ravenwinters.org

About Raven

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 21:46:30 -07:00

Raven Judith Winters

Raven Judith Winters (she/it) is a trans woman located in PDX. It is known for acquiring skills in writing, photography, and computers. She regularly posts on her Mastodon account, this website, and has a synopsis of the last few years on her now page. Its photography is published into the creative commons for free at /photos. The Raven has so many interest in its life and she would love to keep exploring, learning, growing, creating art, being gay and just sharing her life with others. Likes: forests, mountains, Oregon coast, coffee, adventures, movies, computers, transit, bikes, Portland, scrub-role in surgery, science-stuff, n95s, sewing, privacy and security in tech, philosophy, ceramics, bjj, rock-climbing, backpacking, running, sailing, music, pineapple on pizza, leftism, workers-rights, silliness, headpats, and praise. check out my current playlist here.

Features of this Raven include (but are not limited to):

🩺 RN, BSN, CNOR
📸 photographer
👩‍💻 arch and gentoo linux
🏳️‍⚧️ transfem puppygirl
💞 relationship anarchist
🌱 vegan for the animals
🌹 socialist, anarchist
✊️️ union steward
🧗‍♀️ queer outdoor girlie
🌠 star stuff
🚴‍♀️ bikes are cool
😝 silly adventurer

contact

email: hello@ravenwinters.org
signal: raven.183
mastodon: https://infosec.exchange/@sparklepanic
snail-mail:

Raven Winters  
PO Box 8175  
Portland, OR 97207

ssh

sk-ssh-ed25519@openssh.com AAAAGnNrLXNzaC1lZDI1NTE5QG9wZW5zc2guY29tAAAAIHSDmcacSArIRy0znOlJj5AIsmdSQtb/MZr1opzAMCRVAAAABHNzaDo= raven-pub

reviews

“Passionate, kind, clever, motivated by her values & playful/funny”
“Very direct and able to be vulnerable very easily (a good thing!) and the most ethically-minded and community-focused person ive met!”
“Just a big, floofy, Golden Retriever”
“Awesomesauce. A poggo-doggo!”
“chaotic af, kinda scatter brained, but smart if that makes sense”

metrics and specifications

birthday: 1992-03-18
hrt: 2024-01-18
nurse: RN 2016-10-05
location: PDX
implant-type: NExT v2 (NFC, LED, and RFID)
serial: 04:AD:34:AA:68:73:80
languages known to it: English
queer-labels: gay, lesbian but technically bisexual (women are incredible), transfem, transwoman, T4T is so sweet, relationship anarchist, puppygirl, robogirl,
neocritters: neodog and neobot
musical instruments: trombone, guitar
cat-sidekick: Loki, a floofy 9-year-old sweethearted tuxedo cat (born 2016-09-30)
height: 173 cm
weight: ~70 kg
tshirt-size: Medium
waist: 92.5 cm
chest: 103 cm
bra: 38, b
pants: who knows?? sizing is weird, but generally if it’s unisex size, medium; women’s Kuhl brand jeans size is 4 reg. Will update further sizing updates as information becomes available. Especially because it wants to get back into sewing and sew clothes for itself and others.
shoe: ~44 EU, ~10 US-M, ~11.5 US-W
tattoos: left arm sleeve [steampunk, inspo from “Arcane”], right ankle [trans girl on a motorbike, solidarity fist]
piercings: both ear lobes (2023), left nostril (2025), double helix left ear (2026)
favorite color: green
usual coffee order: triple oat latte
favorite movie: “Weapons” (2025)
favorite show: “The Pitt” (2025-)

inventory

on-body
- watch: Casio G-shock GW-M5610U-1 multi-band tough solar
- glasses: firmoo sandy011 rx transitions

edc-fanny: Hyperlite Versa with Tom Binh zipper pulls
- phone: Pixel running GrapheneOS
- wallet: Topo Designs Micro accessory bag
- keys: caribiner, worn on the right
- mask: 3M Aura 1870+ N95, fit-tested
- charger: Anker nano 25 W
- usb-c cable: Anker 3.1 gen II (1 m)
- multitool: Leatherman Skeletool
- headphones: google pixel buds pro 2
- marker: Sharpie twin-tip
- pen: ZEBRA Z-grip ballpoint
- lip-balm: Supergoop! Glow Gloss SPF 40 | Strawberry Spritz
- Arch linux iso on a usb-c stick
- band-aids
- alcohol swabs
- hair-ties
- small thing of daily meds

