[User] It was the phone call I’d been expecting. Ange Postecoglou. “Greg, mate. Vicario’s injured, Fraser Forster is too old. We’re going to need you to play in goal for Spurs for a couple of months.”

[Assistant] “Ange,” I sighed. “I’m 49 years old. And I’m 5’5” tall. Yes, I have the reflexes of a cat and an indefinable, saturnine sexiness, but I’m not your goalkeeper. Those days are over.”

[User] “Greg, we need you. Once in your life, duty calls. This isn’t some dimestore wagamama team. This is Tottenham. Spurs. The ol’ Spursarinos. The flying cockerels. The dainty Lilywhites. You know what this means.”

[Assistant] I was tempted. I could feel the call of the gloves. But then I thought back to that fateful day. The moment when everything changed - not just for me, but for Britain. Maybe the world. It was a rainy Saturday and I was playing in goal for Spurs away against West Brom.

[User] We were winning 1-0 and I’d already made a string of world-class saves. People said I was redefining what it meant to be a goalkeeper - and a man. In the final minute a West Brom striker smashed an unstoppable shot towards the top corner and I tipped it over with a miraculous fingertip save.

[Assistant] My teammates mobbed me, cheering, clapping and roughly rubbing my thighs. But then a silence fell on the ground. When I’d tipped the shot it had hit a spectator in the crowd. Not just any spectator, but West From megafan Adrian Chiles. He was knocked out cold.

[User] You have to remember that back then Chiles was just a cheery TV presenter with a background in finance. He hadn’t yet assumed his final form. But as the West Brom fans helped him to his feet and he recovered consciousness he uttered the fateful words: “I am going to be a Guardian columnist”.

[Assistant] The very next day his first column was published: “Sometimes I Wonder What It’s Like To Be a Traffic Light”. People couldn’t believe what they were reading. Children wept. Parents shrieked. Dogs died. I hung up my gloves that afternoon. I couldn’t live with what I’d unwittingly unleashed.

[User]
“Sorry, Ange,” I whispered down the phone, my voice cracking. “I can’t do it, boss. It’s Chiles. It’s Chiles.”

I ended the call. Some things can’t be undone.

[Assistant] There is a typo in there. "West From". Honestly, you just can't rely on anything these days.


[User] The soup place was gone again. I run into this place that’s in Chicago but also Seattle. It’s in this crook of a corner in a sort of alley, sometimes there is a gauntlet of magicians- some show, some real. It’s some kind of Asian fusion place, but the soups! So good. But there was a table that…

[Assistant] …ordered this immense plate of mushrooms! Looked like a hen of the woods, but platter sized! But also looked like a pig, which looked like a possum, because dreams. But they insisted it was part of the mushroom. I touched it, and it made me realize I was probably dreaming. Bearded guy, brown hair..

[User] …and no glasses. Shortish hair, maybe a tall 5’11, I would say? He was with a young woman, while he was probably in his 30s, she was maybe early 20s. Both kind seeming, fascinated by the place. I think I knew them? Felt like dream walking, I mean to say. The stationary store was there though, new..

[Assistant] ..cards? They’re a cross between post cards and tarot, but they teach an alphabet. (That’s usually another common theme in this dream set- I’m some kind of translator, for lack of a better word.) I’d wondered about this dream place awhile ago but I tend to forget about it til I visit, so now this.


[User]
Wednesday kitchen gift under £100. This will be a 2-parter.

First this amazing thing. You need vacuum packing in your life. Preserve food longer, prevent freezer burn, marinate in 1/5th the time, sous vide cookery? You want this. You do have space. It's £49.99.

www.amazon.co.uk/FoodSaver-Ma...

[Assistant]
And pair it with these for easy marinating and storage of wet items. £43.27 for some reason. The ideal pairing.

www.amazon.co.uk/FoodSaver-Pr...

[User] How much are the bags? Was thinking of this as a gift for someone so they could buy in bulk and save a bit.

[Assistant]
the ziplock bags are more expensive than the rolls, naturally, but here's the link for both rolls and bags.

www.amazon.co.uk/FoodSaver-Re...


[User]
11-26-24
I listened to:
>Cradle ReBOOT - 東方幻樂祀典 (sound sephr)
found this album from a google spreadsheet documenting instruments that zun has used in his songs. he had contributed to a previous album, Cradle - 東方幻樂祀典. I couldn't find this one online for download, so i went for ReBOOT. 🧵

[Assistant] ReBOOT is a whopping 4 disks totaling to 4 hours 19 minutes, featuring a compilation of songs from various albums of their put into one.🧵

[User]
Zun contributed two songs in the original album, a remix of Kagome Kagome, and Charming Domination (i think? it was remixed really heavily. either this or Who Done It!), both of which were added to ReBOOT as part of the compilation.
the songs in this album are simply amazing.🧵

[Assistant]
I would HIGHLY recommend giving this whole album a listen. it features a whole bunch of different genres and artists and it was an enjoyable experience listening to all four hours of it.
DL: doujinstyle.com?p=page&type=...
sorry for making this a long-ass thread, i didn't intend to yap so much... 😅


[User] If any of my accounts go quiet some days it's cause I'm very tired from appointments. I just got my referral to therapy done and am expecting that soon, I'm also heading to townhall tomorrow cause I NEED to talk to my case worker about my jobcoach.

[Assistant] For context, I've been dealing with a 'jobcoach' for months, maybe a year. I've complained about her before but she was in the room and downplayed EVERYTHING I said. In the end they pressured me to 'forgive' her but she never changed so I'm sticking to my word, I'm done.

[User] This time I requested she stays out of this and told her I don't want to have any contact with her until after I've gone through my errands. I'm HOPING I never have to see her again. According to the website for the company she's from they're 'certified' in handling people with mental illness...

[Assistant] Certified my ass, she made my symptoms worse, my doctor looked me in the eye, shocked at the stuff I told her. The sleepless nights, the panic attacks, the physical stress pains, convincing myself I'm at fault, that I'm not worthy of success or safety or comfort.

[User] This woman single-handedly made me think I'm not worthy of privacy. She's made choices behind my back, she applied to job positions in my name without telling me until after the fact, she gave my phone number to people without asking my permission and the craziest part? This is NORMAL to her.

[Assistant] Apparently this is normal to a lot of people?? I don't give a rats ass if it is, I explicity explaining to her that I cannot handle that stuff because of trauma and she did it anyway. Now she's upset with me because I'm not accepting her 'apology' with a tone that says 'stop being childish.'

[User] I'm not being childish, I'm asserting my boundaries and I can't do this alone anymore because everything I try is shut down, downplayed and she even tried to gaslight me recently, insisting something didn't happen while she was in the room when it did, she would HAVE to know.

[Assistant] I'm sorry for venting but I feel like I'm going insane some days and writing it down makes it feel less bananas. I hope things go well tomorrow and I'll be free if her for good and this time I'm not going to budge on my demands.

[User] I think at some point you have to let your feelings be known, it’s a bad idea to bottle them up and let them fester.

[Assistant] Broski with all due respect, ya might've misread the thread. I HAVE done that and was manipulated. This is my second attempt after being pressured into thinking it 'wasn't that bad.' That's what a combo of trauma and manipulation does, you wait and blame yourself.

[User] Also I started this thread by saying I have a meeting about this literally tomorrow. I wasn't asking for advice since I'm very much handling things. I just wanted to give the full context.

[Assistant] Sorry about that.


[User]
So I have no idea what to draw on stream later😳
Well I sorta do. I wanna doodle your guys' OCs!
Would you peeps maybe drop your characters in the replies and hit that 🔄 button so I can have the biggest collection of characters to pick from? 🥺🩷

(pic is an old design doodle that I still like hehe)

[Assistant] I hope you gwt plenty to choose from ^^

[User] Ohhh here I am!!

[Assistant]
Happy to lend a silly pink cat to the cause if she tickles your fancy
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

[Assistant] Thanks for the opportunity! I love your art style! 👉👈


[User]
Change your handle to your domain, they said. It'll be easy they said.

Unless you're me, and you try to do it only to discover that your website apparently didn't get moved to the new host you paid for back in APRIL.

Honestly, y'all are lucky I don't just walk into the sea sometimes.😅

[Assistant] I remember you telling me about paying for that new host!

[User] I have sent a polite "what the fuck" email to my web guys.

[Assistant] *whispers* take me with you...


[User] Good morning everyone! We're halfway through the week and Squirtle would like you all to know that he believes in you and hopes you have a good day!

[Assistant] Good morning! Thank you Squirtle, that is very kind. Hope you both have a good day too ^-^

[User]
thank you wise Squirtle 🙏
hope you both have a great day ^^

[Assistant] I needed this today thank u 🙏 have a great day too :3 (u and squirtle)

[User] Thanks squirtle! Hope you‘re also having a great day! 🥰

[Assistant]
Thankyou Luna and squirtle ❤
I hope you have a great day yourself!

[User]
Good morning! Thank you, Squirtle!
Hope you have a great day as well!

[Assistant]
That's so kind of you Squirtle 🥺🥰
You have a good day too!


[User] Would you play a game that you could fall asleep to?

[Assistant] The more I think about it, the more I land on a solid yes to that question. What is a game and why do we play?

[User] Playing a solitaire just before sleeping or at night when you can’t sleep to calm the mind. For sure. What about a solitary game designed to put you in a mental state for pleasant dreams? It’s like a ritual.

[Assistant] Found food for thought in this piece medium.com/@betterthema...


[User]
Does anyone think PM Justin Trudeau stating a few days ago he would abide by ICC laws against Netanyahu would be a catalyst for a 25% tariff on Canada?

I believe Trump could be that petty.

[Assistant] Authoritarians gotta stick together.

[User]
After Trudeau, the UK followed suit.

Maybe Trump is, shall we say, counter-punching?

[Assistant] US opposition to the ICC is an embarrassment.  Netanyahu is killing for the sake of killing.  The US should be opposed to that not the ICC.

[User] Trump IS that petty.

[Assistant]
Nothing beats an economy that shoot itself in the foot by adding a 25% increase on their purchasing costs!
A tariff on Canada as punishment for their support of ICC, only shows the willingness of America to support international crime versus the rules of law!


[User]
We lost Sondheim three years ago this week.

Here he is, explaining why lyric-writing is so damn hard.

#RIP 🙏🏼

[Assistant] He left us with an amazing legacy of music that will endure forever. ❤

[User] Love this!

[Assistant] A genius.  And he looks just like my ex sister in law.


[User] My 3d printing adapter works great to test this pancake machine.  The machine itself was bought 2nd hand off facebook marketplace and has already made 35,000 pancakes.  There's few of these machines in the wild and you can technically just pour the batter in and not use the advanced dispensing.

[Assistant] That is quite cool! Will it work with sourdough hotcakes as well?

