My camera shoots fascists

Things I do: landscape, storm and protest photography; paragliding, climbing, adventure sports; border and human rights activism.

Intellectual hobbies: science, nature, security/privacy, sociology of the web. Learning Spanish.

My fine art prints are available on my website.

Welcome newcomers. You'll like it here, but give it some time.

Profile photo: white guy in a baseball cap with an iguana on my shoulder. Banner: "Aneurysm for President 2026" in patriotic red, white and blue.

#NoBots

Photography and writing at:: https://www.mikaljakubal.com
Can be found wandering with camera in:: CA, AZ and everywhere, especially in the desert or where the revolution is happening.
Motto:: Do epic shit! Also, punch nazis.
Signal username: IDoMyOwnStunts.01

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npub16qa3tw4rww4skwpaz6xcuyfgaxhnygmxlsj37lefrpezezck3mms0jnurj

NIP-05 Address

mikal_at_sfba.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsdqwc4h23h82ct8q73drvwzy5wntejydn0cfgl0u53su3v3vtgaacpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dszlkjgn

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Last Notes

2026-05-15 04:34:09 UTC

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I have mine set to auto pay, I think $9 per month. That's, like, $.30 per day.
Imagine if you had to stick a quarter into the Internet every time you wanted to shitpost? Or, how many quarters do you spend on a parking meter for an hour? In comparison, $.30 for a whole day of shitposting is a super bargain.
Not to mention a whole day of reading unlimited amounts of other people's shit posts!

2026-05-10 18:09:42 UTC

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Another "life lizard" from my day #herping near Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve. Long nosed leopard lizard. It sat there letting me photograph it for a while, then got bored and disappeared into a hole.
#LizardReport #lizard #herps
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/551/595/981/405/698/original/bf7dbebd048f9108.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/551/595/979/901/122/original/696a70a2010e871e.jpeg

2026-05-10 04:02:54 UTC

Today's #LizardReport is a little different because I am on a road trip. Camped out at Kelso Dunes and spent the morning herping in Mojave National Preserve.
7 species of lizard, 4 of them "life lizards"! Here's the first, Phrynosoma platyrhinos, a horned lizard. Look at that camo! They're sooo cute!
(It's intermission at a live theater performance, so I'll post more later or tomorrow in this thread.)
#lizard #herps #MojaveDesert
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/548/260/801/781/313/original/e828928509771311.jpeg

2026-04-29 18:41:11 UTC

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A few minutes ago, I met a new iguana in the backyard, hanging out in the scrap wood pile. It was a little shy, but came within 2 feet to eat mealworms.
While I was sitting there, letting it get used to me, I asked its name. And that's when it occurred to me:
Lizards are desert fairies.
Shy, diminutive, mysterious creatures that come and go on their own agenda, willing to be friends if you can build their trust, but always a little leery of us. They often appear as if out of the blue and then disappear in an instant like magic. They can be nearly invisible until you learn how to see them. Not everyone can.
#LizardReport #Lizards #DesertFairies
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/489/446/379/156/447/original/c03d4d9b80d548f3.jpeg

2026-04-29 18:08:12 UTC

#LizardReport
My little porch lizard friend was the first up this morning and, as usual, came strolling into the house like it owned the place. It now seems to be hanging out with a slightly larger new spiny lizard on the far end of the wall.
Bill and Cutie seem to be spending their nights in the little scrap wood pile.
Here's Cutie, giving me the side eye after being fed.
#Lizard #HerpReport
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/489/298/247/899/164/original/cbf21b59f1142ad6.jpeg

2026-04-26 04:22:03 UTC

I have some new neighbors across the street, from the Pacific Northwest. We've chatted a few times and yesterday I gave them a whole bunch of cuttings off of my cactus here to help them landscape their yard. I was talking about all the lizards and snakes that live here and how I had to catch and relocate a rattlesnake from under the crawlspace in my house. I suggested to them that they look into rattlesnake aversion training for their dog.
I also said that if they found a rattlesnake in the yard, I'd be happy to come get it and relocate it. Jinx, I guess, because she walked over this evening and said that there was rattler in their yard. A western diamondback, like the one that was under my house. Absolutely beautiful snake with 14 rattles! It's much bigger than it looks like curled up in the photos in the bucket.
Alt text in first pic has info about distinguishing western diamondbacks from Mojave rattlesnakes.
#Rattlesnake #HerpReport #Herpetology #LifeInTheSonoranDesert #Snake
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/469/060/726/849/641/original/df13121aeba4cebe.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/469/060/821/738/255/original/0f6e220aaa4395f9.jpeg

2026-04-25 04:44:50 UTC

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When I lifted up the tarp that we've been throwing all the remodel debris on, I found the most adorable little Mediterranean house gecko! Hemidactylus turcicus.
They are so cute! I see them on the porch frequently at night, looking for bugs by the lights. I've never really tried to tame them.
#LizardReport #Gecko #Lizard #Herps
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/463/380/139/555/951/original/f9b7d97f38f50f79.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/463/380/235/378/747/original/cb663f020f774149.jpeg

2026-04-25 04:04:52 UTC

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In the process of doing the #RatShitRemodel we piled a bunch of old building material debris on a tarp in the backyard. I mentioned in a previous #LizardReport that Cutie has taken to hiding in there and has got big white streaks of sheet rock dust on her back.
This afternoon, when loading everything up on the trailer to take to the dump tomorrow, I was very careful. Good thing, because, sure enough, she was down near the bottom of the pile and was able to scoot away without getting hurt.
Here's Cutie sitting on her wall in the backyard, showing off her sheet rock dust tattoo.
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/463/348/745/296/413/original/aa16a4e9f7b687fe.jpeg

