[User] In some respects the NHS should be more centrlaised in its offering to the public: why should people living in adjacent areas have differing access to IVF or have to meet different criteria? Plus developing these policies mutliple times is costly in itself.

[Assistant] It makes perfect sense because there are sociodemographic differences between areas and funding is disseminated to local authorities to decide how best to spend it for their own populations. Centralisation of services may mean that everyone gets treated equally but not equitably.

[User] I don't think it feels equitable to women who can't get 3 courses of IVF?

[Assistant] But it won't feel equitable for someone else in another postcode who can't receive some kind of other treatment because funding has been allocated to allow women in that area 3 IVF treatments.. the funding pot is sadly limited.. I think there needs to be  discussion re: what to fund and what not to.


[User] Does anyone else have an event in their calendar for the afternoon? And you spend all day dreading it. Slowly watching the dotted-line indicator of 'now' in an outlook calendar grind inevitably closer and closer to said 'event'... Whilst shuddering in apprehension and terror of the impending doom?

[Assistant] Any time there's any one event in my calendar in the afternoon! I think 3-3.30pm is the worst for this...

[User] If you didn’t want to meet for coffee, just say… 😜

[User] Hope everything goes ok!

[Assistant] Just a typical interminable academic meeting...  You know the score. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I really should just 'person up'.


[User]
Also to my #AgileTD people...

How are y'all coping with the silence this week?? 🥺

[Assistant]
Honestly: I'm enjoying the silence. I'm reaching out to others if it gets too much, I'm watching recordings but not being thrown into a group of hundreds of simultaneously talking people multiple times a day is good for me.
How are you coping?

[User]
Bringing another conference attendee home with me (@tamarajosten.bsky.social) really helps.

You've been there with a lot of colleagues, I recommend to reach out to them, maybe meet and chat about the conference(?)

Other then that, blusky & LiknedIn are great for me in overcoming the blues.

[Assistant] I've absolutely been doing this, mainly checking in on everyone else 😅


[User] The US population is aging, and many seniors don't get enough exercise. With the right bike designs and paths that consider seniors' needs (flat, separate from cars, well marked), cycling could see a silver wave. By Anne Lusk @bostonu.bsky.social theconversation.com/cycling-can-....

[Assistant] Of course the Dutch are way ahead on this -- the omafiets, or "granny bike," with a low step-through, back-pedal brakes and a chain guard, is an archetype there. For the dudes, there's an opafiets, or "grandpa bike." www.dutchnews.nl/2019/01/trad...

[User] So much of our beautiful country doesn’t have a level mile, though. Cycling in the US is not an activity for the unfit in any city where I have personally resided, and bike paths wouldn’t change that.

[Assistant] I say this as a disabled person who would love to bike, but can’t. The few relatively level paths in my current area (eg paths around small lakes and retention ponds) are so crowded with walkers and small children and leashed dogs that it isn’t safe.


[User]
🚀 The Blitz Round Showcased Emerging Research 🚀
Four short but impactful talks presented cutting-edge findings: #SelfOther_be24 #BlitzTalks #EmergingResearch :

[Assistant] 1⃣ Niklas Buergi explored neurocomputational mechanisms in autism, showing how difficulties in adapting to others’ mental states can be traced to altered neural activation patterns.

[User] 2⃣ Jiaze Sun discussed social memory deficits in premanifest C9orf72 expansion carriers, revealing specific impairments linked to the salience network.

[Assistant] 3⃣ Ilenia Gori reviewed mentalization treatments for autistic children, emphasizing the potential of biomarker-driven approaches.


[User]
Finally that prick from Emmerdale, Tom, has been charged for abusing Belle!!

Made the mistake of saying I was going to watch Emmerdale until the storyline was over.

Nearly a year and a half later, I waited for this!

But it’s still not fully over 🙄🤦♂

[Assistant] I dip in and out of Emmerdale (mainly coz my dad watches it) and istg it felt endless.

[User]
It’s just the fact it was dragged out. I was abused for about a year 11 years ago.
But that was 6 months in the relationship and 6 months out of it. And it didn’t take people a year to notice or work it out.

[Assistant]
Just so they could drag it out, they had people be aware, then having plot memory loss they were wrong or weren’t worried, to being sure again, then repeating that like 3 times.
Did my head in.


[User]
For anyone traveling in the U.S. for the holidays: these 511 live cameras help lessen the stress of highway travel. My hubby and I use them to get around gnarled traffic during work commutes too. Next is how to find your camera.
Please note: I don't know who created this map and can't give credit.

[Assistant] Just Google '511 live traffic cameras' and then the name of your state and it should pull up the website for you. Most websites will be something like 511.org. So for instance, New York is www.511ny.org. Hope this helps and happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

[User] That’s great Amy! I didn’t know this existed! Thank you.

[Assistant] You're most welcome Jean!

[User] Ohio has some cameras online too, but not through the same system.  Go to Ohgo.com and there are camera and construction updates.  Very useful especially tracking actual snowfall during the winter.

[Assistant] Awesome! Thank you for sharing this info!


[User]
Job vacancy: Learning & Outreach Officer at the Higgins Art Gallery & Museum (Bedford): £29,269 - 32,076 (in line with @museumsassociation.bsky.social guidlines for Learning Officer roles): bedfordboroughcouncil-career.talent-soft.com/job/job-lear...

🏛🎓

[Assistant] @teakayb.bsky.social +1 for sharing the salary band!

[User] That’s a lovely little museum, apart from the Edward Bawden collection, they have some great William Burgess furniture.

[Assistant] I've never been, but it's not too far. I must pay a visit!

[User] I’ve been twice since the Bawden exhibition opened, it is quite a nice place for lunch  too.

[Assistant] Good to know, thanks!


[User] We need to run government like a business and unfortunately the cost per capita of keeping rural and exurban life afloat is just too much. Time for some layoffs and reorganization. Everyone return to the city (RTC) like Real Americans who pay their way.

[Assistant] We need women and children to run the mills Shoe. It’s what made this country great.

[User] Those were the days. *Puts monocle back in*

[Assistant] Weird how the people who go "we need to run the government like a business" apparently don't think that businesses should take on debt to build out infrastructure/capacity to meet growing demand, but do think that businesses should immediately do price cuts and refunds if they make too much profit.


[User] I have been receiving a lot of emails about recent arrests at Gaza demonstrations and the seemingly sudden change in practice of not allowing people to march on the road. I have written to the Police Chief and have so far not received a response.

[Assistant] The OPS is managed by the Ottawa Police Board. I have reached out to Councillor Marty Carr, who is a council representative on the Police Board and she is demanding answers.

[User] While city council does not manage or direct police operations, it is certainly within our purview to demand answers when it seems that a significant escalation of enforcement is happening quite suddenly.

[Assistant] I will let you know if/when I hear more. In the meantime, your best bet it to direct concerns to the Ottawa Police Board directly.

[User] Thank you Ariel, your advocacy on this is welcome and appreciated.

[Assistant] I will let you know if/when I hear more. In the meantime, your best bet is to direct concerns to the Ottawa Police Board directly.

[User] Thank you! It has been really odd to see this apparently sudden change in either policy or the application of policy, and it's difficult not to conclude that it seems pretty targeted at specific protesters. Hopefully the Ottawa Police Board will respond with something of substance.

[Assistant] While city council does not manage or direct police operations, it is certainly within our purview to demand answers when it seems that a significant escalation of enforcement is happening quite suddenly.


[User]
I really like the way the Slay the Spire boardgame deals with upgrading cards.

Playing Balatro recently got me thinking there would probably be a similar analogue way to apply upgrades to cards by sliding clear plastic cards over their tops, replicating their Enchantments and Editions.

🎲✂

[Assistant] There's a slay the spire boardgame??

[User] Yes, It is good!

[Assistant] Yeah it's a really mammoth of a game that very faithfully adapts the boardgame.

[User] from what i saw (apart from a coop mode) its exactly the same as the steam game.. which is cool but also like, whats the point?

[Assistant] Boardgame designers often find a way to make analogue games, Slay the Spire worked, lol, but Balatro, curious how squishy the math needs to be to execute it properly.


[User] About to sit out in the cold at my kid's school and watch NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. I hope she remembers this sacrifice when she eulogizes me.

[Assistant] @scott_tobias Trapping Sacagawea behind museum glass does add an element of pathos, tho. 😐🔫

[User] @scott_tobias Now I'm having to pretend to laugh so the kid doesn't get scared.

[Assistant] @scott_tobias "Say hello to your little friend." Haha, 7-year-olds love SCARFACE references.


[User]
I found fully two new YouTube accounts I'm surprised I haven't been following before today. Quite happy.

First is Amanda Maryana. I'll see if she has an account on here but I really enjoyed her new video on why Republican women tend to look... like Republican women.
youtube.com/@amandamarya...

[Assistant]
Video in question.

youtu.be/w2xS1wEYfeM?...

[User]
The other is Trash Discourse which is also just lovely.

youtu.be/r-vGBTkNr3E?...

[Assistant] In the coming weeks I really need to sit down and finally put together my thoughts on some things. I doubt I'll make it far as a YT type, but I have thoughts and I think they might be helpful. Maybe. Possibly.


[User]
Monday blues? Maybe we can help, with some spring scenes captured our May 2023 Sibillini tour in Italy.

We will be back again this year, raising our guests spirits & also conservation funds for our friends at @BSBIbotany, with a 10% donation of profits.

[Assistant] A few more images from our 2023 tour...

[User]
If you'd like to join us next time, book your places soon!

18th - 25th May 2024. Led by Paul Harcourt Davies, Italian resident & highly skilled and experienced author/photographer of many natural history...

[Assistant]
titles.

https://greenwings.co/our-holidays/general-wildlife-holidays/sibillini-an-apennine-paradise/


[User] Good morning, 1 hours sleep is good right? 🤷🏻♀😈🤞🍀

[Assistant] Good morning Alice, I was awake all night again. I hope you’re able to get some rest. 🫶🙋🏻♀💙

[User] You too! They’re using leads blowers next door, sounds like 50 of them. You just have to laugh 🤷🏻♀🍀

[Assistant] That’s horrible, I feel bad for you! 🤦🏻♀


[User]
🙏 Request: please help - if you can.

Long-time @cargobikefest.bsky.social follower @cubbieberry.bsky.social, from Melbourne 🇦🇺 is crowdfunding for a Nihola Rehab e-cargo bike for their daughter Christa, who has Down syndrome and has had open-heart surgery, cancer, COVID, + Long COVID symptoms.

🧵
1/

[Assistant]
Christa is cared-for by brother Jay and mum Cubbie, who herself has Long COVID, late-diagnosis autism + is hard-of-hearing. They are a no-car family and due to Cubbie's symptoms worsening, the non-electric trike they have been using is no longer practical.

🔗 www.gofundme.com/f/help-disab...

