fwiw, it appears that they *did* fix it...

...yet I am nevertheless unpleased with how they communicated with me about it.

Specifically looking for ad-blocking that works on my iPhone and blocks ads inside mobile apps, too — NordVPN has been very good at it since I first got it in 2018.

But today it just stopped working, and the NordVPN response has been nothing more than "Yes we know this is happening."

Good to know! And the ad-blocking is effective?

NordVPN has pooped in the bedsheets. Customer service is being insanely unhelpful.

Does anyone have a competitor VPN/ad blocker they recommend?

I need something that works on iPhone, Mac and Linux…

These jokes never get old.

Reminds me of a movie I once saw…

I am genuinely curious as to why some poets, when submitting work for publication, will start a submission packet with their worst poem then end it with their best.

headline “AI Correctly Identifies Behavior Common in Bedroom”

Buoy cam view looking west over Lake Erie with Toledo Channel in the distance. // Image captured at: 2026-04-11 03:27:01 UTC (about 28 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: glerl.noaa.gov/metdata/tol2/ // Current Temp in Toledo: 47 F | 8 C // Precip: overcast clouds // Wind: NNE at 9 mph | 14 kph // Humidity: 85%

Current* conditions near Toledo, OH:

…and certainly what at least one “bigger than Jesus” band wished they could’ve been…

…and what psych rock wished it was…

…and maybe about five other genres wished they were…

"Well, I'm about to shred the warranty document for this mini-fridge we purchased in 2021. The warranty lapsed... four years ago."

{blank stare}

"OK, I'm sorry, I'm going to need a moment alone to process this first."
2/2

Am I the only one who gets really emotional when cleaning out the filing cabinets?

I'm not talking about tossing baby pictures or vacation/concert ephemera.

I'm talking about culling temporary retention records after their seven-year expiration. Like... receipts, tax forms, bank statements...
1/2

Southern view from Bridge View Park on the shore of Lake Michigan of the Mackinac Bridge traversing the Straits of Mackinac. // Image captured at: 2026-04-09 03:36:02 UTC (about 1 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: mackinacbridge.org // Current Temp in St. Ignace: 50 F | 10 C // Precip: moderate rain // Wind: S at 23 mph | 37 kph // Humidity: 62%

Current* conditions near St. Ignace, MI:

Well you know that 125% of the things that come out of an AI company CEO’s mouth are fabricated out of thin air in order to drum up vulgar amounts of venture capital.✱

✱this has been fact-checked by Claude 6.9, so we know it’s true

Southern view from the Mackinac Bridge Administration building of the Mackinac Bridge traversing the Straits of Mackinac with Lake Huron on the left. // Image captured at: 2026-04-09 03:12:02 UTC (about 1 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: mackinacbridge.org // Current Temp in St. Ignace: 50 F | 10 C // Precip: broken clouds // Wind: S at 21 mph | 34 kph // Humidity: 60%

Current* conditions near St. Ignace, MI:

This is canon.

View looking SW from the Cleveland downtown Hilton overlooking Cleveland Memorial Shoreway as it winds through downtown Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie. // Image captured at: 2026-04-08 04:54:03 UTC (about 1 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: news5cleveland.com // Current Temp in Cleveland: 30 F | -1 C // Precip: few clouds // Wind: E at 7 mph | 11 kph // Humidity: 50%

Current* conditions near Cleveland, OH:

Visual masterpiece!

Fact Check: New Finnish "Study" Does Not Prove "Trans Youth Care Leads To Worse Outcomes" The latest Kaltiala study is filled with fatal methodological flaws, and does not support claims made about trans youth care lacking efficacy.

Fact Check: New Finnish "Study" Does Not Prove "Trans Youth Care Leads To Worse Outcomes"

www.erininthemorning...

#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA

Red states are making lists of trans people as surveillance ramps up States including Kansas, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee are looking to collect information about people who sought gender-affirming care or changed gender markers on documents

‘Kansas was going to be the first domino that fell’: Red states are making lists of trans people as surveillance ramps up

prismreports.org/202...

#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA

Bob never use pronouns. Bob always refer to people and things by actual names. Makes possessives hard, is often confusing — but is totally worth to make liberals mad.

Oh what’s the fun in THAT?!

You have my attention.

Wait, there are actually people out there who only read English-language writers?!

Yeah, but now I want to write a novel based on the premise.

Not that anyone will read it if I ever do get around to it, but if it happens I will be sure to thank you in the preface. :)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Estate of Karl Nierendorf, By purchase © 2016 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Bent Dark Gray by Josef Albers, 1943
https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137461

BTW it looks like this story originated with the Daily Mail, which is a publication that demonstrably fabricates approximately 10% of their news.

But this is the kind of thing that piques curiosity! I will definitely be keeping an eye out to see if anyone more fact-checky starts reporting on it!

Many people near the end of life (and their survivors) prefer for cause of death to not be made public for privacy reasons.

And if a scientist is already long-retired, who on earth would benefit from slightly hastening their already-impending natural demise?

I mean… a spot check of the names listed reveals that they were real scientists who died within the last several years, but many of them were retired and in their sixties/seventies… the fact that their obituaries omit cause of death is hardly in and of itself suspicious.