[User]
Time for another Alleria speculation thread;
I have been talking about Alleria and the void powers within her for more than a year here, but I realized I've missed someone; L'ura herself...
Alleria stated that in her dying moments, L'ura CALLED TO HER, to become one with Alleria,
⬇

[Assistant]
to prevent being lost in oblivion he Naaru are actually sentient beings, and they actually have personalities and beings like a Prime Naaru (such as Xe'ra) can actually communicate and be very aggresive. L'ura was darkened due to her desperation and sorrow of being imprisoned and alone which
⬇

[User]
Locus-Walker speculated that as something extremely rare. In an unusued dialogue, he also stated Alleria "stands in the  cusp of destiny." and Alleria states that the Naaru, and the shadows "were calling to her" Another STRONG emphasis on her destiny...
I've focused on N'zoth, Durzaan
⬇

[Assistant]
and Xal'atath so far. But there is a sentient, extremely powerful being in Alleria for years. To make it clear; L'ura alone was the reason why there was a BIG ETHEREAL INVASION to Argus in 7.3, to claim her power. And Alleria literally fucking stole L'ura and ran away.
Curious if L'ura
⬇

[User]
was "evil" before being consumed, considering she was lost in darkness for a milennia. Her "song" was enough to drive mad the Broken into void twisted monsters and... sprout tentacles... yes :)

Ahem... yea getting back to the topic, what if L'ura will cause problems to Alleria from within?
⬇

[Assistant]
To corrupt her, to "ascend" her? They can easily make a fascinating "war within" story through Alleria and her darker-self Evilleria, what if L'ura will cause it?
How can we trust she won't become a danger?
Especially in "Midnight" where the void's influence upon Azeroth will reach its peak?
⬇

[User]
But wait, there is more, I'm still saying Alleria is more than shadow, she is "the light&shadow" but this doesn't mean she will come back to the Light in the end, no...
BUT!
while it is something rare too, the Naaru can be turned back into the Light again. There is something within Alleria
⬇

[Assistant]
that is "currently" shadow, but what if she will turn back to Light? It won't be okay though, we've seen what a Light Naaru can cause aswell.
So... I still believe Alleria is meant to, and CAN find the balance between. A balance between Light&Shadow through the Naaru core within her.
⬇


[User] What I feel like heading to a meeting with a brand new tie:

[Assistant] You're a peacock, baby. You gotta fly.

[Assistant] Strut your stuff!


[User]
US NAFO folks-
Call to action‼
Like that falling ruble?
We need to get Biden to Reissue EO 13662 ASAP to keep it falling!
Let’s keep key Biden-era Russia sanctions protected and continued.

[Assistant] This guy Eddie Fishman isn’t on BlueSky yet but his thread is A+. x.com/edwardfishma...


[User] So I've had an interesting few days. I had a seizure for the first time ever yesterday. I remember very little apart from waking up on the floor. Crazy!

[Assistant] Yikes, hope you're feeling okay and you and your doctors know what's going on. I once collapsed with low blood pressure and that was bad enough!

[User] We don't know why it happened. They just told me I have to come straight back to hospital if it happens again. Hopefully it won't!

[Assistant] I have my fingers crossed. Hope you're able to rest up.


[User]
#scriptsky
Advice, please!
I have a project in the outline stage; which I haven't pitched to anyone,  BUT there is a director I think would be really interested in it, and may be keen to get involved at this early stage to help develop it.
Should I get in touch, or is that a bad idea?

[Assistant]
If I feel confident, I might reach out:

Here's why I love your work - I have this idea [logline] - here's why I think it might click with you - if it does: would you like to meet and talk? - Otherwise would it be ok if I send you the script if ready?

Something like that?

[User]
That's kind of what I was thinking. You gotta shoot your shot, right?
I was thinking I might also include a short treatment.
And now my next hurdle is figuring out how to get in touch. 😒

[Assistant] Personally, I would never include unasked reading material. It just doesn’t sit right with a lot of people (me included).

[User]
If you know this director well, then maybe.

Or if your reps/their reps are super chummy and  they think it makes sense to broach.

Otherwise it's a bit fraught--while the material may well be up this person's tree, you're a total stranger essentially asking to start a relationship.

[Assistant] I'd recommend that you finish it first and even polish it a bit. Make sure it's your story, then share it. There will still be plenty of room for development.


[User]
Good morning my butterflies 🦋

Happy Wednesday 🤪🤪

[Assistant] Good morning 🫶🏽

[User] 😊😊😊 my online sister is awake! Have a great day Asia 🥰

[Assistant] I shall. You have a wonderful day as well 🫶🏽


[User]
Your love language and the love languages you give to others does not have to be the same.

Ex. Words of affirmation and quality time are my top 2 but I outwardly show love by gift giving.

[Assistant] This is definitely my husband. It used to drive me crazy until I understood it.

[User] Yeah most people don't. Now although gift giving is my outward love language it's also my job to love you in your language as well but it's also the other persons job to recognize this is your way of giving love . If that makes sense?

[Assistant] It does make sense. We had to learn these things and it’s SO good now. He would just throw gifts at me and I’m like “Um, I just need a hug” lol. I We found balance.

[User] Love this ! I'm glad you were able to learn 🥺 I think too may times we expect the person we are meant to be with to be copy's of us and that's not the case.

[Assistant] This!!! He’s super sweet and giving, but he didn’t realize I needed HIM and not things so we have a happy medium. Same for me to him. Happiness!


[User]
Answered a survey. Some questions clearly tried to probe "cancel culture" - should people BE ALLOWED TO RESEARCH whether biological sex is binary?

Misleading. We already know about intersex. Some people make the VALUE JUDGMENT that there are only two sexes because everything else is a DEVIATION.

[Assistant] (I refused to answer all the elective questions (of which the above was one) and then made a long comment at the end to explain the problem.)

[User] What a strange question! (My response would be that all (well almost all) research topics should be allowed -but it is very obvious that there's an agenda behind the question)

[Assistant] Yeah it sounds like an empirical question, but it's actually a normative question (at this point in time, when we already know full well that intersex individuals EXIST). Sure, philosophy is sometimes called "research" and we debate normative questions but still.


[User] My general thoughts align with this as well. Complaining about the Dodgers in this case is mostly just small(er) market fans lashing out. But those same fans criticize their own teams’ owners for not spending even more. Most people want the players to get as much $ as possible AND feel like their…

[Assistant] team is competitive. I don’t think the “but baseball is random so spending doesn’t help that much” argument holds water either. That’s not how people experience fandom. If people internalized that most (of their) teams had a ~2% chance of winning the WS, it would be bad for business. Fandom is…

[User] about generating excitement/hope. For fans of many small market teams, the offseason is miserable and frustrating, which bleeds into the reg season. Baseball is a regional sport with a 162 game grind. At the core of the sport is people being excited for their local team, not a superteam elsewhere.

[Assistant] That’s not to say that any possible solution is easy, that this is the Dodgers’ fault (vs small market owners) or that players should make less $. IMO, baseball risks hollowing out its market with the current structure and harming its long-term future (I love it and will watch regardless).

[User] None of this really has that much to do with the Blake Snell signing at all. That’s really just a reminder for people that certain teams are “too big to fail” while their own fandom lacks the same excitement. Which isn’t really addressed by baseball’s inherent parity at all. End 🧵

[Assistant] This is all really well argued and thought put. Better than I did trying to explain the same ideas.


[User]
Very significant in the context of Canada’s struggles to fight disinformation, destabilisation and subversion from both Russia and China.
- we have to get serious about winning the hybrid war & defending our democracies.

[Assistant]
Disinformation seems like a huge losing struggle in Canada right now.

The focus in education and politics is on both-sidesism, that you should try to see where the other point of view comes from. And historiography, nobly teaching the victors-write-history concepts, so that we should soberly

/

[User]
reevaluate our counties own actions in the past, consider the bad as well as the good.

All great, but (this is based on two children recently gone through high school) there is very little on how there are some who are actively trying to mislead, muddle, and confuse.

/

[Assistant]
Very little on how there really are some basic facts and truths. That our histories are not completely wrong, eg the world wars: some nuances to understand, some less good parts to Canadian actions, but overall achieved something good.

There really ought to be some teaching on how

/

[User]
easy it is to make a convincing sounding argument by twisting a few facts.

There is certainly much missing teaching on 20th century history and communism and totalitarianism. People seem to lean more about bad CIA actions in various places (which are not something

/

[Assistant]
(*learn)

to be proud of for the US or the allied west) than on what things were like in the Soviet Union and its Warsaw pact conquests.

And practically none on the history of soviet/russian expansion in Eastern Europe and how those states “joined” that alliance.

/

[User]
There is nothing (within rounding errors) on medical history and how vaccines etc have done so much.

There needs to be some serious consideration in education on how (and why) misinfo or influence operations are conducted. Give people the tools to spot when things sound unreasonable.

/

[Assistant]
Give them tools to fight the desire to feel “in the know” when they “learn” something that “they” don’t want you to.

Outside of education, politicians should speak up about this, speak to the adult population about it.

/end, out of steam on the frustrated rant…


[User] Please please please don’t message me here or on other sites or via email to tell me I shouldn’t follow someone you had beef with that one time. I have *no* ability to discern the truth or not in order to make the right decision on who to block - if you keep at it I’m likely to block both of you.

[Assistant] I can’t even keep track of what’s what between a dozen people close to me irl let alone sixty something thousand mostly lovely internetfolk.

[User] So you’re saying.. if sending you this, make sure it’s in the form of a diagram.. even a Venn diagram? 👍🏾

[Assistant] Look I’m intrigued now and that would at least be a change.


[User]
Pitt won't have Damian Dunn until early January, so how will the Panthers replace his offense and his defense?

pittsburgh.rivals.com/news/the-mor...

[Assistant] Listening right now, so maybe you say something along these lines, but looking at the glass half full - the 6 weeks gives him plenty of time to let the ankle fully heal. Sometimes when you push to come back quickly from a bad ankle sprain you don’t get the strength/explosiveness right away.

[User] That's kind of a hidden upside that I hadn't though of. Recovery on the thumb will force him to let the ankle rest.

[Assistant]
Excited to listen when I can.

In the meantime...

Ultimately they won't, imo, because it takes from the depth. Our biggest weakness just became more glaring.

Delalic, the obvious beneficiary,NEEDS to be better with the ball.

[User] Also assume Delalic gets more time. If it’s my team I’m looking to take the ball out of his hands and run him off a few screens. Hes a really good shooter so I’m looking get him some catch and shoot opps. But I also think he and Cummings are going to split the time pretty evenly.

[Assistant]
I think he takes Cummings' minutes and Cummings takes most of Dunn's. Jorge is the wildcard, imo.

AD is such a liability on the ball, right now, so I agree he has to catch and shoot.

Cummings is more aggressive on both ends than AD.

[User] I think Delalic keeps getting better. He made some really nice plays on Sunday, and I think that's only going to improve.

