kaz
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karenkaz.com
kaz
@karenkaz.com
Chicago: Belmont Cragin, #bikechi, CTA rants
Personal: greyhounds, cats, homeownership, sometimes sports
Work: marketing, data, analytics, nonprofits, city planning nerd
ABOLISH ICE is the merciful position
Reposted by kaz
OK "god bless america" and then naming every country in the americas from south to north is absolute king shit
February 9, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by kaz
how dare you use karaoke for evil
February 9, 2026 at 1:02 AM
I made really good loaded nachos for dinner and it’s on the TV in the background but that’s about the extent of my Super Bowl activities.
February 9, 2026 at 12:42 AM
At my typical reading pace (about a book per week) I have ~2 years worth of books on my no-effort To Read list. By “no-effort” I mean the list is curated merely by adding books when I run across recommendations that sound interesting. The idea that I need AI slop to fill the need… 🤢
Like, it's just really easy to see that I am not going to be able to keep up with the LITERAL REST OF THE WORLD in output. Even without AI.

The way people like me win is by writing memorable books that relate to the human experience.
February 8, 2026 at 7:32 PM
I’m so glad it’s been sunny this weekend because Milton deserves every minute of cozy winter sunbeams.
February 8, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Man the USA channel Olympics broadcast is very poorly produced. So many mistakes! Just saw them rewinding and fast forwarding footage back and forth like they had no idea what they were supposed to be broadcasting
February 7, 2026 at 10:42 PM
In less depressing cat news, Dorothy Kittens, the smartest kitten I have ever known, has figured out that when it’s sunny she can trigger her food dispenser to open the lid and it throws a reflection on the opposite wall for her to chase as it opens and closes.
February 7, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by kaz
You can get free access to mango languages through your Chicago public library card!

There are books and courses and classes at the library!

You do not need to make fake evil art when you can make real art badly for fun.
February 7, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Milton vomited a bunch last night. Debated emergency vet. Had some “is it time” end of life discussions. Gave him a kitty zofran that we had from post-surgery and he puked it right back up.

N slept on the couch to keep an eye on him, and he did stop vomiting and even ate some food overnight.
February 7, 2026 at 2:33 PM
another day, another examination of my failures as a caretaker of a terminally ill cat

but also why are fluid iv bag markings so imprecise-seeming and so hard to read?
February 6, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by kaz
Sorry if you feel excluded from art by 'skill' or 'talent'. I make a sorta living from art and I am also excluded from most kinds of art for the same reasons. There's all kinds of stuff I can't do. The difference is one of us thinks asking for the fake version from the computer is the same thing.
February 6, 2026 at 9:42 PM
god bless people who channel their personal grief, trauma, experiences, and research into freely available collections of really useful information. (this one's for dealing with CKD in cats)

felinecrf.org
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease – Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat
felinecrf.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:39 PM
I hate when @thestorygraph.com glitches out and breaks a days reading streak. I was at like 38 or 39 days and when I marked a book as finished just now it dropped to 2?
February 5, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by kaz
My time with The Washington Post is up. I was laid off with hundreds of folks I am so honored to call my colleagues.

I covered it all at The Post (really), so now I'm looking for my next adventure.

➡️ kbellware [at] gmail dot com
Website update coming soon

@postguild.bsky.social
forever
February 4, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Freedom Day is not going as well as hoped because Dottie is growling and hissing at Milton and at first he was chill about it but she wouldn’t quit and now he’s chasing her when she runs away 🙃🙃🙃🙃
February 4, 2026 at 1:42 AM
all of Milton's vet bills so far have been approved by our pet insurance except, of course, the Big One (which is very very big)

to be clear, it hasn't been denied it's just still in review. i'm sure they are looking for any possible way to deny it.
February 3, 2026 at 9:35 PM
re: whistles, i understand worries about false alarms, causing unnecessary fear, etc.; i would see it happen in the rapid response chat sometimes. but that's why a well-organized rr group has a process for vetting reports and trains respondents so they know what to do.
February 3, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Dispatches from home: everyone seems to know today is Freedom Day. Milton is reportedly trying nonstop to get out and is "in a mood" and Marvin successfully broke IN to the office and started eating Milton's food while N was on a call. 😆😈
Sad donut Milton 😢
February 3, 2026 at 7:36 PM
nice try, work email phishing test
February 3, 2026 at 5:41 PM
i know that i've been only posting sad things about Milton lately but he had a really good day yesterday - he ate a normal amount of food (even if he isn't eating at his previous "constantly starving to death" level of enthusiasm), and was really active and happy.
February 3, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Truly amazing bunching on Belmont today.

Don’t understand why, if 2 busses are bunched, the driver of the 2nd would punch it through a yellow light instead of sitting at the red and putting some space between them. I could’ve caught it if they did!
February 3, 2026 at 1:36 PM
we had this on the TV and this part was so cringey and uncomfortable that we turned it off before he took the shot and watched some basketball instead.
Wait a minute: so NHL trots out a non-profit cancer center, gives them $100k, that’s nice, right?

But then says hey- we’ll give you even more for a shot that’s statistically unhittable.

Got an idea: don’t make the monkey dance, give them a good-sized donation and everyone wins!
Subban, Barber, Mayfield support charity | NHL.com
P.K. Subban announces former Buccaneer Ronde Barber to present a check on behalf of the Lightning Foundation to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and Baker Mayfield takes the ice to double ...
www.nhl.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:05 PM
One fun thing about the human body is that barring complications (conditions like POTS or kidney disease) your own thirst is a perfect indicator of whether you need to drink water.
“To establish how much water you should be drinking each day, LARQ asks for your birthday, sex, height, weight and activity level. You can also adjust this amount yourself.”

#LuxurySurveillance
I Hate How Much I Love This Hydration-Tracking Water Bottle
I take hydration seriously, but this reusable, smart water bottle helped me realize I wasn't drinking enough water.
www.cnet.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:34 PM
it’s wild how the minute something goes wrong with Milton, my appetite goes 📉 🕳️
February 2, 2026 at 12:44 AM
you know it’s been cold for a long time when 28 and sunny is ‘walk to the library in an ultra light puffer with no hat or gloves’ weather
February 1, 2026 at 7:53 PM