Coming into the eighth year of the pandemic and still people wonder why we're masking

#CovidIsNotOver still

As the founder of the Lost Spectacles Club, I'd like to invite you to participate in my poll about lost spectacles.

How did you lose your reading glasses?

This was from a news article about September 11, but honestly, we could say the same for now, replacing toxic with "virus laden"

#CovidIsNotOver

Our cat Wendall got fat-shamed at the vet, and looking at cat weight charts, it's confusing that none of them show a primordial pouch (loose tummy) Even the chonky cats have solid balloon style tums in these drawings, instead of a soft poochy bit. And I've never seen a cat (thin or otherwise) with a "tucked" tummy.

#catsofmastodon

RE: https://aus.social/@mike_honey_/117221427513970058

If you have a spare few dollars, and have found Mike Honey's COVID data interesting or helpful at any point, please consider donating.

He's doing the job the governments should be doing.

#covidIsNotOver

I'm going to abandon the internet tomorrow and maybe even the day after because it's making me anxious.

So, what catastrophic catastrophe will be triggered by my absence?

Anecdotally, misogyny does span the political spectrum.

And as a woman, one goes into these left spaces with a false sense of security and it's very unsettling when you almost feel like you're gaslighting yourself about men's behaviour, because you have higher expectations of the people in this space.

And as a side note, it's not just misogyny in these spaces - it's often coupled with ageism.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-25/rising-misogyny-in-young-people/107053640?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

Apparently the climate emergency in Europe is ruining the economy.

We (the green folk) have been on about this for years. Decades even. I have a post card from some years ago saying "there's no economy on a dead planet."

Surely the governments should be launching into action - stopping flights; making days of the week allowed for driving and encouraging work from home. Holding industries accountable for their pollution.

Didn't some things improve during the COVID lockdowns?

BUT NO, instead they're greenlighting more AI data centres, presumably thinking that they're going to be able to eat their piles of crumb cash that the billionaires throw at them in place of the food that we won't be able to grow anymore.

#noEconomyOnADeadPlanet
#ClimateEmergency

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-24/summer-heatwaves-in-europe-hurting-economy/107054578?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

Looking at what's going on in the northern hemisphere: heatwaves, fires, droughts I want to beg anyone who happens to read this:

Reconsider travelling by plane for meetings, conferences. Don't book that cruise. Stay home and don't book that flight for your holiday. Keep your flights for seeing family. But nothing else.

I know technically the private-jet people use up a whole regular individuals carbon output for a year in one flight, but they're not going to do anything.

I don't know what else to do, but feel profoundly sad for all of the people getting evacuated; the food stress that's going to occur as a result of drought; the rivers which are dry.

It's up to us.

#climatechange

At the doctor earlier. Sitting in the waiting room, a doctor comes out - she puts on a surgical mask, greets a man just inside the door and hands him a surgical mask. They go into her office.

Firstly: bloody glad that I had a good mask on, and my daughter (10) did too. And that I'd told her before going in "this is a high risk situation, make sure your fit is good."

Secondly: OK so the doctor isn't going to mask all the time, but ALSO ffs if you are going to put on a mask, take a bloody moment to understand why you're doing it - a surgical mask shows no critical thinking, no curiosity, nothing.

Thirdly: Our own doctor came out in a Kn95, but taped at the nose. He is a man who took it seriously at the first, and when I went to see him back then, described people who didn't want to get vaccinated as "fucking idiots."

#CovidIsNotOver
#maskup in a proper mask. None of this baggy blue bullshit.

I think the thing that people don't get about masking is that if you already feel like shit (tired, busy, burnt out, chronic illness) it stops you from getting worse.

Also, if you're already in good health and feel ok, it'll also preserve that.

Not getting sick with any respiratory thing is a boon.

Couldn't decide if this was one for the journal or a toot - but here I am.

Watching the temps skyrocket in the northern hemisphere is horrifying but also my thoughts are with any public facing people [climate scientists; politicians, particularly the Greens, and concerned citizens] who have been trying to tell everyone for years.

