em, Drunken Souse >:3

vantiss OP ,
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something something amazon dot com

@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar vantiss , to random

I think this is the best writeup I've seen on the (lack of) evidence for the efficacy of nasal sprays as a "layer of protection" against /

There is a lot of misinformation out there about nasal sprays preventing COVID-19. Unfortunately, there are no convincing studies showing that nasal sprays prevent COVID-19. The published studies investigating whether or not nasal sprays prevent COVID-19 each have major issues, which I will detail here.

I have a PhD in biochemistry and one of my PhD projects was on COVID-19. The main takeaway of this post is that there is no sound evidence that nasal sprays prevent COVID-19. Thus, nasal sprays should not be used for COVID-19 prevention in place of effective measures such as high-quality well-fitting respirators, ventilation and air purification.

1. As a brief overview, some major issues with these studies include: The fact that the test spray and not the placebo spray contain ingredients that can cause false-negative COVID-19 tests (combined with no information on the timing between applying nasal sprays and taking nasal/nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 tests) Ex: a heparin nasal spray can cause false-negative COVID-19 RT-PCR tests (study A) and carrageenan from vaginal swabs after using carrageenan-containing lube can cause false-negative PCR tests for HPV (study B). If we take the estimate from another paper (study C) that nasal sprays get immediately diluted approximately 1:1 by nasal fluid (when the spray volume in each nostril is 0.100 mL), then the amount of carrageenan in a nasal swab taken immediately after spraying the nasal spray is comparable to that in the carrageenan undiluted samples in experiment 4 in study B. Those samples from study B all produced false-negative PCR tests for HPV. Lack of placebo spray, participants having to seek out the test spray themselves (suggesting they may take more precautions than those in the study taking no spray, not even a placebo) Lack of sufficient information for reproducibility (especially regarding what is considered a positive and a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result) Lack of testing for asymptomatic/presymptomatic infections (how can we say something prevents COVID-19 if we aren’t testing for asymptomatic and presymptomatic COVID-19 infections?)

1. As a brief overview, some major issues with these studies include: The fact that the test spray and not the placebo spray contain ingredients that can cause false-negative COVID-19 tests (combined with no information on the timing between applying nasal sprays and taking nasal/nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 tests) Ex: a heparin nasal spray can cause false-negative COVID-19 RT-PCR tests (study A) and carrageenan from vaginal swabs after using carrageenan-containing lube can cause false-negative PCR tests for HPV (study B). If we take the estimate from another paper (study C) that nasal sprays get immediately diluted approximately 1:1 by nasal fluid (when the spray volume in each nostril is 0.100 mL), then the amount of carrageenan in a nasal swab taken immediately after spraying the nasal spray is comparable to that in the carrageenan undiluted samples in experiment 4 in study B. Those samples from study B all produced false-negative PCR tests for HPV. Lack of placebo spray, participants having to seek out the test spray themselves (suggesting they may take more precautions than those in the study taking no spray, not even a placebo) Lack of sufficient information for reproducibility (especially regarding what is considered a positive and a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result) Lack of testing for asymptomatic/presymptomatic infections (how can we say something prevents COVID-19 if we aren’t testing for asymptomatic and presymptomatic COVID-19 infections?)
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vantiss OP ,
@vantiss@treehouse.systems avatar

A note re the news articles making the rounds today on that azelastine nasal spray study:

  • there was no mention of other precautions or masks anywhere in the study, nor controlling for them
  • there was no accounting for whether usage of the nasal spray might, as others can, interfere with RAT or PCR results
  • the Conflicts of Interest section of the study shows that the primary people working on it are either funded by, or working at URSAPHARM (the company that makes Pollival, a brand name for the medication)
  • one of the people involved in organizing the study (among other aspects) is the CEO of URSAPHARM

there may well be more, but I feel like that's more than enough to not take the reporting at face value. It's also worth remembering that:

  • it's only a phase 2 study
  • their own product page suggests that it shouldn't be used regularly for more than 6 months, at most
  • it's not without its side-effects, even when used for its on-label indications under the supervision of a doctor, and is typically indicated for use 1-2 times per day

none of this is to say that it may not turn out to be something that helps, or where the benefits outweigh any potential risks/side-effects - but it really doesn't seem like the evidence is there right now