#i will quit but like in feb of 2026

[knifefightscene]

wrote a long ass text to my manager because my department lose two people (to another place) and they refuse to hire more & expect me to cover that workload. like when the first person left, i covered her work but now two??? you paid me one salary and want me to do three jobs? kys

[stars-of-kyber]

Hi, I (officially) found you through your Bridgerton fic ‘Faithfully’, and have recently realised that you are also a writer for ‘You Used To Live In My Head’. I just wanna say, your work is fantastic and I am respectfully and excitedly (but impatiently) awaiting the next chapter for ‘Faithfully’.

If it’s okay, I would like to ask a few questions about it if that’s okay (feel free not to answer any of them if you don’t feel like it).

Can I get a timeline on when the Simon/Daphne relationship will happen in the fic?

In relation to the previous question, will we get overprotective, and angry Anthony when he finds out? I think it could be a good avenue for angst, humour, fluff, or any combination of them, and I’m excited for what you do with it.

Will we get Sophie and her relationship with Benedict in the fic? I know you haven’t tagged them, but Benedict is my favourite of the show Bridgertons, and I consider his book to be quite the guilty pleasure (I’m also dying for Season 4 and really don’t want to wait til 2026 to get it so I’m trying to get my Benophie fix wherever I can)

Will any of the other Bridgerton siblings join Aubrey Hall? Or will they go do their own music careers?

Can we get a tease of your favourite moment in the fic yet to come?

Once again, feel free to ignore any and all of these questions if you don’t want to answer them. Also, just so I have it in clear writing (and cause I tend to overwrite so much my meaning gets lost in the sea of words I make) I love your fic ‘Faithfully’ and can’t wait to read more.

Hello, my ducky friend! (don't mind me, I'm not well in the head lol)

Ohhh Faithfully, my sweet baby Faithfully which started bc of one scene in the end that I've yet to write and it was supposed to be a purely super sweet and fluffy story with 3 or 4 chapters and now it's not only VERY MUCH NOT 3 or 4 chapters long, it's also one of the two stories I actually truly cried writing bc I keep filling it with Angsty moments lol

I AM one of the writers for You Used To Live In My Head! Actually, it was my idea, I started it as a little Birthday present for @ladystanbury but it then it got bigger and bigger and then I kinda forced @harnitbee to get sucked into the rabbit hole with me and here we are nine months, several Canva folders and MANY MANY MANY HOURS on video call later lol (I'm so sorry, Anita lol)

Of course! You can ask as many questions as you'd like! I'm always more than happy to answer them!

Kay, let's see

1- There's still a little bit to go before we get there, actually. In the fic, they get together in the 1st of Feb 2020 and so far it's around August 2018 in the story.

2- Ohhh yes, we'll have SOME drama over this. Anthony finds out about it some months after they get together and honestly, it's a miracle the band is still going on after all the bullshit those guys go through lol

3- Unfortunately, Benophie is not very much into the plans in this story, apart from the last, epiloguish chapter. The idea is for the story to go up to Ned being born, then have this epilogue in the Grammies (will make sense in a couple of chapters, I swear) which will be set a couple of years later, so Ben and Sophie will already be together, or at least tentatively so.

3- No one is joining Aubrey Hall other than the three original members. Eloise owns a music shop and teaches percussion (which is how she meets her plant daddy and his plant little hellions) and Frannie does go into music, but as a solo artist who collaborated with Aubrey Hall a few times, even if they have pretty different musical styles. Hyacinth goes into agencing to work with Lady Danbury and the other siblings follow their own different career paths.

4- I haven't MUCH written forward apart from the two next chapters but I'll show you a bit of Newton coming into Anthony's life, will that do? rs

"He had tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing the chances she was actually asleep were huge, but the moment he stepped inside, there was some movement from the bed. 

Only it wasn’t Kate who was moving. 

Well, he assumed it wasn’t because Kate wasn’t really known to bark. 

“There is a loaf of bread on my pillow.” Anthony stared at the creature who was lying on his side of the bed, wiggling his little butt wildly along with its tail, half-forgetting he’d meant not to wake Kate up. “It barks.”

“That’s Newton.” His girlfriend yawned stretching her arms above her head as she offered him the most amazing sleepy smile. 

“What’s a Newton?” He eyed the furry beast mistrustingly. 

“Newton is our baby, Anthony.” Kate rolled her eyes, patting the creature on the head lovingly. “Say hi, please.” 

“Hi, Newton.” He muttered with a roll of his eyes, rubbing the top of the dog’s head just like his girlfriend had done. The little creature wiggled desperately, trying to spin around to lick at Anthony’s hand. “I don’t remember agreeing to this.”

“That’s because you didn’t.” 

“Right.”"

Poor Anthony, always bamboozled by his lady and happy to be so lol

Thank you so so much! I love hearing this. All my fics have such a special place in my heart in different ways and it means the world that people actually enjoy them.

I'm going to try to update soon, I swear!

Feel free to come with any more questions you want about it!