2026-04-25 03:58:02 UTC

Well, there is much to report on the #LizardReport front. Donna, the big iguana (first pic) has been strangely skittish the last few days. She'll come and eat mealworms from my hand, but doesn't seem interested in climbing around on me or hanging out for very long. Was it something I said?
I haven't seen Stubby, the little desert spiny lizard who hangs out by the gate below the mailbox, in three days, which is concerning.
Bill and Cutie are at their usual spots in the backyard, plus Bill moves between his territory in the front yard and backyard pretty regularly.
There is a little desert spiny (Sceloporus magister; second pic) who has been coming up and hanging out on the porch and seems to like coming into the house when the door is open.
#Lizard #Lizards #Herps
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/463/318/102/337/742/original/43aa05591100d358.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/463/318/133/593/984/original/bc1f0442901b53b6.jpeg

2026-04-22 04:02:54 UTC

Hey, animal behavior/biology/wildlife nerds:
Is there a term for when animals collect shiny or colorful things to decorate their nests? I'm specifically thinking of the packrat that was in my bathroom wall and all the inedible red seeds it collected from a plant in the yard.
This is different than food hoarding/caching, since these things, like the blue objects bower birds collect, are inedible.
And, are there examples of this behavior being part of a plant's seed-dispersal strategy? E.g. producing brightly colored seeds to lure an animal to collect them, but also without eating them?
TIA

2026-04-20 02:59:45 UTC

A shell in the desert ~200 km from the Gulf of California. Shells from the Gulf were trade items for thousands of years across the Southwest. What is the story behind this one? Who dropped it after carrying so far. Was it missed?
I found it today on a desert aid water drop in the remote wilderness in S. AZ, where hundreds of migrants die each year.
On a previous hike, way out in the Growler Valley, I found a perfect, albeit weathered, cone shell.
People have migrated across this desert long before countries, borders, walls, imaginary lines in the sand. They leave trails, petroglyphs, shells, water bottles and, the ones who don't make it, their bones.
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/434/740/651/728/982/original/ac64cbdd7b365895.jpeg

2026-04-18 03:35:17 UTC

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Bill now often can be found chilling on this rock just outside the back fence in the morning. Such a handsome boy. Cutie sometimes hangs out there too.
I've been doing a bunch of work, part of the #RatShitRemodel, up in the nasty attic, so I have been in a white suit with a hat and respirator much of the last couple of days. As an experiment, I walked up to the low wall in the backyard where Cutie hangs out. There's no way she could have recognized me from any other person other than I did say "hi cutie." She didn't immediately run away, so this suggests to me that she's now associating all bipedal hominids with lack of danger and source of food, even if we look like ghosts.
#LizardReport
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/423/584/402/928/190/original/bbbd5e5f6b17f74c.jpeg

2026-04-18 03:27:40 UTC

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#LizardReport
A new little spiny lizard showed up on the low wall out front this morning. I was able to lure it pretty close with mealworms. I do the little whistle thing as soon as I meet new lizards and start taming them, so they learn to associate whistling with food.
But, Stubby was on the other side of the walkway, heard me whistling and went racing past along the wall and chased the new one off. Bad Stubby. She defended her turf against the new little guy all afternoon. Little brat.
Stubby is the one in the foreground and the new lizard is the one in the back in the pic.
These, like Bill and Cutie (annd Harriet RIP) are Sceloporus magister, common desert spiny lizards.
#Lizard #Lizards. #LizardSoapOpera
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/423/551/653/597/624/original/c56f684ba41cdcc0.jpeg

2026-04-18 03:19:53 UTC

#LizardReport
Wow, lots of news here in the yard.
Donna the iguana's new friend showed up today and took meal worms from my hand (pics). Such a cute little lizard!
Then I saw another somewhat large iguana in the backyard. It ate mealworms that I threw to it but didn't quite know what to make of me and eventually sauntered off across the alley. Three iguanas in the yard! Funny thing is, I've never seen them in the wild.
I saw two little whiptails, but I was in the middle of a project and didn't have time to go get some mealworms and get their attention. One of the least scared lizards of all was the tiger whiptail last summer. I can't tell them apart, so the only way I'll know if this was the same one is if it responds to me whistling.
#Lizards #Lizard #herps
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/423/531/274/345/616/original/843c467bf7d0b302.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/423/531/292/137/549/original/cbf8d9c23d917b7e.jpeg

2026-04-09 21:48:06 UTC

"There are the stop signs at intersections, stop signs held in the hands of construction workers directing traffic, and stop signs attached to school buses. Waymo is trying to teach its software “something very subtle,” he says."
Really, bro? All of us humans can identify a stop sign, no matter where it is.
The solution to Waymo cars not stopping for school bus flashing lights and stop signs is simple: fine the CEO just like you would fine a human driver for each offense. After a couple offenses, and driver loses their license. After a couple more they end up in jail. Problem solved.
This is another example of privatizing profits and externalizing costs.
https://www.wired.com/story/a-school-district-tried-to-help-train-waymos-to-stop-for-school-buses-it-didnt-work/

2026-03-18 00:51:31 UTC

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I just went to your site and read this whole series. I'd missed some of the Avian Intelligence series and reading them all in series is hilarious in a lolsob kinda way since they are so on-point! Thanks! Love this!

