gazaesims.com is a website dedicated to helping people donate esims for people in gaza. there are multiple options for where to purchase an esim to donate, for the price i listed you want to use nomad esims. then use the promotional discount code from this article (BACKPACKNOMAD) to get $3 off your purchase (note: this only applies to the first purchase you make on nomad) this discount obviously also works on the more expensive options too if you are able to spring for those! also it took over an hour for the email with my information to come through so don't panic if it doesn't show up right away.
In case you lost it - a link to the eSIM donation guide. Even if you feel sick and powerless, you can at least do this. And even if you really, really can't donate, you can always at least share this and remind others.
https://gazaesims.com/esim-purchase-tutorial/
btw now feels like a good time to plug the organizations that the kissinger death tontine accepted donations-as-submissions from!
☞ Cambodian Children's Fund ☞ Desafío Levantemos Chile ☞ East Timor and Indonesia Action Network ☞ Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Project ☞ The Halo Trust ☞ Yemen Relief Project
go to your blogs’ settings (again, you have to do these steps for each blog, not just your main blog)
scroll until you see “visibility” and choose that
in your visibility settings, choose “prevent third-party sharing for (blog name)”
you may opted out already but we don’t take chances with ai around these parts *insert angry cowboy*
tagging some mutuals to get the word out — @multifandomsimagine @pegxcarter @moremaybank @gladerscake @goldenroutledge @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @drewstarkeyslut @drudyslut @tangledinlove @rafeandonlyrafe @mvybanks
What is this about the tumblr staff wanting to sell art data to midjourney?
An ex-colleague of mine mentioned yesterday that there may be contacts between Automattic and midjourney in that direction, but nothing is public yet and I don't have any more info. They probably won't have anything specific to share either, since they left the company weeks ago too. That being said:
I have no reason to doubt my ex-coworker word, they are a trustworthy person.
Tumblr's CEO has been absurdly enthusiastic (comically, even) about AI, and is a big fan of LLMs and 'AI' companies.
A deal with midjourney could solve tumblr financial issues (not the same company, but openAi is paying up to 5 million/year to news companies to use their content as training data... tumblr generates several orders of magnitude more content than any newspaper or any media company and it only would need a 20 to 30 million per year deal to be profitable)
So I don't have any extra info yet, but I'm keeping my ears open.
I feel like I am living in the twilight zone. Literally thousands of Palestinians are dead, hundreds still missing under the rubble, Palestinians being captured and tortured in the West Bank, Israel saying “oh we’re going to ramp up our bombing” and tonight being the worst night of bombing to date and all I hear is “both sides both sides both sides both sides-“ I feel like I’m going mad
Funding for food at the Kassab IDP camp
The Save El Geneina initiative, which provides food and education/childcare to refugees in Chad
Evacuation fund organized by a friend of mine for 15 families trying to get out of Darfur
Food aid for Sudanese refugees in Cairo, who urgently need it as they face discrimination in Egypt
The Khartoum Aid Kitchen, a program supporting 10 kitchens that feeds thousands of people in the greater Khartoum area
The relocation and potential evacuation of an extended family consisting of at least 33 people
The Sudanese American Physician Association, which has been supporting hospitals and medical professionals in Sudan
The Darfur Women's Action Group (Darfur being a region with a higher Black Non-Arab population)
Two initiatives aimed at distributing menstrual hygiene products to people in Sudan
Hometax, a trusted on the ground org
Aid for the Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan, handled by a refugee led program
A continually updated thread on Twitter of even more gofundmes
COVID/SARS-CoV-2 basics
It is NOT seasonal, like the flu is.
Spreads through air, like smoke.
The 6 feet apart rule is no longer great prevention advice.
Handwashing is a great hygiene practice, but transmission via surfaces is unlikely.
Vaccines do NOT prevent transmission. They reduce symptoms and severity for some.
You can transmit [COVID] while completely asymptomatic. Around half of transmission is as asymptomatic or presymptomatic. Everyone's immune system is different.
Being indoors increases risk of transmission, but you can still get it in crowded outdoor spaces.
What is Long Covid?
Long Covid is a set of health issues after someone has COVID-19
New health issues, ongoing issues, or worsening of previous symptoms and conditions.
It is a biological disease that affects hundreds of millions of people globally. It is a mass disabling condition and crisis.
It can cause significant disability and can be fatal.
Anyone can develop it, and up to 10% of people with COVID will.
Severity of initial infection doesn't correlate to potential to develop Long COVID.
It can be very hard to get a diagnosis and proper treatment or care for Long COVID.
Every time you get COVID infection, you increase your chances of developing Long COVID.
How do we prevent Long COVID? Layers of protection
Masking.
Air filtration.
Ventilation.
Vaccines.
Testing (right now Aug 2024, rapid tests are only about 20% reliable. Try to test two times in 24-48 hours).
Nasal sprays before and after exposure. (little data on these being effective against COVID but some are choosing to use them until more research comes out)
Mouthwashes with CPC (Cetylpyridinium Chloride) before and after exposure. (Must be used for at least 60 seconds)