edc-bag: Tom Binh Synapse 25
- Framework 13 running Arch
```
[raven&rocinante ~] λ hyfetch

                   -`                    raven@rocinante 
                  .o+`                   --------------- 
                 `ooo/                   OS: Arch Linux x86_64 
                `+oooo:                  Host: Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series) A9 
               `+oooooo:                 Kernel: 7.1.4-arch1-1 
               -+oooooo+:                Shell: bash 5.3.15 
             `/:-:++oooo+:               Editor: NVIM v0.12.4 
            `/++++/+++++++:              CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 w/ Radeon 890M (24) @ 5.1GHz 
           `/++++++++++++++:             GPU: AMD ATI Radeon 880M / 890M 
          `/+++ooooooooooooo/`           Memory: 62.08 GiB
         ./ooosssso++osssssso+`          Swap: Disabled 
        .oossssso-````/ossssss+`         Disk (/): 7.28 TiB - btrfs 
       -osssssso.      :ssssssso.         
      :osssssss/        osssso+++.        
     /ossssssss/        +ssssooo/-       
   `/ossssso+/:-        -:/+osssso+-      
  `+sso+:-`                 `.-/+oso: 
 `++:.                           `-/+/                           
 .`                                 `/                            
```
- water-bottle: 1 liter Nalgene Narrow Mouth Oasis Bottle
- cup: Frontier Ultralight Collapsible Cup, 400 ml
- packtowel
- Cat 5 cable
- 10 cm ruler
- leatherman bitdriver attachment
- light: Fenix HM50R V2.0 Rechargeable Headlamp
- Combat Application Tourniquet (C-A-T)
- Narcan
- nitrile gloves, medium 2x
- shears: Leatherman Raptor Rescue
- Gorilla Tape To-Go
- zip-ties
- RTT Deadbolt Safety Strap
- power
  - Boxy Bag by Pond’s Edge LLC
  - extension cord
  - Anker 160 W (3 ports)
  - Anker 10 ft USB-C to USB-C x2
- toiletries
  - Boxy Bag by Pond’s Edge LLC
  - Radius toothbrush case
  - extra-soft bristle toothbrush
  - Tom’s Toothpaste
  - Outlast Secret - completely clean antiperspirant/deodorant
  - floss
  - Panasonic ES-CM3A travel shaver
  - MÜHLE TRAVEL Razor handle for Gillette Fusion
  - victorinox nail clippers
  - supergoop! glow screen 40 spf
  - EPIC Professional hairbrush
- tech pouch
  - Hartford Gear Co pouch
  - PINECIL – Smart Mini Portable Soldering Iron (Version 2)
  - Flipper Zero
  - car charger: Powerdrive 3 duo
  - camera battery: SmallRig PowerADC orange battery for X-T4
  - framework modules for HDMI, SD, and microSD,
  - usb-c to usb-a
  - cerberus moon flashing red light
  - logitech r500s
  - usb stick with puppy linux
- food accessories
  - Hartford Gear Co pouch
  - titanium spork
  - stainless steel straw
  - katadyn micropur mp1 x2
  - cloth napkin
  - Bobos snack bar
- nitecore nb10k power bank

tech-cart

av-receiver: Yamaha RX-V385
tv: 42 inch LG C4 OLED
router: OpenWRT One

server: Framework Desktop running gentoo linux

raven@razorback ~ $ hyfetch

          -/oyddmdhs+:.                 raven@razorback
      -odNMMMMMMMMNNmhy+-`              ---------------
    -yNMMMMMMMMMMMNNNmmdhy+-            OS: Gentoo Linux x86_64
  `omMMMMMMMMMMMMNmdmmmmddhhy/`         Host: Desktop (AMD Ryzen AI Max 300 Series) (A6)
  omMMMMMMMMMMMNhhyyyohmdddhhhdo`       Kernel: Linux 6.18.38-gentoo-dist-hardened
 .ydMMMMMMMMMMdhs++so/smdddhhhhdm+`     Shell: bash 5.3.9
  oyhdmNMMMMMMMNdyooydmddddhhhhyhNd.    Editor: NVIM v0.11.7
   :oyhhdNNMMMMMMMNNNmmdddhhhhhyymMh    CPU: AMD RYZEN AI MAX+ 395 (32) @ 5.19 GHz
     .:+sydNMMMMMNNNmmmdddhhhhhhmMmy    GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics / Radeon 8050S Graphics / Radeon 8060S Graphics [Integrated]
        /mMMMMMMNNNmmmdddhhhhhmMNhs:    Memory: 125.07 GiB
     `oNMMMMMMMNNNmmmddddhhdmMNhs+`     Swap: Disabled
   `sNMMMMMMMMNNNmmmdddddmNMmhs/.       Disk (/): 7.28 TiB - btrfs
  /NMMMMMMMMNNNNmmmdddmNMNdso:`         
 +MMMMMMMNNNNNmmmmdmNMNdso/-            
 yMMNNNNNNNmmmmmNNMmhs+/-`              
 /hMMNNNNNNNNMNdhs++/-`                 
 `/ohdmmddhys+++/:.`                
   `-//////:--.

external-keyboard: MX Mechanical Keys Mini
external-mouse: MX Master 3S
lamp: Godox ML100 Bi
co2-meter: Aranet4
typewriter: Typerstar 6
printer: Brother HL-L2300D Compact Monochrome Laser Printer Support
mesh-node: Seeed Meshcore Wio Tracker L1 Pro

themes

2025: resolute
2026: vivacious
2027: tbd

dislikes

fucking Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc. “AI” (hate hate hate), “crypto”/web3, mainstream social media, typing on phones sucks, lack of education around computers, and many more things in tech
disneyland, cruise ships, NIMBYs, true crime, sports-teams (except womens sports teams, those are cool and dandy), cars, “consultants”, harry potter (booooo), Star Wars (except one specific cut), that we don’t tax the rich enough, purity culture, and fucking centrists
that not everyone in the entire world has their basic needs met yet, wtf are we even doing as a species??
colleges equaling careers. should be able to learn anything you want. all knowledge should be free. u can do anything.

dotfiles

https://codeberg.org/sparklepanic/dotfiles

images of the raven

feeling like me, finally in 2026

Union101

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 22:00:54 -07:00

what is a union?

