Penncat
@pennicat.bsky.social
Shy, disabled, queer, autistic.
Requires alt text to follow you.
Writer of contemporary m/m/m and lesbian historical novels.
Book related stuff found mostly at @penthewriter.bsky.social
Cornwall dweller.
May actually be the cat in the picture
Requires alt text to follow you.
Writer of contemporary m/m/m and lesbian historical novels.
Book related stuff found mostly at @penthewriter.bsky.social
Cornwall dweller.
May actually be the cat in the picture
Pinned
Penncat
@pennicat.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Chronic conditions
- #hEDS
- #ME/CFS
- #IBD
- #migraine
- #osteoporosis
- #fibromyalgia
- #rectallintussussection
- #depression
- #POTS
Chronic interests
- intersectional feminism
- writing
- football & sport
- Doctor Who
- environment issues
- cats & animals
- politics
#trans & #ActullyAutistic
- #hEDS
- #ME/CFS
- #IBD
- #migraine
- #osteoporosis
- #fibromyalgia
- #rectallintussussection
- #depression
- #POTS
Chronic interests
- intersectional feminism
- writing
- football & sport
- Doctor Who
- environment issues
- cats & animals
- politics
#trans & #ActullyAutistic
This must have been quite fun research to do, admit it.
When pregnant woman boarded a subway car, 38% of the time someone offered her a seat. If someone dressed as Batman was also in the car it rose to 68%.
phys.org/news/2025-11...
phys.org/news/2025-11...
The Batman effect: The mere sight of the 'superhero' can make us more altruistic
If "Batman" appears on the scene, we immediately become more altruistic: in fact, research conducted by psychologists from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, shows that the sudden appear...
phys.org
November 23, 2025 at 12:38 AM
This must have been quite fun research to do, admit it.
Reposted by Penncat
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository
www.animal-photo-references.com
January 27, 2025 at 9:45 AM
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
I don’t know about autistic *specifically*, but it occurs to me for the first time that one of the things I used to like about girls’ school stories (albeit subconsciously) was the theme which often came up of a girl who felt like she didn’t fit in anywhere finding somewhere that she did fit in.
November 23, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I don’t know about autistic *specifically*, but it occurs to me for the first time that one of the things I used to like about girls’ school stories (albeit subconsciously) was the theme which often came up of a girl who felt like she didn’t fit in anywhere finding somewhere that she did fit in.
I Know sea gulls are supposed to sound like cats (and sometimes they do) but I stg my cat just sounded like a sea gull.
November 22, 2025 at 11:46 PM
I Know sea gulls are supposed to sound like cats (and sometimes they do) but I stg my cat just sounded like a sea gull.
The owner of the WP might as well just write an article saying, “I am, in fact, in the Epstein files” because this is what everyone is going to presume in the circumstances.
The Washington Post editorial board decided the Epstein files have “no public interest” before even seeing them. That’s a stunning position for any newsroom to take. Praising Clay Higgins as the lone ‘no’ vote, too? No wonder no one trusts legacy media. Absolutely disgusting.
November 22, 2025 at 6:55 PM
The owner of the WP might as well just write an article saying, “I am, in fact, in the Epstein files” because this is what everyone is going to presume in the circumstances.
Reposted by Penncat
Remember. We know these drugs are safe. There is no need to do any of this.
The “Pathways” trial is, IMO on more than one level, a thoroughly unethical piece of “research” to be carrying out on children, especially children who are part of a marginalised minority.
November 22, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Remember. We know these drugs are safe. There is no need to do any of this.
Interesting write up. In many ways, Zack comes across well but the Observer seems keen to present him (and therefore the Greens) as “the new Corbyn” and “hard left” and I’m wondering whether this is the “build him up“ part of “build them up to knock them down” journalism that’s so popular.
"You can agree or disagree with him, but Polanski does not pretend to be something he is not.
He is unusually willing for a politician to give a straight answer to questions.
Does he want to rejoin the EU? “Yes."
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
He is unusually willing for a politician to give a straight answer to questions.