2026-03-15 18:05:47 UTC

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lol I see someone else said almost the exact same thing. Running a trillion-dollar company is too confusing for us little people, I guess. We'll probably get the answer soon enough.

2026-03-15 16:40:15 UTC

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It seems that if a company implements some new technologies that dramatically increase its productivity and efficiency, the thing to do is expand your product line, expand your market, lower your prices to be more competitive, and so on. 🤔
I know an advertising platform has different market logic than a car manufacturer, but still. All these companies' words and actions aren't really lining up.

2026-03-14 19:09:22 UTC

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So I see "Bill" over on the wall. When I get up from the porch seat to go get some worms, he bolts away. I go get some food and walk back over there and I can't figure out why he's being so skittish until he comes up close and turns out it's… A different lizard!
This one is much lighter, a little thinner and has an original intact tail. It has tamed up extremely fast though! Already lets me stroke his chin a little bit.
I was doing my little whistle while I was feeding it in order to whistle train it and I guess Bill heard that and popped out from his hiding place at the other end of the wall.
He got fed too and now they are both facing each other about 30 feet apart. There is plenty of room for both, so I hope they don't start fighting.
#Lizard #LizardReport #BillTheLizard
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/229/094/824/195/213/original/0dc4a388c07679a0.jpeg

2026-03-13 21:33:26 UTC

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#BillTheLizard looks like he shed his skin recently. His right eye still has some old flaky scales hanging around the edge of it. I think that's why I thought it may be a different lizard because he looked a little darker but I think it's just because he has new scales and decided to hang out in a new spot. Up close, that's clearly Bill.
#LizardReport #Lizard
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/223/987/629/424/231/original/b002789e63b054c0.jpeg

2026-03-13 21:03:24 UTC

Bill the lizard showed back up on the wall today. Just went over and fed him. I'm surprised he's being so scarce. Before it cooled off last fall and he went in hibernation, he would routinely come into the house all the way into the kitchen demanding to be fed in the morning. He does totally remember me though.
I just realized something that may indicate a problem: when all the lizards are out, I spend more time in any given day talking to them than I do to humans.
#LizardReport #BillTheLizard

2026-03-09 15:57:09 UTC

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It's also not even about ads, really. It's about the trackers associated with them. Fill your site full of ads, I don't care. But you don't get to track me.

2026-03-05 03:07:56 UTC

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La Indita has great Mexican/indigenous food, a nice outdoor dining area and great politics. For Ethiopian food, I like Café Desta.
If you like indie theaters, The Loft theater is great.
Nature and hiking? All the mountains that rise up around Tucson have a great trails. If you're unfamiliar with Sonoran Desert ecology and want to learn, Sonoran Desert Museum is a great way to spend a day.
Westbound is a nice little outdoor bar over at The Annex.
Looks like you're into cycling, so there are mountain bike trails all over at the edge of town as well as the loop trail which goes all the way around the city.
Rocks And Ropes is a pretty cool climbing gym. Maybe not quite up to the standards of some of the really massive big city ones, but nice vibe and I like it. And then there's an unlimited supply of actual rock climbing of Mount Lemmon.
IDK, what are you looking for?

2026-02-26 03:33:08 UTC

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And a framed picture and studio lighting.

2026-02-26 02:12:46 UTC

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I can set up a tent and my camp stove in the time it took to watch that. And my tent won't collapse in and kill me the first time it rains.
I mean building a literal "man cave" is kind of funny, but painful to the extent that I'm sure a lot of people would not get the joke.

2026-02-21 04:02:23 UTC

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Yeah, that's me, tail end. I've heard that term before. We are a pretty small cohort. I most notice it in terms of dating: boomers are too old and their kids are too young and there are very few of us in the middle.

2026-02-11 06:16:51 UTC

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The other nice bolt I caught a couple days ago, right near the new #BorderWall in San Rafael Valley, Arizona.
#LandscapePhotography #StormChasing #lightning
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/050/528/741/015/715/original/454b010d8f176f96.jpg

2026-02-10 06:22:37 UTC

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Earlier in the day, 180° from the OP lightning bolt above, is this tree and a gap in the new border wall. I've been to this silly tree three times now trying to get the right shot of it. It's hard because most of the day the sun is straight behind it/overhead. By the time the light is better, the sun is setting behind the ridge.
Anyway, tree and stupid #BorderWall San Rafael Valley, Arizona.
#LandscapePhotography #border #immigration
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/044/886/174/260/135/original/ebc5139b2fa1eabd.jpg

2026-02-10 04:52:59 UTC

On my #BorderWall photo trip in the San Rafael valley two days ago, I got a couple bonus lightning bolt shots. This is the best of them.
#Border #immigration #StormChasing #lightning #LandscapePhotography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/044/538/042/199/935/original/c62d965b61e69380.jpg

2026-02-10 02:41:18 UTC

So... in these lawsuits against corporate social media companies, one of the points of contention is infinite scroll. If you're a commercial platform selling ads, you're incentivized to tweak your algorithm to show viewers (incl. teenagers/kids) whatever keeps them engaged and scrolling so as to generate as many ad impre$$ions as possible. Infinite scroll = infinite profits.
But with noncommercial social networks, there is no profit, no incentive and no algorithm. And, unless you follow thousands of people who post a lot, it's possible to get "caught up."
I'm curious if there are any fedi legal eagles paying attention to the arguments that are likely to come up and what any verdicts against Meta or TikTok could mean for noncommercial, non-algorithmically-amplified networks like Mastodon.
If the plaintiffs prevail, it's hard to imagine a judge and regulators being savvy enough to make the distinction.