[User] As long as it's liquid enough I don't see why not. It has a specific thickness it produces.  You probably wouldn't want it continuing to ferment in a bag, but you could just pour it in using a jug like I did for testing.

[Assistant] Really satisfying to look at.

[User] it was a good facebook marketplace buy at £100!

[Assistant]
That sounds really cheap, great find! 😃
I was expecting it to cost more than a thousand.

[User] The replacement belts are as much.  I suspect the belts we have currently are already well overdue for replacement.

[Assistant] Ahh, that explains why it was on the cheaper side.

[User] If you buy the pancake mix from the supplier (£600 worth) they toss in a free set of belts, but I don't much need 3,000 pancake mix ATM. We have ordered belt material from china and will attempt to make our own.

[Assistant]
3000! That is a lot of tasty pancakes 😅.
Excited to see if you are able to make your own belts.


[User] god... fuck me, fuck me. my younger sister is sick with the flu. my body can't take that right now, i can't handle that if i catch it, i can't have it. i don't want to fucking die, jesus.

[Assistant]
You both will make it!

Please take care of your sister, and I hope she gets well soon.

[User] Don't let anyone unknowingly put pressure on you to risk yourself, and I hope she gets well soon D:

[Assistant] Wear a mask if you have one, drink lots of fluids. Stay connected with friends!!


[User] "Who's ready for kisses and hugs?"

[Assistant] "Hold on, still getting taught about that."

[User] "About what?"

[Assistant] "About kissing. And seduction and all that stuff. Still getting an introduction into that from Nami!"


[User] The blancmange!  I was hoping that 4 years into the latest #OxfordshireCountyCouncil administration we would no longer be seeing active travel schemes turning into a sticky puddle. But there are still too many poor bits of cycling infrastructure being implemented 😰

[Assistant] The Bevington Rd side road entry "upgrade" is an example.

[User] I'd missed this.  Must take a look when I next pass.

[Assistant] The Woodstock Road is a case in point. The money now being spent is making it safer for pedestrians. But for cyclists we’re still doing symbols in the road and paint on the pavement! The road remains a barrier to safe and inclusive cycling in the city. A problem still to be fixed.


[User] "Woah! What's with the wild hair? Pretty cool. Need some tea? Or coffee?"

[Assistant]
“ ..Wild hair ? You mean with the hair color or the style of how I have my hair ?

I’m fine with either one , thank you ! „

[User]
"I'm only used to seeing Ramona with hair like that. Most people have black hair, brown hair, orange hair like me.

here! it's on the house. no need for formalities. i'm not that type of person. everyone calls me scotty or scott."

[Assistant]
“ ..Not sure on who is this Ramona but must be a lovely person to get along with ! It’s a silly story on how I have my hair color like it is now -

oh how kind of you ! I’m Mitsuri. „


[User] Just listened to @podsaveamerica.bsky.social interview with the Harris campaign staff and no wonder she lost. From what I heard they put the campaign on a path for defeat and gave the same excuses for everything. I know she only had one hundred plus days but with this group she never had a chance.

[Assistant]
"From what I heard they put the campaign on a path for defeat"

If this is how you assess a campaigns effort to win an election, you shouldn't be allowed to vote.

[User] Just my opinion, have you listened?

[Assistant]
I don't need to listen.
I am on the team.
I know why we lost.
All we can do is vote.

[User] You’re right all we can do is vote.

[Assistant] Also I believe “someone from that team” wouldn’t tell someone they shouldn’t be allowed to vote.


[User]
There are three key aspects in everyone's career.

Regardless of your industry.

The football career triangle consists of three key elements:

[Assistant]
Location, impact, and compensation.

These aspects are crucial for job satisfaction and long-term career advancement in football. Here's why:

[User]
Location:

Working in a location that aligns with one’s lifestyle is essential.

Whether it's being close to the training ground, working remotely, or finding a hybrid arrangement, a suitable location should support both personal and professional needs.

[Assistant]
Impact:

The desire to make a meaningful contribution drives most professionals in football.

Whether involved with the first team, recruitment, or the academy, feeling valued and contributing to the club’s success are vital for job fulfilment.


[User]
Aaaaaaaand we have a winner.

That's it, wow it's grown.

Thank you so much 🙂

[Assistant] I actually had no idea they were on blusky. I had already followed them on Twitter for the past year or so. Glad I could help!😀

[User]
I should of followed them when I first joined but didn’t.

Thanks again 🙂

For anybody reading this I have now closed replies the thread.

[Assistant]
I should of followed them when I first joined but didn’t.

Thanks again 🙂

For anybody reading this I have now closed replies to the thread.


[User]
Lots of posts lately about how Canada Post is losing money and Via Rail is losing money, etc.

I don't understand the problem.  They're *meant* to lose money.  They're a public good, the government funds things *because* they fill a need private corps can't.

[Assistant] Where are the articles saying "the roads department is running at a loss" or "the fire department isn't paying it's own way"?

[User]
Where are the articles saying "the roads department is running at a loss" or "the fire department isn't paying it's own way"?

Success of a Government agency can't be measured by whether they could be viable if made to stand on their own.

This is really basic stuff here.

[Assistant] And that's why running a government like a business makes no sense.


[User] Still trying to figure out the universal mystery of how ones tries to connect with new people WITHOUT feeling like I’m being a constant annoyance. 😣😣😣

[Assistant] I think you’re doing pretty good 😁😁

[User] Thanks handsome 😘😘😘

[Assistant] Feelings are overrated. Spam their DMs boo.


[User]
Been seeing this video floating around & I was avoiding it because the title makes it seem mean-spirited. I won't judge anyone too much for being mean spirited at this moment, (please do go off, it's justified) it's just not something that ... helps me.

HOWEVER, I was incorrect. It is NOT mean […]

[Assistant]
"mom politician duality"

**full body shudder**

[User] @futurebird I watched the first few moments and I already know this is gonna be good. Also… “Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Body” 💀

[Assistant]
I will not stop engaging with gender studies cultural analysis in fact I'm seeking it out more since the efforts to delete it have made me realize all of this fuzzy seeming social sciences stuff must be MUCH more effective than I thought since there are so many intent on its destruction.

If […]


[User] This dildo is so pretty 🤩

[Assistant] Eee thank you! It was a gift and I love it so much😍

[User] lmfao I just noticed the Junji Ito book. Thats such a great gift! I love it when they pick some really cool gifts!🥰

[Assistant] I wanted a spooky base but only have hardback Junji Ito, so it was this or one of the 5 others I have of his 😂

[User]
haha omg yes can't just have 1 Junji book! I have about 3 lol

omg imagine if a company would specialize in making themed bases for our dildos and have different colors and seasonal themes! I've only seen like one company make some that can be strapped around pillows.

[Assistant] I loveeee the little grinders that can be strapped around pillows! I’ve wanted to get some. And yesss, that would be so cool. I’m sure we could find something!


[User] Lots of London in this photo. Black cab, in the rain, Elizabeth Tower visible. Just missing a cheeky chimney sweep or Paddington Bear.

[Assistant]
whoa black cabs have see-through roofs these days?!
(it's been a while since I was back in my hometown)

[User] All mod cons now, Viv. And there’s an electronic display in the back with your driver’s name, along with a card reader.


[User]
Today I wanted to share a poem by Richard Siken, who you can follow here: @richard-siken.bsky.social

It's quite a long poem & stunning. I've returned to it many times & I always get something new from it eg a golden shovel from a couple of the lines.

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48158/...

[Assistant]
*Wow*.

Thanks for sharing that…

(Do you have any recommendations for where to look next among his work?)

[User] Well, you could buy his books, of course. But, also, there's a selection his poems here that you might like: www.best-poems.net/richard-sike...

[Assistant]
Thanks - that looks like a useful selection.

I was thinking ’which book in particular?’, but Crush sounds like the obvious place to start(?)


[User]
Ugh why are all the hotties ACROSS THE POND WTF

Where are my fellow Americans?? Still on Twitter?? (They're prob still asleep)

[Assistant] It just turned 6 here on the west coast!!

[User] Im unfortunately american 😞

[Assistant] Sad but at least I'm not alone!

[User] Im unfort american but im also not yet a hottie. A work in progress 😅

[Assistant] Non Americans rn (me):

[User] sorry for being bri'ish 😔

[Assistant] oi! im american, innit?


[User]
I woke up to the cisgenders talking about people "hating" Sarah McBride bc they "fear" her.

They're not talking about Nancy Mace. They're talking about trans radicals who are accurately picking out how McBride is enabling violence against us are afraid of her.

[Assistant]
I commented on this post & the OP ignored me, as did all the cis people who replied to all this.

I fear McBride, supposedly, but they're acting like they don't wanna touch my views with a 10 foot pole. They're acting like they fear me.

Let me get back to work on this zine about trans liberation...

[User]
Cis people fear trans liberation so much they'll talk about how trans people who are liberation minded actually fear an assimilationist who is holding the door open to genocide.

Cis people, y'all are PATHETIC. Cut that shit out before I show y'all how Sylvia handled this bullshit.

[Assistant]
Sylvia hated the shit out of assimilationists and she DID NOT hold her tongue. She also, unlike McBride or these assimilationist cis idiots, DID SOMETHING. She laid the groundwork so fuck anyone who tells us no to follow her lead.

Observe: youtu.be/Jb-JIOWUw1o?...


[User]
All the new Gelphie (Glinda/Elphaba) shippers making themselves known. Welcome to the fandom.

I’m an OG #Gelphie shipper. I swear, I may have a fanfic or two I wrote about them from ages ago still up on fanfic.net and that will stay buried!  😂😂

[Assistant] Dang... Fanfiction.net what a throw back! Lol.

[User] I don’t go on there much anymore… not now that they started putting ads all in the stories.

[Assistant]
Ew. :x I stopped on Wattpad when they started doing that too.
I honestly can't even remeber when I stopped going on FF(dot)net.... Well before the ads. Probably as soon as I got my AO3 invite. Lmao!
Sometimes you will still find a gem on the other sites. Even Tumblr oneshots. Lol.

[User] I never got on WP. TBH, I actually can’t remember either when I stopped. I think about the time I found Ao3 though, that’d make the most sense. It’s superior!

[Assistant] Didnt they used to ban r rated stuff? I remember a fuss about that. Plus for all the ads they have their site sure does look like its stuck in 2010.


[User] A new preprint is online! Ruonan Liang made a major effort to decipher how the most recent human H3N2 viruses evolved to bind "simpler" glycans compared to isolates before 2020. #glycotime www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

[Assistant] Between 2000 and 2020, these viruses evolved to a strict specificity to branched polyLacNAc N-glycans, but recently, viruses regained binding to di-LacNAc structures. Regaining binding to erythrocytes is vital for antigenic analyses. doi.org/10.1021/jacs...

