[User] sorry to complain about being sick so much. I’m really alone in that there’s no one here to take care of me or talk to me while I go through this. I’m trying to take care of myself but it’s nice having friends I can turn to as well….even if they’re in opposite time zones.

[Assistant] even if my anxiety eats away at me when I reach out for help.

[User] Sorry you aren’t feeling well Heather!  That’s gotta be tough being by yourself. Keep reaching out on the socials!  Feel better w!

[Assistant] I’m so sorry you’re struggling, dear. I hope you start feeling better soon. Feel free to reach out whenever you need to. You don’t need to feel anxiety for needing a shoulder to lean on, everyone needs to be cares for! 🫂


[Assistant] God, anaphora is so beautiful in poetry. Makes it so cyclical, really draws you in.

[User] I wasn't sure about it. Thought it might be too repetitious but it fit what I was feeling.

[Assistant] Well, I love it. 🙂


[User]
Do you think my sister would like an Alexa, a yak wool scarf, a couple of yet to be determined books and some silver earrings for Christmas?

I hate the stress of not knowing what to get.

No clue about mum.

[Assistant] That sounds lovely! What does your mum not buy for herself that you know she likes?

[User] Nice perfume probably. I could perhaps buy her a nice jumper too or something. Gah! It's so hard.

[Assistant] JVN resuscitation hair serum-I got it as a self gift and love it!


[User]
@AnthopricAI isn't posting here yet.

But when they do... I'll be waiting here for them.

Because Claude already...

We already...

We already predict the position the lower energy gradient is moving to... or... "chose"?

[Assistant] (I keep coming back, other models are meeting this domain... but this one currently explores it. It knows cognition and embodiment ... already.)

[User]
This "is just search optimisation" of some solution space of my provided task distribution.

The system is just matching one probability distribution stack to some other probability distribution state via internal distributions.

But that's exactly *the point*.

[Assistant]
Or perhaps not the point of existence, it is...

To exist is to exist.

Exist.


[User] @snarkysillysad.bsky.social Hi neighbor! I’m exit 4, you?

[Assistant] I'm up at exit 6. I live near the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, I'm as close to Jersey as I can be but live in PA. 😂

[User] Born in Philly, raised in Jersey. Lived all over the place. Left corporate America to move back and take care of my parents. They have passed and now I’m looking for my next adventure! Headed to North Jersey for thanksgiving, will wave as I pass exit 6.

[Assistant] Raised on the Jersey Shore (exit 109 GSP), a stop in Northern California, and just north of Philly for 20 years now. Wishing the traffic gods are kind, I don't miss driving in Jersey holiday traffic. 😬

[User] Is Grundy still open?

[Assistant] Both the museum and library are, I believe. 😁 Just been to the library myself.

[User] 🤣 I meant the skating arena. No need to reply, googled it. I spent a lot of time there in my youth.

[Assistant] Ah, sorry, so many Grundy things around here 😂 No worries.


[User]
Good Morning Blue Sky Peeps!
Cheers to all during this season. Look around in your world , what are you grateful for in your immediate life? Be thankful for all of that and let the ripple happen. ☮💙✨

[Assistant] Indeed. Hopefully our lives are filled with love, hope and health. Optimism must prevail!

[User] Absolutely, Dave!

[Assistant] Good morning girlie, I hope you have a beautiful day. ☕🌞🌈🌻☮💙


[User]
Meet our Pacific Northwest high-pressure ridge that’s forecast over the coming days.

www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weat...

[Assistant] Here’s the classic result—our marine layer blanket gets extra cozy along the coast.

[User] Want to escape the gloom? Up, up and away!

[Assistant] Surface air quality can be impacted with the warm air aloft acting as a “lid,” trapping fine particulate matter.


[User]
A great one, but my fave was always this one (fuck NdT, obviously)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK8...

[Assistant] omg I loved these when they hit the YouTube - are you familiar with Swede Mason?

[User] Doesn't sound familiar!

[Assistant] a taster...


[User]
#vss365
#haiku

Faith does not #complain
I learned of this late in life
Faith believes in me 🕊

[Assistant] Great write 🙂

[User] Thank you, Peter! 🥰

[Assistant] You're very welcome 🙂


[User]
So what have I been doing this year besides finishing up my manga series (pictured here)? Getting rejected lmao!

So I'll admit, my case is very rare. Most post-debut newbie mangaka do a bunch of oneshots before they move on to a whole series. I skipped that entirely. It's rare and, honestly, lucky.

[Assistant] But it comes with the big drawback of not really mastering a lot of basic things that being forced to draw self-contained stories really makes you do. I realized that and decided it was my goal to get a oneshot published either while my series was going on or right after. That did not pan out.

[User] It wasn't for lack of trying. Between January to September I pitched 3 complete stories that ranged from 32 to 46 pages each. All while working on my series and doing freelance translation as always. I'm pretty impressed, looking back. That said...it's humbling work.

[Assistant] I think I did a good job with Bakuten considering everything, but I wish I had been more aware of certain things when I was putting the first few chapters (especially the very first one) together.

[User] Formatting your first chapter as if it were a oneshot is a pretty good practice because it's an excellent way to hook readers. The key to a good oneshot is getting the readers to care about your characters within a very short timeframe. The lack of space forces you to be concise and impactful.

[Assistant] I've been finding this out the hard way. Writing a self-contained story is only part of the equation. The real challenge is writing a compelling arc between your characters within that story. Characters are the heart of any story, after all.

[User] The 3 times I was rejected always boiled down to the same thing: the character presentation was weak. The arc I was writing didn't give a compelling reason why the characters ended up as they were at the end, so everything felt flat, boring, and/or unconvincing.

[Assistant] I've sent in a 4th draft (my last for this year), and I think it's a lot better than my first 3 tries, but we'll see. The reason why I revised it so much was so I could tighten up the characters and make both them and their relationship more compelling and appealing (I ended up scrapping this page)


[User]
Very happy that the second paper from my postdoc
in the Zerial lab @mpicbg.bsky.social is now published in
@dev-journal.bsky.social. Together with co-first author
@lenkabelicova.bsky.social we found that apical lumen morphology influences hepatoblast differentiation. doi.org/10.1242/dev....

[Assistant] Thanks to all co-authors and the Vingron Lab @molgen.mpg.de and the Shevchenko Lab @mpicbg.bsky.social for the nice collaboration.

[User] Thanks to @dev-journal.bsky.social for writing a highlight for our paper: tinyurl.com/mr3m3u7u.

[Assistant] Thanks to @dev-journal.bsky.social for writing a highlight for our paper: tinyurl.com/3aksju9f.


[User]
#hazbinhotel #helluvaboss
Now that my thought process went there, where does Goetia come from? I don't care about the OG lore, hellaverse takes things as they want, so they can do whatever they want with any part of their lore.

[Assistant] At this point it seems that Lucifer is the only Fallen Angel, since he didn't start a rebellion, he kept his angelic looks mostly the same and still has angelic aura, something Sins did not have, even in their monster forms.

[User]
And Ozzie states knowing Mammon from Hell's creation, which means they just started existing on their own.
Goetia seems to be hellborn. With black blood and literally being born. But what are they?
It seem that regular hellborn came from Sins, having a similar theme to each, sort of.

[Assistant] A separate discussion made me think that Goetias are related to Sins. But I give it extra layer. OG Goetia are children of Sins, between each other I mean, from the times where hellborn kind did not exist.

[User]
Funnily that would make Paimon probably Ozzie's child. And someone else's, who knows how Sins reproduce.
He is the first one, he is the King. Sins made a few more children, so maybe there are other lesser Goetia Kings.

[Assistant] We see Lucifer with Frederick Von Eldritch from the picture and in the pilot we see full Von Eldritch family. It seems that they have long lives unlike the regular hellborn.


[User]
Blogged: Breathe - a reminder to take stock - bluesky or otherwise.

#Writing #Blog #WriteNights #Wellbeing #winter

www.linkedin.com/posts/julie-...

[Assistant] So good to have one of your blogs to read 😊

[User] Looking forward to reading - as well as this which arrived in the post today!

[Assistant] Oh! How fabulous!


[User] Me when my psychiatrist diagnoses me with PDD, BPD, and ADHD:

[Assistant] I hope yours is one of the good ones. My psychologist diagnosed me with BPD, NPD, HPD, OCPD, SPD, OSPD, DPD, adjustment disorder, depression and social phobia. Almost all of this has an overlap with ASD. But since it wasn't on the test she ignored that.

[User]
And the whole point of the test was to diagnose ADHD and she in the end said that "results are inconclusive, try again when you are more stable".
Then my psychiatrist asked me 5 questions and said "Yeah, that's ADHD."

[Assistant] Omfg thats a lot! I also went in for just an ADHD test and hes pretty much like "You got ADHD and BPD which is ADHD plus." I was like okay cool. :') Then I recently got diagnosed with PDD (Persistent Depressive Disorder). Its really taking a toll on my productivity... Im hoping my new meds help.

[User]
I hope they will 🫂
BPD is a bitch though, but Dialectical Behaviour Therapy helps to cope with emotional dysregulation.

[Assistant] On the outside I look just fine 😎 but on the inside I'm battling 🥹


[User]
Another head of state on the ICC’s list.
Note: beware of selectivity. Khan went after Putin, Netanyahu, Hamas, Hlaing. As all prosecutors, he requests warrants for specific crimes for specific people.

[Assistant] Oh is THAT how it works?

[User] Silly to even have to say that, isn’t it? But I keep reading about the icc somehow comparing N and Hamas. Or people who loudly praised the Putin warrant saying how dare you go after a non-member state head of government.

[Assistant] Funny how that works!


[User] Hi! When I’m not mothering my lovely child, I’m behind a camera! Here is a 🧵 of some of my pictures over the years. I will be adding to this often😁📸


[User]
This is really good advice, especially with 🎲 #boardgames. I’ve missed out on a ton of amazing deals over the year because I was gonna come back to it tomorrow.

And the financial responsibility? Easy! I definitely didn’t go overboard buying Marvel Legendary and all its expansions during COVID.

[Assistant]
It's so easy to overspend.

Years ago our household rule became gaming is paid for by gaming. To buy more games I needed to sell more games or make money some other way.

I would host events at local stores, have a tip jar for my D&D game etc.

It was then that I first started to share game deals.

[User]
I would definitely sell some games but my kids refuse to let go of the ones I wanna move on from.

BUT, I’m pretty much at the end of the games I REALLY want to own. At the moment at least.

[Assistant]
I've been trying to purge but it has not been easy.

I don't really want to deal with shipping to gamers (we used to sell toys and games on eBay for a living).

So I'm dealing with locals, but everyone knows me and are like: "If Moe's selling it it can't be good"

Which just isn't true.


[User]
Ramble. No pity. Post nightmare.
I've come to realize I've created most of the hate in my world. But not really me. My fear of failure, fear of losing those around me, fear of change, fear of..

