Shiro: Who Hurt You?

Researching Herb Safety

Hey witchblr and everyone else who is interested! I’ve noticed a lack of awareness when it comes to herbal remedies/medicines having side effects and interactions with medications, and realized a lot of people don’t know where to look! (All sites linked are free):

Articles on herb-drug interactions: [1] [2] [3]

Chart for possible herb-drug interactions

HerbMed has a search function where you can look up the herb and find possible interactions.

WebMD has a search function where you can look up an herb, and then select interactions and pull up very thorough medication lists. 

University of Maryland Medical Center has some info on common side effects and how to safely use herbal remedies. 

NIH has a search function where you can look up the herb and find credible articles and info on it. 

iMedPub has scholarly journals and articles on herbal medicine.

Elsevier also has scholarly journals and articles on herbal medicine.

Please send me more if you know of them, and I’ll start a part two! :)

Do you have ADHD? Well, may I suggest that you do The Thing right fucking now?

So, I have pretty crippling ADHD to the point that I can't think of a single aspect of my life it hasn't influenced. I also have a shiny medical diagnosis and have since I was seven. I'm in my 30s now. Yet in all that time, with 20+ years of therapy, lots of different meds, and a shit ton of the "why can't you just______" thrown at me by family and authority figures, it wasn't until recently that I truly grasped what time blindness means for me, an ADHD sufferer (yes I am going with sufferer cuz it makes me fucking suffer) in daily life. There's no Later with ADHD. If you know anything about ADHD, you know there's really only things that have happened, what's happening, and an idea of things you want to do with no concrete reality of future things.

And there's lots of cute things you can do to try and fight this. Lists, alarms, clacky bracelets with tasks on them. But all of these things imply that I, the ADHD sufferer, have enough executive functioning to remember to do them. Guess what? I don't. I have next to nothing and I'm lurching from impulse to impulse like a drug addict stumlbing towards a hit. Now, why's this matter? Because sometimes, there's an impulse to Do The Thing that is an actual responsible thing - pick something up off the floor, wash a dish, run an errand, feed a pet, anything even remotely responsible really - just like the impulse to go get a snack or to watch just one more episode of that show that's holding me hostage.

And before I really admitted to myself that my ADHD was a fucking disability and that I was suffering, I'd feel that impulse and go "oh, that's good, I'll do it in a minute" and it would never ever get done. Now? Now I understand, that minute is NEVER coming. It's never going to happen because there is NO SUCH THING as Later for me as an ADHD person. There's only the impulse.

So what have I started to do? Well, it sucks and I hate it but I've started treating the responsible impulses like the candy/tv/fanfic/"ooh shiny" impulse as in a thing I must feed my nervous system the SECOND it happens. No wait, only do. And the thing is, once I started doing that, treating every responsible impulse with absolute immediacy because I had 100% accepted that Later does not exist, yall, shit started getting done. My room started being cleaner, the dishes started getting put away, my laundry started getting done. It was getting done in huge bursts at 2am but it was getting done because I had the thought and went "okay I'll do The Thing right the fuck now." Pausing loses momentum nothing's worse to an ADHD brain than lost momentum.

Of course, NTs tend to want you to do stuff on their schedule, their way. That's a problem of its own so to facilitate this coping mechanism I had to learn to say to the people around me "whatever it is you are asking of me will have to wait until I finish THIS TASK because if I dont see it through, it will NEVER get finished" when following through on the impulse to Do The Thing Right the Fuck Now. Because it won't. If I lose flow, that's it. It's all over. Even writing this post. I had the idea, and now I'm writing it. If I stop it'll be gone. It's a fucking superpower really, both great and terrible. The thing is that harnessing it takes some willingness and an acceptance that us ADHDs do not and will not EVER function in the time stream like other people and a willingness to say so.

Right the Fuck Now belongs to the ADHDs. It's really the only concept of time we truly have. No reason not to fucking use it.

ways to help protestors if you are unable to protest

everybody has to do their part. as a reference, this was posted on 1 june 2020. if any links are broken or direct to a place they should not, please feel free to add on with corrections. if there is new information with better knowledge, please feel free to share. thank you.

