digitalfox @digitalfox@vulpine.club

This #introduction dossier details a classified Blappeture Mesa research project. The Enrichment Center would like to remind you of these mandatory safety and happiness guidelines:

1. Petting and patient discussion are encouraged. ⚠️​ Device size may vary.

2. The device will never threaten to bite you and, in fact, may hug you. Repeatedly. (With permission.)

3. The device is slow to respond. Your request will be processed.

#Art details/full resolution/extra story: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/27507881/

I've said I'm not sexually interested in the big and small, #macro / #micro, #size play, etc. The opposite, I find sex off-putting (but others are free to enjoy what they want).

So.. what about size *does* appeal to this #asexual, #autistic fox?

If you're familiar with The Magic School Bus and Clifford the Big Red Dog, combine those.

To me, with great size comes great responsibility.. and inversely, with small size comes reduced responsibility. When I'm large, I lean into my protectiveness for others, e.g. scooping someone up to guard them from the world outside, to lift some of the weight that's on their shoulders.

That said, I do like to non-harmfully tease, affectionately roughhousing, focusing the tiny critter's attention on the moment, distracting from the concerns of the world beyond. I won't talk down to them, but I will press down on them and show them I've got them.

Inversely, when I'm small, I appreciate having a place where it's okay to be overwhelmed, where failure to take charge is expected and without bad consequence. Take what I said before and flip the roles around.

I'm also fascinated by the science of size, of a tiny in a gigantic world (e.g. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) or a giant navigating a normal world.

@arilin I think you might appreciate this:
https://www.typography.com/blog/the-typographic-ticket-book
(Also: https://designshop.typography.com/collections/frontpage/products/ticket-book - not yet live?)
> "Inspired by a brush with an inscrutable but no doubt revenue-positive New York City Traffic Regulation, I created my own set of ticketable offenses with which designers could return the favor, or at least have a convincing prop to flash around when they detect typographic trouble."

More photos at https://twitter.com/RavenMoDesign/status/1573386792019042306

I'm not sure if it comes in XL size, but it's sure to leave an impression if so.

One of my favorite parts of returning after a longer trip:
50+ pounds of weighted blanket wonderfulness atop my bed.

(I usually don't pack the weighted blankets because they're bulky, unwieldy, and heavy. Good attributes for burying myself beneath them to help calm down, but not so good for transportation.)

By now, 50-ish lbs feels normal to me. Anything lighter is like floating, and something substantially heavier feels like an actual hefty blanket.

For my sensory situation (autism, partial hypersensitivity, social anxiety), weighted blankets are probably one of the biggest straightforward things I've found to help me.

I appreciate those who have supported this, directly, or even by simply expressing things that encourage or reinforce heavy, tight, and potentially oversized (macro/micro) embraces.

(I do acknowledge that this is not for everyone. That's okay!)

> "Why get a smart thermostat?"

* HVAC runtime data is useful for early detection of problems and better optimizing heat pump operation (especially expensive auxiliary heat).

Seriously, look at the "Try a demo" button on https://beestat.io/ (no account needed for the demo). For a data-fox who loves data, this is candy.

* Sometimes one forgets to adjust the thermostat before leaving. It's useful to check/adjust remotely.

* Refining a schedule on a standard ("stand in front of" only) programmable thermostat can be a pain.

> "Why not implement your own thermostat with Home Assistant / a Raspberry Pi / etc?"

* I'd be the only one in the household able to fix it if anything went wrong.

I seriously looked into this a few years ago, thinking I'd make a smart thermostat for a shared apartment. It quickly spiraled out of control in complexity, and if I'm just recreating existing solutions in scope but in a less refined way, I'd have to decide if I really want that learning opportunity.

* Modern digital thermostats have more complex algorithms around predicting heat/cool times with weather impact, balancing longer efficient equipment cycles with maintaining comfort, etc.

It's not just a "if above setpoint by 0.5°, cool until below by 0.5°."

After my father sponsored me upgrading his home thermostat…

I don't get the ecobee thermostat design.

