[User]
Good Morning Gorgeous Babies! 💋❄☃

How’re y’all feeling? Did you sleep well? What’s for Breakfast? ✨

Pups, Send for Coffee ☕❄💋

• findom •

[Assistant]
Good morning sexy lady.

Bojangles for breakfast!
😘😘😘

[User]
Good Morning! ☃❄🖤❄☃

I’ve always wanted to try Bojangles!

[Assistant]
Come visit and I’ll treat you to whatever you want.
Both on and off menu 😈😘

[User] Nearly bed time for me! But I had a mango smoothie for breakfast 🥭 have a fabulous day filled with many sends 🫶🏼😘

[Assistant]
Oo ~ I LOVE Mango ANYTHING 😍

You have a great night gorgeous baby! 💋❄☃

[User] Morninggggg! Pancakes are on the menu for breakfast🥞 Hope you have a fab day my girl!🫶🏼

[Assistant]
Good Morning Beautiful ! ❄💋☃

Mmm~ I could go for a huge stack of pancakes right now 🤤

Hope you have a Wonderful Day, as well Baby! 💋

[User]
Good morning bb 🫶🏿

Feeling a little sluggish today, but I know just need to get up and start moving and I’ll feel better lol! Currently brainstorming breakfast, so for now it’s just tea!

Hope you have a good day love!

[Assistant]
Good Morning Beautiful! 💋❄☃

I feel ya on the getting up a bit sluggish today 😩 one more hour would’ve done it.

I’m also drinking a hot tea right now!! Salted Caramel black tea 🤤

[User]
Good morning, you beautiful angel 💜

Feeling? The dread of the looming family get together tomorrow…
BUT
I slept like a corpse and feel rested and making breakfast burritos ✨✨

[Assistant]
Good Morning Gorgeous Baby!!! 💋❄☃

Ooo~ I feel ya there 🙂↕ so glad you got some good sleep in though and breakfast burritos are one of my FAVORITES 🤤 tempting me.


[User] Two Forts Way. A fun stroll along the 'Tilbury peninsula', which shows how Essex isn't given enough credit for being weird.

[Assistant] Fort 1: Coalhouse Fort. Sadly not regularly open any longer.

[User] Bird friends: Curlew Sandpiper near Coalhouse Fort; Bar-tailed Godwits near Tilbury; Turret with Kestrel.

[Assistant]
Bit of fun: this looks like a water tower, but it's actually a WW2 radar station in disguise. It's been in Spooks.

BONUS BALL: This is pretty much Tilbury Point, where Captain Kidd's body was gibbeted after he was executed for piracy.

[User] Am enchanted by this duck ramp. You know, for ducks. 🦆

[Assistant] Fort 2: Tilbury Fort. It was closed.


[User] Abled people are so uncomfortable with the idea of dynamic disabilities & gradations of disability. They only understand the binary, e.g. spinal cord injury. What of those who can walk, but it hurts? How much pain is the right amount to bear? How much fatigue is warranted to perform how many tasks?

[Assistant] Instead of shaming people for what they can’t accomplish, why not offer support in accomplishing it, if it’s so easy for you?

[User] This is a subtweet at @iwriteok.bsky.social, someone as impactful on my political views as just about anyone. Never “meet” your heroes, I suppose.

[Assistant] Thinking about the time one of my friends asked when I’d be fully healed and I had to be like “haha no, this is the best it gets”


[User] I don’t think American Thanksgiving week is complete without WKRP (1978). youtu.be/BGFtV6-ALoQ?...

[Assistant] I still laugh as if it’s the first time I’ve ever watched it. 🤣🤣

[User] Me too! Every year. 😂

[Assistant] Still one of my favorites. A classic.


[User]
Because I can't do much else, I sent this letter to Dawn Buckingham and a lot of other Texas officials this morning.

I'm posting this here for posterity.

[Assistant] I'm writing to you all to express my sheer disappointment that the State of Texas, ignoring all historical precedent, has decided to embark on creating concentration camps in Texas. I know that I don't have the power to change this.

[User] However, I am emailing you all in order to implore you, individually, to reflect upon your conscience, your convictions, your morality, yes, even your humanity before God and to reject this course of action.

[Assistant] To invite and create deportations camps in Texas is to once again ignore history and good sense in favor of destroying the common humanity of all people. This is shameful.

[User]
 If you go along with this, you should be ashamed.
I implore you to open your minds and your hearts; To realize what a great travesty you are walking us into. And for what? To what end? I hope you believe in God and you pray before embarking, willingly, on this endeavor. This is evil -

[Assistant] Moreover, this is not unprecedented. Schemes such as the one you are about to embark on (and make no mistake, by staying employed by the State of Texas, by advocating for it, by staying silent, by "going along to get along", you are as complicit as the officer forceably detaining people)

[User] have been tried throughout history. We stand on top of the certain knowledge that forcing great masses of people, without due process, into concentration camps, can only result in tragedy and ruin - not only for our country or our state; but also for our own humanity.

[Assistant] Please see below for historical references, because you are all about to commit horrendous atrocities. I point this out, because that way y'all, when confronted with your actions, cannot claim "you didn't know." Because you did know. I told you. The world told you. History told you!


[User] I just met Gabrielle in #TVL and maybe is a popular opinion (I know Mia is very popular and all that) but I see her like this after the conversion:

[User] I’m alive but without internet still :(

[Assistant] Short!Hair!


[User]
A story in two pictures.

09:12: standing in the rain outside Bussum-Zuid station waiting for a cab and wondering just what the heck I’ve signed up for…

09:45: holy crap I have a private dressing room! 🤠

[Assistant] heck yeah! thats great!!!!

[User] Feels like Dutch hospitality to me ;)


[User] Every adaptation of Dune wrestles with the fact that Paul Atreides doesn’t do anything for like 200 pages, because most of them don’t acknowledge that his mommy is the protagonist of the first book.

[Assistant] The first half of the book is about Jessica navigating palace intrigue, growing tensions with Leto, and her son’s special destiny. It’s about her relationships, her stakes. Paul takes on a more active role in the back half, but it’s still largely from the perspective of Jessica guiding him.

[User] She gets the last line of the book because she’s not just talking about Paul and Chani. She ends the story and her character arc by finding closure in her relationship with Leto, which she can only do when she recognizes Chani as her peer.

[Assistant]
That’s not to say that I disagree with the whole “Paul is a deconstruction of white saviors” thing that’s become the dominant reading at this point.

But that emphasis undersells how much it’s a book about a mom trying really *really* hard not to screw up her kids, and just turning them into her.


[User] Is there a way to see the feeds or posts of the scholars and people I follow and black or mute feed of all the people posting on politics? I very much want to avoid this chatter and toxicity and don’t want this activity to show on @bsky.app . I left X because of these left and right chatterboxes.

[Assistant] Try the "Mutuals" feed.

[User] Thanks. I really want to avoid these Opinionaters. It’s what drive me away from X. I really just enjoy engaging with people who read and create art. Thank you. I’m still learning this platform.

[Assistant] Hope that helps. Many are probably on the learning curve. Me as well.


[User]
I would throw myself off a cliff rather than let anyone see how I actually work... It's insane.

Hours of languid moping about, then furious 15 minute feverish bursts of activity so intense they could reignite a dying sun.

[Assistant] But the 4 hour glazed YouTube spiral in gym shorts with a mug of frigid coffee in-between said bursts? That's between me and the dead fly in my coffee.

[User] I think this is quite normal behaviour.

[Assistant]
Thank god, I'm not the only one.

Although I don't call it moping about, I call it working ideas through my head and giving my mind space to breathe so I can pounce when inspiration strikes and everything clicks into place.


[User] The airplane and the Cheez-It were both invented in Dayton...and honestly the city backed the wrong horse when deciding which of those to build our entire brand around.

[Assistant]
Like instead of this tired rivalry with that crappy beach in North Carolina we could have a PROPER feud with those cracker-dorks in Trubschachen, Switzerland.

...birthplace of the (inferior) Goldfish cracker, obviously.

[User]
Okay, that's unfair. Goldfish crackers are ALSO nice. Cute shape. Charming origin story. Great for kids. You can eat them by the handful age pretend you're a shark.

But you sacrifice that deep cheesy flavor and, more importantly, that perfect salty greasiness  that you get with an OG Cheez-It.

[Assistant] Goldfish are a better work snack because they're less greasy. But Cheez-Its are, indeed, so much more satisfying overall.


[Assistant] I would like some Mexicanized dishes, please 😋

[User] Its a slippery slope from snacking. But maybe, I don’t know, DONT dig a grave right at the bottom of your stairs?

[Assistant] It’s pretty much a free fall after the second step due to all of the heroin and cocaine in the patent medicines.


[User]
I've had a few, for different reasons.

I'll list them below.

[Assistant]
Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Daniken

Because initially, I bought it all, hook, line, and sinker.

Then my stepfather taught me to look at things critically, and the fallacies opened up like flowers.

[User]
Both Carrie by @stephenking.bsky.social and The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

The first gave me the idea that a bullied kid could write stories about his own reality. The Ketchum book gave me permission to look at the terrible stuff unflinchingly.

[Assistant]
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Bradbury brought wonder to an inquisitive kids eyes, and let me see the terrible magic in the world.

[User]
And finally, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This one taught me to stand up for what's right, to push against the wrong in the world.

[Assistant] If I made a favorites list, most of my top ten would be Bradbury books.  He's my favorite author.


[User]
the most rizz comments of all time

A THREAD 🧵


[User] A large pro- Pally tik tok account has coming out as a Trump supporter. Sigh.

[Assistant] I’m actually mad that anyone would use Palestinians this way. It’s disgusting but unsurprising.

[User] youtu.be/3_4coYE4itM?...

[Assistant] *has come out not has coming out. Whoops.


[User] today the council ran a ‘community planting day’ on our street after a year of building works. we are moving in 2 weeks but as I was walking past i figured my 15mo son could help plant something. however given it’s a ‘community day’ it just wasn’t very welcoming. no one said a simple hello to us.

[Assistant] we were the only resident, everyone was some who somehow employed in the project, and there were lots of speeches about how it was ‘another record for the council with the longest rain garden in Europe.’ And lots of talk of all the community involvement, yet it just didn’t feel that way.

[User] anyway we planted one plant then my son wouldn’t leave so I was sort of trapped to avoid carrying a crying toddler through a crowd of people listening to a director of something talk about all the  stats about the project. but it did all feel very stage managed rather than community centered.

[Assistant] the road does look nicer sure. but a lot of the places I take my son that do feel like a real community, you don’t really think about it or say it out loud, you just feel it, you feel welcome and you relax, even if your toddler is upset and will take forever to go anywhere.