1. donate

do not donate to shaun king. he has repeatedly collected money to “support” black people, but no one knows where the money is.

BAIL FUNDS (ALPHABETICAL ORDER; NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST)

note: washington dc and new jersey have cashless bail systems.

bail fund google doc (also includes lawyers for protestors)

national bail fund network (directory of community bail funds)

community bail funds masterpost by @keplercryptids

resistance funds (google sheets; lists bail funds around the country)

nationwide bail funds (split a donation to the bail funds listed on the linked page with a single transaction)

atlanta bail fund

brooklyn bail fund

colorado freedom fund

columbus freedom fund

houston chapter of black lives matter

liberty fund (nyc based; focuses services on people from low-income communities)

los angeles freedom fund

louisville community fund

massachusetts bail fund

minnesota freedom fund (as of may 30, 2020, they are encouraging people to donate elsewhere since they have raised enough money; as of may 29, 2020, they do not have a venmo, as some fraudulent accounts have been claiming, source)

philadelphia bail out fund

richmond bail fund

MORE PLACES TO DONATE

note: more links are listed in the masterposts below.

northstar health collective (healthcare and medical aid for people on the front lines)

reclaim the block (aims to redistribute police funding to help the minneapolis community)

twin cities dsa (provides fresh groceries and hot meals to people in minneapolis)

2. educate yourself

it isn’t enough to sign petitions and reblog/retweet/etc. nonblack people, including people of color, owe it to black people to educate themselves and correct themselves and the people around them on anti-blackness.

note: more links are in the masterposts linked below.

resources and tools regarding racism and anti-blackness (google sheets compilation)

readings on society, racism, the prison system, etc. (twitter thread)

“where do we go after ferguson?” by michael eric dyson

official black lives matter website

3. give out supplies to protestors

people need supplies to protest safely, and even if they bring supplies with them, they can often run out. if you’re able, stock up and hand them out to people protesting. for more supplies to donate, see the “george floyd action” google docs link in section 5.

water bottles (dehydration and heatstroke are not things people should have to deal with alongside bastard cops. if the police in your area are particularly violent or known to use tear gas, get the ones with the sports cap/suction-thing/etc so people can use them as emergency eye-flushes.)

snacks (make sure to take into account that people have allergies of all sorts. foods will have a little label that says “may contain” and then list any potential allergens. write the allergens on the ziploc (or any container you use) in permanent marker, or better yet, write the snacks included in the pack.)

masks (don’t forget there’s still a pandemic going on. also it will aid in deterring facial recognition when the police try to track down protestors,  also part two, if the cops use tear gas, wearing a mask (with the combination of a scarf or bandana) will lessen the adverse effects. lessen, not stop.)

bandanas, scarves, etc. and goggles (ski goggles, swimming goggles, etc.) (see above for explanation on the scarves. same goes for the goggles. anti–tear gas and anti–facial recognition.)

clean shirts (for people who are heavily gassed. also helps deter recognition through clothing.)

wound care supplies (band-aids, packets of neosporin packets or a similar antibiotic, alcohol wipes, etc.; if you can, decant bactine into those little travel bottles.)

a sharpie or another type of marker (for writing bail numbers or emergency contacts on arms, hands, etc. it’s not enough to have your city’s bail fund number stored on your phone; the police won’t give it to you to look it up. give people a marker so they can write it down, preferably not washable so it isn’t easily removed.)

