Laurel
@laurelfynes.bsky.social
learning from the world, my family, students, birds, trees, plants, waterways, relationships. unlearning. biophiliac. growing roots along great lake ontario. settler. she/her.
class site: https://bsky.app/profile/k2westacres.bsky.social
class site: https://bsky.app/profile/k2westacres.bsky.social
Pinned
Laurel
@laurelfynes.bsky.social
· Oct 5
It’s as beautiful as I had imagined it. Dallas at Vision Seeker studio understood my vision, and made my dream come true. Chimney swifts, long gone to the skies from their summer homes here, gone until next May but with me forever, now.
This is me, roughly 9 or 10 yo. These are my darling ducks, Dottie and Heidi (I think… might be Quackie, not Heidi. Hard to say without seeing their backs).
Safe to say I have always been like this.
Safe to say I have always been like this.
November 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
This is me, roughly 9 or 10 yo. These are my darling ducks, Dottie and Heidi (I think… might be Quackie, not Heidi. Hard to say without seeing their backs).
Safe to say I have always been like this.
Safe to say I have always been like this.
Reposted by Laurel
Ms. Fletcher, Tulsa, and America always deserved so much more
Viola Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Ms. Fletcher, Tulsa, and America always deserved so much more
“If passed, this would give the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing the power to make municipalities give water and wastewater infrastructure to corporations..”
Doug Ford's government claims the province isn’t privatizing water.
Experts aren't convinced.
pressprogress.ca/ontario-clai...
Experts aren't convinced.
pressprogress.ca/ontario-clai...
Ontario’s Government Claims the Province Isn’t Privatizing Water. Experts Are Not Convinced.
“The way that this act is written creates this slippery slope towards privatization”
pressprogress.ca
November 24, 2025 at 9:29 PM
“If passed, this would give the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing the power to make municipalities give water and wastewater infrastructure to corporations..”
Reposted by Laurel
I'm going insane because people constantly recommend using AI for things and it is always, ALWAYS worse than repeatedly bashing my head on a brick.
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
November 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I'm going insane because people constantly recommend using AI for things and it is always, ALWAYS worse than repeatedly bashing my head on a brick.
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
Grief is a sneaky thing. You think you’re free of it, just living your life and taking care of your responsibilities and WHAM! Right in the chest.
November 24, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Grief is a sneaky thing. You think you’re free of it, just living your life and taking care of your responsibilities and WHAM! Right in the chest.
We’ve been catching up on Silo.
But now I may watch this again…
But now I may watch this again…
a black and white photo of a snowy city with the letters k on the bottom right
Alt: The seemingly endless silver train from the movie Snowpiercer zooms through a snowy wasteland.
media.tenor.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:49 AM
We’ve been catching up on Silo.
But now I may watch this again…
But now I may watch this again…
Reposted by Laurel
Not surprising from politico but wild that not one publication that has covered this story has led with SNOWPIERCER
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
November 24, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Not surprising from politico but wild that not one publication that has covered this story has led with SNOWPIERCER
Reposted by Laurel
In the 50s, when Virginia slims were marketed as a healthy cigarette, they had an ad: “Flavor you never thought you’d get from any filtered cigarette”. My mom , on a date, pointed to a defaced billboard where “flavor” was replaced with “cancer” He told her, “I did that!” Reader, she married him.
November 24, 2025 at 12:01 AM
In the 50s, when Virginia slims were marketed as a healthy cigarette, they had an ad: “Flavor you never thought you’d get from any filtered cigarette”. My mom , on a date, pointed to a defaced billboard where “flavor” was replaced with “cancer” He told her, “I did that!” Reader, she married him.
a movie that takes place where you’re from
(Well, I’m from a rural area an hour north but I’ve lived here for over 30 years now so it’s close enough)
(Well, I’m from a rural area an hour north but I’ve lived here for over 30 years now so it’s close enough)
November 23, 2025 at 7:10 PM
a movie that takes place where you’re from
(Well, I’m from a rural area an hour north but I’ve lived here for over 30 years now so it’s close enough)
(Well, I’m from a rural area an hour north but I’ve lived here for over 30 years now so it’s close enough)
Reposted by Laurel
KPOP Demon Hunters is a movie about the importance of effective public health communication in this essay I will...
November 23, 2025 at 1:36 PM
KPOP Demon Hunters is a movie about the importance of effective public health communication in this essay I will...
Reposted by Laurel
There are four types of guys online. No exceptions.
November 19, 2025 at 2:58 AM
There are four types of guys online. No exceptions.
Reposted by Laurel
It's downright impressive how Roblox has managed to cover both senses of "gross" in "gross negligence".
November 23, 2025 at 10:23 AM
It's downright impressive how Roblox has managed to cover both senses of "gross" in "gross negligence".
I like to go for a good walk on weekend mornings, so I took an alley walk after dropping the kid to work. Seen in my travels: got wheels, nowhere to go. Asters in November, after snow?!
November 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM
I like to go for a good walk on weekend mornings, so I took an alley walk after dropping the kid to work. Seen in my travels: got wheels, nowhere to go. Asters in November, after snow?!
Tonight’s a good one. We’ve been looking forward to this for months… though @gordasm.bsky.social was already here last night, too.
Memories of those Green Sprouts Music Week shows I used to go to at Ultrasound (in the 90s).
Memories of those Green Sprouts Music Week shows I used to go to at Ultrasound (in the 90s).