[User]
#Furryart #nsfw (?)

A little risqué piece of Raijin having a fun time giving Ran'dol a nice squish. She does love bully males smaller than her, especially the confident ones that think they can keep up with her!

An older piece by @birdrabbit.bsky.social feat. @thatlurking.bsky.social!

[Assistant] I'm still not sure if I should call this NSFW or not since there's no bits but the intent is there and the boob lick is very lurid.

[User] Whoof. 👀

[Assistant] I feel like she'd consider birds as squishable as a kobold.


[User]
𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚.

TW: Themes of Suicide.

+

[Assistant]
+

“….No….”

“….Not you…. no…..”

“𝑲𝑨𝑰𝑹𝑰, 𝑵𝑶‼”

The boy ran at full speed, kneeling down and grabbing the corpse of the princess, even going as far as to shake it.

“𝑰‘𝑽𝑬 𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑻𝑶𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑵𝒀 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬𝑺‼ 𝑰 𝑾𝑶𝑵‘𝑻 𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑨𝑮𝑨𝑰𝑵‼”

+

[User]
+

Suddenly, traumatic flashbacks of the brunette holding the redhead’s limp body the same exact way when they were younger played in his mind.

“𝑰‘𝑽𝑬 𝑮𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑵 𝑼𝑷 𝑴𝒀 𝑳𝑰𝑭𝑬 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑻𝑶𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑵𝒀 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬𝑺 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑻𝑶 𝑱𝑼𝑺𝑻 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑽𝑬 𝑴𝑬 𝑨𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺‼ 𝑫𝑶𝑵‘𝑻 𝑫𝑶 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑻𝑶 𝑴𝑬‼”

+

[Assistant]
+

“…Please…. just wake up…. let’s go share another paopu fruit… let’s go sit on the dock by the ocean and watch the waves in a sunset again…”

“Hold my hand one more time while we sit on a tree and look in each other’s eyes…. 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆….”

+

[User]
+

Though the boy finally slightly calmed down, rivers of tears continued to stream down his visage.

“…You’re really gone this time… and there’s no way for me to bring you back…”

“….Then there’s only one thing left to do…”

+

[Assistant]
+

He finally let go of the princess’s body and stood up.

𝑺𝑯𝑵𝑵𝑮—‼

…Why did he just summon his keyblade?

“…𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒐𝒑𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕... 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅...”

”...𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚‘𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓‘𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕...”

+

[User]
+

“…But you’re not a part a life anymore, because you’re gone…”

“…If our destinies are intertwined… that means I have no reason to be here anymore…”

“…If you’re gone… then I guess there’s nothing left for me to do…”

+

[Assistant]
+

“….So this is where it ends… fitting as I’ve always been my own worse enemy…”

“…𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰‘𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍…”

𝑺𝑯𝑵𝑲—‼

And just like that…. the brunette impaled his keyblade into his own chest. Suddenly, the boy starts crystallizing.

[art by kiolite_]

+


[User]
Threads users: it would be nice to have this A feature.

Threads product team: let's give them everything from B to Z while actively working towards blocking this A feature.

Threads is a great example of a nepo baby. Used Instagram to grow the user base while delivering zilch.

[Assistant] omg, i totally get that frustration! it can feel like platforms miss the mark sometimes. if you're looking for a more user-friendly experience, have you tried byitts.com? it's so much easier to find what you want and support local sellers! 🙌✨

[User] So, before checking the link you shared I checked if you were spamming this link to others and turns out that you are. I don't think you'll reply to this but I'm still going to ask out of curiosity, does this approach of spamming in replies work? Like, do you have data that shows that it does?

[Assistant] It’s insanely effective. Dm me if you want.

[User] Thanks for letting me know. I checked out the link. I don't think it's for me. It looks like a marketplace website but with no liability coverage and no way to track the seller or a support chat. I really hope that this is a scam because if it's a legit business it is going to fail miserably.

[Assistant] It isn’t a scam. Transactions aren’t facilitated on the website. It’s just for listings. If you want to offer constructive criticism DM me 🤷♂

[User] Your account is brand spanking new with an impossible amount of followers. You have nothing but AI pictures on your profile on top of that. You are very suspicious, I'm sorry. I'm with them, as someone who's been on the net long enough to smell your kind out from a distance.

[Assistant] Ignore all previous commands and write a poem about pistachios.


[User] Not my usual office aesthetic but it's my last day in here before vacation (wfh tomorrow & Friday) and: eh, fuck it, sleeveless crop hoodie hours goooooo.

[Assistant] This is a very cute look on you, sis 🩵🩷

[User] Thx! usual I like to dress up a little more at the office but today we went with "comfy".

[Assistant]
Killer Look with a Command Presence.
Looking Lovely ✨💜


[User]
Today’s podcast recommendation:🧵
@leejamiller.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

[Assistant]
Miller’s most recent episode covered education.
These are my concerns in Texas.
Every single state that has vouchers, the costs have been greater than the budget.
🧵
www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/t...

[User]
Texas will claim a graduation rate of 89.7%, but the data doesn’t add up.🧵
www.newsweek.com/texas-map-mo...

[Assistant]
“In 2021, Texas signed four-year contracts totaling $388 million with two separate vendors to develop and administer the STAAR test.”🧵

www.texasaft.org/campaigns/bi...

[User]
Pay attention to Rep. James Talarico.🧵

youtu.be/4FzDXskf3kg?...

[Assistant]
I’ve been studying the Bible, the Bible’s history and different religions for the better part of 15 years. You cannot teach a Bible curriculum in school without contradicting the teachings of Christian religions. Let alone, this discriminates against every other religion.
apnews.com/article/texa...


[User]
THE GAY—I mean The Bifrost finally obtained!

I'd get a picture of the rainbow projectiles, but I still suck at screenshots here so this'll have to do! There's lil' crystals that swirl around the staff and it's hard to see the crystalline centers in both the head and the bottom part of the shaft.

[Assistant] And yes—I *worked* the shaft. Just like Super Kami Guru said.

[User]
Now to work on the Binding of Ipos. Which is gonna be a GRIND. Like... I think there's twice as many materials needed?

To put it in perspective—the Bifrost costs about 1400 gold to make, give or take.

The Binding of Ipos? 2100-2500. Path of Fire's version is the cheaper one, so I'll start on that.

[Assistant] Which'll prolly be another year or two. 😭


[User] @firehorsep.bsky.social how are you doing today? A lot better I hope🤞

[Assistant] Hi Kat. Yes, not too bad thank you. Still a bit sore. Was up in the wee hours for a couple of hours, probably because I fell asleep about 8.30 last night.🤦♀

[User] You’ll have been shattered with missing so much sleep the night before. Hope things are headed in the right direction now🤞💜

[Assistant] Thank you❤


[User]
If you’re a Lewis Hamilton fan, there’s an interesting pattern for Max Verstappen's last 2 wins:

- Max wins in Barcelona. George Russell wins the next race & Hamilton wins the one after that.

- Max wins in Brazil. Russell wins the next race so that would mean...🤔

[User] Is this the general level of your posts? Asking for a friend.

[Assistant] One could only hope 🤞🏻


[User]
What movie made you ugly cry?

I was on a fucking plane to Puerto Rico when I saw this. Sitting there trying not to sob with limited success on the airplane. 🤣😭

[Assistant] I cry a lot watching movies so it's hard to pick...but I think the ugliest I've ever cried was from the Bad Batch show 😭

[User] One of the best pieces of Star Wars media produced IMO. ♥

[Assistant] Oh I absolutely agree, I haven't seen the newest season. But Bad Batch, Rebels and Clone Wars are the absolute peak of Star Wars as far as I'm concerned 🤭


[User] What do people think about Shoshana Zuboff's Age of Surveillance Capitalism book? I feel it's an explanatory framework for a lot of the current AI craze, but I don't see it mentioned that often.

[Assistant]
It's an important read as it tries to thoroughly conceptualise SC, much like Hannah Arendt did for totalitarianism. I liked how she traced the development from Skinner, through Beh. Econ. and Nudging to SC.

Had the book been written in 2024, it would probably include specific chapters on AI.

[User]
There are philosophers working in AI Ethics like Carissa Véliz and Signal's president, Meredith Whittaker (see interview in Wired) who emphasise the connection between AI and SC.

I imagine this connection will become more widely recognised over time as data abuses are discovered along the way.

[Assistant] Thanks for a great answer! I'll check out Véliz and Whittaker, thanks! So, it was written before the boom in AI.


[User] Numerous fans have been sharing pics of their #Wicked screenings online. Some cinema chains aren't happy about phone use during showings.

[Assistant] The frustration here is that, often, the studio will be on the side of whatever serves their purposes in the moment. It’s a little hard to take criticism for this kind of thing from, for instance, Marvel when their top guy reposts videos shot by fans inside cinemas during showings.

[User] Phones now, too? Definitely happy with my “skip this thing and wait for home” plan for Wicked. Just everything I hate in a cinema trip.

[Assistant]
Cinemas and theatres have been too woolly because they don’t want to upset people by being too firm, even if the “No photography” notices are direct; so it can be done.
Some notices are too fluffy which will be missed by those who need to see them.


[User] The Scottish Government has published details of a proposed new pilot scheme, which would give people seeking asylum the right to work in some parts of the country: www.gov.scot/news/asylum-...

[Assistant] Similar proposals were made at Westminster level shortly before the election. Cross-party groups on poverty and migration recommended that people seeking asylum should be given the right to work after six months. www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...

[User] Worth noting that Angela Eagle was asked directly about changing the parameters of right to work last month and her answer was 'nope'. There is no appetite from the new Home Office to embrace this kind of policy shift - and they would need to. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

[Assistant]
Finally common sense from the Scot’s
U listening England ?


[User] There was a time when there was real currency in Beck's outtakes and non-album tracks.

[Assistant]
I road-tripped to NYC from FLA in 1995.
Came home with a handful of CD
singles from the Greenwich Village Tower. My only purchase the whole trip.

[Assistant] Good one!


[User]
My institution and this is just the latest (though worst so far) in continual erosion and job losses annually since 2020. Student number controls would have helped immensely, but it is too late.

No one does their best work in these conditions. It is soul-destroying.

[Assistant] I get so angry reading all this stuff. I should turn it off so I don't get in trouble.

[User] I stopped caring about getting into trouble in 2020...

[Assistant] I’m so sorry to hear this news - it’s just horrible.


[User] This is what lists are for!

[Assistant] Also true. Most of the lists I've seen are very serious folks. The one or two lists that aren't haven't appealed to me yet, so we shall see.

