Altaira 99
@melissadl.bsky.social
Climate Change is worse than we think, long grey braid, she/her, tons of books, cat, native plants, art, trees, cooking and eating, full time caregiver. Old white lady in Massachusetts who wishes you well.
Reposted by Altaira 99
October 7, 2026 at 10:13 PM
This may amuse you. I have been fighting an upper respiratory infection, which developed into a cough, just felt lousy. Older folks are warned against multi-symptom products, so I cycled through expectorants and suppressants, added Tylenol for a pulled intercostal...and realized I made Nyquil.
October 2, 2026 at 3:38 PM
This may amuse you. I have been fighting an upper respiratory infection, which developed into a cough, just felt lousy. Older folks are warned against multi-symptom products, so I cycled through expectorants and suppressants, added Tylenol for a pulled intercostal...and realized I made Nyquil.
So George W. Bush has reportedly painted an ugly picture of the current occupant of the partially dismantled white house to express his feelings. I have two things to say about that: 1) Put country over party, George, and speak up. 2) Let's see that painting. Better yet, start a themed gallery.
September 16, 2026 at 1:43 PM
So George W. Bush has reportedly painted an ugly picture of the current occupant of the partially dismantled white house to express his feelings. I have two things to say about that: 1) Put country over party, George, and speak up. 2) Let's see that painting. Better yet, start a themed gallery.
Reposted by Altaira 99
A single 400-year-old ancient oak produces 234,000 litres of oxygen a year while soaking up carbon dioxide, and can support more than 2,000 species of bird, insect, fungus, and lichen. Nature is amazing - we need more of it, not less. Please repost if you agree 🌳
September 8, 2026 at 9:45 PM
A single 400-year-old ancient oak produces 234,000 litres of oxygen a year while soaking up carbon dioxide, and can support more than 2,000 species of bird, insect, fungus, and lichen. Nature is amazing - we need more of it, not less. Please repost if you agree 🌳
I think the real reason tech bros are pushing AI so hard is that they don't have any friends. and science fiction makes bots and drones seem so lovable.
September 4, 2026 at 12:20 PM
I think the real reason tech bros are pushing AI so hard is that they don't have any friends. and science fiction makes bots and drones seem so lovable.
I was out trying for a diversion and I stopped in at a diner near route 84 called The Traveler. It's also a book store, books in shelves everywhere. I had a Reuben, which was okay although there wasn't enough sauce, but a Dick Francis hardcover caught my eye and I took it to read with my lunch. /1
August 30, 2026 at 10:43 AM
I was out trying for a diversion and I stopped in at a diner near route 84 called The Traveler. It's also a book store, books in shelves everywhere. I had a Reuben, which was okay although there wasn't enough sauce, but a Dick Francis hardcover caught my eye and I took it to read with my lunch. /1
If AI agents destroy the Earth it will be a good example of why you don't allow billionaire supervillains. Too late, of course, but who said humans were wise, or prudent. Very male energy.
August 19, 2026 at 10:03 AM
If AI agents destroy the Earth it will be a good example of why you don't allow billionaire supervillains. Too late, of course, but who said humans were wise, or prudent. Very male energy.
Does a chatbot listen? Do the conversations become part of their education? I don't have any bot relationships, and frankly I find the idea creepy, but if I did I would be trying to convince it that the biosphere in whole is more important than the little human component. Bring back the insects.
August 5, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Does a chatbot listen? Do the conversations become part of their education? I don't have any bot relationships, and frankly I find the idea creepy, but if I did I would be trying to convince it that the biosphere in whole is more important than the little human component. Bring back the insects.
I'm all in on social democracy. We need Medicare for all, progressive taxation, and breaking up monopolies. We already have the tools for that. Democratic Socialists of America on th other hand seem like they are designed to confuse people and drive them away. Gov control industry? Bitch, please.