Asides from an emphasis on visual appearance (early LCD thermostats could look clunky), why would one design a thermostat in such a way that the heat it generates when running gets added to (and has to be subtracted in software from) the sensor it uses to measure the temperature‽

Having drafts nearby (e.g. ceiling fan) causes the thermostat to read multiple degrees colder because the moving air cools the thermostat down, working against the built-in software compensation for how much heat it generates in still air. There's a temperature offset feature, but that doesn't help if a ceiling fan/etc is only on part of the time.

I've heard support may offer a free battery-operated remote temperature sensor to place somewhere near the thermostat, but that feels.. wrong.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ecobee/comments/ihyp9q/how_does_ecobee_calculate_temp_when_it_creates/
(Etc)

beestat is 50+% of why I care at all about ecobee. Another part is the HVAC customization.

ecobee may be my choice depending on context.

(I have negatives for other smart thermostat options, too, including the local API Radio Thermostat, Google's Nest series, and the legacy Honeywell and modern Resideo Honeywell Home WiFi thermostats…)

Refrigerator maintenance:

Tip #1: Vacuum out the dust underneath your refrigerator (if you have one), especially if it's not keeping cool.

Tip #2: If your vacuum has an exhaust (blow/output) port, connecting the tube to that can help blow dust off areas that the suction won't clean.

Tip #3: Cover everything nearby that you don't want dust on if you use the exhaust port.

(Thankfully, the food was put away, but now all of a friend's kitchen appliances have a nice layer of dust… Oops.)

Whenever I go without my weighted blankets for several days (e.g. due to travel restriction - visiting some folks), I might not directly miss their heft at first, but I think it becomes evident with how much I find myself thinking about being (nonharmfully) smushed.

Like the "squish that cat" video, and in a way that's pleasant for both sides, and/or one that doesn't demand much effort from the provider. Given social anxiety, I don't wanna impede other things that whomever is doing the squishing might otherwise be doing.

The very thing that makes weighted blankets appealing - the weight - is what makes them difficult to pack in small spaces. Maybe there's a water-filled blanket variant?

I've also just been worn out, so I've not been able to respond to some folks who have kindly offered to fictionally squeeze this data-fox as much as they feel comfortable doing. (Thanks.)

So, um, don't mind me (but do say if I bother you). Just.. idly observing folks' natural means of distributing their body's weight into the floor when they engage in ambulation, then imagining experiencing the changes in force over time within those regions of impact.

(This is not specific to stepping on a tiny fox, but that does come to mind a lot.)

I'm mildly disappointed that whomever bought "vore.day" this year did not deploy anything for August 8th.

(It's currently just Namecheap's parking page, which breaks due to .day having preloaded HSTS. I noticed this back in https://vulpine.club/@digitalfox/108094728798934963 …)

Another's remarks on executive dysfunctioning got me thinking about my experience with it, and why I like being pinned down by excessive (though still safe) weighted blankets, or oversized friends.

Big, hefty weighted blankets not only provide a way to feel firmly held even when physically apart, but it helps calm my anxiety around the need to be doing something. It's an exaggeration of bed gravity to help me commit to relaxing.

The nice thing about being pinned down (with mutual consent) by folks - especially folks of substantial size - is feeling immobilized.

I don't have to be *physically* stuck - though that's certainly an option! It's more that I'm *socially* prevented from doing anything else without first asking to excused. Even though I know they'll comply (and I don't like being held truly against my will), the social friction of having to interrupt to ask helps counter my "I should be doing stuff" worrying.

This is where I'd remark on a heavy hand/foot/belly/chest/tongue/etc nonharmfully smushing this fox, but I think I've rambled on that in my pinned toot thread already. (Do look if you're curious.)

I'm a bit too worn out to narrate with most folks (sorry), but I'm happy thinking of these things.

@fero Heya, welcome to the fediverse! Your stuff looks cool.

Hey @Manikobunneh, have you heard of and/or played Klonoa?

…I didn't even know there was a good platformer with a cat/rabbit main character until seeing AntDude's video strongly encouraging it, and now I want to play it.

(If curious, the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbuImkt_77o "Klonoa is Important | Big 'Wahoo' Energy", 30m47s)