2/

[User]
"We need this special e-cargobike to bring Christa to places, parks, local playgrounds, school, to her multiple medical appointments," adds brother Jay.

3/

[Assistant]
So why are the family crowdfunding? They initially sought funding from the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme, but their request was denied despite their having submitting a 19-page Occupational Therapy assessment report proving that the Nihola Rehab is 'reasonable and necessary'.

4/

[User]
Cargo trikes and bikes can be life-changing, powerful tools of empowerment for people with disabilities and those dealing with long term health issues; restoring and improving independence and quality of life.

5/

[Assistant]
We highlighted two personal stories in Issue 01 of Carrier magazine - click through to read:

'Refinding my balance', by @tricyclemayor.bsky.social: issuu.com/cargobikefes...

'From Down Under to Dutch Delight', about Chris Catanese: issuu.com/cargobikefes...

#DecadeoftheCargoBike

/🧵


[User] True at my house..of course I taste test all day while cooking.

[Assistant] We usually ruin an entire loaf of the Italian bread we bought for dinner.

[User] 😂 I make everyone clean out the fridge to make room for Thanksgiving leftovers.  Whatever they find is all they get.

[Assistant] Confession time.  I was about 10 years old, Thanksgiving morning and rummaging in the fridge.  Found a margarine container filled with what, to me, looked like butterscotch pudding.  So took a spoon and tried some.  It was gravy mom made the day before.


[User] I miss the edit button here. Mastodon has spoiled me.

[Assistant] There are ways to edit posts, but not native to the Bsky app.

[User] Ah ok. I can’t with another app, so I guess I’m stuck with uneditable browser Bluesky for the time being 🤷♀

[Assistant] I hear you. My brain can only cope with a few new things at any given time.

[User] I miss it, too! Maybe that’s still in the works, or maybe it’s possible with a third-party app like deck.blue. I still need to investigate deck.blue; I’m unreasonably excited that it takes markdown :)

[Assistant] Ooh, Markdown sounds like a neat feature! I’m generally wary of installing/using yet another app, but that might just convince me (:


[User] I wrote a very timely introduction to digital security for journalists for @gijn.org, this guidance may also apply to activists, lawyers, and anyone else doing at-risk work these days. gijn.org/resource/int...

[Assistant] There are a lot of good tips in your guide that everyone can use.

[User] very useful. thanks.

[Assistant] When discussing metadata of messaging apps, I think it's important to note that Signal goes far above and beyond at minimizing the amount of metadata known to the server, in contrast to the other apps listed.


[User] Do you prefer your cat to be full or semi-auto?

[Assistant] Silencer.

[User] That the mod from Postal? I haven't played it myself but it did amuse me.

[Assistant]
This is in fact a mod for Fallout New Vegas.

Postal 2 has cat silencers as standard.

[User] Ah I see, I haven't played FO games either but they're also funny mods.

[Assistant] Orange tabby? You know the munition it uses deals extreme damage, right?


[Assistant] Stupid boy …

[Assistant] You misspelled Prince ...


[User]
1/6
A thought but, I very much always say how I want people to look after themselves financially first. I really do mean and wanna stress that. I think of each and every one of you as a human being because you are with your own lives. A lot of streamer's really DON'T and it make it feel mandatory.

[Assistant]
2/6
Like I hate when streamer's treat chatters like a WALLET. I understand I do this fulltime, but I also understand there is a very fine line of not treating people like a WALLET and treating them that they have their own lives. Is this taboo ? Because if morals are taboo, I dunno wtf lol.

[User]
3/6
It's why I will always remind my chat to look after yourselves in streams and to make sure your bills are payed and that you have food and take care of your families and selves. I just CANNOT bring myself to mentally feel I am digging my hands in your pockets.

[Assistant]
4/6
Also I think because I am this way, it's VERY EASY for people to walk all over me like a rug and I don't get many subs, gift subs, rare donos and have people complain about ads but yeah.

[User]
5/6
I am sorry I run on morals & respect and was brought up in a broken home where I had to do everything for myself and didn't grow up in a privileged environment, in a world that simply doesn't in the content creation space.

[Assistant]
6/6
My birthday is coming up, but I also understand people have to shop for Christmas and I GET IT!
So like, I can sympathize and also just don't wanna ask for a lot.
Sorry for my small TED talk aha. 😅


[User] One of the things I love about this new platform is the way I can tailor it to suit my personal needs. I used to have a real problem with *cough* two well known social media sites. I'd open them up to check on a friend, and all the pains and sorrows of the world would drop on me at once.

[Assistant]
Now I set Bluesky to Moss or Small Beauties or Gardening when I finish my evening scroll, and in the morning the first thing I see is good and gentle. That gives me what I need to face the day.
Here I have a *choice* about what is dumped into my brain. And that means the world to me.

[Assistant] oh I like this approach!

[User] I'm really liking it! It's definitely helping with finding a balance between the dopamine rush of interacting and the cortisol spikes that nastiness can bring. The tool you use to talk to folks should not make your brain do loop-de-loops!

[Assistant]
It's lovely here. I've been tailoring my account a little every day, it's like keeping a garden weeded.

The other places look much more startling now when I pop in, so harsh by comparison.


[User]
Charlotte will also shortly reveal that all the people listed share a secret phrase, probably a password into their diabolical organisation:
“Who the hell are you and why are you going though my bins?”

[Assistant] More like Inspector Clouseau than Sherlock Holmes 😉

[User] She really does think that shitting in her own hands and clapping is going to further her cause, doesn't she?

[Assistant] Fabulous. A new Adrian Mole.


[User]
Help?

I’m unsure how to be around  someone who is nice and polite, non offensive but constantly mentions how “smart” & “intelligent” they are.

In these words.. not even couched.

I’ve never dealt with this before.

Anyone have experience in this matter?

[Assistant] It sounds like they're very insecure.

[User] This is what my husband said as well. Which means patience would be the best way to deal.

[Assistant]
I wear the fabulous $2.00 ear plugs!
Saved me many many times!!


[User] It’s me. Your gamer girlie VGM enthusiast. For every like, I’m dropping a banger + WHY it’s a banger. 🤍🙂↕ LET’S DO IT.

[Assistant]
Paris - Hotline Miami
This is ass shaking music fr. It wasn’t even originally made for a game. None of Hotline Miami’s music was. ✨

youtu.be/8wXRvvGr8Ug?...

[User]
Area Zero - Pokemon Scar/Vi
DUDE. You go the whole game with your regular chill Pokemon music. But you get to Area Zero and THE DEV OF UNDERTALE COMPOSED THIS ONE.

youtu.be/PQMf4ezKdJk?...

[Assistant]
Slimy Spring Galaxy - Super Mario Galaxy 2
This one’s so minimal in a game full of an orchestra going ham in the booth. Perfect for studying and napping.

youtu.be/c1cP234orhQ?...

[User]
The Sunleth Waterscape - FFXIII
It’s beautiful!! I took a walk while listening to this once. Damn near cried.

youtu.be/rxhkOMuOyqc?...

[Assistant]
Rockface Rumble - DKC3
No game on the SNES had any business with a guitar solo this hard. NONE.

youtu.be/Qntu2QvHQRE?...

[User]
Supporting Me - Sonic Adventure 2
You’re almost at the end of the game and you meet what is essentially Shadow’s older brother. Similar music vibes, big banger.

youtu.be/VXeIRsqqFbA?...

[Assistant]
Stone Tower Temple - Majora’s Mask
The ocarina has me dancing in this temple. I’m also biased bc it’s my fave Zelda dungeon lol

youtu.be/-x6Y7Rsmc4c?...


[User] Yet another silent migraine. Bothersome.

[Assistant] I get those, albeit infrequently. I'm just glad I don't get the ones with crippling nausea and pain. There's always a bright side (typically the left for me, a moving streamer of black and white dots).

[User] I've had the occasional migraine since I was a boy but these are different and only started when I was prescribed blood pressure meds. This is the third in two days. No pain just the aura. Damned nuisance.

[Assistant] Is there a trigger? I made a connection with switching screens for work rapidly. (I probably shouldn't ask right now as i find a screen break and a walk usually sort mine out, or at least mean I can see straight again after 30 minutes or so).

[User] It's the meds. I haven't noticed any behaviour that triggers them. I woke up with one at around 3:00 am then another this afternoon. The aura lasts around 30 to 40 minutes then I'm ok again. I have full on migraines now and again. They are hideous. Especially if I get cluster attacks.

[Assistant] How tiresome. Ommmm.

[User] Yep a drag. Thankfully not painful but annoying.

[Assistant] I just got a free kindle book on stoicism. Not read it yet...


[User]
Yesterday's Jewish book class was on gender & vernacular. Languages on display were Italian (+ Judeo-Italian), Spanish, Judeo-Spanish, + Ladino, and of course Yiddish.

My two faves (of the moment) were two copies of Hovot Ha-Levavot, in Spanish and Ladino, sitting next to each other as shown here.

[Assistant]
Facing: Tefilot Vulgar (that's what it says on the title page!). Italian translation of the prayers in Hebrew characters; B. Slonik's Sefer Mitsvot Nashim - in Italian translation.

Opposite: two mss: Judeo-Alsatian instructions for a funeral; tkhines for Pearl bar Avraham with lovely illustrations!

[User]
Now do you define Judeo-Alsatian?
(In my family, which has moved back and forth between Switzerland, Alsace and Baden-Württemberg for centuries, we simply call it Yiddish.)

[Assistant] Heh. I didn't make the decision; in fact, I'd initially just labeled it as Yiddish! Apparently it has enough Alsatian nuances that someone with expertise reached out to correct me. Honestly, it's a linguistics question - I suspect native speakers just call it Yiddish :)


[User]
The last classical concert I attended was in 2020, around the time when we were first hearing about this mystery pandemic (Prokofiev, fwiw). The last (post)rock concert I attended was Mono, in 2019.

I don't think I'll attend another live music event even if I love/miss those years of my life. +

[Assistant] + it's not about this disability. I can walk fine for a limited amount of steps and on level ground so classical concerts are feasible if I take the boxes. But it's about the fact that (1) the pandemic is not over despite what ppl think (2) I've lost my tolerance for fellow punter shenanigans.

[User] I've had nearly five glorious years of having the only live music I experience be my own, in my own living room. And that's changed me, for better or for worse.

[Assistant]
well, there's also the fact that the local classical offerings have been less than stimulating, lately.

If they were to play something that excites me, I might even venture out of my shell.


[User]
"If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it."

That's why I encourage people to create personal sites. By writing about a subject, you deepen your knowledge about it.

[Assistant]
I think this framework works really well for “mind” knowledge, divorced from experience.
Not sure if it works for “bone” knowledge- it’s easy to believe it does.

[User] Not sure what bone knowledge is.

[Assistant]
😂 classic chicken soup!
I call experience-based knowledge “bone” knowledge.


