As of late May, you cannot buy games on Wii U or 3DS. The consoles are effectively abandoned. But, in that darkness, I come bearing light.
Have you ever wanted to be able to turn off your gamepad screen on games that don’t use it? What about lock Breath of the Wild at a rock solid 30 fps, even in the forest? What about modify BotW to play as Linkle, a girl version of Link, or as Zelda herself in an all new story? How about boot any Gamecube or Wii game and play them perfectly, or even with hacks of their own?
The console is abandoned, but not by us. Hacking your Wii U is easier than ever, and now impossible to brick by accident thanks to the new custom firmware, Tiramisu.
A lot of people in the US are super worried about the Supreme Court axing Roe v. Wade, but what they might not know is that some states have laws in place that will protect the right to reproductive choice and abortion if that happens. One of these states is the state of Illinois. In 2019, a law was passed that protects abortion rights within the state even if the federal right to an abortion falls. This means that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion will still be a protected right in Illinois. Even before Roe, Chicago was a haven for safe abortions- you just called and asked for Jane.
Now, safe abortion access is the law of the land in IL, and there are several groups who can help you. This post is long, but I think it’s worthwhile. Even if you don’t read all the way through it, maybe save it for later. You or someone you know might need it. If you want to stop now, the TL;DR is this:
f you’re a minor and you can’t tell your parents, get a waiver of notification from the IL Judicial Bypass program.
Schedule your appointment.
Contact abortion funds to get financial aid. Your home state might have s fund, and the Chicago Abortion Fund can help.
Secure housing for the procedure through the Midwest Access Coalition or by talking to the intake staff at the clinic of your choice.
I’d like to start by saying that the closer to home you get your abortion, should you need one, the easier it will be for you… probably. It depends on your individual situation AND your safety. If I still lived in Indiana and I needed an abortion, I’d probably leave to get it done, even though there are abortion providers in Indiana, because Indiana is super hostile and there’s lots of clinic protestors- for example, when I was taking my GRE my senior year at Notre Dame, the testing center was in this little strip mall in Mishawaka next to Planned Parenthood. Despite the fact that the PP in Mishawaka does not provide abortions, there were protestors who yelled at me for going in there. I wasn’t even going to PP. I’d like to say that I said something devastatingly cool but I just ran in flustered. Point being: It really, really would have sucked if I was there for healthcare instead of a standardized test for graduate school. And that’s a very tame, mild situation! Real abortion clinic protests are often much more devastating!
ANYWAYS. The less you have to travel, the easier things tend to be, if it’s safe to get an abortion where you are and if your state will have protected abortions if Roe is overturned. If you’re not sure what might happen in your state in that case, this map has a clear, succinct overview of the legal status of abortion in each state and all US territories. You will want to click through to that link, because this image isn’t interactive.
[ID: a map of the US with states and territories sorted by their legal protections for abortion into four categories: expanded access in the case of Roe v. Wade being overturned, protected, not protected, and hostile. IL is highlighted.]
So let’s say you live in any of those red states. (Yellow and blue are safe- abortion access is protected there.) Let’s say, worst case scenario, Roe gets overturned and you get pregnant and you want to terminate. You will be able to do that in IL, and it’s relatively easy to do that in Chicago for a relatively low cost and with the benefit of a robust support network of people who want to reaffirm your reproductive choices.
First, if you’re a minor and you don’t want to tell your parents because it’s not safe for you to do so, get a judicial waiver of parental notification. The IL ACLU has a judicial bypass hotline. This will come at no cost to you. Do this ASAP, because it takes time to get it set up! You can do this by calling the hotline at 877-442-9727, texting 312-560-6607, or emailing [email protected].
Next, you need to get an appointment set up. You could get a referral from someone local to you, but this can be tricky- 87% of counties in the US don’t have an abortion provider, and google can lead you to a crisis pregnancy center. They will not help you. If you have a local Planned Parenthood, call them. Even if they don’t provide abortions, they can refer you to someone who can. If you’re coming to Chicago, which this post… kind of assumes you are… you can call any of these groups to talk about your options and what clinics can help you. I recommend starting with FPA or PP; those are two actual clinics. MAC and CAF are funds- they can direct you but they can’t schedule an appointment for you.
You might want to shop around and see which clinic costs the least, and is the most practical for you to get to. FPA has a lot of patient resources, as does PP. Don’t be afraid to ask for financial assistance. The people staffing those organizations have extensive networks and deep compassion for their patients- if the clinic can’t help, they might know who can.
Once you’ve made an appointment, now’s the time to start gathering financial aid. Some insurance, including IL Medicaid, covers it. If yours does not, or if the copay is still too much, this is where abortion funds come into play. Many states have their own abortion funds for state residents, so you might have to look around to see who can help you. I’d start with the National Network of Abortion Funds.