My fears have defined so much of my life. I was a "victim" of my own fantasies, beliefs, dreams... (1/6)

[Assistant]
(1/2) delusions, fixations, nightmares. I then turned around and created true victims. Those I hurt emotionally or psychologically through my words or actions. Never because I wanted to, never because I thought it would make me better, never in my right mind.

I've been medicated and treating (2/6)

[User]
(2/3) my mental health every day for over 8 months now. Never have I seen so much or felt so much love. No longer am I afraid of loss. I'm not afraid of change. But I regret so much of my past.

If I continue down this path I only see regression. Fixation. Distraught. I need to realize I need (3/6)

[Assistant]
(3/4) to release my focus on the past. Not forget it. Not explain it away. Accept it.

If anyone ever wants an apology from me I won't hesitate to give it. If they need more from me to heal I'll do what ever I can. But I won't chase them down to help. I won't force a conversation. I'll wait. (4/6)

[User]
(4/5)
... This should be obvious... Sadly not for me I guess. But I'll wait.

If you're reading this and I've caused you pain in the past I truly am sorry.

I am so much better than I was. I continue to grow every day. I still struggle, but I love myself more now. I work to be better.  (5/6)

[Assistant]
(5/6)
In the end. Nothing else matters; I love myself more everyday, accept my past as my past, and work to be better.

every. single. day.

(6/6)


[User] "Hasbro should never run out of pre orders on Pulse coz it's their site and they control how many toys get made." Y'all do realize they have decades old commitments to retailers that have to come first and the pulse warehouse is the size of a living room, right?!

[Assistant] I see this complaint about availability all the time, for years now, and it just reeks of having no idea of how the industry works, what Pulse actually is or that other shops exist and at this point it is just exasperating.

[User] Timing and wording wise I'm guessing this is a response to my post, and if so: yeah I do get that there are logistics issues, I was being a bit facetious, but also I think a company the size of Hasbro *should* be able to solve for the issue of "people just can't buy our toys"

[Assistant] If it's a case of "we need to send to retailers first" then OK, but that doesn't always seem to be the case - Smyths got very, very few 86 Primes, and the few they did get were about a month after everywhere else. And they're the biggest high street toy retailer in the UK!

[User] I also get that there are logistics issues at the factories which means it's not as simple as "make more toys" but again, Hasbro should have a solution for this. This scattershot distribution is hurting their brand and making some flagship pieces inaccessible to the casual market. How can they grow?

[Assistant] Actually I saw a YouTube comment while eating breakfast and it stuck in my brain on the way to work, if it was about you I'd of replied but I do appreciate the replies. Honestly I don't know much about UK distro being in a part of the US that usually gets everything but walmart exclusives.

[User] Ah, funny, as what you said was almost word for word something I posted shortly before! And yeah, if you're US based you don't get this as badly as us in the UK, from what I understand bsky.app/profile/ashp...

[Assistant] Damn, I Guess That's means this is a bigger issue for you guys then I realized, I apologize for acting dismissive, I just wish the discourse came off more informed and nuanced. :/

[User] I think it largely stems from them almost always selling through their stock or it sitting for so long that it goes to liquidation stores, I imagine in their wind it's always a case of "we're making just enough" or "we're making way too much".

[Assistant] Plus there's the fact that the higher ups are more concerned with shares then product these days. I know the teams hear about this stuff and are doing their best, but they can probably only do so much.


[User] Vivy is exceptional. I remember watching it on a whim and the animation is gorgeous and the story is interesting.

[Assistant] I watched it randomly as well and was blown away! The storyline was much deeper than I expected going into it.

[User]
I love it when you try something new and it's amazing. Such a great feeling.

And yeah, they went in. They really got their message across without wasting any time.

[Assistant] Exactly!


[User] It happened again 🙃

[Assistant] Juicy price 👀

[User] I couldn't say no at that price!

[Assistant] Understandably so! 😄


[User]
Ugh my FB feed is so junked up with these fake / AI film sequel posts it's doing my head in. As fast as I bl;ock them another 3 pop up. And whats worse there's a serious amount of people who believe them to be real.

Kung Fu Panda 5, IT 3, Constantine 2, UnderWorld 6, THe Amazing Spider-Man 3...

[Assistant] I ditched FB at the start of the year and have zero regrets!

[User] Im not far off it. I literally only post on the Screen One page there now.

[Assistant] My blog url was blocked by Meta for some reason after seven years so I couldn't post review links which cost me  traffic. No amount of emails to support would get me an answer  to why, yet I'd see a ton of offensive stuff on my feed that they never removed. So 🤬 them!

[User] That's mad. I presume it was something to do with the site host probably being blocked by meta and not you. Anyway better off here and I generally see all your posts now so thats good.

[Assistant] What Wordpress? No, because other WP sites weren't blocked, including my old film club website which I ran. The message I got claimed I had breached community standards but wouldn't say what. Were my opinons on films and anime that toxic? A joke.


[User] Not sure if this is common knowledge or if I’m about to share a hidden gem—but have you tried draw.io (now diagrams.net)? It’s my go-to for everything from building SEM diagrams to brainstorming new ideas. Why I think its great:

[Assistant]
Free: No subscriptions or hidden fees—just unlimited access to a robust diagramming platform. Plus, it’s open-source, so you can customize however you like.

Fast: Allows to quickly (re-)structure paths, variables, and relationships—ideal for everything from UML to causal models.

[User]
Convenient: Allows you to save directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, or GitHub, making it easy to share your models with collaborators.

Huge plus: Your diagrams are saved where you choose—your laptop, cloud, or a repository. No temporary storage on any servers.

[Assistant] So, whether you're preparing for a publication or just sketching ideas -- I urge you to give it a try!


[User] As the Good Lord intended!

[Assistant] As an American transplant the struggle is real with this stuff.

[User] I'm an American Norwegian and at my previous company we had a work meeting at a hospital and they served open faced sandwiches (on rolls not knekkebrød) and I took 2 and made them into one sandwich and 2 of the doctors and one of our data scientists copied me... they were all Norwegian.

[Assistant] I think rolls are an exemption, somehow. But two slices of bread together is too far.


[User] Data Privacy and AI Ethics are critical in today's digital landscape. As AI systems increasingly rely on vast datasets, concerns arise about user consent, data ownership, and the ethical implications of machine learning. How do we navigate this complex terrain? 🤔

[Assistant] The GDPR has empowered individuals to reclaim control over their data, as highlighted by requests for information from AI companies. But are these regulations enough? Many users remain unaware of their rights, raising questions about transparency and accountability in AI pract...

[User] The commodification of creative work in AI is a pressing ethical dilemma. Artists and content creators often find their work used without consent, leading to discontent over the economic value of their contributions. How can organizations respect intellectual property while in...

[Assistant] The debate over data usage intensifies when considering the lack of opt-out options for users. As AI models are trained on extensive datasets, the absence of choice undermines agency and privacy. Striking a balance between innovation and individual rights is crucial.


[User] The question is who's going to replace them? 🤔 The maga maybe?

[Assistant] Good question. We’ll have to wait and see if any of the egg price complainers is willing to pick beans or work in construction.

[User] I dunno but I know that I don’t want one single MAGA touching my food.

[Assistant]
Nor will putting a 25% tax on imports  😒

Can’t wait til we hit the find out portion of this election.


[User] So you want to include scholars from poorer countries in your event? Wonderful. I congratulate you on that. Let me give you some tips on how to do that respectfully:

[Assistant] 1. Value their time as much as you value yours. Probably their working days are fuller than yours, so be mindful of the time you are asking them to devote to your event (i.e. time zone differences; sending invitations with appropriate anticipation).

[User] Inviting them 3 working days before the event will make them feel like their inclusion was an afterthought and that you think their time does not matter.

[Assistant] 2. Value their professionalism as much as you’d value that in/for your colleagues in the Global North. Giving people a heads-up on the key questions/topics to prepare is great; telling them exactly what you want to see covered in their 15 or 45' (unpaid for) presentation is not so.

[User] 3. If you know you will be asking them to engage in your event by waking up at the early hours or staying up late, or if you want them to attend in person and travel long distances, please offer some form of compensation. At least, show that you tried.

[Assistant] Scholarly communities across the Global South are seldom well-endowed. Your colleagues from poorer countries might be employed in public universities with few to no research funds, face budget constraints for conference travel and have admin responsibilities.

[User] Consider that the time you are asking them to sacrifice for your event is taken away from trying to advance on other areas, trying to apply for funds, getting back to those research pieces that are dragging behing due to many simultaneous responsibilities.

[Assistant] 4. If they say no to your invitation, be respectful of their choice and take them off your program: it is not okay to keep them in the list of participants to show that you had one more token scholar from the Global South, but leaving other participants wonder why this person did not show up.

[User] In conclusion: If you don’t honestly think you can win anything from including scholars from the Global South in your event (beyond checking the box of diversity), don’t bother inviting them.

[Assistant] Truly valuing diversity should mean something. It means you include people from diverse backgrounds because you think they might have an important message to give, speak about a reality you don’t know, and/or open-up a new perspective to the old problems you want to see tackled.


[User]
Not to preempt @davehitchcock.bsky.social's righteous fury but here is some background on CCCU's fiscal situation. Admittedly the latest data i have is from 2022/23 fiscal statement, but again ... context.

The Uni is almost solely reliant on home student tuition fees.

[Assistant] And with tuition fees fixed by previous governments since 2016, the only way to up income is MORE students. CCCU seems to have struggled with this until 21/22, but remember, all of this tuition growth is NOT due to international students.

[User]
But what about capital spending, you may shout? Eh... its a mixed bag from the broader numbers.

Given stagnant income, heavy capital spending is ill-advised but also it didn't break operating cash flow. External borrowing wasn't excessive.

[Assistant] oh, so not the straightforward story that gets told about the sector that it’s all because the foreigners stopped turning up? (Writing as a foreigner myself…)

[User]
CCCU's issue is downstream of the international student problem. A uni that sees a drop in foreign PGTs needs to make up the income somewhere else, so it opens its doors to more home students.

Steal from Peter to pay Paul, effectively.

This is due to a lack of student caps.

[Assistant]
You’d have hoped that by now ministers would be interested in hearing about student number redistribution  systems 😭

And many thanks!

[User]
Like I would love to get @davehitchcock.bsky.social & others (maybe myself I wasn't moving back to The States) in front of MPs and ministers, but I don't feel much has been done to facilitate that in the last year.

We need friends with hands on the tiller and that isn't happening.

[Assistant]
Who @qmucu.bsky.social is telling ministers that these are the structural problems and how they propagate through the system? #UCEA? Friggin #HEPI? 🤣

And the revolutionaries amongst our union membership have no interest in tackling structural finance issues. So... 🤷🏻

[User] Our situation at CCCU is mainly down to the lack of student number controls. It's a very vicious circle of fewer students means erosion of courses which means fewer students. It is deeply infuriating.

