Nissa Mitchell

More seriously: There are entry points bats can use to get into parts of our house (largely to do with it being old) that we need to patch up so bats can’t get in anymore.

It’s when you teach bats who are struggling to read good how to read better. Very pricey. Bats are really not good at reading. Poor vision and whatnot.

@eckblad.bsky.social, do tiny little baby boi speakers ala what you’d find in what’s essentially a Nintendo Switch knockoff also fall into your wheelhouse?

A speaker wire in an Odin 2 Portal that appears to have gotten caught on a screw standoff and cut when the device was assembled.

Do I know anyone in the Twin Cities who is capable of soldering/repairing small wires? Or, does anyone know someone who is? I got a fun little Android handheld from China (Odin 2 Portal), their QA left something to be desired, and I haven't heard back from them. Happy to pay!

I do hope that sustained increased engagement will be a lasting silver lining of the federal occupation. So many organizations stepped up and so many connections were made with neighbors. I hope we can leverage them going forward.

I mean, yeah. We had a chance with Frey recently, but sadly didn’t have a clear charismatic option. Omar was great, and compared to Zohran, but couldn’t deliver the same excitement and charisma.

The CMs blocking rent relief are a disgrace.

Which local officials are you wanting to hold accountable? The biggest accountability lever we have is getting involved, being informed, and exercising our voting rights. It takes effort, but I’m hopeful running candidates who have clear vision, excite folks, and aren’t focus-grouped, will help.

Millennials coming to power to deliver on the promises boomers broke is 🤌🏻. Many of us were raised to believe in the American dream. And, when we found out it was a lie, became disillusioned. But, we can make the American dream real. Our parents gave us a moral clarity they themselves often lack.

I’ve been planning to get more involved with them for a while. Great group of folks.

A window with a white cellular shade and wood trim around it, as well as a conspicuously large shadow toward the top being cast from the other side of the blind.

Poor little guy.

TL;DR: being a landlord is not morally neutral, and won't become morally neutral without significant societal changes. Landlords who care about their fellow humans should be invested in ensuring housing is a human right and they can pursue their chosen profession without exploiting others.

However, even then, turning a profit often means exploiting vulnerable people and contributing to a system that perpetuates inequity. So, a landlord with a conscience ought to also actively lobby for housing/zoning reform—until housing is finally treated as a human right and they can sleep at night.

The least a landlord can do in this environment is understand the power dynamic at play; maintain their property to their own standard of living; plan for unexpected expenses and disruptions (including tenants losing their jobs, etc.); and only raise rent if absolutely necessary to ensure the above.

This is what makes being a landlord exploitative/parasitic: the fact that housing is not *optional*, and home ownership is unattainable for many due to high costs, so they're *forced* to pay someone else for the same product at a significant mark up.

Regardless, the end result is that housing costs are so high that a huge number of people are *forced* to rent. Not because they *want to* or *benefit* from it, but because it's all that's available. It's similar to forcing people to buy bottled water after removing their access to the tap.

There are a lot of reasons for this: lack of appropriate subsidies (as mentioned); housing demand exceeds supply; real-estate investors further constrain supply by sitting on available or undeveloped properties; landlords, investors, and NIMBYs fight zoning/housing reform that would help; etc.

However, this isn't true when it comes to housing because we don't subsidize housing (especially in North America) to the degree we subsidize other essential goods/services. And what's more, there is a significant *shortage* of affordable housing across the board.

No one yells at Perrier (or Voss, or whatever the new trendy bottled water is) about exploiting people, because it's understood they aren't providing an *essential* good/service. You can (in almost every developed area) go home, open up the faucet, and get a practically free glass of water.

Not every rental property serves this basic purpose. Some are decidedly "luxury"—targeting people with disposable income who could easily afford to buy a home or live somewhere else and who simply don't want to for whatever reason. Similar to how you *need* water, but you don't *need* Perrier.

As anyone who has been unhoused or experienced housing insecurity can tell you, having a safe place to sleep isn't optional. Stable housing is the foundation that everything else builds off of. Not having it makes it incredibly difficult (and often impossible) to get/keep a job, healthcare, etc.

Landlording is a business. Like many businesses, your success is entirely dependent on how effectively you balance your costs with your ability to generate income from the goods/services you provide. However, unlike some other businesses, many of the goods/services landlords provide are *essential.*

One of the biggest things I miss about teaching (middle school mild/moderate special education) is getting to be a safe person for some really great kids who society really did a shit job of including, and making them feel welcome. It was good for the soul, if not my bank account and free time.

The world is such a fucking unkind place for people who don’t just “fit in.” I really love seeing kids pushing past the discomfort, fear, and anxiety of being different. And, I wish I could just give them all a hug/high five/fist bump/politely not make eye contact and tell them I think they’re rad.

Shout out to the autistic 2nd grader who walked up to my kids at a local restaurant, asked their names, ages, where they go to school, and if they’d like to be their friend.

You’re doing it, I’m so proud of you. Also, pro tip: try to wait until you walk away before shoving your hand in your mouth.

This is how I feel as well. I’m almost a little mad about it.

The long arm of enshittification comes for everything, and human knowledge, skill, and aptitude is next.

I think my biggest fear with AI—aside from how many people may lose their jobs without a real social safety net, and how much of our planet will be ruined using fossil fuels to power it—is the way in which it allows dumb people to do dumb things at a scale that hurts others while *feeling* smart.

Colleague: I have a problem I'd like to solve.
Me: Hell yeah, let's do it. What's the problem?
Colleague: SOLUTION!
Me: Sorry, that's a solution. Not a problem. But, based on that solution, is the problem X?
Colleague: No?
Me: Okay, what's the problem?
Colleague: So...solut...solution?
Me: *Sigh*

Wait, what 180? I'm not aware of any substantive changes to Target's whole deal post capitulation.

Trans rights *should* be a non-issue. They became one due to manufactured outrage by Republicans, and outlets like the NYT and The Atlantic preying on the existing “ick” people have for trans folks for clicks. The way back is not through concessions. It’s through uncompromising, no-nonsense support.