[User] There were significant antigenic changes, and these often affect receptor binding. So Ruonan went on a quest to analyze which amino acids were responsible for the changes in receptor binding properties.

[Assistant] We fell into a major epistasis "trap," but we figured it out. We also demonstrate that symmetrical tri-LacNAc N-glycans are not displayed in human and ferret respiratory tissues, while the asymmetric version is there.


[User] Your weekly Footprints.gg roundup is here! As Black Friday approaches, 6 games, 2 consoles and 1 award feature in this week's coverage. Let’s take a look!

[Assistant] ☢ S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl tops the chart with 2,008 articles. Over 1M copies were sold after the game’s launch on November 20th.  While bugs & stability issues were noted, GSC Game World is actively working on an upcoming patch.

[User] 🎮 PlayStation 5 Pro stays in the top 3 for the fourth week in a row with 943 articles. In the three weeks since launch on November 7th it has sold 78k+ units in Japan alone, surpassing initial sales for the PS4 Pro. Many developers have optimised their games for the console already.

[Assistant] 🪖 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 stays in the top 3 as well with 651 articles. The game has shattered franchise records by achieving the largest launch in the series' history. To celebrate, a Double XP event is running from November 27th to December 1st.

[User] ✈ Microsoft Flight Simulator is fourth with 629 articles. Launched on November 19th, the 2024 version of the game faced technical issues, including server overloads and long loading times. This had led to player frustration and affected the game's review score on Steam.

[Assistant] 🦙 Fortnite is fifth with 625 articles. Epic Games has introduced the new feature "Kicks" allowing players to customize their characters with shoes, and the "El Gran Final" event on November 30th will feature Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ice Spice, and a tribute to Juice WRLD.

[User] 🌌 Star Wars Outlaws is sixth with 599 articles. The first DLC “Wild Card” was launched on November 21st with a new storyline featuring Lando Calrissian. At the same time, the game was made available on Steam and a major patch was released to address various technical and design issues.

[Assistant] 🕹 PlayStation Portal is seventh with 566 articles. Sony has introduced a beta update available to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers in Europe that allows users to stream PS5 games directly from the cloud. Rumours are circulating about Sony developing a new, more powerful portable console.

[User] 🏆 The Game Awards is eighth with 539 articles, as the event celebrates its 10th anniversary on December 12th at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It will be streamed live on YouTube, Twitch and Steam. In the meantime, public voting is open on the official website until December 11th.

[Assistant] ⚔ League of Legends is ninth with 525 articles. As Netflix series Arcane completes its 2nd season, the game's universe is set to expand with planned spin-offs focusing on regions such as Noxus. In 2025, the game will introduce three themed seasons per year, with unique Battle Passes and cosmetics.

[User] 🔥 Path of Exile 2 ends the chart with 443 articles. The game will enter Early Access on December 6th on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with six of the planned twelve classes: Warrior, Monk, Mercenary, Sorceress, Witch, and Ranger.

[Assistant] ⭐ And that's it for this week, see you next Wednesday! As always, if you're a PR or marketing person curious about Footprints and what it can do, make sure to drop us a line at hello@footprints.gg!


[User]
wah.. i am pretty flattered you think im good, thank you!
i still have lots to learn, but i can give you some tips i find helpful in the thread. ⬇ (0/7)

[Assistant] ive been drawing my whole life, but i hadnt taken it as seriously as i do now.. for the longest time it was just something i could do for fun. only a few years ago i realised "wait, this is the only thing i am somewhat decent at. i really need to lock in" (1/7)

[User] i think its important to learn the basics before coming up with an artstyle. dont be like me who prioritied going for a unique style first 🥲 i had to learn from scratch again when i took this seriously.. but if youre drawing just for fun, do whatever you want! (2/7)

[Assistant] i like to observe the art of other artists i enjoy. i try to pay attention to how they do simple things such as how they draw certain things, colors they use, and composition. i especially observe parts of things i am less experienced with, like poses, shading and color.. (3/7)

[User] i also observe the little details of the world. you can even look at yourself to learn. i see how my clothes fold, how my muscles form, and how the sun appears on my skin. how the curtain drapes on the floor, how the shadow forms of the object under a street lamp. (4/7)

[Assistant] you dont need to be constantly drawing. i take breaks a lot, and sometimes my art would still randomly improve after a break, which is still a mystery to me! 🤯 maybe it would work for you too. dont stress out on constantly practicing (5/7)

[User] the moment i stopped comparing myself to younger talented people, the more fun drawing becomes. rather, i see them as inspiration that means "if a kid can do it, you can do it too!" art is about expressing yourself, and improving just means you are getting better at expressing the raw emotion. (6/7)

[Assistant] personally right now im not satisfied with my skills yet, but im not rushing to immediately get better either. i want my journey to feel calm and content while still having the hope to improve. this makes art feel at least a bit less like a chore to me. take your time. i hope this helps (7/7)


[User]
Some interesting facts about the universe;

1. The Largest Known Structure: The Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall is the largest known structure in the universe, stretching over 10 billion light-years across.

[Assistant] 2. Planetary Gold Mine: Asteroid 16 Psyche, located in the asteroid belt, is thought to be made almost entirely of metal, with an estimated value of $10 quintillion.

[User] 3. The Cosmic Speed Limit: Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, which is 299,792 kilometers per second. At this speed, you could travel around Earth 7.5 times in one second!

[Assistant] 4. Infinite Energy?: A teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh about 6 billion tons due to its extreme density.


[User]
SplatAD: Real-Time Lidar and Camera Rendering with 3D Gaussian Splatting for Autonomous Driving
arxiv: arxiv.org/abs/2411.168...

Gaussian splatting for AD scenes, but this time with camera and lidar rendering.

[Assistant] Background modeled with static gaussians, dynamic agents modeled with 3D bboxes (either predicted or annotated).

[User] Like Neurad did for Nerfs, this paper focuses extensively on modeling rolling shutter artifacts in both camera and lidar. This makes me bullish on the approach, because anyone who has worked with real sensor data knows that timestamps + rolling shutter are a pain but super vital.

[Assistant] Shows better novel view simulation for images + lidar than Neurad, PVG, Street-GS, OmniRE. Hope they release the code!


[User]
If you see this, post a vampire

I need Spike so bad 😩🦋

[User] Damn I was finna post spike!

[Assistant] Post him can never have too much Spike!! 🤭


[User] The coffee supply thing has been sorted... I've also put myself on a disciplinary and promised myself to never let it happen again.

[Assistant] I’m currently having to ration what I have left until tomorrow, it’s a tough ask 😬

[User] A cunning plan..

[Assistant] I'm wondering what would happen if I buy emergency coffee and hide it from myself. Will I forget or remember if I've bought it, or where I've hidden it...


[User] Looking for recommendations of graphic novels or manga for a 13 year old boy addicted to gaming (our nephew, we’d love to encourage him to read this Xmas).

[Assistant]
The Vermis books are really cool, if he likes games like Dark Souls or Elden Ring. It’s not a graphic novel exactly, but it’s jam-packed with illustrations & text in similar ratios.

Vermis l
hollow-press.net/products/ver...

Vermis 2
hollow-press.net/products/ver...

[User]
The books of Simon Stålenhag are also not quite graphic novels but great for anyone into video games
Tales from the Loop, etc.

[Assistant] As far as actual graphic novel that might appeal to a gamer, I think Fatastic Four Full Cicle by Alex Ross is a great choice.


[User] A leaf on a leaf?...or a camouflaged butterfly on a leaf? Thought it would brighten up someone's day. 🙂

[Assistant]
Hi Steve! Thanks for the follow- looks like we have twins! lol
Is yours as much as a ham as my Koda? 🥰

[User] Hi there, sadly "yeti" passed away a few years ago, he was very special and I still miss him. There are indentations in our colour bond fence from when he would jump up to greet our postman, much to his amusement. All he could see was his head bobbing up and down above the fence.😅

[Assistant] Awe so sorry he’s gone 🥲 Our animals are such great companions in this crazy journey of life 💙 after our other shepherds passed years ago we were like ok no more! Then we saw Koda and were like but we never had a WHITE shepherd! lol and so it is! How could we pass up that sweet face? 😂

[User] What have we gotten ourselves into!? lol he’s not even a year yet! 😂

[Assistant] They are very similar, BTW.😀

[User] I know I had a double take when I saw your pic! 🥰😂

[Assistant] Same, I thought, what's going on here?..😅


[User] Other villains from this era to seek out are Peter Sellers (playing it utterly straight and with a Liverpool accent) in Never Let Go (1960) and Ronald Ward in Ealing's racing drama The Rainbow Jacket (1954). liberalengland.blogspot.com/2024/11/pete...

[Assistant] I like to think that Never Let Go is almost a British High Noon.

[User] That's very much what they say on the podcast - with a touch of Bicycle Thieves.

[Assistant] Grating minds think alike.


[User] Need to sort the freezer out today, its a total mess, stuff poked in here and there. I don't know what I've got, and it’s taking up more space than necessary.

[Assistant] I did that before we started our nightmare kitchen reno (which is into Week 8 - Don’t ask! It’s a titchy, titchy kitchen for goodness sake!). My ‘full fridge’ turned out to be 2 bags of 12 Yorkshire Puddings, a few packs of veggies, pork steaks, a chicken & a ton of bread loaves to ‘fill the space’!

[User]
Yes, i think i seem to have a similar situation. I found 7 bags of red chillies yesterday! (and i still had another one on order with Sainsbury’s for tomorrow.)

The bags of veg don’t help, freezing solid in strange shapes like some icy game of Tetris.

[Assistant] 7 bags?! Lol! And yes, the freezer burn totally wasted the veg (now in land fill). To be honest, I’d forgotten they were there.


[User]
On Twitter I had to endure jerks partly because I didn’t want to engage with them and waste my time.

On here my rule is: you are uncouth to me or mine, I block you, no questions asked.

My garden, my space, my rules. And BlueSky blocks are nuclear, so be forewarned and mind your manners.

[Assistant] It’s a beautiful thing & grows a sane community. Blockety block.

[User] Exactly. I will do the same on Twitter too, to be perfectly honest.

[Assistant] That has been my rule since being here and it has made it a much better experience.

[User] I just blocked someone ON HERE. I seriously think no platform will really be civil all the time because human beings can't be civil all the time.

[Assistant] The fact that a professor can’t handle different opinions is concerning.


[User]
Apologies for ruining your TL with dross from these two but I think it's important we stop this "sympathise" nonsense re right wing men.

They are reading insanity like the below, objectively evil bizarre pathetic stuff, and endorsing it. You FIGHT that, you don't cave to it.

These men are weak.

[Assistant] Wait, so according to them, having a loving wife is gay 😂😂😂

[User] Like Jack says, it truly is insanity.

[Assistant] God, what a sad sad fucking life they must lead.