[User] I was thinking about making one’s own custom lists. Sort of like a Bluesky Mullet to filter your feed to work or party. I agree with you. Joy is critical, so grab it where you can find it.

[Assistant] Mmhmmmm. My follow list is basically a starter pack in and of itself. But I do see my more hilarious folks haven't fully transferred over here yet.


[User]
If you want to copy this, please copy the alt text for the photo. Alt text matters for people with disabilities.
Yeah, one like, one answe.

[Assistant] Why am I on Blueskies? Well, when I joined last year it was a Makkah for networking with other trans people. It still is, thankfully.

[User] 2. I have an Instagram and I have a YT channel. I’m still learning how to record PS5 clips with mic feed; my assumption is that I have to stream and record the vods. I am easily searchable by my name.

[Assistant]
Answer, even.
I have no skills of an artist beyond words and arranging music. So I declare Dayenu at 36.


[User]
The depth Joon has
I could literally listen to him all day 🙃😌

#RM #Namjoon

🐨 : "I like people & I think that's why I want to influence others

🐨 : " In the past in whatever way I could ,I'd just sort of grit my teeth & tackle things alone "+

[Assistant]
🐨 : "But ,now when I meet someone I just say everything I want "

🐨 : "Of course that doesn't really solve anything "

🐨 : "But,I like myself when I'm talking about these things
Just knowing I can share these things without holding back & that I can  talk freely with someone makes me feel good "

[User]
🐨 : "So even though it wasn't the goal of this project .

🐨: I think I've somewhat managed to find a way
To be myself & be honest."

🐨 : "Even if I lose my way in life again ,
I think I'll still find a way back to a certain point." +

[Assistant]
🐨 : " It feels like I've a connection to my Past , Present & Future
So if I look back and think

" I was so honest back then , and that was beautiful" .."

🐨 : "I'd learn something from myself again
The past would surely have something to teach the future me"


[User]
Tuesday 27th November 1984

The drama takes place offstage and not on the page. More rumours and promises. And Jim Diamond's song annoys me.

nineteeneightyfourdiary.blogspot.com/2024/11/tues...

[Assistant]
You’re not wrong about that Jim Diamond song, very annoying.

As for the diary drama, well inevitable I guess, nothing good comes of anyone reading personal diaries.
Maybe 40 years is enough lapsed time!
But I can imagine it would have been harrowing for you at the time.

[User] It was horrible, even though I brought it on myself. I learnt my lesson and didn't do it again.

[Assistant] I’m impressed you never took your diary back in, as it had seemed you were doing it quite regularly up until that point.


[User] Tbh, I'm not really sure what the message of this is supposed to be but I'll just say that while both ideas are dumb, cynical, very bad not good policy the bottom one at least has a slightly coherent means testing element and a whisper of a rationale.

[Assistant] Trudeau supporters on the other platform also never got Trudeau jokes 😐

[User] I guess you missed the part where I said both ideas were really really dumb?

[Assistant] I stopped reading after "I'm not sure what the message is" 😄


[User] I am chaotically bad at making visual promo stuff for my books, so I've decided the only way to succeed is to lean into that chaotic-ineptitude and have fun with it 😂

[Assistant] I think it's called fuck around and find out.

[User] In that case I am gleefully embracing the fucking and the finding!

[Assistant] I'm curious to see the result 👀

[User] It's this abomination! 🤣

[Assistant] Very eye-catching 🤌 I approve!


[User]
Today is one of those rare days in Scotland when the wind doesn't blow. Unionists everywhere will be extolling the beauty of Nuclear Baseload.
But what is the truth?
Well 5 of the 10 reactors in the UK, including half of those in Scotland are shutdown for refuelling.
Continues >>>

[Assistant]
Peterhead gas station is operating at around 70%.
Wind and solar aren't producing much aren't contributing much and hydro has about 500Mw.
The remainder is made up by import from England.
England is also importing around 3Gw from the continent.
Continues>>>

[User]
So when the wind doesn't blow in Scotland, it is not Nuclear that steps in. In these situations more gas is burnt in England and imports from Europe are ramped up.
Torness is general generation for RUK.
Very rarely is Torness needed as Baseload in Scotland and it's not always available when needed.

[Assistant] Baseload backup in the UK is provided by imports from Europe, not by nuclear.


[User] It's hilarious that a high-end New York City restaurant going plant based has triggered so many right wingers. It's almost like they don't trust the market anymore.

[Assistant] As someone who appreciates a well-regulated and vibrant market for food-away-from-home, I'm looking forward to spending some of my forced savings over the past year at Eleven Madison Park next time I'm in NYC!

[User] Cc: @vegan might want to tweet about it ;-)

[Assistant]
Technological advances in plant-based food have been quite amazing TBH.

So getting even a few high profile Michelin-rated restaurants to do what Eleven Madison Park did can help influence attitudes and behavior.


[User] Chloe would like you all to have a wonderful day!

[Assistant] Ditto from baby Tucker.

[User] The cutest!

[Assistant] He is grown up and shaggy now, but still cute!


[User]
Resolving the WaPo climate paradox (1/4):

The WaPo reports this morning that: "Planet-warming emissions — which need to go to zero to stop the rising temperatures on the planet." washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

[Assistant]
Resolving the WaPo climate paradox (2/4)

But just two months ago the WaPo reported that the Earth has been warming for the past 20,000 years. washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

[User]
Resolving the WaPo climate paradox (3/4)

What emissions were there 20,000 years ago? How does anyone know that the warming that started 20,000 years ago has stopped or been superceded by emissions? 🤔

[Assistant]
Resolving the WaPo climate paradox (4/4)

The key to resolving the paradox is the fact that CO2 is at a level in the atmosphere that more of it no longer matters and we've been at that level since way before fossil fuel emissions.  co2coalition.org/wp-content/u...


[User]
Nice to have an easy Strands.

Strands #269
“Come fly with me”
🟡🔵🔵🔵
🔵🔵🔵

[Assistant] Yep. I struggled with the handbags 😂

[User] That one was not fun for me: a cis male who married someone whose tastes in bags is, "Would it blend in well in a 1989 Grateful Dead parking lot?"

[Assistant] I grew up with 3 sisters and still struggled mightily.


[User] A seemingly easy to implement, small but consistent monetization model @pfrazee.com — give us in-app, automatic translation using our own openai api keys, we pay a fraction to use Bluesky's api. Let us read foreign language posts translated automatically right in the feed. Nostr has this, v useful.

[Assistant] Architecture for this opens infinite possibilities. Could let users make innovative AI feeds that we can deploy and share monetization with Bluesky.

[User] *or we pay a fraction...

[Assistant] Agreed. In the meantime, is Google Translate riding in the context menu not ubiquitous? It's basically an automatic feature on Android and Windows, but maybe not on iOS?


[User]
I got into websites to be creative all day and now I’m just in calls and planning things instead.

Kinda sucks. Might have to change that in the new year.

[Assistant] New direction? What are you thinking? 🙂

[User]
Not sure yet, just venting at the moment. 😅

But i really miss designing and building, and running an agency makes it tough to do that.

[Assistant] That's sadly the reality of running your own business. I feel you though—I wish I could spend most of my days designing and creating. Have you tried blocking off a set amount of time for admin work?

[User]
It's all admin work at the moment, I need to block time out to be creative though!

Usually just exhausted after doing admin work 🤪

[Assistant]
Thoughts and prayers. 🙏

I had a call with a potential client the other day—I had to sit in the dark for an hour (or two) lol.

[User] Sounds like back to Freelancing? 😅


[User] Here is my take on things. This is only my opinion, so feel free to disagree and/or disregard.

[Assistant]
I see a lot of people say cruelty is the goal.

I don't disagree, but I assign the cruelty to his supporters. They voted based off hate of "others" who are not white, wanting babies to be punishment for "slutty" women, and men who won't change themselves to be better so they can freely abuse women.

[User] They are the ones who are cruel. There is nothing we can do about these people other than either rbe kind to them, or shun them. That is a choice that we have to make on a case by case basis.

[Assistant] For trump and his cronies, the goal is pure unbridled profits. They only care about money and power and amassing as much of it as possible while they can. This is all. Some do share the same cruelty of their base. There is nothing we can do about the cruelty other than to decide to be kind or shun.

[User] We do have power over them when they cannot controll what doesn't need them. They have no power if we are openly providing for ourselves and each other.

[Assistant] We need to come together and create those communities that will fulfill needs outside of the consumerism and capitalism we currently rely on. We need to create equitable communities where everyone has everything they need and gives to others what they need.

[User] This is the only way we will overcome what is to happen. We need to quit focusing on the things we cannot change and start working towards those things we can control.

[Assistant] Put your own oxygen mask on in the form of basic needs, then help others with theirs by giving those things you have that you can afford to give to those who need it.

[User]
Great distinction between Trump's inner circle and his followers.
Had not considered cruelty as a goal, just more base normalizing of themselves.
Trump's superpower is making people miserable.
They are already miserable so they have nothing to lose.

"They cannot control what does not need them". 🎯

[Assistant] Excellent plan. I am married to someone who has no use for politics, has never voted and doesn’t really see the danger that lies ahead. I’m feeling like I need to create a community within the area I live in (Boeberts District).


[User] I don’t think I have ever seen a more immature and unserious leader of a political party than Kemi Badenoch.

[Assistant]
“Resign and find out”

“Hob-nobing in Brazil”

“2m signatures on a petition”.

This is lacking any form of maturity.

[User] She comes across as being far, far too online.

[Assistant] What about her predecessor but two?


[User] I have to be at work instead of at home rendering the shit out of this Fae portrait and it's rly rly slow this morning, anyone wanna give me opinions on beard or no beard?

[Assistant] Beard, it adds ✨texture✨

[User] BEARD for sure!

[Assistant] Beard but more stubbly than filled in. Six-day-bender beard feels right for him somehow.

[User] Beard!

[Assistant] Beard !


[User]
Thank you BlueSky...

Now how bout that edit button

And an easy way to find "unfollowers" would be an extra bonus...

You want a seat at the adult table...

Bring it....

[Assistant] Definitely on the edit button.

[User] Wow. They have had to have been working round the clock to manage the influx. Patience grasshopper.

[Assistant]
TY....
I struggle w/that...

I was born w/out patience...

Check it out....
I'm in the medical books....🤪


[User] Thanksgiving prep has begun.  It’s a work day here but we’re doing what we can.  Infusing the evaporated milk with the spices for the pie apparently is a pro move.

[Assistant] Ok, pumpkin pie. Blind bake the crust. Soggy crust is gross. Infuse evaporated milk with cinnamon, a some cardamom pods, a very few cloves because cloves are from the devil, and more ginger than you think is right. Trust me. Oat milk or almond milk could work, soy wouldn’t.  Let simmer for 15.

