Paula

@notsoencrypted

I love people & learning anything & everything. Love your neighbor as yourself. she/her but they/them is fine too. Expat Minnesotan in Wisconsin. aka Sha. ADD. Struggling with life. Avatar: @lullindo

142 Following525 Followers3,071 Posts

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Paula@notsoencrypted· 9d

I wish everyone voting today a smooth and uneventful election day!

Graphic from RockTheVote on Instagram.
Text says:
August Primary Election Dates.
August 4: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Washington.
August 6: Tennesee primary & general.
August 8: Hawaii.
August 11: Alabama (Special Primary), Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina (Special Primary), Vermont, Wisconsin.
August 18: Alaska, Florida, Wyoming.
August 25: Oklahoma (Primary Runoff).

End text.

The image on the graphic is a political map of the United States of America, with the states outlined, and those listed above are color-coded to the day their primary runs.

Paula@notsoencrypted· 10d

This is the screen I saw on opening the app, with the settings button/link on the bottom:

Paula@notsoencrypted· 10d

Screen after typing "orig" in the settings search:

Screenshot of the Zoom app, showing Original sound for musicians (Microphone modes) screen.

Paula@notsoencrypted· 10d

Screen after hitting settings:

Paula@notsoencrypted· 10d

I just downloaded the most recent Zoom to check. Looks like the settings are on the bottom left of the main screen. Beyond that, I'm not sure what you mean by original audio. The settings do have a search (top of the nav bar after hitting settings) and typing "original" pulled up "original sound."

Screenshot of Zoom on PC. Left-side bar has Home, Chat, Phone, Docs, Whiteboards, Clips, More, and at the bottom, Settings.

Paula@notsoencrypted· 17d

Same image as below, reposted so that I can include alt-text. Please stay safe today, midwestern friends. It looks like most of Iowa and Illinois are included in the Extreme Heat Warning, too.

National Weather Service graphic, dated July 27, 2026, 9:26 AM CDT. Titled "Extreme Heat Today," subtitle "Peak Heat Index values of 100-100 F This Afternoon"

There are two text boxes. Text in first box reads: "Key points: Heat Index values (feels-like temperatures up to 110°F. High temperatures in the upper 80s to lower 90s (warmest west). Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses with prolonged exposure."

Second text box reads: "Warm temperatures can quickly become dangerous. Heat is one of the most deadly weather hazards -- don't underestimate it. Never leave people or pets alone in a closed car. Drink plenty of water, even if you don't feel thirsty. Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Spend time in air conditioning and in the shade."

There is also a map that shows the counties of southeastern Wisconsin in either Extreme Heat Warning or a Heat Advisory, valid from 10 AM to 9 PM CDT. Counties shown on the map in the Extreme Heat Warning are: Monroe, Vernon, Richland, Grant, Sauk, Iowa, Lafayette, Columbia, Dane, Green, and Rock. Counties shown on the map in the Heat Advisory are: Juneau, Adams, Marquette, Green Lake, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Dodge, Jefferson, Walworth, Sheboygan, Washington, Ozaukee, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha.

Paula@notsoencrypted· 21d

This fluffy lady is purring right now, so I am dedicating those purrs to you. We're rooting for you!

A tortiseshell tabby with luxurious fur and almost luminescent green eyes. She's sitting on an exam table at a vet's office because the lighting there during her last check up was perfect for catching the color of her coat!

Paula@notsoencrypted· 27d

The shorter furred one is my dad's cat, Huey, who has decided I'm actually pretty OK. The two with longer fur are his siblings, Tracer and Torbjorn (formerly Louise and Dewey because my dad's kitten naming scheme was pretty hilarious). Tracer is ginger & fast; Torby had muttonchops as a kitten.

Grey tabby cat stretched out on his side on some very 90s carpet while eyeing the camera suspiciously.

Long haired grey tabby looking directly at the camera with pupils about as small as possible. He has magnificent ear tufts and whiskers. He also has a magnificent mane, but it is not super visible in this picture, and is a bit scruffy because he thinks grooming is beneath him.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jul 12

This bar of color (my theme) is what I want to go away. I cannot find a way to get rid of it in the simple/classic layout, and I do not like the other layouts. I also want to get rid of the rounded corners, but the bar is the biggest "DO NOT WANT" for me right now.

scereenshot of vivaldi and the Windows taskbar, showing a bit of the browser theme between the loaded webpage content and the taskbar.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jun 17

Again, friends, please be weather aware today if you're in the midwest, especially Illinois and Indiana. The SPC already has a tornado watch out for central Illinois, which goes until 3 PM, and there will be more. If you're traveling, please try to keep in mind where you can shelter if you need to.