[User] Isn't Nick Fuentes literally gay though? He had a extremely weird date night with a gay Australian cat-boy sex-worker if indeed he's straight.

[Assistant] he identifies as a straight incel. creep.


[User] someone lit a car on fire during the anti-NATO protests on Friday. Montreal cops claimed that it was the protestors. but a TVA journalist, Hadi Hassin, there reporting found something else: evidence that cops lit the car on fire, deliberately or otherwise, by shooting a tear gas canister into it.

[Assistant]
a google translate for the anglos:

"On Friday night, during the demonstration in Montreal, the SPVM attributed the burning of a vehicle to the protesters. However, images obtained by TVA Nouvelles show that a tear gas grenade, identified as a “SKAT SHELL CS” cartridge, could be the cause."

[User] "The grenade apparently entered through a broken window, and the cartridge was found in the vehicle."

[Assistant] the Montreal cops seem to be as crazy about shooting tear gas at everything as the Edmonton police are about shooting guns. crazy rise in use of force where the force is gas specifically www.thesuburban.com/news/city_ne...


[User] Often when debating online we talk past each other. I have found that ChatGPT is useful in trying to decipher what other people mean. Often when you ask for clarification people respond with things like "You know very well what I mean." No, often people perceive reality very different.

[Assistant] How do you do that with ChatGPT?

[User] I tell ChatGPT that I got some tweets I want to understand better. I might explain context of discussion and then paste them in. (I use ChatGPT 4o btw). I might show my tweets and responses asking why they answer what seems odd to me. ChatGPT is quite good explaining their motivations.

[Assistant] I think because ChatGPT has basically consumed the whole internet it knows common right-wing talking points and perspectives and can relate to them when interpreting a response I get to a tweet. For me it actually helps sometimes and I am dumbfound by some responses.


[User] Saskatchewan NDP MLA says his trans children were the target of Premier Moe's proposed change-room policy #skpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

[Assistant] One of the best speeches I have ever heard. And that’s a hard .

[User] This was an incredible and moving speech. He rightly called out Moe and company for targeting two young kids and their family. Moe said he will do better so today will the first test of that. Will he respond to the demand for an apology? Will he legitimately address this?

[Assistant] He is correct, and he is speaking for all the parents who support their trans children.


[User] @ignoredmuffin56.bsky.social Hi Jonathan - Thanks for following me back 😊

[Assistant] Hi, Sophie. You're welcome. Nice to meet you. ☺

[User] It's Stephie, but thank you 😊

[Assistant] I'm so sorry, Stephie - haven't put my glasses on yet! 😂 No offence intended.


[User]
Brentford have WON their appeal against the red card shown to Christian Norgaard on a VAR review at Everton.

Norgaard was sent off after catching Jordan Pickford on the knee with his studs.

He now won't serve a three-match ban.
www.espn.com/soccer/story...

[Assistant] Not sure how? Bearing in mind intent doesn't matter, surely 6 studs to the knee is dangerous and reckless. 🤷♂

[User] And rightly so. If it was the other way round the keeper would have been called brave. To make matters worse Pickford did everything to get him sent off and then got up as if nothing happened.

[Assistant] I'm very conflicted about this. I didn't like the red card, but this feels like the right outcome for the wrong reasons. It appears the panel have disregarded the laws of the game.


[User]
49000 days ago (October 1, 1890), Boston pitcher Matt Kilroy somehow picks a Buffalo baserunner off first base by running over from the pitcher’s box and tagging him.

I have more questions than answers about how this sort of thing happens.

[Assistant] Don’t you mean he’s returning?

[User] Matt Kilroy holds a record that will stand the test of time. In his rookie season in 1886, Matt struck out 513 hitters! For the life of me I don't understand why this feat isn't celebrate every year!

[Assistant] The runner started to steal then tripped and fell? Or the 1890 s were kind of rough in baseball, maybe the first baseman wrestled the runner to the ground and held him down.


[User]
👀Kemi Badenoch has declared a £2500 donation from a firm whose owners were awarded contract to provide shipping containers to store unused PPE during the pandemic.

Here's a report by @goodlawproject.bsky.social on Wernick and the PPE shipping container deal: goodlawproject.org/tory-donors-...

[Assistant] link to register of interest: members.parliament.uk/members/comm...

[User]
🚨Badenoch also declared this week that she held meetings in a property owned by controversial donor Neil Record.

Read this report by @bylinetimes.bsky.social about Badenoch's relationship with Climate Change sceptic - Neil Record: bylinetimes.com/2024/10/22/n...


[User]
🗣 Public deliberation on assisted dying: “It isn’t too late.”

@rafaelbehr.bsky.social in @theguardian.com today explores Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill and ‘the big opportunity being missed’ to use deliberative democracy.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

🧵👇

[Assistant]
“MPs could pass the bill at second reading, recognising that change is needed, but amend it in committee to mandate a process of public deliberation on the contours of reform.”

🧵👇

[User]
At Involve, we’ve seen the value of potential for public deliberation to help tackle complex challenges first-hand. As Rafael notes, our work with the Government of Jersey to convene a citizens’ jury on assisted dying helped pave the way for the island to pass assisted dying laws.

🧵👇

[Assistant]
This example, along with others from the UK and around the world, shows how decision-makers can work alongside the public to find a way forward on even the most deeply complex issues.

🧵👇


[User]
#genealogy #ancestors #tribute #sacrifice

In the silence of the fields, I hear their cries,
Chains and shadows under heavy skies.
Through the storms of time, they bore the pain,
So I could rise above the fray, unchained.

[Assistant]
I am the voice of their unspoken dreams,
The fruit of their struggle, the light in their seams.
Every step I take, I carry their flame,
I owe my whole world to the strength in their name.

[User]
Through the plague’s dark grip and the world’s cruel gaze,
They stood steadfast through the longest days.
With hands worn down and spirits unbroken,
They carved a future from the words unspoken.

[Assistant]
They gave me roots to rise, wings to soar,
Their courage lives in me forevermore.
I breathe their prayers; I walk their fight,
Their sacrifice turns my darkness to light.


[User]
since i do also wanna feature pics that are not just my own car, here’s some notable itasha from this year’s Shizuoka Itasha Tengoku that have significance to me.🧵

i’ll start with my friend WaffleCone-san’s uma musume Tokai Teio ND itasha. read the ALT text for a funny story how we became friends.✨

[Assistant] i’ve seen this Miku x Cinnamoroll Abarth itasha in a previous Itasha Tengoku in Odaiba. but i still love it & deserves to be shown.

[User] kancolle Chiyoda AZ-1 decked out in nuigurumi. the literal details on the rear louvers are👌✨

[Assistant] a stanced VW new beetle itasha. i don’t know the character, but i really dig the fancy pinstriping.

[User] kemono friends suzuki jimny is soooo on point for your next safari expedition.

[Assistant]
i obviously have way more pics than these, but i think these are my top ones worth sharing. the presentation beyond the car decals in these events are ridiculously elaborate, so i had to be really picky on this.

if desired, i can put the entire collection in like imgur or something.

[User] anyway, mt fuji had a very nice sunset view by the time my friend and i left. after dropping him off at his station, i decided to do a nighttime attack at fuji’s skyline road…

[Assistant] … which the tanuki decided to come out at night. don’t worry, they were all okay.


[User] Some mornings I wake up and still think about the lavender honey cold brew coffees I enjoyed with @thatotherkaren.bsky.social at Cafe Wild in Manhattan Beach in August 2021. 🪻☕🌊🏖

[Assistant] I was raving about that place a few weeks ago to a coworker!! Every bad iced coffee I have makes me miss it more.

[User] We have to unlock the recipe for that syrup. I think it’s the true key to happiness.

[Assistant] It is!! Nothing has hit the same since then! Maybe it was the Cali vibes??


[User] Good Morning Everyone! So the night I fall asleep early Blake Snell signs with the Dodgers 5/182. If he is getting that at age 31 then you know Skubal is likely getting a little more in 2 years at 30 assuming performance. So the parameters on a Tarik deal are now set, what’s your next move?

[Assistant] I fear signing Pitchers long term, but if there was ever a guy,  this is it.

[User] I hear ya. I figure if they wanted to be serious about an extension you are looking at 7 or 8 years now with the 2 arb years before hitting free agency. It’s a huge commitment.

[User] You have to look at big contracts as venture capital investments. Some are going to fail, some will pay off big, and the payoff is in competing for titles, fan loyalty, ticket and merch sales, and ratings.

[Assistant] If only Chris Ilitch would subscribe as he should…he traveled last year to other parks, saw the crowds.

[User] The Tigers are at an inflection point. Fan reaction to the stretch drive proves that the ROI is there. If the team was smart, they'd do at least a couple of big things this winter (Skubal extension, Bregman signing) to show they're serious about competing and will reward fan engagement.

[User] Particularly when you are spending all that money to lure more corporate and rich people spending. Why he wouldn’t want a ballpark drawing 2.5 Million plus next year and returning to the 3 Million neighborhood being the ultimate goal is beyond me.

[Assistant] And especially when they're launching the 1901 Society or whatever it is. Rich person's playground. Corporate tax deduction.


[User]
Good morning and remember, "violence is never the answer, but sometimes it is" 😂

Today's fact: "The lethal dose of caffeine for humans is ten grams, or about 100 cups of coffee consumed in four hours."

www.healthline.com/health-news/...

[Assistant]
the settler-colonialist holiday, Thanksgiving is coming up, so here is Thursday's fact: "From one giant redwood or sequoia, it would be possible to build sixty average-sized houses."

www.nps.gov/parkhistory/....

[User]
Friday fact: "In order to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fries, and a Big Mac, you would have to walk for seven hours straight."

foodrevolution.org/blog/how-bad...

[Assistant]
Weekend fact: "An eyelash lives about 150 - 200 days before it falls off."

www.opticaljournal.com/eye-want-to-...


[User]
My current playlist i have realized is a mixture of teen angst and songs-my-parents-listened-to-but-never-understood.

Losing My Religion is a particularly strong one for me. See, I don't think my mom is really Christian. I don't think she believes in god.

youtu.be/xwtdhWltSIg?...

[Assistant]
Genuinely; unfortunately, she and i have NEVER really had a conversation that i remember..(i also dont remember her saying i love you, like. Ever.) I have a few memories of her.

But i never saw her... Feel much? Especially in the "participate" part of performing Christianity.

[User] I swear i saw her happy with her husband and both living a secular life. She was free, peaceful. Like, she still didn't like me. Still had issues with the shape of the body she had nothing to do with since she left when i was small. Still felt like a bitter oldsr sister.

[Assistant] So, to wrap it back around: it was weird to me when her and my stepdad went to an easter thing (something she'd been to a million times before) & came out "born again". Later it would come out they were weird about gender stuff but like, she was a cruel bitch to my wife & so she's not in my sphere.