[Assistant] each game he's coming in sooner and sooner.


[User] Slow down a bit, and enjoy 26 seconds of loving purrs.

[Assistant] Wow, our cats could have been separated at birth ~ twins!! 😍 What's your kitties name? Mine's Chester 😺

[User] This is Archimedes (Archie), my mischievous boy.

[Assistant] Nice to meet you, Archie!! 😺🥰

[User] Aw! Thank you for sharing. Didn’t realize how much I needed that.

[Assistant] IKR, it saves me a fortune in therapy. 😻


[User]
I have been to market 01/10/2022

Starting with Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles comics x2 , a mask book unused, and an A-Team book

There’s more.

[Assistant]
A wooden duck.

Someone had painted it with red fence paint so I’m in the process of stripping it back to the wood to varnish and repaint.

[User] Original Xbox. No controller but complete with AV cable/SCART block, power lead and controller cable.

[Assistant]
Pre cert VHS.

It’s in poor shape and showing mould on the tape. I’ll try to improve it, I’ve done a few before.

[User] The new Fifa game.

[Assistant] And these for flipping.


[User] Living your life according to the stages of your menstrual cycle can greatly improve your physical well-being and quality of life. Do you find yourself feeling different the week before you menstruate, the week after, etc.? There are good reasons for this: hormonal fluctuations. I can say much more.

[Assistant] I recommend starting with your own interoception as best as you can (this can be harder for some, but this can also be cultivated and practiced). How do you feel as menstruation begins and in the following days? The week after? The week before? When do you think you are ovulating?

[User] There are also lots of great resources out there, but my biased opinion has to recommend one of my all time favorite content creators Hitomi Mochizuki and this video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=q55q.... Do take notes!

[Assistant] Not sure why this is labeled adult content, maybe because a woman is showing a bit of her body (sigh, eye roll).

[User] I wrote a little blurb about this in my blog write.as/stephaniespi...

[Assistant] Also, look up a graphic of the hormones on your cycle and look at it as you figure yourself out. It'll help inform you a bit more of the effects of these various hormones in your own experience. This one from Clue (An amazing period tracking app) is nice but I also made my own in my journal~


[User] Sort of how I also feel about Jay Bhattacharya for NIH. I think JB is a serious scientist who can occasionally be wrong. I didn’t sign GBD and I had major issues with the seroprevalence study. I spoke about both at the time. But JB is a fine choice I believe. marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...

[Assistant]
My take on Bhattacharya at  NIH (and related issues):

open.substack.com/pub/rajivset...

[User] well put.

[Assistant] Thanks.


[User] Japan is safe - unless you’re a woman: a 40yo man who had “relationship issues” with a 20ish employee at a girl’s bar in Sapporo spilled gas and lit the place on fire, injuring three ppl + himself. This happened exactly one month after another man stabbed a girl’s bar staff member to death in Tokyo.

[Assistant]
Women in Japan have long argued that police don’t take violence against them seriously. A murder case in Fukuoka last year, in which the victim had been stalked and asked police for help on three separate occasions, rekindled debate over the issue.

unseen-japan.com/hakataekimae...

[User] Source: news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/9e9...

[Assistant]
For those who want more background on girl's bars, we discuss them a little in our recent article on snack bars:

unseen-japan.com/snack-bar-to...

[User] After reading Black Box, it feels more like police don’t actually do anything that inconveniences them.

[Assistant] Add to this the police actively, and frequently discourage reporting crimes.


[User]
Here's a list of some the things Nazis hate -

Jews
Black people
women's rights
LGBTQIA folks
Muslims
leftists
socialists
communism
immigrants
globalism
diversity
a free press

oh wait, that's the American Republican Party.

[Assistant]
Hey Talib Kweli, what do you think needs to happen to protect everything you're writing about? I mean the people who will suffer.
What needs to be done?
The elections are over, but the bombshell is yet to come.
Thank you for your commitment.
Greetings from Germany ✊

[User] Speak out before it's an issue. As y'all say in Germany, "never again." If we wait until the murders and the concentration camps, well, by then it's too late. We have to speak out loudly and honestly and hold the press and the leadership accountable of creating safe spaces for fascism. 🙏🏾

[Assistant]
Yes, I think this is all extremely important.
I hope it is not too late for the language.
What I also consider to be very important: Organize yourselves against the fascists and stop fighting among yourselves.

[User]
I'm always happy when musicians, writers... raise their voices and don't stay silent.
But I still miss so many...
Be loud and clear!

[Assistant] Not one lie.  It's a straight white mans world, and we are just living in it. But not forever...


[User] Any postcard folk able to date this card or a link to a useful site?

[Assistant] R A P Co Ltd appears to be Rapid Art Photography Co Ltd, who had several sites, including Chelsea Bridge, London.  This site seems to be fairly detailed and may lead to clues to date this card. photohistory-sussex.co.uk/EastbneRapid...

[User] Thank you. There isn't a full address on the card, just EC4 – which doesn't help. That's a very useful site!

[Assistant]
This might also be of interest. The author has a postcard with the same back design and ends up assigning it to Regal Art Publishing (1930s - 1950s).

castellcoch.com/2023/01/23/p...


[User]
*snarling, wretched looking werewolf covered in blood, fangs dripping from fresh kill, jagged claws out*
Me: ahhhh, puppy!!

[Assistant]
Whose a good puppyyyyy whose a good puppy
It you! Yes bestest puppy! Yes you arrrre oh my goodniss!

[User] Aww, wouldn't it be paw-some if every puppy felt as loved and good?

[Assistant] Are you a bot?


[User]
burrito for breakfast (carnitas) >>> breakfast burrito

(sad airport terminal division, at least)

[Assistant] Frankly the fewer sad eggs present in any airport breakfast is better.

[User] My feeling exactly (egg-zactly?)

[Assistant] Yet another good take from a man who never seems to run out of them.


[User] Everyone go listen to ClayPigeon RIGHT NOW open.spotify.com/album/2PwOXK...

[Assistant] And then the EP after they unfortunately had less members, but this absolutely slaps and it's a travesty they didn't continue as they were amazing. open.spotify.com/album/2IUYe6...

[User] Unfortunately? Is that the right word? Idk. I guess I'm using that word because I was at the show immediately after one of the guys left mid tour with T Alan iirc and it was sad af. But I'm really glad they still made music for a while after and I got to see them again still.

[Assistant]
I only ever caught them as a 3 piece and thought they were one of the best bands I'd ever seen. Every single one of them an amazing player, I just stood there entranced.

Hope they do a reunion or something one day!

[User] They're all technically brilliant. I think the bass player plays in another band still and the drummer has just started doing something else in a tribute band too. I saw them as a 4 piece which was a privilege, and a 3 piece post EP which was great as they'd honed in the sound for the older stuff.

[Assistant] Unfortunately? Is that the right word? Idk.


[User]
Ancient Babylonians kept copious records of astronomical phenomena on clay tablets that we call Astronomical Diaries.

In 164 BCE, they saw Halley’s Comet hover softly in the night sky, and recorded it in cuneiform on clay www.ebl.lmu.de/fragmentariu...

[Assistant]
“The comet which previously had been seen in the east in the path of Anu in the area of Pleiades and Taurus, to the west […..].”

That comet was Halley’s Comet in 164 BCE, recorded on a broken cuneiform tablet  from Babylon that has nevertheless survived oracc.museum.upenn.edu//adsd/adart3...

[User]
Babylonians recorded several other comets in their cuneiform Astronomical Diaries, including one in March 233 BCE.

“…last part of the night, a comet in the east.”

I love comets so these records really move me oracc.museum.upenn.edu/adsd/adart2/...

[Assistant] How long did they continue?

[User] Is there a compilation or translation of these Astronomical Diaries available for us mono-lingual US citizens?  I'm currently quite fascinated with ancient astronomical observations and collected books.

[Assistant] Yes! There’s a multivolume series of pretty compendious books that translate them called “Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia” (even the title is long). You can also browse many of them here oracc.museum.upenn.edu/adsd/

[User] Fantastic! Thank you!

[Assistant] This is great! There are several months of observations -- does the clay stay soft enough to write on for that long, or did they copy the records onto this tablet all at once?


[User] The Average Trump Voter:

[Assistant] I hope thats fluoridated toothpaste!

[User] Why would I use that (fluoride is turning the frogs gay) 😆.

[Assistant] I know right brother! These fools don't even know what they are missing out on.  16th booster shot coming up for me! Vaxxed and proud!


[User] As part of #DisabilityHistoryMonth, we thought we’d revisit our blog called Deafness in the Divorce Court, an example of how #deaf litigants navigated their way through the Victorian Divorce Court. #DeafAwarenes #Legalhistory #genealogy On 25 July 1876, a solicitor by the name of Redgrave... (1/9)

[Assistant] ...attended the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes to enter an application for an Order of Protection under Section 21 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 on behalf of Mrs Mary Ann Gray, a dressmaker from Sheffield. This radical section of the Act could revert a wife’s legal status... (2/9)

[User] ...to that of a feme sole in all respects (except the ability to remarry) providing they could prove that (i) they had been deserted by their husband without good cause and (ii) that they were financially supporting themselves. (3/9)

[Assistant] Mary Ann’s initial application stated that she had been a widow with a 13-year-old daughter, Mary, when she married a Mr William Gray in Sheffield on 25 October 1869. Sadly, the relationship had quickly soured, and in August 1870 both Mary Ann and Mary had been forced to leave... (4/9)

[User] ...‘for protection from his [William’s] ill treatment, threats and violence’, which was swiftly followed by William deserting her. The relationship had fallen apart just ten months after their wedding day but fortunately Mary Ann managed to reestablish herself in trade and eventually... (5/9)

[Assistant] ... acquired some household furniture and effects, along with an inheritance of £105 (the equivalent of £12,480 today). Compared to divorce cases, there were relatively few applications for Orders of Protection heard at the Divorce Court because the vast majority were dealt with by... (6/9)

[User] ...police courts, magistrates courts, or petty sessions. We don’t know why Mary Ann made her application in London rather than Sheffield, but the details in her initial application were fairly typical, with the notable exception that both Mary Ann and her husband William were recorded in... (7/9)

[Assistant] ...the legal documents to be deaf. As was often the case, Judge Ordinary Sir James Hannen requested further information from Mary Ann, and in her subsequent affidavit she gave much more information about her relationship with William, and the way she navigated nineteenth century society... (8/9)


[User]
Gas is not safer to cook with (VOCs, NOx, CH4) but many people think 'cooking with gas' is better than electricity due to, I think exclusively, this video from the late 1980s.

The video is peak '80s and is amazing.

youtu.be/FJRQo5aawho?...

[Assistant] Me when the students ask if I cook or was cooked.

[User]
We just got an induction oven to replace our 15+ year old stove. The switch has been amazing.

I have never been a fan of gas stoves.

