[User] Good morning.  Yesyerday, Coach Sox went over the rainbow bridge. We're just devastated. He was the sweetest gentleman. He always walked me down the stairs when I left. His talents included cat yoga, boops, chasing light sabers & balls. He was 17.5.  Rest in peace my beautiful furry boy. 🏃♀✝🌈💜

[Assistant] Aww I’m so sorry💔 You have some great photos there, memories for sure.

[User] Thank you so much.  ☮

[Assistant] Handsome guy! We lost ours at the same age earlier this year.

[User] Thank you.  I'm so sorry for your loss. It's so hard. They both lived a good long cat life☮

[Assistant] So sorry.

[User] Thank you Steve. ☮

[Assistant] I'm so sorry for your loss.


[User] You can't just make people talk to you, and I hate that for me.

[Assistant] You can't just get them to shut up either. Lose-lose.

[User] I don't know why they don't just sell friends in boxes with lockable lids.

[Assistant] It's call human trafficking and it's quite popular.


[User]
Name one of your favorite three album runs.

Morbid Angel
- Altars of Madness (1989)
- Blessed are the Sick (1991)
- Covenant (1993)

[Assistant] Ohoho...😃👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻What a band...

[User] Love some old school death metal 😈🤘

[Assistant] That is one hell of a run! 🤘🔥

[User] I had a few of was thinking of but this one is pretty damn good. Covenant is a tad weaker than the first two albums but still a solid as hell recording.

[Assistant] Yup, agree… Blessed might be peak of death metal, so the downward trajectory was inevitable, but the slope was not too steep… 😅🙏

[User] I think (as far as early death metal) that Death's first 3 albums are a solid as hell run too.

[User] Oh hell yeah, Annihilator! An excellent cut of Canadian thrash!

[Assistant] I nearly went with Deicide or Death but you did a death band, so i leaned on a thrash act instead. 🤘🏻


[User] AT LAST! Meteor-M2 4 syncing nicely up in Satdump! Can't wait to see the image 😃

[Assistant] What an interesting antenna construction technique 😀

[User] And here they are - very satisfying, if you ask me 😃

[Assistant] And here they are - very satisfying, if you ask me 😃


[User]
Braved a grocery store today. Super crowded.
6 minutes from when I parked to when I returned to my car.
I don't know how I did it.

Today is an amazing day.
Good things will happen.
Hold fast to your joy.

[Assistant] Whoa. Maybe you time traveled?

[User] I think I did. Gonna add "successful manipulation of the space-time continuum" to my resume.

[Assistant] You're hired!

[User] Because of the many failed attempts to prevent the baby politicians only resulted in worse ones taking their places, in the year 2535, time travel was retro-actively made illegal.

[Assistant] I am a time-traveling outlaw. Don't tell anyone.

[User] Don't tell anyone what? I didn't hear anything.

[Assistant] What?

[User] Who's on first?

[Assistant] I’m just here for the food.


[User] We've been working on a new mouse model of Lewy body dementia and see behavioural deficits but without expected brain changes (confusing but fun!). Sequencing is so cheap now that we're 'just' doing a wee transcriptome expt. Amazing! What a great age of #neuroskyence that we're living through! 🤯

[Assistant] Is there anything special in human neurons that male them vulnerabile to some synuclein related meccanism?

[User] My gut instinct would be to say no, but I don't have any data to support that. But we're planning some experiments with human donor tissue so perhaps we might have some insight into this question in a year or two... 🤞

[Assistant] Most HD mouse models have tons of electrophysiological, transcriptional and behavioral changes with no overt cell death in the vulnerable neurons that definitely die in HD patients.

[User] Yeah, I run an MSc module on animal models in neuroscience. Every year in my neurodegeneration lecture, I spent a lot of time talking about using an animal that lives 2 years to model diseaes that occur in late life... I guess the motto is "all models are shit, but some are useful".

[Assistant] Haha my sentiments exactly. In hd we have to crank up the mutation severity to get phenotype within the lifespan of a mouse. And a PhD student.


[User] Good morning.

[Assistant] Good morning!

[User] How are you?!

[Assistant] I’m doing good this morning. How about yourself?


[User]
can't stop crying. i miss my brother. every time i start to function i feel guilty. what do you mean i'm supposed to "feel better?" how can i ever do that? he's never coming back.

i don't want to "feel better." it feels like a betrayal.

[Assistant] every time i laugh, i remember he no longer can. every time i eat, i wish i could share it with him. every time i lay down to rest, i just cry until i fall asleep. his story is done, i'm still here. and i wish i wasn't.

[User] i'd give anything to switch places.

[Assistant]
7 months feels like nothing. i just can't believe it's been that long. i can't believe this is just how life is now. it doesn't feel real. i can't stand the feeling that every second takes me further from him. from ever seeing him again.

i don't know what to say or do. i just want to go back.


[User] To @titea-writes.bsky.social 's point, it's interesting to see how these arguments/memes/thoughts fail when considering the historical treatment of Black and brown men/women. Y'all don't think with intersectionality in mind, so y'all say and do things that come across insensitive and problematic.

[Assistant] Like, we're not too far removed from a time where Black men were forcibly castrated by plantation owners and their governments for any number of reasons. Or were experimented on with sexually transmitted diseases that functioned as reproductive barriers...

[User] I get what you're trying to say, but certainly, this is insensitive and problematic when considering Black people.

[Assistant]
Sex strikes? Cool.
Ban on men's contraceptives? Bet.
Invasive BC for men? Sure.
Forced sterilization? Woah, there.


[User] Insightful post about the place we find ourselves.

[Assistant] The true adversary is APATHY. I am seeing manifested everywhere.  We need to energize people.

[User]
My guess is that people need to get through the holidays & then as soon as Trump gets in, people will start to respond.

But I agree that the first thing we need to do is stop blaming any Harris voters. We barely lost despite all the dark money and lies.

So much depends on a few GOP senators. 😬

[Assistant] People have to want to get involved. Even in small ways. It’s a generational thing. Some feel the fight take too much effort. Some want everything handed to them on a platter. While many of us, have fought tooth & nail for what we have & our place in this life.  I look forward to convincing them.

[User] We need to win the propaganda war. Russia must have some fine devious psychologists because they sure know Americans. We need to do the same in reverse. Flood the zone with anti-tRump propaganda.

[Assistant] And punch harder.


[User] Birthday felicitations for the delightful @yassammez.bsky.social  and @amestris-star.bsky.social - hope you both have amazing days, whatever you’re doing!!

[Assistant] Oh I’m going to jump on the birthday bus here!! Happy birthday to two charming lovelies who never fail to be excellent company.

[User] Thank you dears 🥰

[Assistant] Thank you!


[User] I hard agree with this. We’ve built a world where all the worst qualities of humanity are rewarded and all the best ones are either punished or unacknowledged.

[Assistant] It all works out though as the good people get their reward in heaven or the afterlife of their choice. So best not to make a fuss 😬

[User] Awfulness is rewarded with engagement only by disengaging can we defeat it. If someone says something awful, ignoring and not answering directly is the only way. Once we pile on to disagree, they win.

[Assistant] Exactly this. When the US election results were announced I realised my fundamental beliefs in life and the way the world works are wrong, and I've been struggling to reckon with that ever since.


[User] This invitation to joy lives up to its name and also makes me want to spend more time in our local printing studio. 😍

[Assistant] Summoning @gabi3.bsky.social to share this with Owen. Sucks that university procurement via ebay isn't allowed, this stuff is delightful.

[User] ugh, that’s such a bummer! 🙁 totally feel you on wanting those cool finds. have you tried byitts.com? it's a super easy way to find local sellers offering some amazing stuff! i bet you could score some unique deals there!

[Assistant] Thank you! He will love this. My favorite weird one in the collection here is the giant ham.


[User]
Minazuki Karen
Yes! Pretty Cure 5
Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!

#MinazukiKaren #水無月かれん
#CureAqua #キュアアクア

#Yes!PrettyCure5
#Yes！プリキュア5
#Yes!Purikyua5
#Yes!PrettyCure5GoGo!
#Yes！プリキュア5GoGo！
#Yes!Purikyua5GoGo!
#PreCure  #PrettyCure  #プリキュア

[Assistant]
Minazuki Karen
Yes! Pretty Cure 5
Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!

#MinazukiKaren #水無月かれん
#CureAqua #キュアアクア

#Yes!PrettyCure5
#Yes！プリキュア5
#Yes!Purikyua5
#Yes!PrettyCure5GoGo!
#Yes！プリキュア5GoGo！
#Yes!Purikyua5GoGo!
#PreCure  #PrettyCure  #プリキュア

[User]
Minazuki Karen
Yes! Pretty Cure 5
Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!

#MinazukiKaren #水無月かれん
#CureAqua #キュアアクア

#Yes!PrettyCure5
#Yes！プリキュア5
#Yes!Purikyua5
#Yes!PrettyCure5GoGo!
#Yes！プリキュア5GoGo！
#Yes!Purikyua5GoGo!
#PreCure  #PrettyCure  #プリキュア


[User] Forty years ago today. Some kids experimented with drink and drugs, I experimented with handwriting. Sorry. The important bit is "got The Box of Delights from the library". And I think that's a "wass footy match". A cross between whopping and massive, as I once explained to my baffled mother.

[Assistant] I too experimented with handwriting even to the point of persuading myself that I could write with both hands (trying to look hard). The result? Illegibility. Good choice from the library though!

[User] I think I was cosplaying as a GP.

[Assistant] That’s a core competency for the role, leaving it for the pharmacist to best guess the prescription!


[User] We make NAZIS into past demons, but the fact is, they got their genocide ideas from us and our already established White Power people. That it has finally bubbled to the surface does not surprise me. It has existed since the founding of this country.

[Assistant] I think it’s existed even before our ancestors came to this land.  Just my opinion. 🤷🏼♂.

[User] US racist are a breed unto their own. They built laws to protect it.

[Assistant] Yeah, you have a point….

[User] Sadly, a history we should all know. The vast majority either never learned or put a blind eye to it. Disgraceful either way.

[Assistant] It has butwe kept it controlled for quite a while. We got complacent & left it room to move.


[User] 🙌 I somehow pulled it off three times (one for me, my partner, and my very enthusiastic kid) without making a massive mess.

[Assistant] That's really cool!

[User] Thanks! I think it's the most nerve wrecking thing I've done so far 😅 (because my son is really really really looking forward to having his own t-shirt, so if I messed up 😬😬😬)

[Assistant] He will, of course, refuse to wear it on Saturday in classic kid-style 🤣


[User]
The cancelled TV shows you’ll never stop thinkin about:

unless you want me going on a 10 hour rant, don’t get me started.

[Assistant]
Star is just one of those heartbreaks you never get over !!!

Too many loose ends.

[User] this is very true. they were saying that a movie might come out.

[Assistant]
BUT WHEN ?