[kin-machine]

Free pet rat/rodent stuff (portland, OR)

If anyone in the Portland area would like some free rat stuff, DM me. My rats have all passed as of February and we need a break from rat ownership so I hope someone else can give some of this stuff a second life.

item descriptions under the cut.

- One unopened, full bag of Oxbow Essentials adult rat food, (expires Feb 21st, 2025) and one opened bag with about ⅓ left over inside, (expires June 3rd, 2025.)

- One bottle of Meloxicam, good for anti-inflammation, very commonly prescribed to rats but do your research about use and dosage before giving it to any of your animals. Hard to say how much is left, only a little less than a 4th of this 32 ml bottle has been used. Expires 3/31/2026. I gave this to my last rat as he had a genetic issue that affected his breathing and was non-contagious, his cage mates never expressed any of symptoms that he did. Something to do with an over-abundance of naturally-occurring bacteria in his ears and throat, it inhibited his breathing a bit but my vet confirmed it was non-contagious.

- Nine assorted syringes, good for measuring medicine and oral administration. All are unused.

- One half-full bottle of Saline solution, 0.9% Sodium Chloride Irrigation, USP. I used this to Nebulize the rat with breathing issues to loosen anything in his airways. About 650 ml is left. Not for injection.

- One yellow fabric Elizabethan Collar for rodents, Mickey Mouse print. Never used.

- Two lightly used, thoroughly cleaned blue corner litter trays. My rats never really got the hang of potty training so I took these out soon after trying and failing, these are practically like new.

- Two medium flat back water bottles. These were used consistently for several years but show very little wear. Washed thoroughly.

- One small water bottle, lightly used, fits perfectly into the hole and loop on the pet carrier for this exact purpose.

- One heavily used purple plastic shallow food dish - used more as a back up bowl for travel. They chewed the lip of the bowl quite a bit, but still does the job.

- Small purple plastic castle hide, lightly used. For its size, better for baby rats.

- A few assorted unused wooden blocks and slices.

- Two large “Space Pod” Igloo hides, lightly used, can stand or be hung from the cage bars.

- One small enrichment toy treasure chest, lightly used. The wooden blocks it came with have since been chewed to bits, but putting obstacles like that with treats inside is good enrichment.

- Two cute tree-themed hammocks, lightly used. One looks like a hollow log and has leaves on it. A couple small chew marks but not much. Quite soft.

- Six assorted animal-print simple square hammocks. Some are lightly used, others are near untouched.

- Two climbing rope squares with carabiners for attaching to cage bars, lightly used.

- One dog tug-of-war rope I took apart and braided for climbing surfaces.

- One multi-sectioned, polkadot hammock with long elastic bands. My rats liked to use this one as an elevator between platforms and was a big favorite. Obviously used but in good shape with no chew marks.

- One small soft-sided pet carrier, lightly used. Can zip to just open one side or completely open to lay flat. Includes a small, plastic grommet hole in the door flap with an elastic loop to hold a small water bottle that sits on the outside and nozzle pokes through to be drank from inside, the smaller water bottle included fits perfectly. Sides are rigid enough to not be chewed through in my experience, but I wouldn’t put that to the test with total no-supervision, definitely a good option for vet trips. Inside has a fabric insert that attaches with velcro and the sides and bottom of the carrier can be wiped down with a damp cloth to clean. It has a really cute punk print on it that says stuff like, “Rebel,” “Hello, my name is Trouble,” “Play Time,” “Talk to the Paw,” “Keep Exploring,” “Rad,” “I <3 Treats,” etc.

[literaticat]

Hi Jennifer. How typical is it for an author to find out their pub date from a sales listing, like seeing their book on Amazon, rather than being told by their publisher? I understand publishing likes to justify doing things differently than any other industry, but it seems disrespectful to find out your pub date from the internet rather than your own team of collaborators.

"Disrespectful" feels a little dramatic. I really don't think it's personal or should be taken as a slight or anything like that.

Short answer: Your editor is your main liaison with the publisher, and they aren't the ones who create the publication schedule. If they haven't told you your pub date, it's either because they don't know it yet, or because they thought they DID tell you and didn't realize they hadn't, but at no point is this SECRET information or anything, and they'd be happy to tell you or find out for you if/when that info is available. So, as with most things, if you want to know something you don't know, the best thing to do is ASK.

Long answer: Here's the deal: Waaaaaay before your book is even a product yet, probably when you get the offer, you'll know the pub season they are shooting for. That is like, say, "Spring 2026", which could be anywhere from maybe late Feb - early May (all publishers might be a LITTLE different here) -- but basically, the general months that they intend for this to be published. Now that COULD change for any number of reasons -- it's two years from now! Who knows what will happen between now and then! -- But you know the approximate time, and if it DOES get pushed a season, you'll know well ahead of time, because the deadline will change.

A year passes. Maybe more. At some point, taking into account the dozens (or even hundreds) of other books also scheduled for Spring 2026, the publisher will narrow down what books are going to come out which month / week. This isn't your editor deciding this, btw, and your editor may or may not be aware when this schedule is being decided, and whether they are or not, it's still not set in stone. At this stage the publisher may have just decided "OK this is a May 2026 book" but not know the exact date. (A lot of times, if you look up a book quite early, it will say "May 1, 2026" but then closer to the pub date it will say "May 16th" or whatever -- because they chose the general month, and then the specific day later.)