IMPORTANT: KNOWING FIRST AID

tear gas: if you’re hit, get out as fast and as soon as you can. take anyone you can with you. the longer you’re in the gas, the harder it will be for you to see, and it can irritate your airways, making it hard to breathe. if you’re hit, don’t run; it’ll only make things worse on your lungs. when you leave the area, take a cold shower. don’t use hot water (it will only reactivate the agent); don’t bathe (it will only spread the CS around). (source 1) (source 2) (cdc fact sheet on tear gas)

move them to a clean and ventilated area where it’s as safe as possible.

ask them if they’re wearing contact lenses. have them remove it. if they’re wearing glasses, rinse it with water.

solution of half liquid antacid, half water. spray from the inside going out, with the head tilted back and slightly towards the side being rinsed. if they say it’s okay, open the eye slightly while doing this. (source)

bullet wounds: the most important thing is to stop the bleeding. be sure to check for an exit wound and cover that as well. treat both wounds, but treat the worse one first.

stop the bleed (youtube video by uc san diego health)

first aid in active shooting scenarios

making a tourniquet (a commercial tourniquet is best, but improvised ones can work as well if done properly; the most important things to remember is that tourniquets are for limb injuries and are not meant for the head or torso and that they have to be very tightly wound on the injury.)

how to apply pressure dressings

miscellaneous

adult cpr tutorial (youtube video by cincinnati children’s; think of “staying alive” by the beegees or “uptown funk”)

4. be a source of information

be responsible with this. people’s lives are at stake. that being said, the media is a fucking joke and the best way to get accurate information in a grassroots rebellion is amongst ourselves. record everything, but if you are going to share any information at all, be sure to blur people’s faces.

signal (encrypted messenger app; messages delete after x amount of time): app store | google play

tool for scrubbing metadata from images and selectively blurring identifiable features

tech tips to protect yourself while protesting (by rey.nbows on tiktok, via vicent_efl on twitter)

cop spotting 101 (google docs)

know your rights (by personachuu on twitter)

NUMBERS TO CALL FOR ARRESTED PROTESTORS (ALPHABETICAL ORDER; SOURCES LINKED TO THE NUMBER)

remember to keep phones OFF unless absolutely necessary. cell phone towers, stingrays, location notifs can all be used to track you and other protestors. don’t fuck around. if your phone must be on, keep it on airplane mode as often as possible and only communicate using encrypted methods. no, snapchat doesn’t count. (a twitter thread on stingrays, for those interested)

lawyers assisting protestors pro-bono (by riyakatariax on twitter)

atlanta: 404-689-1519

chicago: 773-309-1198

minneapolis: 612-444-2654

5. miscellaneous links and links for protestors

masterpost of petitions to sign, numbers to call, places to donate, and more (carrd by dehyedration on twitter)

#blacklivesmatter (google docs by ambivaIcnt on twitter; includes information on relevant events, other masterposts, lists of petitions and donation links, how to protest safely and protests to go to, and more)

george floyd action (google docs; includes information on apps to download, supplies to buy and donate, places to donate to, protest safety, resources on unlearning racial bias, and more)

how to get out of ziptie “handcuffs” (by finnianj on tiktok, via katzerax on twitter)

how can i help? by @abbiheartstaylor

how to make a signal-blocking cell phone pouch

tips for protestors by @aurora00boredealis

twitter thread for protestors (by vantaemuseum on twitter)

also, if you’re protesting, change your passcode. make it at least 11 characters long and don’t use facial/thumb recognition.

being gender nonconforming is great bc straight people think i'm edgy and intimidating but lgbt people see me and immediately think i'm friend shaped :)

thinking about jeff buckley being asked, "how do you want to be remembered?" and answering with, "as a good friend."

adhd culture is plugging in your headphones ready to bOp and then two hours later realising you haven’t actually pressed play

Anemone runs from starfish

So I got a complaint from a client about their website today.

In brief, this client operates an online directory, in which companies within a particular industry can advertise their services.

Companies appearing in this directory have the option to voluntarily disclose which of a pre-defined list of "visible minority" identifiers apply to the company's ownership: "disabled", "LGBT", etc.

Companies appearing in this directory also have the ability to list people – typically owners or directors – associated with the company. The same visible minority identifiers which apply to companies can also voluntarily be applied to individual people listed under a company.

Today, the website's operator decided to add a new identifier to the list. I'm not sure why they chose to phrase it the way they did, or whether they just forgot that the same list of visible minority identifiers is used for both companies and persons, but the short version is that they want to know why the site's users now have the ability to designate people as "Female Owned".