my day job is at a college, and this morning my boss was like “go collect all the suggestion slips from our suggestion boxes around the school and create a document and a spreadsheet outlining the needs of the student body.”
Ok cool very easy! fun, even!
there were two. two suggestions.
“spring fling should be steampunk themed :3 I’d like to see more pipes and gears with no discernible function”
and
“free food. starbocks. privitized resturaunts.”
I can’t wait to turn in my 1/8th page report with “pipes and gears with no discernible function” and three out of five words misspelled on it. the students have spoken, boss; such are the needs of the student body.
So far in LA an Australian news reporter has been shot in the leg by a rubber bullet, a British reporter has been shot by a sponge bullet and sent to the hospital for emergency surgery. A NY Post reporter has been shot in the head with a rubber bullet and went to the hospital for a large bruise on his forehead, whiplash and neck pain, and CNN reporters were handcuffed and escorted away being told to not come back or they will be arrested BECAUSE they are reporters.
It seems like all reporters there to give the real story are being targeted by police/ICE/military in LA.
The YouTube channel anti-chef always adds an extra bay leaf to recipes that call for it and he says “and add another one. I’m not driving” and this has permanently altered my vocabulary.
Every time I add something extra to a recipe I say that now. Add another clove of garlic, I’m not driving. Let’s have two eggs, I’m not driving. Let’s double the chili flakes, I’m not driving.
Whenever my aunt springs her insane superstitious/religious cures on me I specifically remember when I was 17 and she got me exorcised. The priest was like “I don’t think she’s possessed” and she insisted “well there’s something wrong with her, she’s always [symptoms of depression] so…”
And the guy said some verses and touched my head and stuff then said I should drink only holy water for an entire week. Which wasn’t hard to do, but my fav part of this whole experience was me saying I want to eat instant noodles and my aunt going “I’ll make them for you. With the holy water he gave us.” And then I had holy instant noodles
I need to get into mobile game development so I can make puzzle games for middle aged moms. those women deserve better than predatory energy systems and weird fetish ads every 3 seconds. I could be the one to give them something better. I could give them a candy crush clone with SOUL.
I love the ones where they actually did think about safety but then missed the mark, like the plastic bag to keep sparks out of his eyes or the bucket helmet. Like, y'all. I know you’re doing that to attempt a safety, but it isn’t going to go the way you think it’s going to go if something goes wrong, and you need real safety equipment.
also been thinking abt when and how ART told its crew about the rogue SecUnit it helped. theres the option where it’s suddenly preoccupied w SecUnits; downloading articles, pointing them out in media, talking abt them. eventually someone asks where the sudden interest came from.
theres the option where its just so excited and infactuated that it keeps dropping hints that it met someone until someone finally asks. MB mentions that ART isnt very good at talking to bots, so MB is probably its first bot-ish friend outside of the other university ais.
i think the most likely option is it needed to talk to someone about it. ART doesnt rly understand what emotions media is meant to evoke on its own. its unclear what that means for its interactions with humans. it can somehow get a sense of MB’s emotions through the feed. when it scares MB, MB sends it memories of its governance module punishing it.
ART goes quiet for several minutes in response. ART had a nice “childhood” and has never been hurt by its crew. it obviously has some experience with the abuse corporations enact, but not like this. it would’ve felt what MB felt emotionally as well as physically. that would’ve been very upsetting. its trauma module (and any other therapy modules) would’ve said it should talk to someone it trusts.
someone in the UK threw eggs at Charles and was arrested and has been banned from openly carrying eggs in public and has since been sent death threats but their statement on the matter was so fucking good
also let’s take a moment to appreciate the picture of this man being arrested
🥚❤
“So my bail conditions were, between my arrest and my trial, were that I wasn’t allowed to carry eggs in public.” host laughs “Yeah, I know, and so that is in itself like so absurd that it’s like right”
Host: “I gotta know, is there like a provision for if you’re going home from the store? Or are you just, are you just egg-less?”