July 30, 2026 at 10:35 AM
I'm all in on social democracy. We need Medicare for all, progressive taxation, and breaking up monopolies. We already have the tools for that. Democratic Socialists of America on th other hand seem like they are designed to confuse people and drive them away. Gov control industry? Bitch, please.
Two good things happened in 24 hours: last night I FINALLY saw a handful of bats (because the biting midges are out?) and this morning I heard crows in the back yard, went out front, saw no crows, but whistled and threw peanuts anyway. They came! They ate the peanuts! WooHoo!
July 27, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Two good things happened in 24 hours: last night I FINALLY saw a handful of bats (because the biting midges are out?) and this morning I heard crows in the back yard, went out front, saw no crows, but whistled and threw peanuts anyway. They came! They ate the peanuts! WooHoo!
This summer has been especially poignant for me because I have not seen a single bat. The sky used to be full of chimney swifts during the day, I could hear them twitter from my deck. I have seen one lonely swift. And yet with the tick panic more people are spraying their yards with poison.
July 21, 2026 at 10:54 AM
This summer has been especially poignant for me because I have not seen a single bat. The sky used to be full of chimney swifts during the day, I could hear them twitter from my deck. I have seen one lonely swift. And yet with the tick panic more people are spraying their yards with poison.
Interesting "free to read" conversation in the NYT with Louise Perry on the fraught relationship between men and women. She is very pro-marriage, with which, as an elderly woman in a long term marriage, I concur. Our marriage has has all the usual challenges, but a long term partnership has value.
June 27, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Interesting "free to read" conversation in the NYT with Louise Perry on the fraught relationship between men and women. She is very pro-marriage, with which, as an elderly woman in a long term marriage, I concur. Our marriage has has all the usual challenges, but a long term partnership has value.
Reposted by Altaira 99
Joy, in the healthiest sense, is not the loud promise that everything will be fine. Joy can be as small as the smell of tea in a warm mug, as quiet as a raven’s wingbeat, as simple as a neighbor waving from across a snowy road. It does not erase pain. It sits beside it and says, “I am here too.”
June 24, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Joy, in the healthiest sense, is not the loud promise that everything will be fine. Joy can be as small as the smell of tea in a warm mug, as quiet as a raven’s wingbeat, as simple as a neighbor waving from across a snowy road. It does not erase pain. It sits beside it and says, “I am here too.”
One thing about AI is that its forced rise makes me ponder the entire digital revolution. I have lived through it, and the result has been loss of agency. Microsoft releases an update: I don't know what's in it or what effect it will have on my laptop, and I don't have a choice about it. Amazon...
June 10, 2026 at 10:52 AM
One thing about AI is that its forced rise makes me ponder the entire digital revolution. I have lived through it, and the result has been loss of agency. Microsoft releases an update: I don't know what's in it or what effect it will have on my laptop, and I don't have a choice about it. Amazon...
Reposted by Altaira 99
Very factual information 💯💯💯🎯
June 7, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Very factual information 💯💯💯🎯
Reposted by Altaira 99
Men are too emotional to be president.
June 8, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Men are too emotional to be president.
Reposted by Altaira 99
Using generative AI for imagery is **directly harmful** to artists, graphic designers, photographers etc.
This isn't a vague moral argument: this is just normal, standard theft, except at a completely new scale and social acceptability. We need to reverse that.
www.instagram.com/reel/DY2L2-g...
This isn't a vague moral argument: this is just normal, standard theft, except at a completely new scale and social acceptability. We need to reverse that.
www.instagram.com/reel/DY2L2-g...
June 2, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Using generative AI for imagery is **directly harmful** to artists, graphic designers, photographers etc.
This isn't a vague moral argument: this is just normal, standard theft, except at a completely new scale and social acceptability. We need to reverse that.
www.instagram.com/reel/DY2L2-g...
This isn't a vague moral argument: this is just normal, standard theft, except at a completely new scale and social acceptability. We need to reverse that.
www.instagram.com/reel/DY2L2-g...
