stuck-but-moving-blog

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

This is AMAZING!

For those who can’t go to the link, the following is what it says:

FYI, none of this is mine. It was posted by Bilton veterinary centre, the same one as in the picture. All credit goes to them but I felt it was important to get word out about some of the breeds of dogs that are riddled with health problems. If you own a pug that’s perfectly healthy that’s cool, but it’s doesn’t change the fact that an alarming number of short nosed (almost no nosed at this point) dogs have extreme difficulty with tasks like breathing and blinking.

 "So I am going to have a rant now and I apologise in advance if this upsets anyone, but here goes.

   Last week, I managed to reduce a lovely family to floods of tears.  They had brought their new dog in to come and see me.  There was a young lady, her husband and their two children of about 8 or 9 years old and they were all already absolutely besotted with their new pet - their first dog, and they had been planning it for several years.

   The dog was a 5-month-old French Bulldog that they had picked up from a breeder about 4 weeks previously.  They were concerned that their new dog may have “a chill” as the dog had sore runny eyes,  difficulty in eating and kept making a choking sound.  They had also noticed the dog had a “funny smell” about him. As I examined the dog it became quickly apparent what was occurring and my heart sank.

  This dog was yet another increasingly popular “short-nosed” breed that was suffering horribly from a myriad of problems - all related to its poor breeding and its unfortunate anatomy. After the examination, I found that this dog had: 

 - Eyeballs too big for its eye sockets. So much so, that when he blinked, the eyelids didn’t fully cover the eyeballs.  (Imagine going out on a windy day and not being able to blink!) This had resulted in deep painful ulcers forming on both eyes that in the short term would require intensive treatment and could feasibly result in the rupture of one or both eyeballs. 

  - The bones forming the front of his face (the maxilla) were so squashed by virtue of this style of this breed (called the brachycephalics), that the soft-tissue structures of the throat are compressed and forced backwards -  obstructing his larynx.  Amongst other things, his soft palate was so elongated (relative to his skull) that it kept getting trapped over his wind-pipe.

 -His nostrils were completely occluded, so absolutely no airflow was possible through his nose.  All of his breathing had to take place through his open mouth.  This meant that whilst he was eating/sleeping he was going through bouts of asphyxiation and so would have to spit the food out or wake up and open his mouth - purely so he would be able to breathe.  This explained the “choking” sound that there were hearing all the time.  He could just manage to breathe with his mouth open, but this then exacerbated the problems with his soft palate.

 - The skin fold over the top of the nose (caused by the squashed face involuting the skin) had caused a crevice of around 2-3 cms deep, where the skin was rubbing against its self.  In this area, the skin was ulcerated and was full of liquid pus.  It was this that the owners were smelling.  This was incredibly painful for the animal and he cried every time I tried to clean it.

 -The skin around his feet, ears, armpits and groin was red raw and inflamed.   He clearly was very itchy and had been licking at these areas repeatedly - which had, in turn, made them more sore and painful.  This is very typical of a condition called “atopy” which is very common in many breeds, particularly the Bulldogs (French and English). So at this point, the shocked owners asked what needed to be done to sort him out.

  So I had to explain that he would need: 

 - Bilateral eyelid shortening surgery that would allow the dog to blink properly and prevent further ulcers from forming.  As well as long-term medication to improve the quality of his tears.

 - Complex soft tissue surgery of the back of the throat to, (amongst other things) shorten his soft palate to facilitate his breathing.

 - He would need both of his nostrils opening up so as to allow adequate air flow to be possible to allow him to breathe/exercise/eat/sleep properly.

 -He would need a “face-lift” to remove a large amount of excess skin on the front of his face, to try and open up the fold that was causing so much infection and pain.

 -He may need allergy testing, food trials, anti-inflammatories etc to try and manage the atopic skin disease that he has. 

 *He needs all of this fairly urgently.  

 *He can’t have all of this done at once and so will require several anaesthetics and complex procedures to be done over a period of time.   

*He is only 5 months old. 

*He needs all of this doing - just so that he can live a vaguely normal life.   

*HE IS SUFFERING. 

 Also - he is not insured.  It transpired that the new owners looked into insurance but the premium was so high for this breed, that they felt they couldn’t afford it.  To move forward, he would have to go to a specialist veterinary unit (sadly recently set up to deal with the increasing number of very poorly brachycephalic dogs with extreme conformational issues) and this treatment could cost upwards of ��8,000 to correct.