“So the copper who was literally just like making this up at the station says like ‘Ok, so your bail condition is: you’re not allowed within 500 meters of the king; you’re not allowed to carry eggs in public’ and then he goes like 'ah actually, like, what 'appens if he wants to buy some eggs?’ Ok, so they changed it so it’s like, 'You’re allowed to carry eggs as long as you’re going home from the shops and you’ve got the receipt” host laughs “And I think, that was more viral than me actually doing it, you know what I mean like, people were like, that’s Britain for you, have you got a license for those eggs”
-“The Man Who Egged King Charles”, It Could Happen Here, May 18 2023
we should globally ban the introduction of more powerful computer hardware for 10-20 years, not as an AI safety thing (though we could frame it as that), but to force programmers to optimize their shit better
I reblogged this like 9 times kinda jokingly, but software should be able to run on older and less powerful hardware, and consume less power on newer hardware. Like, this is a real problem imo
I completely agree with this but I do need you to understand that the image above is 32 times the size of the lunar mission’s memory
NASA Angel: 4KB of RAM in 1969 “We put people on the Moon”
Agree with the notes, it isn’t specifically confirmed or contradicted, so either option could still be canon compliant with the books.
(As an aside, I’m also wondering if this is one of the things Martha Wells was referring to when she said the show included some things she wished she’d thought of.)
Putting this before the cutoff—gentle reminder that this show is rated MA for Language and Violence, and this episode doesn’t have all that much strong language in it but it has a lot of violence/gore previously unseen in the show.
Anyway. Latest episode of Murderbot was so much fun! I was very pleased, though I say that as someone who has been using Murderbot TV as a replacement for sanity for the past week.
About the thematic connection between the Sanctuary Moon episode and Murderbot’s reality: I think what we’re supposed to notice is contrast, if anything.
Captain Hossein is trying to emotionally connect with Nav Bot 337 Alt 66, and humanises it in the process. (using it for now but please correct me if there are any official pronouns)
Murderbot sees the show as an unrealistic escape from reality.
Hossein insists that Nav Bot should sit down (sound familiar?) and that it also has inner feelings that should be listened to and validated. (PresAux does this often)
He finds Nav’s quirks like the robotic laugh and odd mannerisms endearing. Murderbot actually possesses these quirks, but is also anxious, awkward, (not in the funny/cute way) and ultimately a SecUnit made and contracted to kill.
Unlike in Murderbot’s reality, the expectations for Nav’s ability to feel and act like a human seem to actually apply. It has feelings, romantic ones even, and its roboticness is not seen as very dangerous, at least to Hossein. There is no “dark truth” to uncover, only hidden kindness and humanity.
Murderbot, on the other hand, defies these expectations. Yes, it sat down when requested and can be very kind, but it also very clearly defies the humanness PresAux has applied to it throughout the series. It does this textually (the last scene at the end of the episode) and physically (blowing Leebeebee’s head clean off) proving its violent nature. Murderbot, as we know, isn’t a danger to PresAux, but it isn’t a bot like Nav Bot 337, with romantic feelings and a desire to engage with humans “normally.”
Maybe this is a stretch, but perhaps Murderbot is also using the show to (at least subconsciously) escape to a reality where it does have the desire and ability to fit in.
This obviously isn’t something it truly wants, but if you look at it through an autistic lens, I know that many autistic people (including me) can end up dreaming about fitting better in by changing fundamental parts of ourselves, even if that truly isn’t what we want or are able to do, at least without losing our true selves in the process.
I ultimately think that if it means something, it symbolises the disconnect between expectations (Sanctuary Moon) and reality and Murderbot defying the humanity applied to it.
I think that the last line (“And that… felt good”) is about the satisfaction of living up to its own name, proving that it is what it is. It isn’t all that it is, but it’s fundamental and shouldn’t be ignored.
Yesssss this makes so much sense! Great analysis!!
Big fan of characters realizing they don’t get to die. They have to live. And grow. And be a person. And deal with shit they thought they’d never have to. And be fucked up about it. I would like more of this. Enough dying for honor or as redemption. It ain’t. You’re just a corpse. There is no moral value in dirt time.
