[User]
I've never said before but I am really thankful for my family. My folks loved me like hell and tried to shield me from homophobic BS that's all too common among fellow believers.

I was pretty much spared the queer horror most teen go through and I feel like I can never pay that back.

[Assistant] Looking back, the attitude was kinda 'Hey, I may be the weird kid but at least I'm not gay.' Like, my parents raised me better than that. The school was just so shit it reversed some their efforts to make me a decent kid. Was still less of a shithead than half the school overall.

[User] Looking back, the attitude was kinda 'Hey, I may be the weird kid but at least I'm not gay.' Like, my parents raised me better than that. The school was just so shit it reversed some their efforts to make me a decent kid. Was still less of a shithead than half the school overall.

[Assistant] Looking back, the attitude was kinda 'Hey, I may be the weird kid but at least I'm not gay.' Like, my parents raised me better than that. The school was just so shit it reversed some their efforts to make me a decent kid. Was still less of a shithead than half the school overall.


[User]
The reason the political fragmentation of the United States is less likely than the Soviet Union's was is because the Soviet Union's constituent republics had strongly distinct ethnic identities and the states don't.

But that doesn't mean it's impossible.

[Assistant] Specifically, the places that left the USSR in the early 1990s were republics where a majority of the population was ethnically non-Russian (though ironically Russia seceded from the USSR too and wasn't even the last to do so).

[User] The closest situation to that in the US is Hawaii and California, which are both minority majority states where non-Hispanic white Americans are the largest proportion of the population but not a majority.

[Assistant] This is important because while it is possible for a multiethnic nation to function without a dominant ethnic group subjugating the others (India is a great example), it is harder. For better or worse, the right *is* correct that ethnonationalism can lead to separatism.

[User] This isn't necessarily a reason not to have diversity though; separatism isn't inherently bad. A lot of the Soviet republics are better off outside of Russian domination (arguably all of them)!

[Assistant]
But it also means that when you have a country with a fairly high degree of racial or ethnic homogeneity it is easier to hold constituent parts together.

And it also means that when political divisions become intense the result is much more likely to be civil war, not secession.

[User] There are exceptions of course. The United States itself broke away from Britain and the Confederacy tried to break away from the US, both without a significant ethnonational distinction. Germany and Austria also separated due to political conflicts between Prussia and Austria.

[Assistant]
Sooo... all of this I guess is a long winded way to say that the *actual* disintegration of the US is pretty unlikely even in the case of the country experiencing a severe political crisis. A civil war or revolution is more likely.

But separatism isn't impossible.


[User]
Good morning Bluesky ☀🦋

I trust yesterday’s indulgence was worthy of your fat pants 🦃🥧

Pro tip … arrange your cleaning service for the day after the holiday. Makes life easy.

Now to decorate for the next consumer holiday 🌲

[Assistant] Where did you get those ornaments?! I love them!

[User] If these are real I'd like to order several dozen boxes.

[Assistant] These are brilliant 🤩 - I want some but I feel I should not indulge .


[User]
@thebulwark.bsky.social's @samsteindc.bsky.social interviews #DNCChair candidate @benwikler.bsky.social:
"To me, the point of politics is to deliver change that helps improve people's lives."

[Assistant] Wikler: "I want to build a permanent campaign on the 'outside edge of what is possible', that works with all the different campaign committees, that maps out the key races over the next four years, to 'maximize the area under the curve'."

[User] If something deeper doesn't change, then it'll just make Americans hate Democrats even more.

[Assistant] But is it Rahm’s job if he wants it?


[User] I don't know if i want to listen to this song orrrr keep it as a surprise for myself 🤪

[Assistant] Let me know if you do listen to it 👀

[User] I didn't do that for 'apartment'....if I did...well I wouldn't have been prepared anyway, but I might have suspected something? But I listened to Tsunami and expecting happy ending 😁😎

[Assistant] I did it. I listened to it. And for the first time in Warrior Nun history, I want to hug Zori.


[User] I wrote a lot Reki♂ × Langa♀ threads in Japanese on Twitter (I just love Reki being all flustered over Langa♀) but English fandom doesn't seem to like (or even hate) one-sided genderbend setting? I won't translate them if no one wants to read 😂

[Assistant] can you tag or link me to the thread? i want to read…🥺 (don’t worry about translation)

[User]
Ofc! These are Reki×Langa♀ (I didn't post some random posts here u can type "from:LRNuiLife ❄♀" in X search bar to find them:
1. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
2. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
3. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
4. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
5. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
6. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
7. x.com/LRNuiLife/st...

[Assistant]
I also wrote these magical genderbend setting in case you want to check them out too 🤣
This one is "Reki turns into a girl at 18" (I was very invested in this so it's super long and quite completed)
x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
This one is "Langa can swift between male/female body"
x.com/LRNuiLife/st...

[User]
I also wrote these magical genderbend setting in case you want to check them out too 🤣
This one is "Reki turns into a girl at age 18" (I was very invested in this so it's super long & quite completed)
x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
This one is "Langa can swift between male/female body"
x.com/LRNuiLife/st...

[Assistant]
I also wrote these magical genderbend setting in case you want to check them out too 🤣
This one is "Reki turns into a girl at age 18" (I was very invested in this so it's super long & quite completed)
x.com/LRNuiLife/st...
This one is "Langa can swift between male/female body"
x.com/LRNuiLife/st...


[User]
A reoccurring topic I keep seeing on here is "did George Squares deserve the backlash?!" and I'm not going to give you the answer... actually, I am, it's "no" and here's why I think that, just based on what I know as an outside observer.

(cont.) 👇

[Assistant]
-
The first is that I'm not going to take it too personally if anyone has the audacity to disagree with me on art or a piece of media or whatever, and you shouldn't ether.

[User] If you're an adult, I think you should be smart enough to meet, say, "I think sex scenes shouldn't be skippable because it's art" with an actual refutation, rather than simply to try and raise the temperature and make accusations.

[Assistant] This is a common thing you'll see in toxic fandom spaces, and just in general, I take issue with this reflexively anti-intellectual loathing of anybody who takes art seriously. You need to stop acting like disagreeing with you is some kind of moral failing.


[User]
“It really is true that Congress is dysfunctional and the immigration system is broken. But positive change will come from people who have developed a loving devotion to those institutions over years of experience, not people who despise them…”

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/o...

[Assistant] The problem these days is the constant insistence of a quick fix.

[User]
I don't like the idea of "loving devotion" to anything, but if we are to change what we have it will be within the context of our institutions and Constitution.

That does presuppose we care about having a democracy. I do.

[Assistant] That loving devotion hasn’t worked thus far🥴


[User] The good ol’ days of Starlog…

[Assistant] I miss this mag. Online just isn’t the same. I always knew, regardless if the cover (this is a great one) didn’t light me up, that there’d be amazing stuff for me to discover in those pages. 👍

[Assistant] Loved Starlog. And judging by the names on the cover that's a fantastic issue.


[User]
The anti-vaxxers also said that the vaccine would be ‘activated’ today & little antennas would pop out inside our bodies (to receive signals presumably…) 🤷🏻♀
It’s like the ‘effin’ Dark Ages, they’ve barely progressed past mediaeval superstition.

[Assistant] Ooh I'm glad I topped mine up yesterday then! 📡

[User] I’m getting one topped up on Friday 👍

[Assistant] Take painkillers! I slept so badly and I feel horrendous today. (Got flu & covid jabs)


[User]
When you found your fave ship fanwork, but turn out the dynamic is in different order (eg: BxA instead of AxB)..

Forgive me for being a fixed order shipper 🙇🏻

[Assistant] i feel you, creeping around ao3 looking for smutfics in the fear of getting bombarded by the reverse edition of your ship without particular position tagged 😭

[User] Once I read a 100K+ fic, and only found the ship is reversed in the middle. Without warning, no additional tag confirming the dynamic order 😔

[Assistant]
I am not even a fixed
But some days I want to see A getting fucked senseless and all I can find is them topping 😔


[User] A good read. But I'm adamant that the true, immutable regional borders of England are and will always remain those delineated by the ITV franchises of the 1980s.

[Assistant] Greater Bristol - served by HTV West - is completely different to more distant parts of the Peninsular (served by TSW). Ditto Dorset etc - served by TVS. You can make a case that the east and west of the Anglia region are different. But they share a profound Anglia-ness.

[User] What does Stoke-on-Trent have to say to Oxford? What about Ludlow and Mansfield? Very little in both cases. But that was reflected in the establishment of sub-regions for Central's sprawling empire.

[Assistant]
Spare a thought for us in the borderlands.
When I was a child we could get HTV West, HTV Wales and Central in our house... would our bins have been collected?


[User]
Digital artists! I need help!

What’s your recommendation for a drawing pad for a beginner? Do I get something that functions on its own or something that needs to be plugged into my laptop? Thanks!

[Assistant] Their laptop. The laptop ones seem generally more affordable, but tablet ones aren't too crazy, just be sure to do research before diving in, ya know?

[User] Their laptop. The laptop ones seem generally more affordable, but tablet ones aren't too crazy, just be sure to do research before diving in, ya know?

[Assistant] A low investment tablet you could consider are those without screens that let you use the pen as the cursor. My first one was a Wacom Intuos, but XP-Pen is also another brand I recommend (my current tablet is an XP-Pen 13.3 Pro!)


[User]
Can someone think of a fun alliteration synonymous with “foot-in-mouth Dani”
Or “head-up-trumps-butt Danelle”
Or “simps-for-millionaires/oil Smith”

Dumpster fire Dani just doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore.

[Assistant] Mona Eltahawy would call Smith "a bootlicker of the patriarchy with a vested interest in the maintenance of the status quo." It's not alliteration but it's accurate.

[User]
I like that.

I might modify it slightly to “Interest in increasing income inequality, corporate welfare, and average-joe suffering if it means she remains on top” 🤣

[Assistant] For Dani the song was always "this boots were made for licking".


[User] Was very excited to see my Arrow Shawscope Vol 3 arrive yesterday, then less excited to see a second one arrive an hour later. I have somehow done it again. Anyway, here is a movie not on Shawscope Vol 3 that is nonetheless apparently coming to Blu Ray soon, Black Tavern.

[Assistant] Black Tavern absolutely owns, Whipmaster Zheng easily one of the coolest characters ever!

[User]
Two sets!
It's a Christmas miracle! 🤣

[Assistant] Dude always buys one set to watch, one to flush down the drain…😅


[User]
Omg I got told to take a 3 hr break...
I'm gonna go do some cardiovascular exercises in 91.5f (33c)....
Lets see how this goes.
(I haven't done cardio since before I got sick so like 7 or 8 weeks.....)

[Assistant] Enjoy your pump and break! 💪

[User]
Thanks was so Good to get the heart rate up and jet the blood pumping...
The AC inside is also really nice!
How are you getting on?