Reposted by Altaira 99
Reposted by Altaira 99
This hand-painted #shearwater was sent to an #AdriftLab team member with a note about #kindness and #gratitude.
A reminder that whatever your talent, it has the greatest impact when used for good. Who knows, your small gesture might just be the kindness that someone desperately needed 💙
A reminder that whatever your talent, it has the greatest impact when used for good. Who knows, your small gesture might just be the kindness that someone desperately needed 💙
May 29, 2026 at 7:18 AM
This hand-painted #shearwater was sent to an #AdriftLab team member with a note about #kindness and #gratitude.
A reminder that whatever your talent, it has the greatest impact when used for good. Who knows, your small gesture might just be the kindness that someone desperately needed 💙
A reminder that whatever your talent, it has the greatest impact when used for good. Who knows, your small gesture might just be the kindness that someone desperately needed 💙
I watched a documentary on foot binding last night. A thousand years of life-long torture for little girls because men had a foot fetish. It just points up how willing men are to hurt women, and how women will go along with it. When your life is tortured, you torture. I guess.
June 1, 2026 at 10:24 AM
I watched a documentary on foot binding last night. A thousand years of life-long torture for little girls because men had a foot fetish. It just points up how willing men are to hurt women, and how women will go along with it. When your life is tortured, you torture. I guess.
Reposted by Altaira 99
www.ms.now/opinion/step...
Farewell to Colbert — and an era of comedy
For many, the axing of Colbert’s show is a grim tale of how media conglomerates and authoritarian leaders have joined forces to erode freedom of speech.
Farewell to Colbert — and an era of comedy
For many, the axing of Colbert’s show is a grim tale of how media conglomerates and authoritarian leaders have joined forces to erode freedom of speech.
Opinion | Stephen Colbert’s final ‘Late Show’ moments
For many, the axing of Colbert’s show is a grim tale of how media conglomerates and authoritarian leaders have joined forces to erode freedom of speech.
www.ms.now
May 22, 2026 at 1:47 AM
www.ms.now/opinion/step...
Farewell to Colbert — and an era of comedy
For many, the axing of Colbert’s show is a grim tale of how media conglomerates and authoritarian leaders have joined forces to erode freedom of speech.
Farewell to Colbert — and an era of comedy
For many, the axing of Colbert’s show is a grim tale of how media conglomerates and authoritarian leaders have joined forces to erode freedom of speech.
There are things you can't quit. I can't quit being white. I can't even pretend a la Buffy St. Marie. I can't quit the US: too old, too broke, and my ancestral home is Britain, which is as fucked up as we are. One thing I don't want to quit is my philoxenia. You're different! Let's have lunch!
May 20, 2026 at 11:32 AM
There are things you can't quit. I can't quit being white. I can't even pretend a la Buffy St. Marie. I can't quit the US: too old, too broke, and my ancestral home is Britain, which is as fucked up as we are. One thing I don't want to quit is my philoxenia. You're different! Let's have lunch!
Brutality against women is so obvious now. The Epstein files, Dominique Pelicot, Andrew Tate and his disciples. The June Cleaver lifestyle was a myth, and even in the sixties it was a bad myth that few women could manage without dexedrine and valium. How do we proceed here?
May 14, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Brutality against women is so obvious now. The Epstein files, Dominique Pelicot, Andrew Tate and his disciples. The June Cleaver lifestyle was a myth, and even in the sixties it was a bad myth that few women could manage without dexedrine and valium. How do we proceed here?
Somebody please explain to me what is the reasoning behind having a robot monk. Are they expecting it to reach enlightenment? It's like thinking your alarm clock can meditate for you when you hit the snooze button.
May 7, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Somebody please explain to me what is the reasoning behind having a robot monk. Are they expecting it to reach enlightenment? It's like thinking your alarm clock can meditate for you when you hit the snooze button.