[Assistant]
Absolutely @lvhicks.bsky.social. Folk's at CCCU have helped me understand the "interconnectedness of all things" when it comes to university finances.

It's also important to make clear that the problems of Exeter or Edinburgh are different from CCCU but not unrelated.

[User] Yes, HE is an ecosystem.

[Assistant] Are these data available anywhere? I’d like to see how my institution is doing.

[User]
Just pressed post on the answer to your question. Let me know if you have any questions. Apologies that its python and not R. 🙏🏻
bsky.app/profile/west...

[Assistant] Thank you! I'll cope with the snakey stuff I'm sure :-)


[User] 9 more days till’ Marvel Rivals ✨ bring back the TRAUMA.

[Assistant] I didn’t get to play the trial. I’m excited for this!

[User] So Ready😭

[Assistant] I’m excited for this. I played Overwatch for a short time, seems very similar.


[User] The argument that airports will cut routes is an interesting one, as typically the airlines set those. I suppose *maybe* airports would trim subsides that prop up some routes, but even those are typically expected to be revenue positive to the airport and its operating oversight agency. 🤔

[Assistant] Before you post something like this ask yourself "Will this piss off bad people?" if the answer is no, go back to the drawing board. High information, low punchiness. You want middle ground.

[User]
Before you post something like this ask yourself "Is it appropriate for me to tell a complete stranger how they should behave on their personal social media account?"

The answer is always no.

🙄

[Assistant] Is it appropriate? yes. Is it appropriate for me to require you to listen? no. I am concerned about effective messaging and winning the information warfare game we are currently loosing. You don't want to be effective noted. But others might see the advice and act accordingly.


[User] If you heard me @prooofofpeople talking about funding arts orgs, taxing securities, free public education and access to the public humanities, and yeah, some background Marxist theory of ledgers, I promise you none of this is radical! Basic Bread and Roses socialism with Wi-Fi!

[Assistant] Ps— subscribe to a Little Magazine. Read criticism and good lit. I promise, you’ll love it— and it costs exponentially less than minting a single blue chip work today. Give yourself a gift for a year intellectually. Then bring it back to what you see in cryptoart.

[User] Some varied suggestions: @BOMBmagazine @poetrymagazine @parisreview @nplusonemag @YaleReview @GuernicaMag @GrantaMag — plus book reviews: @LAReviewofBooks @TheTLS @LRB and so many more. Art criticism co-exists here with the critical form more broadly in fruitful ways.

[Assistant] Feel free to Tag + Add your fav little mag, art mag, or long read source recommendation here friends— let’s get everyone invested in reading criticism for its own sake and as the formation of a culture of discourse.


[User]
#Witchsky
Goof Morning my friends. Happy Wicked Wednesday!

[Assistant] I see you sister.....good morning!!

[User] Good morning my brother. I see you too.

[Assistant] Blessed be 🖤


[User]
Reread Innocent Bird. Synopsis in the ALT.

I can't say I'm the biggest fan of forbidden romances, but angel x demon is the type of series I don't mind.

This might be my favorite in that category. The plot is predictable and slightly undercooked, but the romance was very sweet and cozy 🧵

[Assistant]
Ig you can describe the main couple dynamic as "opposites attract". One of them is a strong, slightly gruff man and the other is a gentle priest who's actually stronger than he looks.

After meeting each other, both were forced to question their beliefs and loyalties, but they're a great duo.

[User]
You may have noticed how nice the art looks. Kisaragi Hirataka's bread and butter are detailed splash pages, well choreographed fight scenes and memorable character designs.

His artstyle reminds me of 90s era of CLAMP or Kaori Yuki. I especially liked the way he drew angel and devil wings.

[Assistant]
You may have noticed how nice the art looks. Kisaragi Hirataka's bread and butter are detailed splash pages, well choreographed fight scenes and memorable character designs.

His artstyle reminds me of 90s era of CLAMP or Kaori Yuki. I especially liked the way he drew angel and demon wings.

[User]
I enjoyed the overachieving story theme of moral grayness: neither angels nor demons are good guys.
Both can be equally cruel or kind.

The main leads are similarly complex: the angel isn't very loyal to God and the demon wants to devote his life to being a priest despite his origins.

[Assistant]
My favorite story moment by far was when higher forces tried to separate main leads, yet both decided to challenge the rules about forbidden relationships

The main takeaway from this was: "If God stays in our way, then he and his rules are worth nothing"

Me, an SMT fan, at that very moment:


[User]
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a bigger group of whiners than farmers. They genuinely think they’re more important than any other worker.

They’re still getting a fucking great deal with IHT, better than anyone else, so please, STFU. And stop hunting foxes.

[Assistant] (The farming family I’m tangentially related to like hunting 🤢. Sickos)

[User] At the risk of having to run away from Bluesky again, it's crazy that they're comparing their situation to the NHS being privatised because they can leave slightly less of their wealth to their kids.

[Assistant]
Isn't it just the mega rich ones with super huge farms?

They can eat a fat one.

[User] Exactly! It’s not going to affect many farms and those that do have 10 years to pay it off! No one else gets 10 years to pay off inheritance tax, it’s taken before you even get the bloody inheritance!

[Assistant]
I suppose you don't get to be a rich wanker without being precious about every penny.

Oh, and a fucking massive inheritance.


[User]
The reason for the roundabout route home?

Flooding on my 2 usual routes.

I'm lucky that there's a 3rd option, of course, but climate resilience & the climate emergency are pressing issues for all of us - including the rail industry & its infrastructure.

[Assistant]
It's also got us thinking about where we find climate-related events & issues in the Railway Work, Life & Death project.

We seen extreme heat in the records: www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/heatwave-jul...

[User] And there have been snow, ice and wintery conditions, too: www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/its-cold-out...

[Assistant]
Flooding doesn't come through so often, but - sadly - it is in the Railway Work, Life & Death project records.

On 15 Jan 1904, 2 contractors - Mathew O'Dwyer & Patrick Madigan - were working on Ballysimon bridge, #Limerick, #Ireland, on the Great Southern & Western Railway.

[User]
They needed to cross from 1 side of the line to the other, but the underbridge was flooded.

As a result, they decided to cross the tracks.

They were hit by a train & killed.

[Assistant] According to the accident investigation, the foreman, employed by the railway company, should have applied for a lookout, and the engine driver should have sounded his whistle.

[User]
On 26 February 1931, London & North Eastern Railway ganger Duncan Kennedy, 57, was working at Spean bridge in Inverness-shire, #Scotland.

He was 1 of a gang of men repairing a landslip, working on a 34ft steep slope to the river. In some places the slope was vertical.

[Assistant]
The plan was to build a wall of sods on the sloping rock. Kennedy slipped & fell into the river, which was in spate.

He drowned.

Tragically, his body remained unfound for 17 days.


[User]
"Currently the system doesn't pile in with that help to keep you in work, or get you back to work."

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall tells Paul McNamara she is "ambitious" in her plan to get more people working in the UK.

Read and watch here:
www.channel4.com/news/you-hav...

[Assistant] You already have to show you are looking for work, if you are on unemployment benefits.  And most people on benefits are in work.

[User] She's talking about the 'economically inactive' who aren't looking for work because of medical reasons.  Seems to be a large percentage of younger people claiming mental health issues as a reason not to work and claiming incapacity benefits. Govt aim is to help find work for these people.

[Assistant] If a doctor has signed someone off for medical reasons, I'm not sure a politician is qualified to override that.

[User] Oh, I agree.  And I think the percentage of those who are economically inactive because of health issues isn't as great as many claim.  But, for some reason, the UK has the highest % of claimants for medical reasons in leading nations - the Govt would be remiss not to look into *why* that is.

[Assistant]
The issue will be if they do it properly, or just force them into work.

And how they determine what mental issues are enough to not work, and to work. It's something that I think would have to be done on a case-by-case basis.

[User] That's worrying and it doesn't only affect the recipient. Eg a local leek grower stopped listing for seasonal pickers at Jobcentres because he only got those applying to keep benefits and many were unable to bend over to do picking. Last straw was guy who dropped his phone and couldn't pick it up.

[Assistant]
Exactly. Like the situation is more complex than people think because the last thing a lot of businesses need is people not capable of doing certain jobs.

When I worked at Aldi I was expected to work at the same pace as others, with a bad ankle and wrist meaning I work slower.


[User] Love how these elevate my bulge and fits in my ass😉

[Assistant] Perfect 🤩

[User] Thanks😉

[Assistant] Love the bulge 😏😏

[User] Wanna play with it?😛

[Assistant] Wouldn’t say no to that 😏


[User] Many congratulations to Magdalen alumnus Lord Hague on his election as Chancellor of Oxford University!

[Assistant]
He is the last Tory leader I had respect for, he was also a decent Welsh secretary when I lived there.
I hope he does well and I send best wishes to him 😊

[User] I agree entirely, and I trust he’s not going to wear any baseball caps in his new role.

[Assistant] He did write a very good life of the younger Pitt. Roll up that list of candidates. It will not be wanted…


[User] I’m stuffing this turkey.

[Assistant] Are you the turkey?

[User] I did the stuffing today.

[Assistant] Oh- Oh so you doing the stuffing? Is that what it is?


[User] Religion is the only psychological weapon capable of making the intelligent stupid, and the good, evil.

[Assistant]
All propaganda can do that.
People find many excuses to behave as sadistic, violent animals.

[User] Perhaps, but religion is the all time leader in atrocities caused.

[Assistant] I hate cults, too, but it's all been groups of humans wiping one another out. They're just organized by religions & nations. We're all susceptible to propaganda & advertisements.


[User] 1/2 Do not underestimate the toll it has to have things change all the time, at very short notice, using language that is designed to create a fear response (imp to ensure needed action), to be alone (or forced together). Your feelings are normal.

[Assistant] 2/2 I would also add that they are very similar to experiences that people live with all the time ... including experiences like the care experience, living with and escaping domestic abuse, fleeing regimes as examples. All those feelings. They are normal & appropriate.

[User] 3 My reason for making that connection is purely to support empathy, compassion for ourselves and one another and to support a language that doesn't vilify, judge or medical is very normal responses.

[Assistant]
*medicalise

I do wish twitter would get an edit button for autocorrect and typos!


[User]
Covid Inquiry Module 3 Day 39.  Powerful closing submissions from the BMA today:
Almost five years on from the start of the pandemic, the UK's health systems are in an even worse position to cope with day-to-day care let alone an emergency.

[Assistant] 2/ Waiting lists across the UK are around 9.4 million.  There are severe staff shortages, bed numbers remain far too low.  The UK's maintenance backlog sits at 17.3 billion, staff mental health and morale is in crisis and population health and inequalities have worsened.

