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Katsushika Hokusai, Mount Fuji

#Fuji #Katsushika Hokusai

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Yes. I do have a functional respiratory system. However its purpose is to maintain thermal control of my internal systems.

#GIF #Star Trek #Data #Bashir

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Maids, cleaners, janitors, and sanitation workers are all the most important people of civilization by far. Even 12 hours without them is VERY noticable and they simply need to be highly compensated for it

#janitors

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TRAINSPOTTING (1996) dir. Danny Boyle

#GIF #Trainspotting #Renton #Ewan McGregor #the worst toilet in Scotland #Sick Boy #Franco #Spud #Diane

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#dolphin #bulbous bow #video #hydrodynamics

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Tree roots following the pattern of concrete footpaths

#tiles #bricks #roots

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Broke:

Belle has Stockholm syndrome because she falls in love with the Beast, her kidnapper.

Woke:

Stockholm syndrome was coined to slander a woman who had been in a hostage situation but openly criticized the poor police response which recklessly put her in more danger and escalated the violence. She was then belittled and discredited publically by the police for this.

So. Yeah. Maybe Belle does have Stockholm syndrome actually.

#Stockholm Syndrome #Beauty and the Beast

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this is the best video ive seen in my goddamn life

#video #dance

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Jane Wyatt & Mark Lenard as Amanda Grayson & Sarek

#Star Trek #GIF #Sarek #Amanda #Mark Lenard #Jane Wyatt

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I feel like I should make a post about this because it’s not something that’s very well-known, and that Americans in particular may need to know about given the uncertain state of our healthcare system at the moment. I’ve wanted to write this out for a while, It’s kind of a long post, so sorry about that!

If you have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, you’ll owe the hospital a lot of money. (I got into a car wreck and broke my ankle and my arm. My hospital bill was around $20,000)

You’ll also owe the ambulance provider, if you need one. (My ambulance bill was about $800)

You may get separate bills from the anesthesiologist or surgeon. (My anesthesiologist bill was $1,700)

You may need follow-up appointments. (My orthopedic surgeon billed me for the appointments and his surgery together and it was about $1,000)

You’ve also got to pay for medical equipment you need afterward, like crutches or a walking boot. (Mine cost about $75)

Altogether, I ended up with almost $24,000 in medical debt from one car accident. That’s a really scary number for someone like me who makes $10/hr at a 12 hour a week job.

I got my debt down to $1075 by making some phone calls and submitting some paperwork.

The first thing I did was contact the hospital. They don’t make it easy to find, but many hospitals (perhaps most hospitals?) have financial assistance programs for people who can’t afford medical bills. I don’t make a lot of money, and I have bills to pay, so they were able to help me. I called the billing department and asked if they had any assistance programs for low income people who can’t pay their bills. I had to call multiple times, and I got transferred in circles by people who didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got an appointment with someone in “Eligibility Services” (I don’t know what other hospitals call it, if it’s something different). I had to bring my pay stubs and copies of all of my bills. When I got to the hospital for the appointment, nobody knew what I was talking about so I had to wander a little to find where I needed to go. I spoke with the guy in Eligibility Services, and I waited for a decision on how much of the bill they would forgive. A month later, I got a call telling me it was totally forgiven.

I did the same thing for my ambulance bill and my anesthesiologist, but the process was a LOT easier. I just had to mail some paperwork and it was totally forgiven.

I didn’t bother with the medical equipment suppliers, since the bills came from separate companies and I didn’t feel like going through the process twice for $75. I was assured at the hospital that they had similar programs for debt forgiveness, so I could have probably avoided paying that too.

The only thing I couldn’t get taken care of was the surgeon/follow-up appointment cost, but they were able to put me on a no-interest payment plan.

Medical debt is scary because it’s something that can come from stuff that’s already really scary. I didn’t need the burden of $24,000 in debt on top of trying to get around on a crutch with a broken arm (it’s not easy, believe me!).. but I can’t imagine what it would be like with a bigger debt or a more severe medical emergency. I see lots of people in even worse trouble than I was in, both financially and medically. Please know that there are options for you when that GoFundMe doesn’t do enough. Even if your income is higher than mine, it’s worth a shot even for partial debt forgiveness.

#national health

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#big government #big corporations

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so international space station astronauts apparently dropped a tool bag during a spacewalk. and if you look outside when the ISS is in your region, you can see it with binoculars

The tool bag is now orbiting our planet just ahead of the ISS with a visual magnitude of around 6, according to EarthSky. That means it is slightly less bright than the ice giant Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun. As a result, the bag  —  officially known as a crew lock bag  —  is slightly too dim to be visible to the unaided eye, but skywatchers should be able to pick it up with binoculars.  To see it for yourself, first find out when you can find spot the space station over the next few months (NASA even has a new app to help you). The bag should be floating two to four minutes ahead of the station. As it descends rapidly, the bag is likely to disintegrate when it reaches an altitude of around 70 miles (113 kilometers) over Earth. 

she's fucking magnificent

#ISS #tools #Planetes

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People against piracy fail to realize that no, I can’t just ‘buy it.’ They stopped making DVDs and Blu-Rays. They’re barely offering digital copies for download. I am not spending money I could use for food or bills to pay for a subscription service just so I can always have access to a beloved piece of media. Especially not when the service will remove media on a whim without concern for how the loss of access to that piece will make its artistic conservation nigh impossible.

For example, I recently learned that Disney+ had an original film called Crater. It’s scifi, family friendly, and seems cool - I would love to buy it as a holiday gift for my little brother! But: it’s exclusive to D+ and THEY REMOVED IT LITERALLY MONTHS AFTER ITS RELEASE.

The ONLY way I can directly access this film is through piracy. The ONLY available ‘copies’ of this film are hosted on piracy websites. Disney will NEVER release it in theaters, or as something to buy, and it may NEVER return to the streaming service. It will be LOST because we aren’t allowed to purchase it for personal viewing. If I can’t pay to own it, I won’t pay for the privilege of losing it when corporate decides to put it in a vault.

So yes, I’m going to pirate and support piracy.

#piracy

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British wartime steelworkers take a cigarette break, ca. 1942 - by Harry Todd, English

#monochrome #smoke break #steelworkers

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#video #cat #O Fortuna #Oh For Tuna

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1969 cover art by Mitchell Hooks for ‘The Fortec Conspiracy,’ by Edmond G. Addeo and Richard M. Garvin

#Mitchell Hooks #The Fortec Conspiracy #Edmond G Addeo #Richard M Gavin #people in capsules

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春の奈良公園　ガスメータの後ボケとクラウンになり切れない水紋を添えて･･

今日は日中20℃越えの陽気。興福寺から歩き始めましたが、ちらほらと桜が咲き始め･･。その足で奈良で一番早い桜と言われる氷室神社へ行くとやはりここは辺りよりも開花が進んでいました。

でもこのポイントも鹿さんと桜の取り合わせがなかなか難しい･･

木蓮の花もピークを迎え、大きな花弁が散り始めていました。

'24.3.30 興福寺湯屋、氷室神社にて

#Japan #cherry blossom #Nara #deer