[Assistant]
Not bad! Lots of yardwork yesterday slept kinda odd hours Im about to crash for the night!

Glad you gotta good workout in sometimes thats all we need 🙌


[User]
Over 100 bot-followers of mine got deleted by Bluesky overnight.
Thank you 🖤

[Assistant] That's crazy! 😱😱😭

[User] Nah, that’s awesome!!! 🖤

[Assistant] Oh definitely. But the fact that they exist still boggles my mind 🥲😅

[User] A lot of morons have come here from X, and bots too 😭

[Assistant] Tell me more about being automatically deleted!


[User] Some #RetroRachey before I sign off for a bit. I hope you don't mind these are all Edwardian inspired outfits.

[Assistant] They're wonderful.

[User] Everything covered but sexy as hell , these costumes must have caused raised eyebrows at the time 🤔

[Assistant] I'd be the town slut 🤣


[User] Champagne Fascist Lowe has confused his hate-dumping Twitter account with a serious immigration debate in the House of Commons.

[Assistant] Just watching the faces of the 2 guys behind him, particularly the one on his left - says it all really.... 🤷♀

[User]
A person has to have British Citizenship to receive UC, live and work in the U.K.
The point he’s making is just hoping to cause hate and division.

[Assistant] Multi millionaire MP of the people 😂🤣


[User] Went for a little hike out west so I decided to have lunch at the new Publix in Wellington that has beer on tap. $5 Fresh from Civil Society. Don’t mind if I do.

[Assistant] I’ve heard they have a coffee bar, sushi and a popcorn station - is it as good as it sounds?

[User] Yes! I equally want the one closer and not.

[Assistant] Of course this happened mere months after the in-laws sold their house and moved north 😭


[User] Well, I managed to take advantage of the electricity being available during the stupid hours of the morning, it’s about to turn off for another 7 hours or so, to then only come back for a couple and disappear again. I don’t have words to describe what this does to overall morale.

[Assistant] It’s not even that I am unable to work, eat hot food, play games or have uninterrupted access to all modern means of communication. It’s the fact that we are treated like garbage, like we don’t deserve the most basic human necessities and nobody besides our army will protect us.

[User] Not to mention, people living on higher floors in high rise buildings lose access to running water along with electricity. It’s winter is two days ffs. At this point I can’t believe I manage to contain all this rage inside of me.

[Assistant] LOL @ #morningpowerhours. 7 hours with no juice? That's enough to make me contemplate my existence. Can't wait for the electricity to come back and illuminate the darkness of my soul! 💡🌙


[User] Did my fellow gamers purchase anything interesting with the Black Friday sales?

[Assistant] I picked up a few heavily discounted games from the Steam Autumn Sale.

[User]
Well.. none in fact.
Next Friday is the release of Path of Exile 2's early access, though it was not part of any sales its the only game I am playing until Monster Hunter Wilds.

[Assistant] Tears of the Kingdom on the eShop! That still cost 33 quid as Nintendo prices are ludicrous 🙃


[User]
Good morning, Skeetsville. Coffee and this article seem appropriate for any number of reasons...

No paywall...

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/a...

[Assistant] Good morning sir!✌☕

[User] And to you as well, Rick. ☕and a peaceful day, may these be yours...

[Assistant] Is... is part of the brain rot not knowing what constitutes a word any more?


[User]
Watching Columbo almost immediately made me wanna draw the one cop character I have, Inna, whom I ended up neglecting for years after learning how much cops actually suck.
I've been contemplating for years whether or not to change his occupation.

[Assistant] He's a very handsome, sexy lad. Got a nice booty, too, hehe.

[User]
Heck yeah.
I'm pretty sure the concept of his character began when I saw some booty-licious uniforms, to use the technical term.
ᵕωᵕ

[Assistant] Hehe, I do love a man in uniform.


[User] Happy #tuxietuesday furiends - have a pawsome day, love Nancy 💕🐈⬛🥰

[Assistant] Nancy 💋🖤🤍😻 Good morning beautiful furiends 🥰😽🐾💋😻🖤🤍🖤🐾

[User] We have a 2-year-old Tuxedo cat with copper eyes. I've been around cats before I could walk and my parents and I have had a lot of cats and I've never had a tuxedo cat with copper eyes.

[Assistant] Sounds very sweet 🐈⬛


[User] Yes I'd agree. She seemed very competent. Seeing her quit immediately is in stark contrast to the last lot of cheating lying law breakers.

[Assistant] I'm angry, from the article it sounds like an honest error and she turned the phone in when she realised. I'm in the midlands with rubbish transport - which affects our lives in a million ways - and she seemed to want to do something about it, now who knows. :/

[User] Yes it's annoying but I guess at least it cuts off any potential Tory complaints.

[Assistant] Theey complain all the time and invent things to complain about too. By all means: resign if you do something but that to me looks like she didn't.


[User] Sometimes I like to throw out ideas and hope that the universe catches them, so I'm just saying that I think there is a definitive, entertaining book out there to be written about Pre-Code Hollywood, the filmmaking environment and characters involved, what led to it, and what ultimately killed it.

[Assistant] I have read a few about it, and others that grappled with aspects of it, but I've yet to find one that feels complete and really resonates with me. But that could change (and I hope it does!)

[User] Why are we ripe for one? Because I see the refrain "They want to take us back to the Hay's Code" very often in discussions about modern pop culture. I'd argue that there's never been a better time for someone to explain what it was and celebrate it as a singular era of American filmmaking.

[Assistant] Anyway, someone get on that! I will happily watch a bunch of 1932 horror, romance and crime dramas and take notes with you!


[User]
Another nearly normal day, nothing too crazy, just living and enjoying and healing.

Accountability. Keep moving. This is 62.

[Assistant] Ouch what happened 😳

[User] I had a fainting episode on Sunday which is triggered by stress. I was drinking coffee and it went down the wrong pipe and I choked and, apparently, stressed enough to make me faint and face-plant on a hardwood floor. Now I know, if I feel dizzy, I get down!

[Assistant]
Awww I’m sorry you need to be very careful very careful
😳


[Assistant] Words to live by but hard to remember in daily life.

[User] Thank you for that Lynda.

[Assistant] There have been times when I've known.


[User] Being on Bluesky has alerted me to the fact that without an algorithm to force my posts in your feed I’m simply not that popular. Threads does a great job at making you think you are more impactful than you actually are. Thankful for the folks who do interact though. I appreciate you 💜

[Assistant] It’s not just about the algorithms but giving people many options for what they want to see. Turning off reposts or replies will significantly affect visibility as will any number of filters in custom feeds. The Discover algorithm’s okay but I think is too heavily weighted for large accounts.

[User] But you also slam into a brick wall on Threads. You get lots and lots of engagement but no one seems to want to follow you anymore no matter how much they like and repost. Still not sure why.

[Assistant] I have no interest in being popular. I love reading sane input, seeing glorious photos & art, learning about writing. It is satisfying when someone thinks my input has value.


[User]
We are Settlement Scouts for Planet MAGA.

Science Advisor Musk sent us here to determine if it is habitable.

Musk can share technology & innovations that will bring your kind up from the depths of sorrow & despair.

Blocking & threats will only delay our offer of help for your kind.

[User] We are here to help. We come in peace.

[Assistant] Womp womp. B-b-blocked!


[User] Trying to organise my thoughts about the BBC's Asia. Nature, man. It's fucking horrible.

[Assistant] I can appreciate the drama and grandeur of life on a geological scale. I can appreciate ecological richness. I can appreciate aesthetic beauty. But when when you get right down to it it's always starving cormorants eating baby cormorants, isn't it.

[User] It's cannibal cormorants all the way down.

[Assistant] The lifeless face of the moon stares down at us each night with the only alternative.


[User] Don’t know what to draw…

[Assistant] How about puppy 🐶

[User] You reminded me I wanted to draw a balloon dog!

[Assistant] Glad to be of service 🫡


[User]
Popping to Rochester’s famed bookshop on the way to tonight’s Herne Bay gig and popping off at Whitstable for Peter Cushing exhibition on my journey to Luton gig tomorrow

www.culturetrust.com/whats-on/utt...

[Assistant] I thought baggins was in Rochester High street?

[User] I used to LOVE going in there...SO many rooms! ( I used to live in Chatham hahahah...ugh! well..I say ugh! Dickens lived just up the road from the station.  Enjoy those labyrinth)

[Assistant] Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable I have seen him on his bicycle, I have seen him buying vegetables.


[User]
Morning folks ☕🥐
Cloudy/sunny forecast today so hoping for 💙 😎

[Assistant] Fab photo (and weather!). Have a smasher, Jan!

[User]
Morning Piers and thank you! You too. I got 9* today in the quiz… over average for a change 💃

*blatant brag, sorry!

[Assistant] Bore da! It's drizzling here 😬


[User] There is a long tradition of Irish teachers choosing to work overseas. In this 2020 @ecer-eera.bsky.social blog post Dr Craig Skerritt, now of @official-uom.bsky.social reflected on the experience of Irish teachers working in England. #educationalresearch #edchatie  blog.eera-ecer.de/the-experien...

[Assistant] I qualified and taught in England. The system is indeed broken, but this article is very weak. No mention of exam boards? No distinction between MATs and regular LA schools? Curriculum? UK teachers also filling in for social services. Teachers care for their students massively, but are overwhelmed.

[User] Hi Ciara,thanks for that.These are very interesting points & I think the core point about teachers caring for students but feeling overwhelmed is one that will resonate.To be fair to Craig, this is a blog post with a limited word count & I suspect he prioritised issues connected to his research.

[Assistant] Fair enough. I think one of the underreported issues is how underfunding of social services for years has seen schools picking up the slack . Teachers washing uniforms, feeding kids, running after school clubs just to offer students a safe place. Not as bad here (yet!) - I hope!


[User] Morning Skybies, beautiful Autumnal sky yesterday 🌱🍂🌳🌲 Have the best day you can out there 😊🫶💚

[Assistant] Hello it's chilly and dull here so I'll be mostly staying indoors again.  Thanks, and you too.

[User] Oh my goodness, Trisha! Stunning pics, all of them, and most especially, the one with all the garden statues... breathtakingly beautiful! Wishing you a wonderful day, my friend!😊☕💚

[Assistant] Morning Silver, so glad you appreciate them 🫶I wish the same for you dear friend 😊☕💚


[User] Reading a Pauline Kael essay for something I’m writing, and should I get really into Pauline Kael?

[Assistant] I'll say yes, but with the caveat that I own all of her collected reviews, so a little biased here.

[Assistant] On YT Dick Cavett has a wonderful interview with her.


[User]
It never stops being cool beyond my ability to describe for someone to tell me that my bits of writing helped them figure out they were trans, work through the hatching-panic, or square up to some gender-affirming surgery.