[User]
Anyway, that's all to say, Losing my Religion really hits hard and i love to have it on loop and just cry a little. Because the church "performance" was one that i thought we both struggled to fit in. But somehow she saw a new performance suddenly.

I am suspicious of her, but then one time...

[Assistant]
We did have an argument where she was putting her nose into a disagreement about getting my hair dyed black. My mother, who definitely isn't racist (/s), awkwardly asked "Well, what white people have black hair?"

The implications being that i was going to look not white???


[User] This may get a bit long winded. So, it occurred to me that the ‘Christian’ Right’s insistence that Creationism is the truth not only explains the existence of trans people but demands it… when you add a bit of weird but legally proven science. 1/🧵

[Assistant]
So, let’s set some of their ground rules. Their creationism demands that we believe the Book of Genesis - God created Adam and Eve, the first two humans. OK……

And therefore there are only two genders and NO MIXING! Errrr, not quite. 2/🧵

[User]
Also, God is responsible for the design of EVERYTHING including us. There may have been some small microevolutionary changes, but our design hasn’t changed much since we got off Noah’s Ark.

Umm…

[Assistant]
Also, God is responsible for the design of EVERYTHING including us. There may have been some small microevolutionary changes, but our design hasn’t changed much since we got off Noah’s Ark.

Umm… 3/🧵

[User]
Let’s add in the belief that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception as that seems to go hand in hand with their political and religious stance.

Oh boy… 4/🧵

[Assistant]
So, how could this explain the existence of trans people, let alone demand it?

Well, bear in mind that the Bible goes into no detail about the actual biology of God’s design for us. Why would it? It doesn’t need to. All we’ve got to go on is what science has learned. 5/🧵

[User]
And that’s when things start to get weird. As is often the case with humanity, both in biology and mentality, rarely anything is ever clear cut.

The idea that there is no mixing of genders is not correct. OK, there’s the various cases of intersex people in sport like Caster Semenya. 6/🧵

[Assistant]
And it gets weirder. You think that person standing in front of you is just one single set of DNA? Not necessarily.

There was the odd case of Lydia Fairchild, the woman who was initially believed to not be the biological mother of her own children. 7/🧵

[User] She has human chimerism, a condition caused by two separate fertilised eggs merging to create one. As each will have been fertilised by a different sperm they’ll have had different DNA - the resulting ovum receives both sets. 8/🧵

[Assistant]
And two souls probably given that the soul enters the body at conception. Does God take one soul back and deny them a chance at life? Seems both unfair and unjust but not for us to say.

Do the souls merge to form one? Feasible, maybe? Does that complicate things further? Not really. 9/🧵

[User]
I’m not aware of anything saying that souls have a gender. Why would something formless need a gender identity?

Still two beings though, and if the original eggs were supposed to turn out as one male and one female then there’s a problem. The resulting ovum is both. 10/🧵

[Assistant]
So yes, genders can be mixed. But if we’re all built to God’s design and that’s part of the design - as it must be as it occurs naturally in us and other species - then mixed genders are God’s will.

See the problem? 11/🧵

[User]
So how does someone in that position make sense of their situation? Well, that’s going to depend on the individual.

So are all trans people chimeric? Doubt it. Are all trans people actually trans? I’d err towards yes but there’s another snag as nothing is ever clear cut. 12/🧵

[Assistant] People are a weird bunch. We can be convinced of pretty much anything and everything - especially if the concept or compulsion comes from inside our own minds. Throughout history there have been people afflicted with things like ‘Glass Syndrome’. 13/🧵

[User] If an human mind afflicted by mental illness can convince the sufferers that they are literally made of glass or some other inanimate material then it’s not inconceivable that it could convince them that they’re the wrong gender. Doesn’t mean trans people don’t exist. 14/🧵

[Assistant]
Not only do they exist but they must, by God’s will.

And now I need a couple of headache pills.


[User]
#清水理央『きれいなもの』①
www.hinatazaka46.com/s/official/dia…

[Assistant]
#清水理央『きれいなもの』②
www.hinatazaka46.com/s/official/dia…

[User]
#清水理央『きれいなもの』③
www.hinatazaka46.com/s/official/dia…

[Assistant]
#清水理央『きれいなもの』④
www.hinatazaka46.com/s/official/dia…


[User] It's my deep shame that while researching premier responses, I was able to get them all off the top of my head, except "The PEI guy". One day I'll remember you, Dennis King. One day.

[Assistant] We love you PEI, but your population is roughly that of a mid-sized town.

[User] PEI may be tiny but I can assure you the politics here can be just as silly as the rest of the country!  We just tend to blend into the background.

[Assistant] Dennis King has been the invisible premier lately. No wonder you couldn’t remember him!


[User] A tech co run by "three 21-year-old Thiel Fellows" has  raised $32million and says it uses "AI to vet and interview job candidates, then match them to open roles, has conducted more than 100,000 interviews,  evaluating 300,000 people in less than 2 years" www.forbes.com/sites/alexko...

[Assistant]
"Eventually, Mercor hopes to predict and automate longer-term performance reviews, too — helping employers track and cultivate talent over time."
www.forbes.com/sites/alexko...

[User] If the EEOC argues that Workday is an employment agency...


[User] It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🎄

[Assistant] Such a pretty place 🎄✨!

[User]
It was so nice!
I felt like a child, eyes filled with wonder 🥹✨


[User]
Thoughts for people upset by the demonisation of vaping:

1. While vaping has hugely reduced the harm of the underlying addiction, it hasn't cured it; if anything it's made it worse as there are fewer legal restrictions and social inhibitors surrounding it.

[Assistant]
I've read some articles suggesting that it's actually more addictive than smoking.

2. Vaping is *obviously* being targeted at children. It seems indefensible to me that we're allowing children to acquire a potentially life long addiction.

[User]
Why didn't the bill gradually increase the minimum legal age like it does for smoking? Seems like a massive missed opportunity.

3. As a non-smoker, I find vaping just as annoying as smoking. I don't want to have to deal with your obnoxious smells please, stay in your own homes and do it there.

[Assistant] 4. Vaping shops can do one. Ugh.


[User]
Saying "I don't know" is a sign of seniority for me.

It’s impossible to know all of the things in Software Engineering. So not knowing something is no issue at all.

On the contrary, it shows me that you are self-aware and confident in yourself by saying that.

[Assistant]
The same is true with admitting mistakes. It's a lot better when you acknowledge that you've been wrong as soon as you know.

And not try to hide it and hope that nobody will find out.
Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes. Admitting them builds trust.

[User]
That shows humbleness.

Another great answer is: I don't know now but I'll figure out".

[Assistant] Indeed, very true Rafa!


[Assistant] I don't think the sick and disabled you want to slaughter would agree. 😡🐶🐾🐾🇸🇩🏴

[User] As a carer to my disabled husband, I certainly don't want to slaughter anyone, and personally, I wouldn't want it, but I do think the option of assisted dying should be there for those who choose it. 🕊

[Assistant] I think it already is Lesley. There aren't enough checks and balances to prevent this legislation being misused and removing the decision from the individual to the state. It's cheaper to euthanise than care. 😊👍🐶🐾🐾🇸🇩🏴


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

[This is a thought experiment where the hole is large enough that its tidal forces don't instantly kill …

[Assistant]
… anyone who gets close.]

If they are carrying a light, you will see it grow increasingly redshifted as they fall towards the event horizon, and appear to slow down. The blue curve in the diagram plots their redshift over time, as seen from the fixed spacecraft.

[User] Ideally you would swoop down in the spacecraft to rescue them (and although they seem frozen, you only have a finite time in which you could do that.) But suppose, instead, you decide to jump down after them. What effect would that have on the redshift you measure for them?

[Assistant] The red, green and magenta curves show how the redshift would progress if you did that after various delays. The two black dots on each curve mark the points where you would pass through the event horizon, and when you would hit the singularity.

[User] When you cross the horizon, the light you will see from your friend will have been emitted at precisely the moment when *they* crossed the horizon.

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

[User] Here, the black dots mark the points where the first astronaut crosses the event horizon, and where they hit the singularity. In this case, the light shining down on them from your beacon when they cross the horizon will have been emitted well before you crossed the horizon yourself …

[Assistant] … and in fact (for the particular scenario plotted here) they will hit the singularity before they see any light from you from after you fell through the horizon. Maybe you won't actually cross it, and another friend will use the spacecraft to swoop down and rescue you.

[User]
For much more about this kind of thought experiment:

www.gregegan.net/SCIENCE/Fini...

[Assistant] I would intuitively assume that there would be less redshift as measured by a falling astronaut, but the curve steepens and eventually overtakes the one for the spaceship. Why is it so?


[User] Whats your favourite Rizzler moment? I'll go first:

[User] hey man, wanna run up some fortnite? i think we would be a really good duo.

[Assistant] hey man, im actually in the midst of a hijacking rn, ill get back to you!


[User] I'm not really expecting to go far with it, but giving it a try either way.

[Assistant] 1. I got here when the platform was still invite-only, however I didn't use it much until recently when the other platform started falling off pretty hard. I feel like this place can be pretty chill.

[User]
2. I have many other social medias but I barely use them nowadays:
DeviantArt, Youtube, Derpibooru, etc.

[Assistant] 3. For now, yes, trying to keep it on par with here, but maybe at some point I'll be using it less due to its downfall.

[User] 4. It's a variety, sometimes I post game clips/screenshots, sometimes just plain random stuff, and other times I post Source FilmMaker arts I do!

[Assistant] 5. Spain! It's funny that I talk here more English than Spanish when you think about it.


[User]
In the meantime you might want to upset #LFC apple cart right?

Dear me. Lower your arrogance young man. It's not just up to you what the next 10 to 15 years will be for you.

[Assistant] He's just an overhyped player, that's all...

[User] The overhype is there tbh.

[Assistant] Boast not of tomorrow.


[User]
This is the thing - the extra revenue is a drop in the ocean to them.

Maximum fan alienation for minimum cash.

It’s a PR disaster and they know it. They just don’t care.

[Assistant] Was in a bar in Detroit a couple of years back. The Lions were playing. Bar was full of locals watching on tv.I asked why they weren't at the game.They said to expensive so only did one or two each season. They were happy with that. Enjoyed being with friends in a bar.Ground was full as ever.

[User]
They were happy about that. Happy to watch in a packed bar with mates. That is the American sports...and therefore the Glazers business model.
The fight was imo lost on day one.

[Assistant]
That may be their cultural norm, but it’s not quite the norm here yet, despite their best efforts.

Genuinely believe it is never lost until it’s actually lost.

I know it’s like one tree trying to stop a tsunami but we might as well go down fighting.

[User]
Without being a grump 😀
Sunday comes. 500 possibly March behind a banner carried by the usual faces  . A few flares let off. Looks good. 70 odd thousand pile into the ground. Most not even knowing there's been a March. Glazers and co see a full house. Having said that good luck to all involved.