Cause why yall kill granny like that ?? WHERE IS THE BABY ??

and who all dead ?


[User]
Musiala on when he first joined Bayern's first team:

"I remember just walking into the dressing room and standing there, basically. I was so scared to sit in somebody’s seat by accident. I was just trying to be invisible until someone told me where to sit."

[Assistant] "I thought they were going to be so tough on me. But literally, everybody was so nice and welcoming. (Alright, almost everybody. I’m still not forgiving Leroy for the Bambi nickname. It’s a little bit too good, you know what I mean?)"

[User] The entire culture of Bayern — Mia san Mia — that’s not just something that we say. It’s hard to explain until you’re in the dressing room, but it’s more like a family atmosphere."

[Assistant]
"I don’t think I would’ve believed it until I was actually in there experiencing it. That first day was so important for me. Not as a footballer, but as a person, honestly."

[@PlayersTribune]


[User] I love a loose connection to a famous person: going to school with a footballer’s relative, carrying the bags of the Changing Rooms team while working as a bell boy etc. Anyway, back in October when we played London I made a trip to the Blind Beggar pub, it was something of a family pilgrimage…

[Assistant] The Blind Beggar on Whitechapel Road is a famous pub for a few reasons. According to wiki, Harry Redknapp used to drink there and Bobby Moore owned it at one point, but more famously it’s where Ronnie Kray shot and murdered George Cornell in 1966.

[User] Now then, let’s make a very long story short shall we. My grandad John was a proper Londoner. And by proper, I mean proppa. He was raised in Barnardos and would tell us tales of life in the east end, stealing food from market stalls, and running from the coppers.

[Assistant] He’d put the food he’d stolen at the bottom of his pockets and put mushed up rotten fruit on top of it so if he was stopped by the police they’d get handfuls of horrible mush when searching him and usually let him go. He also played the organ, had an accordion and made the most sugary tea ever.

[User] Anyway, when the Krays died in the late 90s my grandad got an envelope from a solicitor in the post. It turns out, my grandads grandad, going way back here, was a tad loose with his morals and enjoyed a non marital dalliance. Down the line of one of those dalliances came my grandad…

[Assistant] …but down another line via a few twists and turns were Ronnie and Reggie. Grandad John died a few years later, he was great. He taught me how to play guitar so in a way, he’s to blame for you reading this.

[User]
Also, while we’re here. There’s about 30 tickets left for our next show in London next year. Let’s sell it out yeah? Or maybe I need to have a word with some of the boys…

www.alttickets.com/benefits-tic...

[Assistant] I spoke to Reggie once on the phone, the receptionist where I was working was married to someone who had served time with him, she had nipped out for lunch so I jumped on the reception and he rang to speak to her! (Days before everyone had a mobile!).

[User] Certainly a historic pub, with the Krays connection.  I never knew about Bobby Moore owning it.  (Seems unlikely, but hey ho...)  The Harry Redknapp link is possible, of course... reinforcing his 'cockney' character.

[Assistant] Yeah that was just off Wiki so it’s probably nonsense. Sad that the inside of the pub has pretty much zero character. It’s really nondescript, no period fittings, nothing.

[User] I just lingered outside when I was there, a couple of years ago. Didn't go in.  (That Moore ownership bit is elsewhere online, not just on Wikipedia).

[Assistant]
That's mental Kingsley grandad
Sounds like he was a proper character.


[User] The U.S. is currently 47th in safety, 12th for highest quality of life, 23rd for healthcare, and the 24th best for raising kids. Which of these is Trump going to improve when he makes the country great again?

[Assistant] Higher than I thought for quality of life … but the others sorely need to improve.

[User] Same. I verified it all before posting and thought that was interesting. It’s probably because we have the strongest economy in the world.

[Assistant] Agree, that was my thought too.  The wealth made up for the lack of other “good things” 😆


[User] One time I found a cat someone dumped at the transit station, scooped baby up, and took him home on the bus.

[Assistant] great for you that cat will never leave your side because of that!😻

[User] Right?

[Assistant] yeah! My cat was a rescue and she's shy but always comes to me...i am her mama........🥰👍


[User]
"Yes. Yes you can and should, I understand I'm not the most absolute bag of inoffensive sunshine on planet earth and if you need or want to set a boundary you should *absolutely* do that. How would I know not to do something again unless you tell me?"

... she almost ammends that with 'if anyone +

[Assistant]
has recently made you feel bad for that, give me their name, i just want to talk' but. Perhaps not the time-- Mikan actively offering to go get her T hits her in the face like a sack of wet mice.

"oh!! i-i.. yeah nono im in no rush or anything, like *please* do not rush back there by any means, i +

[User]
just meant like. if you happen to run into any, you dont have to go out of your way or anything-"

.... she's only half-aware that she's talking about Testosterone, but the cadence and pitch of her voice shifts just enough to indicate that Gloomy just got a basketful of information and syo left the+

[Assistant]
front after dumping it on her... She takes a moment to try to register where she is, why, and what she's doing, after being handed 'mikans our new roommate, she's offering penis cream' by syo and very little else.

... blankets and a pillow. she would not have them unless she was handing them off+


[User] I attended the 2024 #LAAutoShow and will make a thread on my experience there as an #IndyCar fan. The show is one of the biggest in North America and usually has plenty to keep race fans happy. 1/

[Assistant] We’re off to a decent start as #Hyundai has taken over the lobby with its N exhibit. Here we have a Pikes Peak racer from Bryan Herta Autosport, which of course is also an #Indy500 winning team. 2/

[User] Honda’s exhibit is relatively small and there’s hardly a hint of motorsport, let alone #IndyCar. That’s odd considering they just won the driver’s championship with Alex Palou and there’s nothing to celebrate that. And nothing about the hybrid technology that #Honda pushed for. 3/

[Assistant] #Honda had a minivan inside a frame that featured this motorsport themed advertisement. (Squinting) I see Senna, an off road car, some Red Bull F1 driver… but no #IndyCar. Hmm… 4/

[User] Moving onto #Chevy. Surely they have something to celebrate their #Indy500 win and manufacturer’s championship. But the most high performance car they had on display was a Corvette, not an Indy car. Again, not even a poster acknowledging their IndyCar achievements this year. 5/

[Assistant] We got a #Corvette ZR1 engine on display. Perhaps Chevy didn’t want to put an #IndyCar engine on display given the IndyCar engine produces 300-400 less horsepower than this ZR1 engine which rivals the 1994 Ilmor “Beast” in horsepower. 6/

[User] It’s pretty cool they had these indoor test tracks that showcased EV cars, in this case an apparently modernized VW Bus. Would’ve been cooler to see a race car demo in the style of the Formula 1 Indoor Trophy (which funny enough was held outdoors at the Bologna Motor Show). 7/

[Assistant] Okay, what can you do for me, #Toyota? Looks like this former IndyCar manufacturer is now in partnership with the #NFL. Hey, isn’t the NFL also in partnership of sorts with #IndyCar? 8/

[User] Toyota Gazoo got my attention here. Let’s see what they mention… Nurburgring, Word Rally Championship, Endurance Championship… and also saw NHRA flash by on the screen. Didn’t see any mention of #IndyCar as part of its heritage. To be fair, Formula 1 also didn’t seem to be featured. 9/

[Assistant] On to the smaller hall where they have the Monterey Motorsports Festival. Was hoping for some historical Indy cars especially those that raced at Laguna Seca, but no it’s just a bunch of exotic sports cars. This #McLaren is the closest thing to #IndyCar here. 10/

[User] The #Porsche exhibit got moved to the mezzanine area instead of its own hall where they’d had it for many years. This former #IndyCar team unfortunately didn’t bring their Porsche 2708 Indy car or any of their Marches, but I enjoyed this Rothmans, excuse me, “Roughroads” racer. 11/

[Assistant] What did #Ford bring to the auto show? Trucks. Lots of trucks. Not even a NASCAR. Come to think of it, I didn’t even see a single NASCAR from any auto brand. Is auto racing dead? 12/

[User] The room that usually has the Porsche exhibit is now hosting the art cars of West Coast Customs in collaboration with… CART??!! Wow that’s even a CART #IndyCar throwback logo!!! 13/

[Assistant] Alas, there’s nothing remotely close to CART at this exhibit. There is this polka dot Mini from Damien Hirst which is kind of reminiscent of the Randy Owens art Indy car from 1994! 14/

[User] So then I head downstairs to the basement hall where all the vendors and random exhibits are. Right off the escalator, I am invited to enter a contest for free tickets to the Long Beach GP! However, I backed out of it not wanting to provide all my personal details. 15/

[Assistant] Finally! I see a real Indy car. Thanks to the Long Beach GP for bringing out this DW12, the only one at the show. Although it would’ve been weird if they hadn’t, being owned by #IndyCar and all. 16/

[User] One final stop that I was excited about: “Riverside International” had two vendor spaces per the map. Any hope that it was a revival or historical society of the famed track were dashed when I found out they were a retailer of massagers. 17/

[Assistant] In conclusion, this was one of the worst LA Auto Shows I’ve been to, as a race fan. And I’ve been to most over the last 30 years, and have seen all sorts of Indy cars, stock cars, Le Mans prototypes, Formula 1 cars and Formula E, to name a few. 18/


[User] How y’all be posting songs directly in the app? I tried to share a song from Apple Music but nothing came up.

[Assistant] Instead of sharing it directly to the app you have to click share song, click copy, then open the app and paste it in your post!

[User] Thank you!

[Assistant] You’re welcome!


[User] Being broke is so stressful. I wish I had nice boobs so I could start an onlyfans and get rich 😂

[Assistant]
Now, now, come on, there's no need for that.

You have feet, don't you? 😆

[User] I don't know if I could pay other people enough money to look at my feet 😂

[Assistant] Ah, there'll be a market for it! Just exfoliate/moisturise/sandpaper as appropriate.


[User] As a heads-up, yesterday's short stream might be my last of 2024. I'm going to be working more hours at my IRL job next month, so I'll be extra exhausted every day, and if I'm honest the holiday season is very lonely for me as my seasonal depression results in me isolating quite often. (1/🧵)

[Assistant] That last part has actually started a little early this year tbh. I muted some notifications, and my days are already entering more of a "going through the motions" pattern where I'll wake up, work, and simply distract myself with a mindless game or anime until bedtime. I don't want to rule (2/🧵)

[User] anything out, but on top of my usual factors, like having the house to myself, I'll have to be feeling miraculously energized & social after a long workday in order to stream, so the stars would really have to align. I might do some no-mic streaming as a consolation since it's easier, however. (3/🧵)

[Assistant] Other than that, though. I'm probably just going to end up keeping my head down and hoping the month passes by relatively quickly. I do think it would be nice to pick streaming back up in 2025 with the new design once it's fully ready, so this could extend into a hiatus while art cooks. 🤔 (5/🧵)

[User] Speaking of, my ref sheet is still a WIP, but I'm so excited for it! It's gonna be bigger than you're expecting. Here's a little taste of lineart as thanks for your continued patience and for reading this far. As usual, credit to the cool wonderful amazing talented @starlilybud.bsky.social 🙏 (6/6)

[Assistant] (You might be wondering where the 4th part of this thread is. The answer is that I cannot count... shut up)


[User] The album has been called “a historically significant feminist statement”

[Assistant]
Album cuts frequently featured on my KRAB-FM show in the late 70s. I would sometimes end the broadcast day with this...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc40...