2026-02-08 21:31:49 UTC

My #SuperbOwl contribution. This burrow owl near Salton Sea is not amused.
I shot this years ago, one of dozens. It's still my favorite of the set.
#superbOwls
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/037/125/969/551/674/original/3bb7819b78f4d9f6.jpeg

2026-02-08 06:05:56 UTC

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After reading this, I still can't tell if this whole thing was a send up. If it was earnest, oof, I feel embarrassed for them. Like, uh, Bezos is not gonna fuck you or give you any of his money you dumb little simp.
*lolsob* we live in the stupidest timeline and were all gonna die.

2026-02-08 05:16:38 UTC

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The new border wall in San Rafael Valley, Arizona. No one I talk to seems to know that it is being built again. I guess it's just not newsworthy at this point?
30 feet above the ground, with 6 feet of concrete underground. Each of the posts, called "bollards", are filled with concrete. All of this new 27 miles of wall is painted black because Trump thinks it will get hot and therefore be unclimbable.
Fact check: most people get through the wall by cutting it with a cheap cordless grinder and those who climb over do so at night. This administration is beyond stupid.
#Border #Immigration #BorderWall #FuckTheWall
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/033/289/008/965/741/original/867cc52b6b70e7f8.jpeg

2026-02-08 05:08:29 UTC

Went back to the San Rafael Valley in Arizona today, where they are building 27 miles of new border wall for no good fucking reason. I think I got a few of the shots I wanted, plus bonus thunderstorms in the afternoon. Have to process the shots from my DSLR, but here's a phone snap rainbow at sunset.
#Border #BorderWall #FuckTheWall #NoBorders
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/033/271/357/306/393/original/f5cf007b9e5fce0a.jpeg

2026-02-05 04:18:52 UTC

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Sometimes their shopping bags have a stencil built into the bottom, some flat sticks stapled to the inside to keep the bag upright and a can of upside down survey marking paint. Like I said, who knows what kind of things they carry around. 🤷‍♂️

2026-02-05 04:06:54 UTC

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You know, sometimes houseless people walk down the streets wearing so many layers of clothes that you can barely see the person underneath. Sometimes they carry large bags, talking to themselves, maybe pushing shopping carts full of who knows what. They sometimes do this at night and everyone just ignores them. It's almost like they're… invisible. Like reverse ninjas, hiding in plain sight.

2026-02-03 04:00:57 UTC

So, a cabal of ultra-rich, politically connected men in and out of various governments, who all seem to have secret personal, political and financial connections with a child sex trafficker, are all discussed in a massive tranche of documents...and MAGA isn't flipping the fuck out and demanding the documents be released? Does anything say "Deep State" more than the Epstein Files?
Someone pleeeeze make this make sense? My head hurts.

2026-01-30 03:00:03 UTC

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@LeftistLawyer/115962793533759069
Welp, there's the address to send dildos to. Glad they made it so easy.
#note1e4f…vnnu

2026-01-18 03:58:32 UTC

@npub1nf4…nqe4
Here's a little something I wrote a few years ago about going to count beavers on the San Pedro River in the U.S. and Mexico. Pretty much echoes the linked article except for the fire part.
https://www.mikaljakubal.com/portfolios/beaver-counting/

2026-01-16 17:38:38 UTC

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I might apply to be one of them if you had deserts. 🌵😎 Still hoping Canada will annex the U.S. West Coast.

2026-01-16 17:08:01 UTC

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We're not sending our best people.

2026-01-12 19:38:34 UTC

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Oh, win some lose some. But that's a much longer discussion and even if something "worked" at one point in time is no reason to try to repeat it.
My main point of despair, having lived through the Reagan/Bush era, FFS, is that what we're seeing now feels way, way worse yet the general response feels way less energetic.

2026-01-12 08:04:51 UTC

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I got to thinking (always a bad idea) about what we did when confronting the timber industry in the 1980s in the PNW over ancient forest logging.
We engaged in a vast, creative range of protest methods. One of which was regular civil disobedience at corporate and agency headquarters. I used a bike lock around my neck to lock down the HQ of Willamette Industries in Portland in early 1986. Small groups of us also occupied Forest Service and other timber company offices. We set up a tent in the Region 6 Regional Forester's office in Portland. We always made sure friendly reporters knew in advance. We didn't have the internet, but we were still able to go "viral."
We know the companies doing business with ICE. We know where the offices of MAGA politicians are. They are perfect protest locations. It only takes a small group of people to pull off that sort of pressure campaign.

2026-01-12 06:32:26 UTC

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I tried to keep upbeat about it, but this weekend's small, tepid Bay Area protests left me feeling like I need to rethink everything and pivot my life toward a rapid exit from the U.S., while it's still possible.
I like nothing better than a good fight, but I'm also not willing to be a martyr for a doomed cause that few others are willing to lift a finger for.
So, yeah, what are you going to do if Trump invades Greenland tomorrow?