 Once I had discussed all this with the owners - they were understandably distraught.  They had hoped for a “cute” and “cuddly” family pet that they had seen examples of spread throughout popular media.  They had no idea that these problems even existed.  Instead, they now have a much-loved dog that is miserable, has a long journey ahead of it and one that they cannot afford to have fixed.

 The family left the room in floods of tears, armed with medication that would temporarily alleviate some of the symptoms and try to make the poor little dog more comfortable.  From what I have later found out, this dog has gone to a rescue centre to be rehomed.  It may have moved away, but its problems most certainly will not have done.

 Pugs, Frenchies, English Bulldogs and Shar-Peis are amongst the breeds which are increasingly being abandoned in vast numbers as people cannot cope with their ongoing problems, illnesses and costs.  It upsets us all hugely when we see how many of the problems frequently associated with these breeds are now classed as “normal”. I will commonly hear “Oh it is normal for this breed to struggle with A, B or C”. NO IT ISN’T NORMAL!

 These trendy flat-faced breeds are some of the most expensive puppies to currently buy.  There is serious money for people who sell a litter of these puppies and so the incentive to breed is VERY high.  It must be said that there are responsible breeders who are trying to “back-breed” these types of dogs to have longer noses, smaller eyes, more open nostrils etc and try to reduce the incidence of these conditions, and these people should be applauded.  However, puppy farms and irresponsible owners are rife, and these “breeders” don’t seem to care a jot about the long-term prognosis and what the future holds for “their” breed. 

 It is also worth noting that many of these breeds are unable to give birth naturally now too (due to the shape of the puppy’s skulls) and so the mothers often go through multiple caesareans… 

 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP AND THINK before you buy.  Come and talk to US about the breeds that you are interested in - and we shall give you the whole picture.

 I am completely exhausted and totally demoralised seeing these type of problems on a daily basis.  There are enough horrible illnesses, diseases and potential accidents out there without being destined to be unwell before you are even born.

   Whilst people are still buying these dogs, people will still breed them and the problem will never go away.“

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

french recipes: if you’re not making this in paris then what’s the point. fuck you

italian recipes: use the left leg meat of a pig from one of three farms in this specific area of tuscany, or from this day my grandmother will begin manifesting physically in your house

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

The Legend of Zelda Redux: Characters and Items

Previously, the bosses have been revealed, as have the myriad of enemies. This last grouping of illustrations largely deal with the characters that inhabit Hyrule, along with Link’s arsenal of weapons and items found in the original game. 

Click the bolded words to go to their respective posts!

As with the other entries, I wrote some non-canonical lore and story to go along with each and every one of these. To read them all, and view larger versions of the 44 images, follow this link. (heh)

http://deimos-remus.deviantart.com/gallery/58577513/LOZ-Redux

As always, REBLOGS are greatly appreciated (as is keeping my writeup intact)! Spent the majority of my free time over many months to get this series finished, and now that it’s finally over with, It’s definitely the biggest project I’ve ever tackled. 

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

Hey I love the kind of stuff you post! I was just wondering if you knew of any other people that post stuff along the same lines you do? Like how to and adulting things?

YES YES YES! Here are my main squeezes: 

@college-help-and-hacks: One of the first blogs I followed when I started my own blog.

@collegelifehacks: About 75% of the posts are college related, but the rest are general adulting and A+.

@diyadulting​: We’ve got a lot of the same things going on (including cats).

@foodffs​: The absolute best recipe blog on Tumblr! Ranked.

@growup-gloup: New fav, this blog is just starting up.

@hipdomestic​: Another blog that is not updated enough, but has an archive that will straight up shock you.

@howtogrowthefuckup: Super popular, super informative, basically what I strive to be.

@howtoimpersonateanadult: Extremely similar to what I’m doing, we’re hardcore mutuals.

@lifehacksthatwork: I get all of my infographics from this tumblr/site. Occasionally they’ll post hysterical comments.

@poorpersonsgiude: Stalking this blog is my No. 1 hobby.

@studydiaryofamedstudent: For all your studying/homework needs.

@writing-reference: Does not post too much nowadays, but has an absolutely insane archive with everything you could possibly ever need ever.