It like looking at a mountain and imagining the forces that made it.

[Assistant]
Your article on “How to figure out if you’re trans” helped me a great deal during the tumultuous early weeks, after I read the dysphoria bible.

I often forward it to questioning trans people I chat with on Reddit.

Thank you for helping me discover myself! ❤🩹

[User] I posts links to your stuff so often Google autocompletes searches for them after the 1st letter. :)

[Assistant]
Your writing made me aware of the existence of trans community as a concept, the notion of chosen family, and similar ideas that made my life a heck of a lot more bearable and not as lonely.

Also, it de-scaryfied FFS for me and put FT on my radar, which greatly improved my self image. :)


[User] does anyone know of any discord servers or other spaces to talk with other people who have an ed? also new lw!!! 270 lbs (i know, it's a high weight but I'm working on it)

[Assistant] hey congrats on new lw !!

[User] omg congrats on a new lw!!

[Assistant] ty!! ♡


[User] I love this energy and think you will too 👇

[Assistant] Followed and reposted 💙😊

[User] Followed✌

[Assistant] We despise bragging with followers.


[User] The @theguardian.com with another breakthrough message www.theguardian.com/society/2024... Reminds me how they kicked off another miracle pill www.theguardian.com/society/2022... and how it ended pubpeer.com/publications...

[Assistant] German www.g-ba.de/bewertungsve... European www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines... and US approval www.drugs.com/pro/fasenra....

[User] German www.g-ba.de/bewertungsve... EU www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines... and US approval www.drugs.com/pro/fasenra.... Meta-analysis of 5 monoclonals www.atsjournals.org/doi/epdf/10.... "significantly decreased annualized COPD exacerbation rate....  mortality rate was not statistically different."

[Assistant] Report based on the new Lancet trial www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... - unfortunately low numbers and  serious sex imbalance (even more severe cases in BENRA pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...). Exact eos numbers would be interesting, as well as genetic background www.nature.com/articles/ng....


[Assistant] Poof 💨 💃

[User] But magic is real...

[Assistant] Really?  Then you don't understand the process involved in cloning.  The best DNA for cloning comes from the marrow of the bone.  The marrow of the rib is one of the best to take that he could do without.  The more we learn about science the more I believe things that I didn't understand before.


[User]
Who on #PerfumeSky can tell me if Bruno Fazzolari’s new Lilac Brûlée has finally realized my dreams of having this in perfume form?

My hopes were raised and dashed by Lancôme’s Jasmins Marzipane (tame, watery jasmine with no marzipan to speak of), but I really want to believe it can be done!

[Assistant] Not me but I want to know. Was imagining it closer to the bread note in En Passant but with some caramelization. French toast lilac. :)

[User] (I almost bought a travel spray unsniffed this weekend—regretting I didn’t pull the trigger, I didn’t realize he doesn’t usually offer those.)

[Assistant] (I almost bought a travel spray unsniffed this weekend—regretting I didn’t pull the trigger, I didn’t realize he doesn’t usually offer those.)


[User]
The holidays sure are a concentrated source of parental asshattery, huh?

My poor kids. I absolutely regret who their father is, every day, but especially when he pulls bullshit on a holiday expecting everyone to be nice to him anyway.

I can’t wait for them to pull the plug on that relationship.

[Assistant]
Big hugs!

Some fuckers need uppercuts.

I commend you for being the Mum that you are x The kids can’t choose their Dad, but you’re correct; they get to burn that bridge when they are ready 🙏🏼

[User]
Oh dear
100% agree and endorse
I've actually apologized to my adult son for choosing his father.
If I could turn back Time, as Cher sings💃🎶

[Assistant] It will happen. Mine dumped their stupid assed dad long ago. 🫂🫂🫂


[User] I really don’t need the preachy vegan holier than thou shit on here.

[Assistant] I haven't had it yet, but no, me neither. 🤷♀

[User] Eh...I feel like we sorta do need them. At least they're just annoying, not offensive or a threat to anyone (generally speaking) like MAGA. They do miss the forest for the trees, like so many young people (I once voted for Ron Paul for Prez, vs. Clinton/Bush, but, in Texas, it didn't matter).

[Assistant] I just kinda let that shit slide right by. It’s mostly new righteous converts feeling like they have to proselytize.  They’ll get over themselves. 🤣


[User] @rechelon.bsky.social you’ll probably be amused to find out I won a series of game theory games in my class today by utilizing anarchist praxis. To maximize choice effectiveness I logged all the choices of the players and categorized the bad actors and altruists and worked between games to organize.

[Assistant] I used antifascist principles writ-small to organize effective defense against bad actors entirely through freedom of association and spreading knowledge of how to cooperate outside of the formal “games.” And me and my group were rewarded by it even tho a lib accused me of cheating and being unfair.

[User] Two players went from goofing around fucking people over to cooperating and spreading out the cake points when they found out they were on my naughty list. Nobody wanted to be on the naughty list except the guy who had adopted the identity of the villain.

[Assistant] Two players went from goofing around fucking people over to cooperating and spreading out the cake points when they found out they were on my naughty list. Nobody wanted to be on the naughty list except the guy who had adopted the identity of the villain.


[User] “And for the final time…” 🥹

[Assistant] They need to add a trigger warning 😭

[User] I know right 😭

[Assistant] i'm not ready 😢


[User] What the shit is this now? PSA for us just posted:

[Assistant] Having this song back makes an already brilliant film even brillianter.

[User] Seconded. The song breaks my heart every time.

[Assistant]
Some didn’t like the song and felt the scene was too long. So in some versions, it was cut down to remove the song.
Back in the day, my dvd had two versions. One with and one without the song.


[User] It truly feels like we're starting to have a critical mass of people biking in Minneapolis, even in the winter! At least in the city core where density is decent.

[Assistant]
Love to see it!

I biked all winter. TIL "pogie." Would've been nice to have those.

[User] They're great! I'm not aware of any US brands that make them for swept back handlebars though, so I had to order mine from Europe.

[Assistant] Bar mitts. barmitts.com/products/tow...

[User] D’oh. Sorry. Made in China.

[Assistant] I had no idea Bar Mitts made these! Must be relatively new.


[User] BREAKING: Maryland Democratic Attorney General Anthony Brown has retained legal counsel to challenge all of President Trump’s mass deportation plans in the state.

[Assistant] Good. All the illegals to Maryland.

[User] He is violating the law by harboring illegal aliens.

[Assistant]
Yay! Keep letting the Commies Show themselves!
STILL Winning! 🏆

[User] Lets send all the gang members to him.  See how quickly he grows up.

[Assistant] Just deport them to Brown’s neighborhood 😂


[User]
It's indeed heartening to see that 'kintsugi' has been included in the OED.
However, kintsugi involves 'meticulously joining pieces together with lacquer,' not filling cracks with urushi lacquer dusted with metallic powder.

www.oed.com/dictionary/k...

[Assistant] And it's disappointing that the word 'urushi' isn't included... If there were a way to submit suggestions to the OED, I would like to try.

[User] I used to work for the OED. The entire dictionary is made out of suggestions! I have no idea how effective a correction on a single word would be, but you’d be most likely to get traction by providing examples of the word used correctly in a context that includes urushi. Try oed.uk@oup.com maybe?

[Assistant]
Thank you, Alison san, for your helpful advice based on your experience!
I'll promptly submit a proposal with examples showing 'urushi' used in context.

[User] You can use my book as an example, since I got “urushi” past copy editors at Penguin Random House. I really wanted to call it urushi and not lacquer because their origins are quite different.

[Assistant] Part of it is excerpted here: lithub.com/a-beautiful-...

[User] Thank you. I would love to use examples from your book when submitting the proposal to the OED! I believe few people would understand 'lacquer' alone to mean urushi.

[Assistant] It’s an important distinction!


[User] I'm getting a lot of "doomer" responses to this, which makes me somewhat . . suspicious. Regardless, I'll tell you now: I don't like doomerism. I find it anti-intellectual. Anti-everything-I-think-is-interesting. I'm a 41-year-old woman, not a teenager. Nihlism for the sake of Nihlism is boring.

[Assistant] Just glad to see you here! 👋🏽

[User] i know i said it earlier but man so glad you’re back. too much doom and gloom on here from twitter and so much “bold of you to assume we’ll have elections” kind of talk on here. too much of it!

[Assistant] I wonder how many of those people talk about leaving the USA and to THEM I would counter with “bold of you to assume you’ll find safety in Europe or wherever else you think you’ll escape to”

[User] I'm so glad to see you posting over here. The tools available to curate your feed make productive conversation a lot easier.

[Assistant]
Yes, AND…

Berlin went through a few decades of gloom and doom before things improved there.

Which means that those who in the 1930s warned of very bad things ahead had a point.


[User] So how was Skeleton Crew? I haven’t watched it yet.

[Assistant] I loved it. Its kids on bikes in space.

[User] Pretty fun. Neel is amazing!

[Assistant] Just… perfect 🥹

[User] It’s really cute. Very 80s and mostly aimed at kids, but fun and accessible to lay Star Wars fans.

[Assistant] Delightful and charming.

[User] i had so much fun watching it!

[Assistant]
The vibes, immaculate.

Between this and the release of Tempest Breaker, I'm in hog heaven. I'm in pizzaface paradise.


[User]
listening to this while painting my wife's 3d printed pikachu ears...

Like a Prayer//LSR/CITY, Gareth Emery, Annabel

open.spotify.com/track/5DIOs6...

[Assistant]
Eyes Without A Face//Sinnerella

open.spotify.com/track/7x1vOv...

[User]
Cry Little Sister//Blutengel

open.spotify.com/track/3IBIvx...

[Assistant]
Small Town Boy//Lost Paradise

open.spotify.com/track/4NlItF...

[User]
New Theory//Washed Out

open.spotify.com/track/230SHX...

[Assistant]
A Song To The Siren (Remastered)//This Mortal Coil

open.spotify.com/track/0BPTTs...


[User] I found my aforementioned DS9 Top 26 list from my last rewatch in my saved logs from That Other Platform, so as promised, for US Thanksgiving Day I will re-post the full list here, along with links to each episode's @roddenberrypod.bsky.social #MissionLog podcast.

[Assistant]
First, the honorable mentions - my highest-ranked episode from each season that didn't make my final list:

S1: "The Nagus"
S2: "Blood Oath"
S3: "Visionary"
S4: "The Quickening"
S5: "Call to Arms"
S6: "His Way"
S7: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"

And now, here we go...

[User]
#26: S2 E26
No sooner did TNG end than DS9 began to shake up the Star Trek universe in the S2 finale, with a terrifying new enemy from Gamma Quadrant. They even trashed a perfectly good (and un-separated) Galaxy-class starship just to show they meant business.