2026-01-12 06:21:45 UTC

What are you going to do if the U.S. invades Greenland tomorrow?
Literally, what are you going to do?
What do they have to do to get people to finally say "enough" and take to the streets and never leave? Or is that just never going to happen this time around?
Please prove me wrong here, but if the events of the last couple weeks weren't enough to justify sustained, mass protests everywhere, I'm not very hopeful we'll get it together before it's too late.

2025-12-29 03:10:46 UTC

"Billionaires including Peter Thiel, the tech venture capitalist, and Larry Page, a co-founder of Google, are considering cutting or reducing their ties to California by the end of the year because of a proposed ballot measure that could tax the state’s wealthiest residents, according to five people familiar with their thinking."
Bye! You won't be missed. Don't have a nice trip. Hope we never see you again, you ungrateful, entitled, whiny little pieces of shit.
I'm guessing that most Californians, hearing billionaires whine like this, will be more than happy to call their bluff at the ballot box.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/12/oligarchs-may-flee-ca-over-proposed-1-wealth-tax/

2025-11-20 05:06:54 UTC

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In my early 60s I now want eco-sustainable luxury anarcho-communism for all, even if I usually look kinda normie on the outside. I was pretty radical in my 20s, but in a much more all-over-the-place way.

2025-10-22 15:22:35 UTC

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So, you're saying "AI" is the new "BS"?
"No way, man! I call AI!"
"You're so full of AI."
"Lose me with that AI."
"I'm so sick of your AI."
"Don't AI me, bro."
That all works for me.

2025-10-15 01:58:48 UTC

I'm guessing the first frog-suit guy had no idea the image of him standing there in front of the cops would become so viral and emblematic of resistance.
Also, massive respect 🫡

2025-10-14 19:42:45 UTC

Went on a storm chase north from Tucson yesterday. A very big cell was moving directly toward Picacho Peak. Calculating our respective speeds, I figured I had enough time to intercept it when it crossed the peak/I-10 area. I was right and was in a perfect position, with a clear view of the peak and sun breaks lighting up the foreground.
By the time the storm moved into the frame, though, there was a wall of water between me and the peak. A minute after this shot, it hit me.
The original is wider and mostly gray blur. I cranked up some of the editing tools in Lightroom to make the bolts pop a bit more and cropped it way in just to have something to show for the day. Win some lose some. This is possibly the last monsoon-season chase opportunity of the season, but there is lightning here even in the winter sometimes.
#StormChasing #LandscapePhotography #Lightning #PicachoPeak
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/374/213/159/589/936/original/0af674a87a03fe57.jpg

2025-10-13 14:35:01 UTC

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I think there's a lot more to this phenomenon than a quick quip. The fact that a good post can have an extended shelf life in a context that rarely produces flashy virality is a function of both the technological infrastructure and the much more human and real social norms here.
This is one of those things that I meant a couple days ago when I said to newcomers that a lot of the good parts of Mastodon/fediverse take some time to notice and appreciate.

2025-10-13 14:27:32 UTC

On the fediverse, posts rarely go viral. But at times, they will go "fungal", like mycelium quietly working its way through the substrate, popping up again like mushrooms every few months to make another quick round before going dormant again.

2025-10-10 17:57:00 UTC

#LizardReport
Bill showed up on time this morning and got his breakfast. I might be off storm chasing later but if not and if it doesn't rain, I may go see if I can try feeding the whiptail in the backyard. I miss my cute iguana buddy. I'm still hoping that cat just scared it off into another yard and didn't actually kill it.
Bill let me take some close-ups of him. The second photo is a detail of his flank scales.
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/351/142/356/522/020/original/644a8e2e9cee438e.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/351/142/411/832/946/original/8dae802bb1ef7b6e.jpeg

2025-10-10 16:09:04 UTC

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This is the best description yet.
But, ya know, at least not Trump. So there's that.

2025-09-26 02:35:06 UTC

Let me get this straight. So, a Wi-Fi router projects a Wi-Fi signal irrespective of whether there is any data associated with it, or whether it's connected to the Internet, or whether it is traceable in any way, right? So someone could get a cheap used Wi-Fi router on craigslist, plug it in, name the network something like, I dunno, "Fuck ICE Immigrants welcome" and broadcast it across the neighborhood. Right?
Or, maybe, run a network cable up to a cheap cantenna on the roof and aim the signal at a particular government building or public space.
Asking for a friend. I have no idea why someone might want to do this.

2025-09-17 19:11:56 UTC

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This one of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park came out okay too.
Still not quite what I'm looking for, but okay for the first time there. This was the third of three storms to come through that day.
#LandscapePhotography #ArchesNationalPark #StormChasing
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/221/193/451/563/712/original/b18f0b143c9acb76.jpg

2025-09-17 03:29:20 UTC

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I got a few bolts with Delicate Arch, but not really what I want. I think this is the best one, but I'll go over the others and see what I can do with them. This one, for example, has two nice elements, the arch and bolt, that don't really work together. They're just both sort of in the frame. Guess I gotta go back 🤷‍♂️

2025-09-17 03:27:59 UTC

Finally going through the shots from my Arches trip. This is from a nearby arch were I took cover as storms passed overhead. (Not safe! Caves aren't safe! I know! But neither is being anywhere on a ridgetop in a thunderstorm, so I might as well stay dry before getting zapped.)
#StormChasing #lightning #ArchesNationalPark #LandscapePhotography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/217/469/601/279/293/original/37be077f4023fe93.jpg