[Assistant]
Fair prediction. It’s what will most likely happen.

However, the Super League got halted (temporarily) when fans came together.

If it wasn’t for fans protesting, we may have been owned by Murdoch.

Also I need my boys to see people rally against injustice. It’s a learning experience for them.

[User]
Not knocking honest. Would love to think hard-core fans had a voice. Ultras often manage it on the continent. Just frustrated personally ....nearly set me off on the well worn road to my usual rant😀
Not my fight anymore.

[Assistant]
Ahh I know you’re not knocking it my friend. Useful to hear all viewpoints. Need a mixture of well-worn fans and the green and naive ones involved in this.

Let’s see what Sunday brings! 🇾🇪❤

[User] Who's advising them? Keir Starmer?

[Assistant] Well he is a man of the people, slumming it with the execs at The Emirates 😂

[User]
It's almost like macho posturing because it's next to worthless in revenue terms and they know full well it'll go down like a cup of cold sick.

It's like sending a message. We should send them one back.

[Assistant] Like they've been listening since 2005 ?

[User]
No, only on the odd occasion and that took illegal activities.

I (almost) agree with you the fight was lost in 2005. There is still one nuclear option the fans have, but I just don't see us ever getting organised enough to vote concertedly with our feet.

[Assistant] They know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.


[User] Four tips for a smooth migration from Twitter to Mastodon (thread).

[Assistant] 1. Selecting a good Mastodon instance can be tricky. One easy way is to sign in to Fedifinder (https://fedifinder.glitch.me) to see which instances your friends are on.

[User] 2. Fedifinder (https://fedifinder.glitch.me) makes it also easy to import people you follow and your Twitter lists. Log in also occassionally to Movetodon (https://movetodon.org) to see if new people you follow have joined Mastodon.

[Assistant] 3. The official Mastodon clients and web UI are a bit unpolished, but luckily there are a number of alternatives! Mastoot (https://mastoot.app) for iOS seems like a pretty decent one, for example.


[User]
People are flocking to a social media platform that ACTUALLY SHOWS USERS POSTS FROM THEIR FRIENDS & FOLLOWS???

Who would have thunk it...

[Assistant] Techbros are rediscovering the wheel.

[User] Techbros confused that people want to return to the wheel after replacing them with polygonal cylinders.

[Assistant] That you have to pay a monthly fee to get to work.


[User]
Here's another role at Jane Street I'm excited about. This is for someone to work on the language implementation and runtime that's part of an incremental, parallel, graph-structured computation system we built.

(Please...

[Assistant]
RT!)

https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/position/6378838002/

[User] The job is performance oriented, though it's performance in a broad sense. We are interested in optimizations that just make things go faster, like better code gen, tighter implementation of the runtime, or better parallel/incremental algorithms.

[Assistant] But we're also interested in things that help users understand the performance implications of their own code, so we can efficiently find and fix performance bottlenecks at the user level.


[User] Using a meme, describe your 2024.

[Assistant] Worst thing to happen to you this year💔

[User] How many friends have you made/ lost this year?

[Assistant] Did you fall in love this year? ❤


[User]
People who voted for their Dear Leader heard him say "tariffs," had no clue what it meant, but sure as hell loved the conviction with which he said it.

I suspect they'd have voted same way had he said "Submit your womenfolk to my wishes."

[User] Yep. They drank the orange koolaid. Who'd have thought with a free class in civics or American Govt could have told them what a Tariff was, or how a bill gets passed. Ya know, pretty basic stuff. Instead look at states like Oklahoma, 49th in the nation for test scores. It's no wonder were here.

[Assistant]
Maybe we should host a basic ed series for the midterm.

PSA: youtu.be/OgVKvqTItto?...


[User]
Watched the Walsall game last night, they were awful.
Ref kindly added a very generous 4 mins for them to equalise at 4.01!
They won't play that bad next week against us. 🫤

[Assistant] Or maybe they will 🙏

[User] I somehow doubt it, but you never know!

[Assistant] I dunno man, I feel like they've been operating at their top level, and could drop off. I might be mad but i feel like we're gonna get a result against them.


[User] Good morning ☀ I hope you have a good day. I have to do last minute errands and start cooking today. What are your plans?

[Assistant] Morning 🌞 Kids are off, and I work from home, so trying not to go crazy 🤪

[User] Hopefully you can get your work done and they don’t interrupt you too many times🙂

[Assistant] Hope so!


[User] My favorite part of talking about Christian nationalism is how quickly you sound like a conspiracy theorist when you try and describe the networks that underpin the handful of people currently in the spotlight.

[Assistant] This is me, talking to journalists, about Hegseth.

[User] Honestly pretty sure this is what it looks like to @adamkeiper.com too 😅

[Assistant] It's so weird that these figures from my very niche upbringing are all super relevant - would that we could go back to just making fun of Mike Farris' turn as a novelist.

[User] Ya and bring the Russian networks in....

[Assistant] Thank you for doing it, even if you do worry about looking like this.


[User] I think the world would be a better place if we left religion behind and just looked out for each other more.

[Assistant] Without a doubt. Sadly, I don’t think that will happen in our lifetime. It takes a long time for society to move past mythology.

[User] I think you're right. I'm just going to point out how ridiculous it all is and hope one day it's gone.


[User] Thanks to @statsforbios.bsky.social for sharing our paper that's finally out! This is work from my PhD with @grahammedley.bsky.social and Oliver Brady, exploring the accuracy of spatial disaggregation for understanding local-level incidence of visceral leishmaniasis in northeast India.

[Assistant] This was a rare opportunity to compare disaggregation estimates against data observed at the finer scale, but we found that the village-targeted surveillance process for VL meant that accuracy was still difficult to interpret.

[User] This was a rare opportunity to compare disaggregation estimates against data observed at the finer scale, but we found that the village-targeted surveillance process for VL meant that accuracy was still challenging to interpret.

[Assistant] Estimating village incidence using a disaggregation approach was no better than simply applying the observed areal rates to each constituent village, suggesting that patterns on this spatial scale really need to be understood from data collected directly at that level.

[User] This follows on from earlier work forecasting VL diagnoses at the coarser, sub-district level: journals.plos.org/plosntds/art...

[Assistant]
...and links to subsequent investigation of the spatial bias induced in delayed diagnosis as a result of targeted surveillance effort:
doi.org/10.1101/2024...

[User]
This follows on from earlier work forecasting VL diagnoses at the coarser, sub-district level:
journals.plos.org/plosntds/art...

[Assistant] I can't say I totally understand everything but the maps are beautiful. Congratulations! 🎉


[User] Fuck it. We're doing keyword arguments.

[Assistant]
Oh no...

Anyway, let me know when you're ready to buy a SemVer linter for your language. I wasn't sure you'd need it ... until now 😁

[User] Reducing breaking changes was actually a big motivating factor here! Why do you think they'll make it harder?

[Assistant] The names of the keyword arguments as well as their order are now part of the public API of your functions, so you have a new axis of naming to keep track of. In a typed language like KCL, it’s probably fine—Swift handles this without too much issue, for example, and so does OCaml. Python, though… 😬

[User]
Also in Python "is positional" / "is keyword" / "is optional" are 3 orthogonal axes where every combination is allowed. This massively increases the state space, and empirically leads to tons of breakage.

For example, *any* reordering of args here is breaking:

def example(a, b, c=None, d=None)

[Assistant]
So I'd strongly recommend making people choose positional xor keyword, and not allowing overlap.

Yes that will cause some breakage because moving from one to the other is now breaking. But that's at least *obvious* breakage. The alternative is non-obvious breakage, which is worse.

[User] Yeah. If I were adding named args, I would (a) not allow named/keyword arguments ever to be invoked without their name—this is what ObjC and Swift and I *think* OCaml do, but check me on that last bit!—, and (b) distinguish between the uses cases for named args and *optional* args w/default values.

[Assistant]
YES.

I have a strongly-held belief that a good version of keyword arguments could be *great*. It’s just that it’s hard to get right. 😂


[User]
Happy #WhiskersWednesday pals. It’s wet and windy out so we’re snuggled indoors on a DUVET #Hedgewatch shift.
Stay cosy pals and have a fab day 🤗
Phoebe 🧡🐾

[Assistant] Good morning Phoebe 🤗❤

[User] Happy side-eye Wednesday. 😼

[Assistant] Stay cosy furrend!

[User] What a pretty face you have, Phoebe!

[Assistant] happy whiskers day to you also frin 🐾😽💕💕


[User] Re: Glaze and Nightshade - has anyone tried to measure their environmental impact? I’ve seen a few posts saying it’s pretty bad but couldn’t find any articles on it to back that up.

[Assistant] One of my main objections to gen AI (you know, other than widespread theft of intellectual property and the enshittification of *waves hand* everything) is that it’s absolutely awful for the environment.

[User] And, as much as I’d like to both protect my work and poison the AI well while I’m at it, it seems a bit contradictory to combat it with tools that are potentially just as bad from an environmental perspective.

[Assistant] Turns out they won’t run on my ancient 2015 MacBook Pro anyway. Guess that solves that problem.


[User] I really don’t understand how people don’t know how to use simple microphones. The amount of times someone at work calls me cause “the mic isn’t working” and turns out they just didn’t click the bright red mute/unmute button is too high for people getting paid what they do. 🤦🏽♂

[Assistant] Or the amount of times they hold the button instead of just click, which turns of the mic resuming in a “the mics don’t work” again. Brother, it’s a microphone not a walkie talkie, don’t hold to speak! 😭

[User] OR the amount of times I tell them - do not do xyz, that will cause issues - and you know what they do? 🫠

[Assistant] ORRR, people that have used our meeting rooms multiple times, have held several meetings here and STILL need to “come in for a tech test”. Bitch! Have you not gotten accustomed to the system over the last 12 meetings you’ve held?!


[User]
[ background: youtu.be/XhpZV1RgOZU?... ]

Another unfamiliar face. And yet... more feelings of guilt, of helplessness. He wasn't sure why he was feeling them so strongly when he had seen her lifeless body, and yet...

He wanted to scream. To cry out until his lungs felt like they were on fire.

[Assistant]
Instead, he moved closer slowly; barely able to lift his feet off of the ground.

It felt like he had a ball-and-chain on each ankle with how slowly he had trudged closer to her. Slowly kneeling onto one knee, a hand reaching out to gently rest against her neck.

No pulse... Just as he assumed.

[User]
He felt the knot in his chest until he felt like he might break. And yet... At this very moment, he wasn't sure if he cared that he might break into pieces.

Tears silently fell down his cheeks, and his hands had reached up in order to shut her eyes for her. And, with a shaky sigh...

[Assistant]
He would close his eyes and whisper a prayer.