Does he want to rejoin the EU? “Yes."
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Zack Polanski: ‘People will have to find some other way to hurt me’ | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Interesting write up. In many ways, Zack comes across well but the Observer seems keen to present him (and therefore the Greens) as “the new Corbyn” and “hard left” and I’m wondering whether this is the “build him up“ part of “build them up to knock them down” journalism that’s so popular.
Reposted by Penncat
(government minister reading a report on the thousandth clinical drug trial of a pill that eliminates poverty, with a 100% success rate, that generates 10 times the value it costs to produce & makes government ministers public heroes) I don't understand, so the poor are made to suffer how, exactly?
There has literally never been a universal basic income trial program that didn't deliver real and measurable results above and beyond any other form of social welfare, and every time another concludes with the same findings the powers that be go "interesting! Anyway," and pretend it wouldn't work.
November 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
(government minister reading a report on the thousandth clinical drug trial of a pill that eliminates poverty, with a 100% success rate, that generates 10 times the value it costs to produce & makes government ministers public heroes) I don't understand, so the poor are made to suffer how, exactly?
Reposted by Penncat
"Not being racist is the new racism": Harriet Harman, Labour MP.
And she's fucking serious; which is how fucked this cuntry is.
And she's fucking serious; which is how fucked this cuntry is.
November 21, 2025 at 4:57 PM
"Not being racist is the new racism": Harriet Harman, Labour MP.
And she's fucking serious; which is how fucked this cuntry is.
And she's fucking serious; which is how fucked this cuntry is.
I *think* I ended up somewhere down the middle line between polycule and practical progressive, but thanks to the UK’s sodding ridiculous laws, I could only see the red dot and not the background!
So polyamory for thee and sometimes for me, I guess?
So polyamory for thee and sometimes for me, I guess?
closer to centrism than i thought tbh
November 22, 2025 at 2:54 AM
I *think* I ended up somewhere down the middle line between polycule and practical progressive, but thanks to the UK’s sodding ridiculous laws, I could only see the red dot and not the background!
So polyamory for thee and sometimes for me, I guess?
So polyamory for thee and sometimes for me, I guess?
I don’t use FB but haven’t actually deleted my account and I went over to have a look and oh my gosh, the patience but dogged trans support this person shows in their answers to respondents is admirable.
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
November 22, 2025 at 2:38 AM
I don’t use FB but haven’t actually deleted my account and I went over to have a look and oh my gosh, the patience but dogged trans support this person shows in their answers to respondents is admirable.
Reposted by Penncat
this.
also, if you care about disability justice, hope you’re also pro-fat liberation.
do you know how many people have gone to the doctor for troubling symptoms, been automatically dismissed and told to lose weight, and then developed late-stage/severe chronic and acute illnesses?
also, if you care about disability justice, hope you’re also pro-fat liberation.
do you know how many people have gone to the doctor for troubling symptoms, been automatically dismissed and told to lose weight, and then developed late-stage/severe chronic and acute illnesses?
It also fucking sucks that so many people on the Left(s) refuse to understand anti-fatness as a system of oppression, and fat liberation as a legitimate anti-oppression movement.
It sucks, because it's all connected, and if you don't see this part, you don't have a clear understanding of the whole.
It sucks, because it's all connected, and if you don't see this part, you don't have a clear understanding of the whole.
November 21, 2025 at 4:57 PM
this.
also, if you care about disability justice, hope you’re also pro-fat liberation.
do you know how many people have gone to the doctor for troubling symptoms, been automatically dismissed and told to lose weight, and then developed late-stage/severe chronic and acute illnesses?
also, if you care about disability justice, hope you’re also pro-fat liberation.
do you know how many people have gone to the doctor for troubling symptoms, been automatically dismissed and told to lose weight, and then developed late-stage/severe chronic and acute illnesses?
Reposted by Penncat
PayPal has rolled out a new "feature" that prompts you to leave feedback about an artist that you've commissioned via invoice.