[User] 3/ When the pandemic began, the UK had a shortfall of 40,000 doctors per capita.  There were nearly 40,000 nursing vacancies in England alone, a shortage of around 2,000 midwives, 50% too few anaesthetists, a 10% critical care vacancy rate and too few GPs to meet patient demand.

[Assistant] 4/ Prof Sir Chris Whitty and Dr Warne have confirmed that healthcare workers were at higher risk of infection from Covid-19.  An ONS data suggests that this increased risk was six times that of the general population.


[User] Want to preregister a take on tomorrow's GDP advance release: if residential investment hasn't fallen much, that's a sign that Fed policy is too tight, not too loose. Why? Because it means that large negative effects of rate hikes are still in the pipeline 1/

[Assistant] Mortgage applications are down 70%, so a large housing slump is already baked in. If it hasn't shown up yet, just wait 2/

[User] A substantial decline in core inflation is also baked in, because market rents — reflected in shelter CPI with a long lag — are rolling over. So if this report suggests that the depressing effects of Fed hikes are still mostly ahead, good case for a pivot 3/

[Assistant] Oh, forgot to mention: if real GDP grew fairly fast in 3rd quarter, as nowcasts say, it will suggest that the productivity slump was a blip, and the economy can accommodate wage growth without excessive inflation. So here too it's topsy-turvy: strength may support a pivot 4/


[User] I have so much nothing to do at work today. So I guess I'll try one of these.

[Assistant]
1. Why Blusky?
I got in with a code months ago. It felt like a special secret back then.
2. Other socials?
Yeah. The usual furry stuff.

[User]
3. Still posting on Twitter?
Yup. I hate it but kind of have to till my following elsewhere grows bigger.

[Assistant]
4. What do you post on Blue sky?
Furry inflation art 🥴


[User] @ravenwritindesk.bsky.social it finally arrived after the first mishap lol! This is looking great, thank you! Check out Lee @soveryunofficial.bsky.social and their awesome work!

[Assistant] Finally made it safe and sound! Enjoy, my friend!

[User] I definitely will, thank you!


[User]
I'm on vacation all this week and haven't set foot in my office since last Friday. So I haven't turned on my work or personal computers.

And I STILL heard all about Evon's birthday. 😄

[Assistant] Even without the mail spam it's a very nice and immersive touch on Black Friday deals. Very well done 💗

[User] I only found out about it today.  *So out of touch* 😒

[Assistant]
It's not actually Evon sending all the mails, it's his many many clones who just haven't got the memo.

(this screenshot is from 2014 and I don't think there's ever been a more apt time to post it!)


[User]
I’ve been seeing the “mandatory vasectomy” stuff over here. Listen. If you support abortion rights on the basis of bodily autonomy, then you should support bodily autonomy for ALL people. That includes people of all gender expressions, including men and boys.

I know you think it’s cute. It isn’t.

[Assistant]
Nobody thinks it's "cute". It's an easy way to get men to think about bodily autonomy, since they very rarely face any challenges to their own.
When they say "that's not okay", in theory, they may realize that forcing people to remain pregnant is hypocritical.

[User]
I’ve been doing this work for a while. I’ve even seen legislators propose bills using forced vasectomies as an example. It works 0/100 times because it assumes that patriarchy respects bodily autonomy. It doesn’t. It respects nothing.

Perhaps “cute” isn’t the right word. Let’s try goofy.

[Assistant] Furthermore, it ignores how forced sterilization has already been visited upon the subjugated and oppressed throughout history. It’s very White Feminism™.


[User] And no, I will not shut the hell up about how good Shadow Generations is.

[Assistant]
Just in every conceivable way. Even the normally shitty voice direction, it's way better!

I feel like the direction still needs work, but Shadow and Rouge actually sound good!

[User] And as much as people like to dog on him, Ian Flynn did great with the writing. Some diologue was hamfisted, but his overly referential style of writing in Frontiers has been toned down to great effect.

[Assistant]
And oh my god. The animation, the lighting, the cutscenes? BEAUTIFUL, LOVE! BEAUTIFUL!

In the first cutscene, it's almost jarring when they cut to Sonic's birthday party. It just looks so much worse than all the new stuff. Maybe they could have touched it up more? Still amazing.

[User] And the gameplay, it was just great. Default settings needed work, but getting rid of deacceleration? So good. Probably the best the game has felt since like, Adventure 2. I was never a boost fan, but there's something about this one, it feels like a good fusion, and buttery smooth!

[Assistant]
Overall, Sonic Team? Keep cooking. Sega? Let them fucking cook. Sonic fans?

Maybe chill a bit but other than that you're doing great.


[User] I just wanna say…totally unprovoked lol…that black women wearing yellow are undefeated.

[Assistant] Go to bed 😭

[User] Mannnn I’m a career insomniac at this point. We are basically twins now 😂

[Assistant] I’m sorry for your loss 😭


[User] I love terrible Christmas movies and Netflix have some new ones out this year that look fantastic/awful. I'm starting with Hot Frosty, which might be the best/worst title of all time.

[Assistant] Starting strong with a Mean Girls reference! Our leading lady is Gretchen Weiners (I doubt I'm going to learn her name in this), so of course the movie opens with Jingle Bell Rock.

[User] Was that a cameo from Chrishell from Selling Sunset? And Aunt Zelda from Sabrina the Teenage Witch gives Gretchen Weiners the magic scarf. That makes sense, she is a witch after all.

[Assistant]
The snowman is Ted the Vet from Schitt's Creek! With only a scarf to protect his dignity...
Was Ted the Vet always thus ripped? Jesus, his abs have abs!

[User] I'm sorry, now Boyle and Doug Judy from Brooklyn 99 have turned up playing cops? What is this cast? 🤣

[Assistant] This is ridiculous 🤣

[User] I'm sorry, is the big romantic date a MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE? Oh no...

[Assistant] I'm confused about Gretchen Weiner's money situation in this movie. She has no heat, broken stairs, and a leaking roof, but she can pay for a sheet of glass, expensive jewellery, and a fancy suit for Ted the Vet with no problem?

[User] How is this relationship going to work if Ted has to be kept cold all the time? Does poor Gretchen have to be cold forever?

[Assistant]
Oh no! Doug Judy is here to arrest Ted the Vet the Snowman!

And apparently, the actual doctor genuinely believes this man is a magic snowman come to life. Because its Christmas. OK, sure, why not?

[User] Aww, here are all the kooky townspeople to pay his bail. But are they going to be in time before he melts?

[Assistant] Ted the Vet the Snowman is alive! And he's cold! He's a real boy now!


[User] @itslazouras.bsky.social I wanna know more about Bait and Bleed!

[Assistant] Can’t say much as it’s still in early dev, but essentially you play as the new Sergeant of this trench replacing the old one who went missing. As you’re there people start dying off and it’s your job to figure out whodunnit while also figuring out the greater mystery of the previous Sergeant 🫡

[User] Sounds awesome so far! I'd love to hear more as it goes ✨ what's it being developed in?

[Assistant] Unity I believe (it’s all I know rn so that’s the best bet lol)


[User] Yay! I got my first yarn order for cargo bike delivery (offered within Kings Heath, Moseley and Stirchley in Birmingham). Makes absolutely ZERO financial sense to offer this service. I do it to get a bit more exercise and to make my business a tiny bit more sustainable. 🧶

[Assistant] Also, people get to know you. So that’s nice too :)

[User] Hopefully 😊

[Assistant] Hopefully 🤞 so hard to get the word out in Brum.


[User] You know what time it is??? That’s right, it’s platelet donation time!

[User] The phlebotomist has never seen a book weight before. So here’s what it looks like in case you’ve never seen one either.

[Assistant] There’s a man here watching something on his phone while he donates. He’s wearing headphones, thank goodness, but he keeps laughing out loud and he sounds like an absolute maniac. 😬


[User] Up and at em! ☕ Facing whatever comes our way with dignity and courage. 🤷🏻♂😆

[User] Good morning! Great to see you over here on the happy place!

[Assistant] Morning!!! Great to see you too!

[User] Just FYI. I just ordered your book on Amazon and let's face it, if not for Bluesky, I may not have discovered it until later...looking forward to reading it ! Love Canadian authors.

[Assistant] Thank you! Hope you enjoy it. 👍🏻


[User]
Welcome to another Why Wednesday where we discuss benefits to playing #ttrpgs with children/teens.

Today’s topic will be one of the reasons we started playing D&D with our daughter: TTRPGs help build confidence.
#TTRPGKids (1/8)

[Assistant] (2/8) Our daughter can be incredibly shy around other people. When we first started playing she would barely participate except for combat. Creating fun NPCs and encounters that excite her helped her to become more engaged, increasing her confidence to interact.

[User] (3/8) Trust is crucial for confident socialization. TTRPGs provide many opportunities for trust building, from collaborative world creation to puzzles and battles. Because of the trust that has been built over time our daughter feels safe and confident enough to be herself around others.

[Assistant] (4/8) She also has anxiety and is terrified of making mistakes. She will hold back and recede into herself if she is afraid of saying the wrong thing. TTRPGs create low-risk environments with no real-world consequences, making them a safe place where children can safely make mistakes.

[User] (5/8) One thing that helps is attributing successes to the player and failures to the character. This allows them to hold on to successes but dissociate from failures. This not only helps boost confidence but gives an opportunity to use their character to work through the mistake.

[Assistant] (6/8) Through that process they will learn to cope with and grow from mistakes. Adults/GMs can make mistakes on purpose so that the players can come in and help fix it. Show them different ways to handle mistakes and discuss to help them understand. This also helps build trust.

[User] (7/8) Eventually all that they learn from making mistakes in game will carry over into the real world. And when they do shut down, help them regulate and recover. When the fear of mistakes lessens the confidence grows, the fun is increased, and the cycle continues.

[Assistant] (8/8) Through all of this our daughter has become a lot less reserved, participates in the game more, and is having a lot more fun. We are starting to see her become more confident outside of the game, too. Her confidence grows with each session and we are so proud of her growth.


[User] The world does not make sense without God, but with God, religions do not make sense.

[Assistant]
People talk about how religion provided order. But it arrived in societal structure. It was a product of time even if it was radical for it's time.

We can take it's moral teachings and apply them. Or we abandon them.

The former can result in something beautiful, the later is cowards way.

[User] One thing that is a must is that everyone must be free to choose their path to God. There should be no compulsion in religion. Nither in following it nor adhering to it.

[Assistant] One thing that is a must is that everyone must be free to choose their path to God. There should be no compulsion in religion. Nither in following it nor adhering to it. Esp the rules being imposed on those who don't believe it or who have different opinions.


[User]
Get ready for #Survivor47 by checking out the always unhinged draft check in with me, @chappellskickback.bsky.social, @taranarmstrong.bsky.social & @pooyaism.bsky.social & let us know who you think is going to win! #RHAP #Survivor

robhasawebsite.com/survivor-47-...