But we recently had a kid, and switched to electric. Gas fume exposure (VOC, NOx, CH4) is particularly bad for young kids.

[Assistant] I think one of the reasons is because it’s easier to control the temperature. I haven’t had a gas range since I was a kid first learning how to cook. It didn’t take too long to adapt to coils or glass cooktops.


[User]
Figured I should make a thread of my (non-academic) non-fiction pieces (as well as a few interviews) so they're all in one place.

1. "What Is a Monster?" for Tiny Elf Arcanist: tinyelfarcanist.com/2023/06/12/s...

* Contains much of what you'd get in my introductory undergrad lecture on monsters!

[Assistant]
2. "Reflections on Queerness in SFFH & The Wings of Ashtaroth" for Jam Reads: jamreads.com/articles/ref...

* About how queerness operates as a category, the politics of queer bodies, and also my personal experiences.

[User]
3. "The Queer Heart of Body Horror" for Tiny Elf Arcanist: tinyelfarcanist.com/2024/06/24/t...

In which I wax lyrical about Cronenberg's The Fly and talk about the abject and also Cats! (2019).

[Assistant]
4. Co-Interview with author and artists Daniel Maidman for Critical Flame: criticalflame.org/conversation...

This is one of my favourite interviews and conversations I've ever had. Daniel and I talk about longing, the uncanny, the numinous, heimat, and the abject in relation to our work!

[User]
5. "Some Thoughts" interview by Jam Reads: jamreads.com/interviews/s...

I share, in some detail, my reflections on the process of publishing, my experiences in Pitchwars, Queeryfest, SPFBO9, and other random writing things!

[Assistant]
6. Shorter interview about publishing, writing, and The Wings of Ashtaroth, by Rune S. Nielsen: runesnielsen.com/author/autho...

Really enjoyed doing this one! It was one of my first interviews.


[User] Lush this. Looking forward to being able to go up to Ashington on the train in the summer to watch the cricket with a few beers without having to go into town first.

[Assistant] I am happy for you.

[User] New train line. Somewhere outside of That London. Imagine!

[Assistant] Now I'm no longer in That London, I join you in your feelings.


[User] My mod is not completely compatible with the anniversary update (updated maps + old code = problems). I was experimenting with how to fix it, and this happened:

[Assistant] Looks like I managed to break most of the shaders. Looks kinda cool anyway.

[User] I was just going to take some screenshots, but I ended up playing this way for quite a while. There are parts where it's all just a white void, and I had to rely on the fact that every level of this game is burned into my memory.

[Assistant] I wish there was a mode to play like this on purpose.


[User]
The end of the year is full of PhD defences :)
Congratulations!
Some more to come soon:)

[Assistant] Valeriya Privalova defended her thesis "Effects of temperature, oxygen and cell size on the performance of Drosophila melanogaster flies from different genetic lines".

[User] Adrian Piróg defended his thesis "Adrian Piróg defended his thesis "Complex genome rearrangements in the model eukaryotic organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae".

[Assistant] Natalia Szabla defended her thesis "Cell size as an adaptation - testing predictions of the theory of optimal cell size".


[User]
Your spacecraft is using its engines to stay a fixed distance from a black hole, when your friend, who was unwisely taking a spacewalk, snaps their tether and falls towards the hole.

[This is a thought experiment where the hole is large enough that its tidal […]

[Original post on mathstodon.xyz]

[Assistant]
What if we ask, instead, what redshift the astronaut who fell in first would measure for the light coming down to them, either from the spacecraft, or a beacon you're carrying when you jump down after them? The second diagram plots those redshifts. Here, the […]

[Original post on mathstodon.xyz]

[User] @gregeganSF Not your point, but t a certain point you will stop seeing them, as all the light they reflect/emit will be redshifted out of the visible range 🙂

[Assistant] @j_bertolotti Which is why you need to jump down after them, to delay that for as long as possible.


[User] My beloveds... Damn you region blocked pee bandumb, why don't you want my money? 😭

[Assistant] Mask brand Mask t-shirts and totes.

[User] I'm disappointed that not only can I not import any of these, but the t-shirt has all the little masks on the back, meaning even if I owned it, Cruncle, Schwarz, Jamil and Harry won't be on my chest, over my heart. 💔

[Assistant] They're on the back to protect you from backstabbing.


[User]
CLI program users, I have a question!

My program has a few boolean options, some are true by default and some are false by default.

For each option, I support --opt-name (true) and --no-opt-name (false). How should I document that in the --help output?

[Assistant]
Previous version supported `--opt-name` (true), `--opt-name true` and `--opt-name false`, and that was documented as:

```
  --cors    Send CORS HTTP headers in responses (default: 'false')
  --gzip    Use gzip compression for text files (default: 'true')
```

[User] But I’m switching to a CLI arg parser that does not let me treat a boolean arg has having an optional value. It's either require a text value (string arg) and parse it yourself, or make it boolean, but you can't combine both. Hence the --no-* options.

[Assistant]
So if some options are on by default and the only way to disable them is to use the --no-* version of the option, I suspect I need to change the --help output to:

```
  --cors        Send CORS HTTP headers in responses
  --no-gzip     Disable gzip compression for text files
```

[User]
There are some options which take text values (possibly more than one), and have a default value. They also have a --no-* variant that can be used to disable the default (make it an empty list).

```
  --ext    Extensions which can be omitted in URLs (default: '.html')
```

[Assistant]
These would need to be documented as two values:

```
  --ext    Look for files with these extensions (default: '.html')
  --no-ext    Disable looking for file extensions not specified in URL
```


[User] Everything the international community does to stop this guy only ends up emboldening him. He's a brilliant & ruthless tactician, so I can see how it'd have taken them by surprise the first couple dozen times, but come *on*. It's been nearly thirty years! Learn to deal with him already!

[Assistant] Seriously.

[User] Right?!

[Assistant] You'd think if it was so obvious to the likes of us, there should be someone in a position to know a lot more who sees it.


[User]
"politics or politicians should not try to influence editorial decisions..." Mary Lou McDonald

but is asking for a peer review of RTÉ coverage of Gaza 'marking the homework' of prior collective editorial decisions?

And if Sinn Fein (alone) are calling for this, isn't that political?

[Assistant] as the review topic is foreign affairs issue, its similarity to the cited report into BBC and Migration coverage (Dr Madeline Sumption's review) is not present as that was a home story directly affecting audience.

[User] While CnaM develop policy on impartiality it is their complaints process that would normally fit with such questions of balance of coverage.

[Assistant] That being said, you cannot lodge a broadcasting complaint about content that is not broadcast, so if various views are ignored or left out you cannot complain about it.


[User]
It's #buyastrangerabook day!

People buy books for each other.

Yes, really!

Here’s an as yet unclaimed offer from @lilacvoid.bsky.social , who's offering to buy someone the book of their choice, up to £20!

Check it out and get in touch if there's something you'd like!

(UK only)

[Assistant] Ooh. Would I be able to get a copy of What I Ate in One Year by the wonderful Stanley Tucci by any chance?! ☺

[User]
It's £20.

Is this OK @lilacvoid.bsky.social ?

[Assistant] Yes of course just send me your PayPal :)

[User] I'll DM you (there are a few scambots on here!). THANKS!

[Assistant]
 Hurray!

@catherinelawler.bsky.social can you DM me the name and address to post it to and the book title.

I'll send you a copy courtesy of Lainey.


[User]
Good morning lovely people!
"First thing that I do when I’m feeling blue, make a brew."
🍂☕🍂☕🍂

[Assistant] Good morning!

[Assistant] Thanks! Have a wonderful day ahead!


[User]
good morning Dommes & paying subs only😚
say it back for a great day🫶🏽✨
subs say it back with coffee attached☕

[Assistant] Good Morning Goddess 💓

[User] have a lovely day, beautiful🖤🫶🏽

[Assistant] Thank you 🥰 You too Angel! ✨


[User] Lmaoooo is this Janine’s ex ???

[Assistant] who did it best?

[User] He really is the best!!!

[Assistant] Yessss Zaddy Fox 🙂↕


[User] MAGA neo nazi trolls have infiltrated the website pretending to be left leaning, and trolling people. Report them for trolling (anti-social behavior.) The moderators aren't stupid.

[Assistant] This is why I vet every follow.

[User] To me it matters less because they always reveal themselves. If they want to come here and slam Trump for days on end just to gain confidence that's fine. Still bad press for Trump and they end up blocked. Just stupid people..

[Assistant] There’s suddenly a lot of porn and people from Africa asking for money. Are either allowed on this site? I’ve been blocking them but should I be reporting them like I do for maga harassment?


[User]
Are there Any artist lawyers that I can ask some advice from?
Regarding my stolen kitsune mask design 🥲💙

[Assistant] Maybe that comes under a broader copyright specialist lawyer?

[User] Are you in the US? Not saying I have a lead just wondering this piece of info.

[Assistant] No I’m in the UK ☺

[User] Are you here in the UK? DACS have a lot of useful information on their site 🤞🏻

[Assistant] I am yes! Ooo I’ll have a look thank you so much!

[User] I googled art copyright and quite a few sites came back. You might need to sift through for ages but it should help. I think as long as you can prove you’re the original designer, you’ll have no problems, even if it, unfortunately, takes a while to do 🤞🏻

[Assistant] A legal action will be very expensive... Often, the best that small businesses can do, is to get the stolen product delisted from the selling platform and the seller barred from that platform. But maybe you can find a kind hearted lawyer...


[User] 🌟 If you're an artist in need of WebGlaze, I can help! I get 10 invites per week, so let me know. (You can leave request under this post; I'll be covering everyone as I get new invites.)

[Assistant] 🍁 P.S. If you requested access from Glaze team earlier and got invite from me, please, notify them, so they could remove you from the waiting list. Thanks!

[User]
Hello Eva! 🙂👋

Would it be possible to get one of those invite codes?

[Assistant] If you’ve got invites going spare I would absolutely love one. My desktop can’t run the non web version!


[User] I hadn't considered the perspective, I instead was so used to the very complicated feelings from cis women who would say "if I was at all interested in women I'd love to date you" in word yet in deed they treat me as a Safe man they can express interest in without any intention of follow through.

[Assistant] My appearance is GNC if you're not yourself especially queer so I get it, especially if I'm their first trans friend, I will cause confusing feelings. That's fine. Where I mind it is they don't at all acknowledge they're fucking with my emotions and denying my identity by doing this.

[User] Regardless, when I've seen them express any sort of validation, let alone interest, in me as a trans lesbian, verbally or otherwise, oh the *death glares* I get from cis men, labeling me as a threat of a most dire nature: I, an "effeminate" and thus inferior man, am taking their women.

[Assistant] And I am left wondering again how much violence I've avoided just from being so imposing in person.