I’ve told this story before, but one time when we were on a panel, Tim Zahn said that killing a character is always easier (because, at the very least, you literally do not have to write them anymore), so if you’re not sure you need to do it, make them live.
DID IT JUST SAY “OAT PORRIDGE” ???? SOUNDS A LOT LIKE “Havregrøt” It can be spelled differently from language to language but it’s basically the same pronounciation all over, just with a harsher T sound in Swedish and Norwegian in comparison to Danish. (cursed language with a bunch of silent letters, but I love it nonetheless)
CHECKED AGAIN AND I WAS RIGHT!!! “SPRÅK” means “language” in Swedish/Norwegian, but it’s obviously Swedish here given Alexander’s nationality :)
Sadly my Swedish is wayyy too bad to understand what was said afterwards, (I’m Norwegian/Danish) but I’m pretty sure it isn’t a full sentence and moreso a smattering of words in Swedish.
Translation do all non swedish speakers:
It says:
”Havregröt” (a unofficial short version of Havregrynsgröt) - Oatmeal
”På burk” - canned (like a tin can)
“Bankman” - banker (a bank clerk)
The orange text says:
Språk - language
Status för nödreparation - status for emergency services
Prestanda pålitlighet - performance reliability
Smörjnings fel - lubrication error
(english isnt my first so might be some bad translating on my part)
ok so we know about the need to infodump, but what about the opposite? The need to absorb more information about your special interest like a sponge, but you literally can’t find any new material because you’ve already consumed every fact about it
This is me with the Murderbot show 😂😭 I want enough content for me to feel like I’m practically living in it without also constantly running into the walls (metaphorically), and we’re only juuust starting to approach that point
my favorite genre of fictional character is like “i am terrifying to almost everyone, i’m very good at killing, i can endure anything, i’ve become exceptionally good at playing into my reputation, and if you try to give me positive social interaction i will react with confusion and cower in a corner like an abused animal. and i may try to shoot you. but there is also a chance i may imprint on you like a feral dog receiving its first loving touch! good luck.”
The gynecologist was surprised to learn I wanted an IUD because apparently another trans guy just recently told her, very confidently, that he can’t get pregnant because T makes you infertile.
Guys. Boys. Dudes. Folks… Don’t play with fire.
Testosterone can inhibit some of the other hormonal levels that trigger ovulation, making ovulation less predictable. Many peoples’ ovaries will release eggs less frequently, if at all. However, this doesn’t mean that ovulation entirely stops if someone is taking testosterone. This means that a person on T can still be fertile and get pregnant while on testosterone.
Same goes for my girlies out there. You’re not shooting blanks. Not 100%. HRT is not birth control.
Worth knowing that “infertile” does not mean “sterile.” A couple are considered infertile if they have not made a baby in over a year despite trying. That is not birth control. A person who has been open with you about struggling with infertility may turn up to the next function with a baby, because infertile people frequently and cheerfully go on to have children. A common cause of infertility in cis men trying to conceive is “low sperm production” - this does not mean NO sperm production, and most people understand that it only takes one sperm!
Infertile in a medical context means that you’d struggle to conceive without assistance, that you’ve taken longer than expected to conceive, that you have a reduced ability to conceive a child, or that you cannot carry a pregnancy to term resulting in a healthy baby. None of these are birth control, but the last one is especially not birth control: “constant miscarriages” is an aspect of infertility that is perfectly well covered under the label of infertility.
Two more things about infertility: infertile uteruses are considered more of magical bags of black magic than testicles, so “infertility” can more often be applied inaccurately to them. And another is that “infertile” is often used from the orientation/intention of “wanting to conceive but cannot,” and often, people who use the term are a bit sad about it. So as an aspect of politeness, if you really want to say something more like “neutered” or “can’t have kids” or “who will rid me of this turbulent womb” or “birth control,” then it’s a kindness to consider using clearer, more appropriate language. Finally: Infertility is not birth control even for people who are infertile.