November 23, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Tonight’s a good one. We’ve been looking forward to this for months… though @gordasm.bsky.social was already here last night, too.
Memories of those Green Sprouts Music Week shows I used to go to at Ultrasound (in the 90s).
Memories of those Green Sprouts Music Week shows I used to go to at Ultrasound (in the 90s).
Absolutely agree, but I’d never have guessed the reason in this particular case… 🫣
Keep your cats inside
A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. https://cnn.it/3JQU8cB
November 22, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Absolutely agree, but I’d never have guessed the reason in this particular case… 🫣
Now, I don’t live in acorn woodpecker territory, but from what I’ve read about them, this is strictly acorn woodpecker behaviour. Were the holes full of nuts? 🪶
Astronaut Dr. Don Thomas shares how a woodpecker delayed one of his missions!
Hosts: J. Keith van Straaten & Helen Hong
Expert: Dr. Don Thomas
@maximumfun.org @laist.com
Hosts: J. Keith van Straaten & Helen Hong
Expert: Dr. Don Thomas
@maximumfun.org @laist.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Now, I don’t live in acorn woodpecker territory, but from what I’ve read about them, this is strictly acorn woodpecker behaviour. Were the holes full of nuts? 🪶
❤️😭
Alison Sealy-Smith, voice of Storm in “X-Men ‘97” shares a touching fan encounter!
Hosts: J. Keith van Straaten & Helen Hong
Guests: Khalil Goodman & Kristin Pilotte
Experts: Alison Sealy-Smith, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Holly Chou, & Dr. Don Thomas
@maximumfun.org @laist.com
Hosts: J. Keith van Straaten & Helen Hong
Guests: Khalil Goodman & Kristin Pilotte
Experts: Alison Sealy-Smith, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Holly Chou, & Dr. Don Thomas
@maximumfun.org @laist.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:02 PM
❤️😭
Reposted by Laurel
This came to us in a dream.
November 18, 2025 at 8:56 PM
This came to us in a dream.
Reposted by Laurel
“Keira's assessment in 2024, …concluded that she did not have "sufficient parental competencies to care for the newborn independently".
Keira says the questions she was asked included: "Who is Mother Teresa?" and "How long does it take for the sun's rays to reach the Earth?
Keira says the questions she was asked included: "Who is Mother Teresa?" and "How long does it take for the sun's rays to reach the Earth?
Greenlandic families fight to get children back after parenting tests banned
Greenlandic families fight to get children back after parenting tests banned
The Danish government has banned the use of parental competency tests, known as FKUs, on Greenlandic families after decades of criticism.
www.bbc.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:33 AM
“Keira's assessment in 2024, …concluded that she did not have "sufficient parental competencies to care for the newborn independently".
Keira says the questions she was asked included: "Who is Mother Teresa?" and "How long does it take for the sun's rays to reach the Earth?
Keira says the questions she was asked included: "Who is Mother Teresa?" and "How long does it take for the sun's rays to reach the Earth?
Reposted by Laurel
In a staggering and totally unprecedented revelation, problems caused by not having money were solved by having money.
An Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees a staggering reduction in homelessness. The program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years, and at the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees staggering reduction in homelessness
The state program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years. At the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
www.streetroots.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:40 PM
In a staggering and totally unprecedented revelation, problems caused by not having money were solved by having money.
Reposted by Laurel
Print dictionaries: the original large language models
11/18/25
11/18/25
November 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Print dictionaries: the original large language models
11/18/25
11/18/25
Yup… the reason I’m terrified of rabies isn’t because I saw Old Yeller in an assembly at school (talk about a Gen X badge, right there) but because I listened to this terrifying story. It haunts me to this day.
Every time I see raccoon stories like this, I think of this episode of This American Life. One of the scariest raccoons + rabies + insurance stories I’ve heard
www.thisamericanlife.org/319/and-the-...
www.thisamericanlife.org/319/and-the-...
And the Call Was Coming from the Basement - This American Life
Scary stories that are all true—zombie raccoons, haunted houses, and things that go "EEEEK!!!" in the night.
www.thisamericanlife.org
November 22, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Yup… the reason I’m terrified of rabies isn’t because I saw Old Yeller in an assembly at school (talk about a Gen X badge, right there) but because I listened to this terrifying story. It haunts me to this day.
Reposted by Laurel
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
November 22, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
Did I stop on the way home from work just because a red-tailed hawk was hanging out over the bus stop? I did.
Come on… as if you wouldn’t. Look at the majesty.
Come on… as if you wouldn’t. Look at the majesty.
November 22, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Did I stop on the way home from work just because a red-tailed hawk was hanging out over the bus stop? I did.
Come on… as if you wouldn’t. Look at the majesty.
Come on… as if you wouldn’t. Look at the majesty.
Reposted by Laurel
I do not like your AI slop
I do not want this worthless glop
I do not read its overviews
I don't care what Grok says is true
I do not like it here nor there
I'm tired of it everywhere
I do not want this worthless glop
I do not read its overviews
I don't care what Grok says is true
I do not like it here nor there
I'm tired of it everywhere
November 22, 2025 at 1:15 AM
I do not like your AI slop
I do not want this worthless glop
I do not read its overviews
I don't care what Grok says is true
I do not like it here nor there
I'm tired of it everywhere
I do not want this worthless glop
I do not read its overviews
I don't care what Grok says is true
I do not like it here nor there
I'm tired of it everywhere