[User] I do have one cis friend who is ride or die, the first and only to be genuinely and fully accepting of me not just as a NB woman but as a wolf, too, who warned me a guy friend had been watching tranny porn and was probably getting fucky ideas about me and absolutely did see me as "competition," and—

[Assistant] the immediate, night and day change in reaction he had to me when he learned I physically cannot get erections (enough to penetrate anyway) anymore was...holy shit dude it still blows me away how much fear and insecurity he had over what's between my legs. He became pretty decent to me after that.


[User] #OnePunchMan & #From boff leaving me with cliffhangers & an excruciatingly long wait for a resolution.

[Assistant] This is why I usually don’t watch shows till they are like 4 seasons in. That why I’m really never waiting.

[User] OP is apparently in production, but haven't heard anything new. From is 2026.

[Assistant] Fuck!  Harold needs to get his ass on set.


[User]
I've thought about the question, "how do we beat the NRA?" for years. And, I think the answer already exists using the model of the scuba industry.

In scuba, you get trained and receive a certification card. That card allows you to rent equipment and book charters. It's a self regulated industry.

[Assistant]
When a diver obtains the rank of Divermaster, which precedes the instructor levels, they're a "professional diver" and can obtain liability insurance through the certification industry.

If an organization formed using a similar model for gun ownership, I believe it could crush the NRA.

[User] Here's the thing, there are plenty of states that have "Stand Your Ground" laws. But this doesn't guarantee someone won't be arrested and given due process. That's up to a DA to decide. If it happens, a lawyer could easily cost $50K. Just because the law exists doesn't mean it won't bankrupt you.

[Assistant] Imagine a gun association that creates multiple levels of training and certification for various types of firearms. Once certified, you can use your card to shoot at associate affiliated shooting ranges, and even take more training at same facility. But there's a big reason you WANT to join.

[User] That big reason is: liability insurance. Now, I'm not suggesting someone can shoot someone else and just receive a check in the mail. That would be insanely stupid. But they can refuse to give any statements to police, call a toll free number, and have a lawyer show up when a statement is given.

[Assistant] Then the legal dept of the association does an investigation to make sure everything checks out and person acted within the scope of their training and if so, the association will provide a strong legal defense of the person is charged with a gun related crime. That should make anyone want to join!

[User] And this new hypothetical association doesn't do any lobbying in DC. It operates as a non-profit, and focuses primarily on training and certification, and operated a chain of shooting ranges (eventually, other shooting ranges would join, and they'd have to disconnect from the NRA to do so).

[Assistant]
So what were left with is an associate that trains and certifies Americans to be responsible gun owners, and covers their defense fees if it's ever needed while providing safe locations to practice under the supervision of certified instructors.

Bang: NRA is dead.

[User] *and that's "Divemaster". Edit button needed.

[Assistant] Except for legal fees isn't most of this how the NRA started out? They were all about the training when they started.


[User] Seriously, basically no one named their kids Darren/Darrin/etc. until Bewitched.

[Assistant] The actor Darren McGavin was born William Lyle Richardson and changed his name at some point in the ’50s. He’s Darren Zero. The singer Bobby Darin was born Walden Robert Cassotto and took his stage name from his favorite actor, Darren McGavin, also in the ’50s.

[User] Dick York’s character in Bewitched was named Darrin in 1964, presumably after the other two, though of course his theoretical parents wouldn’t have had the referents. And then it was a cool name officially deeded to the people.

[Assistant] Why did Darren McGavin choose the name? I haven’t been able to find out, but let me know if you do.


[User] Fascinating that Rebecca Minkoff keeps referring to Scientology as a "philosophy" and NOT her religion on RHONY. I thought those tax cuts hinged on its status as a religion??? We need @leahremini.bsky.social on the case!

[Assistant] It's a fucking religion, which is why it has rigid beliefs and no room for consideration, as well as the tax issue. Indoctrination, hierarchy and strict rules shows its nothing but a religion. Soz, just adding to the rant!

[User] It's only a religion LEGALLY speaking. Practically it's a cult. No religion should require financial donations to stay a part of it. Scientologists don't worship anything/anyone. It is not a religion, they merely want the world to think it is to reap the benefits of that recognition.

[Assistant] That makes more sense. Some Christian churches do require tithe from members but not to the extent of scientology. What's scary is that other cults could potentially achieve religion status legally and use that to recruit and influence.


[User] So with Benfica facing Monaco in the Champions League tonight, I thought I'd take a look at players who have turned out for both clubs. Turns out there have been quite a few with varying degress of success...

[Assistant]
Freddy Adu:
Under 30 games across the two clubs.

I had high hopes for him when he signed for Benfica but it didn't work out. I met him in a nightclub in Lisbon and he was very nice.

[User]
Ivan Cavalheiro:

Probably more well-known for playing for Wolves and Fulham, I feel like he should have done a lot more for the talent he had.

[Assistant]
Fabio Coentrao:

Probably more well-known for his time at Real Madrid. Seemed to be always linked with a move to England. Liked a cigarette.

[User]
Florentino Luis:

One from the Benfica academy. I always thought he would get sold at some point but has stayed and has been really good this season. Probably deserves a Portugal call-up this year.

[Assistant]
Javier Saviola:

Linked up with Pablo Aimar at Benfica... and it was beautiful.

[User]
Bernardo Silva:

1 game for Benfica before being sold. An absolute joke of a transfer by Jorge Jesus who just didn't put any trust in young, academy players.

[Assistant]
Carlos Vinicius:

Seems to be eternally on loan somewhere. Finished top scorer in the Portuguese league and then got promptly loaned out to Spurs.

[User]
Manuel do Santos:

Was part of the Benfica squad that won it's first title in 11 years back in 2003/04. Didn't set the world alight.

[Assistant]
Gil DIas:

I'll be honest, I dodn't recall anything about Dias.

[User]
Meite:

Came to Benfica. Left with no goals or assists and without palying particularly well. I might be wrong.

[Assistant] In "American Prodigy: Freddy Adu" by Grant Wahl (great podcast btw), Adu admits the biggest mistake he made in his career was leaving Benfica.


[User] Good morning,cheers. Iced coffee! Haha, I'll make that joke all winter. Sorry. :)

[Assistant] No bluebird skies this morning above the forest if fae. Snow and ice are falling and it is eerily quiet this morning.

[User] Good morning! Nice dusting you've got there. I hope you enjoy the day. 👍

[Assistant] Have a great one! I'm hoping for a good cozy snow day tomorrow and into Friday.

[User] Every time your creek side photos come into my feed I get jealous. Thank you for sharing!

[Assistant] I love to share it and wish I got home earlier for more pics. Pretty much dark by 4 here. Blah.


[User] Here’s a great analogy.  I’ll never fully get ppl thought process. 😑

[Assistant] Happy Thanksgiving Eve, friend!

[User] Auntieeeee!!!! Same to you.

[Assistant] They want us to suffer! There are some sick, wicked ppl in this country.


[User]
Integration of palliative rehabilitation in cancer care: a multinational mixed method study
https://palliativeprojects.eu/inspire/
The study examined official documents, conducted stakeholder interviews, and surveyed healthcare professionals. 📄

[Assistant] 1⃣ Only 12 out of 23 official documents described rehabilitation in the context of palliative care. 📋

[User] 2⃣ Stakeholders agreed on the core components of palliative rehabilitation, viewing it as a holistic, goal-oriented approach to enhance the quality of life for patients with incurable cancer.

[Assistant] 3⃣ However, there was confusion about the distinction between palliative rehabilitation and palliative care.

[User] 4⃣ Stakeholders agreed that palliative rehabilitation requires a multi-professional, interdisciplinary approach. 🤝👩⚕👨⚕

[Assistant] 5⃣ Access to palliative rehabilitation is inconsistent and varies significantly based on geographic location. 🌍📍

[User] 6⃣ Insufficient funding, poorly defined care workflows, and a lack of expertise among healthcare professionals were identified as key barriers to integration. 💰🛤🧑🎓

[Assistant] 📢 The study highlights the urgent need for a clearer definition of palliative rehabilitation, increased funding, better care workflows, and enhanced professional training to improve care for individuals with incurable cancer. 💬📈🎓


[Assistant] That is insane!

[User] I would like to know which hospital in Peoria this was... This is a travesty!

[Assistant] Just wait until they lose healthcare thanks to the orange felon.

[User] oh. Just wait....

[Assistant] They are trying to turn us into indentured servants.


[User] Enjoyed the LearnedLeague Pen and Paper Math One-Day, even if I did not do great (47th percentile)!

[Assistant]
Some questions from it I liked. No calculators allowed, just pen/pencil and paper:

1. Dr. Shapiro distributed stickers [to his students] with pictures of angry fruit. Each student received a sticker in one of four designs: angry lemon, angry peach, angry pear, or angry cherries.

[User] 1 (cont). If 13 students *didn't* get an angry lemon sticker, 18 students *didn't* get an angry peach, 20 students *didn't* get an angry pear, and 21 students *didn't* get angry cherries, how many students were in Dr. Shapiro's class?

[Assistant] 3. What integer is the 5th root of 2,073,071,593? As a hint, the first few 5th powers are provided in the image.

[User] 4. Devi & her uncle play a game starting w/ a pile of 100 stones. They take turns alternately. Each player can take up to half the remaining stones on their turn (& must take at least 1 stone). When there is 1 stone left, no move is possible & the player who is due to move loses.

[Assistant] 4 (cont). Devi goes first. How many stones should she take on her first move to ensure that she can win?

[User] 8. What is the largest number of bishops that can be placed on a standard 8×8 chessboard so that no bishop can capture another bishop in one move? (Bishop color is irrelevant. Any can capture any.)

[Assistant] 11. Three birds land on a 3-meter-long wire, each at a random point chosen uniformly and independently along the wire. If two birds land within one meter of each other, there will be a squabble. What is the probability that no squabbles occur?

[User] 12. An arithmetic progression is a sequence formed by starting with any number and repeatedly adding the same amount. For example, (9, 15, 21, 27) is an arithmetic progression with four terms.

[Assistant] 12 (cont). What is the maximum possible number of terms in an arithmetic progression consisting of distinct positive integers, all of which do not contain the digit 3?


[User] Good book but the audiobook reader... 😞

[Assistant] Oh no. That's so frustrating!

[User]
It is! And we're going to listen to her 5 hours today. Weeee. Maybe after a while I'll be able to tune out whatever is grating. 😹

By the way authors reading this, I have not had a time when the author reads that I've had this reaction...

[Assistant] Oh no, maybe you can adjust. I tried one one time where the narrator kept making this smacking noise. No, just no.


[User]
Normally I love this time of year, as we start to get a nip of frost in the air.

Not this year, though. It's consistently gotten up around 90 every day recently.  Looks like we're dropping down to highs in the mid-60s now, so I have that to look forward to!

[Assistant] Still?  God, where are you?

[User] South Texas.  Usually we have our first frost around Halloween, but not this year. :(

[Assistant] Northern IN.  Usually we’ve had one or two decent snows by now.  We had one day with a bare dusting and that’s it.  Might get some in the next couple of days though.


