breakingthewordcages

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Windows 11's latest update is resulting in SSD failures if it reaches 60% capacity. The update wipes the drive and unmounts it.

If you are on Windows 11, please don't update. If you have already updated, please look up how to roll back your update

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The Federal Trade Commission of the US is currently accepting public comment on gender affirming care for minors until September 26 2025.

Specifically, the language from their website states: "the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand how consumers may have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about “gender-affirming care”, especially as it relates to minors, and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing. On July 9, 2025, the FTC hosted a workshop on unfair or deceptive trade practices in “gender-affirming care” for minors. The FTC heard testimony from doctors, medical ethicists, whistleblowers, detransitioners, and parents of detransitioners. That testimony indicated that practitioners of “gender-affirming care” may be actively deceiving consumers."

BASICALLY the FTC is trying to portray affirming healthcare as a scam which has been pushed on families, harming minors, who were not given enough information ahead of time of the consequences of the care. The framing of this is all very biased. But we can comment with positive stories of care to try and destroy this framework.

Advocates for Trans Equality created a really good webpage explaining this situation. They also created a template to help you write up a comment. If you scroll down to the bottom of their webpage, there's a link where you can submit comments to them, and they will resubmit your comments to the FTC anonymously. If you do not care about anonymity, you can also submit your comment to the FTC directly here. This document lists a bunch of questions the FTC is asking, and I've seen some folks online say your comment will be taken more seriously if you directly address these questions. However, heads up, these questions are pretty transphobic and if you never had a bad experience with a trans affirming healthcare your answer to basically all of them will just be "no that didn't happen" or "not applicable."

Here is the comment I wrote and submitted:

The FTC commission seems to be laboring under the delusion that gender affirming care is currently easily accessible or being pushing on people who aren't sure they want it. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Every single person I know who has received gender affirming care, including myself, had to fight to access it. We had to ask over and over, jump through hoops, and pass by many gatekeepers trying to make this care harder to receive. I was only able to access care after talking with a therapist for over a year, being referred to a gender specialist at Kaiser, taking online zoom workshops, and getting on a long wait list for surgeons. Most people wait a minimum of 3 to 6 months, and sometimes over a year, before they are able to make a surgery appointment for routine procedures such as a double mastectomy or a hysterectomy. And at every step of the way, the healthcare providers I saw were extremely clear on the potential outcomes, including risk factors. I was fully and well informed. I knew that receiving top surgery meant I would not be able to breast fed in the future; I also knew it did not completely erase the potential for breast cancer, because my healthcare providers were very clear on these points. I went into my surgery with calm confidence because I knew what I wanted and was sure that the surgery results would match my expectations. Which they did! I was incredibly happy with the results and five years later I have zero regrets. Receiving this surgery vastly improved my life, including my mental and physical health. It made me feel more at home in my own body, more aligned with my own identity, more confident as I move through the world. It also made it easier for me to exercise and take care of other aspects of my health. There isn't even one aspect of harm or any adverse affects from the gender affirming care I received; it was completely and glowingly positive in every way. This is the most common experience of receiving gender affirming care: feeling affirmed, joyful, and happy.

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september,

please be good to the person reading this

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I! DON'T! WANT! ANOTHER! GODDAMN! APP!

PUT IT! ON! YOUR FUCKING! WEBSITE!!

"Scan our handy QR code-" I WILL DRIVE TO YOUR PLACE OF BUSINESS, STAND IN YOUR LOBBY, AND SCREAM AT A FREQUENCY THAT WILL SHATTER GLASS

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The Stunning Astronomical Beadwork of Native Artist Margaret Nazon

Margaret Nazon has spent the past decade building intricate beadwork depictions of outer space. The colorful artworks balance representational and stylized aesthetics set on black fabric backgrounds to depict galaxies, planets, nebulae, and other astronomical phenomena.

Initially inspired by Hubble space telescope images, Nazon’s celestial renderings are part of a lifelong interest in beading. In an interview with Glenbow, the artist shared that she began beading at age 10, but found the density of traditional beadwork to be tedious.

The abstract nature of celestial images allows Nazon to be more interpretive and incorporate different materials like caribou bones and willow seeds that have location-specific or cultural significance. Nazon is Tsiigehtchic, part of the Gwich’in community in what is now the Northwest Territories of Canada. The artist explained that because she is retired, she is able to dedicate significant time to beading, and often rises at 4:30am to begin working. Nazon plans to continue experimenting, including merging her abstract beadwork with her seamstress skills to create artfully embellished apparel.

Nazon’s artwork was most recently exhibited at Glenbow in a group show, Cosmos, and A Beaded Universe at Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. You can read more about her in the Glenbow interview, and explore Nazon’s portfolio on her website.

source article: X

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would be fascinated if you added the metric by which you measure the concept of "a better life"

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Today, the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand how consumers may have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about “gender-affirming care”, especially as it relates to minors, and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing. In a Request for Information, the FTC encourages members of the public to comment on any issues or concerns that are relevant to the FTC’s consideration of this topic, including by submitting any written data, advertisements, social media posts, disclosures, or empirical research.

The public will have 60 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov, no later than September 26, 2025. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. Individuals wishing to submit confidential, non-public comments should reference the alternative submission guidelines in the RFI. 

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Pen, what are the pro's and con's of becoming a single cat lady versus attempting after ANOTHER failure to romance someone?

cat lady lifestyle

pros:

what are we watching on tv? whatever i want.

talking stage? she cannot talk. problem solved.

covid-conscious queen. never leaves the house.

will listen to how my day went as long as i want to talk.

what are we having for dinner? whatever i want to eat. she will have kibble.

she has her own place to sleep at night and doesn't hog my bed.

does not have the possibility of secretly being a serial killer. (...fingers crossed)

cons:

cannot tell me if she doesn't feel good

cuddle boundaries enforced with chomps

eating GODDAMN PLASTIC >:(

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Here’s something else I’ve been curious about.

This quiz is about novels only. Or, if you will, works of fiction that tell a story and that you are typically expected to start, read till you reach the end, and then finish once you do so.

Reference books (e.g.) are not typically meant to be read cover to cover. This poll is not about them.

By “read” I mean “reading from cover to cover like it was your first time reading it”. Flipping through a book you like is Good and Cool but not within the scope of this poll.

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Credit: Sebastian Odd Violin

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“the possibility of rejection is essential to forming deep relationships with people” - chanté joseph for british vogue

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food thats bad webweave