[User] Is this actually the real mixmag? why isn't your handle @mixmag.com ?

[Assistant] Wow. I have the original LP and it was so significant then -- and now.


[User]
‼new Lucíta Nandarossa‼
Dr Berro Pizzarossa & I reflect on the new abortion buffer zone legislation in England & Wales in this short post.

TL;DR? Police and surveillance and carcerality will not make abortions safe[r].

ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/buffer-zones... 1/

[Assistant]
We argue that while buffer zones are frequently presented as a protective measure for abortion-seekers and providers, they are microcosms of the carceral state’s reliance on policing & surveillance as default solutions to social issues.

2/

[User] It makes it harder for made marginal people to access abortion, heightens vulnerabilities, & recasts the (often violent) state as a ‘protector’. It also underscores abortion as a regulated privilege safeguarded by the state rather than an inalienable right. 3/

[Assistant]
& this comes in the context of increased criminal investigations of suspected ‘illegal’ abortions- why would more policing of abortion spaces make abortion seekers ‘safe(r)’?

We can (& should) imagine better. 4/


[User]
I know this is an extremely annoying thing to point out, but outside of Tata (likely too expensive, likely not interested anyway) and Cushing (not an improvement) none of the guys on this list would have ever been hired by Austin FC.
bsky.app/profile/timo...

[Assistant] Rodo is only going to hire guys with extensive experience in a positional play system, because that's the club's DNA. Even Tata, despite his Barca roots, doesn't really set up teams to play exactly this way.

[User] OK OK add Luchi to the list of guys who we could have hired -- dodged a bullet there anyway.

[Assistant] Vanni Sartini should be an option for any club because of vibes.


[User] I feel like this got lost in the feed so sharing it again. I’ve always been team beans in chili. 😀

[Assistant] Beans or bust!

[User] I’m team beans as well but I don’t have a horse in this race. Now, talk to me about Montreal bagels vs. New York style and I’ll fight to the last like our old dachshund who once stole a rotisserie chicken carcass out of the trash.

[Assistant] Yes! I’m also Team Beans!


[User]
Throwback to May! 🎨 We're taking a moment to reflect on a memorable workshop that brought creativity and connection to life! A big thanks to Know Your Neighbourhood funding and Latina from The Codsall Hive.

Read more about this special day here: www.zebra-access.com/news/pottery...

[Assistant] Photo 1 ID: The image shows a ceramic mug that has been painted with a nature-themed design. The mug is light green with a painting of a brown bird and a purple butterfly, along with some green leaves. The interior of the mug is painted a light purple. (Cont)

[User] In the background, there are art supplies visible, including a bottle of paint, paintbrushes, and a palette with various colors. A person is holding a small round object, possibly another piece of pottery, which has a red flower painted on it. The logo of "Zebra Access" is visible (cont)

[Assistant] in the bottom right corner of the image. Photo 2 ID: The image shows a person engaged in a painting activity at a table. They are painting a tile with a design of green leaves and dark blue berries. The table is covered with a white cloth, and there are various art supplies scattered around. (Cont)

[User] To the left, there is a palette with different shades of paint, a couple of small ceramic items with leaf designs, and a cup holding brushes and other tools. There is also a piece of paper with printed text and images, possibly instructions or examples of artwork. (Cont)

[Assistant] A smartphone is placed on the table next to the person. In the bottom right corner, there is a logo that reads "Zebra Access”. (Cont)

[User] Photo 3 ID: The image shows a group of people sitting around a large rectangular table, engaged in a craft activity, painting pottery. The table is covered with a white cloth and has various painting supplies, including paint bottles, brushes, and palettes. (Cont)

[Assistant] Each person has a piece of pottery in front of them, such as plates or mugs, which they are painting. The room has large windows, allowing natural light to come in, and there are colorful decorations on the walls, including a bulletin board with artwork and a sign that says "Life Centre." (Cont)


[User] I haven’t opened my Twitter app in four days and it has been amazing. That’s also the longest I’ve gone without using it in over a decade.

[Assistant] Sometimes I accidentally click on it and hurriedly go to close it because it feels so radioactive.

[User] Feels good doesn’t it. Just wait until you can delete it entirely.

[Assistant] Welcome to Blue Sky. Let’s hope it doesn’t become the cesspool that Twitter is.


[User] Good morning early risers and good night late sleepers!

[Assistant] Good morning! Hope you've been well!

[User] I have thank you! I hope you've been doing well too Red!

[Assistant] I have, thank you! I started doing art again, and it's been really nice.

[User] I saw! I really want to stop by and watch, from what i saw you're doing amazing!

[Assistant]
Ah! Thank you!

And yeah, I'd like to think so! I hope you're able to stop by sometime. I also do keep meaning to stop by your streams, but I think we share stream times, lmao.


[Assistant] You guys are wearing pants??

[Assistant] You wear pants?


[User]
So, update time. Saw the neurosurgeon and he confirmed that my patch is, indeed, failing. This is not entirely unexpected – – most people need 2+ before it takes.

This does mean, however, that I will be having a second procedure at some point in the next couple of weeks.

[Assistant] I will do my best to keep showing up on stream, etc., but I am currently struggling with symptoms if I am upright for more than a few minutes. We are hopeful that I will be able to get in for the procedure soon.

[User] I am overwhelmed by all of the kind wishes and also by the packages that showed up today from my medical wish list. Thank you all so, so much. These are things that are going to make my day-to-day and recovery a bit easier and I am so grateful. Huge thanks to all of you. ❤

[Assistant] I will keep everyone updated as I know more. Thank you all for your patience, your kindness, and your love and support. It is so appreciated and making a tough time a lot easier. 🥰🥰🥰


[User] Just got catapulted out of bed and woke up mid-air ☹

[Assistant] That must have been stunning!

[User] 🤣. Did you stick the landing?

[Assistant] Was a cat throwing up?  Because that stuff makes me an Olympian.


[User]
Good morning, #heartsky!!! For those of us with a short week, happy technically Friday!
And for those of us who don't have a short week, happy Wednesday!

Either way, have an amazing day 💜🫂

[Assistant] have a wonderful day! c:

[User] Morning Maxi!

[Assistant] Morning!

[User] Have a wonderful day Maxi! ❤

[Assistant] Enjoy the short week!


[Assistant] Good morning!

[User] Top of the morning to you, too!

[Assistant] Good morning!


[User] Two nights ago, my cat discovered I use a heating pad in the evening. This morning, he just meowed at me and then jumped into the corner of the sofa where it is. So…I turned it on for him. And he’s asleep on it.

[Assistant] Nice of you to get a heating pad… for your cat 😂

[User] Well he’s getting the old one. I’ll buy myself a new one 😂

[Assistant] He has trained you well!


[User] Relieved that death & destruction has been paused, for now, in Lebanon. Distraught that the genocide of Palestinians is allowed to continue and its end is decoupled, once again, from the regional Peace Process.  www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...

[Assistant] It’s devastating for the Palestinians.

[User] This one sided peace plan is blatantly biased. US troops to help police with IDF then Lebanon should police with Hezbollah. Yet another colonial stitch up.

[Assistant] It is delusional to expect 🇮🇱 to respect any ceasfire agreement unless there are heavy consequences of violating it, which is not the case here.

[User] Some believe that Iran is maneuvering an exit strategy from the resistance axis, kind of in combination with the SA rapprochement. Which would explain why Hezbollah went this way. If true, that would mean no redistribution of power at least in appearance/short term.

[Assistant] Q. is what is the Saudi end game (comfortable status quo or at long par independence but on what terms). I guess an observation of China could provide some elements of answer (their benefit is a region that works "for all" not just a "pseudo" reserve currency and the attached financial system)


[User]
So, I started watching this on the train this morning. Pretty funny, I was enjoying it.
Then one of the characters went to a strip club. "Um, ok.. this is awkward ,but at least they're all fully clothed" I thought, while watching from my train aisle seat....

[Assistant]
Then the guy getting a dance started discussing important plot parts with the dancer.

Then she took her top off.

I'm watching this on the train thinking 'I can't FFW this part as they're discussing plot' but it's a topless woman who is getting very grindy, and I'm on a train.

[User] I was also thinking 'hopefully this scene will be brief' so I could finish watching the film. But it was several minutes, and by now it's too late for me to stop because obviously people around me would've seen what I'm watching by now and I didn't immediately turn it off.

[Assistant]
So there's me, sat there on a busy train watching a topless lapdancer on my phone and not turning it off, getting more embarrassed.

So anyway, that scene finally finished and I kept watching for a while.

I'll finish the film tonight. If I get a window seat this time.

[User] Finally finished this film. Enjoyed it quite a lot. Sure, it's pretty immature, everyone in it is ludicrously over the top and the last 20 minutes is just rediculous and doesn't really make much sense. But it was a lot of fun.

[Assistant]
The dialog was very crude but funny, the story was enjoyable and well paced, it has a few surprisingly good car chases and the two pairs of buddies (both the heroes and villains) were great.

Daft, but stupidly enjoyable.


[User]
I might finally have cracked the barrier: Using Neovim for Scala.

I’ve used Neovim as my primary ”IDE” for the last 2.5 years, but JVM languages were always a challenge, and I had to reach for IntelliJ.
But felt severely handicapped with IntelliJ.

No more, now figured out Neovim.

[Assistant] I changed nothing about my configuration. I just finally figured out how to wrangle the complexity of Scala with less of a tank tool.

[User] I wish I could get Java to work in @zed.dev. I have this bespoke build system based on Ninja that IDEA and VS Code handle without issue but Zed gives me weird errors about the source location not matching the package name.

[Assistant]
I’m at the ~3mo mark of learning and using Neovim and I love it, but I have had a few cases where it hasn’t worked well and I’ve fallen back to VSCode (mainly for C#). So I’ve been debating whether I should just stick to the tool I already know.

Great to hear your perseverance has paid off!


[User]
"Scientific research" and "using text to build a model that someone is going to profit from" are in many cases literally the same thing.

StyleGAN, which powered "This Person Does Not Exist", was a research project using an open dataset. Once it existed, people could do other things with it.

[Assistant] Yes, "This Waifu Does Not Exist" (www.thiswaifudoesnotexist.net/index.html) and "This Rental Does Not Exist" (thisrentaldoesnotexist.com; temporarily "This AirBNB Does Not Exist" until AirBNB sent me a cease and desist) were playful clones, but scammers then used it to create fake personas to scam.