Unions are a group of employees who have banded together to tell their bosses that they demand better working conditions (like their paycheck or safety in their work).

“Unions exist to give workers power in society, where the bulk of the economic and political power is held by those few who control the corporations. When unions make working people more powerful, they are imposing some democracy on a society which otherwise is not very democratic at all.” –Democracy Is Power, 1999, Mike Parker & Martha Gruelle for Labor Notes

We as employees provide labor to business owners and they pay us for that labor.

Business owners want to pay employees less since they want to make their own profits go up.

A single employee is paid what their boss tells them they will be paid.

The boss has all the power.

The employee on their own doesn’t have any power to change things.

But together, employees can change that and balance out the power.

This is what unions do.

The key is that employees do this together and that they remain strong in their belief in each other.

Bosses will try to tempt individual employees to break trust with the group by promising higher pay to one or several employees specifically, or some sort of other favors.

Those promises are empty though.

Without a contract that guarantees your paycheck and rights in the workplace, they can change any of your conditions at any time.

This is why establishing that trust (which is often what we call solidarity) is so important: a worker can’t win unless all the workers win.

Unions are democracy in the workplace: union leaders are elected or are appointed by an elected person

The leverage that employees have is their labor: they can collectively (and with solidarity) withhold their labor in a strike in an attempt to force the employers hand.

A strike is the final tactic that employees have to get what they need in order to improve conditions at work.

A strike reveals something that employers would prefer we not notice: they need us. Workplaces are typically run as dictatorships. The discovery that your boss does not have absolute power over you—and that in fact, you and your coworkers can exert power over him—is a revelation. There’s no feeling like it." –How to Strike and Win by Labor Notes Staff, 2019

This step is democratic because the employees vote whether to strike or not.

Without a high yes vote to strike, the power of the worker is diminished and the employees may have to give on their demands to the boss.

The democratic process also extends to the contract: the employees vote on whether to accept the contract that their team bargains with the business owners

A team of people is appointed or elected to represent the interests of the workers when creating a contract between the workers and management.

This process is called collective bargaining since both the employer and the employees are crafting the contract.

“Collective bargaining is the mechanism or process for an organized group of workers (“labor”) and their employer (“management”) to pursue mutual agreement over workplace issues. The results of these labor-management negotiations are contained in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA is a legally enforceable, written contract between a union representing a group of employees (“bargaining unit”) and their employer.” –workcenter.gov

A contract is then enforced by either (or a combination of) state and federal laws.

The NLRB governs the federal side of things for most workers.

Public workers in Oregon (where I am) are under another set of laws called PECBA.

These laws make it so that an employer cannot just large-scale fire people in the union, as it is actually unlawful for employers to monitor union activity, retaliate for union activity, or ignore the process of employee discipline.

Dues are gathered from your paycheck for the union to function: labor organizers, web designers, graphic artists, and physical things like t-shirts or buttons are needed for the union to function and the people who are staff for your union are often doing this work full time for their job.

okay, so together we win! that sounds simple right?

While unions sound simple in theory, in practice (which is where it really counts), unions are complex and messy, just like all human things.

Each union may have many tiers of leadership and many layers of bureaucracy

These layers may have people in place who actually don’t have your best interest at heart and instead are there to advance their own agenda of retaining a position of privilege or power

“a union will act in the interests of members only if those members control the union. If members do not control their union, then others tend to run it in their own interests—management, the mob, or officials seeking to preserve their easy job and comfortable lifestyle if not line their own pockets; the opportunities are just too rich to be passed up. Even a leader with a personal commitment to the members’ interests, but who lacks serious input from them, is vulnerable to the other interests just mentioned.” –Democracy Is Power, 1999, Mike Parker & Martha Gruelle for Labor Notes

This is why union elections are important: a healthy democracy involves a healthy mix of debate and conversation to bring about the best outcome for the workers that the people elected or appointed to union leadership represent.

“One of the reasons members don’t take control of their unions is that they don’t equate democracy with power. Why not? Partly because corrupt union leaders, and even more so corporations, have an interest in maintaining a smokescreen around democracy and power. Members are led to see themselves as dependent on their elected officials, and to see democracy only as a question of mechanics.” –Democracy Is Power, 1999, Mike Parker & Martha Gruelle for Labor Notes

Okay, I’m inspired! Now what?

Well first, if you’re in a workplace that has a union, make sure you’re a member! There are a lot of places were you aren’t automatically a member.

Second, read through your contract (if you have one) cover to cover.

Third, read the Labor Notes book “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” and/or look through the handouts they provide for free which have a lot of the content there for understanding organizing.

Lastly, get plugged into your local labor movement!

We must unite under a banner of having passionate, progressive, and unyielding hearts where we support one another, and believe that, no matter how bad it gets, there is always hope because we have each other.