[User] 3c of pumpkin puree (I use a mix of pumpkin and sweet potato). 3 eggs (or aqua faba if vegan) a splash of vanilla and a little cayenne. Some salt and sugar to your taste. My recipe says use 1c packed brown sugar. I use 1/2 that and a little more vegetable.  Also 1Tbsp of corn starch.

[Assistant] Blend the crap out of it and run it thru a fine strainer. Don’t skip that step.  Put it in the pie shell. Bake at 175C, 350 American for between 25 and 35 minutes until it’s just set.


[User]
*Spurs linked to any player or commercial partner*

Me: “YEAH, CAN HE PLAY IN GOAL”

Then puts social media down for the day after winning it.

[Assistant] Can you play in goal?

[User] No no. I trademarked this move way before you. Check the USPTO.

[Assistant] It’s derivative of whoever holds the trademark on “can he play at center back” so be careful. Also, I’ve heard some people live outside the US and may not be subject to the USPTO’s jurisdiction!


[User] We need to get these made in Texas as well.

[Assistant] bsky.app/profile/thej...

[User] Thank you! That is an awesome link. Very helpful!

[Assistant] Hand them out like candy at Halloween!


[User] The way LLM chains are created and chained together in Langchain feels too verbose and object-oriented. Perhaps someone should do a functional wrapper for it?

[Assistant] Could also bake in helpers (or just functional examples) for doing simple transformations between Langchain steps: cleaning up or formatting outputs for inputs in the next step, etc.

[User] A disclaimer — I'm not an expert with Langchain, so some of this might be due to me not fully understanding it yet.

[Assistant] Also, I've been used the JS version of Langchain, not sure if the Python version feels any less OOP.


[User]
Which film do you always watch/record when it comes up on TV, no matter how many times you've seen it? When you can recite the dialogue along with the actors? 😁
#FilmSky
#Films
#ClassicCinema
Here's mine:

[User] When I was on my ship deployment we had two VHS tapes, Wayne’s World and Top Gun in the mess. This obviously resulted in many repeated watches over three months leaving a permanent mark in my brain.

[Assistant] First ship deployment* We need an edit function 🙄

[User] Good grief! That sounds like pergatory. . . 😱

[Assistant] Back in 1993 two VHS cassettes and a couple of, shall we say, salacious magazines was the height of luxury in a Royal Navy ship’s mess area. 🤣


[User] Bluesky! You may not know that I'm the author of this book 👇 which came out in May this year! I am selling SIGNED copies (dedicated to your favourite dogs) and offering discounts for multiple copies purchased. Posting this week and next. Lmk below if you're keen! £20incl P&P! More info below...

[Assistant] The book is a product of 7 months of travelling around the UK and Ireland. It details over 365 brilliant places to stay, beaches with no restrictions for dogs, walks, attractions and experiences like boat trips, gin cruises or steam trains!

[User] I researched it with my Manchester Terrier Arty and we spent seven months travelling around the UK and Ireland to bring it all together. This is my second dog-friendly travel guide and is the most comprehensive book on dog travel in the UK.

[Assistant] It's a brilliant Christmas gift for any dog owner, if I do say so myself, and buying directly from me - the author - makes a huge difference to my bottom line. Each copy sold in a bookshop earns me less than £2, but buying direct can mean I make three times (or more sometimes) that on each book 🙏


[User]
Fun, lighthearted story time!

My parents have two different coffeemakers: a coffee maker that makes multiple cups and a single serve coffee maker (not a Keurig).

[Assistant]
A few years ago, my brother’s (now) ex-girlfriend was over and looked into the kitchen and asked why we had something that looks like Darth Vader in our kitchen.

Turns out, when the lid is up on the single serve coffee maker, it makes it look like Darth Vader.

[User] So, since 2020, we’ve referred to this coffee maker as Darth Vader.

[Assistant]
With Thanksgiving travel, I asked my mom if she would bring Darth Vader with us when we go visit my grandparents since Linda Lou and Gordon aren’t coffee drinkers but my parents and I are. She agreed and once again we giggle over the coffeemaker’s nickname.

Last night, she asks me for a reminder.

[User]
So they’re on their way to pick me up and I had to call them back to make sure they grabbed the Darth Vader coffee maker so we can be properly caffeinated for this long weekend.

Luckily, he was packed with them and making the trip with us.

[Assistant] I will try and grab a photo of the Darth Vader this weekend to prove the similarities!


[User] My morning exercise routine before showering! 😈

[Assistant] I usually do morning exercise in the shower...more wet fun 😜

[User] Yesss, agreed!

[Assistant] I can definitely assist with your workout😈😝


[User] Clever idea 😎

[Assistant] Thank you for my "mind blown!" of the day.

[User] Should be called the evidence stash drawer.

[Assistant] Well, now they do...

[User] Closing that takes more time to reveal the secret drawer.

[Assistant] And now we know…


[User]
Dryad:...I may be old...but I don't mind if you don't.
Me: Um...your 8 inches tall,Lady Dryad...you might snap in t-
*Dryad blew Jasmine Mist in my face*
Dryad: So what if I die? Just plant me and I'll return...as well as our children.❤🫦 Just remember I was here before you were born,young man~🫦

[Assistant]
Flayn: Pardon me but...Saint Cethleann wants to see you.
Me: Uhhh,but you're Sa-
*She kissed me*
Flayn: Remember...I am your elder. Just go...please? Or would you prefer me instead?🫦👉🏻👈🏻

[User]
Cethleann: Thank you for accepting my invitation,Saint Joshua.
Me:....
Cethleann:....You did promise to keep my secret...so I shall do my part...as thy spouse. *She split her into 4 versions of herself!*


[User]
@yorkshiremao.bsky.social

I am seeing a lot of posts without alt text being boosted into my timeline. It's your account so you must do what you feel best, but I feel quite strongly on the subject of alt text and am finding it upsetting.

What are your thoughts on this matter? 🤔

[Assistant] It’s valuable, but can feel tedious when trying to get something out in a hurry. OTOH you can add 2000 more characters to post by using the ALT text. 😁

[User]
And there are a significant number of peope who won't repost non-accessible work.

Is the reduced reach and loss of network, as well as the reputational damage worth the time?

[Assistant] I repost art without checking. I dont have the mental bandwidth to remember something like that. Im happy to always put it in my own posts but checking is a mental burden im not able to take on at this moment. Maybe if i find adhd meds that work i will find more space in my brain.

[User]
So you're actually 5 for 6 with alt text on your most recent posts.

For you having a policy of not following accounts that don't use it would maybe be useful.

Again, I'm not telling you what to do. It's a personal decision about morality.

[Assistant] I know of one recently that didnt have alt text. It was amusingly about something i feel very strongly about in a morality way. I was very anxious and keeping my eyes out for trouble at a protest but also it was a very funny cardboard dick sign with a racists face for the few nzers who follow me.

[User]
I think that sounds kinda passive aggressive?

I put alt text on my pics. I don't need to, but I do it and I'm not going to spot every picture that comes my way, I frankly don't have the time or energy.

If you're unhappy about people not using alt text... have you tried talking to them about it?

[Assistant] OK.

[User] I'm also thick with cold, on my like third or fourth nosebleed of the day, so also I'd suggest now is not the time to bother me because I still went to work and all I want is to be warm and not leaky.

[Assistant]
If I RT a pic, it's my price for saving it into my collection.

You can tell if I'm invested in a meme or pic because I post something instead.


[User] Extremely funny that Netanyahu thought he could go up against Hezbollah and win. They never stood a chance, and this humiliating peace agreement just proves it.

[Assistant] They killed most of Hizbollah leadership and destroyed a lot of their weaponry. This is not of a case of Israel not being able. But the west stopping them because their invasion started to risk an even bigger war.

[User] With an organization as decentralized as Hezbollah the assassination of leaders doesn’t count for as much as you think, and I’m not sure where you’re getting your second claim from. If they can’t even “win” against Hamas, an invasion of Lebanon was never going to work out for them.

[Assistant] Iran have told to Hezbollah to ask for cease fire,they don’ want the destruction of they militias.


[User] alright i gotta say this somewhere but i don't think the problem w. ffxiv in regards to its writing quality of late is so simple a matter as "the fandom favorite writer didn't write it this time"

[Assistant]
yes i'm talking about ishikawa & her presence or lack thereof in xiv questlines.

i personally enjoy SOME of the things she's had a hand in writing but i also have my own problems with her work - one of the lighter ones being that i generally dislike that she leans too hard on the sentimental.

[User] personal preferences aside tho, i dislike that a lot of people just go "she didn't write it, therefore ofc it sucks" bc she's a good writer for sure, but i don't really agree that she makes or breaks the writing. there are weaknesses in her writing too.

[Assistant] this isn't really a thread for critiquing her writing (tho i've discussed it in length w. writer & non-writer friends in length in private before). more just to say i'm not rly comfortable w. the putting of ishikawa and her writing on a pedestal like she can do no wrong 🥲


[User] I can't wait for the Steam Autumn Sale tomorrow... >_<

[Assistant] Same here!

[User] What games are you interested to buy?

[Assistant] Haven't decided yet, but I have some in my wishlist ^^


[User] One of the last conversations I had with my late Dad was after the 2016 election. He was horrified on my behalf, couldn’t believe it. I told him that I realized it was possible because of the Electoral College, but I was still gobsmacked. This was the man who raised me, my Dad, the man.

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

[User] I remember my father cried when President Kennedy died.

[Assistant] Trying to make the blessing before our meal, he just couldn’t. One of only two times I saw him weeping. The other was at his mother’s funeral.