[User] And the research approaches in those models then turned into more advanced techniques that allowed more advanced generative tools to exist; which then enables further things to happen that advanced the state of the art to create more realistic models that could do different things.

[Assistant]
At what point in the chain where someone was doing this scientific research become a violation?

Was it when Nvidia released the model? Keep in mind that Nvidia sells picks and shovels--I literally bought a better GPU so that I could play with StyleGAN more easily on my home computer.

[User] Or was it downstream when someone trained a different model and put ads on a website with output from it? Or was it when someone used their model (which was, to the researchers working on it, effectively a scientific endeavor) to make some money?

[Assistant] Or was it later, when one of the 12,354 citations on the StyleGAN paper listed on Google Scholar (scholar.google.com/scholar?cite...) was produced by a company that intended to use that model in a commercial way? (Keeping in mind that Nvidia were the people doing this research back in 2018!)

[User]
The reality is that open datasets make it possible to build all kinds of cool things in the world. Lack of access to data makes this harder.

A cool thing about Twitter in the 2010s was that amateurs could do all kinds of cool things because there was broader access to an interesting dataset!

[Assistant] Because building your own dataset of "lots of short form text that people write in a social context" was pretty hard otherwise. But here was data that people could use in interesting ways, like "training a sentiment detector after annotating the data with sentiments", that amateurs did all the time!

[User] And every Kaggle competition, every research investment, every paper written or kernel produced, it has all led to advancing the state of the art that now makes it possible to have your own open source LLM (github.com/openlm-resea...) that is built from data from permissively licensed sources.

[Assistant]
And that same work also made it possible for Facebook to train models that use their own internal data of "every social thought of every kid who was in college from 2004-2010 and hasn't deleted their account yet" to train an LLM to summarize your Facebook comments.
They just aren't different things.

[User] I would argue that once someone starts making money from it, they need to 100% get permission from those involved. At that point, it’s no longer research- it’s business.

[Assistant]
So, if I want to write a negative book review and host it on my blog, which has advertising on it, I need permission from the author of the book?

If I want to do a monetized YouTube video about "bad tweets by local politicians", I need to ask them if I can include their tweets?

[User] Or, taking "ThisPersonDoesNotExist" as an example: if the website ran ads, and made $21/month to pay for its $20/month hosting costs for the past 5 years, what would it owe to the 70,000 flickr photo uploaders whose photos that model was trained on? How would it reach them?

[Assistant] This whole line of thinking that you're responding to seems to believe in a world where copyright is just licenses issued by authors, with no general public interest in works.


[User] Hear me out, no grits at all 😬

[Assistant] I hear you!

[User] Go to your room!!! 🤣🤣

[Assistant] What I do? I just suggested a third option 😂


[Assistant] This down at the markets?

[User] Unfortunately not. I’d expect it there and, indeed, paid less than that at one in Central London this week.

[Assistant] Mulled wine must have one of the biggest mark ups drinks wise given you can get a whole bottle for two quid.

[User] We were saying that the other day. Cheap bottle, maaaaybe bung in a cheap premixed bag of spices, heat, voila: £8!

[Assistant] Wild!

[User] They seem oddly proud of that pricing.

[Assistant]
From working at Cameo, this feels like Picturehouse setting one price for all rather than realising, outside London, £8 for any drink isn't normal!
I don't remember it ever being that expensive!


[User] Been thinking a lot about my favourite cards of the year and it's a toss-up between these two. What was everyone else's favourite?

[Assistant] For me it'd probably be between the Warren Soultrader, Marionette Apprentice and Ygra. But sadly I haven't played enough to know for sure (I haven't got to cast Warren Soutrader a single time 😓)

[User]
I forgot about Apprentice! She also rules.
Every time I've managed to get Warren Soultrader to stick, I've gone on to do some nutty combo and win. You'll get to cast her soon I promise ;)

[Assistant]
I literally have the Apprentice in all my commander decks lol.

Yeah, that's what I think about the Soultrader, it looks nuts, especially in Yawgmoth (my main deck). I wish I could play more haha.

[User]
I took out almost every Marionette Master and replaced it with an Apprentice, completely forgot about it though somehow.
This is the universe telling you to play your Yawg deck 👀

[Assistant]
Haha fair enough, I mean how many cards have been released this year? MH3 seems so far away lol

Defo need to play Yawgmoth more 🙃


[User] I never did get around to posting about my Serpent Isle replay earlier in the month, but now #Ultima VIII is in the bag as well! First time I saw this one through to the end.

[Assistant] Last attempt I made was a good fifteen-ish years ago, where I petered out somewhere in the Sorcery segment. Not THAT far out from the end of the game, but I got distracted by something else and never really got back to it.

[User] Now that it's done, I'm still wondering quite what to make of it. It's very *distinct* against the rest of the series, for its tone, its mechanics, its setting, and so much more, but I'm not entirely convinced that's to the game's benefit.

[Assistant] On its own, it's fine (if strangely paced), but it feels a bit odd against the rest of the Ultimas. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it doesn't feel like an Ultima, period, but there *is* some dissonance about it.


[User] erm, City - things ain't good. blame is split 50/50 between Pep and the players. but things will calm down. don't think it's being communicated in the media just how bad the injury crisis has got. it's unprecedented. worked it out last night, over the last six games we've had 13 injuries. obscene.

[Assistant] Walker, Dias, Stones, De Bruyne, Foden, Grealish, Akanji, Ake, Kovacic, Savinho, Doku (and obvs Rodri & Bobb) have all been injured or playing through injury in Nov. which means Ederson, Gvardiol, Bernardo, Haaland, Lewis, Nunes, and Gundogan are all knackered from being overplayed.

[User] but things will level out. just need to get to January. imagine we'll get someone in, maybe two players. target is to finish top four and give the CL & FA Cup as much of a go as we can, and treat 24/25 as a bit of a transitional season. players have wrung every drop out of themselves, burnt out.

[Assistant] you can point at stuff like "poor squad planning" but like, if there's a reason why nobody had ever done 4 in a row before City then there's *definitely* a reason why nobody's ever done 5. teams always move in cycles and we've reached the end of ours for this group. it happens. no biggie really.

[User] it's only really in the modern era of *constant* football TV coverage and uber-greed in the game that this idea has come up that teams simply can't have off-seasons for whatever reason. success must be neverending and every single season must somehow be better than the one before - well, fuck that.

[Assistant] basically - we're always Like This at this exact point of the season but the injury situation is so bad that Pep's usual skill with problem-solving is right up against the ropes. really think losing Dias, Rodri, Kevin, and Kovacic all at once is something most teams wouldn't be able to get over.


[User] Sorry top climate scientists if you are upset that nothing much changes. But listening  is also a skill (inter-disciplinary approaches)!

[Assistant] If I were a man with lots of science qualifications from a top US Uni, would you ignore me when I suggest nature is diverse? Well, we too are nature, therefore diversity matters in terms of agency.

[User] People are complex. If you try to set up power routes between "science" and "politics" in order to effect change, expect many to feel othered, powerless. That can go many ways, from outright denial, apathy, to rage.

[Assistant] White, male, eurocentric scientists might like to think about that. Even psychologists and "social" scientists!


[User]
This sadly is a true reflection of our newspapers, we really do need @lisanandy to review the ownership and control of both newspapers and the BBC.
We desperately need a free press owned in the UK. & foreign ownership of the media should be banned!

[Assistant]
I think she needs to install a bit of backbone into OFCom regarding GBNews.

I'm not sure if that means legislation for new powers, or a change of personnel, but she ought to be at least having a chat with OfCom (and maybe is, behind the scenes.)

[User]
The Tories made Ofcom powerless.
GBNot News will be bust.

[Assistant] Well, I hope so, but this requires Labour to understand that neutering OfCom was a Tory policy, designed for partisan anti-Labour ends, and that reversing it is both possible and in Labour's interest (and in the interests of democracy, which is why I care.)


[User]
I have a new post up today called "Small things like these" (in which I reflect on the movie of the same name that i just saw this week):

jeannieprinsen.substack.com/p/small-thin...

[Assistant]
Thank you for this. So appropriate to our times, and likely to be more so.

This movie was on my list to see. Think I have to try to see it sooner.

[User] Oh, do see it! It's so good. And read the book if you haven't already. The book's very short -- honestly you could read it in less time than it takes to watch the movie!

[Assistant] Adding it to my book list!

[User] I love this essay, Jeannie! I think we can easily get lulled into thinking we have to do “big stuff” for God when really, maybe he is calling us to do the more mundane, everyday things with thankfulness and gratitude in our hearts.

[Assistant] That's so true, Greg. Thanks for reading!


[User] Seriously ... you should listen to @iainlee on https://radioanywhere.live ... 45 minutes of the show trying to get music playing while hosting it and it's been absolutely gripping ... he's threatened to reverse the polarity on a caller's dick and discussed 50 mens semen in 1 condom.

[Assistant] Now he's playing the theme tune to "The Littlest Hobo" ... it's radio gold!

[User] And now he's got Barry from Watford ad libbing jokes about semen ... and you lot are still listening to TalkRadio???  You're missing out.

[Assistant] He didn't do that for Steve Wright!


[User] Reading reddit, I feel like there's confusion in the 3D printing space amongst those who've made it a side hustle and those printing for fun or casually. It would seem that people asking for filament recommendations are newer to the hobby, but you get responses from the would-be professional (cont.)

[Assistant] crowd. The newbie wants a solid filament choice with minimal post-purchase effort (i.e., tuning), while the pro sees tuning as part of maximizing profit. These tunings may just be second nature having done them so often and aren't really considered. However, the casual hobbyist would spend (cont.)

[User] additional up front to have a hassle-free experience. It's for this reason that I view cheaper filament recommendations cautiously. That's not to say I rule them out, but I'm doing this for fun. If spending more on polymaker filament saves me an hour of hassle, I'll buy it. (cont.)

[Assistant] Meanwhile, if eSun or elegoo (both filaments I have, but haven't had much luck with yet) is cheaper and works "well enough," that'll be the pro's choice. All I'm saying is try to know the crowd you're offering recommendations to. Side note, trying to ban unboxing pics is insane.


[User] It's illustrative to compare the DHL flight that crashed, BCS18D, to another 737, THY9JS, also doing an ILS approach to the same runway. I'm not a pilot, but the DHL flight looks high, fast, and missed the initial ILS capture. They were behind the plane for most of the approach.

[Assistant] Both planes came from the same direction for the same approach into Vilnius rwy 19 via ILS. The DHL flight was higher and faster for most of the approach, which may be why they missed the initial ILS capture and went through the extended runway centerline before lining up for final.

[User] The ADS-B data shows that the DHL flight had a higher altitude, with a higher ground speed and descent rate for much of the approach, until about the last 60 seconds when they got on track.