[User]
Like me, so many people talk about MAGA supporters as stupid & the first time around that was certainly true for maybe even most of them.

This time is different. With Trump’s “win,” you have supporters who know exactly what his ideological platform is.

There is no formal GOP platform anymore.

[Assistant] There is a part who knew what they were doing by supporting and voting for the orange, expecting advantages for themselves. But still I guess 95% of the voters are stupid - which is those who won't be benefiting, but will (hopefully) realise what harm they did to themselves and the rest of the US.

[User] There might be more lead in the water than was originally thought. 🙃

[Assistant] I still wonder if there isn't a virus who affected some millions of brains...


[User] I just saw a post somewhere about the OP wanting Kate Winslet’s house in ‘The Holiday’ but I’d settle for Cameron Diaz’s and that just made me want to watch the movie. It’s on Paramount+ ! The only thing I want to watch on there that isn’t a football game 😂

[Assistant] And I have popcorn!

[User] They also have that romance with Julia Robert’s and the Nespresso guy (ancient head kicking in).

[Assistant] * oh yeah it’s George Clooney. Might need more popcorn.


[Assistant] Thank you BIDEN.

[User] Day Late And A Dollar Short Dept:

[Assistant] Good news for the people of northern Israel and good news for the civilians in southern Lebanon.


[User] 1/ Maurizio Cattelan's artwork Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, is part of a lineage of conceptual art that broadens the definition of art & subverts traditional notions of artistic value.

[Assistant]
2/ Think of Duchamp’s Fountain (1917), a ready-made urinal presented as art, & Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes (1964), silk-screened plywood replicas of commercial packaging.

But the most relevant precursor is Michael Craig-Martin’s 1973 conceptual masterpiece, An Oak Tree.

[User] 3/ It consists of a glass of water placed on a shelf, accompanied by a transcript of a conversation in which the artist explains how he has “changed” the glass of water into an oak tree, w/o physically altering any object.

[Assistant]
4/ All these works draw attention away from the material & aesthetic qualities of objects to focus on the concepts or ideas they embody.

As art critic Rosalind Krauss has explained, conceptual art takes the idea, rather than the object, as the locus of artistic practice.

[User]
5/  In Comedian, the banana is transient & replaceable. Its worth lies in the certificate of authenticity, the artist’s conceptual gesture & the discussion it generates.

The surge in value of these virtual bananas is paralleled by the rising tide of another intangible asset: cryptocurrency.

[Assistant] 6/ Since the reelection of crypto-enthusiast DJT, the value of a single bitcoin has surged by about 1/3. The man who purchased Comedian is an advocate for blockchain tech & crypto, drawing parallels between conceptual art & the digital currency market.

[User]
7/ Both challenge established value systems, disrupting traditional notions of ownership & authenticity.

Cryptocurrencies derive their worth from decentralised networks & cryptographic protocols rather than from physical assets.

[Assistant] 8/ This comparison raises questions about the speculative nature of both markets, suggesting that value may be governed more by hype than by intrinsic worth. This dynamic appears to be one the artist is intentionally engaging with.


[User] Today, the award ceremony for climate change communication in the Czech Republic. Years ago I was the first laureate and I am grateful for that. Who today?

[Assistant] If Alex Ač hasn't already received this, I would nominate him!

[User] Too late. Try next year.

[Assistant] Greetings from Brussels.

[User] Jan Kaliba, Climate Editor of Czech Radio.


[User]
Here's the California Attorney General's press release for yesterday's press conference re: criminal charges against  wage-thieving, tax-frauding subcontractor hired by numerous marquee-name (and at least two LIHTC) housing developer-builders.
nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

[Assistant]
...and here is the video.
Skip to minute 6 for the start
www.youtube.com/live/s0A4hXI...

[User] Thanks to the Nor Cal Carpenters for this!

[Assistant] Thanks to the Nor Cal Carpenters Union for this!


[User]
Another loonie on the radio used “two tier Keir” & “big pharma” in as many sentences…

As I said, people don’t think, they have memes in lieu of a personality…

[Assistant] There is so many idiots out there.🤦♂

[User] Sometimes I’m just praying for that planet killing asteroid…

[Assistant] It might be the kindest thing.


[User]
1/4 When environmentalists, politicians and policymakers speak of the just transition, they promise a better future for all.

When working class people speak of the just transition, they express fear about further displacement and precarity.

fortune.com/europe/2024/...

[Assistant] 2/4 A stumbling block in addressing the concerns of the working class is the rebuttal that they have fallen prey to reactionary thinking. Instead, we need to acknowledge that the right and far right have appropriated legitimate concerns (and lived experiences)...

[User] 3/4 ...to undermine the progress of the just transition (and, more broadly, any action that serves to lower emissions). If the working class keep baring the brunt of the just transition, resistance to reorientating production to lower emissions will continue and intensify.

[Assistant] 4/4 Also worth noting that I'm not saying that all environmentalists, policymakers & politicians ignore legitimate concerns from the working class. But a worrying amount continue to downplay/dismiss these concerns, and so long as this trend continues we will never get anywhere.


[User]
I visited the new Hopewell Mall in Wanchai, which boasts of 100 new shops (really? where? half aren’t open yet).
Enter through Hopewell Centre (Mall is above Porsche showroom).
Boring design, no windows.
Small “Ship Street Park” next door.
The Mall is now part of a Hopewell Cluster(?).
Don’t bother…

[Assistant] I used to work in Hopewell centre. I hated that building.

[User]
They will open Nitori, a Japanese household and furniture store, later.
That one will bring in some foot traffic.

[Assistant] There's a Nitori here in Penang, kind of like Muji without the stationery. Good quality, it should be a winner in HK, their first?


[User] The funny thing about the argument that marriage is a poverty alleviation tool is that the marriage rate and the poverty rate has fallen together over the past 70 years.

[Assistant] Yes, although you know that’s specious and because of 3rd variables. Pooling resources is poverty fighting, we’ve just figured out non-marriage ways to do it.

[User] Yep it is but my point is simply it doesnt have the relationship conservatives think it does. Even that depends on how much resources the parties have to pool in the first place which is the point.

[Assistant] Are we talking marriage or pooling? If marriage…yes, they’re being chucklefucks and we need to change the damn tax code.


[User] Ive just seen a tweet by @AppSecBloke supporting some of the folks that have helped with #beercon2 and are helping calm the nerves of the new speakers that will be presenting and speaking at the end of the week.

[Assistant] I was very fortunate to speak at #BC1 but I was surrounded on every side by lists of folk that had been in this industry for years. I was terrified and as it got closer I really thought I'd made a huge mistake offering to be part of it.

[User]
The things about this industry and about the @TheBeerFarmers in particular, is that they want you to succeed.

We all want you to succeed.

You might all be new to speaking, but you all have something to say and without your new ideas this industry will become very stale.

[Assistant] Speaking in public isn't a natural thing, but whats the worse that can happen? You forget something, you might have to look at your notes, maybe there's a tech issue that someone else has to resolve... it doesn't matter, none of these things matter. You don't have to be perfect.

[User]
This stuck with me as I waited to deliver my rookie talk @BSidesLondon last year.

Anyone that is listening to your talk is there because they want to be. Because they have an interest in the subject you are discussing.

[Assistant]
To talk your audience like you would to your friends and colleagues, because that's what they are.

Good luck to you all.


[User] The big at the end here is what's key. General trust is broken to the point that it's easier to buy that they are than not. The industry at large is fucking itself. www.theverge.com/2024/11/27/2...

[Assistant] And not even offering a slice of cake.

[User] It’s also driving people away from big corp products to smaller indie ones. For instance, the only time I use Microsoft Office products is at work. In all my personal stuff I use OpenOffice. Same for DuckDuckGo instead of Google.

[Assistant] I also think it’s a factor in why ppl are leaving Xitter. *Nobody*, including his supporters, thinks that Elongated Muskrat *isn’t* using tweets to train AI or something similar.


[User] It’s 4am and I’m contemplating if I should go back to bed, Or enjoy the sweet silence before the kids wake up in 2 hours.

[Assistant] I remember those days. Now my house is always quiet. Enjoy! 🫶✌

[User] I wish I had the option of going back to sleep. I have to be awake to battle all of my personal demons. It's a battle I can never win. Just continue to lose slowly. Being awake at 4:00, or 2:00, means no distractions in self loathing.

[Assistant] 4 am where r u?


[User]
Americans just voted for tariffs to destroy their economy.
How stupid can you be?
Well, looks like they took it as a challenge!
===============

[Assistant] We’re all on the psychopathy scale, the far end possessing empathy. For too long we’ve erroneously believed that we can coexist with psychopaths. We can’t.

[User] Let’s think about this. They voted for a convicted felon who can’t operate a non-profit, won’t pay his bills “stable genius” who does a “weave” that no one can understand. No mystery here.

[Assistant]
You gave us Rush, April Wine, Triumph, Chillowack, hockey, SCTV, polar vortices & so much more @dogrescuer.bsky.social

We gave you the punch line for a new joke.

Btw, not all Americans voted for that.

Just the stupid ones did.

Sigh...


[User] For the love of God, don't agree to review a manuscript if you don't have the time. People's careers depend on these things. Don't sit on it for three months... Rant over.

[Assistant] Counterpoint: If your career depends on getting results into a citable format quickly, use preprints.

[User] Personally, I always think I’ll have time for the reviews I accept. But sometimes, other things come up. And working for free for somebody else always will have the lowest priority on my todo list.

[Assistant] Obviously. But I'm not talking about missing your 2 week deadline. I'm talking about taking months and months. Ideally, editors would do something about it.

[User] I agree that this is on the editors. I'm just saying that from my perspective as a reviewer, journals occasionally get the level of service they pay for. And we all know they don't pay for reviewing.

[Assistant] For sure! We should just pay $1000 for an independent reviewer. Seeing how many requests you get you could retire early. ;)

[User] "If" pulling a lot of weight there, Kai! Funding bodies care about peer reviewed outputs and journals with impact factors.

[Assistant] On the last review panel I was on, we were explicitly instructed not to. I think times are changing.


[User] Was just glancing at some numbers. For @TPM, in October referral traffic was about 5:1 Twitter to Bluesky. Now it's basically 1:1, though it's recent enough you'd want to see how much of that is daily variance. Even back when social referrals were a thing it was never something we put much ...

[Assistant] 2/ focus on. So this is mostly organic. And a decent amount comes from just me posting my stuff and our other articles. And the absolute numbers aren't huge. But the shift is pretty dramatic. And for comparison I have about 3x the number of followers on Twitter as here, currently.

[User] I’m a small account both X and here but definitely more engagement here. I feel like a large percentage of followers at X are ad bots, troll bots, pr0n bots, and just not real people.

[Assistant] Quality over quantity says a lot.