2025-09-10 17:06:13 UTC

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Got one shot of yesterday's storm over Grand Junction.
#StormChasing #lightning #LandscapePhotography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/181/085/724/675/975/original/3cab0dc94c8be0dd.jpg

2025-09-09 23:30:37 UTC

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These storms have been training right over the spot and across the valley all afternoon.
#StormChasing #LandscapePhotography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/176/902/543/870/123/original/89510b85eedef2ec.jpeg

2025-09-09 22:29:31 UTC

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Well, this just happened. The blue circle is my location. Note the lightning strike icon. Freaking cloooose! ⚡️And loud!
I have two cameras set up under a picnic shelter, but I'm hiding in the truck!
#StormChasing #Lightning #LandscapePhotography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/176/686/217/117/621/original/7335dd901592254c.png

2025-09-09 00:20:00 UTC

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I got a few bolts that afternoon. Here's the first one I've done a quick edit on. It's a horizontal panorama, so you might have to click to see the whole thing.
#StormChasing #LandscapePhotography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/171/458/131/805/816/original/83c78b1b1e8027d6.jpeg

2025-09-07 00:10:39 UTC

I struck out a storm chasing at Grand Canyon in the last two days. 50% chance of thunderstorms never materialized. But I'm getting this consolation prize farther up in the canyon country.
I have one camera set up doing a time lapse and the other set up with the lightning trigger catching the bolts coming from this big cloud. (Ooo! Two more!) I only wish there were some sun breaks to light up the towers in the valley in the foreground because it's quite striking. It's hard to tell in this very flat light. It might still happen because the massive storm to the northwest is fizzling now, so maybe it will let some sun breaks through.
If anyone's curious, the lightning trigger is set up on my 24 mm tilt-shift (which I love for landscapes) and the time lapse is on my 17 mm to 35 mm zoom, set at 28.
#StormChasing #LandscapePhotography #CanyonCountry
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/160/074/365/879/696/original/601221db0e8807e6.jpeg

2025-09-04 13:05:03 UTC

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Had to look up Mullerian mimicry. I knew about Batesian mimicry; related but different.

2025-09-02 15:40:45 UTC

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I wasn't aware that this existed. This probably explains why about 90% of women's primary profile pictures on dating sites look so similar.

2025-08-16 22:12:02 UTC

Professional photographers: how do you price your prints for sale? I'm trying to decide how I should price mine.
This has been one of the biggest barriers to getting my print sales online. It's seriously anxiety producing 😳😵‍💫
I'm also interested in the thoughts of people who buy "fine art" photo prints.
Comments and boosts appreciated!
#photography
I'll add a few thoughts in comments below.
Edit to add: my site with some examples (but not showing many of the best ones I plan to start with for sale) is here: https://mikaljakubal.com

2025-08-08 02:29:44 UTC

What if "the cloud" — other people's computers — were our computers collectively, as a public utility of sorts. And why self hosting millions of personal "clouds" is not the answer.
"But through the process, I realized how privileged I am to have the skills required for digital sovereignty. I realized how unattainable, unsustainable, and unrealistic self-hosting is as a mass solution to the problems we face. I realized that self-reliance isn't freedom — it's the luxury of retreating from a system that others can't escape."
"Imagine a world where your library card includes 100GB of encrypted file storage, photo-sharing and document collaboration tools, and media streaming services — all for free. Your data is encrypted end-to-end, but is shareable to anyone on any other service through standardized protocols."
https://www.drewlyton.com/story/the-future-is-not-self-hosted/

2025-08-06 01:50:17 UTC

Edit: here's what's going on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antherophagus_ochraceus?wprov=sfti1
Thanks to @npub1jf2…rwtg for the link.
Anyone know what is going on here? This bumblebee has some sort of creature grabbing onto its proboscis. It looks like a small beetle, but it is hard to tell. The bumblebee was thrashing around furiously trying to remove it, to no avail.
#entomology #BugsAreWeird #Bumblebee
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/979/301/289/666/569/original/da5a40c34876692d.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/979/301/330/995/934/original/5a034db96dc39ada.jpeg

2025-08-01 00:26:30 UTC

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I got one good one at least. I think this is the only decent lightning bolt shot I got.
#StormChasing #Lightning #CraterLake #Oregon
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/950/652/382/542/086/original/07b9ad5364d968c8.jpeg

2025-07-31 20:39:44 UTC

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Set up on this one, hoping it'll drop some big bolts near the lake. Unfortunately another big cell behind me is starting to spit rain, so I might get booted out of here soon.
Update! As I was writing that, a big bolt triggered both cameras, but I was looking at my phone typing so I didn't see it so I didn't see it 😂⚡️
#StormChasing #CraterLake
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/949/707/590/163/019/original/ade7df53ddd672b3.jpeg

2025-07-31 03:51:37 UTC

Crater Lake National Park.
No lightning storms but still pretty. Chance of more thunder tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes.
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/945/796/954/008/478/original/94401ec9f674c710.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/945/797/786/458/732/original/ffe45e9cab6b5579.jpeg

2025-07-30 05:24:15 UTC

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Yeah, I couldn't remember the date. That was from the big earthquake in Alaska, right? I've seen pictures of what Crescent City looked like after that. I kinda wish I had been up there tonight. I would've gone out to the point above the harbor (waaay above the waterline) to photograph whatever happened. Would be hard at night, but there are lights.