"Ready or not, someday it all comes to an end. There are no more worries, no more minutes, hours, or days. All the things collected, treasured or forgotten, pass to someone else. Wealth, fame and temporal power shrivel to irrelevance.

cont.

[User]
It matters not what was owned or owed. Grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies finally disappear... Hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists expire. Wins and losses that once seemed so important fade away... It no longer matters where you came from, or on what side of the

cont.

[Assistant]
tracks you lived. No matter whether you were beautiful, or brilliant. Gender and skin colour are irrelevant..."

He went silent for a few moments, taking a slow breath and letting it out in a long sigh.

"So... What matters?"

Once again, silence greeted the two of them for a moment.

[User]
"What matters is not what we bought, but what we built. Not what we got, but what we gave. What matters is not our success but our significance. What matters is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged other to emulate our example.

cont.

[Assistant]
What matters is not our competence... but out character. What matters is not how many people we know, but how many people will feel a lasting loss when we are gone. What matters is not our memories... But the memories that live in those who loved us. What matters is how long we will be

cont.

[User]
remembered, by whom and for what. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance, but a matter of choice."

With that, he had taken another breath... Before reaching for a nearby nightshade and plucking it, resting it atop of her chest and moving her ->

[Assistant]
hands to rest on top of the stem of the flower.

"May the Gods grant ye eternal rest, lass... And may the one intertwined with yer heart find peace in knowing that ye will no longer be suffering..."


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

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

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

[User] The entire culture of Bayern — Mia san Mia — that’s not just something that we say. It’s hard to explain until you’re in the dressing room, but it’s more like a family atmosphere. I don’t think I would’ve believed it until I was actually in there experiencing it.

[Assistant] That first day was so important for me. Not as a footballer, but as a person, honestly."


[User] There is a lot of pandemic history re-writing. Sweden did not follow the Great Barrington Declaration approach to the pandemic at all. GBD called for low-risk people (not defined) to live NORMALLY. Sweden had a variety of restrictions, and individuals took many precautions.

[Assistant]
Here is what Sweden's public health leader actually said. Rather than follow the Great Barrington Declaration strategy, they chose a far less restrictive approach to lowering community transmission.

This is not at all the same thing, don't let history be re-written.

[User]
Anders Tegnell also admitted that too many had died even with their approach, mainly because "homes for the elderly had been unable to keep the disease out."

www.bbc.com/news/world-e...

[Assistant]
BTW, on the poster on the image there stands:

"In Malmö, everything is nearby, but now we need to keep our distance"

[User] Tegnell, like most doctors at the time, was convinced that coronaviruses were spread by droplets. As a result, they believed that droplet precautions were sufficient to stop the pandemic. That part of the history is conveniently forgotten. 'Dilution' would have been a better mantra than 'distance.'

[Assistant] So yes, Sweden had several restrictions and precautions in place. And, if Tegnell had known that coronavirus had been airborne and that it would only be a matter of month before a vaccine was developed, he would probably have been more cautious in 2020.


[User] It's Black Friday this week. This is a reminder that All Fridays Matter. 😉

[Assistant] I was told yesterday my flight to the UK is this " Black Friday " 🥺

[User] This week to be known as 'Snowy Friday'. 😀😉

[Assistant] Excellent i asked my son to get the luge ready in the boot of his car so when he will pick me up at Stanted airport , i will do a way back home on it 😎

[User] Also, you have the opportunity to unsubscribe from tons of corporate email spam.

[Assistant] Be careful about unsubscribing. This is fine with reputable companies, but to the spammers it's a sign your email is active, and they will add it to more lists as a validated address.


[User] This right here is why I fell in love with art history decades ago. What a fascinating read!!

[Assistant] Isn't that amazing!!  I sent the link to my aunt, an art history professor (now retired).

[User] It reminds me of "The Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey!

[Assistant] Once I truly grokked that art history wasn’t just a history of “styles” but deeper insight into history itself that I was so hooked that I literally changed majors. I owe Mary Bates-Ulibarri a debt of gratitude for changing the course of my life.


[User] I would certainly rather be alive with “no heart” than dead at the hands of Islamic terrorists.

[Assistant] You could simply no support the thing that radicalises people into terrorism, you are not a victim here, you are not cornered into a pen, called animals, and levelled to the ground for the actions of a minority group.

[User] There have been many groups like you, that have pretended to be the victims while having clearly caused excessive pain in a position of immense power. Ah believe it's one of the psychological tendancies of... you're not going to like this, nazism.

[Assistant] You have never been to gaza, WB or Israel, clearly. People have free will to make choices they must be accountable for. If you’re going to start a war, there are consequences. Moral of the story, don’t start wars.

[User] Nice little slogan you got their. Don't star wars. Completely nonsensical with the context.


[User] I have a heck of a time with embedded YouTude videos on @skeetsapp.com. When I can play one, which is rare, I have no control over it and have to kill the app to make it stop. iPad 0S 18.1.1, updated app.

[Assistant] Hey Sean, you're right! Just checked it and something's off. I'll look into that and provide a fix.

[User] @skeetsapp.com LOVE the sectioning and reordering of the left nav btw. Thanks for that!

[Assistant] thx! me too :)


[User]
Good Morning ☀
Rise and Shine ✨❤🌅
Florida Sunrise Photography 📷

[Assistant] Magnificent! Good morning Margaret! Have a wonderful day!

[User] Happy Wednesday ❤

[Assistant] Enjoy your day Margaret!


[User] Between Snell and the Soto stuff coming to a head if feels like Boras has adjusted his strategy? Get signings of the key guys done earlier? More time for his second tier clients then?

[Assistant] I was just thinking the same thing… Which either means I’m getting smarter or you hit your head on something.

[User] This is when some people call him a genius when with anyone else they’d say he’s course-correcting after screwing up.

[Assistant] Too soon to tell. Like, if you’re Blake Snell and Boras tells you “So listen, the Dodgers are offering $182 million and you’re basically guaranteed to win the World Series next year. But if we wait until January, I’m pretty sure I can get Cleveland up to $197 million,” aren’t you rushing to sign?


[User] Whether you're busy baking pies or out on a brisk pre-Thanksgiving walk, tune in to our award-winning podcast "Views on First: Speech & the Border,” exploring the frontiers of #surveillance & censorship. knightcolumbia.org/content/view...

[Assistant] We’re thankful for our amazing @knightcolumbia.org hosts and expert guests grappling with the challenges of protecting vital First Amendment rights at the border and beyond.

[User] In Ep. 1, historian @juliarosekraut.bsky.social, activist Ravi Ragbir, & host @georgewang.bsky.social discuss the history of ideological exclusion at the U.S. border and ongoing ICE deportation practices.

[Assistant] Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/2lUO...

[User] In Ep. 2, @josephcox.bsky.social & @faizapatel.bsky.social join host Anna Diakun to shine a light on the U.S. govt.'s sweeping social media #surveillance program, and discuss the lack of evidence that it serves any national security purpose.

[Assistant] Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/6tIU...

[User] Please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get podcasts. We’d love to know what you think.

[Assistant] Ep. 3, “Singled Out & Searched,” w/ host @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social and guests Stephanie Krent and Akram Shibly, drops next week, on 12/4. Don’t miss it!


[User]
Volkswagen will exit its controversial plant in #China's Xinjiang region, after years of investor pressure to abandon its presence in the region, where rights groups have documented abuses including mass forced labor in detention camps.

www.voanews.com/a/vw-confirm...

[Assistant] Volkswagen and its Chinese partner agreed to sell the asset to a Shanghai government-owned buyer, the German car maker said on Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.

[User] The move will bring to an end years of mounting investor pressure to abandon VW's presence in the region, where rights groups have documented abuses including mass forced labor in detention camps. Beijing denies any such abuses.

[Assistant] The significance of the plant, which previously assembled Volkswagen's Santana vehicle, has dwindled in recent years after the carmaker cut jobs, leaving about 200 employees to just conduct final quality checks and handing over vehicles to dealers in the region.


[User]
I know everywhere has crazy weather, and we are in a "sweet zone" where we escape the worst, but even here we get the chaotic trends.

For the past month or so we've had ridiculous spells of calima (hot dry African wind) interspersed with Atlantic fronts (wet ocean instability), and in the past ...

[Assistant]
week we've gone from 30º+ to putting the fire on. And now today we have the return of calima ... and all the associated fire risks of hot dry winds ...

The regional Government has issued a fire risk prealert for Tenerife and Gran Canaria putting the authorities on a high risk footing in case ...

[User] they're required to act urgently. The public is also warned to be aware of conditions, not to take silly risks especially around the coast or in the mountains and forests. Conditions will be windy, rough, hot and dry. People with skin and breathing conditions will have trouble. Be careful, and ...

[Assistant]
see here for more information. 👇

www3.gobiernodecanarias.org/noticias/la-...


[User] We continue to fool ourselves that right and left are our  problems it's actually red States versus blue States, and why is life so much better in blue States than red States ? California should adopt Alabama as a sister State and we can work from there.

[Assistant]
Yes. This is why CWII will simply not work. There are red and blue dots in both states. A civil war would require me to go house hunting for Trunt supporters, and literally kill my neighbors.
You have to think this stuff out, people.

[User] This is why I live in a blue state. We have excellent public schools. All three of my kids attended them from K thru grade 12, and all three went on to college and graduate study. My part of NJ has a very low crime rate, and we have public transportation. I ride the train to work.

[Assistant] I would argue it’s the wealthy vs the rest of us. It’s just that the red states seem to be more gullible to the wealthy’s tactics.


[User]
Yesterday, I took my mom to the airport to send her off to spend the holiday with one of her brothers in New Mexico.

It will be her first Thanksgiving without my dad. They were married for almost 60 years.

[Assistant] Mom's mobility isn't great right now. And, this isn't slowing her down. She's determined to travel and see all her family. Starting with my Uncle Bob in ABQ.

[User]
So, Mom was navigating through a busy airport with her walker. A young man approached with a wheelchair and asked if he could help. My mom literally jumped into the wheelchair. 😹

This young man was amazing.

[Assistant] He was patient as we adjusted *all* of Mom's stuff. (Still marveling at how he managed to smoothly maneuver Mom in the wheelchair, along with her wheeled carry-on bag, *and* the walker.)

[User] He was kind. He initiated a conversation with Mom, and by the time we reached security, they were both smiling and chatting like old friends.

[Assistant] I was really anxious about sending Mom off yesterday. She had not one but two flights to reach her destination and was going to be essentially on her own until she landed in ABQ. During the busiest travel season of the year! 6 million folks will be flying through the air in metal tubes this week.


[User]
I rly need to sit down & learn Unreal engine coz fuuuuck Unity. I wanna be the change in Aotearoa that makes us stop using Unity, why is the entire NZ games industry based solely on Unity 😭😭😭😭

Should probably learn Godot too.