[User] The twitter number is probably somewhat inflated. I haven’t deleted my account there yet, as a couple of people I follow haven’t migrated here yet, but I only interact with your account here (as I do with everyone I follow there who has migrated here). I expect I’m not the only person doing so.

[Assistant] Keep in mind that a lot of your Bluesky followers likely still have active twitter accounts.

[User] Majority of your Twitter followers are likely bots or trolls.

[Assistant] It’s a refreshing affirmation that most people are, & want, good …

[User] It's interesting how Xitter was turned into a cauldron of right wing chaos by a hostile takeover at the top, whereas Bluesky evolved into a liberal/progressive community purely through an organic grassroots upsurge.

[Assistant] On Twitter now, every day brings new "followers" who are obviously not humans. Twitter was once valuable to me but now is useless.


[User] Right, which one of you won the £177m euromilions jackpot last night? That was supposed to be mine. Happy to give you a £50 reward if you do the decent thing and hand it over.

[Assistant] I'm currently Schrodinger's Euromillions winner...

[User] I always assume if you win the big one, it changes from "...a prize." to "...the prize"

[Assistant] Make it £75 and I'll think about it.


[User]
Yesterday.

As in the day before today.

5 grocery store runs.

1-2-3-4-FIFTH!

[Assistant] Man, I feel like I’m going to end up in the next town over searching for eggs 🤣🤦🏾

[User]
😂😂😂

Right now, I’m thinking we both might be in a road trip.  Around here, they dine bought up all the fresh herbs.  Can’t find Rosemary or Thyme at any of the 8-10 grocery stores within five miles of my house.

[Assistant] Only to get back and be told they don’t need that ingredient anymore, they used a substitute.

[User]
NIGGA.

“Oh I thought I text you….”

[Assistant] This when I go hide 🤣


[User] #JungChaeYeon updates her IG to feed SanWon Nation as we all say goodbye to #FamilyByChoice.

[Assistant] #HwangInYeop updates his IG as well with SanWon cute #FamilyByChoice behind the scenes moments.

[User] #HwangInYeop updates his IG as well with SanWon cute #FamilyByChoice behind the scenes moments.

[Assistant] Ewwww! So the siblings trying to lovers? That's so gross! That's why I can't with those kinds of Korean shows!


[User] Free yourself and your families from the tyranny of motion smoothing.

[Assistant] Motion smoothing makes everything look like a daytime soap opera; and don’t hate me…but…I low key enjoy it sometimes. 😭🥲

[User] As long as you choose it informedly but will not make ME watch it, I have no beef with you.

[Assistant] Oh fer sure! The C in J.C. stands for ‘consent.’ 🤝🫡


[User] I like that now that I'm at 1K, I can't see exactly how many people follow me. It's comforting in a way. 😸

[Assistant] Yayy! Congrats!

[User] Thank you!! 💖💖

[Assistant] I'm just happy so many of you genuinely want to follow me. I check my notifications when I wake up, and there's just so many of you, new and those of you who have been here since the start. It means a lot and keeps me motivated to keep putting out art and gposes and such. Thank you!!! 🥹


[User] I need to talk to sysadmin. My Power On Self Test is faulty today...

[Assistant]
How many beeps are you making on POST?

Below may help, but honestly a 24hr duvet reset is probably your best bet.

[User] It's definitely #8!

[Assistant] While the duvet reset is still the best fix. Have you tried horrific amounts of caffeine in your CPU's hot drink of choice? I find it sometimes jump-starts recalcitrant memory modules into behaving.

[User]
Please make sure your bios battery isn't empty, unplug yourself for at least two minutes before switching on again.
Is a keyboard connected? Press F2 for details.

[Assistant] I can't power off 😣


[User]
Anyone else have a story related to missing out on something because of being grounded?

Somewhere in Mom's attic sits an unused ticket to see Shonen Knife and The Breeders open for Nirvana at the Travel & Tourism building, OK State Fairgrounds.

Less than 4 months later, Kurt was gone.

[Assistant] Oh man that’s a big one.

[User]
Pretty rough!

I don't know why I have had so many instances happen that seem as if fiction, but there is an extended story to this:

My best friend and I got busted smoking pot in the neighborhood behind the school at lunch.

My folks grounded me, but he got a pass.

Fast forward 2 weeks...

[Assistant] His folks discover some skunk in his sock drawer, grounding him for the entire summer, giving me the opportunity to travel with his girlfriend (We were all close) to Kansas City, where we saw Paul McCartney at Arrowhead Stadium.


[User]
How do you manage mocks in your tests? Do you store entire objects or just the values accessed by your code?
Specifically mocks from 3rd parties.
When testing modules that need external data, I often need to create mocks so that our tests don't rely on said 3rd party.

[Assistant]
I end up with mock files that are thousands of lines long to simulate the different cases for the tests, which become very unyieldy very quickly.
I usually simulate the test case with the 3rd party enabled, copy the response object and save it in a fixture file.

[User] But in order to simulate many different cases I end up with 10-15 permutations of the same object, all slightly different from one another.

[Assistant] I'm thinking of shrinking them to only what's being accessed, but then in the future if we ever use a property not found in the mocks we would need to go and refresh all the mocks.


[User]
Need some new easy reading Sci-Fi book recommendations. Preferably nothing that requires a 10+ book commitment 🤯
#BookSky 🪐📚

[Assistant]
Murderbot is the 1st that comes to mind, there’s like 7 of them but most are novellas and each is written to work as a stand-alone so you don’t technically have to keep reading to get the payoff.

Andy Weir. Project Hail Mary is my personal fav.

Aurora Cycle is a great YA option!

#booksky📚🪐

[User] Yes to murder bot! I also like Chilling Effect which is fun and not very well known riverrunbookstore.com/book/9780062...

[Assistant] I hadn’t heard of this before, but I’m definitely going to be checking it out. Thanks for the rec!

[User] Give Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton. It was such a fun read!

[Assistant] Added to my TBR, thanks!


[User] Well, papers are like buses and turn up all at once. Another paper out today where we use transparent gels for imaging live samples. Very nicely, you can then release the samples with no issue with simple agitation so you can then watch the organisms grow…

[Assistant] Excuse to add the nicest video from this year showing this in action… (collected by Marco Marcello at Liverpool, lead author on this work)

[User] Link to paper here - www.nature.com/articles/s41...

[Assistant] Also, this is one of the longest pieces of work I have been involved in with the preliminary ideas being developed in 2014… so glad to see the back of it to be honest!


[User] Good morning $ASTS investors!  While some people might be concerned about SpaceX getting a commercial license for SCS before us, I have zero concerns. AT&T and Verizon now have even more incentive to get their spectrum leases filed and to share their plans for service.

[Assistant] Ultimately the economics of SCS services are driven by how much capacity you have, how much incremental new 💰 it generates and how much money can be saved from an opex/capex perspective for the MNO.

[User] Agreed. and it's likely that theres been an additional behind the scenes push from MNOs (at&t and rakuten, it looks like) to see accelerated deployment.

[Assistant]
This was the decision that validated investing in $ASTS. Starlink and $TMUS are locked into text messaging only with no realistic path to usable data.

Meanwhile $ASTS will be rolling out 4G service everywhere.

I added more call options today.


[User] NATO should send troops and close the skies over Ukraine. In fact they should have done this 2 years ago, anyways.. I hate being right, therefore mark my words, Putin will attack and take Kiev soon.

[Assistant] I have been saying it since Day 3 of the War. I was wrong on Day 1, however. In the morning of Feb24, I heard about the invasion, went for a daylong hike, assumed that the defense will be futile, Russia would take over Ukraine in 1 day, not 3, and clean the mess by the next day (Friday) morning. ;-)

[User] What we saw afterwards was a non-negligible but alibist help to Ukraine, as if everyone just wanted both to look like someone who is not totally spitting on Ukraine; however, working hard to make sure that Russia wins. It's so wrong and ineffective. Shock and Awe Blitzkrieg was possible!

[Assistant] My Czech homeland did tons of things to change the sentiment, sent PM for the first wartime visit of 3PM to Kyiv, sent first heavy weapons, first proper MLRSes, took the highest number of UA refugees (per our capita) etc. It would be enough if everyone did proportionally - which the West didn't.


[User]
This is the tomb of James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose, one of only two effigies found in St Giles Cathedral!

He's a fascinating character, a man of courage & honour, but also fairly unknown outside of Scotland.

So, let me tell you the story of the Great Montrose.

[Assistant]
In 1637, King Charles I tried to impose Episcopalianism on the Church of Scotland. In response, many Scots, including Montrose, signed the National Covenant defending the independence of the Scottish church.

Civil war broke out, with Montrose siding with the Covenanters.

[User]
However, it soon became clear to him that certain individuals were using the war to usurp the King's power for themselves - especially Archibald Campbell, the Earl of Argyll.

Montrose still believed in Charles' full authority as King over everything apart from the church.

[Assistant]
He felt honour bound to switch sides and begin fighting for the Royalists.

Eventually, in 1644, Montrose was let loose to make a name for himself. He led the Royalist army in six major battles and more small skirmishes, almost always outnumbered but still victorious.

[User]
Daring, speed and ingenuity proved to be Montrose's strengths, along with the sheer determination of the Highland and Irish soldiers that made up the bulk of his army.

Unfortunately, after the King's defeat in England, Montrose's army fell apart.

[Assistant]
In 1649, Charles was executed and the next year, Montrose raised a new army to fight for his son Charles II.

At Carbisdale, in the far north, this Royalist army was surprised and defeated with Montrose soon captured.

[User]
Dragged to Edinburgh, the Marquis kept his head held high but had no hope of a fair trial.

Labelled a traitor, he was hanged, beheaded and quartered, his head displayed on a spike on the Old Tolbooth for 11 years.

How did he end up with this grand tomb?

[Assistant]
In 1661, after Charles II gained power, he declared the Great Montrose a loyal patriot, had his remains gathered back together and interred in St Giles Cathedral.

The Effigy was a later Victorian addition.

[User]
Around two weeks later, the head of Montrose's old enemy Archibald Campbell would take its turn on the Tolbooth's spike!

So give Montrose a visit the next time you're in St Giles!

[Assistant] My husband is a descendant, also called James Graham. I didn’t know he had a tomb in St Giles. We’ll have to pay a visit sometime.


[User]
LinkedIn is so fun 😆😂
Got myself in hot water there!

[Assistant] Tbh LinkedIn would benefit from more personality and less insincere corporate waffle.... IMHO.

[User] I agree on that too!

[Assistant] That will be my next post but I'll wait a bit 😜


[User] Flick often asked what he's chatting to players about when shown having conversations on camera. Yesterday was about his post-game talk with Lamine Yamal. He doesn't understand what's so interesting...

[Assistant] The way Flick has been handling Barca media circus has been outstanding, he just loves to go with those "I'm not going to give you a straight answer and what are you going to do about it?" replies 😂

[User] yeh, he's held strong so far. My favourite is the amount of times he's bewildered by a Q and just goes: 'It's normal.'