Workers of the world unite!

Legal

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 20:45:43 -07:00

TL;DR

This is a static site and we don’t collect any personal data of visitors.
Some data may go through the site’s host Cloudflare and their privacy policy applies to that.
Cloudflare analytics are enabled but no personal identifiers of site visitors are obtained by us.
If an embedded item like a YouTube video is on a page, they may track you through that (embedded items are similar to visiting the actual site), and you are beholden to their policies.
If you find an issue, let us know by sending an email to: hello@ravenwinters.org
Always do your own research before acting on any information or advice that you read here. By using the site, you agree to waive liability per license terms.
Feel free to share, use, or remix our content! Just be sure to follow the license terms.
We may share things here under fair use, no copyright infringement is intended.

The Privacy Policy

We, Raven Winters (she/it), care about privacy and wish to make this policy as inclusive of that goal as possible. This is a static site, meaning there is no database for data entry from a user of the site. Further, this site contains no Javascript and is arranged in HTML/CSS for maximizing security. This site is hosted on Cloudflare. Cloudflare has their own analytics that are “privacy-first” and defines what data they collect and what they can know about you. They state that:

Cloudflare Web Analytics does not use any client-side state, such as cookies or localStorage, to collect usage metrics. We also don’t “fingerprint” individuals via their IP address, User Agent string, or any other data for the purpose of displaying analytics.

— Cloudflare Analytics

Cloudflare’s privacy policy can be found on their website.

This site is built without cookies and does not contain any trackers. Embedded content (eg from YouTube, etc.) may contain their own cookies and trackers, and the linked sites own privacy policies will apply. Embedded content is akin to visiting the actual site itself, and the embedded sites privacy policy will apply.

We do not collect any personally identifiable user information of visitors to our site.

Since we do not collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to our site:

there is no one to share or sell the information to
no place it is collected from (where)
no reason for the information to be collected (why)
no application of “how information is collected” because it’s not collected in the first place
no application of “rights users have over their data” as it’s not collected in the first place
You can contact us via hello@ravenwinters.org if you have questions or concerns about this policy

Disclaimers and terms of use

We are not a lawyer and nothing on this site is constituted as legal advice
We are not a physician and nothing on this site is constituted as medical advice
We are not a financial professional and nothing on this site is constituted as professional financial advice
On this site, we express opinions and views which are our own and do not represent our employers or associations with which we are a part

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Section 5 – Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability.

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Now

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 20:45:39 -07:00

Raven Judith Winters

Hi,

The last few years have seen a lot of change for me and in many good ways.

I’m out as a trans woman living in Portland, Oregon which is my favorite city. I have decided that she/her and it/its pronouns fit me best right now. Sometimes it speaks about itself in the third person.

I still work as an operating room nurse where I get to scrub and circulate a variety of services. I just switched from a 0.8 to 1.0 FTE which keeps me funded and busy. I love working in the OR!

It got divorced in 2025 after 13 years of marriage, which was a good decision for both of us it seems, even if it was a very very difficult thing to go through. We are talking again and I think it would be cool to be friends.

My philosophy on relationships changed drastically, and although my ex-spouse and I had an open marriage since 2016, I have finally figured out the model that makes the most sense to me: relationship anarchy. I think that this is the most ethical model of relationships, and more people should adopt it. As I say in part one of a multi-post thread on this topic:

one reason why it loves relationship-anarchy, is bc it (this one) can be different things to different people.

there is a variety of dynamics and deep relationships that all have a foundation of friendship at the core.

this model of doing relationships helps with the deconstruction of how we were indoctrinated into practicing our relationships; we can get better at our practice of sharing our lives with those we love.

I learned how to have boundaries and how important they are to me. One of my boundaries is being called the name and pronouns that I would like to be called. If people, don’t honor that boundary, and after making it clear and kind a few times to the person, I no longer choose to be in relationship with the person. Found-family > blood. Basic respect is not up for debate.

I started therapy in December of 2024 after struggling with mental health stuff for a while. SSRIs in late 2023. Started HRT in January of 2024 and estrogen is fucking magic.

I don’t own a car, but really want a motorcycle and still plan on getting one. Bicycles are awesome!

In January of 2026, I had an MPFL repair done on my right knee to repair old damage and new damage from a random dislocation while sitting down. In the same case, I had my first gender-affirming surgery, a tracheal shave which shaves down the thyroid cartilage. I was on FMLA for several months. The recovery time for the knee surgery back to sports is 1+ year and I still can’t bicycle or run yet.

In June of 2026 I totally revamped this site, while starting on the new https://betterwebsites.dev theme back during my knee recovery.

I’m still deeply involved in union work, but in some other ways than before: I am part of the Caucus for Powerful Reform (CPR) which aims to increase transparency, democracy, and solidarity within the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA). I ran for statewide union officer on the ONA labor cabinet and won my seat. I take office July 1 of this year. Check out the CPR website, https://nursesfororegon.org.

I’m also an advocate for Healthcare For All Oregon, which aims to make Oregon the first state with universal Healthcare.