I am sure I forgot somebody! Please comment if I left you out. 

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

Forget the myths: What ADHD is actually like

This started life as a more accessible version of my ADHD list for writers, and turned into a two-part series. That’s how ADHD works sometimes.

This is part 1.

1. We’re not all hyperactive, extraverted little boys.

We can be:

Adults

Female

Not hyperactive (this is called Inattentive type). 

Introverts

Another myth is that men have hyperactive or combined ADHD and women have inattentive ADHD. But there are men with inattentive ADHD and women with hyperactive or combined ADHD. They’re just less common.

Yet another myth is that people with ADHD lose their hyperactive symptoms by the time they grow up. Many do, but there are still adults with combined type around.

2. Some of us get good grades and behave well in school.

A common myth about ADHD is that we’re just misbehaving kids who need to be spanked more. Nonsense like this:

But actually, many of us looked more like this in school, especially if we had Inattentive type ADHD.

When bored, we can daydream, look out the window, or doodle. Teachers might not notice us, or might even enjoy teaching us.

Furthermore, some people with ADHD are smart, learn easily, and are interested in school. This lets them get good grades…until the demands to turn organized work in on time become too overwhelming.

3. We can pay attention. We just can’t regulate our attention.

Some parents and doctors claim a child can’t have ADHD if they can focus on video games for hours. Nothing can be further from the truth. If anything, we have trouble stopping!

We can focus for hours on something that interests us. Or on procrastinating.

But we’re worse than most people at focusing on things that are boring or unimportant to us.

We also have difficulty controlling the amount of attention we pay. Our attention works like this:

When we pay full-on attention, it’s called “hyperfocus.”

Hyperfocus is great when you’re writing a paper, but exhausting when you’re doing mindless tasks like washing dishes or checking e-mail.

4. We don’t always think fast, talk fast, or have lots of energy.

Some of us struggle with fatigue and slow processing speed. In fact, a new subtype of ADHD, Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, was proposed to describe this problem.

The stereotype about ADHD is that we can’t focus because there are too many thoughts and sensations in our heads, and we keep jumping from one to another.

But those of us who fit the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo description can be distracted for very different reasons.

Imagine how you feel after getting only three hours of sleep several nights in a row. You probably feel groggy, have very few thoughts moving through your head, and respond slowly when people talk to you. You probably have trouble concentrating, multitasking, remembering to do things, and making decisions. Instead of having too many thoughts, and noticing too many things, you have too few. You just feel like you don’t have the energy to pay attention to anything. That’s what it’s like.

This experience is sometimes called “brain fog.”

We can also have inconsistent processing speed.

Sometimes, I think and talk so fast it irritates other people. Everything feels like it’s happening in slow motion and I get bored. I interrupt other people because I’ve already processed what they’re saying before they finish, and I don’t realize it’s my listening that’s finished, not their talking. 

Other times, I am just about to answer someone’s question when they irritably repeat themselves, or ask why I’m taking so long to answer. It feels like I’m thinking at normal speed, but other people’s reactions make clear that I’m going too slow.

5. We’re not all athletic adrenaline junkies.

There’s a stereotype that we’re adrenaline junkies who perform surgeries, jump out of planes, or travel round the world starting new businesses.

First of all, many of us have delays or disabilities with motor coordination. As children, people with ADHD can have difficulty with:

Using scissors

Handwriting

Tying shoes

Throwing or catching a ball

Riding a bike

Second, when you look at the people with ADHD who fit this stereotype, what do they have in common? Most are men, with high energy and either hyperactive/impulsive or combined type ADHD.

Even in mice, male and female brains react to stress differently. It’s possible that men, who tend to externalize, are more likely to thrive on stress. By contrast, women tend to internalize, and might get overwhelmed instead.

Up to a certain point, increasing stress helps you focus. That’s why some people wait until the last minute to study for exams.

But past a certain amount, becoming more stressed starts to hurt you.

And long term, living under high stress hurts both your physical and mental health.

Some people with ADHD rely on increasing their stress levels to get stuff done. A disability services counselor I met in graduate school actually recommended this strategy to me. 

She should have known better. Even if you benefit from putting yourself under stress, you will pay steep long-term costs. Having seen family and friends pay them, I don’t think the costs are worth it.

TL;DR, Not all of us benefit from stress, so we don’t all seek it out.

