Elaine
@uselaine.bsky.social
I’m here because you went here, I love you, and I want to see you. 💛
Most of my attention goes to mastodon because it is what I think the internet is supposed to be.
Profile pic is from 1995.
Banner: some Zuri dresses.
Most of my attention goes to mastodon because it is what I think the internet is supposed to be.
Profile pic is from 1995.
Banner: some Zuri dresses.
Pinned
Elaine
@uselaine.bsky.social
· Apr 27
&udm=14 | the disenshittification Konami code
A quick way to get an AI-free search without any extra work.
udm14.com
Someone made an easy, free search bar that eliminates AI results from google. I have it pinned to my Mastodon account, but I thought I would bring it over here too.
udm14.com
udm14.com
Reposted by Elaine
The tech ethos has changed from let's make life better/easier/more connected/more fun to let's foist this on a captive audience because we can
I say this as someone whose entire job is finding the narrow use cases in which AI is actually useful:
All the fear about AI, all the reluctance to adopt it, is entirely legitimate, and a product of the fact that it's been foisted on the public with no consideration of its negative externalities.
All the fear about AI, all the reluctance to adopt it, is entirely legitimate, and a product of the fact that it's been foisted on the public with no consideration of its negative externalities.
I continue to have no sympathy left for whinging about how the public are rude about AI and feel threatened by it when the biggest players in the AI space have spent years very vocally and constantly *threatening the public*
December 12, 2025 at 5:57 AM
The tech ethos has changed from let's make life better/easier/more connected/more fun to let's foist this on a captive audience because we can
Reposted by Elaine
13th December- Pope Leo: Human beings are called to be co-workers in the work of creation, not merely passive consumers of content generated by artificial technology.
December 12, 2025 at 8:33 AM
13th December- Pope Leo: Human beings are called to be co-workers in the work of creation, not merely passive consumers of content generated by artificial technology.
Reposted by Elaine
This is the type of thread that only gets written if you're unaware that the VA healthcare system already exists. Or that it provides healthcare for millions of Americans. Or that it consistently generates higher patient satisfaction numbers and better clinical outcomes than the private sector.
For all Universal HC/Single Payer/M4A advocates.
What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?
Who in the USA gov runs the program?
R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?
Who in the USA gov runs the program?
R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
December 12, 2025 at 5:16 AM
This is the type of thread that only gets written if you're unaware that the VA healthcare system already exists. Or that it provides healthcare for millions of Americans. Or that it consistently generates higher patient satisfaction numbers and better clinical outcomes than the private sector.
Reposted by Elaine
California wildlife officials have extended a ban on abalone harvesting in Northern California until 2036 for environmental reasons. It’s a contentious issue, and divers are torn.
California bans harvest of ocean delicacy until 2036
California wildlife officials have extended a ban on abalone harvesting in Northern California until 2036 for environmental reasons. It’s a contentious issue, and divers are torn.
bit.ly
December 12, 2025 at 7:30 AM
California wildlife officials have extended a ban on abalone harvesting in Northern California until 2036 for environmental reasons. It’s a contentious issue, and divers are torn.
Reposted by Elaine
Brave and faithful soldier. RIP. 🇺🇸
Yesterday, Spc Sarah Becstrom was laid to rest in West Virginia at a VA National Cemetery.
Surprisingly none of the major major news media mention it. No flags were lower to half staff.
Well the Convicted FElon keeps the news focus on him.
www.wvva.com/2025/12/10/s...
Surprisingly none of the major major news media mention it. No flags were lower to half staff.
Well the Convicted FElon keeps the news focus on him.
www.wvva.com/2025/12/10/s...
Spc. Sarah Beckstrom laid to rest with full military honors at W.Va. National Cemetery
Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was laid to rest with full military honors Tuesday in Grafton.
www.wvva.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Brave and faithful soldier. RIP. 🇺🇸
Reposted by Elaine
Aging Out of Fucks: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore
Your brain's middle finger to people-pleasing
www.blog.lifebranches.com/p/aging-out-...
Your brain's middle finger to people-pleasing
www.blog.lifebranches.com/p/aging-out-...
Aging Out of Fucks: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore
Your brain's middle finger to people-pleasing
www.blog.lifebranches.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Aging Out of Fucks: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore
Your brain's middle finger to people-pleasing
www.blog.lifebranches.com/p/aging-out-...