You also need to figure out transportation and housing while you’re in the city to get your abortion. This isn’t super necessary if you’re just coming for the pill abortion, but if you’re coming for a d and c or other surgical procedure, you will be staying for a couple of days. THIS is why I’m writing this up, because abortion funds typically only are able to help cover the financial cost of the procedure. It’s expensive to stay somewhere and it can be absolutely terrifying if you’re on your own! Navigating while you’re in pain from the procedure can be an absolute devil of a time, too! However, Chicago has MAC (contact info above), which is a practicalaccess fund, which means that they help pay for transportation to the city (bus tickets and train tickets) and around the city (volunteer drivers or volunteers who take rideshares with clients), food, aftercare medicine (painkillers, etc.), and housing, and there’s also free access to emotional support staff throughout your stay. This is not just open to IL residents; it’s open to anyone coming to the city for an abortion. ALSO if you go through FPA, they have a partnership with the Hampton Inn a block away from their location where their patients get a discount. If you go that route, just talk to FPA about housing and they’ll hook you up. This can be super helpful if you need some evidence that you’re on a “business trip” or something like that- if you are in a position where you need an excuse for your safety, that might work well.
Hopefully you won’t need this post- but if you do, I hope it helps. Feel free to share it around. If you have anti-choice opinions and you feel the need to share, don’t. This isn’t the space for it; you will be blocked and your comments removed. And then remember that criminalizing abortion won’t stop abortion. It’ll just stop safe abortions. Also, increased access to abortion, funnily enough, tends to be the thing that lowers abortion rates, because increased access to abortion comes part and parcel with increased access to birth control and general health and sex education.
Reblogging this because it’s always relevant… and because an administrative decision by MAC’s incredible leadership means they don’t just do bus and train tickets anymore. They will also help pay for airline tickets if you need to fly. If you are in the US and need to come to Chicago for an abortion, MAC’s got your back.
Also, if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t travel, and you catch it early, you can do a medication abortion at home. This can either be clinician supported through telehealth or it can be a self-managed abortion (SMA). Either way, you can do this entirely online without ever having to go into a doctor’s office or clinic.
Now, this only works early in a pregnancy (up to 11-12 weeks), so if you’re in a situation where you suspect you may become pregnant and you don’t want to be, test early and often if you can. The various help lines can also help you figure out how far along you are.
More resources: https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/- this link is a good resource for talking about your legal options. If you’re a pregnant person of color, immigrant, or low-income (and using Medicaid) in an abortion-hostile state, I HIGHLY recommend talking through your legal options because you are absolutely targeted by politicians and the US legal system.
You can print these on sticker paper at home if you have it. It’s a good way to get the word out.
As of… thirty minutes ago on Monday, 2 May 2022, Politico got hold of Justice Alito’s draft statement on Roe. It’s not good. We’re probably gonna lose Roe vs. Wade in two months, and that means if you live in a red state, you’re VERY probably going to lose the right to a safe abortion.
I know this is a long post, but if Roe is overturned, it’s not going to stop abortions. It’s just going to stop safe abortions. Abortion access is reproductive healthcare, and a lot of states are going to get really restrictive. Indiana, my home state, has already put a woman in jail for having a miscarriage. Oklahoma lawmakers would rather let women with ectopic pregnancies die than allow lifesaving medical procedures. This is bad, but! Underground abortion networks did exist before Roe vs. Wade, and now we have the internet. We have robust networks in place to help people that the government would rather see dead or imprisoned. Even if Roe is overturned, some states will be safe havens for abortion. Travel to these states can be difficult, but not impossible– that’s what abortion networks and abortion funds are for.
Please save as much of this information as may be relevant to you. And if you’re “pro-life” and feel the need to comment on this post? Don’t. Your opinions and input are neither valued nor wanted. Abortion access is a vital, necessary part of reproductive healthcare.
It’s the bane of every language learner that wants to self study or study at home. If you are one of these self-learning warriors them you know what I mean. You have to create your own study schedule and plan your own curriculum and it can be a real P in the A. There are so many things to consider, such as your level, available time, your study style (which you can learn about here) and the goal of your learning. HOWEVER, despite all these variables, I am here to help you create your own customized language learning study planner that is both efficient and effective for YOU. So if you want to become a master study schedule maker, keep reading!
Friend: “hey my son can’t concentrate on his homework. He chooses to do literally anything else everytime. He said his head doesn’t feel like it.”
Me: “Did you give him music?”
Friend: “No! No tech until he’s done! He doesn’t need more distracted.”
Me:
“k, bring me the child”
*Go to her house*
*points to the obviously ADHD boy struggling with his homework*
Me: “so your head doesn’t feel like doing homework?”
Son: “yeah. It would rather do ANYTHING else.”
Me: *unwrapping earbuds* here, listen to this for an hour while you do it.