MEANWHILE, you are going back and forth with your editor about copyedits, the jacket, blurbs, whatever -- there might be a ton of information going back and forth. At some point your editor might have said, "this is a May book" but they didn't mention "May 1st" or "May 16th" because, well, they didn't know or realize that this had been decided, or because it hasn't been. So you look it up and see "May 16th" -- that doesn't mean that they were hiding that info from you, or anything LIKE that -- that info is just not the first most-pressing thing in the midst of all the other things your editor has to communicate with you, and again, they might not even realize was decided, or up online, or what's online might be a placeholder or something.

It doesn't become super important for you to know the exact date until, like, a few months before pub, when you are scheduling things like a launch party or whatever -- At which point, you will have been told, or they'll THINK you have been told, because you've been told a lot of things, but if you HAVEN'T been told, you can always ASK! And if you see something online, you can (and should) ask for confirmation that the info is correct.

[eggmeralda]

🖌💚💙🥀😳! :D

thank youuu <3<3

Do you want/have any tattoos?

okay so I can never answer a question succinctly

but anyway, I have this bet with myself that I have to get a [Relevant Blorbo] tattoo if any of the following happen:

- if my old south park hyperfixation comes back YET AGAIN and it falls on either 16/sep/2026 (10th anniversary of when I first got obsessed) or 12/apr/2027 (10th anniversary of when I read the well and the lighthouse by petroica traversi and it rewrote my dna), then I have to get a tattoo of kenny

- if my notre dame de paris obsession comes back at all between now and 9/feb/2029 (10 years after I first bought the book), then I have to get a pierre tattoo

- if I ever end up actually becoming an archivist before july 2027 (5 years after the swag archive made me realise I wanna do that as a job), then. swag tattoo (not looking likely though, applying for archive related jobs is horrendous lol)

- and if coronation street ever ends before I'm 33 (10 years after I was obsessed with it bla bla etc) then yeah. hilda tattoo

and then if none of these things happen then I win. against myself. idk what the prize is yet.

do I actually want a tattoo? probably not (based on how much my earlobes are still overreacting after over a year, I don't think my skin likes things being done to it)

if any of these things happen will I actually go through with it? I also dunno yet lol

why did I decide this in the first place? bored

What's your favourite colour?

I feel like green is my default colour, but I do also like that hazey ethereal dream pop aesthetic type pink or purple. I guess those kind of shades would be my fav colour visually, but sentimentally it's probably green

What colour is your bedroom?

lilac (with a lot of beige areas bc the walls are kind of peeling lol)

Favourite animated movie?

the aristocats <3

Do you like your name?

yeah tbh I was thinking about it the other day and it's actually a vibe? like I've never really thought about it bc it's always been just. always been My Name. but looking at it on its own as just a name that exists, it's quite nice tbf

[lilacroads]

so it’s been a bit over a year since this personnel reshuffle happened and guess what

my boss (school leader) has been moved from my school 🙃 5 years of working together will end by the end of feb. none of us at my office are happy about this.

my other manager (chief) will likely still stay the same but the replacement school leader… we’ve had her before but i’m not a big fan of her style.

with this, i think this will be my last year at this job. it’ll depend on how things change, but i think once my contract is over in 2026, i’ll jump ship.

i will have to start skilling up and adding some more experiences to my resume if i want to get out of this industry, but i don’t know what else i can do.

i’m feeling quite miserable about this and ngl my motivation has decreased quite a bit.

i’ll do my best until the end of feb so that my r/s w my boss ends on a good note but after that idk how much effort i’ll continue to put in.

boss is still within the prefecture at least so we might cross paths at events but otherwise 🤷‍♀️

day 2 of normalblogging. its a long one bc i have many thoughts.

personnel shuffling is happening early at work, as i feared lol. one of the area managers is going on maternity leave in november which means the japanese stuff have to be shuffled around to fill that spot. the way it works is area manager (block leader) > school leader > school chief > staff. the area manager is going on leave, so our current school leader is moving to area manager's school to kind of do her job, while the school chief (my boss) is going to be the school leader and split her time between my school and another school. a staff member from that other school will become the chief of my school. are you following? i wouldn't blame you if not lol. this is really the best case scenario i guess in terms of "change" bc it's not a total and complete staff change, so it perhaps won't feel as bad? idk lol. having my current boss still here in some capacity makes it feel less like the rug has been pulled from under me. i really only stay working here because i like my coworkers/bosses and the general environment, so if it changes for the worse then i won't see much reason to stay. ofc the kids are great but i usually only see them for 40, 45 minutes at a time, meanwhile i spend 8 hours a day with the people i work with, so...

anyway another thing about this whole thing was that we started to have a meeting about it this morning but then students came early and we couldn't talk about it until after the last class finished. i spent the whole day with a massive giant pit in my gut thinking the worst 😬

whatever it'll be ok i guess. i've been expecting this since the area manager announced her pregnancy and the Big Boss (department head) started having chats w my boss. because of the general feeling that something was about to change i've also been considering whether i should quit and move on but i suppose i can hang on another year lol.