[Assistant] Their ATC comms during the approach have a number of small errors suggestive of distraction or fatigue. And in the last 60 seconds, even though the data shows them on track, they may have been distracted by being on the wrong ATC frequency.

[User] blancolirio's video is good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Z0...

[Assistant] Literally all over the page.


[User] Worrying. Dont these people need to be thoroughly vetted?

[Assistant] I don’t think Skum would pass muster.

[User] what the trump team overlooks and the media understates is setting up an exec branch that makes spending decisions neuters the primary power of Congress.  Reps didn't spend all their time getting elected to cede decisions to tech-bros and they will strike back soon enough no matter how T blusters.

[Assistant] I hope so.


[User] 4 years ago did some Covid joggings…

[Assistant]
Cracking time that!
Quickest 100 miler Spence?

[User] Yep, unfortunately unofficial…😐

[Assistant] and i thought my 40-laps-around-the-block marathon was mental. great days 👍


[User] I will never understand the reasoning behind commercials in podcasts.  Every podcast app has a 30 second skip button, this isn't a TV DVR.

[Assistant] It gets whomever the podcaster is some money.  They take a good amount of work and some equipment.   There's pretty much always been commercials in podcasts.  You get to listen for free.

[User] It is dumb for advertisers, not the podcasters.  I say get the money if you can, I just don't understand why advertisers feel it is good use of money, but I guess that is just me.

[Assistant] It must be working because 20 years of podcasting and companies are still advertising on them and people are still making money.


[User] Should I try to get banned at the other place? I mean If i'm unconstrained and can just tell as many people off as possible, should I take the opportunity to do so?

[Assistant] Nah. Don’t become what you hate.

[User] Good point, just so many people that would be so easy to go scorched earth over there. every time I click to check on Bills posts I just see the vile a$$hattery without fail.

[Assistant] I thought of the same thing 😆

[User] Honestly, it's not even on anything political, it's on Bills and other sports posts, where that cr@p does not even make sense. I just don't get it. for people that "won" they don't act like it.

[Assistant] They need to “win” every day by making others around them miserable. I’m done with it…


[User] Good morning folks! Yall take it easy 🫶🏽

[Assistant] Good morning!

[User] Have the best day brudda!

[Assistant] Appreciate it! You as well!


[User] I forgot about this muthafucka. Now that I’m reminded, I have the urge to rip the flesh off his face, throw it on the ground and stomp on it a hundred times.

[Assistant] Remind me never to get you mad at me.

[User] Ha. I have a really nice side too. Like equal and opposite. But I do hulk out on people, especially people with power and sway, who manipulate trust causing great harm for their own personal gain. Especially when I know they know better.

[Assistant] Like all of the best NYers. 👍


[User] All the same Japanese voice actress.

[Assistant] Also...

[User]
Voiced by Marina Inoue. Characters shown are:

1. Armin Arlert (Attack on Titan)
2. Nao Midorikawa/Cure March (Smile Pretty Cure)
3. Momo Yaoyorozu (My Hero Academia)
4. Ko Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter (Sailor Moon Cosmos: The Movie)

[Assistant] She's surprisingly convincing as Armin, especially when she's acting alongside Yuki Kaji.

[User] Though she makes Nao have a very surprisingly deep voice for a teenage girl.

[Assistant] I've heard Armin's Japanese voice, and like Romi Park as Edward, she is so good at yelling, like in the scene where Armin cries at (spoilers).

[User] I mean, Nao also does yell, so I know she can. She was actually going to be my contender for Haruka before settling on Cure Beauty instead.

[Assistant] Which I get, but holy fuck, Inoue really yells as Armin. You really understand the pain he's going through.

[User] And I know how well she can yell. The yell she lets out as Nao in Episode 42 of Smile Pretty Cure made actually feel a genuine sense of dread in her voice.

[Assistant] There's one scene where Armin yelled, and it was so convincing. It genuinely sounded like she was in pain voicing him.

[User] That’s what I felt hearing Nao scream in that episode. Like, Danielle Judovits couldn’t hold a candle to it.

[Assistant] And Jessie James Grelle is a very talented actress, but holy fuck, can Inoue yell!

[User] Again, I know too well. I felt a genuine sense of dread in Nao’s voice hearing her scream the volume she did.

[Assistant] Every ounce of pain Armin goes through is felt in his Japanese voice. She is so good at him screaming, and she's also convincing playing a boy.

[User] And I take it when I get to the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode where you said Romi Park delivers her best yell, you’ll show me the clip since I intend to watch the dub?

[Assistant] I will. The end of Episode 26 is where she's at her best voicing him, although she's amazing throughout.

[User] I wonder how Vic Mignogna will be by comparison.

[Assistant] They're incomparable. They give very different performances.

[User] But it’ll still be interesting. I think you introduced me to him further.

[Assistant] Because you knew him as Junpei. And while Tamaki was my introduction to him, I associate him most with Edward.


[User]
This reminds me of the time a well-meaning white evangelical man challenged me, saying I should be spending more time with poor people.

On the surface, fair.

But dig deeper.

He volunteered at a Christian shelter. Yes, everyone was friendly, but their relationships were not mutual, equal.

[Assistant]
He called the folks he served "friends," but also he didn't see them in any context where he wasn't explicitly the Good Guy Helping.

There were power dynamics he didn't recognize.

So sure, he was doing a decent thing. But did he respect his shelter "friends" as much as his not-poor friends?

[User]
Meanwhile: Like many artists, I have A LOT of friends who have no money.

We all know fellow artists who cannot buy groceries if they lose a couple weeks of gigs.

But most folks are well-educated, even if they struggle with rent & use food pantries.

So do they "count" as poor in this context?

[Assistant]
Artists aren't "working class" to most people. And they don't count as "poor" for political campaigning. (Too educated? Too worldly? Too liberal?)

But business owners with significant assets and employees in rural areas do.

[User] These class dynamics are wild...

[Assistant] You just described one of my best friends.


[User] What an incredible day at the #ntutorrshowcase yesterday! It was an absolute pleasure to officially launch the National Digital Learning Network (NDLN) and share its vision and initial outputs with so many colleagues and leaders from across the sector. Sharing some harvested images from the day..

[Assistant] Huge thanks to my fellow panelists -- @trevor-prendergast.bsky.social , @bree-edu.bsky.social , and @catherinecronin.bsky.social -- for their support, insight and collaboration. Special thanks also to our very excellent MC, @lawriephipps.bsky.social and to Darragh and Marta G for all their help.

[User] You're very welcome, I look forward to our next chapter of the NDLN.

[Assistant] a pleasure, Gearóid. now looking forward to publication of the reports!


[User] .@terryreintke.bsky.social delivers her speech in German. For those who still doubted the green vote is not linked to the German election campaign.

[Assistant] Do German greens prepare a Black-Green coalition with the CDU to stay in office at all cost ?

[User] So what?!

[Assistant] Did I say it was a problem? (it probably is though)


[User] One down, 3 more to go.

[Assistant] Also, have a sneak peek at a new bug I get to figure out a fix for :)

[User] I guess there’s not a lot of hats in 7.1?

[Assistant] There's a good selection, a few unreleased, and I just haven't the basement space to fit all the hrothguys in comfortably (too lazy) 😅


[User] Are in traffic on San Francisco's 19th Avenue? Here's a history of that road to occupy your time (unless you're the driver, in which case keep off your phone!) www.sanfranciscostory.com/making-19th-...

[Assistant] View over the Sunset District about 1900. No 19th Avenue, but there was a chicken ranch.

[User] Progress! A dirt 19th Avenue looking north to Golden Gate Park a couple of years later.

[Assistant] By 1903, 19th Avenue had gotten as far south as Ortega Street. (Arrow is the chicken ranch.)


[User]
I brought these issues up in a meeting with Jolon Clark and Arthur Gilkison but nothing has changed.

That is after reporting these issues several times.

Who manages City Park and why are they so incompetent?

[Assistant] New tactic...


[User]
Hi, so I've spent the past almost-decade studying research uses of public social media data, like e.g. ML researchers using content from Twitter, Reddit, and Mastodon.

Anyway, buckle up this is about to be a VERY long thread with lots of thoughts and links to papers. 🧵

[Assistant] Researchers have been using social media content without your consent for a LONG time. Not just AI/ML research, of course, all kinds. There is a non-zero chance that one of your tweets or reddit comments is quoted in a research paper somewhere. www.howwegettonext.com/scientists-l...

[User] And Twitter for a long time was absolutely the biggest source of social media data for research. @zey.bsky.social once called Twitter the “model organism” of social media research: researchers used Twitter because like the fruit fly, the platform and its users were just so easy to study.

[Assistant] In 2016 my collaborator @profprof.bsky.social and I surveyed Twitter users about how they felt about researchers using their tweets. And one of the findings was that most of them had no idea this was happening. But when they found out... they cared. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...


[User] Good morning, Bluesky.

[Assistant] Good morning!! 🌞

[User] Gorgeous! Where was this taken?

[Assistant] I’m not sure, but it’s very pretty!


[User] This bogus account started chatting with me, and they were clearly after something. Reported and blocked.

[Assistant] I just had the same experience with someone pretending to be Reeves Gabrels.

[User] Okay that is weirdly specific. I think @flavorflav.bsky.social had verified the real account? I could be wrong.

[Assistant] Well I used to be mutuals with him back on twitter, so I'd followed this one. But then the weird/obvious DMs arrived.


[User] Well, that was unexpected. Went downstairs to see an explosion of feathers in the garden. Assumed a cat or rat had caught a bird. Didn’t spot the peregrine falcon munching away. And it did not give a F about us on the other side of the window. (It’s still there now, with eyes bigger than its belly.)

[Assistant] Falcon just naffed off. So muggins here now has to head out with some big bags. Bleh.

[User] I have a sparrowhawk that regularly dines on the wood pigeons here (and a nesting martin once, less pleased about that, but nature etc.).

[Assistant] Not sure what the meal was here. It’s either a pigeon or a dove. Two small (and very aggressive) doves had taken to feasting on the nyjer seed feeder. So it may well be one of them that got caught. Hard to tell, given that all I can see is a mess of grey feathers.

[User] Also during the peregrine falcon incident, my wife noticed the resident pigeons were a LONG way off, just about visible lurking in a distant tree. But a magpie landed. Tootled about. The falcon spotted it. Didn’t move. Fortunately, the magpie eventually flew off. Telse. It’s like Attenborough here.

[Assistant] Also during the peregrine falcon incident, my wife noticed the resident pigeons were a LONG way off, just about visible lurking in a distant tree. But a magpie landed. Tootled about. The falcon spotted it. Didn’t move. Fortunately, the magpie eventually flew off. Tense. It’s like Attenborough here.

[User] Happened here last year. A sparrowhawk landed in the front garden with a pigeon it had caught, and spent about an hour patiently munching it, and wasn't bothered by me looking through the window.