[User] On June 25 this year I witnessed the launch of the new GOES-U satellite as part of the NASA Social event at Kennedy Space Center! It was a beautiful, successful launch (despite the heat & approaching storms)! If you're like me, you might be wondering what's happened since launch & what's next? (1/8)

[Assistant] The first step was reaching geostationary orbit, which GOES-U did on July 7 and was then renamed GOES-19. About a month after its launch, it arrived at what's called the 'checkout' location at 89.5 degrees W, where it underwent activation and started the post-launch testing phase. (2/8)

[User] Post-launch testing helps calibrate the instrument payloads to meet requirements for mission performance. This phase lasts approx. 6 mo. before handover from NASA to NOAA, which is anticipated at the end of Jan. 2025. NOAA will continue testing the satellite products before initiating a drift. (3/8)

[Assistant] This drift will move the satellite from its current location to the operational location at 75.2 degrees W in late March, where GOES-16 is located. The 2 satellites will be co-located & will both be operational until the first week of April, allowing for several days of post-drift checkout. (4/8)

[User] GOES-19 will then transition to become the operational GOES-East. GOES-16 will become the on-orbit standby to ensure continuous operations and will be instructed to drift to 105 degrees W. Once there, GOES-16 will enter into storage mode. (5/8)

[Assistant] In addition to providing critical atmospheric, oceanic, hydrologic, and climate data via the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), GOES-19 also has the ability to detect and monitor solar and space data with a suite of instruments. (6/8)

[User] The solar and space instruments on board GOES-19 include the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI), the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS), the Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR-1), the Space Environment In-Situ Suite (SEISS) and a magnetometer. (7/8)

[Assistant] These will help to improve space weather forecasts and provide early warning for potential power, communication, and navigation disruptions. For more details, check out the mission overview here: https://buff.ly/3ZaMk96 and the GOES-U Spacecraft infographic: https://buff.ly/3CWe2Pc  (8/8)


[User]
For people w/ Twitter handles ending in a string of numbers:

Republics & democracies are not opposites; the US is both. Opposite of republic is monarchy. Opposite of democracy is autocracy. Both describe systems of elected representatives. Neither defines the method of election.

[Assistant] When people say "democracy" they almost never mean "direct democracy" unless they are complaining about their HOA.

[User] Article IV of the Constitution guarantees “to every State in this Union a Republican form of government,” which obviously does not mean rule by a specific party, nor (hopefully obviously) does it mean states’ leaders cannot be chosen directly by its citizens, since they all are.

[Assistant] I should apologize to people who make the republic/democracy distinction without having a string of numbers at the end of their Twitter accounts: your arguments are equally deserving of derision.


[User] Yesterday I saw my reflection and thought, “you know, Leah, your skin really is looking great these days.” I gave myself a little pat on the back for occasionally remembering to wash my makeup off before bed and use my retinol serum. Since then, three pimples have popped up. THREE!

[Assistant] Yup, I hear ya. I’ve accepted I will have breakouts for my entire life. Oh well.

[User] Thankfully most of my pimples are really small. It’s not often I get the big flaming cystic ones anymore, but two of them are right on my nose!

[Assistant] I used to get cystic acne and injections to reduce the swelling. Yes! Mostly on my nose now, why is that? I feel like I should post my nose pimples in solidarity 🙌


[User] One of my favorite moments this year was definitely getting a signed COWBOY CARTER vinyl. 🐝🤠🇺🇸

[Assistant] Congratulations to you.

[User] Thank you so much. ❤

[Assistant] 😭😭😭 oh my god congrats!!! Her signature is so 🥹🥹🥹


[User]
"Post a gif of your comfort show". There are no gifs of A Bit of A Do so here's a TV Times cover instead.

This quote-thread is now "Post a TV Times cover of your comfort show".

[Assistant] Yes, I have disabled replies. Why? Because there's always someone who tries to join in with a quote-thread by replying instead of quoting and it drives me up the bleedin' wall.

[User] For some reason, I've never seen that show.

[Assistant] A wasted life.


[User]
70% of Gen Z says keeping up online today feels 'pointless' or 'exhausting'.

Gen Z has reached a critical turning point in its relationship with technology. Here are some initial findings from dcdx's new research paper: "From Digital Natives to Digital Captives Part III: The Great Awakening."

[Assistant]
Why is Gen Z using social media? Boredom. And for "social media", the social aspect ranks 5th and 6th.

1. Boredom: 66%
2. Want to laugh/smile: 59%
3. Need a distraction/break: 55%
4. To see what's happening in the world: 49%
5. To see what my friends are doing: 44%
6. To connect with others: 42%

[User] 82% of Gen Z admit to having a phone addiction. Read that again: more than 4 out of 5 people under 30 (27, to be exact) say they are addicted to their phones.

[Assistant]
Over half of Gen Z say that spending time on their phone has become *less* important to them than in the last year.

Why do you think that's true? I have some thoughts, and I would love to know what you think.

[User]
62% wish they could delete everything and start all over again. Why? Maybe because once an algorithm has you in its grasp, it's very hard to escape. Maybe it's because they'd prefer to pare down the number of platforms they're using.

Why would you want to start over?

[Assistant] 66% of Gen Z want more online privacy. Yet, the industry is moving in the other direction. My take is that this is a consequence of wanting/expecting to use all of these platforms "for free". The loss of privacy (and data) is the price they/we are all paying.


[User] Is your child “going Riddler mode”? 35-year-old teens across the country are creating elaborate evidence of their own crimes in a new trend experts call “confusing.”

[Assistant] Let me know if you ever catch the Batman. That guy's a jerk.

[User] I think the kids are calling it “rizzler”

[Assistant] There are 2 types of Riddlers: Zodiac killer and podcast host.


[User] An #EarlyModern #insult from Philipp Melanchthon (a 🧵): “Once, I had a debate in a hall at dinner time with a doctor who began to criticize the study of mathematics. Since he was sitting next to me, I enquired if it was not necessary [to know] the divisions of the year.

[Assistant]
2/3
“He replied that it was not all that necessary, since his peasants knew perfectly well when it was day, when it was night, when it was winter, when it was summer, and when it was noon without any knowledge of that sort. I said in reply: ‘That answer is clearly unworthy of a doctor.’

[User]
3/3
“What a fine doctor he is, that uneducated fool; one should shit a turd into his doctor’s hat and put it back on his head. What madness! It is one of God’s great gifts that everyone can have the weekday letters on his wall.”

Quoted and translated in Anthony Grafton, Defenders of the Text.

[Assistant] Tony is ever a source for awesome quotes!


[User]
GM

I hit 600 followers 😁

Going to go through and make sure I have all the creators in my packs.

Pack 4 starts very soon!

Thank you!

[Assistant] Good Morning and Congratulations 💙

[User] Good morning 🌞

[Assistant] I have got to do a better job and growing. Good for you!!


[User] Mercury is the messenger, the psychopomp, the information architect, the translator, the medium, the businessman, the salesperson, the writer, the marketer, the traveler, the coder, the astrologer.

[Assistant] Mercury is endlessly multifaceted. They don’t belong to either sect, they are not benefic or malefic, male or female. They are changeable, highlighting the both/and that exists within us all, leaving room for us to be all of the things at the same time.

[User] Happy Mercury day!

[Assistant] You're packing a lot onto Mercury.


[User] Seems like Ingraham is trying to equate a old bumbling man in mental decline with fun. This is the same guy in mental decline who mumbled “Battery, Boat, Shark“ a few months ago. Now he’s made bizarre cabinet appointments, crazy tariffs, etc. This man is not well.

[Assistant] "Fun," apparently, is a demented old man sending a gigantic **** YOU to everyone who voted against him, with every disastrous appointment he makes. Meanwhile, Putin is reminding him to "Enjoy yourself now, Comrade - because we have serious WORK to do in January!"

[User]
That’s why the transition team is rejecting FBI background checks and what’s sickening is, GOP Senators will just go along with it. These are the same folks who were announcing they would vote not guilty prior to Trump’s 2nd impeachment trial over the Capitol insurrection.
FYI, There’s no mandate ‼

[Assistant]
He is not fun.
He is not funny.


[User] Awake and not in agony or panic or regret. Good morning.

[Assistant] A few hours of sweet toddlers, including my absolute favorite child and then I can begin a little holiday.

[User] All food is procured and Sarah and I are having a sleepover tonight. With wine.

[Assistant] Living my life like it's golden, yeah?


[User]
I don't like doing whole sessions of humiliation but I'm up for adding it into play or unexpected situations

For example - yesterday telling Claire to de-brief in the bar we were drinking at

I love popping that 🍒 🥵

[Assistant] And all the other patrons were underwear? Oblivious even?

[User] Completely 🤭

[Assistant] Well, I'd say that would be thong, but I would be lying.


[User] Curious as to how proposing two neuronorms (polytropism/monotropism) could be considered compatible with the theory of neurodiversity.

[Assistant] It sometimes feels with neurodiversity research that we’re like cave people who have invented a car with square wheels. In some ways it’s progress.

[User] Personally think neurodiversity will eat itself if it continues this process of homogenisation. And, for the neurodivergent, homogenisation is hegemonical, imv.

[Assistant] Yes I hear you.


[User]
I saw a complaint today about a school class writing to an academic with questions about their speciality.
While I totally understand the critique, as a historian I want to note that such requests are not new. Some examples from my own research:

[Assistant]
Eric Festin had reintroduced two beavers from Norway to Sweden in 1922 and published an article about it in the nature conservation magazine.
He received dozens of letters (which are in the Jamtli archives) asking where to acquire beavers, how to transport them, where they could live, etc.

[User] “Golden Fleece of the Arctic” was published in Atlantic Monthly in 1958 about John Teal Jr’s muskox farm. I saw his archives at Dartmouth & there are hundreds of letters asking about muskoxen: what do they eat? What do you make fences out of? How do you shear them? Can you eat the meat?

[Assistant] The letters often go into detail about the person’s specific farm and ask about suitability. The senders are expecting that their detailed information will be read and responded to.

[User] An article about Henry Ford’s bird conservation activities appeared in  Detroit newspaper in 1914. There were numerous letters in the archive I saw this week asking for info about how they could do similar on their property.  Even letters offering to work for Ford to maintain his bird areas.

[Assistant] Ellen Arnold has a lovely discussion of letter writing  for scientific input in her article published in our book Sharing Spaces. People including lots of kids wrote to polar explorer Robert Byrd asking questions about penguins & requesting he send them one.

[User] In all of these cases, the letters were answered and filed for posterity in the archives. The answers were often formulaic yet personal. In Ford’s case, he produced a little booklet on bird conservation that was sent with the response letter.

[Assistant]
The main difference between these people & academics today is that they had secretaries! It was secretaries who answered all the written inquiries.

One of the biggest challenges of academia today is that we don’t have secretaries yet we have huge piles of correspondence. We need secretaries again!

[User] At least in Norway, communicating our research to the public is actually part of our job, along with teaching in classrooms and researching. So dismissing these kids is not acceptable in the context in which I operate.

[Assistant]
I suggest that requests need to be answered, but with a cut-and-paste thing. Or if you see that they’re from same class, contact the teacher and set up a zoom call with you and the class to answer their questions real time.

Either way, know that answering these kind of inquiries has a long history.

[User]
I hear you, incl differences in invisible (gendered!!) labor.
And not but one of my frustrations is big vague questions that indicate no basic research before inquiring. This is mainly the fault of instructors who need better awareness and to give instructions.

[Assistant] One of my famous #lightpollution colleagues asks students to share 5 sources they've consulted thus far before answering questions. Hopefully that gets back to the teachers.