2025-07-30 04:07:01 UTC

Had I left on time this evening, I'd have been near Crescent City, CA about midnight, the time the tsunami is supposed to hit. Virtually the entire U.S. and Canadian west coast is expecting waves under 1' high. Except Crescent City, which is expecting waves 2.0'-4.8' high.
Something about the bathymetry of the seabed must direct tsunami waves right at Crescent City. Happened in the 2011 tsunami too. And it's happened previously. Tsunami bait.
For the record, the NOAA tsunami warning center maps and alerts are really awkward to navigate. They really need to fix that shit.

2025-07-28 04:33:41 UTC

First time having boba tea today. It's not unpleasant, but quite strange. You have to like the texture of snot wads in your mouth, though snot wads that happen to taste good.

2025-07-22 23:29:28 UTC

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My guess is that #JohnStewart already has something in the works. If that's the case, his #CBSGoFuckYourself move was brilliant. Either they fire him and he goes out with a bang and starts something new, or they chicken out and he resigns and starts something new anyway. Total boss move either way.

2025-07-22 20:40:49 UTC

#IsJohnStewartFiredYet
#CBSGoFuckYourself
I just thought these hashtags should be a thing, for no reason in particular.

2025-07-17 04:49:32 UTC

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One more reason to accelerate the de-Google-ification of my life.
But, FFS, every time you reply to someone with a Gmail address who hasn't turned this shit off, you're basically letting this creepy company ingest your email. And so damn many people use Gmail that it's pretty hard to say, "sorry, I can't respond to you until you switch to something else."
I fucking hate this.

2025-07-05 04:59:21 UTC

I remember some months ago, people were warning that it took Hitler less than two months to go from an elected position to dictator. I'm sure Trump is jealous that it took him longer, but here we are.
I seriously doubt most Americans, even progressive ones, realize the unfettered power he and his fashy billionaire buddies now have and what they are likely to do with it.
What will you tolerate? What won't you tolerate happening to yourself or others? Where is your "red line" after which you'll give up security and comfort to fight? And how will you fight? What are you willing to do?

2025-07-05 04:11:38 UTC

Somewhat random art pricing question here.
For most of the photos I hope to soon have online for sale, I'm concentrating on higher-end "fine art" prints, but I know a lot of outdoor-adventure dirtbagger types will want a more affordable version of this particular image (made famous by the movie DamNation), so I had some 24" x 30" posters made of it. Now I have to figure out how to price them.
I'm having trouble finding prices for posters (vs "prints" on archival-grade paper). Suggestions? Or can anyone point me to photographers who sell poster versions of their work?
#photography
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/798/652/588/101/368/original/36936fd360e0cea9.jpg

2025-07-04 20:46:46 UTC

Apropos of nothing in particular, I've been thinking about my visit some years back to the Dutch Resistance Museum — Verzetsmuseum — in Amsterdam. The museum re-creates scenes of daily life under Nazi occupation and continually asks visitors to think about what we would do in a given situation: "adjust, collaborate, or resist?"
For every American, this is the exact same question we are now facing every single day.
Adjust, collaborate, or resist. What does that look like for you? At what cost to your safety will you resist? At what cost to your sense of self-worth and morality will you simply adjust and pretend nothing is happening? What is your personal "red line"?

2025-07-03 02:19:04 UTC

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Oh, man, we thought it was bad, then. I mean, it WAS bad then, but the '80s got nothin' on the 2020s.

2025-06-20 03:30:25 UTC

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Oh, I see. I'm a little slow today.

2025-06-20 01:42:32 UTC

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But then they would all leave!
🤔
Well, then. I hope they don't let the door on their private jets hit them in the ass on their way out.
#EatTheRich

2025-06-19 23:25:55 UTC

Wonderful. My credit union just merged with another one and now I'm unable to get my online statements because doing so requires allowing 3rd party cookies.
According the @npub1svp…js2d 's Blacklight tool https://themarkup.org/blacklight the site uses browser fingerprinting and session recording and I'm like "um, no".
I'll send them the screenshots and let them know that I'll need to be mailed paper copies from now on, or I'll ask for paper copies when I go in to make deposits.
Why are they like this?

2025-06-18 18:53:41 UTC

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The way I explain the fediverse is to compare it to virtually any non-prepackaged social relationship.
Want to try a worker-owned business? A communal household? Co-housing community? Nonmonogamy or other non-traditional romance or relationship forms? CSA or other direct farm-to-consumer food production? Any organization or group that runs by consensus?
Virtually all of my lefty friends have some experience with one or more of these things, so they understand that any time you step outside of the frictionless, pre-made capitalist box to create the life you want, it will be more difficult and often awkward, time consuming and confusing. And probably require a bunch of meetings. But maybe worth it in the end.
That's how I explain the fediverse. Because it's been built by and for users and not fashy billionaires, it requires more direct participation, more tolerance for all the rough edges, longer to make changes and improvements. They usually get that, even if they ultimately decide, "nah."

2025-06-18 18:37:51 UTC

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I look forward to part 2. In the meantime, I have two comments that someone might find useful.
First is that I was part of the November 2022 fuck Elon migration. That was before ExTwitter locked down their API, so someone had written a little bot that would search your follows there for anyone who had a fediverse handle in their profile (the odd double-@ format, I'm guessing). You could download that as a .CSV and upload it to Mastodon and have an instant large group of familiar people to follow.
Very different than starting from scratch or trying to guess what someone's handle might be and finding them here, even if you know they are in fact here.
I think that's huge for many people because unless you join a very active location-based or interest-based server, it'll feel really lonely for quite a while.