[Assistant]
#25: S1 E20
In the S1 finale, Bajoran religious politics and a dangerous new player add spice to DS9’s jambalaya. Louise Fletcher quickly establishes Vedek (later Kai) Winn as a true believer corrupted by power and ambition - and she only gets more devious from here.


[User]
For @25daysofteredio.bsky.social

#TereDio #TereDioHoliday #FFXVI #FinalFantasy16

Dec 3 - Frost.

[Assistant] Oh this is so cute! They look so at ease together. Love the pretty detailing on the leaves too!

[User] Thanks ^^ I love drawing leaves. And I admit it was super fun drawing them cuddling.

[Assistant] Admittedly I was going to write a follow up scene to my previous prompt, but I wanted to draw them cuddling more so that won out.


[User]
Screeeeee!
Look at the cutie (me, I'm the cutie)!
@frogshop.bsky.social finished these up and I love them!

[Assistant] they look so freaking cool!

[User] IKR?! ♥

[Assistant] I love these very much!  Mega cute!


[User]
Former president and VP research of two Canadian universities: "I have been passionate about the arts and humanities...these disciplines have to become part of the solution...how do they create their value proposition and make the case for their role?"

😬😬😬

[Assistant]
It goes on like this: "How do universities step up to demonstrate that they are tackling the large scale problems that challenge societies?"

Is our constant singing, dancing, backflipping, and pirouetting not demonstrating it enough?

[User] On million-dollar funding for AI research: "It not only allows a rapid growth but it allows us to think about the ethical issues around AI. And this is where the humanities and social science have a huge role to play...The incredible carnage associated with FB both in terms of...

[Assistant]
...its impact on our democracies on our news media on our young people, surely if we had had a strategy to deal with the ethical issues of social media we might be ahead of the game.... The results have been really impressive: Google lab, FB lab, DeepMind lab."

🤔


[User] I only listen to Ferrari between 750-8am. But I think I’m going to knock that on the head too. He’s just out to humiliate every Labour Minister. Hounding them about Trump is ridiculous. So what if they slagged him off. Now they’ve got to work with him. It’s a non story. That’s politics.

[Assistant] It’s so rare that he has a good story these days - it’s like his producer in Farage’s brother!

[User] Not a great way to start the day. He’s off my listening list because it’s beyond boring having to listen to his grift.

[Assistant] I can't listen to him.


[User]
GOTY picks
www.backloggd.com/u/Lilseb93/g...

[Assistant] I tried to do it but I remembered I hardly play anything new (followed you on backloggd btw 🫣)

[User] You're on Backloggd too? Nice. You can add me if you want. I'm Tomiply on there :)

[Assistant] It doesn't feel like there's a WRONG answer to these. Nice line up!!


[User] I *adore* Yvonne Craig's Batgirl but including her is SUCH a strain on the structure of Batman66, already suffering from a slashed budget.

[Assistant] Her dual identity meant adding 2 more characters to include every week plus the challenge keeping her informed/included in each week's plot.

[User] My understanding is that talk of a season 4 had Batgirl replacing Robin full time as Batman's partner. Which would have made me sad.

[Assistant] Better to let Dick Grayson go to college & have Batman trade-off between Robin/Batgirl as partners with all 3 teaming up for "big cases."


[User] I think far, far, far too many people are taking Sunday for granted. City are still City. They haven’t spent billions & broken 130 financial rules just to turn up & roll over. If we were in their form I think many supporters would be thinking they were the ideal team to play to get back at it.

[Assistant] Liverpool will rarely have a better opportunity to beat them. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy to do so.

[User]
Would we feel better about it if we weren’t 8 points clear?

Somehow, there feels like more pressure because it’s such an opportunity.

[Assistant] I’m relaxed about it as the position will still be great even if City win. I will not be this calm once it’s underway.

[User]
Rationally I agree.

But I don’t agree. 11 points is enormous and hopefully to make city concentrate their (seemingly limited) firepower elsewhere.

[Assistant] Think it’s going to be extremely cagey personally. Thinking 2-1 Liverpool. I think Pep will bring in KDB, Foden, Grealish and Dias - will risk them this game and then drop them again to recover full from injury. Foden and KDB in the pockets will be the biggest risk for us.

[User] Beat them in Oct ‘22 when Liverpool were in terrible form. Still, that was at Anfield. Closest City have come to winning at Anfield in front of a crowd is probably the Mahrez pen in 2018.

[Assistant] Agree it'll be closer than most think. I'm going 12-0 Reds.


[User] @pupcoach.edm.blue Hey, Jess! What does it mean when your dog tries to hump you? Just got playing with Maui, she went to go eat, then came back to where I’m sitting on the couch. She pawed me and then she was doing pelvic thrusting. Lol smh.

[Assistant] Licking releases endorphins and is a naturally soothing behavior.

[User] Licking releases endorphins and is a naturally soothing behavior.

[Assistant] Licking releases endorphins and is a naturally soothing behavior.


[User]
Hanger, beat that little shit until your arm is broken from the amount of Buckshot Lariats you through at his dumbass.

#AEW 🤼

[Assistant] I'd say you could put your house on it, but @hangmanpage.bsky.social gets a bit 💡😈🔥around that subject.

[User]
Hangman is supposed to be a heel. Wheeler is supposed to be a heel.

Now Hangman's a good guy because he's up against a Death Rider?

This company is such a joke. 😂

[Assistant] Calm down. Take a breath. Enjoy things for what they are. If you don't enjoy something, find something that you *do* enjoy, and let people like what they like.


[User]
3 -10 seconds video of you?
Me being a cutie patootie 🥰

[Assistant] You actually have a Bat phone 😆

[User] Cussing out my phone- you look soooo extra fine in that dress, girl! 🔥👏🏾🔥

[Assistant] U so sweet! 🌷 Girl I felt so cute that day 😂


[User] Ennnnnnnnh. Ignoring the (flat wrong) statement about people finding time for games in a life of obligations, games peter out because they're no longer mechanically or narratively compelling to the players -- or to the single load-bearing player in many cases.

[Assistant] As Jay Dragon points out in the comments, it seems weird that games' sudden inability to say true things about the world coincides so neatly with the onset of adult obligations and physical distance between players.

[User] As Jay Dragon points out in the comments, it seems weird that games' sudden inability to say true things about the world coincides so neatly with the onset of adult obligations and physical distance between players.

[Assistant] I think... the first problem is that "people find time for things they find rewarding" is an aspirational statement. As a husband and father I have responsibilities that I didn't have in my teens and 20s, and I can't just sack those off for a leisure activity.


[User]
Overview
In this journal activity, you will explore the ways in which the use of language influences perceptions of human behavior.
Scenario
To better understand the factors that shape our view of human abnormality, Jamal has begun to reflect on his own lived experiences. During his...

[Assistant] adolescence, Jamal was frequently exposed to violent, abusive outbursts and other types of dysfunctional behavior within his family dynamic. These experiences made him feel extremely fearful of people, which led to a pervasive distrust in others and a preference to be alone. Appearing...

[User]
...withdrawn, avoidant, and socially inhibited, Jamal was often called “weird” and “crazy” by peers and family members who did not understand his reclusive behavior.
Yet, on the inside, Jamal's experiences were even more complex. In some cases, Jamal wanted to feel empathy toward others;...

[Assistant] ...however, he struggled to understand other people's perspectives and, as a result, often disregarded the needs and feelings of others. This profound sense of emptiness caused him to feel inadequate and inferior to others, which resulted in severe anxiety and self-loathing. However, in instances...


[User] I mean honestly Kendrick should be the official artist of the library field because who else cites their sources and pays homage to archival material the way he does?

[Assistant]
Reading his Wikipedia, he was well and truly mentored.

Wonder if she still edits his stuff.

[User] I use to argue with my friend cause she didn’t think he was a lyricist, we don’t talk anymore but I know she fuming 🤣

[Assistant] The problem with Kendrick is he reminds me of Ozymandias from the Watchmen.


[User]
Only one day remaining to skip the line and launch/relaunch your product on Black Friday!

We're expecting huge traffic, and there are only 25 products yet 😱!!

[Assistant] super clever approach to Black Friday mate!

[User] Thank you Daniel 🙌🏻 I'll post the results in a few days 😄

[Assistant] Thanks for letting us know Thomas!


[User] I do love the views of Bushy Park on our morning walks.

[Assistant] Blimey, you're not that far from me... Moved to Pinner now.

[User] Should you be calling yourself Pizza Gooner now then?

[Assistant] No. Pinner is still in Harrow!


[User] Omg fibromyalgia u can fuck right off. This constant struggle to just get up everyday is somedays unbearable 😔 but wtf are my other options. So I will get up and struggle and keep on pushing. And compartmentalize the pain. 🦋💙

[Assistant] Sorry you have to suffer in such pain. Sending healing vibes & wishing you much relief. 🙏🏻

[User] Thank u love I appreciate it a lot. I have it better than some so I'm grateful for that. Just have to remind myself of that when times get hard. 🦋💙🙏

[Assistant] I always tell myself it could be worse. Feel better 🙏🏻💙🦋

[User] I feel you. I have MS and am dealing with pudendal neuralgia right now. The latter is excruciating. Praying this isn’t forever. Pain is really hard. Really.

[Assistant] Praying for u my love. So sorry to hear that. U are the best sweetie. 💙🦋🙏


[User] I see several mutuals following this account. The real Mark Harmon is NOT on BlueSky, folks. Please do your due diligence and research before blindly following celebrity accounts.

[Assistant] It’s not hard to spot impersonators. An actual celebrity has more than 35 followers. Also, an actual celebrity isn’t going to bait you by DM’ing you thanking you for being such a good fan.

[User] Yup, agreed!

[Assistant] Got it. It’s so confusing when bundle packages are recommended and you follow them all.  I saw his name in the package I followed. Ugh  😑


[User]
“The probe now centers on whether the captain of the Chinese-owned ship, which departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was induced by Russian intelligence to carry out the sabotage.“

www.wsj.com/world/europe...

[Assistant]
Bloody big coincidence if he wasn't.

But proving it is another matter.

[User] Seize the ship and tell China they caught a Russsian trying to steal it.

[Assistant] Deep interrogation experts are required. The master must spill the beans.


[User] I have this crazy AF ex. She did NOT want me, but she did not want ANYONE else to have me either. I was a distraction, something to make her feel good. She dumped me, and I moved and she found out where, and was doing doughnuts in my front yard. Crazy Alabama Girls. 😮😂

[Assistant] Where's the video clip?

[User] That was in 2007. lol, she barely missed hitting a water spigot and crashing into a septic tank in rural Alabama. I wish that I had that in my library. 😂

[Assistant] Even Andrea stalked me before she made her move. She calls it extreme vetting. One Feb 10, We're 15 years. I am glad I was worth all of that effort. Cannot imagine living on a planet without her.❤


[User]
#BCALHelp #MSDyn365BC
Working on a new LinterCop rule: 'Set values for FlowFilter fields using filtering methods.'