Whatever you do, DO NOT fill this out! To quote Admiral Ackbar, "IT'S A TRAP!!!" It is meant to misguide you.
(continue...)
Whatever you do, DO NOT fill this out! To quote Admiral Ackbar, "IT'S A TRAP!!!" It is meant to misguide you.
(continue...)
November 22, 2025 at 12:13 AM
PayPal has rolled out a new "feature" that prompts you to leave feedback about an artist that you've commissioned via invoice.
Whatever you do, DO NOT fill this out! To quote Admiral Ackbar, "IT'S A TRAP!!!" It is meant to misguide you.
(continue...)
Whatever you do, DO NOT fill this out! To quote Admiral Ackbar, "IT'S A TRAP!!!" It is meant to misguide you.
(continue...)
Ugh, apparently on mobile you have to do something different to turn off gmail’s fucking AI, because of course you do.
November 22, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Ugh, apparently on mobile you have to do something different to turn off gmail’s fucking AI, because of course you do.
This thread, man.
I've told this story before, but I'm going to tell it again, because I think it's important with all the copaganda floating around On Here.
Last year I was representing a marginalized client charged with a crime in a rural client who had been denied the public defender.
Last year I was representing a marginalized client charged with a crime in a rural client who had been denied the public defender.
November 22, 2025 at 12:29 AM
This thread, man.
This thread is extremely helpful for people like me with suddenly 5000 unread emails where once they had 3 read ones sitting nicely in their inbox…
Okay, so you're in your gmail, and you have a bazillion emails in your main inbox due to turning off smart features. What's the easiest way to go through them? Well you could go page by page.
Or...If you know specific companies send a lot of emails, there's a quick trick.
Or...If you know specific companies send a lot of emails, there's a quick trick.
For my laptop, while I do have a good amount of free space to partition/separate to try out Linux, I should also make sure I don't have unnecessary files and games taking up space.
And for email. (stares at tab showing the number 58,287) I uh. Don't think I need to import EVERYTHING.
And for email. (stares at tab showing the number 58,287) I uh. Don't think I need to import EVERYTHING.
November 22, 2025 at 12:14 AM
This thread is extremely helpful for people like me with suddenly 5000 unread emails where once they had 3 read ones sitting nicely in their inbox…
Okay, so I was intrigued as to how GB News would cover Nathan Gill, him being Farrage’s mate and all, so had a quick look at their website.
(Ground.news gives me all the main stories and then links to how different papers with different slants are covering them and its interesting to compare.)
1/
(Ground.news gives me all the main stories and then links to how different papers with different slants are covering them and its interesting to compare.)
1/
Ground News
Top Stories from around you and around the world. Compare how different news publishers frame the same news
Ground.news
November 22, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Okay, so I was intrigued as to how GB News would cover Nathan Gill, him being Farrage’s mate and all, so had a quick look at their website.
(Ground.news gives me all the main stories and then links to how different papers with different slants are covering them and its interesting to compare.)
1/
(Ground.news gives me all the main stories and then links to how different papers with different slants are covering them and its interesting to compare.)
1/
Dear gods, I fucking hate this government and this universe so much. I want to go to the AU without the rise of Christofascism and the billionaires’ money funding lies about minorities.
Stop attacking kids, ffs. Let them pause puberty and on the faint chance they regret it (they won’t) restart it.
Stop attacking kids, ffs. Let them pause puberty and on the faint chance they regret it (they won’t) restart it.
Some leaked (not verified) info on the puberty blocker trial linked here. In my own thread I will briefly highlight the two key measures they are prioritising. A short thread 1
A Substacker named Ben Ryan tweeted that "the long-awaited UK puberty blocker clinical trial protocol is out."
Shortly thereafter he deleted the post. I can't find a public version of the protocol but here's what I was able to salvage from the screenshot + post.
[A THREAD]
Shortly thereafter he deleted the post. I can't find a public version of the protocol but here's what I was able to salvage from the screenshot + post.