2025-06-11 04:12:38 UTC

Have the Democrats — or IDK anyone at all — promised a Nuremburg-style tribunal and prosecution of any military or administrative (ICE, HSI, etc.) individual who commits human rights or other violations during this current administration? Basically announcing before-the-fact consequences once it is possible to impose them?
Maybe it's just me, but I think this would be a very good propaganda move.
Tell the military and ICE personnel that they will be held personally accountable for what they do and that "following orders" will not be a defense.

2025-06-08 03:03:14 UTC

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Look, man, who knows what happened in 1848? We gotta look into this. Might've been a mistake!

2025-06-08 03:02:17 UTC

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Totally. She'd be just asking questions, you know?

2025-06-08 02:54:29 UTC

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New tactic unlocked! Using ceramic plates like frisbees!

2025-06-06 05:30:26 UTC

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Whenever I am at protests, whether large mass actions of the last few months, or smaller, issue-related protests I've been to in the last few years, I get this distinct sense that everything we knew from the '80s and '90s has been collectively forgotten or discarded.
From my point of view, as someone who engaged in a lot of activism pre-Internet, I feel like I have this giant foundational toolbox, a whole other toolbox of digital tools, and then the force multiplier potential of the Internet.
Back in the '80s, we knew how to "go viral" and get our photos or headlines "above the fold" routinely. Damn, what we could have done back then with smart phones, live streaming and social media!
I have a bunch of thoughts on what happened, but that's for another time.

2025-06-06 05:18:30 UTC

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Other things we used to do back before smart phones (and that would still be perfectly functional) is print up thousands of quarter sheet flyers with a suggested action plan and mass distribute them amongst the crowd.
In Hong Kong in 2019, it was generally understood that you should leave AirDrop (on iPhones) open to receiving messages from anyone. This was one of many ways that plans were rapidly shared amongst groups of protesters. I still have a bunch of screenshots of these, though some are in Cantonese and I can't read them.
Apropos of nothing and no upcoming events that you should definitely not try to disrupt. I absolutely recommend passively listening to the speakers and cheering on command and definitely do not block any streets or take any spontaneous independent action.

2025-06-06 05:13:01 UTC

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Sometimes all it takes to get thousands of people to quit standing around and start marching is five people with bang-buckets or other cheap noisemakers, loud voices and lots of enthusiasm.
Apropos of nothing in particular and not at all referencing any recent past or upcoming events.

2025-06-06 05:10:55 UTC

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In major cities here on the West Coast, particularly Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Oakland (I'm not sure about Los Angeles, but I bet it's the case there too), a key threshold for showing a movement's power was whether you had enough people overall, and enough determined people, to block the interstate. Or, in the Bay Area, one of the major bridges.
Other times, knowing that large spontaneous, breakaway marches were likely to happen, smaller affinity groups had independent actions planned to coincide with them or make use of the cover provided by a giant crowd.
Again, apropos of nothing in particular.

2025-06-06 05:05:54 UTC

I have been to a lot of protests, big and small, since my first one in 1984. One very common scenario was that some liberal or far lefty group would call for a mass demonstration at a certain spot, like the courthouse.
Once a critical mass of people showed up, there would be a small group of rabble-rousers, often the local anarchist group (all 12 of us), who would start banging on buckets or yelling with a megaphone something along the lines of "March! March! March!"
If we were successful, the crowd would gradually start moving toward the street, leaving the line of official speakers talking to the dwindling crowd. In Seattle during the protests against the first Iraq war, these spontaneous marches would go for hours and hours, moving through neighborhoods, losing people as they went, but adding more who came out to join.
Apropos of nothing in particular.

2025-05-26 19:56:43 UTC

At this point, I think these Big National Day of Protest(tm) events are nearly pointless. They really need tactical evolution and to become more disruptive. Combine them with small affinity group blockades, sit-ins, etc. Shut down a port or a freeway or mass-occupy federal buildings or sit in at collaborationist Democratic politicians' offices... anything but a repeat of the same thing with this month's stick-on label.
I'm very well aware of the many values of large, inclusive mass demonstrations. But if that is all you ever do, the movement will be a scheduled spectacle and never challenge power or be able to make change in any real way.

2025-05-19 16:19:27 UTC

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Archive version
https://archive.is/FE9VM
What a fawning, puffball piece, like the author was trying to get a date or something. (The gushing opening about Seattle weather and Graber's name… FFS).
The curated specialty feeds that apparently already exist sound kind of interesting, but everything else is purely aspirational. She makes it sound like there are in fact functioning Instagram and TikTok style apps built on the protocol. Is this actually the case, does anyone know?

2025-05-18 04:14:01 UTC

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Crass Penis Envy with some of the first punk I ever heard. That was around 1984 after they had broken up. With a little bit of review, I could probably almost still remember every word on the album.

2025-05-15 05:11:20 UTC

It's Lizard Wednesday! I just made that up. Because lizard. This Western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) was so certain that I couldn't see it that I was able to get my hand within about an inch. Could've easily grabbed it. So well camouflaged.
#Lizard #herps
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/510/113/592/560/769/original/8a305f36e82c9b87.jpeg
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/114/510/113/710/497/450/original/1354e3b9417a156b.jpeg

2025-05-13 02:50:36 UTC

Feeld is the buggiest dating app with the most fake profiles and the worst ROI time-wise change my mind.