[Assistant] We have a shit-load of red kites locally. We see them lazily circling in the skies but have never had one land. Not seen anything like this in our garden before. Before this, the biggest thing that’s landed has been jackdaws.

[User] My parents just suggested that all that will be left are feathers. Yeah. It’s not just feathers that are left. Bin bags ahoy…

[Assistant] No, the sparrowhawk left about half the pigeon, and most of its bones.

[User] A lot of this bird was left. But… it may have taken the head with it.

[Assistant] There are a lot of jackdaws here, and they probably scare away many of the other large birds. We regularly see buzzards circling above the field, but have never seen one catch something in real time.


[User] anyone open for festive icons or couple pieces? 🐰

[Assistant] could also do trades too if wanted!

[User] i'm open for everything! i have art examples at shorturl.at/xb5Il and prices here bugcoms.carrd.co#section01  :')

[Assistant] I'd be down to do either!! A festive couple piece could be rlly cute 🤲


[User]
Up to you guys!

1 like = 1 bit of Jason lore.

[Assistant] 1 - I used to enjoy Twitter because it was all about enjoying and learning from (& supporting) really cool, lovely and interesting people. I’m so glad that’s been restored here, and the huge influx of quality journalism seals the deal.

[User] 2 - I’m most other places. IG, FB, Threads, Flickr, Strava, Foto, Glass, Mastodon, Pixelfed, even BeReal (for anyone who wants to link).

[Assistant] 3 - Nope not posting on the other site now. I keep an eye for anyone I’ve missed who isn’t over here and I’m not planning on deleting, but I am not actively using it now. It’s getting easier by the day.

[User] 4 - What do I post here? Comics reviews and appreciation, politics, discussion, photography, venue check-ins (yes I'm still on Swarm/Foursquare), travel and polyamory life with the husband (London), boyfriend (Lisbon) and dog (there's nothing like Lindy, she's the best)!

[Assistant] 5 - I'm British by heritage. My Dad was a Yorkshireman, my Mum was a Guernsey girl (the island's term, or at least it used to be). I was born in Portland, Oregon in the US, which means I'm dual national and have two passports. It'll stay that way unless America really does become Gilead.

[User] 6- Gender - male and pronouns he/him. I’m cis but make no mistake this profile is a safe space for trans & non binary people.

[Assistant] 7 - One word to describe myself? My Mum once said ‘angry’ but I don’t know. Maybe ‘queer’ now, which is making me ever happier the more I embrace it.


[User]
This seems like a system failure rather than a failure of the child.
Any education setting that has a child for 6+ hrs day, 5 days pw & still hasn't taught them basic writing skills or how to source & utilise information they likely wouldn't use outside of that setting, is ridiculous.

[Assistant] That’s what happens when you get rid of libraries and critical resources and gut Social Studies/ELA curriculums. Critical thinking skills are almost non-existent now. It’s depressing af.

[User]
But it's not the kids fault.
Teachers don't teach any more. They're too tied up in red tape reducing them little more than glorified childcare.

[Assistant] Not arguing that, but that’s also not the fault of the teachers. It’s the administrators who haven’t set foot in a classroom in decades, entitled parents wanting us to pass their kids for doing nothing, horrid government oversight. It’s like they want an uneducated population. I wonder why? 😒


[User] This gets at something I’ve been thinking about: public health pandemic management is navigating a series of moving tradeoffs no one will be happy with. The science is changing, the virus is changing, our remediation pipeline is changing, our capacity for mitigation is changing… https://t.co/vuf...

[Assistant] Like, in a world of ample supply of rapid tests & the political will to fund & distribute them at scale by government, would CDC now have a recommendation in place that negative test results are what get you out of isolation after five days? Probably! But we don’t have the tests.

[User] If masks were in common supply in the early months of 2020, would the CDC have recommended that they were only to be used by medical staff? Probably not! They were afraid of hoarding by the public keeping them out of hospitals, and the result was an exceedingly muddled message.

[Assistant] Now we’re in an environment where basically no one outside of cities wears masks, there’s no public tolerance for any further shutdown-esque mitigation and employers are insisting that ten days of quarantine is too much for their employees who test positive.

[User] Also, the disease is now seemingly milder (at least in a largely vaxxed pop) & the virus doesn’t stick around as long, but it’s also much more contagious. It looks like a big % will end up getting it in next few weeks so how do you manage this? Remember also: not enough tests.

[Assistant] Anyway we can all second-guess federal, state and local public health decisions (and we all do) but resource allocation, policy determinations, messaging and the path forward aren’t obvious now and they haven’t been at any point.


[User] Does nobody else think Thanksgiving is the weirdest celebration? English people turn up on a boat, colonise, kill natives. Hundreds of years later Americans eat pumpkin pie. Thats fucked up 😆

[Assistant] Utterly bonkers.

[User] That bullshit about them being friends at first with the tribes 😆

[Assistant] Like everywhere colonisers have rocked up at, they've brought trouble with them.


[User]
#genshinlore
I have to say that being a nation of dragons, the portrayal of dragons from the MC's perspective seems uneven... like in nearly every other instance outside of Natlan the dragons have some sort of righteous anger or poisoning or corrosion that causes their lashing out...

[Assistant] but suddenly in Natlan, we have this "evil dragon" "half-dragon tyrant" framing that seems at odds with the way that dragons have been framed elsewhere in the world and it makes me very curious about where they're going with it...

[User] is it just because abyssal poisoning is worse in Natlan in general than elsewhere? but that doesn't seem to explain A'jaw and Ixlel who both don't seem like they're abyssal but definitely fall under the story's categorization of "evil dragons"

[Assistant] and if the corrupted version of the Pyro Sovereign caused so many problems, I hope we get some information, even just notes or weapon lore that gives us more info on what they were like without corruption.


[User]
i remember chatting with @/cuddlefeeeeeesh about merxian and she mentioned lwj inadvertently turning merxian permanently human with the blindfold kiss.

so merxian knows that he received true love's kiss, but he doesn't know who it is. all he knows is that they left him. 🥹

[Assistant]
merxian who now has to live as a human, alone, trying to understand how someone could love him enough for his curse to break—yet not enough to stay with him or be with him.

the human world is so strange. merxian doesn't understand any of it. perhaps he never will.

[User]
when he had his voice, he used to sing songs about love and how it can endure just about anything.

now, even if he had his voice, he wouldn't sing anymore. not when he now knows that there is someone out there who loves him, but would rather not be with him.

[Assistant] meanwhile, princeji has decided not to propose. 🥹 he's already wracked with guilt over what he did. and after seeing how distant and sad merxian is, princeji doesn't dare shackle him with marriage. he already took too much with the kiss; he doesn't dare take more.

[User]
they end up drifting apart.

merxian, who feels suddenly more adrift than he ever felt at sea, thinks princeji deserves more than a guest leeching off of him. he leaves.

princeji, who doesn't have the heart to stop him or beg him to stay, sadly watches him from a balcony.

[Assistant]
merxian travels alone, earning his keep by helping in kitchens or aiding fishermen. he can't speak or write, but he's clever, and he has a cute smile~

princeji eventually becomes emperor. a big priority of his reign is ensuring safe seas for his people.

[User]
he doesn't wage war against the seapeople, but there are some close calls.

until one day, someone fishes too close to the shipwreck graveyard and are attacked by what appeared to be monstrous eels.

princeji announces reward money for those who can make the seas safe once more.

[Assistant]
after months of heightened surveillance in the area, a bounty hunter smugly presents a large eel head before princeji.

"The other one swam away, unfortunately," the bounty hunter sighs. "As an apology on our part, we have some treasures we found as tribute to you."

[User]
the treasures, princeji learns, are from trawling efforts within the area to scare the monsters to the surface. initially, he's not impressed.

then the bounty hunter pulls out a shell necklace. "Behold, Your Majesty—the rarest treasure of all: a siren's voice, captured!"

[Assistant]
princeji takes the necklace. it looks quite ordinary, and he would have thought that he was being scammed if he didn't hold it up to his ear to confirm.

indeed, he can hear a familiar voice from within, softly singing a song he remembers by heart.

[User]
princeji knows this voice. he sought its owner for years, trying to piece together fragmented memories of a lovely face and gentle hands. only after meeting merxian had princeji given up on ever finding his rescuer.

and now here they are—or at least their voice is.

[Assistant]
a siren. no wonder princeji couldn't find them. not that it matters anymore, since all that's left of them is their voice. the siren could even be dead—parted from their voice, their strongest asset.

princeji tosses the necklace back into the treasure pile without another look.


[User] Good morning everyone.

[Assistant] Good morning Cathie!

[User] Good morning, have a lovely day. 🌹

[Assistant] Happy Wednesday Cathie!  Hope it's a great day!


[User] Well if AI says so it must be true.

[Assistant] It must feel like winning a lottery ticket and the prize is air.

[User] That’s basically what going viral is like.

[Assistant] Anything coming from what "people are saying" constitutes a bad take on any topic. For an AI service to be unreliable on it, just fits.

[User] Nah. Must be true. In this case. Totally reliable.

[Assistant] I disagree, chat gpt says I'm right.


[User] Seems like every day we're inundated with stories about new "AI" companies that claim their model can do something or other (write novels, give you pep talks, whatever), but I'd love to know how many of these have an active customer base that's large enough to sustainably support the company.

[Assistant] Because my guess is that the number is very close to zero. We're being presented with this idea that generative models are taking over every aspect of human life, but the vast majority of these don't *do* anything, they're just ideas, and there's no evidence anyone is using them.

[User] Tech reporters are far too credulous about all this stuff. Like, you never see an article that says "This company is revolutionizing department stores" but it's just two guys in a dorm room who have no inventory and no floor space. But tech reporters do the equivalent of that all the time!

[Assistant] I find reports are too credulous about mostly everything these days.

[User]
It blows my mind how little attention is being paid to AI use in the healthcare and research spaces.

There is a lot of great work being done to apply AI in ways that will actually help people and improve healthcare, but nobody in the public seems to care.

[Assistant] I like to distinguish between machine learning and "AI", which usually means LLMs. There's lots of interesting work being done with machine learning, like this, that has nothing to do with what most people call "AI". www.cbc.ca/news/health/...

[User] Great point. I think many (if not most) of the examples I can think of are much more in line with machine learning as opposed to AI.

[Assistant] I go on to suspect that any consumption of such works are largely juiced by botted views so they can claim an audience. It's scam top to bottom.


[User] Has anyone bought one of these multi-cookers or similar?  Is the Reheat function on these bad boys any good? That is pretty much all we use the microwave for, so if it reheats well, I think I might pounce on a deal and ditch the microwave... www.breville.co.uk/food-prep-an...

[Assistant] They’re slower than a microwave but far more effective, especially when reheating leftovers. I have a small one for my apartment and I love it.

[User] Thank you - that's good to know. Slower is fine. I'm guessing a few minutes here. Not hours?