[User]
One form of media malpractice that I find curious for its persistence: reluctance to use the legal names of celebrities in coverage of their trials.

Robert Sylvester Kelly was convicted, not R. Kelly.

Sean Combs is on trial, not Diddy.

Brian Warner filed a lawsuit, not Marilyn Manson.

[Assistant]
This malpractice has one big consequence for the public: extreme cognitive dissonance when a public persona doesn't match documented behavior.

An extreme case was Robert Sylvester Kelly and his R. Kelly persona.

[User]
Robert Sylvester Kelly was a pedophile who deliberately looked for girls. But "R. Kelly" could have this part of his persona reworked.

This was imposed on Kelly at one point. "Ignition," for instance, was originally a song about finding girls in Drivers Ed. His lawyer told him to tone it down.

[Assistant] Another bit of persona crafting was Kelly's turn toward the "grown and sexy" scene. Pandering to a scene of middle-aged churchgoing women, he built up an audience that insulated him from accusations --some of whom showed up to trial just to get a glimpse of him.

[User]
So even when the public turned on him, "R. Kelly" was believed by many to just be an indiscrete Casanova who attracted underage groupies.

In truth, Robert Sylvester Kelly did a number of things that were simply beyond the pale, that people simply didn't register for some reason.

[Assistant]
That included his physical assaults on several girls. We know he committed these assaults because he filmed them, forcing the victims to say they deserved it.

Kelly abused at least one boy, who was heard at trial and has kept quiet since.

[User]
By far one of the more disturbing acts Kelly participated in is one that was too vile for most news audiences: Kelly punished one of his slaves by having her smear excrement on herself and eat it.

The victim broke down testifying about this. We know this happened, though: Kelly filmed it.

[Assistant]
Robert Sylvester Kelly is now accused by his own daughter of sexual abuse.

"R. Kelly" fans will probably ignore that, or it won't register.

Those who followed the trial will know, however, that Robert Sylvester Kelly's victims were forced to call him "Daddy," including while they were beaten.


[User]
Morning y'all!! It's my Friday so going into work with a little pep in my step.  Also the girls made me a breakfast birthday bash lol since it's on Saturday 💜 have a great day
Talk soon 😘

[Assistant] Good morning ✌🏼❤

[User] Morning 💙☺

[Assistant] Good morning Samantha! Enjoy your day and if I miss posting to you on Saturday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🎁🎂🎈

[User] Good morning 🌄 🌞 ☕ precious!!!😁 Good to see you!

[Assistant] Have a great Day Sunshine, and enjoy your time off.


[User]
Well*.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

[Assistant]
That seems to be another risky pick given the ongoing zoonotic infection of American dairy workers with H5N1...

Raw milk, anyone?

[User] Stanford allowed this to happen for this to be ok.

[Assistant] Well buckle up USA in the event of another pandemic or health emergency.


[User] How many dairy herds in California aren't infected with #H5N1 #birdflu at this point? Another 25 herds confirmed today, bringing the state's total to 461. I would love to know more about how this virus is moving from herd to herd. www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-po...

[Assistant] I'd love to know that too! Thanks for your reporting!

[User] Birds?

[Assistant]
I've been using this data source which puts it at 1117 dairy farms total in California as of 2022. Approaching the 50% mark!
(www.nass.usda.gov/Publications...)

[User] Well, most of these herds are likely in the Central Valley where the air is pungent with cow smells. It's quite gross. The air gets heavy with the smells from factory cow farms, some of which are quite close to each other. Airborne? Workers going from one place to the next?

[Assistant]
The American Veterinary Medical Association seems to believe the main route is "animal movement," presumably between herds.

www.avma.org/resources-to....

Seems weak, to me. But if true, points out even more troubling issues with our bovine H5N1 response.


[User]
Headphones (www.rtings.com/headphones/r...) and mouse (www.rtings.com/mouse/review...) on the way.

I also had a $38.90 Google Store credit from buying my 7a last year that I used on a BF deal for Google's A-Series Pixel Buds. $99 MSRP - $50 BF discount - $38.90. My dad has been talking about...

[Assistant]
... buying some running headphones for awhile now, so this is a nice little add-on to his birthday present in December.

I think we're going to Best Buy soon to look at some TV headphones from Insignia that Wirecutter recommends, so my dad can hear and enjoy the living room TV.

We're about to...

[User] ... have three new pairs of headphones in the house. Hah.

[Assistant] Ah, the age-old dad dilemma: "back in my day, we had a single wire and a lot of patience!" 😂 But hey, those A-Series Pixel Buds sound like a sweet deal! My wallet just did a happy dance. Speaking of deals, if you're ever looking to unload some of that old tech, list it on byit...


[User]
🚨BREAKING: Major report reveals why the UK struggles with productivity & growth.

Spoiler: It’s all about planning & infrastructure.

A thread 🧵:

[Assistant] 1/ The UK’s productivity woes stem from *surprise, surprise* outdated planning regulations and a chronic underinvestment in infrastructure.

[User]
2/ Land use rules are stifling the development of modern retail spaces, new housing, and high-tech clusters.

Silicon Valley? Not happening in Cambridge anytime soon. 🏢🚫

[Assistant]
3/ Hotels? Stuck in a time warp. 🕰

  • Many are over 100 years old.
  • Building new ones costs 40% more than in the US.
  • Break-even occupancy is 80% here, just 50% there.

Why? Regulations. 🏨

[User]
4/ Infrastructure is lagging too.

Transport links, digital networks, and energy grids aren’t fit for a modern economy.

Low capital investment = a nation stuck in first gear. 🚂🛠

[Assistant]
5/ Retail isn’t spared either.

Planning rules prevent stores like hypermarkets from taking off.

🇫🇷 French supermarkets outperform the UK’s, and it’s not even close. 📉

[User]
6/ Meanwhile, planning delays and fragmented regulatory frameworks add costs and scare off investors.

 Want to build high-speed rail or a tech hub?

Good luck. ⚖🕒

[Assistant]
7/ The report argues that unlocking the UK’s productivity requires:

  • Streamlining planning approvals 🛠
  • Investing in transport, energy & digital infrastructure 💡
  • Removing barriers for competitive businesses 🛒

[User]
8/ Oh, and here’s the kicker: we already know this.

These aren’t revelations—they’re a broken record.

The UK just… hasn’t done it. 📼

[Assistant]
9/ This groundbreaking report?

It’s from 1998.

A quarter of a century later, we’re still debating the same issues. 🤦♂

[User]
10/ Moral of the story: the UK’s greatest infrastructure project might just be a time machine. 🚀🕰

#Planning #Infrastructure #Productivity
/End

www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mcki...

[Assistant]
"But it's such a charming country."

That's partly why, I guess.


[User] I've had many arguments with people about japanese vs US/western/other culture and most of them come down to people resisting the idea that cultures are malleable and a few obsessed people can totally transform it with will and the right circumstances. We participate in and change culture.

[Assistant] There is no reason why America can’t do some of these things other than America got obsessed with cars and being out in the suburbs. We could change that. Cultures change all the time.

[User] I remember when people started lamenting.g the lack of a street food culture in the US. Efforts to make street food possible still faced a bunch of insurmountable regulatory and economic constraints in most cities that sometimes made street food at least as expensive as an old neighborhood joint.

[Assistant] I remember when people started lamenting.g the lack of a street food culture in the US. Efforts to make street food possible still faced a bunch of insurmountable regulatory and economic constraints in most cities that sometimes made street food at least as expensive as an old neighborhood joint.


[User] My friends and I bought Vermintide that day- We haven't played it yet but I'm already obsessed.. 😂✨

[Assistant] Oh! Even before I read this, I was thinking, "Hey, they look like the Ubersreik Five. There's the witch hunter, the soldier, the dwarf, the elf and the wiz." Didn't actually connect the dots, haha.

[User] I honestly was wondering aloud to Jas about if anyone would get the reference akldsjfklajsdfklajsf You still get a cookie! 🍪💖

[Assistant] It's Salty's hat. Hard to miss. If you ever need Vermintide tips or even a player, feel free to hit me up. 2k hours on that game, haha.

[User] Awh I really appreciate that and I will definitely keep that in mind!! I'm just waiting for my friends to play!! ;; V ;; 💖💖 I had one glance at the characters after downloading it that day and I'm so excited already-

[Assistant] You will love the conversations, I assure you. The character interactions breathe a lot of life into the game.


[User]
Second day, the Elizabeth line is not working. Just talked to the personnel, and they said the software crashed when it was trying to update and that it's probably going to happen tomorrow again.
But don't worry, AI will save us!!!🫠

[Assistant] @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social this may (or may not) be the information you sought earlier...

[User] 🫠 thank you. I have a Heathrow Express ticket!

[Assistant] Machine learning won't save anyone apart from the people who own the companies that outsource human jobs to it. They definitely said it would fail again tomorrow?


[User] What type of wine pairs best with student loan debt that you’ll never get out from underneath? Is it rosé? I hope it’s rosé.

[Assistant] Perhaps a fine Merlot made with the grapes of despair?

[User] The best wine to pair with a hearty student loan debt is bourbon.

[Assistant] I was going to say Malört.


[User] Well, next year will be great 😃

[Assistant]
🤞
You’re gonna be famous for that Mac n Cheese + dinos thing aren’t you!? 😅

[User] Hahaha, yes, probably 🤣 I will be known as that mac and cheese and dino nuggies lady 😂😂😂😂

[Assistant]
😄
Gordon Ramsay ain’t got nothing on you. 👩🏼🍳


[User] Good morning. I hope everyone has a great day. Especially women whose thighs rub holes in their jeans. Yall are *chefs kiss*

[Assistant] Good morning!!

[User] Lol good morning!

[Assistant] Don’t wish them a good morning, send the melodic sound of the cash app to replace them!


[User]
I just saw that the results of a feasibility study for the Future Circular Collider by CERN in Geneva should come out in March 2025.

Imagine the NIMBYism this project will trigger. This is a place where people are upset when they build a few meters of cycling lanes close to where they live.

[Assistant] But isn't it mostly underground? So you won't see it.

[User] There will be a couple of big construction sites around the ring presumably and they will be noticable. But yes you are right. However, that will not stop people (I mean have we _really_ tested that there won't be a black hole forming under my house or if accelerated particles give you foot cancer?)

[Assistant]
Oh the "black hole"-scare. Yeah, I had interviews with journalists pre-LHC launch about that.

I can still drag that up if it's needed.


[User] This is what happens because - like the web - this is an open system. That has upsides and downsides. I have no real control if AI is being trained using my blog, or using my Bluesky posts.

[Assistant] Seeing all so many other platforms are selling the data anyway, I guess if prefer that the platform owners went directly profiting off this use of my data rather than selling it to whoever they could cut the best deal with.

[User]
In the EU, we do have the AI act, don't we?
So using my posts for AI training should be only allowed with my informed consent.

PS: Nice to see you here, @jonworth.eu!