ANYWAY in other news!

after work today (after that big ol reshuffle convo) my friend was like, suddenly "hey are you free for a phone call?" and if you're like me with stupid anxiety, you will understand my oh god have i done something reaction so i said yes and when i called her later, she told me that she had plans to travel to taiwan with someone from work but that person couldn't go, but she'd already made a reservation so! she asked me if i wanted to go

i was a little shocked bc this is the last thing i expected and also kind of sudden? lol

we're still kind of working out the dates but it'll probably be mid-november!

so, a nice positive end to the day. i get to go travelling! hooray!

thx for reading goobdye

[astrology-with-charu]

May 2020 - A Preview of 2021

======================

So this April would not quit - quiet like these non stop school zoom sessions. Goodbye goodbye already! This Laurel & Hardy goodbye clip sums it up for me

https://youtu.be/wlVu7Y5m5JQ

It’s leaving us with Uranus in Taurus meeting Mercury. Uranus in Taurus was also key aspect embedded in the Taurus new moon of 22 April which we will continue to feel in May. Uranus in Taurus is all about breaking out of the fixity of life - actions taken for freedom & individuality, a break from tradition, a break far from tradition. Uranus creates volatility & surprise - bring sudden changes - changes that bring us closer to our authentic self. Uranus is our brilliance - the lightening that zaps us & sets us free as well as gives us the brilliant brainwave.

But inherently Uranus in Taurus has a conflict - Taurus archetype in our chart represents our place of safety, security, stability, fixity, tradition, persistence, stubbornness. Yes it’s a textbook sign of “fall” for Uranus - “fall” the word I despise so much in astrology - cause there is no fall just a failure to leverage it well. Uranus in Taurus is here to bring innovation in all the things this archetype represents - Finance, money, assets, ways of making money, ways of using our natural resources, arts, music, creativity, sex, food, taste, our physical strength & stamina, stock market, earth. At an individual basis basis we would strive for independence & innovation and experience sudden shifts in our financial situation, attitude to money & resources, need for material security, sense of worth, values, usage of our resources - mental physical - our personal energy, sexual freedom.

Taurus gifts us determination & this fixity of purpose and in Uranus we can use that to complete change our worth, ego, values, assets & ways to achieve them or release them. This is long term transit all the way to April 2026. Why we are talking of this now is because this April just won’t quit without another dramatic aspect.

Every month Moon meets Uranus in Taurus - whenever that happens a wave of water chips away an edge off our rock - slight loss of old behavioural pattern happens opening us to new possibilities. But once a year Uranus meets Sun, Venus & Mercury in Taurus when a tangible shift which is outer manifestation of this slow monthly inner chipping away shows up in our physical existence - through shifts in job, relationships, communication. This aides this quest for material freedom we are all on - an idea suddenly comes, a discussion suddenly happens, an old device suddenly cracks cause it’s outdated for your new expansive endeavour - you ask for more & more is delivered through a crack in the floor beneath our feet. Not all of us experience the earthquake but if you are at 6° or early degree of fixed signs (Scorpio, Leo, Taurus, Aquarius) you are probably experiencing a shock wave - that’s last ten days of the month if you are looking at your sun sign.

Separating wheat from the chaff as unnecessary this additional restlessness & commotion feels to all of us, it’s the most significant economic event that happens to most of us in the year. Shakes up our talents, resources, stock market, body - it feels like beating the mattress to get the dust out kind of situation. But then from that comes a brainwave when Mercury meets Uranus like tonight - weird bazarre ahead of time , alien landing on our rooftop kind of ideas come. You see those AI beams running on your face into your brain - it just lights all your bulbs. Many of us dismiss it but what if we don’t - if someone told Abraham Lincoln you would be tweeting shutting down your economy or a bunch of algos will loose or gain majority of financial markets in a day - you would have been institutionalised but here we are.

The thing with “fall” of Uranus In Taurus is that you fall cause you aren’t walking - much like the concept of inertia - proactive shifts planning in that area of our life can help prevent a lot of that fall. Though Uranus is a wild card much like existence of Kim Jong-un.

So if you want to take one thing from April, which won’t quit, take this dogged determination to shift things in this area of your life where Uranus is chipping away your rock

“We only discover what supports us, when everything else we thought supported us doesn’t support is anymore” ~ Jung

Jung saw this moment like he saw most of the universal truths - this has become my mantra for Taurus season now instead of “I Have” cause Uranus transit changes the whole existence of that sign forever - Aries know what I am talking about. Taurus is our ego, our distinct identity & if we are labelling our sense of “I” through any external object / status / person - Uranus releases that cause it wants us to create “Independent Worth”

The degree of Uranus currently being activated is of immense importance - why - cause that’s where Uranus went retrograde in August 2019. Remember 2019 - Hong Kong protests, Amazon fires, Epstein died, Peso crashed, India floods, Nuclear accident in Russia, India revoked Article 370 ... I can go on but you get the picture - volatile times. Second contact of Uranus isn’t that dramatic - especially in transit (it’s not turn retrograde or direct right now).