[Assistant] He definitely came aware of what he's getting into and prepared for it, having a good strategy to deal with the press sometimes is a matter of survival for Barça coaches after all. God knows Xavi could have used one.


[User]
Just because the Dragon game doesn't so it doesn't mean ttrpgs don't.

This also counts for any discussions being had around it too.

[Assistant]
Doesn't do it? What?

I'm following 600 people! Why is discourse only visible to me through subposts? Subskeet messaging if you will?

[User]
To be fair this is a general statement more than a subskeet.

But there's a fairly common thing of people talking about DnDs nuances and discorse and assuming it applies to everything.

[Assistant] So tell me cool stuff about Locus! 😀

[User]
Haha fair point... ok..  how abooouuut....

Items are an important thing in Locus, you need a weapon to attack an enemy (though you can improvise with most items for this purpose).

Unfortunately using an item will affect it's durability and when it's all gone it might break with each use.

[Assistant]
One of the fun things is Items being on cards.

The intent is to give them that little bit of extra tangibility that makes the loss of an item that little bit more notable. You lose the physical card you are holding.

[User]
This is designed, like a lot of the system, to put a focus on player/character action and consequences.

Items don't break on their own, they break because you *chose* to use them.

This ties in with the themes of guilt and regret that run through Locus.

[Assistant]
So a designed part of the intended emotional experience is the experience of frailty and loss?

OK, sounds intriguing. Can you tell me more?


[User] I spoke to a US colleague today and asked ‘why does the world’s richest country not revolt as hundreds of thousands of its citizens sleep rough?’ His view was, fear of socialism. Which, to be clear, is defined as public control over the means of production. I’m confused. Can other Americans explain?

[Assistant] Unless you colleague associate socialism to regimes like Cuba and USSR where the government own or control all or main industries, your colleague meant to say WORKERS OWINING the means of production.

[User]
The means of production are the assets and resources, including infrastructure, capital, product capital, land, "work", that enables society to engage in production.

Capitalists are the owners of the means of production today, in socialism it is the workers who own the means of production.

[Assistant] In socialism it means that workers own the industries where they work (similar to cooperatives), and everything in it. As such, worker make collective decisions about productions  resources management, etc, not for profits but to make society a better place and their lives more enjoyable.


[User]
Seems I found some Critters from the #CriticalRole fandom yesterday with my post so I thought I'd reintroduce myself!

I'm Ellie, last year my wife and I met the cast of CR at MCM comic con (sticker on my face cos pre transition and dysphoria)

[Assistant]
Needless to say it was one of the happiest days of my life.
Despite it being such a quick interaction it will stick with me forever, also Marisha did heart hands at us as we left which set me off 😭😅

We did manage to book an autograph with Sam and he was such a sweetie!

[User] Any of my fellow critters wanna share their interactions with the CR crew? 😊❤

[Assistant] Also Matt being like "Hey you made it!!" As we walked in to the photo op 😘👌🏼


[User]
@michaeljklein.bsky.social @kathrynrose.bsky.social
Have your cats written poetry? Is it quotable?

[Assistant] Good morning, @ellen-friedman.bsky.social. Or is it good night?

[User]
Sadly, good night. Or it will be once I can get sleepy.
Good morning to you!!

[Assistant] youtu.be/GB2yiIoEtXw?...


[User]
As much as I'd love to start glazing my stuff it's just not possible until older GPUs are supported, or it becomes easier to get access to WebGlaze. I nuked my IG and Twitter ages ago, and getting access via Bsky seems unlikely.

Also the processing time for a single image is... not great.

[Assistant] I'm sometimes kinda glad I only work traditionally, they may steal my files but they can never steal my originals. Small mercy but I'll take what I can in these artist-unfriendly times.

[User]
My issue as well. My PC can work Glaze somewhat okay but it is pushing it to the limit, my fans have never been spinning as hard as trying to process the glazing 😅
And ik the glaze team is beyond overwhelmed with the webglaze requests, been waiting mine to be handled since May 🥲

[Assistant]
I haven't even tried installing it since my GPUs not on the list of supported GPUs 😅 I have a feeling it would go badly.

Tbh I probably won't put myself in the queue even if they open DMs here again, I feel like it's way more important that digital artists get access since they're more vulnerable.


[User] Aaaaand there we have it! Simon has been absolutely rapid for a while now, considerably faster than those around. So close to the 600nm mark!

[Assistant] Considering the 24hr solo record held between 2003 and 2012, and was only officially broken a couple of times after that, this race is doing wonders for the WSSR record list. At 610.45nm the ORMA 60 solo record will fall.

[User] You called it! I used to have this image in huge format on my office wall…

[Assistant] A great project that worked hard to make sure they knew their boat inside and out - if Simon has managed to get any of the performance data with the purchase/charter, he’s in good stead.


[User] It's never as easy as the stupid squishy thing in the skull thinks. I don't know why we ever trust it, to be honest.

[Assistant]
What is a day anyway? Does it have 24 hours? Or 23? Or 25? Or even 19, or 29?  Does anyone know?

What then does it mean to do something "today"?

And don't even get me started on crossing the international date line. I'll never get that Wednesday back, although I did have Saturday twice.

[User] (True, many would consider this an excellent trade; it just messes with my head.)

[Assistant] I've now found a useful balance of assumptions that works in most cases, but it wasn't a smooth ride, and thank god for tests.

[User]
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that "timestamps" are the solution to all the worlds problems and fail to realize that a "day" exists as a concept in its own right.

And in the modern world doesn't have much to do with the rotation of the earth.

[Assistant] It's a good example of one of those things we get away with thinking very simply about because we mostly share the same instance, or rarely deal with the overlapping versions. Coding for dealing with that is a whole new level.


[User] Racist people joined my comment section too. This is why I hate doing content in German. Sexist and racist incels pop out of nowhere. I hope it gets better over time. I’m at peace doing English content though.

[Assistant] Oh nooo I'm sorry to hear that, that's awful!

[User] There is a reason why I completely dedicated myself to English and removed myself from the German culture in the past 10 years. I had to deal with this a lot. The sexism is new though but the racism has always been there. You have a darker skin they’ll insult you bc you’re a minority.

[Assistant] ugh, I'm so sorry that you've gone through that! Yeah, English for sure is better, also easier to moderate too!

[User] Ugh! I’m so sorry for you 😔

[Assistant] People suck.


[User] If this continues, the only classes left will be Jesus and football, and far too many Floridians are just fine with that.

[Assistant] I guess if I ever visit again I'll have to leave my Sociology degree at home then.

[User] Contraband degree 😐

[Assistant] It's all insane. 🤯


[User] Gonna watch one of those weird Sky Cinema movies nobody has ever heard of. 2017's TIME TRAP.

[Assistant] That was worth a watch. Pretty high concept, low(ish) budget SciFi movie. An original story too that took its idea and just ran with it and kept me interested until the end. Even if it was of the "wouldn't it be cool if..." variety of storytelling.

[User] Sadly the characters are almost totally irrelevant. Nobody really has anything to do here, they just exist in the story. They're not bad characters, acting is decent, it's just not really a character based film. They're just there.

[Assistant] But it was a cool idea, well made, unusual little SciFi film.


[User] Today's Gardening Advice: During fall and winter, it becomes easier to spot nests and egg masses. This tan, Styrofoam appearing lump is the egg mass of the Praying Mantis. Once the weather warms, hundreds of babies will hatch out. 🌱

[Assistant] New friends! 🥰

[User] I’ve often wondered what that was.

[Assistant] Mantises are the cool of cool.


[User]
Hey guys!

If you don't know me from Twitter, I've been a dev for 25 years, and a coach for 15.

For the last 5 years (almost) I've done marketing and sales coaching almost  exclusively - 1:1s, courses, workshops, masterminds, the whole nine yards.

[Assistant]
I had 3k Twitter followers and 15k karma on Reddit but I don't like these calcified bits of ego and it's nice to start over on a new fresh and exhilarating platform.

I previously built wuju.app that fixed my depression and taught the soft discipline habit buidling method on r/getdisciplined.

[User]
These days I'm building coachbuddy.pro extremely in public and still teach and consult on sales and marketing at growthlab.so.

I've a lot to contribute and even more to learn and grow myself.

Let's go! 🔥🔥🔥

[Assistant] Oh and I don't actually read paperbacks - I've been reading almost everything books digitally since the Palm Pilot III (circa 2000). Could never figure out how to hold a paperback open with one hand and I'm just larping in my pfp 🤷♂


[User] Ptsss you! Yes you there. Can you check if my panties are covering my hole?

[Assistant] They’re not. I think they’re ripped and I might have to lend a “hand” 👀

[User] Uff this is a problem, hurry up please🧡😖

[Assistant] *plugs dick in* you’re good for now 👉👈


[User]
Bewb smashing done.
And wasn't that bad.
They mash em with around 20lbs of pressure.
And the masher lady was nice. We chatted and she had been mashing for 39 years!

[Assistant] The monster mash?

[User] A graveyard smash!

[Assistant] Oh yeah, the gal that mashed my taters is really nice and very efficient. The longest part of the visit is finding parking at the hospital lot 😆


[User] "Wait, mortal. If you desire these noodles, you must first answer my riddles three."

[Assistant] that's a threat display (multiple entendre)

[User]
On a totally different subject, does anyone else get Mike Nelson's Jack Perkins from the MST3K Cheese Hour flashbacks every time you hear "Down the Witches Road" from Agatha All Along?
(Jack Perkins Voice: Down, down, down the road..."

[Assistant] "What is the Air-Speed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow?"


[User] 🚩Please follow the amazing team over at comediocracy.bsky.social who are launching a comedic/satirical show in January that just might help retain some of your sanity for the next few years. It's Bigger than Democracy (and I'm Producing 😁) THANKS! 🇺🇸🎭💙

[Assistant]
I'm in there... looking forward to it.
Wishing you good luck!

[User] Thanks matey!!!

[Assistant] Followed!


[Assistant] Mannequins are awesome! They don't complain, they don't talk back and most of all, they don't want to cuddle 😏

[User] don't tell me how to feel 💜

[Assistant]
Upon unexpected discovery of a human corpse, it’s not uncommon for folks to think it’s a mannequin.
Every once in awhile, the macabre inverse happens.
www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_...


[User] crazy how the one thing that helps w my mental health is drawing the stuff i be drawing.

[Assistant] I posted this and some fucking mental health bot account followed me immediately like are we serious? for real? your spa day immaculate account wants to see my big boobed elf on your timeline? no really bc this pisses me off like, advice like "eat 30 plants a week!, go outside!" literally scram.