[A THREAD]
November 21, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Dear gods, I fucking hate this government and this universe so much. I want to go to the AU without the rise of Christofascism and the billionaires’ money funding lies about minorities.
Stop attacking kids, ffs. Let them pause puberty and on the faint chance they regret it (they won’t) restart it.
Stop attacking kids, ffs. Let them pause puberty and on the faint chance they regret it (they won’t) restart it.
Reposted by Penncat
Let's see if the internet (and Bluesky in particular) can help solve this mystery.
Who can help Ben find "Linda" who appears to be from the UK but traveled to Moscow in 1984 and wrote (but did not send?) this postcard?
Who can help Ben find "Linda" who appears to be from the UK but traveled to Moscow in 1984 and wrote (but did not send?) this postcard?
Ok Bluesky, let’s give this a go: I found this postcard in the back of a photo frame I bought at a London thrift shop.
It’s an unsent postcard from a woman called Linda to her parents. The front shows the Kremlin in Moscow and the stamp says 1984 (!).
I’d love to return it to Linda - can you help?
It’s an unsent postcard from a woman called Linda to her parents. The front shows the Kremlin in Moscow and the stamp says 1984 (!).
I’d love to return it to Linda - can you help?
November 21, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Let's see if the internet (and Bluesky in particular) can help solve this mystery.
Who can help Ben find "Linda" who appears to be from the UK but traveled to Moscow in 1984 and wrote (but did not send?) this postcard?
Who can help Ben find "Linda" who appears to be from the UK but traveled to Moscow in 1984 and wrote (but did not send?) this postcard?
Profoundly unsurprising, but I’m betting this doesn’t get any newspaper coverage, whereas any single case would be covered as if it were the greatest scandal and most common thing in the UK.
A great investigative piece by @translucent.org.uk brilliant work.
translucent.org.uk/how-many-com...
translucent.org.uk/how-many-com...
How Many Complaints About Trans Women Using Toilets? - TransLucent
Data from local authorities representing over 16.5 million people reveals that complaints about trans women using toilets are virtually non-existent
translucent.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Profoundly unsurprising, but I’m betting this doesn’t get any newspaper coverage, whereas any single case would be covered as if it were the greatest scandal and most common thing in the UK.
Reposted by Penncat
This is absolutely four-alarm-fire climate news. Astonishing, that this is the first time I've seen it.
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:30 PM
This is absolutely four-alarm-fire climate news. Astonishing, that this is the first time I've seen it.
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
My brain melted a bit, I think.
My brain melted a bit, I think.
I have a fun hypothetical for the technical among us! (For certain values of fun, heh.) The scenario: You run a website. It doesn't have a mobile app: the only way to access it is in-browser. You are deeply, morally opposed to any form of invasive tracking or data-gathering on your users.
November 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
My brain melted a bit, I think.
My brain melted a bit, I think.
I suppose the next question is: can anyone advise me on decent webmail alternatives to which I can set up forwarding from gmail (and please will someone explain in words of one syllable how to do forwarding because my brain no longer works)?
It stops sorting your inbox into folders, btw, when you turn this off. As the inbox folders predate Gemini, this is a passive-aggressive attempt to make gmail a miserable experience unless you turn AI on, not a necessity.
Really, *really* inconvenient but makes me more determined to keep it off.
Really, *really* inconvenient but makes me more determined to keep it off.
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I suppose the next question is: can anyone advise me on decent webmail alternatives to which I can set up forwarding from gmail (and please will someone explain in words of one syllable how to do forwarding because my brain no longer works)?
My Dad is doing well enough after brain surgery that I got to say that he needed the whole discovering-he-had-a-subdural-haematoma thing “like a hole in the head” - the one time that phrase has actually been literal…
November 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
My Dad is doing well enough after brain surgery that I got to say that he needed the whole discovering-he-had-a-subdural-haematoma thing “like a hole in the head” - the one time that phrase has actually been literal…
Oh, loved this.
Wow! Jesse Welles performed his song “Join ICE” on the Colbert Show last night. 🏆
November 21, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Oh, loved this.