But it will be standing still exactly where it stands now in Jan/Feb 2021. Uranus will turn direct on 1 Feb 2021 standing exactly at this point and it would be squaring Saturn starting a new 14 years cycle which is the key theme of 2021. Infant in Jan 2021 there will be 5 planets, yes 5! Squaring Uranus in Taurus which is a recipe for perfect political & weather storm. This is tremendous tremendous conflict - I referred to it in my eclipse note cause this is in direct interaction with the US country chart. Uranus in such aspects normally stimulates the collective to revolt through a catalyst to create radical change in existing bureaucracy, to free those suppressed or held in bondage. There is normally a rude collective awakening - in Taurus it will have financial underpinnings too - people no longer acquiesce to entrapment of our current financial system where resources are manipulated by a few. Higher manifestation of it is stimulation of new discoveries & tech that supports people to function in a new way.

Harnessed correctly Saturn Uranus cycles help us manifest our creative & inventive ideas into substantial achievements cause we are given the discipline to bring our intuition home. Give form or structure to our uniqueness in a productive way like Rihanna or Barbara Streisand do - we can harness our inner tension into a passion. There is tremendous tension in this aspect but it’s an endless source of spontaneous energy, creativity & freshness but you can use it or misuse it. George Eliot & Thomas Hardy are Saturn square Uranus as are Putin & Harvey Weinstein - I mean you get my drift.

So in May we don’t need to look at a oracle to see future of 2021 - it will be playing out in front of us - the preview of what’s coming in 2021. The innovation in field of finance, money, food, art, creatives , our value system. As well as our need for freedom from tradition & fixity (Uranus in Taurus) clashing with suppression of air in Saturn in Aquarius. All tangible strides in evolution of our civilisation has come through Saturn Uranus cycles and you are watching a live preview of that as Saturn stands still about to go retrograde on 11th standing in loose square to Uranus right now & playing out through their aspects to Sun, Mercury & Venus.

In this tension, these two parts of us at war - the people who will create solutions blending the best of the old world with the best of the new will thrive. That’s why with nodes in mutable sign - the road to success is adaptability - as always it’s not the survival of the fittest but of the one who can evolve. New skills, sources of income, diet, physical upkeep, new concept of “fixed” assets - Uranus in Taurus & by square to Saturn in Aquarius - necessary compulsory evolution in tech, social media, tech in your industry, new way to network, new supply chains, pooling resources - “shared/preloved” economy.

Importance of cyber security will go immensely up - the first computer virus was uncovered during the last Saturn Uranus conjunction in 1988 - the Internet worm. Things that were birthed in the cycle will come to question like the EU / Euro. WHO also came to focus at the time with eradication of polio. NASA Scientists testified first time to US Senate that man made global warming has begun. Abortion drugs were launched & it was opposed though inline with ideology of sexual freedom it was launched. Topic of gun control which never went away since the unfortunate Columbine High School Massacre in 1999 during Saturn Uranus square will take on more speed. Topics essentially that are clearly dividing forces in society will play out & those who can mesh the two conflicting forces win 2021.

Right now with the preview - I am warning you people in 40s having both your Uranus opposition & your Saturn oppositions - they are getting triggered by both Saturn & Uranus. In large scale despite the economic crisis or may be due to it - we would see dramatic shifts in careers / home / relationships.

Uranus in Scorpio generation is getting their Uranus opposition if you are 1975/76 born to be exact - Saturn & Mars in Aquarius are making T-Square to your Uranus opposition pushing you to make a structural shift. Saturn being the apex you know what change you have to make but you are evaluating the cost of it all - is it worth it ? Taurus season is best to figure it out - cause this aspect will on,y become stronger in Jan/Feb 2021.

The 1976/77 born are having their Saturn opposition forming t square to Uranus - so wherever Taurus falls in your chart - you are ready to break free - this is much more dynamic & dramatic though it’s not exact yet, it will be in 2021.

In my view, during the transit of Saturn in Aquarius as a society we create what we can hold onto in face of volatility - we are all just starting to create that now. And we have to develop a purpose which permits our wacky innovative unique ways to be a participant in a larger expression - else we will feel lost like any Saturn in 11th house or Saturn in Aquarius person.

On a lighter note in May we have a few fabulous days like 9/10/15/17 May when Sun and Mercury form a positive aspect with Jupiter & Pluto - a gift of growth and focus in volatile times - I’ll take it! Good dates for ideas, negotiations & financial ventures.

In part 2 of this post I will cover May 2020 by sign.

[cjwmagic1123-blog]

Physician-Assisted Suicide: Humane or Heinous?