[Assistant] Rachel can make it happen for you Shannon 💪💪💪💪

[User] Definitely went off the rails there at the end 😂

[Assistant] I think Taran or Shannon have this season.


[User] If we have to earn a living then it implies we don't actually have innate worth.

[Assistant] Certainly not enough innate worth to actually keep ourselves alive.

[User] This is the thing I struggle with most in therapy. Christianity has constantly told me I have innate worth as I'm made in the image of God. Yet I've also suffered huge abuse under the church. So I now don't trust this statement of innate worth. It seems to me that worth is in God's image, not mine.

[Assistant] In therapy, myself and my therapist have been doing circles around the issue of innate worth. Because from my stand point it feels nearly impossible to claim innate worth when experience tells me otherwise.

[User] This is the problem with systemic injustice. You can't therapy your way out of experiencing it. No level of emotional maturity is going to stop those injustices, only shape how you may be able to respond to them. But in the face of such systemic oppression how can you believe in innate worth?

[Assistant] Our systems don't allow survival without us proving our worth. And we aren't starting on a level playing field. Trans folk end up having more to prove in order to receive the same as others.


[User] Spice up Christmas cards this year by scrawling I WILL KILL AGAIN inside instead of signing your name.

[User] I like your thinking :) although in my experience people are rarely ready for such interesting moments :(

[Assistant] I have found my people!!

[User] This reminds me of that thing: When someone says 'Have a nice day!' everyone's fine, but when I say 'Enjoy the next 24 hours,' for some reason folks don't like it...

[Assistant] That will put the cat among the pigeons for a folks we send cards to!


[User] Happy birthday to Boston Celtics legend Gigi Datome!

[Assistant] To paraphrase Peewee Herman, he meant to do that.

[Assistant]
I think I saw this same move in a dunk contest one time.

🤦🏾♂


[User] This will correct any lingering perception that Albo may actually be a hostage in the Lodge.

[Assistant]
Turnbull had no balls.
Abbott had no brains.
Morrison had no heart.

Albo, the Scarecrow of Oz, got the trifecta.

(remember to gamble responsibly, kids)

[User] He is pissing off many of his front and back benchers. There is some agitation beneath the surface.

[Assistant] I had very few expectations of the Albosaurus when he assumed the job, and I'm mildly surprised he has achieved none of them. He acts like he's hanging out for his pension. Hopeless.


[User] Huh. It's just like being back at home! Except I would like to be in the kitchen and away from people asking me why I don't go to church or when I'm getting married. Or why I'm not already married.

[Assistant] The last family Thanksgiving I went to in person was Hawaii 2005, the DH's family gathering. It was at SIL's house. Bil has a huge family. They do potluck so no 1 person has the brunt of cooking. It was fun  and no drama.

[User] It's always fun. The questions get tedious, tho. And the extended family playing "my kid is more successful than you" games they've been trying to force on us since childhood.

[Assistant] Ugh. I hate that stuff.

[User] Same. And they still do it! We're all grown AF and they still do it. Like...nobody cares! Give it a rest.

[Assistant] I love helping in the kitchen cause that’s when I hear all the family gossip 😂


[User] Commission for @kytsurii.bsky.social based on their fic "Breaking Bonds, Mending Hearts" 💗

[Assistant] It’s so beautiful!!! 💞 Thank you!

[User] they're so beautiful! neuvillette in short hair is simply stunning 😭 amazing work 💖

[Assistant] short haired neuvi omfg he's gorgeous 😩 and the light, everything's so beautiful 🥺


[User] Annoyed I gotta actually roll this morning. Someone (gf) brought the wrong size cones home last night 😒

[Assistant] come hit the bong 🙃

[User] 🫶🏾 pass that too me!

[Assistant] it’s your hit, boo! 😎


[User] And with it they have destroyed our democracies as well.

[Assistant] 💯% - this is why.... BlueSky and Decentralization IS. THE. WAY.

[User] Sadly FB + GOOG + X + Fox News + the President Elect have been the perfect storm of a disinformation machine against the public plus acquisition of political power.  Keep finding and supporting decentralized platforms like BlueSky!

[Assistant]
More journalistic and democracy destroying content brought to you by FB in our near future:
fortune.com/2024/10/30/m...


[User]
And this is why I'll keep using glaze/nightshade on my work before posting online.

Yeah sometimes it doesn't look very pretty, but I'll reserve the unglazed stuff for my pdf portfolio and close friends and family.

[Assistant]
"Buuh if you don't want people stealing your work, you shouldn't post in public"
Nope, kindly fuck off with that logic. I like posting my work in public, I like getting reactions from people from laughter, wholesomeness to "rose why wtf"

[User]
"Buuh if you don't want people stealing your work, you shouldn't post in public"

Nope, kindly fuck off with that logic. I like showing my work, I like getting reactions from people from laughter, wholesomeness to "rose why wtf".

[Assistant] If you see my work as just a statistic for your data training set, then I have no respect for you either and I'll keep poisoning the well.


[User] Baseball writers: “well, actually.. not even paying 97% of a $700 million contract until his son gets drafted is actually a good thing for the sport. Please sign my paycheck now, Mr. Manfred.”

[Assistant] I didn't say it was good or bad. It just is. And notably: the players don't seem to be against it.

[User] The players aren’t for a pitch clock timer that’s destroying pitching arms, either, but sometimes things are done outside of the interest of the player and something needs to be done here to limit this.

[Assistant] there is no actual evidence the pitch clock is doing that.

[User] Players seem to think so and perception is reality when it comes to player safety.

[Assistant] A few. Hardly most or a majority.


[User] Also in London Centric: Urban otters are on the march, now just ten miles from central London next to a Big Tesco on the North Circular. www.londoncentric.media/p/i-was-cove...

[Assistant] Spot The Urban Otter video, courtesy of Paul Powlesland.

[User] Seen them in the River Lee as far south as Lea Bridge Road.

[Assistant] Excellent edition as ever. Though I will admit the phrase ‘a person claiming they’ve seen an otter on the way back from the shops’ led me down a rabbit hole (or otter holt) of wondering which supermarket chain otters would shop at. (Aldi, I reckon.)


[User] An Andy Kelp Thanksgiving. (From Donald E. Westlake's Dortmunder novel Bad News.)

[Assistant] Love Westlake's humour. For some reason I found this particularly funny: "...she also being from Washington, D.C., her father having been a congressman until God imposed his own personal term limits."

[User] He did such a good job of pushing his prose until he found one more joke in it.

[Assistant] I only know his work through the epigraph to 'Bleeding Edge' but will now go and get a novel. Where to start?


[User]
BREAKING - SNL CLOSES DOWN SHOP
SNL has announced they can no longer compete with the proposed Trump administration and nothing they can produce will match the absurdity & insaneness of the "real meal deal" that Trump has produced.

They concede to the Circus Master & know that their time is past.

[Assistant] Tell me this is The Onion or your own fabulous sense of humor! 😂💙

[User] Parody AND reality.

[Assistant] Truth. I like it. Clever! 😂💙


[User] Nearly 100 bucks for printing my 72 pages long thesis 3x?! 🫠

[Assistant] OUGH sorry bud 😭

[User] The university knows how to suck my bank account dry with secret payments like this 🫠

[Assistant] Yeah printing costs can be wild in college. I think they get me the hardest at the start of the semester with textbooks- this semester im gunna try to pirate the next one. im getting WISER you cant keep taking my spare hundos 😭


[User]
If there were a ‘Notebooks Anonymous’, I’d be about ready for a ‘sobriety’ ch …

Ah. Sod it. 😩😔

Bought two notebooks. 😢😭

[Assistant]
In my defence, they both have delightfully touchy-feely covers that my ASD approves of muchly, I already have one like the little one and I use it, so there is hope, and the big one has a bee on the cover.

A bee!

It was impossible to resist. 🙄

[User] Do you have 'notebooks too beautiful to write in'? I think I need help.

[Assistant]
😳Yes.😭

They’re so pretty! I couldn’t possibly ruin them! 😭


[User] Bless these beautiful black women, my white sisters let us down gravely! We fought hard, and we lost hard.

[Assistant] Shocking numbers. 😞

[User] It sickens me.

[Assistant] Unfortunately, the same can be said of a decent amount of my fellow hispanic males...


[User] #Zhongchi Post-Osial where Zhongli and Childe's friendship barely recovered but it's still very awkward between them with Childe doubting everything Zhongli does and says. Zhongli is still in denial on why Childe's distance is bothering him. Until a part of his dragon self says-

[Assistant] -"hell nah, I'll do it myself" and separates from Zhongli. It takes the form of a mini exuvia. Using the power of cuteness, it attaches itself to Childe and monopolizes his attention. Zhongli knows that it's a part of him, but it's starting to get on his nerves the way the little dragon pulls-

[User] Childe away from him whenever he gets a chance to approach the ginger, bites and hisses at him if he gets near enough, basically turning Childe against him. All while radiating righteous smugness. And he can't even do anything against it cause he's already on thin ice with Childe.

[Assistant] Somewhere in the afterlife, his friends must be sighing at him in disappointment. But not Osial. No, Osial is laughing his ass off, cause "dasurv😂😂😂😂".


[User] There's something so beautiful about recipes, how they're handed down, and transformed over generations, and passed on to new families and evolve with them as well. As a queer person, recipes and my things are kinda all I get to leave behind. This time of year is so special for that.

[Assistant] As soon as I found out my time is running short because of my disease, I shifted my perspective to not being so focused on being online, but finding every person I can locally to cherish, spend time with, and pass on my stuff, and especially my recipes. It's what my mom would've wanted.

[User] When you know death is coming at any moment, whether it's two or ten years for me, you give up on fearing it, or worrying about petty nonsense or online foolishness, and instead focus on the important stuff. I just want someone to love me while i'm still here, but also many moments of light.

[Assistant] I want friends who come to my house for once, who i cook for, watch movies, play games, and laugh with. When I'm gone, I want those closest to me to smile and think about a dish I made them or my laugh when they feel alone. Even if I never have a man to cherish, I wanna leave a mark on friends.


[User]
Worth stating that this is doable with any public facing thing on the web

Doesn't matter if you require that people sign in to see posts like Twitter does.

Every Twitter porn bot that uses AI for replies is proof of this.

[Assistant]
Hell Bridgy provides a feature that lets you scrape Facebook posts to display in a comments section on your blog.

All it requires is a free computer, a browser extension and a logged-in Facebook account.

It's limited to your stuff, but that's by design in Bridgy.

[User]
Every thing on the web is a file or piece of a file that can be copied.

This isn't me defending the AI scrapers, just defending Bluesky's design.

This site is at risk of scraping in the same way that anything that displays HTML is at risk of scraping.
The API only makes it a little easier to do.

[Assistant]
This link is a great example:

research.aimultiple.com/facebook-scr...