And while the temperatures are rising and uncomfortable, everyone will take it seriously for a moment.

However, once the temperature becomes more tolerable they'll forget and comment on what a beautiful 20 degree day it is in January and not feel weird or think it's connected to the weather they're having right now.

I suppose some humans will muddle through this, and the earth will recover from us in time. But still, it stings that all of this could have been avoided.

#climatechange

Re: hantavirus - A piece of my soul just permanently shrivelled due to some kind of spiritual cringing.

Apparently there's people on Facebook already going on about "not complying" if it becomes a larger thing.

I'm getting flashbacks and my mind is flooding with reasons you probably shouldn't catch hantavirus and it's all so rational and yet they defy any rationality.

And on top of that , suddenly all of the people who vaxxed-and-relaxed are saying stuff like "we can use what we learned during COVID" - Oh do please tell us what you learnt about an ongoing pandemic that you chose to ignore for the past 4-5 years.

#CovidIsNotOver

When we bought our land in 2017, there wasn't much here, basically an old paddock and an easement into a creek, which we discovered the neighbours had been running their grey water into. They were new to the area too, but their house was built in the 60s. So, lots of disinfectants and god knows what into the creek for 50 years.

There were a few fairy wrens around, some earth worms, but otherwise everything seemed kind of... reduced?

Since we built and started (slowly) planting a garden, and got the neighbours to sort out their grey water situation, I've been noticing all sorts of different things coming into the garden, including -

* 30 species of birds, including grey faced herons
* Many different kinds of beetles
* Frogs. You never used to be able to hear them in the evenings, but now with the window open, it sounds like a good population.
* All kinds of butterflies
* Crickets! This year is the first year I've seen/heard them here
* Snails! Taken for granted, and a pest, but I haven't seen one here for 6 years, until a couple of weeks ago.
* Lots of skinks

I guess what I mean to say is that even if the world is shit, improving small things around you can really improve things more than you imagine they will.

I was just having a look on Reddit and saw this thread about why people are not tanned in Australia . The comments are an absolute example of a successful public health campaign and how effective they can be.

In my memory there was a shift to sun awareness in the late 70s and early 80s, and there was a catchy song. Then we had stickers given out at school and the phrase "slip, slop, slap" (slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat) was ubiquitous. It was positive messaging and it worked.

If only we could get the public health organisations/institutes/departments to be as effective for respirator use.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAnAustralian/comments/1pskwkt/why_aussies_look_so_pale/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

#CovidIsNotOver

How are people feeling, being at the end of Year 6 of this shitshow?

Last year I was a bit depressed that gen pop still hadn't worked it out and that we'd be masking forever and life would never go back to how it was.

This year though, I'm angry and I'm happy to mask forever to protect myself from everyone else's willful stupidity and viruses.

#CovidIsNotOver

Surely if reincarnation is real, returning as a pampered domestic cat is close to the end of the chain?

Geoffrey is surely unaware of his good fortune.

#catsofmastodon

Since 2020 (with the exception of 2021 because our state was COVID free until December) we have not eaten-in at any restaurants, and only get takeaway during what seems to be troughs.

Meanwhile, a friend who has been yolo-ing no longer can at all, because she now has an mysterious and extreme gluten intolerance that results in tachycardia and swollen joints, and just can't risk getting gluten by mistake.

We had a family visit to the optometrist the other week - the one we see is an example of how things could be if medical professionals actually kept up to date with info. She is the only optician that we have found who masks (after several phone calls), and not only when she's at work, but on her way into work (we were there when she arrived) and she told me that she doesn't want to pass anything onto any of her patients, a number of whom have cancer or are elderly.

The shop has these signs on the wall in the waiting area, and I love that they communicate that "respiratory" viruses can affect other parts, like your eyes.

#CovidIsNotOver #medicalpeoplewhohaveaclue

My End of the World Partner and husband was just posting this as I was telling him about a friend with whom I had a conversation about masks with about three weeks ago, who now has #covid

Fuck this is depressing