Dr. Roger Kligler is a retired internist who found himself in the middle of this debate. At 50 years old he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that was believed to be curable. After rounds of cancer treatment, Dr. Kligler was put into remission. However, after 5 years, Dr. Kligler went back to his oncologist and was informed that not only was his cancer back, but it was terminal.  After attending a medical lecture regarding “medical aid in dying” he became an advocate for the cause through Compassion & Choices, the foundation partially responsible for the passing of the End of Life Options Act in Massachusetts (I’m a doctor with end-stage cancer. I support medical aid in dying). Dr. Kligler’s case is a prime example that even the most unexpecting can be snarled up in cancer’s poisonous grasp. As an aspiring doctor, I want Dr. Kligler, and others like him, to know that they are not alone in this battle. Physician-Assisted Suicide is a tool in the very profound toolbox of a doctor that allows them to give their patient a final sense of peace. PAS postulates the end of suffering to terminally ill patients that would otherwise continue on the heinous, drawn out path to death.

Now it is time to get to the root of the topic. Is Physician-Assisted Suicide human or heinous? This phrase can be quite startling at first glance. There is undeniably a hefty negative connation associated with suicide that causes people to initially balk at the term. However, we must strive to remain neutral and focus on the real meaning behind the term. In the article, Physician-Assisted Suicide: Two Moral Arguments, the author does a beautiful job of really owning in on the different meanings of this term and how they apply to each individual medical case. She splits the term in “drug-providing” and “drug-injecting” (Thomson 506). Drug-providing is the process of a doctor knowingly writing a prescription that contains a dose of a drug that will be lethal to the patient. Drug-injecting is when the doctor is actually the one who administers a dose of a drug, usually morphine, that will end their life. This poses the question: are people really sick enough that a doctor feels it is within their medical rights to end their life?

Without experiencing a hardship personally, it is hard to imagine exactly what is feels like and to come up with the best possible solution to fix it. Agrawal and Emanuel write:

For many people, death in modern advanced societies is inherently undignified. Terminally ill patients are connected to tubes and machines; they experience pain, shortness of breath, and other excruciating symptoms; they are unable to get out of bed, feed themselves, and even go to the bathroom alone; they are cared for in impersonal institutions (Death and Dignity: dogma disputed 2026).

The picture painted by these men is not one that anyone would like to volunteer to star in. Unfortunately, after visualizing it, many people’s minds will immediately jump to a family member that has experienced this. My grandmother was diagnosed with a terminal cancer, meaning she would eventually die because of this cancer and there was nothing in the world that could stop it. This is a harsh reality that many individuals face. According to the National Cancer Institute, “approximately 38.4% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes (based on 2013–2015 data)” (National Cancer Institute). In a standard classroom, that’s 10 out of 30 people. While we wish we could hide under the covers, the cruel reality is that statistically cancer will be a part of everyone’s lives at some point. So, what do you say to someone that’s diagnosed with terminal cancer? “Fight, you’ll beat it?” Unlikely. “Don’t worry, it won’t be that bad?” Also unlikely. “Everything will be okay.” Depends on what you think “okay” exactly is. “Fatigue, pain, appetite changes and problems breathing” are listed as physical symptoms in the last 2 to 3 months of life (American Cancer Society). That simple list doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. Ok, I get short of breath every now and then, and sure I’ll be tired but I can nap all day. What they don’t mention is that often the pain cannot be controlled with medication, that “appetite changes” is vomiting constantly and not being able to enjoy any food. So again, I ask, what do you say to someone suffering like this? If it were me, I know I would not want to go on this way. I would exercise my right to ask a doctor to show humanity and end my life through Physician-Assisted Suicide.

        Ryan Anderson, a writer with a Ph.D. in American Principles and Public Policy, states that legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide would:

1.    Endanger the weak and vulnerable,

2.    Corrupt the practice of medicine and the doctor–patient relationship,

3.    Compromise the family and intergenerational commitments, and

4.    Betray human dignity and equality before the law. (Four Problems with Physician-Assisted Suicide).

The emotional struggle that doctors feel when there is nothing else they can legally do for a patient that is still suffering immensely is not easy. This option would strengthen the relationship between them as they are finally able to provide them with peace, not the contrary like he is suggesting. While Anderson’s other concerns have more grounding, because of the sensitivity of the matter I find it more than hard to imagine that these circumstances would come true. The amount of litigation and procedures that would be required for PAS to take place would trump his rising concerns. Concluding that PAS is the best option for a patient is no hasty decision. It is in a doctor’s nature to explore every possible route for their patient. From clinical trials containing experimental drugs to alternative medicine, a doctor will look at every possible outlet before just settling that PAS is the best option. The weak and vulnerable would not be endangered because of all the hoops doctors would have to jump through to even suggest PAS. In fact, according to legislation multiple doctors must confirm that patient’s disease is terminal before the topic of PAS can be present (Frequently Asked Questions).

In conclusion, I ask you to ponder what it means to be in unbearable pain, and really come to terms with exactly what PAS is. I pray that you never find yourself in a circumstance where you have to think about it again, but if you do, I hope that you will be better equipped to understand what it means.