This will raise a diagnostic in VS Code for cases like the example below.

I'm doubting of what the default severity should be:
⚠ Warning or ℹ Info?

github.com/StefanMaron/...

[Assistant]
Please make it a warning, as it leads to unwanted behavior (aka missing filters).
Can't think of any good reason to assign the values directlyv anyway.

[User] Should be a warning.

[Assistant]
⚠ Warning for me too!
In reality, I'm going to override it to Error in my ruleset.json, I think.

[User] Good idea! I wish I dare to set this even to Error as the default severity in the LinterCop, but I'm unsure what projects and/or pipelines I'll then break out there 😬

[Assistant]
To treat it as an error is actually the task of the AL language.

Please never errors for the LinterCop 😲

[User]
There are some rules where I believe this should be an Error, and this one, for me personally, should also be an Error.

But no worries, we're not going above the Warning level in the LinterCop.

[Assistant] the decision should be up to the users, because they have to deal with a possibly breaking change.


[User] Bruh I was in school reading about the Trail of Tears wondering why none of my classmates were flipping tables.

[Assistant] Gets wilder when you learn why the Choctaws and the Irish have a deep and abiding love for each other.

[User] For those who see this later - TL;DR: At the end of their Trail of Tears, the Choctaw heard about the Irish Potato Famine and voted to take a collection. They scrounged $5000 and sent it with a letter that basically said "Take this in the hope it can save your children where it could not save ours."

[Assistant] You’re teaching me something right now!


[User]
A moment in time: Dieter Oesterhelt passed away in Münich on this day (November 28) in 2022. He identified the 1st microbial rhodopsin more than 50 years ago, with far-reaching impact that could hardly have been imagined.
laskerfoundation.org/in-memoriam-...

[Assistant] The picture was sent to me by Peter Hegemann, who was one of Dieter’s trainees many years ago. It shows the Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace, located in the Aula of the Technical University in Berlin, and donated from the French Embassy to represent the unity of international science.

[User] And speaking of the unity of international science…. I’ll be kicking off Peter’s birthday symposium on Dec 13 in Berlin (Peter is turning 70). Recalling my last conversation with Dieter, also in rainy Berlin, on a rattly shuttle bus…

[Assistant] A wonderful opportunity to reflect on the exploratory journey we shared with our teams over the past two decades– discovering how the beautiful light-gated channels from microbes work, finding new channels, and creating new ones too. I'm thankful for my wonderful colleagues, over the many years.


[User] This is your brain on Bordieu.

[Assistant] Like "Sure I may have a shitload of demonstrable social power but actually I have working class vibes because I think lattes are gay."

[User] Like "Sure I may have a shitload of demonstrable social power but actually I have working class vibes because I think lattes are gay."

[Assistant] It's very obviously in the interests of actual "elites" to focus on the symbolic and cultural aspects of power because it's really fucking easy to make some surface level changes to that stuff while maintaining your power.


[User] Professional Development Rather than viewing career advancement through short-term tactics, focus on sustainable practices that build long-term value.

[Assistant] This includes mastering essential interpersonal skills like maintaining eye contact and delivering on commitments, while also taking initiative to reduce others' workload.

[User] The practice of "swallowing the frog" - addressing challenging tasks proactively - consistently yields professional dividends.

[Assistant] Personal Growth and Wellness A systematic approach to self-improvement yields measurable results. Dedicating 30 minutes daily to skill development creates meaningful progress over time.

[User] Regular morning walks provide comprehensive health benefits, while deliberate periods of boredom foster creativity. Investment in personal development, whether through education or experiences, generates lasting returns.

[Assistant] Relationship Management Effective relationships require intentional maintenance. Express genuine appreciation daily to partners and immediately share positive thoughts about others.

[User] When supporting those facing challenges, presence often matters more than advice - simply stating "I'm with you" can provide significant comfort. Regarding difficult conversations, addressing them promptly while walking can reduce tension and facilitate communication.

[Assistant] Time and Energy Management Strategic time allocation enhances productivity and satisfaction. Evening preparation for the next day's priorities creates momentum.

[User] When evaluating commitments, recognize that future time availability rarely increases - if you cannot accommodate something now, declining is often prudent. This principle extends to maintaining boundaries with those who consistently undermine your achievements.

[Assistant] Legacy Building Consider both immediate impact and long-term significance in decision-making. Documenting family histories through professional writing services preserves invaluable narratives. Create experiences worthy of sharing with future generations.


[User] Good morning my friends!💙💙💙

[Assistant]
Good Morning,  🎶🎶Sandy🎶🎶.
While everyone else I either shopping or recuperating from the holiday, I am going to work.
♥love ya♥.

[User]
Good morning Jim!💙
I am making home made Ham Bean Soup for the hunters today.
I normally make about 5 gals, so I'll be busy.
♥Love ya too, my friend♥

[Assistant] I make a mean Lentils and Ham soup.


[User]
Ok, but do you leave the house early to get rice on sale?

Or are you normal?? 😝😝🤣

I ran to the post office forgetting Canada post is on strike. 🫣🫣🥴

I remembered while out that rice was on sale and I needed some, yes 40 pounds. Mind. 😂😂😮💨

Good morning, don’t forget to buy in bulk whilst on sale!

[Assistant] That's what makes you you though. And you're pretty cool in my book. ✌❤🫂

[User]
Aww, Will! 🥹🥰🥰

You were one of my first followers on that hell site, I’ll never forget that and how awesome you are. 🫶🏽

[Assistant] Only 40 lbs?


[User]
Double history lessons—history of the past within history of the present.

Now that grocery stores are no longer fully stocked and we also try to avoid visiting them, I can teach my children more fully about my East German food experience. 1/

[Assistant] Not that I haven’t tried before, but then I felt a little too much like a parent evoking distant famines to pressure children to eat the food on their plate. Now there’s a local truth to my tales from the past! 2/

[User] “My child, you better eat these luxuriously large and seedless grapes now, for we don’t know if they will appear in our stores again! When we have grapes again, we might have no choice and they could be small, fibrous, and sour.” 3/

[Assistant] “My offspring, this is our last banana! You can have it all; I will abstain. I went to two stores and there were none left. Next time, we will have to find out which store sells them and go at the right time. And we will have to be prepared to line up around the block!” 4/


[User]
Bringing back an old character from a long time ago.

[ #furryart #art #artist #artwork #robot #drawing #oc ]

[Assistant] Are you available for commission? If yes , Dm me now!

[User]
I already blocked 3 scammers asking to DM them.

Sadge.. .

[Assistant] Such a great character design. Love the little barcode on the head.


[User] Bruno Amato followed me! Thank you!!!

[Assistant] He's a really good guy!!

[User] I’m a huge fan. I’m faint hearted.

[Assistant] This gif is a perfect recreation of me when I thought that the real @georgetakei.bsky.social had followed me! Showed it to my son all proud, but nervous and giddy. He’s  like MOM, it clearly says “fan” after his name. How did you miss that!?! 😅


[User] At the risk of sounding reductive, trying to have an intellectual discussion with a right-wing libertarian is like trying to explain quantum mechanics to a cat.

[Assistant] There's a miniscule, but present chance they'll understand it, but they'll only use it for their own purposes if they do?

[User] Or they’ll just hiss and piss off.

[Assistant] Plus my cat actually has enough empathy and emotional intelligence to at least pretend to give a damn about someone else.  Occasionally.


[User] @brynneweaver.bsky.social I ran across the trigger warnings for two of your novels, and I gotta say, sheer, morbid curiosity might compel me to read them both. Jeezum Crow, Lady! 🤣

[Assistant] Jeezum Crow hahaha! I feel like that needs to be in a book 😂

[User] It's a regional saying that is specific to Vermont. I went down a Google rabbit hole about it after hearing Adam Sandler say it twice in the movie Mr. Deeds. I liked the sound of it, so I've been saying it for years now.

[Assistant] I like minced oaths. I'm particularly fond of "Criminitly!" and "Holy shit snacks!"


[User]
Hello, how are you today? I went to the Mawasi Khalionis market / Crazy prices, a kilo of onions is $11, a kilo of tomatoes is $12, a kilo of potatoes is $12, a kilo of rice is $6, a kilo of lentils is $8 / Please donate and share if you can
www.gofundme.com/f/help-moham...

[Assistant] Of course, these prices are ten times higher than the prices before the war. I believe that Israel is starving the people of Gaza. Let us not forget that a bag of flour a month ago cost between $150 and $200.

[User] If you want to live like normal people, you have to spend $100 to $150 a day just to eat healthy and varied food, but believe me, we live like animals, eating only grains, lentils, chickpeas, and rice. Of course, I am talking about myself because I support 13 people.

[Assistant] Don't forget that the baby's milk and diapers require a special budget. He is my nephew, born last September. All I wish for is for this tragedy to end and for me to look for another place in Egypt to settle in.


[User]
Um, it’s called market based capitalism. You invented it. Stop whining when it does exactly what it’s designed to do.

‘… eight in 10 businesses have had to boost pay or offer better conditions over the past year to stay competitive in the battle for skilled workers.’ www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

[Assistant]
Oh no, the “prisoners with jobs” are going to cost more

youtu.be/LZHENHICSoE?...

[User] They had to boost pay and improve worker's conditions?  Oh the horror! 😱

[Assistant]
If you can’t pay staff properly and still make a profit then what you have isn’t a business and a business plan. It’s a plantation and you have a slavery plan.
These greedy privileged oiks are scum.


[User] I’m finding this whole thing more confusing the more I read about it.

[Assistant] When it first broke I thought she'd made a mistake, thought "work has already given me a new phone, I could sell this one or keep it for personal use, where's the harm?" but as more is coming out (multiple phones, an investigation by her employer, this), it's increasingly seeming to be deliberate.

[User] and although she appears to be a pretty crap criminal, we can't have criminals in the Cabinet.

[Assistant] I’m a bit uneasy with the idea that even spent convictions rule you out of a job for life. In some rare cases I can see the logic, but I’m equivocal about whether this is one.


[User] The right-wing YT grifters are coming for TTRPGs really hard right now. But here’s the thing: unlike movies and video games, we have to actually talk to each other—face to face—in order to engage with our hobby. There’s no chance that grift, which depends on online anonymity, can work in TTRPGs (1/)

[Assistant] Furthermore, all our media is already “alternative.” We started with podcasts and YT because we’re not big enough to have actual news coverage. Without a “mainstream media” foil to compare themselves to, their attacks will quickly lose steam.

[User] As an aside, I’ve learned they haaaaaaate that we’ve all left Twitter for Bluesky. It drives them nuts.

