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  • I moved this weekend and I am sore as fuck now. Always a stressful thing, moving. But it was worth it I think. It's a nice new place. Life is sort of tiring at the moment and I hope things get better soon. At least it is supposed to be better weather soon. Can't wait to start my herb nursery on my new balcony.

    I hope everyone has a nice week.

    • Now that you said "I hope everyone has a nice week" did you prepair the capybara video for @graineater

  • The lack of focus I was having last week is only getting worse, I sit down to work and I just...don't. And I'm having memory problems, last week was even more of a blur than the weeks before it. Going to see a doctor about this soon, hopefully it isn't anything too major.

  • Got in a discussion on Reddit about sex work and the whole white, male 'WOMEN SEXUAL LIBERATION REEEE' crowd came crawling out of their basements to downvote. To them, sex work is this perverse fantasy of a white woman being empowered instead of the reality in which 99% are human trafficking victims in horrible conditions.

    • Obligatory recommendation of "prostitution and ways of fighting it" by alexandea Kollontai

    • I'm "softer" (lol) on sexwork than most marxists are, and I think it tends to be unfairly demonized, often into SWERF territory.

      Of course it's not that simple or black and white, and nobody should be pressured or coerced into sex work, and it is a genuine horrific travesty that many women find themselves in because they need to make end's meet, and this is especially true among women and afab of color.

      I've spoken to women who are prostitutes and who are also marxists and are genuinely empowered by their work, and have their own thoughts and perspectives that deserve respect and consideration, though since I do live in the global north/collective west, I can't even imagine how bad things are for women who are forced into it, even after reading about, especially in the global south, and the global north too.

      Not that it particularly matters, nor is there likely anyway of measuring the statistics, but I'd be woeful of saying that 99 percent of sexworkers are trafficking victims.

      But I don't mean to completely disagree with you, and the percentage is definitely way more than most expect.

      • 99% was a bit of an exeggaration but over here in Belgium it is estimated that around 85% of the people in prostitution are actually trafficked into it. And then there are some people who fall into a grey area of being semi forced into it and then we have a tiny minority who do it out of empowerment.

        I used to work with human trafficking victims and almost everyone of them used to be a sex worker. There seems to be this liberal fantasy in which sex work is one of the highest tiers of womens liberation but the reality is just so far removed from that, that we need to abolish this system entirely.

        That being said, I am not going against sex workers who do speak up for better conditions and rights, etc. I support the sex workers struggle against the system of course. I have nothing against a free sexual spirit, I am all for it. I just do hope we, as a society, manage to move past viewing sex as labour in order to keep existing.

  • maybe 9/11 was just a marketing ploy for general motors to increase white male anxiety and sell more big pickup trucks ten years later

  • Got a couple questions for the e-bike users. We got some here, I think.

    Are they usable in winter? Not california winter, proper winter. Knee deep snow, - 30C, the whole nine yards.

    How much space are they taking up? I understand there are foldables, but they still look big-ish.

    • Depends on how your local roads/side walks/pathways are maintained. If the snow is cleared, e bikes work just fine, but your range will be hurt a bit. A bad headwind will also mean your range goes down a lot (wind seems worse in the winter where I am, but that could be some sort of confirmation bias). The times I've biked through Blizzard conditions/extreme wind and cold I was very glad to have the e assist on the bike. Those days are rare though, and the primary consideration in my mind is how well things are maintained the rest of the year.

      That being said, a path that hasn't been cleared in days is basically unusable for any bike. Maybe a fat-tire bike could work, but I don't have experience with that.

      In terms of space, I use my bike all the time so I've made space for it in my apartment.

      Maybe is should ask, what type of ebike are you looking to get? There is quite a range of types. Mine is basically just a normal bike with a motor assist.

      • what type of ebike are you looking to get?

        That's what I'm trying to determine. Most likely something beyond simple assist, and more along the lines of "moped that I could pedal if the battery dies"

    • Iowa ebike user here.

      They're "usable" to a certain extent, but range is cut by the cold and the wind on your skin is murder. Also, of course, you should never ride if there isn't sand on the ground for your tires to grip or (even better) you have studded tires - even the smallest patch of ice can be disastrous.

      But you can totally do it. I got some strap on arm guards for my handlebars and my helmet has a visor to block the wind, works pretty well.

  • It's Kings Day in the Netherlands today. I'm against the monarchy so I'll not wear the royal color Orange when I go outside. For me it's just an excuse to go party, but this year I'm less in the mood than usual

    • I always feel like a sour twat in my communist anti monarchist vibe this day. Luckily i live in Belgium now.

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