6. Some of us are socially awkward penguins, not social butterflies.

Another stereotype describes us as social butterflies who hide our school difficulties by playing class clown or making friends with everyone. But some of us are socially awkward.

We can come off as awkward or rude because we’re not paying attention and miss cues.

We can have poor sense of timing and inconsistent processing speed. These can make us interrupt other people, or just seem weird.

We can be annoying. We interrupt other people, talk too much, change subjects often, or zone out in the middle of a conversation.

Like elderly people, we can tell you the same thing many times because we forgot we told you.

We also often forget what you tell us. It takes heroic effort to remember, say, friends’ birthdays.

As a result, many of us have mild social difficulties that don’t meet criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

People with ADHD are also more likely to be on the autism spectrum. 

7. Being diagnosed and labeled can improve our lives.

People worry about letting their child be diagnosed or labeled, because they think it will make people treat their child worse.

But when you actually talk to people with ADHD, many of them had a very different experience.

Having the label is a relief.

It gives you understanding. It gives you words to describe your experiences for the first time. It means you’re not broken. It means there are other people like you.

The title of a popular ADHD book, “You mean I’m not lazy, stupid, or crazy?” describes the feeling well.

I’ve written about how bad it is to grow up without a diagnosis, and how good it feels to get one, here, here, and here.

8. Stimulants don’t turn you into a zombie, but they’re not a cure, either.

If a person with ADHD gets the right medication at the right dose, they don’t turn into zombies. They just become a better-functioning version of themselves.

But stimulants don’t cure ADHD. Yes, if taken for a long time, they do create changes in the brain. But the person still has the same underlying characteristics. If they stop taking stimulants, their ADHD symptoms will become visible again.

Stimulants, like antidepressants, should be thought of like insulin for diabetics. They’re not a cure, and they need to be taken long-term. But they help you manage your symptoms and live a full life.

9. Stimulants aren’t the only way to manage ADHD, and some of us choose not to take them.

Some people with ADHD choose not to take stimulants. And it’s not just because they hate drug companies or fear that the drugs will turn them into a different person.

First of all, only 80% of people with ADHD respond to stimulants. The other fifth can try other kinds of medications. These include:

wakefulness medications (like Provigil),

medications that treat mood disorders (like Welbutrin),

Non-stimulants designed to treat ADHD (Strattera, Concerta)

Non-stimulants are less powerful than stimulants, so they reduce ADHD symptoms less, but they also have fewer side effects.

Which brings me to the main reason people with ADHD avoid stimulants: side effects.

Stimulants activate the sympathetic nervous system—the one involved in the fight or flight response. As a result, you can get the following side effects:

Increased heart rate

Increased anxiety

Loss of appetite

Increased rate of headaches and migraines

Weight loss

Note: These symptoms are probably the reason for the claim that stimulants stunt children’s growth.

If we’re not taking stimulants, you might see us consuming huge quantities of more socially acceptable drugs: caffeine and nicotine.

That person who goes through a pot of coffee a day, always has a Pepsi in hand, or can’t quit smoking?

They might be self-medicating their ADHD.

Please share this information and help combat myths about ADHD.

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

Why do my interests in canning, couponing, and homesteading overlap so often with blogs with titles like ‘The Obedient Housewife’? 

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

concept: instead of 4 more Fantastic Beasts movies, Comedy Central takes over and produces 50 episodes of Drunk History: Wizarding World Edition

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

Eavesdropping is one of my favorite pastimes. The world is full of interesting folks.

My favorite quotes from the old men sitting next to me at Panera

“I saw old Wally today! Remember him? Nice guy. He said he fucked my wife. Then he called me a son of a bitch.”

“This whole capitalism thing is just glorified slavery. You get a job or you DIE. Ridiculous.”

“He doesn’t understand where you’re coming from!” “Where am I coming from, Manchester?” “You’re coming from a BRILLIANT MIND!”

[5 minutes of comparing Chinese proverbs]

“Did you hear that the lady hockey players are on strike? They want more money. They better get it! They deserve it. Those lady sports player get no money and no credit.”

[Comparing their various pocket knives and pen knives in the middle of Panera]

“There should be more women on the police force, the poor prostitutes don’t get any sympathy from those men”

“I’ll be right back. Why don’t you talk to the young lady next to you?” ((This meant me)) “I don’t WANNA talk to her!”

