Melissa
@outsidenotoutdoors.bsky.social
Science fiction. Cooking. Public education. Polyglotism. Gardening. Crafting. Dogs. Cats too.
Enthusiasm>Sarcasm.
Knowledge>Power.
Sparkling>Still.
Enthusiasm>Sarcasm.
Knowledge>Power.
Sparkling>Still.
Even a tiny garden can hold so much joy #bloomscrolling #flowers
February 11, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Even a tiny garden can hold so much joy #bloomscrolling #flowers
Reposted by Melissa
The thing about ebooks as a substitute is that it ignores two major needs of teen readers: autonomy (the ability to get a book without going through parents) and community (the ability to pass a book around to all their friends.)
I've said this before but I truly believe we could revitalize YA and kidlit overnight by switching to MMPB and paperback first. Kids want paperbacks! It is by far the biggest request I get from teen readers.
hello this is the official petition to bring back mass market paperbacks!! mmpbs are good actually and everyone should do them!! i think esp romantasy readers would really love that shit! and you can still spray those edges!!! bring back mass market paperbacks thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 11, 2026 at 3:51 PM
The thing about ebooks as a substitute is that it ignores two major needs of teen readers: autonomy (the ability to get a book without going through parents) and community (the ability to pass a book around to all their friends.)
Just thinking back to the day over 13 years ago when I brought Buster home (in a teacup pig’s sparkly pink harness from the animal rescue, because he slipped his collar as soon as we got outside and he was confronted by the horror of getting into a car). #dogs #littledogs #pets
February 11, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Just thinking back to the day over 13 years ago when I brought Buster home (in a teacup pig’s sparkly pink harness from the animal rescue, because he slipped his collar as soon as we got outside and he was confronted by the horror of getting into a car). #dogs #littledogs #pets
Reposted by Melissa
hello this is the official petition to bring back mass market paperbacks!! mmpbs are good actually and everyone should do them!! i think esp romantasy readers would really love that shit! and you can still spray those edges!!! bring back mass market paperbacks thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 10, 2026 at 8:02 PM
hello this is the official petition to bring back mass market paperbacks!! mmpbs are good actually and everyone should do them!! i think esp romantasy readers would really love that shit! and you can still spray those edges!!! bring back mass market paperbacks thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reposted by Melissa
Okay, I’ve heard all the criticisms. I agree now that my plan to create a Jonestown on Mars was foolish and dangerous. I will instead be building a much more achievable Jonestown on the Moon
February 10, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Okay, I’ve heard all the criticisms. I agree now that my plan to create a Jonestown on Mars was foolish and dangerous. I will instead be building a much more achievable Jonestown on the Moon
Reposted by Melissa
Good thread describing AI as a really bad coworker
What it's like to work with AI: a 🧵
February 10, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Good thread describing AI as a really bad coworker
Reposted by Melissa
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming
February 9, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming
Reposted by Melissa
“from March to September, OCR resolved more than 7,000 discrimination complaints, but about 90% were resolved by the department dismissing the complaint, meaning staff received information from complainants but did not proceed to investigate.”
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office calculates the cost of efforts to fire civil rights staff and questions the department's ability to enforce federal civil rights laws.
The Education Department's efforts to fire staff cost over $28 million, watchdog says
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office calculates the cost of efforts to fire civil rights staff and questions the department's ability to enforce federal civil rights laws.
n.pr
February 8, 2026 at 3:53 PM
“from March to September, OCR resolved more than 7,000 discrimination complaints, but about 90% were resolved by the department dismissing the complaint, meaning staff received information from complainants but did not proceed to investigate.”
February 8, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Melissa
My favorite flowers all have lots and lots of petals--dahlias, hydrangeas, ranunculus, cottage roses, zinnias, and peonies (like the ones in these photos from my old neighborhood) #bloomscrolling #peonies #flowers
February 7, 2026 at 3:07 PM
My favorite flowers all have lots and lots of petals--dahlias, hydrangeas, ranunculus, cottage roses, zinnias, and peonies (like the ones in these photos from my old neighborhood) #bloomscrolling #peonies #flowers
Reposted by Melissa
The man in this image is Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, a known white supremacist and supporter of ICE. His department in Frederick Maryland has a 287g agreement with ICE and his deputies actively help with kidnappings. An ICE Camp is being built 30 minutes for Frederick. He’s up for reelection this year.
Don’t sleep on prosecutor races this year. There’s a wide-open race to replace Minneapolis’ retiring prosecutor, and likely clashes between reformers and reform critics from Burlington and Baltimore County to Las Vegas.
In Criminal Justice Elections This Year, ICE Contracts Are on the Hot Seat
With roughly 2,400 elections for prosecutor and sheriff in 2026, Bolts reviews the map and early hotspots that will shape criminal punishment and law enforcement practices.
boltsmag.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:12 PM
The man in this image is Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, a known white supremacist and supporter of ICE. His department in Frederick Maryland has a 287g agreement with ICE and his deputies actively help with kidnappings. An ICE Camp is being built 30 minutes for Frederick. He’s up for reelection this year.
Reposted by Melissa
The Wright Museums Instagram page is HILARIOUS. Think The Office but it's the staff at a Museum for Black History. Better believe this is on my list of places to visit.
