My Mom Got Phished In An EXTREMELY Refined Scam That Pretty Much Anyone Could Fall For-- Basically Her

USA people! Buy NOTHING Feb 28 2025. Not anything. 24 hours. No spending. Buy the day before or after but nothing. NOTHING. February 28 2025. Not gas. Not milk. Not something on a gaming app. Not a penny spent. (Only option in a crisis is local small mom and pop. Nothing. Else.) Promise me. Commit. 1 day. 1 day to scare the shit out of them that they don't get to follow the bullshit executive orders. They don't get to be cowards. If they do, it costs. It costs.

Then, if you can join me for Phase 2. March 7 2025 thtough March 14 2025? No Amazon. None. 1 week. No orders. Not a single item. Not one ebook. Nothing. 1 week. Just 1.

If you live outside the USA boycott US products on February 28 2025 and stand in solidarity with us and also join us for the week of no Amazon.

Are you with me?

Spread the word.

Me: I don't get it. I thought I was doing a lot better than I was a few years ago. I'm like 10 times more on top of things than I used to be. How does everything feel terrible now?

The Tiny Me in OSHA-approved Hi-Vis Gear Who lives in my brain and pulls all the levers: Boss, it's the fascism. You're completely gunked up with cortisol due to the fact that your entire daily life is now underscored with a haunting awareness of the rapid erosion of your rights, dignity, and any and all social safety nets, and you're also bearing witness to the most vulnerable people immediately being persecuted. This creates a natural stress response that basically means you're going to continue having memory and organizational problems, as well as emotional imbalances.

Me: BUT I HAVE A BULLET JOURNAL AND I MEDITATE NOW.

Tiny OSHA Me: BOSS, THE FASCISM.

Just a neat motivation song is these times! Hope everyone is having a nice day or night!

Networking/Knowing A Guy: A Guide

This is the autism website. Now, as an extension of the power of love and friendship, there are few things more useful than Knowing A Guy. Knowing A Guy means you have a support network. Knowing a plumber, or a tax accountant, or just that one dude that's really fucking good at finding the information you need when you're really overwhelmed, can be the difference between being able to pay rent and having a fun party with friends to fix your shit.

How does one end up Knowing A Guy? It's a skill you can develop called Networking and it is one of the foundations of society. Unfortunately making those connections with people is fucking hard and nobody makes a tutorial for it. So, here you go:

The golden rule is you scratch my back and I scratch yours

It is necessary for survival to seek out useful people

Great news! Everyone is useful in some form or fashion - including you! When given the opportunity to learn about someone, do it! Extroversion does not come naturally to some people and that's okay. Just take whatever falls in your lap.

Types of usefulness: trade skills, connections of their own, personality you jive with, pleasant to talk to, niche interest in shared hobby, security - the list is pretty much endless. I know a guy that lives in the metro area - no job, no major hobbies, inoffensively annoying to me personally, kinda ignorant, not attractive to me, but you know what? He knows how the fuck to get around the city by foot. My rural-raised ass APPRECIATES the guide.

Remember important information: general personality, background, skillset, likes and dislikes. You can find this information by making smalltalk about their life. There is no such thing as pointless conversation. (Yes, even the annoying smalltalk)

The more people you know, the higher the likelihood that one of them will be useful in a given situation - or will know someone who is.

It is overwhelming. In a given clique/community/workspace/whatever, there is A Guy Who Knows The Other Guys. This Guy is a shortcut. Find them. They're often elderly, extroverted, a little bit annoying, a secretary or in some otherwise forward-facing position. Look for people that are gossipy/talk about other people a lot but not in negative ways. If they constantly talk shit, they'll talk shit about you too. They're still useful but be careful with the information you share

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.*

If you have low self esteem, you're going to feel like you're using people. You're not. That's the devil talking. People like feeling valued and the connections you are making are the threads holding community together. Recognize people for their talents. It's only a problem when you're taking advantage of people

So: don't feel scummy about it. You're an animal. You have to claw out your right to survive and people will respect you more for it.