[User] so fucking out of touch. so unnecessary. really scraping the very top of the "be healthy" advice thats been regurgitated over and over and over again. The kinda stuff that "works for everyone". Good gods. 🥲

[Assistant]
Oh ugh. Not -really- the same thing but something similar happened to me, i just said "pet" in a post and got followed by some giant pet image aggregation account.
Sorry that happened to you in the specific way it did. "Pop Health" accounts are rarely good news.


[User] "Under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy has initiated a particularly energetic foreign & defense policy. In the face of limited European and international legitimacy, the prime minister realized she could capitalize on her own domestic political strength and a fortuitous geopolitical moment"

[Assistant] "To do so, she surrounded herself with pragmatic politicians with government experience and set them to work. The result, for better or for worse, is what we might call an Italian 'New Look.'"

[User] When the US takes a step back, other nations fill in the vacuum left. This is a bad thing in my opinion. I’m pro-globalism and international trade.

[Assistant]
I think #globalization has done some good, but also some bad. Nobel economist Stiglitz: "Large segments of the population in advanced countries have not been doing well: in the US, the bottom 90% has endured income stagnation for a third of a century."
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/g...


[User] Ally McCoist at Hunter High School, East Kilbride in January 1979. McCoist was still a pupil when he made his debut for St Johnstone.

[Assistant] Sure that isn't a still from Gregory's Girl ?

[User] Ally the best pundit for the footie ⚽⚽

[Assistant] Clearly offside.


[User] Thanks to the FUTURE of VIDEO GAMES it's cheaper to buy Alan Wake remastered currently, which includes DLC than just the DLC for the original game which is currently on sale. Put the DLC ON SALE you bastards!

[Assistant] Sorry anyone that listens to the hg101 podcast but I'm not gonna play the DLC, whoops.

[User] The DLC rules, and is quick!

[Assistant] It'd be a lot quicker if they gave me a cool 50-75% off.


[User] Something that absolutely infuriates me is how often I see people say that if you don't like body hair, you're a bad person, or even a pedophile. I feel like it's another thing that really trivializes that kind of accusation. I don't like body hair, never have and probably never will. I don't like-

[Assistant] it on men, I don't like it on women, and even though I am masculine leaning, I don't even like it on myself and I'd get laser hair removal if I could. You know what I do like though? Muscle mommies covered in piercings and tattoos.

[User] Trust me, I've been trying so hard to desensitize myself by growing out my own body hair, looking at pictures of women with bushes, including drawings. I just don't like it, it's not for me. Why do people treat that as some kind of moral failing?

[Assistant] I don't necessarily see body hair as "unsanitary" or anything like that, I know there's been research that disproves that, so for me it's just that it isn't visually appealing and I don't like the idea of getting hair in my mouth during certain acts.


[User]
Nothing about a stabbing is "suspected"; either someone has been stabbed, or they haven't. One might suspect a particular perpetrator, but victims tend to be pretty certain about how they gain puncture wounds.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

[Assistant] Because sometimes the intial report turns out to be wrong on further investigation. That happened a few days ago in an unrelated incident.

[User] One would have thought it was a pretty easy distinction to make...

[Assistant] It's public reports…

[User] That's all your getting here. A report that police responded to a report.

[Assistant] But did the reporter speak to the reporter for the report they were reporting on?


[User] "Carrotblanca" was a great short. Imagine if Looney Tunes parodied the original movie back in the 40s rather than spitting out crap like "Tokio Jokio", "Bugs Nips The Nips" and "The Ducktators"...

[Assistant] But we still got "Daffy - The Commando", "Plane Daffy" and "Russian Rhapsody"; so it's an equal balance.

[User]
Yeah, if it involves Daffy Duck, there was a chance of it being good. "Scrap Happy Daffy" too actually...

Actually, if you wanna dig deep, "Draftee Daffy" is easily my favourite short involving the duck and one of my favourite LT shorts period.

[Assistant] And if you want to balance out "Nip the Nips", we also got "Falling Hare" or "Hare meets Herr" from the war.


[User]
Snell to the Dodgers. Hey, if L.A. wants to defer money, that’s their business. Helluva rotation on paper, but health is going to remain a constant concern with that group of starters.

I’ve had a feeling for a while that Max wasn’t in play there. So, Fried to SD? Boston? Mets (god please no)?

[Assistant] I think Boston for Fried, but what do I know?

[User] I probably should have added Baltimore to my list, especially if Burns signs elsewhere. Fried in Boston just feels a bit odd to me for some reason,  even though ground-ball pitcher fits for Fenway and BoSox have expressed desire to add a top-end lefty starter.

[Assistant] The Red Sox have been reported to be in on signing two of Snell, Fried, and Burnes.  I think with an upgraded rotation Boston can return to the playoffs next season.  Of course, the Orioles are a free agent player in the SP market, too.


[User] I cannot stress how lucky I feel to be third generation queer. There were *problems* with the version of gender I got (basically all women are inherently non-binary by default, all men are a weird extra that can be fun, I guess), but the foundation was very helpful.

[Assistant] My gender fluid, masc leaning mother didn't cope entirely well to get a high femme offspring. But, I got concepts like transness explained to me at around age 4. It was a clumsy explanation (it was the early 90s!), but this was was very much not a hard concept to grasp.

[User] Ironically it did make interfacing with other queer folk out of the family magnitudes harder, because a lot of them were processing some deep trauma. Similarly the Atheist community was largely about ceasing to be Christian, not folks like me who never were.

[Assistant] I am, ironically, no less estranged than any of the queer folks I know who don't talk to their mothers because their Mom can't handle them being trans or a lesbian. But my reason gets to involve MKULTRA and intergenerational trauma of being queer & neurodivergent for 3 generations. 🙃


[User]
If one more person sees my mask and proceeds to deliberately open mouth cough all around me, I’m going to become the Joker.

Like, the Kevin Michael Richardson Joker from 2004’s The Batman cartoon with the weird hair and no shoes. That kinda Joker specifically.

[Assistant] No one cared who I was until I put on the mask. You merely adopted social distancing. I was born in it, moulded by it.

[User]
Honestly, hell yeah. Time to start dressing like a weird monster man so that the first thing they notice isn't the mask.

Either that, or start carrying a hammer or baseball bat. Let's break some kneecaps.

[Assistant] That’s when you take the mask off, violently cough on them, tell them “good luck with that” and walk away. Make em squirm.


[User]
⚡🇷🇺Russia's Kaliningrad is currently under surveillance by 5 NATO aircraft

Aeronautical radar detection aircraft and aircraft with radio and electronic intelligence systems are flying around this area.

[Assistant] The Kaliningrad Jammer is in a bit of a jam itself!

[User] 🤔targeting exercise?

[Assistant] increased surveillance might provide some tactical insight, but it does little to address the underlying tensions that fuel such provocations. perhaps rather than monitoring, the focus should shift to dialogue and diplomacy? after all, a warmongering atmosphere benefits no one in the long run.


[User]
To everybody playing:

#ASongOrMovieForBirds

Please be informed that I might have to change the timing of @fgfriendlies.bsky.social and @fgonbluesky.bsky.social games on Bluesky SOON due to overlapping with other games! I will let you all know of the new times in advance!

THANK YOU!

[Assistant] Add new ones to @calendargirlbot.bsky.social 's list so I can keep up! I'm playing the same game on both platforms at the same time for now but differing schedules is tough. We'll get there!

[User] Thanks Safe! Am in the process of finding out the best possibilities! 🤩🤩🤩

[Assistant]
Brilliant idea!

I’m happy to set up CGB posts when I have the tag in advance.

At the moment CGB sends out posts for games that are on both platforms
so players can play no matter which platform they feel more comfortable on ❤


[User]
Total fucking stranger just opened my front door that I thought was locked but apparently my stoned on meds arse had not locked it.

I fucking hate that.

[Assistant]
Was in food room, heard front door open, went to front door, heard feet outside on wet stone running away - it sounded like a child/teenager.

Opened door stood staring for a bit in case they came back into view - could hear talking on main road around corner out of sight.
Never came back into view.

[User]
Before food room I had put a towel across the bottom of it as a draft excluder, so it only opened like two inches.

Still scary though that my arsehole neighbours seem to think that I'm a fucking Final Fantasy NPC who's house can just be interfered with for no fucking reason besides their curiosity.

[Assistant]
Idk WTF I've done keeping to myself to make every worthless fucking chav in this street and the main one out there go out of their fucking way to disrupt and disturb me.

I can't wait to leave this fucking Hellhole - am literally just existing not bothering anybody n they do such weird shit FML FFS.


[User]
Day off today, lots of jobs.

Hair is cut, next up is the bakery. Very important.

[Assistant] I think bakeries are the most important stop of any day. Especially if they look as good as that one! 💖 Hope you have a good day and a great bakery visit!

[User] A good bakery is my favourite place on earth.

[Assistant]
Most important!

What did you get? (Please say everything)

[User] Several things. Most exciting was the egg soufflé slider, which I’ve had a few times before and is INSANE.

[Assistant] That sounds incredible!


[User]
Like Goodheart's rule, there's definitely a thing where people whose job is to solve problems, have an incentive to make those problems fun and interesting and fulfilling to solve instead of boring and grudge work.

This is why programmers all automate as much grudge work out as possible.

[Assistant]
A programmer will happily spend 5 hours automating away some boring thing they have to do for 5 minutes a day.

That's 25 minutes a week, 20 hours a year they are saving.

For problems that are not boring, that are actually fulfilling to solve.

[User] Quite right. Humans, in my observation, solve small problems with rather complex solutions. Mostly in an effort to get out of doing labour.

[Assistant]
Humans aren’t good at doing tedious, repetitive tasks.

Even if we’re trying our best, there will be occasional typos, overlooked steps, vacation days, etc.

If something simple needs to happen every day, an automated process will be more reliable than I am.


[User]
Day 3

A song outside of your favorite genre

I love Four Tops so much. I could listen to Levi Stubbs sing all day long. He is voice is incredible.

[Assistant] Four Tops rule. I love “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)” too!

[User] Oh yes. 70’s soul is the best!

[Assistant] You have never lied, my Minnesotan friend!


[User] #Ontario Provincial Police are looking for a man who they say shot at several vehicles on Highway #401 in #Mississauga Tuesday morning. www.cp24.com/local/peel/2...

[Assistant]
"male between 25 and 35 years old, about five-foot-10 with long-braided hair to the middle of his back. He was last seen wearing jeans, a blue/grey t-shirt, black running shoes, and a satchel on his shoulder."

🤔 and answers to Tarzan.

[User] Yes, Tarzanlike and pretty conspicuous. Hopefully they pick him up soon.

[Assistant] You figure someone is going to ID him soon.


[User] Had to call off the physio today, I'm suddenly feeling very ill.

[Assistant] So sorry to hear this, hope you’re ok and that it passes.

[User] Thank you. I've had to lie down. My stomach is really sore.

[Assistant] That's not good. Look after yourself.

[User] Thank you. I've just taken my antibiotic and that's made it 10 times worse.