“Sterile” is the term that means what people think “infertile” means. A sterile person does not have the ability to conceive. This is the equivalent of a spayed or neutered person, someone who has had the explicit removal or disruption of the reproductive organs, and usually involves having removed an organ or tied something off. With the exception of medical violence, it is usually something that the person is highly aware of - they were probably icing SOME part of their body for a few days afterward. Most of the time, in most countries, for most people, it is difficult to become sterile without careful consideration and (at the very least) picking up the phone to make an appointment with a doctor. If the Sterility Fairy has not personally had this discussion with you, you are vastly unlikely to actually be sterile.
Just something to keep in mind and something that the gynae in the OP should have chased after, loudly, honking like a goose
worth noting that some intersex conditions can render you sterile without your knowledge (if, for instance, all your doctors and your parents tried to “fix” you instead of being open with you about your intersex existence - which happens a lot), and i think that’s an important facet of the conversation because a lot of people don’t realize how different intersex conditions impact fertility, but it’s still gonna be wasaaaay rarer than medical infertility for sure.
and yea i really fucking hope the gyno in the OP never repeated that to other patients, goddamn
there is literally no amount of porn consumption or sex or masturbation at which you become a worse person for it and any attempt to construct one is sexually conservative regardless of how many pronouns you have in bio
the entire appeal of the croissant is that it is a layered pastry item. it has a light flaky texture. the layers are in there specifically to create a fluffy, airy eating experience. that’s the intention of the lamination process. having so many layers of butter and thin pastry dough make the croissant puff up when it’s baked so that when you bite into it the pastry has a texture similar to puff pastry. the entire point is to fill the pastry with air. therefore any trendy hybrid variant of the croissant such the “cruffin” or the “cronut” or the worst offender of all the “croffle” which involve jamming the unbaked croissant or compressing it into a flat shape completely betray croissant as it was originally intended. they defeat the nature of the croissant by forcing it into something it was never meant to be, removing the unique core of its identity, killing its appeal and thus its entire reason for being. now am i saying you can’t enjoy a cronut or croffle? of course i would not say this. you can enjoy any pastry you want to enjoy because it’s your time on earth. i want you to enjoy your croffle. you should enjoy your croffle. also, you can commit any sin you like and i can’t stop you nor do i want to. i won’t hear your arguments because you don’t need to convince me. but you must understand, as you eat it, that the croffle should not exist. it is a mistake. it is an insult not only to the croissant but to me as an individual. i am not french
This reads as someone with a strong moral code (people should be free to experience joy without arbitrary regulation, you don’t have to like what other people like but your discomfort is your own problem) trying to maintain their faith in a time of hardship (they keep doing weird shit to croissants)
ill be so honest this read of my character in such a fraught croissanted context has me tearing up with the raw joy of being seen
“We’re living through the ongoing fascist collapse of the United States but I still gotta clean the kitchen and go to work tomorrow” sure is the mood right now, huh.
Okay, had some thoughts, slept on it, had more thoughts. Woke up this morning and there are some (understandably) very worried folks in my notes/DMs, asking if this is the End end. As ever, I am but an old gay academic on the internet. My opinion is not more special or more insightful than anyone else’s. But if you want my thoughts, here they are.
First: the U.S. isn’t in the “imminent” or “approaching” stages of fascism. At least as far as the president and the ruling junta are concerned, and in regard to what they’re trying to do, this is full-out, blood-and-soil, grab-people-off-the-streets-to-send-to-concentration-camps-without-trial fascism. The reason they have not been able to do everything they planned is due to a) considerable and vigorous resistance from multiple levels of American society, and b) federal judges. Everyone say Thank You, Federal Judges. They are the only thing keeping the Turd Reich in check right now, because the GOP-controlled Congress is waving handkerchiefs and cheering all the way. If Trump and the withered skinsuit of white supremacist evil known as Stephen Miller were able to do what they wanted with genuinely no interference from the courts, this would be unspeakably bad. And y'know. It’s already bad.