Luckily mutualism is the name of the game in the animal kingdom. Offer something back. The foundation of a Know A Guy relationship is Mutual Benefit

Sometimes that Mutual Benefit is just spreading news of the The Guy far and wide. My plumber friend is my actual friend and I love her to death, but I'm maintaining our backscratch relationship by pimping out her plumbing business to anyone that'll listen

Food is a good Mutual Benefit. People across cultures for all of human history have bonded over food. I have good success asking people for a favor and then offering to buy them lunch in return **

General compensation is also good. Offer a service in return and always do your best to offer financial compensation as appropriate. Having your plumber friend take a look at your drain: doable with a case of beer. Having your plumber friend redo the pipes in your entire house? You need to pay for that.

Being transactional is not necessarily a bad thing. I would advise against keeping an itemized list of things owed, but fish don't seek out cleaner shrimp just because they enjoy their company. Everyone gets something

Unfortunately being extroverted and generally personable is a huge benefit here, but that's the value of the Guy That Knows A Guy. There's someone out there that has consolidated All The Guys so you don't have to be the local expert. Always remember nobody can do everything and you don't need to master every skill

* This is the foundation of a functioning community. I have many acquaintances that I find incredibly annoying. They include doctors, welders, artists, social workers, lawyers, construction crew and random fuckers at the grocery store. I do not hang out with them. I do not have to in order to maintain a civil Know A Guy relationship. I can drop them useful tidbits and fuck right off so I don't have to spend any more time than necessary with them

** People may assume romantic intent. Be prepared for that. I generally denote that it's a friendly/work lunch by calling them bro at some point if they're my age. Otherwise my general demeanor is sufficient to show that I do this with everyone

Source: personal experience, mother's teachings of crime, booth vending and poverty

Two things I need Today's Youth to know:

1. Anything the government says is propaganda

2. 99% of vegetables taste better roasted

Hey, does anyone know if a 22 oz Cirkul lid will fit a Thermos Funtainer brand kids bottle 12 oz????

I can’t find proper dimensions and I’m on a really tight budget and so I’m looking for guidance!! I’d like to get a kid I babysit a bottle they’ll like for their birthday, and I want to be able to swap out the lid for a cirkul, as that’s an incentive they’re working to!

I understand this is a very specific ask, but any help is appreciated!!

Or, does anyone know any other pikachu bottles that work?

I like and trust this person for stuff, we should all call! Think of it in a different way if you have to; like rallying against your fav/least fav anime villain and telling them off through phone call, or view it on a smaller scale!! But get out and call!

Hey, if you’re anxious like I am about calling people, especially the government, give this a try. No matter how many tries it takes you to get yourself to read this (it took me a quite a while too!) you’ll get there! It’s all or nothing these days boy, girls, non-binary pals! Just 1 minute after-hours if you have too! If you think this won’t help you, then share it with a friend who it might!

Hope this helps someone!

https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/fact-sheet-how-to-call-your-elected-officials.pdf

(The link won’t let me put it in properly for some reason :/)

Dropping this here for anyone who may not already know about it. paywallreader.com

Found this important just in general. When precedent cases go through, many tend to sweep the country after that. People really need to unite, before everyone’s gone and there’s no one left to fight for freedom.

Here’s a link to the bill in question. Some stuff in it is amazingly great, but it feels like they’re trying to sneak that other stuff in…: https://www3.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2025-26%20INT/SB/SB593%20INT.PDF

https://www3.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2025-26%20INT/SB/SB593%20INT.PDF

First people they considered illegal.

Then people outside of what they consider the correct gender.

Now people who read, write, and have romance. (This includes stuff targeted to men too; ie. your dating sims. Hentai. Porn. AI chat bots. etc.. These laws will be for everyone.)

And tariffs, that have been put in motion to happen this year, and will impact everyone but the rich.

But the more they try to do, the more people realize what’s been done. Now is the time to slowly get rid of your fear and anxiety. Walk around your room, read a book about your favorite character being awesome. Call your parent(s) for a chat. You only need to do just enough, just enough, to start helping out, even if that helping is spreading one word of correct information. You did that. You helped.

We can do this, just listen to me. You can do this.

But I need you to help me too.

And everyone else.

We can do it.

Les Misérables will be okay.