[Assistant] That's not good at all!

[User] Oh, I'm sorry; I hope it passes.

[Assistant] Thank you. Feeling really rough.


[User]
Seriously. Fuck Unity.
So Hard.
Just... fuck Unity SO SO HARD.

[Assistant] At this point I think Unity just hates good press 🙃

[User] You might be on to something there.

[Assistant] Could they be pushing their users to open-source alternatives *on purpose*? 👀👀

[User] Well then they are strategic masterminds.


[User]
1- RIGHT AFTER THIS SEGMENT THE TALKING HEAD THOUGHT HAVERS COMPLETELY SAY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT HASAN SAID

2- free blocklist in replies 😇

[Assistant] To be fair, it would be more shocking if there wasn't the Bluesky equivalent of a bar fight in the comments.

[User]
Is it too late for me to cosplay a Democrat voter and shout angrily at everyone?

"I WANT MORE OF THE SAME SHIT I COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERY SINGLE DAY AND IF YOU DON'T WANT IT TOO YOU'RE FUCKING STUPID!"

[Assistant] Amazing impression I almost blocked you as a reflex 😇


[User]
Good morning, what lovely things are happening out there?

This week is feeling heavy… so how about sharing some nice things?

I’ll go first… yesterday morning I received a lovely voice note from a friend wishing me a good day. Also, I had a chat with a lovely friend who really cheered me up ♥

[Assistant] A late entry in the alternative porridge toppings - black cherry and cinnamon surprise - the surprise being that I thought I was adding frozen berries, but it was black cherries!  It is very good though.

[User]
Ohhh I love black cherries 🍒
Nice accidental find there Rachel 🙌

[Assistant] I baked some bread for the first time in ages, and it turned out well 😀

[User] Ohh congrats! 🙌

[Assistant] I’ve just had my first coffee of the day! A bit late, but better late than never 😀


[User] Will I ever post anything beyond this? I have no idea, but here I am.

[Assistant] welcome! 🖤

[User] Hope you like it here! Lots of lovely feeds to enjoy and lists to look at.


[User]
@mcuban.bsky.social, I imagine you could help @bsky.app out with some server assistance, no?

They are a bit sluggish from the amazing growth.
I'm just saying, lol. A #FuckMuskCollab?

[Assistant] One server for Bluesky, two FPV drones for Ukraine.

[User] Great plan!


[User]
Freckled characters!?

Nows my chance! 🧡

[Assistant] Oooh the ghost girl is especially cute! (I'm not biased based on pumpkins I swear!)

[User]
Haha 😂 definitely not a biased answer!

That was the Halloween piece I did with Cassie. It was the first time I've drawn a jack o lantern and thought she looked really good with it when I finished. 🧡

[Assistant] It turned out great!!


[User] Ethan Hayter is the swimming trunks.

[Assistant] The more you explained it the less I understood it.

[User] Then who's the pool?

[Assistant] Loved that part.


[User] “Republican voters today are not persuaded by policy details…What really underlies their thinking are bigger-picture emotional ideas: of tribalism, and of certain types of people that they think hold them down or make them feel bad.”

[Assistant] This is terrible advice. Telling people they are fascists because they voted a different way is not good.

[User]
Read the article, it doesn’t say that.

“Lead with values, talk about agenda, pivot to billionaires” is the advice.

[Assistant] In other words- spoiled brats.


[User]
Card #66: Reb Beach

“Reb spends his free time skateboarding, hanging out at the beach, & mostly playing his guitar. His brother, John, inspires him. Steven Tyler is his favorite entertainer. Reb met Kip Winger while both musicians were playing on a Fiona record.”

Hey, Rebert’s back! (1/5)

[Assistant]
The last week or so has been a steady mix of old vets, thrash metal, & the street smart sophistication of Slaughter, so it is a pleasure to be back in the world of pure, uncut hair metal.

And, oh, what a head of hair it is! I didn’t realize Reb had such a head of luscious curls! His previous (2/5)

[User]
card showed Rebert sporting a cowboy hat, & when I watched the video for Hungry, I was too busy being mesmerized by Kippy’s grinding batch to notice the locks.

We haven’t seen a head of hair like this since Tommy Aldridge back on 8/29/24. Fuck, are they related? Is Reb Tommy’s secret son? (3/5)

[Assistant]
Somebody check the ages & Black Oak Arkansas’s tour schedule. Maybe Reb’s mom was entranced by Tommy’s bare fisted drum prowess.

A word on Reb’s sartorial choices. Does he seem a tad embarrassed to you? Kinda like he wanted to wear a shirt but was talked out of it by a sleazy photographer. (4/5)


[User] Some days I wonder if @bungie.net has any idea just how much goodwill it has pissed away pleasing Pete Parsons while fucking over the entire #Destiny2 community...

[Assistant] The single greatest thing #Sony could do rehabilitate the community's confidence in #Bungie would be to fire Pete Parsons and make a loud stink about it.

[User] No joke, you cannot say "pete parsons" in in-game #Destiny2 chat. It's censored. Every time I play pvp, I end the game with "fire pete parsons", and every time, it ends up censored.

[Assistant]
It is difficult to describe how much "little bitch energy" is contained in the #bungie CEO's decision to make sure his name isn't visible in in-game chat.

I am 100% certain it's 1:1 with "little dick energy"


[User] Quite astonishing that the majority of users on this platform seem to not understand that they are operating on an open and decentralized protocol.

[Assistant] Not everyone is a computer scientist! ;-)

[User] But everyone thinks they know everything 😁

[Assistant] Probably! Out of curiosity, how did you infer that the majority of users on this platform seem to not understand that they are operating on an open and decentralized protocol?


[User] These freeloaders.

[Assistant] I know… but they’re so cute 😻😻

[User] They do have a certain appeal.

[Assistant] You know they are thinking that about you, because it IS THEIR home, not yours!


[User] To think his mom went on the news circuit yesterday to push the idea that he's a genius 😂

[Assistant] If mommy  has to tell people you’re a genius - you’re not a genius!

[User] I'm always thinking about this SNL skit when I see her.

[Assistant]
Where does he get his Ketamine from?
Same dealer Jr. gets his cocaine from?

[User]
I have a feeling that his mom has been pouring that into his ear for decades he’s just too unaware to realize his shortcomings.
A good man knows his limitations.

[Assistant] He's a fucking moron who thinks he's a genius. Ketamine has pickled his brain.


[User]
To bolster your account here on BlueSky, you can add an element of verification via this straight-forward method:
www.techradar.com/computing/so...
Like me, you may need to contact the host provider of your website to toy with your DNS settings on their sides.
It only took me about 15 minutes.

[Assistant] Thanks for the reminder!

[User] My pleasure. You would know this stuff inside and out, but most don't [including myself].

[Assistant] The article was well written for most people to follow along I think.

[User] Yes, it was well done. I tried to do the DNS dance on Hostpapa myself, but couldn't find the proper area. Fortunately. they've always been good at sorting things out from their end.

[Assistant] That is the hallmark of any decent company, do they support their customers? If the customer has to put forth a lot of effort to get support -- its not a good company.


[User] King James VI & I is depicted in armour on this sixpence, minted at the Tower of London in 1603. It’s one of the first English coins to be struck after James’s accession to the English throne on 24 March 1603. From the collection of The Hunterian, museum of the University of Glasgow.

[Assistant] James I and George I are all I’m missing from having a set of monarchs from Charles III back to Elizabeth I. A JI shilling and GI crown or halfcrown would be great. I need to upgrade my James II and George II pieces to something bigger than a pence and groat.

[User] To cement his new position as King of England, James quickly established his English coinage. He issued his first orders for a new English coinage on 13 April 1603, while he was in Newcastle enroute to London, and it was introduced in the following month.

[Assistant] The coin titles the king as 'James, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France & Ireland. After he adopted the British title in late 1604, his English and Scottish coins titled him as 'King of Great Britain, France & Ireland'.


[User] Why are sleeper sofas so ugly 😭

[Assistant] Yes! I’ve been looking for months! I finally decided to get a pullout couch instead for style and quality.

[User] Do you perhaps have a link 👀

[Assistant] Yep. I went with Ashley Furniture. Still waiting for it to arrive otherwise I would give you a review. www.ashleyfurniture.com/p/rannis_que...


[User] Congratulations to @brittvandewalle.bsky.social on an excellent PhD defense! 🎉 Looking forward to collaborating with you on the #ACCESS4ALL project at @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social —exciting times ahead!

[Assistant] Following up with congratulations to the proud supervisors @sldelange.bsky.social, Steven Van Hecke, and Bart Maddens—An inspiring moment to celebrate! 🙌

[User] 🤩 Congratulations! Such innovative and important research! Well done @brittvandewalle.bsky.social! You rock!

[Assistant] That is so kind of you. Britt did a stellar job of defending her dissertation on Political Party Think Tanks!


[User] The red paint is not ideal. I recently got a fine for driving in a bus lane because it was dark, & the red is invisible in the dark. I think painting buses on the lanes, in reflective white, is a better solution. Or maybe and/and/and - red + words + emblems.

[Assistant] Also colour blindness! Green is already used to delineate bus/cycle lanes in some places. People always forget that 10% of the male population are colour blind (not me, I am genetically perfect).

[User] You're right, I hadn't thought of that.

[Assistant] See, it's easy to forget :). You can be prohibited from jobs where colour is of critical safety importance, e.g. commercial pilots (air and sea), some policing roles... so if you don't want to ban colour blind drivers from holding driving licenses, you need road safety systems that account for that.

[User] I'm colour blind… once thought a broken traffic light was green, and zoomed through – only the bottom info light was lit, but I couldn't see the difference between green and white. My learning experience was to slow down and be more careful, not to change the colours or ask for some other redesign!

[Assistant] I'm colour blind… once thought a broken traffic light was green, and zoomed through – only the bottom info light was lit, but I couldn't see the difference between green and white. My learning experience was to slow down and be more careful, not to change the colours or ask for some other redesign!


[User]
Found a pretty nice Etsy article that puts into layman's terms the GPSR stuff. Hope this helps some peeps!

www.etsy.com/seller-handb...

[Assistant]
I have no idea how pottery/handmade stuff falls into this tho... still trying to find information for ceramics and cannot find anything clear.

Gonna have to just buckle down and read the article I guess D:

[User]
"by carrying out risk analyses, drawing up and maintaining technical documentation, ensuring products are compliant and traceable, providing clear instructions and safety information, taking corrective actions, and notifying safety issues to consumers"

I honestly don't understand what these mean.

[Assistant]
Like in practice, I mean. Risk analyses? Technical documentation? I'm an artist not some sort of bureaucrat.
I can obviously tell how something is made, and the materials are described in the items descriptions in my shop, but is that enough.


[User] I’ve been lucky to have a cohort of haters for over a decade.

[Assistant] Since Day One over here 🥳

[User] I watched Degrassi so I was always confused why he was calling us inwards.