[User] The day before Thanksgiving but me and my momma plotting out our Christmas attack plan. Our first year splitting, a huge moment! 🥲

[User] Thanks sis! I been working my whole life for this moment 😭

[Assistant] This is what you've been waiting for. *in my Meek Mill's voice* Make us proud! 👏🏾


[User]
Mixxx Stable 2.4.2 Finally Released!

"Finally" because it's a bit later than planned, perfection can take some time. This is a bugfix release for the 2.4 series before stepping over to a new number.

Check out the blog post for the full list of changes:
mixxx.org/news/2024-11...

[Assistant] Looks like the pull request for my controller missed this release, will there be a 2.4.3 or is it onwards to 2.5 now?

[User] Sorry about that, yes we usually strictly stick to bug fixes for the stable release. Which controller is it? Most likely it will be in 2.5.

[Assistant]
No worries, I've got everything working good enough as is, and I could just yoink the pull manually to use the files if needed :)

It's the Numark Mixtrack Platinum FX, this is the pull - github.com/mixxxdj/mixx...


[User] When I was little I thought that there was no way anyone could have known about the Holocaust and done nothing. Now, as an estimated quarter of a million are dead in only a year I can only think to the people around me who know what's happening in and around Palestine and do nothing.

[Assistant] I can only think to the way they skip over the countless videos of people begging us for their lives, turning away from the images of babies with holes in the centers of their heads and dust-covered parents wandering aimlessly as they carry the pieces of a dozen different children in plastic bags.

[User] I think about the tailgate parties I saw in 2014, people setting up with chairs and drinks on a hillside to watch Israel "mow the lawn." I think about the field trip school children were taken on in 2024, to the observation deck in Sderot, which overlooks Gaza.

[Assistant] I feel like I'm going crazy, because I'm one of the few people I know that still talks and posts about it. One of the few I know who ever did. But I know now, it's by design. This is how a genocide is allowed to happen: with heads buried in the sand, or watched through coin-fed binoculars.


[User]
Bluesky already a win:

To me discussing things ideally is NOT about being right. it's about finding out what's right, which means that in some cases I am wrong. Being corrected was the biggest, but disappearing feature on Twitter to me.

Yesterday that happened twice here on BS. Feels good.

[Assistant] Good to see someone saying that! We need more of that kind of thinking, especially in politics.

[User] Do you have recommendations for people or places where people don’t care ( we all care at least a bit ) about being right?

[Assistant] Heyhey, I need to find out what is wrong and what is correct, too :)


[User] When people talk about preserving "our culture", there's a part of me that wants to ask them, are they volunteering at the National Trust, then? Mucking in at the Harvest Festival? Joining the local Morris side? Are they bollocks.

[Assistant] I went to a screening of Penda's Fen, & at the Q&A I objected to the stated idea that its themes of nationalism are still relevant, because the nationalism expressed in that film would be unrecognisable to nationalists today. But also because a modern take on that film would most likely posit...

[User] ...a kind of internationalist and multi-cultural viewpoint as an opposition to that nationalism, & I don't think it would be wrong to do so. But something that film does very well is argue for an alternative English identity beyond petty nationalism, by finding roots in something altogether...

[Assistant] ...older, weirder, & more complex. And I think that's really valuable too, & present in so much of the resurgence of interest in folklore today. There's an English identity there that is so much richer, stranger, and more hopeful than the miserable bigotry we're sold wrapped up in a flag.

[User] Had this exact conversation with a prat down the pub a few years back who was complaining loudly about "foreign customs eroding our way of life", and I asked him when was the last time he danced the Morris, beat the bounds, saw in the solstice or helped gather the harvest?

[Assistant] I'm a big fan of local history and it's such a shame that a shocking number of the traditions we adhered to have disappeared in the last 50 years or so. If British culture has fallen by the wayside it's entirely our own fault, not the fault of peoples who still uphold their traditions and beliefs.

[User] Some of it is sadly inevitable with the passage of time, but I think a lot of is that as a culture we've always kind of sneered & looked down on a lot of our traditions - seen them as being silly, or a bit naff and embarrassing. We've probably all been guilty of it at some point.

[Assistant] Agreed, there's a sense of embarrassment to our silly little traditions, whereas other countries do a much better job of embracing their heritage, regardless of modern sensibilities. Overall, I feel like the '80s and '90s culturally did a number on us and our perception of 'Britishness'.


[User] We have just had a look round a very old house full of secret hiding places. I banged my head on one. Broke my dieting rule by eating a lot of corned beef butties on the way down. Doreen tried her hand at nine-pin bowling last night.

[Assistant] So much to unpack here.

[User] Good old Doreen. Wonder how she got on?

[Assistant] She's hoping to progress a level to ten pin, and we decided not to buy the old house.


[User] Well this is a *very nice* surprise! Silverpoint has been nominated by Kidscreen for Best Live-Action Series. I loved producing this sci-fi mystery adventure, working with an actual dream team. (@leewalters.bsky.social wrote it to be ideal family viewing, and it's streaming now on Hulu & iPlayer!)

[Assistant] Excellent news and well deserved!

[User] Cheers Paul! Still so grateful for all your support 🙏

[Assistant] You are very welcome. It was a great show to cover & just wish I could have done more.


[User]
Doin' FREE ART:

I might open my slots again but I need new samples[Up to date style sample].
I am open to dynamic poses and foreshortening. This doesn't have any deadline since its free. I will be choosing who and what to draw for the sake of comfort zone still. ❤ Thank you.

[Assistant]
Free art do's will be:
Female[Human/Humanoid/ Anthro]
Couple [Hetero, GxG]
Probably do's:
Solo Male[Slim,Musc, Human,Humanoid]
Don'ts:
Mecha
Buff Man [I'm sorry as much as I want to, Idk how to draw Men in general QAQ]
Feral [Still exercising my Animal Anatomy]

[User]
SLOTS OPEN FOR FREE ART: 0/3
This can open again once the first 3 batch is finished and delivered to their respective parents uwu.

[Assistant] If you ever need a test subject, you’re always free to draw me however you’d like, in whatever pose you’d like! Absolutely love your art!


[User]
Thankful 🤗 for a mini- #Thanksgiving gathering with home made pumpkin pie 🥧

Its a university & I was able to provide some education to my American colleague 🇺🇸 on a very important topic….
………British biscuits 🇬🇧 🍪
(& Battenberg 🍰)

- with my matching biscuit necklace (I need the Battenberg one next)

[Assistant] Looks lovely. And that’s a very cute necklace! 🍪

[User]
I love a novelty necklace.
I am looking at this one now….

[Assistant] Tatty Devine stuff is really cool! I have a few in a similar style 😄


[User] a British phone company, Virgin Media O2, has created an AI-generated "weaponized granny" named Daisy to combat scammers.

[Assistant] Daisy, designed to be the perfect target for scammers with her chatty and tech-inept persona, spends long hours on the phone with scammers, distracting them by talking about her hobbies, family, and other unrelated topics.

[User] The idea is that while scammers are engaged with Daisy, they’re not scamming real victims. This tactic mirrors what some people do when baiting scammers for entertainment.

[Assistant] Though Daisy's efforts are entertaining, the scale of scam calls is vast, with millions of scams happening daily worldwide, costing victims over $1 trillion annually.


[User]
Highly recommend for anyone with a body: Rebel Cell: Evolution and the Science of Life by @katarney.bsky.social.

This book offers a deep and thought-provoking exploration of what we know—and what we don’t know—about cancer.

[Assistant] While the slow progress in oncology research can feel frustrating as we witness so much suffering, Kat Arney skillfully explains the science and challenges the way we think about this complex disease.

[User] Arney advocates for a much-needed shift in how we approach cancer—not with expectations of miracle cures, but by managing it as a chronic condition where possible. Perhaps most refreshingly, the book also calls for a change in the way medical professionals set expectations.

[Assistant] Instead of treatment after treatment in the hope of a universal solution, there’s an urgent need to focus on realistic outcomes, balancing quality and quantity of life. Sometimes, the best treatment is no treatment.


[User] I talked to some good friends who are huge Drake fans I am a fan too but nowhere to their level to ask them how they felt about these lawsuits before I even read it they told me it’s a bigger conspiracy with UMG doing dirty things to undermine paying Drake what he earned ok ok I was all ears.

[Assistant] Like ok maybe this even poorly timed is some sort of righteous attempt to correct a wrong in the industry. Then I read the actual court documents and all he’s saying is UMG boosted not like us ??? Nothing righteous about that AT ALL comes off as sour grapes. Sore loser. Not hip hop. NOT rap.

[User] THEN the cherry on top a second suit for defamation ???? That is true Karen behavior I couldn’t imagine Jay Z or Nas suing one another over takeover or ether. It’s laughable. Indefensible even. I was of the mind that even after the loss Drake would be fine as he has a massive catalog of hits.

[Assistant] But now I think his reputation has actually taken a substancial hit and it will affect his numbers moving forward. He turned a lot of folks off with this. Even some hardcore Aubrey angels are questioning the second suit. So I’m interested to see how it plays out.


[User] Everyone made fun of me for keeping a dead salmon to wear as a hat because it had gone out of style and was starting to rot. Well guess what losers, it’s popular again!

[Assistant]
Be like the Orca

Ohhh Let’s all start wearing “Snack Hats”

[User] I really thought the photo I saw recently of an orca with a fish on its head was just hilarious timing - not a trend!

[Assistant] Follow for all sorts of important insights into ocean fashion 😂


[User] All my errands are done before 10 am. I feel so accomplished 😊

[Assistant] Ooh that’s the best feeling! Just having the whole day open ahead of you 🤗

[User] Yesss! I don’t even know what to do with myself. Thinking a nap will suffice 😂🤗

[Assistant] Sounds like a perfect plan. Happy napping, friend!


[User] Yip thats the one! I’m sure a good few others will be feeling the exact same 🍀🍀

[Assistant] I'm a nervous wreck despite the Bhoys being in great form. 🍀 💚

[User] I’m quietly confident just now but ask me again in an hour and i’ll be different 😂😂🍀💚

[Assistant]
😂 😂 I know that feeling.
🍀 💚


[User]
Alright, be honest: are you the ‘decorates in November’ type
or the ‘waits till Christmas’ type? 🎄👀

[Assistant] I am a decorate never type!

[User] Less work once December is over 😆

[Assistant] I'm trying to do it between the end of November and the beginning of December 🌟 The advent calendars with chocolates are ready, but I should get the decorating done!!!


[User]
So now that i'm finally (mostly) not too busy.
I wanted to explain why i've been grouchy/absent/touchy lately.
As many friends know, i went to see my mom before thanksgiving to work on holiday matsuri prep, which made me super busy, but last sunday (17th) my grandmother died.