Your brain's middle finger to people-pleasing
www.blog.lifebranches.com/p/aging-out-...
Reposted by Elaine
I am very sympathetic to those who have built something on substack for years and are having trouble leaving. But to begin a substack now? In late 2025? idk man!!!!
December 12, 2025 at 4:53 AM
I am very sympathetic to those who have built something on substack for years and are having trouble leaving. But to begin a substack now? In late 2025? idk man!!!!
Reposted by Elaine
This is insane. No one’s coming.
One under-appreciated part of this: note the bit below about “and their dependents.”
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
From the US Embassy in London today.
December 12, 2025 at 2:34 AM
This is insane. No one’s coming.
Reposted by Elaine
It’s in his neighborhood. He’s literally wants it not in his backyard.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has been advocating for pro-housing policies like upzoning.
So why is he opposing new housing in the Marina, one of the city's toniest enclaves?
via @io-y-g.bsky.social & @kellywaldron.bsky.social
missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-m...
So why is he opposing new housing in the Marina, one of the city's toniest enclaves?
via @io-y-g.bsky.social & @kellywaldron.bsky.social
missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-m...
Why is San Francisco’s pro-housing mayor opposing new housing in the Marina?
Mayor Daniel Lurie is against a 25-story waterfront tower in the Marina, one of the city’s toniest enclaves
missionlocal.org
December 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
It’s in his neighborhood. He’s literally wants it not in his backyard.
Reposted by Elaine
Every now and again, I like to repost this. Single Family and prohibition of mixed use (proprietors living above businesses) were invented in California and aimed at restricting Asian Americans. It's indefensible
www.kqed.org/news/1184054...
www.kqed.org/news/1184054...
The Racist History of Single-Family Home Zoning | KQED
When single-family zoning got its start, it was about more than separating homes from apartments, it was about separating white families from everyone else.
www.kqed.org
December 11, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Every now and again, I like to repost this. Single Family and prohibition of mixed use (proprietors living above businesses) were invented in California and aimed at restricting Asian Americans. It's indefensible
www.kqed.org/news/1184054...
www.kqed.org/news/1184054...
Reposted by Elaine
Some experts expressed disagreement about whether the President can fly by flapping his arms very fast
December 12, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Some experts expressed disagreement about whether the President can fly by flapping his arms very fast
Reposted by Elaine
Donald Trump and David Sacks aren't making policy – they're running a con. This executive order does little to protect innovation or the interests of Americans.
California will continue building a nation-leading innovation economy while implementing common sense safeguards.
California will continue building a nation-leading innovation economy while implementing common sense safeguards.
Trump signs order to fight state AI laws
President Trump signed Thursday night an executive order to impose a national AI standard, a move that would limit states’ efforts to enact their own AI laws. “We have to be unified. Chin…
thehill.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Donald Trump and David Sacks aren't making policy – they're running a con. This executive order does little to protect innovation or the interests of Americans.
California will continue building a nation-leading innovation economy while implementing common sense safeguards.
California will continue building a nation-leading innovation economy while implementing common sense safeguards.
Reposted by Elaine
When asked who holds him to account, Phoebe CEO Scott Steiner said, “I hope that our consumers do, right? ... They can do that by electing to get care elsewhere.”
Except in Albany, they don’t have anywhere else to go.
This is Part 5 of "Sick in a Hospital Town" ⬇️
Except in Albany, they don’t have anywhere else to go.
This is Part 5 of "Sick in a Hospital Town" ⬇️
Sick in a Hospital Town, Part 5: Too Big to Fight
When a well-off, widely respected pillar of the community and member of the hospital’s board can’t get the care he needed at Phoebe, it raises the question: Who can?
projects.propublica.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:05 AM
When asked who holds him to account, Phoebe CEO Scott Steiner said, “I hope that our consumers do, right? ... They can do that by electing to get care elsewhere.”
Except in Albany, they don’t have anywhere else to go.
This is Part 5 of "Sick in a Hospital Town" ⬇️
Except in Albany, they don’t have anywhere else to go.
This is Part 5 of "Sick in a Hospital Town" ⬇️
Reposted by Elaine
The turkey pardons are no longer the fakest pardons a president has claimed to issue.
December 12, 2025 at 2:01 AM
The turkey pardons are no longer the fakest pardons a president has claimed to issue.
