It briefly crossed my mind that that I wanted an ephemeral 'like' function that expired after a while. Then I realised that, to a large extent, it's just a problem with me - I'm looking for a sense of permanence in the wrong place.

I need to start treating social media like a river. I can't try building in it and shouldn't want to hang onto all the water. Instead, I need to start - especially on the hell site - go for a dip only when the water's nice and not care that things float past unseen

@Andrea Thanks. We ended up taking her to the Sydney Uni vet clinic shortly after her second seizure. She was mewing at us plaintively asking for help and we couldn't do anything else but end her suffering :(

This is Ripley in happier times. Originally, she was skin and bones, dumped on the grounds of the Watson's Bay naval training base as a kitten. People would tell us we were lying when we said we had a cat, as she hid from anyone but us for years. It was a joy to see her grow into a member of the family that was confident to be around people.

My previous girl Annie lived to a ripe old age, but died outside overnight and I wasn't there to say goodbye. Even though it's tearing me up, I want to make sure Ripley has family there to comfort her at the end

Our cat Ripley had a seizure this afternoon 😥 She's 15 and we know she is on her last legs...

We've been monitoring her all evening and I'm not sure she'll last the night. When we got her, she was a wild abandoned child who wouldn't bond with anyone. Now she is an adorable old girl who loves us and who we love

"We are paid a ton. Looking forward to my yearly bonus of $100k. Fuck ethics. Money is everything."
— Facebook employee

Fuck Facebook employees!

https://mashable.com/article/facebook-employees-react-teen-spying-app-blind/

/via @aral

In 1955, Millie Robinson was the first British rider to win the TdF, 57 years before Bradley Wiggins. It was a 5 stage race around Normandy, but billed as a Tour de France as that would sell more copies of the organiser's magazine; it was also the second ever stage race for women.

Millie was used to time-trialling, not bunch riding; she and her team forced the pace each day, preventing breakaways. She won the penultimate time-trial stage and the overall race #womenscycling

Lyli Herse was the daughter of the famous Parisian bicycle maker René Herse. She grew up in the amateur Audax scene and initially rode in mixed tandem races. One year they crashed and carried on only to find that her collarbone ended up sticking out of her jersey. They not only finished but won.

Later she rode the Brevet Randonneur des Alpes, breaking records across the col de la Croix de Fer and other famous climbs, and she reveled in riding long distances and climbing #womenscycling

Eileen Sheridan was the British post-war pin-up girl of cycling. She earned so much money out of sponsorship, she was able to buy a car and house. Between 1952 and 1954, she broke all the existing 21 distance and place-to-place records and 5 of those records still stand today #womenscycling

My last few toots have been thanks to Isabel Best and her fabulous book "Queens of Pain". It's a fascinating journey through the lives of forgotten women cyclists and you can buy it at https://www.rapha.cc/au/en_AU/stories/queens-of-pain-legends-and-rebels-of-cycling if you want more details than the snippets I've posted. I highly recommend it.

Joyce Barry became the first woman to see how far she could ride in 7 days non-stop. in September of 1939, she rode 31 laps around Sydney for a total of 1,107 miles. She was followed by Valda Unthank in November, who rode 1438.4 miles in the same time.

Four months later, Pat Hawkins, who had been riding for only little over a year, completed 1,546 miles! #womenscycling

Joyce Barry was the female equivalent of Opperman. She was sponsored by Malvern Star and named 'The Flying Wasp', due to her yellow and black outfit. She trained with Opperman and broke time and distance records across the country, including the men's record on the 'villainous' 483.9 mile Brisbane-Rockhampton route by over 22 hours #womenscycling

Elsa Barbour continued to break records, riding Adelaide to Melbourne in 2 days, 23 hours and 17 minutes. She inspired Billie Samuel (23) from Melbourne, who had only been riding for 4 months, to attempt the Melbourne to Sydney record. She trained intensively for 8 weeks and then completed the distance in 3 days, 17 hours and 2 minutes (a bit slower than Elsa).

Six weeks later she rode back to Melbourne in a time 6 hours faster than Elsa #womenscycling

The Victorian Amateur Cyclists Union refused to ratify Elsa Barbour's record as she was a woman. They even fined her for breaking the women's half-mile record on the Sydney track without their permission. Then the Amateur Cyclist Association of Australia stated that its rules didn't include women and therefore 'no records in events run for women shall be recognised' #womenscycling

Most people think of Hubert Opperman if pressed for names of early Australian cyclists. While he was on his way to Europe for his second TdF, two women did Adelaide to Melbourne in 5 days and 9 hours; in June, 19 year old Doreen Middleton rode the other way in 4 days and 21 hours.

The following year, Elsa Barbour (20) rode from Sydney to Melbourne in 3 days 7 hours and 25 minutes #womenscycling

In 1896, Lucy Beyer rode the 568 miles from Sydney to Melbourne in 7.5 days. One day she had 8 punctures;on another she had to ride one-legged because of a broken pedal. Late one evening her chain broke and she had to walk 14 miles to town.

At the end of her ride she said 'I arrived in Melbourne as fresh as possible and feeling as well as ever I did in my life, not have I suffered any inconvenience since. Indeed I am sure I could have ridden for another week without being tired' #womenscycling

Australia also has it's buried female cycling history. Before the rise of the car, cycling was the easiest way to move long distances, as you had to in Australia. Bicycles didn't need food and water, could carry heavy loads and were faster than any other transport mode at the time, bar trains. Roads were often little more than muddy tracks but, from the 1890s to the 1930s, women were riding enormous distances in ever quicker times #womenscycling

Ethel Rolf befriended a young girl named Marguerite Wilson, who won the 10 mile time trial on a heavy steel-framed touring bike. Marguerite was prodigiously strong and would think nothing of riding 135 miles to and from a race, carrying camping gear - and then winning the race, of course. By the time she was 22, she had broken every record available to women.

She famously rode from Lands End to John o' Groats in 3 days and 11 hours, around a day quicker than the previous record #womenscycling