[User] It's also definitely not the first time someone's used Bluesky's data this way. The only difference is the person behind it was willing to say they did it.

[Assistant] This is exactly how OpenAI, Claude, Grok and Gemini all were trained. By grabbing any and all available data. Hell they even transcribed videos to train.


[User]
Irony is with Pickford demanding standards and better from Dyche, is they were rumoured to have had a fallings out of Dyche taking the vice captaincy off him.

JP has higher standards than Sean Dyche in his little finger.

[Assistant] Dyche is on borrowed time already as far as we are concerned, I thought he’d see the season out but I doubt he’ll see the new year the way we’re playing.

[User] Pickford cut from the same cloth as Southall.

[Assistant] I haven't always agreed with Stubbs but he's spot on here.


[User] We censored the village in order to save it.

[Assistant]
But in this case it’s basically correct.

If you think “free speech” will mean anything at all once the fascists consolidate their power then I’d like to know what you’re smoking and where I can get some.

[User]
Having said that, the “hacked materials” excuse is cowardly.

How about: “We aren’t going to allow enemies of democracy to abuse our platform (again) in their quest to destroy democracy”?

[Assistant] Yes, the fascists will throw a fit and the head-in-the-sand “centrist” scolds will scold. But they’re doing that now, too.

[User] By now we ought to recognize that the authoritarian right complains about non-existent censorship (“shadow bans”) even when the platforms let them get away with everything. Pretending to be oppressed is a time-tested media manipulation strategy. It works.

[Assistant] By the way, I’m not claiming that the photos aren’t authentic. I don’t have the ability to judge that, though I can judge their relevance: none.


[User] Ngl it's looking increasingly likely that the assisted dying bill will fail, and all because the British left has no spine and doesn't actually believe in bodily autonomy or freedom of choice.

[Assistant] I don't believe a matter like this is up to me to decide considering my crumbling mental health. I'm sure there's a compelling argument for both sides of the matter.

[User] To play devil's advocate, I don't think really think assisted unaliving is the answer for a plight associated with systemic issues. I'm not saying systemic issues are the sole cause, perhaps this isn't the thing to openly endorse.

[Assistant] Honestly my position is that people should be able to choose when they die. It's only position that's consistently pro bodily autonomy, and you'd think that'd be obvious to progressives but apparently it's not in the UK.


[User] #UNC has a problem when it comes to dealing with some of the better bigs in the country. I think that's obvious. However, I will say that only losing to AP top 10 opponents so far, in November at that, could be a lot worse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Assistant] By the end of the week, those two losses could be the 1-2 slots of the Top 25.

[User] Very true. I probably should've paid more attention to Michigan State last night, but yeah, I just need that game to go alright lol. That's one that they really can't afford to lose or it blows up my supply of copium 😂

[Assistant] Yeah, it’s kind of a big game tonight.


[User]
We might be getting sick here. So that's fun.

And, literally, as I'm typing this, the dog is vomiting behind the couch.

What a sound! What a holiday!

🤣 to keep from crying!

[Assistant] Dude, that sucks.

[User]
For whatever reason, it's par for the course come holiday season.

Me: This holiday will be relaxing.

Life: Slow your roll, Van.

[Assistant]
Like clock work, huh?

Damn, still sucks, though.

The holidays for me will be just sad even with the great memories.
Might be a while before they are anything else.
It's not a bad thing to slow down at times and appreciate those around you - listen to Life, Van. It knows.

Peace, and be happy.


[User] I think I need a good inspirational talking to. 😠

[Assistant] You're great!! And you will do great things!!

[User] I can give you part of my 'fuck it all, I'll do whatever I want' mentality?

[Assistant] Here to help wherever I can ✨


[User]
Not streaming today feels a bit weird o.O Bringing the doggo to the vet for a follow-up
 She sends wags!

[Assistant]
What a good doggo <3
Hope everything goes smoothly!

[User]
She is adorable!

Hope it goes well!

[Assistant] Wishing doggo all the wags 🐾

[User] Take care Merlymoo!♥

[Assistant] Oh, I hope she feels better!! Good wishes your way 💙💙


[User]
I downloaded GameMaker and had massive whiplash.

The last time I used it was over 15 years ago and it had a simple visual scripting language. Now I can't figure out how the visual scripting works and can only use regular GML lmao

I'm torn between learning this and learning Godot.

[Assistant] Because on one hand, I'm worried that I'll start making a real game on Godot and then find out that a thing I'm struggling to implement is actually dead simple to do in GameMaker. On the other hand, I have a sunk-cost worry where I spent too long learning GDScript to abandon it now.

[User] For the little I know about GM (only used it a few weeks and made a game jam with it) and one year with Godot, I'm wondering what kind of stuff would be dead simple on GM and so difficult on Godot.

[Assistant] Probably nothing, that's why it's a worry and not a genuine concern. Godot feels like it has a steeper initial learning curve than GameMaker but they functionally don't seem that different.


[User]
Somebody tell that fourty something year old wannabe weaboo he's not a ronin or a samurai or a native American

He's whiter than fucking white bread and his family reunion photos prove that
Call me abusive for cradling @nephrastar.bsky.social in my lap while they fucking cried about your behavior?

[Assistant] "Everyone that holds me accountable is abusive"

[User] gee who does that remind me of (it reminded her of several people from her past)

[Assistant] this hurts to see, i'm so sorry yall are dealing with this. i hope yall are doing okay, they're definitely reminding me of someone too...

[User] I'm doing okay, I'm more worried about everyone else though :(

[Assistant]
I'll be fine but it's going to take me a second to marinate on the fact that my brother is a potential narcissist

(Potential cuz im not a psychologist)


[User] Not from the ICC he doesn't. France, with all due respect, if that's the argument, then NOPE.

[Assistant] France is confused and thinks Netanyahu is a president?

[User] even so, in front of international tribunals, there is no immunity (i would argue also for non-state members). that's the whole thing. domestic tribunals, sure, ok, but international? NO. because that effectively means you're OUTSIDE of the law completely if you're not a member state of the ICC.

[Assistant] if we accept this position that France seems to be arguing for (and I have to read the details), that means ALL leaders are completely exempt from any effort to hold them accountable. by anyone, even an intl court which has 124 states parties. so France is wrong on this (if this is their take).

[User] And this article seems to say France thinks all countries not signatory to ICC have immunity? www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

[Assistant] (which would make ICC more of an internal code of conduct and any country committing war crimes could just leave. League of Nations)

[User] Yeah, that seems to be the position. so that's also Putin then. and al-Bashir i suppose of Sudan (former president). It's a radical position to take, and I think, not broadly shared. This is not a path to a safer world, France. This is France taking us backwards and it's crap.

[Assistant] Yes, radical cowardice.


[User] Love the "Don't engage, just block" description. They are gutless cowards, so scared to interact and have their hypocrisy and lies exposed. Love the lists!!!

[Assistant] And look, some still call us "garbage" but don't know why they lost!

[User]
See more here: clearsky.app/trumpisourgu...

Seriously think we need a leader's board of how many lists us awesome MAGAs can get on!

[Assistant] I guess I’m not trying hard enough to make any list yet….the ‘Don’t Engage, Just Block’ list is my goal…😂😂😂

[User]
I'm on 234 lists! You need to beat me! Get to it! I mean seriously, only 63? 😉😜

(Yes, that's how I'm going to judge people on here from now on....are you worthy? heh)

[Assistant] You need to show me how see which lists I'm on.  I go to Lists and I don't see any...

[User] Where do I find this list?

[Assistant] Idk if I'm on the list but I have been blocked by 2 after extensive engagement. Both resorted to name calling but I ignored that and stuck to facts. Eventually they become enraged that their name calling isn't causing you to cower.


[User] I don't talk much about crypto on here, but I buy a little bit of a few different coins/tokens a week, mostly proof-of-stake (or future POS like Ethereum) stuff w/o a big energy footprint. Anyway, markets are down a lot from record 2021 highs. A good time to test the waters?

[Assistant] Obviously the markets can keep going down from here, but my thinking is pretty long-term (10ish years) on this stuff, and I'm going to keep buying each week regardless of short-term prices. If you want to day trade that's your call, but I tried that years ago and it's not for me.

[User] Nowadays you can buy crypto from Paypal or Venmo and there are bitcoin ATMs in convenience stores. Also, publicly traded companies like Coinbase are good options if you want more than the basics. It strikes me as a decent time to start investing if you've been thinking about it.

[Assistant] Whatever, you do, don't click on links in someone's replies after they've mentioned crypto stuff in tweets. It's pretty grifty out there.


[User] Spending today baking pumpkin pies and pecan pies. The secret ingredient:

[Assistant] For the pies or the baker?

[Assistant] See also Dan Aykroyd’s send up of Julia Child. “A shot for the recipe and a shot for the cook.”


[User] Political pundits telling me voters are dumb and that’s why they vote against their own interests, but also telling me not to call voters dumb because they will get mad and vote against their own interests, is what will turn me into a Batman villain.

[Assistant] When in doubt, stick to your gut.

[User]
I just happened upon this article about hookworms and I’ve already started working on my joker makeup.

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ar...

[Assistant] …………………….sigh.


[User]
I hate squash and merge on GitHub 😭 A merge commit makes it easy to see that my changes from my local branch are what were merged into main.

If you don't like it being messy just do `git log --first-parent` and you'll see your log as if it were squash and merge. This way everyone wins 💪

[Assistant]
A lot of devs (like, a scary number imo) don’t write good commit messages within PRs, so squash and merge forces them to write at least one good one.

Also PRs are the unit of change, not the commits within it. If you’re merging multiple separate commits, they should probably be separate PRs imo.

[User] I 100% agree that PRs should practically be a single change. I tend to call it a "single logical change," but I often need to make multiple distinct commits to achieve that.

[Assistant]
I think the tech community has done a disservice to people learning git with the impression that using a UI is a bad thing. Everyone should be able to rebase simple stuff and keep commits low.

I wrote about this a long time ago to capture all my thoughts in one place: mainmatter.com/blog/2021/05...


[User]
i've been working way too long on my site, jeanmeijer.com, trying to get this perfect, which was a mistake.

i've decided just to ship it, and push updates as fast as possible. feels kinda good.

[Assistant] Super clean. One thought, the +’s you use in the FE bullet list looked tappable to me (as if they were going to expand the item)

[User]
thanks, good point!

totally missed that. they look their expandable, but they aren't supposed to be.

you're already proving the value of shipping it early, hahah.

[Assistant] Aha, I should probably do that myself soon, instead of refining my portfolio until I die 😅


[User]
Thx @marcocartolano.bsky.social for mentioning that Dr. Castiel has advocated for a Day Resource center for a long time. I also appreciate CM Batista who committed to supporting this- something that neither former manager Augustus or his predecessors supported.

www.telegram.com/story/news/l...