I have so many cool friends!! Some of my friends are platonic and some are decidedly not =). But 99% are some variety of queer which warms my heart. IDK what romantic love is, I just love my friends so much ^^

it should note that it no longer and hasn’t for a while, identified as “polyamorous” and it doesn’t quite see the appeal of a “polycule” at this juncture. it simply has friends; sometimes we hang out in groups, or other-times 1:1. it has learned that it loves 1:1 time with its friends most often, and also loves to host gatherings of its friends to cook vegan food for them and to see the community interactions, shared friendships, and the positive queer culture that arises out of that –https://infosec.exchange/@sparklepanic/116791472668519223

My politics remain steadfastly leftist and im involved in trying to make the world a better place through orgs like DSA, actions like mutual aid, and building a solid group of queer leftist friends.

Increased its knowledge of computers over the last few years even more substantially. Really helps to have cute nerds in my friend circle.

I have debated with many folks about so called “AI”. I hate it so much. It is not sentient nor is it useful; let’s stop using it all-together. What I mean by “AI” is best summed up in Angels Collier’s delightful video, “AI does not exist but it will ruin everything anyway”.

Should I mention that I identify with being a puppygirl? Sure, why not. So many people are confused at what puppygirls are so imma give it a try from my perspective: I’m silly. Always have been. Described as a “goof” and just “a big floofy golden retriever”, embracing the furry-adjacent but largely unwritten about transfem queer topic: “what kind of girl are you? a catgirl? a puppygirl? bunny? bot?”.

You might be like what the heck is Raven talking about? Well, a subset of us transfem queers like to express ourselves through play in increasingly silly ways; we embrace a sense of play regarding some of our own perceived personalities that corresponds with a non-human entity, often a type of dog, cat, rabbit, dragon, fox, robot, etc., and in so doing express parts of inner-lives that reflects a steadfastness with pouncing, fetching, and nomming our whimsy out into the world. Although indeed we are biological creatures in a material universe, it’s an attitude of play combined with queer-identity that drives us: we bark and purr; wear collars and parkour around. It’s simply being silly queers. May our silliness continue, may it grow!

Looking to the future, I am both full of hope and dread at the same time; things will get really fucking hard with climate change, fascism, AI cultists ruining the world, COVID reinfections and increasing CO2 levels ruining our brains and cognitive capabilities, and many more antisocial behaviors that will hurt us. But consider: we literally could have fully-automated-luxury-communism (a la Star Trek). We can do anything. Especially as it pertains to living in solidarity and community with one another. We help us. The way forward is gonna be long, and it’s gonna take being vocal and showing up. Holding grudges is for losers. We must have a process and willingness to believe in and participate in restorative justice. We cannot afford to squabble amongst ourselves. A leftist movement must mean a big-tent approach and it must be democratic. Together, we can learn from each other and create intersectional movements to make the world a better place than when we entered it. We can’t do it alone. Together, we will win!

Solidarity,

Raven

P.S. Here’s my transition timeline photos so far!

its never too late to transition

Media

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 14:07:24 -07:00

books

currently

“Gideon the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir (2019)
“Efficient Linux at the Command Line” by Daniel J. Barrett (2022)
“Proficient Motorcycling” by David L. Hough (2010)
“Computer Science” by Robert Sedgewick & Kevin Wayne (2016)
“Unfuck Your Boundaries” by Faith Harper (2020)
“Keep Going: A Guide to Organizing When It’s Hard” by Ellen David Friedman (2026)
“Move Slowly and Build Bridges” by Robert Gehl (2025)

finished

2026

The Polyamory Breakup Book: Causes, Prevention, and Survival by Kathy Labriola

2025

“Expansive Love: a Practical Guide to Relationship Anarchy” by Tuck Malloy
“The Age of Magical Overthinking” by Amanda Montell
“Secure Relating” by Sue Marriott and Ann Kelley
“Quit Like a Woman” by Holly Whitaker
“101 Essays that will Change the Way you Think” by Brianna Wiest
“Radical Acceptance” by Tara Brach

music

Artists this one has been enjoying recently:

Free.99
Fish in a Birdcage
Amethyst Kiah
Caravan Palace
Lots of Drum and Bass artists
Vylet Pony
Flavor Foley
Femtanyl
Gnoss
Talisk

TV shows

Finished “Stranger Things” on 2026-2026 NYE and was such a let down. The whole season had some great undertones of what made the show great, but the plot points ruined it. would have been better if there was no “vecna” and it was just all lovecraftian monsters with no explanation. Haven’t felt that dissapointed in a show since the “Game of Thrones” finale
Finished “The Pitt” for the like fourth time now. Incredible all around show. a must watch.
Currently watching She-Rah (first time watching) with Natalie
Started “The Last Kingdom” with Chelsea