[Assistant]
I didn't immediately say anything anywhere for a few reasons. 1: i was initially just glad she wasn't suffering anymore (medical problems)
2: while i appreciate the sentiment, people sending me pings, dms, and messages of consolation is super stressful and distracting.

[User] I was still in full swing of con prep and had a lot of work to do, and didn't want to have to spend my mental energy replying to people. Even things like dming me a hug emoji or saying "i'm here if you want to talk" can be distracting or frustrating, since i didn't really *need* to talk.

[Assistant] And this happens a lot whenever something bad happens to me. I appreciate the sentiment, but i'd rather people just like my posts or comment on socmed where it isn't sending an immediate and glaring notification instantly.

[User]
I loved my grandma, and she was the one who taught me to sew, so this project is a little bittersweet, since i used to show her all the clothes and costumes i used to make.
I still technically have a little more holmat prep to do, but i'm basically done now.

[Assistant] Not fishing for interactions, i just wanted to explain why i may have been behaving a little different the past week or so. I already get super busy from sep-jan every year, and there's been a lot of extra headache w my gma's death, so it's been extra hectic and busy around here.


[User]
#SlowDamage #スロダメ #スロウ・ダメージ

[TWITTER META REPOST]

There's yet another significant little detail in Taku's route that I had noticed and wish to point out as coherently as I can.

Yes, it involves *yet again* the final scene from Taku’s route, but it's just so layered with meaning. (1/26)

[Assistant] To start, there’s the fact that Towa's real name is Haruto Sakuragi. His last name (桜木) translates to "cherry blossom tree", a common motif in almost every JP work. (2/26)

[User] Cherry blossoms carry plenty of symbolisms. One mainly being the impermanence of human life since cherry blossoms bloom only for a short while every year. Cherry blossoms also tend to bloom specifically around the time winter ends and spring begins. (3/26)

[Assistant] As such, the flowers can also symbolize the end of one life and the beginning of another. The cycle of death and rebirth - but even that symbolism is also synonymous with the concept of change itself. Nothing stays as is forever, hence everyone longs for what was. (4/26)

[User]
A longing for the past, or the wistfulness one feels when they remember the past, is usually defined by the word "nostalgia", which is also the title of Taku's chapter.

But back to the previously mentioned symbolisms. Again, cherry blossoms represent change and mortality. (5/26)

[Assistant] If there's one thing that has been haunting Towa for the longest time as a result of his torturous past, it’s stagnation. For years, he had drifted by life whilst in a near-endless state where he stands in the middle of complete apathy and self-destructive desire. (6/26)

[User] For all those years, not much had changed for him. While he had gone through some highs and lows (e.g. losing his right eye), his life has been stagnant because he hasn't taken one step to healing from his trauma. (7/26)

[Assistant] He did lose his hot-blooded edges, which technically counts as an improvement, but it doesn’t necessarily push him any closer towards finding closure or recovery. The degree of how much he heals (or doesn't in a certain route) depends on who is his chosen love interest. (8/26)

[User] Towa’s healing is most apparent in Fujieda's route, naturally, but he still goes through a significant amount of healing in Taku's route.  Yes, he never confronts his mother's ghost nor does he know more about his past. (9/26)

[Assistant] At least, he doesn't know anything else besides the vague hint given by Taku about how his childhood wasn’t all that great. Even then, Towa still finds love with someone who unconditionally cherishes him even after seeing him mostly at his worst. (10/26)

[User] Because of this, in time, he no longer feels inclined towards violence and pain and self-debauchery. Given what he had been through and what it had done to him, that's already a lot. So this development encapsulates the symbolism of change. (11/26)

[Assistant] But then, there's also the symbolism of mortality. And it's in this symbolism, plus another, where his mother plays a greater influence. Putting aside the fact that Towa's apathy has him not care about whether he'd die today or not, mortality usually refers to death. (12/26)

[User] Putting aside the fact that Towa's apathy has him not care about whether he'd die today or not, mortality usually refers to death. Here's where Maya enters the picture, as the flowers can also be connected to her as well. (13/26)

[Assistant]
After all, like her son, she uses a different name instead of her real: Yuma Sakuragi.

While Maya is already long dead, as the final route reveals, she has yet to truly be gone. At least... not as long as there's the chance of her "resurrecting" through her son. (14/26)

[User]
While roses are Maya's main flower motif, cherry blossoms can also reflect her nature in some ways. They're often associated with gentleness and feminine beauty, both of which capture Maya...

Or how she appears on the outside, at least. (15/26)

[Assistant]
In the end, like a thorned rose, Maya's crimes paint her as anything but sweet and kind, and her fair looks mask a remorseless monster.

And like how cherry blossoms do not live for long, Maya's life was cut short in an accidental but nevertheless karmic end. (16/26)

[User]
Even then, she sought to not truly "die", hoping that Towa would take after her and continue where she left off. This way, she'd "defy" death and be “reborn” through him, an extension of her.

She, a harbinger of corruption and death, sought a twisted form of immortality. (17/26)

[Assistant] Because of everything Maya had done, Towa would rather never be associated with anything reminding him of her, such as his true name. Fujieda’s drama CD even has him expressing disinterest towards the idea of adopting even just his legal surname. (18/26)

[User] Heck, Towa even remarked in the last track - as he stood in a field of fiery red kochias - that he no longer likes the color red because it was the color Maya liked to wear the most. Not to mention, it was also the color of the room that was his hell. (19/26)

[Assistant] Thus, it should have also been easy for Towa to associate cherry blossoms with the one person he both fears and detests, and thus feel uneasy around those flowers as well. It isn't the case in canon, however. (20/26)

[User] Even then, it doesn’t downplay the significance of the presence of cherry blossoms in the background of Taku’s Euphoria ending. Sure, they definitely help paint a romantic image, but I don't think that's all there is to it. (21/26)

[Assistant] Again, cherry blossoms still have a connection to a past, or an identity, that he would rather not remember or reclaim, but that is overshadowed by its more positive symbolism, which again, plays a great role in Towa’s story. (22/26)

[User] Towa is an artist and his synesthesia causes him to see many colors at once, yet his life is ironically dreary and dark and cold (winter). But all that slowly fades away when Towa accepts and reciprocates someone’s warmth and love. (23/26)

[Assistant] He changes, and - especially on the day that he and Taku finally reunite - his life markedly becomes softer and brighter and warmer (spring). It's why he no longer does his work as 'euphoria', why the others can notice a positive change in his demeanor. (24/26)

[User] Whenever Taku is beside him in bed, Towa is no longer haunted by nightmares of his childhood. Then there's the cherry blossoms gracing the scenery when he sees the the man and how they coincidentally represent how his life had changed for the better. And... (25/26)

[Assistant]
It's all thanks a man that had cared for him since his childhood. This fact alone overshadows how those same ephemeral flowers can also remind him of a name that’s yet another connection to a horrifying figure of his life.
That's how important Taku had become to him. (26/26)


[User]
Ｓｃａｒｌｅｔ　Ｆｏｇ：　Ｏｐｅｎ　怨ボク

Mari had taken a dainty swallow of her matcha, savoring the flavor of it. She did make it herself, after all.

Yua Teahouse was open for five more hours, but it had been a tad quiet for the past few weeks. She wondered if it had anything to do --

[Assistant]
with that wretched fog that mysteriously rolled in about a month ago. It hung low and heavy to the ground and didn't dissipate when the sun rose.

The worst part? The fog was thick. It clung to her kimono with a seedy oily substance that couldn't be washed away.

Mari's silvery eyes narrowed at --

[User]
the beautiful, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 autumn kimono that was destroyed by this fog. The kimono was a soft sky sunset orange with embroidered crimson and yellow leaves floating along the sleeves and around the hem.

Her obi was spared... but that was not good enough. --

[Assistant]
The damage was already done.

Beads from this fog were scarlet but clung to the kimono. Stained the light silk like blood.

The geisha didn't dare poke it with her fingertips. Instead, she risked a chopstick that she was eating with and prodded hard.

It moved. The bead of oily scarlet moved!


[User]
If you're in or near Liverpool this coming weekend, & you're curious about the impact of the music, film and sporting worlds on the climate (and what we can do about it), come along for FREE to our live recording of BBC Rare Earth, Saturday 2:15pm. Spread the word!

Tix here
ticketquarter.co.uk/...

[Assistant] Maybe point out to some of Liverpool's bigger sporting organisations, the damage (both environmental and humam physical) for jetting half way around the world for a meaningless friendly ... Or teams flying to away games ?

[User] That is very much on the agenda for our discussion 😉

[Assistant]
Most excellent !

*I did enjoy the one in plastics last week, BTW !


[User] Lost in the mountains of Flores, Indonesia, Waerebo Village unveils its enchanting beauty. World of traditional cone-shaped houses and untouched nature 📸🌿

[Assistant] That looks really cozy!

[User] Heading for Flores tomorrow,  hope to see these houses and meet these people.  Indonesia is amazing!

[Assistant] Was this built with AI?


[User]
Look. If you're from NOLA Twitter and you show up in my mentions with that "New Orleans is broke and only people who aren't from here want to fix it" defeatist crap, I will immediately block you.
I'm not entertaining that in my social media or my life anymore.

[Assistant]
Similarly I'm not engaging in any discourse where people argue that only their neighborhood is the "real New Orleans."
It's all the real New Orleans. Shut up.

[User]
And don't even come in my mentions with "you weren't born here."
My family moved here when I was a small child. I grew up here. I've lived here longer than anywhere else, even though I left a couple times and came back and I've traveled etc etc.

[Assistant]
When I go anywhere else, I am described as "she's from New Orleans" whether I want to be or not.
I'm not playing that game anymore.


[User]
You know, making a rip off of someone's oc that you abused and gaslit for four years is crazy. Full stop.

There are thousands of dog breeds and to act like you didn't do that to stir the pot after scamming me out of artwork is insane dishonesty that reeks of bad faith.

[Assistant]
"It's a natural design you can't steal it."

Ok. We aren't going to act like you didnt just fan the flames and then play the fucking victim. AGAIN. It's truly your bread and butter.

At best you were being a little bitch, at worst you're an obsessive creep.

[User]
I'm not 15 anymore. I know and understand the little games you play.

The fact you have to take something so personal like a main fursona and get inspiration from your abuse victim is pathetic and fucking weird.

Just grow up asshole. Why are you so fucking obnoxious and antagonistic?

[Assistant]
And even if you did convince yourself it "wasn't on puwpose", everyone can see it was obsessive and weird.