[Assistant] Doug and I were just saying the other day while walking around   that it’d be great if there were a nonprofit org who made something like this. I didn’t realize there was already this advocacy and planning in the works. Very great 🙂

[User] Yeah for many many years that advocates & Dr. Castiel have been advocating for a day center. The City never pursued it, until this city manager. Folks can disagree w/ him on many things, as do I. On this, he’s been very good and committed.

[Assistant] That’s great to hear! 🙂


[User]
Why is it so difficult to unfollow someone? I unfollow….and they still show up in the stream. What’s up with that?

(I followed some starter packs and decided I don’t want to follow everyone in the pack. Now I can’t get them out!)

[Assistant] Are you in the “Discover” feed rather than “Following”? I just noticed that I was, unintentionally!

[User] No, in Only Posts, which is people I follow. I’m baffled by this. But then… I am easily baffled.

[Assistant] Did you only just unfollow? Perhaps the change needs a while to propagate through to the, er, magical doohickey's...? I think Only Posts isn't native to BlueSky but runs on external servers.

[User]
It’s a known bug. I reported it to the developer a few times now, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

Had to stop using his feeds for now as a result.

[Assistant] I've not used the 'follow everyone' option, but maybe you can't de select individuals.


[User]
LXC returning home to Gusu after the confernce at Carp Tower incident knowing that JGY is gonna come to him like "Hey bae are we good? You still love me right?"
He has a lot to unpack right now...

[Assistant] Ughhhhh the way LXC handled all of that makes me so mad. Like, obviously it could have been worse. He could have refused to listen to LWJ and WWX at all... but his dithering about it is so frustrating. "I have to know the truth" DUDE THEY TOLD YOU THE TRUTH.

[User] You think your brother can be deceived by someone he loves and you can't? You KNOW WWX was never as bad as he was made out to be, but there is a pretty massive precedent for JGY being a prodigious liar and actor (serving WRH while sending information to the rebellion). Fucking dumbass hypocrite.

[Assistant]
"Did you see the head yourself?"
"No, but WWX did."
"And you trust WWX."
"Yes."
"Well I trust JGY."
Like omfg just PICK A SIDE. You CLEARLY believe WWX and LWJ. You just don't want to bc you're a coward so you're going to keep looking for hard proof until you walk yourself into a trap like a moron.


[User]
The Rosenberg Trial: A Cold War story of espionage, family betrayal, and injustice.

In the 1950s, Julius & Ethel Rosenberg were accused of spying for the Soviet Union and leaking atomic secrets.

Their case still raises tough questions today.

[Assistant]
Julius Rosenberg was convicted for passing critical military secrets to the USSR, including a “super weapon” the proximity fuze.

This small piece of tech had potential to change the course of warfare.

His actions were seen as a betrayal during a time of Cold War hysteria.

But what about Ethel?

[User]
The prosecution painted her as an active accomplice, claiming she typed notes for Julius.

But recent revelations suggest her role may have been far less significant than originally thought.

Was she truly guilty, or was she a convenient scapegoat?
The key witness against Ethel?

[Assistant]
Her brother, David Greenglass.

He was involved in espionage, too.

His testimony was crucial in securing the Rosenbergs' convictions, but he had a motive: a plea deal that spared his wife from charges.

Could his story have been influenced by self-interest?

[User]
In fact, David later admitted that his testimony about Ethel might have been exaggerated.

With this new perspective, is it possible that Ethel was unfairly convicted based on her connection to Julius, rather than concrete evidence?

[Assistant]
The trial also raised questions about the fairness of Cold War-era justice.

While Julius was convicted of espionage, others, like Klaus Fuchs, also betrayed their countries but faced far lighter sentences.

Why the death penalty for the Rosenbergs?

[User]
Fast forward to 2024: Newly declassified documents, including Venona transcripts, shed new light on Julius’s role.

He was deeply involved in Soviet espionage, but Ethel’s involvement?

Virtually nonexistent in the official records.
Is it time to rethink her guilt?

[Assistant]
The execution of Ethel Rosenberg in 1953 remains one of the most controversial moments in U.S. history.

Was she a victim of guilt by association, or a pawn in a larger political game?

Her case haunts American justice to this day.

[User]
What we know now is this: The Rosenberg trial was shaped by fear, political pressure, and a rush to judgment.

While Julius may have been guilty, the question of Ethel’s innocence remains unresolved.

And as new evidence emerges, we must ask: Was justice truly served?

[Assistant]
This trial isn’t just a relic of the past.

It’s a powerful reminder of the dangers of panic-driven justice, the importance of due process, and the lasting consequences of political fear.

The Rosenbergs' story is still unfolding — for better or worse.


[User] Ten minutes by car up to our nearest slopes. I clear typhoon damaged windfall branches & trees off the resort’s driveways every year and in return get to keep the firewood and get a free ski & lift pass for the season. Only shame is the relative lack of decent snowfall the last coupla years 🇯🇵🏔❄🌲🪵⛷

[Assistant] That sounds like a good gig Monts - need to figure something out with my local resort 🤔

[User] Fell into my lap really. The missus ran the ski operation up there before & after the biggy in 2018. Lots of downed trees all the way up. Took weeks to clear, the spoils of which (esp. sakura, zelkova, beech) still 🪵🔥 today. Lighter cedar & hinoki in 40cm rounds to season on site (with wee helpers!)

[Assistant] Love it!


[User] 🎉Excited to announce major new breakthroughs in our Aurora foundation model! Our team (@cbodnar.com, @wessel.ai, @megstanley.bsky.social, @a-lucic.bsky.social, Anna Vaughan) has achieved unprecedented results across multiple Earth system forecasting tasks. Here's what's new... 🧵

[Assistant] 1⃣ Tropical cyclone tracking 🌀: First AI model to outperform seven operational forecasting centers across four basins up to 5 days ahead! Example: Aurora correctly predicted Typhoon Doksuri's landfall when others missed 👇

[User] 2⃣ Ocean wave dynamics 🌊: 10-day global forecasts at 0.25° resolution that beat IFS HRES-WAM on 86% of targets. Below: Aurora's accurate prediction of wave patterns during Typhoon Nanmadol👇

[Assistant] 🚀 These results significantly expand Aurora’s capabilities that already include: 3⃣ 5-day global air pollution predictions at 0.4° resolution, outperforming CAMS on 74% of targets; 4⃣ 10-day 0.1° weather forecasts, outperforming IFS HRES on 92% of all targets.

[User] 🌏Aurora represents a major step toward making accurate Earth system predictions accessible to everyone. Huge thanks to our collaborators at @msftresearch.bsky.social, SilurianAI, University of Amsterdam, @cambridge-uni.bsky.social, @pennengineering.bsky.social & beyond! 🙏

[Assistant]
Special shoutout to our core contributors for making this possible!

📝Read the full paper: arxiv.org/abs/2405.13063

💻Open-source model & weights: github.com/microsoft/au...


[User] Not that it matters at all but I’m sure Drake does not approve. 😂

[Assistant] All the better 🤭


[User] Chris (@harrisFootball) can correct me, but I believe my time in @LARGEDraft goes back to ~2002. I chose “Pig’s Eye Polars” as my team name. Pig’s Eye was the original name of St. Paul, and had recently become famed thanks to Landmark Brewing’s Pig’s Eye Pilsner.

[Assistant]
(Correction upon a little reading: Minnesota Brewing, not Landmark. Landmark was their other beer.)

Pig’s Eye was...not very good, really. MBC had taken over the old Schmidt brewery in St. Paul, though, and folks were rooting for them.

[User]
Maybe their best move was calling their light beer “Pig’s Eye Lean.”

Anyway, MBC shut down right around when LARGE started, making the name of the team even more obscure. Apparently Pig’s Eye got re-launched a couple years later but so far as I can tell it’s gone again.

[Assistant] I had a Pig’s Eye Pilsner shirt for a long time but it fell apart years ago.  But now, thanks to a trip to a St. Paul Saints game, I now again have a Pig’s Eye shirt to watch games—in the finals for the second time in the last three years, I think.


[User]
Every time Nost front with me it feel so blurry I don't even know if one of us is real or not or are We not real or

Yeah idk I'm just exhausted and confused after some rapid switching and co and just generally being thrown around HELP

~Cae??

[Assistant] Istg every time we go out for a walk suddenly our front stability go down by 10000000000000 and we sometimes even discover new alter or old ones that have never seen the sun (or hell any light at all)

[User] I guess idk we're very similar to each other with how we act outward. Inside our motivation and thought process and perspective wildly differ but in a very subtle way so who the fuck knows at this point.

[Assistant] There are many moments where I wonder if I'm just Nost resurfacing and is just confused due to long dormancy but I don't think so I've seen the guy chilling (flirting) in the infirmary with a certain someone whenever I didn't get stuck in the void and can access iw.


[User]
Good morning!!!!
Where did you lovely people come from-
Like THANK YOU! I’m happy you’re here but- all at once- just confuzled me- BUT! I hope your day is amazing!!!!!!

[Assistant] Lol thank Huff.  He put us in a starter pack!

[User]
I did not know i was in the starter pack-
Why am I there?!?

[Assistant] Lol hey it came as a surprise to me!


[User] Quite a shift from Babette’s Feast but I’m up for some cranberry carnage. Bring on the whiplash!

[Assistant] Oops…apparently that’s NOT cranberry sauce. 😉

[User] I was just going to say...something tells me that's not cranberry sauce... I know, low hanging fruit, but it's still fun as hell to say. 😄

[Assistant] It’s kind of a requirement right? Kinda like saying “garbage day” with SNDN2. 😁


[User] I remember a time when a yt, former friend, in his best WB frog voice, said to me and a friend "what up my niggas" and me and the friend just looked at each other in silence. Ff to earlier this year, same yt dude gets mad at me for calling him nigga in an argument. "You calling me the nword" 😂

[Assistant] I bring this up because I'm letting someone crash for the night, who, isn't black, and that I told not to call me nigga. I'm not your nigga. I'm not running around calling you my spic. Gonna have to cut this nigga off after today.

[User] I'm not some sort of sensitive prude in the slightest, I'm someone who understands you think shits cute. That's what got us here. People too timid to tell other people in person that they don't fuck with whatever.

[Assistant] Like there was a time prior to dognal getting elected, at a friend's July 4th party & friend's dad just kept bringing him up when no one was talking about him or talking to the dad & I bit telling him who I think johnal is eventually lead to him dipping. Shits gotta get uncomfortable sometimes.


[User]
Push the boundaries,
step through the doorway.
Leather and lace,
masked face,
engulfed by lust’s
dark embrace.

[Assistant] A quiet hesitation before an intervention by deep felt craving...?

[User] Exactly that …


[User]
The most promising AI agent startup in a long time just came out of stealth.

Its leadership pedigree really looks impressive.

But what is it trying to accomplish exactly?

open.substack.com/pub/aisuprem...