I am not here to tell anyone to Pollyanna it out or just think happy thoughts or whatever else. This is very bad. We have to acknowledge the badness of it and to understand that this is what happens when you voluntarily give power back to a miserable reactionary fascist regime that repeatedly announced its intentions to do exactly this. Except too many Americans went “lol that’s funny he’s such a joker” and voted for him anyway. I’m very curious how the Both Parties Are The Same crowd would like to explain the fact that literally none of this was happening at the same time last year, when Democrats still held the White House and Senate, but that’s another post and I’m tired of arguing with their anti-reality doomster Horseshoe Theory vortex of stupidity. So. Moving along. It’s done now, it happened. What next?
Here’s the important thing which you have to understand: this hysterical overreaction – National Guard, trampling on state sovereignty, Marines in the streets, declaring open war on LA and wherever else the ICE Gestapo is being sent – is not a sign of strength. It is a sign of a weak, failing, and flailing psychopathic old dementia patient who has realized that destroying American democracy on behalf of his Kremlin paymasters and alt-right tech bros (though too bad, so sad, #Trumpsk ended in Pride Month!) is going to be a hell of a lot harder than he thought. Trump just spent the week getting mocked, ridiculed, emasculated, and made to look weak and stupid. Musk turned on him and blew up the Big Beautiful Bill, which was already having a hard time in the Senate. Judges are almost automatically ruling against him at this point. He was even forced to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the US from the Salvadoran gulag and get Fascist Barbie Bondi to concoct some other BS charges to try him on. The point is, TACO. Trump Always Chickens Out. He is weak, he’s failing, people keep fighting him and winning, he just got major-league embarrassed by his Ex Bestie, and his stupid budget bill just got a lot harder to pass. So what do you do, if you’re Donald Trump? You lash out at your favorite target, That Dadgum Gay Liberal Commie Immigrant Refuge, California.
This is what fascists do when cornered, thwarted, and made to look stupid: they try to do the only thing they can do, which is an overwhelming show of brute force. Please remember that this is also happening because said withered skinsuit of white supremacist evil, Stephen Miller, is upset that they haven’t managed to “cleanse” the country of every single immigrant yet. It is also openly admitted by Orange Hitler’s Favorite Special Little Boy that a big part of their plan is to cause enough terror to force immigrants to self-deport, or just voluntarily pack up and leave because they think this well-oiled terror machine will come for them next. Now. Listen. I have zero, ZERO right to tell any non-citizen living in the US right now what to do or how to feel. If you just want to get out before you do have to risk going through that, it is completely and utterly valid.
However.
This is your home too. You belong here. If you decide that if they want you out, they’ll have to fight you the whole way, then you could and should do that. Those of us who are U.S. citizens have a right to stand up with you, not least since the Turd Reich is already musing about finding ways to do the same things to us. Nobody is safe. This is way past the “first they came for” lines of the poem; they want to get everyone if they can, for the tiniest and most minute infractions against Donald of House Putin, First Of His Name. See above: we’re in the full-blown fascism stage. I am not minimizing or ignoring that.
But still.
If you do the usual Doomer Leftist Edgelord Internet Thing and go “lol well guess Trump is a dictator for life now and there will be no more elections and we live in Gilead forever,” often with barely-disguised glee that at least those stupid liberals are getting punished, you’re, well, also a fascist. You’re accepting and glorifying fascist narratives, you’re exalting fascist power, you are once more making the fascists look cool and inevitable and like there’s no point at all in fighting. Nota Bene: This does not refer to the people who are genuinely terrified and despairing and thinking that this is in fact the end and there’s no more point in fighting. You’re scared. I’m scared too. I see that and I feel it and I know, I know, I know. But you can still control what you say and how you react and the messages that you spread in response. If you’re just reblogging a lot of unsourced screenshots and panic-mongering posts: maybe don’t do that. Think about what you’re putting out there and how you’re reacting. If you don’t feel like you can do that, get off the internet, stop looking at the news (which also has a vested interest in making everything look apocalyptic) and take a breath. It will still be there tomorrow.