Map from the National Weather Service, Storm Prediction Center. Issued this morning (1300 Zulu/GMT, 8 AM CDT), valid for 24 hours.

Map is of the contiguous 48 US states, which indicates the categorical outlook for severe weather today. Red indicates the second-highest risk (4), and there is red in central Illinois and west-central Indiana. Orange is the next-highest risk (3), and it includes western Ohio, most of Indiana, most of Illinois, southeast Iowa, and central to northeast Missouri. Yellow is slight risk (3), and it includes most of Ohio, very northern Kentucky, the southern third of Michigan, the very northern and southern tips of Illinois, southern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, eastern Iowa, most of the remainder of Missouri except the very south, southeastern Kansas, and a tiny sliver of northeastern Oklahoma. The lowest risk (marginal) surrounds the above area, spreading into the adjacent edges into the additional states of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, a tiny bit of Arkansas, as well as an un-adjacent area centered on southern Louisiana with a bit of coastal Texas included.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Apr 24

Kite time!

Mostly the bright blue sky. The moon is visible, as is a kite that is blue, pink, and yellow. It looks tiny. A string is just barely visible-- it runs from out of frame to the kite.

A blue, yellow, pink, and green kite against the bright blue sky. There is a tree and some buildings at the bottom of the frame. A string is visible-- it runs from out of frame to the kite.

A blue, yellow, pink, and green kite is on the ground, which has a combo of brown and green grass. The shadow of the photographer is very stark on the grass, right next to the kite.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Mar 18

Eeyup. Egregious use of em-dashes with spaces around them.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Mar 3

This essay is a good reminder of the things I believe Christianity to be grounded in (even as I no longer consider myself a true member of that faith), especially as we hear of American leadership using the language of Christianity to justify their violence. www.christiancentury.org/features/chu...

Screenshot of text from an essay. Text reads: "This war with Iran, like so many wars before it, will be cast as regrettable but necessary. But necessity is not the church’s measure of morality; faithfulness is. And faithfulness to Jesus Christ—who loved his enemies, who refused to bring violence to them, who forgave those who killed him—gives no room for supporting acts of aggression cloaked in the rhetoric of security."

Paula@notsoencrypted· Mar 2

I kept thinking about this all day yesterday. It's not the only post he made about the topic during Obama's term, either.

Screenshot from X from the account @realDonaldTrump: "Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin - watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate." October 9, 2012.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jan 19

With alt text for the image:

Screenshot from the linked ABC article.
Text says: '“One ICE agent said if we let you see your clients, we would have to let all the attorneys see their clients, and imagine the chaos,” said another attorney who asked not to be named. “And I said to that person, yeah, you do have to let all the attorneys see their clients. You do have to accommodate that. That’s the Constitution. You chose to put them here. I didn't bring this guy here, you did.”'

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jan 15

Here's a screenshot from a Libby help page: help.libbyapp.com/en-us/6103.htm

Screenshot from a Libby help page. Text says: "Step 3 Find something to borrow: Tap search to find a specific title, author series, etc. Tap Library to browse your library's catalog. You'll find helpful filters, catalog guides, campaigns, and curated lists created by your library. Your selection will vary based on your library, since each library chooses what titles and formats to offer in Libby."

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jan 9

I love these things! My stepdad was a long-haul trucker and I went on a trip with him, and this is one of the first of these maps to have a good way to indicate passing through, which is what I did for a fair bit of states to my west. I differentiated "staying" as staying with friends/family.

Stylized map of the United States, with a legend indicating that different colors mean different levels of visiting a state or territory. Red is lived in, worth 5 points; Orange is stayed here, worth 4 points; yellow is visited here, worth 3 points; green is stopped here, worth 2 points; blue is passed here, worth 1 point; purple is want to be here, worth 0 points; white is never been here, worth 0 points.

My map is labeled US Level 73, indicating I have 73 points. The states are colored according to the legend.

I have lived in: MN, IA, WI, and WV.
I have stayed in: WA, SD, IL, IN, and OH.
I have visited: CA, NE, IL, MI, NY, and DC.
I have stopped in: AZ, TX, KY, VA, and PA.
I have passed through: WY, CO, NM, ND, KS, OK, MD, NJ, DE, and MD

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jan 3

Tracer Helped

A picture of part of the board game Dorfromantik: Sakura. The board game is on a table with very visible wood grain. Also on the table, with her face on the board game, is a very fluffy tortoiseshell tabby cat.