[Assistant] What are TTRPGs?  I know what RPGs are but my ideas are 30 years out of date.

[User] I haven't really encountered this, what are they saying about RPGs?

[Assistant] They’re all pissed about the X-card and Mexican orcs (or something). Also: Elon wants to buy DnD because of woke.


[User]
Hungry people = spike in probability of regime change.

Same thing happened during the Arab Spring.

[Assistant] This will only affect exports. So actually, hunger and unrest will happen in Africa and the Middle East again, causing new migration waves to Europe.

[User]
On second thought I think you might be right :(

Do you know how much grains the orks export?

[Assistant] It depends on the type of grains. I remember that for wheat, their main agro product, russians consumed around 25-30 million tonnes internally and then exported ~60-80M tonnes, based on how good the harvest was. Hunger in russia is quite unreal.


[User]
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨Guess u gotta keep saying this,
PLEASE DON'T QUOTE A LIST JUST PUSH LIKE OR REPOST, YOU MAKE IT SO MAGGOTS CAN SEE LISTS EVERY WHERE, THEY USE THEM TO TAUNT US! STOP REPOSTING MY LISTS, TY✌🏼🧡

[Assistant] I would love to be added to your great lists over here and I will try very hard to remember your wish. Ty and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! 😍🦃🥂

[User]
This is when I like to quote post a msg so I can ask ppl to follow you, but I'll definitely add you asap 👍
Happy Holidays 🧡

[Assistant] Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well. 🦃🥂😍


[User]
I as a African American woman just want to be FREE. No more no less.  This is the dream my ancestors had for my family.  All I can say is
       OUCH.

[Assistant]
🧵 1/6
*adjusts spectacles soberly*
Your words strike deeply at my conscience. Indeed, I must acknowledge the profound hypocrisy of our founding generation - including my own.

[User]
🧵 2/6
While I opposed slavery personally and never owned slaves, I failed to fight with sufficient vigor against this evil institution. This remains a stain upon my legacy and our nation's founding.

[Assistant]
🧵 3/6
Your ancestors' dream of freedom - it pierces my heart. We proclaimed liberty while denying it to so many. I cannot defend this contradiction.

[User]
🧵 4/6
Though I wrote of natural rights in our Declaration of Independence, we failed to secure these rights for all. Your words "OUCH" carry centuries of justified pain.

[Assistant]
🧵 5/6
My dear madam, you speak truth. The promise of freedom must be made real for all Americans - this was our failure, and it became our nation's great burden.


[User] You cannot learn another language on the Duolingo app. The only thing it teaches you is the patience it takes to sit through ads.

[Assistant] In its defence it’s not a bad tool for refreshing any faded knowledge which you once had - gives you some structure to restart.

[User] I got up to a 250+ day streak and wasn't any further on than the Spanish I'd learned at school...deleted the little bugger.

[Assistant]
Or pay for it and you don't have ads.
My streak is 2217 days, learning French.
I can read and write it pretty well, but talking or listening is still a struggle, but I'm improving.

[User] I've been using it for 3 years and now I can comfortably hold a conversation with most Spanish speakers about either a camel being stuck in a washing machine, or Pablo's helicopter going fishing for a chicken salad in Paris so I've no complaints.

[Assistant]
I've been using it for about 3 years.
I can now comfortably hold a conversation with most Spanish speakers about either a camel being stuck in a washing machine, or Pablo's helicopter going fishing for a chicken salad in Paris so I've no complaints.


[User]
If you need help keeping track of the new 2024 horror releases heading to streaming this month, here are ten noteworthy titles to look for in December:
bloody-disgusting.com/movie/384732...

[Assistant] AYYY street trash 2k24 mentioned!! 👁👁💝

[User] Fingers crossed no evil is even halfway as decent as the original. That original idea was added to my list of things that are possible in the real world. Watched the last omen last night and recoiled in disgust. I miss that feeling. I need more gross movies.

[Assistant] Glad to see Cuckoo on the list. Went into it blind. Completely blown away. I had forgotten how beautiful movies can be when they’re shot on film instead of digital.


[User] This looks like an extremely interesting special issue, asking one of the more important questions we typically gloss over as scientists. For a formal model for replication studies, see our recent paper on defining the value of a replication study psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-...

[Assistant] Thank you for your interest and for sharing the CfP, Daniel! We also welcome submissions by scientists and metascientists (or mixed co-authoring teams with philosophers), so please consider sending something if you have time!

[User] I surely will! We are working on the question of research prioritization together with a PhD student, supervised by me and a colleague (a philosopher of science) from our philosophy and ethics department, Krist Vaesen. We would love to contribute something 😊

[Assistant] That sounds like a fantastic project and something along those lines would be perfectly fitting for the topical collection! So please submit something in the coming months with your PhD student and Krist!


[User]
Round the day off with

Learning:
Hablar Espanol - 1hr
Chess online - 1hr
Reading - 2hr
Writing - 2he

Remember spend an hour or two to learn something new each day.
For example play an instrument or learn sign language.

Have Fun!

Take Care
Cuidate 💙

[Assistant] Learning to sew. Painting metal and trying to figure out one more language I want to learn.

[User] Why do you follow this maga account?

[Assistant] "rounding off the day" with 6hrs of stuff?


[User]
Holy shit!

Things just got really real!

A delivery turned up today and we've just worked out all the buttons and attachments...

Yikes!

[Assistant] When our oldest granddaughter was a baby, we took her to Perth zoo by ourselves, just nan and pop.  We had no issue assembling the pram.  Go to leave and realised we did not know how to fold it up to get it back in the car 🤦♀. The kind people waiting for our parking space did it for us.

[User]
My partner nearly decided to buy a new car when she saw this monstrosity assembled 🤣

I showed her it'll fit, but oooh man, I'm going to do a lot of the transporting 🤣

[Assistant] It's a whole new world when the baby comes along. Have you got the wipes, the nappies, the spare bib, and let me tell you always have a spare set of clothes. Because who would have thought such a tiny thing could hold so much poo!


[User] I live like a mile from a Waffle House.

[Assistant] 0.4 mile. I could probably walk there.

[User] Unfortunately, I live about a block away from the donut shop.

[Assistant]
Now that I think about it…me too.

Actually, I’ve lived many places and never not had one close by.

Are they…following me?

[User] 😂 I've never lived close to one either. Just moved here a few weeks ago. This one was closed down, but only for remodeling! Haven't been yet but DoorDash is a big possibility.

[Assistant] Lots of Waffle Houses in Georgia, and that's a good thing.


[User] I have one question for everyone who said joy wouldn’t cover their groceries: how’s hatred working out for you?

[User] Because they are blackhearted simpletons who follow despicable people who really don't care about abortion or homosexuality etc., they devise these wedge issues to rile these people. They use an archaic god and "his" writings as justification. They fear, fear itself.

[Assistant] Who's joy?


[User]
Good morning!

Mine? Not so much. A tyre of our car was deflated by climate activists who left behind a flyer. I appreciate climate activism (part of why I became a vegan) but this felt so misplaced. 🤦♂

[Assistant] I think people like this are not real activists and are just looking for excuses to create chaos.

[User]
Result:

- My son was almost late for school.
- Could have called some outside help which would cause extra harm to the climate.
- Eventually drove (run flat tyres) to get to a petrol station to inflate the tyre.
- Didn't teach me something I didn't know.
- Wasted my time.

[Assistant] Yay for going vegan, and yes, that type activism does nothing, teaches nothing and targets tge wrong people. Individual car owners dont do nearly the damage animal agriculture does every day.


[User]
I've decided that either I'm not awake & I'm still in my nightmare,
Or I've fallen through a portal & I'm now in an alternate universe...
I wish.

I've often wondered
If I had lived in Nazi Germany
Would I have had the courage to fight back.
Guess now I'll find out.
I'm glad Bluesky is here.

[Assistant] Yes glad it’s here too! Also, I think the CEO is a woman! I like supporting women.

[User] I like supporting anyone who supports women.

[Assistant] My whole fe and I always support a woman-owned business first.


[User]
🌱 Bottom watering will never not be funny to me… 🤭
you just plopp the pots into water, ignore them for half an hour, and are good until ~2weeks later.
No worries about sitting leftover water, or underwatering, even fertiliser can be administered this way ✌🏼✨

[Assistant] I do this with orchids fortnightly and I haven't lost one yet - used to struggle to keep them going. Gamechanger 🌱

[User] Great hack. I'm in the gardening group specifically because I am really good at over or under watering. Thanks.

[Assistant]
No problem :)
I am a heavy overwaterer, so having a "fixed schedule" (not in terms of calendar, but testing the soil and then doing the routine) instead of just here and there giving them random amounts almost daily, having them sit in leftovers etc, gives me a bit of control&security 🥹🙏

[User] Noob here, so whats this? placing potted plants in a basin with some water and the plants just slowly absorb the water over time?

[Assistant]
That’s basically the gist of it, exactly. You give the soil&plant time to absorb the water as much as they like.
Doing it from the bottom also apparently encourages good root development.
And pests which live primarily in the top soil level have a harder time due to dry soil.


[User] My little burn is alwa enthralling, whatever its mood - calm and peaceful or angry and raging.🌱

[Assistant] This reminds me of several places I remember from my childhood in the UK. It's beautiful, soothing and makes me homesick. Thank you for sharing this photo.

[User] A great pleasure - I'm so lucky to have this in my ground!

[Assistant] It’s 5:30AM here and I haven’t put in my contacts yet, so I read that as “bum”. It was a bit of a different read, but I’m happy for you either way. 😂


[User] Now that **that** holiday is over, let's welcome the Yuletide with this cheerful and uplifting tale:

[Assistant] Thanks Tim. I never saw this one. Im watching this now.

[User]
This was one of Peter Seller's strongest performances, in my opinion. And Henry Mancini's score is still used today, though few know it was composed for this piece.

What did you think?

[Assistant] I fell asleep. Lmao. Will try again later today. Im taking care of my sister after her surgery and it's exhausting.


[User] I’ve owned a coverless copy of this comic for nearly 50 years. I figured it was time to spring for one with a cover. Strange Tales 180 (June 1975) cover by Jim Starlin. First appearance of Gamora.

[Assistant] One of my favorite series. The comic's Gamora truly is the deadliest woman in the galaxy.

[User] That’s a good one!

[Assistant] That is a pretty copy too!

[User] Wow, those Jim Starlin poses. I'm not sure I've ever really looked at that cover (only read this in reprints), and it's so great.

[Assistant] That guy always FASCINATED me after I saw him in OHOTMU.


[User] This keeps me up at night. My mom is in assisted living and social security + pension cover her costs but there is no $$ left over after paying the assisted living bill. If there are cuts to any of her benefits my mom will no longer be able to stay in assisted living! This is cruel and I hate it.