“I can’t believe they used to put the kids with the mental illnesses in the hospitals and never mention them again. They should’ve been ASHAMED. Like the Kennedys.”

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

A big to-do about SmashBits Animations

4 months ago now, SmashBits on Youtube started a series in order to cash in on the Undertale craze. If Undertale was Realistic. For a while, I saw it in my recommended, but paid it no mind.

It wasn’t long after the video was booming that I got a message from my friend @pipann about how the series was using her Undertale Models.

Not only was this done without her permission, but they were monetizing on it through Patreon, and while they gave credit to their animators and voice actors, there wasn’t a single line of credit to be found regarding the modelers and the models SmashBits ripped from the Steam Workshop.

Contact was made, disappointment was expressed, and at the end of the day, all that could be offered to Pip and the other model makers was that they would be publicly credited for their work. The project would continue to be funded through Patreon, so the animators and voice actors were still being paid. The modelers were not. This was ignored for the time being.

Recently, however, SmashBits got a sponsorship, and have injected a minute long product placement ad into their latest “If Undertale was Realistic” in order to earn even more money through their sponsors on top of revenue from clicks and their Patreon. They were continuing to make even more money off the backs of modelers who��d done the time to sculpt, map, and rig these models that were meant to be used on terms of the modelers (whom mostly allowed these models to be used for fun, not for profit).

Through encouragement of myself and others, Pip issued a DMCA and marked all points in the offending videos of the series in which her model(s) were present. She got the attention of one of the partners of SmashBits and they had been in the middle of finding a solution that would make both parties happy. But the moment the head of Smashbits decided to Counter Claim the DMCA, any negotiation went out the window.

Pip has attempted to leave comments about the situation on SmashBits’s page, both when the DMCA was first issued, and after the Counter Claim was made.

As of now, the comments have been deleted by someone at Smash Bits [Right click -> view image in new tab for full view]

This was to keep the now angry mob that is Smashbit’s fanbase informed as to what was going on in order to keep accusations from flying.

But with SmashBits having deleted the comment, their fanbase is left in the dark to continue being angry.

I, myself, have also left a comment.  [Right click -> view image in new tab for full view]

But lo and behold it is no longer there when I go into Incognito Mode

The comments still appear for both myself and Pip due to Youtube’s cache being a bit slow to update for us. But it’s confirmed SmashBits is trying hardcore to cover their ass over the fact that they are making money using assets they have no right to, and even after several people have contacted them angrily about it when it all started, they doubled down to get even MORE money through the sponsorship without having consulted any of the artists.

I have even been outright muted to keep from posting any information on their discussion page. They themselves have not made any comment regarding the scenario other than “the videos will be back soon”.

I normally am against callout posts, but this is a case where the offending party (Or at least the head of the party) is very much in the wrong, and it needs to be known. The artists are not the bad guys for wanting to be properly respected and to not be seen as just a tool that gives people free assets to make money off of.

Smash Bits does not deserve to go unscathed from this. Spread the word. Inform the fanbase of the hacks they actually art.

At least until they either fully demonetize the projects in which they do not own all of the assets to, or they hire artists to make assets specifically for them to use.

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

The limits of tyrants is prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, editor, and orator (1817-1895), somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more. (via karinanotcinerina)

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

Celebrate the facts. Happy Black History Month! 

follow @the-movemnt

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

I found this resource that helps facilitate more active resistance in the form calling your local government officials and representatives.

As you can see in the screenshots, once you pick you issue and choose your area, you are directed to your local representative and even given a script (that you should feel free to add to or edit as you see fit)

The link and a blurb is below

https://5calls.org/

5 Calls:

provides phone numbers and scripts so calling is quick and easy uses your location to find your local representatives so your calls have more impact

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

Being a dad the right way

[stuck-but-moving-blog]

All the links from the White House website are gone, but the Affordable Care Act is still in effect, and you can sign up for health insurance until January 31.

Trump and his cronies may want to kill it, but that takes time (especially now that key players are waffling and the insurance industry have noticed that it will rain chaos down upon them). So sign yourself up. Get in a free checkup, a round of antibiotics, a birth control implant, while you have the chance.

If anyone needs help applying, ping me.

Todavía puede inscribirle en Obamacare. Si necesita auyuda, pídame.