French voice: 1hr later
Son: “k I’m done! :-)”
Friend: “wow, what’d you give him? Concentra, Adderall, Ritalin‽”
Me: “Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics” and some lo-fi.
I-I’m gonna try this for myself
Go for it! From what I’ve seen, everyone has a different genre but instrumental (no words) seems to be key. I guess Sweet Dreams words are so ethereal, ADHD just rolls with it????
For me, orchestral covers of songs I know work best since my ADHD is using the extra hyperfocus to remember and keep up with words. Have fun experimenting!!
I have some arrangements of songs I did that I just loop. Mind you, these are, like, 1-3 minutes long, but the drone really helps with focus
Y'all I just listen to Lana Del Rey. Would recommend because with instrumentals I tend to focus on where actual words would be but with Lana’s stuff her vocals sound like music but it’s words
really wish I could’ve done this when I was spending 4 hours on every page of math homework in the 90′s. Fast forward to my last year of college when I finally figured out I could just listen to Blackmill and blaze through an entire semester of college math like it was nothing.
Find the study methods that work for you!!! Help kids find the study methods that work for them!
It takes me all day to do simple chores because i keep getting distracted. If i put in earbuds with upbeat music I’m done with everything in a couple hours AND i feel really good and probably danced a little i.e. exercised.
Try songs in another language - one you don’t speak. The idea is that since you don’t understand the words, your brain doesn’t go “Oh hey, someone is talking to me” and thus you can maintain your focus. Although, this is something probably best suited to writing. But on the other hand, if it works, it works.
Personally, I like Opera. BUT, I advise against using Pandora’s Opera Station. At least in the free version, it either cycles through the same ten Singers/Albums or drifts off into instrumental covers.
On the other hand, it’s great for background noise when gaming. Just be sure you have an ad blocker running. You will also have to confirm that you are listening every hour or so.
I don’t have food stamps but I need to know how to eat well for $4/day. Thank you for this.
I love this cookbook!
Tips and tricks on how to survive being working class.
I’ve seen this kind of thing before and a lot of them are full of random weird shit you’d never make…because of time constraints or like, it just sounds super gross.
But this one had a whole section that’s just “Things on Toast”. Another that was all about putting crap in your oatmeal to make it better. Those are fairly pedestrian and don’t take forever.
I haven’t looked through the whole thing yet but so far it’s actually pretty practical. Also if you’re broke like me and don’t know how to make Dal, you should get on that.
I also liked that there’s this at the beginning:
This book isn’t challenging you to live on so little; it’s a resource in case that’s your reality. In May 2014, there were 46 million Americans on food stamps. Untold millions more—in particular, retirees and students—live under similar constraints.
Been there. Done that. Advice on this art is always welcome.
The link above seems to be broken; here’s one that still works.
Friendly reminder that GIMP does pretty much everything Photoshop does, and it’s 100% free. Fuck DRM and the license culture, we have plenty of open source options available to us as a consumer.
Lightworks is a freeware video editor on par with Premiere
Blender is an excellent freeware 3D renderer,possibly better than After Effects
1. Adobe Story: An online collaborative screenwriting suite by Adobe that won’t cost you a dime.
2. BPC-Screenplay: A free screenwriting software developed in Berlin for Microsoft Windows.
3. Celtx: This popular browser-based screenwriting software has a paid and a free version.
4. DramaQueen: Also available as free and paid version.
5. DubScript: A mobile based free script writing software reader and writer for Android operating systems.
6. Page 2 Stage: An open-source software designed specifically for Windows users.
7. Plotbot: A browser-based free screenplay software that’s great for collaboration with another writer.
8. Story Touch: There’s a free version of this professional screenwriting software. Allows you to write and analyze your screenplay at the same time.
9. Trelby: Another open source free screenplay software currently only available for Microsoft Windows and Linux, but a Mac version is said to be on the way.
10. Writer Duet: A program that allows real-time collaborative work in which the writers immediately see all edits.
2020 Additions:
12. Fade In: Offers a free and paid version. The free demo is fully functional but is watermarked and about every 10 pages will remind you about their paid version.
13. Kit Scenarist: bare bones and not as well known as the others, but despite it being a bit clunky, it has much of the same functionality as other software
Edit: Amazon Story Writer is unfortunately no longer available.
If you want a good foundation of what AI systems are and are actually capable of, I suggest the free Elements of AI course. It’s a great entry point if you don’t know very much about AI and aren’t sure how seriously you should take popsci articles about it.
It’s very accessible; you don’t have to know how to program or be super technically minded, or know much more mathwise than basic arithmatic. It’s also non-condescending and refreshingly straightforward.
Even if you have no intention of studying AI systems in more depth, having a foundational knowledge of what’s really going on with them is extremely helpful with staying grounded in a time where news and pop culture treats AI like some sort of mystical force laymen can’t hope to understand.