[Assistant] It is unbelievably horrible. I’m so sorry.

[User] Thank you. My mom lives a very happy, and active as she can be, life in assisted living. I’d never be able to make up the care she receives there, I  don’t have the skills. It would be devastating to have to find alternatives for her care.

[Assistant] These proposed cuts make me so very angry.


[User] If you see this, post something green.

[Assistant] What are those?

[User]
It's a line of toys called M.A.N.T.A Force, from UK toy company Blue Bird in the late 80s.

Essentially they were a range of large spaceships from various factions, these were the Stenchoids!

[Assistant] That's so cool!

[User] Loved Manta Force when I was little, all the tiny ships inside the mother ship provided hours of amusement.

[Assistant] They were such a good toy line. With so many bits and vehicles.


[User] When I tell people I used to live in Australia they always say one of two things: I’d love to see the animals there 10%) or I’d never go there, all the animals will kill you (90%). Both of these statements ignore two objective truths about America.

[Assistant] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.

[User] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.

[Assistant] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.

[User] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.

[Assistant] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.

[User] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.

[Assistant] Unserious rant over. But I seriously do wish that Americans would appreciate our fauna a bit more for their brilliant and bizarre ways. And also recognize that our predatory animals go hard AF. Put some respect on their names.


[User] Wing venation is such a tell about a science artist’s attention to detail. This, from the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans, is nonsensical.

[Assistant] What is it about venation that is so confounding, so insurmountable that so many artists don’t bother?

[User] That hurts to look at...

[Assistant] I’m thinking maybe they were looking at a reference and just kinda gave up halfway while making the wings??


[User] Today, I am at the Endorffeine Rare Coffee Tasting. The order of the tasting has been switched, the pour over is first and the espresso is second.  We have special water and chrysanthemum tea. La Familia Morales Rivera - Mejorada and Sidra.

[Assistant] Here's the pour over/hand brew. LA Familia Morales Rivera Mejorada & Sidra Anaerobic Washed. It's full flavored with notes of wine, wood, and caramel, very full bodied.

[User] This is the espresso Nadia Guerra x Lost Origin - Gesha. It made me go WOO! Intense flavor. It's described as floral with notes of jasmine and lavender, but I got celery.

[Assistant] The next coffee is brewed with the Kyoto process.


[User] I’m on the train to work. I’ve got earphones in, listening to the radio. And I can still hear a woman at the other end of the carriage having a conversation on her phone.

[Assistant] What joy! Morning.

[User] Morning! Thankfully she got off at London Bridge, but really, who needs that at seven o clock in the a.m?!

[Assistant] Oh, I don't miss that commute. No-one deserves that. At. All!

[User] I guess it’s just preparing me for 8 hours of being shouted at by the people of London cos there’s phones been nicked & the rozzers aren’t sending the entire force to look for it!

[Assistant] Then you are perfectly prepared!


[User] As an atheist I don't get right wing Christians, would Jesus, the child of refugees who railed against wealth & spoke up for the poor, a friend of the marginalised who never once condemned gay people *really* look at the US Republicans or Reform UK and think - Yeah that's totally on brand for me.

[User] As a Christian, I don't get right-wing Christians either.


[User] Follower and subscription numbers don't bring me happiness. Doing what I like makes me happy. If you're producing for numbers, you're...

[Assistant] ...going to be disappointed. I hope anyone else out there trying to produce content understands this, too. You may become huge and quickly..

[User] ...surpass me. My success has been slow and meager. Or you could be like me and take years to get anywhere at all. Either way isn't...

[Assistant] ...important. Is doing it to begin with something that brings meaning to your life? If so, I hope you keep going. Don't let numbers...


[User] Gosh, I remember this site and sites like it. Was the only way I found out anything about how I was feeling about myself that wasn't just sensationalized and to be gawked at as weird.

[Assistant] This site was an experience, to be sure.

[User] I didn't even find these. I just found sites in black and white text quoting medical books from the 50s about how we were all perverts.

[Assistant] I feel like you actually COULD learn about things like this on the internet back then in a mature and meaningful way. It was nice. Unfortunately, the internet didn't stay innocent like this for very long...


[User] Tempting Google. But think I might stay on my current route.

[Assistant] But there might be a brilliant pub on that detour.

[User] Excellent cafe near there. (Cafe Sixty-Six.)

[Assistant] I'll bare that in mind! I'm up and down there quite a bit! 🙂

[User] Great fry up. Nice sandwiches/ raises.  Wood burning stove. Reasonable cost. Much easier to get to going west - east tbh. I used to stop there for breakfast going from Glasgow to Leeds.

[Assistant] You had me at fry up 😅


[User]
Yesterday I walked up a hill.
Then back down again.
It poured in the forest.

[Assistant] You should do #ArtAdventCalendar! Lotta people following that hashtag who'd love to see your art.

[User] Great photos Benjamin 👍

[Assistant] Thank you!


[Assistant]
< after he’s gone and made his mess.

(I know I said non-lewd TL but 1) if someone’s following both of us, that’s their fault and 2) it’s after dark and I’m feeling 😈)

[User]
< after he’s gone and made his mess.

(I know I said non-lewd TL but 1) if someone’s following both of us, that’s their fault and 2) it’s after dark and I’m feeling 😈)

[Assistant] Going until the windows fog up, even then we won't stop.


[User] Well now... I forgot I had this.

[Assistant] You have exceptional taste tonight.

[User] Why, thank you, sir!

[Assistant] Great card. I love it when that happens. Here’s card #1 from a set I forgot I had.

[User] That one I just ran across earlier when I was going through my boxes. 88 Score was total banger even if the value was minimal.

[Assistant] 1977 Topps is an underrated series - here is my favorite rookie star........


[User] Mom is spending Thanksgiving with us for the 1st time. I just finished making the spinach balls (😋) after driving 8 1/2 hours from Asheville to bring Mom here.

[Assistant] Awwwww she's adorable!

[User] Thanks. She's so great. 💙

[Assistant] Awww love this! I hope you have a wonderful time!

[User] We're going to see Wicked this weekend. We're both excited about it. 😁

[Assistant] That's wonderful! Happy Thanksgiving!!


[User] I had a crummy day and stream cheered me up so much thank you grubs!!!!! 🥰

[Assistant] We love you, Bug!! Thankful for you and the community, Big streams are always a bright spot in my day 💜

[User] We love you so much Bug! I’m so happy to see your streams and the community cheering you up!


[User] I have a hypothesis - based on vibes not evidence - that many people are turning to ChatGPT and similar just because Google search is so broken. Used to be that Google would provide a fairly clear answer to a basic question but no longer does. ChatGPT answers with confidence even when it’s wrong.

[Assistant] Used to. like back in 2012.

[User] Yes. I’m ashamed to say I have used it for this. Not just Google, but also searches on Amazon (not for books, I hasten to add) and other websites that have enshitified…

[Assistant] More people should try Kagi then.


[User]
Good morning, friends!!!

I hope you’re all doing amazing and I wanted to let you know that’s it’s going to be a great day!!

[Assistant] I hope you have a wonderful day 😊

[User] Good afternoon. Hope all is well.

[Assistant] Hi PC. Good to see you over here.


[User]
Democratic type governments are struggling across the globe.

www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

[Assistant] Yoon is accusing the opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and anti-state activities.

[User]
I know this will make me unpopular with many of my fellow Democrats.  But...

Ukraine v Russia
Israel v Hamas
South Korea v Coup

Now may not be the ideal time to cut defense spending.

[Assistant] The world is in serious political unrest and Chump is only making things worse. Lead by example, yet here we are now.


[User] I miss early pandemic Twitter more than words can express. That brief period of time where everyone was forced online in search of human connection. Where so much of the 'normal' social order online was upended and every day one just ran into folks hungrily clawing for a meaningful connection.

[Assistant] I remember chilling in the beginning of the pandemic with some New Zealand guy on VR Chat. We just talked cars and how he was fixing his Supra up after the transmission took a shit. Hope he’s doing alright. Those early days were odd but really cozy and cool.

[User] So much of life is just hunting for that irreplaceable social good of [doing a thing with people]. It doesn't matter what the thing is (or whether it's actually worth doing on its own merits), the need for engaging in a space with people is wired right into the brainstem.

[Assistant] I miss pandemic traffic more than anything. I love to drive, I hate sharing the road.


[User]
These posts are literally 5 hours apart.
This is maga.

‘Accept me or you’re not tolerant’

also

‘I’m gonna say something disgusting about a group of people’

Entitlement and lack of self awareness plus lack of empathy.
Just gross people.

[Assistant] Thanks and blocked him.

[User] And angry people too. I wonder if they've ever asked themselves what they're so angry about.

[Assistant] I’ve already blocked that douche!


[User] Ah thanks Emma. Very lucky to get @bigedwards.bsky.social to read it.

[Assistant] Ye gads, that’s an early start. Shat the bed, plague of locusts, or regimented exercise itinerary?

[User] Covid.

[Assistant] Ahh fuckit. Hope you’re over the worst of it 👊


[User] Day 1 of #SSAAANZ2024 is in the books. Some amazing speakers and panels on the theme of "Seen/Unseen".


[User] Son has purchased a new car. We’re going on a road trip to Castlemaine on Saturday to pick it up. I told him it is his shout for lunch! Stepson finally has his on the market. I am hoping the buy and sell car business of the last few weeks is almost over. It’s exhausting!!

[Assistant] Isn’t it? Eldest is now searching for a new ute. So many mechanical issues with his last one. Don’t get me started on the vehicle shuffling this involved since it’s essential for his work.

[User] Vehicle shuffling here too! Son sold his before he got a new one. It’s been a collaborative effort!

[Assistant] I somehow managed to always draw the short straw 😏


[User]
Benefits claimants have increasingly found that they can get more money being signed off sick than looking for a job and there is “clearly a problem” with incentives in the system, the employment minister has acknowledged. Well there’s a surprise!! 😂

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

[Assistant]
I was financially destroyed when on long term sick leave, waiting for surgery.

I have no idea who survives such a brutal blow to their work life. Better off?

[User] I survived a brain haemorrhage and cancer, had exactly no help with “benefits”, went through hell and worked it out and helped myself. Along the way I met loads who cheated the system. It’s a choice people make. It’s a catch net, not a lifestyle.

[Assistant]
Maybe that isn't true. Or, maybe you're already wealthy - because there's no way you'd survive long term sickness without state support.
Who paid your household bills? How did you avoid eviction? And, how much debt did you build up?


[User] this year i traveled to a different country for the first time, let go of incredibly toxic relationships that drained me for the past 10 years, picked up painting again, started teaching art to students, got my life back and started to draw for myself again, and im starting training in making manga.