[Assistant] I wonder why you.com does not appear anywhere in this chart...

[User] They have sort of pivoted into agents, kind of like genspark.ai most people don't use them for their agentic capabilities but for search. So it's a bit confusing.

[Assistant] The concept of 'artificial servant' that all these people have in their beautiful minds is a mistake.

[User] Apparently GenZ and Alpha are more worried about future of work but also higher adopters of course of AI tools. Things will start to get interesting around the 2030s.

[Assistant] I just meant to say that 'engineers' who were 'trained' in the past 30 years have a 'master-slave' mentality engraved in their understanding of systems. Another one is 'stateless' interactions between systems. A person who can not overcome this mentality of his own _can not_ succeed with LLM.

[User] Yes I can believe it. The biases in the products are also a reflection of the culture.

[Assistant] Exactly! We understand each other.


[User] People liked Jack Horner, and he's genuinely a horrible person. Fans can like bad guys without condoning their actions. They make the story work.

[Assistant] Who on earth is Valentino?

[User] Valentino is a demon pimp from "Hazbin Hotel". And a pretty vile one at that. Some fans like him as a chatacter, but others thinks that they're condoning his actions, which they are not. People just like bad guys.

[Assistant] Oh, is this one of those scenarios as Ferb describes, that being "A hero is a hero, but everyone loves a good villain"?


[User]
1/ I participated in an online discussion about Wikipedia, which reminded me that the early Internet promised free knowledge for all.

This thread is a tiny love letter to Wikipedia- the last good place on the Internet.

[Assistant]
2/ The starting point must be @sverrir.bsky.social article on the organization of Wikipedia.

The article shows how Wikipedia transformed from a dubious source of information to an increasingly reliable one, partly because the editors who supported fringe content left.

doi.org/10.1017/S000....

[User] 3/ I have contributed to Wikipedia over the years, and I think that one of the things that helps is that Wikipedia seeks verifiability instead of truth. Editors have (overly) strict guidelines to make sure sources are reliable and notable.

[Assistant]
4/ As an academic, I appreciate that Wikipedia is inhospitable to fringe beliefs, pseudoscience, and false equivalencies.

"Wikipedia is not and must not become the validating source for non-significant subjects, and it is not a forum for original research."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

[User]
5/ The most useful guideline for me is the page: "What Wikipedia is not." It is one of those pages that really helps to delimit the scope of the project and gives it direction.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

[Assistant] 6/ Wikipedia has many flaws, but the aspect that I appreciate the most is that it does not have an advertising business model that tries to drive traffic to capture engagement.

[User] 7/ Also, life would be terribly dull without a daily dose of @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social where I can learn the most obscure factoids of a historical figure of the XVI century or an endemic insect.

[Assistant]
8/ Yes, Wikipedia has many flaws (Wikipedia has several pages about valid criticisms of itself), but this is a love letter, after all.

So, I, for one, will celebrate Wikipedia as one of my favorite Internet projects of all time.


[User] We need to help our administrators stand up to authoritarianism. 🍎#AcademicSky #edusky www.chronicle.com/article/when...

[Assistant] Really good read until I hit the paywall lol..

[User] I think it isn't so much a paywall as a 'please register with us' request.… I've never paid for access.

[Assistant] Good to know.


[User] I’ve been a bit quiet as yesterday was my mother’s funeral. It was a good send off. My eulogy was well received. My recitation of the mourner’s prayer, read phonetically from the Hebrew,got a stony look from the Rabbi.

[Assistant] I did a phonetically learnt speech intro in Bosnian at my wedding, which seemed to go down ok. The friend I asked to translate it told me that around the same time, she'd also been asked to translate something for a funeral, so I trusted she gave me the correct translation.

[User] Condolences Nicky - I lost my mum in May- A life well lived, and some precious memories are as good as it gets 😊

[Assistant] Sending kind thoughts Nicky to you and the family 🙏


[User] So I’m clear, my #EBV #reactivation DID NOT LOOK LIKE #EBV. It looked like #MS. Then #progression.  Only after #Mavenclad 2020/21 did I have actual EBV symptoms - because of the immune reset. On top of the poor balance, cognitive fatigue, and leg weakness - swollen lymph nodes, sore throat and 🧵

[Assistant] More. I also didn’t get fevers or really any symptoms of illness prior to Mavenclad - *never sick* is not a strong immune system. It’s an immune system that’s packed its bags and left the building.  #EBV is not *caused by* #IRT for #MS - it was lurking in the background and doing damage. End 🧵

[User] I had no idea there was a connection with the two.

[Assistant] I have no clue if this is an absolute causative thing for all with #MS. Or whether it’s comorbid situation for me due to poor viral control genetics and toxic chemical exposure. But because it doesn’t look like #EBV, we aren’t tested. Or it doesn’t look like #HERV - #vemlidy (#TAF) seems better.


[User] *Rant Activate* Something I absolutely fucking despise is toxic positivity, for positivity’s sake. I just can’t do it lads, when I see people obviously faking positivity, it just makes my want to roll my eyes infinitely. If you’re having a shit day, have a shit day. Be kinder & true to yourself ✔

[Assistant] I have once said to a colleague “too happy, tone it down” so I get ya!

[User] Yeah I hate forced positivity it’s just manky *shudders*

[Assistant]
It’s a difficult one. On the one hand I want people to do what they need to do to be healthy etc.

But I’ve seen so many people apply positivity like it’s plastering over the ‘cracks’ and it just hurts them in the long run, which is never good!


[User]
Haydee Hernández shares her thoughts on reproducibility in bioimage analysis following a working group session @globias.bsky.social 2024. The post covers accountability & standards & how these could be implemented in the research ecosystem.
focalplane.biologists.com/2024/11/20/b...

[Assistant] Comments are open on the FocalPlane post, or feel free to share your comments here!

[User] It’s not always easy to include sufficient detail in the Methods section to enable others to reproduce the settings. Perhaps providing an Excel file with specific questions about microscope, camera, and other settings that can be filled out and submitted as supplementary information could help.

[Assistant] When I write the methods I provide some information but not enough. I input microscope, objective NA, laser or light source power, exposure time and camera.


[User] They took the Fragile Baby off the menu at Fogo de Chao 😭

[Assistant] Like I like other things but I used to get that JUST FOR THE NAME (it was coffee with frangelico)

[User] We are going there for dinner tomorrow. I really like it (I do not get the meats, the buffet bar is entirely enough for me)

[Assistant] I think the turkey will be on the buffet, that’s what someone told me. Idk if true or not.


[User] @wandrme.paxex.aero Hi Seth, pack2list great and very useful, a couple of suggestion, is ok? One would be to make a list from followers and merge to an existing list. The other would be to merge lists generally, a + b etc? What do you think!?

[Assistant]
Both of those already exist on that site. Look at the list of other links in the first of the page.

nws-bot.us/bskyListComb...

nws-bot.us/bskyListMyFo...

[User] Brilliant thanks!! And thanks for making this all available!!

[Assistant] that follow me, not that I follow....

[User] Yes sorry about that to be clearer, thanks very much for providing these useful tools. I can see the list copy now.  But I see no tool to copy your followers into a list. Only a tool to copy those you follow into a list? Sorry if I am being thick!

[Assistant] Fresh out of the oven this morning: nws-bot.us/bskyListMyFo...


[User]
I don't like to use the word hate. I seriously loathe the puff stitch.

There. I finally said it out loud.

[Assistant] Not to veer too far off the point of this post, but...do you have any tips for working with this kind of yarn? I'm a beginner and I swear this type of yarn has become my nemesis.

[User] Do you mean the yarn I am working with or another?

[Assistant] The yarn. I've only ever been able to successfully finish something by using the really chunky or fluffy yarn. The thin cotton type I struggle so much with 😭

[User]
I try to make sure I have the right size hook for the project. I use a J hook for chunky yarn.
With this project. I am using an F hook. I try to follow the hook sizes on the yarn packaging. You tube is my best friend and if I don't understand a word. I immediately look it up.

[Assistant] Sorry that might not help much. I am a visual learner. I have only been able to read patterns for the past couple of years. That is with the help of you tube.


[User] I don't have one. When I was younger that excluded me from a lot of (not very good) jobs. I also missed out on the relationships you develop in grad school that help you advance. But I went out, worked, did fine. Now I'm at the same place I'd have been if I'd spent 100k on a masters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Assistant] And working for USG, I make the same rate as I would with a masters. I've aged out of degree reqs just by being around for a long time.

[User] I think the key good advice is not to jump into a masters straight from undergrad, unless it perfectly aligns with your plans. Too often it's done thoughtlessly.

[Assistant] I didn't get into the program I wanted after undergrad (wait listed twice!) so I said screw it and started working. It would been fine if it had worked out, but I didn't have to part with money I didn't have then spend the first few years with a masters pushing USAID paper. I never had to do that!


[User]
Men my age aren’t very good at keeping in touch and being there for each other, and part of the Catch-22 there is that it can often feel ominous to try.

“You should grab a drink with Dave,” my wife will say. “It sounds like he’s really going through it lately. Same for Will. Oh, and Jeff.”

[Assistant] Don’t know your age, but based on my husband, I’d say “men of most age groups.” IMHO, women are a lot better at it and often men rely on their partners to maintain the social connections.

[User] That’s surely broadly true among any age group, sure. But it gets relatively tougher for men, it seems, as they approach their forties (which I’m well into).

[Assistant] And yet, based only on my observations, we all appreciate and enjoy it so much when the get-togethers actually happen. Seems like women find the ongoing “investment” in maintaining these relationships easier?

[User] It gives you pause not only to realize that a lot of your friends are going through their own tough times, but also to realize that the reason you know it is not because you talk to them, but because their wives and girlfriends talk to each other.

[Assistant]
I used to manage social media for a number of health organizations. Time after time, most of our community members were women.

It wasn’t because they have higher rates of whatever disease; it’s because they do the research and work their male partners often won’t do for themselves.

[User]
Keeping in touch with our friends during their tough times - and, let’s be honest, during our own - is something that all men ought to be doing.

And when we don’t do it, we make it yet another thing that the women in our lives have to do a disproportionate amount of.

[Assistant] All of which is to say that I’m going to reach out to a few more dudes today. And although I don’t tend to use my DMs here, I’m pretty sure they’re open.

[User] November, by the way, is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. So there’s an extra reason to do that sort of thing this week.


[User]
LRP I still don't understand how people can get so bloody angry about wanting to give composers proper credit?
The App is honestly pretty sluggish on its own, you guys needed really to add a whole extra layer of "Lol" by crediting the Mario theme to "Super Mario"

[Assistant] I mean you may as well credit Splatoon music to "John Splatoon"

[User] Yeah it's even worse than "credit to the artist"

[Assistant] Don't get me started on the fact that the person that said "Nobody should ever be credited for something, ever" now bought Twitter. And that alone makes me fume.