favorites

favorite movie overall: “Weapons” (2025)
favorite lesbian movie: “Desert Hearts” (1985)
favorite queer movie: “Pride”
favorite action movie: “RRR”
favorite comedy movie: “The Emperor’s New Groove”
favorite drama movie: “All The Presidents Men”
favorite sci-fi movie: “Alien”
favorite fantasy movie: “The Princess Bride” (1987)
favorite horror movie: “V/H/S/94” (2021)
favorite mystery movie: “Knives Out”
favorite romance movie: “Carol”
favorite thriller movie: “Hackers”
favorite western movie: “The Dead Don’t Hurt” (2023)
favorite show overall: “The Pitt”
favorite lesbian show: “Gentleman Jack”
favorite queer show: “Heartstopper”
favorite action show: “The Americans”
favorite comedy show: “Psych”
favorite drama show: “Arcane”
favorite sci-fi show: “The Expanse”
favorite fantasy show: “She-Rah and The Princesses of Power”
favorite horror show: “The Teror” s01
favorite mystery show: “True Detective” s01
favorite romance show: both “San Junipero”, an episode of “Black Mirror” (s03e04) and “Long, Long Time”, an episode of “The Last of Us” (s01e03)
favorite thriller show: “The 100”
favorite western show: “Firefly”

Raven's best photos

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:04:10 -07:00

artist-statement: Raven (she/it) is a photographer based out of Portland, Oregon. She loves chasing light and making images feel like film or like something out of a fantasy novel. Raven is passionate about art being in the commons, and so she releases her work under a creative commons license. Her images don’t use so-called “AI”. She no longer posts on Instagram. Her website, ravenwinters.org, hosts her photography, blog, and other interesting pages. Usually shooting with a FUJIFILM X-T4, she loves going on photo-adventures and candidly conducting an impromptu portrait session. Although she is mostly a hobbyist next to her day job as a nurse, if you nonetheless want to hire her for a gig, please send an email to hello@ravenwinters.org or find her on Signal: @raven.183

new photography is posted under #photos

24 selected photos (what it considers its best photos)

20210925 | Mt. Hood in late fall

20211030 | South falls sunrise at Silver Falls State Park

20220115 | magical light shining into a forest

20220209 | Portland, OR sunrise

20220811 | Deer in an Orchard

20221212 | Timberline Lodge Room View

20230430 | Cerro Torre

20230430 | Patagonia Mountain Ranges

20230506 | the patagonia fjords filled with rainbows and dolphins

20230708 | a bald eagle with full out-stretched wings

20240511 | The Northern Lights from Oregon

20241030 | The Tree at the Japanese Garden

20250317 | a lighthouse

20250412 | Ladds500 2025

20250503 | the Hawthorne Bridge

20250704 | SUNSET

20250816 | LOKI

20251115 | Portland Japanese Garden

20251119 | Hoyt Arboretum

20251215 | FURRY CREEK

20260103 | cape dissapointment

20260110 | to the left, to the left

20260110 | Crows in PDX

20260110 | Crow walking on a branch

Linux

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:47:32 -07:00

Just a linux cheatsheet

common commands

move or rename a file with mv
make a new directory (folder) with mkdir
navigate the file system with cd, ls, and tree
use cat to quickly display file contents

search with `fd` and `rg`

looking for files and folders?

use fd: “fd is a program to find entries in your filesystem. It is a simple, fast and user-friendly alternative to find. While it does not aim to support all of find’s powerful functionality, it provides sensible (opinionated) defaults for a majority of use cases.”

looking for text inside of files?

use rg: “ripgrep is a line-oriented search tool that recursively searches the current directory for a regex pattern. By default, ripgrep will respect gitignore rules and automatically skip hidden files/directories and binary files. (To disable all automatic filtering by default, use rg -uuu.) ripgrep has first class support on Windows, macOS and Linux, with binary downloads available for every release. ripgrep is similar to other popular search tools like The Silver Searcher, ack and grep.”

play audio and video

use mpv: “mpv is a free (as in freedom) media player for the command line. It supports a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.”

mpv . --shuffle to shuffle through media in directories (it will recurse through)
mpv . --shuffle --no-audio-display to do the same thing but do not display the graphical overlay when playing audio

get current system info

want a quick overview of your system?

use fastfetch: “Fastfetch is a neofetch-like tool for fetching system information and displaying it in a visually appealing way. It is written mainly in C, with a focus on performance and customizability. Currently, it supports Linux, macOS, Windows 8.1+, Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, DragonFly, Haiku and SunOS (illumos, Solaris).”

want a “task manager” view?

use btop: “Resource monitor that shows usage and stats for processor, memory, disks, network and processes.”

(more will be added later)

Techstuff

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:47:19 -07:00

Technology recommendations from Raven

switch to Linux on a laptop, use this as your main computer
become a touch typist by practicing typing on MonkeyType
switch to GrapheneOS, use this for your phone but use your laptop more
don’t use any generative AI tools
switch to Signal Messenger as your main tool for group chats and DMs
get a yubikey to protect your accounts from account takeovers, to store passkeys, and to store a SSH key
use Bitwarden or 1password as your password manager
build or buy a small desktop computer for gaming on steam and for remote backups with borg and borgmatic
setup Tailscale so you can get into any of your devices from anywhere
obtain a Mastodon account and switch to it as your main means of social media
uninstall IG, FB, Messenger, Tiktok, etc. from your phone and only check ocassionally on your laptop
sign up for alerts from haveibeenpwned
create a simple journal
use directories (folders) and the mpv program to play your audio and video
get comfy with the command line (it’s just better)
use ente.com for remote photo storage (and automatic backup from your phone)
get nice pairs of wired overear headphones and wireless inear earbuds
use calibre for ebooks
create a plain-text workflow for your files; markdown is simple, LaTeX can be easily edited in Lyx, and pandoc is a nice program to easily create PDFs or convert your files between formats
block ads with ublock origin lite and DNS based blocking
use the tor browser for anonymity, not a VPN
don’t pay for services like “DeleteMe”. Most of the stuff about you (full name, DOB, address) is considered public information and regardless of these companies promises, your data is out there. Even SSNs are out there, so make sure to freeze your credit with all the credit agencies.
use a different email provider. I like Fastmail.
public wifi is usually fine, no need to freak out about being a public network if all your devices and apps have been updated to the most recent available version