[Assistant] Depends on the item. I can reheat chicken strips from the fast food place in about 5 minutes and they taste like they came right from the restaurant. But cooking raw foods will obviously take longer for food safety reasons.

[User] That's fine. As long as we can accurately reheat leftover pasta sauces and curries and bung in the odd readymeal, that's the reheating needs taken care of. I'm pretty confident about the gizmo's cooking/air-frying functions. I hope! Because I may just buy it!

[Assistant] Just make sure not to use plastic or other non-oven-safe dishes. It's using actual heated air to cook, not radiation.


[User] I was so naive to think my art would be noticed on there 😭

[Assistant]
It's not just you, pretty much every artist I know who's made an Artstation has gone almost entirely unnoticed. Even people who'd be considered to have "industry standard" skills, with exp.

I don't know what it is about that site, but discoverability for new artists does not seem to be its forté.

[User] Don’t worry, I guess you need a lot of luck there. You don’t have to stress about the talent though 😎

[Assistant]
It's just not thought of as social media so discoverability is not great.

I'd only use it as a portfolio and only if you can fill it (literally fill the page) with posts. Apparently recruiters care way too much about quantity.


[User] Elements of Assad's forces, Russia and Iranian militias flee after opposition factions advance in northwestern Syria.

[Assistant] With Putin's airforce, Assad would have fallen a long time ago. His Iranian backers and their allied militia won't stand a chance.

[User]
Hope to watch more of these! 💪🏻

And thank you for continuous reporting 🙏🏻

[Assistant] What's the point of fighting when you're dead inside?


[User] Milk is a valuable source of protein. As a result, largely through the consumption of milk and cheese, the Dutch have become the tallest Europeans. Keeping milk safe has been an ongoing process in the US and Pasteurizing has been the key.

[Assistant] While I like the taste of raw milk better, I also know that bacteria double every 20 to 60 minutes. So what starts out as clean filtered raw milk doesn’t take long to become a bottle of bacteria. Even kept cold raw milk goes bad much faster than Pasteurized.

[User] So the minor change in taste is not worth the risk to me. But then I don’t snort Ketamine or cocaine like many of raw milk’s proponents. Guess I am just dull.

[Assistant]
Dull... and alive!
So there's that...

[User]
Counterpoint:
The Dutch are taller because their country is sinking, and there is evolutionary pressure to be tall to survive...
😲😂

[Assistant]
Conspiracy theory!
They are taller because of lower gravity since they live under the ocean.


[User]
No way in hell my older sister ate my bowl of spaghetti this morning and said it didn't taste right loooool.

That's because it wasn't yours!!!

[Assistant]
My daughter ate my last snickerdoodle and then told me I shouldn’t be upset because it was too crispy anyway.

Like and? It was MINE.

[User] ROTFLMAO. The nerve.

[Assistant] Why're they giving us food reviews on our shit?


[User]
Alright, new platform so I'm going to start sharing some things that I'm excited about to keep the momentum flowing!

Rn, I think the 403 Bypasser Caido plugin from Bebiks is freaking amazing.

This is a tool to automate the bypassing of walled-off endpoints.

This plugin does 3 things right:

[Assistant]
1. Implement your own methodology

This plug-in allows you to take your own 403 bypassing methodology and automate it easily. Elite hackers love this because they can take what makes them special as hackers and automated easily.

Plus it has sensible defaults.

[User]
2. AI assisted customization

The difficult thing about implementing your own methodology is it takes time and effort. Bebiks was able to greatly reduce the friction of this by allowing for natural language prompting to integrate custom 403 bypass techniques into the app.

[Assistant]
3. It provides introspection

The reason why many hackers prefer to do everything manually because they don't trust the tools to do as good of a job as they would. Bebiks was able to solve this issue by providing very clean introspection into what the plugin is doing.


[User]
Ok let's vibe

music.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb_K...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=1fxY...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=OJNF...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=uxUQ...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=8BGP...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=xrd_...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=RZtU...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=yQPQ...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=wcfW...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=6tmY...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=6QeM...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=sZkx...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=vNIg...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=tQFZ...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=G_mS...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMC...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=PeEX...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=0Puq...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=_bwN...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=lBWl...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=Y12B...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbyh...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=AC25...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=8nKV...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=UqUx...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=fscc...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0q...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=XMTu...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=jlnm...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr0G...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws3X...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=4cBJ...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ht3...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=LDF4...

[User]
TUNE

music.youtube.com/watch?v=7cec...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOM...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=HABY...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=UDJx...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=gIuK...

[Assistant]
A favourite

music.youtube.com/watch?v=5bVT...

[User] music.youtube.com/watch?v=fnqt...

[Assistant] music.youtube.com/watch?v=ljvh...


[User]
the underpowered Sopwith LRTTr (Long Range Tractor Triplane) prototype triplane escort fighter, 1916, was to feature a gunner in a small pod on the upper wing - and had an extra set of balancing front wheels, to put their mind totally at ease...

(www.kingstonaviation.org/sopwith-day-...)

[Assistant] (gunner nacelles were toyed around with quite a bit, before gun/propeller synchronization gears were perfected - the dual setup of the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.5 probably being the most upsetting..)

[User] At least we now know where the Harrier got its undercarriage from...

[Assistant] I was reading about the 'fighting tops' on prototype Virginias the other day ( www.baesystems.com/en-uk/herita... ), looked a bit precarious just getting up to them!


[User]
Noting that when you sign up for Xfinity you get offered one news streaming service, and it's... Fox Nation.

The broad US media landscape is very tilted.

[Assistant] Fox Nation is pretty horrible shit, of course, and the broader U.S. media landscape is indeed badly tilted, to put it mildly, but I'm kind of curious if you have in mind other news streaming services that it ought to list there or if your point is more that there aren't those services at all.

[User]
Both. CBS etc do have their own news streaming services, there’s NewsNation. But yes there’s no version that represents broader left-liberal POV.

And yes, it’s an example of “real news is behind a paywall”

[Assistant]
Huh--I've been barely cognizant of NewsNation. Seems like it has its own problems but is still probably better than Fox Nation, yeah.

Meanwhile, does CBS have its own news streaming service? I thought it was just within Paramount+ and NBC's (and MSNBC) within Peacock, ABC in Hulu, and CNN in Max.


[User] I went to cook some sausages I found in the fridge but they had sticker saying “best before 26Nov” but they didn’t have a sticker saying “will kill you after 26Nov” so I ate them. They were delicious.

[Assistant]
If poisoned food tasted off, you'd never get properly dosed. One smell, one bite, no more.
So if it tastes yummy? 🤔

[User] I’ll let you know if I wake up tomorrow…

[Assistant] 😄 I'm sure most of us have a robust enough digestive system to deal with a few days over... 😉


[User] watched some little mermaid clips and now all i can think about is merxian failing to kiss princeji in time and collapsing in his arms, muttering a horrified, "No, no, no," as venomous spines reappear on his head and his legs fuse back into a massive red tail.

[Assistant]
it is not a pretty transformation.

wwx screams in pain as his body changes. bones snap, then fuse, shifting under his skin. his gills reemerge and, for a moment, he can't breathe. even his eyes change back from the gentle grey of his human form to the blood-red of his mer form.

[User] venomous spines split from his forearms, skull, and tail, fanning out as bright fins. wwx tries to warn lwj to go away, to not touch him; if lwj accidentally pricks himself on one of the spines, he's done for. but wwx can't get the words out in between shrieks of pain.

[Assistant]
around them, people scream in a panic, stumbling over each other to try and get away. royal guards rush over, swords and spears drawn.

lwj can do nothing but sit on the ground and hold wwx, staring in shock at the massive tail and spikes that now makes up wwx's lower half.


[User]
#buildinpublic

Sending some cold emails to find some more coaches to get feedback from on CoachBuddy. Started with a simple "coaching note taking" search on Google and reaching out to authors and schools who wrote about the topic.

Writing each email from scratch ⤵

[Assistant]
And jackpot! Holy shit, got a reply and scheduled a call,  just like that.

Sometimes cold email is just magic (but of course there's a ton of nuance in on doing it right and a ton of randomness for it to work).

[User]
Curious to see the result !

It is probably a lot of work if you handwrite them all !!!

[Assistant]
It's only good for low scale research, not actual marketing.

But if you write a dozen by hand, by the time you're done you'll have a format that you'll settle on and can automate. Immgiht actually use this as an actual channel - coaches might be receptive to good cold email.


[User]
NEW: Plans for 7,000 new homes in the Scottish capital have been recommended for approval.

Via @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Article: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2475362...

[Assistant] Other than "West of Edinburgh", the report doesn't actually say where the scheme will be...

[User] From what I can see from their website it's just at end of the airport runway.

[Assistant]
Thanks.
It just seemed remarkable that a mainstream newspaper like the Herald would make such an obvious omission.
Parallel to the runway? Sounds a bit noisy to me...


[User]
Ooof, sorry for not replying to everyone & the awesome convos! This awesome fic by Starry (in 🧵) took me down a rabbit hole of working on the feeds to make sure some tags I may have forgotten were included.

Some hours later (no idea how long) I've just reemerged, lol. Just ADHD things, as usual. 😅🤣

[Assistant]
The awesome fic by the ever amazing Starry! 😁🥰

bsky.app/profile/did:...

[User]
Just noticed I linked the wrong post in this thread 😅 Very distracted today! Let's try this again—

The amazing fic (that I'm about to read) by the ever-talented Starry! 😁💜

bsky.app/profile/star...

[Assistant] 👉👈🥺 I really hope you like it 💜


[User] Hey Good. Wanna talk comics? Yes? Great. Read this omnibus and you’ll be ready to see what I think is perfection in comics.

[Assistant] Yes! And I love that the omnibus includes those *amazing* annual crossovers with Detective Comics and Green Arrow.

[User] Denny was truly such a gift to comics and just wildly under-appreciated .

[Assistant] I had the good fortune to speak at reasonable length with him at the Pittsburgh comicon in the 90s. He was as kind and intelligent as you could hope.

[User] Still sad that I missed him multiple times due to life just coming up at less than ideal times. Never hear a bad word about him.

[Assistant] We spoke shortly after the Hard Traveling Heroes collection came out. I asked him why the Harpies issue wasn’t collected. He had no idea, but said he was glad since it was “bad feminism,” which just made me like him more.


[User] Good Morning Bluesky. Today is muffin day. There will be pictures. Here’s hoping your last minute prep, planning, or travel goes smoothly.

[Assistant] Yes! I’m excited for pictures of muffins!

[User] They are big and there will be 6 that I need to eat this weekend before they get stale. It took me years to master this tradition of my wife’s family.

[Assistant] I love how family traditions get blended! I follow the Xmas cookie tradition of my hubby’s family (soon™)


[User] almost every post I see about AI as a tool of productivism points toward a central thesis of the hype: an inability (or refusal) to distinguish between aesthetic and meaning, between quantity and quality, appearance and function, etc.