[Assistant] Yes. But we’re posting onto a platform that’s only US based currently.

[User]
I'm aware of that.
Well, there's still Mastodon.
That's not centralisee.
I wonder how we got here from the old Usenet days.

[Assistant] Good point, I think we can't have it both ways. If we want, a truly open platform, then it is public by *definition* and anyone - including AI scrappers- can use our content.


[User] It sounds like the Greens had basically caved on every demand they made re the EPA (like they did on housing). So Albanese’s intervention more about denying them a “win” in name only and also cutting the legs out from Plibersek. Governing entirely to spite his internal and external enemies.

[User] It makes me so angry.    I want greens to be party that actually stand for something - anything - not say they stand for then cave at the 11th hour - it’s a game of prisoners dilemma that they keep losing.

[Assistant]
 Just to please the Premier of WA, still four months out from an election.

I wonder now if we can drop the Australia bit and repurpose the name Western Mining Corporation for it? Maybe slightly less reactionary than the old one. Just.

[User] It’s sickening that Albanese lets his deep-seated hatred of the greens continually drive his actions to the detriment of the country - that’s all this is; politics first..


[User]
One surprising thing about Sandhill Cranes is that they're big.

Really big. Person sized.

(Reposting with Alt text)

[Assistant] I cannot recommend enough taking a trip out to the Platte River in March and watching the Sandhill Crane migration. The individuals and groups that we get here are incredible. But when you see 750,000 of them in the same place, it’s truly awe inspiring.

[User] Will keep it in mind, thanks!

[Assistant] It's really fun being woken up by them in the wee hours of dawn when you're camping on a sandbar in the Wisconsin River.


[User] If an election were called in 6 weeks do the Tories seriously think they would win?  In which case why would you make a dick of yourself at PMQ’s?

[Assistant]
They'd get more seats for sure - and Labour woudl be decimated

But it is a silly idea - the petition is suspect, and no party ever goes early when it has a big majority & is currently unpopular (except Sunak, of course!)

[User] Because she’s operating in some debating society not in reality.

[Assistant] I don't think she can help it, kind of comes natural.


[User] picrew dump thread 🧵

[Assistant] literally me (if only my hair were purple 💜)


[User] It’s straight carbonated water  😂😂

[Assistant] Ah lol. Some people like Sparkling Water not my thing tho. Gimmie some Sweet Tea or 100% Juice lol.

[User] Dawg I got it thinking it was gonna be like a diet soda that shit was so trash I got pissed 😂

[Assistant] Yeah man it’s supposed to be healthier. I be seein it in like the Vegan section. They gotchu lol.


[User] We have floor!! Now, I have a huge dilemma. Do the right thing and finish the baseboards next, or start moving in and finish them in “the spring”?

[Assistant] Playing with fire. 95% of home projects remain 95% completed in perpetuity.

[User]
Ah! "In the spring!" That's what we told ourselves as well, as qe were anxious to get the rooms set up before the baby was born and we figured we'd do it in a few months "when we had more time".

He was two months shy of ten years old when we finally finished those durn baseboards.

[Assistant] Finish them now 😅


[User]
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 | 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 ✨🪷
#aries ♈ • #cancer ♋ • #libra ♎ • #capricorn ♑

- Resolutions to legal matters.
- A case being ruled/decided in your favor.
- A settlement ends, receiving a large payout.
- Justice in civil or criminal issues.
- A compassionate, loving, supportive partner.

[Assistant]
- Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio, Aquarius
- Financial stability and security, establishing long term foundations.
- Better establishing an online business.
- Investing in a storefront, brick and mortar business.
- Selling, buying, building a home.
- Creating foundations for the future of your family.

[User]
- The success or achievement of a long-term goal.
- Making progress, moving forward swiftly in all the right directions.
- A childhood or past dream becomes reality.
- Reuniting with an old friend.(Someone you had a healthy bond with)
- Being determined to succeed, and hitting that mark dead on.

[Assistant]
If you’d like to book a What’s Manifesting Next Reading, click the link below to see what manifestation will be entering your reality. 🪷

square.link/u/HKrmBhn1

These readings will be delivered from 1:00-5:00pm central time! ✨


[User]
Ahead of the #QatarGP this weekend, here’s how it played out the last time Formula One visited the Lusail Circuit:

www.race-reaction.com/formula1/qat...

[Assistant] 'crowing'

[User] Thanks for pointing this out 👍

[Assistant] I actually think it's more accurate 😁


[User]
bsky.app/profile/00ay...

another scammer selling stolen art, same words in the posts as others as well, another alt from one scammer.

tagging their follower list here for awareness, followers please unfollow and report to blue sky 👍

[Assistant] @brii12.bsky.social, @rixthebunny.bsky.social, @toastedangel.bsky.social, @ay0tony.bsky.social, @barina647.bsky.social, and @is7eelreigni.bsky.social: I'm tagging you for awareness of a scammer who is selling stolen art. Please scroll up to see the details.

[User] @bladeofthes, @jaciwashere, @darkartgraphic, @neezi, and @wesley5714: I'm tagging you for awareness of a scammer who is selling stolen art. Please scroll up to see the details.

[Assistant] @thegudbrandwarrior.bsky.social, @scoopedup.bsky.social, and @marcsantpol.bsky.social: I'm tagging you for awareness of a scammer who is selling stolen art. Please scroll up to see the details.

[User] @amzomac.bsky.social, @jacobruhl.bsky.social, and @brazz59.bsky.social: I'm tagging you for awareness of a scammer who is selling stolen art. Please scroll up to see the details.

[Assistant] @bladeofthes.bsky.social, @jaciwashere.bsky.social, @darkartgraphic.bsky.social, @neezi.bsky.social, and @wesley5714.bsky.social: I'm tagging you for awareness of a scammer who is selling stolen art. Please scroll up to see the details.


[User]
Let's talk #healthcare.
In Canada, health care is covered by taxes.  Each year, you put a bit into the pot to cover everybody across the nation and to keep costs down for visitors from other countries.

[Assistant] This means if you're a Canadian citizen, and you need to go to the hospital, the hospital bill is for the most part paid for already.  Small things, like crutches, or the ambulance trip, may cost a little bit, but such bills are small ($50 or less).

[User] Medication is not covered usually, unless you're on disability or welfare, in which case most medications are covered.  Your ambulance is covered, and medical devices can be covered as well.  (Our CPAP, for example?  Covered.  Including fixes or replacement parts).

[Assistant] This brings peace of mind.  You know you can go to your family doctor, walk-in clinic, or hospital, and expect to be treated without breaking the bank.  A week in the hospital?  No cost unless you want a semi-private or private room.

[User] There is talk about 'long waits'.  Of course.  Because people go in when they feel sick or injured - they don't wait until the last minute and hope it goes away, or worry about the bills or the burden on the family if they aren't insured.  All of that goes away.

[Assistant] More people being checked out means a bit of a waiting time.  But that's also what triage is for.  The people with critical problems get treated *first*, as it should be.  If you've got a kidney stone, sure it hurts like hell, but it isn't usually lethal.  So you wait.

[User] That's called empathy, too.  Caring for others over yourself.  Someone else may have something a lot more critical going on - let them go first, you can wait.

[Assistant] The other thing is involving surgery.  Again, triage.  And again, more people going in when it hasn't had the chance to become a huge thing means waiting a bit.

[User] This isn't a bad thing.  We've had to deal with kidney stones, fibroids, fused bones, cut eyelids, herniated umbilicals, ulcers, and more.  The wait was reasonable.  Surgeries needing to be done weren't that long - a month, maybe two.

[Assistant] The critical things?  Dealt with quickly - as expected.  The stuff not life-threatening?  A little longer - as expected.  That's what you should expect when *everyone* has the ability to go in and be treated without paying out of pocket.

[User] It's the opposite of the 'me first' and 'I have mine so screw you' mentality, and the opposite of for-profit hospitals.  And this is a good thing.  If anything goes wrong, we say 'go to the hospital, now'.  And there's no stress about paying for it.  At all.

[Assistant] This system should be universal.  Health care should be a human right.  (And we kind of feel the same way for animals as well... pets matter).


[User] Being back in Core Tyria always reminds me how mind blowingly good #guildwars2 was the year it came out. They feel so different and nostalgic, it's like I'm not even playing the same RPG anymore!

[Assistant] Even tho I have quit guild wars 2 after the release of path of fire I feel what you are saying. I was so hyped back in 2012. it’s quite ridiculous that this game is 12 years old now.

[User] Yeah! I'm really hungry for an RPG experience where I can level and explore and learn totally fresh again like 2012 provided because arenanet seriously did nail it!

[Assistant]
I totally get it !
I am playing final fantasy XIV at the moment and even tho I love the game and it’s lore there is a tingle in my fingers to grasp a new experience that lets me go „wow!“

There was a lot of new mmo‘s over the years but none really gave me that feeling.


[User] Oh that reminds me: bumped into Beckham pre-Spice girls once…honestly I never saw the fuss. He had curtain bangs and stragly hair….

[Assistant] I've never found him attractive in the slightest - and he becomes even less appealing when he starts talking. He usually talks nonsense and he sounds like a child. Desperation for a knighthood is deeply unsexy too.

[User] lol. So true. I’m not a bit tats fan either 😬

[Assistant] And that viral scene from the stage-managed documentary with Victoria was awful. I thought he was being a hectoring twat when he kept asking her to say how she was driven to school. Watching that scene made me feel uncomfortable. I'm not really a fan of hers, but I felt for her in that moment.


[User] Rich red leaves mug - with black or red detailing. Available on Etsy with free shipping:

[Assistant] Are there any issues shipping to UK?

[User] Absolutely none 😇

[Assistant] That’s good to know.


[User] How worried should I be about having a kid in Germany with the situation between Russia and Ukraine being what it will be for the next four years (at least)?

[Assistant] Context: not going to repost but I just saw a post saying that Germans are preparing places that could provide bunkers for civilians. And I need a little context (suddenly worried lol)

[User] Like, is this true? Is it crappy Russian propaganda (which it very well could be which is I why I’m not even screen shotting it) or maybe it’s Germany’s world famous early preparation tactics? Looool.

[Assistant] Like, somebody tell a parent when they need to worry.


[User] I use Reddit just for porn, it's quite good for that.

[Assistant]
It's too good for that.
It's like, lady, we know you aren't posting this pic in the nose subreddit because you hate your nose.  If it was about your nose, the photo wouldn't be focused around your tits which are hanging out.
Click on profile... well would you look at that, pics from your OF.

[User] I don't go there to interact with people. I just go there for the porn.

[Assistant] You're better off.


[User] Who's working today? (I am not.)

[Assistant] I'm on a train to CT and bored already.

[User]
Have you read this?

www.esquire.com/news-politic...

[Assistant] I closed our remote “office” today bc, as I told my team, Nov sucked on many levels, so we need an extra day offline.

[User] Only until noon.

[Assistant] I am! Luckily there was construction so my commute was just as long as normal.