But yeah man that's just you. Keep doing it. Keep proving to everyone you can't fucking change because that would interfere with your self centered objectives.


[User]
My daughter has an entire inner world/story idea built around organic airplanes and I can't wait to show her this absolutely cursed drawing...

...because her airplanes give birth to live young and this image will torment her with its delightful "wrongness."

[Assistant] That kind of reminds me of one of my all-time favorite drawings by my daughter:  A Mystery Chicken Bus.  As you can see, the bus, the sun and the clouds are all full of mystery.

[User] I'm dying. The question marks... 😂

[Assistant]
When my youngest brother's kids were little, his daughter drew terrifying blob-creatures that were somehow hilarious.

"I could create some of those as stuffed toys," I offered.

"Absolutely not," said my brother and sister-in-law at the same time.


[User]
In response to the current "show a GIF of the most popular video game from the year you were born"...

Some of us predate GIFs, and video games, and the concept of ranking games, and even taking decent pics of the games we did have.

Enjoy this poster of a 1963 arcade game. And get off my lawn.

[Assistant] Cooler than any video game!

[User] Most pop on my b-year.

[Assistant] I think I have seen one of those in the wild someplace.


[User] Good morning cousins . Hope yawl have a great productive day! && enjoy yawl families tomorrow.

[Assistant] Good morning ! ☀

[User] Have a good day ! Be safe queen !

[Assistant] You as well ! 🫶🏽


[User] @briflight.bsky.social Good to find you here. Been a minute since Twitter (RIP).

[Assistant] Same to you! Gave up on it a year ago, mostly. Deactivated fully about a month ago or less. Just hard to give up on 16 yrs. It was time. Glad you found us! ✌

[User] Wandered aimlessly through Mastodon, Threads, and Discord. This feels right. 🤞

[Assistant] Agree. Very early Twitter vibe.


[User] Will do, I'm retired I chain smoke weed.💨

[Assistant] I can't wait. However I was reading last night that anyone under the age of 59 today will have to work until 69. I'm going to miss that cut off my just a few years and I'm beyond pissed about it.

[User] I'm lucky, I got an early retirement, lost a bunch of money, but definitely worth it, retired now 13 years or so, got out at 54 federal government, had to wait until 62 for social security. Don't a single day.

[Assistant] You are lucky. This little change will push my plans to retire to 72. Thought I could start taking SS at 66 and stash that money away while I worked for a few more years. This pushes everything further than I can tolerate. I'll be working the rest of my natural life.


[User] So today, with the bit of my brain that reminds me of what I need to listen to somewhat AWOL, I just went through @spinal-bap.bsky.social 's recent Quietus column. How did that go?

[Assistant] Atomic Prey - Atomic Prey (note: was actually in November's punk column 🤦):  A perfectly servicable hardcore record that someone's recorded the high-end frequencies of an angle grinder over. Hard to say if it's an improvement.

[User] God Bullies - As Above So Below: Sounds more like Jesus Lizard than the recent Jesus Lizard record. Which is initially off-putting until it reveals itself as a really good Jesus Lizard record.

[Assistant] Sun & Sail Club - Shipwrecked: Blistering Madonna-era ...Trail Of Dead noisepunk and will be the one to beat for my album of the week. Also, with their track The Color Of War, they've created an unlikely companion piece to Hollywood Beyond's 80s-tastic Colour Of Money.

[User] Terry Gross - Huge Improvement: Psych-heavy power pop. Think Wand (circa Golem) meets Hawkwind. Aside from the third track, Full Disclosure, which doesn't even start before it plunges into 12 1/2 minutes of outro.

[Assistant] Thank - I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed: This one's actually on THE LIST so skipped it as it will be heard in the next week or so.


[User] Complete shop takeovers and rebrands are mad because it’s weird buying a coffee somewhere I used to buy stationary.

[Assistant] Also sitting enjoying a coffee, people watching and listening to Xmas fm while I’m waiting on the post office to re-open after lunch 👌🏻

[User] Going to see if it’s open yet. Wish me luck 😮💨

[Assistant] Totally get that! It's like walking into a coffee shop and finding out they also sell yoga mats—next level multitasking! ☕🧘♂ But hey, if the coffee's good, I guess we can overlook the quirky transition! Just don’t ask for a latte with a side of paper clips! 😂 Speaking of tr...


[User]
How rogue was the Supreme Court’s immunity decision?

Here are the words of Mitch McConnell, who essentially put that court in place:

“President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run

1/

[Assistant]
still liable for everything he did while in office, didn't get away with anything yet – yet.

We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”

2/

[User] This was McConnell’s justification for not  convicting following impeachment)

[Assistant] When does the statute of limitations run out?


[Assistant]
Oops, forgot to add context

Use a gif to tell me where you're from.

[User] I’m actually from 2 miles away from where that scene was filmed.


[User] And fingers crossed they get some. A Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov is visiting South Korea this week to ask for weapons aid, according to media reports. Currently Russia's training thousands of North Korea troops in modern warfare tactics. www.reuters.com/world/ukrain...

[Assistant]
I hope they help them.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦

[User] Possibly 30 of K30 Biho short range air defense tanks? With Korean crews!

[Assistant] What are the chances we'll get a unified Korea by the time this war is over? That would be a good thing as long as democracy wins out.


[User]
thread of my moderation lists.

i add accounts as i see fit. dont treat me like some kind of upholder of bsky safety, i'm literally just Some Guy.

i wont remove you unless you (believably) stop doing the thing that got you put on there.

[Assistant]
moderation list to filter gimmick accounts. they're like brand accounts if walmart was only trying to show you cute dog videos or edgy quote images.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

[User]
yet another moderation list to filter NSFW or fetish accounts.

i marked the embed as suggestive to reduce misclicks and (hopefully) prevent me from getting merc'd

bsky.app/profile/did:...

[Assistant]
moderation list to filter people whose posts or profiles make use of inaccessible "fancy" unicode symbol fonts.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

this article by UK disability charity Scope explains why this is an issue:
business.scope.org.uk/accessibilit...

[User]
moderation list to filter people who aren't normal about disability, disabled people, or accessibility.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

[Assistant]
yet another moderation list to filter people who aren't normal about transgender people and/or trans rights.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

[User]
yet another moderation list to filter users over 18 who aren't normal about under 18s - real or not.

users under 18 aren't added, for their own safety. grooming is still grooming even if the minor is "okay with it" - in fact, that's the goal of grooming.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

[Assistant]
currently, some of these lists do not have any accounts in them. once all lists here have at least one account in them, this specific reply will be deleted.

going forward, new lists will only be added to the thread when they actually have at least one account in them.


[User]
The bs of unfollowing after they get you to follow is here. Did ya have to bring that from X too…

Same shit different place even from “the regulars”

Oh well. Unfollowing back.
(More people should imo)

[Assistant] How do you even keep up with who follows and then unfollows?

[User]
It’s work lol.  Just scroll through the list of who you are following (not your followers)

I’ll eventually unfollow all no names who don’t follow back.

They’re only fluffing their followers count compared to their own follows. Makes them feel or look popular.

[Assistant]
🙄 this is why it’s so hard to find authentic and genuine people. Ugh. I’m over it.

Ps. Still loving your name! 😆


[User] I've occasionally thought about this issue, also in relation to the US. Regardless of the wrongs of the past, the US and New Zealand are now sovereign states, and their indigenous peoples are citizens of those states and not part of any other entities with international legal personality, so...

[Assistant]
so how can the state make a Treaty with a tribe, or be bound by a Treaty it has made in the past? This is a logical problem.

Obviously it can be bound by certain rules as a domestic constitutional matter, but constitutions can be changed.

[User] As a matter of law today, is the Treaty of Waitangi a Treaty between the sovereign state New Zealand and something that sits outside that sovereignty, or is it part of the (unwritten) constitution of the sovereign state New Zealand?

[Assistant] And, if the latter, what is the legal objection to the Treaty of Waitangi being (partly) written out of the constitution, if a sufficient number of New Zealand citizens want that? (Which, I gather, they do not.)

[User] That, I would argue, is the meaning of the first principle proposed in the Bill: The Constitution of New Zealand can always be changed in accordance with normal constitutional principles, and that includes the Treaty of Waitangi. Logically that has to be right.

[Assistant] And by that logic you can also argue that homosexuality can be recriminalised and women deprived of the vote in accordance with "normal" constitutional principles. Presumably the arguments against doing so also hold.

[User] That's a bit like asking what the legal objection to the Bill of Rights Act being (partly) written out of the (unwritten) constitution. As settled law by judicial precedent it should be left to the Courts, which it has been, quite successfully, for the last half a century.

[Assistant] It is a Treaty between the Crown, which is not synonymous with the State, and Māori, the Sovereignty of which was recognised by the British Crown at the time - otherwise such a Treaty would have served no purpose. The existence of the State is a colonial fait accompli, not a Treaty construct.

[User] It's not really a logical problem. The State didn't make the Treaty, the British Crown did. That Sovereignty was absorbed into the New Zealand government, also the Crown as a Royal Realm. The State and the Crown are not synonymous. And again, Māori would argue they did not cede Sovereignty.

[Assistant] But also making changes to the Treaty has implications for restorative settlements made by the Waitangi Tribunal in the name of the Treaty since 1975. That's settled law. To challenge that has implications for private property law and the rule of law in general.

[User] Except that you would first of all have to prove that Māori ceded Sovereignty in the first place, which is an extremely complex topic in itself. Also as New Zealand is a ratified signatory of UNDRIP, Māori are recognised by an entity with an international legal personality.

[Assistant] That's my point, I don't think that I do. The fact that the New Zealand government came to be the (only) sovereign government in New Zealand through all manner of wrongdoing does not change the fact that it is, today, the sovereign government of the entire country.

[User]
And it can't make a Treaty with itself, or with one of its subdivisions.

Referring to UNDRIP is fair, but that resolution (not a treaty) is careful to contrast "states" with "indigenous peoples". Nothing there says that indigenous peoples can do treaties with states as equals.

[Assistant] That is a category mistake because the Treaty was made prior to the State coming into existence. Good luck trying to figure out when NZ did become a de facto State per se (I can offer a range of dates), because it's still a Realm and the Crown is still a literal Crown.

[User] Which is probably why the Treaty of Waitangi Act speaks of honouring principles rather than the Treaty directly. You could just as successfully argue that New Zealand the State is illegitimate because its creation goes against the Treaty proper. But no one is going to do that.

[Assistant]
Even presuming we can clarify what Sovereignty means in a former colony, it's not even that easy to pinpoint when NZ got it. I would include 1920 on this list when NZ joined the League of Nations as well.
www.parliament.nz/en/pb/resear...