Works Cited

Agrawal, Manish, and Emanuel, Ezekiel J. “Death and dignity: dogma disputed” The Lancet, vol. 3, Citizens News Wire, 28 December 2002, www.citizensnewswire.org/files/Ezekiel20021221_Death_and_Dignity.pdf

Anderson, Ryan. “Four Problems with Physician-Assisted Suicide” Health Care Reform, The Heritage Foundation, 30 March 2015, www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/report/four-problems-physician-assisted-suicide

“Cancer Statistics.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics.

“FAQs - Physician-Hastened Death.” Death With Dignity, www.deathwithdignity.org/faqs/.

Kligler, Roger. “I'm a Doctor with End-Stage Cancer. I Support Medical Aid in Dying.” STAT, STAT, 6 Feb. 2018, www.statnews.com/2018/01/31/medical-aid-in-dying-doctor/.

“Physical Symptoms in the Last 2 to 3 Months of Life.” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/treatment/end-of-life-care/nearing-the-end-of-life/physical-symptoms.html.

Thomson, Judith Jarvis. “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Two Moral Arguments.” Ethics, vol. 109, no. 3, Apr. 1999, pp. 497-518. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/233919?origin=JSTOR-pdf&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

[sciencespies]

Scientists look ahead to the search for past Martian life with Perseverance

https://sciencespies.com/space/scientists-look-ahead-to-the-search-for-past-martian-life-with-perseverance/

Scientists look ahead to the search for past Martian life with Perseverance

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the landing of the rover Perseverance on Mars, scientists are looking ahead to the work it will do searching for evidence of past life on the planet and collecting samples for return to Earth.

At a Feb. 17 briefing a little more than 24 hours before Mars 2020 arrives at Mars, project officials confirmed that the spacecraft is operating well and on course for a landing at 3:55 p.m. Feb. 18 at Jezero Crater.

“Perseverance could land itself already without any more help from us on the ground,” Matt Wallace, deputy project manager, said at the briefing, based on its current status and the procedures on board to perform the various steps of entry, descent and landing (EDL). “So, the spacecraft is ready and, I think, the team is also ready.”

Mars 2020 is headed toward one corner of its targeted landing area, highlighted in maps of Jezero Crater as a green box. “Anywhere in that area, the entry, descent and landing system can finish the job of getting it down to Jezero Crater,” Allen Chen, EDL lead for the mission, said. “We think that the landing system can finish the job from here.”

Controllers had the option of one final trajectory correction maneuver late Feb. 17, but Chen said that would not be necessary. “We’re very comfortable pretty much anywhere in that green box, even here on the edge.”

The focus on the mission has been on the landing, including the famous “seven minutes of terror” during EDL, but others on Mars 2020 are looking ahead to what happens should Perseverance land as designed. “It turns out, after landing, it’s not over. In fact, it’s just beginning. The science mission is just beginning,” said Jennifer Trosper, deputy project manager.

If all goes well, initial images from the rover could come immediately after landing from hazard cameras, or hazcams, mounted on the front and rear of the rover. More data, including higher quality images, would come after a pass over the landing site by the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter around 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

Deployments of the rover’s mast, which has additional cameras other instruments mounted on it, will follow over a few days, along with a high-gain antenna and tests of other systems. “We hope to be driving in a few weeks,” she said, moving to a location where it will release Ingenuity, the small helicopter mounted underneath it, for flight tests.

The mission’s team of scientists will be getting ready for full-scale science activities. The landing “marks a fundamental transition from the getting-there phase of the mission to the doing phase, to actually exploring Jezero Crater,” said Ken Farley, project scientist for the mission.

Those scientists will be eagerly awaiting to use Perseverance’s instruments to study the landing site, including looking for evidence that the planet was once inhabitable and potentially inhabited by microbial life.

“Perseverance is the first real astrobiology mission since Viking,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division. The twin Viking landers, which touched down on Mars in 1976, carried instruments to look for evidence of present-day life. “We know that the experiments that we designed probably weren’t quite the right way to go about that.”

The instruments on Perseverance will look for biosignatures, like organic materials or structures left behind by past life. Ken Williford, deputy project scientist, used as one example stromatolites, sedimentary formations created by microbial life on the early Earth, showing off an example of one found in Australia.

“We may get so lucky as to find something so beautifully preserved as this stromatolite,” he said. “But far more likely is that anything we find will be much more ambiguous.”

Mary Voytek, director of NASA’s astrobiology program, agreed. “This particular mission is finding itself in more of a gray area,” able to find features that could be explained by both biological and abiological processes. “We’re going to have instruments, particularly when we bring the samples back, that will be able to distinguish that.”

A key role for Perseverance will be to cache dozens of samples, each about the size of a piece of chalk, that will be returned by later missions. That will allow scientists to study them in far greater detail in terrestrial laboratories than would be possible with instruments that could be flown on spacecraft to Mars and eliminate that ambiguity.

Sample collection will begin in the summer, and drive the pace of the mission. “This is a very fast-paced, high-stakes operation. It’s kind of a race to get it done,” Farley said of the daily cycle of analyzing data returned by Perseverance, deciding on next steps and uploading commands to the rover. That’s required significant training for the hundreds on the science team. “Scientists do not usually perform under these kinds of circumstances.”