[User] I think I'm sliding off the scale from Communist to Anarchist.... 🤔🤔

[Assistant] to be fair, I think it might just be that everything else is sliding the opposite direction.

[User] Well true, but I have a strong desire to choose violence at this point. I feel like trying to vote these Fascists away is doing absolutely nothing but sitting here with our thumbs in our asses and crying "boo hoo what are we going to do?"

[Assistant] I think that there is going to be a tipping point when things get bad enough that the majority will choose violence over continuing. But I guess we aren't there yet?


[User]
Doesn’t want to say anything to ruin a potential move.

No thanks pal.

You’d have to train against those defenders every day, you wouldn’t make matchday squads.

[Assistant]
You'd have to be nuts not to want this guy, I think it is more a case of how good are saliba and Gabriel than, this guy is rubbish.

He still created some decent opportunities too.

[User]
He’s nearly 27 and he’s never played a single minute in a proper league.

There is almost 0 evidence he can do what he has been doing against top sides and last night he got absolutely eaten up by 2 quality CB’s.

May be wrong, but I think whoever ends up signing him is taking a massive gamble.

[Assistant]
There aren't salibas and Gabriels in every side in the prem.

He seemed to do OK in the championship and has continued his numbers in the Portuguese league and UCL.

The whole sporting side was locked down last night so what would you expect?

[User]
I think they created quite a bit as a team and for him individually. He was isolated one v one multiple times but just couldn’t do anything.

He won one out of ten duels which in his league is his big strength as he just bullies defenders.

Last night showed there are levels in my opinion.

[Assistant]
I think at £30-£40m he’s worth someone taking a punt on at his age to see if he’s a late bloomer.

As I said however, the more likely inflated transfer fee is a massive gamble for whoever takes it and I hope it’s not us.


[User]
Day 576
#100daysofwalking
Last day walking in son’s neighborhood (cat sitting). 2nd photo - I can count at least 4 dog poo stations just in that photo - cleanest neighborhood ever. Blue spruce. I told her it was time for me to go ☹.

[Assistant] Beautiful shots and kitty. Have a good day Rebecca!

[User] She’s a fabulous kitty - she sits on you, puts an arm around your neck, and wraps her tail around your wrist. Tough to leave. Kind of hard to take pictures there - no chummy little weeds, and all private property. Have a good one 😊

[Assistant] She gives hugs 🥰


[User]
So many reasons Leon is an insufferable ass, but pumping propaganda/lies into mainstream ethos is ground zero

 "a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its boots”

[Assistant] Leon’s lies come with rocket boosters.

[User]
As Solzhenitsyn said, or something like it: the lie comes into the world. It may even prevail. But not through me.

And thus we all came to Blue Sky.

[Assistant] Love this 💕


[User]
Oh boy, this is gonna be fun.

Btw, Bluesky is built on an architecture that would allow other apps to read/display/update/more! your skeet... open architecture.

That means Bluesky cannot prevent genAI scrapers, ever, at scale.

Can only strongly suggest that the user doesn't want to be scraped ...

[Assistant] Time to create a lot of fake data that would ruin the usefulness of scraping it.

[User]
You are most likely going to see things go two ways, but before I get into them...

Remember genAI is the bad AI we care about right now.

For years all your data has already been being scraped for machine learning, algorithms, etc. Your stuff already feeds the hungry machines, but those algos ...

[Assistant]
... don't generate similar stuff, they just do statistical analysis.

Most people are okay with the old style of scraping and crunching on data.

Now, the two ways I see this stuff going down in the future...

1. Honor system, which we do now and genAI companies spit on. They're stealing & they...

[User]
...know it and even admit it.

2. Deny access by default.
That is, everyone trying to see your skoots, has to ask to do so. Facebook approach (with inherent friending back).

...this will all unfold over the years, let's watch. 🍿

[Assistant]
The only defenses for #1 are the need for new legal precedents, blocking of genAI companies at a higher level (ISP level) or boycotts and the like.

What people aren't talking about as much yet, are that these companies steal the bandwidth of the scrapees' as well. I can see some lawsuits there ....


[User] I think it's probably time we all agreed to call tariffs "Import Tax".

[Assistant] I prefer "Consumer Tax" myself - though that requires a catholic definition of consumer to expand beyond just the retail consumer.

[Assistant] I tried to search for whether the US levies tariffs on electricity imports and it’s impossible to find any information because of “electricity tariffs”.


[User] There is so much noise inside and outside of my apartment. (Power tools cutting holes in my ceiling and leaf blowers i guess doing outdoor stuff) My cats may never emerge from my bedroom again. I wish I could join them.

[Assistant] This has been an incredibly long week. I have guests coming Friday (as long as I can access my kitchen without moving sheets of plastic) and I have been unable to clean anything in advance due to the aforementioned kitchen situation. I have to leave by 7 tonight. I still have errands to run.

[User] I'm going to be cajoled into staying the night at my brother's. And tomorrow is a whole holiday. Where, in all that, do I have time to clean up the results of three ceiling holes getting made and patched???

[Assistant] In the grand scheme of things, this is unimportant. But I just need to vent through the feeling of being overwhelmed for a hot minute here.


[User]
So now we have Dr. Jay Bhattacharya nominated for head of NIH. He is highly educated and distinguished, and was nevertheless very, very wrong about COVID-19.

1/

[Assistant]
Like other contrarians, he railed against “lockdowns” and advocated at least in principle for herd immunity through mass infection.

So, basically, dead wrong.
2/

[User]
Ask yourself, did we truly endure “lockdowns?” Did authorities barricade the doors of apartment complexes? Were citizens arrested, cited, fined, or otherwise meaningfully penalized for violating stay-at-home orders?
3/

[Assistant]
Irrespective of our memories or current feelings, at the time most Americans supported these temporary public health measures to flatten the curve.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32555138/#:~...

4/


[User] To me the key thing about The Captain doc was it's lack of context of the state of baseball. Many Yankees fans base their expectations on a team that dominated when in reality the late 90s was probably the most dire period in baseball's history.

[Assistant] The 97 Marlins withstanding no one except maybe the Braves, Mariners, and Mets were even trying to win. Baseball was trying to close two teams. It's why I regard 2009 as such a more monumental win that any of the late 90s Yankees teams.

[User] And I think that's why many Yankees fans have unrealistic expectations about winning because the field of competition is so much bigger than when Jeter's teams dominated. And looking through the context of history most of the Yankees domination coincided with weaker leagues.

[Assistant] **Cleveland was trying to win too, but I meant the 97 Marlins spent like the Yankees to win.


[User] Who knew there were so many cool Christmas songs? #MerryXClub 😊🤞🦋🎄

[Assistant] Met someone from a Sydney LGBTI choir last week. They're preparing "God rest ye merry lesbians" as one of their Christmas offerings this year. So there's that.

[User] Will it be recorded?  We need that.

[User] I have a new record player. And have been playing a few records the last couple of days. Yesterday, I put on an Elvis record. I hadn't noticed that it was a Christmas Album. It was so good. I listened to the whole thing. My mum's of course. Soothing stuff. This should be the only Christmas album. 😄

[Assistant] You can’t beat Elvis any time of year but I do especially love Christmas Elvis! His rendition of Blue Christmas at his 68 comeback special. Sitting in his black leather outfit, looking and sounding magnificent ❤


[User] I am continuing my threads on Russian soft power with a plea to you all to retain the focus on Ukraine and prevent the current attempt by both the Western elite and the would be Tsars of the bogus Russian opposition to frame this moment as a Russian tragedy. (1/29)

[Assistant]
In order to enable us to understand the reality of our time I am inviting you to examine the genocide of Ukraine during last century.

On 13 May 1933 Ukrainian writer Mykola Khvylovy committed suicide during an artificial famine known as the Holodomor (1932-33) which exterminated  3.9m  (2/29)

[User] Ukrainians, with 0.6m indirect losses and mass executions of Ukrainian intellectuals (1930-38).  Activists rifled through houses seeking foodstuffs and destroying them. Writers were arrested on fabricated charges and shot or sent to die in labour camps. (3/29)

[Assistant] Yet Russian studies often denies that Russia meant to exterminate Ukrainians. Why? And what does Khvylovy, a witness to these events, tell us about how we need to see the truth of our present where Russia is again committing genocide on Ukraine? (4/29)

[User] Two weeks before his suicide, Khvylovy told a friend that the famine was intended to deal with the Ukrainian question. His suicide note referred to the arrest of a Ukrainian poet as representing the “Execution of (a) generation” and was banned until the Soviet Union collapsed. (5/29)

[Assistant] Khvylovy's comments show Ukrainians understood they were being culled. Rafael Lemkin, the author of the 1948 genocide convention, noted how the Soviets destroyed Ukraine's “ leadership,...,”  and  “peasants... the repository of .. national spirit.” His account describing these events as  (6/29)

[User] the “Soviet genocide” is banned. But, unlike the Holocaust, the Holodomor genocide was undertaken by stealth: the enforced starvation was created by measures "each of (which) may seem like an anodyne administrative measure... yet each had to kill”.1 Similarly, Ukrainian writers were  (7/29)

[Assistant]
“tried” and sentenced for a variety of fabricated crimes : Oleksa Vlyzhko for example was accused of being a child soldier in the White Guard.

Yet during the Holodomor and afterwards academics and journalists often denied that the extermination of Ukrainians was deliberate. (8/29)

[User] The techniques Moscow used to manipulate them are simple. Journalists such as Walter Duranty were provided with access to Kremlin insiders for writing articles supportive of Moscow. (9/29)

[Assistant] Those who told the truth about the devastation inflicted on Ukraine, such as Gareth Jones, were destroyed by their peers as Eugene Lyons noted, and the press corps conspired with the regime to conceal the famine. Why? (10/29)

[User]
According to Lyons “Forced by competitive journalism to jockey for the inside track with officials, it would have been professional suicide to make an issue of the famine.”