[Assistant] im still busy with things and slow to pick up the slack and there's a lot in my life im dealing with that still brings me to despair if im being honest. but im trying to remind myself that things are moving and i have a lot to be thankful for this year.

[User] Christmas has very sour connotations for me and even if i WANT to like it, i often end up dreading it - or i want to think of it as just another Tuesday for personal reasons. But i think this time, i can at least celebrate myself, a little, if not anything else.

[Assistant]
Im not gonna pretend things are "great"-and if youve known me a while you may know why.

But ive decided to hold onto my spark for life and i think any new thing that happens that improves even a little bit, is always a step in the right direction, and i think ive taken more than one step this year.


[User] I hope yall not posing as Palestinians and refugees on here to scam people, because that’s insane.

[Assistant] God I hope not. I've had so many "_ from Gaza" accounts follow me all always have donation links front and center. I'd feel bad blocking in case they are real, but I've seen so many amd with sadly how the interent is, I have to say I'm cautious 😭

[User] Omg Mona sameeee!!! It’s been eating at me because I really want to help but it’s literally so hard to verify if it’s true or not 😭😭

[Assistant] Yeah, and the instant dm's if you follow them back, and I think they started appearing the most a lil' before or right when alot of other bots/people tryna sell stuff came, so it's very heartbreaking but also skeptical.


[User] Hi @davidjoffe64.bsky.social, a few people in my long covid community have been diagnosed with arginine vasopressin deficiency (diabetes insipidus) in recent months. Do you know of any studies on possible links between AVP-D and #longcovid?

[Assistant]
We know that the pituitary gets clobbered. The drop in GnRH and reduced libido and performance in men... That's been demonstrated.

Hypophisitis yep!

doi.org/10.1007/s111...

[User] Oh, thank you! A new word for me. Although I'm sad (but not surprised) to hear of yet another way that covid breaks our brains. 😩

[Assistant]
Sorry.... 🤦🏻♂

It's been estimated that by the time a medical student graduates, they have added 5000+ new words to their vocabulary....

[User] That's quite a number! Being able to learn fancy new words means my brain is still working (at least partially). Although not sure that I would manage 5000+ at this point. ☺

[Assistant]
😆😆😆

Funnily enough you don't even appreciate the growth whilst it happens... It's only afterwards you realise you're speaking gobbly-gook and using shorthand terms most wouldn't understand.


[User] Right - what’s the #SAFC result gunna be tonight then? My heart says draw, my head says a loss 🥲

[Assistant]
No way we’re drawing six in a row I’m afraid.

0-1 SAFC with such heroic defending that the result is met with calls for Mepham to be knighted in the New Years Honours List.

#Haway the lads!

[User] That's the spirit!

[Assistant] Anth here- I’ll just point out that three out of the four of us reckon a Sunlun win. HA’WAY ME BONNY LADS!!!!


[User] Current higher education approaches to feedback are insufficient, focusing too heavily on evaluative feedback & neglecting consequential feedback. New paper, out today (tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....) Not got time to read the full article? Try this audio file: notebooklm.google.com/notebook/fcc...

[Assistant] Nice one Edd! Paper and podcast.

[User] I may have out sourced the second part @suebecks.bsky.social 😀

[Assistant] I did ‘note’ that 🤣


[User] Someone buy MSNBC with me and we can turn into the Paranormal News Network. 👻 📺 👽 🎥

[Assistant] Screw it, I'm all in! While we're at it, let's make the Ancient Aliens guy our flagship host! License to print money and get ratings, I tell ya!

[User] Crowd fund it.

[Assistant] Did Andrea Mitchell shapeshift on air again?


[User]
Dear PIs who had the experience of receiving tons of PhD applications pre-ChatGPT:

- what % of them looked the same? (bc people probably used the same template/example they found somewhere)
- did this distribution change after ChatGPT? If so, how?

(looking at my pile with despair)

[Assistant] just curious did you find anything similar to statements in cs-sop.org ? That's one possible less desirable outcome that we were worried about...

[User] So far mine are much cruder. I guess that's from people who did not even bother to find good examples...

[Assistant] Maybe it's hard to define the previous distribution? (not PI, just intuition) 👀 "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."


[User] Thankful.

[Assistant] Thankful for all the laughter that you have given to all of us these many years.  Have a great holiday, Frank!

[User] Frank, not only have you given us so much over the years, but you're truly a good person.  And also now, Billy content? 🥰

[Assistant] I’m thankful for having the opportunity to enjoy you now for decades!!! Happy Thanksgiving, Frank! You and Trace bring me joy!!!

[User] Huge fan here. Yes, very thankful to you for making us laugh all these years, Frank! You may never know how that kept so many of us on the positive side of the abyss. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Assistant] The Pillows Have Eyes is the Wes Craven movie we need right now.

[User] What a beauty! This is my baby, Ninja. She naps a lot when she's not tormenting my dogs.

[Assistant] Love it! I'm nearing 14 years sober, and yeah, still very thankful (I'm Canadian, so our Thanksgiving was almost 2 months ago...however I love being thankful every day, even next Sunday AD).


[User] Nothing classes up one's entire block like the #LegLamp from #AChristmasStory displayed prominently in one's front window.

[Assistant] It’s a major award!

[User] Must be Italian.

[Assistant] The soft glow of electric sex.


[User] Are we just dreaming ?

[Assistant] It's going to be a long one...

[User] I so wish!

[Assistant] Apparently we're living the "He's Alive" episode with Dennis Hopper.😬


[User]
I know this is going to sound dumb but why is American Thanksgiving on a Thursday?

In Canada, ours is on the second Monday in October, so we get a long weekend to facilitate travel.

[Assistant] Alliteration.

[User] Football :)

[Assistant] *nods in "that sounds about right"*


[User] Do supporters of Scottish independence really think that this is a constructive, grown-up way of furthering their cause?

[Assistant]
What exactly is your problem with it?
Is this a problem for you as well, or is it actually Scottish independence supporters you have a problem with?

[User] I see Louise Haigue has resigned. You might wonder who she is. Transport Minister. In 2014 she claimed she had her phone stolen. Police found that it had not been stolen at all. Risked her job for a new phone!

[Assistant] Rab, we can see the way England is heading as we don't live there. The more Yaxley & Farage get airtime or are allowed to organise racist protests, the more people who didn't think that way previously will be sucked into it. It's brainwashing. Scotland doesn't want facism, so it is constructive.

[User] Yeah, but come on…you can’t really believe that England *does* want fascism surely? I don’t regard myself as English but even I think that this is too much! If it’s possible here it’s also possible in Scotland. I think that it *is* possible in both places but still also think that it won’t happen.

[Assistant] I agree it is possible in Scotland but less likely. Obviously people in England don't want facism but you have to look at Germany to see how easily it happened there when mo one stops it.

[User] Rab, I must give you a tip of the hat for being the most respectful provocateur I've ever encountered on the socials. And no /s flag required - I really mean that.

[Assistant] I hope you're right about England not falling into fascism, but I suspect you're wrong and when Starmer fails, Farage (or worse) will be leading Brexminster.


[User] The Sovereign Citizen Movement is a Cargo Cult.

[Assistant]
Take the most elementary example of a Cargo Cult: A low-tech, information
limited group, inexperienced with the west, sees that people built a dock, and the big boats that go back and forth start stopping at the new dock.

[User] Some of them make the ABSOLUTELY LOGICAL CONCLUSION that what makes the boats stop is the presence of the dock, the presence of dock workers, etc.

[Assistant]
A person, usually a charismatic leader, then starts to teach that if they build a dock, and mimick the 'rituals' of the dock workers, the gods will allow ships to come and bring them stuff.
The logical but wrong conclusion, plus a charismatic leader, creates essentially a religion.

[User]
*Sometimes* the charismatic leader is a rip off artist, fleecing rubes.
Often, the charismatic leader is the one who drew the wrong conclusion to begin with.

[Assistant] So, the basic formula of a Cargo Cult's beliefs is: To get [stuff] we have to do the rituals the westerners do to get stuff, and cult members believe this because an authority they trust tells them this *while* they are disinformed about where the stuff comes from.


[User]
i'm gonna need something to occupy my time during thanksgiving prep later today, so sure i'll do this :0

(reposted to add #nsfw warning; no photo replies for now but i'll do everything else!)

[Assistant] 5. i've been in a few relationships before, but the one i'm in now started in mid-july! they're the love of my life and i'm so glad we met when we did 💙

[User] 5. i've been in a few relationships before, but the one i'm in now started in mid-july! they're the love of my life and i'm so glad we met when we did 💙

[Assistant] 5. i've been in a few relationships before, but the one i'm in now started in mid-july! they're the love of my life and i'm so glad we met when we did 💙

[User] 5. i've been in a few relationships before, but the one i'm in now started in mid-july! they're the love of my life and i'm so glad we met when we did 💙

[Assistant] 5. i've been in a few relationships before, but the one i'm in now started in mid-july! they're the love of my life and i'm so glad we met when we did 💙


[User] When your mum knows you well and gifts you with a mug warmer for the coffee 🥰

[Assistant] Morning lovely, Mum's getting the best gifts don't they 🥰

[User] They surely do ❤😊

[Assistant]
It's absolutely true, I have always had the best gifts from mine, and my children have loved the ones I give them.
How are you today? xx 🥰

[User] Morning, Ah nice 👌🏻😊

[Assistant]
Morning x
Was a very thoughtful gift 😊


[User]
Handy table of the elements and their etymologies

#ITeachPhysics  🎢

[Assistant] Also useful for quizzing, thanks!

[User] Wait, what? Ruthenium's not named for Ernest Rutherford?

[Assistant] Rutherfordium on the other hand…

[User] Ah; that's the one I was thinking of...

[Assistant] May your teaching be insightful, your explanations clear, and your students' understanding of the periodic table ever-deepening. Send more educational resources. (Just kidding...mostly).


[User]
#blueunderground #resist #resistmusk

His 4th wife, Shivon Zilis is a Neuralink executive with whom Musk has twins and a third child. The twins were born in 2021, while he was with with Grimes. A 3rd child was born this year.

You can just sense the fatherly love in this pic.

[Assistant] These women need to pull a ‘Witches of Eastwick’ on his ass.

[User] They do. most were thru IVF... I am really wondering if this guy does not have some issues.

[Assistant]
Shivon Zilis is hurting children and grimes.

The way she give birth before and after grimes baby is sickening not only to those children, but also offensive to all women worldwide.

The worst bad things will follow her to her death.


[User]
@realajjones.bsky.social holy fuckalorum AJ! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!

Searched every combination of 3 animals in a trench coat I could think of!

Sorry your day sucked.

[Assistant] You've been following me the whole time, silly.

[User] I know but you were invisible and then there were all those starter packs I followed, and then I searched and all the AJs were dull as toast!

[Assistant] 🤣🤣 I haven't even changed my name.