Reposted by Elaine
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that negotiators in U.S.-led peace talks are wrestling with Russian demands for Ukrainian territory.
Zelenskyy says US-led peace talks wrestling with Russian demands for Ukrainian territory
www.stripes.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that negotiators in U.S.-led peace talks are wrestling with Russian demands for Ukrainian territory.
Reposted by Elaine
We the people have power. Use it. When we do, we get results.
Buttigieg on Indiana: "The big part of how Trumpism works is to make you feel totally disempowered. To make him feel inevitable. And yet the clear takeaway from this is he is not unstoppable and you are not without power."
December 12, 2025 at 1:23 AM
We the people have power. Use it. When we do, we get results.
Reposted by Elaine
....
One under-appreciated part of this: note the bit below about “and their dependents.”
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
From the US Embassy in London today.
December 12, 2025 at 1:24 AM
....
Okay, two batches of Waldorf salad is enough batches for <checks calendar> this autumn. 🍎
December 12, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Okay, two batches of Waldorf salad is enough batches for <checks calendar> this autumn. 🍎
Reposted by Elaine
A pleasing crab.
Crab, from the Fish from American Waters series (N8) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands, 1889, by Allen & Ginter
Class: Prints
Medium: Commercial color lithograph
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/407066
Class: Prints
Medium: Commercial color lithograph
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/407066
December 12, 2025 at 12:31 AM
A pleasing crab.
Reposted by Elaine
The fact that parts of Washington are seeing record-breaking flooding this week is not surprising given that 1) many locations saw record 24hr precipitation (well above 100yr ARI) & 2) near-record temperatures *simultaneously* (no snow in mtns, so all precip became runoff). #WAwx
December 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
The fact that parts of Washington are seeing record-breaking flooding this week is not surprising given that 1) many locations saw record 24hr precipitation (well above 100yr ARI) & 2) near-record temperatures *simultaneously* (no snow in mtns, so all precip became runoff). #WAwx
Reposted by Elaine
I couldn’t leave Chicago without getting a cut from my old barber, Zariff!
December 11, 2025 at 11:56 PM
I couldn’t leave Chicago without getting a cut from my old barber, Zariff!
Reposted by Elaine
oh fuck no
Here's what some of the new National Park Service passes will look like, starting Jan 1
December 11, 2025 at 8:57 PM
oh fuck no
Reposted by Elaine
🌊 After a 30-year absence, juvenile coho salmon were documented in Ackerman Creek north of Ukiah. State officials say the discovery signals progress in salmon recovery efforts.
mendovoice.com/2025/12/juve...
#mendocinocounty #salmon #california #conservation
mendovoice.com/2025/12/juve...
#mendocinocounty #salmon #california #conservation
Juvenile coho salmon found in Mendocino County after 30-year absence • The Mendocino Voice | Mendocino County, CA
The discovery of juvenile Coho salmon in a tributary north of Ukiah marks the first confirmed natural reproduction in the upper Russian River basin in more than three decades.
mendovoice.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:28 PM
🌊 After a 30-year absence, juvenile coho salmon were documented in Ackerman Creek north of Ukiah. State officials say the discovery signals progress in salmon recovery efforts.
mendovoice.com/2025/12/juve...
#mendocinocounty #salmon #california #conservation
mendovoice.com/2025/12/juve...
#mendocinocounty #salmon #california #conservation
Reposted by Elaine
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from federal immigration detention on a judge's order Thursday while he continues to fight to stay in the U.S., handing a major victory for the immigrant who has become a flashpoint of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
buff.ly/ihXyKId
buff.ly/ihXyKId
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Freed From Federal Immigration Detention, His Attorney Says
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from immigration detention on a judge’s order Thursday while he fights the Trump administration’s deportation order.
www.mississippifreepress.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from federal immigration detention on a judge's order Thursday while he continues to fight to stay in the U.S., handing a major victory for the immigrant who has become a flashpoint of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
buff.ly/ihXyKId
buff.ly/ihXyKId
Reposted by Elaine
Thank goodness the majority of Americans are not hate-filled MAGAs.
New AP poll has Trump's approval on immigration down to an abysmal 38% as he rants psychotically about "shithole countries," smears Somalis, threatens large-scale denaturalization and remigration, and openly pines for more white immigrants and fewer nonwhite ones
December 11, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Thank goodness the majority of Americans are not hate-filled MAGAs.