2026

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 17:00:03 -07:00

2026: my vivacious era

Wikitionary:

Lively and animated; full of life and energy.

Miriam Webster:

vivacious - lively in temper, conduct, or spirit : sprightly

lively, animated, vivacious, sprightly, [and] gay mean keenly alive and spirited.

Cambridge:

A vivacious person, especially a woman or girl, is attractively energetic and enthusiastic

some people believe this describes me already

but i wanna continue the qualities of vivaciousness throughout this upcoming year, especially with a surgery that will limit the expression of it in physical form for a bit

here are some things i’ve been thinking

go backpacking one more time in January before surgery
MPFL repair surgery in January
rehab the MPFL
during FMLA: endeavor to learn Spanish, piano, and Rust
read a shit ton of books
get back to running and sports in summer/fall
get a motorcycle (and endorsement) and be a girl on a motorbike
possibly go on meditation retreat
keep writing
take Amtrak somewhere
cultivate a deeper, more intentional community
get to ski in next ski season (maybe not December 2026, depends on PT success)
start climbing again (at least top roping)
save money

i guess my question for myself is how do i cultivate vivaciousness while healing from surgery,,,

ultimately, i think pursuing my learning, relationships, writing and photography, and adventures (as soon as im healed enough) will help me make this yearly theme into something incredible

i am excited for the journey ahead: heartful or heartbroken, healing or healed, being outside and being inside,,,

i will be vivacious!!

2025

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 16:59:58 -07:00

If you haven’t watched CGP Grey’s excellent video on yearly themes, you should.

2025 is my year of being resolute. I know it’s an adjective and not really a noun, but I’m kinda using it as one anyway. =p

This piece serves as a reminder to myself of what I’m trying to be in this short life. In this season of life.

Resolute (adjective)

marked by firm determination
bold, steady

Hell-bent, purposeful, steadfast

This year will be the year I put into motion a plan to be the person I’ve dreamed of being.
Raven, listen to me: it’s going to be hard.
You’re going to be tired.
You’re going to think it’s too much (and maybe it is).
But we are what our days are.
And I can no longer waste my days.
There are many things I want to do.
Getting really good at all of them will take a lifetime.

My priority is to get started and stick with these things.

Remember that themes are fuzzy layers for building the life you want, not too specific.

I hope to outline my progress on my theme as the year goes on using this blog and IG. You can follow the #resolute tag to follow this on the blog.

2025: my resolute era

my resolute era was amazingly successful (not really in any order):

stayed alive after bout of severe depression and anxiety
went on several cool solo adventures for the first time ever
got divorced
biked everywhere, started BJJ, started going climbing
made a hecc ton of friends!
started building queer community for ppl and having a recurring movie night
got to do the Ladds 500!
full sleeve tattoo (first ever) completed!!
welcomed into a polycule
practicing relationship anarchy and got to kiss (mmkay, maybe more than kiss ^^) so many cuties this year :3
wrote the code for my hugo theme (what this site is built on)
got involved on the fediverse and made online and irl frens!!
got scheduled to fix my knee
took a basic woodworking course
came out as trans at work
changed my legal name and gender with all the things!
wrote 21 blog posts this year
read 6 books this year (wish i had done more)
my resolute era redux playlist got 3,596 views
visited Vancouver, BC, Canada!
started running for statewide union officer position
visited the strike line at PPMC in January a few times
got horrible respiratory disease in January (not COVID)
got COVID in summer (first time, and hopefully last)
learned, went to, and used a Futel phone, the free payphones of Portland
painted my nails for the first time!
dyed my hair for the first time
saw Eivør in concert
restarted The Walking Dead
furnished and decorated an apartment (with help from frens too!)
visited southern Oregon in March to go backpacking!
camped in the cold at the coast in January
saw Lúnasa in concert
saw Avi Kaplan in concert
got out to the range a few times
Loki continued being the floofiest and bestest being in the world, and i am so thankful to have him in my life
accidentally stumbled on a vegan saturday market when riding bikes with my friend
gained community
told my crush i liked them
biked around Portland at like close to 3 in the morning with said crush and it was the cutest things and i still think about it lmao
got some good thrift hauls
helped a group of frens take down a yurt so they could move it
saw some cool pole shows
sang WWE: Sexy boy at karaoke as a duet with a friend (i sang the repetitive girl part lmao)
went backpacking and almost died bc there were so many mosquitoes biting my (not really)
rewatched The Handmaids Tale
got my nose pierced!
saw Rocky Horror at Clinton St. Theater
saw Weapons in theaters (twice), once on a date
saw RRR in theaters with date at the Hollywood Theater
saw Honey Don’t! in theaters with polycule
got a cute flash tattoo of a doll on a motorcycle (she’s trans, u see)
randomly dislocated my knee
designed a few 88x31s
deleted insta and then made a new one
back on Facebook
went to a book event with the polycule and it was on a book i finished reading this year
made a business card
flirted with a bunch of cool folks
snuggled with a cute nb at the poly-gathering
lottsa gaaaaay events
lent my camera setup to someone on fedi
worked with a great physical trainer for a few session on top of physical therapy
put my face on Tiktok and IG for a union video
reassembled my desktop computer into a new case
computer broke, new CPU installed
Framework laptop and desktop obtained
Got my hair dyed a second time in September
found a cute gay zine at the central library about biking in PDX
have had multiple amazing ppl tell me they love me this year
went on my most favorite beach trip to date at the Oregon coast with date
Loki turned 9, and we had a cute little party for him
got melted and kissed and and and >.<
puppygirl arc realized
discovered many new amazing musics and found out im a drum a bass girlie
Went to Silver Falls State Park with a polycule member in the fall and it was stormy AF and an incredible adventure!
dressed as Vi for halloween
went on random night adventure with date to The Columbia River Gorge and it was probably my favorite day of this year
saw Legally Blonde for the first time and then saw the musical at my old high school
bought many many books at Powell’s
hosted a vegansgiving
alllll the laughs, giggles, tickles, sillies, and joy this year!!!!
Kill Bill The Whole Bloody Affair in theater
played some guitar for a flirty date :3
fell in love
felt so loved by everyone in my life
so thankful for where i am now; never felt better in my whole life