[Assistant] We use game maker studio. It mostly does 2D. It has a little 3D capacity, but it’s easier on solo developers.

[User] Fuck I didn't realize game maker was still an option tbh 😆

[Assistant] It’s needed several updates, but it’s good! Lots of people know how to use it and can help you!


[User] Joined an insightful meeting about games industry micro-credentials today. What are the key benefits of such systems? To me, foreseeing future needs and establishing fair assessment criteria seem challenging, but the girl scout in me is carefully intrigued by badges. 😅https://gamebadges.eu/

[Assistant]
I’m a bit skeptical… problem is that definitions of the badges must be binary — ”can do X” — but the studios look for people who can do X ”well” and ”efficiently”.

I think the mapping effort is very nice, but even gold badges will likely only show that you know the basics of the thing.

[User]
That said, I would love to hire a specialist based on their actual merits in the specialty, while looking at the badges in their secondary skills.

Evaluating traditionally whether they do eg. narrative design ”well”, and noticing they also know basics of, say, programming.

[Assistant] Yes, so the badges add a new layer for making an informed hiring decision, or privide a shortcut to an interview for a candidate, but should not aim at fully replacing the any other aspects of the recruitment process or the portfolio.


[User] It never works. The euphemism always absorbs the horror of the underlying reality, requiring the periodic invention of new euphemisms.

[Assistant] Keep on running on that treadmill.

[User] the press (especially the NYT) and government will give it its best shot.   We are about to see and epic level of dishonesty from both as this government operates concentration, possibly death camps, and on occasion stages massacres against its own citizenry.

[Assistant] Yeah, the language eventually becomes as radioactive as what it's trying to bury.


[User]
So a question that comes up often in different circles is “where are my spotter(s)?” I set up safeties for that reason.

I don’t have dedicated lifting friends I can call on and most people where I lift can’t help past 300 lbs. That’s including having two people. Ask me how I know.

[Assistant]
NNY isn’t exactly known for heavy lifting.

Plus I’ve accepted that with my goals, (freak) accidents are a risk. I do everything I can to mitigate that by focusing on accessories to avoid silly injuries.

[User]
Yup feel this, mostly it’s a chest concern vs squats for me. But of the guys I even trust to give me a spot there is one guy that’s started to just be like “nope” not because he can’t but because he’s worried about hurting himself so he claims.

So lot of times I’m not maxing out without my coach.

[Assistant]
Wew. That’s a reason that I hear often oddly enough. I don’t believe it but that’s just me.

And I feel that. Bench is my main concern but I setup safeties all the time using a squat rack if I’m at primary work gym.

[User] Makes sense. I’ll set up in the rack in I’m doing like pin press style work.

[Assistant]
Normal people watching you lift: "where are his spotters???"

Gym peeps watching you lift: "siiiiick"


[User] Rediscovered Seether and they actually had a few real bangers hey? Always remember them as the SA band that downright copied a Brand New song 🤣

[Assistant] Me in the 2000s: Man this new WWE dude being knocked through several different reincarnation cycles by Brock Lesnar has an awesome entrance theme at least.

[User] Wait. I had to Google, and it turns out Zack Gowen's awesome theme was by SEETHER?!

[Assistant] Yup! It was around about the same time that Mr. America--who definitely isn't Hulk Hogan--was in action.


[User]
Labour's Get Britain Working plan is based on a massive LIE the DWP has pushed for nearly 20 years

There is nothing materially different to anything the Tory-led DWP tried, says Steve Topple - in fact, scratch the surface & it's the same old 'scrounger' narrative 👇
www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...

[Assistant]
and also ignoring another Canary in the coalmine.
#covidisntover #longcovid
(from @1goodtern.bsky.social)

[User]
Stop using the term "economically inactive" to describe people.
Click this link to sign the petition: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

[Assistant]
Stop using the term "economically inactive" to describe people.
Click this link to sign the petition:  petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

[User]
Did I read this right?
Are you saying that CBT and Talking Therapies don't work?

[Assistant] For physical illness, yes, we are.


[User]
@thegreatgig8.bsky.social
Good morning, Gig! 🙂❤
Get your glad rags on! There's good rockin' tonight!
Happy National Jukebox Day, my wonderful friend! 🌞😀😊🤗

[Assistant] How fun!

[User]
Hey Trouble! 🌞🌊🌊
👋👋👋👋👋
💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵

[Assistant] Woohoo!  I'm ready!  Hope you have a great one, AJ! 🥰❤💃


[User]
What’s the most annoying, fake “climate factoid” you see peddled by influencers on the internet?

Mine? That ocean plants “produce 70% of the world’s oxygen.”

That’s incorrect. Terrestrial plants generate about 55% of our planet’s oxygen. Marine ecosystems produce about 45%.

[Assistant]
That's good to know because 20% from kelp and 50% from phytoplankton is everywhere and I've even used it myself! Is there a source for the correction?

Mine is the "80% of biodiversity occurs on Indigenous lands" - debunked by Indigenous sources! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

[User]
Mine is that humans live better in warmer weather, i.e., not caring that average temp is increasing. As if humans exist by themselves.

We depend on a whole host of organisms (plants, bacteria & animals) that are sensitive to varying degrees to temp changes.

[Assistant]
Here's a good source on ocean oxygen and how the focus should not be on atmosphere oxygen (where the change in O2 levels due to humans is tiny) but rather on loss of oxygen in the subsurface ocean from warming and climate change & resulting impacts on marine life
theconversation.com/humans-will-...


[User] Deeeep dive into what Sinclair owner David Smith is doing with the Baltimore Sun — which he claims he still doesn’t read (though his co-principal tells @marcfisher.bsky.social Smith reviews the paper every morning) niemanreports.org/sunset-in-ba...

[Assistant]
Sun co-principal, Armstrong Williams is conflating “print journalism” with “text-based journalism”

Yet despite this, he and Smith force the paper to run Fox45 stories (the short sensational kind)

[User] The piece has a great recap of how Sinclair operates (forcing news stories on anchors) and what its business model relies on (shutting down competition by owning multiple stations in each region — against FCC regs)

[Assistant] What does this mean for the Sun? Unclear… We have a @technicallynews.bsky.social reporter and editor in Baltimore, and we almost never cite the paper’s work anymore.


[User]
#whamageddon 2024,  who's in?
whamageddon.com

Rules:
1. The objective is to go as long as possible without hearing WHAM's Christmas classic; "Last Christmas".

🔽 Thread for other rules 🔽

[Assistant]
The 2nd Rule
The game starts on December 1st, and finishes at the end of December 24th.
Use your local timezone, if you'd like.
(Yes, we're European heathens)

The 3rd Rule
Only the original version applies. Enjoy the ?#!$&%! out of remixes and covers.

[User]
The 4th Rule
You're out as soon as you recognise the song.

Bonus Rule
Post on social media with the #whamageddon hashtag when you get hit.

[Assistant]
PvP?
While we can't stop you from deliberately sending your friends to Whamhalla, the intention is that this is a survival game. Not a Battle Royale. So ... don't be a dick, mkay?


[User] To OUR world!


[User] @pkloved.bsky.social DIZ DID U SEE THIS YET….

[Assistant] OHHH OH I NEED IT!!!!!!!!

[User] the red room in the trailer isn’t in the original game 👀 👀 a remaster could be imminent…

[Assistant] GODDDDD PLEASEEEE let that be true!! i would do Anything for a remaster, especially on like.. switch or something so i can carry around my funny little merchant in my bag..  🥹


[User]
Not interested in politics, I'm here for gaming.
Sort it out algorithm.

[Assistant] I do feel like using the word "politics" in your post will, in fact, give you more politics.

[User] I'm surprised you managed to read it...

[Assistant] You are the one who doesn't read everything and misses context clues.

[User]
You are aware I'm male and as such we do not get:

Clues
Hints
Context Clues

Right? 🤣


[User]
Can I be very serious for a sec though? I joke, but this is no laughing matter. I would love to see people with huge followings more media literate.

Wonderful thing about media literacy - it doesn’t negate your opinion. It just reminds you to consider the evidence, context and your own bias.

[User] Do they want it though? When I've interviewed youtubers who do include variable and checked facts, they say that their videos don't perform as well as others in their topic area who play fast and loose with the facts.

[Assistant] Gosh, no. Many of them don’t. But we shift the dial in small increments.


[User] #BatmanYearZero: A new Batman pitch (1/6): We see Batman suiting up in the cave in a primitive early version of the Batsuit, next to a customized muscle-car version of the Batmobile. "I'm not ready," he says. "It will take more than this to save Gotham. "

[Assistant] (2/6) Cut to a montage of Batman upgrading the suit into sleeker and more badass versions, and upgrading the Batmobile and his other gear as well. The Batcave grows more fully-equipped and decked out as well.

[User] (3/6) Intercut all of this with scenes of crime out of control in the city. As calendar pages fall by indicating the passage of months and years we see the rise of Joker, Two-Face, Bane, Scarecrow... terrorizing the citizens of Gotham.

[Assistant] (4/6) We see a weary Commissioner Gordon making a speech in front of TV cameras. "Crime in Gotham has grown into something more than we can handle. The city's spirit is broken. It's people have lost hope. This city needs more than the police. Gotham needs a HERO."


[User] What’s everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

[Assistant] mac and cheese, dressing, greens and potato salad all in one spoonful😭

[User] Yes! The day before Thanksgiving is so hard because I’m so hungry 😭

[Assistant] starving right now bc i refuse to cook too much 😂


[User]
... can I confess something?

I... don't understand the appeal of solo TTRPG's. Intellectually, sure, but not necessarily emotionally. On a gut level, TTRPG's, for me, are a collaborative medium. They're a group activity.

Then again, I don't get solitaire, either.

[Assistant]
An acquaintance once gave me this Kiki's Delivery Service-inspired solo journalling RPG, and I tried and...

Well, the fact that it was designed to hew so closely to that movie put a sour taste in my mouth. Why write Kiki fanfic when I can just watch the movie, yeah?

[User]
When I do a solo, usually Ironsworn, I’m trying to reveal some story that exists on archetype or subconscious and bring it into a narrative with rules and especially random Oracle tables.

I need to make the story exist and routinization keeps me moving with pacing.

It’s not re writing KiKi’s.

[Assistant]
I *do* own Ironsworn...

Maybe that's something I really ought to give a proper go, in good faith.

[User]
I still see solo RPGs as a collaborative medium. It’s just a more intimate collaboration with the designers.

Part of the process of playing a solo RPG is knowing when to let go and let the game speak for itself, and then responding to that.

[Assistant]
Hm.

Honestly, that does communicate the intent of its design more clearly than I've ever seen anyone pitch to me. I appreciate that.

Maybe one of these days, I ought to give the genre another stab... just not with a cozycore Studio Ghibli knockoff.