The missions that will collect those samples and return them to Earth — a lander led by NASA with a European rover, and an orbiter led by ESA with a NASA collection system — are still in early phases of their design. NASA approved last December moving the Mars Sample Return program into Phase A of development, working on initial designs and key technologies.

That Phase A work also includes incorporating recommendations made by an independent review board, whose report last November broadly endorsed the program but raised a number of concerns about the design of the missions, their cost and schedule. In particular, it recommended that the launch of the lander and orbiter missions, currently scheduled for 2026, be pushed back to as late as 2028 based on NASA experience on other missions.

“We’re taking the findings and recommendations from that report very seriously,” Bobby Braun, Mars Sample Return program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said. The program is analyzing various trades in the design of the missions based on that report and other work, an effort that he said will be completed by the end of Phase A this October.

That work, though, depends on Perseverance sticking the landing in Jezero Crater. Wallace, asked at the briefing for the odds of a successful landing, said it was “very, very hard” to provide a numerical estimate. “There’s no go-backs, there’s no retries. It’s a difficult and dangerous part of the mission, and I think you always have to respect that,” he said. “I think we’ve done everything we can to make it successful, and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

#Space

[leofiat-bunny]

Thanks to @keyboo​ for pointing out that it’s set wrt season 1 timing... Ok, so S1 aired 7 Oct 2019 - 6 Jan 2020 according to mydramalist.

TL;DR for below: current guess is S2 starts early Feb 2026.

“The academic year in Thailand lasts from June to March and is divided into two semesters. It has a two or three week break between the two semesters in September.

The long summer break is during the hottest part of the year - the traditional Thai new-year celebrations, Songkran.” [source]

So, I’m pretty sure that’s “yes” to the long break they talk about being Songkran in April.

I don’t know which event TharnType would count from for their anniversary, but it’s got to be before the end of the academic year. 7 years since meeting is Jun 2026...

Unless their 7th anniversary would be the START of their 7th year together? I know some countries do that with age. That would fit with it actually being 6 years later but they keep talking about 7 years anniversary’s... I guess? So maybe we’re talking Jun 2025. I am so confused.

If we say S1 starts in Jun 2019, then Kunpol and Type are officially Doctors just after Mar 2025 - I double checked and sports medicine doctor will require at least 6 years to complete both degree and residency. I can’t imagine Kunpol has been working at the hospital long, not so much because he should have run into Type before, as that there’s no way the gossip channels wouldn’t grasp the “nephew of the director” after a full year.

I’m sure they said (repeatedly) that Type has been working at the hospital 10 months, so earliest is Feb 2026.

It’s definitely some way through the school year though, because Fiat was captain and Leo had already scared the teammate who still calls them all “Phi", so won’t be a friend from highschool like #4 is. Then he went to the camp, presumably just before the show starts. (It’s “only been a week” in ep 2 part 2 anyway.)

Leo’s school uniform says 1st year, and it also would put Fiat in a more vulnerable position to start with: his school life has less overlap with Leo in uni than it did in high school, basketball is still their time.

Why is Fiat captain in 1st year? Maybe the faculty has a lot of basketball players so either each year has it’s own team or, for the main part, the main team is composed of 2nd years+ and the 1st years team is basically auditioning for the spots that will be freed by the final year students as they move into 2nd year. I have ABSOLUTELY NO idea how plausible that is, I don’t do sports, and I did uni online, and that’s before we throw in the different country, different culture aspect.

It would put them at age 18/19 making the whole “they’re kids” argument make more sense - it doesn’t excuse what they do/don’t do, but it does fit with the narrative best.

Anyway.

Early Feb 2026 (next match is in 6 weeks, and presumably before the end of the academic year), with a generous amount of rounding, could be said to be 7 years after Jun 2019.

It makes sense for the camp to be towards the end of the year, and if exams are all in March, Feb is the latest feasible time.

Of course, if the long break is mid-April, and Type wants to work there 12 months, he can quit before then and take the time off whatever asshole boss says. Technically. But I get that the 12 months was a minimum, not a maximum, so he didn’t want to plan that route.

Sooo... please tell me the things I got wrong/missed out here.

And if anyone ever feels like trying to figure out time passing within the season, please link me up to it. (I... don’t know if my special interest in LeoFiat is enough to get me to comb through all of the other scenes for timing clues, especially when I don’t have much hope that it was thought through in the 1st place.)

... there was something else I wanted to add... ah! yes:

Songkran 2026 is, handily enough, Mon-Wed, so we still get the 5 day weekend

Question about Thai culture and TharnType timing:

Would the "long holiday" they keep mentioning be Songkran?

It's normally 13-15 April, which in 2020 was Mon-Wed, and would have created a 5 day weekend.

But it was 2020 so they moved most of it to September, creating a 4 day weekend Fri 4 - Mon 7.

So, follow up question: if we are talking Songkran 2020, which universe? 😒

Also, do people mind me using the tags for more general questions like this? I want the right people to see it, but I don't want to clog up the tags. 🙇‍♀️