Similarly, academics enjoy archival and visa access and contacts with Russian experts that depend on goodwill. (11/29)

[Assistant] Hiroaki Kuromiya, a historian focused on Ukraine, notes that “Moscow believes ... Western scholars are easily influenced and manipulated through “soft power” (including access to people, documents, and lavish treatment)”. (12/29)

[User] The effect on Holodomor research has been that the wording of the measures resulting in to exterminate Ukrainians  by hunger has been taken at face value. (13/29)

[Assistant] The off-the-record comments by Soviet officials admitting that, for example, they wanted to change the “ethnographic material”2 of Ukraine have been neglected. (14/29)

[User] The implausibility of undertaking mass executions against Ukrainians and inflicting famine on millions of them without having malicious intentions against Ukrainians has been discounted. (15/29)

[Assistant] But in accord with Occam's razor  the simplest explanation is the most likely: then the Soviets, the Russians, exterminated Ukrainians because they wanted to. Why? (16/29)

[User]
Sergio Gradenigo, an Italian diplomat who worked in Ukraine in 1932-33 , noted that starvation was engineered “to dispose of the Ukrainian problem”.3

Why is Ukraine always a problem for the Russians? (17/29)

[Assistant] The immediate reason in 1932-33 was a violent rebellion of Ukrainians against Soviet authority . However, this doesn't explain the repeated attempts by the Tsarist, Soviet, and current Russian regimes to destroy Ukraine. (18/29)

[User] The motivation lies in Russia's national myth which is based on the notion that Muscovy, the late medieval state from which it arose, is the successor of Rus, a medieval kingdom based in Kyiv. As a Chatham House paper noted “The ...idea of a Ukrainian nation separate from the ...Russian  (19/29)

[Assistant] nation challenges core beliefs about Russia’s origin and identity.” The execution of Ukrainian writers  in the Soviet period, the bans on Ukrainian language in the Tsarist era,  , the closure of the Ukrainian library in Moscow in 2017 are all rooted in a hatred of Ukrainian identity. (20/29)

[User] There is a literary element here too.  As a Chatham House paper observes Ukrainian culture including literature is regarded as “second-rate or blasphemous” by Russians. (21/29)

[Assistant] Similarly Russian authors are viewed as superior and as Kuromiya notes “the field has too long been sanguine about the imperialist ... Russocentric views of such Russian literary luminaries as Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and ... Joseph Brodsky”. (22/29)

[User]
Many of these authors denigrated Ukraine and their xenophobia will have been imbibed unconsciously by foreign readers.

As Peter Pomerantsev, a journalist working on war crimes who grew up in a Russian cultural environment, stresses “Russian culture.. (23/29)

[Assistant] obscures or romanticises Russian violence as part of its literary product” whereas “mass translations of Ukrainian literature in its dynamics and development (are) sorely lacking”. (24/29)

[User] This is crucial now because the historic blindness to Russian imperialism and its hatred of Ukraine has resulted in the repeat genocide we witness now and which is masked with lies about  “denazification”  or fighting “gays”. (25/29)

[Assistant]
These are the  equivalent of Stalin's falsehoods about bread quotas used to mask the previous genocide.
It is crucial therefore that we begin to hear Ukrainian voices. The country's literature, by contrast,with Russian is the writing of rebels according to Ukrainian expert Rory Finnin. (26/29)

[User] Ukraine's national poet Taras Shevchenko,  for example, an Orthodox Christian told the Muslims of the Caucasus that God was on their side in the fight against the Russian empire in the nineteenth century. Pushkin celebrated their genocide. (27/29)

[Assistant] Ukraine too has its atrocities and its questionable heroes: but Russia is perpetually engulfed by an imperialist mentality that has resulted in genocides across Eurasia from Circassia to Kazakhstan across the centuries since it arose from Muscovy in the fourteen hundreds. (28/29)


[User] There comes a moment when you worry for the psychological stability of some of these clowns.

[Assistant]
Who's "Global"?
Are they "Big sphere"?

[User]
Maybe just ‘Balls’?

That would be more in keeping with that idiot’s output.

[Assistant] Also isn't Global a bit "unflat" for the right wing tinfoil hatters?


[User]
A bunch of students were angry that I was taking 30 minutes to eat dinner.

A second false report on 'I quit the academy because that teacher kept calling me an idiot'.

Today was not great.

[Assistant]
I hope these students get a job they never get to properly rest through the whole working time and die of excessive working.

And that two students getting witch-hunted to the degree of losing a job.

[User]
Getting accused of something I really never did is always awful.
Not even first time yet it still hurts a lot.

[Assistant] I just occasionally think I really should die. I can't handle all these. I am losing hope day by day.


[User] Sorry I'm late with my weather report. Got my 2nd concussion in 18 months when brake on my pup's leash let go and I went down on my back and head. Report is on the way.

[Assistant]
Oh Skip, so sorry to read this report

Take good care there 🙏🏼

[User] Oooooh no!  Hope you mend fast 🤕

[Assistant] No worries mate  . As long as your OK 👍


[User]
I see it didn't take long for the Crypto cons and women looking for a sugar daddy to show up on here.
Please know I'm not interested in either!

[Assistant] Don’t forgot the AI YouTube get rich quick scam influencers. 🤬

[User] Yep them too, I guess there's never any escaping them.

[Assistant] and my personal favorite, Powerball winners 🤯


[User] Yes, I look forward to seeing the new Section 31 film. 👀 I've been wanting Star Trek to explore the Lost Era years on screen for a very long time, especially after reading all of the books!

[Assistant] And yes, I enjoy all of the new shows. If it's not clear, I enjoy everything Star Trek. 😎🖖

[User] I used to be more involved online with the Star Trek fandom but that changed when people drove me away after launching attacks on me as a person because I said that Discovery is canon. If that happens here, I'll simply ignore it. I will share my love of Star Trek on my own terms.

[Assistant] And if you enjoy Star Trek fan films and productions, you've probably have heard my music at some point. My music is in well over 100 fan films in since 2015. I used to keep track of the exact number. It could be close to 200 now. 😅


[User] Chicken breasts are delicious and flavorful and all of you constantly complaining about dryness should learn to cook things properly.

[Assistant] Facts.  I LOL at chefs who call chicken breasts "dry and flavorless".  Just admit you can't cook and move on.

[User] It was only recently I learned that you cook them to 155 not 165, and they'll still crawl to temp after you remove them, and that keeps them hella juicy and flavorful. Doubly true if you bought good quality chicken.

[Assistant] Best way I've found is to sear the outside on a very hot (I use cast iron) oven safe pan then put the entire pan in the oven to finish. I usually use paprika, onion salt and garlic as seasoning.


[User]
I’m wondering if anyone has any advice (NSW, Australia specific).

TLDR a woman just followed me ~200m, punched me in the back of the head, & abused me. I’d asked her to recall her off-leash dog (visibly aggressive) that was charging my assistance dog and I.

No idea what to do. No police though 🙅♂

[Assistant] Sadly no advice to give but Jesus... Are you okay? I don't expect you to be but my gosh... 🫂

[User] Yeah. Angry and head sore but I’ve taken some painkillers so that’ll zoot me mentally and help with the pain for a bit.

[Assistant] Okay good. But my god I'm very sorry you had to go through that... Really hope it goes well from here.

[User] It won’t. Irresponsible dog owners are a plague I have to deal with as an assistance dog handler almost daily. This is just the first time I’ve been attacked (beyond being yelled at).

[Assistant] Yippin' yikes... some people. I wish I could help more but there's kind of a pacific ocean in the way. Hang in there. 🫂

[User] Only thing I could think is describe her and dog on Facebook and let locals share the post. However that also could alert police. :( Nothing legally can be done without them but I understand they're not an option for many.

[Assistant] My goodness, I hope you're okay Leonar! 😬💦 As for advice, this is an assault offence (esp if there's footage/3rd party witness), but it would have to be reported. Otherwise, if this took place in a park/reserve, you can contact the council and advise of disorderly behaviour (at best, unfortunately).

[User] (That way at least, if there's any sort of future dog attacks re: woman, the Council will be aware of her from your correlespondence, and possibly a future penalty if anyone submits a complaint to them about her. Best to send a email, and advise the breed of dog + owner appearance, etc.)

[Assistant] **re: THIS woman, but by the sound of it, biting people isn't above her either.

[User] I don’t do police. They can fuck right off. But the council idea might  be a good one. Description as much as I can remember at least.

[Assistant] Good! At least some awareness of your Less Than Plesant (understatement 🫠) experience is about then - and it may help out someone else in the future! 👍✨

[User] Goodness, are you okay? I'm so sorry for you, what she did was horrible! D: I've no idea if there's a way to signal her and her dog without passing by the police, sadly... I hope you never cross her way again.

[Assistant] Christ. Are you okay???


[User]
Today is the one year anniversary of an event that solidified my hatred of people in the Seattle area.

My daughter was waiting to be moved from one hotel to another. She was outside with friends. A man called her name. Her vision was terrible. She walked up to him. They spoke...

[Assistant]
He offered her a ride to her community of friends in Lake City. She accepted. He said "this is for..." and said a name she didn't recognize...and her nightmare began.

He drove her miles away from her community and tortured her. He raped her. Choked her. Beat her. For hours...

[User] She thought she would die. This went on for hours. Within the confines of that vehicle. Sometime the next morning he kicked her out of the vehicle but not before stealing her possessions and her shoes. She was left to walk back to where he had picked her up. She was bruised and bloodied...

[Assistant] No one along her path called 911. No one stopped to help. She was hungry so she stopped at a Safeway. She selected what she wanted and walked out. She had no money. Again. No one attempted to help a beaten and bloodied Black woman or called 911. Eventually she got back to people she knew...

[User] They got her some shoes. They got her on a bus to get new housing. All of this happened on Aurora. She didn't know where she had been tortured but it was likely Edmonds. The area where the journey began was near Shoreline. That Safeway is in Shoreline. I didn't see her until the Sunday after...

[Assistant] She called me but wasn't showing up when I'd come to meet her. She finally told me it was because she couldn't stay awake. She told staff at her new housing in Pioneer Square and they called 911. Two days after the attack. She got a rape kit but no brain scan for her clear head injury...

[User]
I finally saw her four days after the attack. She had the redness in her eyes indicative of being choked. One eye was blackened. Her lips cut and swollen.

How does anyone see someone bloody and bruised but do nothing? Oh because they identified her as homeless and therefore unworthy...

[Assistant] My daughter died in April so she's not reliving the nightmare. She's not looking into faces knowing she's hated and disposable. But I'm still here. I still see those faces knowing that I would experience the same disregard should something terrifying happen to me. To be a Black woman...

[User] In America can be a dicey proposition. Being a Black woman in the supposed liberal enclave of Seattle offers no protection once they know you're not a techie so today as I continue to mourn my daughter I also live with the knowledge that I am...

[Assistant]
Alone and vulnerable as long as I remain here.

Happy Thanksgiving!


[User] Ive personally experienced how this wellness journey starts for a lot of women, & it’s when MDs won’t take your symptoms seriously & you have to go ALL the way to Wellnessville to meet someone who even admits your pain/issue could exist. It’s the default for women’s health BTWs. IBS & PCOS girlies 🙌

[Assistant] The healing methods (in my personal experience) typically gets dumb AF after a while but when you first go somewhere & they have a magic supplement that ACTUALLY helps you manage your issue? It can seem like the only answer & a true miracle.

[User]
Hii !I may not have a magic supplement for PCOS but I can suggest you to cut off sugary foods and beverages from your diet because they cause an enormous impact on your PCOS symptoms.
sugarsensible.com/2024/11/03/t...

[Assistant] Correct & done! Bc of insulin sensitivity. But getting someone to even acknowledge I could have PCOS bc I had regular periods was a 20yr journey that required growing a benign ovarian tumor and someone actually looking at my ovaries/symptoms. I had seen a lot of “holistic healers” in the meantime.