At times like these, all we can do is hold onto each other and take some comfort in the fact that time still creeps in a petty pace from day to day. The Terrible Future still will not happen all at once and in a giant blob of awful and with no chance to change it. Nothing is predetermined and nothing is inevitable. Everything will still happen one day at a time, and that means we have to use the time as best we can. If you feel like this is in fact the End for you and you need to get out, well, go ahead and make those preparations if you can. But also recognize that everyone is in fight-or-flight mode right now, that is a screaming panic response, and while you shouldn’t downplay the danger, you also shouldn’t up and run because your scared animal brain thinks that is the only thing left to do. We are still here. You are still here. I am still here. We can still do something as we choose.
I hate the fact that we have to quote Gandalf like, all the goddamn time right now, but it’s still true. All you have to do is choose what to do with the time that is given to you, etc. You still have a life. You still have a choice. You still have time. It is not done, it is not the end, and goodness knows the world isn’t over now because Donald Trump got mad again and threw a hissy fit because he had a really sucky week and got publicly dumped by Elon Fucking Musk (again, lololololol). Things are very bad, but the point of my original post above was that even when you’re living through an awful historical event (yet again, I hate this timeline), ordinary life still goes on. You have to focus on what you control and do what you can with it. It’s not about hope so much as confounded stubbornness. If those idiot weaksauce fascist losers want to get you, make it as hard as fucking possible for them, and part of that IS just refusing to accept that they have that power, or any power. You can think whatever you want, but if you just say out loud, “Fuck you. This is stupid. You are going to fail because you’re failures and you can’t make me afraid,” weirdly, it really does help.
Hugs.
The other thing to remember is this: fascism always fails.
It takes a long time coming and usually a relatively short time collapsing. Why?
Because fascist regimes prioritize loyalty in their underlings and members of their government. They do NOT prize things like…um, competence, and knowing how to do things. Of this we have daily proof.
When all you care about is whether the people who work for you kiss the ring or not, the systems that you barely knew you relied on tend to get majorly fucked up because nobody is qualified to run anything and nobody knows what the fuck they’re doing. Again, we have daily proof of this.
There can and will be damage done. It may last less or more time than we think. What comes after may not be all THAT much better, not at first. I’m not saying “it gets better” here but…usually, it does.
I wonder what will happen to friendly fascism after this, even when Trump inevitably makes one screwup too many and his classical fascism falls, what will come of the unholy abomination that is the government-business complex that has developed since WW2? The tech bros? What about the Democrats, will they do the usual spineless ‘only undoing like 60% of what the Republicans did when they were in power’ thing? What about the limits Trump pushed? Will the next republican president use them? Or perhaps will there be a seismic shift? Will this be the one thing that the ever integrating establishment simply cannot adapt itself to?
The republican party has essentially become the fascist party, there is no undoing that, and in a two party electoral system, you can’t really vote them out of parliament or whatever, so how will the US American public put a stop to them? Things are so uncertain and you can only really fight as much as you can and hope that the best random possibility comes true while preparing for the worst, just in case.
Various things that are called some variation of “pepper” in various languages:
“Pepper,” seeds of the plant Piper nigrum, a.k.a. black pepper, used as a spice.
“Peppermint,” a hybrid of watermint and spearmint.
The edible fruits of the plants of the genus Capsicum, known collectively as “peppers,” which includes bell peppers, chili peppers, etc. (some European languages make a distinction between peppers and capsicums by using the word “paprika” for the latter. A word that is a direct cognate with pepper.)
Allspice, also known as “Jamaica pepper,” “myrtle pepper,” but also as “spice pepper” in Finnish and Swedish (I suppose as opposed to the kind of peppers that aren’t used as spices?), the dried fruits of the plant Pimenta dioica. More closely related to myrtle, guava, and eucalyptus than pepper.
Horseradish, a plant of the family Brassicaceae, thus making it a relative of mustard, cabbage, and radish, known in some European languages as “pepper root.”
Ginger snaps, biscuits flavored with ginger, known as “pepper cake” in many European languages.
“Sichuan peppers,” the dried fruits of the genus Zanthoxylum. Related to neither black peppers nor capsicums, but part of the same family as citrus.
Undoubtedly forgetting at least some but anyway. Forgot why I was doing this.
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This user’s kitty cat, a domestic feline of the species Felis catus
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