2024

hello@ravenwinters.org (Raven Winters (she/it)) — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:59:50 -07:00

2024 comes to a close
a slamming shut of a book
you can’t undo the words your eyes consumed
the words graffitied into your brain
plastered with nonsense, bigotry, and pain.

───※ ·❆· ※───

2025 starts with a power-washer
erasing the bafflegab, the phobias,
and the answer to “what’s in the box?”
our hydrant full of friendship
it leads to community, a mural painted in the heart
the hopeful road before you,
what are you waiting for?
let’s get to work,
let’s start.

(⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

My intent is mutual aid,
my intent is to live and love purposefully,
my intent is for self-care and self-respect,
my intent is to live a life worthy of being remembered.

May we all create community and care.

bridges

Bridges connect places; Times; People.

O what connections in past unfolding and in future recursive paths unending.

centrifuge

A centrifuge of thoughts

—dreams spun down—

yields to a garden of tranquility

the mind open and in the present; unfurled and untangled.

“If you Care to Find Me, Look to the Western Sky”

When the sun sets are on a particularly dark day, may you realize sunsets contain the beauty and richness of what is to come.

gratitude to my teachers

Art can be cute, funny, serious, and bare the soul of the artist.

While not the most talented artist, throughout my life I’ve always been drawn to the artistic lens. Mostly been into photography for the last decade but in the past I’ve been into music, ceramics, writing, design, sewing, and web design.

I’m hoping to revisit some of those, especially music as it has had such a big impact on my life. And also start new photography endeavors.

I have such gratitude for the various teachers of various art I’ve had over the years.

Teachers, know your reach and instillation of your art reaches farther than you can imagine and that your efforts teach the next generation something about uniquely expressing oneself that is one of the most valuable lessons available.

gratitude extends to the sky

🍂 Gratitude extends towards the sky

Branches full of change,

Winds that carry the sweet scents of new adventures

Letting the essence of this season spill into our bodies, drenching our hearts with the divine abodes.

Many thanks is in order for all the lovely beings that cultivate and endeavor to create a better world. May you continue to harvest the fruits of the heart. 🙏

on transition in 2024

🏳️‍⚧️ being trans means realizing my full self

im still the same person

just more of me

no longer granting control of my heart to anxiety

letting life in

soaring with a corvid curiosity

always becoming

never forgetting

holding

the e washing the dysphoria away

she/they

im that, okay?

anyway, i’ll just dance like no one’s watching

feeling the rhythms of life

being more fully me

arriving

e is magic and i have arrived ✨

Rough seas are no match for our fierce kindness

Rough seas are no match our fierce kindness. Build Community, stand up for each other. And with Solidarity, let us forge a path for the well-being of all. All we have to do is show up for each other.

It takes showing up for ourselves and for each other to make this world a better place.

But none of us can do it alone.

Show mutual aid and live out our true values

ravenwinters.org

About Raven

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what is a union?

okay, so together we win! that sounds simple right?

Okay, I’m inspired! Now what?

Legal

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books

currently

finished

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Linux

common commands

search with fd and rg

play audio and video

get current system info

Techstuff

2026

2026: my vivacious era

2025

Resolute (adjective)

2025: my resolute era

2024

bridges

centrifuge

“If you Care to Find Me, Look to the Western Sky”

gratitude to my teachers

gratitude extends to the sky

on transition in 2024

Rough seas are no match for our fierce kindness

search with `fd` and `rg`