A picture of part of the board game Dorfromantik: Sakura. The board game is on a table with very visible wood grain. The game as seen here is a tableau of hex shaped landscape tiles. Also on the table, but not actually touching the game, though very close to it, is a tortoiseshell tabby cat.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Dec 29

I guess I'm a detective who investigates mostly magical stuff (Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch)?

Image is white text on a greenish background, and the text reads: "You are now forced to have the same job as the main character in the last book you read. What is the job?"

Paula@notsoencrypted· Dec 19

Here is an upside-down pupper to help with the day.

A photo of a chocolate labrador resting on her back on a beat up brown couch. She is looking at the camera with a bit of a surprised expression, probably because the camera shutter noise just woke her from a nap.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Nov 12

While my actual eyeballs couldn't see anything more than a faint white-ish glow, my camera has seen the aurora borealis!

A nighttime photograph with purple-pink and green glow in the sky. Dark, leafless trees stand out against the sky, with some houses visible as well.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Nov 9

Our (Democratic) governor here in Wisconsin has been updating about this pretty much every day during the shutdown. But he's in his mid 70s and is retiring after this term (as he should!!) and I don't understand why folks who need to be campaigning aren't copying him.

Screenshot of a bluesky post from Governor Tony Evers (govevers.wisconsin.gov). It says "Last night, the Trump Administration sent a letter suggesting Wisconisn should return our FoodShare payments. My reponse ⬇️" Below the text of the post is an image that is mostly blue background, with a lighter blue quote mark at the top, and white text that says "No." At the bottomg of the image, it has the governor's seal in white and, in white, the text "Governor Tony Evers".

Paula@notsoencrypted· Oct 21

Yeah. Wikipedia has already been updated. It's so sad.

Screen shot of the Wikipedia entry on the East Wing of the White House. Text included in the screenshot reads:
"The East Wing of the White House is a partially-demolished, two-story structure built to serve as office space for the first lady and her staff, including the White House social secretary, White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office and correspondence staff."

Paula@notsoencrypted· Sep 19

My guess is it's likely using the pet profile info, especially if you've uploaded a picture, and mostly working off breed info. It's still creepy and icky, though. But I don't like their notes, either. They're very manipulative feeling.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Sep 11

Here, everyone, have a Ginny picture! She was looking serious because she believes breakfast is a serious issue and I hadn't shared mine with her.

A close up picture of a tricolor rough collie's face. She looks very serious. Her fur is very floofy.
A close up picture of a tricolor rough collie's face. She looks very serious. Her fur is very floofy. Her snoot is long.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Aug 30

I... just found a toy ALF on my 87 yo dad's desk. This man is a life-long farmer, who rarely watched TV in the 80s. I am positive he has no idea what this is (he's sleeping now). I am befuddled. It certainly wasn't my ALF. Where did it come from?!

A photograph of a toy ALF, with its front hands clasped together and a stain on its nose & around the eye.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Aug 15

Sandhill cranes always make me feel like dinosaurs are living amongst us. These ones came to practically the front door of the building I was in, though I was on the second floor so couldn't get a very good picture.

Photograph of two sandhill cranes walking across a parking lot, moving towards a sidewalk

Paula@notsoencrypted· Aug 10

The CoCoRaHS observations map for this morning is just wild. The Milwaukee area got so much rain. These are 24 hour totals. So, so much rain.

A screenshot of the map from the CoCoRaHS website on August 10, 2025. The map is focused on southern Wisconsin and the datapoints are various colors, with red and orange indicating high amounts of rain. Milwaukee county and its neighbors display a significant number of red and orange dots, while most of the rest of the map shows blue and yellow dots, indicating rain but not as high rain totals.

A screenshot of the map from the CoCoRaHS website on August 10, 2025. The map is mostly focused on Milwaukee & Waukesha counties, with a bit of neighboring counties visible. The datapoints are various colors, with red and orange indicating high amounts of rain. Rain totals are listed below the dots, with the two focused counties having totals ranging from 3.67 inches all the way up to 11.29 inches.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jul 14

Wisconsin friends, please consider giving this sweet old lady a home. While her Petfinder page doesn't reflect it, her adoption fee has been covered by a donation. www.petfinder.com/cat/sadie-fi...

A photo of a Tabby cat with eyes that are hazy due to blindness. She's standing on a rainbow blanket.

Paula@notsoencrypted· Jul 1

Thanks, LJ...