[Assistant] I had never heard of it but there was something about him that just nevvvveeerrr quite landed. Then when he hosted the Espy’s I was like “ok yeah there it is.”

[User] He gives “I don’t know any of my black relatives”

[Assistant] That’s exactly what it gives!!!!


[User]
Goooood morning, gang!

🎤📻▶

🎶My name is Matty and I'm here to say, I hope everybody has a wonderful day🎶

[Assistant] Gooooooood morning, sunshine! 🌞

[User] It sure is, shorty. It sure is 😎

[Assistant] Good morning Matty! 😁

[User] Have a good one Ryanmonster 🤙

[Assistant] Good Morning ☀

[User]
Good morning!! Hope you have a wonderful day as well! 😊

also...


[User]
The new UFO and Space: 1999 novellas from @jmswallow.bsky.social are a delightfully authentic pair of stunning adventures for SHADO and Moonbase Alpha.

Here's a spoiler-free deep dive into both of them!

www.gerryanderson.com/shadows-of-a...

[Assistant] Was going to ask if anyone knew if the Look-In comic strips of Space 1999 were available ....... They are: Christmas sorted!

[User] We do our best to be all things to all Anderfans!

[Assistant] 👍keep up the good work.

[User] Thanks for a great review, Fred!

[Assistant] Most welcome, James, they're terrific fun!


[User] Same energy as "don't walk on the streets if you don't want to be mugged". 🤦♂🤦♂

[Assistant] Only if you consider creating this dataset a crime. I don't.

[User] People haven't consented for their data to be scraped and Bluesky ToS don't allow that either. So yeah, it is stealing and violates so many principles of privacy and consent. You not considering it a crime doesn't change the fact that it's unethical at best and criminal at worst.

[Assistant]
I don't think it is that clear that it violates the ToS. I've seen several people discussing it, but no convincing (for me) argument.

What I've seen is a lot of verbal aggression, some of it from people who left Twitter for being hostile.


[User] Hardly slept because some asshole accidentally called my partner's phone in the middle of the night which scared me shitless. But I guess this morning's dog walking view makes up for it somewhat.

[Assistant] Also, best day ever to have hardly slept as the mover is bringing our stuff from storage today. 😒

[User] I got 7 scam calls (from india) last night but THANK GOODNESS for the "do not disturb" function which doesn't come off by itself before 9. 🙌🏼

[Assistant]
Yeah my phone is always on DND and I have several people listed as favorites who will then ring though that.

This was some random person we met at a demo years ago. 🤣


[User]
🔎 Zoom in

Some detail of Chevrolet Silverado Dually Kaido V2 by MINI GT x KAIDO ☆ HOUSE
· · ·


[User]
99% sure that this referral form the GP has asked me to fill in is actually meant to be filled in by them and not me.

Might send them a letter demanding £35 or other spurious amount.

[Assistant] Does this mean that, when somebody says "Is anybody here a doctor?", you can step forward?

[User] I think I can at least step forward and give them photocopies of the referral form and 12 step pathway, with details for how they can access me online but only between the hours of 8.00 and 8.01 am.

[Assistant] And you have to be the most miserable bastard in the world when speaking to them.


[User]
Righto, gonna recreate some of my most viral twitter threads here for posterity. First up:

For a few decades in the first century CE, the Roman Empire was absolutely flooded with weird sex-coins and we're still not 100% why.

[Assistant] They were minted between 22 and 79 CE, mostly earlier in that period. All known spintriae were minted in the same place, although they've been found across the Empire, from Londinium to Pompeii.

[User]
Later called spintriae (from a Greek slang word for male sex workers), they were stamped on one side with astonishingly explicit depictions of a variety of sex acts and on the other with numbers from 1 to 16.

And not one contemporary record mentions them or explains what they were used for.

[Assistant] They mostly date to Tiberius' reign, and he famously minted few coins himself until late in his reign (either out of sheer parsimony or a deliberate effort to control inflation). One theory is they were minted by private lenders desperate to get *some* sort of coinage in circulation.

[User] We know some lenders at the time were minting their own lending tokens to circumvent Tiberius' fiscal policy. Given he also had a reputation for kink, it's not impossible these were just private lending tokens and the sex art was intended as satirical.

[Assistant] They were first called "spintriae" by Sebastiano Errizo in 1559, after an old slang term (originally from ancient Greek) for a male sex worker. Friedlander in 1886 suggested that they were a sort of "sex token," that you bought in advance and could trade for services in a brothel or bath house.

[User] According to Suetonius, Augustus (who was surprisingly prudish for an Emperor) had tried to ban sex work by making it illegal - indeed, treason and blasphemy - to pay for sex with a coin bearing the Emperor's likeness... which was all coins.

[Assistant] According to this theory, the ban promptly inspired a trade in sex-coin-changers, who would sell the customers spintriae, then buy them back from the sex workers, taking a cut each time. Which I absolutely love, for sheer intelligence, adaptability and barefaced cheek.

[User] The numbers 1-16 may be significant: Augustan currency was partially binary, and the "as" (the common "spending" coin you'd use to e.g. buy a drink or a bite to eat) was 1/16th of a denarius. The numbers on the tokens may just represent a redemption rate in ases.

[Assistant] (A propos, a piece of graffiti in a bathhouse in Pompei reads "Si quis hic sederit, legat hoc ante omnia: si qui futuere voluit Atticen, quaerat aXVI," or "If anyone is sitting here, let him read this before anything: if he wants to fuck Attike, it'll cost 16 ases.")

[User] Unfortunately the distribution of the numbers doesn't support this idea. If the numbers reflected the coins' value, you'd expect 1s and 2s to be most common, followed by the binary numbers 4 and 8. But the distribution of numbers on surviving spintriae is pretty even.

[Assistant] Some commentators have tried to salvage the sex-coins theory with the idea that the number referred not to the coin's value but to a specific sex act (a bit like ordering takeout - "A number six and two number threes please"). The picture, they suggested, was a guide for the less literate.

[User] That said, the pictures and numbers don't match up - not all Xs depicted handjobs, for instance. It seems whoever minted the coins just enjoyed variety!

[Assistant] Modern historians largely reject the idea the coins were used to pay for sex. Fishburn et al have pointed out that while few if any spintriae have been found in known brothels, a number have been located in bath houses - their suggestion is that they were numbered locker tokens.

[User] But the theory I personally like the most is that they were gaming tokens. The sex act may have been specific to the game ("draw a coin from the bag and do what it says" has been suggested, for a sort of organised orgy scenario) or they may just have been naughty decorative checkers.

[Assistant] We know the Romans loved sexual art - and we know they loved fads. The idea that a sex coin game caught on, spread across the empire and faded out in a fairly short time seems absolutely on brand for them.

[User] And the frustrating thing about there being no contemporary records about them is, we don't actually know if that was because they were slightly shameful and no writer of the time wanted to discuss them... or just that they were no big deal and no-one thought they warranted a mention.

[Assistant] At any rate, we don't actually know what they were for and it seems likely now that we never will. They're just an absolutely delightful, utterly baffling bit of Roman miscellanea, and an opportunity to spam your feed with photos of graphically detailed ancient Roman erotica.


[User]
This nonprofit executive life is not for the weak.

This whole system of applying to grants and relying on donations is for the birds.

I'm officially sick of this shit.

[Assistant]
I can't believe this is what I wanted to be when I was a kid.

I should've stuck with something else like becoming a zoologist or marriage therapist.

[User]
I remember I was complaining to my mom about how hard this shit is and she said, "Omari, maybe you're not meant to for this. You get really stressed easily."

Damn, mom! You were fucking right! I should've listened.

[Assistant] But naw, when someone tells me not to do something or worse, tells me that I can't do something. I take it as a personal challenge.


[User] At first I thought this was real …..

[Assistant] I want to sign that so badly.

[User] Wish it fucking was ! (pardon the F-Bomb) 🙈

[Assistant] I thought he lived in Maralago now?


[User]
Consumerism + Money Trauma = Quick Fix

Money trauma causes chaos and avoidance, so most of our energy and resources go towards putting out constant fires, instead of building stability. We are most familiar with solving crises, and we operate in panic mode.

[Assistant] So, we tend to choose the fastest solution. Quick fixes are almost always the most expensive option with the least quality and effectiveness.

[User] Consumerism offers endless "solutions" for just about any problem or discomfort, from check-cashing services to gadgets to normalizing retail "therapy." Whatever makes the pain stop fast.

[Assistant] But this type of relief is fleeting. Over time, it can deepen financial insecurity.


[User] How many other people make travel and holiday decisions based on the public transport situation or general transport interest?

[Assistant] I was thinking of going to the Aosta Valley but the closure of the railway from Aosta to Pré-Saint-Didier makes it less appealing to me.

[User] I was put off Malta by the policy of charging tourists double for bus fares.

[Assistant] Yes, although on a positive note. I have gone to a few games in Germany based on free public transport with the ticket and Basel because you get free transport as a tourist, which made them both more appealing.

[User] Absolutely. These were negative examples but there are plenty of positive ones, not least the Deutschland-ticket. I wonder if anyone has quantified the extra tourism revenue that has generated.

[Assistant] I have a trip to Trieste on hold until they reopen the tramway and funicular.


[User]
So, according to my feed here and the amount of political content that get >15k views, most of them left 'X' bc they considered that there weren't free to speech there, but the fact is that they left it bc they don' t want to receive opposite thought answers 🤔
Sorry, but that's pretty childishly 🤷🏻♂

[Assistant]
I mean, I understand 2be angry if some *fobic/*cist say you bad words, that's why block&report exist, but be in a echo chamber and bite any outsider isn't the solution, at least for me 😅
it Isn't bad to confront thoughts, is the best way to get a middle term and no, K.Popper isn't the answer...

[User] bc 1 thing is convence an extremist that his point is not right, that's mostly imposible, and other is debate with a regular guy that just have other opinion about something. Simplifying, one can like 🏀 and other ⚽ but that doesn't mean that bth can't talk about both sports without stab each other 😅

[Assistant] bc 1 thing is convence an extremist that his point is not right, that's mostly imposible, and other is debate with a regular guy that just have other opinion about something. Simplifying, one can like 🏀 and other ⚽ but that doesn't mean that bth can't talk about both sports without stab each other 😉


[User]
I've been taking to Godot like a fish to water. It's so great to work with and I just get it.

I've always struggled with Unity and UE5, so it's nice that a system just... Works for me.

Only complaint is that the dust-up a few months ago has led to me struggling to find resources on YouTube.

[Assistant] "Why are you learning Godot, Katie?"

[User] been wanting to learn it, I keep hearing good things. I *might* wind up trying to come up with an excuse to use it for work.

[Assistant]
The stuff I'm working on is expressly 2D, but folks say it's fine for 3D.

Unity has a better core in that regard, but I'd say try it!