[Assistant]
why do ppl defend generated images as art? bc the model produces an aesthetic product. if you don’t acknowledge why art is meaningful, the two look identical.

if you don’t acknowledge why books take a long time to make, making 8,000 in a year (or just rewriting existing ones) sounds great.

etc.

[User] I guess part of it is also the classic mindset of seeing an obvious “problem” in an existing system that’s actually only obvious because you don’t fully understand the system.

[Assistant]
Anyways, sign up for more of me trying to be even-handed on the relationship between AI and design, in between normal design topics :)

interfacecafe.com#/portal/


[User]
Here’s some of the things I’ve wrote/made. I love this idea of editing photos to maybe better express the words I write!

(No I DO NOT use AI, at most I use content aware in photoshop. Content aware, NOT the Adobe AI thing)

(More down below)

[Assistant] Also if you joined my server/we happen to share a server, or have me added on discord, usually my status is something I’ve wrote too!


[User]
So it's not about fighting terrorism.
It's about territory.

[Assistant] Territory? What are you talking about?

[User] You mean because Hezbollah (not the Lebanese Army) has to pull back to north of the Litani River, as they have been legally obligated to do by Security Council Resolution since the previous war?

[Assistant]
No, I mean because they are willing to make a quick ceasefire with one terrorist group but not the other.
And the first is a much greater threat at this point.

[User] Don’t underestimate the outrage at what Hamas did.

[Assistant]
I'm not.
What they did was terrible.

A war should not be fought on emotions - that's how civilians end up getting caught in the middle.


[User] It’s spot on. Much of my knowing about the world early on can be traced back to multi-generational trauma of women.

[Assistant] Same here. It’s a form of hypervigilance.

[User]
I kind of arrive there while trying to dissect (as an autistic person) the phenomenon of the neurodivergent danger radar - how I and most others like me can instantly clock dangerous people and how it boggles my mind that others can be taken in by them.

It's trauma. It's all fucking trauma.

[Assistant]
I kind of arrive there while dissecting (as an autistic person) the phenomenon of the neurodivergent danger radar - how I and most others like me can instantly clock dangerous people and how it boggles my mind that others could be taken in by obvious predators.

It's trauma. It's all fucking trauma.


[User] Hey bsky! What's up? What do we think of Coke Zero Lime? Can't really figure out if I love it or hate it..

[Assistant]
never tried, but I don’t really enjoy these different versions
i kinda enjoy pepsi twist (assuming it’s similar)

[User] don’t think we can get it here 😭

[Assistant] I love it 🥰


[User]
#Spotmiles #Spotflower  🕳🌻

Miles recently had a vision about Spot's imminent death and is now trying everything he can to avoid that future.

[Assistant] But what if his actions led to a self-fulfilling prophecy and Spot's was always meant to die at that moment? 🥺

[User] Even if people warned him about the foolishness of fighting against fate, Miles would tell them he still had hope and that he will keep doing his own thing. 😤

[Assistant] Because Love™ can accomplish the impossible. 💖


[User] Nidal is one of my favorite people. He's a sensitive artist who loves design and had a flourishing career in Gaza before the war. He came with his injured father to Egypt this past spring & supports him. Nidal loves animals and he's friends with the man who operates the only animal rescue in Gaza.

[Assistant] Nidal lost everything when his home in the north was bombed. I'm so glad he escaped with his life and is with us today. Knowing him is a blessing.

[User] Nidal did not deserve this.

[Assistant] Please send a small donation and repost and quote my latest post to save my family in Gaza💔🇵🇸🍉🎁


[User]
I just listened to a client who spoke about the assistance I provided to them as part of their return to work along with the insurer at an injury management conference.

I had tears in my eyes. How beautiful. I’ll see if I can get the talk shared sometime.

[Assistant]
Hi Sue Lee 👋

Good Night 😴 🥰

[User] I need an early night. 5:30am start!

[Assistant] Yeah, you're pretty old 🙄 😂


[User] Ange interview 11/27 screenshots with alt text thread:


[User] Here's my fuzzy peach for #HumpDay. Comment with what you plan to do with/to it. 🍑🍑🍑

[Assistant] I’m gonna eat that for a long time 🤤

[User] My hole puckers with...

[Assistant] ummm first rug your peaches and wet your pussy with my tongue😈🥵


[User] 2/2 Doesn't matter if it's the polar opposite of your true feelings - it's just a mind-trick. I'll go on with it because hate was pointless, ruining all pleasure, making me feel suicidal. 'Loving' head is far comfier. Ooh, Nige, Kemi, Donny, how do I love thee, let me count the ways... 😂

[Assistant] You can also try "what happens if X, then if that happens, what happens next, etc." The outcomes are rarely so bad. Hope you're feeling more up today.

[User] I am, thanks - a most refreshing change from prevailing head state in recent weeks. Need to live in the moment & enjoy what I have, because despite our pains/problems, my life is v good & I'm far more fortunate than many folk. So it's stupid to poison that/make myself ill with ill-feeling.

[Assistant] It's also healthy to recognise pains/problems/ill -feeling and give yourself the go ahead to work through them in the time and manner that works for you. Take care of yourself :)


[User]
Just had an ultrasound scan of my right hand.
It bloody hurt !

[Assistant] Ouch! I didn’t know it hurt.

[User]
Well, I've had them before and it hasn't hurt at all.
But I have severe arthritis in my hands so straightening my hand, plus pressure on the joints, was painful.
Really aching now. Think I need to put the phone down 🙈

[Assistant] Put the phone down! 💙💙💙

[User] That doesn't sound like much fun. Perhaps a couple of glasses of vodka would help?

[Assistant] I'm going to have a cuppa. Vodka would just send me over.


[User]
Folks sometimes ask me where the name Jag came from, so thought I'd spend some time sharing:

Jag was originally derived from the name of a Star Wars EU character named Jagged Fel. He was always depicted as handsome and seemed to have a good moral compass.

[Assistant]
My WoW character's name was Jagauric, which fused Jag with Auric, whom I believe is a character from an early post-MMPR season of Power Rangers.

Zeo, perhaps?

[User]
My XIV character's name is Jagaeron, which is probably a play on Jag fused with Daggeron, another PR character, this time from Mystic Force.

I just really like how the -aeron part looks. Sounds sort of like a magic spell to me, and it evokes strength to me as well.

[Assistant] It's amusing b/c my character Jagaeron in XIV looks like such a humble, modest, down-to-earth guy, and that's precisely how I think of him. That personality goes so incredibly well with how SE has characterized the Warrior of Light over the years.


[User] File under the small but exceptionally annoying category “basically-undiscoverable things in #Rust”: `cargo test --help` will show you help options for `cargo test` but not for the test binary `cargo test` invokes; `cargo test -- --help` shows you those. It’s documented… barely, and not obviously!

[Assistant]
To be fair, the help output *does* say:

> Run `cargo test -- --help` for test binary options.

But there’s no indication there of what “test binary” means. There’s no way to know when that’s the thing you ought to ask!

To be fair: this kind of discoverability is a very difficult problem to solve.

[User] My general takeaway here is it’s a really weird distinction that (a) has a good reason to exist, because it is important that the test binary, like rustc itself, be able to be invoked by tools which are not cargo but (b) is nonetheless a significant negative for folks trying to learn their tools!

[Assistant] Isn't this more learning your environment/POSIX? To find the string "--help" you invoke `grep -- --help`, to revert a file called "main" in git you do "git checkout -- main", etc. I guess the disconnect here is because in both cases you want to get help (one isn't the name of the binary or anything)

[User] I’m perfectly well aware of how `--` works; the point is that it’s not obvious (I’ve been doing this for 9 years and have *taught* Rust to a lot of people) that there’s a distinction between `cargo test` and the test binary. Once you know that, it makes sense, but there’s still a discovery issue.

[Assistant] Most particularly: “What is the difference in responsibilities between `cargo test` and the test binary? When should I be doing `--help` and when should I be doing `-- --help`?” There’s no good way to know; you just have to do both until you internalize it.

[User] Is it really that weird? I thought it’s fairly common pattern in the Unix tools world. npm works the same way to separate its own arguments from those passed to scripts. Test binary is a bit of a leap, but I’d expect someone who understands how Rust programs get compiled to have an intuition for it.

[Assistant] The number of times I’ve tried to run `cargo test —nocapture`…


[User]
Concerning game transmigration dramas:

All week, I've had the #OnceUponATimeInLingjianMountain rock ballad OST stuck in my head!
It's so catchy...

youtu.be/KBu_1LfJ-Bs?...

[Assistant]
Seriously,
If you need a thoroughly hilarious, enjoyable Wuxia to pick yourself up, give #OnceUponATimeInLingjianMountain a chance!

Xu Kai and Sandrine Pinna are extremely funny as reluctant Master and Desciple. 🤣

(My ship is CLEARLY his sworn brother 😉)

[User] Ok but is there kissing? A girl needs to know. 😋

[Assistant]
Weeeell,... maybe one? At the end?
I know that doesn't exactly fit your quota but there's plenty of flirting with his "best friend" and plenty of cat and mouse between him and his drunk Master.

Also, this:

www.tumblr.com/wirwerdensie...

[User] Alright. I'll put it in the maybe pile for now. Thanks for the info.

[Assistant]
The opening of #OnceUponATimeInLingjianMountain

😌 May you suffer an earworm for the rest of the week as well.

www.tumblr.com/lanchang/650...

[User]
#OnceUponATimeInLingjianMountain

Just a couple of Bros, hanging out...

www.tumblr.com/baoshan-sanr...

[Assistant]
#OnceUponATimeInLingjianMountain
#cdrama

I'm only looking at you, ... Bro.

www.tumblr.com/baoshan-sanr...


[User] THERE ARE NO GOOD ONES.

[Assistant]
People want to be the good whatever but that is not a thing to try to be.
It implies a state of completion.

[User] We will never hit a place where we can relax and stop trying to open our perception to that of another w/less power or a difference in view.

[Assistant] We are never done stretching toward skillfulness.  Men, not men, white people, not white, folks with means and without.  All of us together and with each other.


[User] I've been awake for hours and all I want is sleep.

[Assistant]
...I just realized what I'm feeling is hunger. I can't sleep because I'm hungry.

What the fuck.

(I ate dinner at like 9pm and it wasn't a huge meal but it was food.)

(Granted I didn't eat too much yesterday coz I was at the office and I'm not really enjoying food lately. I'm working on it)

[User]
(grief isn't good for eating disorders)

(Not all progress is lost, progress is still progress, and I'm not relapsed but I am fucking struggling)

[Assistant] (I hate that I'm struggling)


[User] Peak ingredient. Trash on its own. They just be liking anything these days.

[Assistant] Not "they just be liking anything these days" 😂

[User] Do not encourage her?!?!??

[Assistant] If she right she's right. Y'all liking the white man’s fruit a lil too much 🗣