Gentle Spades
"I'm a veteran"
Gentle Spades
"I'm a veteran"
February 6, 2026 at 8:23 AM
The Wright Museums Instagram page is HILARIOUS. Think The Office but it's the staff at a Museum for Black History. Better believe this is on my list of places to visit.
Gentle Spades
"I'm a veteran"
Gentle Spades
"I'm a veteran"
Blue hydrangeas from my mom’s garden last summer. I found the color so soothing that I made this picture my phone screen photo for most of the summer. #bloomscrolling #hydrangeas #flowers
February 6, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Blue hydrangeas from my mom’s garden last summer. I found the color so soothing that I made this picture my phone screen photo for most of the summer. #bloomscrolling #hydrangeas #flowers
Reposted by Melissa
The world factbook was an invaluable resource in asylum petitions—a place where the federal government acknowledged in writing that, for example, Tibetans face systematic repression in China. I don’t like to have it vanish.
Add the CIA World Factbook to the long and growing list of disappearing government datasets: www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
February 5, 2026 at 2:42 PM
The world factbook was an invaluable resource in asylum petitions—a place where the federal government acknowledged in writing that, for example, Tibetans face systematic repression in China. I don’t like to have it vanish.
Reposted by Melissa
At the end of 2024, Virginia was down to ZERO 287(g) agreements. Just in the last year, we've skyrocketed to more than 30, along w/the state entanglements the Governor is now ending, plus these task force situations that have little transparency—the tentacles run deep & spread fast w/o these checks.
February 5, 2026 at 12:11 AM
At the end of 2024, Virginia was down to ZERO 287(g) agreements. Just in the last year, we've skyrocketed to more than 30, along w/the state entanglements the Governor is now ending, plus these task force situations that have little transparency—the tentacles run deep & spread fast w/o these checks.
Reposted by Melissa
NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts
Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?
boltsmag.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:36 PM
NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
Reposted by Melissa
VICTORY: After thousands of locals protested, called, and gave public comments, a company halted the sale of a Virginia warehouse to DHS to be used for immigrant detention.
DHS wants to buy 23 warehouses nationwide. Resist all of them.
DHS wants to buy 23 warehouses nationwide. Resist all of them.
Hanover warehouse owner pulls out of potential Virginia ICE facility deal
The company, Jim Pattison Developments, put out a statement Friday afternoon saying the deal would not proceed.
www.dailypress.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 PM
VICTORY: After thousands of locals protested, called, and gave public comments, a company halted the sale of a Virginia warehouse to DHS to be used for immigrant detention.
DHS wants to buy 23 warehouses nationwide. Resist all of them.
DHS wants to buy 23 warehouses nationwide. Resist all of them.
February 4, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Melissa
Abolish ICE.
There’s no reforming it.
There’s no compromise.
There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.
There’s no reforming it.
There’s no compromise.
There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.
February 2, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Abolish ICE.
There’s no reforming it.
There’s no compromise.
There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.
There’s no reforming it.
There’s no compromise.
There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.
Reposted by Melissa
I feel like getting the dudes who demand government issued girlfriends out of the gene pool might be one of those problems that solves itself
📢 “A huge amount of men between the age of 15 and 50 will not pass on their genes. They will effectively die out of the gene pool ... Should society intervene?” Steven Bartlett asked last year.
Two top podcasters have identified a global decline. The problem, they say, is women
www.smh.com.au
February 3, 2026 at 3:53 PM
I feel like getting the dudes who demand government issued girlfriends out of the gene pool might be one of those problems that solves itself
February 3, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Melissa
The same data set mentioned below shows the total number of people in immigrant detention passing the 70,000 mark for the first time on the public record.
Keep in mind that number does not include people held in untraditional facilities, like hotels and office buildings.
Keep in mind that number does not include people held in untraditional facilities, like hotels and office buildings.
The average daily population at Dilley, the family detention center that held 5-year-old Liam Ramos, is up to 867, according to new federal data.
There's currently active cases of measles at Dilley and lawyers say their clients are on lockdown.
(h/t @geoffhing.bsky.social who pulled data)
There's currently active cases of measles at Dilley and lawyers say their clients are on lockdown.
(h/t @geoffhing.bsky.social who pulled data)
February 2, 2026 at 11:28 PM
The same data set mentioned below shows the total number of people in immigrant detention passing the 70,000 mark for the first time on the public record.
Keep in mind that number does not include people held in untraditional facilities, like hotels and office buildings.
Keep in mind that number does not include people held in untraditional facilities, like hotels and office buildings.
Reposted by Melissa
This is a post about animal excrement and the English language.
bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy
Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).
bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy
Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).
February 2, 2026 at 3:23 PM
This is a post about animal excrement and the English language.
bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy
Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).
bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy
Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).
The next season is always my favorite. Currently impatiently waiting for spring to arrive, so I’m posting these fringed parrot tulips that bloom during the best part of spring. #bloomscrolling #tulips #flowers
February 2, 2026 at 2:32 PM
The next season is always my favorite. Currently impatiently waiting for spring to arrive, so I’m posting these fringed parrot tulips that bloom during the best part of spring. #bloomscrolling #tulips #flowers